The Cast of Resolving Hedda
Jimmy Adams (Eilert) is a seasoned actor and an Arty Award recipient. He studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco for 4 years and has been acting for more than 10 years. His most recent plays include Much Ado About Nothing with Vallejo Shakespeare In The Park, and the first annual Play Write Festival in Saint Helena, where he played a frog prince, which was a challenging role for him. Valley Players is one of James’s favorite theater groups and he makes it a point to get involved with them any way he can. He’s looking forward to working more with them in the future.
Richard Pallaziol (George) studied theatre at CSU Long Beach and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. As actor, director, dancer, and fight choreographer during the past fifty years he has worked in over 400 shows from San Diego to Michigan. Locally, he has performed for Marin Shakespeare, Cinnabar Theatre, and Shakespeare Napa Valley. Most recently he was one of Valley Players’ Romantic Fools. He is a proud member of the Valley Players board of directors, and hopes that many in the audience tonight will join us in the fun of putting on live, vibrant theatre for Napa Valley.
Bridget Folan (Thea) fell in love with acting at the age of 11, when she signed up for her first acting class at a summer recreation program. She was lucky enough to be cast as Anne Frank in a Bay Area production of The Diary of Anne Frank, and has been hooked ever since! A theater major in college, memorable roles including Hands Across the Sea, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, White Chicks, Extremities and others were to follow. She moved to Napa from San Francisco in 1999 and enjoyed being in local plays such as Noises Off, Equuis, The Secret Garden and The Tin Woman, which was a Valley Players production. When not on stage you will find her working as a Flight Attendant out of SFO, however, she loves being home with her cats, and jogging in the fresh air here in the Napa Valley!
Anna Li (Aunt Julia) is grateful to enjoy live theater again and is thrilled to be in her first play with Valley Players. While a resident of Michigan, she began her career in post-production, earning 3 Telly Awards and 6 Aegis Awards for commercial and corporate video. One day, a chance meeting with a talent agent inspired her to step in front of the camera and try acting. While no stranger to the art of storytelling, she found it refreshing, fun and therapeutic to immerse herself in an imaginary life, knowing she could always revert back to her own simple reality, regardless of how complex or dramatic her character became. She has enjoyed roles mostly in film and television, along with a few opportunities in local theater. A move to California opened up a new chapter and along with it, many new and diverse opportunities, but her love for theater has been a constant. Whether she is on stage or in the audience, she delights in that unmatched adrenaline rush … those sparks of electricity that go off from knowing that castmates, crew and viewers are all experiencing the story together as it unfolds in real time. That shared emotion of the story, the anticipation of “what happens next” and the shared pressure of “being at the ready” creates a connection unlike anything else because in live theater, everyone knows that “what happens next” can be anything! (Wearing of the Greens, Remember Isobel, The Girl from Beacon Hill, Driven to Kill)
Patte Quinn (The Stagehand) has “nothing to say.” Literally. So we’ll say something for her—last seen onstage in Valley Players’ Romantic Fools, she has been a staple in the Napa theater scene for many years and we are happy to have her! Patte is a founding board member of Valley Players and currently serves as treasurer.
June Alane Reif (Hedda) has a B.A. in Theater, Interpretation and Communication from Louisiana State University, and furthered her acting studies at the San Jose Repertory Theatre and in private classes with Ed Hooks and Barbara Titus. She is also a graduate of Bay Area TheatreSports in San Francisco. Earlier this year, June directed Valley Players’ production of Romantic Fools and in 2021 she had the pleasure of performing in three of our Ladies’ Briefs. She serves as president of the board of directors for Valley Players and hopes one day to be replaced by someone fabulous!
Bonnie Richardson (Judge Brack) is making her debut with Valley Players. After a break of 50 years she finds she loves theater as much as ever. In the dim, distant past, she appeared as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, Ismene in Antigone, Margaret in A Man for All Seasons, and Laura in Tea and Sympathy, in productions at University of Pacific, Stockton, SUNY Binghamton, and Emory University, Atlanta. She took a break from theater to pursue a medical career and retired from Primary Care Medicine at Napa Kaiser Permanente in 2018. Another passion is English Country Dance which she teaches at the Napa Senior Center. She attends Historical Balls and camps all over the country.