AT MARIST UNIVERSITY & THE BARDAVON
JUSTICE AND INTEGRITY THAT LED TO REAL-LIFE INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE.
MENAFEE
Written and Directed by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Based on the life story of Corey Menafee
During an impromptu conversation on reunion weekend, a dining hall employee learns about the contested artifact he’s been unknowingly working beneath. Suddenly, the students he loves and the college he’s dedicated his work life to take a backseat to questions about justice and integrity. Based on a true story, MENAFEE examines the shocking act that changed an institution’s history.
Saturday, July 25
Symphonic Hall at Marist University
7:00pm
This performance will be fully bilingual in American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English.
Featuring Michael Braugher (The Gilded Age), Carl Thomas Hallberg (Drama BFA Graduate, The Julliard School), Elena Hurst (Dog Day Afternoon), Maurice Jones (The Lifespan of a Fact), Priscilla Lopez (A Chorus Line), Ronald Peet (Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey), Roslyn Ruff (The Piano Lesson), Jurnee Swan (The Piano Lesson).
Quiara Alegría Hudes | Playwright and Director
Quiara Alegría Hudes has had her writing produced and read around the world. Her debut novel, THE WHITE HOT, was named a best book of 2025 by Kirkus, NPR, and Ms. Magazine, and is longlisted for the PEN/Faulker Award for Fiction. Her 2021 memoir, MY BROKEN LANGUAGE, was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal and was One Book, One Philadelphia’s citywide read. Among Hudes’s influential stage plays are the Pulitzer-winning WATER BY THE SPOONFUL, Tony Award-winning IN THE HEIGHTS, and Pulitzer-finalist ELLIOT, A SOLDIER’S FUGUE. She has also written two films: the animated VIVO and the adaptation of IN THE HEIGHTS. Hudes has contributed essays for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Cut, The Nation, and American Theater Magazine. With her cousin Sean, she co-founded a prison writing program: EMANCIPATED STORIES. A daughter of the Puerto Rican diaspora, Quiara was born and raised in West Philly and now lives in New York.
Felicia Lobo | Assistant Director
Felicia Lobo is a Costa Rican American director, musician, performer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work creates visceral responses from audiences, exploring the terror and humor of our mortality. Recent directing credits include: WOOD DEMON (East Village Basement), DANCE NATION (NYU Atlantic), SNOW DANCE (East Village Basement), GAS (Theatre Row), & POP PUNK HIGH (Le Poisson Rouge). She has developed new work with playwrights at The Brick, Judson Church, The Tank, Pipeline Theatre, Parsnip Ship, and The Flea. Felicia currently serves as the resident director of New Orange Theatre Company. As a musician, she is the frontwoman of Brooklyn punk band QWAM and writes music for film and commercials. Felicia holds a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch and a Master's in Educational Theatre from CCNY. Associate member of SDC. Drama League Directing Fellow 2026. www.felicialobo.com
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Julia Perez | Stage Manager
Broadway: FUNNY GIRL. Selected Off-Broadway: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, LIBERATION, AGREEMENT, THE REFUGE PLAYS, MY BROKEN LANGUAGE, TORCHED!, QUARTER RICAN, WOLF PLAY, FOR ALL THE WOMEN WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE MAD, EMOJILAND. Events: JIMMY AWARDS ‘23–'26. Regional: Trinity Repertory Company, the Gamm Theatre, the Peterborough Players, Northern Stage, and others. Julia is also the Office Manager for Parrish Productions. Love to Nicki!
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Mars Juno Bartolome Neri | Production Assistant
Mars Juno Bartolome Neri (they/them) is an artist and stage manager dedicated to supporting those who want to tell their personal stories and creating community through social justice oriented art, new plays, or devised works. Their passion lies in community care and the joy found in these collaborative storytelling processes. They’re devoted to doing work that brings unheard voices and untold stories to light. Previous collaborators include Leviathan Lab, NAATCO, Breaking the Binary Theatre, National Queer Theater, JACK, and Signature Theatre DC. marsjbneri.com
Corey Menafee | Based On
Salutations! I am Corey Menafee. Simply put..
A student of life.
CAST
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Michael Braugher | Curtis
Michael Braugher is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he received the John Houseman Award for Excellence in Classical Theater. Film: THE SOCIAL RECKONING, EX-HUSBANDS. TV: THE GILDED AGE. Broadway: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Off-Broadway: ROMEO Y JULIETA. Guthrie Theater: HAMLET. Williamstown Theatre Festival: ARTNEY JACKSON, SON COME HOME.
Carl Thomas Hallberg | David
Carl Thomas Hallberg grew up in Minnesota and lives in Brooklyn. He has performed at streetcorners and theaters across NYC, and is thrilled to be working on MENAFEE. Carl is a frequent collaborator with Bread and Puppet Theater in Glover, VT and Red Wing Blackbird Theater in Rosendale, NY. When not performing they’re probably biking somewhere. Chicago Theater: EELPOUT! (Shattered Globe Theatre). Minneapolis Theater: THE ALIENS (DreamLand Arts). Tours: OUR DOMESTIC RESURRECTION REVOLUTION IN PROGRESS (Bread and Puppet Theater); FABULOUS UNKNOWN UK TOUR (Stop Shopping Choir); “SWIVEL & BITE PUPPET THEATER” PRESENTS: SWIVEL AND BITE ("Swivel & Bite Puppet Theater"). Training: Juilliard BFA
Elena Hurst | Q
Elena Hurst is thrilled to be back at S&F and working with Quiara Alegría Hudes on her new work. Broadway: DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Off-Broadway: TORERA (Women’s Project Theater), TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 (Lucile Lortel Best Revival, Signature Theater), SUMMER AND SMOKE (Transport Theater Group), A GRAVE IS GIVEN SUPPER (New Ohio Theater). Regional: BILLIE JEAN (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), BECOMING A MAN (American Rep Theater), LOVE ALL (La Jolla Playhouse), TINA MODOTTI (Teatro Dallas). TV/Film: THE CHANGELING, HOMELAND, ELEMENTARY, POTTERSVILLE, TALES FROM THE CITY, BLUE BLOODS, HOME, THE END OF MARA. Elena voiced Belisa Crepusculario in the upcoming animated film, DOS PALABRAS by Isabel Allende and is the Live Announcer for THE SPORTS, NEWS, AND DOCUMENTARY EMMYS AWARDS. Education: Bachelor of Science Radio, TV, Film, University of Texas at Austin.
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Priscilla López | Vingie
Ms. Lopez has performed in two Lincoln Center productions, in Lileana Blain-Cruz’s 2022 production of THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH at the Beaumont Theatre in the role of The Fortune Teller, and in the 2023 production Michael John LaChiusa and Graciela Daniele’s THE GARDENS OF ANUNCIA at The Mitzi Newhouse Theatre. In the Tony Award Broadway Revival of PIPPIN, she soared as the trapeze flying Berthe. Joining her fellow 1972 PIPPIN alum John Rubinstein, but this time both aging into the roles of King and Granny. In Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony Winning Musical she originated the role of Camila Rosario. She previously appeared in Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, ANNA IN THE TROPICS. She received the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress for her portrayal as Harpo Marx in the Broadway Musical A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE. Her performance as the original Diana Morales in A CHORUS LINE led to an OBIE AWARD and a Tony Nomination, where she introduced the songs “Nothing” and “What I Did For Love.“
Ronald Peet | Corey
RONALD PEET is a Bahamian-born marathoner, meditator, musician, narrator and humanist. Stage: He’s collaborated on projects with The New Group, The Vineyard, MTC, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage, Soho Rep, MCC, Joe’s Pub, Lincoln Center, Atlantic Theater Co, Roundabout, The Bushwick Starr, Clubbed Thumb, P73, The Playwright's Realm, Ars Nova, Miami New Drama, Barrington Stage, Williamstown Theater Festival, Two River Theater, The American Shakespeare Center, Yale School of Drama, Juilliard and more. Small Screen: Apple TV+’s BAD MONKEY, Netflix's PARTNER TRACK and I-LAND, Hulu & FXX’s DICKTOWN, CBS’ THE GOOD FIGHT, TOMMY, and BULL, HBO’s GIRLS. Film: A24, Netflix. NYU Tisch and Emory Alum. EST member. 52nd St Project SmartPartner. Obie recipient. Uncle, Brother, Godson, and Friend. Travel ENTHUSIAST.
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Roslyn Ruff | April
Roslyn Ruff is an OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award-winning actress with a career spanning Broadway, film, and television. A graduate of Harvard’s Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, her Broadway credits include THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, ALL THE WAY, ROMEO AND JULIET, and FENCES. Recognized for her work in the canon of August Wilson, she has earned honors for her performances in THE PIANO LESSON and SEVEN GUITARS. Her stage repertoire also includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning FAIRVIEW and Ivo van Hove’s SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE. Most recently appearing in KYOTO at Lincoln Center and Coriolanus at TFANA. Ms. Ruff’s screen presence includes recurring roles on BLUE BLOODS, GODFATHER OF HARLEM, and MADAM SECRETARY, with film appearances in MARRIAGE STORY, THE HELP, and SALT. In 2022, she received the Joe A. Callaway Award from The Actors Equity Foundation and was recently inducted into the Plaza of the Stars in her native Buffalo, NY.
Jurnee Swan | MAY
Jurnee Swan is a New York City based actress whose love for performing began at an early age after attending an after-school theatre camp. She made her Broadway debut as Maretha in THE PIANO LESSON and has appeared in national and regional campaigns for brands including AbbVie/Creon, Paycom, Skillshare, Chuck E. Cheese, and LOL Surprise. Her television work includes appearances on shows such as THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH. Jurnee is grateful for the continued support of Stewart Talent, Parkside Talent Management, her family, and mentors.