THE COTTAGE
AT NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE
By Sandy Rustin
Performances Beginning Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Ending Sunday, November 22, 2026
Directed by Shana Wride

Solana Beach, Calif. — Love, lies, and laughter collide behind closed doors. North Coast Repertory Theatre presents The Cottage, Sandy Rustin’s wickedly funny feminist farce that made its Broadway debut at the Helen Hayes Theater in 2023. Set in the English countryside in 1923, this side-splitting romp finds passion colliding with propriety as one woman’s decision to expose her own affair sends secrets, scandal, and screwball chaos spilling out of every room. As love, marriage, loyalty, and desire are called into question, The Cottage proves that betrayal has never been this much fun.

“Hilarious! You’ll laugh for two hours straight.” — Theatremania
“A sensational side-splitting screwball comedy!” — Entertainment Weekly
“Razor sharp and rip-roaringly fun.” — Around the Town Chicago

Shana Wride directs Josh Cahn* (Richard), Jacob Caltrider* (Clarke), Abby Leigh Huffstetler* (Dierdre), Katie Karel* (Sylvia), Taubert Nadalini* (Beau), and Lauren Weinberg* (Marjorie). Christopher M. Williams* is Stage Manager and Jay Brace is Production Assistant. The Design Team includes Sean Fanning (Set Design), Matt Novotny (Light Design), Shirley Pierson (Costume Design), Melanie Chen Cole (Sound Design), Zachary Elliott (Props Design), and Peter Herman (Hair & Wig Design). Emmelyn Thayer is Dialect Coach. Crew includes Keelyn McDermott. *The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.

THE COTTAGE previews begin Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 8:00 pm, with a Friday preview matinee at 2:00 pm on October 30. Opening Night is October 31. Closing Night is Sunday, November 22, 2026. The show runs Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 7:00 pm, Saturdays at 8:00 pm, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Additional matinees are added October 30 and November 18 at 2:00 pm.

BIOS:

SANDY RUSTIN (Playwright) is an actor and writer named one of the most produced playwrights in the country by American Theatre Magazine (’25–’26). Her adaptation of the film “Clue” has enjoyed over 5,000 productions worldwide (Clue/Cluedo) and is currently touring the U.S. and Australia. Sandy made her Broadway debut with her feminist farce, The Cottage (named one of the best plays of the year by Entertainment Weekly). Her concert adaptation of Dear World for NY City Center Encores! was a NY Times Critic’s Pick, and her adaptation of Mystic Pizza premiered in ’25 with the cast album recently released. Her play with music Almost Like a Dance is in development with Grammy winner Edie Brickell, and her play The Suffragette’s Murder, winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and a Henry Award nominee, premiered at The Denver Center for Performing Arts in 2025. Her musical Always Something There premiered in Chicago at The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre in 2025. Other works include Loch Ness (upcoming world premiere), Jolly Holiday, I Married an Angel (NY City Center Encores!), American Girl Live (National Tour), and more. A Northwestern University graduate, Sandy is a member of ASCAP, SAG, AEA, and The Dramatists Guild. She lives in Maplewood, NJ with her husband and two sons. www.sandyrustin.com

SHANA WRIDE (Director) is a San Diego–based actor, director, and educator. For North Coast Repertory she directed What the Constitution Means to Me and Jekyll and Hyde. Other directing work includes Cygnet Theatre (Mistakes Were Made, The Whale, and the upcoming John Proctor is the Villain), Diversionary Theatre (Boys and Girls, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins), Moxie Theatre (Or), and San Diego Repertory Theatre (Walter Cronkite is Dead). As an actor, she has performed at North Coast Rep many times, most recently in Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and was most recently seen in Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike at Cygnet Theatre. Other acting credits include The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Cygnet Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, The San Diego Symphony, and more. While living in Los Angeles, she co-hosted the nationally syndicated radio show “Women Aloud” with actor/comedienne Mo Gaffney. Shanawride.com

JOSH CAHN* (Richard) couldn’t be more thrilled to return to North Coast Rep after appearing as Joel Goldman in last season’s production of Beau Jest! Favorite Theater credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), 1776 (Engeman Theater) Shear Madness (OCTC), Twelfth Night (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), & The Immigrant (CRT). Select TV & Film highlights are: “Plot Against America” (HBO), “Scarpetta” (Amazon Studios/MGM), “Snap” (AMC+), “The Tonight Show” (NBC), as well as feature films “Love Language” & “The Toast” expecting 2026 releases. Josh has also been featured in more than 30 commercials and is a nationally touring stand up comedian. He was recently awarded Best Next comedian by The Chosen Comedy Festival & Stand Up NY. Endless thanks to The Mine Talent Agency and the team at North Coast Rep. Much love to his fiancee, Haley, his tiny chihuahua, Judith, & his family/friends for their endless support. Josh is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association & SAG-AFTRA.  @JoshCahnmedy www.JoshCahn.com

JACOB CALTRIDER* (Clarke) was most recently on stage for North Coast Rep as Pasquale in The Most Happy Fella, as well as Mayer Lehman in Cygnet Theatre’s production of The Lehman Trilogy. He has been performing for nearly 20 years at venues including North Coast Rep, Cygnet Theatre, SDRep, SDMT, Diversionary Theatre, The Welk Resort, Laguna Playhouse, Lamb’s Players Theatre, and The Old Globe. Jacob recently received a Craig Noel Award for his performance as Jud Fry in Oklahoma! IG: @anothertakeonjake

ABBY LEIGH HUFFSTETLER* (Dierdre) is thrilled to be making her North Coast Rep debut! Abby Leigh thrives within the intersections of creative expression & physical storytelling. They are an actor, intimacy choreographer and clown. Education: MFA in Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego, BFA in Performing Arts from SCAD. Abby holds certifications in multiple weapons within The Society of American Fight Directors. Upcoming: LUMIN (Moxie Theatre); Regional credits: Burnout Paradise (La Jolla Playhouse); Julius Caesar (The Old Globe); Noises Off (The Old Globe & Barrington Stage Company); Abeba in the Tall Grass (La Jolla Playhouse); How to Defend Yourself (Humana Fest); Dracula (Actors Theatre); UC San Diego credits: Dance Nation; Hells Canyon; Twelfth Night; Miles For Mary; End Days; Uncle Vanya. Film credits: “Dirt,” “RedRum,” “CBGB.” Abby is an Actors Theatre of Louisville Professional Training Company alum.

KATIE KAREL* (Sylvia) is thrilled to return home to North Coast Rep, where she has appeared in Birthday Candles, Pippin, Always...Patsy Cline, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Sherlock Holmes & The Great Nome Gold Rush. Other credits include the 1st National/International Tour of Menopause the Musical 2, Off Broadway’s Lucky Duck, and regional work including Skylight, Indecent, The Humans, Chesapeake, You Can’t Take It With You, Heathers, Into the Woods, and Sweeney Todd. Karel is passionate about her mentorship with LLS, Imerman Angels, and Friend for Life Cancer Support Network as a survivor.

TAUBERT NADALINI* (Beau) is excited to be back at North Coast Rep after previously playing Oliver in The Angel Next Door. Stage credits include Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia! (McCoy-Rigby Entertainment), Applause (Musical Theatre Guild), The Legend of Georgia McBride (International City Theatre, Robby Award for Best Actor in a Comedy), Evita (Palos Verdes Performing Arts), and Frozen (Disneyland). TV & film credits include “This Is Us” (NBC), “Sterling” (HBO), and “Deviants” (Showtime). USC and RADA alum. taubertnadalini.com | @taubertnadalini

LAUREN WEINBERG* (Marjorie) is thrilled to return to North Coast Rep after performing as Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella, Guenevere in Camelot, and Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. National Tour: Guys & Dolls (Adelaide). Off-Broadway: Smile (Brenda). Regional favorites include Olney Theatre Center’s Guys & Dolls (Adelaide, Helen Hayes Nomination), Engeman Theater’s Clue (Miss Scarlet), and The Wick Theatre’s Brigadoon (Fiona) and Damn Yankees (Lola). Lauren appears in national commercial and voiceover spots for brands including BudLight, Zicam, and JBL. BFA Penn State, NYC based. www.laurenweinbergofficial.com | @ellemdoubleu

CHRISTOPHER M. WILLIAMS* (Stage Manager) is a union actor and stage manager, as well as a director, producer, fight choreographer, designer, and instructor. Credits include playing Nathan Rothschild in the original Off-Broadway cast of Rothschild & Sons opposite Robert Cuccioli, Hamlet On Trial with Billy Connolly (Theatre League), and productions at Actors Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and Southwest Shakespeare Company. Over the past 20 years, he has directed, stage managed, or performed in 40 productions at North Coast Rep.

WEST COAST PREMIERE OF THE TONY AWARD-WINNING
GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR
AT NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE

By Doug Wright
Performances Beginning Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Now extending to Sunday, October 18, 2026
Directed by Tom Frey

Solana Beach, Calif. — He was the funniest man in the room. And the most unfiltered. North Coast Repertory Theatre presents the West Coast Premiere of Good Night, Oscar, Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright's compassionate and wickedly funny portrait of Oscar Levant — pianist, actor, composer, and legendary wit whose sharp tongue was matched only by his profound musical genius. Set during a fateful 1958 appearance on The Jack Paar Show, this electrifying play captures one unforgettable night in the life of Hollywood's most neurotic and uncensored personality: a tortured artist wrestling with mental illness, addiction, and the price of fame, yet never losing his capacity for devastating honesty and breathtaking artistry. On Broadway, Sean Hayes won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Levant. Equal parts comedy and tragedy, Good Night, Oscar is a love letter to the golden age of television and a showcase for theatrical virtuosity — the story of a man performing himself for an audience, decades before the internet made everyone do it.

"A play that is as funny as it is tragic." — Jack The Lad Magazine

"Perennially relevant... provides a deeply thoughtful take on how social hypocrisies drive popular culture." — Chicago Sun-Times

"Blisteringly funny, razor-sharp and deeply moving." – NY Times

"A waspish, compulsive, meticulously well-crafted piece of theatre"  - WhatsOnStage

Tom Frey directs David Corlew* (Oscar Levant), Megan Carmitchel (June Levant), Jay DeYonker* (George Gershwin), Isaiah Frazilus (Alvin Finney), Brian Mackey* (Jack Paar), Jason Maddy* (Bob Sarnoff), and Wyatt VanHazel (Max Weinbaum). Shannon Humiston* is Stage Manager & Kinzey Eastin Production Assistant.The Design Team includes. Michael Wogulus (Set Design), Matthew Novotny (Light Design), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design), Tristan King (Sound Design) and Chrisopher Williams (Props Design). Crew includes Clarence Lightfoot.

*The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR previews begin Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 8:00 pm, with a Friday preview matinee at 2:00 pm. Opening Night September 19. Closing Night is Sunday, October 18, 2026. The show runs Wednesdays, Thursdays, Friday and Sundays at 7:00 pm, a Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Additional matinees are added September 18 and October 2 at 2:00 pm.

BIOS:

DOUG WRIGHT (Playwright) most recent Broadway credit was Good Night, Oscar starring Sean Hayes, who won the Tony Award for his performance. It ran during the 2022-2023 season and opened at London's Barbican in summer 2025. The play received Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work. Other Broadway outings include I Am My Own Wife (Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award and others), War Paint, Hands on a Hardbody (Drama Desk nomination), The Little Mermaid, and Grey Gardens (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway credits include Posterity (Atlantic Theatre Company); Unwrap Your Candy (Vineyard Theatre); Quills (New York Theatre Workshop); Standing on Ceremony (Minetta Lane Theater); Buzzsaw Berkeley (WPA Theater). His plays and musicals have been seen in over thirty-three countries. Upcoming projects include the musical The Blaster's Handbook with composer/lyricist David Clement, and a musical adaptation of the novel Less with Jason Robert Brown. Films include Quills (WGA's Paul Selvin Award, Golden Globe nomination) and The Burial starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones (NAACP Image Award nomination). He is the former president of the Dramatists Guild of America and a member of SAG-AFTRA, SDC, and the WGA, and has taught at NYU, Princeton, and Yale.

TOM FREY (Director) is delighted to return to North Coast Rep after directing the hit 2 Pianos 4 Hands for the last several seasons. Tom is the US resident director of 2 Pianos 4 Hands, having directed over 25 productions at theatres around the country, including Pioneer Theatre Company, Portland Stage, The Cape Playhouse, Stages Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pittsburgh City Theatre, North Coast Rep, and many others. He performed in the show (in both roles) over 600 times in the United States and Canada. Tom is the former Artistic Director of the Peterborough Players, having led the theatre through the pandemic with three critically acclaimed seasons from 2021 through 2023. Tom has worked as a director, actor, and musician in the industry for over 25 years. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

DAVID CORLEW* (Oscar) made his Oscar debut this past spring at Farmers Alley Theatre and is thrilled to be back for round two of the role, as well as his North Coast Rep debut. Select theatre: Ceilidh (M&T Bank Exchange in Baltimore — world premiere directed by Sam Pinkleton), both roles in Murder for Two (Actors Theatre of Indiana, Peninsula Players Theatre), As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Comedy of Errors (Theatre Fiasco/Actors Theatre of Louisville), Ripcord (Peninsula Players), A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre). TV: "Law and Order" (NBC). Training: Northwestern University, New England Center for Circus Arts.

MEGAN CARMITCHEL (June Levant) is thrilled to be making her North Coast Rep debut! She received the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Actor of the Year in 2022. She has performed in theatres all over San Diego county including The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Cygnet, Lambs Players, Backyard Renaissance, Diversionary, Moonlight Stage Productions, The Welk Resort Theatre, and New Village Arts. Recent select credits: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, A Streetcar Named Desire (Backyard Renaissance), Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Life Sucks, Cabaret (Cygnet), Arms and the Man, Once, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Lambs Players), The Last Goodbye, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (The Old Globe). Megan is a co-founder of the award-winning theatre production company, Chalk Circle Collective.

JAY DEYONKER* (George Gershwin) is thrilled to join this fantastic cast at North Coast Rep! An NYU alum, Jay spent five years working in Prague where he was a principal member of the Prague Shakespeare Company. Back in New York, Jay booked roles on "FBI," "FBI: Most Wanted," and "American Horror Story." Most recently, he performed with Luna Stage's Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library off-Broadway at 59E59 as well as the WP Theater. Jay also wrote, produced, and starred in two feature films;  the currently streaming "Triple Threat" (Best Actor nominee at the SOHO Film Festival) and the upcoming musical grief dramedy "C-Side" also starring Andy Mientus, Jessica Vosk, and Tovah Feldshuh. Deepest of gratitude goes out to his friends and family and creative team!

ISAIAH FRAZILUS (Alvin Finney) is beyond excited to join the company of Good Night, Oscar in his North Coast Rep debut. Previous theater credits include Vic in Ironbound by Martyna Majok and Jason Abernathy in the world premiere of Twisted by Chris DiGiovanni. His film and television work includes Chris Castle in "Between Love and Justice," "Envy Leads the Way," "Press," "Decomply," and a guest star role on the BET series "American Gangster." His training includes studying with Howard Fine and Larry Moss, along with vocal training with David Coury.

BRIAN MACKEY* (Jack Paar) has appeared on stages throughout San Diego over the last 20 years. Select credits include: Peril in the Alps, Murder on the Links, Ben Butler, Little Women, A Christmas Carol (North Coast Rep); Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, The History Boys, A Christmas Carol (Cygnet Theatre); The Play That Goes Wrong, Outside Mullingar, Noises Off, Silent Sky, The Explorer's Club, Baskerville! (Lamb's Players Theatre); The Humans, In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play (San Diego Repertory); Abundance, Smokefall (Backyard Renaissance); Baby with the Bathwater, The Little Dog Laughed (Diversionary Theatre); All My Sons, Hamlet, Enemy of the People (Intrepid Theatre); The Woolgatherer, Jack Goes Boating, In the Heat of the Night, All in the Timing (ion theatre); Romeo, Romeo and Juliet (Roustabouts Theatre); The Heidi Chronicles, Julius Caesar (New Village Arts).

JASON MADDY* (Bob Sarnoff) is grateful to be returning to North Coast Rep, where he was recently seen in multiple roles in The Most Happy Fella. Other San Diego credits include productions at La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, Moonlight Stage Productions, San Diego Musical Theater, Ion Theatre, and Lamb's Players Theatre. Regional credits include the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival. Jason holds an MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association, and currently teaches acting at San Diego School for the Creative and Performing Arts.

WYATT VANHAZEL (Max Weinbaum) is very excited to be doing his first show with North Coast Rep! You may have recently seen him at Oceanside Theatre Company in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Leaf Coneybear) and Spring Awakening (Otto/Melchior u/s). Wyatt is currently studying Theatre Arts at MiraCosta College. MiraCosta credits include R&H Cinderella (Prince Christopher); Singin' in the Rain (Cosmo Brown); Much Ado About Nothing (Count Claudio). Wyatt has been pursuing acting since he was 10 years old and doesn't plan on turning back.

SHANNON HUMISTON* (Stage Manager) is excited to be back at North Coast Rep for Good Night, Oscar. She is a Kansas City native who has called San Diego home since 2019. Select credits include Scapin (North Coast Rep); Beside Myself (North Coast Rep; Laguna Playhouse); RENT, Merry Me, Head Over Heels, Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre); Stroll Thru Shushan (San Diego REP); The Garden (La Jolla Playhouse); Hairspray (Kansas City Starlight Theatre); King Lear (Saratoga Shakespeare Company); and Avenue Q (Nebraska Repertory Theatre). She is also the Production Manager for MOXIE Theatre and a Production Coordinator for San Diego Theatres.