The Goodman Theatre this afternoon announced full casting for its first four productions of 2017, including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Gloria, Annie Baker’s Uncle Vanya, Karen Zacarías’s Destiny of Desire and Lauren Yee’s King of the Yees.
As expected, Gloria (January 14–February 19 in the Albert Theatre)—a transfer of the premiere by NYC’s Vineyard Theatre, directed by Evan Cabnet—will see Cabnet import his entire original cast: Kyle Beltran, Catherine Combs, Michael Crane, Jennifer Kim, Jeanine Serralles and Ryan Spahn.
Uncle Vanya (February 11–March 12 in the Owen Theatre), Pulitzer Prize winner Baker’s new adaptation of Chekhov’s portrait of the discontented denizens of a country estate, will feature Kristen Bush (Yelena), Marton Csokas (Astrov), David Darlow (Serebryakov), Marilyn Dodds Frank (Maria), Tim Hopper (Vanya), Caroline Neff (Sonya), Larry Neumann, Jr. (Telegin), Alžan Pelesić (Yefim) and Mary Ann Thebus (Marina) for its Chicago premiere, directed by Robert Falls.
Zacarías’s telenovela-inspired comedy Destiny of Desire (March 11–April 16 in the Albert), a Chicago premiere directed by José Luis Valenzuela, will be populated by Esperanza America, Elisa Bocanegra, Eduardo Enrikez, Evelina Fernandez, Fidel Gomez, Cástulo Guerra, Ricardo Gutierrez, Ruth Livier, Mauricio Mendoza and Ella Saldana North.
King of the Yees (March 31–April 30 in the Owen), inspired by Lauren Yee’s own family and others that share her surname in San Francisco’s large Chinese-American community, will feature Francis Jue, Stephenie S. Park, Dan Smith, Angela Lin and Rammel Chan, under the direction of Joshua Kahan Brody.
The Goodman also announced that its summer production of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! will change directorial hands from Falls to Steve Scott. Casting for Wilderness! and the other remaining productions of the 2016–17 season, Charles Smith’s Objects in the Mirror and Dael Orlandersmith’s Lady in the Mirror, remains to be announced.
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