Rep alumni updates: Tony Awards, Better Call Saul, more!

One of the best parts of coming to The Rep is to watch some of the country's top theatre professionals create magic on our intimate stage. 

Even after they finish their work here, we avidly follow their careers as they continue to make waves on stage and screen. Recently, we've received a ton of exciting updates about what our recent performers and designers have accomplished, so we thought we'd compile all of it for easy reference.

Check out what our "Rep alumni" have been up to lately:

Christopher Akerlind (lighting designer for 2006's Ace) has won his second career Tony Award! He took home this incredible honor for his lighting design work on Paula Vogel's explosive, critically beloved Indecent. Christopher also took home the 2017 Drama Desk Award for his work on the show. Watch his utterly charming acceptance speech below. Congrats!

Raymond McAnally (Francis Henshall in 2014's One Man, Two Guvnors) popped up in one of TV's best shows a few weeks back: AMC's Better Call Saul. Playing a put-upon recliner salesman, the man they call "Mack" shared a brief but memorable scene with star Bob Odenkirk, pictured above. This officially makes Raymond part of the extended Breaking Bad universe, which is cause for serious geeking out.

Dael Orlandersmith (playwright/performer, 2016's Until the Flood) is taking the stirring show that she world premiered at The Rep to three other theatres next year. Dael will perform the one-woman piece to Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in New York City. Based on interviews with dozens of St. Louisans, the play features a tapestry of community voices discussing the issues faced by our city in the wake of recent social unrest.

Along with Until the Flood, the other two plays we produced as part of our 2016 Ignite! Festival of New Plays are moving up in the world. Unseen, written by Mona Mansour, received its world premiere this February at The Gift Theatre in Chicago. Replica, written by Mickey Fisher, will world premiere in May 2018 at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston.

Randy Blair (Taylor in 2016's Georama) appeared in the sadly short-lived Broadway musical adaptation of Amélie as Hipolito and Elton John. Yep, Elton John. We recommend checking out his Instagram account for some behind-the-scenes imagery and footage from the production. 

Speaking of Georama, congrats to creators West Hyler, Matt Schatz and Jack Herrick, as well as actors P.J. Griffith and Jillian Louis for bringing the show to this year's New York Musical Festival! The NYMF production runs August 2-6. World premiered at The Rep, this brand new musical recounts the true tale of John Banvard, who created elaborate panoramic paintings that wowed 19th Century audiences. Griffith and Louis will reprise their Rep roles as Banvard and his wife Elizabeth.

Geoffrey Wade and Amelia White (Sergeant Rough and Elizabeth in 2015's Angel Street) are a fantastic husband-wife acting duo. This year, they're appearing as part of the national tour of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. We're presenting our own, homegrown production of the 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Play in September.