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COMPLETE CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR GOODMAN THEATRE’S 2024/2025
SEASON OPENERS: HENRY GODINEZ’S REVIVAL OF
INHERIT THE WIND
AND EBONI BOOTH’S
PRIMARY TRUST
DIRECTED BY MALKIA STAMPLEY
***OPENING NIGHT DATES SET FOR THE PRODUCTIONS IN GOODMAN THEATRE’S 99TH SEASON,
LED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SUSAN V. BOOTH AND INCOMING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOHN COLLINS***
This fall, Goodman Theatre draws nationally acclaimed actors and local rising stars to its 2024/2025 Season opening productions—a major new reivival of a three-time Tony Award-winning masterwork and the Chicago-premiere production of a newly minted Pulitzer Prize-winner. The 99th year of Chicago’s flagship not-for-profit producing theater kicks off with a new production of Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, directed by Resident Director Henry Godinez, in the 856-seat Albert Theatre, while Goodman BOLD Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley makes her Goodman directing debut with Primary Trust, Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Complete casting for these productions, plus the opening night dates for each play in the upcoming season, follows. Goodman Theatre is led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and John Collins, who becomes Executive Director on September 1.
In the Albert Theatre, science and religion go head-to-head in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s iconic courtroom showdown where a small-town educator’s trial for teaching the theory of evolution becomes a battle royal of wits, wisdom and will for two of the country’s most powerful lawyers. Joining the previously announced Harry Lennix (attorney Henry Drummond) and Alexander Gemignani (prosecuting attorney Matthew Harrison Brady) are Charín Álvarez (2666), Terry Bell (A Christmas Carol), Hamid Dehghani (English), William Dick (A Christmas Carol), Meighan Gerachis (Roe), Lawrence Grimm (2666), Kevin Gudahl (King Lear), Presley Rose Jones (The Who’s Tommy), Christopher Kale Jones (The Music Man), Mi Kang (The Chinese Lady), Ryan Kitley (Roe), Tyler Meredith (The Penelopiad), Thomas Murphy Molony (Highway Patrol), Christopher Llewyn Ramirez (LUCHA TEOTL), Robert Schleifer (A Christmas Carol), Eric Slater (The Cherry Orchard) and Penelope Walker (A Christmas Carol). Inherit the Wind appears September 14 — October 13 (opening night is Monday, September 23 at 7pm. Tickets ($25 - $95; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Inherit or by phone at 312-443-3800. Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Winston & Strawn.
“Inherit The Wind is a deeply meaningful play for me, not only because it was the first professional play that I saw as a freshman in high school, but also because of the remarkable timeliness of its powerful themes and their uncanny reflection of this current moment in our nation’s history,” said director Henry Godinez. “It is a great American play that I’m honored to help bring to life with some of the greatest actors in Chicago, led by my old friend, the always amazing Harry Lennix. I am beyond excited to share this thought provoking and incredibly moving play with Chicago audiences!”
In the Owen Theatre, Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning production Primary Trust, directed by Goodman BOLD Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley makes its Chicago debut with an all-Chicago cast—starring the previously announced Namir Smallwood as the reclusive Kenneth, whose job loss prompts him to step out of his comfort zone in a journey of self-discovery. Smallwood is joined by Christiana Clark (the ripple, the wave that carried me home), Charles Andrew Gardner (Objects in the Mirror), Mike Przygoda (Rust) and Fred Zimmerman (Bounce). Primary Trust appears October 5 — November 3 (opening night is Monday, October 14 at 7pm. Tickets ($20 - $65; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Primary or by phone at 312-443-3800. Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of the Goodman Women’s Board, Bold Theater's Women's Leadership Circle, Conagra Brands Foundation and The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust.
“I'm always drawn to plays that push the boundaries of empathy, that interrogate love and grief, friendship and longing, and do so in subtle and profound ways,” said Malkia Stampley, who makes her Goodman directing debut with this production. “Primary Trust is the kind of play that sticks with you, that days later you find has allowed you to look at the world differently, even if just for a moment. I am truly honored to be able to direct the Chicago premiere with our city’s finest!"
FULL COMPANY OF Inherit the Wind (in alphabetical order)
In the Albert Theatre
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Directed by Henry Godinez
Charín Álvarez…Mrs. Brady
Terry Bell…Sillers
Hamid Dehghani…Storekeeper
William Dick...Mayor
Alexander Gemignani… Matthew Harrison Brady
Meighan Gerachis…Elijah
Lawrence Grimm…Dunlap
Kevin Gudahl…Judge
Presley Rose Jones…Melinda
Christopher Kale Jones…Tom Davenport
Mi Kang…E.K. Hornbeck
Ryan Kitley…Reverend Jeremiah Brown
Harry Lennix…Henry Drummond
Tyler Meredith…Rachel Brown
Thomas Murphy Molony…Howard
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez…Bertram Cates
Robert Schleifer…Meeker
Eric Slater…Mr. Bannister
Penelope Walker…Mrs. Krebs
Understudies for this production include Chase Clevenger, Theo Gyra, Hannah Kato, John Lister, Michael Milligan, Kailey Danielle Morand, Aila Peck, Alex Benito Rodriguez, Eric Slater and Cedric Young.
Creative Team
Set Designer…Collette Pollard
Costume Designer…Jessica Pabst
Lighting Designer…Jason Lynch
Sound Designer and Composer….Richard Woodbury
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Neena Arndt is the Dramaturg. Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager and Krista Kanderski and Beth Koehler are the Stage Managers.
FULL COMPANY OF Primary Trust (in alphabetical order)
In the Owen Theatre
By Eboni Booth
Directed by Malkia Stampley
Christiana Clark…Corrina/Wally’s Waiter/Bank Customers
Charles Andrew Gardner…Bert
Mike Przygoda…Onstage Musician
Namir Smallwood…Kenneth
Fred Zimmerman…Clay/Sam
Understudies for this production include Daniel Ajak, Victoria Angelica Cruz, Sam Hyson, Christopher Meister and Keith Surney.
Creative Team
Associate Director…Ericka Ratcliff
Set Designer…Lex Liang
Costume Designer…Yvonne Miranda
Lighting Designer…Heather Gilbert
Sound Designer and Composer….Brandon Reed
Composer…Mike Przygoda
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Lena Romano is the Dramaturg. Pat Fries is the Production Stage.
2024/2025 SEASON OPENING NIGHT DATES
In the Albert Theatre
Inherit the Wind
Opening Night: September 23 at 7pm
47th Annual A Christmas Carol
Opening Night: November 24 at 7pm
Betrayal
Opening Night: February 17 at 7pm
BUST
Opening Night: April 28 at 7pm
The Color Purple
Opening Night: June 30 at 7pm
In the Owen Theatre
Primary Trust
Opening Night: October 14 at 7 pm
Fat Ham
Opening Night: January 21 at 7pm
The Antiquities
Opening Night: May 12 at 7pm
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, among other accolades.
The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten—and remains home to many Native peoples today. While we believe that our city’s vast diversity should be reflected on the stages of its largest theater, we acknowledge that our efforts have largely overlooked the voices of our Native peoples. This omission has added to the isolation, erasure and harm that Indigenous communities have faced for hundreds of years. We have begun a more deliberate journey towards celebrating Native American stories and welcoming Indigenous communities.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.
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