guthrie theater | watch on the rhine

This fall, Elijah will be at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN, playing Kurt Muller in the political thriller, "Watch on the Rhine", Directed by Lisa Peterson.  The show will run at the Guthrie Theater September 30 – November 5,  2017. Tickets available here. 

This is a co-production with Berkeley Rep, and the show will re-open in Berkeley on December 4th, 2017 and run through mid January 2018.  Tickets will be available here. 

About the play:
"It’s 1940—and Fanny Farrelly, a wealthy matriarch living in Washington, DC, is about to learn it’s no longer the world she once knew. After spending 20 years abroad, Fanny’s daughter arrives home with her German husband, Kurt, an anti-fascist activist. When a houseguest and Nazi sympathizer threatens to turn Kurt in, the family discovers how far they’ll go to fight for what they believe—and for each other. Written in 1941 by activist playwright Lillian Hellman, Watch on the Rhine is a timely examination of moral obligation, sacrifice, and what it means to be American."

Read the full press release here. 

Reviews of 'The Real Thing' at Aurora Theatre

Elijah played 'Henry' in Tom Stoppard's Tony Award winning play "The Real Thing", which enjoyed a successful extended run at the Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley, CA during February 2017.   

"Alexander makes the all-Henry-all-the-time show very worth watching… Alexander is chilling."
San Francisco Chronicle

"Alexander... looks like a cross between Mark Ruffalo and Freddie Mercury and acts like a cross between Jim Carrey and Christopher Hitchens.  He's a wry, cavorting, glorious jester. And whenever "The Real Thing" runs long or gets lost in itself, he pulls it back on course."
Edge Media Network 

"Elijah Alexander puts us right at home in Henry’s self-deprecating wit—we come to love him, as he tries to make all odds even."
Theatrius

"An admirable, yet endearing, performance by Elijah Alexander as the playwright Henry successfully compliments Stoppard’s masterful use of language."
Berkeleyside 

"In Alexander’s hands, Henry’s progression... is the evening’s highlight. Watching him, I can imagine the excitement caused by a similar journey taken by another fine actor, Jeremy Irons, in the play’s 1984 Broadway premiere."     
Pacific Sun

Elijah Named Ambassador for Project Coyote

Elijah is honored to have been named an Ambassador for Project Coyote, a wildlife advocacy organization based in Larkspur, California.   

He was introduced to Project Coyote after being selected to narrate the audiobook for Dan Flores’ New York Times Best Seller, Coyote America.   Flores was a guest of honor at Project Coyote’s recent holiday gala, where Elijah was asked to read from Dan’s book. 

Elijah has been a long time advocate for wolves, coyotes, and other animals in need of protection, and he invites you to support Project Coyote by visiting their website to learn more, and considering making a donation.

Bumpers for Ashland Independent Film Festival

Elijah and his little sidekick had fun starring in one of the bumpers for the 2016 Ashland Independent Film Festival, produced by Joma Films.  

ATC's "Disgraced" Honored with a MAC award

The Arizona Daily Star has given a 2015 "Mac Award" to the Arizona Theatre Company for their production of "Disgraced", in which Elijah played the role of Amir. 

"The Ayad Akhtar play was not only timely, it was provocative and poetic. And this production did what the best theater does: made us question our beliefs and assumptions ... Elijah Alexander was riveting as the volatile Amir ... "  [Kathleen Allen, Tucson.com / Arizona Daily Star]

REVIEWS OF 'DISGRACED' AT ATC / PHOENIX

In wake of Paris attacks, 'Disgraced' is theater that matters

Akhtar’s fearless script carries an incredible emotional and intellectual heft. And in a Phoenix-premiere production by Arizona Theatre Company, a powerhouse cast, led by Elijah Alexander as Amir, brings “Disgraced” to life with convincing edge-of-your-seat tension that builds relentlessly to a devastating climax …. 

.... At the center of it all is Alexander’s tour-de-force turn as Amir. Complex and conflicted, this character requires an actor who can walk a tightrope by earning the audience’s sympathy and then risking our wrath when he confronts us with uncomfortable truths.

Kerry Lengel, The Republic | azcentral.com

such is the relevancy of great theatre

All five performers are cast well, each flawlessly representing their type in a way we assume the author intended us to view them, but it’s Alexander’s portrayal of the conflicted Amir that stands out.

... I doubt whether any audience member at the Phoenix Herberger Centre opening performance of Disgraced was unaware of the horrific circumstances that occurred in Paris prior to the weekend ...  Such is the power of Disgraced, and more importantly, such is the relevancy of great theatre.

Valley Screen and Stage: David Appleford's Film and Theatre Reviews

'Disgraced' at the Herberger is not only good, but important

Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer-winner fresh off the Broadway stage explores the potential for prejudice in a variety of forms and contexts and provides a fully visceral visual representation of what can happen when conflicting ideas about race are forced into the open. And, quite honestly, I don’t think it could have been done any better ...

... The play brings up complex issues about race and culture that are important to examine at such a crucial moment in world history. This weekend, over 100 people died in France as victims of a religiously-motivated terrorist attack. On Monday, our state’s governor demanded that the flow of refugees into Arizona be stopped.  At a time like this, Akhtar’s play is crucially important to see. Especially when ATC’s production of it is so stinking good. 

Faith Miller, Downtown Devil / Curtain Critic

REVIEW OF 'DISGRACED' AT ATC / TUCSON

Photo by Tim Fuller / Arizona Theater Company

The Arizona Theater Company's production of Ayad Ahktar's 'Disgraced' opened this weekend to a warm reception in Tucson.  Read the Arizona Daily Star's review here.  

"Akhtar’s dialogue flows with rhythm and smarts and is delivered with nuance by a cast headed by Elijah Alexander as a tall, handsome and volatile Amir. He makes Amir’s frustration and rage palpable, but still allows the character to be sympathetic. "

The show runs in Tucson until November 7th, then moves to Phoenix until November 29th.  Tickets & Box Office information here. 

Gregory Award for "Outstanding Actor (Play)"

Elijah was awarded "Outstanding Actor (Play)" at the 2015 Gregory Award ceremony, for his role as Bashir in the “The Invisible Hand” at ACT Theatre in Seattle, WA. 

ACT's production swept a slew of Gregory Awards as well, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Scenic Design, & Outstanding Sound/Music Design.  Cast-mate Allen Nause also received Outstanding Supporting Actor.  

See a full list of Gregory Award recipients here. 

Elijah to play 'Amir' in "DISGRACED" at Arizona Theatre Company

This fall 2015, Elijah will be playing the role of 'Amir' in the Arizona Theatre Company's production of Ayad Akhtar's play Disgraced, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

From the ATC website:
"There are some topics you just shouldn’t discuss at a dinner party. Disgraced is the critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning current Broadway hit about the stories we tell our friends, the secrets we tell our lovers, and the lies we tell ourselves. Written by one of the most astonishing new voices in American theatre, this provocative tale dares to face the truth hiding just below the deception. In Disgraced, what begins as polite table conversation explodes, leaving everyone’s relationships and beliefs about race and identity in shards. We are thrilled to bring you the regional premiere of this blistering Broadway hit."

See full cast list here

Show run:
Tucson : 10/17/15 - 11/07/15
Phoenix : 11/12/15 - 11/29/15
Full schedule & ticket information on the ATC website

2015 Gregory Awards Nominee - Outstanding Actor (Play)

2015 Gregory Awards presented by Theatre Puget Sound
Elijah Alexander
Nominee - Outstanding Actor (Play)
“The Invisible Hand” - ACT Theatre

"When we first meet Bashir, he is an angry brute, uneducated and seemingly incapable of any empathy. By the play’s end, he has become a sophisticated manipulator and financial genius. Alexander is so skillful that this evolution seems completely natural; he helps us to understand the root cause of Bashir’s fury without making him an overly sympathetic character. At play’s end, when Bashir has evolved into a different kind of monster we are horrified by the scale of the damage he can do." - Alice Kaderlan, Seattle P-I Blog

Award Ceremony: October 26. 2015 in Seattle

Elijah Nominated for Gypsy Rose Lee Award

The Seattle Theater Writers critics' circle just announced the nomination slate of the fourth annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (2014), and Elijah was nominated for "Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor", along with co-star Connor Toms, for their roles in The Invisible Hand last fall.  The cast of four was nonimated for an "Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble", and the play itself was also nonimated for "Excellence in Production", as well as director Allen Nause for "Excellence in Direction".  

Elijah to play 'Gentleman' in World Premiere of "Fingersmith" @ OSF

Elijah will be playing the role of 'Gentleman' in the World Premiere of Fingersmith at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which opens March 1st, 2015 and runs through July 9th, 2015.   Adapted by Alexa Junge, based on the 2002 novel by Sarah Waters. Directed by Bill Rauch, who won a Tony for the Broadway production of All the Way, starring Brian Cranston.  

About the play: 

A wild ride of a Victorian crime thriller
At first, the job seems simple: All pickpocket Sue Trinder has to do is help a con man cheat a gullible young heiress out of her fortune. But nothing is quite what it seems in this gritty mystery set in 19th-century England. As the twisting story sends Sue spiraling through squalid London streets, madhouses and a stifling mansion with a ghastly secret, it leads her to the most dangerous landscape of all: awakening sexuality, love and betrayal. 

Elijah named "Best Leading Actor in a Play" - Critic's Pick Award, BroadwayWorld Seattle

BroadwayWorld Seattle has announced their CRITIC'S PICK AWARDS (by critic Jay Irwin). Not only was "The Invisible Hand" named BEST PLAY OF 2014, and ACT awarded THEATRE OF THE YEAR, but Elijah was also named BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY for his performance as 'Bashir', in a tie with Jack Willis ("All The Way/The Great Society" at Seattle Repertory Theatre).  Kudos all around!

Elijah receives 2014 Footlight Award for 'Bashir'

Elijah was recognized with a 2014 Footlight Award by Seattle Times theatre critic Misha Berson, awarded in the category of GREAT PERFORMANCE for his role as 'Bashir' in The Invisible Hand. 

Elijah Nominated for BroadwayWorld Seattle Awards

Elijah has been nominated for BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY for the BroadwayWorld Seattle viewer's choice awards, for his role as 'Bashir' in Ayad Ahktar's The Invisible Hand.  

You can vote for him here!  (Voting closes on December 31st, 2014)

Read what reviewers had to say about Elijah's performance here and here. 

Elijah was recognized with a Southern California "Scenie Award" by Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com for "Best Performance by a Lead Actor" for his role as 'MacBeth' in the production at A Noise Within in Pasadena, California.