The Globe's DIVINE RIVALRY Begins 7/7; Sean Lyons Replaces Jeffrey Carlson

The Old Globe today announced that Sean Lyons will play the role of Niccolò Machiavelli in the West Coast Premiere of Divine Rivalry. Jeffrey Carlson, who was previously announced for the role, has withdrawn from the production. Based on a real-life event, the drama about two of history’s most famous artists—and one of history’s most infamous statesmen—is written by Michael Kramer with D. S. Moynihan. Directed by Michael Wilson, Divine Rivalry will run July 7 – Aug. 5 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run July 7 – July 11. Opening night is Thursday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Divine Rivalry transports audiences to 16th-century Florence, where two of the world’s greatest artists, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci, face off in a painting competition orchestrated by political mastermind Niccolò Machiavelli (The Prince). The fascinating contest forms the backdrop for an even greater battle as the leading minds of the Renaissance clash over political gain, personal riches and the immortality of art.

Shakespeare Festival favorite Miles Anderson returns to the Globe to play the legendary Leonardo da Vinci. Anderson was last seen in the 2011 Shakespeare Festival as Prospero in The Tempest and Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. His 2010 appearance in the title role of The Madness of George III won him the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award.

Sean Lyons will play Niccolò Machiavelli. Lyons recently appeared in the world premiere of Ether Dome at Alley Theatre and was featured for three years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Moby Dick Revisited, The Grapes of Wrath and The Good Doctor.

Euan Morton will appear as Michelangelo Buonarroti. Morton was nominated for a Tony Award for playing Boy George in Taboo and has also appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac and Sondheim on Sondheim.

David Selby will play Piero Soderini. Selby’s Broadway credits include The Heiress, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale and I Won’t Dance and has originated roles on the television series “Dark Shadows” and “Falcon Crest.”

The creative team includes Jeff Cowie (Scenic Design), David C. Woolard (Costume Design), Robert Wierzel (Lighting Design), John Gromada (Original Music and Sound Design), Peter Nigrini (Projection Design), Telsey + Company (Casting) and Marisa Levy (Stage Manager).

Michael Kramer (Playwright) is an award-winning journalist. As New York Magazine’s political columnist in the 1970s and 1980s, he covered local and national politics. For a decade beginning in the late ‘80s, he was TIME Magazine’s political columnist, covering national and foreign affairs. He was also chief political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and managing editor of the New York Daily News. He was the editor and publisher of More, the media magazine, and editor of Content, a short-lived magazine about the news business. He is the coauthor of The Ethnic Factor, a book about minority voting patterns that became a standard text on the subject. He also coauthored I Never Wanted to be Vice President of Anything, a political biography of Nelson Rockefeller that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

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