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Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the cast and creative team for Brokeback Mountain, the North American premiere production of Ashley Robinson's adaptation of the captivating novella by Annie Proulx that inspired the Academy Award-winning film. The production is directed by Jonathan Butterell and plays May 28–June 28 in the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater. Brokeback Mountain stars Harrison Ball as Ennis Del Mar and Jack Cameron Kay as Jack Twist, leading an ensemble cast that also features Thomas Cox, Cordelia Dewdney, Kat Eggleston, and Alina Jenine Taber.
Wyoming 1963: a wild landscape of extreme rural poverty and insular conservative communities. When Ennis and Jack take jobs on the isolated Brokeback Mountain, all their certainties of life change forever as they flounder in unexpected emotional waters of increasing depth. This intense tale of an irresistible and hidden love spans twenty years and is interwoven with soulful, original Country Western songs by Dan Gillespie Sells, performed live onstage.
"It's a huge pleasure to launch this beautiful love story in the Midwest, so close to its spiritual home," said Artistic Director Edward Hall. "Audiences will enjoy a truly immersive experience watching this in the intimacy of the Courtyard Theater, where every glance, every breath and every absence deepens what is unsaid and felt beneath the surface."
Harrison Ball (Ennis Del Mar, CST debut) is an actor, choreographer, writer, and producer with a dynamic career spanning ballet, film, and theatre. A former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, he spent 13 years performing a vast repertoire that included works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, and many others. In 2022, Ball starred alongside Debbie Harry in Catharsis, a short film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Jack Cameron Kay (Jack Twist, CST debut) is an actor, songwriter, and Juilliard-trained classical singer. His breakout role came as Joshua "Jones" in Netflix's Boots (2025), a coming-of-age dramedy set in 1990s Marine boot camp. He also appeared in the short film Bird in Hand and the upcoming Club Kid, premiering at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
The cast also features Thomas Cox as Joe Aguirre/Bill/Jack's Father (CST debut; founding ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, many additional credits including at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and more), Cordelia Dewdney as Alma (Ashland Avenue at Goodman Theatre, Steel Magnolias at Drury Lane), Kat Eggleston as the Balladeer/Jack's Mother (CST debut; musical artist with multiple recordings, including her award-winning solo album Speak; credits at Briar Street Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Victory Gardens), and Alina Jenine Taber as Lureen (Arwen in The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale at CST, A Streetcar Named Desire at Paramount Theatre, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre). Understudies include Meghan Maureen McDonough, Laura Nelson, Matt Rosin, and Andrew Shipman.
Ashley Robinson is a Brooklyn based writer/actor who grew up in rural Lockhart, South Carolina. In addition to Brokeback Mountain, he has also conceived and penned the books for musicals Fall of '94, 5 & Dime, and Lockhart. As an actor, Robinson has performed in Floyd Collins (Wiltons Music Hall, London), A Clockwork Orange (New World Stages), Casa Valentina (Original London Cast), Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory (New York Premiere/ 2015 Outer Critics Award Nom), Merrily We Roll Along (Menier Chocolate Factory and West End), The Last Goodbye (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Wicked (Original Chicago Company). He also originated the role of Jett Rink in the World Premiere of the musical Giant (Helen Hayes Award nomination, Best Actor).
Jonathan Butterell is a director and choreographer who has worked in London, New York, and around the world. He directed the movie Everybody's Talking About Jamie, released globally on Amazon Prime in 2021. Prior to that he spent time developing and directing the award-winning stage musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Further directing credits include: Alone Together, Michael Ball's one man show (Donmar Warehouse and Theatre Royal Haymarket); Floyd Collins (Wilton's Music Hall); Peter Pan (Royal Festival Hall); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Royal Festival Hall); Second Chance (Signature Theatre and Public Theater); Whida Peru: Resurrection Tangle (Inner Voice for Premier Stages); and Tres Niñas (Zipper Theatre). Butterell created the musical staging for the Tony Award-winning shows The Light in the Piazza (Lincoln Center Theater) and Assassins (Broadway), as well as the revival of Fiddler on the Roof (Broadway) and the musical staging for the original workshop of Sondheim's musical Wise Guys at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Sam Mendes. Butterell also choreographed the Tony award-winning Nine on Broadway, and further productions in London, Buenos Aires and Tokyo.
The creative team for Brokeback Mountain also includes Dan Gillespie Sells (Composer), Jacob Yates (Music Director), Tom Pye (Scenic and Costume Designer), David Finn (Lighting Designer), Christopher Shutt (Sound Designer), Stephanie Farina (Sound Recreation and Additional Content), Zev Steinrock (Fight and Intimacy Coordinator), Sammi Grant (Dialect Coach), Christopher Chase Carter (Associate Director), Emily Hayman (Associate Sound Designer), Brenden Marble (Assistant Lighting Designer), Ethan Smith (Assistant Intimacy Choreographer), Christine D. Freeburg (Production Stage Manager), Danny Fender (Assistant Stage Manager), and Bruno Diaz Miranda (Production Assistant).
Playwright Ashley Robinson said, "I'm thrilled that Chicago Shakespeare will host the US Premiere of Brokeback Mountain. Chicago is the perfect city in which to premiere this working-class story of star-crossed lovers. I'm looking forward to bringing the play home, at a time when this beloved story feels more resonant and needed than ever."
The novella's author Annie Proulx shared, "Brokeback Mountain has been recreated in several different forms, each with its own distinctive moods and impact. Ashley's script is fresh and deeply moving, opening sight lines not visible in the original nor successive treatments. The story has always projected a sense of the difficult fated solitudes that echo in Wyoming's tawny landscapes. The joinery of script, actors, director, theatre, audiences becomes a complex watershed of dozens of mountain streams finally merging into a river of sensibility."
Opening is set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 4.
Special events include:
- PRIDE Night at Brokeback Mountain will take place Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. with a pre-show party beginning at 5:30 p.m. Gather around the "CAMPfire" for a joyful celebration to kick-off Pride Month with Western music, dancing, community, and a splash of camp. Each ticket to the show includes one free drink, light bites, and special pre-show activities in the lobby.
- On Wednesday, June 10 after the 1:00 p.m. performance, CST will host a post-show discussion on LGBTQIA+ experiences of health and history as part of the national Seven Days in June campaign to ensure "Health is Primary." Marking the 45th anniversary of the first known case of what became HIV/AIDS, the panel will be moderated by journalist and community leader Tracy Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times and executive director of Press Forward Chicago.
- All Wednesday and Saturday evening performances will be perfectly timed to enjoy Navy Pier summer fireworks after the performance (beginning at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays).
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Jack Cameron Kay as Jack Twist and Harrison Ball as Ennis Del Mar in Chicago Shakespeare’s North American premiere production of Brokeback Mountain, Ashley Robinson’s new adaptation of the captivating novella by Annie Proulx that inspired the Academy Award-winning film. Directed by Jonathan Butterell, the production runs May 28 - June 28, 2026, in the Courtyard Theater at Chicago Shakespeare.
Photo by Jeff Sciortino.
