The world premiere of Taylor Mac's Prosperous Fools, which will begin performances Off-Broadway June 1, has found its cast.
Presented by Theatre for a New Audience, the production will play Polonsky Shakespeare Center, TFANA’s home, and run through June 29. Directed by Tony winner Darko Tresnjak, the play is inspired by Molière’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.
The company will feature seven actors, four dancers, and three musicians. It will be lead by Sierra Boggess (School of Rock) as ####-### (yes that is her character's name, Playbill double checked with the production).
The cast will also feature Kaliswa Brewster (Romeo and Juliet) as Intern, Aerina Park DeBoer (Ragtime) as Pot-Bellied Child, Megumi Iwama (Nutcracker Rouge) as Muse #2, Taylor Mac (A 24-Decade History of Popular Music) as Artist, Jason O'Connell (Pride and Prejudice) as $#@%$, Ian Paget (Soul Doctor) as Prometheus Dancer, Jennifer Regan (Born Yesterday) as Philanthropoid, Cara Seymour (The Metropolitan Opera Ballet) as Muse #3, Jennifer Smith (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) as Stage Manager, and Em Stockwell (Company XIV) as Muse #1.
The creative team will include composer Oran Eldor, choreographer Austin McCormick, scenic designer Alexander Dodge, costume designer Anita Yavich, lighting designer Matthew Richards, sound designer Jane Shaw, video designer Aaron Rhyne, voice director Andrew Wade, properties supervisor Jonno Knust, fight choreographer Rocio Mendez, hair and wig designer Tom Watson, and production dramaturg Jonathan Kalb. The production stage manager is Shane Schnetzler.
In Prosperous Fools, the artist takes on the role of the Artist, engaging in a giddy tug-of-war between ambition and principle while preparing the premiere of a dance performance honoring a billionaire (O'Connell) and a humanitarian celebrity (Boggess).
Said Mac, “Until very recently, many have just assumed that philanthropy is a great moral virtue. And the question here is: in a country that at least purports to be a democracy—for the people by the people—is philanthropy just a perpetuation of the feudal system? I don’t think it’s a black and white thing, but I’m just trying to open up a little space in the theatre where we can have that conversation. And it’s sending up everyone: not just the philanthropist, but the artist and even the intern, because we're all in this mess together. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves in order to have the hard conversations.”
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