The Ford/Hill Project

Lee Sunday Evans and Waterwell

West Coast Premiere

Buy tickets

Price: $35 + $2 Convenience Fee**
Genre: Theater
DATE: SEP 17-19
TIME: THU-SAT, 8 PM
RUNTIME: Approx. 65 minutes
COUNTRY: USA

* Discounts available for REDCAT members, students & CalArts faculty and staff

Join the conversation in the REDCAT LOUNGE

About

The Ford/Hill Project transforms the Senate testimony of Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford into a gripping evening of theater. Created by Lee Sunday Evans and Elizabeth Marvel, this Waterwell Production is performed by a cast of luminary LA actors, including Rosemarie DeWitt, Betty Gabriel, Dulé Hill, and Rich Sommer. Thirty years apart, Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford shared private, painful experiences on a national stage during nomination proceedings for the Supreme Court, speaking with clarity and confidence in the face of questioning and skepticism. With an ensemble of four actors speaking from the verbatim transcripts of these hearings, these two women’s stories resonate across decades, illuminating the emotional weight and historical significance of these pivotal hearings. Heard together now, their testimonies demonstrate the courage it takes to speak truth to power.

A moderated post-show conversation follows each performance, featuring members of the cast and invited speakers.

Thursday, September 17: Andrea Fontenot, Interim Associate Provost, BFA Critical Studies at CalArts
Friday, September 18: Rebeca Melendez, Associate Director of the East LA Women’s Center
Saturday, September 19: Eva Graham, Institute Diversity Officer at CalArts

Please note: The Ford/Hill Project contains performance includes infrequent strong language and themes/discussions of racial and gender-based violence.

*The original cast included Jerry O’Connell, who has been replaced by Rich Sommer.

Necessary viewing, not just because of its topic, but because it’s a riveting night of theater

—

TheaterMania

The Ford/Hill Project was developed with support from The Axe-Houghton Foundation, The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theater by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.

The project was made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Current show sponsorship from Anonymous. Past show supporters include: Burnt Umber Productions, Mariska Hargitay, Angelina Fiordellisi, Taylor Kinney, Damon Lindelof, Sharman Altschuler, Lesli Linka Glatter, Pack Willimon, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Strong, John Turturro, John Benjamin Hickey, Cynthia Nixon, Ethan Coen, Julian Maha, Linda Powell, Elizabeth Marvel, Morena Baccarin, Thomas Sadowski & Amanda Seyfried, Ronald Guttman, Sarah Snook, Peter Friedman, Carrie Preston, Omar Metwally, and Tom Fontana.

The first iteration of the project was developed with early stage 3D support at Mercury Store. It was presented by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and The Public Theater in October 2024 and as part of Under the Radar Festival by La MaMa in January 2026.

about the artists

Elizabeth Marvel (Co-creator) is an actress who has won four Obie Awards for her Off-Broadway work, notably for the title role in Ivo Van Hove’s 2004 production of Hedda Gabler. Most recently, she starred in the Off-Broadway production of Phillip Roth’s Sabbath’s Theater. Of her numerous Broadway roles, she is best known for her portrayal of Brooke Wyeth in Other Desert Cities, a role, which she originated off-Broadway. Marvel recently starred in the Apple TV+ limited series Presumed Innocent, Love and Death at HBO Max, and the Hulu limited series The Dropout. Her television credits include Peacock’s Mrs. Davis, Hulu’s Helstrom, Showtime’s Homeland, Netflix’s House of Cards. She can most recently be seen in Blitz Bazawule’s adaptation of The Color Purple for Warner Bros. Upcoming, she will be seen alongside Viola Davis in the Amazon Prime Video action-thriller film, G20. Marvel is a graduate of the Juilliard School.

Lee Sunday Evans (Co-creator & Director) is a two-time Obie Award-winning Director and the Artistic Director of Waterwell. She recently directed the world premiere of A Wrinkle in Time by Lauren Yee, with music and lyrics by Heather Christian, at Arena Stage. Notable credits include: Waterwell’s The Ford/Hill Project, which she co-created with Elizabeth Marvel (Woolly Mammoth, The Public Theater); Dance Nation by Clare Barron (Playwrights Horizons, Steppenwolf); Safety Not Guaranteed by Nick Blaemire with music and lyrics by Ryan Miller (BAM); Waterwell’s The Courtroom, created with Arian Moayed which premiered in a courtroom in the 2nd Circuit Thurgood Marshall Courthouse; Caught by Christopher Chen (PlayCo); Detroit Red by Will Power (ArtsEmerson); Sunday by Jack Thorne (Atlantic); In the Green by Grace McLean (LCT3); Miller, Mississippi by Boo Killebrew (Long Wharf, Dallas Theater Center); and Home by Geoff Sobelle (BAM Next Wave). She directed the film adaptation of The Courtroom which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2022 and has had grassroots screenings around the country. As part of her work at Waterwell, she has partnered with the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Center for Youth Law, Labor Notes, the Dignity Not Detention Coalition, and others to create original projects that make robust contributions to their work on public policy, communications, and organizing.

Waterwell (Lee Sunday Evans, Artistic Director; Sarah Scafidi, Managing Director; Arian Moayed, co-founder and Board Chair) is an Obie Award-winning production company that creates theater, film, and digital media that wrestles with complex civic questions, gathering people for cultural events that provoke, inspire, and build community. The company is dedicated to telling engrossing stories that can reach people across real and perceived divides. Waterwell produces its projects using an evolving set of best practices that are influenced by the principles of community organizing and movement building. This commitment is part of an ongoing investigation into how storytelling can have the most relevance and impact in efforts to create a more just and humane society. Waterwell’s projects manifest in more than one medium but everything the company does is infused with its love of the immediacy of live performance.

Rosemarie DeWitt (Actor) Some favorite theater credits include Three Sisters (Williamstown), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage), Family Week (MCC), Small Tragedy (Playwrights Horizon/ Obie Award), and The Butter and Egg Man (Atlantic Theatre Company). She can be seen in films including LA LA Land, Rachel Getting Married, Promised Land, Your Sister’s sister, and Kill the Messenger; most recently starred in Out of My Mind and Smile 2, and will next be seen opposite Andy Garcia in Diamond, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Her TV credits include Mad Men, The United States of Tara, Little Fires Everywhere, The Staircase, Lessons in Chemistry, The Boys, Untamed, And Just Like That…

Betty Gabriel (Actor) is best known for her performance as ‘Georgina’ in Jordan Peele’s Oscar-nominated film, Get Out. She can now be seen in the Paramount comedy Novocaine opposite Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder, as well as the Neon independent feature It Lives Inside, directed by Bishal Dutta. Betty can most recently be seen in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, a continuation of the Prime Video series in which she previously appeared alongside John Krasinski, and in the independent feature Prima opposite Jack Huston. Betty starred opposite Zoe Kazan in the Netflix series Clickbait, as well as the Apple TV+ series Defending Jacob and Manhunt. She has recurring arcs on Westworld, Counterpar, and Good Girls Revolt. She also starred in an episode of Jordan Peele’s CBS All Access anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Dulé Hill (Actor) has built an acclaimed career across TV, film and theater. On screen, he is most known for Psych, The West Wing, Suits, ABC’s The Wonder Years, and recently Hulu’s Good American Family. Additional credits include Bel-Air, Ballers, Black Monday, and voiceover work on Disney’s Robogobo and the Audible Original series The Prophecy. On stage, he has starred in acclaimed Broadway productions including Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk, Stick Fly, After Midnight, and most recently NYTW’s Lights Out: Nat ‘King’ Cole. Hill also hosted and executive produced PBS’s docu-series The Express Way with Dulé Hill.

Rich Sommer (Actor) has recently appeared on two hit series HBO Max’ MINX and Hulu’s THE DROPOUT and is in “The Sterling Affair” “Clipped” “White House Plumbers””Firebuds” as well as previously appearing on the Netflix series, GLOW, for which he was nominated for a SAG Award for Best Ensemble. Best known for his portrayal of Harry Crane for seven seasons on AMC’s SAG Winning Mad Men. Other notable TV appearances include In the Dark, Run, Love, Wet Hot American Summer, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order (SVU and Original), and recurring roles on Suits LA, Elementary and The Office. Film work includes King Richard, “The Book of Jobs” “Blackberry,” Fair Play,” Girlfriend’s Day, The Devil Wears Prada, Fairhaven, Celeste and Jesse Forever, The Giant Mechanical Man, and My Name is Doris. Rich’s voice can be heard everywhere from your radio to television set. He made his Broadway debut in Harvey with Jim Parsons at Studio 54. Off Broadway he co-starred with David Morse in Roundabout’s The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin and appeared with Ed Harris & Amy Madigan in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. Regional: The Underpants, Far Away, Twelfth Night, Hay Fever.