Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed
Adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos
Co-conceived by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Nia Vardalos
Directed by Rose Riordan

The Actors and Stage Manager employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Cheryl Strayed, Author
Cheryl is the author of the number one The New York Times bestselling memoir Wild, The New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and the novel Torch. Strayed's books have been translated into nearly forty languages around the world and have been adapted for both the screen and the stage. The Oscar-nominated movie adaptation of Wild stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl and Laura Dern as Cheryl's mother, Bobbi. The film was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, with a screenplay by Nick Hornby. Tiny Beautiful Things was adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, who also starred in the role of Sugar. The play was directed by Thomas Kail and debuted at The Public Theater in New York City to a sold-out run in 2016. Strayed's essays have been published in The Best American Essays, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, Salon, The Sun, Tin House, The New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. Strayed holds an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, the filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, and their two children.

Nia Vardalos, Adaptor & Co-Creator
Nia is a Canadian-born actor, writer, and director for both film and stage. She wrote and starred in the hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and its sequel, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and an Independent Spirit and People’s Choice Award. Stage credits include Jennie in Theatre20’s Company, directed by Gary Griffin, and writer and actor for twelve of The Second City’s revues (Jeff Award winner). Additional writing and acting film credits include Connie and Carla and I Hate Valentine’s Day. Film and television acting credits include My Life in Ruins; For a Good Time, Call …; Graves; The Catch; Jane the Virgin; and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She is the author of Instant Mom.

 Marshall Heyman, Co-Creator
Marshall is an editor and writer living in New York City. He writes the daily “Heard and Scene” social column for Wall Street Journal. Over the years, he has contributed to such publications as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Glamour, InStyle, W, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, New York, Slate, and many others. He has also written for television.

Thomas Kail, Co-Creator
Thomas directed the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights and Hamilton, for which he received the 2018 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Other Broadway credits include Lombardi and Magic/Bird. Off-Broadway credits include Faust, The Wiz, Broke-ology, When I Come to Die, Family Furniture, and The Tutors. He co-created and directed the world premiere of Tiny Beautiful Things, adapted by and starring Nia Vardalos, and directed the world premiere of Dry Powder, starring Hank Azaria, Claire Danes, John Krasinski, and Sanjit De Silva at The Public Theater. In addition to numerous awards, he was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 2018.

Rose Riordan, Director
Rose is in her 21st season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where she serves as associate artistic director. She most recently directed A Life, Kodachrome, Our Town, and The Oregon Trail. Other directing favorites include: The Typographer’s Dream, LIZZIE, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, The North Plan, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Christmas Story, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Receptionist, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, and The Pillowman. In 1999, she founded the annual JAW: A Playwrights Festival. JAW has been instrumental in developing new work for The Armory repertory, including this season’s production of A Life and Storm Large’s Crazy Enough, as well as Kodachrome, The People’s Republic of Portland, The North Plan, The Thugs, and A Feminine Ending. She enjoys being part of a company committed to new play development and having a beautiful building in which to work. 

Megan Wilkerson, Scenic Designer
Megan is thrilled to make her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut. Portland credits include designs at Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Teatro Milagro, Profile Theatre, Portland Playhouse, and Artists Repertory Theatre. Regional credits include shows with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and Michigan Opera Theatre, to name a few. Outside of theater, she works as a commercial exhibit and environments designer, as well as an educator. A resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre, Megan’s work has been most recently seen for Skeleton Crew and Small Mouth Sounds, and for the upcoming A Doll’s House, Part 2 and The Revolutionists. Megan is a proud member of United Scenic Artist Local 829. meganwilkerson.com

Jacqueline Firkins, Costume Designer
Jacqueline is excited to return to Portland Center Stage at The Armory this season. Set and costume designs include work for Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, Court Theatre, J. Paul Getty Museum, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The House Theatre of Chicago, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Portland Stage Company, Arts Club Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, Shakespeare & Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Jacqueline is a recipient of a Princess Grace Award, as well as Black Theatre Alliance, Jessie Richardson, Elizabeth Sterling Haynes, and SAT awards for excellence in costume design. She’s on the fulltime faculty at the University of British Columbia.

Kristeen Willis Crosser, Lighting Designer
Kristeen is thrilled to return to Portland Center Stage at The Armory after designing lighting for Buyer & Cellar, Sex with Strangers, and Mary's Wedding. Regional theater credits include lighting designs for A Contemporary Theatre and Triad Stage. Her Portland area design credits include work at designs for I and You and Between Riverside and Crazy at Artists Repertory Theatre; The Night Alive and Or, at Third Rail Repertory Theatre; Snow White and Little Red “Riding Hood” at Northwest Children's Theater and School; Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium and Fly Guy: The Musical at Oregon Children’s Theatre; Buried Child and Thief River at Profile Theatre; The Outgoing Tide and Luna Gale at CoHo Productions; and Oedipus El Rey at Milagro Theatre.

Casi Pacilio, Sound Designer
Casi’s home base is The Armory, where credits include sound design for over 40 productions and 12 seasons of JAW: A Playwrights Festival. National shows: Holcombe Waller's Surfacing and Wayfinders; Left Hand of Darkness, My Mind is Like an Open Meadow (Drammy Award, 2011), Something’s Got Ahold Of My Heart, and PEP TALK for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Other credits include Squonk Opera’s Bigsmorgasbord-WunderWerk (Broadway, PS122, national and international tours); I Am My Own Wife, I Think I Like Girls (La Jolla Playhouse); Playland, 10 Fingers, and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (City Theatre, PA); 2.5 Minute Ride and Fires in the Mirror (Profile Theatre). Film credits include Creation of Destiny, Out of Our Time, and A Powerful Thang. Imagineer/maker of the Eat Me Machine, a dessert vending machine.

Janine Vanderhoff, Stage Manager
Janine is thrilled to be back for her fourth season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. She recently stage managed A Christmas Memory/Winter Song, The Color Purple, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Other favorites include: Wild and Reckless, The Oregon Trail, and Great Expectations. In New York, Janine worked on The Lion King, as well as with many Off-Broadway and regional companies. Portland credits: Sweeney Todd (Portland Opera), Play, How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes, and The Other Place (Portland Playhouse). Touring: The Graduate, Cats, The Vagina Monologues, Jekyll & Hyde, and Show Boat. Production management: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “Democalypse 2012 Republican National Convention” (Tampa, FL); Straz Center (Tampa, FL); The Fox Theatre (Atlanta, GA). Proud NYU graduate and AEA member.

Sarah Stark, Production Assistant
Sarah is a recent Portland transplant from Chicago, where she graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in theater studies. She has previously worked as a production assistant at The Armory for productions of Twist Your Dickens and A Life. Regional and Chicago stage management credits include: Silent Night, The Cunning Little Vixen, Porgy and Bess (The Glimmerglass Festival), Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater); Civility! (The Syndicate); Ellen Bond, Union Spy (The House Theatre of Chicago); Love’s Labour’s Lost, She Kills Monsters, Belleville, Urinetown: The Musical (The University of Chicago). Sarah is thrilled to be continuing her work and education as a stage management apprentice at The Armory this season!