Cast Illness Delays Performances of Alley Theatre’s DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Due to a health problem, Alley veteran James Black is unable to perform the role of Willy Loman in the Alley Theatre's current production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Everyone is confident that he will make a full recovery and will be able to return to the Alley stages in future productions.

"I must put my health above all, follow the medical guidance of my doctor, and step away from this role and this great production," says James Black. "I leave with a heavy heart and apologize for disappointing loyal Alley subscribers and current ticket holders."

"We request that you respect the privacy of James Black and feel confident that he will return to full strength soon and be able to direct this year's production of A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas," states Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. "We have cancelled performances through Friday, October 5 and are doing our best to contact all ticket holders to reschedule for performances later in the run."

Artistic Director Gregory Boyd has announced that Glenn Fleshler will play the role of Willy Loman. He was the understudy for Willy Loman in the recent Broadway production. His Broadway credits also include Captain Brice, RN in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and Antonio's man/ensemble in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. A definitive first preview and opening will be announced at a later time.

The return to the Alley of Arthur Miller's Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Death of a Salesman is particularly relevant today. The play juxtaposes the American Dream with the realities of a fluctuating economy, unequal opportunities, and unfair advantages, with vivid characters and consummate theatricality. As salesman Willy Loman approaches the end of his working life, he must reconcile his unrealized dreams while struggling against the current world. Recommended for general audiences; mature themes.

Glenn Fleshler is making his Alley Theatre debut. On Broadway, he appeared in Death of A Salesman, Arcadia, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, A Behanding in Spokane, Guys and Dolls, and Spring Awakening. He appeared with Meryl Streep in Mother Courage in Central Park's Delacorte Theatre, Maggie Smith in The Lady From Dubuque in The West End, and the Drama Desk-winning cast of Stuff Happens at The Public Theatre along with many other productions Off-Broadway and around the country. He has had many recurring roles on TV including George Remus on Boardwalk Empire, Pavel Mirminsky on Delocated and Det. Milton Trammel on Damages. He has also made appearances on Law & Orders, Fringe, The Good Wife, Bored to Death, Sex and the City and Third Watch. Films include: Margaret, All Good Things, A Price Above Rubies and the upcoming releases of Gods Behaving Badly, Nightingale with Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix, Starbuck with Vince Vaughn and the latest Woody Allen project.

Glenn Fleshler as Willy Loman joins Josie de Guzman as Linda, Zachary Spicer as Biff and Jay Sullivan as Happy. Also featured are Alley Theatre Resident Company Members Jeffrey Bean as Charley, James Belcher as Stanley, Emily Neves as Miss Forsythe, Melissa Pritchett as The Woman and Todd Waite as Uncle Ben. The Cast also includes Ellen Dyer as Jenny, Drew Hirshfield as Bernard, Rebekah Stevens as Letta and Sidney Williams as Howard Wagner.

Death of a Salesman includes scenic design by Hugh Landwehr and costume design by Judith Dolan. Lighting design is by Pat Collins with original composition and sound design by Josh Schmidt, dialect coach Pamela Prather and Assistant Director and Dramaturg Jacey Little.

Patrons who have tickets to performances prior to Friday, October 5 will be contacted by the Alley Theatre and re-seated into a different performance. To exchange tickets, patrons may call the Alley Theatre Box Office at 713.220.5700, e-mail boxoffice@alleytheatre.org, or visit in person at 615 Texas Ave. A definitive performance schedule will be announced shortly.

The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company that is focused on collaborating with resident actors, visiting artists, directors, designers, dramaturgs, and authors to cultivate the new voices, new work, and new artists of the American theatre. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden, the Alley has also brought its productions to 40 American cities, and to Berlin, Paris, St. Petersburg, and New York's Lincoln Center, as well as to major European festivals (including two in one season at the Venice Biennale), and Broadway. As a recipient of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Alley creates a wide-ranging repertoire and innovative productions of classics, neglected modern plays, and premieres, as well as new works that will become classics for the future developed through the Alley's New Play Initiative. The Alley's productions are built and rehearsed in the Alley Theatre Center for Theatre Production – a 75,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the theatres themselves and are performed on the 824-seat Hubbard Stage and the 310-seat Neuhaus Stage. The Alley continues to pave the way for Houston audiences to experience thought-provoking, diverse and transformative theatre produced and performed by its professional company year round.