FST Presents My Lord What A Night, a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere

June 11, 2021 – Sarasota

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) proudly presents My Lord, What A Night, an inspiring new historical drama from award-winning playwright Deborah Brevoort. Called “Provocative” and “Uplifting” by BroadwayWorld, this stirring play gives a rare glimpse into the real-life struggles faced by two important figures from the early-20th century: Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein. My Lord, What A Night will run in FST’s Keating Theatre starting Wednesday, June 30.

My Lord, What a Night is part of the National New Play Network’s (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere program, supporting three or more theatres that choose to mount the same new play. Playwright Deborah Brevoort is a pivotal part of the process, working on the script with the creative team at each theatre and making adjustments based on what is learned from each production. FST is the third destination in this Rolling World Premiere. Contemporary American Theater Festival and Orlando Shakespeare Theater were the first two theatres to produce My Lord, What Night.

Inspired by actual events, My Lord, What A Night follows the unlikely friendship between internationally renowned vocalist Marian Anderson and Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. When Anderson is denied a room at the whites-only Nassau Inn in 1937, she surprisingly finds an ally in Einstein, who invites her to stay at his own home. This simple gesture sparks a lasting connection that will challenge and inspire both icons as they confront the struggles and prejudices of the early 20th century.

“My Lord, What a Night not only gave me the chance to revisit a beloved book from my childhood—Marian Anderson’s autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning—it also enabled me to explore an issue that has become quite personal,” shared Deborah Brevoort, the play’s author and a member of FST’s Playwright Collective. “I am married to an African American man, who has been racially profiled on several different occasions. Each time this happens, the question of how to respond presents itself. Do we fight it? Or do we let it go? This is the choice that Marian Anderson faced in Princeton and it’s the choice that Albert Einstein faced as a Jew in Germany.”

Bringing this dramatic story to life are Rod Brogan, Nehassaiu deGannes, David Edwards, and Thurday Farrar. Brogan plays Abraham Flexner, Einstein’s boss and Head of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University. Brogan was last seen in FST’s Mainstage production of American Son and was in the Broadway production of Mauritius at Manhattan Theater Club. DeGannes, who played Kate Sullivan in FST’s 2018 Summer Mainstage production of Other People’s Money, portrays civil rights activist and suffragist Mary Church Terrell. Known for starring in the Broadway productions and national tours of The Producers, By Jeeves, and The Rothschilds, Edwards will play Albert Einstein in this thoughtful new drama.

Farrar makes her FST debut with My Lord, What a Night, playing renowned singer Marian Anderson. Farrar has extensive experience in television, film, and live theatre, and most recently appeared at The Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, and Flat Rock Playhouse.

FST’s Associate Director At-Large Kate Alexander will direct My Lord, What a Night. During the 2019-2020 Winter Season, Alexander directed the hit Broadway musicalBright Star and the gripping Mainstage drama American Son. She is also the founder of the FST School and was Project Director for The Suffragist Project, an artistic celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment (August 20, 2020), the woman’s right to vote.

The creative team includes Moriah & Isabel Curley Clay (Scenic Design), Lea Umberger (Costume Design), Michael Pasquini (Lighting Design), Thom Korp(Sound Design), and Roy Johns (Stage Manager).

FST’s production of My Lord, What a Night is supported, in part, by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida; and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Thank you to our media sponsor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

My Lord, What A Night is part of a three-show subscription package. Also included in the Mainstage subscription package is the sizzling celebration of the brassy Broadway and vaudeville performer, Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, and the endearing Off-Broadway comedy, Rounding Third. Subscriptions for all three Summer Mainstage shows can be purchased for as little as $49 at (941) 366-9000 orFloridaStudioTheatre.org