Full company announced for D.C. Premiere of Lydia R. Diamond's Smart People

The full company has been announced for the Washington, D.C., premiere of Lydia R. Diamond's Smart People, playing April 14-May 21 at Arena Stage. Deputy artistic director Seema Sueko makes her Arena Stage directorial debut at the helm of the production.

The four-person cast will feature Lorene Chesley (La Jolla Playhouse's Memphis) as Valerie Johnston, Gregory Perri (Broadway's Good People) as Brian White, Sue Jin Song (Manhattan Theatre Club's The World of Extreme Happiness) as Ginny Yang, and Jaysen Wright (Studio Theatre's Choir Boy) as Jackson Moore.

Described as a "fiercely funny play" that "explores the unavoidable nature of cultural bias," Smart People follows a doctor, an actress, a psychologist, and a neurobiologist as they study the human brain's response to race and search for love, acceptance, and identity.

The design team will include Misha Kachman (set design), Dede M. Ayite (costume design), Xavier Pierce (lighting design), Andre Pluess (sound design), and Jared Mezzocchi (projection design).

For tickets and more information, click here.