Tony Winners Audra McDonald and Myles Frost Join Aunjanue Ellis & More in Ava DuVernay's ‘Caste’ Film
Variety reports that Tony winners Audra McDonald and Myles Frost have joined Aunjanue Ellis and the cast of Ava DuVernay’s latest film ”Caste,” inspired by Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”
The star-studded cast also includes Niecy Nash, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Connie Nielsen, Jon Bernthal and Jasmine Cephas-Jones.
DuVernay wrote and directs “Caste,” which adapts Wilkerson’s acclaimed book. Described in The New York Times as “an instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far,” Wilkerson’s work — and subsequently DuVernay’s film — examines the system of hierarchy that has shaped America.
DuVernay also produces the project alongside frequent collaborator ARRAY Filmworks’ Paul Garnes. Production on the independent film, financed by J4A, began in Georgia in December, with additional filming set to take place in Germany and India.
McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winner, with more performance wins than any other actor and the only person to win in all four acting categories. Also a Grammy and Primetime Emmy winner, McDonald’s screen work includes “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Private Practice,” “Respect” and “The Good Fight,”
Frost is the reigning winner of best actor in a musical for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in “MJ the Musical,” which marked his Broadway debut.