Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has announced the principal cast for its Winter 2026 production of Chez Joey. Joining previously announced Tony Award winner Myles Frost (MJ the Musical) in the role of Joey Evans, Chez Joey will also star Awa Sal Secka (The Public Theater’s Goddess) as Linda English, Samantha Massell (Fiddler on the Roof) as Vera Simpson, Angela Hall (Black and Blue) as Lucille Wallace, and Tony nominee Kevin Cahoon (Shucked) as Melvin Snyder.
The year is 1940-something, and on the South Side of Chicago, the night scene is sizzling. Enter Joey Evans (Frost): an irresistible, slick-talking, velvet-voiced nightclub performer with dreams bigger than the bandstand. But in a city where the right connections mean everything, he finds himself caught between Linda (Secka), the bright-eyed chorus girl, and Vera (Massell), the wealthy baroness who can bankroll his big break — for a price. With no-nonsense club owner Lucille (Hall) and vaudeville-performer-turned-Chicago-social-insider Melvin (Cahoon) watching his every move, Joey’s got one choice to make: play it straight or risk it all for the spotlight.
Boasting a new book by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King), alongside fresh jazz arrangements of the legendary catalog of Broadway legends Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, this legendary tale of ambition, seduction, and survival is hotter than ever. This new production, choreographed by Tony Award winner Savion Glover (Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk) and co-directed by actor, director, and producer Tony Goldwyn (ABC’s Scandal) and Glover, will run January 30 – March 15, 2026, in Arena’s Kreeger Theater. For information and tickets, visit arenastage.org/joey.
Including beloved Pal Joey standards like “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “What is a Man?,” and “I Could Write a Book,” the score for Chez Joey expands to incorporate favorites from the 1957 film adaptation, such as “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.” Rodgers and Hart fans can also expect classics like “My Funny Valentine,” “This Can’t Be Love,” and “I Wish I Were in Love Again,” among others.
The full cast and creative team will be announced in January 2026.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Awa Sal Secka (Linda English) is elated to be back at Arena! Lastly, you may have seen her at Arena as Bea in Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Her Off-Broadway and touring credits include Zawadi in Goddess at The Public and Bea on the National Tour of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, respectively. Local credits include Sarah in Ragtime at Signature, Joanne in Rent at the Kennedy Center, Mayme in Intimate Apparel at Theater J, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods at Ford’s, and Ama in School Girls and Dottie in Caroline, or Change at Round House Theatre. Awa is a proud co-writer of the 2023 MacArthur Award-winning play The Joy that Carries You. She is immeasurably grateful to God, the Chez Joey team/cast, for her fiancé, Ryan, all her friends, family, and supporters, her agents at Nicolosi & Co., and for her mother, Fatou.
Samantha Massell (Vera Simpson) is an actress, singer, writer, and filmmaker. She was last seen on Broadway as Hodel in the acclaimed revival of Fiddler on the Roof and made her Broadway debut at age 12 in Baz Luhrmann’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème. She has originated starring roles in many world-premiere musicals, including Rosalind Franklin in Double Helix (Bay Street), Rebecca in the revisal of Rags (Goodspeed Opera, Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Actress), Karla in The Flamingo Kid (Hartford Stage), and Florika in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse & Paper Mill Playhouse). On the small screen, Samantha is currently recurring on Doc, and has also recurred on Dynasty, Mr. Mercedes, and Chicago Fire, and guest-starred on NCIS: New Orleans, The Good Fight, and Elementary. BFA, University of Michigan, Phi Beta Kappa.
Angela Hall (Lucille Wallace) illuminated the Broadway stage as a featured performer in the Tony Award-winning musical Black and Blue, performing alongside jazz and tap legends such as Ruth Brown, Jimmy Slyde, and Bunny Briggs. She has performed in national touring companies of Big River and The Tap Dance Kid. Additional show credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Dancin’ in the Street, and For Colored Girls… Angela’s film and television credits include Modern Love, Mo’ Better Blues, Mad Love, Mr. Wonderful, and Bob Altman’s The Player. She holds a BFA in Musical Theater (Boston Conservatory), MS in Teaching (Fordham), and MS in Educational Administration (Fordham). She is thankful for her supportive family and to God for showers of bountiful blessings!
Kevin Cahoon (Melvin Snyder) received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for his role as Peanut in Shucked on Broadway. Other Broadway includes the original companies of The Lion King, The Wedding Singer, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as The Who’s Tommy and The Rocky Horror Show. Off Broadway, Kevin was also part of the original companies of Hedwig and The Angry Inch, The Wild Party, and The Shaggs, as well as the revivals of How I Learned to Drive and The Foreigner, for which he received a Lortel nomination. On TV, Kevin created roles on Monarch, GLOW, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Nurse Jackie, and others. Films by Robert Zemeckis, Woody Allen, Madonna, and regional theaters such as The Guthrie, Williamstown, The Old Globe, among others.
Chez Joey runs January 30-March 15, 2026, in the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 Sixth St SW, Washington, DC. Tickets are available at arenastage.org. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 202-488-3300, Tuesday–Sunday, 12–8PM, or in person at the Arena box office Tuesday–Sunday, two hours before the show begins on performance days.
Tickets start at $83. Ticket prices and availability are subject to change. Arena Stage’s many savings programs include “pay your age” tickets for those aged 35 and under; military, first responder, and educator discounts; student discounts; and “Southwest Nights” for those living and working in the District’s Southwest neighborhood. To learn more, visit arenastage.org/savings-programs.
Groups of 10+ may purchase tickets at arenastage.org/groups or by phone at 202-488-4380.
For complete Arena Stage 2025/26 Season details, visit arenastage.org/75.
ABOUT ARENA STAGE
The first racially integrated theater in our nation’s capital and a pioneer of the regional theater movement, Arena Stage was founded in 1950 in Washington, DC. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep, and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and groundbreaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Consistently contributing to the American theatrical lexicon by commissioning and developing new plays, Arena Stage impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement and serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000.
SEE ALSO:
Tony winner Myles Frost to headline ‘Chez Joey’ at Arena Stage (news story, November 25, 2025)
