The Public Theater's upcoming revival of A Bright Room Called Day, by Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner, will begin performances October 29. Helmed by Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, the production is scheduled to run through December 15.
In A Bright Room Called Day, Agnes, an actor in Weimar Germany, and her cadre of passionate, progressive friends, are torn between protest, escape, and survival as the world they knew crumbles around them. Her story is interrupted by an American woman enraged by the cruelty of the Reagan administration, and a new character, grappling with the anxiety, distraction, hope, and hopelessness of an artist facing the once unthinkable rise of authoritarianism in modern America.
Flip through photos of rehearsal below:
The production stars Tony winner Nikki M. James (Twelfth Night) as Agnes Eggling, Michael Esper (The Glass Menagerie in the West End) as Vealtninc Hus, Grace Gummer (Mr. Robot) as Paulinka Erdnuss, Crystal Lucas-Perry (Ain't No Mo') as Zillah, Nadine Malouf (queens) as Rosa Malek, Mark Margolis (Breaking Bad) as Gottfried Swetts, Michael Urie (Torch Song) as Gregor Bazwald, and Max Woertendyke (Illyria) as Emil Traum, joining the previously announced Linda Emond as Annabella Gotchling, Jonathan Hadary as Xillah, and Estelle Parsons as Die Älte.
This new production of the 1985 play—originally about the possibility of the Reagan counter-revolution giving rise to American fascism—shines a light on the vulnerability of American democracy today.
The Off-Broadway engagement will feature scenic design by David Rockwell, co-costume design by Susan Hilferty and Sarita Fellows, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Bray Poor, and projection design by Lucy Mackinnon.
