February 29 — March 23, 2024
An Avant Bard and Longacre Lea co-production, this adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is directed by Longacre Lea Managing Director Séamus Miller and is inspired by video games, virtual reality, and our cultural embrace of ultra-violence. The production runs from February 29 through March 23, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. The production reframes our understanding of the protagonist through a trauma-informed lens. The audience will be directly involved and implicated in the conditioning of a man who is bred into, even celebrated for, antisocial brutality—and then punished for his learned inability to ‘play nice.’ Longacre Lea brings its signature video presence to the co-production.
Previews and Saturday Matinees are Pay-What-You-Will performances. Both performances on Saturday, March 16 (2:00 pm and 7:30 pm), are Mask-Required performances.
Read the Press Release about this co-production and the full Program.
Performance Days and Times
Thursday, February 29, 7:30 pm (Preview/PWYW)
Friday, March 1, 7:30 pm (Preview/PWYW)
Saturday, March 2, 2:00 pm (Preview/PWYW)
Saturday, March 2, 7:30 pm (Preview/PWYW)
Sunday, March 3, 2:00 pm (Opening/Closed Performance)
Thursday, March 7 7:30 pm
Friday, March 8 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 9 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 9 7:30 pm (PWYW)
Sunday, March 10 2:00 pm
Thursday, March 14 7:30 pm
Friday, March 15 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 16 2:00 pm (Masks Required/PWYW)
Saturday, March 16, 7:30 pm (Masks Required)
Sunday, March 17 2:00 pm
Thursday, March 21, 7:30 pm
Friday, March 22, 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 23, 2:00 pm (PWYW)
Saturday, March 23, 7:30 pm (Closing)
(PWYW = Pay What You Will)
Runtime
approximately 2 hours with one ten-minute intermission
Audience Advisory
This production of Coriolanus employs the use of strobe, blood, and simulated violence effects. There will also be facsimile weapons on stage.
Cast
Coriolanus: James Finley
Volumnia: Kimberly Gilbert*
Virgilia et al.: Kiana Johnson
Menenius: Eric Hissom*
Cominius et al.: Christopher Holbert
Titus Lartius et al.: Stephen Kime
Sicinius (video): Shayna Freedman
Brutus (video): Samuel Richie
Aufidius et al.: Saron Araia
Ensemble: Karina Hilleard
Ensemble: Brendan Kennedy
Production Team
Director and Adapter: Séamus Miller*
Stage Manager: Solomon HaileSelassie
Co-Producer: Kathleen Akerley^
Co-Producer: Séamus Miller
Co-Producer: Sara Barker^
Co-Producer: Alyssa Sanders^
Fight and Intimacy Choreographer: Bess Kaye
Asst. Fight Choreographer: Gil Mitchell
Sound Designer and Composer: Tom Carman
Lighting Designer: Solomon HaileSelassie
Asst. Lighting Designer: Trey Wise
Video Designer: Séamus Miller
Costume Designer: Alexa Cassandra Duimstra
Props Designer: Kathleen Akerley
Scenic Design Consultant: Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden
Technical Team
Master Electrician: Trey Wise
Electrician and Video Engineer: Jerran Kowalski
Sound Engineer: Evan Thanicatt
Electrician: Malory Hartman
Electrician: Isaac Demarchi
Set Build: Complete Fabrications
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
^ Avant Bard Theatre Producing Partner
Sponsors
Production Sponsors: David Highnote and Roger Hockenberry
☆
WOW. *Amazing* production. Brilliant! What a cool ’universe’ created by crew and cast to tell this story. Beautifully conveyed, expertly acted. Absolutely worth experiencing, even if you’ve seen “Coriolanus” in another form, regardless of your familiarity with Shakespeare’s theatrical writings in general, or this story in particular — or, for that matter, Street Fighter (the original!).
Peter
Thanks! We’re glad you enjoyed it.
Eileen Collins
What a creative way to produce this play! The video game format fits well with the forces driving Corialanus to his doom.
I hope people hurry and don’t miss seeing this wonderful production!!!
Peter
Thanks! Tell your friends! Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. 🙂