Actor In Love with Brelby Featured in PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

Peter and the Starcatcher opens January 20th at the 75-seat Brelby Playhouse in Historic Downtown Glendale.

Cliff Lee Williams, 28, plays the character of a child called Prentiss. He made his "triumphant rediscovery of his love for acting" after seven years away from the craft. Highly involved in the theatre program during his career at Independence High School, he joined a rock band in his senior year and spent his early twenties touring the country. At 25, Williams started his professional Audio/Visual career as a sound engineer and, through conversations with coworkers, landed himself in an audition (and was subsequently cast) with his twin brother for Southwest Shakespeare's educational touring production of Comedy of Errors. In the two years since, Williams "has hit the ground running," performing in eight main stage productions and various film, dinner theatre, and other acting projects. Cliff made his debut with Brelby as Banquo in their recent outdoor production of Macbeth and can currently be seen as Charlie in Better Half, which is part of Brelby's Night of Shorts. He said he is "absolutely in love with the purposefully uplifting attitude of Brelby."

"For me," Williams said, "the best part about the project has been working as an ensemble in this fantasy world. The entire cast is present at every rehearsal because every person is on stage at all times throughout the show. The hilarity of rehearsing such ridiculous moments is made better by the large-family feel that every rehearsal has. Like all good fairytales, this one comes with a lesson and a "hugging and learning" moment. You'll tear up when you see ours. Truth is, in my day-to-day life, I feel more like a child pretending to be an adult. The kid is already there, so I just try my best to lower that "adult" defense mechanism, and let my inner child show through. Cliché, I know, but it's true. It's quite freeing really, but can be difficult. I am harshly reminded of my adulthood anytime I'm around children or teenagers, so I've been trying to identify what those differences are. How, for example, does my age specifically affect my personality as compared to them? I've found that I'm much more aware of how my words or actions affect another person now than I was back then, and that awareness makes me a little more reserved. I tend to think, if only just a little bit more, before I act or speak. So, I try to bring a certain amount of obliviousness to Prentiss."

Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair... and the bonds of friendship, duty and love.

Brelby partners with local downtown Glendale businesses to offer more options for audience members. By showing their digital ticket, audiences can receive 10% off of their bill at the Hop Stop Diner, 10% off of any entrée at Haus Murphy's Restaurant, and 10% off of a customer's bill at the Olde Towne Glendale (OTG) Beer & Wine Bar or the Gaslight Inn.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER performs Jan 20-21, 27-28, Feb 3-4, Feb 10-11 @ 7:30PM and Jan 22, 29, Feb 5, 12 @ 2PM. Tickets are available by visiting the official web site at http://brelby.com/tickets. General admission is $25 per performance. Admission to PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is included in the benefits of Brelby's ShowGO subscription: http://brelby.com/showgo. The Brelby Playhouse is located at 7154 N 58th Dr, Glendale, AZ 85301.

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