“Clybourne Park“, the 2012 Tony Award winner for Best Play, welcomed a new cast member on June 17 in Sarah Goldberg who will play the dual roles of Betsy and Lindsey. On June 15, Annie Parisse, who originated these two roles, gave her final performance.
Goldberg is no stranger to the role as she previously played these two characters at the Royal Court Theatre in London and at the Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End. For her performance, Goldberg received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Other London credits include “Apologia” and “Six Degrees of Separation”. Goldberg recently appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Look Back in Anger.
The cast of “Clybourne Park “also includes Crystal A. Dickinson, Brendan Griffin, Damon Gupton, Christina Kirk, and Frank Wood. This is the Broadway debut for both Dickinson and Griffin. Gupton is a graduate of the Julliard Drama Division.
In February 2010, “Clybourne Park” premiered in New York at Playwrights Horizons. After the play’s UK premiere at the Royal Court Theater, it moved to the West End at the Wyndham’s Theatre. The play also had a two month stay in Providence, RI in October and November 2011, as well as an extended run at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA.
On April 19, 2012, “Clybourne Park” opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater. Although originally slated for a sixteen week engagement, “Clybourne Park” has been extended until September 2, 2012 due to its Tony Award win and popularity.
Besides winning a Tony Award for Best Play, “Clybourne Park” received three other nominations. These include Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Jeremy Shamos), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Daniel Ostling), and Best Direction of a Play (Pam MacKinnon.
Bruce Norris wrote “Clybourne Park” in response to Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun.” “A Raisin in the Sun” chronicles an African American family, the Youngers, who win the lottery and plan to use the money to buy a house in an all white neighborhood. Norris delves deeper into the themes of race relations and African American gentrification in “Clybourne Park.” This play portrays fictional events before and after Hansberry’s drama.
After performing on both stage and television, Norris tried his hand at playwriting with “The Actor Retires.” He has done work with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company as both an actor and playwright. According to a Lincoln Center Theater interview, Norris has had four of his plays commissioned by Steppenwolf. Sam Shepard is the only other playwright who has had more plays produced by this theater.
For “Clybourne Park,” Norris received the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Norris puts a satirical and comedic spin on the issue of race relations in an effort to expose and change how modern theater audiences view race.
Mark Kennedy of the Huffington Post says, “‘ Clybourne Park’ is everything you want in a play: Smart, witty, provocative and wonderfully acted…Director Pam MacKinnon lets each actor shine, pulls out the humor and is a master at the slow boil.” The Washington Post also has high praise for “Clybourne Park.” Peter Mark states, “Those familiar with ‘Clybourne’ will find its poignant ironies and hilarious confrontations as sharp as ever.”
Playbill Vault reports that for the week ending on July 1, 2012, “Clybourne Park” grossed $394, 874. Tickets range from $30.00 to $127.00 and are available at both the Walter Kerr Theatre box office and by phone. For a full schedule of performances visit the play’s official website.
