‘Henry V’ At Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage has announced a well-rounded cast for “Henry V,” and has also revealed that the Shakespeare play will be staged in the round — only the second arena-style staging in the theater’s history.
The title role of the brash young king will be played by Stephen Louis Grush, who’s previously done such young sexy roles as Ethan in “Sex With Strangers” (at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. and Steppenwolf in Chicago) and
Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” (at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.)
Nearly everyone else in the cast has been in a play in Connecticut pretty recently.
“Henry V” has over 40 characters. Director Elizabeth Williamson (who is also Hartford Stage associate artistic director) is doing it with a cast of 15. There is some cross-gender casting (not unlike Evan Yionoulis’ production of Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” at Yale Rep in 2016) and reportedly a contemporary modern-dress feel to the show.
Peter Francis James, who played the Friar in “Romeo and Juliet” at Westport Playhouse last year, plays The Chorus as well as Sir Thomas Erpingham. Felicity Jones Latta, who was Nurse in that same Westport “R&J” and was in the national tour of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at The Bushnell, plays the Archbishop of Canterbury as well as Nym and Alice. Miles Anderson, who starred in “Heartbreak House” at Hartford Stage, is Pistol. Kate Forbes, who was in Hartford Stage’s “Hamlet” (and who had to leave the cast of “Cloud 9” after she injured her arm during the dress rehearsal) is the
Duke of Burgundy and the Constable of France. Liam Craig (from Yale Rep’s “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” and Hartford Stage’s “Seder”) plays the French Ambassador, Bardolph and Gower. Jamie Rezanour (from the Hartford Stage premiere of “Queens for a Year”) is the herald Montjoy as well as the Duke of Orleans and the Earl of Cambridge.
Those without recent Connecticut credits include Karen Aldridge (playing Exeter), Anthony Michael Lopez (playing as The Dauphin and MacMorris), Wesleyan grad Nafeesa Monroe (King of France, Monsieur le Fer and Bates), Evelyn Spahr (Katherine and Boy) and comedian Baron Vaughn (Fluellen, Mistress Quickly).
There are also three University of Hartford Hartt
School students in the ensemble: Mark Lawrence, Haley Tyson and Reid Williams.
“Henry V” runs Oct. 11 through Nov. 11. Details at hartfordstage.org.