A Soulpepper stalwart, Dennis is equally reliable in comedy and drama. This year he was part of five productions for his home company, beginning with a sympathetic paternal figure in Blood Wedding and ending with a hilarious turn as a soused actor in Noises Off and a hard-working guardian angel in It’s A Wonderful Life. But it was his pair of serious roles that stood out: first in Incident At Vichy, as a Nazi military man forced into a role he doesn’t relish, and, most extraordinary, as a Southern plantation owner, in Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts I, II and III), who seems concerned for the loyal Black slave who willingly follows him into battle… until an offhand comment shows the man to be the scariest of racists.
Her stage career began in 1972 as one of the original members of The Acting Company, a professional touring theatre company in the US formed by John Houseman. She appeared in shows like The Cradle Will Rock, The Lower Depths, Love’s Labours Lost and Measure for Measure.
LuPone made her Broadway debut the following year when she took on the role of Irina in the 1973 play The Three Sisters, and two years later she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the musical The Robber Bridegroom.