AUGUST WILSON'S

The Piano Lesson

La’Tevin Alexander

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Light as Rashad (Portland Center Stage); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone as Herald Loomis (Portland Playhouse); The Piano Lesson as Lymon (Milwaukee Rep); A Christmas Carol as Scrooge (Portland Playhouse); and Wine in the Wilderness as Bill Jameson (Penumbra Theatre). FILM/TELEVISION: Outdoor School (2025); Test Screening (2024); The Paper Tigers (2020); Marry, Fuck, Kill (2024); Dearest Eva (2022); CHAD (TBS); The Wonderland Murders (ID); Portlandia (IFC); and Grimm (NBC). EDU-CATION: BA from Florida A&M University. INSTAGRAM: @latevinalexander.

James T. Alfred

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. BROADWAY: Jitney (Manhattan Theatre Club, National Tour). OFF BROADWAY: Black Odyssey (Classic Stage Company). REGIONAL THEATRE: Mark Taper Forum, Baltimore Cen-ter Stage, Alliance Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Congo Square, South Coast Repertory, Milwaukee Rep, American Repertory Theater, Penumbra Theatre, and Court Theatre. FILM/TELEVISION: Matlock, FBI, The Blacklist, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Chicago P.D., Blindspot, Prison Break, Empire, BOSS, Kold and Windy, and Power Book II: Ghost. EDUCATION: MFA from Harvard University/Moscow Art Theater School. AFFILIATIONS/AWARDS: Penumbra Theatre Company Member, SAG-AFTRA member, AEA, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, African American Arts Alliance Award, and Black Theatre Alliance’s Ira Aldridge Award.

James Craven

James has been a company member of St. Paul, Minnesota’s African-American treasured Penumbra Theatre Company for 37 years, where he has performed in more than 60 plays. Notably, he has performed all 10 of August Wilson’s best known plays, several times, in several roles. His stage career spans over 40 years, including acclaimed performances at the Guthrie Theater, History Theatre, and Jungle Theater. James is a member of the Ten Chimney Society and is a twice recipient of the Ivey Theater Art Award.

Ny’ajai Ellison

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. REGIONAL THEATRE: Milwaukee Rep. FILM/TELEVISION: Chicago Med and Survival Guide. EDUCATION: BS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. INSTAGRAM: @Nyajai.

Anthony Irons

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. NEW YORK: Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution (New York Stage and Film) and Deep Azure (Apollo Theater). REGIONAL THEATRE: A Christmas Carol, Two Trains Running, and The Notebooks of Leonardo Davinci (Goodman Theatre); The DaVinci Code (Drury Lane Theatre); Big White Fog, Waiting for Godot, and Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution (Court Theatre); Treasure Island and The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Jitney, King Headly II, and What to Send Up When It Comes Down (Congo Square Theatre Company). FILM/TELEVISION: Ghostlight, Let’s Go to Prison, Ironheart, Southside, Empire, and Chicago Med. EDUCATION: MFA from Penn State University, BA from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Improvisation Conservatory at The Second City. AFFILIATIONS/AWARDS: Ensemble Member of Congo Square Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre, Black Theatre Alliance Award, African American Arts Alliance Award, and 3Arts Award. FACEBOOK: anthony.irons.10.

Nubia Monks

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. REGIONAL THEATRE: Hairspray, How to Catch Creation, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oregon Shake-speare Festival); Wild Goose Dreams (La Jolla Playhouse); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Old Globe and Folger Theatre); Othello (Women’s Theatre Festi-val); Comedy of Errors (Ten Thousand Things); A Raisin in the Sun, The Nacirema Society, and Primary Trust (Guthrie Theater); Wine in the Wilderness and Paradise Blue (Penumbra Theatre); The Color Purple (Theatre Latté Da and Geva Theatre); A Walless Church (Pillsbury House + Theatre); The Ally and Love Mikey (Mixed Blood Theatre). EDUCATION: MFA from the University of California San Diego. INSTAGRAM: _onlynubia.

Lester Purry

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. REGIONAL THEATRE: Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Troy Maxson in Fences, Justice Thurgood Marshall in Thurgood, and J.P. Madison in What I Learned in Paris (Portland Playhouse); the titular role in Othello, Augustus Newcastle in The Darker Face of the Earth, and Lester Mason in The Big White Fog (Guthrie Theater); Cory in Fences, Clay in Dutchman, Hambone in Two Trains Running, Lymon in The Piano Lesson, Hedley in King Hedley II, and Booster in Jitney (Penumbra Theatre); Marvell Thunder in Thunder Knocking on the Door and King of the Hill in You Can Stop On a Dime (Baltimore Center Stage); Charles in Fireflies (South Coast Repertory); Justice Thurgood Marshall in Thurgood (Geva Theatre); Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Children’s Theatre Company); Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Illusion Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and others. FILM/TELEVISION: Trauma, House Party, The Work Wife, His Secret Family, and Gang Girl. VIDEO GAMES: Dead Space 2. INSTAGRAM: @lesterpurry.

Mackenzie Garry

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. THEATRE: Fairy in Shrek Jr., Kiara in The Lion King Jr., Turtle in A Year with Frog and Toad Kids, and Mad Cat in The Aristocats Kids (The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati); Amanda Thripp in Matilda (East Side Players); Elsa in Frozen Kids and Wonka in Willy Wonka Kids (Performing Arts Inc.); Ensemble in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Ensemble in Beetlejuice Jr., and Gary the Snail in SpongeBob the Musical (Acting Up). AWARDS: Orchid Award for Ensemble and Musical Theatre. EDUCATION: Glendale Elementary (fifth grade). INSTAGRAM: @MackenzieGracePerforms.

Tuula Hicks

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. THEATRE: Lioness in The Lion King Jr. (The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati); Alex in Madagascar Jr., Lucielle in Junie B. Jones Jr., and Sour Kangaroo in Seussical Jr. (The Summit Country Day School); Jeff/Chris/Gladys in Trip to the Moon and Jessie/Officer in Bebe LeStrange (One Acts Festival at Walnut Hills High School). EDUCATION: Walnut Hills High School (eighth grade). DANCE: Gotta Dance Studios Annual Showcase.

Dion Graham

BROADWAY: Machinal (with Rebecca Hall) and Not About Nightingales (also London's Royal National Theatre, directed by Trevor Nunn). KENNEDY CENTER: The Movement Revisited (with Christian McBride). INTERNATIONAL: The Gospel at Colonus (Edinburgh International Festival, directed by Lee Breur) and Pillars (Ibsen Conference in Norway). OFF BROADWAY: Ethan Coen’s Let's Love (with Aubrey Plaza), Hang Time, Lobby Hero (Lortel Award nomination), On the Levee, 10 Things to Do Before I Die, When January Feels Like Summer, A Hard Heart, Washington Square Moves, View of the Dome, and Elliot Loves, among others. OTHER THEATRE: Various premieres and leads in New York City and at leading regional theatres. FILM/TELEVISION: The History Of Sound (with Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor), HBO’s The Wire (as Rupert Bond), Madam Secretary (as Fred Cole), The Blacklist, Elementary, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, Malcom X, Mercy, The Good Wife, Gossip Girl, NYPD Blue, Homicide, Hoop Life, Hacks, Law & Order, series narrator for A&E's The First 48, and more. Also, an award winning and highly esteemed audiobook narrator.

August Wilson

August Wilson authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the 20th century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, and The Homecoming, and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting, the Whiting Writers’ Award, and the 2003 Heinz Award. He was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street the August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and lived in Seattle, Washington, at the time of his death. He is survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

Lou Bellamy

Lou is the founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company in Saint Paul, Minnesota. During his forty-year tenure, Penumbra has evolved into one of America’s premier theaters dedicated to dramatic exploration of the African American experience. Under his leadership, Penumbra has grown to be the largest theater of its kind in America and has produced 44 world premieres, including August Wilson’s first professional production. Penumbra is proud to have produced more of Mr. Wilson’s plays than any other theater in the world. Lou is an OBIE Award-winning director, an accomplished actor, and for 38 years was appointed as Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Directing credits include plays at Arizona Theatre Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Penumbra Theatre, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Play House, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Guthrie Theater, The Kennedy Center, and Hartford Stage.

Vicki Smith

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Low Down Dirty Blues, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Always… Patsy Kline, Appalachian Strings, and Rough Crossing. REGIONAL THEATRE: Denver Center (1998 Tony Award winner), Children’s Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), KC Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Penumbra Theatre, Seattle Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Dallas Theater Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, ACT Theater (Seattle), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Alley Theatre, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, among others. OPERA: Minnesota Opera and Anchorage Opera. AFFILLIATIONS/AWARDS: Associate designer at ACT (San Francisco) from 1980-83. Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, Bay Area Critics Award for Kite Runner and Execution of Justice, a Drama Logue award for Cyrano, Colorado Theatre Guild and Denver Ovation Awards for Mariela in the Desert, I’m Not Rappaport, and Pierre, which was selected for the Prague Quadrennial Design Exposition 2007.

Mathew J. LeFebvre

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Treasure Island and Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club. OFF-BROADWAY: Bach at Leipzig (New York Theatre Workshop) and Two Trains Running (Signature Theatre). REGIONAL THE-ATRE: Guthrie Theater (over 25 productions since 1998), Penumbra Theatre (over 25 productions since 2000), Geffen Playhouse, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, KC Rep, Milwaukee Rep, The Children’s Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and Mixed Blood Theatre. OPERA: Minnesota Opera and Seattle Opera. FILM/TELEVISION: The Girls at the Painted Bird and FAWK Sketch Comedy (Pilot). TEACHING: University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor of Costume Design. AFFILIATIONS/AWARDS: 2014-2015 McKnight Theatre Artist Fellowship, 2012 TDF-Irene Sharaff Award, and a 2015 Ivey Award. WEBSITE: mathewjlefebvre.com. INS-TAGRAM: @mathewj.lefebvre.

Don Darnutzer

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Appalachian Strings, Love Janis, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, and Low Down Dirty Blues. BROADWAY: It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues. OFF-BROADWAY: Hank Williams: Lost Highway, The Immigrant, and Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America. REGIONAL THEATRE: Guthrie Theater, Arizona Theatre Company, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep, The Shakespeare Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Penumbra Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Denver Center, Geva Theatre, KC Rep, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Children’s Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, and the Kennedy Center. OPERA: Portland Opera, Florentine Opera, Chautauqua Opera, New Orleans Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Omaha, Central City Opera, and Israeli Opera. AFFILIATIONS: Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and the International Alliance of Technical Stage Employees Local 251.

Scott W. Edwards

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Debut. REGIONAL THEATRE: Guthrie Theater (Resident Sound Designer for 21 years designing over 200 productions), Mixed Blood Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Penumbra Theatre, The Jungle Theater, South Coast Repertory, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep, and Arena Stage. INTERNATIONAL: Mark Rylance’s and Louis Jenkins’ Nice Fish (London’s West End). AWARDS: 2018–19 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow; San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for The Kite Runner (San Jose Repertory Theatre); Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Outstanding Sound Designer for the Guthrie’s Pride and Prejudice and The Pirates of Penzance; and Helen Hayes Award nomination for You Can’t Take It With You (Arena Stage).

Dennis W. Spears

AFFILIATIONS: Director of Legends Music Series at Capri Theater in Minneapolis and Penumbra Theatre company member. Tours nationally and internationally as jazz vocalist with vocal jazz group Moore by Four. AWARDS: Inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist and with Moore by Four. Ivey Award for Excellence in Acting for his portrayal of Nat King Cole.

Jonathan Hetler, CSA

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Mrs. Christie, The Chosen, and Seven Guitars. REGIONAL THEATRE: Milwaukee Rep: Artistic Producer and Resident Casting Director with over 30 productions including McNeal, The Coast Starlight, and Come From Away; with world premieres including The Craic, Prelude to a Kiss: A Musical, Parental Advisory, Run Bambi Run, and The Heart Sellers. REGIONAL THEATRE: Nina Simone: Four Women (KC Rep) and Little Women (Seattle Rep). EDUCATION: MFA in Directing from Ohio University and an MBA from Regent University. AFFILIA-TIONS: Casting Society (CSA) and Associate Member of Society of Directors and Choreographers (SDC). WEBSITE: hetlerj.com. INSTAGRAM: @hetlerj.

Brandon T. Holmes

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: Mary’s Wedding, A Christmas Carol, Mythic, Primary Trust, Stew, Clyde’s, Shane, The Chinese Lady, The Lion, Steel Magnolias, and The West End. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Hot Wing King (Denver Center), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 42nd Street, Jersey Boys, Fiddler on The Roof, Memphis, The Sound of Music, Chicago, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Legally Blonde, West Side Story, Newsies (The Lexington Theatre Company); Fun Home, The Mountaintop, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Iliad, Grounded, Violet, Pipeline, The Humans, Skeleton Crew, and Hands on a Hardbody (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati); Hello, Dolly!, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Side By Side by Sondheim (LOOK Musical Theatre); Golden: MTWichita at 50, Sunset Boulevard, Xanadu, Miss Saigon, Gypsy, The Producers, Big River, and Les Misérables (Music Theatre Wichita). WORKSHOPS: LET. HER. RIP. and Night of the Living Dead (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); Teddy Bear Mountain and When We Vote (Cleveland Play House). AFFILIATIONS: Proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association.

Andrea L. Shell

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK: More than 100 productions, including 25 world premieres. FAVORITES: Mrs. Christie, Mythic; A Christmas Carol (2006-2021); Rutka; Dial M for Murder; Dracula; A Chorus Line; Murder on the Orient Express; School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play; Rooted; Alias Grace; The Last Wide Open; Treasure Island; Mr. Joy; Jane Eyre; Bad Dates; The Revolutionists; I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; Merrily We Roll Along; As You Like It; Behind the Eye; The Understudy; Blackbird; Durango; Around the World in 80 Days; Altar Boyz; Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming; Reckless; Ace; The Clean House; A Picasso; One; Abracadabra; The Bible … (abridged); and Dark Paradise. CINCINNATI: Ensemble Theatre and Cincinnati Ballet. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Old Globe, Dallas Theater Center, Alliance Theatre, The Second City, and Ingenuity Festival of Cleveland. AFFILIATIONS: Adjunct faculty for Xavier University’s Theatre Program, contributor for Dramatics. org, and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.