Johnny Mercer: The Man and His Music (2021)

S E C O N D S TAG E PRODUCTION

2020/2021

Jeffrey S. Reeves, President & CEO

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Elizabeth Wallace Theater MAY 7 – 15, 2021

Theater Sponsors MARGARET & TOM KLOET

DIRECTOR & MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Kim Steiner

SCENIC DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Brian Riley

Danny L. Dunn

SOUND/PROJECTION DESIGNER

STAGE MANAGER

Aaron Vockley

Kelly L. Genovese*

WRITTEN BY CALVIN ALEXANDER RAMSEY

Show Sponsor

Johnny Mercer, The Man and His Music is produced with permission from Calvin Alexander Ramsey.

In accordance with CDC and AEA guidelines, audiences are required to wear masks while in the theater.

Arts Center is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

*Member of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OF ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR'S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. Please finish all food and beverages before entering the theater. While in the theater, please silence all electronic devices; in case of emergency you may leave them and your seat number with the house manager.

Cast List ALPHABETICAL

Terry Burrell* Roger Moss* Kim Steiner*

Singer Narrator Director/Musical Director/Man 2

Additional Production Staff Audio Assistant Deck Chief

Marlo Griffith Julia Hughes

Props Master Wardrobe

Paige Steffens David Louder

Biographies ALPHABETICAL

Terry Burrell* SINGER

Her one woman show ETHEL was last seen at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta GA, Spring of 2016. BROADWAY: Three Penny Opera; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Swinging On A Star; Into The Woods; Just So Stories; Dreamgirls; Honky Tonk Nights; Eubie; Show Boat (London 1998 Original Cast).

OFF-BROADWAY: Almost Heaven; Lady Day; Taking A Chance On Love; And The World Goes Round; NATIONAL TOURS: Copacabana; Grand Night For Singing; Bubbling Brown Sugar; Showboat; Eubie. REGIONAL: Ethel; Ever After; Angry Raucous And Shamelessly Gorgeous; Hospice/Pointing At The Moon; Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill; Candide; Cinderella And Fella; Crowns; Man Of La Macha; Up From Paradise; Sophisticated Ladies; Ain’t Misbehavin’; A Christmas Carol; Oklahoma; The Women Of Brewster Place; Thunder Knocking At The Door; Cinderella; Smokey Joes Café; Time And Again; Jar The

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Floor; Brownie Points; Mahalia; Boys From Syracuse; Sheila’s Day; Da Kink In My Hair; The Roommate; Having Our Say; Backstage And Other Stories; A Very Terry Christmas.

CONCERTS: Duke Ellington Orchestra Venice; Oslo Norway Jazz Festival; Portland Oregon Jazz Festival; Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St Y).

Roger Moss*

NARR ATOR

Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee Roger now lives in Savannah, Georgia. His rich baritone voice has garnered many awards including finalist in the American Traditions Competition.

He has performed with the Beaufort and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestras. His performances at the Arts Center include Neil Simon’s Proposals and The Odd Couple, A Christmas Carol, and Beauty and the Beast. Most recently he appeared at the Arts Center in A Broadway Christmas.

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Kim Steiner*

DIRECTOR/ MUSICAL DIRECTOR/MAN 2

Kim has an extensive career in theater and the arts. He was a Musical Director in NY having worked on many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions such as I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Nine, Forbidden Broadway, The Fantasticks to name a few. Kim has an extensive production career working with talents such as Ashford and Simpson, Alan Cumming, Liza Minnelli, Carol Channing, Chita Rivera and many others. He has taught at many institutions such as Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, The New School. Kim thanks the Arts Center for the trust on this original project, and everything you do to bring inspirational Art to the Lowcountry. Love to my collaborators Roger, Terry, Richard and all at the Arts Center who make this work. Awed.

Brian Riley

SCENIC DESIGNER

has been a scenic and lighting designer for more than 30 years, having designed more than 180 productions. Before coming to the Arts Center, he was the technical director and principal designer for Trustus Theatre in Columbia. Favorite designs include Two Trains Running, Fences, A Shayna Maidel, Jesus Christ Superstar, Angels in America, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth. For the Arts Center, Brian designed the lighting for numerous shows, favorites including: Driving Miss Daisy, South Pacific, 9 to 5, Chicago, Xanadu, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Leading Ladies, Sister Act, The Color Purple, Newsies, Evita, Amadeus, An American in Paris, Murder on the Orient Express and RED. He also co-designed the scenery for Cole with Sabrinna Cox. He has also designed lighting for productions at Main Street Youth Theatre, Christian Academy and Hilton Head Prep.

Special thanks to my lovely wife Sabrinna for making me laugh and for all that she is.

Danny L. Dunn LIGHTING DESIGNER

is happy to be returning to the Arts Center stage! He was last with the Arts Center for his design of 2019's Blithe Spirit, and will be returning for this summer's production of Mamma Mia! Originally from Salt Lake City, Danny has been designing theatre, dance, concerts, and other events for over 15 years. Some of his favorite Lighting credits include Angels In America, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Blithe Spirit, and Wit. Danny would like to thank his family and friends for their continued support.

Aaron Vockley

SOUND & PROJECTION DESIGNER

is pleased to continue working for Arts Center, having recently designed for RED. Previous Arts Center productions include The Color Purple, Newsies, Evita, Amadeus, An American in Paris, and Kiss Me, Kate.

Previous sound design credits include TAMARA, and The Master Builder (Quantum Theatre), The Who’s Tommy and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Conservatory Theatre Company).

Credits as sound designer and engineer include Ring of Fire, and Nice Work If You Can Get It (Peach State Summer Theatre).

Kelly L. Genovese* STAGE MANAGER

is happy to continue being a part of the Arts Center family. Favorite Regional Credits include: Noises Off, Rumors, Kiss Me, Kate, Murder on the Orient Express, Legally Blonde, A Chorus Line, Blithe Spirit, An American in Paris, Amadeus, Saturday Night Fever, Evita, Dial M for Murder, and more (Arts Center); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (World Premiere, McCarter Theater), Would You Still Love Me If... (Off-Broadway), Tarzan (White Plains Performing Arts Center), West Side Story (Summer Theatre of New Canaan).

Special thanks to my mom, family, friends, and Adam for always supporting me!

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Calvin Alexander Ramsey PL AY WRIGHT

Calvin Alexander Ramsey was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Roxboro, North Carolina. It has been his ambition to become a writer since childhood, a dream he fully realized when five days before 9/11, Ramsey says he "found his voice."

While held over in Boston's Logan Airport, he was struck by a revelation that "dreams are really desires" and that he had a limited time to accomplish his dreams. The transpiring events of the bombings in New York and Washington D.C. reinforced his motivation. He had previously attended the Frank Silvera's Writer's Workshop, taken classes at UCLA and participated in other creative writing training opportunities.

For five years, Ramsey had also served on the Advisory Board of Special Collections at Emory University's Woodruff Library, in Atlanta. Pulling from these experiences and his own inner resources, at age 51, Ramsey launched a career as a playwright that has not only produced significant works and accomplishments, but also has sparked important debate.

His first work, The Green Book, a twoact play about the difficulties AfricanAmericans faced while traveling during the Jim Crow era was based on his research on The Negro Motorist Green Book, a manual directing Blacks to "safe" restaurants, hotels and gas stations.

Published from 1936 to 1963, this now obscure guide was once widely used to shield Blacks from segregated facilities in the South and throughout the country.

Interviews with scores of elderly African Americans, recalled emotions of peril and fear while traveling which Ramsey sought to recapture in his play. The play had its world premiere at Atlanta's Theatrical Outfit, selling out many performances, and went on to win recognition as a finalist in the 12th Annual Last Frontier Theater Conference in 2004 where it was critiqued by prominent playwrights, actors and directors, including Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, Lloyd Richards, Courtney Vance, and Patricia Neal.

Ramsey's other plays include Sherman Town: Baseball, Apple Pie and The Ku Klux Klan, Canada Lee, Sister Soldier, Damaged Virtues, and Enlightenment. His musicals, in addition to Johnny Mercer: The Man and His Music, include Somewhere in My Lifetime, Bricktop, The Age of Possibilities, and Kentucky Avenue.

THIS PRODUCTION IS PART OF OUR SECONDSTAGE SERIES:

SMALLER PRODUCTIONS THAT TELL A BIG STORY.

PROPER MASK-WEARING IS VITAL FOR US TO CONTINUE TO BRING YOU LIVE THEATER. PLEASE COVER BOTH YOUR MOUTH AND NOSE THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE PERFORMANCE. THANK YOU.

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