Guest Actor Michael Gruber joins PCPA Theaterfest for this spring and summer’s production of Crazy For You. Mr. Gruber will be playing Bobby Child who wants nothing more than to dance on stage. Michael has done a lot of dancing on stage, including the greatest stages in the world – on Broadway! His credits there include Mike Costa in the final company of A Chorus Line, Munkustrap in Cats, the Tinman in The Wizard of Oz (with Roseanne), Hortensio in Kiss Me, Kate, and the original companies of Miss Saigon, Swing! and My Favorite Year. Mr. Gruber was also one of the three Americans asked to reprise their role for the Cats movie, filmed at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Favorite regional roles include Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain, Young Ben in the critically acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies (with Ann Miller), and Fingers in Red, Hot and Blue (all at the Paper Mill Playhouse), Wizzer in Falsettos (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta), Tom Marlowe in the world premiere revival of Good News (Music Theatre of Wichita), Jud Fry in Oklahoma (Arizona Theatre Co.), Cousin Kevin in the 1999 concert tour of The Who’s Tommy, Lucky in Dames at Sea (Goodspeed Opera House), Billy in Anything Goes (Fifth Ave. Theatre, Seattle), Michael in Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Sacramento Music Circus), Riff in both National and European touring companies of West Side Story, and the emcee of The History of Sex, an original musical review at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. He is also the composer and co-author, along with collaborator Jennifer Allen, of three original musicals, Hit It, Mike!, The Old Dead Five and Vegas Organic.

Also joining the spring and summer companies is PCPA graduate Melinda Ann Parrett who will be playing opposite Michael Gruber in Crazy for You as Polly Baker, the girl who's reluctant to be won over by Bobby Child. Melinda's PCPA credits include 42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer), Rope (Janet), Anything Goes (Erma), Gypsy (Tessie Tura), Cinderella (Queen Maisie), The Tempest, Grease, Carousel, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Since her last PCPA stint, Melinda made her East Coast debut in Dames at Sea at the Goodspeed Opera House with Michael Gruber, appeared in A Christmas Carol at Geva Theatre (directed by PCPA’s Mark Booher), and most recently, played Cathy in the West Coast premiere of The Last 5 Years at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre.

Michael and Melinda will join PCPA’s company of resident professionals along with other guests, interns and students who make up PCPA Theaterfest, the professional resident theatre company of the Central Coast since 1964.