Creative Team

Charles Ellison Washington, Director

Making his stage directorial debut with Sunset Baby. Stage credits include Savannah, All In A Day's Work and "Welcome Home, Soldier" at Playhouse West-Philadelphia; Dreamgirls, Marty Madison, Driving Miss Daisy, Hoke Coleburn, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Reverend Tooker at Walnut Street Theatre; Memphis at Ritz Theatre Company; The Christians at Wilma Theatre; Holy Maria/ Who Said I Don't Want to Dance at Pulley and Buttonhole Theatre; "57" at the African American Art Musuem; Souls of Black Folk 2 at Painted Bride Art Center. Film credits include Tino, Bounty, Double Dealings, I Love You in Black, Father Daughter Dance (writer, actor/director), Drastic (writer actor/director), Sandtrap, As Fate Would Have It (Received 2022 Playhouse West-Philadelphia Film Festival, Audience Choice Award, Best Actor/Short Film/Drama), Fail Forward, Closer, Hott Yoga and Beacon. A grateful, longtime student of Playhouse West-Philadelphia Acting School and Theater.

Dominique Morisseau, Playwright

The author of The Detroit Project (A 3-Play Cycle), which includes the following plays: Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem and NBT). Additional plays include: Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre); Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre), and Follow Me To Nellie’s (Premiere Stages). She is also the Tony-nominated book writer on the new Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre). Dominique is alumna of The Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, Women’s Project Lab and Lark Playwrights Workshop, and has developed work at Sundance Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. She most recently served as Co-Producer on the Showtime series Shameless (3 seasons).

Tony Savant, Artistic Director

Founding Director of Playhouse West-Philadelphia, one of the foremost respected acting teachers in the country. For over three decades, Mr. Savant has been integral to Playhouse West achieving its top reputation throughout the industry and as one of the finest acting schools in the world. Helped train some of the most successful film and T.V. actors, including Ashely Judd, James Franco, Tessa Thompson, Scott Caan, Scott Wolf, Jim Parrack, Scott Haze, Wentworth Miller, Alain Uy, Jean Elie and hundreds of other working actors. Artistic Director of the award-winning Playhouse West Theater Company in L.A. over 20 years. Created, co-wrote and directed the award-winning production, “Welcome Home, Soldier”, winner of “Best Drama”, hailed as “the year’s most powerful theater” in 1991. The play closed in Los Angeles in 2016 after 25 years. Directed over 80 stage productions, including The Baby Dance, Light Sensitive, Country Singer, Speed The Plow, Dinner With Friends, Sin and All In A Day's Work. Directed five films including award-winners Red, Buddy, Billy and the Hurricane. Acted in more than twenty films and over 40 stage plays.

Michelle Opalesky, Stage Manager