Will on the Hill Returns June 13 With Special Guests Reg E. Cathey and Tom Story

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2016

Media Contact:
Press@ShakespeareTheatre.org

 

Members of Congress and Distinguished Washington Insiders Take the Stage,
Featuring Special Guests Reg E. Cathey and STC Affiliated Artist Tom Story

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, June 13, 2016, Will on the Hill, a favorite bipartisan event of theatre and political fans alike, returns to the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Now in its fourteenth year, this year’s event features a performance of Heavy Lies the Head, an original play by Peter Byrne, directed by STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul. The cast will include special guest performers, Reg E. Cathey, known for his role in House of Cards, and STC Affiliated Artist Tom Story.

The annual Will on the Hill event welcomes Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and distinguished Washington influencers onto the Shakespeare Theatre Company stage to perform a political satire infused with Shakespearean language and referencesThe event pays tribute to the unique dynamic of our city and provides a wonderful way to engage new audiences. Proceeds from this event support STC’s many education, artistic and community engagement programs including in-school workshops and online learning resources that inspire new and diverse audiences and deepen the connection to classical theatre in learners of all ages. Will on the Hill will take place in Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW), and begins with a VIP cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m., and a buffet dinner immediately after the performance.

This year’s cast for Will on the Hill includes guest actors Reg E. Cathey and Tom Story. Cathey is a TV and stage actor, best known for his Emmy-winning role as Freddy on the hit Netflix series House of Cards. He has also been featured in such films as 2015’s The Fantastic Four, as well as Se7en, The Machinist, and numerous television shows including The Wire, Lights Out and the new Cinemax series Outcast. Story is a veteran of the DC theatre scene and has been seen on nearly every stage in Washington. He is an STC Affiliated Artist, and is currently playing Hortensio in STC’s production of The Taming of the Shrew.

In addition to Heavy Lies the Head, the evening includes a performance from students in Text Alive!, a free arts integration program offered by STC to D.C. area schools, which teaches Shakespeare’s plays through performance and adaptation. This year, students from Westfield High School will perform a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

About Heavy Lies the Head: Washington, D.C. is in crisis (more so than usual)! A vital member of the government has suddenly resigned, and someone has to fill the office, immediately. But the job’s notoriously hard and thankless—no one wants it. Worse still, the resignation comes on the night of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Annual Fundraiser. All the potential candidates are gathered at the Harman, in costume and with Shakespearean quips at the ready. It’s up to a couple of aides—one Democrat, one Republican—to find a candidate who can do the job and, even harder, who will accept the job. They’ll have to wade through a lot of iambic pentameter to get there…

Many members of Congress will take the STC stage, including Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Daniel M. Donovan (R-NY), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Scott Peters (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Dina Titus (D-NV), Mike Turner (R-OH), Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Ryan Zinke (R-MT).

Other illustrious cast members include The Honorable Kim Darroch (British Ambassador to the United States), Marla Allard, Linda Chavez (Chairman, Center for Equal Opportunity), Maggie Coons, Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform), Christina Sevilla (Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President), and members of the media, including Steve Clemons (Washington Editor-at-Large, The Atlantic, National Journal, Quartz), Bob Cusack (Editor in Chief, The Hill), Johanna Derlega (Publisher, The Hill), Rich Edson (Fox News), John Feehery (Pundit, The Feehery Theory), Chris Geidner (Legal Editor, Buzzfeed), Melinda Henneberger (Editor-in-Chief, Roll Call), Rick Klein (Political Director, ABC News), Ian Millhiser (Center for American Progress), Megan Murphy (Washington Bureau Chief, Bloomberg), Tom Rogan (Tom Rogan Thinks), Kristen Soltis Anderson (Pundit, Co-Founder, Echelon Insights), Jamil Smith (MTV News), Pamela Lynne Sorensen (Pamela’s Punch), Michael Steele (Political Analyst, MSNBC) and Kelly Jane Torrance (Deputy Managing Editor, The Weekly Standard).

The Honorary Co-Chairs for the event are U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

* Cast members subject to change.

A select number of performance-only tickets to this popular event are available online at www.shakespearetheatre.org/support/special-events/will-on-the-hill/ for $50. VIP tickets are available for purchase, and include a pre-performance cocktail reception and a buffet dinner with the opportunity to meet and dine with members of the cast and event sponsors. VIP tickets can be purchased for $250 by emailing WillontheHill@ShakespeareTheatre.org.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PRESS TICKETS:

Due to the popularity of this event, press tickets are extremely limited. Press wishing to cover the event should contact the Press Department for more information at Press@ShakespeareTheatre.org. Please note: a press inquiry does not guarantee a ticket. Ticket holders will receive confirmation from STC’s Publicist.

Please note: The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Company does not retain or employ registered lobbyists or foreign agents.

WILL ON THE HILL COMMITTEE

The Honorable Tom Davis, Co-Chair, Deloitte, LLP

Bernie McKay, Co-Chair, Intuit, Inc.

David Williams, Co-Chair, Deloitte, LLP

Nick Allard, Past Chairman, Dentons; Joseph Crea Dean and Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

Janet C. Boyd, The Dow Chemical Company

Peter Cherukuri, POLITICO

Carol Danko, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

Michelle Dimarob, Altria Group

Gloria Dittus, Story Partners

Mike House, Past Chairman, Hogan Lovells US LLP

Jerry Jasinowski, Business Consultant; Former President of National Association of Manufacturers

Karen Kuhlman, United Air

Gail MacKinnon

Karishma Page, K&L Gates LLP

Steve Ryan, Past Chairman, McDermott Will & Emery

Bill Signer, The Carmen Group

June Silverberg, Silverberg Associates

Julie Slocum, Wells Fargo & Co

Robert L. Smith, Venable LLP

Ali Sternburg, Computer & Communications Industry Association

Elizabeth Varley, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

Katie Vlietstra, National Association for the Self-Employed

Rich Whiting, Past Chairman, American Association of Bank Directors

Jonathan Yarowsky, WilmerHale

 

SUPPORT FOR WILL ON THE HILL

Will on the Hill is made possible in part by its Lead Sponsor: Deloitte LLP; Executive Sponsors: FLUOR; Intuit, Inc.; McDermott Will & Emery; Director Sponsors: Nick and Marla Allard; Altria Group; Brown-Forman Corporation; Capital One; Charter Communications; Computer & Communications Industry Association; The Dow Chemical Company; Hogan Lovells LLP; Humana; Stephen and Lisa Ryan; Venable LLP; WilmerHale; Producer Sponsors: Aflac; CLS Strategies; Cozen O’ Connor; Debbie Driesman and Frank Islam; Nissan; Sovereign Strategy Limited; Visa Inc.; Vulcan Materials Company; Jonathan and Lynn Yarowsky; Patron Sponsors: Alston + Bird LLP; Amazon Web Services; Ernst & Young LLP; H&R Block; K&L Gates LLP; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals; Oracle America Corporation; POLITICO; Reset Public Affairs; Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association; Software and Information Industry Association; Southern Company; Story Partners; TPG Capital; Wells Fargo; Benefactor Sponsors: AT&T Services, Inc.; Bank of America; Capitol Counsel; Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC; Dentons US LLP; Michael Evans; Fierce Government Relations; Forbes Tate Partners; Franklin Square Group; FTI Consulting; Alice and John Goodman; Greenberg Traurig LLP; Jerry and Isabel Jasinowski; Kovler Fund of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region; National Association of Realtors; National Credit Union Foundation; National Multifamily Housing Council; Navigators Global; OB-C Group LLC; QGA Public Affairs; Supporter Sponsors: Grant Thornton LLP; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Jack Krumholtz; Maller Wealth Advisors; Karishma and Jonathan Page; Podesta Group; Addison and Kay Smith; The Smith Free Group LLC; Washington Resource Associates; and Media Partner: The Hill.

 

ABOUT THE ACTORS

Reg E. Cathey recently won an Emmy for his work on season 3 of the Netflix Original Series House of Cards as Freddy opposite Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. He’ll next be seen in Hands of Stone opposite Robert De Niro and as a series regular in Robert Kirkman’s Cinemax series Outcast.

This past summer Reg starred as Dr. Storm in The Fantastic Four for 20^th Century Fox and Marvel Studios opposite Mile Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell. Other film and television appearances include Nasty Baby, The Divide, Alex of Venice, Banshee, Arbitrage, Law & Order: SVU, Lights Out, 30 Rock, The Wire, Oz, Everyday People, The Corner, Boycott (HBO), S.W.A.T., The Machinist, American Psycho, Se7en, Tank Girl and Star Trek-The Next Generation.

His numerous stage appearances include The Tempest (La Mama), The 8th (Manchester International Festival, Original Cast Album), The Shawshank Redemption (London’s West End, Dublin), The Green Bird (Broadway), Blue Door (Playwrights Horizon), White Chocolate (Culture Project), Talk (Obie Award, Foundry Theatre), American Buffalo (W.H.A.T. Theatre), Love’s Labor’s Lost, Timon Of Athens, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Macbeth, (NYSF-Public Theater), The Winter’s Tale (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Cure At Troy (Yale Rep), Dante’s Inferno (Huntington Theatre Company), Henry IV Part 1 and 2 (California Shakespeare Festival) and Cato (Flea Theater).

Tom Story is an STC Affiliated Artist, appearing onstage at STC in The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale (2014 Free For All and mainstage), The Government Inspector, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night (2010 Free For All and mainstage), Richard II, Henry V, Design for Living, Major Barbara, The Rivals, Twelfth Night (1995 Free For All), Measure for Measure. REGIONAL: Synetic Theater: Three Men in a Boat; Arena Stage: The Book Club Play, Oliver; Ford’s Theatre: Our Town, Sabrina Fair, A Christmas Carol, 1776, The Glass Menagerie; Berkshire Theatre Festival: The Book Club Play, The Glass Menagerie, Amadeus, Secret Lives of the Sexists, The Heidi Chronicles, The Misanthrope, Moby Dick–Rehearsed, Camelot, Life’s a Dream, Design for Living (director); Studio Theatre: POP!, The Wolfe Twins, Legends!, The Invention of Love, Prometheus, The York Realist, Ivanov, A Number, The Pillowman, The Rocky Horror Show, Moth (director), Terminus (director), Silence! The Musical; Folger Theatre: The School for Scandal, Henry IV, Part 1; Eugene O’Neill Theater Center; McCarter Theatre Center; Kansas City Repertory; Round House Theatre; Great Lakes Theater Festival; Seattle Repertory Theatre. AWARDS: 6 Helen Hayes Award nominations; Fox Foundation Fellowship. TRAINING: Duke University; The Juilliard School.