Thirteen actors are now full into
rehearsals for the season-opening production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.The
cast is a mix of new and familiar faces.
Larry Bates as Happy. He has appeared at South Coast Repertory as Ralph D in
The Motherf**ker with the Hat. His other SCR credits include Booth in
Topdog/Underdog, Cory in
Fences, Cactus in
Mr. Marmalade and Youngblood/Darnell in
Jitney, for which he won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Award for Best Featured Actor. He is a graduate of The Theatre School, DePaul University.
Chris Butler as Biff. Butler is a two-time Ovation, NAACP, LADCC and Garland Award winner for his work in
Yellowman (The Fountain Theatre) and
Stick Fly (The Matrix Theatre Company). He is making his SCR debut. Other theater includes the Broadway revival of
110 In The Shade (Roundabout Theatre Company);
Gem Of The Ocean, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Rubicon Theatre);
A Raisin In The Sun, The Piano Lesson (Oregon Shakespeare Festival);
Blue (Pasadena Playhouse);
A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Globe Theatre); and
The School For Wives (La Jolla Playhouse). Butler holds an MFA in theatre from the University of California at San Diego and a BA in dramatic arts from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Gregg Daniel as Uncle Ben. He is
returning to SCR after previously appearing in August Wilson's
Jitney and
Fences. He recently appeared in
the Mark Taper Forum's production of
Joe
Turner's Come and Gone. His other SCR appearances include
A Christmas Carol (Jacob Marley) and
Theatre for Young Audiences production of
James
and the Giant Peach. He is a founding member and artistic director of Lower
Depth Theatre Ensemble.
Celeste Den as Miss Forsythe She
returns to SCR after appearing in the Broadway international tour of
Chinglish at SCR, Berkeley Repertory
Theatre and the 2013 Hong Kong Arts Festival. Her other theatre credits
include the world premieres of
Wild Swans at American Repertory Theater and
Young
Vic in London;
Between Two Friends and
Island at Actors Theatre of
Louisville;
11 Septembre 2001 and
Peach Blossom Fan with Center for New
Performance;
Spit, Shine, Glisten! with
Cotsen
Center
for Puppetry; and
Laws of Sympathy with Playwrights'
Arena. Den received her BFA in theatre from the
University
of
Florida
and MFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts.
Tracey A. Leigh as The Woman. Her
previous appearances at SCR include
In
the Next Room (or the vibrator play),
Safe
in Hell, the NewSCRipts reading of
The
St. James Infirmary and the Pacific Playwrights Festival readings of
Happy Face and
Tough Titty. She recently appeared as Titania in Shakespeare
Center Los Angeles'
A Midsummer Night's
Dream, in Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble's production of
Elmina's Kitchen, and in
The
Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King at Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA.
Becca Lustgarten as Letta. She is her
South Coast Repertory debut. Her past credits include work at the Williamstown
Theatre Festival, Primary Stages, Hangar Theatre, and the Actor's Studio NYC.
Lustgarten received her BFA in theatre arts from Boston
University and studied at the
Accademia Dell'Arte in Arezzo in Italy. She is a
graduate of the 2013 South Coast Repertory Acting Intensive Program.
Georgina E. Okon as Jenny. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and Essex, England. She moved to the United States to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and “live”out a dream. She recently performed in
To Be or Not at Actors Art Theatre, and
The Changeling at Long Beach Playhouse. Other roles include The Snake in
The Little Prince and Esther in
Amazing Grace.
Tyler Pierce as Howard Wagner.
Pierce returns to SCR where his credits include
How to Write a New Book for the Bible and
Death of the Author (NewSCRipts). He has appeared in tours of
Legends with Joan Collins and Linda
Evans,
Barriers and
A Midsummer Night's Dream. His selected
regional theatre credits include
I'll Be
Back Before Midnight (The Colony Theatre Company);
How to Write a New Book for the Bible (Berkeley Repertory Theatre
and Seattle Repertory Theatre);
Good
People (Geffen Playhouse);
Gronholm
Method (Falcon Theatre);
Death of a
Salesman (The Old Globe); and
A
Streetcar Named Desire (Guthrie Theater).
Christopher Rivas as Stanley. The New York City native recently finished a
great run and romp in
The Assassination
of Leon Trotsky,
A Comedy at the
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. His other stage credits include
Helen at the Getty Villa,
Songs
of Bilitis with Rogue Artists Ensemble at the Bootleg, and
Camino Real at The Theatre@Boston Court.
His Indie film
Public Law is making
the festival circuit now, and he's just shot a pilot titled "Clandestine." Next
to acting, Rivas lives creatively through his poetry.
Charlie Robinson as Willy Loman. His
work at SCR includes
The Piano Lesson; My
Wandering Boy; Fences, which earned him a 2006 Ovation Award for his
portrayal of Troy;
and
Jitney, which earned him a Los
Angeles Drama Critics award nomination for his portrayal of Becker. He is
received an NAACP's Theatre Image Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Old
Globe's
The Whipping Man. Another theatre
home for him has been the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. See him soon in the
feature film,
Hoovey, to be released
this year.
Kim Staunton as Linda Loman. She last
appeared at SCR as Berniece in
The Piano
Lesson. Staunton
has been a guest company member at the Denver Center Theatre Company for the
past 13 seasons. She represented the Colorado
company as an inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellow at the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Staunton has also appeared regionally at Ebony Repertory
Theatre, Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas
Theatre, Syracuse Stage and the O'Neill Theatre Center. She is a native of Washington, D.C.,
and a graduate of The Juilliard School.
James A. Watson Jr. as Charley. He last appeared at SCR in August Wilson's
Jitney. Watson trained at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts (U.S. Extension) and his television and film work
earned him an Emmy nomination, and NAACP Image Award. His other theatre work
has included
National Pastime (The
Fremont Centre Theater, Pasadena)
Dream
on Monkey Mountain (Mark Taper Forum)
Lemon
Meringue Façade (Best Supporting Actor nomination, San Fernando Valley
Awards),
In White America, Room Service (A.C.T., San Francisco), and
Rashomon/Outrage,
Golden Boy, Calculated Risk (Marla
Gibbs Theater).
Tobie Windham as Bernard. His last appearance at SCR was in
A Midsummer Night's Dream. His other stage credits include
The Whipping Man at Marin Theater
Company,
Seven Guitars (San Francisco
Bay Area Critics circle nominee for best actor),
Blues for an Alabama Sky, American Buffalo, Balm in Gilead,
Slither, The Brothers Size (SFBATCC nominee for best actor),
Marcus; Or the Secrete of Sweet and
Two Coons. He has performed on the
stages of The American Conservatory Theater, Magic Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, Chalk
Repertory Theatre, South City Theater Company, City Equity Theater and
Birmingham Park Players. He is a native of Birmingham, Ala.
Buy tickets now!
