Berkeley Rep: How Shakespeare Saved My Life by Berkeley Repertory Theatre

HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Visionary choreographer Kyle Abraham’s daring company brings kinetic, intimate works danced to live music composed by Max Roach, Nina Simone, and Shelley Washington.

Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band

Opera Parallèle

La Belle et la Bête

The dazzling big band shines a spotlight on the Indigenous and Native artists who helped shape jazz including a performance representing a wide range of tribal affiliations across North and South America. Hadleigh Adams, baritone

An Illuminations “Exile and Sanctuary” event. Learn more at calperformances.org/illuminations

Feb 21–22

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual

Visionary musician

Rhiannon Giddens leads an accomplished collection of performers in an interactive presentation that explores music as a medium for healing and connection across cultures.

Mar 6

ZELLERBACH PLAYHOUSE, BERKELEY

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

An Illuminations: “Exile and Sanctuary” event. Learn more at calperformances.org/illuminations

Mar 19–20

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Truly a national treasure, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Berkeley with classic Ailey masterpieces like Revelations alongside bold new works from the next generation of choreographers.

Nicole Paiement, artistic director and conductor Brian Staufenbiel, director and scenic designer Music and libretto by Philip Glass Based on the film by Jean Cocteau (La Bête/Avenant)

Opera Parallèle presents an astonishingly original production of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale that blurs the distinctions between cinema and live opera, merging Jean Cocteau’s surrealist 1946 film with Philip Glass’ mesmerizing 1994 score.

Mar 13–14

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

WEST COAST PREMIERE The Joffrey Ballet Midsummer Night’s Dream

Straying far from Shakespeare’s play of the same name, the peerless Joffrey dancers return in Alexander Ekman’s daring, exuberant trip to a surreal realm of unearthly delights that begins during the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival but blossoms into a sensual, otherworldly fantasy.

Apr 7–12

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Apr 17–19

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

TO BERKELEY REP

To

ensure the best experience for everyone:

While always welcomed , masks are required inside the theatres during five select Sunday and Tuesday performances.

Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the theatre during unmasked performances. Food is prohibited in the theatre during all performances.

Courtesy reminders: To avoid disruption to everyone, please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. For the comfort of all patrons, please avoid wearing strongly scented personal products.

Photos: Photos may be taken in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. Photos and videos during the performance are strictly prohibited. Photos posted on social media must credit Berkeley Rep and the show’s designers.

Smoking and vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free.

Late seating: If you leave the theatre during the performance re-seating is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the house manager.

One of the joys of live theatre is the collective experience. Audience members respond to the show in many different ways. We invite you to join together and enjoy the show! If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable, please see a member of the house staff.

Get closed captioning on your smartphone! Closed captioning is available for the following evening performances: January 29 and 30, February 1, 3, and 4; and every matinee through February 26.

For detailed information on how to access and connect to closed captioning service, please consult lobby signage or ask an usher for an instruction card.

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President & Publisher

BRIEANNA HANSEN

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SHAUN SWICK

Brand & Creative Manager

CIARA CAYA

Marketing & Communications Manager

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Accounting & Office Manager

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Encore—Connecting Arts, Culture and Community

IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE,

but How Shakespeare Saved My Life is Berkeley Rep’s 90th world premiere. For its entire history, Berkeley Rep has been committed to bringing new plays and musicals to life, alongside revivals, classic texts, and work that needs that vital second or third production to fully realize its impact. It’s a privilege to work with an author and director (and designers, choreographers, composers, etc.) to shape new stories, and it’s an experience we all share — artists, staff, and audience.

The relationship between audience and play is particularly acute in a solo performance — you are literally the performer’s scene partner as they communicate this story. There’s a directness and intimacy in the exchange that is inherently different from other plays. In this production, Jacob and Tony are thinking in very specific ways about the dynamics of that relationship — what various techniques can they use to secure your footing in this story (textual, visual, aural, movement-based), and how might you be changed by the end of the evening as you move through the piece alongside Jacob?

I first met Jacob when he was in his final year of the MFA program at ACT and I was a brand-new associate artistic director. Over the ensuing years, I’ve watched him perform Chekhov and Shakespeare, as well as the works of writers including Jocelyn Bioh and Suzan-Lori Parks. Jacob’s first job out of grad school was here at Berkeley Rep, in David Edgar’s Continental Divide, directed by Tony Taccone. So to have them reunite here, on this particular story, is a source of pride and pleasure.

As we began rehearsals, Jacob mentioned that Shakespeare was, in his time, an urban poet — creating works in verse for the communities of London and Stratford. Not so different from Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and their contemporaries who profoundly impacted Jacob’s life... As you watch, I invite you to consider an artist or piece of art (perhaps a book, a song, a painting, a dance...) that radically impacted the way you move through the world. I have no doubt that on one of these nights, in this very theatre, Jacob’s play will change someone’s sense of their own life. I feel very fortunate to be able to share these moments with Jacob, with Tony, and with you. Thank you for being part of this journey. Warmly,

WELCOME TO THE WORLD PREMIERE

of Jacob Ming-Trent’s How Shakespeare Saved My Life . We’re delighted to welcome Jacob back to the Bay Area, where he became the youngest artist ever admitted to ACT’s MFA acting program. His versatility spans stage, television, and film projects across 48 states; I most recently had the pleasure of seeing him on Broadway in Gypsy.

It’s equally thrilling to welcome back Tony Taccone, our former artistic director, who previously returned to Berkeley Rep to direct the 2023 world premiere of Ari’el Stachel’s Out of Character (now Other), which had a successful run off-Broadway this past fall. Fun fact — Tony has written or directed Berkeley Rep’s 60th, 70th, 80th, and 90th world premieres: Ghost Light (writer), Aubergine (director), Kiss My Aztec (co-book writer & director), and now How Shakespeare Saved My Life (director).

As we pass the midpoint of the 2025/26 season, three remarkable stories await: a groundbreaking reimagining of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, featuring Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús; the West Coast premiere of Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Monsters; and the highly anticipated world premiere musical adaptation of the acclaimed film, The Lunchbox.

Johanna and her team are already hard at work crafting an exciting 2026/27 season for you, and we look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks. Behind the scenes, our artistic, production, and administrative teams are immersed in the annual process of imagining, budgeting, negotiating rights, securing partners, and planning — all to ensure that next season will take our theatre-making to even higher heights. Current subscribers: watch for Early Bird renewal opportunities soon and secure your seats at an extra discount before the new season is announced in April.

I also invite you to join us for our annual Ovation Gala on Saturday, April 18 at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco — an evening that raises essential support for our artistic, education, and community programs. Visit berkeleyrep.org for details.

All of us at Berkeley Rep send our warmest wishes for a healthy and joyful New Year. Thank you for making Berkeley Rep a part of it. We remain ever grateful for your involvement, support, and patronage.

Enjoy the show!

Tom Parrish Managing Director

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

Berkeley Repertory Theatre acknowledges and honors its presence on the unceded ancestral lands of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, now colonially known as Berkeley. The land from which we benefit continues to be a place of foremost importance to the Ohlone and all descendants of the Verona Band. Berkeley Rep is committed to actively centering antiracism and living our values by promoting the history and culture of the Ohlone People and sustaining an ongoing relationship which supports the art, resources, and values of indigenous peoples and tribes. We are grateful to our friends at the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan for their support and guidance as we continue to educate ourselves and our community to uplift and support our indigenous communities.

Finding

in Theatre: Berkeley Rep’s Partnership with Dorothy Day House

BY SCHOOL OF THEATRE MARKETING AND REGISTRATIONS MANAGER ASHLEY LIM

At Berkeley Rep, the power of community and storytelling are inseparable threads in our mission to form meaningful connections through art. Throughout the years, our partnerships with organizations such as the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and SF Jails have provided opportunities to serve under-resourced communities with workshops in storytelling, personal development, and communication. These programs not only develop practical skills, but give each participant the opportunity to tap into their creativity and dream beyond the limits of their circumstances. This fall, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre welcomed a new organization to our campus: the Dorothy Day House.

Founded over 30 years ago in the spirit of Dorothy Day (a social activist who played a major

role in the human services, civil rights, antiwar, women’s rights, and labor movements), the Dorothy Day House is a volunteer and donor-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides shelter and services to facilitate ending homelessness. From drop-in shelter visits to laundry and meal services, among dozens of other short and long-term resources, the Dorothy Day House routinely reaches over 550 unhoused people in Berkeley every day — more than half the city’s total unhoused population.

Most recently, the Dorothy Day House partenered with the School of Theatre and In Dialogue to invite members of the unhoused community to free improv workshops. Led by Berkeley Rep teaching artists, these workshops offer a unique opportunity to build new bonds, fuel creativity, and allow each

participant to envision themselves as impactful agents in their own story.

“Improv reminds us that we are more than our circumstances,” explains Berkeley Rep teaching artist, Diana Brown. “It gives people permission to try, fail, laugh, and try again — without judgment. When we improvise, we’re practicing trust, collaboration, and imagination in real time. This is true for all of us — especially for communities that carry a lot of pressure or instability. Those moments of play aren’t frivolous — they’re essential. They affirm that every person in the room is interesting, creative, and worthy of being seen.”

“The highlight of every session is getting to see our participants reconnect with their unique voice,” adds teaching artist and In-School Residency and Curriculum Supervisor Euan Ashley. “It’s something that looks different for everyone, but you can always feel the moment when their authentic self emerges.”

As we continue to learn from our partnerships and communities, we thank the Dorothy Day House for their efforts to facilitate this work, both on Berkeley Rep’s campus and throughout this city we call home. This work is just one step toward providing arts access to underserved communities. Stay tuned as we continue to unlock the transformative power of storytelling here on stage, and beyond!

Home

Dorothy Day House workshop participants with Berkeley Rep teaching artists and staff.

Who or what were your earliest theatrical inspirations?

I’d like to say my first theatrical inspirations were Anthony Hopkins or Ian McKellen, but really, they were Michael J. Fox and Eddie Murphy. Funny, smart, and brave!

What are your preshow rituals before getting on the stage?

Before I step on a stage, I need quiet. Peace. Time for reflection. I need to be present.

Where is your favorite place to write?

I can write anywhere: my living room, the coffee shop, my dressing room, or walking down the streets of Manhattan. I take notes on my phone every day. That’s writing.

FINDING THE VERSE: JACOB MING-TRENT IN HIS OWN WORDS

Is there a location or place in the Bay Area where you ﬁnd grounding or inspiration?

The Bay Area is beautiful. I love the Golden Gate Bridge; the view is amazing. Any place that makes me feel big and small at the same time I love.

Music plays such an important part in your work. If you could make a “Jacob Ming-Trent Playlist,” what songs would be on it?

Jacob Ming-Trent is an actor and writer who first appeared on the Berkeley Rep stage in Continental Divide: Mothers Against and Daughters of the Revolution directed by Tony Taccone. His semi-autobiographical play, How Shakespeare Saved My Life, reunites Jacob with Tony and Berkeley Rep audiences to share his journey as an artist and his love of language and music, from the Bard to Biggie. Let’s learn more about the man behind the work.

“As” by Stevie Wonder. “La mamma morta” sung by Maria Callas. “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. “Purple Rain” by Prince. “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead. “To Zion” by Lauryn Hill. “A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane. “Juicy” by The Notorious B.I.G. “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy.

Listen to Jacob’s playlist here:

PHOTO: BEN KRANTZ

Who are your top ﬁve hip-hop artists of all time?

Chuck D, Lauryn Hill, Biggie, Tupac, and Wu-Tang Clan.

What hip-hop verse or lyric has stayed with you, something that continues to guide or challenge you?

“If you seek then you shall find that we all come from the Divine

You dig what I’m sayin? Now if you take heed to the words of wisdom

That are written on the walls of life then universally, we will stand

And divided we will fall ‘cause love conquers all

You understand what I’m sayin’?

This is a call to all you sleepin’ souls

Wake up and take control of your own cycle

And be on the lookout for those spirits tonight trying to steal your light

You know what I’m sayin’, look what’s inside yourself for

Peace, give thanks, live life and release, you dig me, you got me?”

JACOB’S TOP 5:

— Public Enemy, “He Got Game”

Do you have a favorite Shakespeare line that has stayed with you?

“If I were in better shape, I would repent.”

— Falstaff, Henry IV, Part I

What was the ﬁrst Shakespeare play you ever read?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was the first Shakespeare play I performed in, and it was the first I stage managed.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play and why?

Henry IV. Why? Because I love Falstaff. He’s Shakespeare’s greatest character. He’s Shakespeare’s argument for how we should live. He’s beautifully flawed.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received as an artist in this industry?

Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. The journey is the thing, because we never arrive.

What advice would you give to young artists who are trying to ﬁ nd their voices in a noisy world?

Love yourself. Don’t let anyone steal your joy. And remember every man, woman, and child has the right to contribute a verse.

What does success look like to you now, compared to when you were just starting out in the Bay in the early 2000s?

When I arrived in the Bay Area, I was twenty years old. I wanted recognition, I wanted money, I wanted awards, and a good New York Times review. Now, I want to strike a blow for humanity. I want to tell stories that have the potential to save lives.

Chuck D of Public Enemy

Lauryn Hill

The Notorious B.I.G.

Tupac Shakur

RZA and GZA of Wu-Tang Clan

Jacob

Ming-Trent’s How Shakespeare Saved My Life takes you on a reflective journey about the transformative power of language and storytelling on a person’s life, so Berkeley Rep asked award-winning writer, filmmaker, and hip-hop performance expert Kevin Coval to reflect on the relationship between hip-hop, theatre, and the daily occurrences connecting us together.

The Bard didn’t bring me to theatre. Shit, “theatre” didn’t bring me to theatre. I grew up following graffiti writers on the Red Line on the North Side of Chicago, chasing the vibrant, complex lettering they left on rooftops and water towers, billboards and abandoned buildings. The thrill of seeing these words, names, and characters in public was a treasure hunt and an all-city pass to meet “writers” from neighborhoods with superhero noms de plume. The city considered these scribes vandals but to me they were anonymous poets brightening a bleak Gotham.

On the Sabbath, we’d gather around my aunt’s Seder table to hear my relatives spin apocryphal tales. Here too, I was chasing language, a Chicago/Jewish vernacular where “I gotta guy” inferred a sort of main character interconnectedness that displayed one’s knowledge of the world and the people in it.

I’d see GQ, a masterful human beatbox, make a slew of music with no instrumentation other than his own body on the Green Line performing for change. The train would take me to Maxwell Street to hear the carny bark of shell

game hustlers hiding a tiny red ball beneath the cracked carcasses of walnuts to alleviate bewildered suburbanites of a little bit of bread. The salesman in the wholesale shops down for a bargain and the outside portable stores of men dealing from a duffle bag bootleg anything. Each person had their own tonality and rhythm.

The train, the street, my aunt’s Seder table was where I fell in love with theatre and the theatre of the world.

Most of the art I gravitate toward is an elevation of the everyday. A platforming and pedestalizing of the mundane as magnificent or at least significant enough to share with someone who isn’t you. A skill and aesthetic that emerges from working people’s need to maintain and make it and make it up, but with language and story can be the sort of thrilling ride, akin to a trip on the L train, wherein, you never know exactly what’s around the bend.

In something like 2017, Black Thought, the esteemed emcee from Philadelphia’s The Roots crew, appeared on Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97 radio show. His almost ten-minute “freestyle” stands as one of the most impressive pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen. The freestyle has different iterations and meanings over the years, everything from on-the-spot improvisation to a loose verse that has not appeared on an album or in public before and though, is clearly written, might be strung over beats that are familiar and not intended for said verse. The brilliance of this performance is, in part, because of its lack of theatricality, Black Thought is sitting at a mic next to the radio host, while his expert craftmanship is doing something the Bard entrusts actors with as well, a playful applique of language where the audience is captivated by the surprising and thrilling directions words can be taken, stretched, broken, emphasized, and sped in succession one after the other, like a roller coaster or a high wire acrobat balancing on the thin line between life and falling the fuck off.

we are alive and awake in this moment and this moment can be fresh AF. This is what the Bard was on, too — some cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on.

— Shakespeare’s The Tempest Theatre and orality and storytelling can slap us out of our anesthetized state, and enliven us and keep us on our toes because adventure and pleasure can be derived from that ride of language performed at a high level, like when I’m on the train listening to the performer who demands our attention.

And for me, this demand is the insistence that the music lives all around us, in our everyday lives, in our communities and families and public spaces and sometimes it can be brought into a theatre, to remind us how beautiful the world is when we really listen.

The spectacle of Black Thought on the Funk Flex show is the epitome of Hip-Hop as theatre in its most simple and sparse terms: a human with language infusing meaning and style to relay to one another, or to an audience, that

KEVIN COVAL is an Emmynominated, award-winning writer, filmmaker, playwright, and author of over a dozen collections & anthologies including The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop and A People’s History of Chicago. His first full length feature film, Madina in the Summertime, is currently in postproduction and his next book, Taste of Chicago, is due out in the fall of 2026 with EM Press.

Beatboxer GQ

MC Black Thought of THE ROOTS on Hot 97

SCENIC DESIGN

TAKESHI KATA

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE

JOHANNA PFAELZER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | TOM PARRISH, MANAGING DIRECTOR

IN A CO-PRODUCTION WITH FOLGER THEATRE AND RED BULL THEATER

PRESENTS

HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE

WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JACOB MING-TRENT

DIRECTED BY TONY TACCONE

CHOREOGRAPHER TIFFANY RACHELLE STEWART

COSTUME DESIGN DANIELLE PRESTON

STAGE MANAGER SOFIE MILLER*

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT VOLEINE AMILCAR

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AUDREY HOO

LIGHTING DESIGN ALAN C. EDWARDS

SOUND DESIGN AND ORIGINAL MUSIC JAKE RODRIGUEZ

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER PAIGE WEISSENBURGER

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER — NEW WORK victor cervantes jr.

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE ANTHONY JACKSON

ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF IN DIALOGUE DAVID MENDIZÁBAL

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE SAM LINDEN

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND DIVERSITY MODESTA TAMAYO

PROJECTIONS DESIGN

ALEXANDER V. NICHOLS

GENERAL MANAGER SARA DANIELSEN

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ARI LIPSKY

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AMANDA WILLIAMS O’STEEN

Originally commissioned and produced by Folger Theatre, Karen Ann Daniels, Artistic Director Red Bull Theater, Jesse Berger, Artistic Director

WORLD PREMIERE

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

The Hearst Foundations

Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney

Marcia Grand

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Jonathan Logan & John Piane

SEASON SPONSORS

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Sudha Pennathur & Edward Messerly

LEAD SPONSORS

Len & Arlene Rosenberg

Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Gail & Arne Wagner

Jack & Betty Schafer Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

CAST

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

This theatre operates under agreement with the League of Resident Theatres, Actors’ Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists.

Please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance.

The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights, and actionable under United States copyright law.

OPENING NIGHT: JANUARY 28, 2026

PEET'S THEATRE

HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE WILL BE PERFORMED WITHOUT AN INTERMISSION.

FOR THIS PRODUCTION

Assistant Director ................................................................................. Elena Sanchez (Peter F. Sloss Artistic Fellow)

Assistant Scenic Designer Kate Schaaf

Assistant Lighting Designer ...................................................................................... Claire Chesne (Electrics Fellow)

Assistant Sound Designer Riley Oberting (Harry Weininger Sound Fellow)

Script Production Assistant .................................................................................................. Hannah Linaweaver

Deck Crew ...............................................................................................Isaac Jacobs, Chris Russell (Automation)

Wardrobe Crew............................................................................................... Dieyla Diop, Caz Hiro, Linda Wu (Sub)

Lighting Programmer/Board Op .................................................................................................... Desiree Alcocer

Projections Programmer Ahren Buhmann

Sound Crew .................................................................................................... Angela Don (A1), Courtney Jean (A2)

Scenic Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Scenic & Paint Shops

Additional Scenery Fabricators Austin Andrade, Cassidy Carlson, Cameron Edwards, Carl Martin, Troy McClendon, Drea Ronquillo

Additional Scenic Artists ............................. Kenzie Bradley, Julie Ann Brown, Katie Holmes, Allie Kranyak, E Wayman-Murdock

Props Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Properties Shop

Additional Prop Artisans Cassidy Carlson, Jack Grable, Hanbyul Joo

Costumes Built by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Costume Shop

Additional Costume Technicians............................................................ Chris Weiland, James Calhoun (Costumes Fellow)

Lighting Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Lighting Department

Additional Lighting Technicians ............................. Emma Buechner, Brittany Cobb, Angelina Costa, Kenneth Coté, Jack Grable, A. Chris Hartzell, Jacob Hill, Hannah Linaweaver, Margaret Linn, Charlie Mejia, Nori-Hayden Quist, Sarina Renteria, Taylor Rivers, C. Swan-Streepy, Matthew Sykes, Trinity Wicklund

Sound Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sound and Video Department

Production Manager Kali Grau

Assistant Production Manager .................................................................. Alex Hamm (Production Management Fellow)

Company Manager Ryan Duncan-Ayala

Assistant Company Manager ....................................................................Katelin Shum (Company Management Fellow)

Medical Consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by Mari Bell MPT (UCSF), Ed Blumenstock MD, Charissa Chaban DPT, Cindy J. Chang MD (UCSF), Christina Corey MD, Neil Claveria PT, Patricia I. Commer DPT, Kathy Fang MD PhD, Steven Fugaro MD, Anjali Gupta MD (Kaiser), Olivia Lang MD (Berkeley Pediatrics), Allen Ling PT, Liz Nguyen DPT, Desiree A. Unsworth DPT, Christina S. Wilmer OD, Eric Yabu DDS, and Katherine C. Yung MD

ARTISTIC

BERKELEY REP STAFF

Johanna Pfaelzer ....................................... Artistic Director

David Mendizábal Associate Artistic Director/Director of In Dialogue

victor cervantes jr.

Associate Producer – New Work

Karina Fox Resident Casting Director and Artistic Associate

Todd Almond, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Dipika Guha, Nico Muhly, Lisa Peterson, Brian Quijada, Nygel D. Robinson, Sarah Ruhl, Jack Thorne, Sanaz Toossi.................. Artists Under Commission

GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Sara Danielsen

Ryan Duncan-Ayala

General Manager

Company Manager

Emily Betts General Management Associate

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Audrey Hoo ....................................... Director of Production

Kali Grau ............................................. Production Manager

COSTUMES

Joleen Addleman Loyd

Costume Director

Kiara Montgomery Resident Design Associate

Star Rabinowitz Draper

Barbara Blair Wardrobe Supervisor

Caz Hiro................................. Associate Wardrobe Supervisor

Erin Taylor ............................ Wig, Hair, and Makeup Technician

ELECTRICS

Frederick C. Geffken ................................ Lighting Supervisor

Kenneth Coté Senior Production Electrician

Desiree Alcocer Production Electrician

PROPERTIES

Jillian A. Green .................................... Properties Supervisor

Amelia Burke-Holt .................... Associate Properties Supervisor

Brittany Watkins ..................................... Properties Artisan

SCENE SHOP

Matt Rohner, Jim Smith Co-Technical Directors

Read Tuddenham Assistant Technical Director — Shop

Grant Vocks Assistant Technical Director — Engineering

August Lewallen, Zach Wziontka Scenic Carpenters

SCENIC ART

Lisa Lázár ............................................ Charge Scenic Artist

STAGE OPERATIONS

Julia Englehorn

Stage Supervisor

Gabriel Holman Associate Stage Supervisor

James McGregor Assistant Stage Supervisor

Siobhán Slater Stage Technician

SOUND/ VIDEO

Lane Elms ................................... Sound and Video Supervisor

Rebecca Satzberg ............. Associate Sound and Video Supervisor

Angela Don ....................................... Senior Sound Engineer

Conor Fortner Sound Engineer

BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE

Anthony Jackson

Director of the School of Theatre

MaryBeth Cavanaugh ... Director of Classes and Summer Programming

Ashley Lim ..................... Marketing and Registrations Manager

AeJay Antonis Marquis Mitchell ...... Education Programs Associate

Euan Ashley ......... In-School Residency and Curriculum Supervisor

Bobby August Jr., April Ballesteros, Diana Brown, Elizabeth Carter, Rebecca Castelli, Jiwon Chung, Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, Devin A. Cunningham, Robin Dolan, Deborah Eubanks, Nancy Gold, Gary Graves, Marvin Greene, Susan Jane Harrison, George Higgins, Ramon Hernandez, William Hodgson, Mondara Ixchel, Sullivan Jones, Erolina Kamburova, Rachel Ka'iulani Kennealy, Adam KuveNiemann, Jennifer LeBlanc, Julian López-Morillas, Dave Maier, Carolyn McCandlish, Amanda Nguyen, Joel Ochoa, Joe Orrach, Pamela Rickard, Adrian Ruvalcaba, Teresa Salas, Hayley Sherwood, Joyful Simpson, Skyler Sullivan, Samuel Tomfohr, James Wagner Teaching Artists

Matty Bloom, Joy Lancaster, Selma Meyerowitz Docent Chairs

Ted Bagaman, Michelle Boudreau, Beth Cohen, Michelle Cordero, Miles Drawdy, Nancy Drooker, Charles Evans, Tyrone Fleurizard, Sergio Garcia, Randi Helly, Diana Insolio, Samantha Lopatin, Sue Kaplan, Jim Krampf, Mark Liss, Yvonne Martinez, Virginia McCarthy, Judith O’Rourke, Jeanette Pettibone, Gigi Singer, Bridget Soto Docents

ADMINISTRATION

Tom Parrish ........................................... Managing Director

Sam Linden ........................................... Director of Finance

Katie Riemann ........................... Associate Director of Finance

Jennifer Light ...................................... Payroll Administrator

Alanna McFall ................................................ Bookkeeper

Modesta Tamayo Director of Human Resources and Diversity

Faith Elder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Human Resources and Diversity Coordinator

Annie Stonebarger Executive Assistant

DEVELOPMENT

Ari Lipsky Director of Development

Laura Fichtenberg Associate Director of Development

Kelsey Scott Associate Director of Institutional Giving

Andrew Maguire .

Philanthropy Officer

Harper Brown ..................................... Annual Fund Manager

Elaina Guyett ........................ Corporate Partnerships Manager

Lucy Tafler ...................................... Special Events Manager

Cassidy Milano ................. Development Operations Coordinator

Cassie Newman ............... Interim Donor Stewardship Coordinator

OPERATIONS

Amanda Williams O’Steen ....................... Director of Operations

Peter Orkiszewski ................... Associate Director of Operations

Adam Johnson ........................................ Facilities Manager

Thomas Tran ........................................... Building Engineer

Jesus Rodriguez ..................................... Building Technician

Theresa Drumgoole, Wendi Lau, Sophie Li, Darrel De La Rosa .

.Facilities Assistants

Destiny Askin CRM Project Manager

Christina Cone Web and Database Specialist

Nicole Peña Medak and Rentals Manager

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Voleine Amilcar Director of Marketing and Audience Services

Heather Orth Associate Director of Marketing

DC Scarpelli Creative Director

Kevin Kopjak –

Prismatic Communications .............. Public Relations Consultant

Kristi Deprin ................................... Digital Content Manager

Rodrick Edwards ......................... Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager

Calvin Ngu ...................... Video and Multimedia Content Creator

Quinn Barringer ........................................ Graphic Designer

Klaus Andrieu ...........Marketing and Communications Coordinator

AUDIENCE SERVICES

Emily Byrne .................. Associate Director of Audience Services

Saoirse Keogh ....................................... Box Office Manager

pan ellington, Kathlyn Ibazeta, Olga Khitarishvili Box Office Leads

Matthew Hayden, Jack Melcher, Lauren Payne,

Sesar Sanchez, Celeste Wong Box Office Agents

dean dawkins, Maddi Gjovik, Megan Rossoni, Trinity Wicklund House Managers

Sylvia Abrams-Wolffsohn, Julian Balcziunas, Latasha Hayes, Armando, Herrera, Camille Kobelin, Courtney Marchi, Maria Mikheyenko, Bine Buencamino Phung, Nicolas Puorro, Tuesday Ray, Kira Street, Jessica Williams, Kailani Zabala ...................................... Front of House Staff

2025/26 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS

James Calhoun ......................................... Costumes Fellow

Claire Chesne ............................................. Electrics Fellow

Katie Genzer ................................ Bret C. Harte Artistic Fellow

Alex Hamm ............................. Production Management Fellow

Isla Hofmann ................................ Scenic Construction Fellow

Khia Jefferson ..................... Marketing and Development Fellow

Karina Lipe .............................................. Education Fellow

Riley Oberting .......................... Harry Weininger Sound Fellow

Amelia Reyes-Gomez

Elena Sanchez

.Properties Fellow

Peter F. Sloss Artistic Fellow

Katelin Shum Company Management Fellow

Olivia Spreen Stage Management Fellow

Courtney Sutherland Scenic Art Fellow

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Jacob Ming-Trent *

Jacob, Playwright

Jacob is an actor of theatre, film, and television. His television credits include White Famous (Showtime, series regular), Watchmen (HBO, series regular), Ray Donovan (recurring), Feed the Beast (recurring), Only Murders in the Building, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, New Amsterdam, God Friended Me, High Maintenance, and more. He has appeared in films such as SuperFly, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Snakes, R+J, The Possession of Hannah Grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Shallow Tale of a Writer... starring Steve Buscemi, Friendship starring Paul Rudd, and more. His Broadway credits include Gypsy (original cast), Shrek the Musical (original cast), and Hands on a Hardbody (original cast). His off-Broadway credits include The Harder They Come (Public Theater, Lortel nominee, AUDELCO nominee), Falstaff in Merry Wives (Public, Drama Desk nominee), Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night (Public), Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public, Lortel Award-winner, AUDELCO nominee), Mammon in The Alchemist (Red Bull Theater, Lortel nominee), Medea: Re-Versed (Red Bull, Lortel nominee), On the Levee (Lincoln Center Theater). He is the writer of Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret (Shakespeare & Company), Mac N Beth (PODS Productions), and How Shakespeare Saved My Life.

Tony Taccone Director

Tony was raised by a large family of artists who believed that art is the highest calling of humankind. His dad was Italian and his mom Puerto Rican, which made for a lot of very loud Sunday dinners. He was heavily influenced by the counter-culture movement of the 1960’s, developing a rambunctious political perspective and a love for rock n’ roll that remains strong to this day. He toyed with the idea of becoming an archeologist, until he discovered that he’d have to take courses in statistics. He met a group of actors at a bar, and thought, “Hey, these people are really fun.” Based on this insight, he made a long and lucky life for himself in the theatre. He’d like to thank the folks at

Berkeley Rep for their continued great work, and the people of the Bay Area for being the best audience in the world.

Tiffany Rachelle Stewart

Choreographer

Tiffany is a choreographer, director, actress, and the Head of Physical Acting at NYU's New Studio on Broadway. She's thrilled to return to Berkeley Rep as a choreographer having performed here in 2014 as an actor in The House That Will Not Stand. Tiffany has directed and choreographed productions from coast to coast. She’s also acted in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway, and at the nation's top regional theatres. Tiffany’s been seen on television in Law & Order, Elsbeth, Blacklist, Law & Order SVU, Black Rose, All My Children, and Royal Pains, as well as in the film Hotel Pennsylvania. Tiffany received the award of Best Actress in a Drama at the New York Television Festival, a Lucille Lortel and an AUDELCO award. She holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Tiffany’s most important role is as mother to Auggie, Hazel, & Ada. Big appreciation my hubs Tyler and to Berkeley Rep for fully supporting me as a working mother to young children, by making it possible for my babies to be here with me.

Takeshi Kata Scenic Design

Takeshi is a theatrical set designer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on over 150 productions nationally and internationally. In New York he has worked with Atlantic Theater, Second Stage, Vineyard Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Play Company, Barrow Street Theatre, and Rattlestick Theater. Regionally Takeshi has worked with Alley Theatre, American Players Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Cleveland Play House, Dallas Theater Center, Ford's Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Goodman, Hartford Stage, Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, The Old Globe, Resident Ensemble Players, South Coast Rep, Steppenwolf Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Yale Repertory Theatre. Takeshi has won an Obie and has been nominated for

Drama Desk, Barrymore, and Ovation Awards. He is an Assistant Professor at USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Danielle Preston

Costume Design

Danielle is a costume designer based in Washington, DC. NYC credits include This Much I Know at 59E59. Recent regional credits include Studio Theatre, Folger Theatre, TheaterWorks Hartford, Everyman Theatre, Theater Alliance, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Signature Theatre (DC), and Olney Theatre Center. Danielle received a 2024 Helen Hayes nomination in Costume Design for Agreste (Drylands) at Spooky Action Theater. She holds an MFA in costume design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Alan C. Edwards

Lighting Design

Alan is a lighting designer for live performance. His work off-Broadway includes Sally & Tom (The Public); Sunset Baby, Fires in The Mirror [Lortelnom], Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Signature NYC); Harry Clarke [Lortel Award] (Vineyard); Kill Move Paradise [Drama Desk nom] (National Black Theatre); Memnon, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem); and Dakar 2000 (Manhattan Theatre Club). Regional work includes Harry Clarke (Berkeley Rep); Gatsby: An American Myth (Norton Award), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (ART); Appropriate (Old Globe); and Beautiful (Asolo Rep). His work in dance includes In the Same Tongue (Dianne McIntyre); Chasing Magic, NYCC Artists at The Center '23 (Ayodele Casel); and Lifted by Christopher Rudd for American Ballet Theatre. www.alancedwards.com

Jake Rodriguez

Sound Design and Original Music

Jake is a sound designer and composer working in theatre and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His recent work at Berkeley Rep includes Mother of Exiles, The Reservoir, and Mother Road. Other regional theatre work: Don’t Eat the Mangos (Huntington Theatre); Between Two

Knees (Perelman Performing Arts Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); and Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2 (American Conservatory Theater). Rodriguez is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace Award and received an honorary MFA from ACT in 2021. Find sounds and music at soundcrack.net.

Alexander V. Nichols Projections Design

Returning to Berkeley Rep for his 38th production, Mr. Nichols, a Bay Area native, designs lighting, scenery, and projections for theatre, opera, music, and dance. His work has been presented on Broadway, off-Broadway and in opera houses, concert halls, theatres, warehouses, and vacant lots throughout the world. Recent projects include The Reservoir (Berkeley Rep), Chanel Dasilva’s Wabash And You (Joffrey Ballet), Fidelio (Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Yuri Possokhov’s Swan Lake (Hong Kong Ballet). Upcoming projects include a new work by Alonzo King and Esperanza Spalding (Lines Ballet), Nixon In China (Washington National Opera), and Dwight Rhoden’s Worlds Away (Royal Winnipeg Ballet).

Sofie Miller * Stage Manager

Sofie is delighted to return for another season with Berkeley Rep. Recent productions include The Hills of California, the aves, The Matchbox Magic Flute, and Out of Character. Favorite productions include Angels in America, Kiss My Aztec, Imaginary Comforts, Latin History for Morons, Roe, Party People, and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Sofie has also worked regionally with Aurora Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater, Magic Theatre, Presidio Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and California Shakespeare Theater.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER

Paige Weissenburger Assistant Stage Manager

Paige is a multidisciplinary theatre artist who specializes in stage management. This is their second production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, after having worked on Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares in the fall of 2025. They enjoy working at many theatres across the Bay Area,

including American Conservatory Theater, Golden Thread, Crowded Fire, Shotgun Players, and in the University of San Francisco's PASJ program. They are very excited to be back and continue working with the many wonderful artists at Berkeley Rep. Two of their current artistic outlets are collaging and stamp carving.

PRONOUNS: THEY/THEM

Red Bull Theater Co-Producers

Founded in 2003 with a production of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Red Bull Theater has been acclaimed by The New York Times as “a dynamic producer of classic plays” and by Time Out as “the most exciting classical theater in New York.” Red Bull serves adventurous theatregoers with off-Broadway productions, Revelation Readings, and the annual Short New Play Festival. The company offers outreach programs including Shakespeare In Schools bringing professional actors and teaching artists into public school classrooms, Bull Sessions, free post-play discussions with top scholars, and Classical Acting Intensives led by veteran theatre professionals. Over 20 seasons, Red Bull Theater has produced 25 off-Broadway productions and over 200 Revelation Readings of rarely seen classics, serving 5,000+ artists and providing quality artistic programming to over 200,000 theatregoers. The company’s unique programming has been recognized with Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, Calloway, Off-Broadway Alliance, and Obie nominations and Awards.

Folger Theatre Co-Producers

The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation’s capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today’s artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical

stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be. For more on Folger Theatre, please visit folger.edu/theatre

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in 2019 as its fourth artistic director following 12 years as the artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based organization dedicated to the development of new works for theatre, film, and television. Notable works developed under Johanna’s leadership at NYSAF include Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Humans by Stephen Karam, Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee, John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses, The Jacksonian by Beth Henley, and Green Day’s American Idiot. In addition, Johanna has developed the work of many notable artists including Jocelyn Bioh, Zach Helm, Halley Feiffer, Billy Porter, Lucy Thurber, Duncan Sheik, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Steven Sater, Jaclyn Backhaus, Patricia Wettig, and Marcus Gardley. Since arriving at Berkeley Rep, Johanna has produced multiple world premieres as well as projects that have gone on to notable future productions including Swept Away, Galileo, Mexodus, and Cult of Love. She was formerly a producing director of Zena Group and served for five years as the associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater. Johanna is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice program and has taught in the MFA theatre program at Columbia University School of the Arts. She lives in Berkeley with her husband Russell Champa and their son Jasper.

Tom Parrish Managing Director

Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multivenue performing arts centers to major Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley

Rep, he served as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as associate managing director/general manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer and “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego. He received his MBA/MA in arts administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in theater arts and economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion by Northwestern University. He and his husband live in Berkeley.

I grew up in San Francisco then went to Stanford University for degrees in Electrical Engineering. My work was in software development, creating business software and video games. I’ve served on the Palo Alto school board, in the Palo Alto Rotary Club, and with a local

MICHAE L LEIBERT LE GA CY SOCIETY

BERKELEY REP

My wife, Nancy Kawakita, and I love attending Berkeley Rep performances. The more we have to talk about on the way home from a show, the greater its impact. Berkeley Rep consistently excels in this. The arts are an essential part of our culture and humanity. Theatre helps us make sense of the world, to understand what it means to be human, to gain insights into others’ experiences.

I’m very fortunate to be able to share some of my financial good fortune with Berkeley Rep. It was easy to name them as a beneficiary of my IRA, doing it all online without involving any lawyers. I want my giving to have a positive impact. Berkeley Rep will continue to evolve, and I’m honored

to support that growth. or

To learn about how to create your legacy at BRT, please contact Philanthropy Officer Andrew Maguire at amaguire@berkeleyrep.org

— Dana Tom, Michael Liebert Society Member

COMING IN MAY: A WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF THE ACCLAIMED INDIAN FILM!

THE LUNCHBOX

BOOK AND CO-LYRICS BY RITESH BATRA MUSIC AND CO-LYRICS BY THE LAZOURS DIRECTED BY RACHEL CHAVKIN

A mistaken food delivery in Mumbai sparks an exchange of notes that blossoms into a relationship that might save two lonely souls.

MAY 17–JUN 28, 2026 berkeleyrep.org

THANK YOU

to our supporters!

We thank the many organizations and individuals who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic, education, and community engagement programs.

INSTITUTIONAL FUNDERS

FOUNDATION

Anonymous (3)

The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation

Civic Foundation

Davis/Dauray Family Foundation

The William H. Donner Foundation

The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund — Jean Strunsky, Trustee

The Hearst Foundations

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

JEC Foundation

Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund

Koret Foundation

Laurents/Hatcher Foundation

Libitzky Family Foundation

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

The John Logan Foundation

The Maurer Family Foundation

Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation

Miranda Lux Foundation

Kenneth Rainin Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Tarbell Family Foundation

Taube Philanthropies

Ingrid D. Tauber Fund

Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation

Westridge Foundation

Woodlawn Foundation

PUBLIC FUNDING

City of Berkeley

National Endowment for the Arts

CORPORATE & HOSPITALITY SPONSORS

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR

THE RESILIENCE CAMPAIGN

Berkeley Repertory Theatre gratefully recognizes the following contributors for their transformational contributions to The Resilience Campaign that support the Theatre’s future.

SEASON SPONSOR

LEAD SPONSORS

SPONSORS CIRCLE

SEASON PRESENTING

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

PARTNER

Anonymous

John Brennan & Stephanie McKown

Aimee Brown

Italo & Susan Calpestri

Venus David, in memory of Narsai David

Bill DeHart

Richard DeNatale & Craig Latker

Corinne & Mike Doyle

Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Cynthia A. Farner

Linda Jo Fitz

Jeryl Fry

Stan Hoffman

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

The Jackson Family Foundation

Carla Javits & Margaret Cecchetti

Peggy Kivel

Fred Levin

Joel Linzner & Teresa Picchi

Rosa Luevano & Charles Marston

Mona Marbach

Marymor Family Fund

Judy Minor

Jean Pfaelzer & Peter Panuthos

Todd Rubin

Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel

Cynthia & William Schaff

Ed & Liliane Schneider

In Memory of

Rob Schonholtz

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Michael* & Sue Steinberg

Barbara Tomber

Steven & Linda Wolan

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Anonymous

Shelley & Jonathan Bagg

Edith Barschi & Robert Jackson

Lynne Carmichael

Cindy J. Chang, MD & Christopher Hudson

Robin & Rich Edwards

Sandra & Ken Eggers

Kerry Francis & John Jimerson

Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels

Jennifer & Abe Friedman

Laura Graham

Elise Haas

Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen

Sy Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton

Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim

Jack Klingelhofer

Suzanne LaFetre Collier

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

Jan & Mike Larkin, in honor of Rosie and Sung-Hou Kim

Eileen & Hank Lewis

Susan & Moses Libitzky

Elsie Mallonee

Helen M. Marcus, in memory of David J. Williamson

Tim Marten

Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas

Martin & Margi Cellucci McNair

James O’Toole

Juan Oldham & Deborah

Morgan

Tom Parrish & Steve Dow

Norman & Janet Pease

David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich

Dennis Ryan & Rebecca Sutter-Ryan

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland

Sarah E. Shaver

Karen Smyda

THANK YOU

to all of the generous members of our community who help Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provoking, and thrilling theatre and bring arts education to thousands of people every year. We gratefully recognize our donors at the Champion level and above, who made their gifts between September 1, 2024 and November 1, 2025. We also express our deep gratitude to all of the Friends of Berkeley Rep that we are unable to recognize here due to space limitations.

Johanna Pfaelzer & Russell Champa

Shelby Rachleff

Audrey & Paul L. Richards, in honor of Barbara Peterson

Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey

Valerie Sopher

Trevor & Anne-Marie Strohman

Ama Torrance & David Davies

Sarah Van Roo

Toni Weingarten

Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor

Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen

BENEFACTOR Anonymous (4)

Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery

Eric Allman & Kirk McKusick

George & Marcia Argyris

Michelle L. Barbour

Valerie Barth

Ashvini Bhave & Kishore Bopardikar

Becky & Jeff Bleich

Paul Brody

Luna Foundation

Linda Brown

Bonnie Burt & Mark Liss

Ronnie Caplane

Ardie & Mary Clark, in memory of Patricia Fox

Dr. Jim Cuthbertson

Barbara & Tim Daniels

Arvada Darnell

Richard & Anita Davis

Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat

Donald & Jeannette Dow

Linda Drucker

William & Susan Epstein

Jerry Falk

Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny

Ben & Mary Feinberg

James & Jessica Fleming

Dean Francis

Sharon & Tom Francis

Kevin Gahagan

Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi

Mio & Jon Good

Robert & Judith Greber

Anne & Peter Griffes

Karen Grove & Julian Cortella

Migsy & Jim Hamasaki

Bonnie Hamlin

Jeannene Hansen

Bob & Linda Harris

Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky

Elaine Hitchcock

Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling

Jim & Xanthe Hopp

Barbara & Peter Jensen

Bill & Lisa Kelly

Dana Kirkland

Michael H. Kossman

Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney

Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis

Ellen & Barry Levine

Marcia C. Linn

Jay & Eileen Love

Gerry & Kathy MacClelland

Henning Mathew

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody

Carol Mimura & Jeremy Thorner

Andy & June Monach

Ronald Morrison

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Shanna O’Hare & John Davis

Carol J. Ormond

Janet & Clyde Ostler

Kristin Pace

Sandi & Dick Pantages

Barbara L. Peterson

Randy Sue Pollock & Steve Kornetsky

Yamini & Tushar Ranchod

Marjorie Randolph

Dr. Jason Ravenel & Leann Ravenel

Terri Remillard

Gary & Noni Robinson

Patrick Romani

Becky Saeger & Tom Graves

Jeane & Roger Samuelsen

Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz

Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner

Helen Schulak

Ruchira Shah & David Grunwald

Emily Shanks

Shirlen Fund

Kim Silva

David & Lori Simpson

Ed & Ellen Smith

Ann M. Smulka & Bob Blackburn

Audrey & Bob Sockolov

Laura Svienty

Dr. Edward Sweet & Mr. Harold Stevens

Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young

Henry Timnick

Larry Vales

Deborah & Bob Van Nest

Beth Weissman

Patricia & Jeffrey Williams

Faye Wilson

Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter

FRIENDS OF BERKELEY REP

CHAMPION

Anonymous (6) • Philip Arca & Sherry Smith • Linda & Mike Baker • Monya Baker • Celia Bakke • Jeff & Karen Banks • Michael Barnett and Judith Bloomberg • Don & Gerry Beers • Marc Blakeman • Jane V. Buerger • Fran

Burgess • Robert & Margaret Cant • Dr. Jon Carr • Terri Clark and Marty Lay • June & Michael Cohen • Bart Connally • Constance Crawford •

Karen & David Crommie • Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor • Joshua Dapice •

Drs. Kevin & Susan Denny • Carol DiFilippo • John & Janet Dodge • Martin & Barbara Fishman • Donald & Dava Freed • Linda Schacht Gage & John

Gage • Clara Gerdes & Ken Greenberg • Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter • Mary W Graves • Mary Grogan • Henry L. Hecht • Ruth Hennigar • Thomas & Elizabeth Henry • Susan L. Hill • Marilyn & Michael JensenAkula • May Johnston • Jeanne Killian • Tim Kochis • Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes • Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz • Ann Lincoln • Jennifer S.

Lindsay • Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel • Nancy Lumer • Paul Mariano & Suzanne Chapot • Susanna & Brad Marshland • Rebecca Martinez • Stephanie Mendel • Geri Monheimer • Daryoush Mortazavi & Caroline

Razavi • Jane Neilson • Thomas Nelson & Jessica Wickens • Judy Ogle • Patti Oji Haas • Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser • Kathleen Quenneville & Diane Allen • Todd & Susan Ringoen • John & Jody Roberts • Jane Rokita • Rhoda Rossman • Chris & Mike Rupp, Descendant Cellars • Lisa

A. Salomon • Barbara & Jerry Schauffler • Eric & Lauren Schlezinger • Deborah Sedberry & Jeff Klingman • Robert Sheppard • Steve & Susan Shortell • Amrita Singhal & Michael Tubach • Arlene & Matthew Sirott • Suzanne Slyman • Allan & Maria Smith • Betsy Smith • Cherida Collins Smith • George & Camilla Smith • Gary & Jana Stein • David Surrenda & Lisa Rafel • Jane & Jay Taber • Fred & Kathleen Taylor • Sam Test • Gerald & Lynda Vurek-Martyn • Susan West • Susan Whitman & Mark Gergen • Losa Wong & Larry Mar • Irene Yen

THE MICHAEL LEIBERT LEGACY SOCIETY

Anonymous (9)

Norman Abramson & David Beery*

Sam Ambler

Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan

Ken & Joni Avery

Nancy Axelrod

Edie Barschi

Neil & Gene Barth

Susan & Barry Baskin

Linda Brandenburger

Broitman-Basri Family

Bruce Carlton & Richard G. McCall*

Stephen K. Cassidy

Paula Champagne & David Watson

Terin Christensen

Sofia Close

Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor

Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor

Narsai* & Venus David

Darren & Sunshine Deffner

M. Laina Dicker

Christopher Doane & Neal Shorstein, MD

Thalia Dorwick

Robin & Rich Edwards

Thomas W. Edwards

& Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Bill & Susan Epstein

William Espey

& Margaret Hart Edwards

Merle & Michael Fajans

Bill Falik & Diana Cohen

Dr. Stephen E. Follansbee

& Dr. Richard A. Wolitz

Catherine Fox

Kerry Francis

Dr. Harvey & Deana Freedman

ADVOCATE

Anonymous (11) • David Baer • Alisa Baker • Tracy Ballard • Karen Baratta • Steven Beckendorf • Richard & Kathi Berman • Veronica Bettencourt • Patti Bittenbender • Laura Blair & Mitchell Zeemont • James Blume & Kathryn Frank • Thomas Bosserman • Rena Bransten • Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar • Cathy Bristow

• Robert P. Camm & Susan Pearson • Christina Campbell & Tim DeWolf • Laura Chenel • Barbara & Rodgin

Cohen • Joan & Edward Conger • Mike and Pam Crane • Pam & Mike Crane • malcom davis • Harry & Susan

Dennis • David desJardins • David Deutscher • Kathryn Doi • Tammerlin Drummond • Daralyn Durie • Dr.

Norma Fiedotin • Daniel Friedland & Azlynda Alim • Herb & Marianne Friedman • Lauren Friedman • Carol & Tony Friscia • Lisa and Jack Fuchs • Brett Gardner & Joe Stampleman • Paul & Marilyn Gardner • Rachel Garlin • Ellen Geringer & Chris Tarp • Steven Goldberg & Sandee Blechman • Paul Goldstein & Dena Mossar • Pamela & Tim Gray • Judy & Sheldon Greene • Karen Greig & Mike Frank • Don & Becky Grether • George P. Haley • Geoffrey Haynes • Tamra C. Hege • Jim Helman & Linda Fried Helman • Donald Hershman • Al Hoffman & David Shepherd • Rachel & John Horsch • Hilary & Tom Hoynes • Pam & Ted Johann • Thomas Johann • Stephen Kerr • Juanita Kizor • Ralph & Tonya Koenker • Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff • Diana & Jim Krampf • Andrea & Kenneth Krueger • Jennifer Kuenster & George Miers • Lucy Kuntz and Ned Fielden • Kevin & Claudine Lally • Wayne Lamprey & Dena Watson-Lamprey • Shirley Langlois • Tami Lau • Susan Carol Ledford • Dennis Lenehan • Deborah Lewis & Martin H. Myers • Steve & Judy Lipson • Margo & Josh Lowensohn • Peter Luk • Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch • Mark Marin • M. Mathews & K. Soriano • Ash McNeely & Elisa Odabashian • Ellen Meltzer and George Porter • Zoe MercerGolden, in honor of Bruce Golden • Susan Morris • Patti Mulqueeney • Julie Nachtwey, Compass Real Estate • Toby Nady • Ron Nakayama • Sandra Nichols • Michael O’Donnell • Barbara & Philip O’Hay • Mitchell Ost • DiAnn Perko • Charles & Linda Phillips • Malcolm & Ann Plant • Robert & Marcia Popper • Roxann R. Preston • Daniel & Barbara Radin • Elizabeth Raffin • Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley • Kathy Rogers • William Rogers • Bruce Rohde • Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth • Emily D. Sexton • Christine Silver • The Sippel/Farb Family • Linda Snyder • Robert & Naomi Stamper • Carol Sundell • Margo & Drew Tammen • Ragesh Tangri & Daralyn Durie • John & Christine Telischak • Pate & Judy Thomson • Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita • Dale Underwood & Kirsti Aho • Glenn Urban • Jill Van Dalen • Willian van Dyk & Margi Sullivan • Leon Van Steen • Marcia & David Vastine • Steven Wade • Brian Watt & Daisy Nguyen • Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss • Dick & Beany Wezelman • H. Leabah Winter • Wilma Wool • Moe & Becky Wright • Laura Blair & Mitchell Zeemont

Berkeley Rep gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who have generously provided for the organization in their estate plans:

Joseph & Antonia Friedman

Paul T. Friedman

Marianne Friedman

David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson*

Denise Gillen*

Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter

Mary & Nicholas* Graves

Elizabeth Greene

Sheldon & Judy Greene

Don & Becky Grether

Barry* & Micheline Handon

Julie & Paul Harkness

Linda & Bob Harris

Fred Hartwick

Ruth Hennigar

Daria Hepps

Douglas J. Hill*

Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley

Hoskins/Frame Family Trust

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

Robin C. Johnson

Janice Kelly & Carlos Kaslow

Bonnie McPherson Killip

Lynn Eve Komaromi

Michael H. Kossman

Woof Kurtzman

Joy Lancaster & Martin Freedman

Scott & Kathy Law

Marcia C. Linn

Dot Lofstrom

Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch

Andrew Maguire

Helen M. Marcus

Dale* & Don Marshall

Rebecca Martinez

Sarah McArthur LeValley

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Suzanne & Charles McCulloch

John G. McGehee

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Ruth Medak

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Stephanie Mendel

Toni Mester

Shirley & Joe Nedham

Jane & Bill Neilson

Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Wallace Oman

Sharon Ott

Fr. David Pace

Amy Pearl Parodi

Barbara L. Peterson

Regina Phelps

Margaret Phillips

Mark J. Powers & Albert E. Moreno

Marjorie Randolph

Gregg Richardson

Bonnie Ring Living Trust

David Rovno, MD

Tracie E. Rowson

Deborah Dashow Ruth

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Brenda Buckhold Shank, MD, PhD

Emily Shanks

Valerie Sopher

Michael* & Sue Steinberg

Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart

Jean Strunsky

Mary, Andrew & Duncan Susskind

Jim Tibbs & Philip Anderson

Henry Timnick

Guy Tiphane

Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita

Barbara Tomber

Phillip & Melody Trapp

Janis Kate Turner

Gail & Arne Wagner

Barry & Holly Walter

Weil Family Trust — Weil Family

Susan West

Steven & Linda Wolan

The Woolfson Blumenfeld

Living Trust

Karen & Henry Work

Anders Yang, JD

Martin & Margaret Zankel

* deceased

GIFTS RECEIVED BY BERKELEY REP

Estate of Suzanne Adams

Estate of Pat Angell, in memory of theatre architect Gene Angell

Estate of Nina Auerbach

Estate of Helen C. Barber

Estate of Fritzi Benesch

Estate of Carole B. Berg

Estate of Nelly Berteaux

Estate of Jill Bryans

Estate of Paula Carrell

Estate of Victoria Carter

Estate of Robert Chase

Estate of Nancy Croley

Estate of John & Carol Field

Estate of Ralph Garrow

Estate of Richard & Lois Halliday

Estate of Ellen Jasnosz

Estate of Nancy Kornfield

Estate of Audrey J. Lasson

Estate of Zandra Faye LeDuff

Estate of Ines R. Lewandowitz

Estate of Jim Lillienthal

Estate of John E. & Helen A. Manning

Estate of Richard Markell

Estate of Sumner & Hermine Marshall

Estate of Margaret D. & Winton McKibben

Estate of Robert S. Newton, in honor of John T. & Jean Knox

Estate of Sheldeen G. Osborne

Estate of Timothy A. Patterson

Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez

Estate of Margaret Purvine

Estate of Guy T. Roberts, Jr.

Estate of Leigh & Ivy Robinson

Estate of Gretchen Saeger

Estate of Stephen C. Schaefer, in honor of Jean and Jack Knox

Estate of Kevin Shoemaker

Estate of Peter Sloss

Estate of Louis & Bonnie Spiesberger

Estate of Harry Weininger

Estate of Grace Williams

Estate of Sheila Wishek

As of November 2025.

Berkeley Rep makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these listings. If there is an error or you would like to adjust your listing, please contact us at 510 647-2905 or give@berkeleyrep.org.

RODA THEATRE

Featuring Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús

Miller’s masterpiece reexamined: A family’s pursuit of prosperity reveals the devastating truth about who really pays for the American Dream.