Cast
John Austin (E. J. Lofgren) is happy to have this opportunity to return to the SSP stage. He has been an SSP company member for many years and has served as a stage manager, props master or producer on several of its productions, and he is now a member of its board of directors. He received his theatre training at Second City and is a proud graduate of its Training Center Acting Lab.
Jeff Broitman (Elwood P. Dowd) is thrilled to appear in this SSP production. He has written, directed, taught and performed theatre for more than 30 years in New York City, Minneapolis and Chicago. Recent credits include Inherit the Wind (Edge of the Wood), The Blood Countess (Idle Muse), the solo monologue The Day After (Lucid Theater) and The Language Archive (Edge of the Wood), for which he was nominated for a Jeff Award (non-Equity supporting actor). His writing was produced by Yellow Rose Theatre in July (“Dinner Disaster” in The 7-Year Glitch) and December 2025 (“The Yuletide S.A.D.” in Deck the Stage). “Thanks to Lisa and everyone at SSP for this opportunity!”
Robert Dean (William R. Chumley, M.D.) is an associate member at SSP, where he has appeared in The Front Page (Schwartz), Lefties (Francisci), Spoon River Anthology (Ensemble), Tribute (Lou Daniels), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Senex) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Scanlon). Other Chicago and Chicago-area theatres he has performed with include Oil Lamp Theater, City Lit Theater, The Artistic Home, The Savoyaires, Premiere Theatre & Performance/International Voices Project, On the Spot Theatre Company and The Rising Stars Theatre Company.
Courtney Farney (she/her) (Miss Johnson/Betty Chumley) is an actress and writer originally from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She’s been performing all around Chicago since moving here in 2017. She can be seen regularly performing with various improv and sketch teams around the city. She served as a writer, producer and performer in the following: Coco & Kelly (iO Theater/Jackalope Theater), Better You Than Me (Bughouse Theater), Our Big ’Effin Huge Christmas Show (iO Theater) and most recently, her autobiographical play Courtney vs. Cancer (Raven Theatre/iO Theater), for which she received a DCASE Individual Artists Grant from the City of Chicago. She’s excited to make her SSP debut with such a lovely cast and crew!
Russ Gager (Judge Omar Gaffney) is pleased to finally be on the right side of the law after playing a series of nefarious characters for SSP, including a strong-arming bodyguard (The Haunting of Hill House), the malpracticing Dr. Bradley (The Man Who Came to Dinner), a polluting tannery owner (An Enemy of the People), a scheming publisher (The Book of Will), a corrupt senator (Born Yesterday), a drunken choir director (Our Town), a possibly murderous but musical minister (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and, finally, a conniving mayor (The Front Page).
Erin Gordon (Ruth Kelly, R.N.) is thrilled and grateful to join this production of Harvey in her debut performance with SSP! Past favorite roles include the Web series Geek Lounge (Abby), along with Midsummer Mayhem 12: Devils(Cleopatra, Cassius) and Midsummer Mayhem 13 (Hamlet, Sebastian), both with Shakespeare’s Motley Crew. She is currently in Fever’s The Jury Experience (Gina Rivers), so if you feel like having way more fun than classic jury duty and want to see more of her on stage, check out the Fever app for future shows! She is so grateful for the love and support from her treehousemates: Caty and Mike Hall, her parents and her friends—devilish, oldest and in the audience! Visit her website to learn more: eringordonchicago.wixsite.com/eringordon.
Eric S. Prahl (Lyman Sanderson, M.D.) is happy to be back on the stage at SSP. Some of his recent roles include Ghosts(Jacob Engstrand) with Theatre for Hope and Healing and Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick) with CenterStage. Previous appearances with SSP include An Enemy of the People (Dr. Stockmann), The Book of Will (Henry Condell), The Real Inspector Hound (Major Magnus Muldoon), Our Town (Stage Manager), The Mystery of Edwin Drood(Durdles/Nick Cricker Sr.) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Rosencrantz).
Claire Rutkowski (Myrtle Mae Simmons) is so excited to be back onstage in her 10th show with SSP. She last appeared at SSP as Georgeanne in Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, having closed a very successful season that also includedThe Man Who Came to Dinner (Maggie) and Bell, Book and Candle (Gillian). Other Chicago credits include Refracted Light (Lucy u/s) at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, the staged reading of The Shady Lady (Madison) at Rhinofest 2020 and A Christmas Carol (Fan/Belinda/Want) at Metropolis. She sends many thanks to everyone who has supported her navigation through life as an artist.
Tony “Atlas” Smyth (he/they) (Duane Wilson) is proud to make their Chicago acting debut at SSP. They earned a BFA at New World School of the Arts (University of Florida) in Miami, Florida. They have performed in Les Misérables (Jean Valjean), Grease (Danny Zuko) and Legally Blonde (Professor Callahan). They wish to thank their family and partner for all their support and SSP for the opportunity to get on the stage again.
Gayle Starr (Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet) is delighted to perform in her first show with SSP. She is a graduate of Northwestern University with a major in performance studies and holds an MFA from the University of Texas Austin in theatre for youth. By day, she is a school social worker with Chicago Public Schools, and at night she teaches and directs for the youth and family theatre program at Devonshire Playhouse in Skokie. Favorite credits include Follies (Hattie) and The Drowsy Chaperone (Mrs. Tottendale) at Devonshire Playhouse and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Erroneous) with MadKap. She thanks her wonderful husband Evans and lovely daughters Dora and Joanna for their love and support.
Julie Utrup-O’Nan (Veta Louise Simmons) is thrilled to be working with SSP. Most recently she had an amazing time portraying Clairee in Steel Magnolias. She previously portrayed Ouiser in Steel Magnolias and had a blast with the snark and wit of both characters. She has appeared onstage in productions of Rumors, The Outsiders, Beside Myself and Overdue. She has been active in the Chicago acting/theatre community since moving here in 2021. When she’s not in a production, she loves to take workshops/classes so she can continue to “play.” Fun Fact: She will often knit backstage to tune out any performance jitters. “Thank you for coming and supporting Chicago theatre.”