The Wallace Theater Announces Cast For Ken Ludwig's SHAKESPEARE IN HOLLYWOOD

The Wallace Theater has announced the cast of Ken Ludwig's "Shakespeare in Hollywood", coming April 6 -10 at the LHUCA Firehouse Theater.

It's 1934, and Shakespeare's most famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically materialized on the Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Instantly smitten by the glitz and glamour of show biz, the two are ushered onto the silver screen to play (who else?) themselves.

With a little help from a feisty flower, blonde bombshells (like our Jean Muir-inspired Lydia Lansing), movie moguls (Like Jack Warner and his fellow Warner Brothers), and arrogant "asses" are tossed into loopy love triangles, with raucous results.

Tickets go on sale for this hilarious comic romp on Monday, February 28. Audiences will have the option of a $40 general admission ticket and a $20 student ticket with a valid student ID. The Wallace is featuring a VIP ticket that includes light bites, beverages, and immersion into the production through seating placed in close proximity to the actors and playspace. VIP tickets are $100 a seat and include access to a shared cocktail table. VIP seating is limited!

To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit: www.WallaceTheater.com/Events.

Take a look behind the scenes and meet the cast that will bring Ken Ludwig's characters to life.

JOEY RODRIGUEZ (Oberon, King of the Fairies) attended TTU and studied voice under Dr. Rebecca Hays and Karl Dent. His credits include "The Fairy Queen" (Lysander) with Gramercy Opera, and "Don Giovanni" (Masetto) with the New York Lyric Opera Theater. Other New York credits include "Sweet Charity and Promises Promises" with the Transport Group Theatre Company. Joey has most recently performed "Sweeney Todd" (Adolfo Pirelli) at the Wallace Theater.

MAKAIDYN OSBURN (Puck): Makaidyn Osburn fell in love with theatre at a very young age and took the stage at age 11 in her very first show "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" playing Lucy at Clovis Homeschool Theatre. Her joy and desire for theatre began to grow throughout the years as she continued to perform in "The Christmas Carol" as young scrooge at Clovis Community Theatre , "A Christmas story" as jingle at Lubbock Community Theatre, "Willy Wonka" as Violet at Lubbock High, and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" as ensemble at Lubbock High. Makaidyn is currently enrolled in high school at Lubbock High in her senior year.

YNEZ SPENCER (Jack Warner) was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas where he graduated in 2016 from Coronado High School. He joined the theatre program in 2017 under Marti Runnels, where he debuted in his first play, "Arsenic and Old Lace". Ynez would go on to perform 4 more plays with Wayland before he got into film in April 2018. Ynez's film credits include "13 Reasons Why", "Stranger Things'', "Cry Macho", "American Underdog", "The Senior", "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", "A Promising Decision", "All American", "Chicago PD" and upcoming "Chicago Fire" and Rod Lurie's "Westpoint".

SCOTT ALFORD (Max Reinhard) has been performing on stage for almost 50 years. Some of his favorite roles to play have been the title role in "Becket or The Honour of God", Barry Champlain in "Talk Radio", Juror #3 in "12 Angry Men", Bill Sikes in "Oliver!", Miles Gloriosus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", Richard in "The Lion in Winter", Arvide in "Guys and Dolls", Pharaoh in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", and particularly Tevye in two productions of "Fiddler on the Roof". Most recently, he was Judge Turpin in The Wallace's production of "Sweeny Todd." He is really excited to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew in "Shakespeare in Hollywood".

BLAKE ROBERTSON (Will Hays) was born in Snyder, TX, but grew up on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. He began acting in high school and has been involved with community theatres across the southeast for over 20 years. Some of his favorite roles include Stacee Jaxx in "Rock of Ages" with the Joe Jefferson Players (Mobile, AL) and Eddie/Dr. Scott in "The Rocky Horror Show" with Naturally Improvable (Fort Smith, AR). Most recently, he portrayed Chris Alvaro in "Hands on a Hardbody" with The Wetumpka Depot Players (Wetumpka, AL). He is also excited to join the incredibly talented cast and crew at The Wallace and is grateful for the opportunity to play such a fun role.

NATALIE STANISLAUS (Olivia Darnell) Natalie is very excited to be performing as Olivia Darnell in "Shakespeare in Hollywood" with the Wallace Theater after her recent performance in "Sweeney Todd" as Johanna. She recently performed as Maleficent in "Descendants: the Musical" with Horizon School of the Arts and has been in several musicals with Lubbock Community Theater (LCT). Some of her favorite roles at LCT include Inga in "Young Frankenstein," Miss Honey in "Matilda," Judy's Understudy in "9 to 5," and Wednesday Addams in "The Addams Family." Natalie has also performed with Lubbock Moonlight Musical as Olga Mara in "Singin' in the Rain," Jan in "Grease," and as a General's Daughter in "Pirates of Penzance."

MARY TURNER (Lydia Lansing) is a Lubbock native and Lubbock Christian University graduate. Mary recently performed in The Wallace Theater's production of "Sweeney Todd." Mary has worked with Lubbock Moonlight Musicals both as a performer and scenic painter since 2016, her performances including "A Grand Night for Singing" and the Madrigal Dinner. She was proud to perform at the Organization of American Kodaly Educators national conference as a member of the women's ensemble The Sweet Peas. Mary has also performed in Culture Nerd's improv roleplay group live streamed on multiple platforms. "

ANNIE NICHOLS-BURGE (Louella Parsons) currently serves as Instructor of Voice at South Plains College. She holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University and has studied with Mary Jane Johnson, Sue Arnold, Quinn Patrick Ankrum, John Gillas, and Dr. Steve Weber. She also serves as music director and vocal coach for Lubbock Community Theatre's Horizon School of the Arts. Annie has appeared in productions with Lubbock Community Theatre's "9 to 5: The Musical" as Judy, "Young Frankenstein'' as Elizabeth, and most recently as the Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella". Other favorite roles include Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray" with Sidecare Theatre Company, Evil Queen in "Descendants: The Musical'' with Horizon, Cathy in "The Last 5 Years" with Renegade Productions, and her favorite experience to date, Mrs. Lovett in The Wallace's production of "Sweeney Todd''.

FRANK ANGUIANO (Daryl) currently resides in Lubbock, Texas and is a 2013 graduate of West Texas A&M University and 2020 graduate of Brite Divinity School. In 2011, Frank Anguiano stepped away from the theater program at West Texas A&M. Instead, he pursued a career in ordained ministry and spent the last three years as a pastor of United Methodist Churches in both Texas and Montana. But the desire to perform had never left. When Frank left his vocation at the end of 2021, he knew it was time to jump back in. "Shakespeare In Hollywood" was Frank's first audition in TEN YEARS and Daryl is his first major supporting role.

DANTZ DEBUSK (Dick Powell/Albert Warner) graduated from Pampa Texas in 2016 and moved to California to attend the American Academy of Dramatic arts. He later became a part of a theatre in North Hollywood called Loft Ensemble. His favorite and most meaningful role was playing "Brooks Brown" in "The Columbine Project" He says this role changed him as a performer but more importantly as a person. Since moving back to Lubbock he has been a part of two shows with the Lubbock Community Theatre: "Descendants" (Maurice) and "The 39 Steps" (Richard Hannay). Dantz is extremely excited to be a part of the production "Shakespeare in Hollywood" After seeing the musical "Sweeney Todd" at the Wallace Theater he knew he had to be apart in any way he could.

CONNOR WARD (Joe E. Brown) is from a small town outside of Houston. He fell in love with acting after taking a class in Houston during the winter of 2021. His dream is to become a professional actor and his favorite genres are action, comedy, and suspense. He is involved in upcoming short films in Lubbock along with taking Introduction to Acting at Texas Tech University. He looks forward to a career as an actor and working with The Wallace in Levelland. He believes that it will be a great experience and he will learn lots from it.

Alejandro Hernandez (Jimmy Cagney) is an independent musician/actor/entertainer of all sorts from West Texas. Throughout his school years, he performed in any and all music and stage performances that he could. This unintentional draw to the limelight helped establish Alejandro as a very strong stage presence and led him to study Musical Theatre Performance at West Texas A&M University. After school, Alejandro sought more stages and more ambitious projects. He began by returning to his hometown and dipping into the Lubbock local theatre pool and landed a the role of Ed Carmichael in the outlandish comedy "You Can't Take It With You" by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart at the Children and Adults Theatrical Studio, CATS Playhouse. Alejandro has been recently occupied with reinserting himself into the live theatre scene and has found a new home away from home at The Wallace. He says, "It just feels right."

David Mitchell (Ensemble) David is excited to be a part of "Shakespeare in Hollywood" which will be his first production at The Wallace Theater. David's first experience in acting took place at The Garza Theater over 20 years ago in "Arsenic and Old Lace." More recently he has appeared in many shows in Lubbock with his favorites being his portrayals of Matthew Cuthbert in "Anne of Green Gables", Thomas in "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot", Jan in "Small Mouth Sounds", Kent in "King Lear", and Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

OMAR SAMAD (Ensemble) Omar was born and raised in Lubbock, TX; and earned a Communications degree from Texas Tech University in 2020 with a Minor in Acting. Omar came to the Wallace Theater for the very first time just this past autumn to see some friends perform in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," and had such a great time, that they just had to come back for more! Omar is thrilled to be a part of this show, and hopes to help create some magic like that night they saw "Sweeney Todd," here at The Wallace. Omar has recently been involved in Lubbock Community Theatre's productions of "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," "The 39 Steps," and "Society Paige." They've also been in Lubbock's CATS Playhouse's production of "The Uninvited," and several plays during their time at Texas Tech University, including "RROAPS/RRADS" and "The BurkTech Players." Omar is excited to work with some old friends in this production and is so, so grateful for the opportunity to do so!

Shakespeare in Hollywood will be hosted at the LHUCA Firehouse Theater April 6th-10th due to exciting renovations at The Wallace. This venue was chosen because it met The Wallace's needs for a venue that still allowed The Wallace to meet its mission statement, "Creating Experiences that Entertain, Inspire, and Empower!", and produce the intimate performance experience that audiences love at The Wallace.

The production of Shakespeare in Hollywood is generously sponsored by United Supermarkets. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available! For more information on sponsorship opportunities, visit the show page at www.WallaceTheater.com/Events or call Tina at 806-894-4770.

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