The Cast of The Old Friends

Debbie Baumann (Sybil Borden) has been working very hard to get Valley Players on the map and feels very hopeful for the future of theater for women over 40. Her background started with her talent in ballet and expanded to acting in theater during high school. Taking on directing was a natural fit for Debbie as she has always wanted to be a teacher. Her favorite role was Kate in Sylvia and her latest role, Holly in Anton in Show Business, was the one that brought her back to the stage after many years. She hopes she can continue this momentum as a board member of Valley Players, actor and director. Thanks to NVPAC for our season and to my precious family and friends for all their support.

Rhonda Bowen (Gurtrude Hayhurst Sylvester Ratliff) returns to acting this year after a long hiatus and is delighted to join Valley Players for this production of The Old Friends. Born and raised in Marin County, Rhonda is a third generation San Francisco Bay Area native. She studied Theatre Arts at Santa Rosa Junior College, appearing in numerous productions throughout Sonoma County for years before following a different path. A few favorite past roles include Sonia in They’re Playing Our Song, Myra Arundel in Hay Fever, Fraulein Kost in Cabaret and Lampito in Lysistrata. Rhonda received her B.A. in Architecture from University of California at Berkeley and continues to practice in that field. She enjoys traveling, art, singing jazz, and has called the Napa Valley home since 1991.

Paul Cotten (Howard Ratliff) is honored to take part in this production with Valley Players. It is Paul’s great fortune to work with Valley Players again! Paul last appeared as Vanya in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike with Valley Players and prior to that in another of Christopher Durang’s plays, Laughing Wild, at the Berkeley Waterfront Playhouse in 2017. He won the Daily Republic’s 2015 Arty Award for Best Actor as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and the 2014 Arty for Best Supporting Actor as Dr. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest with Bay Area Stage. Paul has appeared as Macbeth (Don’t say the “M” name out loud in a theater, FYI.) with the Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park, the character “M” in Cock and Allen in God of Carnage with On the Fringe Theater. Paul was trained at ACT and Bay Area TheaterSports in S.F.

Lauren Haugan (Catherine) is pleased to be in her first production with Valley Players and feels they are a wonderful high energy group! Her last production was with Upstage Napa Valley in Goldfish. She had a lot of fun playing a b&$%ch! She was also seen as Blanche in Brighton Beach Memoirs with Upstage Napa Valley and prior to that Veta in the play Harvey with Napa Valley Playhouse. She feels that Community Theatre is special for all that are involved including our audiences. We couldn’t do it without you.

Bruce A. Miroglio (Albert Price) is thrilled to be making his first appearance with Valley Players. Bruce has appeared on stage and screen for many years. He was seen as Deputy Arbus in Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Twixt, and has done voice acting and radio work. He most recently appeared in Upstage Napa Valley’s production of Clever Little Lies as Bill, Sr. Bruce is a Napa Valley native, where he works as an attorney and as an ordained Deacon at St. Helena Catholic Church. He and his wife of 35 years have 5 children. Bruce loves the immediacy and the audience feedback of theatre work and loves exploring the nuances of the characters in The Old Friends with this talented cast.

Joseph Pharr (Tom Underwood) Joseph’s acting career began when he was in the third grade and he performed as a Cratchet Child in Napa Valley Players production of A Christmas Carol. Since then, Joseph has taken on a variety of roles throughout his high school and college careers, ranging from Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lieutenant George Whickham in Our Country’s Good, and Pinocchio the Puppet in Shrek the Musical to name just a few. Joseph is extremely excited to have this opportunity to perform with the incredible talent at Valley Players, and to perform on the Lincoln Theater Stage. He has plans to attend California State University of Fullerton in the fall.

June Alane Reif (Julia Price) has a B.A. in Theater, Interpretation and Communication from Louisiana State University, furthered her acting studies in San Jose at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, in private classes with Ed Hooks and Barbara Titus and is also a graduate of Bay Area TheatreSports in San Francisco. Some of her favorite theatrical roles include Sarah in The Lover, the various characters of Parallel Lives (The Kathy & Mo Show), Mac in Three Viewings, Elvira in Blithe Spirit and Bella in Lost in Yonkers.

Randi Storm (Mamie Borden) is feeling blessed to be in another show with Valley Players on stage at the Lincoln Theater. (The closest she feels she’ll ever get to Broadway!) She last graced this stage as Cassandra in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in February. The Texan accent, she fears, might be a bit of a challenge for a Jersey girl to pull off! She hopes you enjoy the show and would like to thank her Howard (not ours!) for all his support.