Shuler Hensley, J. Smith-Cameron & More Set for Public LAB Production of That Hopey Changey Thing

Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley and theater vet and True Blood alum J. Smith-Cameron are among actors set to appear in the Public Theater's forthcoming LAB production of That Hopey Changey Thing, written and directed by Tony winning playwright Richard Nelson (Some Americans Abroad, The Dead). The show will begin performances on October 26 at the Anspacher Theater, with an official opening on November 2. It will run through November 14.

In addition to Hensley and Smith-Cameron, the cast for That Hopey Changey Thing includes Jon DeVries, Tony winner Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins and Jay O. Sanders.

That Hopey Changey Thing is set on election day, November 2, 2010. Uncle Benjamin’s dog has died and his nieces and nephew have gathered for dinner in Rhinebeck, New York, to surprise him with a new one. While the polls close, the Apple family discusses memory, manners, and politics.

Hensley has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserable, Tarzan, and Young Frankenstein,Oklahoma! (for which he won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Olivier Awards). He recently appeared in Harold Prince’s London production of Paradise Found, with a book by Nelson. Smith-Cameron's Broadway credits include After the Night and the Music, Tartuffe, Night Must Fall, The Play’s the Thing, The Real Inspector Hound and the Fifteen Minute Hamlet, Our Country’s Good, Lend Me a Tenor, Wild Honey and Crimes of the Heart. DeVries recently appeared in the national tour of August: Osage County. Plunkett's Broadway credits include Me and My Girl (Tony Award), A Man For All Seasons, Saint Joan, The Seagull, The Crucible, Sunday in the Park With George and Agnes of God. Robins’ Broadway credits include Heartbreak House, Frozen, The Herbal Bed and The Real Thing. Sanders has appeared on Broadway in Pygmalion, Saint Joan, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Loose Ends.

Public LAB, conceived in association with LAByrinth Theater Company, is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see exciting new work in scaled-down productions.