Cast And Creative Team Revealed For Alliance Theatre's THE RESERVOIR

Alliance Theatre has announced the cast and creative team of its upcoming world-premiere co-production, THE RESERVOIR. Written by Jack Brasch and directed by Shelley Butler, THE RESERVOIR is a story of recovery that reminds us that sometimes the path forward isn’t the one we expected. The RESERVOIR runs on the Herts Stage, March 29 – May 4, 2025. Opening night is Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

Following an acclaimed presentation as a finalist for the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the world-premiere of THE RESERVOIR is now part of a three-theatre co-production between Alliance Theatre, the Denver Center Theatre Company and the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The Denver Post raved, “THE RESERVOIR is a remarkably layered and intricate work from a young playwright who is already being recognized for his gifts of timing, wit, and emotional frankness.”

In THE RESERVOIR, Josh’s life is a mess. He’s come home to Denver from NYU to get his life together but can’t manage to stay sober. Desperate for camaraderie, he decides to bring his four loveable grandparents on his road to recovery. He drags them to Jazzercise class at the JCC. He pressures them into playing memory games. He forces them to eat spinach by the handful. And eventually, when he can no longer help his grandparents, they begin to help him.

"Developing a play through workshops and readings is one thing, but staging it is another beast—especially this play. THE RESERVOIR functions like a dance piece, mirroring the protagonist’s strange train of thought,” said Playwright Jake Brasch. “Staging it has taught me so much about its wild, weird, and magical logic. Getting the gift of three full productions to refine it is extraordinary."

THE RESERVOIR cast features Joyce Cohen (Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Benediction) as Irene, Atlanta-based actor Mark Kincaid (Alliance Theatre: Carapace) as Hank, Rodney Lizcano (DCPA: American Mariachi) as Hugo/Others, Vanessa Lock (Signature Theatre: Nest) as Patricia/Others, Philip Schneider (Yale University: Hamlet) as Josh, Lori Wilner (Broadway: Prayer for the French Republic) as Beverly, and Peter Van Wagner (DCPA: Choir Boy) as Shrimpy. Understudies include Mira Hirsch, R. Cameron Lee, Liam McKenna, and Michelle Neil.

THE RESERVOIR creative team includes Shelley Butler, Takeshi Kata (Alliance Theatre & Broadway: Water for Elephants), Costumer Designer Sara Ryung Clement, Lighting Designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Sound Designer Michael Costagliola, Assistant Director Jayla Dyas, and Associate Sound Designer Jake Eisner.

Additional production support includes Stage Manager Liz Campbell, Stage Management Production Assistant Sam Honeycutt, and Production Management Lead Lawrence Bennett.

"I set out to write a drama about dementia science and ended up with a semi-autobiographical comedy about recovery, family, memory, and Jazzercise,” continued Brasch. “Whoops!" 

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