Cleveland Play House Brings Adventure And Arrows With Ken Ludwig's Sherwood

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is raising the swashbuckling stakes on the Robin Hood folklore with an exciting adventure that conjures up joy, romance and merriment. Ken Ludwig's Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, is a lightning speed tale full of playful characters that will take over the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square from February 2nd through February 24th, 2019.

Cleveland favorite Ken Ludwig (Baskerville, A Comedy of Tenors, The Game's Afoot) is back with a rollicking new take on a beloved legend. A greedy prince has taken control of England, and it is up to dashing outlaw Robin Hood to save the day. Join up and take aim with Robin and his band of Merry Men-and women!- as they champion the underdog and fight for justice. Laughs, romance, and plenty of arrows fly in this all-out comic adventure.

Laura Kepley, Cleveland Play House's Artistic Director, cannot wait for audiences to experience this new version of Robin Hood: "This production has all of the clever theatricality, bold physicality and uproarious humor we expect from Ken Ludwig. It also showcases Ken's unique ability to embed a sweet and generous heart inside of the most outlandish comic situations. He creates characters that make us laugh and makes our emotions swell. This will be a romantic, adventurous and uplifting evening for all."

Amy Blackman (Maid Marian/Ensemble) is very excited to be making her Cleveland Play House debut. Her most recent credits include last year's Tony Winner for Best Revival of a Play, Angels in America on Broadway. She has appeared regionally in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Cincinnati Playhouse/Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Caroline, Or Change (Tantrum Theater); Love's Labor's Lost, Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors, and Twelfth Night (The Old Globe); and Titanic (The Muny). Her TV credits include New Amsterdam and Madam Secretary. She received her MFA from The Old Globe/University of San Diego and her BFA from the University of Michigan.

Andrea Goss (Deorwynn/Ensemble) recently appeared in the title role of the revised world premiere of Jane Eyre at Cleveland Musical Theatre. Her Broadway credits include Indecent, Cabaret, Once, and Rent. She played Sally Bowles in the national tour of Cabaret. She has appeared regionally in The River (Theatreworks Hartford), A Civil War Christmas (Baltimore Center Stage), Once (Engeman), Striking 12 (TUTS/Queensbury Theatre), Zorro (Alliance), A Christmas Carol (McCarter), Venice (Center Theatre Group/Kansas City Rep), Tarzan (North Shore Music Theater), High School Musical (St. Louis MUNY), and The Sound of Music and Big River (Syracuse Stage). NYC readings include Beau, K-Pop, Zapata, August Rush, Freckleface Strawberry, and Casanova Returns. She also appeared in Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway.

Doug Hara (Friar Tuck/Ensemble) is an actor, director, and playwright who has performed on many stages from Broadway (The Boys of Winter, Metamorphoses) and Off-Broadway (The Notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci, Lookingglass Alice) to regional theaters across the country. A longtime ensemble member of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company, he has been in many LTC productions including Metamorphoses, The Brothers Karamazov, Arabian Nights, and Eastland. Doug wrote and directed Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth at Lookingglass in the 2016/2017 season. Over the past decade Doug has established a second artistic home in the Philadelphia area. In 2017 Doug received a Barrymore Award for his portrayal of Mr. Bungee in A New Brain at Theatre Horizon. Upcoming in May and June you can find Doug in Philadelphia performing in Arden Theatre's production of Paula Vogel's Indecent. Sherwood marks his debut at Cleveland Play House, for which he is very grateful. Learn more at doughara.com.

Josh Innerst (Sir Guy of Gisbourne/Ensemble, Music Director) is new to the Cleveland area but has been working in the regional theatre circuit for several years. He is a member of The Acting Company at the American Shakespeare Center where he has appeared in over thirty productions including Hamlet in (Hamlet), Ted (Peter and the Starcatcher), Brutus (Julius Caesar), Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest), Martin Luther (Wittenberg), Bassanio (The Merchant of Venice), and The Chorus (Henry V). Various other theatre credits include, Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps (Bootless Stageworks); Suffolk in Henry VI.i. and Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Captain Carter in Pride and Prejudice (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); Macduff in Macbeth (Illinois Shakespeare Festival); and more. Audiobook Narration credits include: The Rise & Fall of Sparta, Stoicism, and America's Most Notorious Robber Barons. Josh is represented by The Docherty Agency.

Zack Powell (Robin Hood) is excited to make his Cleveland Play House debut! Recent credits include Georgia McBride in The Legend of Georgia McBride (Round House Theatre), Joe Farkas in The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Theater J), and Mike Thomas in Shear Madness (The Kennedy Center). Other regional credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Folger); Dunsinane (Shakespeare Theatre Co.); The Cherry Orchard, Cabaret, and Godspell (Off-Square Theatre Co.); Altar Boyz (1st Stage); King John, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, South Pacific, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Pt 2, and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (Utah Shakespeare Festival); as well as two seasons at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and one season at the American Shakespeare Center.

Steven Rattazzi (The Sheriff of Nottingham/Ensemble) Broadway: Indecent. Off-Broadway: The Black Crook (Abrons Arts); Indecent (Vineyard); Henry V w/Liev Schrieber (Public Theater); Galileo w/F. Murray Abraham; The Tempest w/Mandy Patinkin, (CSC); Stunning (Lincoln Center); Dinner Party (Target Margin); Painted Snake on a Painted Chair (OBIE); McGurk (ERS); Richard Foreman's Samuel's Major Problems (Ontological). Regional: A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre); Lempicka (Williamstown Theater Festival); The Bridge of San Luis Rey by David Greenspan (Two River Theater); Seder (Hartford Stage); The School For Wives (Two River Theater); Indecent (Yale Rep/La Jolla Playhouse); Marie Antoinette (ART/Yale Rep); The Lovesong of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cincinnati Playhouse). Film: The Family (Luc Besson). TV: Venture Brothers.

Price Waldman (Prince John/Ensemble) is happy to be making his Cleveland Play House debut. Prior Cleveland credits include A Christmas Carol and Richard III for Great Lakes Theater Festival as well as passing through town as Monsieur André in the National Tour of Phantom of the Opera. Most recently he could be seen in Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth for Houston's Theater Under the Stars, and in Frost/Nixon for the Bay Street Theater. NY credits include Broadway: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Little Mermaid, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Lion King. Encores: On the Town and Me and My Girl. US/International tour: Laurie Anderson's Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. Film: Across the Universe, Detective Chinatown 2. In his down time he is either folding laundry or recording audiobooks. Special thanks to his wife Rebecca, and children: Jasper, Sylvia, and Grace.

Jonah D. Winston (Little John/Ensemble) is overjoyed to be making his Cleveland Play House debut! Recently appearing on stage in Chicago as Mr. Fezziwig in the seasonal return of A Christmas Carol at The Goodman Theatre, some of Jonah's favorite Chicago credits include the Maitre'D in The Merry Widow at The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q at The Mercury Theatre Chicago, and Newt Lee/Riley in Parade at Writers Theatre. Jonah has also worked regionally at The Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Green House Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Porchlight Music Theatre, American Blues Theatre, and Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre. Television and Voice Over credits include Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Senor Wolley, Skittles, Kool Aid, and Nestle. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Jonah holds duel Bachelor's Degrees in Theater Performance and Vocal Music from the Butler University Jordan College of the Arts, as well as a Master of Letters Degree from the Flinders University Drama Center in Adelaide, South Australia.

Adam Immerwahr (Director) is the Artistic Director of Theater J, the nation's largest and most prominent Jewish theater (located in Washington, DC). He is the former Associate Artistic Director at McCarter Theatre Center, a Tony Award-winning theater in Princeton NJ, where his directing credits include The Understudy, The Mousetrap, and a now-annual production of A Christmas Carol, and his producing credits include world premieres by Edward Albee, John Guare, Marina Carr, Christopher Durang, Will Power, Danai Gurira, and many more. He was the Resident Director at Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ, and the Artistic Director of OnStage, a company of New Jersey senior citizens who collected and performed the stories of their community. Adam's NYC directing credits: The Public, Theater Row (both for Summer Play Festival), Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Wild Project, and NYU's Studio Tisch. Internationally, he directed the African premiere of The Convert (nominated for Zimbabwe's National Arts Medal). Adam has directed and developed work for McCarter Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J, Passage Theatre, Luna Stage, Hangar Theatre, Bristol Riverside, Adventure Theater, Premiere Stages, PlayPenn, and others. He was the recipient of 2010 NJ Theatre Alliance "Applause Award" and 2014 Emerging Nonprofit Leader Award presented by Fairleigh Dickinson University, and he is a Drama League Directing Fellowship alumnus. Adam is a graduate of Brown University, where he studied both Theater and Renaissance/Early Modern Studies. AdamImmerwahr.com

The Design Team for Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood includes: Misha Kachman (Scenic Designer), Jess Goldstein (Costume Designer) Nancy Schertler (Lighting Designer), Nick Kourtides (Sound Designer), Julie Foh (Dialect Coach), Robert Barry Fleming (Choreographer), J. Allen Suddeth (Fight Director), MITCHELL MCCOY (Associate Fight Director). The Production Stage Manager for this production is JOHN GODBOUT, with TOM HUMES and XAVIER KAHN as Assistant Stage Managers.