Othello: The Public announces complete cast

The Public Theater has announced complete casting for the first production of the 2009-2010 Season, Othello, directed by Peter Sellars. This contemporary production, featuring the previously announced John Ortiz as 'Othello' and Philip Seymour Hoffman as 'Iago,' will play for 23 performances only at NYU Skirball Center.

Presented by The Public Theater and LAByrinth Theater Company in association with Wiener Festwochen, Vienna and Schauspielhaus Bochum and by special arrangement with NYU Skirball Center, Othello opens on 27 Sep 2009, following previews from 12 Sep and will run through to 4 Oct 2009.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, August 3.

The complete cast for Othello will feature Julian Acosta as 'Roderigo,' Gaius Charles as 'Duke/Lodovico,' Jessica Chastain as 'Desdemona,' Liza Colon-Zayas as 'Emilia,' Saidah Arrika Ekulona as 'Montano/Bianca,' Philip Seymour Hoffman as 'Iago,' LeRoy McClain as 'Cassio' and John Ortiz as 'Othello.'

�Peter Sellars is a brilliant, breath-taking, audacious director and his encounter with Othello has produced an absolutely unique and riveting production,� said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "It continues one of The Public's great traditions, that of making Shakespeare our contemporary and using his extraordinary work to throw light on our specific historical moment."

Press notes read "The Public opens its fall season with Othello, Shakespeare's most passionate and spiritually-charged creation. Peter Sellars, renowned for tearing through boundaries with his visionary stagings of the classics, explores the new prospects for hope in 21st-century America giving the play a modern resonance that raises a mirror to our culture's racial struggles and achievements, both darkened and illuminated by overwhelming personal and political yearning."

Othello will feature scenic design by Gregor Halzinger, costume design by Mimi O�Donnell, lighting design by James F. Ingalls and original music and sound design by Mark Grey.

Peter Sellers (Director) is a leading theater, opera, and festival director. He has received acclaim for his re-envisioning of classics, such as works by Mozart, Shakespeare, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and the 16th-century Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, to engage contemporary social and political issues. Recent projects include John Adams� 'Doctor Atomic,' Tan Dun's composition 'Peony Pavilion,' a new version of Stravinsky's 'The Story of a Soldier,' the premiere production of Kaija Saariaho's opera 'L'amour de loin' and 'For an End to the Judgment of God / Kissing God Goodbye,' a production of Antonin Artaud's radio play with the poetry of the late June Jordan staged as a United States Department of War press conference.

Julian Acosta (Roderigo)�s recent theater credits include 'Penalties and Interest' (The Public/LAByrinth), 'Massacre' (Sing to Your Children) (The Public/LAByrinth), 'Lucy and the Conquest' (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and 'Anna in the Tropics' (South Coast Repertory Theater).

Gaius Charles (Duke/Lodovico) is best known for his role as �Smash� on NBC�s �Friday Night Lights.� His theater credits include 'Broke-Ology,' 'Spunk,' 'Candide,' 'The Wild Party,' and his one-man show 'Meet Me In Iraq. 'He appears in the films 'Toe to Toe,' 'The Messenger,' and 'Bone Deep.'

Jessica Chastain (Desdemona) most recently appeared in New York in Richard Nelson�s 'Rodney�s Wife' at Playwrights Horizons. Her TV and film credits include the miniseries 'Blackbeard', the film 'Jolene,' and roles on 'Trial By Jury,' 'Veronica Mars' and 'ER.' She will appear in Al Pacino�s upcoming film 'Salomaybe?,' Terrence Malick�s 'The Tree of Life,' and John Madden�s 'The Debt.'

Liza Colon-Zayas (Emilia) appeared at The Public in 'The Little Flower of East Orange' and in LAByrinth�s 'A View from 151st Street.' A LAByrinth company member since 1992, her credits with the company include 'In Arabia We�d All Be Kings,' 'Our Lady of 121st Street' and 'The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,' all written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. She received a Lucille Lortel nomination for her performance in Lisa Loomer�s 'Living Out,' directed by Jo Bonney.

Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Montano/Bianca) recently played 'Mama Nadi' in the Manhattan Theater Club production of Lynn Nottage�s Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'Ruined.' Her theater credits include 'Well' on Broadway, 'Romeo and Juliet' at Shakespeare in the Park, 'The Thugs' at Soho Rep, 'Fabulation' at Playwrights Horizons, and 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at New York Theatre Workshop.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Iago) has appeared at The Public in 'The Seagull' and 'The Skriker,' his directing credits with The Public and LAByrinth include 'Our Lady of 121st Street' (Lortel nomination), 'The Last Days of Judas Iscariot' and 'The Little Flower of East Orange.' An Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning actor, his numerous film credits include 'Doubt,' Charlie Wilson�s 'War,' 'Capote,' 'Almost Famous' and 'The Big Lebowski.' His Broadway credits include 'Long Day�s Journey Into Night' and 'True West.'

Leroy McClain (Cassio) most recently appeared at The Public in Tracey Scott Wilson�s 'The Good Negro.' His New York theater credits include 'The History Boys' and 'Cymbeline' on Broadway; 'Oroonoko' at Theater for a New Audience, 'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,' 'Huck & Holden' and 'In Search of Stanley Hammer.'

John Ortiz (Othello) last appeared at The Public in Bob Glaudini�s 'Jack Goes Boating.' A co-founder of LAByrinth Theater Company, his roles with LAByrinth include 'School of the Americas,' 'The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,' 'Guinea Pig Solo,' 'Jesus Hopped the A Train' and 'Where�s My Money?.' He won an OBIE for 'References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot' at The Public and appeared on Broadway in Nilo Cruz�s Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'Anna in the Tropics.'