TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, is proud to present THE REMBRANDT by Jessica Dickey, directed by Maria Mileaf, running April 21 – May 14, 2023.
THE REMBRANDT opens in a modern-day art museum, where three individuals yearn to experience firsthand the wonder and glory of Rembrandt’s work. When a museum guard decides to touch a famous Rembrandt painting, a remarkable journey, spanning centuries of human experience, begins. In this visually stunning tour-de-force, THE REMBRANDT explores the power of creative expression and the sacrifices we make in the pursuit of love and beauty.
Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero commented, “When I was putting together the 22/23 season, this play presented an exciting opportunity to tell an unexpected and moving story – it also created space to partner again with our friends at the Wadsworth. Together, we’ve collaborated on some terrific programming that not only brings our audiences together but celebrates a powerful theme: connecting through art”
Director Maria Mileaf remarked, “At its core, I’m looking at this play through the lens of an art maker. A theater maker. And so the idea that one can be provoked, inspired and compelled by a work of art in a meaningful, challenging and life affirming way speaks to me. These characters are all seeking or avoiding something. They are forced to discern what their journey is going to be and they are, by interacting with art, given the chance to make purposeful choices.
“I am also really buoyed by the opportunity to be in a rehearsal room with this astonishing and bold group of actors and designers. And I’m excited to be working with TWH for the first time”
Rob added “Maria is an exciting director with the experience and vision to confidently lead this amazing creative team including renowned Set Designer, Neil Patel and this accomplished group of talented and experienced actors and designers.
The cast for THE REMBRANDT includes Ephraim Birney as Dodger/Titus, Bill Buell as Simon/Homer, Michael Chenevert as Henry/Rembrandt, Brandon Espinoza as Jonny/Martin and Amber Reauchean Williams as Madeline/Henny.
The creative team includes Neil Patel (Set Design), Katherine Roth (Costume Design), Matthew Richards (Lighting Design), Bart Fasbender (Sound Design), Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA (Casting Director), Rob Ruggiero (Producing Artistic Director), Mike Lenaghan (Director of Production), and Tom Kosis (Production Stage Manager).
Performances of THE REMBRANDT will take place April 21 – May 14, 2023 at TheaterWorks Hartford’s historic home, located at 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT. Critics are welcome beginning Thursday, April 27 for an opening on Friday, April 28. The performance schedule is Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm. In-person tickets are priced at $25–$65. All tickets can be purchased online at twhartford.org or by calling 860.527.7838. The running time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
TheaterWorks Hartford no longer requires proof of vaccination. The theater’s full Covid Policy can be found here. Please visit twhartford.org for more information.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
JESSICA DICKEY (Playwright) JESSICA DICKEY (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose writing was hailed by New York Times as having “freshness, economy, cheeky vulgarity, with a fine measure of poetic insight”, and the New Yorker magazine as “funny, smart, deep and sad”. Her play, The Convent, premiered in 2019 Off-Broadway in a sold-out co-production with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Rising Phoenix and WeatherVane. The Rembrandt had a sold out run at Steppenwolf starring John Mahoney in 2017. Other plays including The Amish Project, Charles Ives Take Me Home, and Row After Row have premiered Off-Broadway and have been produced around the country. Nan and the Lower Body, a dark comedy about the creation of the Pap Smear premiered last summer on the west coast. In television, Jessie writes for Apple TV’s comedy Physical, starring Rose Byrne. As an actor Jessica has been seen on Homeland, at the Humana Festival in Molly Smith Metzler’s play Cry It Out and in Sam Hunter’s premiere Pocatello at Playwrights Horizons. Other notable appearances include performances at Manhattan Theater Club, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Cherry Lane, the Guthrie, McCarter, the Huntington, Denver Center, among others. Selected television credits include Shades of Blue, The Big C, Law & Order, and the Lifetime movie Amish Grace. Jessie is a recipient of the prestigious Stavis Playwright Award
MARIA MILEAF (Director) is thrilled to make her TheaterWorks debut! Favorite directing credits include Lee Blessings’ Body of Water at Primary Stages; Vijay Tendulkar’s Sakharam Binder and Maria Milisavljevic’s Abyss for the Play Company; Neena Beber’s Hard Feelings for WP Theatre/New Georges; Oren Safdie’s Gratitude at Urban Stages; Courtney Baron’s Here I Lie and Alan Zweibel’s Playing God (with Bill Buell) for Summer Shorts @ 59E59; Alexandra Gersten-Vasillaros’ The Argument at The Vineyard; Sharon Washington’s Feeding the Dragon at Hartford Stage, Joanna Murray-Smith’s Ninety at New York Stage and Film; Nash’s The Rainmaker at The Old Globe; Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit and Lynne Nottage’s Ruined at the Philadelphia Theatre Company where Mileaf won a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction of Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Story; Lucy Prebble’s Sugar Syndrome, John Belluso’s A Nervous Smile and Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; Wendy Wasserstein’s Third at The Geffen; and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Let There Be Love at ACT in San Francisco. On the West End, Maria directed Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel.
ABOUT THE CAST
EPHRAIM BIRNEY (Dodger/Titus) is so excited to be back at TheaterWorks Hartford. Ephraim made his digital TheaterWorks debut in their production of Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside, playing the role of Christopher. Outside of Hartford, Ephraim recently appeared as Chester in The Irish Repertory Theater’s production of Joseph Dougherty’s Chester Bailey, directed by Ron Lagomarsino. The Wall Street Journal called it one of the top ten productions of 2022. Ephraim has been a part of Chester Bailey on two other occasions, once at The Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2019 and again at Barrington Stage Company in 2021. In the world of film, Ephraim was featured in the 2021 Sundance Pick Strawberry Mansion and can be seen in TV shows such as Gotham and The Americans. He’s really hoping he can pull off a mohawk.
BILL BUELL (Simon/Homer) is making his TheaterWorks Hartford debut. He has appeared on Broadway in Ink, Cyrano, Equus, The History Boys, Inherit the Wind, Urinetown, 42nd Street, Titanic, Tommy, Taking Steps, Big River, Annie, Once a Catholic, The First, Welcome to the Club, The Miser, and Anna Karenina. His Off-Broadway credits include Waste; Bad Habits, Queens Boulevard; Rancho Viejo, Kin, On the Bum, Picasso at the Lapine Agile, The Common Pursuit, and Tumacho. With The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park: Tartuffe, The Winter’s Tale, and Twelfth Night. Film and television include 7 Seconds, Sneaky Pete, God’s Pocket, Across the Universe, Spy Game, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Love Letter. Requiem for a Dream, Quiz Show, Palindromes, Kinsey, Dark Water, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, Blue Bloods, The Bronx Is Burning, John Adams, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Jamie Kennedy Experience, and Law & Order.
MICHAEL CORNELIUS CHENEVERT (Henry/Rembrandt) is thrilled to be working at TheaterWorks Hartford. Regional Theater credits include: Bay Street Theater, Westport Country Playhouse, Arkansas Repertory, Repertory of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Crossroads Theater. TV credits; The Equalizer, Terror Lake Drive, New Amsterdam Godfather of Harlem, Ugly Betty, Boardwalk Empire, The Following, Law and Order SVU. Film credits: Syrup, The Tombs, and Interference. Michael has a BFA from University of Detroit Mercy. He has also studied at LIR at Trinity College in Ireland, the Barrow Group and at Susan Batson Studio. Michael has written and performed a one-man show, called An Adam Experiment,
BRANDON ESPINOZA (Jonny/Martin) is making his TheaterWorks Hartford debut. Broadway: Spongebob SquarePants, Tuck Everlasting, Gypsy, Big, Les Miserables, The Will Rogers Follies. Off-Broadway: The Visitor (Public Theater), Substitution (Playwrights Realm), Scarcity (Atlantic Theater Company), Tea and Sympathy (Keen Company), Captains Courageous (Drama League honoree/nominee). Regional: Anna In The Tropics (Director/Playwright: Nilo Cruz ;Miami New Drama; 20th anniversary production), On Your Feet! (Papermill Playhouse), The Way Of The World (Director/Playwright: Theresa Rebeck; Folger Shakespeare Theater), A View From The Bridge (Director: Ivo van Hove; Goodman Theater). Current TV: Detective Garcia on Raising Kanan (Starz). Other TV: The Blacklist (NBC), Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC), The Equalizer (CBS), FBI (CBS), The Leftovers (HBO), The Following (Fox), The Mysteries of Laura (NBC), The Carrie Diaries (CW).
AMBER REAUCHEAN WILLIAMS (Madeline/Henny) a Philadelphia native, is an actor, writer, V.O. artist, and occasional funny lady currently working and living in New York City. She is making his TheaterWorks Hartford debut. Amber received her BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. Since completing her studies in Boston, she has worked in Theatre, Film, Television, and Commercials around the country and across the globe. Over the past year she has expanded her experience to the Voice Over field lending her talents to national commercials, video games, animation, podcasts, radio plays, and motion pictures. She also regularly performs in Sketch Comedy at the Upright’s Citizen’s Brigade Theatre.
STEPHANIE YANKWITT / tbd CASTING CO (Casting Director | she/her) Upcoming: Clyde’s (TheaterWorks Hartford), The Whitney Album (Soho Rep), SUMO and BABBITT (La Jolla Playhouse). Currently/recent: Soho Rep’s Wolf Play (MCC Theater), Crumbs From The Table of Joy (Keen Company), SMART (EST), The Coast Starlight (LCT), Here There Are Blueberries (Tectonic/STC), Hang Time (The Flea Theater). Resident Casting Director, Soho Rep & Tectonic Theater Project. Regular collaborators also include Long Wharf Theatre, Primary Stages, The Sol Project, NAATCO, and La Jolla Playhouse. Two films currently in development: one with Lexicon Films/Exile Content Studio, one with Plotnaut Pictures. Member: CSA, Equity in Entertainment Committee.
ABOUT THEATERWORKS
Celebrating its 37th season, TheaterWorks Hartford (TWH) produces high quality, contemporary theater that is relevant to our audiences, engages a diverse community, and provides insight into the human experience. TWH is committed to the power of storytelling in creating community. Founded in 1985, TWH has produced over 170 plays and presents approximately 225 performances per season. TWH also owns and manages the historic property at 233 Pearl Street, known as City Arts on Pearl. City Arts provides an affordable home and services to a diverse family of non-profit arts organizations.