ABOUT THE CAST:
Raina L. Frey (Helene Hanff) is joining VP for her 1st production here, which will be quickly followed by a 2nd and 3rd in March and April! Raina has enjoyed turns at other local theaters as a notorious night-club singer (Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes) an aspiring dancer (Diana Morales in A Chorus Line), an evidence-erasing pie maker (Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd), a fame-crazed nun (Sr. Robert Anne in Nunsense), and a blood-thirsty pregnant teen (Little Becky in Urinetown) to name a few. Raina is honored to be playing the role of Helene, having fallen in love with her wit and charm during the audition process. “My tastes in books do differ from Helene’s as I DO enjoy ‘stories about things that never happened to people that never lived.’ Although I CAN tend to get heady and academic about it at times, such as studying the biblical references in Steinbeck’s East of Eden (which happens to be my favorite book), or reading the Wizard of Oz for the sole purpose of understanding how true Wicked kept to its inspiration. But I must admit that the only books I have read more than once are books 6 & 7 of the Harry Potter Series. You have to have your guilty pleasures! I am also going digital with a Nook (as soon as BN ships it to me) – I’d like to think despite Helene’s love of the tactile facets of books that she would have appreciated the convenience of carrying thousands of them in her shoulder bag while still having physical books to appreciate at home. This show is about so many things beyond books for me, including friendship and the long lost art of letter writing. And, to that end, I am dedicating my performance to my ‘Grandma’ Esther, who at age 90 enjoys her daily ‘martini hour’ and writes ‘the most outrageous letters’ via e-mail.”

Geoffrey Berwind (Frank Doel) has over 30 years of experience in the business, media and entertainment worlds. For 17 years, he has been media consultant and storytelling coach for Bradley Communications Corp of Broomall, PA, where he has worked with hundreds of authors, speakers and entrepreneurs. Since 2004, Geoffrey has played a senior role with Historic Philadelphia, Inc. as their Artistic and Storytelling Director. He has staged many of their unique programs called Once Upon A Nation and in particular directs their signature cast of 40 historical storytellers. Geoffrey is also creative consultant with the National Park Service at Valley Forge National Historical Park. An award-winning actor (as John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet), some of Geoffrey’s many roles include C.S. Lewis in Shadowlands, Claudius in Hamlet, Father in Life with Father and Mr. Kipps in The Woman in Black. For over 20 years, Geoffrey played a major role with Philadelphia's The Savoy Company, as President, Production Manager and lead actor. In 1999, he founded Celebration Theater of Lansdowne, PA and was their Producing Artistic Director for four seasons. With Village Productions, Geoffrey portrayed Dr. Craven in The Secret Garden and Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. In 2008, Geoffrey had the honor to direct Miracle on 34th Street, the opening production in the wonderful new Tri-PAC building. Earlier this season, Geoffrey directed our stunning production of Dracula. Favorite book? Well, a number of books actually. I love anything by E.B.White (author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s web). He was the lead essayist for The New Yorker for much of the 20th century and he published his essays in truly wonderful books such as One Man’s Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner and The Points of My Compass. “Andy” White was very influential on the American literary scene. His clear, wry, humorous style of writing combined with a wonderful and wise way of seeing the world as it is makes White, to me, an evergreen source of reading pleasure.

Randi Ellis (Cecily Farr) grew up and did stuff in Athens, Ohio. Mostly theater, but had a passion for musical theater and radio, and always had her nose buried in a book of some kind. Her mother confessed to her recently that she has over 4,000 books. She later admitted that it may be only 1,000 – but that is still a lot of books! A note from Randi on Books – “It’s very difficult to say what my favorite book is, but The World According to Garp by John Irving stands out. The story was a roller coaster ride of tragedy and humor – and filled with characters who felt so real and alive it was as if you could call them when the last page was turned. “I generally hate movie adaptations of books, but this one wasn’t too bad. But the book is always better!” Randi has performed with Ohio Valley Summer Theater, Athenian Players Theater, and The Cayman Drama Society. She got a BA in Theater from Ohio University and made a career over the last…oh…let’s say “many” years working on air and in a programming capacity at a variety of radio stations and voicing commercials. Randi was the voice of Yuri in the Playstation game “Kingdom of Fighters: Maximum Impact” as well as a few characters in two “Bomberman” games, and provided the voice for a Singing Christmas Tree toy. It was sold at Family Dollar stores on the East Coast. This is her second show with Tri-PAC/Village Productions, and she is thrilled to be working with this group of so very cool and talented folks.

Deedee Mann (Megan Wells) is excited that 84, Charing Cross Road is her first production on-stage with Village Productions. She has been quite busy learning and producing the other shows in the Collage Series at Tri-PAC this year, and is happy to finally be back in her comfort zone on-stage! She will also be appearing at the Tri-PAC in the upcoming Night of David Ives One-Acts this April 22-25, then from May 13 to June 20 at Philadelphia's Society Hill Playhouse in the hilarious comedy The Next Reunion. She has also recently been seen singing in a Sinatra Cabaret at various locations throughout Philadelphia, and is the new lead vocalist of the RR Orchestra for weddings and special events. After earning her BFA in Dance from Wright State University she shuffled right into her professional career as a resident dancer of the tap company Rhythm In Shoes. After 3 years of touring and tapping, and living out of a suitcase, she decided to move to NYC to continue her love/hate relationship of being a struggling actor. Some of her recent credits include The Student Prince, Cinderella, Renewal, and The Winter's Tale. She currently resides in the Valley Forge area with her husband Jack, 2 dogs and cat, Mabel. When she was in middle school her favorite books were Mr. Popper's Penguins and Mrs. PiggleWiggle, and more recently the Harry Potter series. Deedee also admires the work of Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea, and is currently captivated by his second book and never-ending will to tackle the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan with education and books instead of bombs. A must read for all - Stones into Schools.

Bill Murray (William Humphries) lives in Lansdale with his wife Kathleen and has a lifelong love of books, having kept even his childhood copy of The Cat in the Hat. His most beloved book, however, is Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe. It was summers spent reading Poe's stories of the fantastic while fishing Wissahickon Creek with his father and brother that showed him the places he could be transported to with just the turn of a page. Later, he discovered an essay by Poe called Morning on the Wissahickon and the sense of shared experience was stunning. Bill has now collected all of Poe’s writings, including his newspaper articles and continues to be enraptured by this literary genius.

Nancy Bennett (Maxine & Joan Todd) thinks choosing a favorite book is a lot like selecting a mate; it has to be the right book, at the right time, and has to resonate with some ongoing theme in your life. In support of my book/marriage metaphor, I have been married quite happily for almost 26 years. Similarly, I fell in love with Pat Conroy and The Prince of Tides, during the stage of my marriage when life seemed to endlessly stretch before me like a picnic. Written in 1986, it tells the story of the narrator's struggle to overcome the damage inflicted by his dysfunctional childhood in South Carolina. I think the attraction for me was twofold: 1) I have a master's in neuropsychology, so the dysfunction was titillating, (My own family is only mildly dysfunctional) 2) No one can describe a tide or a sunset with Conroy's lyricism, or a character with such honesty. I am also attracted to fantasy for the same reason I love theater--my desire to suspend reality and belief, and inhabit another character. As for my own theatrical background, it is my pleasure to be back at this wonderful theater, after appearing last March as Ouisia in Six Degrees of Separation at Tri-PAC. Some of my other roles include: Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, M'lynn in Steel Magnolias, Charlotte in Last Dance, (a two person play for the Philly Fringe Festival), multiple deceased women in Spoon River Anthology, Kay in Exit Date, Yonah in Children of Eden, Mother in After the Fall, and anchorwoman in Cakewalk, and most recently, Kate Keller in The Miracle Worker. Thanks so much to Leena for her direction and organizational skills, and to the talented cast of 84, Charing Cross Road.

Matt Zarley (Asst. Director, Thomas) is thrilled to be back for his second appearance at Village Productions, this time as Assistant Director, and Thomas. A sophomore at Pottsgrove, he has previously been involved in school productions such as Bye Bye Birdie (Mr. MacAfee,) and Footloose (Ren) at Pottsgrove Middle school, and has also acted in Jolly Roger And The Pirate Queen (Claude,) and Smile (Tommy French) at Pottsgrove High School. He also played the Lord High Underling in The Wiz here at Village Productions. His favorite book is The Lost World, by Michael Crichton.

Sharon Barkhymer (Production Assistant) lives with her husband and two daughters in North Coventry. She had little experience in theater until the Tri-Pac opened on High St. Since then she has worked on various fun productions, but this is her first time as a Production Assistant. Sharon loves reading and her favorite book is usually the one she has just put down.