A Room in the Castle
by Lauren M. Gunderson
Directed by Kaja Dunn
Co-produced with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Booking and details
Dates & TicketsDates Tue, Mar 4 – Sun, Apr 6, 2025
Venue Folger Theatre
Tickets $20 – $84
Duration Approximately 85 minutes with no intermission
How does a woman survive the court of Denmark? How does anyone? A Room in the Castle finds Ophelia, her handmaid, and Queen Gertrude on the other end of a wild prince’s antics and realizing just how dangerous life in this castle has become. A universal thriller that explores how we help one another through harrowing times, what mothering a potential madman means, and what responsibilities generations have to each other, A Room in the Castle rebrands the stories of the women of Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a hilarious and heart-rending drama with music and defiant hope for the future.
This play dances and duels with Hamlet, foregrounding the women in the play and re-imagining them with agency, vitality, and radical hearts eager for a new ending.
Playwright Lauren M. Gunderson
Featured in “The most exiting theater to see around D.C. and New York this spring” (The Washington Post)
This production contains flashing lights and environmental haze. Please note: Children under the age of 4 are not permitted.
Cast
Burgess Byrd
Burgess Byrd (Anna) Folger Theatre: debut. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: Fat Ham, The Amen Corner, Wrecking Ball, The Living Dead, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, A Raisin in the Sun; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: A Christmas Carol, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play; Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati: Sweat, Skeleton Crew, Detroit ‘67, This Random World; The Human Race Theatre Company: Barbeque, Gloria: A Life; Know Theatre of Cincinnati: Harry and The Thief, solo shows Pretty Fire and Neat; Falcon Theatre: Silence! The
Musical; New Stage Collective: Caroline of Change. Showbiz Players: Avenue Q. Guest Artist at the University of Texas, Austin: Merchant of Venice; Guest Artist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: Fences. Voiceover: Small Victories (Apple/Spotify), Let Ohio Women Vote (PBS/ThinkTV). Film: Inconceivable, Bones and All, Challengers, After the Hunt (upcoming 2025). burgessbyrd.com
Oneika Phillips
Oneika Phillips (Queen Gertrude) Folger Theatre: debut. Broadway: Roundabout American Airlines Theatre: 1776; Eugene O’Neill Theatre: FELA!; Palace Theatre: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical; Nederlander Theatre: Amazing Grace; Assistant Choreographer, Roundabout American Airlines Theatre: Violet. Off-Broadway: Signature Theatre: Black No More; Perelman Performing Arts Center: Watch Night. Regional: American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.): 1776; NYSAF/Powerhouse Theatre: In Your Arms. National tours: 1776, FELA!. International tours: FELA!, West Side Story. Television: The Tony Awards, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, Good Morning America. Companies: Forces of Nature Dance Theatre. Honors: Astaire Award Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway show (FELA!); CBN Island Icon Arts Excellence Nominee; First Grenadian Woman on Broadway. @DragonPassionFruit
Sabrina Lynne Sawyer
Sabrina Lynne Sawyer (Ophelia) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale (2023), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2022), The Reading Room: A Room in the Castle. Studio Theatre: Exception to the Rule; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2; Imagination Stage: Inside Out and Backwards; Front Porch Arts Collective: Chicken & Biscuits; National tour: National Players (Olney Theatre Center): A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Raisin in the Sun. BA, Acting, University of Southern California.
Creative team
Lauren M. Gunderson
Lauren M. Gunderson (Playwright) has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022-23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award, and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer, and children’s author who lives in San Francisco. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. LaurenGunderson.com.
Kaja Dunn
Kaja Dunn (Director) Folger Theatre and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: A Room in the Castle; Cape Fear Regional Theatre: No Child; California Center for the Arts: Hairalouges; Old Globe: Playwrights Project: Plays by Young Writers Festival: Staged Readings or Pandemic Performances; Triad Stage: Freedom Hill; Studios of Key West and North Carolina Black Rep: Jeffery Manor; Playmakers Rep: Edges of Time (reading), Noms De Guerre. University of North Carolina College: Blues for an Alabama Sky, Suessical, Twighlight: Los Angeles, As It Is In Heaven; Cal State, San Marcos: Telling Stories. Carnegie Mellon University: Associate Professor.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company was founded in 1993 by a group of passionate and visionary young artists, and over the past three decades has evolved into a permanent fixture in Cincinnati’s arts community. The first season consisted of five productions in multiple venues; today, CSC presents more than 250 performances of nine productions annually in its downtown theatre and through touring productions across the region. In 2017, CSC opened the brand new $17.5MM Otto M. Budig Theater in Cincinnati’s historic Over-The-Rhine, helping to distinguish the company as the only professional classical theater between Chicago and New Jersey.
Samantha Reno
Samantha Reno (Scenic Designer) Folger Theatre: debut. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: Frankenstein, Kindred Spirits, The Play That Goes Wrong, Much Ado About Nothing, The Amen Corner, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Cincinnati Opera: Fierce; Merrimack Repertory Theatre (Lowell, MA): Gaslight. B Street Theatre (Sacramento): The Newlywed Game, A Great Migration, Dance Nation, A Year with Frog and Toad, Popcorn Falls, The Forever Question. Off-Broadway: New York Classical Theatre: The Rewards of Being Frank. samanthareno.com
Nicole Jescinth Smith
Nicole Jescinth Smith (Costume Designer) Folger Theatre: debut. Red Bank Theatre: Gem of the Ocean; The Old Globe: Trouble in Mind; Jerry Herman Ring Theatre: The Three Penny Opera; Clarence Brown Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun. Television: The Chair Company (pilot), Up Here, Ramy Season 3, POSE Season 2 (assistant costume designer), Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Period Costumes. nickystyles.com @nickystyles007
Max Doolittle
Max Doolittle (Lighting Designer) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale (2023), King John, Amadeus, The Merry Wives of Windsor. Design work at other Washington DC theaters includes: Ford’s Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Theatre Alliance, Theatre J, Rep Stage, Kennedy Center/The Second City, Imagination Stage, Forum Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Constellation Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting, Pointless Theatre Co., NextStop Theatre Company. Design work at New York theaters includes: Ars Nova, The Juilliard School, New Ohio Theatre, New World Stages, Design work at regional theaters includes: Geffen Playhouse, Kitchen Theatre Company, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Fulton Theatre. Television: Anderson Cooper 360, Piers Morgan Live (Light Direction). Cruise Ships: Wine Lovers, The Musical.
Robert Carlton Stimmel
Robert Carlton Stimmel (Projections Designer) Folger Theatre: debut. Regional: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night, Frankenstein, Julius Caesar, The Amen Corner, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wrecking Ball, Gaslight, Trouble in Mind, As You Like It, Little Women, The Living Dead, The Comedy of Errors, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamlet, Every Christmas Story Ever Told; Merrimack Repertory Theatre: Frankenstein, Gaslight, Elephant and Piggie, Little Red Riding Hood; Los Angeles Fringe Festival: Earworm. International: Prague Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night.
Sarah O'Halloran
Sarah O’Halloran (Sound Designer and Composer) Folger Theatre: Nathan the Wise, in association with Theater J. Ford’s Theatre: Mr. Lincoln; Everyman Theatre: Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains, Sense and Sensibility, Be Here Now, Proof, Dinner with Friends; Theater J: Prayer for the French Republic, The Hatmaker’s Wife, This Much I Know, The Chameleon, Gloria: A Life, Two Jews Walk into a War, Compulsion, Talley’s Folly; Olney Theater Center: The Brothers Paranormal, The Humans, Our Town, Labour of Love; 1st Stage: The Phlebotomist, The Brothers Size, Swimming with Whales, Trevor, When the Rain Stops Falling; Studio Theatre: Cry It Out; Rep Stage: The Glass Menagerie; E2: The 39 Steps, The Heidi Chronicles, Things That Are Round; Mosaic Theater: In His Hands, The Return; Theater Alliance: A Chorus Within Her.
Daryl Eisenberg
Daryl Eisenberg (Casting Director) Folger Theatre: Numerous productions since 2013. Theater J: Hester Street; Kennedy Center: Voices Festival Productions, Spells of the Sea. Broadway: Gettin’ the Band Back Together. Off-Broadway: Bedlam, That Parenting Musical, White Rose. Regional: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: RUTKA: A New Musical; Tennessee Performing Arts Center: Florida Georgia Line’s May We All: A New Country Musical; Broadway in Chicago: Heartbreak Hotel; Cape Cod Theatre Project. Film/television: The Cathedral (MUBI), Menorah in the Middle (Hulu), The MisEducation of Bindu (Peacock), Shadows (HBO), Angry Neighbors (Lionsgate), Hey, Viktor. Audio: Limetown, The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, Shipworm, City of Ghosts, Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort, Verdict, High-Risers, Chutzpah. Artios-nominated Member of Casting Society of America. ebcastingco.com @EBCastingCo
Shana Laski
Shana Laski (Dramaturg and Assistant Director) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale (2023), The Tempest with Round House Theatre. Round House Theatre: Artistic Apprentice, Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Assistant Director), Radio Golf (Dramaturg); Spooky Action Theater: Sonnets for an Old Century; Cogent Theater Collective: Closer; Rorschach Theatre; ExPats Theatre, Theatre Prometheus, and others. shanalaski.com @shana.laski
Hope Villanueva
Hope Villanueva (Production Stage Manager) Folger Theatre: Hamlet, The Reading Room Festival, 2023: Hamlet. Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Baltimore Center Stage: Mexodus; Soho Rep: The Fires; Signature Theatre: King of the Yees; Olney Theatre Center: A Nice Indian Boy, Our Town; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: BLKS; Kennedy Center: The Dragon King’s Daughter, The Day You Begin; The Second City/Kennedy Center: Twist Your Dickens; Mosaic Theatre: Private, Marie and Rosetta, The Vagrant Trilogy, Paper Dolls, Queens Girl in Africa; Studio Theatre: Hand to God, Choir Boy. New York: Romy & Michele: The Musical; American Repertory Theatre: WILD: A Musical Becoming; The Bourbon Room: Rock of Ages Hollywood; Barrington Stage Company: Blues for an Alabama Sky; Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Resident PSM. Off-Broadway: Who’s Your Baghdaddy? National Tour: Rock of Ages, Young Frankenstein, My Fair Lady, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Bellobration.
Jenna Lynn Keefer
Jenna Lynn Keefer (Assistant Stage Manager) Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses, The Reading Room Festival: The Cuban Vote. Compagnia de’ Colombari: REVELATION; Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics: Little Amal at the Capitol; Constellation Theatre Company: Desperate Measures, Incognito; Taffety Punk Theatre Company: La Salpêtrière; Spooky Action Theatre: The Realistic Joneses. Regional: Baltimore Center Stage: The Medicine Show, Our Town; Peabody Institute: Cendrillon, Other Side of the Story; Olney Theatre Center: A Christmas Carrol; Hope Repertory Theatre: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, It’s a Wonderful Life, Every Brilliant Thing, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Year with Frog and Toad. Television: CNN Biden Town Hall.
Rylie Vann
Rylie Vann (Assistant Lighting Designer) Folger Theatre: debut. Signature Theatre: Just in Time, Broadway in the Park; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: In the Heights.
Madalyn Oliver
Madalyn Oliver (Production Assistant) Folger Theatre: Romeo and Juliet, Metamorphoses; Education: Messiah University, BA. Instagram: @Maddy.Olivr
Accessibility
The Folger wants every visitor to enjoy exploring our building, our programs, and our collection. We strive to provide access to all audiences.
Please contact us at VisitorServices@folger.edu or (202) 544-7077 with questions or requests. More information
Relaxed performance
- Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 7:30pm
Relaxed performances are designed to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for audiences that may receive and react to information in different ways. The content of the production is the same, but some elements of the environment are altered.
Please contact VisitorServices@folger.edu with any additional questions.
Audio-described performance
- Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 2pm
Audio description (AD) is a narration service that attempts to describe the visual aspects of theatre and make the visual an auditory experience, with the goal of helping low vision and Blind audience members share in the experience of live theatre more fully.
Please contact VisitorServices@folger.edu with any additional questions.
Mask-required performance
- Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 7:30pm
While Folger Theatre no longer requires masks at most performances, we recognize that some patrons may prefer to attend in a fully masked environment. At the request of audience members, Folger Theatre has designated several performances during the 2024-2025 season as mask-required for all audience members, staff, and volunteers. If you need a mask, we are happy to provide one to you.
Please contact VisitorServices@folger.edu with any additional questions.
Open-captioned performances
- Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 2pm and 7:30pm
Open-captioning makes live theater performances accessible by using a non-intrusive caption board at the front of the stage which scrolls the entire text of the production in real time.
For information about the best seat locations from which to see the caption board, contact at VisitorServices@folger.edu or (202) 544–7077.
Special performances
Pay what you will
- Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 7:30pm
The concept is simple: you tell us what you will pay for your ticket! Sales begin two (2) hours before curtain at the door and are available on a first come, first served basis — limit one (1) ticket per person.
Post-show discussion
- Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 7:30pm
Join us after the performance for a free conversation with the cast, moderated by the production dramaturg.
Folger Theatre Sponsors
With special thanks to
The Share Fund
Premier Season Sponsor
Dr. Bill and Evelyn Braithwaite
Season Sponsor
Helen and David Kenney & Family
Andrea “Andi” Kasarsky
Production Sponsor
Nancy and Steve Howard (Romeo and Juliet)
Contributing Sponsor
Celia and Keith Arnaud
Gail Kern Paster
Associate Sponsor
Timothy J. Carlton (Romeo and Juliet)
Wes and Sly Hallman
Peter and Mary Pennington
Rick Kasten (Romeo and Juliet)
Artist Sponsor
Karl K. and Carrol Benner Kindel
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A Room in the Castle
