Tracie Bennett Will Portray Tallulah Bankhead In Industry Readings Of THE CODE

Jim Kierstead will present two private industry readings (by invitation only) of The Code, a new play by Michael McKeever (Daniel's Husband, Mr. Parker). Directed by Christopher Renshaw (Taboo, Zorro), the readings will be held on Friday, November 10 @ 11:00am and 2:00pm. For inquiries, please email TheCodeRSVP@gmail.com.

Welcome to The Code ... It's Hollywood 1950 and you are cordially invited to join Billy Haines, Henry Willson and Tallulah Bankhead for an evening of cocktails, caviar... and all-out war. Summer, 1950... Hollywood's first openly gay movie star and celebrity interior designer Billy Haines is going to a dinner party at George Cukor's. He invites a handful of friends to stop off for cocktails beforehand. Tallulah Bankhead, in LA for the weekend, is there with all of the baggage that makes her Tallulah Bankhead. When agent Henry Willson arrives with his newest protégé, Chad Manford, what starts off as a simple request turns into a heated debate on the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a man in the land of make-believe. With great humor and stinging insight, The Code examines the bigotries, self-deceptions, and unspoken codes - still relevant 70 years later - that defined and restrained the golden age of Hollywood.

“I've always loved 1950s Hollywood and getting the opportunity to work with Michael, Chris, and this incredible ensemble of talented actors and share this story thrills me to no end,” states Mr. Kierstead.

The cast includes Tracie Bennett (Here We Are, Hangmen) as Tallulah Bankhead, Davi Santos (Mr. Parker, Trouble) as Chad Manford, Wesley Taylor (SpongeBob SquarePants, Rock of Ages) as Henry Willson, and Tuc Watkins (Boys in the Band, The Inheritance – LA) as Billy Haines. The production stage manager is Morgan R. Holbrook and assistant stage manager is Kelly Merritt.

Michael McKeever (Playwright) has written 38 full-length plays that have been produced at theaters around the world. His play Daniel's Husband ran Off-Broadway at The Westside Theatre, following successful New York runs at Penguin Rep and Primary Stages, where it was nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Work. His plays After and Mr. Parker enjoyed successful runs Off-Broadway at 59E59 and Theatre Row. Theaters throughout North America that have produced his work include: Penguin Rep, Marin Theatre Company, Zoetic Stage, New Conservatory Theater Center, Phoenix Theatre, Stage West, Island City Stage, Ronnie Larsen Presents, 1st Stage, Buffalo United Artists, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Actors' Playhouse, Florida Studio Theatre and many more. His plays have also received productions in some of the most prestigious theaters in Europe, among them, Komodie Dresden (Dresden, Germany), Och-Teatr (Warsaw, Poland) and Theater in der Josefstadt, Kammerspiele (Vienna, Austria). McKeever's work has been nominated four times for the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics New Play Award. He is a three-time finalist for Humana Festival's Heideman Award and an NEA Residency Grant recipient. He has won numerous Carbonell and Silver Palm Awards and is the proud recipient of the prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. As an actor, he has appeared on stage in Mothers and Sons, The Normal Heart, It's Only a Play, The Pride, The SantaLand Diaries, Picnic and Dan Clancy's The Timekeepers, for which he received the Carbonell Award for Best Actor in a Play. He is also an award-winning designer and illustrator. McKeever is a co-founder of Zoetic Stage, a Miami-based theater company dedicated to developing new work and bringing different points of view to established plays. Several plays developed at Zoetic Stage have gone on to receive celebrated productions around the world.

Christopher Renshaw (Director) was born in Reading, England and educated at Oxford University. Chris has directed plays, operas and musicals all over the world, working with such artists as diverse as Boy George, Vincent Price, Hayley Mills, Patricia Routledge, Donna Murphy, Mark Rylance, Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland. His Broadway production of The King And I won four Tony Awards and Chris himself garnered a Drama Desk Award for Best Director and a Tony Nomination. His production of Queen's We Will Rock You, produced by Queen and Robert De Niro, played 12 years in London's West End. Christopher Renshaw's musical Taboo, which he co-conceived with Boy George, has played in London twice and on Broadway. Taboo, the 20th Birthday Gala Concert was a triumph, playing to two packed houses at the London Palladium in January 2022. He co-devised Pure Imagination, a compilation of the songs of Leslie Bricusse, which played at the St James Theatre in London, and directed Love Sick, which opened to five star reviews in Berkeley, both with choreography by Chris's frequent collaborator Matt Cole. Chris's famous production of The Gipsy Kings' Zorro has played the West End, Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, and Moscow. Christopher Renshaw conceived his production of Carmen La Cubana in Havana, Cuba, with orchestrations by Hamilton's Alex Lacamoire. This production has since been seen in London, Paris, Cologne, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Shanghai. In December 2021 his Musical about the life and loves of Louis Armstrong, A Wonderful World, premiered at Miami New Drama. A Wonderful World is now on its way to Broadway, via New Orleans and Chicago. Christopher Renshaw now lives in Miami Beach.

Tracie Bennett (Tallulah Bankhead) is a double Olivier Award winner, Tony Award and four-time Olivier Award nominee. She received Olivier Awards for Best Supporting Role in a Musical for She Loves Me and Hairspray, with nominations for High Society, Mrs. Henderson Presents, and Follies. Her starring role as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow earned her Olivier and Tony Award nominations. Other theater credits include Hangmen, Mame, Guys and Dolls, Ruthless The Musical, The Hypochondriac, La Cage aux Folles, Les Misérables, Breezeblock Park, Blood Brothers, Carousel, Chicago, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Working Class Hero and Educating Rita. On screen, Tracie is best known as Sharon Gaskell in “Coronation Street.” Her film credits include Shirley Valentine and Knights and Emeralds. Tracie also voiced Bridget Jones's Diary and The Edge of Reason, receiving the International Audie Award for Best Comedy Actress.

Davi Santos (Chad Manford) is a New Yorker, having attended the Professional Performing Arts School for middle school and LaGuardia Arts High School. His Bachelor of Science degree was temporarily paused to guest star on the ABC sitcom “Don't Trust the B-in Apt 23” before appearing on “Will & Grace” (NBC) and recurring on “Law & Order: Menendez Brothers” (NBC). He is the series lead on “Good Sam” (CBS), “Tell Me A Story” (The CW), and “The Power Rangers” franchise. Films: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, Polaroid,13 Minutes, Father of Flies, America Adrift, and Something Like Summer. Theatre: Trouble (Signature Theatre), Afterlight (Cherry Lane), Mr. Parker (Penquin Rep), Cinderella (Pasadena Playhouse, LA), Different Words For The Same Thing (Center Theatre Group, LA).

Wesley Taylor (Henry Willson) can be seen this fall as ‘Cliff' in Hulu's “Only Murders in the Building.” Theatre World Award Winner, Chita Rivera Award Winner, OCC nominee. Original Broadway Casts: Spongebob (Plankton),The Addams Family (Lucas), Rock of Ages (Franz). Goodspeed: The 12, CSC: Assassins, Kennedy Center: The Who's Tommy, MCC: Alice by Heart, Denver Center: An Act of God, Signature Theatre: Cabaret, ACT: Tales of the City. TV: "Smash" (26 episodes), "The Good Wife," "The Tomorrow People," "One Life to Live," "Looking," "I'm Dying up Here," "Difficult People.” Film: The Surrogate, Lucky Stiff, The Spongebob Musical, Live on Stage! As a creator: the Emmy-nominated “Indoor Boys” (HereTV), “It Could Be Worse” (Hulu), the feature film Summoning Sylvia (Starz). BFA in Drama from UNCS.

Tuc Watkins (Billy Haines) This year Tuc was nominated for an “L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award” for his performance in The Inheritance at The Geffen Playhouse. He is returning for Season Two of “Uncoupled” now on Showtime, and is slated to star in the upcoming feature, Olde Boys, filming in Manchester, UK. Tuc starred in the Tony Award winning, Ryan Murphy produced, Joe Mantello directed The Boys in the Band on Broadway, and reprised his role in the Netflix film adaptation. He recently recurred on HBO Max's “The Other Two” and Showtime's “Black Monday.” TV series regular: ABC's “Desperate Housewives,” Showtime's “Beggars and Choosers,” and ABC's “One Life to Live.” Recurring: “Major Crimes,” “Awkward,” “Parks and Recreation.” Recent guest stars: “Sex Lives of College Girls,” “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Ballers,” “Bob's Burgers,” and “The Great North.” Films: The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd and Retake. Off-Broadway: White's Lies starring opposite Betty Buckley, and Fortune's Fools directed by John Rando. Most importantly, Tuc won all the money on the celebrity edition of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and donated it to his sister's non-profit organization, "Creative Adventures.”

Jim Kierstead (Producer) is a Grammy-nominated, Emmy, Olivier, and six-time Tony Award-winning producer of the Broadway, touring, Toronto, and London productions of Kinky Boots, Pippin, Hadestown, The Inheritance, The Lehman Trilogy, and Company. In addition, he has been a co-producer of 25 Broadway productions and is currently represented on Broadway with Sweeney Todd and Hadestown. Off-Broadway projects include Titanique, Stranger Sings, Unexpected Joy, Yank! (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Nominees), Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, and Thrill Me (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Nominees). He has also produced extensively in London's West End and produced Miami's hit immersive show Amparo. Jim is on the Board of Directors of The York Theatre Company and The Abingdon Theatre Company and is the founder of the digital theatre content creation company Broadway Virtual. www.kiersteadproductions.com

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