Laura Griffith, Brandon O'Neill & More to Star in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at ACT

The first play of ACT's 50th Anniversary Season will be packed with talent. Broadway alums and Seattle favorites Laura Griffith and Brandon O'Neill will play Maggie the Cat and Brick, one of the most iconic couples in the theatrical canon. John Aylward, a Seattle treasure who went on to make a name for himself in Hollywood with recurring roles on ER, The West Wing, and Mad Men, will play the family patriarch Big Daddy. Rounding out the cast of leading roles will be elite Seattle acting veteran Marianne Owen as Big Mama. Kurt Beattie, in his final year as Artistic Director will direct this powerhouse cast.

Currently onstage opposite each other in Carousel at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Laura Griffith and Brandon O'Neill will have the unique opportunity to go from performing a classic musical in front of thousands a night to performing a classic American drama in the intimate in-the-round setting of ACT's Allen Theatre. Seattle has been blown away by these two performers who have recently had success in Broadway productions (Aladdin, South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza), but now make Seattle their home. John Aylward, who was last seen at ACT in The Prisoner of Second Avenue, has become one of Seattle's most recognizable national exports, with scores of television and movie credits to his name. Marianne Owen is a beloved and popular performer who has appeared in 23 ACT Mainstage productions, most recently in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Owen and Aylward also have a history of playing opposite each other, most notably as Willy and Linda Loman in ACT's production of Death of a Salesman.

Maggie - Laura Griffith
Brick - Brandon O'Neill
Big Daddy - John Aylward
Big Mama - Marianne Owen

LAURA GRIFFITH Locally at the 5th: Julie in Carousel, Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, A Room with a View, The Music Man, Candide. Broadway: South Pacific, The Light In The Piazza, Sweet Smell Of Success, and Oklahoma! Europe: West Side Story. 1st National Tour: The Light In The Piazza (Helen Hayes Award nom). Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, Signature Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, Utah Shakespeare Festival, California Music Theatre. Also three original Broadway Cast Recordings; appearances on Late Night With David Letterman, Live From Lincoln Center, three Tony Awards broadcasts.

BRANDON O'NEILL Locally: Hanuman in Ramayana (ACT, World Premiere, Broadway World Award, Footlight Award), First Date (Gregory Award nomination); At the 5th: The Pirate King, Pirates of Penzance (Gregory Award nomination); Gabe, First Date (Gregory Award nomination); Sky Masterson, Guys and Dolls (Footlight Award). Brandon is exceptionally happy to be home after originating the role of Kassim in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway. His voice can still be heard nightly on Broadway as The Voice of the Cave of Wonders.

JOHN AYLWARD got his first job as an actor in 1967 in ACT's production of The Great Divide. Some highlights over the years at ACT include Philadelphia, Here I Come (1969), Marat-Sade (1969), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1975), The Time of Your Life (1976), King Lear (1985), On the Razzle (1986), Glengarry Glen Ross (1987),Chorus of Disapproval (1988), God's Country (1988), Man of the Moment (1994) and Death of a Salesman (1998). On Broadway he performed in Warner Shook's production of The Kentucky Cycle. Aylward's film and television credits include ER, The West Wing, Mad Men,The Practice, Boston Legal, Path to War,Thirteen Days, North Country, Instinct, and House of Lies among others.

MARIANNE OWEN was most recently seen at ACT in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and before that in Middletown, Assisted Living, and One Slight Hitch. She was also recently in Hound of the Baskervilles at Seattle Repertory Theatre, and has performed at Book-It, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Children's Theatre, Empty Space, Village Theatre, and Intiman. A founding member of the American Repertory Theatre Company, she has worked at N.Y. Public Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Playwrights' Horizons, Guthrie Theatre, and the Goodman Theatre to name a few.

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