Cast and Creative Team

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

ISABEL ARRAIZA (Portia) stars as one of the leads in the upcoming Amazon/Plan B series “Outer Range.” Film credits include The Little Things opposite Rami Malek and Denzel Washington, Driven opposite Jason Sudeikis and Lee Pace and American Dreamer opposite Jim Gaffigan. Theatre credits include Julius Caesar at The Public Theater, Minnetti at the Barbican Centre in London and Intersections at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. She obtained her MFA from The Juilliard School. From Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.

VARÍN AYALA (Prince of Arragon/Jailer) is thrilled to be working at TFANA again (Taming of the Shrew), and with STC for the first time. He has worked extensively in New York and regional theatre, and has done readings and workshops with just about every Off-Broadway company you can imagine. Most recent TV: “Younger,” opposite Sutton Foster. Fun fact: he has an MS in chemical engineering that he hasn’t used since 2002.From San Germán, Puerto Rico. In memory of Marlene Johnson. IG: therealvarinayala

SHIRINE BABB (Nerissa). Broadway: Macbeth, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (OBC). Off-Broadway: Timon of Athens (TFANA); Napoli, Brooklyn (Roundabout); The Crucible, Mary Stuart (Bedlam). Regional: Shakespeare Theatre Co., the Kennedy Center, Hartford Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, Folger Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, The Old Globe, Widows (London). Television: upcoming series (Apple+), “Iron Fist,” “I Love You…But I Lied,” “Blue Bloods,” “Madam Secretary.” Training: East 15 Acting, MA; Old Globe, MFA.

JEFF BIEHL (Balthazar). Broadway: Machinal (Roundabout). Off-Broadway: Life Sucks (Drama Desk nom, Wheelhouse), Catch as Catch Can (Page73), Charles Francis Chan’s Jr’s… (NAATCO), 10 out of 12 (Soho Rep), Poor Behavior (Primary Stages), Burning (The New Group), Isaac’s Eye (EST). Regional: premieres at Yale Rep, Denver Center, Woolly Mammoth and Humana Festival. Film: Worth, A Master Builder, Ricki and the Flash. TV: “The Path,” “Vinyl,” “Mysteries of Laura,” “Forever,” “Southland,” all “Law & Order.” Juilliard.

Jeff Biehl (Balthazar), Varín Ayala (Prince of Arragon) and Shirine Babb (Nerissa). Photo by Henry Grossman.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

SANJIT DE SILVA (Bassanio). Broadway: War Horse (Tony Award, Best Play). Off-Broadway: An Ordinary Muslim (NYTW), Troilus and Cressida (NYSF/The Public Theater), Dry Powder (The Public Theater, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critic’s Circle nomination for Best Featured Actor), Awake and Sing! (NAATCO), Macbeth (NYSF/The Public Theater), The Little Foxes (NYTW). Film/TV: Farewell Amor, After Party, The Girl is in Trouble, The Company Men, Arranged, “New Amsterdam,” “Evil,” “Tell Me a Story,” “Blindspot,” “Time After Time,” “The Blacklist,” “High Maintenance.” MFA: NYU Graduate Acting.

DANAYA ESPERANZA (Jessica). Select credits include Off-Broadway: Bayano (NBT), For Colored Girls… (The Public Theater), The Tempest (Mobile), Twelfth Night (Mobile), Breitwisch Farm (Esperance), Mary Jane (NYTW), Men on Boats (Playwrights Horizons/Clubbed Thumb), Washeteria (Soho Rep), Our Lady of Kibeho (Signature). Regional: Alma (Denver Center), Annie Salem (NYSF), Romeo and Juliet (STC), Another Word for Beauty (Goodman Theatre). TV: “The Blacklist,” “Elementary.” Training: The Juilliard School (Raúl Juliá Memorial Scholarship in Drama).

YONATAN GEBEYEHU (Solanio). Off-Broadway: Timon of Athens (TFANA), Persuasion (Bedlam Theater), I Thought I Would Die, But I Didn’t (New Georges/The Tank). Regional: Timon of Athens, Everybody (STC); Go. Please. Go (Montana Rep); Noises Off, Romeo and Juliet (Chautauqua Theater Company); A Christmas Carol (Portland Stage Company). TV: “Prodigal Son” (FOX); “Elementary,” “Madam Secretary” (CBS). Digital: Lessons in Survival (Vineyard), 86’d (Bric Arts). Training: University of California San Diego, MFA in acting. Yonatan-Gebeyehu.com

Alfredo Narciso (Antonio), Yonatan Gebeyehu (Solanio), and John Douglas Thompson (Shylock). Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

DAVID LEE HUYNH (Lorenzo). Off-Broadway: NAATCO’s Henry VI (Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Revival), Gingold Theatrical Group’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Transport Group’s The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Pan Asian Repertory’s No-No Boy, etc. Regional: Kennedy Center, Alley Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theatre, etc. Founding member of The Sõng Collective. TV/film: “Blue Bloods,” “FBI,” Solitary, Children of the Dust. MFA: University of Houston Professional Actor Training Program. davidleehuynh.com

MAURICE JONES (Prince of Morocco/Duke/Tubal). Broadway: The Lifespan of a Fact, Saint Joan, The Cherry Orchard, Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar. Off-Broadway/regional: Roundabout Theatre Company, Park Avenue Armory, Atlantic Theater Company, MTC, Public Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Folger Theatre, Two River Theatre, Barrington Stage, Denver Center, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ. Television: “Godfather of Harlem,” “Blue Bloods,” “Elementary,” “The Good Fight,” “30 Rock.” Film: The Winter’s Tale, Romeo & Juliet, And So It Goes.

NATE MILLER (Lancelet Gobbo/Jailer) is an actor/producer and founding member of Lesser America Theatre Co. He is a graduate of Marquette University and The Juilliard School. Broadway: JUNK at LCT Off-Broadway: India Pale Ale, Ripcord, Of Good Stock, Love and Information, Peter and The Starcatcher. Regional: Actors Theatre of Louisville, La Jolla, Playmakers, The Wilma, McCarter. Film: Either Side of Midnight, Another Kind. TV: “The Code,” “The Good Wife.” @iamnatemiller

Isabel Arraiza (Portia) and Maurice Jones (Prince of Morocco). Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

ALFREDO NARCISO (Antonio). TFANA: Chair; Measure for Measure. Select theatre: Time and the Conways (Roundabout), Moscow x 6 (MCC), Red Dog Howls (NYTW), Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons), Tiny Beautiful Things (The Public), Microcrisis (MaYi). Select film/TV: Demolition, The Dark Tower, Like Sunday, Like Rain, Stage of Twilight, “Lisey’s Story,” “Monsterland,” “Dispatches From Elsewhere,” “New Amsterdam,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards,” “Manifest” and the upcoming Amazon series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” alfredonarciso.com

HAYNES THIGPEN (Gratiano). Broadway: Dead Accounts, Misalliance. TFANA: An Octoroon, Measure for Measure. Off-Broadway: Our House, Patron Saint of Sea Monsters (Playwrights Horizons); Revenger’s Tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi (RedBull Theater). Regional: Girls (Yale Rep), August Osage County (The Globe), Aliens (San Francisco Playhouse). Film/TV: “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Billions,” “Horace and Pete,” Terror Firmer, “Elementary,” Crashing.

JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON (Shylock). Broadway: Jitney (Tony nomination), Carousel, A Time to Kill, Julius Caesar. Off-Broadway: The Father, A Doll’s House, Tamburlaine, Macbeth, Othello (Obie, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and AUDELCO Awards) (TFANA); Julius Caesar (NYSF); The Iceman Cometh (Obie, Drama Desk Awards; BAM); Satchmo at the Waldorf (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, NAACP Award; Westside Theater); The Emperor Jones (Drama League, Drama Desk nominations; Irish Rep), Hedda Gabler (NYTW). Regional: The Tempest (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Man in the Ring (Elliot Norton Award; Huntington Theater); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Mark Taper Forum); Antony and Cleopatra (Hartford Stage); Red Velvet, Othello, Richard III (Shakespeare & Co.). Television: “The Gilded Age,” “Mare of Easttown,” “For Life.” Film: 355, The Letter Room, 21 Bridges, Let Them All Talk.

GRAHAM WINTON (Salerio). TFANA: Julius

Top: Alfredo Narciso (Antonio) and Haynes Thigpen (Gratiano). Above: Graham Winton (Salerio). Caesar, Don Juan, Pericles, Othello, Macbeth, Measure Photos by Gerry Goodstein. for Measure, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear. Broadway: The Ferryman, Cyrano de Bergerac, A Man For All Seasons, The Tempest, Two Shakespearean Actors. Off-Broadway: The Public, CSC, Roundabout, Lincoln Center. TV: “FBI,” “Bull,” “Elementary,” “The Americans,” “Public Morals,” “Veep,” “The Good Wife,” “Louie,” “The Blacklist,” “Blue Bloods,” all “Law & Order.” Film: Life Itself, My Sassy Girl, Gettysburg, Blonde Fist.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

ARIN ARBUS (Director) is a resident director at TFANA, where she directed The Winter’s Tale, The Skin of Our Teeth (Obie), Strindberg’s The Father and Ibsen’s Doll’s House in rep, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Measure for Measure and Othello. She directed Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Tony nom for best revival) with Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon on Broadway. Arbus spent several years making theatre with prisoners in association with Rehabilitation Through the Arts and in 2018, she directed an adaptation of The Tempest in a refugee camp in Greece for The Campfire Project.

RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ (Scenic Designer). Broadway: Jagged Little Pill (Tony Award nomination); Indecent; The Gin Game; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; The People in the Picture; Caroline, or Change (National Theatre London); Elaine Stritch at Liberty (Old Vic); Topdog/Underdog (Royal Court); Bells Are Ringing; Parade (directed by Hal Prince; Tony, Drama Desk nominations); Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk; The Tempest. International: Théâtre du Châtelet, Avignon (Cour d’honneur Palais des Papes); Oslo, National Theatre; Abbey Theatre. Recipient, Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Design. Hern ndezis an associate professor and co-chair of the Yale School of Drama.

EMILY REBHOLZ (Costume Designer). Broadway: Jagged Little Pill (Tony nomination); Frankie and Johnny…; Getting the Band Back Together; Indecent; Oh, Hello On Broadway; If/ Then; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Select recent: Nantucket Sleigh Ride (LCT), Jagged Little Pill (A.R.T), The Low Road (The Public Theater; Henry Hewes Award, Lucille Lortel nomination), The Winter’s Tale (TFANA), Mary Jane (NYTW), Twelfth Night (CSC), Brigadoon (Encores!), The Robber Bridegroom (Roundabout), Lucia Di Lammermoor and Don Giovanni (Santa Fe Opera), Orfeo ed Euridice (Opera Theatre of St. Louis). MFA: Yale University.

Top: Isabel Arraiza (Portia) and Jeff Biehl (Balthazar). Above: Sanjit De Silva (Bassanio) and Alfredo Narciso (Antonio). Photos by Henry Grossman.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

MARCUS DOSHI (Lighting Designer) designs lighting and sets for theatre, opera and dance. His work has been seen extensively in New York; Broadway credits include Linda Vista (2019) and Pass Over (2021). Chicago (Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Lyric Opera, others). Major regional theatres and opera companies in the USA; internationally in 18 countries across five continents. He is associate chair of department of theatre at Northwestern University, where he teaches design. Marcusdoshi.com

JUSTIN ELLINGTON (Original Music and Sound Designer) is an award-winning composer and sound designer. Theatre for a New Audience credits include He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box and The Winter’s Tale. Broadway credits include Pass Over, Clyde’s and Other Desert Cities. Off-Broadway credits include Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons); The Rolling Stone, Pass Over, Pipeline (Lincoln Center); Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (ArsNova); The House That Will Not Stand, Fetch Clay Make Man (New York Theatre Workshop).

JONATHAN KALB (Resident Dramaturg) is Professor of Theater at Hunter College, CUNY, and is TFANA’s Resident Dramaturg. The author of five books on theater, he has worked for more than three decades as a theater scholar, critic, journalist, and dramaturg. He has twice won The George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. and has also won the George Freedley Award for an outstanding theater book from the Theatre Library Association. He often writes about theater on his TheaterMatters blog at www.jonathankalb.com.

David Lee Huynh (Lorenzo) and Alfredo Narciso (Antonio). Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

JAMES SHAPIRO (Consulting Scholar), Larry Miller Professor of English at Columbia University, is author of the prizewinning Shakespeare and the Jews (1996); A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 (2005), Contested Will (2010), The Year of Lear (2015) and most recently Shakespeare in a Divided America (2020), selected one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times. He has been awarded Guggenheim, Cullman and NEH fellowships, has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and serves as a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

AYANNA THOMPSON (Consulting Scholar) is a regents professor of English at Arizona State University, and the director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS). She is the author of many books, including most recently Blackface (Bloomsbury, 2021). In 2020, Thompson became a Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at The Public Theater. In 2021, she joined the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the National Parks Arts Foundation and Play On Shakespeare. Previously, she served as the president of the Shakespeare Association of America.

JERRY RAIK (Liturgical Consultant) is delighted to have this association with Theatre For a New Audience and with this exceptional cast and team. His combination of love of theatre, extensive experience with Shakespeare and deep attachment to Judaism and its liturgy, positions him happily for this wonderful opportunity with The Merchant of Venice.

John Douglas Thompson (Shylock) and Maurice Jones (Tubal). Photo by Henry Grossman.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

JON KNUST (Properties Supervisor). Selected credits include A Doll’s House, The Father, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Winter’s Tale, About Alice, and Gnit (TFANA); Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Broadway), Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, Big Love, and Appropriate (Signature) and Peter and the Starcatcher (tour). Jon got his start in props at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University.

TOMMY KURZMAN (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer). Broadway (makeup): Mrs. Doubtfire, All My Sons, True West, St. Joan, My Fair Lady, Little Foxes, Long Day’s Journey…, Bright Star and Fiddler on the Roof. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (wigs/makeup), Westside Theatre, MCC, The Atlantic, The New Group, The Public, MTC, NWS. Regional: The Muny, Geva Theatre, Resident Ensemble Players, Cape Playhouse, Sig. VA, MSM. Associate hair designer on over 15 Broadway productions. Builds wigs for numerous films and TV shows. IG: @TommyKurzmanWig

ANDREW WADE (Voice Director). Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (U.S. head of voice and dialect), A Christmas Carol (with Matthew Warchus) and tour (voice and dialect director), King Lear with Glenda Jackson (voice coach), Matilda the Musical (director of voice) and national tour. West End: Lord of the Rings. The Public Theater: director of voice. Royal Shakespeare Company: head of voice. The Acting Company and Guthrie Theater: Julius Caesar. NYTW: Othello with Daniel Craig. Teaching: Juilliard, Stella Adler, NYU, BADA in Oxford. Film: Shakespeare in Love. Fellow: Rose Bruford College. Workshops and lectures: worldwide.

BYRON EASLEY (Choreographer). Slave Play (Broadway [Antonyo Award nomination] and NYTW), X: Or Betty Shabazz V. The Nation (Lucille Lortel Award nomination), The Bubbly Black Girl for City Center Encores, Langston in Harlem (SDC’s Joe A. Callaway Award and an Audelco Award. Regional: Gun & Powder (Signature Theatre); Matilda (Olney Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination); Twelfth Night (Yale Repertory Theatre); Unison, The Wiz, A Comedy of Errors (OSF); Five Guys Named Moe (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes nomination); Jelly’s Last Jam (Suzi Bass Award), Sophisticated Ladies (Suzi Bass Award) (Alliance Theatre). Associate arts professor at NYU/Tisch.

Top: Shirine Babb (Nerissa) and Haynes Thigpen (Gratiano). Above: Sanjit De Silva (Bassanio). Photos by Henry Grossman.

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

SHANE SCHNETZLER (Production Stage Manager). TFANA: Soho Rep’s Fairview, Timon of Athens, Julius Caesar, The Emperor, Heart/Box, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Tamburlaine, Fiasco’s Cymbeline. Off-Broadway: Seven Deadly Sins (Tectonic); Noura, This Flat Earth, The Profane, Rancho Viejo, Familiar (Playwrights Horizons); Napoli, Brooklyn, Look Back in Anger (Roundabout); The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, The Comedy of Errors (NYSF); Detroit ’67 (Public); Night is a Room, The Liquid Plain, The Old Friends (Signature).

R. CHRISTOPHER MAXWELL (Assistant Stage Manager) hails from the bustling southern metropolis of Little Rock, Arkansas, and currently resides in Harlem, New York. During his early years, he earned a BA in theatre arts-dance and sociology from The University of Arkansas in Little Rock. He received a master’s of fine arts in stage management from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. His work is made available by the love of his partner Don and his furry goblins. maxwellsmaart.com

BLAKE ZIDELL & ASSOCIATES (Publicity) is a Brooklyn-based public relations firm representing artists, companies and institutions spanning a variety of disciplines. Clients include St. Ann’s Warehouse, Soho Rep, The Kitchen, Ars Nova, BRIC, P.S.122, Abrons Arts Center, Taylor Mac, Labyrinth Theater Company, StoryCorps, Irish Arts Center, Caf Carlyle, Peak Performances, Batsheva Dance Company, The Playwrights Realm, Stephen Petronio Company, The Play Company and FIAF’s Crossing the Line Festival.

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY Led by Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Executive Director Chris Jennings, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) is synonymous with artistic excellence. STC strives to make classical theatre more accessible to audiences in and around the nation’s capital by expanding the definition of “classic” to include playwrights previously excluded from the canon while renewing its commitment to high-quality, exhilarating, inclusive theatre. A leader in arts education, STC has a dynamic range of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages. Located in downtown Washington, D.C., STC performs in two theatres and also hosts presentations from outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations.

Nate Miller (Lancelet Gobbo). Photo by Henry Grossman.