The Festival Announces the Cast of Hamlet
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce the cast of this season’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As one of the Bard’s most extraordinary and psychologically rich plays, it explores conscience, power, and how burdens of the past shape choices for the future. First produced during the Festival’s inaugural 1962 season, Hamlet has returned ten times over the past 65 years. In this anniversary season, it finally takes the stage of the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre for the first time. Beth Lopes, who directed As You Like It last season, directs this production.
“I’m honored to be guiding this iteration of Shakespeare’s masterful Hamlet for the Festival’s thrilling 65th season,” says Lopes. “In this rendition audiences can look forward to deeply felt relationships, edge-of-your-seat intrigue, and a healthy dose of horror. We’ve assembled an exquisite team of artists that have already been working around the clock to bring this haunting rendition to life.”
Lead artistic staff who are collaborating with Lopes are Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver, Costume Designer Bill Black, Lighting Designer Michael Gilliam, Sound Designer/Composer John Nobori, Music Director Brandon Grayson, Voice/Speech/Text Coach Philip Thompson, Dramaturg Lezlie Cross, Choreographer/Intimacy Coordinator Sacha Comrie, Fight Director Caitlyn Herzlinger, and Stage Manager Martinique M. Barthel.
Hamlet features both new and returning cast members, as follows:
Lavour Addison is returning for his second season at the Festival as Marcellus/Player King in Hamlet. Audiences may remember him as Macduff in last season’s Macbeth, among other roles. He has also worked at Creede Repertory Theatre; Idaho, Lake Tahoe, and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals, Cleveland Play House, and Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. Addison received his MFA in acting from Case Western Reserve and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Kyleen Doman is new to the Festival and is cast as Player Queen/Ensemble in Hamlet. She is currently pursuing a BFA in acting at Southern Utah University and will appear this season courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program, a partnership between SUU’s Theatre Department and the Festival. She has performed roles in The Three Sisters, Julius Caesar, and The Prom.
John Harrell returns for his third Festival season, this time as Polonius in Hamlet. Audiences may remember him as Hortensio in 2024’s The Taming of the Shrew and Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale, among others roles. He has also performed the title characters in Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard II and more at the American Shakespeare Center. Harrell received a BA in English from James Madison University. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Blake Henri returns for his fourth season, playing Laertes in Hamlet. He was previously seen at the Festival in Macbeth, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The Play That Goes Wrong, and A Raisin in the Sun. He has worked at the American Shakespeare Center; the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa; Cleveland Play House; and Dallas Theatre Center, among many others. He has appeared in numerous television shows such as The Chosen, Walker, and HBO’s Love and Death, as well as the films American Underdog and Great Plains. He holds a BFA from the University of Oklahoma.
Luke Sidney Johnson returns for his ninth season, this time as Rosencrantz/Gravedigger 2 in Hamlet. Last season he played Lane/Merriman in The Importance of Being Earnest and Man 1 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Other favorite roles at the Festival include Younger Brother in Ragtime, Simeon in Joseph…Dreamcoat, and Samson in Romeo and Juliet. He has also performed at Pioneer Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Playmill Theatre, among others. He earned a BFA in musical theater from SUU and is an Actors’ Equity Membership Candidate.
Kayland Jordan returns for her third season at the Festival, playing Horatio in Hamlet. She performed as Rosalind in last year’s As You Like It and Second Weird Sister in Macbeth, along with A Raisin in the Sun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023. She has also acted Off-Broadway and at Asolo Repertory Theatre, Theatre SilCo, and American Stage Theatre Company, among many others. She has appeared in HBO’s Betty, ABC’s Emergence and The Brides, and in the films Gap Year and Keep Me At Bay. She is a resident teaching artist at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, earned a BFA in acting from Pace University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
John Keabler is making his Festival debut as Claudius in Hamlet. He has performed Off-Broadway at Cherry Lane Theatre, as well as at Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, and Cincinnati Playhouse, among many others. His on-screen work includes many television shows including 30 Rock; Madam Secretary; All My Children; and The Men Who Built America; as well as films like Faith, Love and Whiskey; SUGAR!; and Where The Snow Fell. He earned an MFA at The Old Globe Professional Actors Program, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG.
Walter Kmiec returns for his third season, as Hamlet in Hamlet. Audiences will remember him as Macbeth in last year’s production of Macbeth, Touchstone in As You Like It, and Canidius in Antony and Cleopatra. Before that, he portrayed Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Norfolk in Henry VIII. He has also worked at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Endstation Theater Company, and People’s Improv Theater, among others. He has taught at Stetson University and Florida State University, where he received an MFA in directing. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Brianna Miller is debuting at the Festival, playing Guildenstern/Gravedigger 1 in Hamlet. She has performed at Cleveland Play House, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, among others. She has received the KCACTF Irene Ryan Regional Award and the Janicka Zuck Richards Playwriting Award. She earned an MFA in acting from Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House.
Thom Rivera is making his first appearance at the Festival as Ghost in Hamlet. His Off-Broadway work includes The Acting Company, Culture Project, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Roundabout, among others. He has performed regionally at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Denver Center, and South Coast Rep, including numerous others. He has been in many television shows such as Law & Order, Bunk’d, New Girl, Lucifer, and The Mindy Project, and films like Eddington, El Tigre, and Once Upon a Time in Venice. He has taught at UC Irvine, SUNY Albany, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Kathryn Tkel is returning for her second season at the Festival, and will be performing the role of Ophelia in Hamlet. She was seen last season as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, Audrey in As You Like It, and Lady Macduff in Macbeth. Other work includes productions at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Folger Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and many more. She was seen in the film Harriet and currently teaches at Southern Utah University. She has an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Mare Trevathan is making her Festival debut as Gertrude in Hamlet. She has performed at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Denver Center Theatre Company, and is a founding member of the Local Theater Company in Boulder, Colorado. She has worked with Sundance Lab, Saratoga International Theater Institute (SITI), and P3, and was seen in the film Silver City.
Matthew Wangemann returns for his third season, playing Barnardo/Player Villain in Hamlet. Previously at the Festival he was in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Greenshow in 2023 and 2024. He has performed Off-Broadway at the Vital Theatre Company, as well as at Alliance Theatre, Shakespeare in the Woods, Hale Center Theatre, and Pickleville Playhouse. He earned a BFA in musical theater from SUU.
Braedon Young returns for his fourth season at the Festival, as Francisco/Priest/Player Musician in Hamlet. His previous roles include George Seacole in Much Ado About Nothing, Robin Starvling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Abram in Romeo and Juliet, among others. Other performing credits include She Loves Me, Don’t Stop Me, and Drowsy Chaperone, as well as being a two-time soloist at Carnegie Hall. He received his BM in musical theater from The Manhattan School of Music.
The Festival’s 65th season runs June 18 through October 3, 2026. Hamlet plays in rotation with Troilus and Cressida and Twelfth Night in the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Don’t miss these remarkable productions under the stars––get your tickets online at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849).
