Awni Abdi-Bahri* (Belle/Elizabeth Shelley) is overjoyed to return to A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory, coming full circle to where she made her professional debut in 2008 as “Girl About Town.” A multidisciplinary actor, writer, and educator based bicoastally in LA and NYC, her credits include Broadway’s POTUS (Shubert Theatre); Off-Broadway in Persian Pod (Ars Nova), Bismillah (Wild Project) and The Welcoming Committee (The Lark); and regionally in Wish You Were Here (South Coast Repertory, Yale Repertory). Her film and television credits incldue “Girls on the Bus” (HBO Max), “Evil” (Paramount+), “Ahamed’s Ramadan Diary” (Comedy Central) and Eradication (Tubi). As a writer, her play Three Tall Persian Women premiered at Shakespeare & Company in 2024 to glowing reviews. She is a proud member of Peacedale Global Arts and a mentee of Writer’s Guild of America 2025 Mentorship Program. Abdi-Bahri currently teaches Youth Level 3 Acting here at SCR. She holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University. @awni.joon for more updates.

Thomas Anawalt (Puppet Show/Gentleman/Mr. Topper) is thrilled to return to SCR for a second year in the cast of A Christmas Carol. Other theater credits include The Miracle Project: Out of Our Heads (The Pico), Hans Christian Andersen's The Shadow (Mixed eMotion Theatrix workshop performance), The Outsider (International City Theatre), The Miracle Project’s Rehearsing for Life (The Wallis), Ken Ludwig’s ’Twas the Night (national tour), The Seagull and Rhinoceros (Red Monkey Theater Group, NYC), Julius Caesar (Gene Frankel Theater, NYC), Odd Squad Live! (first national tour), Dunsinane (National Theatre of Scotland/Royal Shakespeare Company at The Wallis), Einstein is a Dummy (Sierra Madre Playhouse) and The Threepenny Opera (A Noise Within). Anawalt stars in Flat-Earther, a short film directed by Chris Wronka, available on YouTube. He is a graduate of South Coast Repertory's Acting Intensive Program and has an MFA in acting from USC School of Dramatic Arts. IG:@tomanawalt

Rachel Bailey (Fan/Pursued Maiden) is so excited to be re-joining the cast for A Christmas Carol after 10 years! After growing up in South Coast Repertory’s Youth Conservatory, Bailey graduated from the University of California, Irvine (Zot! Zot! Zot!) with a BA in Drama. She has worked for the past eight years with SCR’s Theatre Conservatory, and worked backstage for this production from 2022-2024 as the Youth Supervisor (a.k.a. “Child Wrangler”). She is a proud member of the Orange County Playwrights Alliance and a Resident Artist with The Larking House Theatre Company in Anaheim. Bailey would like to thank her parents, sister, bestie Jenelle, and boyfriend Geovanny, as well as the cast and crew of A Christmas Carol, for their unwavering support and encouragement.

Larry Bates* (Constable/Fred/Gentleman) is happy to be back at SCR. Some SCR favorite roles are Martin Luther King Jr. in All the Way, Ralph D. in The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Happy in Death of a Salesman, Booth in Topdog/Underdog, Cactus in Mr. Marmalade and Youngblood in the SCR/Pasadena Playhouse production of Jitney, for which he won an NAACP Theatre Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor. Other theatre credits include Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Mark Taper Forum), Pedro Play (Cornerstone Theater), Human Error (Denver Center Performing Arts), JQA (San Diego Repertory), Ah Wilderness! (Goodman Theatre) and Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop (Matrix Theatre, San Diego Repertory, Hattiloo Theatre). His film and television credits include Miss Virginia, Lions for Lambs, “The Romanoffs,” “Seal Team,” “Sunnyside,” “NCIS,” “Big Little Lies,” and “American Born Chinese.” Bates is a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and a graduate of The Theatre School, DePaul University.

Tommy Beck* (Undertaker/Ebenezer as a Young Man/Poulterer ) is excited to be back at SCR having just appeared as The Old Man in Outside SCR's The Old Man and The Old Moon. His recent credits include The Explorers Club, All My Sons (Jewel Theatre Company); Marjorie Prime, Shakespeare in Love, Miss Bennet (Marin Theatre Company); A Streetcar Named Desire (Kansas City Actors Theatre); Colossal (San Francisco Playhouse); The Real Thing, The Monster Builder, Eccentricities of a Nightingale (Aurora Theatre Company); A Few Good Men (Hillbarn Theatre); Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion (Livermore Shakespeare Festival); Sleuth, Dracula (Center REPertory Company); Sense & Sensibility (TheatreWorks); Much Ado About Nothing (Cal Shakes); Cymbeline (Marin Shakespeare Company); Hamlet, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, The Three Musketeers (City Lights Theater Company). Beck has worked extensively in performance capture, most notably with 2K Games, Hangar 13, Firaxis, Pixar, Epic Games, and Industrial Light & Magic. He received his BA from New York University and is a proud member of AEA & SAG/AFTRA.

Diana Burbano* (Mrs. Fezziwig/Solicitor) (she/ella), is a Colombian playwright and actor. Named one of the Los Angeles Times’ LA Vanguardia: Latino Innovators, she is a resident artist with Center Theatre Group, The Latino Theater Company, and Breath of Fire Latina Ensemble. Her play Sapience premiered at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland this year. Other plays include Ghosts of Bogotá, Crossings and Fabulous Monsters, about women in punk rock, featuring music by Chicana punk band FEA. She’s held commissions with Antaeus Theatre Company, Artists Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Seattle Rep, and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. Acting credits include Laughs in Spanish (Seattle Rep), American Mariachi (South Coast Repertory/Arizona Theatre Co.), La Ruta (Artists Rep) and Drunk at the Base of the Bodhi Tree (Mile High Theatre). You can also catch her as Viv the Punk in the cult musical Isle of Lesbos. Burbano serves on the Dramatists Guild Council, representing Southern California @ladianaburbano

Richard Doyle* (Ebenezer Scrooge) is an SCR Founding Member playing Scrooge for the fifth season live and sixth overall. He played many different characters over his 38 seasons in the production. Before he debuted as Scrooge in 2021, Doyle was last seen at SCR in Outside Mullingar (2020) and previously in The Fantasticks, Kings, Rest, The Weir and more than 200 other productions. His other SCR favorites include Holy Days; The Beard of Avon; You, Nero; Men’s Singles; Unsuitable for Adults; Playland; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Crucible; Intimate Exchanges; Cyrano de Bergerac; A View from the Bridge; Of Mice and Men; and—from SCR’s Third Step Theatre—The Tavern by George M. Cohan. Live stage is his first love, but he has kept busy with film and television, including a regular role as Mr. Gaines on “Cheers”; several roles on “M*A*S*H”; his first feature, the Michael Crichton film Coma; Wolfgang Peterson’s Air Force One; and Mass Appeal. He has also appeared in many independent features, including The Western Heathens and Thieves and Abduction of Angie. Voice acting enhanced his love for live storytelling and Doyle’s work as an animation voiceover actor ranges from “Sky Commanders” “The Chimp Channel,” “Batman,” “Ben Ten” and “Spiderman” to video and motion capture performances in dozens of video games like “MGS 3” as Big Boss, Moebius in "Legacy of Kane" and soon to be released new game "Icarus" where he returns as Moebius. He can also be heard on the podcasts "Exeter" as Capt. Woodruff, Gib Wilson on “Hunt for Red Gold" and Arthur on “Hoagies.” Richard's voice as The Maestro was also used in the amusement park ride Phantom Theater soon to be recreated as a new attraction for Six Flags. Fifteen years ago, Doyle joined The Pageant of the Masters as the narrator for this unique event, where he encourages people to “enjoy his storytelling surrounding this arts-themed show.” Here at SCR, he likewise hopes that you “Enjoy the Show” and have a wonderful holiday season.

Eduardo Enrikez* (Joe/Jacob Marley as a Young Man) is excited to return to the Christmas Carol family. You recently saw him at SCR in La Havana Madrid, American Mariachi and Destiny of Desire. He was in the original London West End production of the musical, On Your Feet, the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan (London Coliseum); he reprised his role as Emilio in a production at Moonlight Amphitheatre, West End/European credits include On Your Feet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Eating Raoul, Time Square Angel, Saturday Night Fever and Hair. Enrikez's regional credits include The Wedding Singer; Destiny of Desire; American Mariachi; Miss Saigon; Mother Road; The Secret Garden; Into the Woods; Papi; Me and César Chávez; Sweet Charity; Cabaret; Blood Brothers; Is This Any Way to Start a Marriage; Ragtime; The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!; Love Songs—A Musical; Bat Boy, The Musical; Hercules On Normandie and Schoolhouse Rock. His film and television credits include Sin Frontera, Stigma, Emilio, Jornada al norte, Dog Tags, Immigrant, Infertile Hearts, “The Bridge,” “Locked up Abroad” and “Bluff.” He wrote the musical ILCAHUILIA (to forgive), which just had readings in New York and Los Angeles. @eduardoenrikez.

Kaci Hamilton* (Mrs. Fezziwig/Mrs. Cratchit/Spirit of Christmas Past/Sally Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to the SCR stage. Most recently, she played Hermione and Paulina in back-to-back productions of The Winter’s Tale (Antaeus and Southern Shakespeare Company). Favorite credits include Crassis (Pacific Playwrights Festival), The Little Foxes (SCR), Menstruation: A Period Piece (Big Little Theatre Company), King Lear (staging), Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Julius Caesar (Warriors for Peace Theatre Company), Henry V (Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre/World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane, Australia), The Crucible (Perseverance Theatre) and The List (The Player’s Theatre). Currently, she can be seen in the short, In Foreign, which premiered at the 2024 AFI Fest, and Getaway, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Black Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival and the Essence Festival. Hamilton is a graduate of the William Esper Studio in New York. Instagram @thesweetbacon.

Louis Lotorto* (Bob Cratchit) an award-winning actor, voice over artist, fight choreographer, verse/text teacher, and proud member of Actors’ Equity Association for 36 years, is thrilled to return to SCR, having appeared as Richard Burbage in Shakespeare in Love; Alfie in One Man,Two Guvnors; Venticelli #1 in Amadeus; Osric and others in Hamlet; and Leslie in Taking Steps. Regional credits include the Royal National Theatre’s, An Enemy of the People with Sir Ian McKellen at the Ahmanson Theatre; the Oregon Cabaret Theatre (Ashland, Or), playing famed Agatha Christie detective, Hercule Poirot, twice; Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre Company (D.C.), ACT in Seattle, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company (Santa Barbara), Rubicon Theatre Company, North Coast Repertory Theatre (San Diego), and six seasons at A Noise Within, among others. This Spring, Lotorto will appear in the world premiere of an original adaptation of The Maltese Falcon at Laguna Playhouse.louislotorto.com @shxpear37

Michael Manuel* (Jacob Marley's Ghost/Gentleman) is happy to be returning to SCR, where he last appeared as Sam Phillips in Million Dollar Quartet. Other SCR work includes Editor Webb in Our Town, Boris in Amos and Boris, Madame Pernelle in Tartuffe, Big Stone in Eurydice, Francis Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and in numerous readings in the HPP and PPF. He has worked in regional theatres across the country, including the Alley Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company DC, Group Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, among others. In L.A., he has worked with A Noise Within (Ovation, LADCC Awards for Frankenstein), Pasadena Playhouse (LADCC for The Father), Mark Taper Forum, Cornerstone Theater Company, Shakespeare Festival LA, Geffen Playhouse, Interact Theatre Company, UCB, Main Street Players, and Impro Theatre, where he is a member of the Main Company. He has appeared in numerous television programs and films, including the upcoming feature film Redux Redux, directed by the McManus Brothers. Manuel is an Acting Coach and served as the coach and creative consultant for John Legend: An Evening of Songs and Stories, as well as writing the John Legend Christmas Show that toured the US in 2024. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a 2023 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow.

William Francis McGuire* (Solicitor/Mr. Fezziwig/Gentleman) appeared at SCR previously in Shakespeare in Love, All the Way, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Wrinkle in Time, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, A Christmas Carol and Tartuffe. He has also worked at the Guthrie Theater (The Rover, Naga Mandala, The Seagull, Electra, Iphigenia at Aulis, The Good Hope, Peer Gynt and Billy and Dago, among others), The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Henry V and Macbeth), Bay Street Theater Fest (Tropeano Paints), American Repertory Theatre (Boys Next Door), Yale Repertory Theatre (Search and Destroy) and many others. His film credits include The Day After Tomorrow and Mission: Impossible III. His television credits include “100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd” (series regular), “CSI,” “Castle,” “Justified,” “Eagleheart,” “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” “The Mentalist,” “Saving Grace,” “Weeds,” “Numb3rs,” “NCIS,” “Without a Trace,” as well as a number of Movies of the Week. He is Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at Saddleback College and a graduate of Yale School of Drama.

David Nevell* (Ebenezer Scrooge Understudy) previously appeared at SCR in A Raisin in the Sun, Shakespeare in Love, Peter and the Starcatcher and Arms and the Man. Other Southern California appearances include A Man of No Importance at A Noise Within; Twelve Angry Men, Driving Miss Daisy and The Odd Couple at Laguna Playhouse; The Price, A Walk in the Woods and God of Carnage at International City Theatre; Twelfth Night at New Swan Shakespeare; The Morini Strad at The Colony; and The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night and Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. Regionally, Nevell appeared in The Scene at Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara; Amphitryon at Huntington Theatre Company; The Crucible at Pittsburgh Public Theatre; Henry VIII and The Tempest at Utah Shakespeare Festival; A Christmas Carol at Geva Theatre; Crazy for You, On Borrowed Time and My Fair Lady at La Mirada Theatre; The Game of Love and Chance at San Jose Repertory; and in numerous roles while a resident artist at Pacific Conservatory Theatre/PCPA. Nevell earned his MFA in Acting at UC Irvine and his BA in Political Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. davidnevell.com

Sharon Omi* (Solicitor/Mrs. Fezziwig) returns to A Christmas Carol after 30 years—time flies! She is happy to rejoin old and new friends in this production. Recent shows at SCR include You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World and Galilee, 34. She has appeared in plays at Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, East West Players and Playwrights’ Arena, among many others. She starred in the film Eat with Me (streaming on Amazon/Peacock/Tubi). She also appeared in the films Yellow, Terminal USA and Only The Brave. Her recent television credits include "Matlock", “The After Party,” “Maggie,” and “I Think You Should Leave".

Jennifer Parsons* (The Spirit of Christmas Past/Scavenger) returns to SCR for her 4th year as Spirit of Christmas Past and 22nd year in A Christmas Carol—17 as Mrs. Cratchit and one as Belle (back in the long ago). She has also appeared in the SCR productions of The Heiress, Cyrano de Bergerac, Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards, Our Town, She Stoops to Folly, The Importance of Being Earnest, Buried Child, Flora & Ulysses, James and the Giant Peach, Anastasia Krupnik, The Borrowers, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business, Brand New Kid, The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), The Only Child and Bunnicula. Other recent SoCal performances include The Glass Menagerie, Silent Sky and Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike at International City Theatre. New York credits range from Broadway (Quilters) and Off-Broadway (Steel Magnolias, Smoke on the Mountain) to several Off, Off Broadway shows. She’s performed in regional theatres across the country and done a bunch of plays at Theatre 40. Her current television credits include recurring guest-star roles on “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Proven Innocent” and guest-star roles on “All Rise,” “The Romanoffs,” “Longmire,” “Bones,” “Criminal Minds” and “Stalker.”

Michael Polak* (Bob Cratchit/Spirit of Christmas Present/Fred/Jacob Marley’s Ghost Understudy) is thrilled to be back at SCR. His New York credits include Soldier’s Wife at the Mint Theatre. Regionally he has appeared at The Rubicon Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company, La Mirada Theatre, International City Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Northern Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare, Philadelphia Theater Company, Caldwell Theatre Company (New Times Award winner and Carbonell Award nominee for the role of Shane Mungitt in Take Me Out), The Shakespeare Theatre, Hartford Stage, Playmaker’s Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Cape Playhouse, PCPA, San Jose Stage Company and the California, San Francisco, and Texas Shakespeare Festivals among others. Television and film credits include "Bel-Air," Mid-Century, 86 Melrose Ave, and numerous soaps, web series, and shorts. Polak received his MFA from Pennsylvania State University and his BA from California State University, Fullerton. michaelpolakactorfd.com

Erika Schindele* (Toy Lady/Sally/Scavenger) is honored to celebrate the 45th anniversary of this beloved Christmas tradition. At SCR, she originated the role of Helen in the world premiere of An Italian Straw Hat, as well as performing in numerous Theatre for Young Audience productions. Recently, she originated another role in the world premiere of Perfect World at El Portal Theatre. Some favorite roles include Georgie Burns in Heisenberg, Stella Kowalski in the iconic A Streetcar Named Desire, (Jewel Theatre Company); and Lisa in Collected Stories (CVREP; Desert Theatre League Award nomination for best actress). Other theatre credits include Emma (Ensemble Theatre Company ); I’m Still Getting My Act Together (West Coast premiere, starring Gretchen Cryer), The Odd Couple and Love, Loss and What I Wore (Laguna Playhouse); Merrily We Roll Along and 1776 (Actors Co-op). Film andtelevision credits include Emerald, “Ribbons” (of which she was a co-creator), “Criminal Minds” and “American Dreams.” Schindele also narrates audiobooks and can be heard on many titles wherever you get your audiobooks. Merry Christmas and love to Brent, Jack and my family. erikaschindele.com

Nick Slimmer (Thomas Shelley/The Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-Come) (he/him/his) is thrilled to be making his return to A Christmas Carol. He is a graduate of SCR’s Acting Intensive Program, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, United States University (MA) and Arizona State University (BA). He is also an integral member of South Coast Repertory’s Theatre Conservatory, serving as the Conservatory and Educational Programs Associate. Slimmer also serves as a company member of Modjeska Unscripted Theatre producing and performing in fully improvised, full-length plays in various genres (Murder Mystery, Hallmark Christmas, Screwball Comedy, etc.). Slimmer would like to thank his friends and family for their boundless support, and director (and mentor) Hisa Takakuwa for giving him the opportunities in London and beyond.

Richard Soto* (Wreath Seller/The Spirit of Christmas Present/Rich Man) a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity, is overjoyed to be back again with the tradition of A Christmas Carol for a 16th year. His other SCR credits include Vecino in A Long Road Today/El Largo Camino de Hoy, SCR’s Dialogue/Diálogos project in Santa Ana. He also appeared in Coriolanus, The School for Scandal and Romeo & Juliet at The Old Globe. Other credits include So It Is! If So It Seems To You! and King Lear at A Noise Within. Soto is a faculty instructor with SCR’s Theatre Conservatory, and adjunct professor of stage combat at Vanguard University. As fight director, he has choreographed stage fights around the SoCal region, including SCR, Latino Theater Company, Native Voices at The Autry, Teatro Meta, American Coast Theater, Imagine Theatre, Vanguard University, Pomona College, and Actors Co-op, where he was recognized for his outstanding fight choreography. He is currently navigating life, while working on projects involving his passions of people, history, art, education, and comic books. Follow him at Instagram @therichardsoto

CHILDREN
Tessany Azizi, Matthew Chan, Megan Chan, Saher Chawla, Yunah Choi, Presley Coogan, Ivy Granadino, Aya Hannai, Taylor Hershelman, Thomas Lindley, Elliot Lee, Beatrice Main, Penelope Main, Fiona Nguyen, Isaac Person, Natalie Yokota