Jeffrey Bean, James Black and More Set for Alley Theatre's THE SEAFARER, 4/6-4/29

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley Theatre's production of the Conor McPherson's THE SEAFARER.  The Seafarer, by Conor McPherson and directed by Gregory Boyd, begins previews Friday April 6, opens Wednesday April 11 and runs through Sunday, April 29, 2012 on the Hubbard Stage.  Tickets start at $25 and are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.220.5700 and asking for the group sales department.

It's Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, ageing brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul … Explicit language, adult situations.

The Seafarer features Alley Theatre Resident Acting Company members Jeffrey Bean as Ivan Curry, James Black as James "Sharky" Harkin, Chris Hutchison as Nicky Gilbin, John Tyson as Richard Harkin and Todd Waite as Mr. Lockhart.

Returning to the Alley are scenic designer Hugh Landwehr, costume designer Judith Dolan, lighting designer Rui Rita and sound designer Jill BC DuBoff. The dialect coach is Stephen Gabis with Assistant Director Elizabeth Bunch, Fight Director Brian Byrnes and Dramaturg Jacey Little.

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Jeffrey Bean (Ivan Curry) is in his 17th season as an Alley Company Member and has appeared in over 100 Alley productions since 1989. Recently he has appeared in The Seagull as Sorin, Ether Dome as Dr. Charles Jackson, Amadeus as Salieri, August: Osage County as Bill Fordham, Peter Pan as Smee, Boeing-Boeing as Robert and The 39 Steps as Man #2. Previous Alley highlights include The Farnsworth Invention as David Sarnoff, Mauritius as Philip, Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano, The Scene as Charlie, Doubt as Father Flynn, Subject to Fits as Prince Myshkin, Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick, Journey's End as 2nd Lieutenant Trotter, The Pillowman as Michal, Hapgood as Ridley, Twelfth Night as Feste, The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon, Billy Bishop Goes to War asBilly Bishop, Gross Indecency as Oscar Wilde, Arms & the Man as Bluntschli, The Crucible as Deputy Gov. Danforth, The Foreigner as Charlie Baker and Stones in His Pockets as Charlie Conlon, et al. Broadway credits include Bells Are Ringing as Francis and Amadeus as Kappelmeister Bonno. Television credits include Law & Order; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and All My Children. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts and a Princess Grace Award winner.

James Black (James "Sharky" Harkin) is proud to be celebrating his 24th consecutive season at the Alley where as an actor and occasional director, he has been involved in over 100 productions. Recent appearances include The Seagull as Trigorin, Dividing the Estate as Lewis Gordon, Pygmalion as Colonel Pickering, Amadeus as Count Orsini-Rosenberg, August: Osage County as Steve Heidebrecht, Peter Pan as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling, St. Nicholas, Boeing-Boeing as Bernard, Harvey as Elwood P. Dowd, Mrs. Mannerly as Jeffrey, Our Town as Stage Manager, The Farnsworth Invention, Rock 'n' Roll as Max, The Man Who Came to Dinner as SheriDan Whiteside, A Christmas Carol as Mrs. Dilber/Jacob Marley, Cyrano de Bergerac as Le Bret, Othello as Iago, Arsenic and Old Lace as Jonathan Brewster, Treasure Island as Long John Silver, Hitchcock Blonde as Hitch, A Moon for the Misbegotten as James Tyrone Jr., Orson's Shadow as Olivier, Journey's End as Lieutenant Osborne, A Christmas Carol as Scrooge, The Crucible as Proctor, After the Fall as Quentin, Black Coffee as Hercule Poirot, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Marcus Lycus, Twelfth Night as Sir Toby Belch, Sherlock Holmes as Moriarty, Hamlet as Claudius, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as George, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest as McMurphy, How I Learned to Drive as Uncle Peck, A View From the Bridge as Eddie Carbone and Not About Nightingales as Butch O'Fallon, among others. He has also directed A Behanding in Spokane, Doubt, Death on the Nile, Glengarry Glen Ross, Deathtrap, Dial "M" for Murder, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Foreigner, Of Mice and Men and As Bees in Honey Drown. His film and television credits include Olympia, The Man with the Perfect Swing, Houston: The Legend of Texas, Fire and Rain, Challenger, Night Game and Killing in a Small Town. He received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor for Not About Nightingales, and a BackStage West Garland Award for his appearance as Eddie Carbone in the Alley's production of A View from the Bridge.