Randy Blair is an American actor and writer, best known for originating the role of Hipolito/Elton John in the Broadway musical Amelie . [1]
His play Mrs. Lowenstein was adapted into a 5 part limited series podcast starring Ann Dowd. [2] Other work as a bookwriter and lyricist includes Gigantic [3] (Vineyard Theatre), Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (or at least the greater Los Angeles area): the Musical! (Barrow Street Theatre), Spidermusical (Mint Theatre), Haute Mess (Ars Nova), #RUFF (serials at (The Flea Theatre)), and Leslie Kritzer's Beautiful Disaster at Joe's Pub. He has also served as a creative consultant writer on Funny Or Die's Billy on the Street .
As an actor, Blair originated the role of Hipolito/Elton John in the world premiere of Amelie at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, [4] and continued with the production to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. [5] Other off-Broadway world premieres include the OBIE winning Adding Machine , directed by David Cromer; The Black Crook at Abrons Arts Center; The Yellow Wood, directed by BD Wong; and the original developmental productions of Chaplin . Regional theatre affiliations include Berkeley Rep, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Weston Playhouse. Blair's film and TV work includes Naked Brothers Band , Viralcom , Law & Order , Strangers with Candy , and the film Afterwards with John Malkovich. [6]
Randolph Clarke Harrison is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Justin Taylor on the Showtime drama Queer as Folk.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley.
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.
The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W. Mason, playwright Lanford Wilson, director Rob Thirkield, and actress Tanya Berezin, all of whom were veterans of the Caffe Cino. The plan was to establish a pool of artists — actors, directors, playwrights and designers — who would work together in the creation of plays. In 1974, The New York Times critic Mel Gussow acclaimed Circle Rep as the "chief provider of new American plays."
John Rubinstein is an American actor, composer and director.
Rinne Groff is an American playwright and performer.
Daniel John Sullivan is an American theatre and film director and playwright.
Philip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker and a third generation Japanese American. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.
John Howard Gallagher Jr. is an American actor and musician best known for originating the role of Moritz Stiefel in the 2006 rock musical Spring Awakening, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also played Johnny in Green Day's Broadway musical, American Idiot, Lee in the 2011 Broadway production of Jerusalem, and Edmund in the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. He portrayed Jim Harper in Aaron Sorkin's drama series The Newsroom, starred in the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge, and played Emmett DeWitt in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
James Miller McLure, Jr. was an American playwright. He was born in Alexandria, Louisiana and grew up in Shreveport where he was educated by the Jesuits. He became interested in acting in high school, performing in Shakespearean plays. He obtained a BFA degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and subsequently studied at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California. While studying at SMU his roommate was actor and friend Stephen Tobolowsky, who frequently recalls stories involving McLure in his podcast.
Tony Taccone is an American theater director, and the former artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California.
Phoebe Strole is an American actress who is best known for originating the role of Anna in the 2006 Broadway musical Spring Awakening.
Mark Brokaw is an American theatre director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for How I Learned to Drive.
Nathan Tysen is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter whose musicals have appeared on Broadway and the West End. Musicals with composer Chris Miller include Tuck Everlasting, The Burnt Part Boys, Fugitive Songs, Revival,Dreamland, and The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. He also collaborated with songwriter Daniel Messé of the band Hem on lyrics for the Broadway musical Amélie starring Phillipa Soo, and the reworked Olivier-nominated original London cast production starring Audrey Brisson. Television work includes songs for Sesame Street, Elmo's World, and the Electric Company. He also wrote lyrics for the digital murder mystery A Killer Party.
Pam MacKinnon is an American theatre director. She has directed for the stage Off-Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre. She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for her work on Clybourne Park. In 2013 she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She was named artistic director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California on January 23, 2018.
Amélie is a musical based on the 2001 romantic comedy film of the same name with music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen and a book by Craig Lucas. The musical premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2015. The musical opened on Broadway in the Walter Kerr theatre on March 9, 2017 April 3rd, 2017 was the official opening night and closed on May 21, 2017.
Maria-Christina Oliveras is an American television, stage and film actress, singer and voice-over artist. She has performed extensively on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, and in various films and television series, and is known for her versatility and transformational character work in a number of world premieres. She is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. His plays Gloria and Everybody were finalists for the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His play Appropriate made his Broadway debut as a playwright in 2023. His additional plays include An Octoroon and The Comeuppance. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.
Renee Brna is an American actress and singer. Brna is best known as Meg in the 1st national Broadway tour of Little Women the musical starring Maureen McGovern with Autumn Hurlbert as Beth, Katie Fisher as Jo and Gwen Hollander as Amy. She went on to understudy the leading role of Young Alex/Aaron Ashbrook and Young Thomas Ledbury in the 2007 London transfer to Broadway Coram Boy at the Imperial Theatre. Under the direction of Melly Still the production garnered six Tony Award nominations.
Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is a 2017 jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations and a book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the story of The Temptations, the musical had a series of regional productions and opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre in March 2019.