Drama News & Alumni
Drama News & Alumni
Jesuit Drama is proud of all of its alumni! Please drop us a note and tell us what you’re up to…on or off stage.
Encore!
A Campaign for the Black Box Theater in Honor of Ed Trafton '84
As we celebrate 20 years in the Black Box Theater, your support will ensure that the shows go on! A contribution at any level will help continue the incredible programming that brings so much joy to our students and our Jesuit drama fans.
Donor Options
Act 1: Patron Wall
Located in the Harris Center Lobby. It will greet drama patrons entering the Black Box Theater and general visitors to the Student Life Center.
Deniro’s in a Film!
Click here to see Jesuit Drama alum Deniro Gomez’s bio for his upcoming film Mickey’s Tree.
Congrats, Deniro!
: )
Richard’s Entertaining Again
Sactown Magazine interviews Broadway Sacramento CEO Richard Lewis (and Jesuit Drama Alum parent) about “raising the curtain” after the COVID shutdown.
To read the interview, click here.
Tim Talks about Climate Change
Read how extreme heat is reshaping summer festivals
Click here to read the New York Times article about what Jesuit Drama alum Tim Orr (Artistic Director of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival) says about how climate change is affecting the landscape of summer theater.
Notable Black Box Theater Alumni
Students from both St. Francis and Jesuit High Schools who participated in drama productions over the years have gone on to make impacts in the industry professionally. Here are some of them:
55th Anniversary Season
Jesuit Drama 1966–2022
The Little Theatre: 34 Years
62 Plays
1966-67 J.B.
1967-68 A Man for All Seasons | Dramatic Arts Festival
1968-69 Tom Jones
1969-70 Once in a Lifetime
1970-71 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1971-72 The Fantastiks
1972-73 The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail | Look at Me, Look at You
1973-74 All My Sons | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
1974-75 The Odd Couple | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1975-76 The Time of Your Life | The Fantastiks
1976-77 Boy Meets Girl | The Sword of Rengarth
1977-78 God’s Favorite
1978-79 Don’t Drink the Water | Damn Yankees
1979-80 Ten Little Indians | Where’s Charley
1980-81 Something’s Afoot | Man of La Mancha
1981-82 Bleacher Bums
1982-83 Twelve Angry Men | Once Upon a Mattress
1983-84 The Man Who Came to Dinner | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1984-85 Our Town | The Music Man
1985-86 Inherit the Wind | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
1986-87 A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Fiddler on the Roof
1987-88 The Elephant Man | Little Shop of Horrors
1988-89 A Christmas Carol | Anything Goes
1989-90 A Man for All Seasons | Grease
1990-91 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | Into the Woods
1991-92 Reckless | Ten November
1992-93 Macbeth | My Fair Lady
1993-94 Henry IV, Part I | Guys and Dolls
1994-95 The Sting | Brigadoon
1995-96 God’s Country | Once Upon a Mattress
1996-97 The Dining Room | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
1997-98 American Gothic | A History of Jesuit’s Musicals
1998-99 Rehearsal for Murder | Camelot
1999-2000 You Can’t Take It With You | All American
The Black Box Theater: 21 Years
48 Plays
2000-01 The Visit | Little Shop of Horrors
2001-02 An Evening of One Acts | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2002-03 Other Places | You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
2003-04 A Few Good Men | Bat Boy
2004-05 The Princess Bride | MOVE!
2005-06 The Laramie Project | Aladdin, Jr.
2006-07 Heaven Can Wait | Urinetown
2007-08 Hamlet | Sweeney Todd
2008-09 Achilles in America | FLOPS! | We’ll Be Fine
2009-10 The Three Musketeers | The Frogs | Hansel and Gretel
2010-11 Tower Stories: A 9/11 Project | Cats | Scooby Doo & The Mystery of the Haunted Library
2011-12 Imago Dei: Journeys of Courage, Hope & Home | Hello, Dolly!
2012-13 Theophilus North | MOVE2
2013-14 Romeo & Juliet | Beauty & The Beast | Alone Together
2014-15 The Encyclopedia of Early Earth | Once on this Island
2015-16 Terror Stories: A Post-9/11 Project | Xanadu
2016-17 44 Plays for 44 Presidents | I Carry You in my Heart | Spamalot
2017-18 Isaiah Says | Willy Wonka
2018-19 The Elephant Man | We Need Some Light
2019-20 In the Matter of Scott Warren | Move3!
2020-21 Show. (And Tell.) | “The Show Must Go On!”
2021-22 WHAT?!?!? A Game Show
Riley Readies for Premiere of New Show
Catch "Doom Patrol" on the DC Universe Premium Service
Former Jesuit President Fr. Gregory R. Bonfiglio, S.J., gave Riley Shanahan ’10 some advice early on in his Jesuit career:
“You aren’t getting the most out of your high school experience if you show up at 8 AM and leave at 3 PM.”
For a guy like Shanahan, who didn’t know if he would be attending Jesuit High School until a week before classes started, those words struck a chord.
Shanahan went on to play sports, become Head Cheerleader, and, perhaps most impactful for his future, he got involved with theater and choir.
Jake’s in “American Idiot”
Jake Honnold ‘17 (Spamalot, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, Xanadu, Terror Stories) was just featured in the hit musical American Idiot at the Harlen Adams Theater at Chico State: “We closed last Sunday and it was an amazing run!”
Congrats, Jake!
John’s Called to Broadway
Jesuit Drama alum John Sanders ‘95 (Macbeth, Ten November, My Fair Lady) has a featured role in the American premiere of Groundhog Day: The Musical, a London import based on the popular film of the same name.
In a recent broadway.com interview, John reflects on his time in Jesuit Drama:
Chris Gets Ugly
Buy your tickets now to see Chris Sullivan ‘98 as Marvel Comic’s villain “Taserface” in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Check out Chris on the official Marvel site, as well as his interviews with Pop Sugar and Access Hollywood.
Congrats, Chris!
The Black Knight in the News
Monty Python’s Black Knight and Arthur from Spamalot have hacked their way in to the news from the pen of political cartoonist Joe Heller.
And, original Python John Cleese loves it!
Our thanks to cartoonist Joe Heller for sending us his cartoon, as well as the tweet Cleese sent him.
Poky Pride in the Black Box
On Wednesday, March 22, eighty-five students of the Pocatello High School Choir from Pocatello, Idaho, took a break from their west coast singing tour and stopped by the Black Box Theater to catch a performance of Spamalot.
After the show, their director, Mr. John Grayson, treated the cast and audience to an impromptu song.
It was a great night, and after the cast changed out of their costumes, the singing continued in the lobby!
Riley’s Possessed
This spring, Riley O’Toole ‘10 (Three Musketeers, Frogs) stars as Jason/Tyrone in Hand to God, Robert Askins’ Tony nominated “Best Play” at the Salt Lake Acting Company.
This wild comedy “explores ideas of faith, morality and human nature with the help of a hand puppet named Tyrone.”
Break a leg, Riley!
Chris Wraps It Up
Congrats to Chris Sullivan ‘98 on his fantastically successful run in Season 1 of the hit NBC show This Is Us.
We can’t wait for Season 2!
Kelsey’s “Got Trouble…”
"...Right here in River City!"
See Kelsey Magana (Grizabella in our production of Cats) as the love-struck librarian, Marian, in the classic American musical The Music Man later this spring at the Stapleton School of the Performing Arts.
Congratulations, Kelsey!
Jon’s Rockin’ Out
Jon Wagner ‘97 is back on Broadway having recently returned to the Andrew Lloyd Webber hit School of Rock.
Way to go, Jon!
Riley’s in Print
Check out the American Theatre magazine article that features Riley Shanahan ‘10 playing Ernest Hemingway in Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre adaptation of Hemingway’s novel A Moveable Feast.
Congrats, Riley!
Andrew’s Dreamin’
See Andrew Perez ‘05 as Pedro, the barber, in the classic musical Man of La Mancha at A Noise Within.
Break a leg, Drew!