American Players Theatre: Casey and Diana
La Shawn Banks and Hannah Ruwe
American Players Theatre Presents CASEY AND DIANA Review - Laughing Through the Tears
TLDR: Taking inspiration from Princess Diana’s visit to The Casey House during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Casey and Diana shows what the other side must have felt like as the house prepared for her visit. Following two roommates and their week leading up to the visit, our emotions swing from laughing out loud one moment to ugly crying the next.
Joe Meyer and La Shawn Banks
We’re Having Gay Breakfast!
We enter the Touchstone Theatre and two hospital beds sit before us. One side of the room has more personal touches, the other sparse but the bed is made up with crisp hospital sheets. Here, two men find themselves unlikely roommates at The Casey House in the 90s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Casey House opened as a judgement-free, compassionate treatment and hospice care center for those with AIDS to live out the rest of their life with dignity. Enter the current longest resident at the house, Thomas, played by La Shawn Banks. He’s been there so long, he sarcastically jokes he’s always planning on going home the next week.
His new roommate, a young man named Andre played by Jon Meyer, silently curls up in a ball in his bed and takes a while to open up. The two offer us views from different generations - old school gay and the new. One who knows the best parks to go to, was a waiter at a Sunday brunch staple, and has been through it all. The other, barely twenty and has just been kicked out of his parents house. But the entire house alights with hope when the announcement is made that Princess Diana would be visiting in a week.
Visions of Diana visit Thomas as he describes the events of the past week leading up to her visit. He fills the house with optimistic energy and cries that they are all going to make it to her visit. We watch the week pass, day by day in hopes everyone will be there for Diana.
Laughing Through Tears Is My Favorite Emotion
The cast handled everything in Casey and Diana with care as they became these characters, both as individual people and also bearing the responsibility of who they represented. In turn, we get a show that balances seriousness and laughter.
Elizabeth Ledo as Vera, one of the nurses, shows her new volunteer the ropes with a patient but firm hand. We are hesitant to like her at first; we can’t understand why she’d be strict with seemingly small things. But as she unfolds her own history, we see how strong you have to be to work here at Casey House.
Colleen Madden as a newer volunteer, Marjorie, removes a memorial candle burnt down to the quick only to replace it immediately in remembrance of another member of the house’s passing. She does her best to follow the rules, but can’t help herself and bends the rules just a little bit if it means she can help bring some comfort.
Dee Dee Batteast as Thomas’ sister, Pauline, makes attempts to make amends. When the two reconnect, even with all the pain and hurt they’ve been through, they easily fall back into their sibling love, bickering, and jokes.
And the main culprit for having us on the brink of ugly crying one second and laughing through the tears the next is Banks and his performance. He’s always there with a well placed jab at someone else’s expense or even his own. He reminds us through all this tragedy, the only way to cope is sometimes to laugh. He reminds us of the people behind this piece of history and his performance makes sure we won’t forget it.
Joe Meyer and Colleen Madden
Capturing The Timeframe
A model of the house paying homage to the original Casey House…an elegant stained glass window pane above a large window…Thomas going for a walk in a matching purple and teal windbreaker set. Even if you didn’t know anything about this time period, there’s enough context clues through the script, set, and costume design to paint this picture for us.
But what takes the cake is the design for Diana. Huge shoutout to Daniele Tyler Mathews as the costume designer. Matthews captures her style journey from her early days in the public eye to the later days in her charity work. And assuming they also did the wigs, thank god someone finally got Diana’s hair right. Hannah Ruwe as Diana is the perfect frame to carry these looks. She captures Diana’s poise and mannerisms, peering up beneath her bangs in her signature way, speaking with the utmost care, and engages with everyone like they’re the only person in the room.
Dee Dee Batteast and La Shawn Banks
The After Party Thoughts
When it became clear that the Diana in Casey and Diana was Her Royal Highness Princess Diana, I was immediately on board. We know her visit to the real Casey House during the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history and usually just mentioned as a reference to Diana’s influence and compassion. This takes the other view and shows us what a moment this was for the people on the other side. We get to go deeper and press the enhance button for the finer details history has glossed over.
These actors deliver powerful and nuanced performances. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, ask any of the other audience members who were also trying to hide their nose blowing and sniffles in one of the moments where everyone burst out laughing. Casey and Diana is masterful and shouldn’t be missed..
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
When
Now through September 24, 2026
Where
American Players Theatre
5950 Golf Course Rd.
Spring Green, WI 53588
Runtime: 2hrs 20min, including intermission
Tickets
$68+
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 608-588-2361 or through the American Players Theatre website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
CAST
Elizabeth Ledo (Vera)
La Shawn Banks (Thomas)
Hannah Ruwe (Diana)
Joe Meyer (Andre)
Colleen Madden (Marjorie)
Dee Dee Batteast (Pauline)
CREATIVE
Nick Green (Playwright)
Michael Herwitz (Director)
Michael Shipley (Voice & Text Coach)
Daniele Tyler Mathews (Costume Designer; HIV Consultant)
Scott Penner (Scenic Designer)
Zack Lobel (Lighting Designer)
Joe Cerqua (Music Composition & Sound Designer)
Jeb Burris (Intimacy, Fight & Movement Director)
Ryan Barrett (Stage Manager)
Nora Murphy (Stage Management Assistant)