Artistic Director’s Welcome
Welcome to the 45th Season at the A.R.T.!
I am thrilled to welcome Ayodele Casel back to the A.R.T. She last graced our stage in Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic in 2022. This unforgettable and joyful show was the first to welcome audiences back to the Loeb after the pandemic had forced theaters to close. A trailblazing tap dancer and choreographer, Ayodele is now back with an electric new play that shares the story of her life and career.
Ayodele’s relationship with Harvard began in 2018, when she was the ArtLab’s first Artist-in-Residence, organized in collaboration with Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA) and Harvard Dance Center. In 2019, she returned as a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute, where she continued the developmental research for Diary of a Tap Dancer. After hearing her lecture at Radcliffe in 2020, the A.R.T. commissioned Ayodele to create the full length work you will see on our stage. Four years later, we are excited for our audiences to see the culmination of Ayodele’s research, her artistry, and her determination to tell her story and the story of the many powerful women tap dancers that came before her.
The creative team includes a brilliant roster of artists, many making their A.R.T. debuts. At the helm of this project is director Torya Beard (Chasing Magic), who has been a long-time collaborator with Ayodele and leads the charge with her inspired vision and boundless passion.
One of the A.R.T.’s core values is to lead with inquiry. In collaboration with our creative and engagement teams, we develop an Essential Question for every production that we stage, which we share with our audiences, our students, our staff and our community. For this work, we invite you to engage with this question: As we reflect on our past and look towards our future, whose shoulders are you standing on?
Thank you for coming to the theater and joining us for this world-premiere production!
Diane Paulus
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director
American Repertory Theater
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
presents
DIARY OF A TAP DANCER
Creative Team
First performance at the Loeb Drama Center on December 12, 2024.
Production Support of Diary of a Tap Dancer is provided by Leslie and Howard Appleby.
Media Support of Diary of a Tap Dancer is provided by WBUR.
A.R.T. Season support is provided by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barton & Guestier, and Meyer Sound.
The A.R.T. 2024/25 Season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Runtime: Two hours and thirty minutes, including one intermission
This production contains racial slurs, discusses domestic violence and drug use, and includes historical references to enslaved and oppressed people. It also contains haze and flashing lights.
Company & Staff
Cast & Musicians (in Alphabetical Order)
Performer
Ayodele Casel
Performer
Ayodele Casel
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Ayodele Casel, a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer. Casel is hailed as a “tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth” (The New York Times). Known for her skilled and imaginative improvisation, Casel’s projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, and her Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Casel was a 2019/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Piano
Carlos Cippelletti
Piano
Carlos Cippelletti
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Performances: Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra; JM Jazz World Orchestra & Luis Bonilla; Piaf, voz y delirio: The Musical; Ayodele Casel: Rooted; Embassy of Spain; Spain Arts & Culture. Grants: Fulbright; Latin Grammy Foundation; AIE Spain. Awards: Dean’s Award, The New School; Academic Excellence, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; First Prize, 7 Virtual Jazz Contest; First Prize, Portón del Jazz Festival; NUMAD Award, United Nations. Education: Advanced Public & Cultural Diplomacy, Università Cattolica; MM, Performer-Composer, The New School; World Music & Latin Jazz, Codarts; BM, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; Liceu Conservatory.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Naomi Funaki
Performer
Naomi Funaki
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Performances at Infinity Tokyo, Guggenheim Bilbao, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, Radio City Music Hall, Met Gala, Joyce Theater. TV/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Afra Hines
Performer
Afra Hines
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Who’s Tommy (u/s Acid Queen, u/s Mrs. Walker), Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Funny Girl (u/s Emma), Hadestown (u/s Persephone), Summer (u/s Disco Donna), Shuffle Along, Motown (u/s Teena Marie), Soul Doctor, Ghost (u/s Clara, u/s Louise), In The Heights, Wicked. National Tour: Hamilton. TV: “Annie Live!” (Tap Soloist), “Fosse/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Drums
Keisel Jiménez Leyva
Drums
Keisel Jiménez Leyva
(he/him) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Current member of Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Ayodele Casel’s ensemble. Performances with the Symphony Orchestra of Louisville and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Collaborations include Isaac Delgado, Orlando “Maraca” Valle, Alexander Abreu and Havana D’Primera, and Jon Batiste. Owner, One Way Beat. Awards: Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. Education: MM, The New School.
Performer
Quynn L. Johnson
Performer
Quynn L. Johnson
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Projects: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theatre; Great Gatsby, The Washington Ballet; Dormeshia: Unsung Sheroes of the 20th Century, Jacob’s Pillow; Zaz: The Big Easy; Latida Negro; Savion Glover’s TiiDii3000 Company. Tour: After Midnight (Soloist), Norweigan Cruise Line. Co-founder of SOLE Defined, International Arts Based Educator and recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project 2020. Education: Harvard University and Howard University. Quynn has designed and implemented arts-based programs in Uganda, South Africa, New York, Iowa, DC, and Michigan.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Bass
Raul Reyes Bueno
Bass
Raul Reyes Bueno
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Performances with Arturo O’Farril & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Edmond Jazz Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Ayodele Casel, Tia Fuller, Victor Lewis, Joe Magnarelli, Tim Armacost, Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings, Mambo Legends, Carlos Rivera, Maelo Ruiz, David Bixler, Miki Yamanaka, Mark Sherman, Freddie Bryant, Quincy Davis, Scott Tixier, Summer Camargo. Education: Artist Diploma, Jazz Studies, The Juilliard School; MM, Jazz Studies, University of North Texas; BM, University of Central Oklahoma.
Performer
Funmi Sofola
Performer
Funmi Sofola
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Jelly’s Last Jam, Encores!. Regional: Bzzz, The Joyce Theater; Anything Goes (Pre-Production Dancer), The Muny. Education: BFA, Commercial Dance, Pace University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Liberty Styles
Performer
Liberty Styles
(she/they) A.R.T.: Debut. International Tour: Rhythm-a-Ting. Other Live Performance: Aquatic, The Yard; Orlando Hernandez and the Knee-Heart Connection, New York Live Arts; Love Movement, AMP by Strathmore; Gotham Kings, The Django; NYC Queer Music Festival, 3 Dollar Bill; Amateur Night at The Apollo, Apollo Theater; Hot & Fresh Burlesque, House of Yes. Music: On a Modern Genius (Vol. 1), Stoney Lane Records; Flipside, Roam Wide, “Drive!!,” Self-released. Education: B.A., American Studies, Columbia University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Annaliese Wilbur
Performer
Annaliese Wilbur
(they/them) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway National Tour: Funny Girl (ADC, Swing, Rat Tat Duet Cover). Regional: Pippin (u/s Fastrada), Reagle Music Theatre. Education: BA, Musical Theater, Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Ki’Leigh Williams
Performer
Ki’Leigh Williams
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Tap Kids (Myself). Theater: Cirque Du Soleil’s Reflekt, (Dancer); Syncopated Ladies Live! (Tap Dancer). TV/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement for the appearance is made at the time of the performance.
Additional Staff
Access Staff
A.R.T. Staff
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
SENIOR STAFF
Director of Facilities and Capital Projects: Peter Atkinson
Public Relations Director: Rebecca Curtiss
General Manager: Connor Davis
Managing Director: Anna Fitzloff
Executive Administrator: Kathleen Fowkes
Director of Finance: Julia Goldmacher
Senior Theater and Facilities Manager: Tracy Keene
Chief Development Officer: Eileen Kennedy
Producer: Mark Lunsford
Director of Production: Krystin Matsumoto
Director of Artistic Programs & Dramaturg: Ryan McKittrick
Associate Artistic Director: Dayron J. Miles
Chief Marketing Officer: Jennifer Weissman
STAFF
Artistic & EngagementArtistic Coordinator & Special Assistant to the Artistic Director: Karina Cowperthwaite ProducingAssociate Producer: Emma Watt Marketing & CommunicationsAssociate Director, Marketing and Communications: Susanna Jackson DevelopmentAssociate Director, Institutional Giving: Anna Cline FacilitiesAssistant Project Manager: Alex Giorgetti FinanceController: Toufiq Aitelfqih Patron ServicesHead of Patron Services: Emma Putnam |
ProductionProduction Manager: Skip Curtiss ScenicTechnical Director: Jim Bernhardt PaintCharge Scenic Artist: Gerard Vogt Stage OperationsStage Operations Manager: Kevin Belcher CostumesCostume Manager: Muriel Mangual-Bennett WardrobeWardrobe Manager: Alycia Marucci SoundSound Manager: Camilo Atehortua LightingLighting and Projections Supervisor: Matthew Adelman PropertiesProperties Manager: Erin Kehr Production OverhireScenic Overhire: Thomas Eckenfels, Matthew Kadam, John Larson, Aiden Marshall, Em McGrory, Mac Weaver |
Special Thanks
Priscilla H. Douglas, Shihan Van Clief, Ryan Johnson, Brynne Oster
Rehearsed at The Huntington Theatre and the Boston Center for the Arts
Piano and Tuning Services provided by East Cambridge
Additional Scenery Fabrication by Mystic Scenic Studios, Inc.
Additional Draping and Construction by William Andrew Young
Additional Projections Equipment provided by Sound Associates, Inc.
Additional Lighting Equipment provided by Christie Lites
Dance Floor Structural Consultants: Wooden Kiwi Productions, Inc.
Been Rich All My Life © Toots Crackin Productions
The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The director, choreographer, and fight consultant of this production are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.
United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.
The musicians employed in this production are members of the American Federation of Musicians.
Explore
Audience Support Resources
We recognize that our productions may unintentionally activate distressing and/or traumatic memories of past experiences in our audience members These resources are curated by Dr. Charmain Jackman through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens.
See Resources
We recognize that our productions may unintentionally activate distressing and/or traumatic memories of past experiences in our audience members These resources are curated by Dr. Charmain Jackman through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens.
See Resources
Related Events
Tap in Film
DEC 6 – 27
Friday Film Matinees
Enjoy three afternoons of films featuring legendary tap dancers Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and others.
More Info
DEC 6 – 27
Friday Film Matinees
Enjoy three afternoons of films featuring legendary tap dancers Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and others.
More Info
Member Night
DEC 19 6PM
Preceding the performance
Supporters of $500+ are invited to an exclusive reception and Q&A with A.R.T. Sound Manager Camilo Atehortua and other theater-lovers.
DEC 19 6PM
Preceding the performance
Supporters of $500+ are invited to an exclusive reception and Q&A with A.R.T. Sound Manager Camilo Atehortua and other theater-lovers.
Legacy of Women in Tap
DEC 21 7:30PM
Following the performance
Three generations of tap legends share their relationships with the art form, journeys as tap dancers, and the legacies they hope to carry forward in this post-show conversation. Open to ticket holders of any performance.
More Info
DEC 21 7:30PM
Following the performance
Three generations of tap legends share their relationships with the art form, journeys as tap dancers, and the legacies they hope to carry forward in this post-show conversation. Open to ticket holders of any performance.
More Info
Boards & Donors
Boards
