AN EVENING OF SHORT PLAYS DIRECTED BY BOB BALABAN

Jim Bracchitta has been in showbiz for 30 years, and trying to get out for the last 28. Bob Balaban keeps bringing him back. With Bob: Vick’s Boy (off-Bway); The Exonerated (off-Bway and national tour); also lucky enough to act w/Bob in the HBO mini-series Show Me A Hero.

He’s currently the Associate Director of Health Services at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund), where he helps people in the entertainment industry access affordable health insurance. He also advocates for legislative change in the health care system; works with union health plans; and helps coordinate the Broadway Free Flu Shot program, which vaccinates upwards of 2000 Broadway actors, musicians, stagehands, front-of-house and office staff every year.

Blythe Danner earned a Tony award for her Broadway debut in Butterflies Are Free and received noms for her roles in Pinter’s Betrayal, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Sondheim's Follies. Her most recent B'way appearance was in The Country House at MTC. She appeared as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing in Shakespeare In The Park, four plays at the Roundabout Theatre Co, and spent 20 summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, her most recent appearance in Lucy Boyle’s The Blue Deep. She won 2 Emmys in Showtime’s Huff and was nominated twice for playing Will’s mother in Will & Grace. Her many film roles include Mr. & Mrs. Bridge with Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, The Great Santini, Meet the Parents trilogy, I'll See You in My Dreams (Gotham nom), What They Had, and The Tomorrow Man with John Lithgow. She serves on several Environmental Advisory boards, also on Planned Parenthood's and raises awareness of oral cancer through her late husband’s tribute on oralcancerfoundation.org, the Bruce Paltrow Fund. She is so happy to be returning to Guild Hall!

Edie Falco is best known for her roles as Diane Whittlesey on the HBO series Oz, Carmela Soprano on The Sopranos, and the title role of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. For her television work she has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards, as well as the American Film Institute’s Award for Female Television Actor of the Year. Falco made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning play Sideman after appearing in its original off-Broadway production. For her performance, she received a Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award nomination. She went on to make her London stage debut in the West End premiere of Sideman, and thereafter opened the London production The Vagina Monologues. Other Broadway credits include Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune, ‘Night Mother, and The House of Blue Leaves (Tony Award Nomination). Off-Broadway she has appeared in The Madrid, This Wide Night, and The True.

For her work in the feature film Cost of Living, Falco received the American Film Institute’s Best Actress Award. Her performance in Laws of Gravity earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead Actor, and she received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in John Sayles’ Sunshine State. Other film work includes A Price Above Rubies, Landline, Hurricane, The Funeral, The Addiction, Bullets Over Broadway, Freedomland, The Land of Steady Habits, Random Hearts, Judy Berlin, and the Avatar sequels.

Richard Kind is an accomplished stage, screen and television actor who continues to redefine the term character actor. Richard appeared in the Academy Award Winning Best Picture, ARGO for director Ben Affleck and starred as 'Bing Bong' in the hit Pixar Film, INSIDE OUT. He played a memorable, heartbreaking role in Clint Eastwood's HEREAFTER. Richard was 'Uncle Arthur,' brother to Michael Stuhlbarg in the critically acclaimed A SERIOUS MAN written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. He worked a second time with the Coen brothers in SUBURBICON, directed by George Clooney. 

He will be co-starring in next season’s ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING  on HULU and has just finished appearing with John Mulaney in NETFLIX’S EVERYBODY’S IN LA. Richard played a juicy recurring role in Ryan Murphy’s limited series THE WATCHER for Netflix and simultaneously shot THE OUT-LAWS for Netflix opposite Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin. He had a starring role on CBS in the highly rated drama EAST NEW YORK. Additional film credits include a two time collaboration with Tom McCarthy in THE VISITOR and THE STATION AGENT as well as roles in several other films including TICK, TICK…BOOM, OBVIOUS CHILD, 18 1/2, THE BELLMEN, AUGGIE, THE MAGNIFICENT MEYERSONS, ANDOVER, THE INDEPENDENTS, ALL WE HAD, THE LENNON REPORT and THE PAPER STORE just to name a few, as well as voicing characters in A BUG’S LIFE, CARS and the television series, SUMMER CAMP ISLAND, fan favorite BIG MOUTH and AMERICAN DAD! Apart from his infamous roles on SPIN CITY and MAD ABOUT YOU, Richard was also a series regular on the acclaimed HBO series, LUCK as well as three seasons on Amazon's RED OAKS and a season of BROCKMIRE opposite Hank Azaria. Richard had a six episode arc on EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE OKAY for Freeform. He has also had recurring roles on Fox's GOTHAM, Showtime's I'M DYING UP HERE, and has appeared numerous times on YOUNG SHELDON, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM as ‘Uncle Andy', THE GOLDBERGS as ‘Formica Mike’ and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. In addition, he has guest starred on many, many shows. Richard is a Drama Desk Award Winner and Tony Nominee for the Broadway Hit, “The Big Knife.” On stage he has also starred in “Guys and Dolls” in London, the smash hit Broadway musical “The Producers”, “The Tale of the Allergist's Wife”, “Candide”, and “Bounce”, among others. Richard started his career in Chicago with the Practical Theatre Company, founded by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hall and Gary Kroeger.

Stephen Wallem is a SAG Award-nominated actor best known as Thor Lundgren on the Emmy-winning Showtime series “Nurse Jackie”. He also recurred as Winston on “The Resident” (Fox) and Rudy on “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC). Other TV credits include “Difficult People,” “Divorce,” “Horace and Pete" and the upcoming "Before" with Billy Crystal (Apple TV+). Stephen made his feature film debut in the hit romantic comedy Marry Me starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. NYC stage credits include Pipe Dream (Encores!) Anna Nicole (New York City Opera/BAM), and teaming with Edie Falco for the original cabaret The Other Steve and Edie at the Laurie Beechman Theater. For The Muny in St. Louis, Stephen appeared as Shrek (Shrek the Musical), Horton the Elephant (Seussical), the Cowardly Lion (The Wizard of Oz), and Beadle Bamford (Sweeney Todd). For Farmers Alley Theatre, he starred as Max Bialystock in The Producers and as Buddy the Elf in Elf for Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts. National tours include Forever Plaid (2500 performances as both Jinx and Sparky in various companies), Into The Woods and Scrooge with Richard Chamberlain. Stephen was a regular at the Ravinia Festival Sondheim productions, appearing with Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris and Audra McDonald in A Little Night Music, Passion and Sunday in the Park with George. He is an award-winning cabaret singer in both New York and Chicago, with solo shows at Birdland, Don't Tell Mama, Gentry and Davenport's as well as the We're Funny That Way festival in Toronto.  He is a two-time winner of the After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist and Chicago Cabaret Professionals' National Honoree for 2014.

Stephen acted as teaching guest artist for Western Michigan University's musical theater seniors in a week-long coaching intensive and final performance. He's also conducted musical theater, audition and vocal master classes for WMU, Rhode Island College, University of Missouri/Kansas City and Rock Valley College. Stephen has also been a respondent for the Irene Ryan Semi-Finals for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In Chicago, he acted as an adjudicator for the John Hersey Chicagoland Show Choir Showcase. He currently serves on the artistic advisory board of the Illinois Academy of the Arts.