Casting is complete for the Little Island staging of Galas, billed as a "reinvented production of Charles Ludlam’s 1983 ridiculous take" on the life of late opera star Maria Callas.

Running in The Amph September 6-28, the production will be the final in the 2025 Little Island summer season. Eric Ting directs.

Joining countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Maria Magdalena Galas (rhymes with Callas) will be Carmelita Tropicana as Giovanni Baptista Mercanteggini, three-time Tony nominee Mary Testa as Bruna Lina Rasta, Caleb Eberhart as Aristotle Plato Socrates Odysseus/Statuesque Beauty, Erin Markey as Athina Odysseus, Patricia Black as Hüre von Hoyden, Samora la Perdida as Pope Sixtus VII/Fritalini/Ilka Winterhalter, Austin Durant as Prelate/Ghingheri, and Jeremy Rafal as Franco Cogliones/Ticket Seller/Waiter in Train Station.

As the titular Maria Magdalena Galas, Costanzo embodies extravagance, camp, and diva, but—with his famous countertenor shimmering between the moments of absurdity—"opens his heart and lays bare to us both the beauty and the pain pumping through the veins of any great artist," according to press notes.

The upcoming production will also have choreography by Raja Feather Kelly, additional music selections by Costanzo, scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Hahnji Jang, Costanzo’s costumes by Jackson Wiederhoeft, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang, sound design by Tei Blow, hair and wig design by Amanda Miller, makeup design by James Kaliardos, dialect coaching by Deborah Hecht, and casting by Taylor Williams. 

Mario-Mars Wolfe will serve as production stage manager.

When it was originally presented with Ludlam in the title role, Galas was named one of the best plays of the year by Time and The New York Times.

For ticket information click here.