October 3 - October 26, 2025
Just in time for spooky season, this spine-tingling love story, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian Gothic classic, comes alive onstage. A father's love for his ailing daughter and her growing affection for his medical assistant create an ethical dilemma as they push medical boundaries. As the bodies stack up, the question is asked – how deep will you dig for the one you love?
The run time is 2 hours, including one intermission.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the design process.
Join us for post-show Alley Chats with the cast and Alley Theatre Artistic Staff.
Alyssa Marek
Elizabeth Noakes
Alyssa Marek Alley Theatre debut! Last fall, Alyssa was seen at Yale Repertory Theatre working on the world premiere of Hilary Bettis’ Falcon Girls where she originated her role in the Alley All New Festival in 2023. Selected Houston credits: The Foreigner, The Play That Goes Wrong, Present Laughter, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Crimes of the Heart, and the Alley Character Education Series Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback. Education: BFA, University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance.
Brandon Hearnsberger
Fettes
Brandon Hearnsberger is in his 25th Alley Theatre production. Others include Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Dial M for Murder, Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Cowboy Bob, The Servant of Two Masters, Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Soprano, Othello, The Farnsworth Invention, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. More at brandonhearnsberger.com.
Carolyn Johnson
Mrs. Keene /Dialect Coach
Carolyn Johnson is an Equity Actress, Dialect & Acting Coach, Director, and Singer. Most recently, she performed Falstaff in Henry IV: Part 1 and Emilia in Othello in Prague and Venice for Prague Shakespeare Company, as well as Fricka in Das Barbecü for Stages Houston. She has often coached Alley productions; most recently Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Other coaching includes Houston Grand Opera, Teatro Real Opera (Madrid), The Barbican (London), Prague Shakespeare Company, and Stages Houston, among others. Carolyn regularly teaches voice and text and directs for Prague Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare training intensive in Prague and works with the online dialect resource, AccentHelp.com.
David Rainey
Dr. Robert Noakes
David Rainey is in his 25th season as a Resident Acting Company Member recently appearing in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d and Primary Trust. He has also performed with The National Actors Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Berkeley Rep, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, among others. He received the Juilliard Drama Division’s highest honor, the Michel and Suria Saint-Denis Prize. He is also the owner of Studio for Actors Houston.
Rolando Chusan
Dr. John Brook
Rolando Chusan is an Ecuadorian actor who grew up in the South Bronx. He attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia high school, Hunter College, and Maggie Flanigan studios in New York. Chusan has performed theater in NYC and Regionally, as well as TV and film. He is a Disney Discovers Showcase alum and was a series regular on ABC’s/ Hulu’s Promised Land. Two films he starred in, CRAM and On the Line were official selections at the Austin Film Festival. Chusan’s last credit was Toros at the Rec Room theater in Houston. He’s absolutely thrilled to be making his Alley Theatre debut, and continue his Texas theater journey.
Sophia Marcelle
A Young Girl
Sophia Marcelle Alley Theatre Debut! Sophia is grateful to her family who loves and supports her everyday. Regional Credits: Falcon Girls (Yale Repertory Theatre), Dance Nation and Put Your House In Order (Rec Room Arts), Romeo and Juliet (Houston Shakespeare Festival), Daddy Long Legs (Theatre at Monmouth). Instagram: @sophiaa.marcellee Website: sophiamarcelle.com.
Adam Noble
Adam Noblehas over 30 years of professional experience augmenting physical storytelling in the performing arts. Certified by both the Society of American Fight Directors and by Intimacy Directors & Coordinators, Adam teaches acting and movement both nationally and internationally. Serving across artistic disciplines, he’s created nuanced choreography for well over 250 productions. Adam is Head of the newly-created University of Houston + Alley Theatre MFA Professional Actor Training Program.
Ásta Bennie Hostetter
Ásta Bennie Hostetter designed costumes for the world premieres of Infinite Life, Usual Girls, Dance Nation, The Wolves, Men on Boats, Porto, John, You Got Older, and 10 out of 12. She returns to the Alley Theater after designing Clue in 2023. Other favorite projects include Gnit (TFANA), Dom Juan (Bard), and Miles for Mary. Her 2022 directing debut, Marie It’s Time, was a NY Times Critics Pick. USA829 member.
Carolyn Johnson
Carolyn Johnson is an Equity Actress, Dialect & Acting Coach, Director, and Singer. Most recently, she performed Falstaff in Henry IV: Part 1 and Emilia in Othello in Prague and Venice for Prague Shakespeare Company, as well as Fricka in Das Barbecü for Stages Houston. She has often coached Alley productions; most recently Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Other coaching includes Houston Grand Opera, Teatro Real Opera (Madrid), The Barbican (London), Prague Shakespeare Company, and Stages Houston, among others. Carolyn regularly teaches voice and text and directs for Prague Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare training intensive in Prague and works with the online dialect resource, AccentHelp.com.
Katie Forgette
Katie Forgette spent half of her professional life as an actor. At the Seattle Repertory Theatre she was privileged to work with such directors and playwrights as: Doug Hughes, Bill Irwin, Pamela Berlin, Dan Sullivan, John Patrick Shanley, Liviu Ciulei, Lillian Garrett-Groag, and Jon Robin Baitz. Her plays include: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, Murder at the Vicarage, Mrs. Loman is Leaving, Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, A Facility for Living, Evidence of Things Unseen, The O’Conner Girls, and Welcome to Vital Vista Village. Her plays have been produced at ACT Theatre, North Coast Rep, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Barter Theatre, Penguin Rep, Dorset Theater Festival, Vertigo Theatre, and Park Square Theatre. She lives in Seattle with her favorite husband, R. Hamilton Wright.
Kristen Larson
Kristen LarsonFavorite Alley credits: The Glass Menagerie; Noises Off; Little Comedies; Clue; Sense and Sensibility; Sweat; 1984; The Humans; Twelfth Night; Holmes and Watson; Lover, Beloved (world premiere); The 39 Steps; and Syncing Ink (Alley All new Festival workshop and world premiere). Locally she has worked with Stages and TUTS and out of town in Chicago and Juneau, Alaska. Krissy is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. For T.
Matt Starritt
Matt Starritt is a Seattle-based freelance sound designer for theater and dance. Nationally, he has designed for ACT Theatre, Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, The Old Globe, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Preston Singletary, and the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theatre. He is the sound supervisor for the University of Washington’s Meany Center for the Performing Arts and was a founding member of Washington Ensemble Theatre.
Meagan Rachelle Smallwood
Meagan Rachelle Smallwood “Smalls” received her BFA in Stage Management at the University of Houston. She is in her fourth season at Alley Theatre with previous credits in Primary Trust (ASM), Seared, The Night Shift Before Christmas, Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium, and Little Comedies. Further credits include Houston Shakespeare Festival (ASM): Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing; Houston Broadway Theatre (ASM): Next to Normal; MATCH (PM): Cloud Tectonics; Rec Room (SM): The Moonlit Princess.
Pablo Santiago
Pablo Santiago is an award-winning lighting designer celebrated for his evocative and powerful work in live performance and film. He has received numerous honors, including the LA Drama Critics Circle Lighting Award, the Henry Award, the Richard Sherwood Award, and multiple Ovation Award nominations. His designs have illuminated productions at The Kennedy Center, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and more, consistently earning acclaim for their emotional depth and visual storytelling across theater, opera, and symphonic stages.
Brandon Weinbrenner
Brandon Weinbrenner is the Alley’s Associate Artistic Director. At the Alley he has directed Seared, Noises Off, Clue, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Jersey Lily, The Nerd, Doris Baizely’s A Christmas Carol, Fully Committed, The Humans, Venus in Fur, and several workshops and readings as part of Alley All New. Around town he has directed The Children and The Royale at Rec Room Arts, Fool for Love at The Landing Theatre Co, Stage Kiss at 4th Wall Theatre Company, Buyer & Cellar and Native Gardens at Main Street Theater, and multiple shows at the University of Houston. Brandon is a graduate of the University of Minnesota/ Guthrie Theater BFA Acting Training Program.
Yu Shibagaki
Yu Shibagaki (she/her) is a NYC-based set designer whose greatest joy is collaborating on new works. Originally from Nagoya, Japan, she moved to the U.S. alone 20 years ago and has since designed over 40 productions nationwide, including Lookingglass Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Studio Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera and more. MFA: Northwestern University. yushibagaki.com