2018 Season
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
February 2018
by Tennessee Williams
directed by Emilie Whelan
"I don't want realism. I want magic!"
When creditors claim the last of her family inheritance, the glamorous Blanche Dubois begins to rebuild her life. But within the volatile household of her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley, Blanche’s nostalgia soon gives way to a more savage reality: one in which envy, passion and betrayal collide—with devastating consequences.
CAST
Blanche DuBois - Lisa Ramirez*
Stella Kowalski - Sarita Ocón*
Stanley Kowalski - Ogie Zulueta*
Mitch- Dominick Palamenti
Eunice - Champagne Hughes
Steve - Erik Jon Gibson
Pablo - Abdulrahim Harara
Ensemble - Regina Morones
*Members of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
Reviews
HIGHEST RATING!
"The magic of Ubuntu Theater Project's production is that it sheds the baggage of decades of expectation... Directed by Emilie Whelan, one of the best-known classics of American theater feels like a new play."
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
"You can tell from the start that this is going to be an unconventional staging of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 play."
—Sam Hurwitt, Bay Area News Group
"Every aspect of the production [is] stunning... does not disappoint!"
—Anoushka Agrawal, Daily Californian
"Engaging, absorbing, vibrant"
—Emily S. Mendel, Berkeleyside
DANCE OF THE HOLY GHOSTS
March 2018 |West coast premiere
by Marcus Gardley
directed by Michael Socrates Moran
An audience favorite during its development, this gospel-music-infused production follows the life and legacy of Oscar and his grandson Marcus in the format of a memorial service.
Familiar, funny and profound, this mosaic of music and memory explores the details that holds a family together.
CAST
Ensemble Porsha Bell
Big Ass Wille Smalls Dameion Brown
Ensemble Charlotte Christien
Princess Parquette Jamella Cross
Marcus Michael Curry
Irma/Ensemble Kimba Daniels
Oscar Berwick Haynes
Norma Champagne Hughes
Father Michael Anthone Jackson
Darlene Elizabeth Jones
Ensemble Njeri Kamau-Devers
Viola/Tanisha Halili Knox*
Ensemble Kahlil Leneus
Ensemble Alicia McCauley
Ensemble William Oliver
Ensemble Brittany Simms
Precious Parquette Rahel Zeleke
*Members of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
Reviews
"Wonderfully resonant!"
—Sam Hurwitt, San Jose Mercury News
"Powerful, haunting, lyrical"
—Robert M. Gardner, Theatrius
"Refreshing, vivid... encompasses the hopes and dreams of what it means to be human"
—Sahar Yousefi, Spinning Platters
AMERICAN JORNALERO
April - May 2018 | West Coast Premiere
by Ed Cardona Jr.
directed by Tioni Collins
In an empty lot on a New York street corner, six men wait: For coffee. For work. For news. For their luck to change.
One of the season’s site-specific productions, this vital new play places a literal fence line through the center of contemporary dialogue on labor and immigration—and asks whether it’s a divide that can ever be scaled.
Reviews
TBA RECOMMENDED PRODUCTION!
"Relevant and engaging... Tioni Collins’ clever staging adds punch to the proceedings... the effective production showcases energetic actors and Ubuntu’s committed crew"
—Leslie Katz, SF Examiner
"Timely, powerful, intimate... puts us in the middle of crippling, outdated immigration policies"
—Robert M. Gardner, Theatrius
"Poignancy, humor, power... a fresh take on the American Dream"
—Sahar Yousefi, Spinning Platters
CAST
Marcelo Cristhian Ayvar
Luis Jose Rodriguez
Michigan Juan Berumen
Montezuma Benoît Monin
Mark Paul Rodrigues
Toby Ted Zoldan
Reviews
"Taut and absorbing... it’s damn good and the story remains crucial."
—Kim Waldron, Theatrius
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
May-June 2018
by Suzan-Lori Parks
directed by Kimberly Ridgeway
Brothers Lincoln and Booth are barely scraping by in urban America: the former works as a Lincoln impersonator, the latter deals three-card Monte. As each brother begins to make his own play for independence, the stakes between the siblings rise, paving the way for a collision of ambition and ego.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Pultizer Prize-winning drama explores the complexities of brotherhood, masculinity, rivalry, and power—and the uncertain spaces that lie between love and hate, luck and skill, victor and victim.
When the players have nothing to lose and everything to gain, who comes out on top?
cast
Lincoln Dorian Lockett
Booth Michael Curry
POOL OF UNKNOWN WONDERS:
UNDERTOW OF THE SOUL
August-September 2018 | World PRemiere
by Philip Kan Gotanda
directed by Michael Socrates Moran
"However many start must finish. However many begin, that many must arrive."
In an unfamiliar world, six unexpected companions find themselves on a common journey, facing unforeseen tests to achieve an unknown goal.
Inspired by Hermann Hesse's Journey to the East, Philip Kan Gotanda's surreal new drama plumbs the depths of the human quest for meaning in a fresh, urgent parable on wholeness, identity and belonging.
Reviews
“Fresh, experimental, mythological”
—Tyler Jeffreys, Theatrius
“An ever-intriguing story that gives you a whole lot to contemplate long after you’ve left the theater”
—Sam Hurwitt, Mercury News
“A fascinating attempt on the part of one of America’s most versatile playwrights and the Ubuntu Theater Project to engage with a 21st century American problem—a misunderstanding of trauma and how to overcome it.”
—John Wilkins, The Free Audience
CAST
Hamsun Nathaniel Andalis
Monkawa J Jha
Mr. Figgy John Mercer
Gorky Peter Stielstra
Mrs. Bankhead Dawn L. Troupe*
Sophie Margherita Ventura
Karmas Michael Aldrete
Dov Hassan
Indigo Jackson
Sharon Shao
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
HAMLET
October-November 2018
by William Shakespeare
directed by Michael Socrates Moran
assistant director Emilie Whelan
After the tragic death of Hamlet’s father, the prince is forced to acknowledge the insidious corruption throughout his kingdom. But can injustices be overcome without destroying the powers that sustain them—including Hamlet’s own place at the heart of it?
Shakespeare’s enduring tragedy offers a powerful exploration of the roots of corruption, and the ways in which we become complicit in some of society’s deepest divides.
REviews
“Illumination often comes in unexpected moments — moments that other productions of Shakespeare’s tragedy might throw away”
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
“A thrill ride! Explodes with unexpected tensions... [and] moments of striking insight and grace”
—John Wilkins, The Free Audience
“Ubuntu Theater Project has done it again—created a miraculous play from simple materials... magic!”
—Barry David Horwitz, Theatrius
Cast
Hamlet Michael Moran
Claudius Rolf Saxon*
Gertrude Mia Tagano*
Polonius Dov Hassan
Laertes Ogie Zulueta*
Horatio J Jha
Ophelia Sharon Shao
Ensemble Nathaniel Andalis, Rolanda D. Bell, Jean Carey, Kimberly Daniels, Carla Gallardo, Abdulrahim Harara, Indigo Jackson, Guillermo Labarca, Alicia McCauley, William Oliver III, Kevin Rebultan, Leigh Rondon-Davis, Kenny Scott, Matt Standley, Margherita Ventura, Emilie Whelan
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS
November-December 2018 | World Premiere
Co-Production with Inferno Theatre
by Sholeh Wolpé
directed by Giulio Cesare Perrone
In a Kingdom with no ruler, ten thousand birds set out to find a King none have ever seen. Led by the wise Hoopoe, the birds journey through dangers, distractions and difficulties, their Conference growing smaller each day.
Adapted from the celebrated Sufi poem, this lyrical parable is a timeless reflection on the search for meaning on a journey toward something larger than ourselves.
CAST
Sarah Brazier
Jane Eisner
Ben Elie
Amir Etemadzadeh
Ashley Jaye
Saira Kaur Mangat
Ali-Moosa Mirza
Omar Osoria Pena
Danie Citlali Valdivieso
Joshua Williams