Signature Theatre's production of Spotlight Resident Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando, adapted from Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, officially opened Off-Broadway April 21—Read the reviews here.
Opening-night attendees included Lynn Nottage, Larry Owens, Denis O'Hare, Justin David Sullivan, Wilson Cruz, Jessica Hecht, and more. Check out photos from the celebration in the gallery below.
Directed and choreographed by Will Davis, the production began previews April 2 at The Pershing Square Signature Center on The Irene Diamond Stage.
Taylor Mac (A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Bark of Millions) stars in the title role, joined by Janice Amaya (Lunch Bunch), Nathan Lee Graham (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Tony-winning Fun Home writer Lisa Kron, Jo Lampert (Joan of Arc: Into the Fire), TL Thompson (Straight White Men), and Rad Pereira (The Creator).
Larry Owens
Sarah Ruhl, Will Davis, Lisa Kron, Jo Lampert, TL Thompson, Janice Amaya, Nathan Lee Graham, Taylor Mac, Rad Pereira, Elvin Veliz, and Hamish Swanson
Sarah Ruhl, Will Davis, Lisa Kron, Jo Lampert, TL Thompson, Janice Amaya, Nathan Lee Graham, Taylor Mac, and Rad Pereira
Justin David Sullivan and Wilson Chin
Will Davis, Denis O’Hare, and Lisa Peterson
Will Davis and Sarah Ruhl
Eisa Davis
Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson
Kevin Smith Kirkwood
Michael Dalto
Deanna Giulietti
Britton Smith
Lynn Nottage
Thorgy Thor
DJ Rebelle
Paige Evans and Timothy J. McClimon
Caleb Krieg, Krystal Balleza, and Will Vacari
Kaisha Hugley
Chay Yew and Wilson Chin
Wilson Cruz
Michael Cyril Creighton and Jessica Hecht
Brent Langdon and Kristine Nielsen
Justin David Sullivan
Ann C. James
Martha Roth and Bill Irwin
Taylor Mac and Nathan Lee Graham
Taylor Mac
Orlando was written by Woolf for her lover, Vita Sackville-West. The title character’s adventures begin as a young man, when he serves as courtier to Queen Elizabeth. Through many centuries, he becomes a 20th century woman, trying to sort out her existence.
READ: Taylor Mac and Will Davis on How Orlando Is a ‘Gift to the Queer Community’
Director Davis said in an earlier statement, “One of the things the theatre does, and one of the things a lot of folks—myself included—have done is we call something into being: We name it, then we become it. Of course, sometimes in conversations around gender, there’s a perceived binary of transformation, but it’s more complex than that: The novel and the play are about fumbling towards self and the divine chaotic nature of that. We’re trying to replicate that in the ‘handmade’ worlds performers create and recreate. Every environment that the audience will experience century to century or scene to scene, we will watch the ensemble build and then take apart. That’s part of the dedication to a bid for liberation and the dramaturgical imperative of queer place-making: Define things on your own terms and then share that with others.”
Added playwright Ruhl, “I’ve experimented a lot with how to stage literary language theatrically—for instance, using narration in a way that’s theatrical. Soliloquy, and talking to and telling stories to the audience in a very transparent way, feel like such natural parts of theatre's toolbox, and yet it’s really common for actors to be timid about addressing the audience! So it makes sense that the cast comprises a number of writer-performers, who are really adept at handling this kind of language. In A 24-Decade History, Taylor Mac talked to the audience all night long. I remember first seeing that show—and seeing some of Machine Dazzle’s costumes on display in the lobby—and thinking, ‘Taylor needs to be Orlando.’”
The production also has scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado,
costume design by Oana Botez, lighting design by Barbara Samuels, sound
design and music by Brendan Aanes, intimacy coordination by Ann C.
James, props supervision by Matt Carlin, and production stage management
by Kasson Marroquin.
Performances continue through May 12.
Ruhl's other plays include Letters from Max, a ritual; The Oldest Boy; Dear Elizabeth; Stage Kiss; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2010); The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2005; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2004); Passion Play (Pen American Award, Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play); Melancholy Play; Demeter in the City (nine NAACP Image Award nominations); Scenes From Court Life; How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday; Eurydice; and Late: a cowboy song.
Jo Lampert, TL Thompson, Rad Pereira, Nathan Lee Graham, Taylor Mac, Janice Amaya, and Lisa Kron in Orlando
Lisa Kron, Jo Lampert, Taylor Mac, and TL Thompson in Orlando
TL Thompson, Taylor Mac, and Janice Amaya in Orlando
TL Thompson and Taylor Mac in Orlando
Taylor Mac in Orlando
Taylor Mac in Orlando
Taylor Mac and Janice Amaya in Orlando
TL Thompson, Lisa Kron, Taylor Mac, and Jo Lampert in Orlando
TL Thompson, Nathan Lee Graham, and Jo Lampert in Orlando
