2011/12 season > Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup > Who’s who
who’s who
Tony Taccone, Playwright
David Galligan, Director
Lee Martino, Choreographer
Anna Louizos, Scenic Design
Annie Smart, Costume Design
Alexander V. Nichols, Projection & Lighting Design
Philip G. Allen, Sound Design
Madeleine Oldham, Dramaturg
Michael Suenkel *, Production Stage Manager
Rachel Motz *, Assistant Stage Manager
Kathy Rose *, Assistant Stage Manager
César Cancino, Music Director
Cast
Rita Moreno, As herself
Ray Garcia, Dancer / Dance Captain
Salvatore Vassallo, Dancer
César Cancino, Piano / Conductor
Sascha Jacobsen, Bass
Alex Murzyn, Reeds
David Rokeach, Percussion
Tony Taccone
Playwright
Tony is artistic director of Berkeley Rep, where he has staged more than 35 shows—including world premieres by Culture Clash, Rinde Eckert, David Edgar, Danny Hoch, Geoff Hoyle, Quincy Long, Itamar Moses and Lemony Snicket. Tony took two shows from Berkeley Rep to Broadway: Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel, which won a Tony Award for its star, and Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, which set box-office records in Berkeley before enjoying a six-city national tour. He commissioned Tony Kushner’s legendary Angels in America, co-directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum and has collaborated with Kushner on seven projects including Brundibar and Tiny Kushner. Two of Tony’s recent shows transferred to London: Continental Divide played the Barbican in 2004, and Tiny Kushner played the Tricycle Theatre last fall. His many regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, the Eureka Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, the Huntington Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre. Known as a director, he recently turned his hand to playwriting, and two of his scripts are premiering this year: Ghost Light in Ashland and Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup in Berkeley.
David Galligan
Director
Mr. Galligan most recently directed My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, written by and starring Leslie Jordan at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End, as well as Tyne Daly’s Songs at Feinstein’s in New York City, and The Second Time Around, which kicked off Feinstein’s 10th anniversary. Mr. Galligan also directed the off-Broadway production of My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. Other past efforts include Falsettos for The Actors Fund and Leslie Jordan’s solo piece, Like a Dog on Linoleum. Mr. Galligan has produced and directed 27 years of S.T.A.G.E., the longest-running aids benefit in the world. He is the recipient of LA Stage Alliance’s Ovation Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lee Martino
Choreographer
Lee is delighted to be working at Berkeley Rep for the first time. Her credits include Carousel, Kiss Me Kate and many more shows for Reprise Theatre Company under the artistic direction of Jason Alexander; Falling for Eve for the York Theatre Company in Manhattan; and the East Coast premiere of Summer of Love at The Ogunquit Playhouse. Lee has choreographed over a hundred shows and industrials, including those for Buena Vista Entertainment, Disney International, Ford Motor Company and Harley-Davidson, as well as many Actors Fund, Los Angeles S.T.A.G.E. and Help Is on the Way benefits. Her television and film credits include NBC’s Shall We Dance on Ice featuring Broadway dancers and Olympic ice dance teams, the animated feature films Alpha & Omega 3D and The King And I. Lee has won several Back Stage Garland Awards, three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards and four Los Angeles Ovation Awards, including the 2011 award for Carousel.
Anna Louizos
Scenic Design
Anna received Tony nominations for both High Fidelity and In the Heights. Her other Broadway designs include All About Me, Avenue Q (including London, Las Vegas and the national tour), Baby It’s You, Curtains, Golda’s Balcony (including the national tour), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (including in the United Kingdom and multiple U.S. cities), Steel Magnolias and To Be Or Not To Be. Anna’s off- Broadway credits include the world premieres of Altar Boyz; Birdie Blue; The Castle; In Transit; Speech and Debate; Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM!; and Vanities, the Musical, as well as the regional productions of Arsenic and Old Lace, Disney’s Aladdin at 5th Avenue Theatre, Minsky’s, Sarah Plain and Tall and Sons of the Prophet at the Huntington. She worked on the art direction of Sex and the City (HBO) and the feature film The Secret Lives of Dentists. Anna attended Mills College and has a master’s degree from New York University in scenic design.
Annie Smart
Costume Design
Annie’s previous Berkeley Rep design credits include Big Love, Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, Fêtes de la Nuit, Heartbreak House, In The Next Room (or the vibrator play) (also at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway), The Mystery of Irma Vep, Passing Strange, Suddenly Last Summer, Taking Over (also at The Public), Three Sisters, Tiny Kushner (also at the Guthrie and the Tricycle), To the Lighthouse, Yellowjackets and Yellowman. Her other Bay Area work includes Auctioning the Ainsleys, Brooklyn Boy and Theophilus North at TheatreWorks; A Doll’s House, Night and Day and The Threepenny Opera at A.C.T.; The Ideal Husband, John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven, Man and Superman, Private Lives and The Tempest at California Shakespeare Theater; and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Weir at San Jose Rep. Annie is originally from London where she designed for Joint Stock Theatre Group, the National Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre, among many others. She currently teaches costume and set design at UC Berkeley.
Alexander V. Nichols
Projection & Lighting Design
Alexander’s theatre credits include over 20 productions with Berkeley Rep, plus the Broadway production of Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, originally presented at Berkeley Rep, and the off-Broadway productions of Danny Hoch’s Taking Over, Lisa Kron’s In the Wake, Marga Gomez’s Los Big Names, Rinde Eckert’s Horizon and Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel. His other credits include the touring production of Hugh Jackman in Concert and Daniel Beaty’s Through the Night. Alex has created production designs for A.C.T., the Taper and OSF, among others. His dance credits include several seasons as the resident designer for American Repertory Ballet, Hartford Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet, lighting supervisor for American Ballet Theatre and resident visual designer for Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. His designs are in the permanent repertory of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, ODC/SF and San Francisco Ballet. Recent projects include the museum installation Circle of Memory, presented in Stockholm and the video design for LIFE—A Journey Through Time, recently presented at the Barbican Center by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Philip G. Allen
Sound Design
As a theatrical designer, Phil has designed more than a hundred shows, including Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks on Broadway; the 2002–05 national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar; Big River, First Picture Show, Flower Drum Song, Harps & Angels, The House of Blue Leaves, Like Jazz, Pippin and The Talking Cure at the Taper; Cinderella, Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Ahmanson; the first 14 seasons of REPRISE! at UCLA; and The Ten Commandments starring Val Kilmer at the Kodak Theatre. On Broadway, he assisted longtime design partner Jon Gottlieb on 2001’s If You Ever Leave Me…I’m Going With You. Phil has designed sound systems for the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, the Music Center in Los Angeles and numerous smaller venues. His television credits include sound-system design and equalization for the 56th and 59th Golden Globe Awards and the 33rd Academy of Country Music Awards. He won the 2003 and 2009 NAACP awards for sound design, a 2001 Ovation Award and the 1999 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. Phil currently teaches sound design at the University of Southern California and at the California Institute of the Arts.
cast
Rita Moreno *
Ms. Moreno is one of a select group of performers to have won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: she earned an Oscar for West Side Story, a Tony for The Ritz, Emmys for The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files and a Grammy for The Electric Company Album. Her countless credits span more than six decades, from her Broadway debut at age 13 in Skydrift to the new sitcom Happily Divorced. Having appeared in more than 40 feature films—most notably Carnal Knowledge, The Four Seasons, The King and I and Singin’ in the Rain—Ms. Moreno was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995. She has also performed on Broadway and played Norma Desmond in London’s West End. Her television credits range from 9 to 5 and The Electric Company to recent programs such as Cane and Oz. In 2004, during her celebrated run in Berkeley Rep’s Master Class, Ms. Moreno was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a civilian in commemoration of a lifetime of meritorious service. She also appeared in Berkeley Rep’s production of The Glass Menagerie. In 2010, President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts as well. Ms. Moreno continues to perform regularly at concerts, cabarets and as a guest artist with orchestras across the country.
Ray Garcia *
Dancer / Dance Captain
Born in Texas, Ray now lives in Los Angeles and has performed all over the world. Some of his favorite credits include Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby and Rent on Broadway as Angel and other roles. He also performed in Annie Get Your Gun as Tommy Keeler, Damn Yankees directed by Jason Alexander, Evita, Fame, Jesus Christ Superstar, La Cage Aux Folles as Hanna, Pippin, The Ten Commandments with Val Kilmer in Los Angeles, West Side Story and The Who’s Tommy. He has toured and performed with many artists such as Gloria Estefan, Debbie Gibson, Jody Watley and Vanessa Williams. Ray lived in Rome for three years and has danced on Italy’s most popular TV show, Fantastico, and played the role of Daddy in the all-Italian version of Sweet Charity. He can also be seen in the independent film Neverland, the feature film Rent and most recently on Desperate Housewives as Fernando.
Salvatore Vassallo
Dancer
Salvatore’s theatre credits include Assassins as Zangara with Sight Unseen Theatre Group, Kiss of the Spider Woman in the ensemble and as Gabriel with Havok Theatre Company and The Who’s Tommy as the Pinball Wizard with Flicker House Productions. He also performed in the LA Opera’s Don Giovanni, Der Zwerg and Grendel directed by Julie Taymor. Salvatore’s film credits include the Austin Powers series, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Showgirls. He has appeared on television shows such as The Academy Awards, That ‘70s Show and the Stepford Wives. Salvatore also had the pleasure of touring the world and sharing the stage with Britney Spears, Cher, Prince and Reba McEntire. He trained in Los Angeles at the Joe Tremaine Dance Center, and took vocal training with Roger Love.
César Cancino
Piano / Conductor / Music Director
César enjoys a musically diverse career as pianist, musical director and conductor. He attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and then studied piano with Alain Naudé, a pupil of the great Dinu Lipatti. He was for many years the musical director and pianist for Teatro ZinZanni and for several years toured with singer/songwriter Joan Baez as her musical director and pianist. He is also a recipient of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical Director. César has performed throughout North America, Europe and Australia in such venues as Atlanta Summer Pops Symphony, Carnegie Hall, International Music Festival of Mexico City, Montreux Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He has appeared with such diverse artists as singers Thelma Houston, Liliane Montevecchi, Maria Muldaur and Mercedes Sosa; cellist Ron Leonard; and violinists Martha Caplin, Pierre d’Archambeau and Tracy Silverman. His local credits include Rrazz Room, 42nd St. Moon, Beach Blanket Babylon, Martinez Opera and Monterey County Symphony. César is the musical director/conductor of the Morrisson Theatre Chorus and the musical director for Palazzo, a German company that produces a variety of circus-cabaret shows.
Sascha Jacobsen
Bass
Sascha was born into a musical family, going as far back as his great, great, great, great-grandfather, who was a bassist for the Moscow Opera. Sascha has performed as principal bass with American Musical Theatre of San Jose and the Santa Cruz County Symphony, and as a section member of the Monterey Symphony and the Sarasota Opera. He has performed in Hugh Jackman in Performance and the world premiere production of Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, has recorded on the new cast album of A Chorus Line and has toured the world with the Argentine tango group Trio Garufa. Sascha is a founding member of Classical Revolution and the Musical Art Quintet, which performs his original works. His jazz group, the Sascha Jacobsen Quintet, released its premiere CD Outer Sunset in 2002, which Double Bassist magazine declared, “shines a light on Jazz that it hasn’t basked in for years.” Sascha completed a master’s degree at the University of Southern California, and then went on to teach at Humboldt State University. He has served on the faculty at Laney College and the Sequoia Chamber Music Festival. Visit saschajacobsen.com.
Alex Murzyn
Reeds
Alex’s most recent musical-theatre experience was working on American Conservatory Theater’s production of Tales of the City in San Francisco. He has also performed in Center Repertory Company’s production of All Shook Up at the Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. Other notable musicals he has performed in are Chicago, The Color Purple and Grease, all with SHN. He has toured nationally as a sideman with Huey Lewis and the News and also toured nationally and internationally with Pete Escovedo’s Latin Jazz Orchestra.
David Rokeach
Percussion
David played It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues at TheatreWorks, Jersey Boys at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco and Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, Les Misérables at the Curran, Love, Janis at the Marines Memorial Theatre, Ragtime at the Orpheum Theatre and Tales of the City at A.C.T. He has performed and recorded with Ernestine Anderson, Oscar Brown Jr., Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, David Grisman, Joe Henderson, Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Steve Miller, Maria Muldaur, Mark Murphy, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Aaron Neville, Lou Rawls, Mavis Staples and Shania Twain. David’s film and TV recordings include Desperate Housewives, For Love of the Game, Good Morning America, L.A. Doctors, The O.C., The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Sex and the City, The Tonight Show, VH1’s Divas Live, The View, What Women Want and The X-Files.
* The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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production sponsors
The Bernard Osher Foundation New Play Development Fund
media sponsors
season sponsors
