Get a First Look at Elevator Repair Service's Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge at The Public Theater

The Public Theater and Elevator Repair Service's already-extended Off-Broadway run of Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge began previews September 24 at the Public's Anspacher Theater with opening night set for October 2. Conceived by Greig Sargeant with Elevator Repair Service and directed by John Collins, the production will continue through October 23. Get a first look at the production below.

Sargeant stars as James Baldwin, opposite Daphne Gaines as Lorraine Hansberry, Gavin Price as Mr. Heycock, Christopher-Rashee Stevenson as Mr. Burford, and Ben Jalosa Williams as William F. Buckley, Jr. Stephanie Weeks will succeed Gaines as Lorraine Hansberry from October 18, and Matthew Russell will play Mr. Heycock for select performances.

The work recreates an infamous 1965 debate between Black writer James Baldwin and staunch conservative William F. Buckley, Jr., ending with an imagined scene between Baldwin and A Raisin in the Sun (a revival of which is currently playing the Public's Newman Theater) playwright Lorraine Hansberry, researched and written by April Matthis and Sargeant.

The production features scenic consulting by dots, costume design by Jessica Jahn, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, sound design by Ben Jalosa Williams, and wig design by Earon Chew Nealey. Maurina Lioce is production stage manager, and Jack Ford is stage manager.