October 1962. The JFK administration discovers that the Soviet Union was installing missile sites in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. For thirteen days, the world appeared to be on the brink of nuclear war.

Chicago writer-director-actor Brian Pastor has adapted Robert F. Kennedy’s memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis events for the stage in the play “Thirteen Days,” playing its world premiere March 6 – April 19 at City Lit Theater.

All the characters in the book are white men; none of the actors on stage will be. Leading the cast at President Kennedy will be Cameron Feagin. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy will be played by Kat Evans, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara is Sheila Willis, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk will be Julia Kessler. The Director of Central Intelligence John A. McCone and Soviet U.N. Ambassador Valerian Zorin will be played by Maggie Cain. Adrienne Matzen is Kennedy’s National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell D. Taylor will be played by Delia Ford. Imani Lyvette is Kennedy’s speechwriter Ted Sorensen and an aide. Kim Fukawa has been cast in the roles of Arthur C. Lundahl (the aerial photography expert who detected missile installations in Cuba) and Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Dobrynin. Shawna Tucker is National Security Council member Llewellyn “Tommy” Thompson, the diplomat who was key in defusing the crisis. Anne Wrider is Adlai Stevenson, United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

The production team is yet-to-be-announced. More information at citylit.org.