“A strangely moving work about the power of imagination and the pain of adjustment to a new reality. I was deeply touched by its testament to human resourcefulness.” – The Guardian
“Emma Donoghue’s harrowing stage adaptation of her acclaimed novel is boldly brought to life in director Cora Bissett’s visually arresting production.” – Toronto Star
Complete casting announced for ROOM on Broadway
Ephraim Sykes, Tina Benko, Michael Genet, Triney Sandoval, Aiden Mekhi Sierra, Christopher Woodley Anthony Chatmon II, Alexis Gordon and Kate Burton join Tony Award winning star Adrienne Warren
Complete casting has been announced for the US premiere of ROOM on Broadway. As previously announced, the production will star Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren (Tina – The Tina Turner Musical) as Ma.
Joining Ms. Warren will be Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes (Hamilton, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations) as SuperJack, Tina Benko (The Rose Tattoo, The Crucible, “The Rehearsal”) as Interviewer/Police Officer, Michael Genet (The Prom, Choir Boy, She Hate Me) as Grandpa/Doctor, Triney Sandoval (Bernhardt/Hamlet,
Marvin’s Room) as Old Nick, child actors Aiden Mekhi Sierra of New Jersey and Christopher Woodley of New York City alternating in the role of Little Jack, and three-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award nominee Kate Burton (The Constant Wife, Hedda Gabler, The Elephant Man, “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Grandma.
Alexis Gordon, who won a Dora Award for her performance as Ma in the North American premiere production of ROOM, will make her Broadway debut as understudy for the role of Ma. Anthony Chatmon II (Hadestown, Be More Chill) will understudy the role of SuperJack.
ROOM is written and adapted for the stage by Emma Donoghue, based on her 2010 best-selling novel which she also adapted into the award-winning 2015 film. The production, featuring songs and music by Scottish songwriters Kathryn Joseph and Cora Bissett and directed by Ms. Bissett, opens Monday, April 17, 2023 on Broadway at the Shubert Organization’s brilliantly restored James Earl Jones Theatre (138 West 48th Street), with previews beginning on April 3, 2023. The limited engagement will run through September 17, 2023.
Tickets are available at Telecharge.com.
ROOM comes to Broadway following its critically acclaimed 2017 world premiere at Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, UK, and productions at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland; the National Theatre of Scotland; the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario; and the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.
Kidnapped as a teenage girl, Ma (Adrienne Warren) has been locked for seven years inside a purpose-built room in her captor’s garden. Her five-year-old son, Jack, has no concept of the world outside and happily exists inside Room with the help of Ma’s games and his vivid imagination where objects like Rug, Lamp and TV are his only friends. But for Ma the time has come to escape and face their biggest challenge to date: the world outside Room.
Irish Canadian author and playwright Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel ROOM sold close to three million copies and was shortlisted for the UK’s prestigious Booker Prize and Orange Prize for Fiction. Donoghue also wrote the screenplay for the critically acclaimed 2015 film adaptation, for which she received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for Adapted Screenplay, and for which she won the Evening Standard Award for Best Screenplay.
Donoghue was approached by Scottish director, playwright, and musician Cora Bissett to adapt ROOM for the stage. Donoghue was excited to explore the inherent theatricality in the story of a mother and son who share stories, songs, hope and joy to cope with their desperate situation. Bissett directs and co-wrote the show’s songs with fellow Scottish singer/songwriter Kathryn Joseph.
Star Adrienne Warren earned ecstatic reviews in London and on Broadway for her electrifying performance as Tina Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. The Washington Post raved about her, “Warren has that extra something — the rare gene on the E! chromosome, for entertainer, maybe? — that separates a workmanlike portrayal from a great one.” For her performance in Tina, she won the Tony Award, Drama Desk, Antonyo Award and Outer Critics Circle Award. She was also nominated for the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards. Her Broadway appearances also include Shuffle Along (Tony nomination) and Bring It On: The Musical, and the national tour of Dreamgirls. Her recent credits include the film, The Woman King, and the ABC limited series, “Women of the Movement.”
The production features scenic and costume design by Lily Arnold, lighting design by Bonnie Beecher, sound design by Justin Ellington and projection design by Andrzej Goulding. Choreography/Movement is by Galen Hooks. Orchestrations and arrangements are by Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly. Music Director is Greg Kenna. Casting is by Jim Carnahan Casting.
ROOM is produced by Sam Julyan, James Yeoburn, ShowTown Productions and Hunter Arnold. ShowTown Theatricals serves as general managers.
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