Cast And Creative Team Set for World Premiere of MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT at Magic Theatre

Rainbow Zebra Productions LLC has revealed the full cast and creative team for the World Premiere of MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT, written and directed by Andrea Gordon. MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT will run from January 17 – 28, 2024 at Magic Theatre (Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94123). Opening Night is Friday, January 19, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $30 - $50 and can be purchased online at miriamandesther.com. 

"It is a dream come true for me to work with all these people on this particular play," said playwright and director Andrea Gordon. "Lee, Ellen, Janet and I have worked on umpteen projects over the last 30+ years. I wrote the parts of Miriam and Esther with Ellen and Janet in mind. Beaver and Kurt and I have also worked together over the past many decades. I love Nina and Chris's work and am excited to work with them. When you hear piano, these are old recordings of my father. And the whole play is dedicated to my sister Marcia, whom I love and adore."
 

About MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT

Two sisters, Miriam and Esther, long estranged, meet at their wealthy stepfather's condo, 45 years after their opera singer mother's death.  They are there to sort through their mother's things before their stepfather's widow sells the unit. Once there, they discover all kinds of secrets about their past, and work to find forgiveness for each other and their past.  In their treasure hunt, they are visited by ghosts of their mother and pianist father, and find much more than they bargained for with their hearts finally laid bare. Filled with song, music and dance, the play takes us on an immersive journey of what really matters- and how love wins no matter what.

The cast of MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT features Ellen Brooks (Miriam), Janet Roitz (Esther), Merrill Grant (Mom), and RP Welsh (Dad).   

In addition to Ms. Gordon, the creative team includes Nina Ball* (Scenic Design), Beaver Bauer* (Costume Design), Kurt Landisman* (Lighting Design), Chris Sauceda (Sound Design), Hector Zavala (Production Manager), and Lee Brady (Dramaturg). 

*Members of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). 

MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT runs approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.  

Tickets to MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT range from $30 - $50 and can be purchased online at miriamandesther.com. 

CAST BIOS

Miriam

Ellen Brooks

Elle Brooks, an actor, director and designer recently appeared as Virginia in Native GRdens, Feste in Twelfth Night, Lily Langtry in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, Prospera in The Tempest, Marilyn in Riocord, Alice in The Tin Woman, Florence Foster Jenkins, the worst singer in the world, in Glorious, Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music and Polly Wyeth, the indomitable Republican matron, in Other Desert Cities. Post-Covid, she directed The Wizard of Oz for the Western Stage, Anouihl’s Antigone, College of Marin, and three contemporary operas pieces for Music from Marin that were taken to London. She has been nominated as Best Actress by Bay Area Theater Critics for her roles as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret (a favorite): the quirky maid Berthe in Boeing, Boeing and Alice in The Tin Woman. Ms. Brooks also acted with the San Francisco Mime Troupe in its commedia del arte period and spent 21 years training and performing Japanese Kyogen with Theater of Yugen.

Esther
Janet Roitz

Janet Roitz is happy to be back on the stage and working again with Andrea Gordon. She spent many happy years as a member of Gordon's Tour de Force Theater Company performing in The Plough and the Stars, Playboy of the Western World, The Time of Your Life, Member of the Wedding, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Kindertransport. Janet also performed with Mark Jackson's Art Street Theater and with the American Conservatory Theater in their production of The Black Rider. She currently teaches dance classes for Rhythm and Motion at Oberlin Dance Collective and is part of the musical duo, Tumble and Ruff.

Mom
Merrill Grant 
Merrill Grant is thrilled to make her debut with the Magic Theatre in this fantastic new play. She has originated roles in new musicals for both the NYMF and NY Fringe Festivals and made solo debuts at Avery Fisher Hall and Weill Recital Hall during her eleven years in New York. Merrill performed and toured extensively with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, and with her own cabaret act My Shirley Years.  Merrill now resides in Noe Valley and has enjoyed being part of original musical pantomimes (“pantos”) produced by the Presidio Theatre for the last three holiday seasons. Next month she’ll portray Sarah Bernhardt in “The Divine Sarah”, a new musical, at Ross Valley Players. Thank you, Liam and Andrea! www.merrillgrant.com

Dad
RP Welsh

Ryan Patrick (RP) Welsh, aka The 8th Best Legs in San Francisco, is genuinely delighted to be here. RP has been performed extensively in SF for the last 8 years with The San Francisco Neo-Futurists, Peaches Christ Productions, and Baloney, San Francisco's Gay All-Male Revue. They most recently were seen as the fairy, Fremont, in The Panto in The Presidio's production of Sleeping Beauty and as The Narrator in Oasis' production of The Rocky Horror Show. RP has also been performing their 'one-woman' show, Sex, Camp, Rock 'N Roll, for the last year, most recently bringing it to Shotgun Theatre in Berkeley. You should definitely see it with your own eyeballs when it pops up next! He is grateful to his wonderful community that makes San Francisco the best place to live in. You can keep abreast of all of Ryan Patrick's spectacles by signing up for their mailing list through their linktree! linktr.ee/ryanpatrickwelsh 

ABOUT ANDREA GORDON

Playwright/Director

Andrea Gordon

Andrea Gordon has been directing and producing award winning theater on the West coast since 1983. She was resident director at Theater Artists of Marin, the One Act Theatre Company, Artistic Director for Tour de Force Theatre Company, Co-Artistic Director at the Eureka Theatre (along with Benny Sato Ambush and Lane Nishikawa). She is a legacy member and current Artistic Associate of Three Girl's Theatre. 
 

She has directed at Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, the Eureka Theatre, Berkeley Stage, Asian American Theatre Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Fringe Festival and many other places up and down the California Coast, NYC and Chicago. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The High School for Performing Arts NYC, took her BA in Dramatic Writing at The College of Creative Studies U.C.S.B, and her MA in Theater Direction from SFSU. She has taught theatre and writing at U.C.S.B., St. Mary’s College, the London School of Dramatic Arts, and San Francisco’s New College, among others. Because the cardinal rule of theater is to never give up your day job, she is a Top-Producing Realtor at COMPASS in Berkeley and Oakland. 

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