Program Notes

Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz, Artistic Director & Mike Schleifer, Managing Director present

BOOK BY PHILLIP DEPOY

SCENIC DESIGN TODD ROSENTHAL

MUSIC DIRECTION BRANDON BUSH

MUSIC BY KRISTIAN BUSH

LYRICS BY PHILLIP DEPOY & KRISTIAN BUSH

COSTUME DESIGN KARA HARMON

CHOREOGRAPHY JOHN WELKER

LIGHTING DESIGN XAVIER V. PIERCE

CASTING JODY FELDMAN

SOUND DESIGN CLAY BENNING

STAGE MANAGER JAYSON T. WADDELL

DIRECTED BY SUSAN V. BOOTH

Generous support for this production provided by Dean DuBose & Bronson Smith.

This musical is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award.

This production is supported in part by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle.

ALLIANCE SERIES SPONSORED BY

CAST *JEREMY AGGERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bailey JIMEZ ALEXANDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaither MARCELLO AUDINO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tucker *JOHN BOBEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grey/Brody *JEWL CARNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Crow *KATIE DEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Truegood *KELLI DODD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny/Ivy *ROB LAWHON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doug *RHYN MCLEMORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mama Grace GILLIAN RABIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clara *MARIA RODRIGUEZ-SAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cass Crow *ASIA ROGERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Honor

UNDERSTUDIES COLLIN CRUIKSHANK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Brody/Grey/Gaither GINA DELISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Clara/Honor LAMONT J. HILL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Alex Crow/Tucker JESSI LITTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Cass Crow/Mama Grace NATALIE MYRICK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Ivy/Jenny/Truegood JACOB VALLEROY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .US Doug/Bailey

STAGE MANAGERS *JAYSON T. WADDELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stage Manager *SHAINA PIERCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Assistant Stage Manager *LIZ CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Stage Manager ASHLEY DICKEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stage Management Production Assistant

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN ASSISTANCE AMANDA WATKINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Line Producer RAIYON HUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Line Producer/Assistant Director AMELIA FISCHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fight Choreographer CONNOR HAMMOND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fight Choreographer ELISA CARLSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dialect Coach ETHAN GODFREY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Music Assistant JOANN KANE MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Music Copyist RUSSELL BARTMUS, ALEX JACKSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Music Copyist ABRIANNA BELVEDERE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Literary Assistant CONNOR MCVEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Lighting Designer CHEYENNE SYKES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Lighting Designer SOTIRIOS LIVADITIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Set Designer HIDENORI NAKAJO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Sound Designer HAYLEE SCOTT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COVID Coordinator

MUSICIANS BRANDON BUSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Music Director and Player/Conductor STELLO CLARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Guitar/Keyboard TOMI MARTIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Guitar Q. ROBINSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drums ZACK ALBETTA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Drums

FOR THIS PRODUCTION NEIL ANDERSON, GABRIELLE DRUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . Follow Spot Operator KATE LUCIBELLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Stage Operations Manager HOLLY O’REAGAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound Mixer EMMA MOULEDOUX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deck Sound WILLIE PALMER PARKS AND VICTOR MOULEDOUX . . . . . . . . . Stagehands SKYLAR BURKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Properties Stagehand BRYAN PEREZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crew Chief HAUZIA CONYERS, YVONNER STEPHENS, ZACHARY MORRISON . . . Wardrobe

SPECIAL THANKS The Frances and Beverly DuBose Foundation, Inc.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence The Atlanta Women’s Foundation Frank Hamilton School Frank Hamilton School of Music Atlanta-Area Friends of Folk Music Foxfire Appalachian Heritage Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center Public Broadcasting Atlanta

* Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Musicians employed in this production are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

The Alliance Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, an independent national labor union. The Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young Audiences (ASSITEJ/USA), The Atlanta Coalition of Theatres, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Midtown Alliance.

Photos may be taken in the theater before the performance, during intermission, and following the performance. If you share your photos, please credit the designers.

Photos, videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited, is a violation of United States Copyright Law, and is an actionable Federal Offense.

JEREMY AGGERS

(Bailey) This show marks Jeremy’s 10th Alliance production, and he is beyond grateful. Past Alliance credits include Edward Foote, Candide, Shakespeare in Love, Whipping Man, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Small Mouth Sounds, and most recently, the 2020 drive-in A Christmas Carol. Other Atlanta credits include This Wonderful Life (Aurora Theatre), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Georgia Ensemble), and Singles in Agriculture (Aurora Theatre). He has released three albums of his music (that you can stream just about anywhere) and has narrated somewhere around 400 audiobooks under Jeremy Arthur and other pseudonyms. All his love to KJW and AEWA. BL continue to M.

JIMEZ ALEXANDER

(Gaither) Is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied theatre at Belhaven University and has performed in plays such as Twelfth Night, In Lieu of Flowers, Voyage of the Little Mermaid. He graced the silver screen in the Sundance award winning film “Ballast”, “Choosing Chasity season 2” “Haunting In Connecticut 2” and his most recent credit was “Brian Cole’s Pseudo”. He is also a puppeteer, musician, teaching artist husband and proud father of three. Jimez is represented by The Brock Agency. He is grateful to make his Alliance Theatre debut as (Gaither). Enjoy the show!

MARCELLO AUDINO

(Tucker) is so grateful to be back on stage at the Alliance! You may have previously seen him as La Tortuga in La Tortuga and The Hare. More recent credits around Atlanta including Newsies, On Your Feet!, and Men with Money at Aurora Theatre. He was thrilled to understudy Alliance’s first show back under the tent, Working, this spring. Marcello also regularly appears in commercials, television shows, and voice overs and is proudly represented by People Store here in Atlanta. All of the love & gratitude to the Alliance for this opportunity and to my family and friends who support me. Welcome back to the theatre! IG: @marcello_audino JOHN BOBEK (Brody/ Grey) is a new Atlantan making his Alliance Theatre debut. He has been seen on TV (“The West Wing,” “Happy Endings,” “American Crime,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Strong Tower”), Film (When a Stranger Calls, Stomping Ground) and On Stage most recently in Geffen Playhouse’s world premiere Mysterious Circumstances. He is a proud member of Antaeus Theatre Company and Sacred Fools Theatre Company in Los Angeles. Also a singer/songwriter, his music was most recently featured in the indie film Limerence, and his albums are available wherever digital music is sold or streamed. <3 EB || Instagram: @itsjohnbobek JEWL CARNEY (Alex Crow) was born and raised in Hawaii and left at the age of 16 to join the 2nd National Tour of Miss Saigon as Kim. She went on to play the role of Nala in The Lion King at The Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. She made her way back to the stage in The Alliance Theatre’s Spring musical Working in 2021. As a session/demo singer, solo artist and song writer, she took a time out to become Mom to two little Carneys kids, Shine and Free. “Michael, Shine, and Free, my life is more blessed, beautiful, filled with grace and completely chaotic with you in it. I love you always.”

COLLIN CRUIKSHANK

(US Brody/Grey) is delighted to be making his debut with Alliance Theatre. He graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in performing arts in 2020. Recent credits include narrating the audio book “Summer of the Monkeys” by Wilson Rawls and starring in a Coca-Cola commercial. As a day job he owns an online store for funny vegan merch called Bazaar Vegan. KATIE DEAL (Truegood) As an Appalachian music nerd and a big fan of the Bush brothers, Katie is overjoyed to be originating the role of Truegood. Previous world premieres: Back Home Again: My Life with John Denver (Penny - Milwaukee Rep), Lakebottom Proper (Rowena - Springer Opera House), and Crazy Love (Margarita - Springer Opera House). Favorite regional credits: Keep on the Sunny Side (Sara Carter - Barter Theatre), Back Home Again (Penny - People’s Light & Ivoryton Playhouse), Ring of Fire (June Carter Cash - Barter Theatre), and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (Patsy - Springer Theatricals national tour 2006 & 2011). Katie has co-produced several touring concerts honoring country music’s greats, is a frequent guest vocalist with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and has been featured in two major motion films: Let’s Be Cops and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Off stage, Katie serves as the Director of Alumni Engagement at Piedmont University. Many thanks to Susan, the cast and crew, Piedmont, her family, and the love of her life, Sam, for all the support. www.KatieDeal.com. GINA DELISE (US Clara/ Honor) is an ATL and NYC based actor. She is a recent graduate from the University of Evansville where she was seen in The Grapes of Wrath (Rose of Sharon) and Spring Awakening (Thea/Frau Gabor). As a Georgia native, Gina is thrilled to be making her Alliance debut, and she thanks her family and friends for their love and support.@gina_delise KELLI DODD (Jenny/Ivy) is thrilled to make her debut with the Alliance! Recent credits: Million Dollar Quartet, The Bridges of Madison County (Colorado Springs FAC), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Mountain Rep Theatre), Dolly Parton’s Stampede and Christmas Celebration, Always...Patsy Cline (MRT, The Legacy Theatre), The Marvelous Wonderettes (MRT, Virginia Samford Theatre), Pump Boys and Dinettes, Annie Get Your Gun, Holiday Spectacular (Red Mountain Theatre), and Smoke on the Mountain (Central Alabama Theatre). Kelli thanks her husband, Kyle. Matt.5:16. www.kellidodd.art Catch her next in Kelli Sings Dolly! at the Legacy Theatre this October!

LAMONT J. HILL (US Alex Crow/Tucker) Atlanta: City Springs Theatre: Into The Woods (Cinderella’s Father), Elf the Musical (Store Manager), Sentimental Journey/ Broadway Revue (U/S); Atlanta Lyric Theatre: Jekyll & Hyde (Utterson); Actor’s Express: Suzi Bass Award Winning The Color Purple (Harpo); Once on This Island concert (Jennie T. Anderson), Wallace Buice Theatre Co.: Parade (Riley), Dominion Ent. Group: A Lesson Before Dying (Grant U/S), Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Co.: The First Noel, Vocalist Six Flags Holiday in the Park, Berea College Theatre: The Wiz (Scarecrow), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Sylvester), Top Dog/Underdog (Booth), Lead Male Vocalist (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings). Education: BA in English, Theatre, & Speech Communications (Berea College) and also trained at The Company Acting

Studio (Buford, GA). Film: Trying Grace, First Family. Lamont is new to the Alliance Theatre and is thrilled to be a part of Darlin’ Cory. ROB LAWHON (Doug) is delighted to return to the Alliance Theatre! You may remember Rob from shows like Working, Songs to Grow On, The Wizard of Oz, Troubadour, Pancakes, Pancakes!, or Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Many thanks to the Bush Brothers and the Brothers DePoy, and Susan and Jody. A very special thank you goes to my son Gibson, who I love more than anything else in the whole wide world. JESSI LITTLE (US Cass Crow/Mama Grace) is new to Atlanta having moved from Seattle last year. Atlanta credits include; Lace Larrabee’s Stand Up Comedy class, Aurora Theatre Welcomes - A Cabaret, 48 Hour Film Project, and recurring entertainment at various retirement, memory care, and assisted living communities. Her general public cabarets combine stand up, trivia, and music and have been performed in numerous states west of the Mississippi; next up Charlotte, NC (Jan. 2022). Favorite credits include: Lizzie Darcy in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (New Village Arts, CA), u/s Siobhan & Voice 3 in The Curious Incident… (Village Theatre, WA), “Day by Day” in Godspell (Taproot Theatre, WA), Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods (StageRight Theatre, WA), and singing the National Anthem at Fenway Park (Go Sox!). www.jessilittle.com IG: @jjessilittle RHYN MCLEMORE (Mama Grace) is over the moon to be back on the Coca-Cola stage, where she was last seen in Ever After (Suzi Bass Award nominee — Best Supporting Actress). Other Atlanta theater includes: Fun Home, Stupid Fucking Bird and Company (Actor’s Express); The Cake (Horizon Theatre); Safety Net (Theatrical Outfit); Dot (Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company); The Bridges of Madison County and Split in Three (Aurora Theatre). Off-Broadway: Dot (The Billie Holiday Theatre); A World to Win (The York Theatre Company). Regional: Violet and The Crucible (Gallery Players); The Sound of Music (Sierra Repertory Theatre); The Spitfire Grill (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Our Town (West Virginia Public Theatre); The Crucible (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival). Upcoming: A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre). Big love to her amazing partner, Joshua. BFA, Carnegie Mellon University. www.rhynmclemore.com NATALIE MYRICK (US Ivy/Jenny/Truegood) is a theatre artist/musician based in New York City, and she is thrilled to be back in the southeast for her Alliance debut! After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she toured in shows for young audiences around South Korea. Regionally and OffBroadway, her artistic projects especially center original works in development and contemporary musical theatre. Select credits: Reverb Arts Festival (Roundabout), Playdate (Dixon Place), Phantom Tollbooth (Hangar Theatre), Tarzan (English Musicals Korea), Last Five Years (Company Carolina). www.nataliemyrick.com // @noots.mcgoots GILLIAN RABIN (Clara) is thrilled to be making her debut performance on the Alliance’s Coca-Cola Stage with Darlin’ Cory! An Oglethorpe University graduate, Gillian was honored to work with some of Atlanta’s

finest: Freddie Ashley, Richard Garner, Mira Hirsch, and many others. Gillian joined the 2019 apprenticeship program at Actor’s Express, appearing in both Skintight and Fun Home prior to the pandemic. Offstage, Gillian is signed with People Store and Lifetime movie fans will recognize Gillian as Pippa in Who’s Killing the Cheerleaders? Be sure to check Gillian out in upcoming films Emergency, Evolution of Nate Gibbs, and The Re-Education of Molly Singer.

MARIA RODRIGUEZ-

SAGER (Cass Crow) is crazy stoked she gets to make her Alliance main-stage debut on the newly transformed Coca-Cola Stage. She was first seen at the Alliance as Kanga in Winnie the Pooh. Some of her work: Our Town and The Laramie Project (Theatrical Outfit), Project Dawn (Horizon Theatre), In the Heights (Aurora Theatre/Theatrical Outfit), In the Next Room (Synchronicity Theatre) and George S. Clinton’s and Sherry Landrum’s That Other Woman’s Child (Baryshnikov Arts Center, NYMF). You can also see her recurring on The CW in DC’s “Stargirl” and Christopher Landon’s film Freaky (2020). She thanks you for supporting local professional theater and hopes you will continue to participate in sustaining this live art form for generations to come. For there is no Us without You. www.mariasager.com ASIA ROGERS (Honor) is delighted to be returning to the Alliance Theatre. Previously, she had the pleasure of understudying another of Phillip DePoy’s works in Nick’s Flamingo Grill. Her credits include Our Town & The Laramie Project (Theatrical Outfit), Pipeline (Horizon Theatre), Skeleton Crew (True Colors Theatre), Titanic (Serenbe Playhouse), A Christmas Carol and Damn Yankees (Theatre Buford), Dangerous Women (Weird Sisters Theatre Project), and The Jungle Book (Georgia Ensemble Theatre). Special thanks to her family and to her husband Nijel for all of their support! JACOB VALLEROY (US Doug/Bailey) is thrilled to be making his debut at the Alliance! He is a graduate of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) with a degree in Musical Theatre. Off-Broadway/National Tours: Alcestis Ascending (Straton), A Christmas Carol (Jacob Marley). Atlanta Credits: Spring Awakening (Melchior), The Last Five Years (Jamie), Les Misérables (Enjolras), Big Fish (Will Bloom), Chess (Ensemble), Fun Home (Roy, Bobby Jeremy, etc.), and A Year With Frog and Toad (Male Swing). Instagram: @jrvalleroy

SUSAN V. BOOTH

(Director, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001 and has initiated the Palefsky Collision Project for teens, the Alliance/ Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab and commercial partnerships on such projects as The Prom; Tuck Everlasting; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL. She has directed nationally at the Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern Universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern, DePaul and Emory universities and is a past President of the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the field. Booth’s leadership is underwritten by the BOLD Theater Women’s

Leadership Circle, an initiative to support and promote women’s theater leadership funded by The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. She is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal.

PHILLIP DEPOY

(Librettist, Co-Lyricist) is the author of 22 novels (the latest, Sammy Two Shoes, comes out in October 2021) and 45 plays. An internationally reviewed performance artist, he was writer in residence for the Georgia Council for the Arts and Composer in Residence for the Academy Theatre in the 1980s. In the 1990s he was the Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit and has composed music for 17 Alliance Theatre productions (Angels in America, The Seagull, Man for All Seasons, et al). Since then, he served as the director of several university theatre programs. He was awarded Georgia Author of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. Notable theatrical work includes the 1993 New York production of Lamb on Fire, the 2002 Edgar Award winning mystery play Easy, also in New York, and for the Alliance Theatre, the Suzi award-winning Edward Foote. His Appalachian Christmas Homecoming has been produced over 30 times nationally since 1994. Phillip DePoy also holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and folklore, and a graduate degree in performance art. His greatest achievement, however, is having been married to playwright Lee Nowell for over twenty-two years. KRISTIAN BUSH (Music, Co-Lyricist) Kristian Bush is a multi-platinum-selling, two-time Grammy winner most known for being half of the recordbreaking country music duo Sugarland. The Sevierville, Tenn., native launched his professional music career in 1994 with the folk-rock duo Billy Pilgrim. Within the decade, Kristian moved on to form Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles. The duo released “Baby Girl,” its debut song, in 2004. The seminal coming-of-age anthem paved the way for Sugarland to become the most influential country duo of its generation. Kristian released his critically acclaimed solo debut Southern Gravity in 2015. Its follow-up, the soundtrack to Bush’s first musical Troubadour, comes out in Fall of 2021. Bush made a foray into television theme songs in 2016 with “Forever Now (Say Yes),” which he penned and performed for TLC’s popular “Say Yes to the Dress.” He’s a founding member of rock jam band Dark Water alongside his brother Brandon Bush and Benji Shanks. He co-wrote a song for the Atlanta staging of Stephen Schwartz’s Working: A Musical. Me Before You is Bush’s third full-length musical that is opening in February of 2022 at the GABLESTAGE in Miami, FL. TODD ROSENTHAL (Set Design) is a Chicago-based set designer and educator. Broadway credits include: August Osage: County (Tony Award), The Motherfucker with the Hat (Outer Critic’s Circle Award nomination and Tony Award nomination), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony Award for Best Revival), Of Mice and Men (filmed by National Theatre Live), This is Our Youth, Fish in the Dark, Straight White Men and Linda Vista. Select OffBroadway: Red Light Winter (Barrow Street), Domesticated (Lincoln Center) Close Up Space (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Qualms (Playwrights Horizons). Set designer for six years for The Big Apple Circus. International credits include: August: Osage County (National Theatre of Great Britain, London and Sydney Theatre Company, Australia), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Waterford, Ireland), Madama Butterfly (Irish National Opera, Dublin/Cork), Nice Fish (London’s West End), and Downstate (National Theatre of Great Britain, London). Regional work includes Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Over 30 productions), Goodman Theatre (Artistic

Partner), Guthrie Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, American Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Alliance Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse and many others. Todd started the exhibition design He has received many other accolades, including the Laurence Olivier Award (first American set designer), the Helen Hayes Award, the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award, the Backstage Garland Award, Suzi Bass Award, the Joseph Jefferson Award, the Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award, the 2019 USITT Distinguished Achievement Award, the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration, and has been nominated for four American Theater Wing Henry Hewes Design Awards for best set design. Todd is a Full Professor at Northwestern University and a graduate of the Yale Drama School. KARA HARMON (Costume Designer) The Alliance: Goodnight Tyler, Angry Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous, God of Carnage. Regional: Guys and Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Guthrie Theatre; Eclipsed, Milwaukee Rep; The Color Purple, Portland Center Stage; The Wiz, Ford’s Theatre (Helen Hayes Award); We, the invisibles, ATL Humana Festival; A Raisin in the Sun, Indiana Rep; Nina Simone: Four Women, Arena Stage; The Purists, A Guide for the Homesick, Huntington Theatre; In the Heights, Geva; Barbecue, Geffen Playhouse (NAACP Award); The Rape of Lucretia, Wolf Trap Opera; Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. New York: Lockdown, Rattlestick Playwrights, The Niceties, Manhattan Theatre Club; Dot, Vineyard Theatre. Assistant Costume Design TV: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 2, Amazon, “Daredevil,” Season 2, Netflix; “Boardwalk Empire,” Season 5, HBO. Training: NYU Tisch School of the Arts. KaraHarmonDesign.com XAVIER V. PIERCE (Lighting Design) Professional credits include: Public Theatre (NYC), Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago, IL), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, OR), Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), Saint Louis Repertory Theatre (St Louis, MO), Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle, Washington), Arena Stage (Washington, DC), California Shakespeare Theatre (Orinda, Ca), Cincinnati Playhouse (Cincinnati, OH), Indiana Rep (Indianapolis, IN), Arden Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), Playmakers Rep (Chapel Hill, NC), Westport Country Playhouse (Westport, CT), George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, NJ), Syracuse Stage (Syracuse, NY), Two River Theatre Company (Red Bank, NJ), Olney Theatre Center (Olney, MD), Intiman Theatre (Seattle, WA), Arizona Theatre Company (Phoenix,AZ), Florida Studio Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Triad Stage (Greensboro, NC & Winston Salem, NC), Charlotte Childrens Theatre (Charlotte, NC), Crossroads Theatre (New Brunswick, NJ). Xavier Pierce is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts MFA in Design Stage and Film. Recent Credits: Harvey by Mary Chase, directed by Libby Appel at Guthrie Theatre. Two Trains Running by August Wilson directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges. A Raisin in the Sun at the Westport Country Playhouse directed by Phylicia Rashad. Xavier lit Two Trains Running directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson at Two Rivers Theatre Company in Red Bank, NJ and Katori Hall’s The Mountain Top directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges in a co-production between Playmakers Rep and Triad Stage. Xavier designed August Wilson’s Fences directed by Phylicia Rashad in a co-production between Long Wharf Theatre and the McCarter Theatre. Xavier designed The Piano Lesson at the Olney Theatre Center directed by Jamil Jude. CLAY BENNING (Sound Design) Resident Sound Designer for the Alliance Theatre and has designed more than 150 productions in his career,

with over 100 for the Alliance. Recent works for the Alliance include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Small Mouth Sounds, and Max Make a Million. Other design work has included Georgia Shakespeare, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Theatrical Outfit, Geva Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre, and the Georgia Aquarium. Awards: Seven Suzi Bass awards for outstanding sound design with 16 nominations. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College (BA), North Carolina School of the Arts (MFA) and a member of IATSE/USA829 and TSDCA. BRANDON BUSH (Music Director) has performed on Grammy® Award nominated and winning releases by John Mayer, Sugarland and Shawn Mullins. As a member of the rock band Train, Brandon toured the world indulging in his lifelong fantasy of performing a keyboard solo on a smoke-emitting Moog synthesizer. Theater work includes Composing and Sound Design for Approval Junkie (Alliance) and Music Direction credits for Shakespeare in Love (Alliance) and the world premier musical Troubadour (Alliance). Currently, Bush is touring as the music director for his brother Kristian Bush. He also manages the Atlanta based creative studio, Songs of the Architect where he composes for visual media. JOHN WELKER (Choreography) John’s passion for dance began at the age of 11, after the encouragement of his sister to take his first ballet class at BalletMet in Columbus, OH. He studied under many distinguished teachers and schools on full scholarship with the School of American Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, and Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Vail, Colorado. Beginning his professional career at 16, he’s had the opportunity to perform on stages across the U.S. and around the world, including “Romeo” in Romeo and Juliet, “Albrecht” in Giselle, “Everyman” in James Kudelka’s Four Seasons, Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas, and Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16 to name a few. While sustaining a busy dance career, John founded and directed Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi, a public contemporary dance initiative beginning in 2010, which commissioned 36 new works by 23 choreographers that introduced dance to thousands of new audience members over the course of its seven-year history. He Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts and graduating Summa Cum Laude earning his B.A. in dance, and also attended Coles College of Business, earning him academic honors as a Beta Gamma Sigma member with a Masters of Business Administration graduate degree. Currently serving as Director of Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, through his role John desires to cultivate a deeper public appreciation for the arts by empowering those who create and aspire to connect communities through dance. Since its inception in 2017, John has helped to guide Terminus from its entrepreneurial beginnings to a critically acclaimed ballet company that has quickly earned a reputation for boldly expressive high quality work and a thriving school known for its high caliber ballet training. JODY FELDMAN (Casting) began her theater career as an actress in Atlanta before moving into administration as the Assistant General Manager at Frank Wittow’s Academy Theatre. Feldman started her career at the Alliance as Casting Director in 1991, and added Producer to her title and responsibilities in 2001. She has cast and produced more than 200 productions at the Alliance, encompassing a range of world premieres that includes The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry, What I Learned in Paris by Pearl Cleage, Broke and Troubadour by Janece Shaffer, In the Red and Brown Water by Tarell Alvin McCraney and more than 10 years of Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition-winning plays plus such world and regional premiere musicals as Tuck Everlasting; Aida; The Color Purple; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring It On: The Musical;

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; Harmony, A New Musical and The Prom. Jody is most proud of the thriving Alliance engagement activities and partnerships that recognize theatrical work as a catalyst for community conversation and connection. JAYSON T. WADDELL (Stage Manager) is proud to return to the Alliance Theatre for his eleventh season. At the Alliance, he’s worked on such productions as Songs to Grow On, Data, A Drive-In Christmas Carol, Becoming Nancy, Approval Junkie, Ever After, Nick’s Flamingo Grille, Candide, Crossing Delancey, Troubadour, Moby Dick, Born for This, Tuck Everlasting, The Geller Girls, A Christmas Carol, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Broke, Sex and the Second City, Next to Normal, Holidays With the Chalks and Bike America. At Atlanta Lyric Theatre: Oliver!, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, and Young Frankenstein. At the Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Shakespeare in Love, I <3 Juliet, Hamlet, Q Gents, Antony & Cleopatra, Macbeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and A Winter’s Tale. Jayson graduated from the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. MIKE SCHLEIFER (Managing Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2014 as General Manager, and in 2016 became Managing Director. While at the Alliance, Schleifer has led the administrative team on more than 50 productions and was one of the architects of the “On the Road” season, in which the Alliance produced 12 shows at 12 venues. He is proud to have started the Alliance’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and to serve on the League of Resident Theatre’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Initiative. Previously, he spent 13 years at Baltimore’s Center Stage, working as Associate Producer, Production Manager and Resident Stage Manager. While in Baltimore, he spent seven years as an adjunct faculty member at Towson University and guest lectured all over the East Coast. He began his career as a Stage Manager and has dozens of stage-management credits in New York and regionally. He is married to theater director and educator Laura Hackman and is the proud father of two boys, Jack and Ben.