By Kenneth Jones
22 Oct 2009

Harry Groener

The cast of Geffen Playhouse's production of Bill Cain's Equivocation, set in the time of Shakespeare, will include Joe Spano as Shakespeare and Tony Award nominee Harry Groener as a leader in the bard's acting troupe.

The Los Angeles production of the regionally acclaimed play will open Nov. 18. David Esbjornson directs and will design the set.

Spano, best known for his roles on television's "NCIS" and "Hill Street Blues," will play Shakespeare, who is called "Shag" in the play.

Groener (Broadway's Oklahoma! and Crazy for You) will play Richard, "the second in command of Shag's winsome acting troupe."

The cast includes Patrick J. Adams, Brian Henderson and Connor Trinneer, who comprise the rest of Shag's theatre company — Sharpe, Armin and Nate, respectively.

The cast also features Troian Bellisario as Judith, Shakespeare's omnipresent daughter. Previews begin Nov. 10. Performances continue to Dec. 20.

According to Geffen notes, "As Equivocation's tale unwinds onstage, the actors ultimately play about two dozen roles ranging from conspirators and priests to Lady Macbeth and King Lear. The play tells the story of how King James commissions Shakespeare to write the 'true history' of England's infamous Gunpowder Plot. Yet, as Shag and his troupe begin researching the King's project, they find far more fiction than fact. With the weight of history on their shoulders, the actors struggle to dramatize the King's absurd account without losing their integrity — or their heads."

Equivocation was a recipient of the 2008 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award for its world premiere production, and in addition, was awarded a special grant from the Edgerton Foundation for two extra weeks of rehearsal for the Geffen Playhouse run.

The play, which had its world premiere at the 2009 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, was originally developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and was part of the New Works Festival at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA.

The production team includes costume designer Frances Kenny, lighting designer Scott Zielinski, sound designer Jon Gottlieb.

For more information, visit GeffenPlayhouse.com.