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"GRIPPING, BRILLIANTLY DIRECTED & TOTALLY ELECTRIC! One of the major productions of the year." — Tab/Wicked Local
"REALLY FANTASTIC! As relevant as ever — it is vital for people to see this play." — WGBH
"A STORY ABOUT THE MAGIC OF LOVE." — Cape Cod Times
"A CROWD-PLEASER! Julia Duffy and Will Lyman show off considerable comic chops." — WBUR
"Malcolm-Jamal Warner brings both wit and moral weight to the role of Dr. John Prentice." — The Boston Globe
"A STELLAR ENSEMBLE!" — South Shore Critic
Malcolm-Jamal Warner (“The Cosby Show”) makes his Huntington debut in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner directed by Huntington favorite David Esbjornson (All My Sons). Joanna surprises her liberal, white parents when she brings home John, her African-American fiancé, to meet them. Both sets of parents must confront their own unexpected reactions and concerns for their children as their beliefs are put to the test. Set in the 1960s, this funny and poignant new stage adaptation offers a fresh interpretation of the beloved Academy Award-winning film and also features Julia Duffy (“Newhart”), Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox, and Boston favorite Will Lyman.
Approximate run time: 2 hours and 15 minutes including one intermission.
"David Esbjornson brings a striking contemporary perspective to classics that allow us to experience them in new and unexpected ways. After his astonishing production of All My Sons, I can't wait for him to reveal the emotional and social immediacy of the ideas raised by this landmark film." — Peter DuBois
"Guess Who's Coming To Dinner is a cultural touchstone. Approaching it today, I wanted to talk about and engage in the attitudes of 1967 with a 21st century approach."— Todd Kreidler
"I am delighted to return to the Huntington to present Todd Kreidler's exciting new stage adaptation of what has become a classic American story. We hope that audiences will find the experience of this piece to be compelling, provocative, and perhaps all-too-relevant."— David Esbjornson
Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Invitation to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
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Go behind the scenes of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Artistic Director Peter DuBois shares his insights and behind-the-scenes stories about the Huntington's upcoming production of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner speaks with The Washington Post about his upcoming role in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.
In adapting the iconic film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, playwright Todd Kreidler has created a portrait of race relations in America as intimate, provocative, and poignant today as the original was in 1967.
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Observing David Esbjornson direct is like taking a master class. Arena Stage Literary Manager Linda Lombardi speaks with David Esbjornson about his experience bringing Guess Who's Coming To Dinner for the stage.
Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is best-known for the role he played in the '80s, as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show. He's so well-known for that role, in fact, that even now — at age 43 — he still gets called by the wrong name.
Linda Lombardi, Literary Manager at Arena Stage, sat down with Todd Kreidler, Playwright and Adapter for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, to find out how he adapted the classic film for stage.
Student Matinee and and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support
"REALLY FANTASTIC! As relevant as ever — it is vital for people to see this play. Malcolm-Jamal Warner delivers an emotionally wrenching performance."— WGBH
"AN APPEALING 'DINNER'! Strong performances, most notably by Boston stalwart Will Lyman. Malcolm-Jamal Warner brings both wit and moral weight to the role of Dr. John Prentice...and gives eloquently passionate voice and force to the generational showdown at the heart of Todd Kreidler's comedy-drama." — The Boston Globe
"A STELLAR ENSEMBLE! The doctor's parents, very well played by Adriane Lenox and Lonnie Farmer, the maid Matilda Binks, or "Tillie," perfectly captured by Lynda Gravátt, and the obnoxiously bigoted art dealer Hilary, deliciously portrayed by Wendy Rich Stetson, were all faultless, as was the ever-astonishing Will Lyman. It's the family friend Monsignor Ryan, here beautifully done by Patrick Shea, who steals the show." — South Shore Critic
"The cast is splendid — Will Lyman is superb. Tillie [is] perfectly captured by Lynda Gravátt. Adriane Lenox and Lonnie Farmer are pitch perfect. Hilary is portrayed wonderfully by Wendy Rich Stetson. " — Berkshire Fine Arts
"A CROWD-PLEASER! Julia Duffy does a wonderfully understated job. [She] and Will Lyman show off considerably comic chops, along with believable serious moments. Ditto Lonnie Famer and Adriane Lenox as the African-American parents. Lynda Gravátt as the maid and Patrick Shea [as Monsignor Ryan] almost walk away with the show." — WBUR
"A story about the magic of love."— Cape Cod Times
"My husband and I saw the show last night. What an amazing play. EVERYONE was amazing. Normally I talk about people who 'stood out' in a performance. In this production, they all stood out. The audience was clapping, gasping, and laughing throughout the performance, and the immediate standing ovation before the cast even made it to the front of the stage was awesome. I hope the cast and crew felt the love, because the audience sure as hell was loving it." — Ron Thibodeau on Facebook
"Check out #GuessWhosComingtoDinner @huntington. @MalcolmJamalWar gives a fantastic performance!"— @tony_robillard
"Bravo! A sparkling performance! — @sepstein
"'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner' is one of the best productions ever @Huntington. Subject of race is still so timely."— @VLiTBHA
"Enjoyed "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" at @huntington last night; great performances; loved Will Lyman as Mr. Drayton"— @DotNews
"Great performances by all. Always tough to create something new and fresh when the story and the characters are so historically iconic."— Trish McGovern Dorsey on Facebook
Julia Duffy is best known for playing Stephanie on “Newhart,” for which she received seven Emmy Award nominations, one Golden Globe Award, and five American Comedy Award nominations. She was seen on Broadway as Susan in Once in a Lifetime, and her regional theatre highlights include The Enchanted (The Kennedy Center), Irina in Three Sisters and Curse of the Starving Class (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), and Birdie inThe Little Foxes and Lavinia in The Heiress (The Pasadena Playhouse).
Lonnie Farmer previously performed at the Huntington in A Confederacy of Dunces and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. His regional credits include Observatory (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), Balm in Gilead (SpeakEasy Stage Company), A Christmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company), and A Little Princess (Wheelock Family Theatre). Film credits include Black Mass, The Judge, Mystic River, and The Cider House Rules. Television credits include the Showtime series “Brotherhood,” in which he had the recurring role of Rep. Gerald Williams.
Meredith Forlenza previously appeared at the Huntington in Can You Forgive Her? and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Her Broadway credits include Noises Off, The Winslow Boy, A Behanding in Spokane, and Pal Joey. Her Off Broadway credits include Empathitrax (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Completeness (Playwrights Horizons), All-American (Lincoln Center Theater), The Second Time (La MaMa), The Notebook of Trigorin (The Flea Theater), and A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage (SoHo Playhouse).
Lynda Gravátt returns to the Huntington where she appeared in The Young Man From Atlanta. Broadway credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Doubt, King Hedley II, and 45 Seconds from Broadway. Off Broadway credits include Zooman and the Sign, King Hedley II, The Little Foxes, Intimate Apparel, Dividing the Estate, and The Old Settler.
Adriane Lenox previously appeared in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (2014) and Now or Later (2012) at the Huntington. She appeared on Broadway in Dreamgirls, Kiss Me Kate, Doubt (Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play), Chicago, and most recently After Midnight (Tony Award nomination).
Will Lyman previously appeared in the Huntington's productions of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (2014), Luck of the Irish (2012), All My Sons (2010), and Dead End (2000). Off Broadway credits include The Novelist, Trinity, The Grinding Machine, and The Passion of Dracula.
Patrick Shea previously appeared in the Huntington's production of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (2014). Mr. Shea began his career in the acting ensemble of the New York Shakespeare Festival and then in the Broadway production of Child’s Play. He is a veteran of Boston’s Shear Madness.
Wendy Rich Stetson previously appeared in the Huntington's production of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (2014). She has Broadway credits that include In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), Act One, and A Free Man of Color (Lincoln Center Theater). Off Broadway she performed in Big Bill (Lincoln Center Theater), Cymbeline, Hamlet, and Tartuffe (The Public Theater), and as Lillian Gish in Anne Bogart’s American Silents.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is not only a seasoned actor, but an accomplished musician, director, and producer. He first rose to national prominence appearing in the television series "The Cosby Show," and his work on the show garnered him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Todd Kreidler directed August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned (2016) and served as dramaturg for August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean (2004) and Radio Golf (2006) in their early productions at the Huntington and other regional theatres and on Broadway. His adaptation of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (2014) appeared at the Huntington in the fall of the 2014-2015 season.
David Esbjornson previously directed A Confederacy of Dunces (2015), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (2014), and All My Sons (2010) at the Huntington. His directing premieres include Driving Miss Daisy (Broadway, London, and Australia), Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (Broadway) and The Play About the Baby (Off Broadway), Arthur Miller’s The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Broadway), and Resurrection Blues (Guthrie Theater).
Dane Laffrey has designed for Huntinton's productions of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (2014) and God of Carnage (2012). On Broadway he designed the set for Fool for Love and set and costumes for Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening.
Paul Tazewell previously designed costumes for the Huntington's productions of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (2014), Ah, Wilderness (1998), and Iphigenia (1991). Mr. Tazewell has designed costumes for the Broadway productions of Memphis (Tony Award nomination); A Streetcar Named Desire (Tony Award nomination); Jesus Christ Superstar; In the Heights (Tony Award nomination)...
Allen Lee Hughes previously designed lighting for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (2014) and Les Blancs (1989) at the Huntington. Broadway credits include K2 (Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Maharam Award), Having Our Say, Mule Bone, and Once on this Island (Tony Award nomination).
Ben Emerson recently designed sound for Tartuffe (2017). He has been the sound supervisor at the Huntington for the last 20 years. He has designed over a dozen productions at the Huntington, as well as many shows in Boston’s small theatre community and New England regional theatres.
Emily F. McMullen has stage managed 22 shows for the Huntington over the past 5 years, including Top Girls (2018), Bad Dates (2018), Tartuffe (2018), and Merrily We Roll Along (2017) this season.
Jeremiah Mullane returns to the Huntington having previously stage managed Fall (2018), Bad Dates (2018), A Guide for the Homesick (2017), The Who & the What (2017), A Doll's House (2017), Tiger Style! (2016), August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned (2016), Disgraced (2016), Choice (2015), The Second Girl (2015), Awake and Sing! (2014), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (2014), The Seagull (2014), The Cocktail Hour (2013), The Jungle Book (2013),and Invisible Man (2013).
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