Having made an indelible mark on stage and screen, Merle Dandridge is best known for her starring role as Grace Greenleaf in Oprah Winfrey Network’s hit series Greenleaf which ran for five seasons. Currently she is starring on HBO’s original drama series The Last of Us, in which she plays the leader of a resistance movement, Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told, and ABC’s Station 19. Previously, Merle starred in HBO Max’s first season of The Flight Attendant, FX’s Sons of Anarchy, CW’s Starcrossed, and NBC’s The Night Shift. On stage, Merle played the role of Pharaoh in The Manhattan Concert Productions’ presentation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; and the role of Papa Ge, the sly demon of death, in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Ahrens; and Flaherty’s Once on This Island, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. Dandridge is the first woman to ever play Papa Ge, completely reinventing the character with her fearless portrayal.

Broadway: All My Sons; Festen; Enchanted April; Judgement At Nuremberg (Tony Nomination); Hal in Henry IV, Pts. Iⅈ Cabaret; and Billy in Carousel. London: Cabaret (West End) Carousel – Olivier Award Nomination (Royal National Theatre and West End) Select Off Broadway: Lady From Dubuque (New Signature Theatre), Dessa Rose (Lincoln Center). Select Regional: World premier of American Son (Barrington Stage), Henry V/Richard II – title roles performed in repertory (Shakespeare theater of DC), The Winter’s Tale (Guthrie Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (The Old Globe, San Diego), Merrily We Roll Along (Sondheim Festival, Kennedy Center) Select TV: Evil, Elementary, Chicago Fire, All Law and Orders, Murder One. Film: Charming Billy (American Film Institute Best Actor Award).

Jodi won an Emmy for best supporting actress as Mrs. Basil E in Netflix’s Dash & Lily, making her the first Asian-American to win in any acting category. She made her Broadway debut at age 7 in Nowhere to Go But Up, directed by Sidney Lumet, the first of five Broadway shows she would go to appear in as an adult, including Loose Ends, The Bacchae, Stephen Sondheim’s Getting Away with Murder, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s revival of Flower Drum Song in which she garnered an Ovation Award at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Jodi’s film credits include: Beginners opposite Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer; The Hot Chick alongside Rob Schneider, Anna Farris and Rachel McAdams; Robocop 3; The Exorcist III; and Born on the Fourth of July. On television, Jodi will soon be seen in the third season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and NBCs Chicago Med, adding to her previous appearances in Café Americain, Young & Hungry, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: SVU, Sex and the City, Franklin & Bash, Eli Stone, The Cosby Show, and Sullivan & Son, the latter for which the NY Times called her “by far the best thing about the show and maybe enough reason to watch it.”

Having recently played Pete Sampras in the Oscar-nominated film King Richard, Chase is thrilled to be making his Pasadena Playhouse debut in A Little Night Music. Last year he played a principal role in the LA industry workshop of the new musical 38 Minutes by Edie Brickell, and has also appeared in CBS’ The Code and as a soloist at Lincoln Center Theatre. Chase is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Thank you to Buchwald and Authentic for their incredible support. For my loving family who have been on this journey with me – What a great adventure.

Adam is honored to join this company at Pasadena Playhouse. Credits include: FBI Most Wanted (CBS), I Think You Should Leave (Netflix), Law and Order: Organized Crime (NBC), The Staircase (HBO Max), and On Your Feet! (Emilio Estefan; Phoenix Theatre Company). Thanks to Mom, Dad, CJ, and Andrew for their constant love and to my Claire for her endless support!

Ruby (she/her) is thrilled to make her Playhouse debut! Prior LA Theatre credits include Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole at Geffen Playhouse (Ovation Nomination) and Love Actually Live at The Wallis. She starred as Indigo in Cirque du Soleil’s premiere Broadway show Paramour which led to two Macy’s Parades and features on Nightline and Entertainment Tonight. Television credits include Desperate Housewives, Masters of Sex, Girl Meets World, and the upcoming series Sugar, to name a few. Her self-produced, original one-woman show Starlet has played both coasts and held residencies in Vegas and Puerto Vallarta. www.rubylewis.com

Ryan received Drama Desk nominations starring as Terry Connor in Side Show on Broadway and Giorgio in Classic Stage’s Passion. Ryan starred as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and as Billy Flynn in Chicago. Described by Playbill.com as “the smoothest, most assured bari-tenor, leading-man theatre voice at the moment,” Ryan was featured as Sir Lancelot in Camelot (Kennedy Center), Passion opposite Natalie Dessay (Théâtre du Châtelet), as Tony in the Olivier-nominated West Side Story (West End), and Ulysses in The Golden Apple (City Center Encores!). Film/Television credits: Suits, Good Fight, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City 2, and True Blood.

Broadway: Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella in Cinderella (New York City Opera) alongside Eartha Kitt, Franca in The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center Theater (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress), Eponine in Les Misérables, Nicola in Taboo (opposite Boy George), Next to Normal, and End of the Rainbow. Bernstein’s Mass (Carnegie Hall); The Boys From Syracuse, Tenderloin (New York City Center Encores!); Julie in Carousel (Royal National Theater, Ovation Award-Best Actress); Sondheim on Sondheim (Hollywood Bowl) with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jonathan Groff, and Vanessa Williams; A Little Night Music (Kennedy Center). Film/TV: Frontera (with Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Ed Harris), Pretty Bird, Law and Order CI, The Light in the Piazza Live from Lincoln Center, and Saint Jellorica in the infamous Cats episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!

Kaley is most known for being the youngest person to play Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, where she made her Broadway debut. She went on to perform in Prince of Broadway, a musical centered around the life and works of legendary director and producer Hal Prince, in both the touring Japanese and Broadway productions. Kaley had the honor of returning to the role of Christine on the international tour of The Phantom of the Opera during their run in Taipei, while it was the only production in the world still performing during the pandemic. Other credits include Candide (New York City Center) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon TV).

Georgia is thrilled to be making her Pasadena Playhouse debut. Her career is mainly focused on the operatic repertoire. Her recent roles include: Poppea in Händel’s Agrippina, as well as Le Feu/ Le Rossignol in Ravel’s L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges. In January 2023, Ms. Belmont was named a semi-finalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition. In the summer of 2022, Ms. Belmont joined Des Moines Metro Opera covering the roles of Isabella Stewart Gardner in Peter’s American Apollo; and Peaseblossom and Cobweb in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other roles: Christi Khalo in Rodrigo’s Frida, and Kate in Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe.

Jared recently made his Carnegie Hall debut as the Baritone Soloist in Brahms’ Requiem and joined the National Tour of South Pacific as Emile de Becque. Jared has also performed as Escamillo in Carmen (Charleston Opera Theater), the title role in Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera), The Pilot in The Little Prince (Utah Opera), Lescaut in Manon Lescaut (Liceu Opera Barcelona), the title role in The Barber of Seville (Arizona Opera), and covered the title role of Steve Jobs in the world premiere opera (Santa Fe Opera). He has been featured on CBS’ primetime drama FBI as Sean Ellis, upcoming Russo brothers-produced film Something’s More than One Thing as Joey and award-winning web series Love in 2020 as Jagger Bloom.

Oriana is so excited to make her Pasadena Playhouse debut. Previously this season, she made a role debut as Adina in L’elisir D’amore with Pacific Opera Project and Opera in the Heights. Previous engagements, include role debuts as Mimi in La Bohѐme, Violetta in La Traviata, and The Infanta in Der Zwerg. A Los Angeles native, she attended UCLA and Santa Monica College. As a recording artist, Oriana sang for the soundtrack of Disney’s Encanto. She wants to thank the creative team for this opportunity! She lives with her partner Arnold and her cat Dimpy. orianafalla.com

Recent credits: Carmina Burana (Oregon Symphony),  Faust in La Damnation de Faust (Boston Youth Symphony), Rodolfo in La Bohème (Greensboro Opera, Pacific Opera Project), Nemorino in L’elisir D’amore, and Tamino in The Magic Flute (Pacific Opera Project), Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde, Traveler’s Prayer, Carmina Burana (LA Philharmonic), Haydn’s Creation (LA Master Chorale), Mr. Marks in Intimate Apparel (Lincoln Center Theater). As a recording artist, Geis has been featured in popular films and shows: Disenchanted, Tom & Jerry, and Family Guy. Other film/tv scores: Nope, Strange World, Willow, The Super Mario Bros., The Lion King (2019). Upcoming: Pirelli in Sweeney Todd (Chautauqua Opera), Otto in Emigre (Shanghai Philharmonic, NY Philharmonic).

Kim recently moved to Pasadena after spending over a decade touring internationally as a funk and soul singer. She is excited to be making her debut at Pasadena Playhouse. She previously starred as Brenda in Smokey Joe’s Cafe at Little Theater of the Rockies and as a Church Lady in The Color Purple at The Aurora Fox Theater. Kim wants to thank her friends and family for their support, and sends a special thank you to the love of her life, Michael.

Christanna is an LA Ovation Award Winner for Mother in 3-D Theatricals’ production of Ragtime and has performed in over 16 theatrical productions and films. One of her favorite roles was playing Alice Murphy in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s musical Bright Star at six and seven months pregnant. Other favorite roles: Abigail Adams in 1776, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Christine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Marian in The Music Man, Grace Farrell in Annie starring Sally Struthers. Christanna also recently starred in Santa Monica College’s short film Alive as Juliet/Digital Juliet, currently in post-production. www.ChristannaRowader.com.