[NoHo Arts District, CA] –The award-winning Actors Co-op Theatre Company in association with MWO Productions proudly presents the world premiere play Lewis and Tolkien, written and directed by Dean Batali, produced by Marc Whitmore, Lori Berg and Rob Loos.
Go back in time and be a fly on the wall of the famous “Rabbit Room” of the Eagle and Child Pub, when you see Lewis and Tolkien at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre.
Set in Oxford, England in the autumn of 1963 at the famous “Rabbit Room” of the Eagle and Child Pub, this play is something of a return to the familiar for C.S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (who wrote The Lord of the Rings). Filled with humor, rousing debate, and reconciliation, the two men learn the true value of their friendship with a little help from a few pints of beer and the energetically curious barmaid, Veronica.
The Cast
The Actors Co-op Lewis and Tolkien cast features the talents of Phil Crowley as C.S Lewis, Michael Beattie as J.R.R. Tolkien and Bianca Akbiyik as Veronica.
About the Playwright/Director
DEAN BATALI (Playwright / Director) Dean Batali worked as a writer on That 70s Show for seven years, serving as an executive producer for the show’s final season. He wrote for the initial two seasons of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, was the head writer for the first season of DisneyJr’s Puppy Dog Pals and was recently executive producer and showrunner for the third and fourth seasons of the Hallmark Channel’s Good Witch. Dean wrote and directed the musicals After the Beginning and Life with Ebeneezie. Lewis and Tolkien is the first play Dean has written where people don’t break into song.
About the Lewis and Tolkien Cast
PHIL CROWLEY (C.S. Lewis) Since 2015 Phil has been portraying C. S. Lewis in the one-man play, An Evening with C.S. Lewis in venues across the U.S. including Actors Co-op and the C. S. Lewis Foundation in Redlands, California. Overseas he has performed the play at Christ Church in Jerusalem, Israel; Free University of Amsterdam; and at the Kilns, C. S. Lewis’ home in Oxford, England. He is also a working voice actor and can be heard as the announcer for the ABC hit show, Shark Tank. Other stage productions include: A Walk in the Woods, Wit, As You Like it, The Learned Ladies, You Can’t Take It With You The Philadelphia Story, The Imaginary Invalid, A Christmas Carol, Days of Wine and Roses, Teahouse of the August Moon, and The Miracle Worker. He played the role of Cervantes/Don Quixote in Man of LA Mancha and portrayed Nat Miller, the pivotal father character in Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neill, for which he received an ARTS in LA SAGE Award.
MICHAEL BEATTIE* (Tolkien) is an award-winning Canadian-American Actor and Voice Actor who has worked for over 30 years in Theater, Film, Television and Radio as well as Video Games and Television and Feature Film Animation (please visit michaelbeattieVO.com). At the Actors Co-op: Tartuffe, Something’s Afoot, Baby Dance, Twelfth Night , La Bete Recent credits include Marley, Fezziwig and Old Joe in A Christmas Carol at FPCH in 2021 and 2022. Currently: VNC Anncr and Guru Rick in Minions:The Rise of Gru. Upcoming: Sensei O’Sullivan in Despicable Me 4 (2024) and Eccentric Eddie in MegaMind the Series, streaming on Peacock (2024).
BIANCA AKBIYIK (Veronica) Bianca is thrilled to be making her Actors Co-op debut! She received dual BA’s in Theatre and Communications from Cal Lutheran. She is an actor, teaching artist, and arts administrator born and raised in Los Angeles. She also serves as Co-op’s PR Director. Credits Includes: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, King Lear, Macbeth, As You Like It (Kingsmen Shakespeare), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatricum Botanicum), A Christmas Carol (FPCH), John Proctor is the Villain, and The Women of Lockerbie – KCACTF Irene Ryan Semifinalist (Cal Lutheran).
The Production Team
The Production Team includes Dean Batali (Writer/Director), Marc Whitmore (Producer), Lori Berg (Producer), Rob Loos (Producer), Joel Daavid (Set Designer), Martha Carter (Lighting Designer), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Designer), Vicki Conrad (Costume Designer), Colleen Darling (Stage Manager) and Beth Batali (Assistant Stage Manager).
Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.
Sorry, unable to load the Maps API.