Creative Team
George Stevens Jr.
Playwright
Lou Bellamy
he/him
Director
Lou Bellamy is the founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company in Saint Paul, Minnesota. During his thirty-nine year tenure, Penumbra has evolved into one of America’s premier theaters dedicated to dramatic exploration of the African American experience. Under his leadership, Penumbra has grown to be the largest theater of its kind in America and has produced 39 world premieres, including August Wilson’s first professional production. Penumbra is proud to have produced more of Mr. Wilson’s plays than any other theater in the world. Mr. Bellamy is an OBIE Award-winning director, an accomplished actor, and for 38 years was appointed as Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Directing credits include plays at Arizona Theatre Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Penumbra Theatre, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Cleveland Play House, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, The Kennedy Center, and Hartford Stage Company.
David Levine*
he/him
Stage Manager
David Levine is a lifelong Portlander and former teacher who comes from a long line of educators-turned-actors, dating back to 1950’s summer camp in the Catskills. Recent stage manager credits include: The Roommate at Profile Theatre; Paradise Blue and SpongeBob the Musical at Portland Playhouse; and Marvin’s Rescue, an independent production with triangle productions!, Portland Playhouse, The Oregon Humane Society, and Portland Center Stage.
Vicki Smith
she/her
Scenic & Properties Designer
Casey McNamara
Costume Designer
Justin Ellington
he/him
Sound Designer
Justin Ellington is a three-time Tony Award–nominated composer and sound designer whose work spans Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theatre. Justin is delighted to be a part of this production and led by the great Lou Bellamy. Justin’s Broadway credits include: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Proof, Othello, Our Town, McNeal, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Topdog/Underdog, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, Clyde’s, and Pass Over. His work has also been heard at Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theater, Stratford Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and The Old Vic. He is the recipient of Obie, AUDELCO, and Henry Hewes Design awards and serves on the faculty of David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
Rasean Davonté Johnson
he/him
Projection Designer
Rasean Davonté Johnson is excited to be working with Portland Playhouse. A Chicago-based video artist and theatrical designer, he has had the opportunity to work with institutions such as Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Teatro Vista, Yale Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Alliance Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, The Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Manual Cinema, and internationally with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), B-Floor Theatre (Thailand), and the Ningbo Song and Dance Company (China). MFA: DGSD at Yale. raseandavontejohnson.com
Cast
Lester Purry*
he/him
Thurgood Marshall
Lester Purry brings over 40 years of regional theatre experience to the stage. Notable roles include Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences (Portland Playhouse, Palm Beach Dramaworks), Bynum Walker in August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Penumbra Theatre, Portland Playhouse), the title role in Thurgood (Geva Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Penumbra Theatre, Cleveland Play House), Othello in Othello (national tour, The Guthrie Theatre), and Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (Portland Playhouse). Additional Guthrie Theatre credits include Augustus Newcastle in The Darker Face of the Earth and Lester Mason in The Big White Fog. A longtime company member of Penumbra Theatre, he has appeared in Two Trains Running, Dutchman, The Piano Lesson, King Hedley II, and Jitney. His work has also been seen at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, Baltimore Center Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, among others.
