“Collected Stories”

Mercedes Ruehl

Ruehl received her first Academy Award nomination and win for her performance as Anne Napolitano, the emotionally driven girlfriend to fallen radio personality, (played by Jeff Bridges), in Terry Gilliam's masterpiece, The Fisher King (1991). In addition to an Oscar, and a Golden Globe, Ruehl's performance garnered several accolades. Los Angeles Times commended the performance, calling it "a bravura performance that runs from high, bantering comedy to an intense projection of pain and sorrow."

Notable film credits include The Fisher King (1991), Lost in Yonkers (1993) and For Roseanna (1997).

Xanthe Acquah Storey

Xanthe Acquah Storey is a British actor, born and raised in London. While earning her degree in New York City, she trained at HB Studio under Mercedes Ruehl. She is best known for playing Young Merle in the BAFTA-winning BBC and Fable Pictures series Mr Loverman (2024). She is also an emerging filmmaker, who wrote, directed and produced the short film The Prophecy of Self-Fulfilling (2025), which premiered at Birmingham Film Festival (2025), followed by its US premiere at the East Village New York Film Festival in April 2026. The film most recently earned her a Best Young Filmmaker nomination at this year's Forward Film Festival.

Andrew Warner

Andrew Warner is an all-around theatre artist - director, actor, comedian, voice over artist and podcaster - based out of New York City. He has trained extensively in acting at HB Studio under Mercedes Ruehl and Jonathan Lynn.  He also has nearly 18 years of training, performing, and coaching improvisational comedy at the UCB theatre, where he has been a member of multiple house teams. He has directed productions ranging from theatre productions to radio plays to comedy shows and is thrilled to be directing this production of Collected Stories by Donald Marguiles.