The Coast Starlight - 2025 - BAT Theatre Site

Plenty of FREE on-site parking (LINK to video showing the way) / ADA accessible. Performing at the Little Theatre at Kennedy Catholic High School, 140 S 140th St., Burien, WA.

The Coast Starlight by Keith Bunin

September 26 through October 19, 2025 (Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm) – Northwest Premiere – Show photos available HERE – LINK

Order TICKETS online OR EMAIL BAT WITH YOUR TICKET REQUEST – HERE! OR CALL AND LEAVE A MESSAGE AT BAT: 206-242-5180.

A young man with a life-changing secret boards a long-distance train, the Coast Starlight. With the help of his fellow travelers, who are reckoning with their own choices, he has roughly a thousand miles to find a way forward. A smart, funny, and compassionate story about our capacity for invention and re-invention when life goes off the rails.

Run Time: about 90 minutes with no intermission. (Contains some adult language and content.)

A special shout-out to 4Culture, the City of Burien, and donors like YOU who sponsor this production. Special thanks to Kennedy Catholic High School and The Evergreen Ballet.

All student tickets are always $5. Additionally, if ticket prices are a barrier, please contact us at info@BATtheatre.org. These deals are sponsored in part by 4Culture through the Public Free Access 2025 project.

The Burien Actors Theatre’s production is a modest one that finds its strength in honesty. It reminds us that the most meaningful journeys often happen internally, and that the strangers we meet along the way sometimes reflect the parts of ourselves we’ve yet to understand. BAT’s staging captures that spirit with simplicity and sincerity—a heartfelt ride worth taking before it reaches its final stop on October 19.

The Seattle Times, November 1, 2025, Rants and Raves — Seattle Times, 11/01/2025 – Rants and Raves

-The Sound on Stage

I absolutely loved this play; I greatly appreciate what it suggests about (re)discovering our identity and purpose, through overcoming resistance to make connections with one another. There are strong reminders throughout that ‘verbally’ is only one of the means how we speak to other people in life. And not since the 1998 film Run Lola Run have I been so captivated by a story that plainly shows how small events can have huge, even life-changing consequences.

-Letter to the Editor, The B-Town Blog

The show’s greatest strength is the chemistry of the cast, . . . . Even at times when only two cast members are in dialogue, the remainder stay connected and engaged, creating an atmosphere of mutual empathy that is the heart of the show.

-The B-Town Blog

MEET THE CAST in order of appearance:

T.J. – Joey Sponseller (he/him)

Joey Sponseller is thrilled to be in his first show with BAT. Originally from Ventura, CA, he received an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. He studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, where he played Celia in As You Like It, for which he also wrote and performed original music. He starred in Fully Committed, a one-man show, at Rubicon Theatre Company, playing 40 characters in 70 minutes. For two years, he was a company member at Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre in Colorado. Other regional credits include: Art (Yvan), Ben Butler (Lt. Kelly), Tartuffe (Cleante), Our Town (Sam Craig), Twelfth Night (Malvolio), Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt), As You Like It (Jacques), and Julius Caesar (Lennox). Joey lives in Burien with his wife Kelly.

Jane – Ariel Rose (she/her)

Ariel Rose is an actor/educator who, like many passengers of the Coast Starlight, ran away from Southern California to find a home in Seattle. Some of Ariel’s Puget Sound acting credits include Jo in DIRTY (Annex Theatre); Jane Bennet/Anne de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice (Harlequin Productions); Joan la Pucelle in Henry VI Part 1 (Greenstage); Ellie in An Incomplete List (Dacha); understudy for Taproot Theatre Company’s Sherlock Holmes & The Precarious Position and Georgianna & Kitty; and two years of educational theatre tours with Taproot’s Road Company. Offstage, Ariel teaches for an inclusive nature preschool and youth drama classes with Seattle Children’s Theatre. Love to Mom, Sal, and friends.

Noah – Ben Bailey (he/him)

Ben Bailey is thrilled to be making his debut with Burien Actors Theatre and in the greater Puget Sound theatre community. He moved to Washington earlier this year and works as an air traffic controller at Seattle Center. He holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College and is excited to return to the stage after a brief hiatus. He’s grateful for the opportunity to join such a welcoming artistic community and looks forward to future projects in this community.

Liz – Nicole Lockett (she/her)

Nicole is so excited to be returning to Burien Actors Theatre for the first time since 2013 (back when it was Burien Little Theatre) in the all-female production of Jesus Christ Superstar! She was last seen as Cait in Bloomsday with Dukesbay Productions. Some additional recent South Sound stage credits include: Incorruptible and The Giver (Lakewood Playhouse), The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (Changing Scene Theatre NW), Tartuffe (Centerstage), Nunsense (Auburn Community Players), and The Diary of Anne Frank (Lakewood Playhouse).

Nicole is a co-producer, director, and performer with Radio Activity, and her voice can be heard in the animated series Snarc, a Lockdown Media Group & Toon Ink joint project.

In her non-theatre life, Nicole is the Chief of Staff & Managing Paralegal at an immigration law firm in Seattle, and volunteers with various organizations in the region, including serving as an elected PCO in the 30th LD. She has two cats named Astrid and June, and a passion for travel, languages, reading, and human rights.

Ed – Sean Morrin (he/him)

Sean Morrin is delighted to make his BAT debut! You may have seen Sean on stage at Seattle Rep in The Skin of our Teeth, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, and The Odyssey. Sean was too nervous to audition for plays during his Catholic high school days so he is beyond humbled that you are witnessing this ongoing catharsis and for supporting local art! All the love to Adelheid and Sister for the never-ending support.

Anna – Alyson Lapan (she/her)

Alyson is a dilletante: she loves to learn, especially in the field of the arts. She began taking acting classes from Seattle’s Freehold Theatre in 2024, shortly after walking the Camino in Spain. At Freehold she performed scenes as Nat in Rabbit Hole and Milla in Boleros for the Disenchanted. She’s looking forward to more classes!

In her private life, she worked 15 years as a professional stained glass artisan, but has enjoyed acrylic painting, paper doll design, and linoleum block printing (among other things). She was secretary on the board of the Burien Arts Association for 2 years and was their 2024 volunteer of the year. She is a foster parent via Refugees Northwest, a program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest. She is extremely grateful for her husband Jim Lapan’s support.

Meet the Director:

Maggie Larrick (Stage Director, Costume Designer, Co-Production Manager) (she/her) was initially sucked into the theater vortex to paint sets for a high school play, which led to acting, directing, design, and more at Seattle-area theaters, including Triad Ensemble Theatre, Theatre Schmeatre, and Latino Theatre Projects. She has directed ten plays for BAT, starting with Dazzle Your Eyes for BAT’s Playwrights Festival and Art in 2006. Last season, she directed the acclaimed The Sandwich Ministry. Previously, she co-directed 13 plays for BAT with her longtime collaborator and good friend Rochelle Flynn, including most recently On the Market and The Twelve Dates of Christmas. Recent costume designs include BAT’s The Play’s the Thing, On the Market, Tiny Beautiful Things, and Beginning.

The creative team:

Cyndi Baumgardner (she/her), props design

Rob Falk (he/him), light design

Carolann Voltarel (she/her), costumer

Eric Dickman (He/him), set and music

Director’s Notes:

The Coast Starlight is a play of what ifs, missed opportunities and facing our own personal crossroads.

I remember a moment in the Seattle Public Library when I was in my 20s, standing there in overwhelmed awe of the vast number of books. As I realized it wasn’t humanly possible for me to read all of them, I felt the loss of all the stories and all the knowledge I would never experience. Eventually, I accepted those natural limitations. Yet I’ve wondered at times since then about choices I make, and what if I had taken a different path, even on a decision as seemingly small as whether or not to talk to a stranger. So I love that Bunin’s script explores that conundrum.

Plus I’ve always thought if we knew more about one another, we might be better off, as this play suggests: less judging, more compassion and maybe even added help meeting our own individual challenges, and charting which way to go when we arrive at a crossroads.

For our production, the train is only lightly suggested, in keeping with the author’s direction that the space not feel literal, and we might at times forget we are on a train at all. The author wanted to express the idea that these interactions could happen at any transient location where strangers might interact, typically briefly if at all, like a library, restaurant, grocery store and so on.

I am so appreciative of the talented individuals who came together to create this amazing production. The actors poured their hearts and souls into these roles, and never ceased working. And the production team’s contributions were spot-on. Enjoy their work!

Artistic Director Notes:

It has been a ride to bring The Coast Starlight to BAT.

We received the manuscript copy of The Coast Starlight from Keith Bunin’s agent long before it was published. We loved the script when we first read it.

We immediately asked for the rights to produce the show. However, the rights were not available to us due to our size and our location. Bigger theaters in larger cities sometimes put a hold on a show they think they may produce. A theater in Seattle blocked our production.

For the last few years, BAT has been asking and re-asking Keith Bunin’s agent for the rights to produce The Coast Starlight. It seems this year we finally wore them down. As the shodō (書道) art in my office says, “persistence is the way of Zen.” Tonight, BAT’s persistence is paying off for you. We are certain you will enjoy The Coast Starlight as much as we do.

I would like to thank the director, Maggie Larrick, the wonderful cast, and all the creatives who worked tirelessly to bring The Coast Starlight script to life. I have been lucky enough to watch the show come together. I believe what you see on stage is the show the author intended, and it makes me happy to join everyone at BAT to bring you the Northwest premiere of The Coast Starlight.

Enjoy,

This production is sponsored by the following, and donors like YOU (DONATE HERE):