Rutina Wesley to Lead The Old Globe's TWELFTH NIGHT; Cast, Creatives Set!

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe production of William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night. Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, is back to direct the first show of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement will begin performances on June 21 and run through July 26, 2015, with opening night on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

Twelfth Night and the annual Shakespeare Festival continue the Globe's 80th Anniversary festivities as part of the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration. Tickets are currently available by subscription only. Subscription tickets to the Globe's 2015 Summer Season range from $97 to $346. Single tickets go on sale Friday, May 15 at 12 noon and start at $29. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Everything we love about Shakespeare -- romance, music, poetry, laughter, swordplay, great characters, and even a girl in pants! -- is in Twelfth Night, one of the Bard's true comic masterpieces. Shipwrecked and alone in foreign Illyria, young Viola masquerades as a boy and becomes the go-between for the lovesick Duke Orsino and the beautiful Countess Olivia. Soon Viola finds herself in the middle of a topsy-turvy love triangle with lunacy on every side. Visionary director Rebecca Taichman returns to the Globe with a stunning production of one of Shakespeare's most perfect plays.

The cast features Rutina Wesley as Viola ("True Blood," "Hannibal," In Darfur at The Public Theater, The Vertical Hour on Broadway), Sara Topham as Olivia (The Importance of Being Earnest on Broadway, U.K. premiere of Intimate Apparel), and LeRoy McClain as Sebastian (Broadway's The History Boys and Cymbeline, "Madam Secretary"), forming the love triangle, with Amy Aquino as Maria (Broadway's The Heidi Chronicles, Third), Terence Archie as Orsino (Broadway's Ragtime, Rocky), Manoel Felciano as Feste (Broadway's Sweeney Todd, Brooklyn, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret), Robert Joy as Malvolio (Side Show at La Jolla Playhouse and Broadway, The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It at New York Shakespeare Festival), Patrick Kerr as Andrew Aguecheek (Broadway's You Can't Take It with You, Stage Kiss at Playwrights Horizons, His Girl Friday at La Jolla Playhouse), and Tom McGowan as Sir Toby Belch (the Globe's Rounding Third and Moonlight and Magnolias, Broadway's Casa Valentina, Wicked, Chicago, Ivanov, La Bête).

Joining them are Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program actors Amy Blackman (Ensemble), Lindsay Brill (Ensemble), Charlotte Bydwell (Ensemble), Lowell Byers (Antonio, Sea Captain), Ally Carey (Ensemble), Jamal Douglas (2nd Officer), Tyler Kent (Curio), Makha Mthembu (Ensemble), Daniel Petzold (Fabian), Megan M. Storti (Ensemble), Nathan Whitmer (1st Officer), and Patrick Zeller (Valentine).

The creative team also includes Chase Brock (Choreographer), Riccardo Hernandez (Scenic Design), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design), Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Design), Acme Sound Partners (Sound Design), Todd Almond (Original Music), Ursula Meyer (Vocal Coach), Jim Carnahan, CSA (Casting), and Samantha Greene (Production Stage Manager).

"There are few things on earth as delightful as Shakespeare under the stars on a balmy San Diego night, and few Shakespeare plays that deliver those delights as delightfully as Twelfth Night," said Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "That this summer we will see this magnificent play in the hands of one of our country's true visionary directors, Rebecca Taichman, is a very special happiness. She has gathered a cast at the highest level of American stage acting and a team of design collaborators who are as gifted as any we have, and her rich imagination and superb craft will bring to our audience an evening that is sure to be transporting."

Rebecca Taichman (Director) recently directed J.B. Priestley's Time and the Conways at the Globe. She will direct Familiar by Danai Gurira at Playwrights Horizons and Indecent by Paula Vogel at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Vineyard Theatre next season. Taichman has directed Off Broadway productions of Sarah Ruhl's The Oldest Boy (Lincoln Center Theater), Ruhl's Stage Kiss (Playwrights Horizons), David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette (Soho Rep), Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar (Playwrights Horizons), Greenidge's Luck of the Irish (LCT3), Ruhl's Orlando (Classic Stage Company), Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly and Stephen Karam (MTG/Gotham Opera), Telemann's Orpheus (New York City Opera), Theresa Rebeck's The Scene (Second Stage), Menopausal Gentleman (Ohio Theatre), and Rappaccini's Daughter (Gotham Opera). Taichman's regional credits include Gurira's Familiar and Adjmi's Evildoers (Yale Rep), Adjmi's Marie Antoinette (Yale Rep/American Repertory Theater), Milk Like Sugar and Sleeping Beauty Wakes by Rachel Sheinken and GrooveLily (La Jolla Playhouse), She Loves Me (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Winter's Tale and Twelfth Night (McCarter), and Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone and The Clean House (Woolly Mammoth).

Tickets to Twelfth Night are currently available only as part of a Season Package. Subscription prices for the 2015 Summer Season range from $97 to $346. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Single tickets go on sale Friday, May 15 at 12 noon. Performances begin on June 21 and continue through July 26. Performance times: Previews: Sunday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 23 at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 24 at 8:00 p.m., Thursday, June 25 at 8:00 p.m., and Friday, June 26 at 8:00 p.m. Opening night is Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday - Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. There will be no performances on Saturday, July 4, Sunday, July 19, or Saturday, July 25, and there will be 8:00 p.m. performances on Monday, July 6 and Monday, July 20. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

Additional events taking place during the run of Twelfth Night include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Twelfth Night

Tuesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m.

The seminar series features a panel selected from the current show. Reception at 6:30 p.m. FREE

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Twelfth Night

Tuesday, June 30, Wednesday, July 1, and Tuesday, July 7

Discuss the play with members of the cast and crew following the performance. FREE

SHAKESPEARE IN THE GARDEN: Twelfth Night

Wednesday, July 8, Saturday, July 11, Tuesday, July 14, Thursday, July 16, and Thursday, July 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Short lectures presented by members of the artistic team reveal fascinating insights about the play and the production. Shakespeare in the Garden lectures are presented at 7:00 p.m. in the Craig Noel Garden. FREE

The Globe will also present a series of free Monday night films relating to Shakespeare through the eras to celebrate both the Balboa Park Centennial and the theatre's 80th Anniversary. On June 29, 2015 at 8:15 p.m., the Globe will present Henry V, directed by Laurence Olivier in 1944. It will be followed by Orson Welles's 1965 classic Chimes at Midnight on July 13 at 7:00 p.m. and Joss Whedon's 2012 Much Ado About Nothing on August 3 at 7:00 p.m., and the series will conclude on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. with Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins's groundbreaking 1961 New York City riff on the Bard's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story.

Henry V and West Side Story will screen in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Chimes at Midnight and Much Ado About Nothing will show on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances ($12), located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/Directions. To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, do not use the Delivery Address above. There is only a 10-minute zone at that physical address. For GPS users, click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 75 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 14 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

ABOUT THE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM:

Amy Aquino (Maria) worked on the New York stage most recently in Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (Broadway) and Third (Lincoln Center Theater) and Jonathan Tolins's Secrets of the Trade (Primary Stages). Her L.A. theatre appearances include Living Out (Mark Taper Forum), A Feminine Ending (South Coast Repertory), and The Underpants (Geffen Playhouse). Aquino's film career spans Working Girl and Moonstruck, through White Oleander and In Good Company, to this year's Lazarus Effect. Before her current role as Lt. Billets on Amazon's "Bosch," she was a regular on television's "Brooklyn Bridge" and "Picket Fences" and made countless guest appearances, including recurring roles on "Glee," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "ER," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Freaks and Geeks," "Felicity," and SyFy's "Being Human," among many others.

Terence Archie (Orsino) is making his Globe debut. He most recently completed a run of the world premiere production of The 12 at Denver Center Theatre Company. His Broadway credits include Ragtime and Rocky the Musical, which he also performed at Operettenhaus in Hamburg, Germany. He appeared Off Broadway in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Second Stage Theatre), and his solo shows include Frederick Douglass Free, Peanut Prince, and At the Pole (Urban Stages). His regional highlights include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Geffen Playhouse), the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, Edward II, and Tamburlaine the Great (Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Arabian Nights (Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), and A Year with Frog and Toad (Two River Theater). Archie has also been seen on television on "Law & Order," "One Life to Live," "Manhattan Love Story," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

Amy Blackman (Ensemble) most recently appeared with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. as Betsy/Lindsey in Clybourne Park, Thaisa in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and Avonia Bunn in Trelawny of the "Wells". In New York she has worked on various readings and workshops, including The Brothers Karamazov (Classic Stage Company), The Bootlegger & The Rabbi's Daughter (New York Musical Theatre Festival), and Mrs. Hughes (New York Theatre Workshop). She has performed regionally as Madeline Astor in Titanic, Dora Bailey in Singin' in the Rain, Kiss Me, Kate, Beauty and the Beast, and The Sound of Music (The Muny). Additionally, she was a teacher for the All Stars Project, Inc.'s Youth Onstage! program this past year.

Lindsay Brill (Ensemble) most recently appeared in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, The Winter's Tale and the New Voices Festival at The Old Globe. She also appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, Reckless, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and Trelawny of the "Wells" with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program. In New York, Brill has performed at The Lion's Theatre, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, Prospect Theater Company, and The Actors Studio. She recently won an award for the one-woman show Testify! in New York. She also recently performed sketch comedy in the Chicago Women's Funny Festival and finished shooting the new web series "Annie and Brie."

Charlotte Bydwell (Ensemble) was last seen on the outdoor stage in The Old Globe's productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Othello. More recently, she appeared in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, Reckless, and, as Rose Trelawny, in Trelawny of the "Wells". She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and began her career as a dancer with Monica Bill Barnes Company and Keigwin + Company, performing at Jacob's Pillow Dance, American Dance Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, and The Joyce Theater. As a member of the resident acting company at The Flea Theater she appeared in Sean Graney's highly acclaimed These Seven Sicknesses directed by Ed Iskandar. At the 2012 Williamstown Theatre Festival, she appeared in The Importance of Being Earnest directed by David Hyde Pierce and A Month in the Country directed by Richard Nelson. Her one-woman show, Woman of Leisure and Panic, debuted in the eighth-annual soloNOVA Arts Festival (New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination), played the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival, and was translated into Spanish for performances in Mexico.

Lowell Byers (Antonio, Sea Captain) appeared most recently in The Twenty-seventh Man at the Globe and previously in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Othello. He was also featured in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, Reckless, and, in the title role, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. His Off Broadway credits include Night Float (Playwrights Horizons), Othello (Theatre Row), Balm in Gilead (New York Innovative Theatre Award), You Never Can Tell, and The Changing Room (T. Schreiber Studio). He has been seen regionally in North Shore Fish (Gloucester Stage Company), As You Like It (Vermont Stage Company), and SMILE: The Musical (Deane Center for the Performing Arts). He played the title role in Caligula: 1400 Days of Terror (History Channel) and appeared in the films Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear (Chiller/NBC Universal), Brewsie and Willie (Rocam Productions), and Things I Don't Understand (Best Feature Film winner, Burbank International and Philadelphia Independent Film Festivals). His original play, Luft Gangster, had its 2013 world premiere at Abingdon Theatre Company directed by Austin Pendleton.

Ally Carey (Ensemble) most recently appeared in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Clybourne Park, Trelawny of the "Wells", and Pericles, Prince of Tyre. She also read in The Last Match for The Old Globe's New Voices Festival. Her Chicago credits include Dorian (The House Theatre of Chicago), Richard II (Two Pence Theatre Company), Presidential Ball (American Theater Company 10x10 Festival), and understudying roles in Belleville (Steppenwolf Theatre Company) and Camino Real (Goodman Theatre). She has been seen regionally in The Royal Family, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well That Ends Well (American Players Theatre), Noises Off and The Winter's Tale (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Writer 1272 and A Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater), American Sexy (New Theatre Group at the Guthrie), Georgia Shakespeare, and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. She appeared also appeared in the title role of Cinderella with The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center. She has also been seen on television in "Chicago, P.D." Carey wrote and directed [Something clever goes here.] and To the Lighthouse! in Minneapolis.

Jamal Douglas (2nd Officer) is an M.F.A. candidate with the Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program. He was recently seen in the Globe's productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. He also appeared in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Trelawny of the "Wells", Reckless, and Much Ado About Nothing. Douglas has worked with Philadelphia Young Playwrights, PlayPenn, Simpatico Theatre Project, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Arden Theatre Company, Plays & Players, and the National Constitution Center, among others.

Manoel Felciano (Feste) last appeared at The Old Globe in I Just Stopped By to See the Man. He appeared on Broadway in Sweeney Todd (Tony Award nomination), Brooklyn, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Cabaret, and he appeared Off Broadway in Trumpery (Atlantic Theater Company), Shockheaded Peter, and Much Ado About Nothing (New York Shakespeare Festival). His regional credits include The Exorcist with Brooke Shields (Geffen Playhouse), Scorched, Tales of the City, Clybourne Park, Norman in Round and Round the Garden, Caucasian Chalk Circle, November, Jerry in The Zoo Story, and Rock 'n' Roll (American Conservatory Theater), Elektra with Olympia Dukakis (Getty Villa), Tateh in Ragtime (The Kennedy Center), Three Sisters directed by Michael Greif (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and George in Sunday in the Park directed by Jason Alexander. His film and television credits include Uncertainty with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "NCIS," "Trauma," "Life on Mars," "The Unusuals," "One Life to Live," and "All My Children." Felciano's concert credits include Soldier's Tale (Sun Valley Symphony), Ragtime (Lincoln Center), Nick Adams with Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Sean Penn (San Francisco Symphony), and Zipperz (Oakland and Marin Symphonies). As a singer-songwriter he has performed with live@joe's pub, Moonshot, and SundaySongs.

Robert Joy (Malvolio) began his professional career doing comedies with Newfoundland Travelling Theatre Company. He subsequently wrote and performed with the Newfoundland comedy group CODCO. His performance as Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank, alongside Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, brought him to New York. Since then he has played a wide variety of roles on stage, screen, and television. He won a Drama-Logue Award for his performance as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet at La Jolla Playhouse. His other Shakespeare roles include Prospero in The Tempest in Barrie, Canada; and, with New York Shakespeare Festival, Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew and Le Beau in As You Like It. His recent stage work includes leading roles in Side Show (La Jolla Playhouse, The Kennedy Center, Broadway), The Nether (Kirk Douglas Theatre), and The Ugly One (Ensemble Studio Theatre/Los Angeles, Stage Raw Theater Award for Comedy Ensemble). In film, Joy has worked with Louis Malle, Miloš Forman, Woody Allen, James L. Brooks, George A. Romero, and Lasse Hallström, among many other fine directors. He has acted in over 200 television episodes, comedic and dramatic, including eight seasons as Sid Hammerback, the medical examiner on "CSI: NY." He can be seen in a couple of episodes of the upcoming Amazon series "Hand of God."

Tyler Kent (Curio) has appeared at the Globe in Othello and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He has also appeared in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, Reckless, and Trelawny of the "Wells" with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program. Elsewhere, his credits include Mary Zimmerman's The Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Eugene O'Neill Foundation), A Doctor in Spite of Himself and The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Berkeley Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (Extant Arts Company), Twelfth Night (The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), MEDEAStories (SITI Company), Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway By The Bay), Snapshots and Auctioning the Ainsleys (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), Finian's Rainbow (Woodminster), Vera Wilde (Shotgun Players), and What the Butler Saw (Pacific Repertory Theatre). Kent was among the American actor participants in Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes's international Bridge Project with The Old Vic. His cabarets Nobody's Hart and Give Me the Simple Life toured China in 2009 and 2011.

Patrick Kerr (Andrew Aguecheek) recently appeared in New York in the Broadway revival of You Can't Take It with You with James Earl Jones and Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Rebecca Taichman. His Southern California performances include the recent His Girl Friday at La Jolla Playhouse as well as roles at South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, and Geffen Playhouse. He is a veteran of many television shows but is probably best known for recurring roles as Noel on "Frasier" and "the blind guy" on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

LeRoy McClain (Sebastian) previously appeared on Broadway in The History Boys and Cymbeline. His Off Broadway credits include Milk Like Sugar, Born Bad, The Good Negro, Othello, Measure for Measure, Oroonoko, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Huck & Holden, In Search of Stanley Hammer, and others. Regionally and internationally he has performed lead and major roles including Safe House, Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, the title role in Hamlet, Partners, Clybourne Park, The Convert, Milk Like Sugar, The Piano Lesson, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, The Whipping Man, The Good Negro, Blue/Orange, Elmina's Kitchen, Trouble In Mind, The Comedy of Errors, Rough Crossing, Richard II, Three Days of Rain, Private Eyes, A Midsummer Night's Dream, like sun fallin' in the mouth, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, and others. McClain's film and television work includes "Madam Secretary," The Happy Sad, The Adjustment Bureau, After, The Stage, "Rubicon," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Guiding Light," "Breaking In," and others.

Tom McGowan (Sir Toby Belch) previously appeared at The Old Globe in Rounding Third and Moonlight and Magnolias. His Broadway credits include Casa Valentina, Wicked, Chicago, Ivanov, and La Bête (Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations), and his Off Broadway credits include The Food Chain (Obie Award), The Winter's Tale, and Coriolanus. This television credits include Kenny, the station manager, on "Frasier," Bernie on "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Veep," "Modern Family," "Hot in Cleveland," "Boston Legal," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "ER," and "Brothers and Sisters." He has also appeared in the films Freeheld (upcoming), The Birdcage, Heavy Weights, Ghost World, Bad Santa, As Good as It Gets, Bean, The Family Man, 12 and Holding, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and Sleepless in Seattle. His regional theatre credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwriting Conference.

Makha Mthembu (Ensemble) is making her Old Globe Shakespeare Festival debut. Mthembu has appeared in Old Globe/USD M.F.A Program productions of Clybourne Park, Trelawny of the "Wells", and, as Marina, in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Her Chicago credits include Judith in Sweetwater (Oracle Productions), Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista), and Judith Smith in Belfast Girls (Artemisia, A Chicago Theatre). Her regional credits include Catherine in The Nightmare Room (Towle Theater).

Daniel Petzold (Fabian) most recently performed in the USD/Old Globe M.F.A. Program productions of Clybourne Park, Pericles, Prince of Tyre and Trelawny of the "Wells". He has also performed in Tom Stoppard's trilogy The Coast of Utopia and Jon Tracy's The Salt Plays (Shotgun Players), Three Sisters (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), A Bright New Boise (Aurora Theatre Company), Any Given Day and Another Way Home (Magic Theatre), Oskar and the Big Bully Battle (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), and Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, and Romeo and Juliet (Pacific Repertory Theatre), as well as performances with the San Francisco, Marin, and Livermore Shakespeare Festivals.

Sara Topham (Olivia) spent the last year in England, playing Mrs. Van Buren in the U.K. premiere of Intimate Apparel (Theatre Royal Bath/Park Theatre) and starring in the world premiere of Love Me Do (Watford Palace Theatre). She appeared on Broadway as Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest (Roundabout Theatre Company) and has appeared regionally as Titania/Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Cecily in Travesties (McCarter Theatre Center), and Miranda in The Tempest (Hartford Stage). As a longtime company member at the Stratford Festival in Canada she has played many of Shakspeare's women including Juliet, Rosalind, Cordelia, Jessica, Olivia, Diana, Princess Katherine, and Ann Boleyn, as well as Célimène in The Misanthrope, Ruth in Blithe Spirit, Madame de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons, Wendy in Peter Pan, Mabel in An Ideal Husband, Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Laurencia in Fuente Ovejuna, Brooke in Noises Off, and Cassandra in Agamemnon. She has won four Tyrone Guthrie Awards.

Megan M. Storti (Ensemble) joins The Old Globe for her second summer of Shakespeare, appearing last season in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Othello. Her credits with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program include Gower in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Rachel in Reckless, Trafalgar in Trelawny of the "Wells", Bazira in Much Ado About Nothing, and Ismene in Antigone. Her Chicago credits include productions with Writers' Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Lifeline Theatre, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, The Right Brain Project, Glass Onion Theatre, and DreamLogic Theatreworks. Her regional credits include Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Heartland Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, and Putnam County Playhouse. She recently wrote and performed a one-woman show entitled Talk at University of San Diego.

Rutina Wesley (Viola) appeared on Broadway in The Vertical Hour directed by Sam Mendes and Off Broadway in One Night directed by Clinton Turner Davis (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), The Submission directed by Walter Bobbie (MCC Theater), In Darfur directed by Joanna Settle (The Public Theater). Her regional credits include A Raisin in the Sun directed by Lou Bellamy (L.A. Theatre Works). Her television credits include "Hannibal" (NBC), "True Blood" (HBO), "Generator Rex" (Cartoon Network), "The Cleveland Show" (Fox), and "Numbers" (CBS). She has also appeared in the films The Perfect Guy directed by David Rosenthal (Screen Gems), 13 Sins directed by Daniel Stamm (RADiUS-TWC), Last Weekend directed by Tom Dolby (Sundance Selects), California Winter directed by Odin Ozdil, How She Move directed by Ian Rashid (Paramount Vantage), and Hitch directed by Andy Tennant (Sony).

Nathan Whitmer (1st Officer) is an Old Globe/USD M.F.A. candidate and appeared this season in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Trelawny of the "Wells", and Clybourne Park. He was seen Off Broadway in A. A. Milne's The Ugly Duckling (Marvell Rep), and his other New York City theatre includes Bumbershoot! (New York International Fringe Festival), Macduff in Macbeth (Titan Theatre Company), and Sam Speed in Who Murdered Love (Theater for the New City). As a member of Barter Theatre's Player Company and Resident Acting Company he appeared in over 25 productions including the roles of Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps, Cliff in Cabaret, Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Bert in It's a Wonderful Life, Fred in A Christmas Carol, and Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad. His other regional credits include A Christmas Carol, Reckless, and Sherlock Holmes (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), The Royal Hunt of the Sun and 1776 (Texas Shakespeare Festival), John Proctor in The Crucible (Roxy Regional Theatre).

Patrick Zeller (Valentine) has appeared at the Globe in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and The Winter's Tale, and with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program in Trelawny of the "Wells", Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Reckless, and Much Ado About Nothing. He also appeared at the Globe as Nick in the 2008 production of The American Plan. Zeller's other classical theatre credits include The Mysteries (Shakespeare & Company), The Comedy of Errors (New York Classical Theatre), Edward II (Pet Brick Productions), Hamlet (Maine Shakespeare Festival), and Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Now! Theatre Company). Zeller has appeared on "Law & Order," "Medium," "Kidnapped," "Six Degrees," "All My Children," "One Life to Live," "As the World Turns," and "The Young and the Restless." He also co-starred in the award-winning feature film Virgin Alexander. His other film credits include No Reservations, End of the Spear, and A Totally Minor Motion Picture. He was Co-Founder and Artistic Director for Present Tense Theater Project, a documentary theatre ensemble in New York City adapting myths and fairy tales to local communities.

Chase Brock (Choreographer) choreographed the Broadway productions of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Picnic and the Off Broadway productions of The Blue Flower (Second Stage Theatre, Lucille Lortel Award nomination), Tamar of the River (Prospect Theater Company, Joe A. Callaway Award finalist), Venice (Public Lab), Much Ado About Nothing (The Public Theater's Mobile Shakespeare Unit), The Tempest and The Winter's Tale (Public Works), Lost in the Stars and Irma La Douce (City Center Encores!), The Cradle Will Rock (Encores! Off-Center), and The Mysteries (The Flea Theater). His regional credits include Be More Chill (Two River Theater) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse). His television credits include "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" (HBO) and "Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS), and his video game credits include "Dance on Broadway" (Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Move). Brock has choreographed 26 dances for The Chase Brock Experience including "American Sadness" and "The Song That I Sing; Or, Meow So Pretty." His opera credits include Roméo et Juliette (Salzburger Festspiele). Brock is the subject of the documentary Chasing Dance. His upcoming projects include Alice by Heart, Fat Camp, First Daughter Suite, and Sara Bareilles's Waitress.

Riccardo Hernandez (Scenic Design) has designed the Broadway productions of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess; The People in the Picture; Caroline, or Change; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; Parade (Tony, Drama Desk Award nominations); The Tempest; and Bells Are Ringing. His recent credits include Grounded directed by Julie Taymor (The Public Theater), The Invisible Hand and Fetch Clay, Make Man directed by Des McAnuff (New York Theatre Workshop), Il Postino (LA Opera, PBS's "Great Performances"), Philip Glass' Appomattox (San Francisco Opera), Lost Highway (English National Opera/Young Vic), King Lear (Theatre for a New Audience), The Library directed by Steven Soderbergh (The Public Theater), La Mouette (Cour d'Honneur-Avignon Festival), The Dead (Abbey Theater), Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Nice, National Theatre in Oslo, and Teatro Real in Madrid.

David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design) recently designed the Globe's productions of Arms and the Man, Water by the Spoonful, Time andthe Conways, Double Indemnity, and Be a Good Little Widow. Reynoso is the Obie Award-winning costume designer of the Off Broadway hitSleep No More (Punchdrunk/Emursive), and he is also a Helen Hayes Award nominee for Healing Wars (Arena Stage). He is also recognized locally for his designs of The Darrell Hammond Project, Kingdom City, and the DNA New Work Series presentation of Chasing the Song (La Jolla Playhouse). His other work includes Futurity, Cabaret, The Snow Queen, Alice vs. Wonderland, Trojan Barbie, Copenhagen, No Man's Land, Hamletmachine, Ajax in Iraq, and Abigail's Party (American Repertory Theater), The Comedy of Errors and Othello (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), The Woman in Black (Gloucester Stage Company), and Dead Man's Cell Phone (The Lyric Stage Company). Reynoso is also the recipient of the Elliot Norton Award, a Craig Noel Award nomination, and multiple IRNE and BroadwayWorld Award nominations.

Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Design) designed the Globe productions of Cornelia, Hay Fever, Ace, and The Piano Lesson. His Broadway credits include The Last Ship, Rocky (Tony Award nomination), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Tony nomination), 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination), Talk Radio, Shining City, Awake and Sing (Tony nomination), Well, Rabbit Hole, A Touch of the Poet, In My Life, The Light in thePiazza (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Reckless, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Seven Guitars (Tony nomination), and ThePiano Lesson. He recently designed Grounded (The Public Theater), Cheri (Signature Theatre Company), The Second Mrs. Wilson (Long Wharf Theatre), Everest (Dallas Opera), Into the Woods (Roundabout Theatre Company/Fiasco Theater), and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (Santa Fe Opera). Akerlind's other awards include the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence for Design and Collaboration, and numerous nominations for Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Acme Sound Partners (Sound Design) is returns to The Old Globe, where they designed The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Acme has designed sound for over 30 Broadway shows since 2000 including The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012 revival, Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award), The Merchant of Venice (Drama Desk nomination), Fences (2010 revival, Tony nomination), Ragtime (2009 revival, Drama Desk Award), Bye Bye Birdie(2009 revival), Hair (2009 revival, Tony nomination), In the Heights (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Legally Blonde, A Chorus Line (2006 revival), The Drowsy Chaperone (Drama Desk nomination), Spamalot, Avenue Q, Fiddler onthe Roof (2004 revival), Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème (Drama Desk and Ovation Awards), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Acme is Tom Clark, Mark Menard, and Sten Severson.

Todd Almond (Original Music) is a composer, lyricist, and playwright. His most recent musical, Iowa, a collaboration with playwright Jenny Schwartz, received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in March. His musical Girlfriend (using new arrangements of Matthew Sweet's eponymous cult album) will be produced at Center Theatre Group with director Les Waters. He starred alongside Courtney Love in the rock opera Kansas City Choir Boy, composed by Almond and directed by Kevin Newbury (Prototype Festival). Last summer, he collaborated with director Lear deBessonet for an adaptation of The Winter's Tale (The Public Theater's Public Works program); the production featured a cast of 200 people and received rave reviews. They also worked together to create an adaptation of The Tempest (Public Works, 2013), for which he wrote music and lyrics and played Ariel. He also recently wrote music for, and performed in, Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss (Playwrights Horizons). Almond's other credits include a musical version of Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play; music and lyrics for We Have Always Lived in theCastle; and his own musical adaptation of The Odyssey at The Old Globe under Lear deBessonet's direction. He was the music director/arranger for Laura Benanti's acclaimed solo show (54 Below) and Sherie Rene Scott's lauded Piece Of Meat (54 Below, Hippodrome in London). His albums include Mexico City and his newly released Memorial Day.

Ursula Meyer (Vocal Coach) is happy to be back at The Old Globe this summer. She has studied voice with Cicely Berry, Patsy Rodenburg, Andrew Wade, and Arthur Lessac and is a designated Linklater teacher. She also graduated with distinction from the Advanced Voice Studies Program at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London under David Carey. Her regional credits include numerous productions at The Old Globe, Guthrie Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Idaho, Santa Cruz, and Utah Shakespeare Festivals, as well as 15 seasons with Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Meyer is currently on the faculty at UC San Diego. In 2007, she was a recipient of UCSD's Saltman Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.

Jim Carnahan, CSA (Casting) is the Director of Artistic Development at Roundabout Theatre Company, where his credits include On theTwentieth Century, The Real Thing, Cabaret, Violet, Machinal, The Winslow Boy, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cyrano de Bergerac, Harvey, Anything Goes, The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Sunday in the Park with George, The Pajama Game, 12 Angry Men, Assassins, Nine, and Big River. His other Broadway credits include Fun Home, Constellations, The River, You Can't Take It With You, Rocky, The Glass Menagerie, Once, Matilda The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Mountaintop, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Jerusalem, Arcadia, The Scottsboro Boys, American Idiot, A Behanding in Spokane, The Seagull, Boeing-Boeing, Spring Awakening, ThePillowman, Gypsy, and True West. His film credits include A Home at the End of the World and Flicka, and his television credits include "Glee" (Emmy Award nomination).

Samantha Greene (Production Stage Manager) made her Broadway debut with South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theater. Her additional theatre credits include Sleeping Beauty Wakes (La Jolla Playhouse), Poor Behavior (Primary Stages), When I Come to Die and Pippin (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), and Travesties (McCarter Theatre Center). Greene spent 10 years with New York City Opera, where she stage managed 30 productions including Anna Nicole, The Turn of the Screw, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, Orpheus, A Quiet Place, Dead Man Walking (also San Francisco Opera world premiere), Mourning Becomes Electra, A Little Night Music (also LA Opera), Sweeney Todd, Candide, and TheLittle Prince. Her other opera work includes productions for Gotham Chamber Opera, Crested Butte Music Festival, Opera Saratoga, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, El Paso Opera, Central City Opera, and Florida Grand Opera. Greene is the Production Stage Manager for The Chase Brock Experience.