Kerry Butler & Cheryl Freeman Join Cast of Miracle Brothers at the Vineyard

Kerry Butler and Cheryl Freeman will join Tyler Maynard and Anika Larsen in the upcoming Vineyard Theatre Company world premiere of the Kirsten Childs musical Miracle Brothers, according to a production spokesperson.

Butler most recently appeared on the New York stage as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, for which she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. She received a Clarence Derwent Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for her work as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray. She has also appeared on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables and Blood Brothers. Off-Broadway, Butler has been seen in Prodigal and Bat Boy. She starred in the musical version of The Opposite of Sex in San Francisco and will soon be seen in the public workshop of the new musical The Man in the White Suit at Vassar College's Powerhouse Theater.

Perhaps best known for originating the role of The Acid Queen in The Who's Tommy, Freeman is a frequent presence on the New York stage. In addition to Tommy, she has appeared on Broadway in Show Boat, Amen Corner, Play On! and The Civil War. Her off-Broadway credits include Living in the Wind and Fame. Freeman was also notably the singing voice of the muse, Melpomene, in Disney's animated feature, Hercules, and the singing and speaking voice of Melpomene in the television series adaptation of the story.

Miracle Brothers was the Vineyard's first commission of its new Kitty Carlisle Hart Musical Theatre Lab and has been developed at the theater. Set in 17th-century Brazil, Miracle Brothers tells the tale of two brothers--one black, one white Maynard--whose escape from life on a plantation leads them through a series of bold, romantic and often swashbuckling adventures.

Miracle Brothers, directed by Tina Landau, is scheduled to begin off-Broadway previews on August 25. In addition to those mentioned above, the company will also include Devin Richards, Darrell Moultrie and Karen Olivo Brooklyn.