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| Brandon Uranowitz joins the cast of the 2015 Will on the Hill |
From our friends at the Shakespeare Theatre Company...
Uranowitz Joins Special Guests Actor Samira Wiley and STC-Affiliated Artist Edward Gero
Tony Award nominee Brandon Uranowitz, currently appearing in An American in Paris, joins the cast of the 2015 Will on the Hill event at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. A favorite bipartisan event of theatre and political fans alike, Will on the Hill returns to the Shakespeare Theatre Company on Monday, June 15, 2015. The cast will also feature special guest performers, STC Affiliated Artist Edward Gero and Samira Wiley, known for her role in Orange is the New Black.
Now in its thirteenth year, the Will on the Hill event features a performance of Midsummer Madness, an original play by Peter Byrne, directed by STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul. The annual event welcomes Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and distinguished Washington insiders onto the Shakespeare Theatre Company stage to perform a political satire infused with Shakespearean language and references. The event pays tribute to the unique dynamic of our city and provides a wonderful way to engage new audiences. Proceeds from this event support STC’s many education, artistic, and community engagement programs including in-school workshops and online learning resources that inspire new and diverse audiences and deepen the connection to classical theatre in learners of all ages. Will on the Hill will take place in Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street, NW), and begins with a VIP cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m., and a buffet dinner immediately after the performance.
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| Last year's Will on the Hill |
This year’s cast for Will on the Hill will includes guest actors Edward Gero, Brandon Uranowitz, and Samira Wiley. Gero has been a prominent figure in the Washington theatre community for more than 30 years. An Affiliated Artist with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, he has appeared in more than 70 roles on the STC stages, most recently as King Henry IV in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. He recently created the role of Justice Antonin Scalia in the world premiere of John Strand’s The Originalist. Uranowitz currently appears in Broadway’s Tony Award-winning production of An American in Paris, for which he was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. In 2014 he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his performance in Torch Song Trilogy at The Studio Theatre, directed by STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn. Wiley is a TV and film star and a graduate of the Juilliard School, best known for her starring role as inmate Poussey Washington on the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.
In addition to Midsummer Madness, the evening includes a performance from students in Text Alive!, a free arts integration program offered by STC to D.C. area schools, which teaches Shakespeare’s plays through performance and adaptation. This year, students from Virginia’s West Springfield High School present their disco-style take on the wrestling scene from As You Like It, which was performed earlier this spring for the Duchess of Cornwall during her visit to the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
About Midsummer Madness: Summer in Washington finds two lobbyists, one male, one female, vying for a job at the prestigious lobbying firm Stratford, Avon and Bard. Each thinks the other has the advantage due to their gender, so their interviewer puts them to the task of solving some of their clients’ - and Washington’s - biggest conflicts. Things do not go as planned, however, as Shakespeare’s heroes and heroines emerge to join the fray. The battle of the sexes is far from over...
Many members of Congress will join Edward Gero, Brandon Uranowitz, and Samira Wiley on the STC stage, including Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Representatives Joyce Beatty (D-OH),Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Jim Himes (D-CT), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jim Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jared Polis (D-CO), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), Mike Turner (R-OH), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ryan Zinke (R-MT).
Other illustrious cast members include Christina Sevilla (DA U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President); and members of the media, including Jonathan Allen (Vox), Ron Christie (CEO Christie Strategies), Steve Clemons (Washington Editor-at-Large, The Atlantic, National Journal, Quartz), Bob Cusack (Editor in Chief, The Hill), Rich Edson (Fox News), Amy Holmes (The Blaze TV), Rick Klein (ABC News’ Political Director), Dana Milbank (The Washington Post), Latoya Peterson (Fusion),Thomas Rogan (Tom Rogan Thinks), Robert Siegel (NPR’s All Things Considered), Pamela Lynne Sorensen (Pamela’s Punch), and Kelly Jane Torrance (The Weekly Standard).
The Honorary Co-Chairs for the event are Speaker John A. Boehner (R-OH), The Honorable James E. Clyburn (D-SC), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
* Cast members subject to change.
VIP tickets are available for purchase, and include a pre-performance cocktail reception and a buffet dinner with the opportunity to meet and dine with members of the cast and event sponsors. VIP tickets can be purchased for $250 by emailing WillontheHill@ShakespeareTheatre.org.
WILL ON THE HILL COMMITTEE:
The Honorable Tom Davis, Co-Chair, Deloitte, LLP
Bernie McKay, Co-Chair, Intuit, Inc.
Nick Allard, Past Chairman, Squire Patton Boggs, Joseph Crea Dean and Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Janet C. Boyd, The Dow Chemical Company
Peter Cherukuri, POLITICO
Carol Danko, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
Michelle Dimarob, Altria Group, Inc
Gloria Dittus, Story Partners
Mike House, Past Chairman, Hogan Lovells US LLP
Jerry Jasinowski, Business Consultant; Former President of National Association of Manufacturers
Karen Kuhlman, United Air
Gail McKinnon, Time Warner Cable Inc.
Karishma Page, K&L Gates LLP
Steve Ryan, Past Chairman, McDermott Will & Emery
Bill Signer, The Carmen Group
June Silverberg, Silverberg Associates
Julie Slocum, Wells Fargo & Co
Robert L. Smith, Venable LLP
Ali Sternburg, Computer & Communications Industry Association
Karolyn Stuver, FLUOR
Katie Vlietstra, National Association for the Self-Employed
Rich Whiting, Past Chairman, American Association of Bank Directors
Jonathan Yarowsky, WilmerHale
SUPPORT FOR WILL ON THE HILL:
Will on the Hill is made possible in part by its Lead Sponsor: Deloitte LLP; Executive Sponsors: Intuit; McDermott Will & Emery; Squire Patton Boggs; Director Sponsors: Nick and Marla Allard; Altria Group, Inc.; Brown-Forman Corporation; The Carmen Group; Computer & Communications Industry Association; The Dow Chemical Company; FLUOR; Hogan Lovells LLP; Humana; Stephen and Lisa Ryan; Time Warner Cable; Venable LLP; WilmerHale; Producer Sponsors: Aflac; Peter Cherukuri; CLS Strategies; Nissan; Sovereign Strategy Limited; Vulcan Materials Company; Jonathan and Lynn Yarowsky; Patron Sponsors: Alston + Bird LLP; Amazon Web Services; Comcast NBCUniversal; Ernst & Young LLP; H&R Block; Jerry and Isabel Jasinowski; K&L Gates LLP; Oracle America Corporation; Reset Public Affairs; Security Industry and Financial Markets Association; Software and Information Industry Association; Southern Company; Story Partners; Wells Fargo; Benefactor Sponsors: AECOM; Airlines for America; AT&T Services, Inc.; Bank of America; Capitol Counsel; Charter Communications; The Clearing House; Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC; Edison Electric Institute; FTI Consulting; Alice and John Goodman; Longview Strategies, LLC; National Association of Realtors; National Credit Union Foundation; National Multifamily Housing Council; National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; OB-C Group LLC; QGA Public Affairs; Rasky Baerlein Prism; Red Hat; The Smith-Free Group LLC; Supporter Sponsors: William and Lorelei Bodie; Barnett Sivon & Natter, PC; Buckley Sandler LLP; Fierce Government Relations; Grant Thornton LLP; Greenberg Traurig, LLP; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Jones Lang LaSalle; Maller Wealth Advisors, Inc.; Peter Mirijanian Public Relations; Karishma and Jonathan Page; Bernie and Janice Robinson; Thomas and Karen Vartanian; Washington Resource Associates; and Media Partner:The Hill.
ABOUT THE ACTORS:
Edward Gero celebrates 31 seasons as part of the Washington Theatre community. He is a 15-time nominee of the Helen Hayes Award and four-time recipient, and was honored to receive the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship. Most recently, he created the role of Justice Antonin Scalia in the world premiere of John Strand’s acclaimed play The Originalist directed by Molly Smith at Arena Stage. He appeared as Mark Rothko in Robert Falls’ production of RED at the Goodman Theater in Chicago and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Other D.C. credits include Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre; Salieri in Amadeus at Roundhouse Theatre; Donny in American Buffalo at The Studio Theatre; and Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre. He has played Richard Nixon in Nixon's Nixon at Roundhouse Theatre in 1999 and 2008 and received a Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor both times. Other roles include John in Shining City, Ivan in The Seafarer, Tom Sargeant in Skylight (Helen Hayes Award), Vershinin in Three Sisters, and Philip Gelberg in Broken Glass. He is an Affiliated Artist with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, most recently appearing as King Henry in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. Among his 70 other roles in 31 seasons at STC are Hotspur in Henry IV (Helen Hayes Award), Bolingbroke in Richard II (Helen Hayes Award), and Macduff in Macbeth (Helen Hayes Award). Other regional credits include Horace Vandergelder in The Matchmaker at Center Stage in Baltimore. Film and television credits include House of Cards, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Die Hard II, Striking Distance, and narrations for The Discovery Channel and PBS. He is an Associate Professor of Theater at George Mason University, and instructor for the Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. He earned a BA in Speech and Theater at Montclair State University.
Brandon Uranowitz currently appears as Adam Hochberg in the new Broadway production An American in Paris. He previously appeared in the Broadway production of Baby, It’s You! and in the National Tour of RENT. He received a Falstaff Award nomination for the role of Feste in Twelfth Night Off-Broadway, and a Helen Hayes Award nomination in Torch Song Trilogy, directed by Michael Kahn at The Studio Theatre. His other regional credits include Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound at The Old Globe. Uranowitz has appeared in the film Stage Fright and on television in Inside Amy Schumer, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and As the World Turns.
Samira Wiley is best known for her starring role as inmate Poussey Washington, a moral compass among the inmates on the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black. Wiley can be seen playing Agent Annie Bell in the film Rob the Mob, an American crime drama directed by Raymond De Felitta. Wiley was also seen in the films Being Flynn and The Sitter. Her television appearances include Person of Interest and a recurring role on Unforgettable. Most recently, Wiley guest starred on Law and Order: SVU, in which she plays a woman who makes amends for falsely accusing her father of rape and incest as a young girl. Wiley is a graduate of The Juilliard School and currently resides in New York City.
ABOUT THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY:
Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has become one of the nation’s leading theatre companies. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Managing Director Chris Jennings, STC’s innovative approach to Shakespeare and other classic playwrights has earned it the reputation as the nation’s premier classical theatre company. By focusing on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced, the Company’s artistic mission is unique among theatre companies: to present theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens.
A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and acting classes to discussion series as well as accessible programs like the annual Free For All, one of STC’s most beloved annual traditions, allowing audiences to experience Shakespeare at no charge.
Located in our nation’s capital, STC performs in two theatres, the Lansburgh Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., creating a dynamic, cultural hub of activity that showcases STC as well as outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. STC moved into the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre in March 1992, after six years in residency in the Folger Library’s Elizabethan theatre. At that time the Penn Quarter neighborhood was not considered desirable by many; since then, STC has helped drive its revitalization. The 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall opened in October 2007.
