KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER to Play North Coast Repertory Theatre

A special benefit staged reading at North Coast Rep of King of the Wild Frontier, a compelling new one-act, one-person play written by John Romano ('The Lincoln Lawyer') and read by Emmy Award winner Joe Spano, is set against the world of a New Jersey country club in the 1960s. Through the memories of a young man coming of age, it interweaves the stories of a gifted golfer driven by desperation and a Catholic school student whose faith is transformed by an encounter with authority. As their paths converge, this funny, suspenseful, and deeply moving play becomes a haunting meditation on family, faith, power, and the moral choices that shape a life. Directed by Jenny Sullivan.

All proceeds of the reading benefit North Coast Rep. There will be a post-show discussion with actor Joe Spano, playwright John Romano and director Jenny Sullivan.

KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER will occur on October 5, 2026 at 7:30pm. North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075. 

Biographies

Joe Spano* Emmy Award-winner in his 20th season as Tobias Fornell on the television series 'NCIS.' He starred for 7 years as Lt. Henry Goldblume on 'Hill Street Blues.' Also starred in the series: 'Mercy Point,' 'Amazing Grace,' 'Murder One', 'NYPD Blue' and 20 films made for television. Has guest-starred on 38 episodic television shows, appeared in 30 feature films, including 'Hart's War,' 'Primal Fear,' 'Apollo 13,' 'American Graffiti,' 'Hollywoodland,' 'Fracture' and 'Frost/Nixon.' New York stage: Roundabout Theatre Company production of Arthur Miller's, The Price (Tony nominated for Best Revival). West Coast: ten seasons with The Berkeley Repertory Theater, of which he is a founding member; American Buffalo, (L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Award); School for Scandal, Speed the Plow and A Chorus of Disapproval for South Coast Rep; and Bill Cain's Equivocation at the Geffen. At The Rubicon Theater, Joe has appeared in Sylvia, Waiting for Godot, R. Buckminster Fuller: The History…and MYSTERY of the Universe (Ovation Award), Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cormac McCarthy's Sunset Limited, Karyl Lynn Burns' beautiful adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Simon Stephens' Heisenberg (also at the Laguna Playhouse), The Gin Game with JoBeth Williams and most recently, Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses, (also at Dublin theater Festival and Laguna Playhouse). Oh, and my latest piece of importance in film: 'Hoppers' which I think has a chance for an Oscar.

*Denotes member of Actors' Equity Association

John Romano (Playwright) is a screenwriter ('The Lincoln Lawyer,' 'Nights in Rodanthe,' 'American Pastoral,' 'Intolerable Cruelty', among others) and writer-producer for TV (including an Emmy nomination for 'Hill Street Blues,' as well as 'Monk,' 'Party of Five,' 'American Dreams,' 'Third Watch' and others). He began life teaching English at Columbia after earning his PhD at Yale, and is the author of a book on Charles Dickens, along with numerous articles and reviews for the New York Times Book Review. Having grown up in New Jersey, he has two daughters, four grandchildren, and a beloved wife, Nancy. They live in Santa Monica, and are about to acquire a puppy.