Levin Valayil (Mowgli)
Levin is thrilled to be making his Pasadena Playhouse debut as Mowgli! Levin hails from Sugar Land, TX and has just been seen playing “Beethoven” in Dog Sees God in NYC. Levin also recently originated the role of “Lottery” in the new musical Monsoon Wedding at Berkeley Repertory Theater and also originated the role of “Dharun Ravi” in the new musical Poster Boy at Williamstown Theater Festival. Levin has also played “Bob” in the musical The Fabulous Lipitones at the New Theatre, Virginia Repertory Theater, and at The Florida Studio Theater. Levin would like to thank About Artists Agency for their endless support and his Mom, Dad, and brother Ruben for their unapologetic enthusiasm and love! For “The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf and the strength of the wolf is the Pack!”
Miriam Fernandes (Shere Khan / Kaa/ Maya / Others)
Miriam Fernandes is an international actor, director, and theatre-maker. Acting credits includeAnimal Farm (Soulpepper Theatre), Prince Hamlet (Why Not Theatre), Dinner with the Gods (Wolf and Wallflower, Sydney AU), the World Premieres of The Snow Queen and A Sunday Affair (Theatre New Brunswick), The Living (Summerworks Performance Festival), Soliciting Temptation (Tarragon Theatre), and The Biographer (Tango Co.). She has trained with the SITI Company, and is a graduate of Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Miriam is the co-artistic director of YVA Theatre, an international company of artists from France, Norway and Canada. In 2017 she directed their inaugural production, Nesen, in the MiniMidiMaxi Festival in Bergen, Norway, and is currently in development for their new show, The First Time I Saw the Sea. Miriam is the recipient of the Canada Council’s JPC Watkins award, the Imasco Performing Arts Award, and a Chalmers Professional Development Grant.
Matt Lacas (Akela / Baloo / Buldeo / Others)
Matt Lacas is ecstatic to be returning to the jungle with this wonderful team, having been part of the development process for Jungle Book since its conception. Matt is an international performer having been on stages all over Europe, Asia and across Canada. Selected Credits – Ram (Les Moutons, Corpus), Gomez (Addams Family Musical, RCPA), Bob (Fabulous Lipitones, Miracle Theatre), Demetrius (Titus Andronicus, MSTC). Matt is also the founder of We Are Here Productions, a theatre company that attempts to turn art into tangible aid for communities worldwide. Matt would like to thank those who keep him in check and not take luck for granted.
Anita Majumdar (Raksha / Bagheera / Messua / Others)
Anita is an award-winning actress, playwright and dancer. She attended the National Theatre School of Canada and has over 20 years of dance experience with formal training in kathak, bharatanatyam and odissi dance forms. Her acting debut in the film Murder Unveiled won her the Best Actress award at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore. She also appeared in Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In playwriting, Anita holds Canada’s Governor General’s Protégé Prize in playwriting and was nominated for the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance for her play Same Same But Different. Her Fish Eyes Trilogy was published with graphic illustrations by Playwrights Canada Press, and her play Boys With Cars received Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance. In 2017 she completed her Masters of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies and began developing a solo YouTube/Instagram series called “YesWeCandice”.