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I’m Starring in “Vanya and Sonia…” at Portland Center Stage in Oregon!

Two days after I returned from starring in a hit 30th Anniversary production of The Foreigner for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, I had an audition. The next day I had a callback. And then….

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be starring as Vanya in Portland Center Stage’s production of Chris Durang’s brilliant Tony-winning comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. I played the role for three months last winter for Asolo Rep, and am so excited to take a completely fresh look at the role and the play with a new director and a new cast and new designers.

Plus, I’ve never been to Portland, or anywhere in that area on the West Coast. I hear fantastic things about it, and can’t wait to explore in my time off. Portland Center Stage has a gorgeous, LEED-certified new home downtown, and my apartment will only be a few blocks away. After all the years I’ve been in this business, this will be the first time I’ve lived and worked downtown in a major city. I can’t wait!

If you’re in the Portland, OR area, I do hope you’ll come to see the show and say hi afterwards. Rehearsals begin 12/16. Previews are January 10-15, 2015, and we open on January 16th. Closing day is February 8th. Hope to see you there! Click the image below to visit the PCS website for tickets and more information.

(Plus, is that a great logo, or what? The more you know the play, the more perfect it is!)

American Theatre Magazine Online Includes Photo From The Foreigner!

Well, this is a nice little surprise: American Theatre magazine’s online weekly roundup of photos from regional theatre productions includes a shot from our Maltz Jupiter Theatre production of The Foreigner!

You can see the shot in their slideshow by clicking here.

If you’re in the Jupiter, Florida area and are in need of an evening of big laughs, join us at The Foreigner! We’re playing only through this Sunday, November 9th.

The Foreigner Opens Tonight at The Maltz Jupiter Theatre!

It’s opening night! After a string of roaringly successful previews, and standing ovations at the end of each one, tonight we open The Foreigner at the beautiful Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, Florida. In my last post, I saluted all the folks behind the scenes. And I want to thank again our wonderful director Matt Lenz, who made the rehearsal process such a joy, and Producing Artistic Director Andrew Kato, for championing this play and choosing to open his season with it.

For this post, however, I want to focus on my fellow actors, who are all wonderful offstage, and even more wonderful onstage. I’m very lucky to be out there with each and every one of them. If you’re in the Jupiter area, you owe it to yourself to see these fine folks at work, generating everything from chuckles to guffaws. Who are the wacky people pictured here? You can see the full cast (and the creative team)–and buy tickets–here:

Thank you and congrats to everyone involved with The Foreigner. This is my fourth production as Charlie Baker (the “foreigner”), and I still learn new things every day from everyone involved. Happy Opening!

The Foreigner Opens October 30th at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre!

We’ve already done a couple of previews, with fantastic audiences, and have two more today. Then we officially open this lovely (and yes, very funny) production of The Foreigner on October 30th. If you are in the Jupiter, Florida area and don’t already have your tickets–buy them now! We only run through Sunday, 11/9, and tickets are selling fast for this crowd-pleaser. Standing ovations every night.

Matt Lenz is our wonderful director; he has helped us all find so many lovely (and sometimes zany) moments, and made the entire rehearsal process a joy. Production Stage Manager Brandy DeMil (the divine one and only) and Assistant PSM Neil Krasnow have kept us in line and on time, all with a smile. And the design team is equally fabulous: Rob Odorisio (set), Paul Miller (lighting), Michael McDonald (costumes), and Marty Mets (sound). And of course, none of this would have happened without the ongoing guidance and support of Producing Artistic Director Andrew Kato, and Associate Producer/Company Manager Rachel Blavatnik. And then there’s the fantastic tech, marketing, administrative, house management and production teams–what a talented and lovely bunch all around!

As a little teaser, here’s a photo of Rob’s gorgeous log cabin set with some of Paul’s sublime lighting. The production came together so smoothly that the design and tech teams had spare time to add smoke coming out the chimney. Come see it all in person!

For more information, click here.

Catch Me Monday 9/29 at 10PM on NBC’s Hit “The Blacklist”!

Sometimes good things happen fast. Last Thursday night I got a call about an audition for The Blacklist. On Friday, I read for Casting Director Suzanne Smith Crowley of Chrystie Street Casting, who gave me some great coaching, and we both felt good about what we put on tape. Friday night, my agency told me NBC had “pinned” me for the role. Monday morning, my agent told me I’d booked the role. I went in for my fitting late Monday afternoon with the fabulous costume folks, and we shot the brief scene on Tuesday at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

My scene takes place with the water and a bridge behind me, which should make for a nice-looking shot. I won’t say any more about the scene except that I’m the man at the pay phone. It was great fun watching the set decoration team take a prop phone booth and in about 5 minutes make it look like it had been standing there for a decade.

It’s a fun and mysterious little scene. Here’s hoping they bring my character back for more! Director Steve Adelson was great to work with, eager to confer about the scene and with great ideas on how best to play it. We shot two clean takes just before we lost the sun, and it was a wrap. My thanks to Steve, and to everyone else on the shoot as well for a great day. What a nice bunch of pros.

My scene airs this coming Monday, 9/29, at 10pm on NBC. Tune in and watch for me!

Did You Spot Me on NBC’s The Mysteries of Laura?

Episode 102 of The Mysteries of Laura aired last night (9/24) on NBC, and if you didn’t blink, you might have seen me as the blind date that Debra Messing dismisses before chasing a suspect. My one line was “You must be Laura!” to which she replied she has already found someone–and then she kissed her surprised co-star, Laz Alonso, and they dashed off. A modest network TV debut, but fun all the same. Ms. Messing, Mr. Alonso, and director McG were all a lot of fun, and I hope our paths cross again soon.

I’m Playing Sherlock Holmes for One Night Only!

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be playing the role of everyone’s favorite consulting detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, in a reading of fellow UNC-Chapel Hill PATP alum Greg Oliver Bodine’s new play A Requiem for Sherlock Holmes, as part of WorkShop Theater’s Sundays@Six development series. The play is adapted (very faithfully!) from “The Final Problem” and “The Adventure of the Empty House” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The reading will be held Sunday, September 21st at 6pm at:
WorkShop Theater
312 West 36th Street
New York, NY

Admission is FREE (yay!) but seating is very limited. If you’re a Sherlock fan, and/or a theatre fan, arrive early to avoid disappointment! There’s a great cast, and the script is classic Sherlock.

You can read more about the production by clicking the image, or by clicking here.

I hope to see some of you there!

My New Film “Begin Again” Is Now Playing!

A while back, I reported on filming a very brief scene with Mark Ruffalo for John Carney’s new independent feature film. The film was titled Can a Song Save Your Life? back then, and when it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in Fall 2013, the Weinstein company fought for and won the right to distribute the film in the U.S.. They also renamed it Begin Again.

Whenever it plays at a theatre near you, I hope you’ll check it out. Even if I wasn’t in it, I’d still love it. Mr. Carney is such a good writer and director–so generous to his actors, so good at letting them live in the little details of the moment. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, James Condon, Catherine Keener, and a lot more wonderful people. Their performances are all absolutely lovely: simple, honest, revealing. Mr. Ruffalo outdoes himself; he is painfully human and you can’t take your eyes off him. As with Mr. Carney’s hit film Once, the healing power of music is a major theme, and the songs sung by Ms. Knightly and Mr. Levine are really catchy.

My one little scene is with Mr. Ruffalo, who was a blast on set — kind, funny, and eager to improvise with me. John Carney was equally easygoing, super nice, and open to playing with his lovely script. What a great shoot. We only did three takes, and I’m so glad one of them made it into the final cut of the film. I sure hope I get to work with these guys again.

My brief scene is early in the film, on the subway. I play a preacher (the character’s name in the credits is “Christian Father”) who gives Mr. Ruffalo some surprisingly helpful advice. I’m so thrilled that Mr. Carney kept some of the “preacher speech” I improvised as a voiceover leading into my scene. If you see the film, post a comment here or on Facebook to let me know what you thought!

Here’s the film’s official trailer:

I Will Perform at 75th Anniversary “Grapes of Wrath” Celebration at Smithsonian in D.C.

I know that our wonderful Asolo Repertory Theatre production of The Grapes of Wrath closed last Saturday night. But three of us actors have been invited to perform two scenes from our production as part of a celebration co-hosted by the Smithsonian and the National Steinbeck Center this Thursday evening in D.C.

The evening pays tribute to the 75th anniversary of the publication of Steinbeck’s towering, Pulizer-prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath. The play excerpts will consist of the opening scene between Tom Joad (Christian Conn) and Jim Casy, and Tom’s farewell scene with Ma Joad (Peggy Roeder). There will also be a panel discussion including playwright/adaptor Frank Galati, Asolo Rep’s Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards, actress Lois Smith from the original Steppenwolf production, and noted Steinbeck scholars.

The ninety-minute event will be held Thursday, April 24th at 7pm at the Ring Auditorium in the Smithsonian’s Hirshorn Museum (not at the Museum of Natural History, as the Institute previously announced). The Hirshorn is located at 700 Independence Avenue SW, on the National Mall, at the corner of Independence and 7th Street.

Join us there! For tickets, click here.

Photo: Cliff Roles Photography/Asolo Repertory Theatre

Farewell to “Grapes” and Asolo Rep

Okay, how did 5 months of acting work go so fast?? Oh, right–it was rotating repertory! Today we give the final two performances of this wonderful production of “The Grapes of Wrath” and then there will be many tearful farewells late tonight. Honestly, I’m so filled with emotion that I can’t even think about it. This has been a fantastic bunch of people, and three really superb productions.

Sunday morning, I hop a plane home to my hubby and local family for a long-awaited reunion. I’m not a religious person (although I keep playing preachers!). But my time here performing in The Grapes of Wrath, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Philadelphia, Here I Come! has truly been a blessing, filled with countless moments of grace. As Jim Casy says: “We was one thing. And that one thing was holy.”

Thank you one more time to Michael Donald Edwards, Peter Amster, and Frank Galati for their wise, supportive, and loving leadership of these remarkable productions. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone at Asolo Rep, onstage and off, for this extraordinary experience; I will never forget it.

Photo: Cliff Roles Photography/Asolo Rep