Andrew Benator
(Little Charles)
Alliance Theatre:
Eurydice (Suzi Award),
Tennis in Nablus. Atlanta:
Young Man From Atlanta (Theatrical Outfit);
Becky Shaw (Actor’s Express);
You Can’t Take It With You (Theatre Emory);
Boeing, Boeing (Aurora Theatre);
Room Service (Theatre in the Square);
Brooklyn Boy,
Hank Kimmel’s Shorts (Jewish Theater of the South). Off-Broadway:
Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight,
Valparaiso,
Flu Season. Regional: Hartford Theater Works, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Sacramento’s B St. Theater, San Jose Rep, San Francisco’s Magic Theater. Film & TV:
House of Payne,
Meet the Browns,
Law & Order,
Third Watch,
Quarantine 2,
Game Six,
Nowhere to Go But Up. andrewbenator.com
Brenda Bynum
(Violet Weston)
Brenda was last seen at the Alliance in Sandra Deer’s
The Subject Tonight is Love, directed by Kenny Leon. Before that, she might best be remembered here for Deer’s
Gal Baby and
Angels in America. From 1983 until 2000, she was a resident artist and lecturer with Theater Emory, where she has been honored with the establishment of The Brenda Bynum Award and named a Heilbrun Distinguished Emeritus Research Fellow. She has acted in or directed most of the plays of Samuel Beckett in this country and in Europe and has just recorded the voice of Margaret Mitchell for a public television documentary on the author. Before retiring from the stage to play with her grandchildren, she appeared in almost all of Atlanta’s theaters in a lot of plays with a lot of fine actors. She is happy to be back home with her Atlanta theater family one more time.
Jill Jane Clements
(Fae Aiken)
Jill last appeared at the Alliance in their children’s theatre production of
The Miracle Worker. Jill Jane’s previous Alliance credits include
Steel Magnolias,
A Christmas Carol,
Crimes of the Heart,
Music Man,
A Streetcar Named Desire and
Loose Ends. Some recent Atlanta theatre productions are
Buried Child,
Night Blooms,
Driving Miss Daisy,
Southern Comforts,
The Clean House and
Turned Funny. Her film credits include
Randy and the Mob,
The Real McCoy,
My Cousin Vinny, and the CBS mini-series
Elvis. Her television work includes
In the Heat of the Night,
Savannah, and the TV films
Warm Springs,
Mama Flora’s Family and
Murder in Mississippi.
Carolyn Cook
(Ivy Weston)
Alliance Theatre:
Sight Unseen,
A Man for All Seasons. Alliance Children’s Theatre:
Charlotte’s Web,
Merlin!,
The Snow Queen,
Jax and the Graviteers. International:
Voir Un Ami Pleurer (Théâtre du Rêve at Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris) and
My Children! My Africa! (7 Stages tour in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Atlanta: Georgia Shakespeare associate artist; 17 seasons including Goneril in
King Lear, Beatrice in
Much Ado About Nothing, Athena in
The Odyssey, Blanche du Bois in
A Streetcar Named Desire and Madame Ranyevskaya in
The Cherry Orchard. Other Atlanta credits: Alison in
Brownie Points (Theatrical Outfit), Theresa in
100 Saints You Should Know (Actor’s Express), Lizzie in
The Syringa Tree and Lane in
The Clean House (Horizon Theatre), Mama in
Hominid (Out of Hand and Theater Emory).
Richard Garner
(Charlie Aiken)
Richard was last seen on the Alliance stage as an actor in 1986 in a lunchtime series production directed by a young directing intern named Kenny Leon. Atlanta:
Mauritius,
Blue Orange (Actor’s Express);
King Lear,
Twelfth Night,
The Three Musketeers,
Richard III,
Much Ado About Nothing,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Georgia Shakespeare);
The Three Sisters (Soulstice Repertory);
Freedom of the City (Theater Gael). Training: American Conservatory Theater. Currently enjoying his 26th season as cofounder and producing artistic director of Georgia Shakespeare.
Del Hamilton
(Beverly Weston)
As co-founder of 7 Stages, Del has engaged the community of Little 5 Points since the theatre’s inception in 1979. As Artistic Director, he has directed over 80 productions at 7 Stages, including
HUSH: Composing Blind Tom Wiggins, Athol Fugard’s
My Children! My Africa!,
Macbeth,
The Tempest and the rock opera,
Haus von Dracul. He has also acted in Beckett’s
Waiting for Godot, directed by long-time collaborator Joe Chaikin; Krapp’s
Last Tape, directed by Walter Asmus and a lot of other Beckett roles;
Carmen Kittel by Georg Seidel;
Der Park by Botho Strauss, Fugard’s
A Place With the Pigs,
Der Frosch by Herbert Achternbusch and the original 1987 production of Jim Grimsley’s
Mr. Universe. He toured in Europe with Sahr Ngaujah (
FELA!) in a coproduction with Onafhankelijk Toneel in a story by Manuel Puig. Del has acted and directed at theaters in Atlanta, New York, London, Paris, Belgrade, Johannesburg and Amsterdam.
Bart Hansard
(Sheriff Deon Gilbeau)
Bart was last seen at the Alliance in last season’s production of August: Osage County as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau. His previous Alliance credits include Grapes of Wrath, A Death in the House Next Door to Kathleen Turner’s House on Long Island, A Question of Mercy, A Christmas Carol, Tennis in Nablus and many delightful Alliance Theatre for Youth and Families shows like Ferdinand the Bull, The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer and Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse. On the regional scene, Mr. H has performed in Actor’s Theatre of Louisville’s A Tuna Christmas as one half of the town, as well as Psuedolous in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Attic Theatre in Detroit. His film and television credits include “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” as the recurring fireman Bart and “Good Eats,” as various and sundry gormands who plague host Alton Brown. He also keeps popping up in films, such as Why Did I Get Married, Too?, Deja Vu, One Missed Call and Broken Bridges. Around town, you may have spied Mr. H in Superior Donuts as Max Tarasov at Horizon Theatre and Keith in Gray Area at The Aurora. As per tradition, Mr. H sends his love to Miss Haley and Mr. Will. He also requests chocolate in lieu of flowers be thrown on the stage during his curtain call. Happy holidays!
Chris Kayser
(Bill Fordham)
Chris is happy to be returning to A Christmas Carol as Scrooge. He came up through the ranks and has played everything except Tiny Tim and the women. Thanks so much for making this show part of your Christmas tradition.
Tess Malis Kincaid
(Barbara Fordham)
Tess appeared last season at the Alliance as Barbara in August: Osage County. She has also appeared here in Moonlight and Magnolias, The Miracle Worker and Amadeus. Tess is an associate artist at Georgia Shakespeare, where she has performed in Antony and Cleopatra, Noises Off, Titus Andronicus, The Odyssey, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Last year she traveled to San Francisco to perform in The Seagull at Marin Theatre Company. Tess has also worked at Actor’s Express, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Theatre in the Square, Horizon Theatre, People’s Light & Theatre (Philadelphia) and NC Shakespeare Festival (eight seasons). Film/TV: I Can Do Bad All By Myself and “House of Payne.” She received the 2010 Suzi Bass Award for best actress in a play for Good Boys and True. She is married to actor Mark Kincaid, and they have a beautiful daughter, Barbara Rose.
Joe Knezevich
(Steve Heidebrecht)
Joe is honored to return to the Alliance with this group of Atlanta’s finest theatre artists, including many of his best friends. Raised in Miami, trained at Florida State (with a stop-over in London) he has been in Atlanta for 12 years, primarily acting and teaching at the Alliance as well as Georgia Shakespeare, where he is a devoted artistic associate. Professional highlights include
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, here on this stage, starring the playwright of tonight’s show, the amazing Tracy Letts; also
Metamorphoses and
Richard III at Georgia Shakespeare, where he can be seen in this year’s upcoming summer repertory. He also plays Jonathan Gilbert on
The Vampire Diaries and has appeared in
One Tree Hill,
Drop Dead Diva and will be in the upcoming series
Franklin and Bash and
Necessary Roughness. Follow Joe online at joeknezevich.com
Bethany Anne Lind
(Jean Fordham)
Previous Alliance credits include two world premieres:
26 Miles and
Carapace. Other world premieres:
Night Blooms at Horizon Theatre,
The Storytelling Ability of a Boy at Florida Stage, and
Buy My House Please at Aurora Theatre. Atlanta/Regional credits: Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre,
Our Town; Jewish Theatre of the South,
The Last Schwartz (Suzi Award, outstanding featured actress); Aurora Theatre,
The Storytelling Ability of a Boy (Suzi nomination, outstanding lead actress) Georgia Shakespeare,
Metamorphoses (Suzi Award, outstanding ensemble); Synchronicity,
Junie B. Jones; Theatre in the Square,
This is Our Youth; Georgia Ensemble,
Steel Magnolias; North Carolina Shakespeare,
A Christmas Carol and
Twelfth Night; Cape Fear Regional,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and
Smoke on the Mountain. Film and television:
Drop Dead Diva and
Mean Girls 2. Visit bethanylind.com.
Courtney Patterson
(Karen Weston)
An Atlanta native, Courtney is excited to be returning to the
Christmas Carol family. Favorite theatre credits include
Managing Maxine (Ivy) and
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Honey) at the Alliance;
A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella),
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Maggie) and
Twelfth Night (Viola) at Georgia Shakespeare,
Boeing! Boeing! (Judith) at the Aurora Theatre,
My Name is Rachel Corrie (Rachel) at Synchronicity Performance Group and
Brownie Points (Jamie) and
Lost Highway (Audrey Williams) at Theatrical Outfit. She also was seen for a while frolicking around the house with a big fluffy dog in a national Haverty’s commercial. Much love to Nick, Mom and Dad. Enjoy the show! courtneypatterson.net
Diany Rodriguez
(Johnna Monevata)
Alliance: Into the Woods (Little Red); August: Osage County (Johnna); and Middle School: The Musical (Sari). Tours: Dora the Explorer Live! (Dora/Map) and Rent in Asia (Ensemble/ US Mimi). Notable credits: Fame (Carmen), The Cherry Orchard (Anya), Junie B. Jones (Lucille), Pippin (Catherine), Coyote Ugly(Scarlet), Soul Kitchen – off-Bway (Sangita), and Shlomo – off-Bway (Anjia/Ruth). She would like to thank the Alliance for taking a chance on her, and for hopefully continuing to ... please. Look for her this Mother's Day in ABC Family's “Crew 9.” Also, thank you people I love.
Pat Bell
(US Violet Weston/Mattie Fae Aiken)
This is Pat’s fourth production as an Alliance understudy, having previously covered major roles for
Frame 312,
Bluish and
Doubt. Area stage appearances include Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Jewish Theatre of the South, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, OnStage Atlanta, Stage Door Players, Process Theatre and Actor’s Express. Most recently she played Daisy Worthen in
Driving Miss Daisy, at the Legacy Theatre in Tyrone, Georgia. Pat is a performing artist for Young Audiences of the Woodruff Arts Center and works with the Emory University Medical School in their Standardized Patient program. She dedicates her work on this production to the loving memory of her father, Louis Duran.
Rial Ellsworth
(US Beverly Weston/Charlie Aiken/Bill Fordham)
Rial is new to the Alliance, but not to Atlanta theater patrons. His credits include: Dr. Thorne in
Broadsword (Actor’s Express), Coach Russell Shea in
Good Boys and True (Actor’s Express), Mr. Klemper in
The Boys Next Door (Georgia Ensemble), Officer Klein in
Arsenic and Old Lace (Georgia Ensemble), Governor Danforth in
The Crucible (Oglethorpe University), Rene Gallimard in
M Butterfly (OnStage Atlanta), and Dr Lyman in
Bus Stop (Stage Door Players). Last summer, his performance as Chaim Shotsky in Chaim’s
Love Song (Kudzu Playhouse) earned him a best actor nomination from the 2010 Metropolitan Theater Awards. Originally from McComb, Miss., he and his wife of 32 years have lovingly called Atlanta “home” for the past 17. As an avid supporter of live theatre in Atlanta, he thanks you for your support of this production.
Eliana Marianes
(US Johnna Monevata/Jean Fordham)
Eliana graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Theater Studies and English, and is thrilled to be working with the Alliance. She has performed with Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Synchronicity Performance Group, Out of Hand Theater, The Center for Puppetry Arts, Georgia Ensemble Theater, Theater Emory, Emory Dance Company, Academy Theatre, Theatre Decatur, and Théâtre du Rève, both in Atlanta and in Limoges, France. She is very happy to be here!
Stacy Melich
(US Barbara Fordham/Ivy Weston/Karen Weston)
Stacy was last seen on stage as Becca in Broadsword at Actor’s Express. Some past Atlanta credits include
Good Boys and
True (Suzi Nomination for Best Featured Actress),
dark play or stories for boys,
End Days (Suzi Nomination for Best Ensemble),
Stop Kiss (Creative Loafing, Best Actress),
Hard Feelings and
Three Sisters with Synchronicity,
Measure for Measure and
Closer with Rogue Planet and
Fool for Love with Vision Quest, to name a few. Some New York credits include:
Cedarwood Avenue at Vital Theatre and
Kate Crackernuts at the Flea Theatre, where she also was a company member. Stacy starred in the independent film
Medusa, which earned her an Atlanta Film Festival Best Actress nomination.
Jamie Moore
(US Steve Heidebrecht/Little Charles/Sheriff Deon Gilbeau)
Jamie is making his Alliance debut, though he is a veteran of theatre, film and television. He has performed in hundreds of commercials and you may have seen him in
House of Payne,
One Tree Hill and
Army Wives. He is always working with Laughing Matters doing improvisational theatre as well as instructing with several outlets in the Atlanta area.
Susan V. Booth
(Director)
(Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001. In the past nine seasons, she has initiated the Collision Project for teens, the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, and created local producing partnerships with Georgia Shakespeare, True Colors and the nine theatre companies that participated in the Alliance’s City Series. She has also overseen regional collaborative productions with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pasadena Playhouse, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, as well as commercial partnerships on projects including
Come Fly Away; The Color Purple;
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee;
SISTER ACT the Musical;
Bring in Da’ Noise, Bring in Da’ Funk;
Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL; and this season’s productions of
Twist and
Bring It On: The Musical. As a director, Alliance projects have included
Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL, Proof,
Doubt,
Day of the Kings,
Intimate Apparel,
Jacques Brel,
Bluish and
Frame 312, and she has directed nationally at theatres including Goodman, 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 and DePaul University and Emory University. She is a member of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2003, has been cited as a Lexus Leader of the Arts by WABEFM, and has been named “Best New Visionary” by
Atlanta Magazine and Best Local Director in the
The Sunday Paper’s Readers Choice Awards and by
Creative Loafing. She is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors for Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for the field) and serves on the board of the Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition. Susan is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal.
susan.booth@woodruffcenter.org