WHO’S WHO
GLENN DAVIS (Shawn, he/him/his) is an actor, TV/film producer, and an Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble member since 2017, where his credits include Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, and Head of Passes. Broadway credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre) and Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK) Edward II, The Winter’s Tale, and As You Like It (Stratford Festival), as well as Othello at The Shakespeare Company. Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho, and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company, alongside his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney, which is currently in an overall deal with Universal Content Productions (UCP). He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K. Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland, and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University. He is the first African-American graduate of the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.
CHRIS PERFETTI (Matt, he/him/his) can currently be seen co-starring in the ABC hit comedy series Abbott Elementary. Other television credits include What We Do in the Shadows, The Night Of, Crossbones, Looking, Bonding, Next Caller, The Resident, and In the Dark. Broadway credits include Six Degrees of Separation and Picnic. Off-Broadway: Moscow x6 (MCC; OCC Award Honor and Drama Desk nomination); The Low Road (The Public Theater); Everybody (Signature Theatre); The Tempest (The Public Theater/ NYSF); Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout Theatre Company; Theater World Award Winner), The Tutors (Second Stage). Film: The Surrogate, Minyan, The Virtuoso, Before I Go. Education: BFA, SUNY Purchase Conservatory.
KHLOE JANEL (DJ, they/them/theirs) Chicago: King James (Steppenwolf Theatre), Hatfield & McCoy (House Theatre), Fly Honey Show (DeTheatre), Haymarket (Underscore Theatre), Last Stop on Market Street (Chicago Children’s Theatre). Film: I Used To Go Here. Television: Wizdom, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Easy, Empire, The Chi. Education: B.A., Columbia College Chicago. “Gratitude and love to my mothers, brothers, chosen family and ancestors.” www.khloejanel.com @Khloe_Janel.
DANTE ALEXANDER (Shawn u/s, he/him/his) Dante is born and raised from Harlem, NYC. He is thrilled to debut/showcase his talent at the Mark Taper Forum. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Theatre: Yellowman (Chance Theater), Mrs. K (Royal Family), Faith On A Tuesday (Second Stage Uptown), and The Confession (Manhattan Repertory Theatre). TV Credits: The Shrink Next Door, The Young and the Restless, Inside Amy Schumer, and The Following. He is a member of The Collective NY. Visit www.danteacts.com for more of his work and to stay up to date on his latest projects.
CURTIS EDWARD JACKSON (Matt u/s, he/him/his) recently relocated to Los Angeles from Chicago and is thrilled to be working with CTG. Chicago credits include: Tribes, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Steppenwolf); Engines and Instruments of Flight, Eden Prairie 1971 (Goodman Theatre); Mansfield Park (Northlight Theatre); Hand to God (Victory Gardens); How the World Began (Rivendell Ensemble); Brilliant Adventures, First Love is the Revolution (Steep Theatre); Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake) (Jackalope Theatre); Men Should Weep, Letters Home (Griffin Theatre). Regional credits include: King Charles III (Cardinal Stage Company); Other Desert Cities (Farmer’s Alley Theatre); Richard III, Twelfth Night (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre).TV/Film: Ordinary Joe, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. (NBC); Invitation to a Murder; The Funeral Photographer; Teacher; The Falls: Covenant of Grace. Curtis is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and studied Acting at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. He is represented in L.A. by Gray Talent Group.
RAJIV JOSEPH (Playwright, he/him/his) Rajiv Joseph’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and also awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. He has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 with Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play) and then in 2018 with Describe the Night. Other plays include Letters of Suresh, Archduke, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and Animals Out of Paper. He has written for TV and film, including the feature film Draft Day which he co-wrote with Scott Rothman. He has been awarded artistic grants from the Whiting Foundation, United States Artists, and the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal.
KENNY LEON (Director, he/him/his) is a Tony Award-winning director who also has been honored with The Actors Fund Medal of Honor, an Obie Award, and an NAACP Image Award. Leon is also a proud honoree of the George Abbott Lifetime Achievement for American Theatre. Broadway: A Soldier’s Play, American Son, Children of a Lesser God, Holler If Ya Hear Me, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, Stick Fly, August Wilson’s Fences, Gem of the Ocean, and Radio Golf. Off-Broadway: The Underlying, Chris, Everybody’s Ruby, Emergence-See! (The Public), Smart People (Second Stage). Television: Colin in Black & White, 4400, Amend: The Fight for America, American Son (adapted for Netflix), Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live!, Steel Magnolias, Dynasty, In My Dreams. Author: Take You Wherever You Go. Artistic Director Emeritus, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company. Senior Resident Director: Roundabout Theatre.
TODD ROSENTHAL (Scenic Design, he/him/his) Select Broadway: August: Osage County (Tony Award), The Motherfucker with the Hat (Tony and Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Tony Award, Best Revival), Of Mice and Men, This is Our Youth, Straight White Men, Fish in the Dark, and Linda Vista. Select Off-Broadway: Red Light Winter, Barrow Street Theater; Domesticated, Lincoln Center; Qualms, Playwrights Horizons; Nice Fish, St. Ann’s Warehouse. Set designer for the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center for six years. International: August: Osage County (London, Sydney, Australia); The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Ireland; Nice Fish, London; Madama Butterfly, Ireland; and Downstate, London. Regional: Steppenwolf (33 productions), Goodman (artistic partner), Chicago Shakespeare, Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, American Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alliance, Lyric Opera, Chicago, and many others. Select museum exhibitions: Mythbusters: The Explosive Exhibition, The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes, and Crayola IDEAworks: The Creative Exhibition. Other Awards: 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award (USITT), Laurence Olivier, Helen Hayes, Ovation, Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, Joseph Jefferson, and the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. Professor and chair of Stage Design Program, Northwestern University. Graduate, Yale Drama. Website: www.toddrosenthalstudio.com.
SAMANTHA C. JONES (Costume Design, she/her/hers) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Monster, The Roommate. Chicago: The Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Jackalope Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, and others. Regional credits include Geffen Playhouse, the Alley Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, American Players Theatre, First Stage Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Peninsula Players Theatre, and more. Current work can be seen in Once On This Island at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and upcoming productions include The Color Purple at The MUNY and Dreamgirls at Paramount Theatre. Jones loves basketball, loves this team, and loves this play. samanthacjones.com
LEE FISKNESS (Lighting Design, he/him/his) is based out of Chicago and it is his first time designing with Center Theatre Group. He first designed King James with Steppenwolf Theatre where he also designed The Children, The Crucible, and Fundamentals. Chicago Credits: The Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Drury Lane, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens, Windy City Playhouse, Lookingglass, Northlight. Opera: Lyric Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Colorado, Portland Opera, Kentucky Opera, Florentine Opera. Regional: People’s Light & Theatre, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Actors Theatre, Merrimack Repertory, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Two River Theatre. Exhibitions: Jurassic World-China, Crayola IDEAworks-Philadelphia, King Tut-D.C. and Boston. Television (Lighting Teams): The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Fox Sports, The Chicago Bears Network. Education: MFA in Design, Northwestern University. Lee was the Lighting Director at The Santa Fe Opera and worked with the company for 18 seasons. www.leefiskness.com.
MICHAEL BODEEN (he/him/his) and ROB MILBURN (he/him/his) (Sound Design). Broadway credits include music composition and sound for No Man’s Land and Waiting for Godot, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Miracle Worker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Speed of Darkness; and sound for Sweat, The Price, Larry David’s Fish in the Dark, This Is Our Youth, Of Mice and Men, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Superior Donuts, reasons to be pretty, A Year with Frog and Toad, The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Grapes of Wrath. They have also created music and sound Off-Broadway (including Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj, directed by Amy Morton), at many of America’s resident theatres (often at Steppenwolf Theatre), London’s West End and at several other international venues. Please visit milbomusic.com.
DAVID S. FRANKLIN (Production Stage Manager, he/him/his) Center Theatre Group Highlights: An Enemy of the People, Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème, Art, Romance, The Cherry Orchard, Curtains, Nightingale, The History Boys, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Parade, The Subject Was Roses, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Randy Newman’s Harps and Angels, God of Carnage, Vigil, Waiting for Godot, Los Otros, Red, Seminar, Tribes, Humor Abuse, The Steward of Christendom, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Bent, The Christians, Disgraced, A View From The Bridge, Zoot Suit, Archduke, King of the Yees, Head of Passes, Valley of the Heart, Linda Vista, Lackawanna Blues, A Play Is a Poem, A Christmas Carol (Western Tour), and had the pleasure of assisting on Soft Power. Other Los Angeles: Los Angeles Theatre Center in its heyday from 1985–1990, Pasadena Playhouse, and the Geffen Playhouse. Regional: Seattle Rep, Intiman Theatre. New York: Public Theater. Tours: Europe—Quotations from a Ruined City, Law of Remains (with Reza Abdoh’s Dar a Luz company).
CAMELLA COOPER (Stage Manager, she/her/hers) has been working in the theatre and education industry for over 10 years. She is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Antioch University, Seattle. Shows like Two Trains Running by August Wilson with Sophina Brown, Ruined by Lynn Nottage with the African American Theater Arts Troupe, and Brain Problems by Malcolm Barrett with Ammunition Theatre Company are a few shows she has stage-managed or assistant stage-managed and just completed working on Slave Play by Jeremy O’Harris with CTG. She is also the Co-founder and Director of Operations for Black Stage Everything, a networking and education platform for BIPOC theater practitioners, and the Co-Artistic Director of Ammunition Theatre Company.

MICHELLE BLAIR (Resident Stage Manager, she/her/hers) has enjoyed a long history of stage managing in Los Angeles and has worked extensively with Center Theatre Group on over thirty productions at their three theatres. Other favorites include A Christmas Carol First National Tour, The Pee-wee Herman Show at Club Nokia, A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters with Cornerstone Theater Company, Henry IV with Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, Jersey Boys in Las Vegas, and Eurydice and La Traviata with the Los Angeles Opera. Graduate of the University of Southern California and the University of Amsterdam. Mom to fourteen-year-old Liam and ten-year-old Imogen. For Susie Walsh.
JC CLEMENTZ (Casting, he/him/his) is the Casting Director at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company as well as a freelance stage director. He has cast productions out of Chicago and New York over the past decade including the Broadway productions of Linda Vista (also Center Theatre Group) and The Minutes. He is currently serving as Associate Director on the upcoming Broadway musical The Devil Wears Prada directed by Anna D. Shapiro with music by Elton John and lyrics by Shaina Taub. JC is a proud member of SDC and the Casting Society.
VICTOR VAZQUEZ, CSA (Additional Casting, he/him/his) is the founder and lead Casting Director of X Casting (www.xcastingnyc.com), and sits on the national board of the Casting Society of America. He has cast projects for Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End, TV (upcoming: Genius: MLK/X for 20th TV Nat Geo, Disney+), and Film. He is the proud son of Mexican immigrants. Los Angeles is his hometown. Go Lakers.
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE (Co-producer) is America’s premier ensemble theatre. Formed in 1976 by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney, the ensemble has expanded to 50 celebrated artists—among the top actors, playwrights, and directors in the field. Productions launched at the theatre, from August: Osage County to Pass Over, and accolades including the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards® made the Chicago theatre legendary. More than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway, and Dublin. 2021 marked the opening of Steppenwolf’s landmark Arts & Education Center deepening the company’s commitment to Chicagoland teens. Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis are the Artistic Directors and E. Brooke Flanagan is Executive Director. Steppenwolf.org.
CENTER THEATRE GROUP
MEGHAN PRESSMAN (Managing Director/CEO, she/her/hers) joined Center Theatre Group in 2019. Previously, she served as Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (D.C.), Director of Development for Signature Theatre (N.Y.), and Associate Managing Director of Berkeley Rep. She is a graduate of Yale School of Drama/Yale School of Management, and serves as a mentor in the Theater Management program. Meghan has served as the Vice Chair for the Theatre Communications Group Board of Directors, and is a member of the Broadway League.
DOUGLAS C. BAKER (Producing Director, he/him/ his) is now in his 30th season at Center Theatre Group. He is an active member of the Broadway League, the Independent Presenters Network, and is a proud member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. In May 2013, Doug received the Broadway League’s prestigious Outstanding Achievement in Presenter Management Award.
TYRONE DAVIS (Associate Artistic Director, he/him/his) is a director, actor, producer, educator, and member of Center Theatre Group’s artistic staff, he previously served as its Audience Engagement Director. Selected producing credits include: Crowndation, Black Nourishment, The Salvi Chronicles, The Duat, WET: A DACAmented Journey, and the upcoming production King James. He is passionate about commissioning and developing new works with artists and audiences both locally and nationally. Tyrone is an L.A. native, a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) School of Theater M.F.A. acting program and holds a B.A. in theatre from California State University, Northridge.
NEEL KELLER (Associate Artistic Director, he/him/his) For Center Theatre Group, Neel has directed the World premieres of Eliza Clark’s Quack, Lucy Alibar’s Throw Me On The Burnpile and Light Me Up, Dael Orlandersmith’s Forever, Kimber Lee’s different words for the same thing, Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, and Jessica Goldberg’s Good Thing, as well as productions of Sheila Callaghan’s Women Laughing Alone With Salad, David Greig’s Pyrenees, Dael Orlandersmith’s Until the Flood, and Marie Jones’ Stones in His Pockets. He has also directed for New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Goodman Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and several hospitable theatres in the UK and EU. As a producer at Center Theatre Group, Neel has worked closely with dozens of creative teams on the development and production of a wide range of plays and musicals. Two of the happiest of these experiences have been working with Rajiv Joseph on Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and Archduke. Neel is a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Directors Guild of America.
NAUSICA STERGIOU (General Manager) has worked supporting artists in theatres of all shapes, sizes, and locales including Center Theatre Group as General Manager and, previously, as Audience Development Director. She oversees productions at the Taper and Douglas, as well as new play commissions and developmental productions. Nausica has taught Marketing and Management at USC’s School of Dramatic Arts and works with local nonprofits including Hollywood Orchard. B.A. Cornell University. M.F.A. Yale School of Drama.
GORDON DAVIDSON (Founding Artistic Director) led the Taper throughout its first 38 seasons, guiding over 300 productions to its stage and winning countless awards for himself and the theatre—including the Tony Award for theatrical excellence, Margo Jones Award, The Governor’s Award for the Arts, and a Guggenheim fellowship. The Kentucky Cycle and Angels in America (Part One) won the Pulitzer in consecutive years and, in 1994, three of the four plays nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play were from the Taper (Angels in America won). In 1989, Gordon took over the Ahmanson and, in 2004, he produced the inaugural season in the Kirk Douglas Theatre.
ADDITIONAL STAFF FOR KING JAMES
Assistant Director: Sophiayaa Nayar
Assistant Scenic Designer: Alan Schwanke
Assistant Lighting Designer: Lindsey Lyddan
Costume Design Assistant: Johan Gallardo
Voice and Text Coach: Gigi Buffington
Dramaturge: Polly Hubbard
Interim Wardrobe Supervisor: Loretta Bussen
Production Assistant: Janete Avila
CREDITS
Scenery constructed by F&D Scene Changes; production photography by Craig Schwartz.
The actors and stage managers employed in this
production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The following employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Machine Operators, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC: Stage Crew Local 33; Local Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 857; Wardrobe Crew Local
768; Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Local 706. The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829.
The Director and Choreographer are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.
Center Theatre Group is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the American Arts Alliance, the Broadway League, Independent Presenters’ Network (IPN), and the Theatre Communications Group (TCG).

