Cast Announced For Peninsula Players Theatre's Reading of 'i'

Peninsula Players Theatre has announced the cast for the final play reading of The Play's the Thing, a winter play reading series presented to Door County audiences.

A reading of "i," a new play by Jeff Talbott, is scheduled for Monday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Björklunden (7590 Boynton Lane, Baileys Harbor ). The cast, under the direction of Artistic Director Linda Fortunato, features actors Ayanna Bria Bakari, Karen Moeller, Andrew Mueller and Eva Nimmer. "i" contains mature language. There is no admission fee, and seating is on a first come, first served basis. Donations are welcome. Masking is encouraged but not required. There will be no virtual option in 2023.

Sarah is having a rough time. She's trying to shake it, but it's not easy. She's got a new doctor, and she's met a nice guy named Jake, so things are looking up. And Jake's having a hard time, too. Sarah and Jake are trying to find their way to each other - and maybe, just maybe, to some of that happiness we've heard so much about. A mysterious love story about the threads that tie us together," i" is a gentle and unsettling new play set a couple of days after tomorrow.

Peninsula Players Theatre alum Ayanna Bria Bakari ("The Rainmaker") is cast as Sarah, and newcomer Andrew Mueller is Jake. Bakari's credits include The Goodman Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Northern Sky Theatre, Raven Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, Timeline Theatre, and "The Niceties" at Writers Theatre, for which she earned a Black Theater Alliance Award.

Mueller is a Chicago-based actor whose regional credits include the Adirondack Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, New World Stages, Theatre at the Center, The Old Globe, and performing off-Broadway in "Alice By Heart" and "Peter and the Starcatcher." Some of his Chicago area credits include stage work at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, The Music Theater Co. and Paramount Theatre. Mueller earned a Joseph Jefferson Award for his portrayal of Huck Finn in Bohemian Theatre Ensemble's production of "Big River."

Making her Peninsula Players Theatre debut is Karen Moeller as Sarah's mother. Moeller calls Sturgeon Bay home but lived in Madison for several years, where some of her stage credits with Forward Theater Company include "Marjorie Prime," "From Up Here" and "Sons of the Prophet." She has also acted for Four Seasons Theatre, Mercury Players Theatre, Strollers Theatre, Broom Street Theater, Third Avenue PlayWorks and many other theater companies. She works extensively as a commercial and voiceover performer.

Alum Eva Nimmer ("Write Me a Murder," "Ripcord" and the reading of "Safe House") is cast as various people in Sarah's life, including her doctor, a gallery patron, a waitress and more. Nimmer's stage credits include Four Seasons Theater, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Northern Sky Theater, Renaissance Theatre, Third Avenue PlayWorks and most recently, the world premiere of "The Nativity Variations" at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

Jeff Talbott is a writer and actor who lives in New York City. He grew up in Kimball, Nebraska, a little town in the western part of the state. He gradually moved east by attending the University of Nebraska in Lincoln before moving to Chicago. Graduate school took Talbott to Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut, after which he finally landed in New York.

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