Speakeysie News Desk
ATLANTA, GA – Actor’s Express is proud to continue its 38th season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Witby Atlantan Margaret Edson, directed by Freddie Ashley, and starring award-winning Atlanta actress Carolyn Cook.
Dr. Vivian Bearing has spent her life mastering the art of intellect, but has kept the world at arm’s length. When an unexpected cancer diagnosis shatters the careful structure of her life, Vivian is confronted with questions that require a level of vulnerability she has long avoided. What unfolds is a journey marked by courage, piercing wit and unexpected grace, revealing the transformative humanity within her.
When asked what he hopes audiences will take away from Wit, AE Artistic Director and director of Wit Freddie Ashley said, “I hope that audiences will see the uplift and catharsis that comes with Vivian’s discovery of humanity and self. It is not a story about someone dying of cancer. Rather, it is a cathartic story that amplifies the importance of embracing our shared humanity. Vivian discovers that experience by the end of the play, and I hope audiences will embrace it as well.”
This cast is led by Atlanta powerhouse and AE vet Carolyn Cook (AE’s Prayer for the French Republic, Angels in America, Blackberry Winter, Mercury). Joining Carolyn Cook is another Atlanta theatre vet, Rob Cleveland as Dr. Kelekian/Mr. Bearing (AE’s A Doll’s House Pt.2, Red Speedo, Father Comes Home from the Wars), as well as Dane Troy as Dr. Jason Posner (True Color’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding; Alliance Theatre’s A Christmas Carol), Sarah Wallis as Susie Monahan (AE’s Monsters; Horizon Theatre’s Roe; Synchronicity Theatre’s Legacy of Light and Wayfinding) and Kim Ostrenko (TV and film credits: Bloodline, Waves, Graceland, Dolphin Tale; Atlanta theatre debut). Rounding out the cast as fellows/technicians/students are Muhammad Khaerisman, Eileen Moyo, Desiree Oliver, Austin Richardson and Arden Adams.
ABOUT Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and educator best known for her acclaimed play Wit. Born in Washington, D.C., Edson drew on her experience working in a cancer and AIDS unit to create the play, which went on to receive widespread critical acclaim and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999. In addition to her work as a playwright, Edson has spent much of her career in education, teaching elementary school in Atlanta. Edson’s writing is praised for its intelligence, beauty and radical honesty of the human experience.
AE Artistic Director Freddie Ashley stated, “Wit is one of the great modern classics of the American stage. Margaret Edson created something extraordinary in the character of Vivian, the intellectual titan who unlocks her own humanity and self truth through the journey of an unexpected illness. The play is commensurately smart and compassionate, more than worthy of its heroine. The result is an emotionally rich, cathartic experience.”
ABOUT Freddie Ashley
Freddie Ashley is Artistic Director of Actor’s Express. He has directed around 50 AE productions, including Doubt, Cabaret, Prayer for the French Republic, Fun Home, The Crucible, Sweeney Todd and Company. He has directed locally at Dad’s Garage, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Jewish Theatre of the South, Theatre Gael and Aurora Theatre. He has been a frequent guest director at universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Hendrix College, University of Georgia, Austin Peay State University and Oglethorpe University. He directed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Connecticut Repertory Theatre.
Ashley has worked on new play projects around the country with the Playwrights Center, Kennedy Center, New Group, Page 73, New York Stage and Film and the Alliance Theatre, where he served as Literary Manager. He has worked on new play projects with some of the most compelling and important writers working in the American theatre today, including John Patrick Shanley, Joshua Harmon, Lindsey Ferrentino, Jen Silverman, Kenneth Lin, Janine Nabers, Marco Ramirez and Michael Lew.
He is a four-time Suzi Bass Award winner and has been named Best Director in Atlanta three times by Creative Loafing. He has received the Elliott Hayes Award for Dramaturgy from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Medallion of Excellence. He is Immediate Past President of the National New Play Network Board of Directors and a member of the National Theatre Conference. Ashley holds an MFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.
ABOUT Wit
By Margaret Edson
Directed by Freddie Ashley
Starring Carolyn Cook
April 9- May 3, 2026 at the Actor’s Express Theatre in the King Plow Arts Center
Wit has preview performances on June 4 & 5 and opens June 6. Performances are Wednesday through Friday at 7:30PM, Saturday at 8PM and Sunday at 2PM. Tickets start at $25.75 and may be purchased online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469.
Dr. Vivian Bearing has spent her life mastering the art of intellect, but has kept the world at arm’s length. When an unexpected cancer diagnosis shatters the careful structure of her life, Vivian is confronted with questions that require a level of vulnerability she has long avoided. What unfolds is a journey marked by courage, piercing wit and unexpected grace, revealing the transformative humanity within her.
PERFORMANCE DATES & TICKETS
Previews: Thursday-Friday, June 4 & 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Opening Night: June 6 at 8 PM
Regular Performances: June 7-28, 2026
Wednesday-Friday at 7:30 PM
Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 2 PM
Purchase tickets online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469.
Group pricing is available. For info, email tickets@actorsexpress.com.
Regular ticket prices start at $45
Student tickets are $25.75.
Discounts for seniors 65+, groups and active or retired military.
Ticket prices are subject to availability. Order early for best pricing.
CAST
Carolyn Cook —Vivian Bearing, Ph.D.
Rob Cleveland* —-Harvey Kelekian, M.D./Mr. Bearing
Dane Troy —Jason Posner, M.D.
Sarah Wallis —Susie Monahan, R.N., B.S.N.
Kim Ostrenko* —E.M. Ashford, D. Phil.
Eileen Moyo —Resident/Lab Technician/Student
Muhammad Khaerisman —Resident/Lab Technician/Student
Arden Adams —Resident/Lab Technician/Student
Desiree Oliver —Resident/Lab Technician/Student
Austin Richardson —Resident/Lab Technician/Student
CREATIVE TEAM
Freddie AshleyDirector
Jess Ford Scenic Designer
Nicole Clockel Costume Designer
Mike Morin Lighting Designer
Charles BedellSound Designer
Nick BattagliaProps Designer and Set Decoration
Kristen Storla Fight Choreographer and Intimacy Director
Emma Palmer* Stage Manager
Kevin Dyson Production Manager
Ramey WardTechnical Director
Amani Clanton Assistant Stage Manager
La’Sianna McCoy Assistant Director
Ardan Adams Dramaturgy Assistant
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Actor’s Express, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT FOR THIS PRODUCTION INCLUDES
Bruce Cohen- In Loving Memory of Dot and Debbie
Chicory wealth
ACTORS EXPRESS IS SUPPORTED BY
City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural AffairsWarner Brothers Discovery
Fulton County Arts and Culture Charles Loridans Foundation
The Imlay FoundationMolly Blank Fund
The Shubert FoundationHomestead Foundation
And hundreds of individual donors
ABOUT ACTOR’S EXPRESS
Since its founding in 1988, Actor’s Express has become the preeminent hub for dynamic, provocative and consistently outstanding theatre in Atlanta, presenting work that sparks personal transformations and catalyzes community conversations. We are committed to enacting Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias principles that create a diverse, inclusive, safe and brave space for artists and audiences. Actor’s Express is located on the westside of Atlanta in the King Plow Arts Center at 887 W. Marietta Street, Suite J-107, Atlanta, Georgia 30318.
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