The Festival Announces the Cast of As You Like It
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce the cast of this season’s production of Shakespeare’s beloved pastoral comedy, As You Like It, in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Last seen on the Festival stage in 2017, this will be the tenth production in its sixty-four year history and will be directed by Beth Lopes.
“Part comedy, part drama, part romance, and all adventure: As You Like It is a giant, sweeping story where the danger and pain are real, but deep down we know that good will triumph,” says Lopes. “In the Forest of Arden, who you are is no longer trapped in the shadow of who you used to be and relationships that were fractured by grief are healed with love to be born anew. As You Like It is Shakespeare’s celebration of nature, liberty, resilience, and the transformative power of love.”
Working with Lopes to bring this show to life are the following lead artistic staff: Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver, Costume Designer Bill Black, Lighting Designer Shannon McKinney, Sound Designer/Composer Lindsay Jones, Music Director Andrew Flasch, Voice/Speech/Text Coach Jeremy Sortore, Dramaturg Isabel Smith-Bernstein, Choreographer Trey Plutnicki, Fight Director Geoffrey Kent, Intimacy Coordinator Sacha Comrie, and Stage Manager Martinique M. Barthel.
The Festival welcomes new and returning cast members and is as follows:
Lavour Addison is making his debut at the Festival playing Charles/Forester/William in As You Like It. He has also worked at Long Wharf Theatre; Idaho, Lake Tahoe, and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals; Cleveland Playhouse; and Creede Repertory Theatre. He received his MFA in Acting from Case Western Reserve and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Cassandra Bissell returns for her fifth season at the Festival, this time playing Jacques in As You Like It. She has acted regionally at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Arizona Theatre Company, and Cleveland Playhouse, among many others. She earned a BA in Gender Studies from University of Chicago and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Laura Brennan is returning, as LeBeau in As You Like It. She was last seen at the Festival as Harriett in Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, as well as in The Play That Goes Wrong and in the Shakespeare in the Schools tour of Much Ado About Nothing. Other theatres where she has performed include Texas Shakespeare Festival, Citadel Theatre, and Cider Mill Playhouse. She has a BFA in Acting from Ithaca College.
Taya Christiansen is new this season and will be seen as Courtier/Forester in As You Like It. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Musical Theater at Southern Utah University where she has performed in Ride the Cyclone, The Wolves, and Sweet Charity. She is appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program, a partnership program between the Festival and SUU.
Gabriel W. Elmore debuts this season as Orlando in As You Like It. He has appeared with Quintessence Theatre Group, InterAct Theatre Company, and Delaware Theatre Company, among others. He was also in the film Alice Heart and taught at Temple University where he received his MFA in Acting.
Nicole Eve Goldstein is debuting as Phoebe/Courtier/Forester in As You Like It. She has performed off-Broadway and at Carnegie Hall, as well as with Red River Lyric Opera and Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Players, among others. She was in the film Dead Reckoning and received the Emerging Talent Award from the Lotte Lenya Competition. She has a BM in Vocal Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and attended the New York Film Academy as well.
Blake Henri returns for his third season, playing Amiens/Courtier in As You Like It. He was previously seen at the Festival in The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The Play That Goes Wrong, and A Raisin in the Sun. He has worked at the American Shakespeare Center; the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa; Cleveland Playhouse; and Dallas Theatre Center, among many others. He has appeared in numerous television shows such as HBO’s Love and Death and The Chosen, as well as the films American Underdog and Great Plains. He holds a BFA from University of Oklahoma.
Elijah Eliakim Hernandez is debuting on the Festival’s mainstage as Silvius/Courtier in As You Like It. They are currently on tour with the Festival’s Shakespeare in the Schools production of Henry IV as Hotspur and have performed with Tennessee and Wisconsin Shakespeare Companies. They earned a BA in Theatre Performances from University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Kayland Jordan returns to the Festival, as Rosalind in As You Like It. She previously performed in A Raisin in the Sun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023. She has also acted off-Broadway and at Theatre SilCo and American Stage Theatre Company, among many others. She has appeared in HBO’s Betty, ABC’s Emergence and The Brides, and in the films Gap Year and Keep Me At Bay. She is a resident teaching artist at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, earned a BFA in Acting from Pace University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Geoffrey Kent returns for his sixth season, as Duke Frederick in As You Like It. Last season he played Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale and Buckingham/Lord Chancellor in Henry VIII. He was also in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in Love, Treasure Island, and Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), among many others. He spent fourteen seasons with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and multiple seasons with The Denver Center, as well as time at Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Arvada Center, and American Shakespeare Center. He has taught at University of Northern Colorado, University of Denver, and ASOLO MFA. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Walter Kmiec is returning for his second season, as Touchstone in As You Like It. He previously portrayed Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Norfolk in Henry VIII. He has also worked at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Endstation Theater Company, and People’s Improv Theater, among others. He has taught at Stetson University and Florida State University, where he received an MFA in Directing. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Kat Lee returns for her fifth season, as Celia in As You Like It. She was seen last season as Margaret Leavitt in Silent Sky, as well as in Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical and as the Narrator in the 2023 Festival tour of Every Briliant Thing, among others. She has also appeared at The Denver Center, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, and Lyric Repertory Company. She received the Festival’s 2023 Finlayson Acting Award and her BFA in Musical Theatre from Otterbein University.
Pixie Isabel Merkley is making her debut at the Festival as Courtier/Forester in As You Like It. She is currently pursuing her BA in Theatre Arts from Southern Utah University where she has performed in The Secret Garden and The Wolves, as well as in Annie with St. George Musical Theatre. She is appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program.
Chris Mixon is returning for his thirteenth season at the Festival and will be seen as Adam in As You Like It. Some of his previous Festival roles include last year’s Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII, Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, and Old Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale, as well as in productions of Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong, Big River, The Foreigner, The Book of Will, and Mary Poppins, among many others. He has been in the Broadway tour of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and off-Broadway at the Pearl Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club. His work has also been seen at The Denver Center, Milwaukee Rep, Pioneer Theatre Company, as well as in the film The Rosa Parks Story and on the television shows All My Children, One Life to Live, and Law & Order. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Christopher Joel Onken makes his Festival debut as Oliver in As You Like It. He was on Broadway in The Inheritance and off-Broadway at Red Bull Theatre in The Inn at Lydda. He has also performed at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, and Playhouse on the Square as well as many others. He has been in CBS’s FBI and the web series This is B.S. He earned his BA in Theatre from Clemson University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Chauncy Thomas returns for his second season at the Festival, as Duke Senior in As You Like It. He was seen in last season’s The Winter’s Tale as Leontes and in Henry VIII as Duke of Suffolk. He has performed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Bay Street Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Gulfshore Playhouse. His television work includes Madam Secretary and Run the World, and is a winner and five-time nominee for St. Louis Theater Circle Awards for his work at St. Louis Black Rep. He holds a BA in Drama and Psychology from Washington University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Kathryn Tkel is making her Festival debut as Audrey/Courtier/Forester in As You Like It. Her previous work includes productions at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Folger Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and many more. She was seen in the film Harriet and currently teaches at Southern Utah University. She has an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting, as well as BAs in Drama and Anthropology from University of California, Irvine. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Patrick Vest returns for his second Festival season, as Old Sir Rowland/Corin in As You Like It. His previous work includes last season’s Much Ado About Nothing and Henry VIII. Other theatres where he has performed include Rubicon Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and Asolo Rep. He earned an MFA in Acting from Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
The 2025 season runs June 16 through October 4. Tickets are on sale now at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
