Cast & Creative Team Set For THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Diversionary Theatre

Diversionary Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for its production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Lisa Berger.  The Glass Menagerie will run November 30 through December 23 on Diversionary Theatre's mainstage at their home in University Heights. For tickets and information, please visit diversionary.org.

The Glass Menagerie is a legacy revival honoring and celebrating LGBTQIA+ narratives and themes from our theatrical past.  The creative team includes: Kian Kline Chilton, Associate Director and Cultural Consultant; Jesse Marchese, Dramaturg; Kandace Crystal, Intimacy Consultant; Michael Wogulis, Set Design; Vida Huang, Lighting; Remus Harrington, Sound Design; Eliza Vedar, Sound Designer and Composer; Katie Paulson, Costumes; Bailie Molsberry*, Stage Manager.

"While The Glass Menagerie is often considered a ‘Great American Play,' it is also an important part of our LGBTQIA+ theatrical legacy. We here at Diversionary are in a unique position to reveal how Tennessee Williams' landmark play queered the American theatrical canon by telling the largely autobiographical story of an outsider who makes the difficult decision to leave home in order to seek liberation,'' shared Diversionary Theatre Interim Artistic Director Stephen Brotebeck.

The mother of queer classics, The Glass Menagerie is a nostalgic story of love, regret, and letting go introduced by a young Tennessee Williams to the world. Gripped by the guilt of abandoning his mother Amanda and sister Laura, Tom is forced to look back and investigate what led to the fracturing of his family and perhaps his soul. This poetic and compelling memory play comes to stirring life at Diversionary for the first time, posing the question: What is the cost of personal freedom?  

Actress Shana Wride as Amanda Wingfield is a San Diego based actor and director who has been involved in many shows at Diversionary Theatre, most recently as an actor in 2.5 Minute Ride (San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel Award). She has also worked with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, The San Diego Symphony, Intrepid Theatre, Moxie Theatre, Compass Theatre, The Colony Theatre, Open Fist Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Gaslamp Quarter Theatre, and Sledgehammer Theatre. In 2017 she received the Diversionary Theatre Fritz Klein Artist Award. While living in Los Angeles, she co-hosted the nationally syndicated radio show, “Women Aloud '' with actor/comedienne Mo Gaffney. To find out more please visit Shanawride.com. 

Actor Luke H. Jacobs as Tom Wingfield is back at Diversionary Theatre, with previous performances in The Mystery of Irma Vep (2022), Eighty-Sixed (2022), The Boys in the Band (reading - 2018), The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler (2013), & Pippin (2012). Luke has been seen all over San Diego including The Old Globe, Moonlight, SDMT, Lamb's, NCRT, and the Welk. Select Choreography credits include: The Wedding Singer (Moonlight), La Cage aux Folles (Cygnet), Sister Act (SDMT). Luke firmly holds his BFA in Musical Theatre from CSU, Fullerton. Connect with Luke on instagram: @thenameisdiane. 

Actor Julia Belanova as Laura Wingfield (she/they) is an actor and activist originally from Northern California. Most recently, she recurred as Sasha on seasons four and five of Mayans M.C. (FX/Hulu). Upcoming Film/TV projects include: Five Nights at Freddy's (Blumhouse), Lisa Frankenstein (Focus Features), and Sugar (Apple+). Julia graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, with a B.A. in Theater. Onstage, she has appeared at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, PlayGround, Marin Shakespeare Company, Jewel Theatre Company, and on the national tour of A Christmas Carol. Julia serves as Program Coordinator of the Hollywood Commission, a nonprofit led by Anita Hill that is envisioning and creating an entertainment industry free of systemic bias and abuse. 

Actor Kirk Brown as Jim O'Connor (he/him) is a celebrated actor and performer. His most recent works include, Regional: Monsters of The American Cinema (Diversionary Theatre), A Black Man's Song (The Old Globe), The Color Purple (New Village Arts, 2024). Off Broadway: Kane and Habil (La MaMa), Life is Short Cherish Every Moment (The Producers Club). Television: “First Wives Club”, “The Last One” Film: The Recipe, Napkins. Education: University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School. To find out more please visit hisnameiskirk.com and @hisnameiskirk on Instagram.

Director Lisa Berger is a professor of Theatre and Freelance Director. Her San Diego directing credits include When It Comes and Skelton Crew (The Old Globe, reading), How High the Moon, Reindeer Games, Paper Cities, The Whale (reading) and The Car Plays: Incident Row (La Jolla Playhouse); The Car Plays: We Wait (La Jolla Playhouse, Moving Arts), Red Bike (Moxie Theatre), Parlour Song (Backyard Renaissance), Credible, The Secret in the Wings, Anatomy of Gray, Eurydice and A Streetcar Named Desire (USD), Metamorphosis (San Diego City College), The Collector (Animal Cracker Conspiracy), Righteous Exploits (So Say We All), A Behanding in Spokane (Cygnet Theatre), Buried Child, Simpatico,Things We Want (New Village Arts), Killer Joe (Compass Theatre) (Patte Award), Miss Julie (Stone Soup), Crimes of the Heart and Anonymous (Canyon Crest Academy) Buried Child (UCSD), The Moors, The Long Christmas Ride Home (Patte Award), and Looking for Normal (Diversionary Theatre), Handbag (AASD) and Islands of Repair (NYC Fringe).

Cultural Consultant Kian Kline Chilton (kiki/they/he) is a dynamic and experienced producer with a proven track record of success. Kiki is dedicated to developing new theatrical works that examine the passion of the human soul and delve into the journey of queer identities, while also celebrating the communities and friendships that become our family. With a background in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University, Kian has worked with many of San Diego's leading theater companies, including The Old Globe, Cygnet Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Diversionary Theatre. Kian is also the founder of Patchwork Theatre Company, a collective dedicated to the uprising of immersive artists in San Diego.

Dramaturg Jesse Marchese (he/him) is a queer theater administrator, writer, scholar, historian, director, and dramaturg. For Diversionary, Jesse served as Production Dramaturg on The Mystery of Irma Vep directed by Matt Morrow and Allison Spratt Pearce. Previously, Jesse served as Executive Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) in Queens, where he produced acclaimed productions of Follies and Caroline, or Change, and premiere productions of Madhuri Shekar's Queen and Monet Hurst-Mendoza's Veil'd. Prior to APAC, Jesse served as Associate Director of Off-Broadway's award-winning Mint Theater Company where he helped to produce nearly fifteen productions, two of which he also directed: The Lucky One by A.A. Milne and The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly (nominated for two 2015 Drama Desk Awards). His work has also been seen in San Diego at UC San Diego (Epicene: A Queer Extravaganza and Napoli), and in New York City at The Civilians, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York City Children's Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, York Theatre Company, New World Stages, Theater for the New City, Gallery Players, Village Light Opera Group, and Marymount Manhattan College. He received his BA in Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College and his MA in Theatre at CUNY Hunter College.

Sound Designer/Composer Eliza Vedar  is a sound designer, composer, music director, and pianist based in Southern California. Their work has been featured in theatrical productions at La Jolla Playhouse, TuYo Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Moxie Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, Common Ground Theatre and various educational institutions including: San Diego State University, CSU San Marcos, and University of San Diego. Eliza holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance: Piano from San Diego State University. https://www.elizavedar.com/

Diversionary Theatre is the nation's third-oldest LGTBQIA+ theatre dedicated to amplifying queer voices through the performing arts in a dynamic, inclusive, and provocative environment that celebrates and preserves their unique culture, while contributing to an environment of diversity and inclusion throughout the broader community.  Since Diversionary's founding in 1986, it has continually provided an inspiring and thought-provoking theatrical platform to explore complex and diverse stories of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning communities in the form of live entertainment that can be enjoyed by all.

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