The Guthrie Theater Announces THE BROTHERS SIZE Casting

The Guthrie Theater today announced casting for the Pillsbury House Theatre and The Mount Curve Company co-production of The Brothers Size- described as "an exuberantly theatrical drama from one of the country's most exciting new voices that weaves together brothers, the bayou, and African mythology to create a stylized story of love and heartache." Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Marion McClinton, The Brothers Size will be performed in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio from September 7-29, 2012.

The Brothers Size is part of McCraney's critically acclaimed trilogy, "The Brother/Sister Plays." The play premieres on the heels of last year's lauded production of, In the Red and Brown Water, which was also directed by McClinton at the Guthrie. In the Red and Brown Water was named "Best Play of 2011" by both the Star Tribune and City Pages.

For The Brothers Size, James A. Williams and Gavin Lawrence reprise their roles from In the Red and Brown Water. Williams plays Ogun Size, a hard-working mechanic, and Lawrence plays the mysterious Elegba. Williams was last seen on the Guthrie stage in The Darker Face of the Earth and Many Colors Make the Thunder-King. Lawrence was most recently seen at the Guthrie as Langston Hughes in The Carlyle Brown & Company production of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been...

Rounding out the cast is University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program graduate Namir Smallwood as Oshoosi Size-a young man who comes home from prison, hoping to resume his happily aimless life. Smallwood was most recently seen in the Pillsbury House Theatre production of Tracey Scott Wilson's Buzzer-a role that he will reprise at the Guthrie in February. Ahanti Young, a regular on the Penumbra stage, will provide percussion during the performance.

Set in contemporary small-town rural Louisiana and infused with Yoruba mythology, The Brothers Size is a timeless story about two brothers whose hopes and dreams are pinned on the other. The Brothers Size dramatizes the ties that bind all of us together and the urges of the human heart that can rip everything apart.

The artistic team includes Andrea Heilman (Set Designer), Kalere A. Payton (Costume Designer), Michael Wangen (Lighting Designer), Katherine Horowitz (Sound Designer), Elizabeth MacNally (Stage Manager), and E.G. Bailey (Assistant Director).

The Brothers Size previews September 7, opens September 8 and continues through September 29, 2012, in the Dowling Studio. Single tickets start at $18 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

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