Welcome to Macbeth In Stride.
I am thrilled to welcome you to the A.R.T.’s second in-person show at the Loeb Drama Center this fall. We have been eager to share this piece since before the pandemic. Originally scheduled to premiere in our 2019/20 Season, Macbeth In Stride marks the launch of Whitney White’s five-part series exploring women and ambition in Shakespeare’s plays. After Lady Macbeth, the series will continue with four more pieces (commissioned by A.R.T.) interrogating works including Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, and Romeo and Juliet.
Whitney was most recently at A.R.T. as the director of What to Send Up When It Goes Down in fall 2019. Now onstage as creator/
If you joined us for Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, take a close look at the stage: some of what you see may be familiar. As we embrace regenerative practice as one of our core values at A.R.T., our production team has collaborated with scenic designer Dan Soule to create a repertory set which will serve as a base for all of our fall programming. (After Macbeth In Stride, we welcome the Silkroad Ensemble in November for Phoenix Rising, followed by our concert production of WILD: A Musical Becoming in December.) In addition to supporting our COVID-19 safety procedures, this “rep set” helps reduce the energy and materials consumed to mount these productions.
After so much isolation and physical distancing, I am filled with awe and gratitude each time I step into a theater. Recent weeks have reminded me that nothing can truly replace the power of gathering together in person. I remain grateful to all the individuals helping us reopen safely, including Dr. Joseph Allen and his team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. I am also grateful to our audiences for embracing our health and safety guidelines. Thank you so much for helping to make live theater possible again.
Diane Paulus, A.R.T. Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director
American Repertory Theater
Presents
MACBETH IN STRIDE
Creative Team
Production support of Macbeth In Stride is provided by Janet and Irv Plotkin.
Additional production support is provided by Bank of America.
Media Support is provided by WBUR.
Media Support for the Black Out performance provided by Spark FM.
First performance at the Loeb Drama Center on October 23, 2021
American Repertory Theater 2021/22 Programming support is provided by Harvard University, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Bank of America, Barton & Guestier, Meyer Sound, and JetBlue.
A.R.T. 2021/22 Programming is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
A.R.T. 2021/22 Programming is dedicated to the memory of Karen Mueller in recognition of her many contributions to the theater.
Runtime: 80 minutes with no intermission
This production contains fog, haze, flashing/moving lights, and loud music.
Credits
Cast (in Order of Appearance)
Witch
Phoenix Best
Witch
Phoenix Best
A.R.T.: Macbeth In Stride (Witch). Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen (Alana Beck), Music Box Theatre; Les Misérables (Eponine); The Color Purple (Swing). Off-Broadway: Teeth (Promise Keeper Girl Fiona), The Judy Theater. Regional: Dreamgirls (Deena Jones), TUTS; Oklahoma! (Ellen), King Henry VIII (Patience), Cinderella (Cinderella), Beauty and the Beast (Penelope), Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Witch
Kira Sarai Helper
Witch
Kira Sarai Helper
A.R.T.: Macbeth In Stride. Kira Sarai Helper is a board-certified music therapist and has an MFA in musical theater from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She is incredibly excited to be making her A.R.T. Debut! Special thanks to David Coleman, her mom Kim, and the entire cast and crew of MIS. Regional: #MATTER (Kim), Barrington Stage Company; The Elm Tree (Hades/Eurydice), Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre; All Shook Up (Sylvia), Hackmatack Playhouse. Off-Off Broadway: Damn Yankees (Lola), AMAS. Commercials: Behave Bras Launch; The Power of Women, Healthworks Fitness; The Table is Set, Primark, and the Boston Globe.
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Witch/Dance Captain
Reggie D. White
Witch/Dance Captain
Reggie D. White
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Inheritance (four Tony Awards, including Best Play; 11 Tony nominations). Off-Broadway: Lessons in Survival, Vineyard Theatre; Hundred Days, New York Theatre Workshop; I and You, 59E59; For The Last Time, Theatre Row. Regional: Beyond the Crossroads, Actors Theatre of Louisville; The Luckiest, The Last Tiger in Haiti, and Hundred Days, La Jolla Playhouse; Party People, Berkeley Repertory Theatre; The Bluest Eye, Arden Theatre Company. White an alum of the Atlantic Acting School, where he currently serves as School Artistic Director. He is a recipient of the TCG Fox Fellowship, the TBA Titan Award, the RHE Artistic Fellowship, and is a founding company member of The Williams Project – a living wage theatre company based in Seattle, WA. For more information, please visit reggiedwhite.com or @r2thaedgy on Instagram.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Woman
Whitney White
Woman
Whitney White
A.R.T.: What to Send Up When It Goes Down (Director). Whitney White is an Obie Award- and Lilly Award-winning director, actor, and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the current recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing award, an Artistic Associate at the Roundabout, and a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Her original musical Definition was part of the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab, 2016 ANT Fest, and her five-part musical exploration of Shakespeare’s Women and ambition, Reach for It, is currently under commission with the American Repertory Theater in Boston. She has developed work with The New York Times, Ars Nova, The Drama League, Roundabout, New York Theatre Workshop, 59E59, The Lark, The Movement, Jack, Bard College, NYU Tisch, Juilliard, Princeton, SUNY Purchase, South Oxford, Luna Stage, and more. Whitney is a believer in collaborative processes and new forms. Her musical discipline is rooted in indie-soul and rock. She is passionate about Black stories, reconstructing classics, stories for and about women, genre-defying multimedia work and film. Past fellowships include: New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship, Ars Nova’s Makers Lab, Colt Coeur and the Drama League. MFA, Acting, Brown University/Trinity Rep; BA, Political Science, Certificate in Musical Theatre, Northwestern University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Man
Charlie Thurston
Man
Charlie Thurston
A.R.T.: Debut. Charlie is an actor and playwright who splits his time between NYC and Providence, RI, where he is a member of the resident acting company at Trinity Rep. There he recently appeared in The Prince of Providence directed by Obie winner and Macbeth in Stride co-director Taibi Magar. Charlie is also a founding company member of The Williams Project – a living wage theatre company based in Seattle, WA. Other Credits: Goodspeed Musicals, Fault Line Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, The Arden, Baltimore Centerstage, and more. Film/TV: Life Itself, Money Monster, The Unholy, SVU, Dexter (2021), and he is a recurring character in the upcoming HBO series Julia (2022). MFA, Acting, Brown University/Trinity Rep.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Understudies
Woman (Understudy)
Phoenix Best
Woman (Understudy)
Phoenix Best
A.R.T.: Macbeth In Stride (Witch). Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen (Alana Beck), Music Box Theatre; Les Misérables (Eponine); The Color Purple (Swing). Off-Broadway: Teeth (Promise Keeper Girl Fiona), The Judy Theater. Regional: Dreamgirls (Deena Jones), TUTS; Oklahoma! (Ellen), King Henry VIII (Patience), Cinderella (Cinderella), Beauty and the Beast (Penelope), Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Man (Understudy)
Billy Finn
Man (Understudy)
Billy Finn
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: The Butcher Boy, Irish Rep; Lover I’ll Bring You Back to Life, Ars Nova; Macbeth in Stride, Judson Church. Regional: Midsummer Night’s Dream, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company; A Lie of the Mind, Trinity Rep; Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Shakespeare Theatre Company; A Christmas Carol, McCarter Theatre Center; Million Dollar Quartet, PCLO. This spring, Billy will play Buddy Holly in the new musical The Wanderer at Paper Mill Playhouse.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Witch (Understudy)
Yewande Odetoyinbo
Witch (Understudy)
Yewande Odetoyinbo
A.R.T.: Debut. New England credits: Caroline, or Change (Elliot Norton nomination), Parade, Moonbox Productions; The View Upstairs, Speakeasy Stage; Breath and Imagination (IRNE Award winner), Front Porch Arts Collective; The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, Lyric Stage Company; Hair, New Rep; Show Boat, Reagle Music Theatre and Fiddlehead Theatre; Finish Line, The Gay Agenda, Boston Theatre Company; In the Heights, Seussical, Ragtime, Wheelock Family Theatre; Fannie Lou Hamer: Speak On It!, Merrimack Repertory Theater. Choreography: Once on this Island Jr, Wheelock Family Theatre; Caroline, or Change, Moonbox Productions; Choir Boy (Eliot Norton nomination). Upcoming: Passing Strange, Moonbox Productions. Education: BFA, Musical Theater, Howard University; MFA, Musical Theater, Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Yewande is a native of Detroit, MI.
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.
Band
Conductor/Piano/Synth
Steven Cuevas
Conductor/Piano/Synth
Steven Cuevas
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Once On This Island, Anastasia, Kinky Boots. Off-Broadway: I Spy a Spy, We Are The Tigers, Trip of Love, Closer Than Ever. Tours: Once On This Island, Kinky Boots, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Spring Awakening, My Fair Lady (Singapore). Virtual: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (raised over $25,000 for Stop AAPI Hate). Recordings: Once On This Island, How the Grinch…, Monstersongs. Education: BFA, Musical Theatre, Emerson College.
Music Contractor/Drums
Jordan Carter
Music Contractor/Drums
Jordan Carter
A.R.T.: Macbeth In Stride. Jordan Carter developed an unshakable passion for percussion by the age of five and began playing for local churches in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio before landing a recurring gig with the internationally acclaimed “Singing Angels”. Carter’s acute focus on music led to his enrollment at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 2010. Since his stint at Berklee, Carter’s knack for playing various styles and genres has solidified him as one of Boston’s most sought-after session drummers. Most notably, he can be heard on Marilyn Wright’s Give Me A Clean Heart, which was nominated for multiple gospel awards upon its release. Although Jordan Carter has adopted Boston as his second home, he has toured more than eight countries and played drums for globally recognized cruise lines. When he’s back in the states, Carter can be seen recording with or playing for artists including: Mark Marren, Torrence Nelson and Bquiz. Most recently, Carter plays for Sing, Oompa and the Phase 2 in the midst of accepting the Musical Director position for one of Boston’s burgeoning stars, Marcela Cruz. Carter has committed himself to acquire the skills and network to make a sustainable living as a full-time musician, thus allowing him to present his own band, “The confirmation band” to the world. He’s stated that he owes his mother, Glennis Carter, countless praise for preserving his passion, which has evidently blossomed into a very promising career in music.
Guitar
Chris Hanford II
Guitar
Chris Hanford II
A.R.T.: Debut. Member, Performances with India.Arie, Steve Jordan, MALAYA , Lisa Bello. Education: BM, Berklee College of Music.
Bass
Bobhartley “Boushe” Etienne
A.R.T. Debut. Performances: Urban Nutcracker, Teamarr, Olita Adam, Nwasoul, Oompa, Steve Memelo.
Additional Staff
Special Thanks
Stephen Greenblatt (Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University), Ramie Targoff (Professor of English at Brandeis University)
Additional sound equipment provided by PRG
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 and Choreographer 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.
Staff, Boards, & Donors
Production Overhire
Stitcher: Brittany Meehan
Dresser: Grace Mitchell
Hair Braiding Services: Tamara Scarlett
Costume Shop Support: Maddy Brown
Electricians: Michaela Bocchino, Matthew Breton, Mark Fortunado, Greg Hanawalt, Ryan Lemay
Follow Spot Operators: Swati Agrawal, Conor O’Brien
Monitor Mixer/Deck Sound: Daniel Gonzales
Properties Craftsperson: Dunkan Ken
Stage Crew: Bernadette Benoit
Stage Load-In Crew: Caitlyn Buja, Errick Jersey, Bill O’Donnell, Crispin Trubiano
Access
Open Captioning: c2
Audio Description (Author): Jessica Shroder
Audio Description (Narrator): Gamalia Pharms
Special thanks for their support of the relaxed performance: Spectrum Theater Ensemble’s Clay Martin and Korbin Johnson, occupational therapist Mary Beth Kadlec
Songs
If Knowledge Is Power
Hallelujah! (Entrance)
Reach For It
Dark World
Doll House
In the Place of Love
If Knowledge Is Power/Reach For It (Reprises)
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
Hallelujah! (Coronation)
I For You
In the Place of Love (Reprise)
Ghosts of Yesterday
Hallelujah! (Finale)
