Roundabout's upcoming world premiere of Exception to the Rule, a new work by Dave Harris, has found its cast. A play about surviving institutions, bias, and youth, the spring production is part of Roundabout's Underground programming supporting new writers.
Set in the "worst high school in the city," Exception to the Rule sees six Black students stuck in detention. Should they follow the rules and stay put, or find an escape? Are the walls keeping them in, or are stronger forces at play?
The cast will be made up of MaYaa Boateng (Fairview) as Erika, Malik Childs (soft) as Tommy, Juilliard alum Toney Goins as Dayrin, Galen Kane (Native Son) as Abdul, Claudia Logan (The Deuce) as Dasani, and Kadijah Raquel (Eve's Song) as Mikayla.
The production, directed by Miranda Haymon (a Roundabout Directing Fellow), will run in Roundabout's Black Box Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre April 30–June 28.
The show will have sets by Reid Thompson, lighting by Cha See, and sound by Lee Kinney. Additional creative team will be announced shortly.
Harris is a poet and playwright. His play Everybody Black was part of the 2019 Humana Festival, and his work has been developed at Victory Gardens, Great Plains Theater Conference, The Kennedy Center, OSF, and more. Currently an MFA student at UC San Diego, he is an alum of SPACE on Ryder Farm and a semi-finalist for the Relentless Award.
