Ken Ludwig's Comedy of Tenors

Allyson Boate (Mimi) feels pure joy to be back at Olney Theatre Center. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include: National Players Tour 68:  Hamlet; The Giver; The Grapes of Wrath. REGIONAL: Select credits include: Cumberland Theatre: A Streetcar Named Desire (upcoming); Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet; Fable Theatre: Crimes of the Heart; Treasure House Theater: The Cherry Orchard; Hamlet;  FILM: Out of Commission, Wildlife, Small Cappuccinos. EDUCATION: BA in Theatre from University of Virginia, and Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. www.allysonboate.com

John Treacy Egan (Tito) Broadway: My Fair Lady, Casa Valentina, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Sister Act, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Producers, Jekyll & Hyde, Bye Bye Birdie. Off-Broadway: Clinton, Disaster, When Pigs Fly!, and Batboy. TV/Film: Gotham, Younger, The Good Wife, The Knick, Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock, Cupid, Law & Order, Last Night, and The Producers. CDs: Count the Stars and On Christmas Morning

Patricia Hurley (Racon) is excited to be back at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER.  Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include Elf the Musical (Jovie), Annie (Grace), Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman), Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Misalliance (Hypatia), Camelot (Guenevere), Triumph of Love (Leonide), Doubt (Sr. James); Peter Pan (Wendy); Fiddler On the Roof (Tzeitel); The Heiress (Maria).  REGIONAL: Fulton Theatre: The Spitfire Grill (Percy). DC AREA: Signature Theatre: Merrily We Roll Along (Gussie). The Shakespeare Theatre: Lady Windermere’s Fan (Lady Stutfield). EDUCATION: BM in Musical Theatre from The Catholic University's Benjamin T. Rome School of Music.

Alan Naylor (Carlo) is thrilled to return to Olney Theatre Center for Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors! Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include: On The Town, Annie (Bert Healy/Lt. Ward), Sweeney Todd (Ensemble), and Candide (Governor). OFF-BROADWAY: Caps for Sale. REGIONAL: Signature Theatre: A Little Night Music; Studio Theatre: Silence! [Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Best Ensemble]; Creative Cauldron: Jacques Brel [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical], Ruthless, Wizard of Oz, Monsters of the Villa Diodati; Theatre Alliance: Going to a Place Where You Already Are; Washington National Opera: Proving Up; 1st Stage: Bat Boy [Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Ensemble]; Nextstop: Godspell, Boeing Boeing; Monumental Theater: Urinetown, Talented Mr. Ripley; MUNY: Miss Saigon, Singin' in the Rain, Roman Holiday, Joseph, Chorus Line. BlackRock Center for the Arts: Free Range Humans: Striking 12. EDUCATION: M.M. in opera from Washington University in St. Louis, B.M. in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College.

Matthew Schleigh (Max) is grateful to return to Olney Theatre Center. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include: Little Shop of Horrors, Peter Pan. REGIONAL: Adventure Theatre MTC: Huck Finn’s Big River; MetroStage: Rooms: A Rock Romance; Signature Theatre: Road Show; Shakespeare Theatre: As You Like It; Ford’s Theatre: Freedom’s Song; Constellation Theatre: The Caucasian Chalk Circle [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Sound Design], Peter and the Starcatcher [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble]; Everyman Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie; Imagination Stage: Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble], The BFG; Toby’s Dinner Theatre: The Buddy Holly Story [Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor]. EDUCATION: BM in Musical Theatre from Catholic University; London Dramatic Academy.

Emily Townley (Maria) is delighted to return to Olney Theatre Center, where she was last seen in Bad Dog (Linda). DC AREA (selected): Round House Theatre: How I Learned To Drive, The Sisterhood; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Resident Company Member): HIR, The Arsonists, The Totalitarians [Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress], Detroit, Bright New Boise, Maria/Stuart, The House of Gold, Spain, Fuddy Meers, Wonder of the World and Watbanaland; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Twelfth Night [Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Play], Romeo and Juliet; Signature Theatre: The Mystery of Love and Sex; Studio Theatre: Between Riverside and Crazy, Laugh, Skin Tight, Rock N' Roll, The Bright and Bold Design; the Folger Theatre: The Gaming Table, The Tempest. REGIONAL: Gulfshore Playhouse: All My Sons, The Game's Afoot. Upcoming: The Amateurs at Olney Theatre Center

Alan Wade (Saunders) celebrates a half-century Olney Theatre Center association (25 productions), having first appeared with National Players in 1968-69.  He has also directed for OTC and for National Players.  DC Area appearances: Arena Stage, Center Stage, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, MetroStage, Stage Guild, and Potomac Theatre Project (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor). OFF-BROADWAY: the Atlantic Theatre; REGIONAL: The Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago) and the Marin Theatre (San Francisco).  FILM:  The Pelican Brief, and Major League II; TV:  House of Cards, Homicide, A Man Called Hawk, Robert F. Kennedy and His Times.  AUDIOBOOK NARRATION (latest):  Darwin’s Pharmacy for University Press Audiobooks.

Ken Ludwig (Playwright) is a two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright who has written over 28 plays and musicals, including 6 shows on Broadway and 7 in London's West End.  His first Broadway play, Lend Me A Tenor, won two Tony Awards and was called "one of the classic comedies of the 20th century” by The Washington Post. His other awards include the Helen Hayes Award, the 2017 Samuel French Award for Sustained Excellence in the American Theatre, the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater.  His book How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin/Random House, won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year, and his essays are published by the Yale Review. Ken’s best known works include Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway, Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical), Lend Me A Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, The Game’s Afoot, Baskerville, Sherwood, A Fox on the Fairway, and a stage version of Murder on the Orient Express, written expressly at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate, which will open in the West End next season.  His play, The Gods of Comedy, premieres this season at The McCarter Theater in Princeton and The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. His newest plays are Moriarty and Dear Jack, Dear Louise, which will premiere this fall at Arena Stage. On Broadway and the West End, his plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shalhoub, Lynn Redgrave, Joan Collins and Kristen Bell. He holds degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, and Cambridge University. His work has been performed in over 30 countries in more than 20 languages, and is produced somewhere in the United States every night of the year. www.kenludwig.com

Jason King Jones (Director) is the Senior Associate Artistic Director of Olney Theatre Center, and Artistic Director of National Players. Past productions at OTC: Annie, Mary Poppins, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Godspell, The Tempest and Neville’s Island. Past National Players productions: Hamlet, A Tale of Two Cities, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, Animal Farm, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, and Odyssey (which he also adapted), Othello, and for Tour 70 he directed The Crucible. As the Artistic Associate at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Jason directed The Comedy of Errors, The Servant of Two Masters, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Grouch, along with nearly a dozen abridged classical plays for their educational touring companies. Jason is the co-creator of Very Very, a Shakespeare rock show based on As You Like It, and he has taught and directed at Boston University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Missouri State. In 2012, Jason created an Arts Integration program with Montgomery County public and private schools that inspires students to collaboratively write original short plays and perform them on Olney’s Historic Stage annually. He is proud graduate of the Boston University School of Theatre, a bewildered father of Gwendolyn and Elliot, and a lucky husband to Josiane. www.jasonkingjones.com

Charlie Calvert (Scenic Designer) is happy to return to Olney Theatre Center. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Fickle: A Fancy French Farce, The Tempest, and National Players Tour 70.  Other regional credits include Blithe Spirit, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Henry VIII, The Learned Ladies, Our Town, Arms and the Man, Noises Off, and Comedy of Errors at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, A Moon for the Misbegotten at The Warehouse Theatre, Next to Normal at Charleston Stage Company and The Royale and Glengarry Glen Ross at PURE Theatre. Charlie received his MFA in set design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and serves on the faculty of College of Charleston’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

Sonya Dowhaluk (Lighting Designer) is delighted to be back at Olney Theatre center. Previous designs at Olney include: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, Dial ‘M’ For Murder, Godspell, The Tempest, National Players tour 63.  Assistant lighting designer: The Shakespeare Theatre, Round House Theatre, Center Stage, and The Santa Fe Opera. Television: Assistant Lighting Director at CNN. Education: BA, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; MFA, University of Maryland

Seth M. Gilbert (Costume Designer) is the Costume Design Supervisor for Olney Theatre Center. Recent credits: OLNEY THEATRE: Annie, Thurgood, Sweeney Todd, Angels in America Parts I & II (Associate Costume Designer and Crafts-person), Bakersfield Mist, Dial M for Murder, The Producers, Carousel, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying [2014 Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Resident Musical], A Chorus Line (Associate Costume Designer) [2013 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Resident Musical], You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Grease. NATIONAL PLAYERS: Tour 69: Othello, Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby; Tour 68: Grapes of Wrath, Hamlet, The Giver; Tour 66(Associate Costume Designer): As You Like It; To Kill a Mockingbird. REGIONAL: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Marie Antoinette (Associate Wig Designer and Crafts-person) [2015 Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Costume Design: Helen Huang]; Theatre 40: The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln. EDUCATION: BS in Costume Design & Technology from the University of Michigan – Flint.

Justin Schmitz (Sound Designer) is delighted to be returning to Olney Theatre Center having previously been the Associate Sound Designer on Carmen: An Afro Cuban Jazz Musical. NEW YORK: Cow Play (Dixon Place Theatre). REGIONAL: The Kennedy Center and The Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Theater J, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Studio, Imagination Stage, Constellation Theatre Company, Keegan Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Forum Theatre, WSC Avant Bard, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Triad Stage. ADDITIONALLY: The University of Maryland, Catholic University of America, and Gallaudet University, amongst others. Helen Hayes nominations: The Wild Party (Constellation), and I Call My Brothers (Forum). FELLOWSHIPS: The Kennedy Center (2015) through the Kenan Institute, Chautauqua Theatre Company (2013), and The Orchard Project (2011). www.justinschmitztheatre.com.

Casey Kaleba (Fight Choreographer) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: Sweeney Todd, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Bakersfield Mist, Neville's Island, Spring Awakening, Camelot; REGIONAL: Guthrie Theatre: King Lear; DC AREA: Folger Theatre: Julius Caesar, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet; Keegan Theatre: Mack, Beth, The Lonesome West [Helen Hayes nomination for Fight Direction]; Signature Theatre:Billy Elliot, The Gulf, West Side Story; Round House Theatre: Angels in America Parts I & II, Father Comes Home From The Wars, Stage Kiss; Ford's Theatre: Born Yesterday, Death of a Salesman, Ragtime; Wolf Trap Opera: Romeo et Juliette; Rorschach Theatre: 410[Gone], She Kills Monsters, Neverwhere; Constellation Theatre Company: Lieutenant of Inishmore [Helen Hayes nomination for Fight Direction], Gilgamesh, Zorro. Certified Teacher and Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors; audition choreographer for Marvel Universe Live.

Brianne Taylor (Dialect Coach) is excited to be working with Olney Theatre Center and this incredibly talented cast. She is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech at West Virginia University. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include working as Assistant Vocal Coach for National Players Tour 70 this year. NYC: Ciao, Bambino!  DC Area: Anacostia Playhouse: The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever. WVU: New Anatomies, Cloud 9, The Moors. EDUCATION: Assistant Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, MFA in Acting from West Virginia University, BFA in Theatre from Emporia State University.

LaShawn Melton (Wig Designer) DC Native and has been a Barber-stylist and Artist for over 15 years. Regional credits also include Arena Stage for the Meade Center where she has been the Wig, Hair and Makeup Supervisor for 4 seasons. REGIONAL: Arena Stage: Disgraced (Hair Designer), Smart People (Assistant Wig Designer), Nina Simone: Four Women (Assistant Wig Designer), The Pajama Game (Assistant Wig Designer); Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Botticelli in the Fire (Wig Designer), BLKS (Hair Consultant) The Kennedy Center: The Watson’s Go to Birmingham - 1963 (Wig Designer). EDUCATION: Stage Makeup Montgomery College, Cosmetology Certificate BCI.

Cat Wallis (Stage Manager) is excited to return to the OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Credits Include Olney Theatre Center: Aubergine; Everyman Theatre (company member): Everything is Wonderful, The Importance of Being Earnest, Dancing at Lughnasa, M. Buterfly, Noises Off!,Great Expectations, The Roommate, Under The Skin, Fences, Ghosts, Grounded; Contemporary American Theatre Festival: Uncanny Valley, Heartless, A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World, Gidion’s Knot, From Prague; Northern Stage: Grounded; Delaware REP (selected): Night of the Iguana,The Threepenny Opera, Hamlet, The Skin of Our Teeth, Our Country’s Good, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Noises Off!, I am My Own Wife, The Glass Menagerie, Fever (world premiere); Dallas Children’s Theatre: The Boxer; Seattle Children’s Theatre: The Borrowers, Lyle the Crocodile; Nebraska Repertory Theatre: The Little Prince, Jakes Women, Dinner with Friends, You’re
 a Good Man Charlie Brown; The Missouri Theatre: Babes in Arms. Education: BFA - University of Nebraska, MFA - PTTP University of Delaware