April Matthis and Company Preview Lydia Diamond's Toni Stone

The cast of Lydia Diamond's Toni Stone, directed by Pam MacKinnon, met the press at their rehearsal studio on May 3. The Roundabout Theatre Company production will run May 23-August 11 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, with opening night set for June 20.

The company is headed by April Matthis in the title role, alongside Eric Berryman, Harvy Blanks, Phillip James Brannon, Daniel J. Bryant, Jonathan Burke, Toney Goins, Kenn E. Head, and Ezra Knight. The creative team will include Camille A. Brown (choreography), Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Allen Lee Hughes (lights), Dede Ayite (costumes), and Daniel Baker & Aaron Meicht (original music & sound design).

Diamond's play is described as follows: "Toni Stone is an encyclopedia of baseball stats. She's got a great arm. And she doesn't understand why she can't play with the boys. Stone knocks it out of the park as the first woman to go pro in the Negro Leagues. Featuring a bullpen of players crossing age, race, and gender to portray all supporting roles, Toni Stone is a vibrant new play about staying in the game, playing hard, playing smart, and playing your own way."