Cleveland Play House gives Molière's Sharp Satire TARTUFFE an 80s Sitcom Twist!
Posted March 23, 2026 in Press Releases
TARTUFFE
by Molière
Translated by Ranjit Bolt
Directed by Jason O’Connell
April 5 – 26, 2026
Outcalt Theatre
(CLEVELAND, OH): Cleveland Play House (CPH) brings a riotous burst of neon nostalgia to the Outcalt Theatre with Tartuffe, Molière’s classic con man comedy of hypocrisy and deception, reimagined with a full tilt 1980s sitcom twist! Directed by Jason O’Connell and featuring a fresh, fast moving translation by Ranjit Bolt, Tartuffe runs April 5 through April 26, 2026.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Get ready for a laugh out loud night of theatre! When the head of the household falls hook, line, and halo for a smooth talking con artist, the rest of the family can only watch in disbelief as their home (and their fortune!) teeters on the brink. Cue the chaos: outrageous schemes, rapid fire jokes, and a house full of larger than life characters scrambling to expose the fraud before it’s too late. It’s a madcap comedy of blind faith, family disfunction, and perfectly timed punchlines that will have you laughing all the way home.
Director Jason O’Connell draws inspiration from iconic ‘80s era sitcoms and sensational headlines to heighten the play’s satire. “Tartuffe has always been about a community dazzled by a fraud,” says O’Connell. “Setting it amid the bright colors, bold laughs, and outsized personalities of 1980s television lets the comedy sparkle while keeping the story’s sting intact.”Cleveland Play House Managing Director Rachel Fink says “One of the great gifts of comedy is that it gives us permission to laugh at things that might otherwise feel uncomfortable to name. For centuries, satire has helped societies look at themselves more clearly, and Tartuffe by Molière remains one of the sharpest examples of that tradition.”
Tartuffe features Tom Ford* (Tartuffe), Chris Thorn* (Orgon), Kristine Zbornik* (Madame Pernelle), Brendan Lowry* (Valere), Calder Meis* (Cleante), Brianna Miller* (Elmire), Adam Ortega* (Damis), Christina McSheffrey* (Mariane), Madalyn Baker* (Madam Loyal), Meredith Nelson* (Dorine), Byron Johnson* (Officer), Alexandre De Foy (Ensemble), and Jade Moujaes (Ensemble).
The creative team features Director Jason O’Connell, Scenic Designer Raul Abrego, Costume Designer An lin Dauber, Lighting Designer Dawn Chiang, Sound Designer Jacqueline Herter, Wig Designer Rueben D. Echoles, Fight Choreographer Dusten A. Welch, Movement Coach Kenya Woods, Intimacy Coordinator Nina Domingue, Vocal Coach Hayley Jannielli, Production Dramaturg Jeffrey Ullom, Casting Calleri Jensen Davis, Stage Manager Byron F. Abens*, and Assistant Stage Manager Camille Henderson.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Performances run Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 26, 2026, in the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square. Performance times are Wednesday through Sunday at 7:30 PM, with weekend matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
Pay What You Will tickets are available for Sunday evening performances, expanding access to this vivacious and timely comedy.
For tickets and more information, visit clevelandplayhouse.com or call the Box Office at 216.241.6000. Tickets are on sale now and expected to move quickly due to limited seating in the Outcalt.
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Madam Loyal: Madalyn Baker*
Tartuffe: Tom Ford*
Officer: Byron Johnson*
Valere: Brendan Lowry*
Mariane: Christina McSheffrey*
Cleante: Calder Meis*
Elmire: Brianna Miller*
Dorine: Meredith Nelson*
Damis: Adam Ortega*
Orgon: Chris Thorn*
Madame Pernelle: Kristine Zbornik*
Ensemble: Alexandre De Foy, Jade Moujaes
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Jason O’Connell
Scenic Designer: Raul Abrego
Costume Designer: An lin Dauber
Lighting Designer: Dawn Chiang
Sound Designer: Jacqueline Herter
Wig Designer: Rueben D. Echoles
Fight Choreographer: Dusten A. Welch
Movement Coach: Kenya Woods
Intimacy Coordinator: Nina Domingue
Dialect/Vocal Coach: Hayley Jannielli
Production Dramaturg: Jeffrey Ullom
Casting: Calleri Jensen Davis
Stage Manager: Byron F. Abens*
Assistant Stage Manager: Camille Henderson
TOM FORD (Tartuffe) Cleveland Play House Debut. Portland Stage: Murder on the Links, A Christmas Carol, A Tuna Christmas, Greater Tuna, The Mystery of Irma Vep, I Am My Own Wife, The Woman in Black, Lend Me a Tenor, Art. Northern Stage: Come From Away, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Sense and Sensibility, Matilda. Boise Contemporary Theater: The Show on the Roof (World Premiere of a New Musical, book by Tom Ford, music and lyrics by Alex Syiek, LAMDA Nominee Best LGBTQ+ Drama), Lewiston, Tru, This Wonderful Life. Idaho Shakespeare and Great Lakes Theater: My Fair Lady, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, And Then There Were None, Deathtrap, Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, The Mousetrap, Into the Woods, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. New London Barn Playhouse: The Odd Couple, The Drowsy Chaperone, Hairspray, Harvey, The Pirates of Penzance, The Producers, and She Loves Me. Broadway: By Jeeves. Full resume at: tomfordactor.com
CHRIS THORN (Orgon) Broadway: Death of A Salesman (2022), Bernhardt/Hamlet (Roundabout) Off Broadway: I Ought to Be in Pictures (TBTB), Greater Clements (Lincoln Center), Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages), Twelfth Night (Pig Iron), Miss Lily Gets Boned (Studio 42) Regional: Most recently Franklin's Key (Pig Iron), Sense and Sensibility (Syracuse Stage) and The Odyssey (A.R.T.) Other theaters: Chautauqua, Opera House Arts, Merrimack Rep. The Guthrie, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, CATF, Barrington Stage, Theaterworks Hartford, Boston Playwright’s. Film/TV: Madam Secretary, Evil, The Good Fight, Girls on the Bus. Education: Boston University BFA. University of Idaho MFA. Chris is a native of South Berwick, ME.
MADALYN BAKER (Madam Loyal) is an actor, playwright, and musician from Northern California. She earned her BA in Theatre from Fordham University, and is in her third and final year of the CWRU/CPH MFA program. Recent credits include Emily Webb in Our Town (CPH, dir. Mary Zimmerman), Lyubov Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard (CPH/CWRU), Sally Bowles in Cabaret (CWRU), Mechanic/Aunt in Middletown (CPH/CWRU), and Cathy in The Last Five Years (Soft Belly Theatre). In addition to being an actor, she has her own illustrative art brand called Maddle Baddle, and is a frequent winner of the local Story Wars! writing competition. Her new play, Lunchtime! premiered in Cleveland this past June. To learn more about Madalyn, you can check out her work at Madalynbaker.com, @madmaddybaker, and @maddlebaddle.
ALEXANDRE DE FOY (Ensemble) is a Belgian American actor from St. Louis, Alex earned his BA in economics from Loyola University Chicago before pursuing his MFA. Prominent roles include Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (LUC) and Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie (Knight Theatre). Other credits include As You Like It (LUC), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (LUC), and Notes from the Field (LUC). Alex has lived in Belgium and Colombia and is trilingual in French and Spanish. He has a broad interest in philosophy and the social sciences and is also a playwright having produced his own play, Azazel’s Gift, during his time in Chicago. He thanks his family, friends, and professors for all their support. IG: @alexandre.d_f
BYRON JOHNSON (An Officer) is a Louisiana native born in the city of New Orleans. He is currently in his 3rd and final year of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. Finding his start in Film and Television, his notable credits include roles in Young Rock on NBC, Walker on CW, and a recurring guest star in SHOWTIME's American Rust. Born to the late Byron Johnson and Trudy Johnson, with a sister named Destiny, he remains deeply connected to his roots. Byron was most recently directed by Mary Zimmerman in the CPH production of Our Town, where he played the role of George Gibbs. He continues his relentless pursuit to develop his craft and his desire to become one of the most impactful people in the world. “To God be the glory, only the mistakes were mine.” Malcolm X
Instagram: @bjohnsonofficial
BRENDAN LOWRY (Valere) is a proud CWRU/CPH MFA Acting student in third and final year of study. You may have recently seen him in the CPH production of Fiddler on the Roof (Motel Kamzoil) or in the CWRU/CPH production of Much Ado About Nothing (Borachio). Other favorite credits include Floyd Collins (Floyd Collins), Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), and Godspell (John/Judas). Originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, he received his BFA in Musical Theatre from Colorado Mesa University. Along with being a performer Brendan is an avid photographer, especially focusing on the local sights and architecture in the city. Brendan looks forward to moving to NYC by the end of this year. Check out and follow Brendan's other works and interests: @bkylowry / bkylowry.com
CHRISTINA MCSHEFFREY (Mariane) is in her final year of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA in Acting program. She got her BA in Theatre at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, where she also started working professionally. Some favorite acting credits include: Adriana in The Comedy of Errors, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Maria in Twelfth Night (Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival); and Miranda in The Tempest (Southwest Shakespeare Company). She also trained at The Second City in Hollywood where she completed the first few levels of improv training. Some of her recent credits since moving to Cleveland include: Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing (CWRU/CPH), Woman in the Balcony in Our Town and Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof (Cleveland Playhouse). Love to her friends and family! Insta/Website: @chefboyartina, christinamcsheffrey.com
CALDER MEIS (Cleante) is a member of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting program, and has appeared as Yepikhodov in The Cherry Orchard, John Dodge in Middletown, and Bernard in Season's Greetings. In the Cleveland area, you may have seen him as Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof at Porthouse Theatre or in the companies of Fiddler on the Roof (Mordcha; starring Tony nom. Robert Cuccioli), Our Town (Joe/Si Crowell; dir. by Tony winner Mary Zimmerman) and Pride & Prejudice at CPH. For Payton, always.
BRIANNA MILLER (Elmire) (she/her) is a third year in the CWRU/CPH acting program. She appeared in CPH’s Primary Trust and Our Town. You may have seen her in the CWRU/CPH productions of Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), Season’s Greetings (Phyllis), The Cherry Orchard (Anya), or Middletown (Mary). Some of her favorite roles include Gwendolyn Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest (Santa Cruz Shakespeare), Miriam in Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati), and Camae in The Mountaintop (Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center). She was an ensemble member at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company before starting her MFA. While there, she performed in Trouble in Mind, The Living Dead, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She would like to thank her friends and family for their support, especially Nathan Sullivan, who is often the sole reason she is off book for shows.
JADE MOUJAES (Ensemble) (She/her) is thrilled to be making her CPH debut! She hails from sunny California where she has spent the last few years performing in immersive theater pieces and various filmed projects around the Los Angeles area. Her favorite immersive pieces included Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy and Delusion (Thirteenth Floor). Her most recent feature film, The Mystic, premiered nationally at 2025's Dark Matter Film Festival, won an award in the Walk of Fame International Festival, and was nominated for Best Feature Film in the International Indie Film & Screenplay Festival held in Austria last year. She received her bachelors at UC Berkeley and is excited to continue in her education at the CPH/CWRU MFA program.
MEREDITH NELSON (Dorine) an actor, director, and educator originally from Denver, Colorado. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Evansville and is thrilled to be pursuing her master's with CWRU/Cleveland Play House. Some favorite roles she's played include Leonata in Much Ado, Mrs. Soames in Our Town, Belinda in Season's Greetings, Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard, and the Librarian in Middletown. She is also the co founder and artistic director of Soft Belly Theatre: a local Cleveland theatre company dedicated to producing accessible, courageous art with an open mind and a soft belly. You can find more information about her work at meredithgnelson.com.
ADAM ORTEGA (Damis) is a third year graduate student in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. Hailing from South Florida, he earned his BFA in Acting at The University of Michigan. His other theatre credits include, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (CWRU/CPH), Howie in Our Town (CPH), Gayev in The Cherry Orchard (CWRU/CPH), Harvey in Season's Greetings (CWRU/CPH), Cop in Middletown (CWRU/CPH), Don Armado in Love's Labour's Lost (Great River Shakespeare Festival), and Drunk Shakespeare (Off Broadway). He would like to thank family, friends, and loved ones for all their constant support. IG: @adamaortega | adamalexisortega.com
KRISTINE ZBORNIK (Madame Parnelle) is originally from Cleveland area, and moved to NYC in 1977 to pursue work in the entertainment world. Excited to be back living in Cleveland and working locally again. Credits include: CPH: Fiddler on the Roof, Yente; Broadway : A Catered Affair; National Tour: Wicked (Madame Morrible), 9 to 5 (Roz), Mamma Mia (Rosie); Las Vegas, Off Broadway, and Regional: Into the Woods (Jack’s Mother), Shakespeare In the Park (Delecourt Theater/NYC); Public Theater: Road Show (cast album); many Renditions of Forbidden Broadway (two cast albums); Schlemiel The First (Yenta Pesha); Old Jews Telling Jokes; Goodspeed Opera House: Bye, Bye Birdie (Mae Peterson), Damn Yankees (Sister), Man of La Mancha (Housekeeper); Bershire Theater Festival: OKLAHOMA! (Aunt Eller). Most recent television include: Mrs. Maisel, The Other Two and Tales of the City. A teacher, private coach and RYT teacher of Yoga and meditation. Created many award winning cabaret/one woman shows in all major and minor venues throughout the universe. More Information at KristineZbornik.com
MOLIÈRE (Playwright) was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world literature. His extant works include comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie Française more often than those of any other playwright today. His influence is such that the French language is often referred to as the "language of Molière".
Molière's greatest works are foundational comedies of manners and character, with Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Imaginary Invalid considered masterpieces for their wit and social critique. Other essential plays include The Miser and The Bourgeois Gentleman, highlighting Moliére’s genius for satire and farce.
RANJIT BOLT (Translator) Born in Manchester in 1959, Ranjit Bolt was educated at Perse School and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an investment analyst and advisor for eight years, before concentrating on theatre translation from the end of 1990. Ranjit Bolt's acclaimed translations for the theatre, many of which are published by Oberon Books, include works by Molière, Seneca, Sophocles, Corneille, Beaumarchais, Brecht, Goldoni and Zorilla.
JASON O’CONNELL is thrilled to be making his Cleveland Play House debut with Tartuffe. Other directing credits include Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice for Syracuse Stage (BroadwayWorld and SALT Awards for Best Director), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Texas Shakespeare Festival), The Head of Richard (Theatre Row, NYC), Pride and Prejudice (Playhouse on Park, CT), An Ideal Husband (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, NYC), and Dances With Pitchforks (Joe’s Pub and Upright Citizen’s Brigade). Jason also directed his own adaptation of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano (co written with Brenda Withers) at Fort Worth's Amphibian Stage (DFW Critics Circle Award, Best Director), and is the writer and performer of several solo shows, including The Dork Knight (a piece about superhero worship that enjoyed Off Broadway runs at Abingdon Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Bedlam, and Joe's Pub) and Fat and Scant of Breath (about his complicated relationship with Shakespeare's Hamlet). Jason is also a prolific stage actor, having appeared in numerous Off Broadway and regional productions during his 30 year career. Thank you to Michael Barakiva and everyone at CPH! For Kate and GW.
CALLERI JENSEN DAVIS (Casting Directors: James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis) is a creative casting partnership of over 20 years located in NYC. They are thrilled to be working with CPH. Awarded 16 Artios Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. Broadway credits include Topdog/ Underdog, The Piano Lesson, For Colored Girls..., Thoughts of a Colored Man, Burn This, Fool for Love, Venus in Fur, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, The Elephant Man (also West End), Of Mice and Men, Hughie, The Visit, 33 Variations, A Raisin in the Sun, Living on Love, Chicago, James Joyce's The Dead. TV credits include Love Life (HBO Max) Queens (ABC), Dickinson (Apple +), The Path (Hulu), Lipstick Jungle, Army Wives, Monk, Hope & Faith, and Ed. www.callerijensendavis.com
RAUL ABREGO (Scenic Designer) is a set designer for Opera, Theater and Television. His work has been seen at The Juilliard Opera Center, The Manhattan School of Music, The Spoleto Opera Festival in Italy, The Rattlestick, and Cherry Lane. Noted Recent projects: Primary Trust by Eboni Booth for Cleveland Playhouse directed by Sideeq Heard, Fiddler on the Roof for Cleveland Play House directed by Michael Barakiva, Sancocho by Christin Eve Cato for GEVA Theater directed by Rebecca Martinez, Ain't Misbehavin' for Barrington Stage and Geva Theater Center, directed by Jeffrey Page. Television/Film Credits: Assistant Art Director for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3 & 4, Ghost (Power Book 2), Art Director for Falling Water (pilot), Production Designer for 2009 film Cruzando.
AN LIN DAUBER An lin Dauber is a set and costume designer based in New York and Seattle. Designs in New York include Paul Swan is Dead and Gone; What You Are Now (The Civilians), Letters That You Will Not Get (American Opera Project), El Mentiroso (Arts On Site), H*tler’s Tasters (New Light Theater), Salesman 之死; June is the First Fall (Yangtze Repertory Company), By The Queen (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). Recent regional designs include The Odyssey (A.R.T), As You Like It (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Primary Trust (Guthrie Theater). In Seattle she is a company member of the Feast and an Assistant Professor of Costume Design at the University of Washington. MFA Yale School of Drama. Proud member of USA 829. anlindauber@gmail.com.
DAWN CHIANG Dawn Chiang is a Lighting Designer for Broadway, Regional Theatre, and Opera. On Broadway, Dawn designed the lighting for Zoot Suit and was co designer for Tango Pasion. Off Broadway, she designed Little Girl Blue, and productions for the Roundabout Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club. She was resident lighting designer for the New York City Opera, overseeing the lighting for 14 to 20 productions in rotating repertory. She has designed the lighting at numerous regional theaters including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Syracuse Stage, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, and Mark Taper Forum. Dawn was awarded the US Institute of Theatre Technology’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Lighting Design and Technology; two Broadway World awards (Off Broadway and Phoenix); two Drama Logue Critics’ awards; two Lighting Designer of the Year awards (Syracuse Area Live Theater); and nominations for a Maharam design award (from American Theatre Wing), Los Angeles Drama Critics', and San Francisco Bay Area award.
JACQUELINE HERTER (Sound Designer) has served as resident sound designer at Syracuse Stage and SU’s Department of Drama, since 1997. Herter has designed for Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Wilma, Geva, Round House, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, among others. She lives in North Syracuse, NY. Jacqui repairs guitars, likes to sail and has an elderly cat that takes care of her. Favorite designs include: the Christine Jorgensen Show, the Play that Goes Wrong, Pride and Predjudice, Beauty and the Beast, Next to Normal, Hairspray, Caroline, or Change, the Wolves, the Day Room, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Red Noses, The Real Thing, A Lesson Before Dying, Copenhagen
RUEBEN D. ECHOLES (Wig Designer) (he/him)– Rueben is an accomplished playwright, director, choreographer, illustrator, costume and wig designer. He has had the pleasure of working with many theater companies across the country and in the Chicagoland area such as ETA, Black Ensemble, Mmpact, Congo Square, Refuge, Porchlight Music Theater, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Writers Theater, Theo Ubique, Invictus, The Goodman Theater, Phoenix Theater Company and Studio One Dance Theater. His most recent projects include wig Design for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Wig Design for Hello Dolly at Olney Theater Center, Wig Design for Fat Ham at Cleveland Play House. Wig Design for Lion in Winter at Court Theatre, Director of Timon for Obsidian Theatre Festival. Costume and Wig design for Fela at Olney, Directing and Choreographing In the Heights at UAC Theater, Choreography and Costume Design for The Color Purple with Phoenix Theater Company. Wig design for Rent at The Muny, Wig Design for Dreamgirls at Paramount Aurora and North Carolina Theatre Company as well as Costume Design for You Can’t Fake the Funk which was featured at The National Black Theater Festival and earned Rueben A Joseph Jefferson award for best costume design in a Large Theater. Rueben has also designed costumes for 4 Episodes for WTTW’s Chicago Stories docu series, two of which (Ida B. Wells and The History of Gospel) have won Emmys for best production. Rueben would like to Thank Christ his Savior for Everything!
DUSTEN A. WELCH (Fight Director) is a multi award winning fight director and Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors. He teaches Stage Combat for Baldwin Wallace University and is the Art Director for Fight Master Magazine. As a fight choreographer, Dusten has more than 80 credits to his name, with work seen at Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Beck Center for the Arts, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theater, Ensemble Theatre among others. He is a multi recipient of the Kennedy Center Foundation’s ACTF Achievement Award for Fight Direction (2007 and again in 2016). He served as Artistic Director for Cleveland Shakespeare Festival from 2020 2024, and was a teacher at the Academy for the Performing Arts from 2010 2020. Dusten holds his BA in Theatre and Performance from Ashland University.
KENYA WOODS (Movement Coach) is a highly respected and sought after choreographer and teaching artist based in Cleveland. She has worked with both the dance and theatrical community for over 25 years. She is a certified Horton Technique teacher and is trained in Classical Ballet. Theatrical Choreography and Director credits include: A Son Is Given (The Hanna Theater), Rent (Cain Park), The Bubbly Brown Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin and Passing Strange (Karamu House), The Little Mermaid, Scrooge: The Musical, Brooklyn: The Musical and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Near West, Co Director/Choreographer), Cabaret (The Maltz/CWRU MFA and Undergraduate Program), Everybody (The Helen Theater/CWRU MFA Program), Blood At the Root (CWRU Undergraduate Program), Through Her Eyes, The Absolutely Amazing and True Adventures of Miss Joan Southgate and Ya Mama! (Cleveland Public Theater, New York International Fringe and Hollywood Fringe). Once on This Island (Playhouse Square, CSA Theater Elite), Bunnicula (Cleveland Play House), and Through Her Eyes (Cleveland Public Theater). She is excited to be working with Jason O’Connell and the dedicated and talented performers and staff members on Tartuffe at the Cleveland Play House.
NINA DOMINGUE (Intimacy Coordinator) is a Black Woman, Griot, Actor, Playwright, Director, Cultural Memory Worker, #NOLAGirl4Life, Teaching Artist, and Intimacy Choreographer, ever becoming. She writes and performs in the tradition of those women who explore the interior lives of Black women with love, curiosity, and wonder. Kilroy’s List 2020 “The Lost Plays,” Cleveland Public Theater Premier Fellow 2021, CPT Catapult Fellow 2019, Nord Family Foundation Playwriting Fellow 2019, Twelve Literary Arts Barabara Smith Fellow, 2019. She last performed in POTUS at Dobama, directed The Comeuppance at Dobama and had her Intimacy Choreography featured in Fat Ham directed by Nathan Henry at the Cleveland Play House.
HAYLEY JANNIELLI (Dialect and Vocal Coach) (she/they) is Assistant Professor of Voice and Acting at Case Western Reserve University and formerly Head of Voice & Speech for CAP21 in New York City. Recent coaching credits include Much Ado About Nothing and Epiphany at Cleveland Play House. In 2025, Hayley coached A Knock on the Roof at New York Theatre Workshop directed by Obie Award winner Oliver Butler. Stage credits include the National Tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Swing/Dance Captain), Alison in Fun Home (Mill Mountain Theater), Tanya in Mamma Mia! (Mill Mountain Theatre), Maria in Twelfth Night (New Swan Shakespeare), Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (New Swan Shakespeare), and Rosalind in As You Like It (Davis Shakespeare). Hayley a designated Linklater Voice Teacher, holds an M.F.A. in Acting from UC Irvine, and is a core officer of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA). Reach out to Hayley via MoveoVoice.com. IG @MoveoVoice. Thank you for supporting live theatre where we all get to bask in the thrilling complexity of real, human voices
JEFFREY ULLOM (Production Dramaturg) is an Associate Professor of Theater at Case Western Reserve University where he teaches theatre history and dramaturgy. He is the author of several books and articles focusing on regional theatre, including his book on Cleveland Play House America’s First Regional Theatre. As a dramaturg, he worked with notable playwrights including Tony Kushner, David Henry Hwang, John Patrick Shanley and others at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, and he has served as a dramaturg for several Cleveland Play House productions. His latest book A Broad History of the Past, Present, and Future of American Regional Theater was published in 2024, and he is currently working on a book about theater in the cruising industry.
BYRON F. ABENS (Stage Manager) he/him returns to Cleveland Playhouse after stage managing World Class Care in the 2025 New Ground Play Festival. Recent credits include twenty50 and The Three Musketeers (Theatre Squared), Bloomsday (Florida Repertory Theatre) The Nutcracker (Sacramento Ballet), and Big Fish (Cain Park). Other regional credits include productions at Toledo Opera, Tri Cities Opera, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Stages St. Louis. He has a number of credits with TheaterWorks USA, both on tour and Off Broadway, including Seussical, The Lightning Thief, Skippyjon Jones, and The Pout Pout Fish. Byron holds an MFA from the University Missouri Kansas City and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 2004.
CAMILLE HENDERSON (Assistant Stage Manager) is a Northeast Ohio based stage manager and actress excited to be working on Tartuffe this season at Cleveland Playhouse. Returning to her stage management roots after working on Cleveland Playhouse’s Thurgood in 2023, A Christmas Story in 2025, and most recently Primary Trust, Camille is no stranger to the theatre scene in Cleveland, with credits including the world premiere of George Brant’s Rust: A Story of Steel and Grit in 2025 at Dobama Theatre. You may have also seen her work on other productions such as Dobama Theatre’s Hot Wing King, Significant Other, and Little Women, not forgetting her work down in Akron, OH. Akron credits include Akron Civic Theatre’s production of Pride and Prejudice, and Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Woman in Black, and her acting debut as Bofur in The Hobbit.
RACHEL L. FINK (Managing Director) (she/her/s) is honored to return home to Northeast Ohio and lead Cleveland Play House during its 110th anniversary season. A proud graduate of Cleveland Heights High School and Case Western Reserve University, she discovered her passion for arts access, social justice, and inclusive leadership through formative Cleveland arts experiences — and an early internship at Cleveland Play House. She later earned her MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama (now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale) and has spent over two decades guiding cultural institutions across the country. Fink spent 16 years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where she founded and led the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, building it into a nationally recognized hub for education and community engagement. She went on to serve as Managing Director of Theatre Bay Area, supporting over 300 organizations and 2,000 artists across the San Francisco Bay Area. She later led Chicago’s Tony Award winning Lookingglass Theatre Company through the unprecedented disruptions of the COVID 19 era, guiding key operational and mission aligned adaptations during a time of field wide uncertainty. At Cleveland Play House, Fink has championed operational stabilization, community partnerships, and a revitalized internal culture. She serves on the boards of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and CreativeOhio, and is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2026. A recognized field leader, she has co led the Professional Association of Chicago Theatres, held fellowships with the Aspen Institute, British Council, and University of Chicago, and was a member of artEquity’s national facilitator cohort — reflecting a career grounded in both local impact and national leadership.
ABOUT CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state of the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Play House is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cleveland Play House is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. To learn more, visit:www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
*Indicates member of Actors’ Equity Association.
The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
The scenic, costume, lighting, sound, and projections designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of IATSE.
