AT MARIST UNIVERSITY & THE BARDAVON
A STORY ABOUT LOVING AND LONGING IN A COMMUNITY OUTSIDE NEW ORLEANS.
LAGNIAPPE
Written by C.A. Johnson
Directed by Eric Ting
Once home to sharecroppers, the Bunche Village subdivision outside of New Orleans is now made up of their suburban descendants who find community at the local corner store. Both harrowing and hilarious, LAGNIAPPE follows their day-to-day lives in this story about loving and longing.
Saturday, July 11
Symphonic Hall at Marist University
8:00pm
Featuring Nicholas Byers (The Witnesses), Marcus Gladney, Jr. (Choir Boy), James Saito (Durango), Fina Strazza (John Proctor is the Villain), Michelle Wilson (Sweat).
LAGNIAPPE is presented with permission from Manhattan Theatre Club and is commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club.
C.A. Johnson | Playwright
C.A. Johnson is a Brooklyn-based playwright originally from Metairie, Louisiana. Her plays include ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS (MCC Theater), THIRST (2017 Kilroys List, CATF), THE CLIMB (Cherry Lane Mentor Project, InterAct Theatre Company), THE WITNESSES (Chautauqua Theater Company), I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW, SOMEBODY’S BODY, and LAGNIAPPE. Most recently, she was awarded the Horton Foote Award by the Dramatists Guild and Helen Merrill Award by the New York Community Trust. She is currently a resident playwright at New Dramatists and was previously the Tow Playwright in Residence at MCC Theater, the 2018 P73 Playwriting Fellow, a Van Lier Fellow, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a MacDowell Fellow, a Core Writer at The Playwrights Center, and Sundance Theatre Lab Fellow. C.A. was nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award and a 2026 WGA Award for her writing on the hit Netflix series The Beast in Me.
Eric Ting | Director
Eric Ting is a two-time Obie Award-winning director and one of three Directors of Soho Rep in NYC. Credits include world premieres of Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!, We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… (Soho Rep); The Comeuppance (Signature Theater); The Far Country (Atlantic Theater); The 1491s’ Between Two Knees (OSF, PAC-NYC); and Parable of the Sower: The Opera (Lincoln Center). Also: Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep, McCarter, Williamstown, Alliance, Cincinnati Playhouse, Goodman, CTG, ACT, Berkeley Rep. International: Singapore, France, UAE, Holland, Canada, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bali. Most recently: Galas (Little Island) with Anthony Roth Costanzo; and the world premiere of Anne Gridley’s Watch Me Walk (Soho Rep).
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Tatiana Baccari | Assistant Director
Tatiana (she/they) is a director making tragicomic theater and films that explore grief, disability, dissent, and intergenerational change by connecting with audiences through the inexplicable. Select new play credits: RADIO MAN by Sarah Groustra (World Premiere/The Paradise Factory), MONSTROUS by Elle Thoni (ColLABo Residency), THEN ACT LIKE IT by Savannah Lyons Anthony (Writing Is Live/Brown University), HEAVEN IS SOMETHING TO KEEP YOU WARM by Kandace James (Carnegie Mellon University), and DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION by Dana Leslie-Goldstein (Brave New World Rep). Production credits include THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (NYU Tisch/Atlantic Acting School), MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY by Anne Washburn (CMU), LEAR by Young Jean Lee (CMU), and ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER by Rajiv Joseph (Jobsite Theater/Straz Center). Tatiana has served as an assistant/associate regionally at Asolo Rep, Geva Theatre, Northern Stage, and City Theatre Company. She is a 2026-2028 Drama League Stage Directing Fellow. BFA: NYU Tisch. MFA: John Wells Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. TatianaBaccari.com.
Savanha Moore | Stage Manager
Savanha Moore (She/Her) is a Theatrical Artist and Stage Manager from Southern California. She is excited to be making her New York Stage & Film debut. She is a recent recipient of the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program with the Black Theatre Coalition. Select show credits include; Off Broadway: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Encores!), A CHRISTMAS CAROL (PAC NYC). Regional: PRIMARY TRUST (Westport Country Playhouse), THE WITNESSES (Chautauqua Theatre Company), THE REAL JAMES BOND…WAS DOMINICAN (Chautauqua Theatre Company), THE LIGHT AND THE DARK (THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI) (Chautauqua Theatre Company), UNTITLED BABY PLAY (IAMA Theatre), WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (Geffen Playhouse). University of Iowa Alum: MFA in Stage Management. For my family and Cianon, always
Amanda Kuo | Production Assistant/Stage Management Intern
Amanda Kuo (she/they) is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas by way of Buffalo, New York and is excited for her first season at S&F! She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Religious Studies from Kenyon College. During their time at Kenyon, they worked as a First Hand in the costume shop for four years as well as producing and stage managing various theater productions. Her previous credits include THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED)(REVISED)(AGAIN) (Shake on the Lake), HENRY V (Shake on the Lake), 1776 (Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre), THE AUTOBIPUPPETRY OF JEGHETTO (NYS Puppet Festival), ERNIE'S SECRET LIFE (NYS Puppet Festival). She is the 2026-28 Miranda Family Foundation Production Fellow at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. in Washington D.C.
CAST
Nicholas Byers| Elmer
Nicholas Byers is an actor, writer, and film photographer originally from North Carolina. He is passionate about telling stories that explore Black men’s vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and evolving identity. Across stage and screen, he is drawn to character-driven narratives that foreground intimacy, restraint, and human complexity. His work is deeply informed by ancestry, and he gratefully acknowledges those who came before him and made his path possible. Select theater credits include: THE WITNESSES (Chautauqua Theater Company, World Premiere), FENCES (Trinity Repertory Company), and THE WORD EXCHANGE (North Carolina Stage Company, World Premiere). TV and Film credits include CHICAGO P.D. and THE NIGHT COURIER. Education: MFA from Brown/Trinity Rep. Instagram: @nicholascameronbyer
Marcus Gladney Jr. | Peanut
Film/TV: UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, WHAT REMAINS (Prime); CITY ON A HILL (Showtime); MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN (Paramount+); THE GOOD DOCTOR, WILL TRENT, QUEENS (ABC); WU-TANG (Hulu). Theatre: CHOIR BOY (MTC, Broadway); BLACK ODYSSEY (Classic Stage); HOT WING KING (Hartford/Baltimore); SKIN OF OUR TEETH (BTG), Merci à Carnegie Mellon University et BRS/GAGE. @mawhcus
Andy Lucien | Mr. Alphonse
TV: THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon Prime), THE BLACKLIST (NBC), MARVEL’S DAREDEVIL (Netflix), ELEMENTARY (CBS), MADAM SECRETARY (CBS) Film: FORGET ME NOT, PRETTY DOESN’T HURT, SEVEN LOVERS, VOX LUX Theater: Off-Broadway: MTC/Clubbed Thumb/Page 73 productions of COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE, Signature Theater/MTC, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theater, Rattlestick. Regional: Actors Theater of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Studio Theater
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James Saito | An
Broadway: GOLDEN CHILD, THE KING AND I. James received an OBIE award for his work in DURANGO at the Public Theater. Other Off-Broadway and regional theaters include: Manhattan Theatre Club, Mitzi Newhouse (LCT), Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theatre, Edinburgh International Festival, Kennedy Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Seattle Rep, American Conservatory Theatre, Singapore Rep, Arena Stage. Film and TV include: ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE, MODERN LOVE, LIFE OF PI, BIG EYES, LOVE HARD, DASH & LILY, ALTERED CARBON, THE TERROR, HAWAII FIVE-0, THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, TOO BIG TO FAIL, I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, SEX AND THE CITY, LAW & ORDER, STAR TREK VOYAGER, HOT DOG... THE MOVIE. James was a series regular on the ABC shows- ELI STONE and THE COMPANY YOU KEEP. He is The Shredder in the first TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES movie.
Fina Strazza | Dalilah
Fina Strazza received a 2025 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of the fiercely feminist student Beth Powell in the Broadway hit JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN. She stars opposite Amy Poehler and Hugh Laurie in the upcoming Peacock comedy series DIG from Poehler and Mike Schur. She recently starred in the Netflix feature FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN and led the Amazon series PAPER GIRLS as KJ Brandman. Strazza made her Broadway debut at just eight years old in the title role of MATILDA THE MUSICAL. Her early film work includes Mariah Carey’s directorial debut A CHRISTMAS MELODY for Hallmark Channel, for which she also recorded a revised version of Carey’s hit single "Oh, Santa!" alongside the legendary artist. Her television credits include recurring roles on LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT and guest appearances on FBI: MOST WANTED and MADAM SECRETARY. She has also appeared in the television specials MARIAH CAREY’S MERRIEST CHRISTMAS and CBS's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Additional film credits include ABOVE THE SHADOWS, A LITTLE GAME, EARLY LEARNINGS, FRACTURED, TRIBE, and the upcoming WHO FRAMED TOMMY CALLAHAN? Her theater credits include ANIMAL (Atlantic Theater Company), A LOSS OF ROSES (St. Clement’s Theatre), SNOW CHILD (Arena Stage), DIANA (Powerhouse Theater), ANASTASIA (Hartford Stage pre-Broadway workshop), SUMMER AND SMOKE, and THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING (Classic Stage Company), ALICE BLISS (Playwrights Horizons), and WONDER (Broadway workshop)
Michelle Wilson | Shirleen
Michelle Wilson is a Tony-nominated actress (SWEAT) who recently closed a leading role alongside Tom Hanks in his self-penned play THIS WORLD OF TOMORROW at The Shed. Before, she closed on Broadway’s Tony Nominated OUR TOWN and, prior to that, completed her critically acclaimed run in THE FIRES at SoHo Rep. She performed in The Lincoln Center Theater's production of THE COAST STARLIGHT, following a run of Dominique Morisseau's play CONFEDERATES at the Signature Theatre. She was a guest lead in an episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series AMAZING STORIES as well as the final season of BULL. In film, Michelle stars in PREMATURE which premiered at Sundance to rave reviews and streamed on HULU. She has supporting roles in the independent films THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF WOLFBOY, opposite Chris Messina and CLEAN, opposite Adrien Brody. Michelle can also be seen in HBO’s Original Special, BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME.