January 26 – February 24, 2013
(Opening Night: Thursday, January 31)
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE
Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center
By Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Tea Alagić Scenic Design by Peter Ksander
Costume Design by Michelle Hunt Souza
Lighting Design by Gina Scherr
Sound Design by Paul Peterson
Original Music by Jonathan Melville Pratt
Dialect Coach, Jan Gist
Casting by Caparelliotis Casting
Stage Manager, Diana Moser
Infused the with music and rhythms of the South, The Brothers Size blends West African mythology with a modern-day story of the Louisiana bayou. After his release from prison, Oshoosi Size seeks out his brother, Ogun, who is an upright and law-abiding car mechanic. When their family is threatened by the reappearance of a figure from Oshoosi's past, they must learn what it truly means to be brothers. "The greatest piece of writing by an American playwright under 30 in a generation or more" (The Chicago Tribune), Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size is an emotional and theatrical tour-de-force.
View scenes from the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe.
Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size (foreground) and (background, from left) Antwayn Hopper as Elegba and Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size (foreground) and (background, from left) Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size and Antwayn Hopper as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Antwayn Hopper as Elegba (foreground) and (background, from top) Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size and Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Antwayn Hopper as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
(from left) Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size, Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size and Antwayn Hopper as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
(from left) Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size and Antwayn Hopper as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
(from left) Joshua Elijah Reese as Ogun Henri Size, Okieriete Onaodowan as Oshoosi Size and Antwayn Hopper as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Percussionist and composer Jonathan Melville Pratt in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
(from left) Old Globe Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, cast member Joshua Elijah Reese, director Tea Alagić and cast members Okieriete Onaodowan, Jonathan Melville Pratt and Antwayn Hopper at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
Director Tea Alagić with cast members (from left) Joshua Elijah Reese, Okieriete Onaodowan and Antwayn Hopper at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
(from left) Cast members Okieriete Onaodowan, Antwayn Hopper and Joshua Elijah Reese at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
(from left) Cast members Okieriete Onaodowan, Antwayn Hopper, Jonathan Melville Pratt and Joshua Elijah Reese at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
(from left) Okieriete Onaodowan, Old Globe Board of Directors Chair Hal Fuson, Antwayn Hopper, Pam Fuson and Joshua Elijah Reese at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
(from left) Sheryl White, Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, cast member Joshua Elijah Reese, director Tea Alagić, Board member Harvey White and cast members Okieriete Onaodowan, Jonathan Melville Pratt and Antwayn Hopper at the opening night party for The Brothers Size on Jan. 31, 2013. The Southern California premiere of Tarell AlvIn McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Doug Gates.
Okieriete Onaodowan stars as Oshoosi Size in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Antwayn Hopper stars as Elegba in the Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Director Tea Alagić. The Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Composer and percussionist Jonathan Melville Pratt. The Southern California premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. The Southern California premiere of McCraney's The Brothers Size, directed by Tea Alagić, runs Jan. 26 - Feb. 24, 2013 at The Old Globe. Photo by Deana Lawson.
The Brothers Size. Illustration courtesy of The Old Globe.
Cast and Creative Team
(click on image to download a high-resolution photo)
Antwayn Hopper (Elegba) most recently appeared in the New York premiere of A Civil War Christmas directed by Tina Landau (New York Theatre Workshop), and prior to that he played Kilroy in the revival of Camino Real (Goodman Theatre). His other New York credits include Hair (Broadway), the premiere of Lesser Mercies (Exit, Pursued by a Bear), Yeast Nation (the triumph of life) (New York International Fringe Festival), Show Boat in concert (Carnegie Hall), Roller Derby (New York Musical Theatre Festival) and readings or workshops at Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Stage and Film and York Theatre Company. His select regional credits include the world premiere of Whoopi Goldberg’s White Noise (Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré), Rent (Syracuse Stage), Porgy and Bess in concert (Cincinnati Pops Orchestra), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (The Denver Center for the Performing Arts) and The Who’s Tommy (Dallas Theater Center). Hopper’s film credits include the forthcoming Imogene opposite Kristen Wiig, and he has appeared on television in “A Gifted Man” (CBS) and “Bored to Death” (HBO). He holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University.
Okieriete Onaodowan (Oshoosi Size) has appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac directed by Jamie Lloyd and Off Broadway in Neighbors (The Public Theater) and Langston in Harlem directed by Kent Gash (Urban Stages). His Off Off Broadway credits include The Shipment directed by Young Jean Lee(The Kitchen) and Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Richmond Shepard Theatre). He was also seen in the First National Tour of American Idiot. His regional credits include Ruined directed by Liesl Tommy (Huntington Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse), Coalhouse in Ragtime, Guys and Dolls and an opening performer for Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). He is a graduate of the William Esper Studio for acting. He has been featured in several readings at The Public Theater, New York Stage and Film, Lark Theatre Company and many others. Onaodowan is also a professional lover of life and giver of hugs.
Joshua Elijah Reese (Ogun Henri Size) is reprising the role of Ogun after being a part of the West Coast premiere of The Brother/Sister Plays in San Francisco at Magic Theatre and also most recently with Syracuse Stage, which toured Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. He has appeared regionally as Elegba in The Brothers Size, Nate in Charlayne Woodard’s Flight and Devaun in the world premiere of When January Feels Like Summer, which was a recipient of the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award(City Theatre, Pittsburgh), Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton in Seven Guitars (American Stage Theatre Company), Youngblood in Jitney (Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company), Davey Battle in Take Me Out (Bare Bones Theater Company) and Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre). His film credits include The Dark Knight Rises, One for the Money, Riddle, Unstoppable and Homecoming. His television credits include “The Kill Point,” “Person of Interest,” “Three Rivers,” Those Who Kill and “Low Winter Sun,” which will premiere on AMC this year. Reese is a graduate of Point Park University with a B.F.A. in Theatre and a minor in Dance.
Tarell Alvin McCraney (Playwright) is best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays: The Brothers Size, In the Red and Brown Water and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet.They have been performed at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, The Public Theater in New York, Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and at a trio of theaters in the Bay Area (Marin Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater and Magic Theatre), as well as the Young Vic in London (Olivier Award nomination) and around the world. His other plays include The Breach (Southern Rep, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Wig Out! (Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Royal Court Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, GLAAD Award for Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and Off-Broadway) and American Trade (Royal Shakespeare Company and Hampstead Theatre). Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he is an ensemble member, will produce the world premiere of his commissioned play Head of Passes in April 2013. His play Choir Boy, commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club, will be produced there in June 2013 and previously played to sold-out crowds at the Royal Court Theatre in London this past fall. McCraney was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s International Playwright in Residence from 2008 to 2010 where he co-edited and directed the Young People’s Shakespeare production of Hamlet, which toured throughout the U.K. and was presented at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. He is the recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers’ Award and Steinberg Playwright Award as well as London’s Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, the inaugural New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award and the inaugural Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting. He is a graduate of the New World School of the Arts High School, The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and Yale School of Drama. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and a member of Teo Castellanos/D-Projects in Miami.
Tea Alagić (Director) previously directed the world premiere of The Brothers Size at The Public Theater, The Studio Theatre and Abbey Theatre. She has also directed Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ A Light Design (Baryshnikov Art Center), Martyna Majok’s Petty Harbour (Carlotta Festival of New Plays at Yale University), Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s Lidless (Walkerspace Theater/Page 73 Productions), Cori Thomas’ Waking Up (The Ensemble Studio Theatre), Naomi Iizuka’s Anonymous (National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun (ZKM in Croatia), Jack Womack and Elliot Sharp’s Binibon (The Kitchen), Alberto Villarreal Diaz’s Events with Life’s Leftovers (DramaFest in Mexico City) and Saviana Stanescu’s Aliens with Extraordinary Skills (Women’s Project). She holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Yale University School of Drama.
Peter Ksander (Scenic Design) is a scenographer currently based in Portland, Oregon. His design credits include scenic and/or lighting designs for Botanica (Collapsable Giraffe, 3-Legged Dog), The Brothers Size (The Public Theater, The Studio Theatre, Dublin), Othello (Theatre for a New Audience, Intiman Theatre), On the Levee (LCT3),1:23 and Behind the Eye (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), A House in Bali (Bang on a Can, Cal Performances, Brooklyn Academy of Music), Making of Americans (Walker Art Center), Laude in Urbis (Compagnia de Colombari, Orvieto, Italy), This Place is a Desert with Jay Scheib (Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, Under the Radar Festival), Drum of the Waves of Horikawa (The Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf) and Saint Joan of the Stockyards (Stillpoint Productions/PS122). His design work has appeared in the Buenos Aires in Translation Festival, the Exit Festival at the Maison des arts de Créteil, the Ontological-Hysteric Incubator, PICA’s Time-Based Art Festival, the National Theatre in Hungary and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2008 he won an Obie Award for the scenic design of Untitled Mars (This Title May Change) (PS122). He holds a M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts and is an assistant professor at Reed College.
Michelle Hunt Souza (Costume Design) has previously designed the Globe productions of Pericles and Romeo y Julieta and the Old Globe/USD Graduate Theatre Program productions of Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Her San Diego credits include Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse), The Tempest (MiraCosta College), Rabbit Hole, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Dresser, A Christmas Carol, Don’t Dress for Dinner, String of Pearls and Dracula (North Coast Repertory Theatre), Christmas on My Mind and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Lamb’s Players Theatre), Dog Act (MOXIE Theatre), A Bright Room Called Day (Diversionary Theatre) and The Playboy of the Western World (New Village Arts). Her UC San Diego credits include Good Breeding, The Love of the Nightingale and Measure for Measure. Souza’s designs for Dog Act, A Bright Room Called Day and The Love of the Nightingale earned Patté Awards for Theater Excellence. Souza is a graduate of the M.F.A. program at UC San Diego.
Gina Scherr (Lighting Design) recently designed 20 Years of Encores! at New York City Center. Her other New York credits include Aliens with Extraordinary Skills, Binibon, Our Lot, Vendetta Chrome, Ugo’s Last Dance, Atomic Farmgirl, Momma, God’s Waiting Room, Cherubina, The Wife, Pitch and Gulf View Drive. She has designed internationally at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Korean Festival, Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto and Tremors Festival in Vancouver. Her regional credits include Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Two River Theater Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Yale Baroque Opera Project, The Empty Space and Williamstown Theatre Festival. She received a Bessie Award nomination for her work with Company XIV and has exhibited at Prague Quadrennial. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Yale School of Drama.
Paul Peterson (Sound Design) has designed over 100 productions at The Old Globe, including God of Carnage, Nobody Loves You, Anna Christie, Odyssey, Engaging Shaw, Life of Riley, Plaid Tidings — A Special Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid, Welcome to Arroyo’s, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound, The Last Romance, Lost in Yonkers, I Do! I Do!, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Cornelia, Kingdom, Six Degrees of Separation, The Women, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Bell, Book and Candle, Two Trains Running, Hold Please, Restoration Comedy, Pig Farm, Moonlight and Magnolias, Vincent in Brixton, Lucky Duck, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Blue/Orange, Time Flies, Pentecost, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, The Boswell Sisters,Crumbs from the Table of Joy, and many more. His regional credits include designs for Milwaukee Repertory Theater, San Jose Repertory Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, La Jolla Playhouse, Sledgehammer Theatre (Associate Artist), Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company, San Diego Repertory Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Malashock Dance, University of San Diego, San Diego State University and Freud Playhouse at UCLA. Peterson received his B.F.A. in Drama with an emphasis in Technical Design from San Diego State University.
Jonathan Melville Pratt (Original Music, Percussionist) is a composer, singer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and producer living in Brooklyn. Collaborators and commissioners with whom he has worked include The Old Globe, Keigwin + Company, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Camille A. Brown, The Public Theater, Abbey Theatre, Brian Mertes, Mimi Garrard Dance Theatre, Daniel Charon, Katie Workum, Jennifer Nugent, Jonah Bokaer, Princeton University, The Juilliard School of Drama and The Juilliard School of Dance. His credits include Dancing at Lughnasa, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, Ivanov, Platonov and The Seagull (Lake Lucille), The Greeks, Part One: The War and The Brothers Size (The Public), The Greeks, Part Two: The Murders and The Brothers Size (Abbey Theatre), The Greeks, Part Three: The Gods (Juilliard), the critically acclaimed “Thirteen” for Keigwin + Company’s Runaway (Juilliard, Joyce Theater), “Triptych” for Keigwin + Company’s world premiere (Joyce Theater), “Two Way Dream” for Camille A. Brown’s City of Rain (Joyce Theater, Princeton), the world premiere of the evening-length score “Motor” for Brian Brooks Moving Company (Lincoln Center) and “The Chain Suite” for Helen Simoneau’s Flight Distance III. Pratt was among seven out of 500 applicants from 60 countries to have been awarded the Sacatar International Arts Fellowship in Bahia, Brazil. He has recently scored the films A Study in Colour by Celia Rowlson-Hall, Blue for Kate Spade and an evening-length work “Big City” with Brian Brooks Moving Company, which premiered at the Joyce on May 30, 2012. He has also recently completed a collaboration with Keigwin + Company entitled “Flexus (12 Chairs) for the Joyce in June 2012 and is currently working on another. Additionally, Pratt is working on two new commissions for Camille A. Brown, one that premiered on December 12, 2012 at Juilliard and one that premiered at the Joyce in January 2013.
Jan Gist (Dialect Coach) has been Voice, Speech and Dialect Coach for Old Globe productions since 2002. She has coached at theaters around the country including Ahmanson Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC, The American Shakespeare Center, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre and Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company. Gist has been a guest on KPBS radio’s “A Way with Words,” narrated San Diego Museum of Art documentaries, coached dialects for the film The Rosa Parks Story and recorded dozens of Books To Listen To. She is a founding member of The Voice and Speech Trainers Association and has presented at many national and international conference workshops for them and for The Voice Foundation. She has taught workshops in Russia for the International Voice Teachers Exchange at The Moscow Art Theatre and at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. She has been published in VASTA Journals, and chapters in books include The Complete Vocal Warm-Up, More Stage Dialects and an interview in Voice and Speech Training in the New Millennium: Conversations with Master Teachers. She is a professor in The Old Globe/USD Graduate Theatre Program.
Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) recently cast the Globe productions of Pygmalion and Good People. Their Broadway casting credits include Craig Wright’s Grace, Theresa Rebeck’s Dead Accounts, Sharr White’s The Other Place, Lyle Kessler’s Orphans (upcoming), Seminar, The Columnist, Stick Fly, Good People, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The House of Blue Leaves, Fences, Lend Me a Tenor and The Royal Family. They also cast for Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, LCT3, Ars Nova, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre and three seasons with Williamstown Theatre Festival. Their recent and upcoming film and television credits include HairBrained (with Brendan Fraser) and Steel Magnolias (Sony for Lifetime).
Diana Moser (Stage Manager) recently stage managed The Recommendation,August: Osage County, Rafta, Rafta…, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound and The Whipping Man at The Old Globe. Her additional credits at the Globe include Lost in Yonkers, I Do! I Do!, The Price, Opus, Six Degrees of Separation, The Pleasure of His Company, The Glass Menagerie, In This Corner, 2007 Summer Shakespeare Festival, Restoration Comedy, Christmas on Mars, A Body of Water, Lobby Hero, Fiction and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Moser’s regional credits include La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, New York Theatre Workshop, Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Children’s Theatre Company and Arizona Theatre Company. Moser received her B.A. from Bard College and her M.F.A. in Directing from Purdue. When not doing theater, she splits her time between Nova Scotia and the classic wooden sailboat Simba I. Moser is a strong supporter of the Bard Prison Initiative, which provides a college education to inmates.
