The Old Vic has announced initial casting for Arthur Miller’s The American Clock at The Old Vic, directed by Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Hadestown) with music by Justin Ellington from 4 February to 30 March 2019 (press night is 13 February).
The cast includes: Amber Aga, Paul Bentall, Greg Bernstein, Clare Burt, Flora Dawson, Abhin Galeya, Fred Haig, Jyuddah Jaymes, John Marquez, Francesca Mills, Taheen Modak, Christian Patterson, Golda Rosheuvel, Abdul Salis, Josie Walker and Ewan Wardrop. Further casting to be announced.
The American Clock turns, fortunes are made and lives are broken. In New York City in 1929, the stock market crashed and everything changed.
In an American society governed by race and class, we meet the Baum family as they navigate the aftermath of an unprecedented financial crisis. The world pulses with a soundtrack fusing 1920s swing and jazz with a fiercely contemporary sound, creating a backdrop that spans a vast horizon from choking high-rises to rural heartlands.
The production will celebrate the changing face and evolution of the American family by having three sets of actors in the roles of Moe, Rose and Lee Baum for each performance.
Director Rachel Chavkin said:
“We’re excited to be bringing together a range of wholly unique artists for The American Clock. It’s essential that this production capture the epic scope of Arthur’s play, which includes many races and cultures and classes, not to mention different corners of the American geography. All the characters in the play are struggling with the shared experience of the Great Depression and I hope that by embracing the cultural specificity of each performer we will further deepen and expand the themes of the show.’
Also in the creative team are Chloe Lamford (set), Rosie Elnile (costumes), Justin Ellington (composer), Ann Yee (choreographer Ann Yee, Natasha Chivers (lighting), Darron L West (sound), Jessica Ronane (casting), Jim Henson (musical director) and Julia Locascio (Baylis assistant director).
Bios
Amber Aga plays Rose Baum. Her theatre credits include Ant Street, I Call My Brothers (Arcola); Reading Hebron, Factors Unforeseen (Orange Tree Theatre); Lidless (Highgate Festival); The Container (Young Vic); The Man of Mode (National Theatre) and The Suppliants (Battersea Arts Centre).
Paul Bentall plays Grandpa and Kapush. His theatre credits include extensive work for the RSC, including Eastward Ho!, Edward III, Love in a Wood, Jubilee, Richard III, Cymbeline, Spanish Tragedy, Henry VIII and A Servant to Two Masters (also at the Ambassadors); and for the National Theatre, including Edward II, Captain of Köpenick, Timon of Athens, Antigone, The Comedy of Errors, Love the Sinner and Theatre of Blood. Other theatre includes Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace); You Never Can Tell (Garrick); Pity (Royal Court); The Man Who Had all the Luck, My Dad’s a Birdman (Young Vic); Darwin’s Flood (Bush); The Mikado (Orange Tree); Brighton Rock (Almeida); Time of My Life (Watford Palace); and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Rose Theatre, Kingston).
Greg Bernstein’s theatre credits include 42nd Street (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Caroline, Or Change (National Theatre); Billy Elliott (Victoria Palace Theatre); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium) and Mary Poppins, Barnum (UK Tour).
Clare Burt plays Rose Baum and Lucille. Her theatre credits include Flowers for Mrs Harris (Chichester Festival Theatre/Sheffield Crucible – UK Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Musical); Miss Littlewood (RSC); Big Fish (The Other Palace); The Divide (Edinburgh International Festival); Sunspots (Hampstead Theatre); Game (Almeida); A Streetcar Named Desire, Vernon God Little (Young Vic); This Is My Family (Sheffield Crucible); London Road, Coram Boy (National Theatre) and Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse).
Flora Dawson’s theatre credits include Singin’ In the Rain (Chichester Festival Theatre/Palace Theatre); Wonderful Town (Barbican/London Symphony Orchestra); Funny Girl, White Christmas (UK Tour) and Kiss Me, Kate (Welsh National Opera).
Abhin Galeya plays Moe Baum, Tony and Farmer. His theatre credits include Big Aftermath of a Small Disclosure (Actors Touring Company, Edinburgh); Hedda Gabler (National Theatre UK Tour); The Cherry Orchard, The Lower Depths (Arcola); Hotel Cerise (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Category B, Seize the Day, Detaining Justice, Best of Motives (Tricycle); The Container, East is East (Young Vic); In a Caravan, The Hot Zone (Battersea Arts Centre) and The Ramayana (National Theatre).
Fred Haig plays Lee Baum and Sidney Margolies. His theatre credits include Follies (National Theatre) and Ostrich Boys (Belgrade Theatre). Film and Television credits include Ironbark and Summer of Rockets.
Jyuddah Jaymes plays Lee Baum, Charley and Graham. His theatre credits include Twelfth Night (Young Vic); The Garden Hop (Bristol Old Vic), Little Baby Jesus (Wardrobe Theatre), Under Milk Wood, Little Baby Jesus, The Wizard of Oz, The Taming of the Shrew, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Blue/Orange (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School).
John Marquez plays Moe Baum, Farmer and Ryan. His theatre credits include Once in a Lifetime, Good Soul of Seitzuan, Annie Get Your Gun (Young Vic); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre); Ding Dong the Wicked, Mother Theresa is Dead (Royal Court); Privates on Parade (Noel Coward Theatre); The Twilight Zone, The Chain Play, The Hypochondriac, The House of Games (Almeida); The Emperor Jones, Market Boy, Sing Your Heart Out for the Lads (National Theatre); The Anniversary (Garrick); The Messiah (The Other Palace); The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) and Flea in her Ear (The Old Vic).
Francesca Mills plays Edie, Doris Gross, Diana Morgan, Isabel, Harriet Taylor and Lucy. Her theatre credits include Pity (Royal Court); The Two Noble Kinsman (Shakespeare’s Globe); A Tale of Two Cities (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); A Pacifist’s Guide To The War on Cancer (Complicité/National Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sheffield Crucible); Cyrano de Bergerac (Northern Broadsides/UK Tour); The Government Inspector (Birmingham Repertory Theatre) and See How They Run (The Reduced Height Theatre Company).
Taheen Modak plays Lee Baum and Joe. Taheen trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and The American Clock marks his professional stage debut.
Christian Patterson plays Arthur Clayton, Dr. Rosman and Judge Bradley. His theatre credits include The Way of the World (Donmar Warehouse); My Country (National Theatre/UK Tour); St Nicholas, Blackbird, The Dying of
Today, Blasted (The Other Room); Oliver! (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Journey’s End (West End/UK Tour); The Gondoliers, The Merchant of Venice, The Water Babies (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Secret Garden (RSC/Aldwych Theatre). He is an Associate Actor of Theatr Clwyd where his credits include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Insignificance, All My Sons, Aristocrats, Rape of the Fair Country, Glengarry Glen Ross, As You Like
It(Theatr Clwyd).
Golda Rosheuvel plays Rose Baum, Irene and Mrs. Taylor. Her theatre credits include Othello, The Big I Am, Paint Your Wagon (Liverpool Everyman Theatre); A Christmas Carol, Electra, Carmen Jones (The Old Vic); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Gielgud); We Will Rock You (Dominion); The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra (RSC West End); The Front Line, Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare’s Globe); Porgy and Bess, Macbeth (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Now We Are Here (Young Vic); Angels in America (Headlong Theatre); The White Devil (Menier Chocolate Factory); Juliet and her Romeo (Bristol Old Vic) and The Winter’s Tale (Schtanhaus/Headlong Theatre).
Abdul Salis plays Isaac, Frank, Toland and Jesse Livermore. His theatre credits include Barber Shop Chronicles, War Horse (National Theatre); Don Juan in Soho (Donmar Warehouse); Distance (Park Theatre); A Bit of Light, Birth! (Royal Exchange); 31 Hours (Bunker Theatre); Breakfast Plays (Traverse); Boy (Almeida); Roundabout Season (Paines Plough); The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco (Gate); Henry V (Unicorn); Joe Guy (New Wolsey Ipswich/Soho Theatre) and The Exonerated (Dublin Festival).
Josie Walker plays Fanny Margolies. Her theatre credits include Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo /Sheffield Crucible); Matilda The Musical (RSC/Cambridge Theatre); The Plough and The Stars, Husbands and Sons, 3 Winters, The Silver Tassie (National Theatre); War Horse (New London Theatre); Corrie The Play (Lowry Manchester); Enjoy (National Tour/Gielgud Theatre); Assassins (Crucible Sheffield); Abigail’s Party (Northcott Exeter); Steaming (Harrogate Turkish Baths); A Streetcar Named Desire (Theatr Clwyd); Little Shop of Horrors (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Beautiful Game (Cambridge Theatre) and The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre).
Ewan Wardrop plays Theodore K. Quinn, Brewster, William Durant and Stanislaus. His theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Wind and the Willows (Royal Opera House/Vaudeville/Duchess); Enron (Noel Coward); Faeries, Stromboli, (Royal Opera House); Up from the Waste (Soho Theatre); On Your Toes (Southbank Centre); Play Without Words (National Theatre); Dick Whittington (Sadler’s Wells); The Deep Blue Sea, Rattigan’s Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Noise of Time (Complicité); Beauty and the Beast (RSC), Nutcracker (New Adventures); The Carman, Cinderella, Swan Lake (Adventures in Motion Pictures) and Der Freishutz (English National Opera).
