Good Boys |
June 26 — July 21A sex tape rocks St. Joseph’s Prep, putting Brandon Hardy’s reputation on the line and threatening to shatter the comfortable lives of the Hardy family.
In a summer drama that will have everyone talking, Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) plays Brandon’s mother, the matriarch of the Hardy family who must separate fact from fiction—and, ultimately, choose to either preserve a legacy or risk losing everything in pursuit of the truth.
“Gripping...impossible to look away.”
By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Directed by Carolyn Cantor
2 hours, 10 minutes
One 15-minute intermission
Wine Wednesday
Cast
Ben Ahlers (Brandon Hardy)
Ben is so thrilled to make his Pasadena Playhouse debut! Regional: The Closet, The Member of the Wedding (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Basement Arts), selected other credits include The Winter’s Tale and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. TV: The Village (NBC, recurring), Instinct (CBS). Proud Wolverine from the University of Michigan. So much love and so many thanks to Telsey & Company, Jen, Sean, and the entire teams at Soffer/Namoff and ICM Partners. For SLAL, PBA, and RWL, to whom I owe everything. Social: @benahlers
Dylan Arnold (Justin Simmons)
Dylan is beyond excited to be making his Pasadena Playhouse debut in Good Boys. He moved to Los Angeles three years ago after graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2016. His recent film and TV credits include the ABC miniseries, When We Rise; Mudbound; S.W.A.T.; Nashville; The Purge (TV); Halloween; After (2019); and you can catch him this October in the Hulu/Blumhouse series Into the Dark. Dylan would like to thank Roberto, Carolyn, and the entire cast and crew for allowing him to be a part of this incredibly transformative experience.
Betsy Brandt (Elizabeth Hardy)
Betsy Brandt can currently be seen starring in the CBS family comedy “Life in Pieces,” alongside Colin Hanks, Dianne Wiest and James Brolin. The series is currently in its fourth season. Betsy will also have a recurring role later this year in the highly anticipated Suits spinoff, Pearson. She is also filming the Blumhouse horror-thriller, Run Sweetheart Run.
Last Fall, Betsy was seen in Lifetime’s original movie, FLINT, alongside Queen Latifah, Jill Scott and Marin Ireland. The film follows the true story of three of the real-life women turned activists from Flint, Michigan who brought the water crisis to a national level. It was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Movie Made for TV.
Among her many television credits, Betsy is well-known to television audiences for her portrayal of Marie, the sister-in-law of meth-making mastermind Walter White in the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe award-winning series “Breaking Bad.” She also starred as Michael J. Fox’s wife in the comedy “The Michael J. Fox Show.” Her recurring television appearances include “Masters of Sex” and “Parenthood.”
Brandt received rave reviews for her starring role in the indie dream CLAIRE IN MOTION, which had its World Premiere in the narrative feature competition line-up at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival. Her other film credits include: LANDLINE, Steven Soderbergh’s MAGIC MIKE and the independent feature QUEST.
On stage, she portrayed ‘Holly’ in the West Coast premiere of Geoffrey Nauffts’ Tony-nominated “Next Fall” at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. She originated roles in award-winner Julia Cho’s World Premiere of “The Language Archive” at South Coast Repertory and Beth Henley’s “Ridiculous Fraud” at San Jose Rep.
Brandt studied theatre with the Moscow Art School and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She earned her BFA in Acting at Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A native of Bay City, Michigan, she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she works with Feeding America as a member of their Entertainment Council.
James Carpinello (Russell Shay)
Broadway: Original companies of Rock of Ages, Xanadu and Saturday Night Fever. Off Broadway: Incident at Vichy (Signature Theater) and Stupid Kids (dir. Michael Mayer). Recent TV: The Enemy Within, The Gifted, Gotham, The Good Wife, Person of Interest. Film: Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Midway, The Dunning Man, Gangster Squad, The Punisher, The Great Raid. BFA /Acting Carnegie Mellon University.
Brett Cooper (Cheryl)
Brett is thrilled to be making her Pasadena Playhouse debut! She was last seen on Paramount Network’s Heathers and 20th Century FOX’s Shots Fired. Previous regional theater credits include Gypsy, The Sound of Music, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Brett currently studies English Literature and Anthropology at UCLA. All her love and gratitude to her longtime team of Kim Pedell, Margot Menzel, and the folks at CESD, and as always, to Mom.
Toks Olagundoye (Tamilla)
Toks Olagundoye is thrilled to be returning to her first love, the theater, and is truly proud to part of this timely show. Toks originated the role of a Young Woman in Saint Lucy’s Eyes (The Women’s Project, The Cherry Lane, The Alliance Theatre) opposite Ruby Dee. That, however, was another life. Best known for her turn as Hayley Shipton on Castle (ABC), Toks recently ran for president on the final season of Veep (HBO) and was all things alien as JJK on Dan Fogelman’s freshman show, The Neighbors (ABC). If you enjoy semi-militant vegan posts about the environment and aiding animals you can find Toks on Instagram at @TolyKay and Twitter at @ToksOlagundoye.
Tristan Boesch (Prep School Boy)
Tristan Boesch is an actor hailing from Vancouver, Washington. Recent credits include Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Voice of the Prairie, and an original physical theatre performance touring to Washington School for the Deaf. He currently attends CalArts (BFA ’21) and would like to thank his friends and family.
Bradley Cloversettle (Prep School Boy)
Professional debut. Bradley is a current student at CalArts and working towards his B.FA. in Acting. Favorite roles: Julius Caesar (Mark Antony), A Funny Thing… (Hero). TV/film: American Horror Story, and The Goldbergs. Very grateful for this opportunity – much love to my family and fiancé (just engaged!)
Danny Cron (Prep School Boy)
Danny Cron is thrilled to join this stellar cast in his Pasadena Playhouse debut. His recent stage credits include Stuart Little (Sierra Madre Playhouse) and Comedy of Errors (Inner City Shakespeare). He holds a BFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts. You can find more at dannycron.com
Will White (Prep School Boy)
Will White is an actor from Houston, Texas. He is currently pursuing an education in acting at CalArts. Though not his first rodeo, it is his debut in California and he couldn’t be happier that it’s with the Pasadena Playhouse. He would like to thank his loved ones.
Zack Gearing (Prep School Boy Alternate)
Two years ago, Zack Gearing graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, with a BFA in Acting, and has since worked in both the commercial world and the Theater. Most recently, he portrayed Isaac in the LA premiere of Taylor Mac’s HIR, at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. He is honored to be working with the Pasadena Playhouse.
Creative Team
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Playwright)
Roberto is an award-winning playwright, comic book writer, and screenwriter. Broadway credits include the musical version of American Psycho based on the classic novel by Bret Easton Ellis and the upcoming Broadway musical Magic Mike. Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa was also part of the team brought in to overhaul Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark. His many plays include Abigail/1702 (NYS&F), Good Boys and True (2econd Stage Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre), Based on a Totally True Story (MTC), King of Shadows, The Mystery Plays, Dark Matters, and many others published by DPS. Roberto is the Creator and Executive Producer of the television series Riverdale on The CW network and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. Additional television credits include Big Love, Looking, Glee, and Supergirl. For MGM Films, he wrote new versions of both Carrie and The Town that Dreaded Sundown.
Carolyn Cantor (Director)
Carolyn Cantor is a New York based director of primarily new work. Off Broadway credits include Sell/Buy/Date, Regrets and Pumpgirl (Manhattan Theatre Club); Indian Summer, Fly By Night, Great God Pan, After the Revolution (Callaway Award), Stone Cold Dead Serious (Playwrights Horizons); Arlington (Vineyard Theatre); In a Dark Dark House (MCC Theater); Something You Did (Primary Stages); The Talls (Second Stage); Core Values (Ars Nova); Orange Flower Water, Living Room in Africa, Now That’s What I Call A Storm and Life is a Dream (Edge Theater), and EVE-olution (Cherry Lane). Regionally her work has been seen in THEO (Two River), Sell/Buy/Date and Rabbit Hole (Geffen, Garland Award), The Violet Hour (Old Globe), After the Revolution, Not Waving and King Stag (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Vera Laughed and Get What You Need (NYS&F), Diary of Anne Frank (Papermill) and many others. Upcoming: Good Boys (Pasadena Playhouse). She has developed work at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, the Sundance Theater Lab, Steppenwolf, the Goodman Theater, OSF and NYS&F. Carolyn has received the Seldes/Kanin Award from the Theatre Hall of Fame, the Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Fellowships from WTF and a Drama League Directong Fellowship. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, a member of SDC and the mother of two daughters.
Sara Ryung Clement (Costume Design)
Pasadena Playhouse: Belleville. Off-Broadway: Somebody’s Daughter (Second Stage Uptown); Fruiting Bodies (Ma-Yi Theatre). Regional credits include the Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse POP Tour, Mixed Blood, TheatreWorks, Center Stage Baltimore, Boston Court, Perseverance Theatre, East West Players, Cornerstone Theater Company, A Noise Within, Yale Repertory Theatre, and others. Upcoming projects include Hype Man at Actors Theatre of Louisville and Henry IV Part 1 at the Folger Theatre. Set design faculty at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and is a recipient of the Donald and Zorca Oenslager Fellowship in Design. MFA, Yale School of Drama; AB Princeton University. Online: sararyungclement.com
Daniel Gower (Sound Designer)
Daniel Gower is an LA-based sound designer and composer. Nightwalk in the Chinese Garden (The Huntington Botanical Gardens, CalArts CNP); The Carolyn Bryant Project (REDCAT); Until, Until, Until (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts); Life and Times, Episodes 1-9 (Nature Theater of Oklahoma). Assistant/Associate: Looking for Christmas (The Old Globe Theater); Dr. Atomic (The Santa Fe Opera); A Walk on the Moon (American Conservatory Theater); Our Town (Pasadena Playhouse); Big Sky (Geffen Playhouse). Online: danielgower.com
Elizabeth Harper (Lighting Designer)
Regional: Between Two Knees (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Cake (La Jolla Playhouse); The Invisible Hand (Kansas City Rep); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Immediate Family directed by Phylicia Rashad (Mark Taper Forum);Quack, Woman Laughing Alone With Salad (Kirk Douglas Theatre); Wait Until Dark, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Play Dead directed by Teller (Geffen Playhouse); Rock of Ages (The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle); Office Hourstarring Sandra Oh, Little Black Shadows (South Coast Repertory); Crescent City directed by Yuval Sharon (The Industry Opera Company). Corporate events include projects for Microsoft, Under Armour, AirBnB and Universal Studios. Elizabeth is a professor of lighting design at the University of Southern California.
Dane Laffrey (Set Designer)
Broadway: Once On This Island (2018 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical), Deaf West’s Spring Awakening, Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love. Recent off-Broadway: Dying City (Second Stage), Apologia (Roundabout), Collective Rage… (MCC), Summer and Smoke (Classic Stage), Rancho Viejo (Playwrights Horizons), The Harvest (Lincoln Center Theatre), David Greenspan’s Strange Interlude (Transport Group). Recent LA: Jefferson May’s A Christmas Carol (Geffen Playhouse), Quack (CTG), Annie (Hollywood Bowl), Sell.Buy.Date (LGBT Center / Geffen Playhouse / Manhattan Theatre Club in NYC), Merrily We Roll Along (Wallis Annenberg), The Christians (CTG). Other Regional: The Old Globe, Huntington, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage, many others. Dane has been nominated for a Tony Award, 2 Drama Desk Awards, 7 American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Awards, an Ovation Award, and won a 2017 OBIE for sustained excellence in set and costume design.
Jennifer Slattery (Stage Manager)
Pasadena Playhouse: Tiny Beautiful Things, Our Town, King Charles III, Belleville, Bordertown Now, and Native Gardens (ASM). Broadway: Bullets Over Broadway, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Guys and Dolls, Oleanna, and Cry-Baby. Other NYC: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Heading East (The Asia Society), NY2022, Shir a Shalom (Guggenheim Works & Process). Regional: Next to Normal (East West Players), Restoration Comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus, Othello (The Old Globe), and work with La Jolla Playhouse, New Harmony/USI, the Rude Mechs, 7 Devils Playwrights Conference, and ZACH Theatre. Jenny is on the faculty at California Institute of the Arts. Education: MFA (UCSD), MA (UT Austin), and BA (University of Florida).
Daniel Trostler (Assistant Stage Manager)
Daniel is thrilled to be returning to the Pasadena Playhouse backstage. Daniel has recently Stage Managed Oslo with LATW, The Two Noble Kinsmen and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company and Assistant Stage Managed Miracle on 34th Street with the Pasadena Playhouse. Daniel would like to thank his parents, friends, Bee and itty bitty Gwen. Also a special shout out to the magnanimous Natalie Helton who is the very definition of awesome!