Power, desire, and morality take center stage as Folger Theatre announces the cast of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, directed by Psalmayene 24 and running September 22–November 1, 2026, at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to have the opportunity to plumb Shakespeare’s profundity by directing Measure for Measure at the Folger,” shared Psalmayene 24, the Helen Hayes Award winner for Outstanding Direction for directing Folger Theatre’s production of Metamorphoses. “This play—a tragicomic meditation on the nature of power, hypocrisy, sexuality, and mercy—feels especially useful in our moment. Setting Measure for Measure in the racially consequential world of the 1950s American South is not only a means of exploring the malleability of this play but also provides the chance to examine anew this period in our country’s history.”
The Duke will be played by Nathan Darrow (Netflix’s House of Cards), Isabella by three-time Helen Hayes-winning actor Renea S. Brown (Folger Theatre’s Metamorphoses), and Angelo by Lee Osorio (Mosaic Theater Company’s A Case for the Existence of God). Faces familiar to Folger theatregoers include JaBen Early as Claudio (Macbeth: A Tribute to the Federal Theatre Project), Sean Fri as Provost (Richard III), Ahmad Kamal as Pompey (As You Like It), Ryan Sellers as Elbow (The Second Shepherds’ Play), John Sygar as Froth (As You Like It), Holly Twyford as Escalus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Renee Elizabeth Wilson as Mariana (Julius X). Making their Folger Theatre debuts are Jonathan Feuer as Lucio (Theater J’s Eureka Day), Maryanne Henderson as Juliet (Constellation Theatre Company’s OR,), and Chinai Routté as Mistress Overdone/Francisca (Round House Theatre’s The Trip to Bountiful).
The creative team includes Tony Thomas (Choreographer), KOKAYI (Composer), Mekala Sridhar (Adaptor), Debra Booth (Scenic Designer), Mika Eubanks (Costume Designer), Jesse Belsky (Lighting Designer), Matthew M. Nielson (Sound Designer), Deborah Thomas (Props Designer), LaShawn Melton (Wig and Hair Designer), Nadia Guevara (Associate Director), Modupe Labode (Cultural Consultant), Sierra Young (Intimacy Coordinator), Danica Rodriguez (Casting Director), Lisa Beley (Voice and Text Support), Lauren Pekel (Production Stage Manager), and Jazzy Davis (Assistant Stage Manager).
Last performed at the Folger in 2006, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure offers a timeless parable of power and redemption. In the play, the Duke leaves his deputy Angelo to rule the city, pitting the principled novice nun Isabella against the corrupt Angelo. Shifting the locale to the American South in the 1950s, and taking cultural and historical cues from this period, the central crux of this complex comedy underlines the complicated nature of mercy, redemption, and survival under political corruption and hypocrisy.
Folger Theatre’s production of Measure for Measure is on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library from September 22–November 1, 2026. Accessible performances and related programming will be offered throughout the run of the production and are listed on the show page. Tickets start at $20 and are available online at folger.edu/MFM or by calling the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.
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