They Promised Her the Moon Cast and Creatives
BUY TICKETS
Anthony Fusco
Dan Hiatt
Craig Marker
Sarah Mitchell
Stacy Ross
Luisa Sermol
Laurel Ollstein
Giovanna Sardelli
Kimily Conkle
Cathleen Edwards
Christopher Fitzer
Jeffrey Lo
Randall K. Lum
Steven B. Mannshardt
Jane Shaw
Robert Kelley
Phil Santora
ANTHONY FUSCO (Randy Lovelace and others), a proud Union actor for 37 years, has performed with TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival in Nan and The Lower Body and They Promised Her The Moon. On Broadway, he was in The Real Thing and The Real Inspector Hound. Regional credits include 40-plus productions for American Conservatory Theater, 14 for California Shakespeare Theater, and appearances at Berkeley Rep, Marin Theatre Co., Magic Theatre, SF Playhouse, and many other companies from Buffalo, NY to Phoenix, AZ. Mr. Fusco has received multiple local theater awards and nominations since relocating here from NYC in 1999. He teaches for the MFA program at A.C.T. and Berkeley Rep’s School of Theatre. Mr Fusco is a graduate of The Juilliard School, and trained with The Barrow Group.
DAN HIATT (Harvey Cobb and others) most recently performed at TheatreWorks as Mark Twain in Mark Twain’s River of Song. Other TheatreWorks favorites include: The 39 Steps, Upright/ Grand, The Pitman Painters, Twentieth Century, and Ambition Facing West. Other Bay Area credits include: Vanity Fair, Father Comes Home from the Wars, and The Birthday Party at American Conservatory Theater; Nicholas Nickleby, Hamlet, Pastures of Heaven, Arms and the Man, and many others at California Shakespeare Theater; Wittenberg at Aurora Theatre Co.; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and Dinner With Friends at Berkeley Rep; and Anne Boleyn at Marin Theatre Co. Regional theatre credits include: Yale Rep; Shakespeare Theatre Co., DC; Theatre Calgary; Seattle Rep; Arizona Theatre Co.; Pasadena Playhouse; Huntington Theatre Co.; and Ford’s Theatre, Washington DC.
CRAIG MARKER (Jack Ford and others) returns to TheatreWorks after previously appearing in Frost/Nixon, Third, Theophilus North, Brooklyn Boy, Dolly West’s Kitchen, and Shakespeare in Hollywood. Recent credits include his role as Alcippe in The Liar and TBA Award-winning performance as Ever Montgomery in Dancing Lessons at Center REP. Mr. Marker has performed for California Shakespeare Theater, San Jose Rep, Portland Center Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory Theater, SF Shakespeare Festival, Aurora Theatre Co., Shotgun Players, Barbican Theatre (UK), Birmingham Rep Theatre (UK), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UK), and the Cyprus International Festival of Greek Drama. Mr. Marker is a graduate of Cal State East Bay’s theatre program and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. For the latest news and info go to craig-marker.com.
SARAH MITCHELL (Jerrie Cobb) returns to TheatreWorks after playing the role of Jerrie Cobb in the New Works Festival reading of They Promised Her the Moon. Recent credits include: Widower’s Houses and After the Revolution (Aurora Theatre Co.); Vinegar Tom, Kings, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence, Twelfth Night, Beardo, The Norman Conquests, and The Farm (Shotgun Players); HeLa and Much Ado About Nothing (TheatreFirst); Mary Poppins, The Music Man, The Wiz, Guys and Dolls, and Seussical the Musical with Berkeley Playhouse; The Revolutionists at Town Hall Theatre Co.; and Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party with SF Playhouse. Endless love and thank yous to Jordan.
STACY ROSS (Jackie Cochran) is happy to be back at TheatreWorks, having been last seen here in Sense and Sensibility, and first seen in Over the River and Through the Woods. She has worked locally at American Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre Co., Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, Central Works, Custom Made Theatre Co., Cutting Ball Theater, Magic Theatre, and SF Playhouse, as well as the late and lamented San Jose Rep. Regional work includes stints at Arizona Theatre Co., B Street Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, and 59E59 (NYC). www.stacyrossactor.com
LUISA SERMOL (Helena Cobb and others) is delighted to return to TheatreWorks after last season’s Archduke (Sladjana) and workshopping They Promised Her the Moon for 2018’s New Works Festival. NY credits include Broadway: Roundabout (Hamlet), Lincoln Center (Tennessee and His Women), Classic Stage Co. (Macbeth). Regional work includes: Portland Center Stage (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Williamstown Theatre Festival (Romeo and Juliet, A Little Night Music, The Maids), Artists Rep (The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, The Humans, Cuba Libre, The Goat, Sideman, Three Sisters, Master Class, The Night of the Iguana). Bay Area credits: City Lights (The Siegel), Hillbarn Theatre (Noises Off, It’s Only a Play). Film/TV include: Grimm, Leverage, Zero Effect, Insect Poetry. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she holds an MAT and is a teaching artist. Next up: Regina/Birdie in The Little Foxes at City Lights Theater Co.
LAUREL OLLSTEIN (Playwright) is a playwright/director based in Los Angeles whose produced plays include Laughter, Hope and a Sock in the Eye; CHEESE; Esther’s Moustache; OPA! the Musical; Dorothy Parker Is in the Bath; The Dark Ages; Bias Cut; and Showing Our Age. She drafted They Promised Her the Moon at the University of Oklahoma as the Faith Broome Playwright-in-Residence. Subsequently, Moon was showcased Off-Broadway and in new works festivals at The Old Globe and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The critically acclaimed West Coast premiere production was at The Old Globe in San Diego, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. She has written commissions for The Getty Villa, About...Productions, New Jersey Rep, Playwrights’ Arena, and The Actors’ Gang. She is a recipient of Ovation, Garland, and LA Weekly Theater Awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and California Arts Council. Ms. Ollstein directs playwriting programs, writing and arts education in schools, and creates plays on social justice themes. She has been a faculty member at Cal Arts, UCLA, Loyola Marymount, and Otis College of Art and Design.
GIOVANNA SARDELLI (Director) is TheatreWorks’ Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, and has directed Archduke, Finks, Crimes of the Heart, The Velocity of Autumn, The North Pool, The Lake Effect, and Somewhere. She directed Describe the Night (Obie Award Best New Play, TW New Works Festival 2014) at Atlantic Theater Co. and at the Alley Theatre (during Hurricane Harvey!), the world premiere of Archduke (TW NWF 2016) at Mark Taper Forum, and Guards at the Taj (2017 Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play) for Geffen Playhouse. Off-Broadway world premieres include Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout Theatre Co.), Wildflower, Animals Out of Paper, and All This Intimacy (Second Stage). Her production of An Entomologist’s Love Story (TW NWF 2014), had its world premiere at SF Playhouse. Additional regional credits include: regional premiere of They Promised Her the Moon (The Old Globe), Matthew Lopez’ The Whipping Man and Somewhere (The Old Globe), and numerous shows at Dorset Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House, Barrington Stage Co. and many others.
KIMILY CONKLE (Dialect Coach) has coached 20 shows for TheatreWorks, including the world premiere of Memphis. Other theatres include Marin Theatre Co., San Jose Stage, Sierra Rep, South Bay Musical Theatre, Broadway by the Bay, The Mountain Play, Foothill Music Theatre, Palo Alto Players, Tabard Theatre Co., Pear Theatre, Woodside Community Theatre, and Stanford University. She has performed with TheatreWorks, San Jose Stage, PCPA Theaterfest, Western Stage, Los Altos Conservatory Theatre, Empire Plush Room, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She was a member of the Theatre Arts faculty at Foothill College and received her training from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, American Conservatory Theater, and Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She earned a BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
CATHLEEN EDWARDS (Costume Design) happily returns for her 15th season at TheatreWorks where her previous shows include The 39 Steps (2019), Frost/Nixon, Crimes of the Heart, Somewhere, Grey Gardens, Triangle, Once on This Island, The Elephant Man, and more. She is well established in the Bay Area, having designed for many of the regional theatres. When not designing for the live stage, she works in film, television, and commercials. Among her awards are two Drama-logue and two Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards. A member of both United Scenic Artists and Theatrical Wardrobe Unions, she strongly believes in guiding those who are learning their craft, preparing them for careers in the course of which they can then pass this knowledge on to future generations.
CHRISTOPHER FITZER (Scenic Design) is currently TheatreWorks’ Properties Master and the resident creative at Sanguine Theatre Co. in NYC. He previously designed The Santaland Diaries and Marie and Rosetta for TheatreWorks. His other design credits include productions at Aspen Opera Theater Center, World Literature Today’s Puterbaugh Festival, San Jose Stage Co., Hillbarn Theatre, Woodminster Summer Musicals, Oklahoma City Theatre Co., Flat Rock Playhouse, Los Altos Stage Co., Douglas Morrisson Theatre, Palo Alto Players, and Foothill Music Theatre. He has held production and artistic positions at Aspen Music Festival, Curtis Opera Theatre at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Dallas Summer Musicals. He holds a BFA in drama from the University of Oklahoma.
JEFFREY LO (Casting Director) directed TheatreWorks’ productions of The Language Archive and The Santaland Diaries. A Filipino-American director and playwright, his additional directing credits include Vietgone at Capital Stage, Between Riverside and Crazy at San Jose Stage Co., and Noises Off and Peter and the Starcatcher at Hillbarn Theatre. He is the recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, the Arts Council Silicon Valley Emerging Artist Laureate, and Theatre Bay Area Director’s TITAN Award. In addition to his work on stage, Mr. Lo does work nationally promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts. He is a graduate of the multicultural Arts Leadership Institute and a proud alumnus of the UC Irvine Drama Department. JeffreyWritesAPlay.com
RANDALL K. LUM (Stage Manager) has stage managed TheatreWorks’ Pride and Prejudice, The 39 Steps, Archduke, Fun Home, Hold These Truths, New Works Festival 2018, Finks, Skeleton Crew, Around the World in 80 Days, The Prince of Egypt, Constellations, Rags, Outside Mullingar, Confederates, The Velocity of Autumn, Jane Austen’s EMMA, The Country House, Fallen Angels, The Lake Effect, Peter and the Starcatcher, Time Stands Still, Other Desert Cities, Once on This Island, and Little Women. Other credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Co., La Jolla Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, Seattle Rep, Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, and 18 seasons and over 90 productions as Resident Stage Manager at South Coast Rep.
STEVEN B. MANNSHARDT (Lighting Design) has been the lighting designer for over 90 productions at TheatreWorks, having won numerous Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Theatre Bay Area, and Dean Goodman Choice Awards for his work. His regional design credits include Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven; A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle; American Repertory Theater, Cambridge; Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo; Magic Theatre; and Pasadena Playhouse. He currently teaches lighting design and stage management at San Jose State University and previously taught lighting design at Santa Rosa Junior College. Mr. Mannshardt also runs an organization dedicated to improving the education system for both children and adults in Nepal. www.nepal.wwep.org
JANE SHAW (Sound Design) is making her TheatreWorks debut. With Giovanna Sardelli: They Promised Her the Moon (Old Globe); It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Arkansas Rep); The Pavilion (Dorset Theatre Festival); All the Way (Cleveland Play House). New York: Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre for a New Audience, Mint Theater Co., National Black Theatre, Repertorio Español, New York Theatre Workshop, Cherry Lane Theatre, COOP. Regional: Hartford Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Two River Theater, Asolo Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, ACT, ART, Northern Stage. Awards: Drama Desk, Connecticut Critics Circle, Henry Award, Bessie Award, Meet the Composer Grant, NEA-TCG Career Development Grant recipient. Member: USA 829, TSDCA. Training: Harvard University, Yale School of Drama. Ms. Shaw was born and raised in Kansas and lives in Brooklyn.
ROBERT KELLEY (Artistic Director) is a Bay Area native and Stanford University graduate. He founded TheatreWorks in 1970 and has directed over 175 TheatreWorks productions, including many world and regional premieres. He has received a 2019 Theatre Bay Area Legacy Award; Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement Award; the Silicon Valley Arts Council’s Legacy Laureate Award; the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Paine Knicker-bocker Award; and Jerry Friedman Award for Lifetime Achievement; BATCC Awards for Outstanding Direction for The Hound of the Baskervilles; Into the Woods; Pacific Overtures; Rags; Sweeney Todd; Another Midsummer Night; Sunday in the Park with George; Jane Eyre; and Caroline, or Change; and the Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Daddy Long Legs. He recently directed Marie and Rosetta, Tuck Everlasting, Fun Home, and The Bridges of Madison County.
PHIL SANTORA (Executive Director) joined TheatreWorks in 2007. He has served as Managing Director of Northlight Theatre (Chicago) and Georgia Shakespeare Festival (Atlanta), as well as Development Director for Great Lakes Theater Festival (Cleveland) and George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick). He holds an MFA in Theatre Administration from the Yale School of Drama and a BA in Drama from Duke University. He has served as Vice President of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Board. Prior board service also includes the League of Chicago Theatres, Atlanta Coalition of Theatres, and the executive committee of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). He was named 2000’s Best Arts Administrator by Atlanta Magazine and received the Atlanta Arts and Business Council’s 1998 ABBY Award for Arts Administrator.
