Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Page 73 have announced casting for the New York premiere of Basil Kreimendahl's Orange Julius, a memory play about a dying Vietnam vet and his trans, adult child.
Directed by Dustin Wills, previews are set to begin January 10, 2017, for a January 22 opening at Rattlestick. The cast will be made up of two-time Tony nominee Mary Testa, Jess Barbagallo, Stephen Payne, Irene Sofia Lucio, and Ruy Iskandar.
“After being poisoned by Agent Orange in the jungles of Vietnam, Julius is dying; his body is racked with cancer and his mind gone,“ read production notes. “Nut, his adult child, tries to reconnect with Julius by caring for his decaying body, sorting through childhood memories, and diving into war movie fantasies, ultimately finding ways to connect with him in ways Nut never expected.“
“I first fell in love with Orange Julius in 2012 during a reading at NYTW," commented Daniella Topol, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's artistic director, about her first mainstage presentation. “There was something wholly original, deeply honest, and terrifyingly brave that stuck with me over all of these years. Basil's play goes to uncharted territories in such innovative ways. I am deeply moved by how Basil so bravely looks at the complex intimacy between a father and a child and at the cost of war on a family.“
The production will feature sets by Kate Noll, costumes by Montana Blanco, lighting by Barbara Samuels, and sound by Palmer Hefferan. Nicole Marconi is production stage manager.
Orange Julius was developed at the 2012 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, was included in La Jolla Playhouse's DNA new work series, and had its world premiere at Moxie Theatre Company in San Diego. Kreimendahl's play Sidewinders won the Rella Lossy Playwright's Award and had its world premiere at The Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco; We're Gonna Be OK will have its world premiere at Actors Theatre of Louisville at the 2017 Humana Festival of New Plays.
Tickets to the Off-Broadway debut of Orange Julius can be bought at RattleStick.org or via phone at (212) 627-2556.
