Debuting Artist: Don Randle
Don takes the stage for the very first time with OpenStage in SWEAT!
Tell us about yourself! What theatre or other experiences did you have in this discipline before working on this show?
I’ve been fortunate enough to act almost non stop for the last few years for various theatres on the Front Range. I’m also a member of the board of directors for Firehouse Theatre in Denver.
How did you hear about OpenStage?
I recently worked with the Director Kenny Moten in “Toni Stone” at the Aurora Fox in Spring 2023
What is something you spend your free time doing, outside of theatre?
I’m a sports junkie. So late-night and/or weekend rehearsals and shows are like fasting, especially during football season.
What has been the most fun part of the rehearsal process so far?
I’m really impressed by how OpenStage built a simulation of our actual stage even though we’re offsite. I also tend to make a personal 5 or 6 song playlist to help me vibe with the show or my character. So, rediscovering “Allentown” by Billy Joel has been a blast. Song #3 on the playlist by the way.
What has been the most challenging aspect of playing this character so far?
This character (Brucie) externally is the complete opposite of my most recent role (Felix Ungar in “The Odd Couple”). However internally there is some overlap of their demons.
What is your favorite thing about this show?
I was actually born and raised in an industrial town (Lansing, MI.) and much like Reading it dried up and drastically changed once the factories shut down. “SWEAT” feels like a journey back to my roots.
Why is a play like “SWEAT” important? What do you hope audiences will get out of it?
The “Oneness” of mankind. The least of us are constantly being manipulated and influenced for the benefit of those with most.
What is your favorite role you’ve played in the past?
The Preacher Oedipus in “The Gospel at Colonus”
What is your favorite show?
“Futurity” by Cesar Alvarez
What projects are you working on next? What is your dream role or dream show to work on?
Writing. My first screenplay and Play are in the works. My dream role would be Charlie in “Bourbon at the Border” by Pearl Cleage
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kenny Moten
January 13–February 10, 2024
Playing at the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre
Come see Don take the stage in “SWEAT” Jan. 13-Feb. 10!
The 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat is a humorous, heart-wrenching, and honest look at the decline of the working class in modern America. In 2008, in a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania, best friends Cynthia, Tracy, and Jessie shared their lives—the good, the bad, and many drinks. Suddenly, they find themselves facing the crushing weight of layoffs and picket lines at the local steel mill. As the union loses ground, trust erodes and they find themselves pitted against one another in a harrowing fight to stay afloat. Sweat boldly confronts issues of race, deindustrialization, and the ever-slipping grip on the “American Dream.”
