BIOGRAPHIES

Playwright

John Patrick Shanley

JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY’s plays include Prodigal Son, Outside Mullingar (Tony Award nomination), Danny and The Deep Blue Sea, Savage in Limbo, Italian-American Reconciliation, Welcome To The Moon, Four Dogs and a Bone, Dirty Story, Defiance, Beggars in the House of Plenty, and Brooklyn Laundry. His theatrical work is performed extensively across the United States and around the world. For his play Doubt, he received both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In the arena of screenwriting, he has ten films to his credit, most recently Wild Mountain Time, with Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, and Christopher Walken. His film of Doubt, which he also directed and which starred Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Other screen credits include Five Corners (Special Jury Prize, Barcelona Film Festival), Alive, Joe Versus The Volcano (which he also directed), and Live from Baghdad for HBO (Emmy nomination). For his script of Moonstruck, he received both the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2009, the Writers Guild of America honored Mr. Shanley with the Lifetime Achievement in Writing Award. 

Director

Kirk Gostkowski

KIRK GOSTKOWSKI is the Artistic Director and founding member of the Chain Theatre. Over the past fifteen years, Gostkowski has collaborated with theatre legends such as Tony Award winner David Rabe on multiple projects, including a rare revival of In The Boom Boom Room, the NYC Premiere of Humpty Dumpty by Eric Bogosian, and two premieres by Emmy-nominated Keith Huff: Six Corners and Garbageman. Gostkowski adapted Holocaust survivor Helena Weinrauch's memoir, A Will to Live, for the stage. He is the founder and Festival Director of the Chain NYC Film Festival. Kirk made his directorial debut with Leave Me Behind, which was featured at 10 film festivals worldwide, won awards, and is distributed by Screen Media Ventures.

Evelyn

Rebecca De Mornay

REBECCA DE MORNAY’s screen debut was in the classic coming-of-age film RISKY BUSINESS. Other movies include THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, RUNAWAY TRAIN, NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS, THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, BACKDRAFT, FEDS, GUILTY AS SIN, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, IDENTITY, FLIPPED, MOTHER’S DAY, and THE WINNER, with cameos in AMERICAN PIE: REUNION and WEDDING CRASHERS. Her work on TV/streaming includes personal favorite roles of “Arlie/Arlene” in GETTING OUT and “Flo” in AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN; she also co-starred in THE SHINING miniseries, BY DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT, THE RIGHT TEMPTATION, AMERICAN VENUS, BLINDSIDE, and in arcs on NCIS, ER, and JESSICA JONES. On stage, Rebecca starred in BORN YESTERDAY (Pasadena Playhouse), MARAT/SADE (Williamstown), CLOSER (Mark Taper Forum), and in a benefit reading of John Patrick Shanley one-acts titled OUTCASTS (TBN Theater). De Mornay began her training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and went on to study with Kristin Linklater, Sandra Seacat, and Kim Stanley. She is a writer, DGA director, exec-producer of two films, and mother of two beloved daughters Sophia and Veronica.

Pearl

Di Zhu

DI ZHU is a Chinese-American actress and classical pianist based in NYC. She is a regular theater-maker at Theater 86, where she has both produced and acted in numerous productions since 2014. Film/TV work include Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Blindspot, A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood, WeCrashed, and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. She also has a mini poodle, an epic goldendoodle and loves a good Sauvignon Blanc. Di wishes to thank the cast, crew and creatives of The Pushover for this incredible journey! @disayshello

Soochi

Christina Toth

CHRISTINA TOTH is a multilingual actor and storyteller whose work spans theatre, film, and television. Her performance in Revry’s STRUT was considered for a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award. She has performed across the United States, Canada, Belgium, and France, including the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s 5 Steps to Transcendence at the Avignon Theatre Festival. She trained at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Her passion for storytelling extends to filmmaking; her award-winning short film Talk to Me in Silence has screened at more than fifteen international festivals, with a feature-length version currently in development. She is the Associate Artistic Director of The Bridge Production Group and a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and the Actors Studio. @tothchristina

Therapist/Kenny

Christopher Sutton

CHRISTOPHER SUTTON recently created the role of Alex Stone in William Mastrosimone's chilling "Rules of Desire," and the role of Dr. Rehan in Peter Filichia's powerful "God Shows Up." Other New York credits include: Mark Antony in The Harlem Shakespeare Festival’s "Antony and Cleopatra," Macbeth in "Macbeth," Richard Plantagenet in "Henry VI," Dr. Astrov in "Uncle Vanya," Jack in "Ancient History," "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," and the original casts of "Flight of the Lawnchair Man" (Outstanding Actor Award,) "Hell Is For Real," "ValueVille," "Battleship Potemkin," "The Perfect 36," "Lola-Lola," "Lissabon," "Golf," "Four Messages," "Fifth Avenue," and "The It Girl" directed by Jerry Zaks. Christopher received an Outstanding Actor Award for "Monty Python's Spamalot" under the direction of Mike Nichols, and is a recipient of The Barrymore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actor, The Audible Studios Narration Award, and The Sudler Prize In The Arts.  www.ChristopherSutton.net