Pasadena Playhouse Announces 'Stoneface' Cast

PASADENA, CA (March 28, 2014) – The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran, Executive Director), announced today the full cast of Vanessa Claire Stewart’s STONEFACE, the fifth production of the 2013-2014 season.  STONEFACE is performed June 3 to 29, 2014; the press opening is Sunday, June 8.

The cast of STONEFACE includes French Stewart, Jake Broder, Tegan Ashton Cohan, Conner Duffy, Joe Fria, Scott Leggett, Guy Picot, Rena Strober and Pat Towne with Daisy Eagan as “Mae.” STONEFACE is directed by Jaime Robledo, with music by Ryan Johnson, choreography by Natasha Norman, stunt choreography by Andrew Amani, and projection design by Ben Rock & Anthony Backman. Writer Vanessa Claire Stewart (formerly Vanessa Claire Smith) starred in and penned the multiple award-winning Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara, which had a record-breaking run at the Geffen Playhouse in 2009 after originating at Sacred Fools Theatre Company.

Chronicled through the lens of his own silent films, STONEFACE recreates some of Buster Keaton’s most memorable gags live on stage, capturing the legend of a bygone era and telling the tale of the redemption of one of Hollywood’s greatest performers.  Following a successful engagement at Sacred Fools Theatre Company this past summer, STONEFACE was designated a Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice” and French Stewart’s performance hailed as “… quite simply, a revelation.”  LA Weekly said “GO! … one of the best new works of the city’s theatrical season.”

For the past 30 years,  Mr Stewart has been a proud participant in L.A. theatre: both as a member of Justin Tanner’s  legendary Cast Theatre (Zombie Attack, Pot Mom, Party Mix, Teen Girl and Happy Time X mas) as well as a current member of The Sacred Fools. Recent stage credits include: Mathew Modine Saves The Alpacas (Geffen Playhouse), Watson (Sacred Fools Theater Company) and Voice Lessons (with Laurie Metcalf) Off Broadway at Theatre Row.  French is best known for his work on the classic T.V. series “Third Rock From The Sun.” He has also appeared on “Seinfeld,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Just Shoot Me,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “News Radio.”  Recent credits include “Community,” “Psych,” “Bones,” “The Closer,” “Castle,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Private Practice,” “The Birthday Boys,” “Comedy Bang Bang,” a recurring role on “The Middle” and Chuck Lorre’s new hit comedy “Mom.” Film credits include: “Stargate,”” Leaving Las Vegas,” “Surveillance,” “The Flock” and cult favorite “Love Stinks.” 

Daisy is the youngest actress ever to win a Tony Award for her performance as Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden (Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Award nominations).  Most recently on stage she was seen in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in her third one woman show, One For My Baby, directed by Drew Droege.  Other theater credits include Les Miserables (Broadway),  James Joyce’s The Dead (Original Broadway production), the first national tour of Love, Loss, And What I Wore,  Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera!,  Be Aggressive (world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, Garland Award honorable mention, and regionally at TheaterWorks), On the Mountain (world premiere at South Coast Repertory), A View from the Bridge (South Coast Repertory), The Wild Party (The Blank Theater Company.  2005 LA Weekly Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical) and a whole bunch of other plays and musicals.  Her T.V. and film credits include "The Mentalist", “Without a Trace”, “Ghost Whisperer”, “Numbers” and “The Unit”, "The It Factor", "All My Children", "Another World", "Space Cases", "Square One TV" “Losing Isaiah” (Paramount), “Ripe” (Trimark), “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” (Green Street Films) and "Judgement" (HBO).  Daisy co-created, co-wrote and starred in “Krystal Park”, a soap opera set in a trailer park, pieces of which can be found on YouTube. 

Jaime Robledo most recently directed the West Coast Premiere of Edward Einhorn's adaptation of  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which garnered 8 LA Weekly Theater Award Nominations including Production of the Year and the sequel to 2010's  Watson entitled Watson and the Dark Art of Harry Houdini. The original  Watson won him an LA Weekly Award and an Ovation nomination for his direction and the Saturn Award for Best Local Stage Production as well as being named one of 2010's top rated new plays in Los Angeles by Bitter Lemons. His direction of the Sacred Fools production of Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton earned him an LA Weekly Award for Best Director.