Alley Artists

JEFFREY BEAN (Detective Sergeant Trotter - THE MOUSETRAP) is in his 15th season as an Alley Company Artist, and has appeared in one hundred Alley productions since 1989. Recently he has appeared in Boeing-Boeing (Robert), Harvey (Duane Wilson), Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (Man #2), Our Town (Dr. Gibbs), The Farnsworth Invention (David Sarnoff), Mauritius (Philip), A Christmas Carol (Ebenezer Scrooge), and Cyrano de Bergerac (Cyrano). Previous Alley highlights include The Scene (Charlie), Doubt (Father Flynn),  Subject to Fits (Prince Myshkin), Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), Journey’s End (2nd Lieutenant Trotter), The Pillowman (Michal), Hapgood (Ridley), Twelfth Night (Feste), The Importance of Being Earnest (Algernon), Billy Bishop Goes to War (Billy Bishop), Gross Indecency (Oscar Wilde), Arms & the Man (Bluntschli), The Crucible (Deputy Gov. Danforth), The Foreigner (Charlie Baker) and Stones in His Pockets (Charlie Conlon, et al).  Broadway credits include Bells Are Ringing (Francis) and Amadeus (Kappelmeister Bono). Television credits include Law & Order; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and All My Children. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and a Princess Grace Award winner. www.jeffreybean.com.

JAMES BELCHER (Major Metcalf - THE MOUSETRAP) is in his 21st season. As an Alley Company Artist, he has appeared as Fritz Engelhardt in Intelligence-Slave, Judge Omar Gaffney in Harvey,  Joe Stoddard in Our Town, Leslie Gorrell in The Farnsworth Invention, Milan/Waiter in Rock ‘n’ Roll, Mr. Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Rev. Samuel Gardner in Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Ligniere and The Capuchin in Cyrano de Bergerac, Brabantio in Othello, Teddy Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, Squire Trelawney/Bailiff/Job O'Brien in Treasure Island, Heck Tate in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lebedev in Subject to Fits, Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing, Sir Wilfred Robarts in Witness for the Prosecution, The Colonel in Journey's End, Dave Moss in Glengarry Glen Ross, Judge Hathorne in The Crucible, Sir Claud Amory in Black Coffee, Captain Lesgate in Dial "M" for Murder, Victor in Our Lady of 121st Street, Antonio in Twelfth Night and Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (five seasons). A native of Delaware, he has taught at Prairie View A&M University, Tomball College, San Jacinto College, Houston Community College, University of Houston, and is a private acting coach. He has a BFA in Drama Production from the University of Texas at Austin and a MFA in Directing from the University of Houston. In 1999, he received a BackStage West Garland Award for his role as Peter in the Alley's production of The Zoo Story.

JAMES BLACK (A Man - ST. NICHOLAS) is proud to be celebrating his 22nd consecutive season at the Alley where as an actor and occasional director, he has been involved in over one hundred productions. Recent appearances include Boeing-Boeing (Bernard), Harvey (Elwood P. Dowd), Mrs. Mannerly (Jeffrey), Our Town (Stage Manager), The Farnsworth Invention, Rock ‘n’ Roll (Max), The Man Who Came to Dinner (Sheridan Whiteside), A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Dilber/ Jacob Marley), Cyrano de Bergerac (Le Bret), Othello (Iago), Arsenic and Old Lace (Jonathan Brewster), Treasure Island (Long John Silver), Hitchcock Blonde (Hitch), A Moon for the Misbegotten (James Tyrone Jr.), Orson’s Shadow (Olivier), Journey’s End (Lieutenant Osborne), A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), The Crucible (Proctor), After the Fall (Quentin), Black Coffee (Hercule Poirot), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Marcus Lycus), Twelfth Night (Sir Toby Belch), Sherlock Holmes (Moriarty), Hamlet (Claudius), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (George), One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (McMurphy), How I Learned to Drive (Uncle Peck), A View From the Bridge (Eddie Carbone), and Not About Nightingales (Butch O’Fallon) among others. He has also directed Doubt, Death on the Nile, Glengarry Glen Ross, Deathtrap, Dial “M” for Murder, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Foreigner, Of Mice and Men and As Bees in Honey Drown. His film and television credits include Olympia, The Man with the Perfect Swing, Houston: The Legend of Texas, Fire and Rain, Challenger, Night Game, and Killing in a Small Town. He received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor for Not About Nightingales, and a BackStage West Garland Award for his appearance as Eddie Carbone in the Alley’s production of A View from the Bridge.

ELIZABETH BUNCH (Mollie Ralston - THE MOUSETRAP) is in her fourth season as an Alley Company Artist. She has appeared in Boeing-Boeing, Harvey, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Our Town, The Farnsworth Invention, Mauritius, Cyrano de Bergerac, Othello, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Scene, Doubt, Death on the Nile, Treasure Island, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hitchcock Blonde, Subject to Fits, Much Ado About Nothing, Witness for the Prosecution, Orson's Shadow, The Pillowman, A Christmas Carol, Be My Baby, Steel Magnolias, The Crucible, Proof, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Frame 312. New York theatre credits include The Voice of the Turtle produced by The Keen Company and The Mint Theater, The Water Children at Playwright Horizons, Museum with The Keen Company, The Light Outside with Bat Theater Company and New World Rhapsody, The Motel Plays and The Hospital Plays at HB Playwrights Foundation. Other theater includes Little Foxes at The Denver Center, A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Guthrie Theater, Goosebumps a national tour produced by Feld Entertainment, Twelfth Night, Big Love, Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure and Arcadia with Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble. Television appearances include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Elizabeth is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

JOSIE DE GUZMAN (Miss Casewell - THE MOUSETRAP) returns to the Alley, having recently appeared as Berthe in Boeing-Boeing, Mrs. Mannerly in Mrs. Mannerly, Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town, Eleanor/ Esme in Rock ‘n’ Roll, Maggie Cutler in The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Duenna in Cyrano de Bergerac, Matilde in The Clean House, Madame Yepanchin in Subject to Fits, the title role in Hapgood, as well as After the Fall, Twelfth Night, Sherlock Holmes, And Then There Were None and House and Garden. Recently, she appeared as Mrs. Gibbs in Hartford Stage’s production of Our Town. Her Broadway career includes Tony nominations for Guys and Dolls and West Side Story, as well as creating roles in Nick and Nora, Runaways, and Carmelina. She won the 2002 Connecticut Critics Award for Anna in The King and I, and has appeared extensively at the Public Theatre (where she created roles in Elizabeth Swados’ Runaways, Lullaby and Goodnight and The Haggadah), at BAM (Missionaries) and Off-Broadway (Tamara, Once Removed). Her regional theatre appearances include Hartford Stage (Diosa), Great Lakes (She Loves Me) and Denver Center (Man of La Mancha) as well as such varied classical roles as Carmen, Viola, Varya and Beatrice. Her films include Exiles in New York, FX and FX2, while television appearances include Miami Vice, The Cosby Show, Third Watch, All My Children and Guiding Light. Her recordings include Lullabies for Everyone and Nanas Para Todos (both sold at cdbaby.com), as well as the cast recordings of Guys and Dolls, Carmelina, and Runaways.

CHRIS HUTCHISON (Giles Ralston - THE MOUSETRAP) is in his fourth season as an Alley Company Artist. This is his 20th production since first appearing here as Hal in Proof in 2004. Other favorite roles include Dennis in Mauritius, Padraic in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Ippolit in Subject to Fits, Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, and Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing. Off-Broadway credits include a Romulus Linney premiere at EST Marathon and revivals of The Second Man, Museum and The Hasty Heart with Obie awardwinning Keen Co. Chris’s solo show TRIP was selected for production by Here Arts Center in SoHo. Regionally he has appeared at The Guthrie, Pasadena Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, Milwaukee Rep, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Hartford TheatreWorks and Capital Rep, among others. Film and television: Kill the Poor, Ed, Chappelle’s Show, All My Children, Guiding Light, and some Movies of the Week. He holds an M.F.A. from the University of Washington and a B.A. in English from Lafayette College, where he has occasionally returned to direct and teach. He has also taught in the Masters degree program at the University of Houston and at Cornell College.
 

ANNE QUACKENBUSH (Mrs. Boyle - THE MOUSETRAP) returns to the Alley Theatre having previously appeared in Harvey (Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet), Our Town (Mrs. Soames); The Man Who Came to Dinner (Miss Preen); The Unexpected Guest (Miss Bennett); The Mousetrap; You Can’t Take It With You; And Then There Were None; The Thirteenth Chair; House & Garden; and A Christmas Carol. Other credits include Stages Repertory Theatre: Searching for Eden; Orange Flower Water and The Pavilion (both by Craig Wright); Heart of a Woman; Anton in Show Business; The Maiden's Prayer; Ascendancy. Theater LaB: Hysteric Studs; Poor Super Man; subUrbia; Breaking the Code. San Francisco Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara: Shooting Stars; House of Blue Leaves; On The Verge; Or The Geography of Yearning. Film/Television: The Year Without A Santa Claus; Laughing Boy; Rocket Man; Pascagoula; Dwelling. Education: BFA in Theatre Performance, Scripps College, California; Shakespeare Program, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London; American Conservatory Theatre. Currently 3rd year MA student, University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance, where she played Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman.

JOHN TYSON (Mr. Paravicini - THE MOUSETRAP) has appeared at the Alley in a wide variety of roles in his eleven seasons as an Alley Company Artist. Recent credits include William R. Chumley, M.D. in Harvey, Man #1 in Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Simon Stimson in Our Town, George Everson in The Farnsworth Invention, Professor Metz/ Banjo in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Praed in Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Ragueneau in Cyrano de Bergerac, Inspector Thomas in The Unexpected Guest, The Librarian in Underneath the Lintel, Donny in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace, Canon Pennefather in Death on the Nile, Israel Hands and Blind Pew in Treasure Island, Ganya Ivoglin in Subject to Fits, Harry Roat Jr. in Wait Until Dark, Colonel Melkett in Black Comedy, Tupolski in The Pillowman, and Blair in Hapgood. Notable performances include Shelly Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross, Theo Maske in The Underpants, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, Polonius in Hamlet, Robert in Proof, Boris Kolenkhov in You Can’t Take It With You, AEH in The Invention of Love, both Dromios in The Comedy of Errors and Henry Carr in Travesties. At the Alley he directed The Woman in Black and his own play, Act Of Passion. He has also written an adaptation of Christmas Carol and, with Santry Rush, written the musical Happy Ending.

 

TODD WAITE (Christopher Wren - THE MOUSETRAP) is in his ninth season as an Alley Company Artist, appearing in over 40  productions: Intelligence-Slave (Hermann Pister), Harvey (E.J. Lofgren),  Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay), The Santaland Diaries (Crumpet), Our Town (Mr. Webb), The Crucifer of Blood (Sherlock Holmes),  Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock),  Rock ‘n’ Roll (Jan) , Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Sir George Crofts), Cyrano de Bergerac (De Guiche), The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (Martin), Arsenic and Old Lace (Mortimer Brewster), Hapgood (Kerner), Deathtrap (Sydney), Twelfth Night (Orsino), Art (Ivan), Stones in His Pockets (Jake), and The Devil’s Disciple (Burgoyne).  Previously, Mr. Waite spent six seasons with the renowned Shaw Festival, was Enjolras in the Canadian premiere of Les Miserables, and has guest-starred on all major US and Canadian networks.  Awards include: the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, Best Actor nomination: The Coronation Voyage (world premiere),  and the Critic’s Choice Award for Intimate Exchanges (Dallas Theatre Center). He has directed several Canadian premieres, and was the resident director for Cirque du Soleil's "O" in Las Vegas. Mr. Waite is an adjunct professor for the University of Houston's Graduate Program in Theatre Education, and was coach for the Houston Grand Opera Studio. His private students attend Stage Door, Interlochen, Juilliard, DePaul, Yale, and The Royal Scottish Academy.