Shawn Reese (Actor 5) - Around the World in 80 Days

Shawn Reese (Actor 5) is a stage veteran of both Birmingham and New York, having appeared in numerous plays and musicals in almost two decades of performing. He was most recently seen this past December as Bob Cratchit in the Alys Stephens Center's production of A Vest Pocket Christmas Carol, and before that as the Sherriff in Red Mountain Theatre Company's 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey . While in New York, he was on the board of Break-A-Leg Productions and The Gallery Players, one of the city’s premier Off-Off Broadway production companies, where he produced Cloud Nine and The School for Scandal. He also appeared in numerous NYC productions including Holiday, Life on Death Row, and The Mousetrap, and directed several shows for the East Side Theatre Group. Notable roles include Tony (West Side Story), Joseph (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Hines (The Pajama Game), Benjy (My Favorite Year), William Roper (A Man for All Seasons), Pablo Picasso (Picasso at the Lapine Agile), Will Parker (Oklahoma), and James Wilson (1776). Awards include the 2006 Irving Stern Award for Performer of the Year (Levite Jewish Community Center).

Holly Croney Dikeman (Actor 4) - Around the World in 80 Days

Holly Croney Dikeman (Actor 4) was last seen on the BFT stage as the Snake Handler in Talking With... and as Cherie in Bus Stop prior to that. Previous BFT credits also include The Great Wrong Way and Miss Witherspoon. She was most recently in A Vest Pocket Christmas Carol at Alys Stephens Center (ASC) and in Red Mountain Theatre Company's 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey . Favorite roles include Betty in The Will Rogers Follies; Effie in The Spitfire Grill; Alice in Alice’s Even Bigger Tea Party at ASC; Missy in Winter Wonderettes and Maria in El Grande de Coca Cola, both at the Terrific New Theatre; and Cinderella’s stepsister, which she played once in Cinderella, and once in Into the Woods, both at Virginia Samford Theatre.

Chuck Evans (Actor 3) - Around the World in 80 Days

Chuck Evans (Actor 3) is delighted to appear in his third production with Birmingham Festival Theatre. He previously performed in The Great Wrong Way and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. Chuck has worked with many other theater companies in the Birmingham area, including Terrific New Theatre, Theatre Downtown, Theatre LJCC, Park Players, Leeds Arts Council, South City Theatre and CenterStage Productions. He also has been a member of the Opera Birmingham Chorus for the past five seasons.

Kevin Van Hyning (Actor 2) - Around the World in 80 Days

Kevin Van Hyning (Actor 2) is returning to the Birmingham Festival Theatre stage after making his debut as Dwight, in last year's Dead Man's Cell Phone. Luckily, as a member of the regional comedy team, BrainFreeze, Kevin is well versed in the world of improv and sketch comedy, so juggling nine different characters in one show (not to mention a potpourri of bad wigs) isn't too great of a stretch, albeit it's still rather challenging. Kevin has performed around town in a variety of plays, including Theatre Downtown's After School Special and ACTA's The Foreigner.

M. Bates Redwine (Actor 1) - Around the World in 80 Days

M. Bates Redwine (Actor 1) has been on stage previously at BFT in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and Tobacco Road. You may have also seen him as Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451 and as Dr. Grimes in Night of the Living Dead at Theatre Downtown, as Balthasar in Much Ado About Nothing with Park Players, and in The Who’s Tommy and Broken Glass at Theatre LJCC. Other favorite past roles include Baylor in A Lie of the Mind, Touchstone in As You Like It, Moon in The Real Inspector Hound, and Rev. Parris in The Crucible. He is also a member and former officer of Alpha Psi Omega, the national theatrical honor society.

A World of Roles for 5 Actors in "Around the World in 80 Days"

How will they do it?!
Call 933-2383 for reservations to see!

M. Bates Redwine - Gauthier Ralph, British Consul, Director of Police, priest, Sir Francis, Judge Obadiah, Chinese broker, ship clerk, Bunsby, Proctor, engineer, Mudge, clerk, Speedy, ship engineer, train clerk

Kevin Van Hyning - Andrew Stuart, Detective Fix, priest, Indian conductor, elephant owner, young Parsi, Oysterpuff, U.S. conductor, Reverend Wilson’s servant

Chuck Evans - Passepartout, John Sullivan

Holly Croney Dikeman - James Forster, newspaperman, priest, Aouda

Shawn Reese - Phileas Fogg