Spamalot

A C T M I S S I O N

Aiken Community Theatre (ACT) is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to entertain, educate, and enrich our community by providing a quality theatre experience. A

C T B O A R D

Kyle Seconi - Executive Director

JC Crider - Artistic Director

Thurmond Whatley - Facilities Director

Chrissey Morton - Secretary

Jimmy Moore - Treasurer

Dustin Turner - Marketing Director

Marcia Harris

Wedny Dietzel

Cory Herbst

Jeff Mastromonico

Jim Schroeder Anrenee Tucker-Brown

Ellen Williams

Angie Galan

Collette Miller

Jerry West

Frances Fields

Theatre Operator - Whitney McDonald

presents

Monty Python's Spamalot

Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle

Music by John DuPrez & Eric Idle

Directed by Bob Franklin

Performed by special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide

A N O T E

F R O M A C T ' S E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

I cannot express what a pleasure it has been to serve our community as a member of the ACT Board of Directors these past 6 years, and as Executive Director for the past three. It is truly difficult to be stepping down from an organization that has such amazing support from donors, volunteers, and audience members. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to contribute to this fine theatre and confident that ACT will continue to grow and flourish in its 71st season.

Until we meet again, break a leg!

Kyle Seconi, Executive Director

The cast and crew of Spamalot wish to dedicate the run of this show to dear friends

Marshall Mahoney and Anna Lewis.

S P E C I A L T H A N K S

AHH Sunshine

Coastal Carolina Football Program

USCA Theatre Department

There will be a 15 minute intermission between acts 1 and 2.

A N O T E

F R O M S P A M A L O T ' S D I R E C T O R

Welcome to ACT's production of Spamalot, a musical extravaganza that is lovingly ripped from the 1975 British comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. With irreverent satire, the production skews our perceptions of not only the history of the unification of England, but of the Plague, of the long-standing antipathy of the British toward the French and vice versa, of Broadway musicals, of politics, of religion, of sexual preferences. It satirizes all we hold “sacred” or believe we understand with humor. For me, it is the epitome of entertainment....enjoy it.

Bob Franklin, Director

B O B

F R A N K L I N

Bob Franklin (Director) has found joy in theater acting, directing, and watching nearly his entire adult life. If you have been to other shows here atAiken Community Theatre, you have no doubt seen him on stage or witnessed productions he has directed. He has eclectic tastes, from Shakespeare, to Tennessee Williams, to Neil Simon, to Aaron Sorkin to Peter Morgan, to Harper Lee, to Monty Python.... He hopes you enjoy his latest offering.

T H E S T O R Y

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. The outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake will delight audiences as they search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”

T H E C R E W

Director - Bob Franklin

Assistant Directors - Chelsea Mahoney, David Skeen

Stage Manager - Lisa Fountain

Assistant Stage Manager - David Werth

Props Master - Raylene "RJ" Wall

Props - Carolyn Wheat, Nickolette Wall, Kai McClellan, Kimberly McClellan, Adam Ledford, Ashton Steinhour, Laura Murphy, Nancy Spille

Costumes - Beth Ansede, Anita Hanna, EmilyAnn Raynor, Wendy Dietzel, Ella Dietzel, Anna Romano, Cathy Merrifield, James Raby, Garrett Maroney, TJ Reissner, Gina Vitgenos, Wesslen Romano, Mo Pruiett

Set Designer/Master Carpenter - Duane Berning

Set Construction - Jim Schroeder, Laura Murphy

Set Artists - Wesslen Romano, Aubrey Wall and cast

Projections - Patrick Williams

Lighting Design - Cory Herbst

Lighting Operators - Kimberly McClellan, Laura Murphy, Alex Mastromonico

Sound Design - Chris Martino

Sound Operators - Kai McClellan, Andrew Jones

Choreography - Anna Lewis

Photographers - Bill Richert & Shannon Burke

A N N A R O M A N O

Anna Romano (Ensemble) is so excited to perform in her first ever show! She gets to play a Finland Girl, a Dead Body, a Laker Girl, a Camelot Showgirl, a Shiksa, a Rabbit Tech, a Wedding Girl, and a Knight who says Ni. Clearly, she has landed the dream role. During this experience, Anna has learned how to sing and dance (at the same time), has learned her lines (all two of them), and gets to slap her husband in the face with a fish!

A R O N S H A N L E Y

Aron Shanley (Sir Bedevere/Ensemble) Aron is excited to be performing in Spamalot with this wonderful and talented group of people. This is his first time onstage with Aiken Community Theatre and he couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Past credits include, Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol, Marvin in Falsettos, Trevor Grayden in Thoroughly Modern Mille, Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden, Linus Van Pelt in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Artste del Arte in Streetmosphere, Jubilee! in Bally’s, and Les Folies Bergere in Tropicana. He would like to thank his parents, Vocal and Dance instructors, and friends for their support.

A U B R E Y W A L L

Aubrey Wall (Ensemble Member, Fish slapper, dead body, laker girl #2, Quest supporter, French mime, minstrel, book bearer, and not yet wed) says, "This is a wonderful show with wonderful people! As the terminator says, 'I'll be back!' (hopefully)."

B R A D K I N G

Brad King (Galahad) has been on stage more times than anyone can count. He wouldn't say that is his bio. In fact, he didn't turn one in, so the marketing department is furiously going through the last couple of decades of programs to gather all of his roles together. Too many to list, but more recent credits include Daniel Kaffe (A Few Good Men), Gomez (Addam's Family), and Quasimodo (Hunchback of Notre Dame).

B R A N D O N M C V E Y

Brandon McVey (Tim the Enchanter/ Ensemble), is excited for the opportunity to enchant the next audience acting alongside Raby (Arthur) - the director who introduced him to theatre - and various other familiar faces. Prior to this role, you may recognize him as Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, a Viking Ancestor/Death in Addam’s Family, Kyle/New Kyle/Lobster Man 2 in Someplace Called Mayor’s Income, Tennessee, and/or Colonel Arbuthnot in Murder on the Orient Express.

Prior to theatre, Brandon was a featured extra in Tyler Perry’s The Oval and Clint Eastwood’s The Mule. Brandon has enjoyed working with the amazing cast, crew, director, etc. on this production!

C A T H Y M E R R I F I E L D

Cathy Merrifield (Women’s Ensemble, Laker Girl, Lingerie Girl, Concorde) is returning to the stage after a 20-year hiatus and is thrilled to be part of such a wonderful cast and production. She wants to thank her friends and family for all their support, with a special thanks to her wonderful husband, Matt, and their two sweet daughters, Ellery Cate and Julia.

D A V E S K E E N

Dave Skeen (voice of God) has finally found a role worthy of his talent.

D E E E L D E R

This is Dee Elder's (Historian) third production with ACT. You may remember her from such roles as “guy who doesn’t dance” in Silent Sky and a certain wheelchair bound President in a production of Annie deemed too hot for the Aiken stage. Or it was canceled by COVID? Who can remember? She has two amazing daughters, Emma and Stella. She works in IT at USCA and in her free time performs locally playing guitar and singing. Often at the same time. Dee is active in the trans-rights community.

D E V O N W I L L I A M S

Devon Williams (Ensemble) has enjoyed playing a number of roles in high school, college, as well as with The Augusta Players in several performances including Footloose, Oklahoma!, Cinderella (Twice!), Annie, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and My Fair Lady. This is her first performance with Aiken Community Theater, and she hopes it isn’t her last! She is grateful to Anna, Bob, Dave and the whole cast and crew for taking a chance on her by going on Anna’s word and making her feel welcome as she joined the cast late to fill in a role. She won’t soon forget this show and theater family!

E V A N C O O K

Evan W. Cook (Lancelot, Head Knight of Ni, Brother Maynard, Men's Ensemble) is an editor, playwright, and award-winning author with a BA in Fine Arts, an MFA in Creative Writing, and an MSc in Space Sciences. Since 2013, he trained as an actor, writer, and director for film and theatre, with a specific interest in voice acting, and recently worked in media communications for the European space sector. Evan was previously seen as Tom in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls (2014), Professor A in The Whole Shebang (2017), Michael in The Fourposter (2018), and directed a production of Little Shop of Horrors (2019). This is his first show at ACT.

G A R R E T T M A R O N E Y

Garrett Maroney (Mrs. Galahad, French Taunter) is so excited to play these roles and to share the stage with such an amazingly talented group of actors. He also hopes that you look upon his dancing with merciful eyes. By day he is still a French Taunter, only his audiences are limited to the brave young men and women of Midland Valley High School, who daily undertake their own Grail quests. To all his fellow cast members and the formidable production staff and crew, he sends out a hearty, Break a leg! You first-rate collection of theatrical, joy-making, sceneeating, adorable thespians!

G I N A V I T G E N O S

Gina Vitgenos (Finland Girl, Dead Body, Solider, Laker Girl, Can-Can Dancer, Knight of Ni, Nun, Guard #2, Jewish Tap dancer, and Bride) is back and excited to be a part of this production! She has been acting her whole life. Her most recent show was Doublewide, Texas Christmas as Big Ethel Satterwhite in (July, 2022). Since moving from Colorado, she balances work and her two happy placeschurch and theatre. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, acting, reading, writing, rocking out at Karaoke.

J A M E S R A B Y

James Raby (Arthur), earned both a BFA and an MA in drama and communication and for the next forty years, audiences in Austin, Houston, Galveston, New Orleans, and Washington, DC endured his performances in all manner of theatrical diversions from classical literature to pure schlock. In more than 50 productions, Mr. Raby ran the gamut of emotions from A to B. He was in the inaugural productions of two Shakespeare festivals in neighboring states, neither of which survived (draw your own conclusion). Spamalot is his last production as a performer.

J E R E M Y M C C O Y

Jeremy McCoy (Ensemble Extraordinaire)

Fighting, flesh wounds, tap dancing, zombies, laker girls, the French, cows, and of course, lots and lots of spam. What more could you ask for? This is Jeremy's 11th show with ACT, and what a ride it has been. Also, no wooden rabbits or breakfast cereals were harmed in the making of this show. A special thank you goes out to his new bride Kendra Dekay for her continued love and support of this adventure called theater.

J O Y S W A N S O NL E D F O R D

This is Joy Swanson-Ledford's (Lady of the Lake) second production with ACT. Her first role was as Alice Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Joy is very active in the theatre community in Augusta, GA with The Augusta Players, and the Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre where she lives with her husband, Adam, her grandson, Ashton, and their zoo of pets. Additional roles include Rosie in Mamma Mia, Mother Superior in Sister Act, The Witch in Into the Woods, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Kate in Kiss Me, Kate and Sister Amnesia in Nunsense. She thanks Adam and Ashton for all their love and support.

K E N H E N D R I C K S

Ken Hendricks (Patsy) is proud to be part of this amazing cast. Having been a lifelong fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, this has been a bucket list experience. Ken has appeared in 14 shows at the Aiken Community Theatre, 4 of them musicals. Previous roles include Slim in Of Mice and Men, Samuel Ratchett in Murder on the Orient Express and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He lives in Aiken with his amazing wife, Karen. No coconuts were harmed in this production.

L U C A S L E B L A N C

Lucas LeBlanc (Cartwheeling Frog/ ensemble) graduated from a fine arts highschool in 2018. While in school, he was very active in the local theatre (Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre/Augusta Players Jr./ AU theatre) but took some time after graduation before jumping back into acting. This is his first performance back since early 2020 and he's excited to be performing again in front of an audience.

M O P R U I E T T

Mo Pruiett ( Minstrel / Ensemble ) is quite jazzed to be making everyone regret giving him a tambourine. You may have seen him be equally obnoxious over the years as Pugsley

Addams in Addams Family, Peter Pan Peter Pan, and Lefou Beauty & the Beast. He is excited to be wrapping his tenth year at ACT with such a fun musical, and hopes you enjoy watching it as much as he has enjoyed the long, LONG rehearsal process to get here.

S A M A N T H A L A Z A R

Samantha Lazar (Ensemble- no specific speaking roles, just dancing and singing her heart out!) has been performing for years, but this is her first show here in Aiken. She's been in multiple community theatre and school shows, such as The Boyfriend, Newsies, The Crucible and more. When she's not onstage, she enjoys singing, painting, writing and reading.

T J R E I S S N E R

TJ Reissner (Robin) interrupts this program to annoy you and make things generally irritating.

TJ is an EMC Stage Manager/Actor and a lifelong Python fan. He is thrilled to be making his South Carolina performance debut here at ACT. Recent credits in his native New Jersey include Into the Woods (Narrator/Mysterious Man), A Picasso (Picasso), Bernhardt/Hamlet (Maurice), and The Pitmen Painters (Jimmy Floyd). He would like to thank the cast and crew for their warm welcome as well as all their hard work and dedication.

W E S S L E N R O M A N O

Wesslen Romano (Herbert, Sir Fred ND., Finnish Dude, Sir Knight with a…Hat, Pram operator, Can-Can Dancer, and whatever else the director needed him to be) graduated from Winthrop University with a BA in Theater/Performance in 2015. He has grown up in a family of musicians and lovers of the performing arts which has fueled his passion to keep performing and learning all aspects of the theater. You can usually find him teaching our youth at the theater how to fight each other…

SAFELY (Narnia fight choreographer at ACT), quoting movies, or selling homes aroundAiken with ERA Wilder Realty!

C O M I N G S O O N