From left: Tatiana Williams, Timothy McCracken, Jason Veasey and Esther Chen.

The DCPA Theatre Company has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Lydia R. Diamond‘s Smart People, featuring the Denver directorial debut of Associate Artistic Director Nataki Garrett. The production includes:

• Esther Chen as Ginny Yang
• Timothy McCracken as Brian White
• Jason Veasey as Jackson Moore
• Tatiana Williams as Valerie Johnston

McCracken, a graduate of the DCPA’s National Theatre Conservatory and now the Head of Acting for DCPA Education, has previously appeared in Theatre Company productions of A Christmas Carol, Jackie and Me, The Giver and others.

Veasey, a native of Colorado Springs, graduated from Coronado High School and the University of Northern Colorado. His local credits include playing Jesus in Town Hall Arts Center’s Godspell in 2003 (pictured right), and the ensemble in the Arvada Center’s Ragtime. Last year, he performed in the Henry Award-nominated Best Musical Motones vs. Jerseys at the Lone Tree Arts Center. He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of The Lion King.

Garrett was profiled in American Theatre as “One to Watch,” saying she is attracted to “plays that impact us in tremendous ways, chasing us out of our comfort zones.”

Veasay, Chen and Williams will be making their DCPA Theatre Company debuts in Diamond’s acclaimed new play, a biting comedy that follows a quartet of Harvard intellectuals struggling to understand why the lives of so many people – including their own – continue to be undermined by race. No matter how hard they research, question and confront the issue, their own problems with self-awareness make it difficult to face the facts of life. Fiercely clever dialogue and energetic vignettes keep the laughs coming in a story that Variety calls “Sexy, serious and very, very funny.”

Diamond’s award-winning plays have been produced throughout the country, including the 2011 Tony Award-nominated Broadway production Stick Fly.

The creative team for Smart People will include:

• Efren Delgadillo Jr. (Scenic Designer)
• Lex Liang (Costume Designer, DCPA’s Disgraced)
• Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Lighting Designer)
• Curtis Craig (Sound Designer)
• Kaitlyn Pietras (Projection Designer)
• Lyle Raper (returning longtime Theatre Company Stage Manager)
• Corin Ferris (Assistant Stage Manager).

Smart People: Ticket information

• Presented by the DCPA Theatre Company
• First performance Oct. 13, through Nov. 19
• Ricketson Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex
• Tickets start at $25
• Call 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• Sales to groups of 10 or more click here