The 39 Steps Cast and Creatives
BUY TICKETS
Annie Abrams
Cassidy Brown
Ron Campbell
Lance Gardner
Patrick Barlow
Leslie Martinson
Cliff Caruthers
David Lee Cuthbert
Cathleen Edwards
Jeffrey Lo
Randall K. Lum
Steven B. Mannshardt
Janel Miley
Aaron A. Watson
Robert Kelley
Phil Santora
ANNIE ABRAMS (Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret) previously performed with TheatreWorks in Charley’s Aunt (Ella). Regional credits include: Miss Mackintosh in The Sunshine Boys opposite Danny DeVito and Judd Hirsch (Center Theatre Group/The Ahmanson), Tamsin in The Monster Builder (South Coast Rep), Vanda in Venus in Fur (Ensemble Theatre Co.), Vicki/Brooke in Noises Off (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts), Ursula in Tickled Pink opposite Rita Rudner (Laguna Playhouse), Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Reprise Theatre Co.), Clea in The Scene (Ensemble Theatre Co.), and Myrrhine in the premiere of Amy Freed’s Lysistrata (Stanford Summer Theater.) TV credits include Major Crimes, How I Met Your Mother, and True Blood. Ms. Abrams received a BA in Drama from Stanford University.
CASSIDY BROWN (Mr. Memory/The Crofter/many others) has appeared at TheatreWorks in Fallen Angels (Willy), The Loudest Man on Earth (Man), The 39 Steps (Clown), Distracted (Dr. Jinks) and Doubt (Father Flynn). His regional credits include Berkeley Rep (Imaginary Comforts), San Jose Stage Co. (The 39 Steps), Center Rep (Ella, ART, Don’t Dress for Dinner, The 39 Steps,The Underpants), Marin Shakespeare Co. (Othello, Don Quixote, The Tempest, The Complete History of America), Word for Word (Lucia Berlin: Stories), SF Shakespeare Festival (The Comedy of Errors), Aurora Theatre Co. (Safe House, Bosoms and Neglect), Capital Stage (The Thanksgiving Play, The Totalitarians, Hunter Gatherers, The North Plan), and Pacific Rep (Waiting for Godot, Twelfth Night, The Country Wife, God of Carnage, The Winter’s Tale, The Servant of Two Masters).
RON CAMPBELL (The Compere/Professor Jordan/many others) has performed at TheatreWorks (Around the World in Eighty Days, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Twelfth Night) playing more than fifty-five characters. He toured interna-tionally as the lead clown with Cirque du Soleil, played Cecil B. DeGrille in Teatro ZinZanni and toured the nation as R. Buckminster Fuller. Other one man shows: The Thousandth Night, The Dybbuk, Shylock, A Tale of Two Cities, and How To Fail. Mr. Campbell has performed at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, and Aurora Theatre Co., among others. Awards: The London Fringe One Man Show of the Year, The Los Angeles and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for Lead, Supporting, and Solo Performances, Theatre Bay Area Lead Performance, and The Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. www.soarfeat.org
LANCE GARDNER (Richard Hannay) is pleased to return to TheatreWorks, where he appeared in Skeleton Crew, Proof, Superior Donuts, and Auctioning the Ainsleys, understud-ied Intimate Apparel and Anna in the Tropics, and performed multiple staged readings for the Young Playwrights Project. He most recently appeared in The Good Person of Szechwan at California Shakespeare Theater. Other Bay Area appearances include: Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep; Equivocation, A Streetcar Named Desire, Lovers & Executioners, and A Brief History of Nearly Everything at Marin Theatre Co.; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Cal Shakes; Rust at Magic Theatre; T.I.C. with Encore Theatre; Skin at Climate Theatre; and Angels in America at City Lights Theater Co.
PATRICK BARLOW (Adaptor) won an Olivier Award and a What’sOnStage Award for Best New Comedy for his adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s film The 39 Steps. In addition to a two year run on Broadway, The 39 Steps had a successful US National Tour in 2009. He also co-wrote and performed in several farcical adaptations of world history and mythology as a part of the comedy duo “The National Theatre of Brent” including The Charge of the Light Brigade, Zulu!, The Black Hole of Calcutta, The Messiah, and Love Upon the Throne—The Charles and Diana Story (which was nominated for an Olivier Award). Mr. Barlow wrote the screenplay for The Young Visiters [sic] and can be seen in the films Shakespeare in Love, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones’ Diary.
LESLIE MARTINSON (Director) returns to TheatreWorks where her many productions include Frost/Nixon, The Four Immigrants, Proof, The Pitmen Painters, and Superior Donuts. As Associate Artistic Director and Casting Director, she was part of the company’s artistic leadership for over 30 years. A graduate of Occidental College, she has been a Watson Fellow, a member of Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, a participant in the La MaMa Directing Symposium, and served with Theatre Bay Area as an adjudicator and committee member. Silicon Valley Creates has named her an Arts Laureate for artistic achievement and community impact. She is currently working internationally as a Program Director in Leadership/Communication training with Stand & Deliver Group, and as a Creative Director of Fieldwork Creations.
CLIFF CARUTHERS (Sound Designer) has created soundscapes and music for over 300 productions, including over 70 for TheatreWorks—most recently Marie and Rosetta, Fun Home, The Prince of Egypt, and Constellations. Other highlights include Frankenstein—Playing with Fire for Guthrie Theater; Murder on the Orient Express for Alley Theatre; American Night for California Shakespeare Theater; Caucasian Chalk Circle for American Conservatory Theater; Man in Love for Kansas City Rep; Troilus and Cressida for Oregon Shakespeare Festival; TRAGEDY: a tragedy for Berkeley Rep; Julius Caesar for The Acting Co.; Detroit for Aurora Theatre Co.; Bug for SF Playhouse; and Pelleas and Melisande for Cutting Ball Theater. Mr. Caruthers is co-curator of the San Francisco Tape Music Festival, serves as Trustee to the Western Region Board of USA-829, and teaches sound design at Stanford University and San Francisco State University.
DAVID LEE CUTHBERT (Scenic and Media Designer) returns to TheatreWorks after previously design-ing scenery and media for Frost/Nixon, media for Calligraphy, lighting for Third, and lighting/media for Wild With Happy. He lit Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays on Broadway and its subsequent US, Canadian, and Australian tours, as well as the HBO film. Off-Broadway, his lighting and projections for The Snow Queen won the award for best overall design at 2014’s New York Musical Theatre Festival, and his scenic and lighting design for The History (and Mystery) of the Universe has been seen at major theatres across the country. He was a regular collaborator at San Jose Rep, and is a frequent collaborator at Opera San José. Mr. Cuthbert is the Theatre Department Chair and a Professor of Design at UC Santa Cruz.
CATHLEEN EDWARDS (Costume Designer) happily returns for her 15th season at TheatreWorks, where her previous shows include 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 several 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.
JEFFREY LO (Casting Director) is the Casting Director at TheatreWorks and directed our productions of The Language Archive and The Santaland Diaries. A Filipino-American director and playwright, his additional direct-ing 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’ Archduke, Fun Home, Hold These Truths, New Works Festival—Pride and Prejudice, 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 Designer) has been the lighting designer for over 95 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 Rep, Cambridge; Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo; Magic Theatre; and Pasadena Playhouse. Mr. Mannshardt currently teaches lighting design and stage management at San Jose State University and previously taught lighting design at Santa Rosa Junior College. He also runs an organization dedicated to improving the education system for both children and adults in Nepal. www.nepal.wwep.org
JANEL MILEY (Dialect Coach) most recently coached TheatreWorks’ The Language Archive, as well as Born in East Berlin for TW’s New Works Festival. She has served as a Dialect/Text coach for productions at theatres and universities across the country, including Twelfth Night at University of Evansville, Spamalot at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Erik Ehn’s adaptation of Mother Courage and Her Children at West Virginia University. Ms. Miley holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at University of Evansville where she teaches Shakespeare, voice and speech, acting, and dialects. She is a member of AEA, Voice and Speech Trainers Association, and a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner.
AARON A. WATSON (Assistant Stage Manager) joins TheatreWorks for the first time with The 39 Steps. Previous credits include: Cruel Intentions (National Tour—Maximum Entertainment); Chefs, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Bring It LIVE (Mills Entertainment); Cirque Dreams Holidaze (Cirque Productions); Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, The Bernstain Bears LIVE (Matt Murphy Productions); The Secret Garden (Friends in Theatre Co.); Too Darn Hot, The Prima Donnettes (Florida Studio Theatre); Big Fish, Little Shop of Horrors, The Addams Family Musical, (Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute). <a href="https://aaronawatson.com">aaronawatson.com</a>
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 Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement Award, the Silicon Valley Arts Council’s Legacy Laureate Award; the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Paine Knickerbocker 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 Theatre 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 commit-tee 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.
