August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone
October 14 - November 13, 2022
A play by August Wilson
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown
The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave
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Approximate run time: 2 hours and 40 mins with one intermission.
Content advisory: Please note this production contains the use of haze, incense and herbal pipe. Please click here for a content advisory that addresses thematic elements.
Show Synopsis:
August Wilson’s work returns to The Huntington with his masterpiece Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. At a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, Herald Loomis arrives in search of his lost wife – but first he must regain a sense of his own heritage and identity. A stunning story of spiritual and emotional resurrection, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone pays tribute to a makeshift community that springs up in the Great Migration in this new production helmed by Lili-Anne Brown.
In the midst of rehearsals, Artistic Director Loretta Greco spoke with director Lili-Anne Brown about the enduring power of August Wilson, the value of working with a trusted team of designers, and the dramaturgical richness of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
Masked Matinees & Masks-Encouraged Evenings
In recognition of fluctuating trends in COVID transmission and varying levels of comfort among our patrons, The Huntington is continuing to offer two different masking experiences for The Art of Burning.
“Masked Matinees” – Masks are required inside the theater unless actively eating/drinking concessions. Masks remain optional in the restrooms and lobbies.
Matinees were chosen in order to offer multiple masked-experiences per week, some weekdays and some weekends.
Masks-Encouraged Evenings – Masks are encouraged but not required.
Anyone who feels uncomfortable can ask the House Manager about alternative options which may include:
• a better quality mask
• a new seat further distanced from other patrons
• re-scheduling for a different performance, such as a “masked matinee”
• a shift to the at-home Digital Streaming option.
Any patron interested in attending a different performance will be able to exchange their tickets by contacting our ticketing services staff.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY COVID SYMPTOMS, STAY HOME.
Tickets for most Huntington productions through June 2023 come with digital insurance, and any ticketholders who would rather not see a performance in person for any reason can easily exchange their in-person tickets for a home viewing opportunity of a specially recorded version of the play, if available. Digital Insurance is currently available for The Art of Burning, K-I-S-S-I-N-G and Joy & Pandemic.
These COVID policies will be in place through February 13, 2023, and we will continue to evaluate and update these policies as the situation evolves. For the most up-to-date information on our health and safety policies and season shows, please visit this page. If you have any questions, please email covidsafety@huntingtontheatre.org.
The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave
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Google Maps directions to 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA 02115
Theatre rendering courtesy of Bruner/Cott & Associates
Cast and Crew
Maurice Emmanuel Parent
Seth Holly
Maurice Emmanuel Parent
Maurice Emmanuel Parent Huntington: A Raisin in the Sun, Merrily We Roll Along, Skeleton Crew, Romeo and Juliet, Sweat, Common Ground Revisited, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
Shannon Lamb
Bertha Holly
Shannon Lamb
Shannon Lamb (she/her) made her Huntington debut in Common Ground Revisited. Selected theatre credits: Letters to Kamala (WAM), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (UMASS Theater), It Happened in Little Rock, Because of Winn Dixie (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), Temptation in Pendemoniun (Cherry Lane Theatre), NYC (world premiere); Building The Wall at Academy of Music (rolling world premiere); Jar the Floor, Gee’s Bend, Mary Poppins, and The Full Monty at Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Smokey Joe’s Café, Little Shop of Horrors, and Annie at Murray’s Dinner Playhouse.
Robert Cornelius
Bynum Walker
Robert Cornelius
Robert Cornelius is making his Huntington debut in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. His theatre credits include Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass Theatre), Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre), Hamlet (Gift Theatre), The Total Bent (Haven Theatre/About Face), Rightlynd, Wheatley, Spiele 36, On the Block, Takund (Victory Gardens Theater), Picnic (American Theatre Company), Wit (The Hypocrites), Aida (Drury Lane Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (First Folio Theatre), My Children, My Africa (Regional-Montana Repertory Theatre), Spunk (St Louis Black Repertory), You Can’t Take it With You, The Jeremiah, The Rivals (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Madison Repertory), and Great Expectations (Indiana Repertory Theatre).
Lewis D. Wheeler
Rutherford Selig
Lewis D. Wheeler
Lewis D. Wheeler has appeared at The Huntington as an understudy in Butley. Regional: American Repertory Theater (No Man’s Land), SpeakEasy Stage (Pass Over), New Repertory Theatre (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Lyric Stage (Book of Will), Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Co, Nora Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Greater Boston Stage Co, five seasons at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (WHAT), Cape Rep, Underground Railway, Wheelock Family Theatre, Publick Theatre, Vineyard Playhouse, founding member of Harbor Stage.
Stewart Evan Smith
Jeremy Furlow
Stewart Evan Smith
Stewart Evan Smith has appeared in numerous productions in New England, most recently seen in Black Superhero Magic Mama (Company One), Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Vanity Fair (Underground Railway Theatre), The Crucible (Bedlam/The Nora Theatre Company), The Three Musketeers and It’s a Wonderful Life (Greater Boston Stage Company), and Between Riverside and Crazy (SpeakEasy Stage).
James Ricardo Milord
Herald Loomis
James Ricardo Milord
James Ricardo Milord is a Boston native and Haitian American actor. The Huntington: K-I-S-S-I-N-G, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Common Ground Revisited. Regional: King Hedley II (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); Paradise Blue, The Agitators, Cyrano (Gloucester Stage); Young Nerds of Color (Central Square Theater); Pipeline (WAM, Front Porch, Central Square Theater); A Christmas Carol (Underground Railway); The Handmaid’s Tale (Boston Lyric Opera); Anna Christie, Barbecue (Lyric Stage); Akeelah and the Bee (Wheelock Family Theatre); The Good Negro, Splendor, and The Brother/Sister Plays (Company One).
Gray Flaherty
Zonia Loomis
Gray Flaherty
Gray Flaherty (he/his) is making his professional debut in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at The Huntington. Gray appeared as Alice in Matilda the Musical at Watertown Children’s Theatre, and is an 8th grader at Shady Hill School in Cambridge.
Alana Ross
Zonia Loomis
Alana Ross
Alana Ross is making her Huntington debut in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. She has appeared in commercials for Sylvia P. clothing and Hasbro toys, and was the narrator, assistant stage manager, and costume manager for her school play. She is a 5th grader at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School, and is represented by WSM Talent. Instagram: @Alana9_Ross
Al-nisa Petty
Mattie Campbell
Al-nisa Petty
Al-nisa Petty is an actor and voiceover artist from Newark, NJ. Credits include Kin (WP Theater), Twelfth Night (The Acting Company), On Strivers Row (Metropolitan Playhouse), Slut: The Play (NJPAC), A Raisin in the Sun (TheatreWorks Colorado Springs), and School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Berkeley Rep).
Eli Lapaix
Reuben Mercer
Eli Lapaix
Eli Lapaix is known for his work as an actor and editor in the award-winning short film The Meeting Spot (2020). He also has appeared in a promotional film by Windy Films for The Base, a Boston based non-profit supporting urban youth in sports and education. He is a 7th grader at Waring School in Beverly.
Joshua Mckenna
Reuben Mercer
Joshua Mckenna
Joshua McKenna is making his Huntington debut in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Other credits include A Christmas Carol (2021-22) and Fletcher Marron in The Bodyguard (2019) at North Shore Music Theatre.
Dela Meskienyar
Molly Cunningham
Dela Meskienyar
Dela Meskienyar is a New York based theatre and film actor. Most recently she was in The Beginning Days of True Jubilation at the New Ohio Theater. Film/TV credits include “Law & Order: SVU” and the feature film Funny Face. Dela has a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and received her MFA from the NYU graduate acting program.
Patrese D. McClain
Martha Pentecost
Patrese D. McClain
Patrese D. McClain Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (The Huntington). Broadway tour of Jitney. Regional: Twilight (Syracuse Stage), Pipeline and Skeleton Crew (Actors Theatre), Short Shakes R&J (Chicago Shakes), The Mountaintop and Skeleton Crew (People’s Light), Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, and GeVa. Film: Widows, Captive State, BET’s Friend Request, and Workingman.
Kadahj Bennett
Understudy for Jeremy/Herald
Kadahj Bennett
Kadahj Bennett Huntington: Common Ground Revisited, Dream Boston, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Recent local credits include People, Places & Things, Pass Over (SpeakEasy Stage), Hype Man (Company One/ART), The Charles Lennox Experience (New Rep), Isolated Incidents (Broadway Podcast Network), and This Place Displaced (Actors Theater Boston). He is an Elliot Norton Award winner and a WBUR ARTery 25 Changemaker.
Kelsey Fonise
Understudy for Mattie/Molly
Kelsey Fonise
Kelsey Fonise has credits that include Fabulation or the Re-Education of Undine (Lyric Stage), BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage), and Hairspray (Priscilla Beach Theatre). She received her BA in theatre arts from UMass Boston. KelseyFonise.com.
David Kelly
Understudy for Rutherford
David Kelly
David Kelly The Huntington: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Off Broadway: Manahatta (Public Theater).
Damon Singletary
Understudy for Bynum/Seth
Damon Singletary
Damon Singletary has credits that include Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine, The Wiz, Peter and the Starcatcher, City of Angels (Lyric Stage), The Colored Museum, Head Over Heels, Troy Maxson in Fences (Umbrella Stage Company), Birdy (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Miss Holmes (Greater Boston Stage Company), Shakespeare in Love, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (SpeakEasy Stage).
Melanie Loren
Understudy for Bertha/Martha
Melanie Loren
Melanie Loren Regional: The Color Purple (The Muny), Little Shop of Horrors (Drury Lane Theatre), The First Deep Breath (Victory Gardens Theater), Raisin (Skylight Music Theatre), The Firestorm (First Folio Theatre), Pump Boys and Dinettes (Porchlight Music Theatre), Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery (Pegasus Theatre Chicago).
August Wilson
Playwright
August Wilson
August Wilson (Playwright) (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the 20thcentury. His plays have been produced at The Huntington, at regional theatres across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show How I Learned What I Learned.
Lili-Anne Brown
Director
Lili-Anne Brown
Lili-Anne Brown, a Chicago South Side native, works as a director, actor and educator, and has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows in Chicago and nationally. She is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she focused programming on Chicago-premiere musicals and new play development with resident playwrights. Recent directing credits include August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (The Huntington), School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play and the world premieres of Ike Holter’s I Hate It Here and Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre), Ain’t No Mo’ (Woolly Mammoth), The Color Purple (The Muny), Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Acoustic Rooster…(Kennedy Center), Spunk (Roundabout Theatre virtual), Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse). She is a member of SDC, AEA, and SAG-AFTRA, and represented by William Morris Endeavor. www.lilbrownchicago.com.
Arnel Sancianco
Scenic Design
Arnel Sancianco
Arnel Sancianco (Scenic Design) makes his Huntington debut with Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Arnel has designed all around the US with credits that include Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Color Purple (The Muny), The Lifespan of a Fact (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie (Kennedy Center), Ain’t No Mo (Woolly Mammoth), Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse), Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre), Choir Boy, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, We Are Proud to Present (Steppenwolf)
Samantha C. Jones
Costume Designer
Samantha C. Jones
Samantha C. Jones is making her Huntington debut. She is a Los Angeles based costume designer and educator. Previous design credits include the Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Paramount Theatre (Aurora), Northlight Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Children’s Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Kansas City Rep
Jason Lynch
Lighting Design
Jason Lynch
Jason Lynch is a Chicago-based lighting designer for theatre, dance, opera, and other live performance art and makes his Huntington debut with this production. Off Broadway: You Are Here: An Evening with Solea Pfeiffer (Audible Theatre/Minetta Lane Theatre).
Aubrey Dube
Sound Design
Aubrey Dube
Aubrey Dube The Huntington: Fat Ham, The Bluest Eye, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Clyde’s, The Lehman Trilogy (Associate Designer). Regional: Paradise Blue, The Thin Place, Stew (Gloucester Stage); Simona’s Search (Hartford Stage); The Fortune Teller (Chuang Stage); How We Got On (Arts Emerson); Trayf, Good (New Rep); Clyde’s (Berkeley Rep); Queens, Torch Song, The House of Ramon Iglesia (Moonbox Productions); Vinegar Tom, Monster, Serious Money, Pentecost (PTP/NYC); A Taste of Honey (BCAP); Potus, A Case For The Existence of God (SpeakEasy Stage); Fences (Umbrella Theatre); Downtown Crossing, Vietgone, Morning Noon & Night (Company One); The Renaissance Mixtape (Apollo Theatre NYC).
Earon D. Nealey
Hair and Wig Design
Earon D. Nealey
Earon D. Nealey The Huntington: Fat Ham, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Broadway: Fat Ham (Associate Designer), Macbeth, Chicken and Biscuits, Sweat.
Ted Hewlett
Fight Choreographer
Ted Hewlett
Ted HewlettThe Huntington: The Art of Burning, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Witch, Sweat, Quixote Nuevo, Yerma, Sherlock’s Last Case, Tartuffe, Merrily We Roll Along, Ripcord, Topdog/Underdog, A Doll’s House, Bedroom Farce, I Was Most Alive with You, A Confederacy of Dunces, The Colored Museum.
Sandy Alexandre
Dramaturg
Sandy Alexandre
Sandy Alexandre was the dramaturg for The Bluest Eye and August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at The Huntington, and is an associate professor at MIT. Books: Properties of Violence.
Sondra R. Katz
General Manager
Sondra R. Katz
Sondra Katz is in her twenty-first season at The Huntington. She has worked on Broadway, Off Broadway, and regionally as a stage manager, company manager, production manager and general manager.
Alaine Alldaffer
Casting
Alaine Alldaffer
Alaine Alldaffer, she/her (Casting) Huntington: numerous credits since 2000. New York: casting director for Playwrights Horizons, where credits include Grey Gardens (also for Broadway), Clybourne Park (also for Broadway), Circle Mirror Transformation (Drama Desk and Obie awards for Best Ensemble and an Artios Award for casting), The Flick (Playwrights Horizons and Barrow Street Theatre)
Rosalind Bevan
Local Casting
Rosalind Bevan
Rosalind Bevan The Huntington: Joy & Pandemic, Clyde’s, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Common Ground Revisited, Our Daughters, Like Pillars, The Bluest Eye, (Line Producer); Witch (Assistant Director); Dream Boston audio plays: Echoes and The 54th in ‘22 (Director).
Emily F. McMullen
Production Stage Manager
Emily F. McMullen
Emily F. McMullen has stage managed over 30 shows over the past nine seasons at The Huntington, including Toni Stone, John Proctor is the Villain, The Band’s Visit, The Lehman Trilogy, Clyde’s, The Art of Burning, Common Ground Revisited, Hurricane Diane, Sweat, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Indecent, Romeo and Juliet, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Man in the Ring, The Niceties, Top Girls, Bad Dates, Tartuffe, and Merrily We Roll Along.
Ashley Pitchford
Stage Manager
Ashley Pitchford
Ashley Pitchford The Huntington: John Proctor is the Villain, The Heart Sellers, Fat Ham, Joy and Pandemic, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Our Daughters, Like Pillars, Teenage Dick, Witch, We All Fall Down, Man in the Ring. Regional: The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, Richard III (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); A Strange Loop (SpeakEasy Stage); Seven Guitars (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); The Taming of the Shrew (Lanes Coven Theatre Company); Create. Inspire. Change Theatre Company; Happy Madison Productions. Education: BFA Stage Management.
ADDITIONAL STAFF FOR AUGUST WILSON’S JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE:
Jasmine Brooks – Associate Director
Jermaine Hill – Music Consultant
Kurt Douglas – Movement Consultant
Gregory Geffrard – Intimacy Consultant
Nathan C. Crocker – Dialect Coach
Carla McDonough – Young Person Coordinator
Kendyl Trott, Lucas Dixon, Winnie Chiang – Production Assistants
Thomas Cappelli, Joe Ellard, Martha Keslar, Stephen Maurer, Dawn Morningstar, Michelle Walker, Amy West, Slava Tchoul – Carpenters
Steven Doucette, Elektra Newman – Scenic Artists
Aryn Murphy – Tailor
Ana-Ayanna Escalante, Maegan Pate – Stitchers
Jessie Fuchs, Zoe Sundra – Wardrobe Swing
Lia Maynard – Wig Run
Kathleen Shanahan – Wig Run Swing
Kevin Barnett, Dean Covert, Jasmine De Leon, Maddie Hanley, Makenna Harnden, Sarah Hutchins, Gabriel Karr, Callie Moos, Jack Riter, Cindy Wade – Electricians
Lexie Lankiewicz – Audio Run/A2
Abe Joyner-Meyers – Audio Swing