February 28, 2023: The Keegan Theatre is pleased to announce the cast and creative team of the upcoming hip-hop musical, PUSH THE BUTTON. Written by Drew Anderson and Dwayne Lawson-Brown, the acclaimed writing duo behind FROM GUMBO TO MUMBO (Helen Hayes Awards nominee and “Best of Fringe” winner at Baltimore’s Charm City Fringe), PUSH THE BUTTON makes its World Premiere at Keegan March 25 – April 7, 2023.
PUSH THE BUTTON was commissioned by Keegan and workshopped as part of Keegan’s 2022 Boiler Room Series, a new works-focused initiative working to support and promote theater-makers who are driving theater in DC and beyond to new and unexpected places. This World Premiere production is the culmination of that new play development process.
“Push the Button is a fun, dynamic piece that deserves fun, dynamic performers,” remarks director Duane Richards II. “Assembling this cast was an organic process – some of us knew each other and some of us didn’t – yet when these artists all enter the space, what you find is a well-oiled machine of incredible chemistry, musical talent, and just all-around goofiness!”
About the musical: In a town beset by the sordid shenanigans of a prank-prone Villain, justice finally seems to be served when the celebrated Hero accuses Villain of the worst crime of all: Pushing the Button. But when the dutiful Journalist starts asking the right questions, will convicting the Villain prove to be the wrong answer? This playful and poignant parody of modern morality will ask its audiences to question their very notions of right and wrong, crime and punishment, truth and narrative. But most of all, it will beg the question: “Who Pushed the Button??”
The cast of PUSH THE BUTTON includes Quincy Vicks (Hero), Tre’mon Mills (Villain), Ashanti Symone Branch (Journalist), Gary DuBreuil (Judge), and Robert Willis, Mitchell Alexander, and Brianna Thomas (Ensemble).
In addition to director Duane Richards II, the creative team includes Drew Anderson (Music Director), Ashanti Symone Branch (Choreographer), Alberto Segarra (Lighting Designer), Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor (Projections Designer), Thom Woodward (Sound Designer), Imari Pyles (Costume Designer), Matthew J. Keenan (Resident Scenic Designer / Lead Carpenter), Cindy Landrum Jacobs (Properties / Set Dressing Designer), Sam Linc (Stage Manager), and Lorna Ryan (Sound Engineer).
PUSH THE BUTTON runs March 25 – April 7, 2023 with both daytime and evening performances available throughout the run:
- Sat, March 25 at 2:00 pm
- Sat, March 25 at 8:00 pm
- Sun, March 26 at 3:00 pm
- Sun, March 26 at 8:00 pm
- Tue, March 28 at 10:00 am
- Wed, March 29 at 10:00 am
- Thu, March 30 at 10:00 am
- Fri, March 31 at 8:00 pm
- Sat, April 1 at 2:00 pm
- Sat, April 1 at 8:00 pm
- Sun, April 2 at 3:00 pm
- Sun, April 2 at 8:00 pm
- Tue, April 4 at 10:00 am
- Wed, April 5 at 10:00 am
- Thu, April 6 at 10:00 am
- Fri, April 7 at 10:00 am
Special events scheduled during the run include:
- Fri, March 31: Young Professionals Happy Hour, which includes discounted tickets to the show and 1 pre-show drink in the upstairs lounge at the theater
- Sun, April 2: Free “Meet the Artists” Audience Talkback after the matinee performance
PUSH THE BUTTON is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities at www.arts.gov.
