FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Livermore Valley Arts
Contact: Ruth Egherman (925) 583-2306
JUST ANNOUNCED CASTING:
A Hollywood-Filled Selected Shorts Returns to The Bankhead This February
Livermore, CA – (January 9, 2026) – Over Valentine’s Day weekend, there is a special matinee performance for which Livermore Valley Arts is thrilled to be able to finally announce exciting full casting. Satisfying the theatergoers and film and tv lovers in the Tri-Valley, Selected Shorts
will be returning on Sunday, February 15 to The Bankhead, where Hollywood stars Geoffrey Arend (Deli Boys, Madam Secretary, 500 Days of Summer), Wendie Malick (Shrinking, Hot in Cleveland, Just Shoot Me), and Joshua Malina (Scandal, The West Wing, A Few Good Men) will be reading stories tailored for Livermore in this annual back-by-popular-demand live theatrical experience. Featuring some absolute stars and stories that will entertain and transport audiences, this exciting performance will be at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore.
Original. Fresh. Storytelling. Back by popular demand! Just in time for Valentine’s, Palentine’s—and for non-believers, a beautiful Sunday in February—Selected Shorts returns to The Bankhead with an afternoon of funny, mysterious, and poignant short stories about surprising romances, competing desires, and unexpected encounters. Grab your partner, best friends, or arch-nemesis for this special show! Transporting us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time, this ‘story time for adults’ presents spellbinding narratives by both established and emerging writers that take on new life when they are performed by the stars of stage and screen. Audiences are invited to experience storytelling come alive, an unforgettable and original show brought to life by some of Hollywood’s best, performing Selected Shorts live at The Bankhead. The just-announced full cast at The Bankhead for this not-to-be-missed afternoon performance on February 15 will feature:
Geoffrey Arend starred in and directed for 5 seasons on Madam Secretary. His screen credits include Deli Boys, Paradise, Good American Family, Physical, Office Race, The Offer, Goliath,
Body of Proof, Body of Proof: The Musical, Trust Me, and 500 Days of Summer, among others. Arend’s voice can be heard in the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths series, on BBC Radio in Central Intelligence, Buzz, in which he plays Buzz Aldrin, and the video games Grand Theft Auto IV, Manhunt 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Red Dead Revolver, Daria’s Inferno, and countless more. Forthcoming projects include The Leader and CATnip.
Wendie Malick is a two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, best known for her work on Shrinking, Dream On, Just Shoot Me, Frasier, and Hot in Cleveland. Select film and television credits include Grace & Frankie, BoJack Horseman, This Is Us, American Housewife, Mom, The Ranch, Bluff City Law, Physical, Darrow & Darrow, Dear White People, Young Sheldon, Billions, How I Met Your Father, About Fate, Acapulco, Mother of All Shows, The Re-education of Molly Singer, Not Dead Yet, Skincare, Night Court, Mack & Rita, The American President, Waiting, Jerome, 50 Nothing, and The Surrogate. She was last seen onstage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Big Night. Malick is on the Environmental Media Association Board and the Advisory Board of Return to Freedom, a wild horse sanctuary. Malick and her husband, Richard Erickson, support an orphanage in Tijuana and a hospital in Congo.
A co-star on The West Wing and Sports Night, Joshua Malina also appeared in Aaron Sorkin’s The American President, Malice, and the Broadway production of A Few Good Men. More recently, he played David Rosen in Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal and President Siebert on The Big Bang Theory. His 400 episodes of television include Inventing Anna, American Horror Story, House, Shameless, Law & Order, American Auto, and The Larry Sanders Show. Joshua’s film appearances include Bulworth, In the Line of Fire, and A Few Good Men. In 2023, Joshua appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award–winning play Leopoldstadt. He starred in the world premiere of Nathan Englander’s play What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank at The Old Globe in San Diego and reprised his performance last year at the Marylebone Theater in London. Josh can be seen in the upcoming Ethan Bloom, which premiered at The Miami Film Festival.
Selected Shorts is produced by Symphony Space in New York City and broadcast on more than 130 stations around the country. The stories presented live at Selected Shorts are often featured
on the hit public radio show and podcast, which reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners each week. The series began in 1985 and enjoys sold-out performances to this day, conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them performed by terrific actors of stage, screen, and television, who bring these short stories to life. Featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique live theatrical experience of literature in performance.
Tickets for shows in the 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents season are available online, by calling 925-373-6800, or at the box office windows. For a complete list of events, visit LivermoreArts.org. (Note: The show may contain adult language and content. Actors subject to change.)
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Livermore Valley Arts is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit offering wide-ranging programs that provide access to the arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. The Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center are home to eight resident performing arts companies and over 40 studio artists and cultural arts instructors. LivermoreArts.org
Show: Selected Shorts: Let Us Tell You A Story
Date/Time: Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Tickets: $25—$70 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20% Dates, times, and ticket prices for other events available at www.LivermoreArts.org
