Off-Broadway NewsClassical Theatre of Harlem's TwelfthNight, Starring Clyde's Tony Nominee Kara Young, Ends Run July 29
CTH Associate Artistic Director Carl Cofield directs the free production.
By
Andrew Gans
July 29, 2022
Kara Young and Christina Sajous in Twelfth NightRichard Termine
Kara Young, a 2022 Tony nominee for her performance in Clyde's, plays Viola in the Classical Theatre of Harlem's free production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which ends its run July 29 at Marcus Garvey Park in East Harlem. Performances began July 5.
CTH Associate Artistic Director Carl Cofield directs a company that also includes J’Laney Allen as Sebastian, William DeMeritt as Orsino, Jaylen Eashmond as Sea Captain and First Officer, Carson Elrod as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Denzel Fields as Antonio, Israel Erron Ford as Feste, Allen Gilmore as Malvolio, Cassandra Lopez as Maria, Chivas Michael as Sir Toby, Othello Pratt, Jr. as Valentine and Servant, Christina Sajous as Olivia, and Donathan Walters as Fabian and Sailor, with dancers Kat Files, Dennzyl Green, Alisa Gregory, Brynlie Helmich, and Maddy LaLonde plus ensemble members and understudies Alexandria King, Anthony Lalor, and Collin McConnell.
“With its Afrofuturistic aesthetic and diverse team of artists, our production of Twelfth Night will tackle the global conversation around equity, diversity, and inclusion,” said director Cofield in an earlier statement. “I look forward to showing audiences what the magical world of Illyria can teach us here and now.”
Added Young, “This is for Harlem, this is for my place of birth, this is for the community, especially for the people who are still here.”
The creative team also included choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher, fight directors Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, scenic designer Riw Rakkulchon, costume designer Mika Eubanks, lighting designer Alan C. Edwards, composer and sound designer Frederick Kennedy, projection designer Brittany Bland, properties designer Samantha Shoffner, hair and makeup designer Earon Nealey, and production stage manager Jessica Forella.
Surrounded by period accurate 19th-century holiday decorations lit via candlelight, the 70-minute production is based on Dickens' own script of the classic.
Conceived and directed by Stephen Sachs, the work follows an 18 year-old who turned in his father to the FBI via public statements and official court transcripts.