Casting Announced for WORKING Production in Chicago Mar. 5

Casting has just been announced for the one-night-only benefit production of Working to be held Monday, March 5, at the Harris Theatre. The star-studded cast includes Chicago natives Liz Callaway and Malcolm Gets returning from New York City, as well as local Chicago favorites Thom Cox, Sean Fortunato, Kate Fry, Brian Herriott, Heidi Kettenring, Ericka Mac, Julian Martinez, Kymberly Mellon, Bruch Reed, Barbara Robertson, Guy Van Swearingen, Greg Vinkler and Cassie Wooley.

"This is just an amazing cast," said Actors Fund producer Tim Pinckney. "We are thrilled at the response we have gotten from the Chicago theatre community to put on this production. The cast list truly reads like a 'Who's Who' in Chicago theatre." The actors are all donating their time to appear in the March 5th benefit, which raises funds for the programs and services of Chicago-based Season of Concern and The Actors Fund, the national aid organization for those in the entertainment world.

About the Cast

Tony-nominated Liz Callaway is a Chicago born actress and cabaret singer whose stage credits include Baby, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Evita, Cats, and Miss Saigon. Younger fans will recognize her as the voice of Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Princess Jasmine in The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Anya/Anastasia in Anastasia.

Malcolm Gets is most widely known for his role as Richard in the American television sitcom Caroline in the City but he is also a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal director, and choreographer. He is a well-known presence both on and off-Broadway, having starred in The Apple Tree, Amour (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award), A New Brain, Hello Again, Merrily We Roll Along and many other shows.

Thom Cox has been with Chicago's Lookingglass Ensemble since its inception in 1988, and has worked on more than twenty-five productions, including West, The Jungle, The Odyssey, Arabian Nights, The Master and Margarita, They All Fall Down, Summertime, Nelson Algren: For Keeps and a Single Day, Great Men of Science and The Old Curiosity Shop. Film and television credits include Since You've Been Gone (Miramax), Chi-Girl , and Brotherhood (Showtime).

Critics favorite Sean Fortunato's credits include Broadway Bound, Last Night of Ballyhoo and Rain. Fortunato also appeared Off-Broadway in Rose Rage at The Duke on 42nd. Fortunato, who was nominated for Jeff Awards for his work both in Rough Crossing and Brigadoon and received an After Dark Award for A Phoenix Too Frequent, recently played the Emcee in Cabaret and has appeared at Writers' Theatre in Incident at Vichy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Marriott Theatre, Rose Rage at the Chicago Shakespere, A Christmas Carol at The Goodman, At Wit's End at Northlight, Anything Goes at Drury Lane – Oak Brook, Scapin at the Court and Lend Me a Tenor at Theatre at the Center.

Since graduating in 1993 from Northwestern University with a degree in performance studies, Kate Fry has become a fixture on the Chicago area stage appearing in It's a Wonderful Life at Candlelight; Guys and Dolls at Marriott's Lincolnshire; Pope Joan and Don Juan in Hell at Bailiwick; More Fun Than Bowling at Organic/Touchstone; A Death in the Family with Streetsigns; Baby, Falsettos, Kindertransport and Pygmalion at Apple Tree; The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; and The Barber of Seville, Tartuffe, The Philadelphia Story, An Ideal Husband, The Cherry Orchard, The Learned Ladies, Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards, Twelfth Night and Piano at Court Theatre.

Heidi Kettenring can currently be seen as Nessarose in the Chicago production of Wicked and was on the national tour of Disney's Beauty and The Beast. Chicagoland credits include Funny Girl, Guys And Dolls, Sunset Boulevard, The Pajama Game, Travesties, The Importance Of Being Earnest and Always, Patsy Cline. She has worked at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Court Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Northlight Theatre, Theatre at The Center, Drury Lane Evergreen Park, Peninsula Players, Bar Harbor Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare theatre.

Julian Martinez was Stuart Little in Lifeline Theatre's KidSeries production of Stuart Little and has appeared in The Cherry Orchard at Steppenwolf, as well as episode #8 of Prison Break on Fox Television. Kymberly Mellon is currently in rehearsals for She Stoops to Conquer at Northlight Theatre. She has also appeared at Writers' Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Steppenwolf Theatre, Ravinia, Shakespeare on the Green at Barat College, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and had multiple roles in The American Girl Revue.

Barbara Robertson is a Chicago favorite whose credits include A Little Night Music and A Winter's Tale at the Chicago Shakespeare, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, House, Garden, Black Snow, Pal Joey, She Always Said, Pablo and Landscape of the Body at the Goodman, Hard Time at Lookingglass and Mary Stuart, Hamlet, La Bete, Little Foxes, Piano, Cherry Orchard and Tartuffe at the Court Theatre. Her television credits include A Will of Their Own (NBC ), A Mother's Courage (Disney), The Untouchables (Paramount) and Early Edition (CBS). She appeared as Harriet in Robert Altman's film The Company and as the Deer Woman in David Lynch's A Straight Story. She is the recipient of numerous Jeff and After Dark awards.

Guy Van Swearingen is a founding member of A Red Orchid Theatre and has participated in every production in some capacity. He has also appeared at American Contemporary Theatre (ACT), Lookingglass Theatre, Mary-Arrchie Theatre, Plasticene, Seattle Repertory, and Steppenwolf Theatre.

Greg Vinkler has appeared in over twenty productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He received Jeff Awards for his work in Hamlet, Twelfth Night and for the title role in King Lear. Greg has also appeared at Goodman, Court, Victory Gardens and Northlight. Cassie Wooley's recent credits include The Beauty and the Beast (Marriott Theatre), Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Peninsula Players Theatre), Fiorello! and Pravda with Timeline Theatre Company, The Princess and the Pea (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Tintypes (American Theatre Company); and Merrily We Roll Along (White Horse Theatre Company).

Ticket Information

Tickets for the one-night-only event are available at the Harris Theater box office in Millennium Park or can be ordered by phone at 312.334.7777, online at www.harristheaterchicago.org. Ticket prices range from $50 - $500.

About The Actors Fund

Founded in 1882, The Fund serves those in film, theatre, television, music, opera, and dance with a broad spectrum of programs including comprehensive social services, health services, supportive and affordable housing, emergency financial assistance, employment and training services, and skilled nursing and assisted living care. Administered from offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, The Actors Fund is a safety net, providing programs and services for those who are in need, crisis, or transition. The Actors Fund has operated a Chicago office for over 25 years, providing direct care and financial assistance focused on the needs of entertainment professionals in the Midwest.