Berkeley Rep: Uncle Vanya by Berkeley Repertory Theatre

UNCLE VANYA

BY ANTON CHEKHOV

ADAPTED

DIRECTED

CONOR M c PHERSON

SIMON GODWIN

Boldly’s Defining Courage

An Immersive Live Event

Defining Courage commemorates the Story

struggles and sacrifices of the Nisei soldiers of World War II through vivid cinematography, stirring live music, eyewitness interviews, and deft storytelling.

Patti LuPone

Joseph Thalken, piano

Songs from a Hat

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

An Illuminations: “Fractured History” event. calperformances.org/illuminations

The decorated Broadway star sings an intimate cabaretstyle evening of songs, with the titles randomly chosen from a hat—expect signature favorites from the musicals that made LuPone a household name, such as Evita, Gypsy, Company, and Les Misérables, woven together with stories from her remarkable life in the limelight.

BAY AREA PREMIERE Grupo Corpo 21 and Gira

Apr 5

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Strength, precision, and passion remain the hallmarks of this august company more than 65 years after its inception. Ailey’s dancers return to Berkeley with new and classic works that illuminate the rich panorama of Black American experience.

Apr 8–13

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

The English Concert Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto

Harry Bicket, conductor Cast to include: Christophe Dumaux, countertenor (Giulio Cesare) Louise Alder, soprano (Cleopatra) Co-led by brothers

Pederneiras, the riveting Brazilian company visits in its Cal Performances debut, with two works rooted in classical ballet but enriched by folk and popular dance, and exploring the profound connections between music and movement.

An Illuminations: “Fractured History” event. calperformances.org/illuminations

Please note: this performance contains nudity.

Apr 25–26

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

The celebrated British ensemble returns with a concert performance of Handel’s blockbuster heroic opera, a story of love, betrayal, family drama, and political intrigue that recounts the historic meeting of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.

An Illuminations: “Fractured History” event. calperformances.org/illuminations

Apr 27

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Mark Morris Dance Group Pepperland

Mark Morris, choreography

Ethan Iverson, composer

Pepperland is back!

A joyous romp through the Beatles’ groundbreaking concept album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that is bursting with energy and buoyant creativity, neon costumes, spectacular ensemble numbers, inspired Beatles arrangements, and original music.

May 9–11

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

To ensure the best experience for everyone:

While always encouraged, masks are required inside the theatres during Sunday and Tuesday performances for the first three weeks of a show’s run.

Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the theatre during unmasked performances. Food is prohibited in the theatre during all performances.

Courtesy reminders: To avoid disruption to everyone, please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. For the comfort of all patrons, please avoid wearing strongly scented personal products.

Photos: Photos may be taken in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. Photos and videos during the performance are strictly prohibited. Photos posted on social media must credit Berkeley Rep and the show’s designers.

Smoking and vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free.

One of the joys of live theatre is the collective experience . Audience members respond to the show in many different ways. We invite you to join together and enjoy the show! If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable, please see a member of the house staff.

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On the first day of rehearsal for this production, Simon Godwin, our wonderful director, quoted Ian Rickson, the former Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre in London, who said “treat the classics like new plays, and the new plays like classics.” Which I interpret to mean bringing a sense of experimentation and boldness and perhaps even a little irreverence to the production of classic plays, and a deep respect and willingness to be guided by the essential soul of a new work to its production. Since the beginning of the year, we have had the opportunity to do both things simultaneously as The Thing About Jellyfish and Uncle Vanya have rehearsed in neighboring rooms, as their cast members have shared spaces here at the theatre, as well as in our Harrison Street pre-production facility, as our remarkable staff has gone back and forth between the creation of a country estate in turnof-the-last-century Russia and the world as represented in the imagination of a 12-year-old girl in the United States of today.

Simon and this team of designers and cast have rigorously studied the environment within which Chekhov created Uncle Vanya, including having renowned scholars visit during rehearsal to share historical and political context for the work. At the same time, these artists have interrogated what it is to be a collection of individuals at this particular moment in time, from different countries, ethnicities, generations, and lived experiences, deeply committed to the exploration and inhabiting of one of the revered and canonical texts of Western theatre history. All of this work has been done with the express intention of creating a production that will come to life in partnership with this specific community, with you, our audience.

As we move into the second half of this season, and are deep into the planning process for the 2025/26 season (which we will share with you later this spring), I am deeply grateful to collaborate with you in bringing this wide range of theatrical work to the stage. Already this year, we have traveled together to the Rio Grande, to Harlem, to enchanted forests, and the deepest depths of the ocean. Thank you for joining us on these journeys. Onward, to the continued explorations ahead!

Warmly,

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

We are thrilled to partner on this production of Uncle Vanya with Washington, DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Simon Godwin, who is helming this production. Shakespeare Theatre Company is one of the country’s premier classical theatre companies. When paired with Berkeley Rep, one of the country’s premier contemporary theatres and new play incubators, this reimagining of Chekhov’s classic aims to bridge past and present.

Collaborations like this, known as co-productions, where two or more theatre companies share the costs and efforts of creating a piece of theatre that moves between their venues, were common before the pandemic and have become increasingly vital as we work to revitalize our organizations, rebuild audiences, and bolster contributions.

As we partner with others to keep costs down, I hope you will help us regrow support for Berkeley Rep by subscribing, resubscribing (special Early Bird access to 2025/26 subscriptions is available now before we announce next season in mid-April), bringing friends, gifting tickets, spreading the word, signing up for a class at our School of Theatre, or making a donation. While audiences are increasingly returning to the theatre, many could use your encouragement. Only through collaboration and mutual support can we emerge from the pandemic and continue to advance our mission to create ambitious theatre that entertains and challenges audiences, provokes civic engagement, and inspires people to experience the world in new and surprising ways.

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Enjoy the show!

Tom Parrish Managing Director

Berkeley Repertory Theatre acknowledges and honors its presence on the unceded ancestral lands of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, now colonially known as Berkeley. The land from which we benefit continues to be a place of foremost importance to the Ohlone and all descendants of the Verona Band. Berkeley Rep is committed to actively centering antiracism and living our values by promoting the history and culture of the Ohlone People and sustaining an ongoing relationship which supports the art, resources, and values of indigenous peoples and tribes. We are grateful to our friends at the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan for their support and guidance as we continue to educate ourselves and our community to uplift and support our indigenous communities .

It’s no secret that it takes a lot of work to produce the caliber of art on Berkeley Rep’s stages. Between our production, artistic, and administrative departments, Berkeley Rep employs anywhere from 100 to 200 full-time, part-time, and overhire staff at any given time. But how does one become a sound engineer, props artisan, marketing manager, or casting director at a Tony Award-winning theatre company? For many, the first step on that career path is through a fellowship program.

Berkeley Rep’s Next Generation Fellowship program aims to cultivate future leaders of the American theatre by offering an immersive training experience that dives deep into the art and business of producing theatre. This 11-month immersive program allows fellows to spend approximately one full season at the theatre where, in addition to provided housing and stipends, they receive direct mentorship from Berkeley Rep staff (including members of senior leadership), professional development workshops led by staff and guest artists, and shadowing opportunities across the organization to provide holistic insight into the the-

Strong Foundations BERKELEY REP’S NEXT-GENERATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

by Ashley Lim, School Of Theatre Marketing And Registrations Manager

atre’s day to day operations.

“The highlight for me has been the accessibility I have to explore between all departments,” elaborates Mondara Ixchel, 2024 Education Fellow. “As a multi-hyphenate artist, being able to expand my knowledge base and work alongside most every position, from actors and directors to marketing and development administrators in addition to my team of educators, I feel that there is nothing I am barred from learning if I’m hungry enough to pursue the opportunity.”

In addition to learning across disciplines, Berkeley Rep fellows also have unique opportunities to contribute to mainstage shows. “Working on Mexodus , I was given the opportunity to program a wheel that, when spun by the performers on stage, changed the tempo of the song that was being built into a live-looping soundscape,” explains Kaileykielle Hoga, 2024 Harry Weininger Sound Fellow. “It was incredible to be supported to pursue this project and bring my full self to the production. The wheel is something that will move on with the show in its next life, and I’m so grateful that as a fellow I am supported to col-

laborate on mainstage productions in an impactful way!”

Applications for next season’s cohort of Next Generation Fellowships will open this February. If you or someone you know is interested in the program, our fellows all agree: Apply! “It’s not only a great learning experience in a professional setting, but a fun environment to connect with other fellows,” says Kaileykielle. “If you have any questions,” adds Mondara, “Don’t be shy! We’re here to answer them.”

As we celebrate a momentous season at Berkeley Rep, we are especially grateful to the hard work, craftsmanship, and new perspectives from our 2024/25 season fellows. We can’t wait to follow their journeys into the world of professional theatre!

Are you the next generation of American theatre? Apply for Berkeley Rep’s 2025/26 Next Generation Fellowship cohort at BerkeleyRep.org/Fellowships

Pictured at top: Kaileykielle Hoga (left), 2024/25 season Harry Weininger Sound Fellow, and Mondara Ixchel (right), 2024/25 Education Fellow

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Brian Quijada in Mexodus

What Uncle Vanya is Giving Us Now

Berkeley Rep artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer and Shakespeare Theatre Company artistic director Simon Godwin gathered with Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director and director of In Dialogue David Mendizábal to discuss the impetus for their collaboration on Simon’s production of Uncle Vanya. Below are highlights from their conversation.

DAVID MENDIZÁBAL: What drew you to each other as artistic leaders and brought about this collaboration between Berkeley Rep and Shakespeare Theatre Company?

JOHANNA PFAELZER: What I remember is an afternoon in San Francisco where there was a screening of the beautiful Romeo and Juliet that Simon directed for the National Theatre, and I was so moved by what he had made. When the screening ended, we were both meant to be chatting with other guests, but we found ourselves together in a corner in a really fun and lively discussion of what Simon had made, and a bit of commiserating over the challenges of leading theatres in that moment. What I remember from that conversation was some electricity and an appetite for making something together.

SIMON GODWIN: Yes, it was so kind of you to come on that day because we were just emerging out of the pandemic. So, it was a very tentative moment culturally for us all. Your enthusiasm for the work really boded well for a shared quest and the fact that we were both new to running theatres also was bonding. We took over our respective organizations at a similar time, and there was a similar hunger to take these classic texts and find something that was both loyal to their core, but also adventurous about their form.

JP: This question of what the classics would be under my leadership at Berkeley Rep had been ongoing because I’m such a new play person. Berkeley Rep has always had a place for the classics, especially for classics as imagined through the vision of an exciting contemporary artist. So, I thought here was a way that Simon could really help answer a need for

Above: Simon Godwin at his desk. Opposite: Anton Chekhov at his.

Berkeley Rep. And you said, “Well, what do you love?” And I said, “Chekhov.” And I think you very quickly said, “Well, Uncle Vanya .”

SG: I was hungry to do a Chekhov play after a long time of not doing one, and Shakespeare Theatre Company has never produced a Chekhov play before. So, for us, it almost has the status of new work. There’s a phrase that Ian Rickson, who used to run the Royal Court, coined: approach a new play like a classic; and approach a classic like a new play. And that’s something I try to do. Joyfully confront the classic and not live in the classic’s past but live in its present opportunities. Not to feel reverential about a classic, but to really ask bold urgent questions about what it’s doing now.

DM: Why Uncle Vanya ? And how did Hugh Bonneville come to the project?

SG: I think all great works of art change as we change. And I think masterpieces are, in a way, not instructions for living, but a sort of guide to how we might survive.

JP: Somewhere between instructions and cautionary tales.

SG: Yes, I think, somewhere between instruction and prayer.

JP: Better.

certain liberties. And what moved me about Conor’s version is it felt very true, or as true as we know how to be in English, to Chekhov’s text. And what you say about that kind of contemporary sense of it, his version didn’t feel like a dumbing-down. It has an urgency and a muscularity that feels so playable, without being reductive.

SG: And it feels high-stakes and rather exciting.

DM: Can you share a bit about what you’re hoping to unlock with this specific production of Uncle Vanya?

SG: Hugh was similarly entranced by the play. After doing such wonderful work on screen, I think he found himself suddenly hungry to be back on stage.

DM: There are many translations of Uncle Vanya . How did you both arrive at Conor McPherson’s?

SG: I was looking for a version that was colloquial but that didn’t sacrifice the grand and intense poetry of the play. I’ve loved Conor’s writing ever since I saw his play The Weir at the Royal Court. His Irish sensibility has a sort of earthy quality that doesn’t feel dissimilar to Chekhov. His translation is a gritty version of the play that still looks after the mystery of the original.

SG: Peter Brook has this nice phrase: the journey of rehearsal is to discover the secret play that lies under the play. The secret play is the story you all make as a company at this very moment in time. Together, I want to interrogate the idea of Chekhov being a steadfastly naturalistic writer; he was always pushing against Stanislavski’s description of him as being that. For example, we’re searching for a way of bringing the audience with us on a journey. Is there a first gesture which allows those watching into our process as we build our story?

DM: In act four of the play, when faced with a bleak future, Sonya offers Vanya a message of hope. For both of you as artistic leaders, what gives you hope for the future?

JP: It was a fun process where Simon, Hugh, and I read a pile of different translations, and it was interesting to see where things are core to the piece, and where different writers took

JP: The gathering of people together still gives me hope. To see people come together around an idea, a dream, a possibility, gives me hope, and that is what making a production is. The idea that we’re going to gather all these people from multiple cities and countries and ask them to carve out time in their schedule, but more importantly in their heads and their hearts, feels like nothing but an exercise in hope.

SG: Yes, that’s brilliant, Johanna. This sense of investing so deeply. I think of Astrov talking so passionately in the play about the threat to the environment. It’s just one example of characters striving to find agency. Indeed, balancing living in the present with a responsibility to the future is a central theme of the play.

JP: I love the fact that Chekhov then becomes this call to action. Uncle Vanya is often thought of as a set of passive people who lounge on sofas and wish for their lives to be different in some way, and I think that’s the watercolor cliche of Chekhov. As you said, this play is full of people with enormous yearning, passion, disappointments, and appetites. There’s a real sense that if action is not taken, there is an inevitable decline. So, who amongst them is going to rise to that challenge?

Fifty

years ago, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

took on the vital challenge of sharing Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya with audiences for the first time. Today, we return to this story of disconsolate souls who are working hard to better their everyday lives.

When Chekhov died in 1904, he had only completed five major plays and speculated his plays would only be produced for seven years, at most. For over a century, artists from all over the world have been returning to these works: mining them, interpreting them, translating them, and even breaking them apart to get to the core of... well, what is at the core of Chekhov’s work that continues to compel artists to tell his stories? Why do storytellers like director Simon Godwin return to Chekhov’s narratives, specifically, Uncle Vanya ?

To try to understand Chekhov’s enduring spirit, let’s look at a wide range of ways Uncle Vanya has been interpreted by radically different artists throughout the last 125 years.

1899 — Moscow Art Theatre (MAT): The play had its metropolitan premiere at the newly formed MAT under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski (who also portrayed Astrov) following an exhaustive rewrite of Chekhov’s earlier play The Wood Demon, which flopped after its 1889 premiere when half the cast forgot their lines and audiences booed. Upon its premiere, Uncle Vanya was also a failure. Tolstoy, after seeing the production, reportedly shouted, “Where is the drama? What does it consist of?” It played in the provinces for two years before its MAT premiere, earning deep love from theatregoers and amateur theatre makers beyond Moscow. With the subtitle, Scenes from Country Life, its popularity with audiences who lived hundreds of miles from Russia’s two main cities is a part of Chekhov’s legacy: reflecting the rural person’s everyday life.

1962 — Chichester Festival Theatre: After launching a new theatre with two unsuccessful (non-Chekhovian) productions, Artistic Director Laurence Olivier depended on the success of its third production for Chichester’s survival. With an interpretation of Uncle Vanya that referenced the fall of Edwardian aristocracy and “demise of manners,” Olivier took inspiration from Stanislavski to direct and play Astrov with a company that included Michael Redgrave (Vanya), Rosemary Harris (Yelena), and Joan Plowright (Sonya). Hugh Bonneville’s Downtown Abbey co-star Penelope Wilton recently shared her memory of this particular production as the theatrical experience that changed her life: “Chekhov understands that it’s the dreams people have that are so heartbreaking – the shattering of those dreams, but also how you manage afterwards.”

Michael Redgrave and Rosemary Harris in the 1962 Chichester Festival Theatre production

M. P. Lilina as Sonya and Konstantin Stanislavski as Astrov in the original production of Uncle Vanya at the Moscow Art Theatre, 1899

1990s — Vanya on 42nd Street : For three years, acclaimed director Andre Gregory led volunteer actors through workshop performances of Uncle Vanya and other plays to better understand Chekhov’s work. With actors in their street clothes and on a bare, dilapidated stage, the company performed to an invite-only audience. Louis Malle was so moved by what he witnessed that he agreed to capture this ephemeral experience in the film Vanya on 42nd Street, with actors walking through the Theatre District and meeting at the then-abandoned New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City, where they staged Uncle Vanya. Using David Mamet’s adaptation of Chekhov’s text, Wallace Shawn as Vanya proclaims, “What’s new? Nothing’s new. Everything’s old.”

2007 — Lake Lucille: Through and around the home of directors Brian Mertes and Melissa Kievman on Lake Lucille in New City, N.Y., a company of actors would escape to a house from the 1800s for a weeklong Chekhovian retreat. Over the course of many years, they would rehearse for six days and then complete an all-day performance of different plays by Chekhov. In 2007, with two-time Tony-winner Bill Irwin as Vanya (who started the play on an abandoned boat) and Tony-nominee Marin Ireland as Sonya (who ended Act IV on a 30-foot ladder), the company was so focused that even their daily chores supported the crafting of the production: “Irwin served as sommelier, and Ireland, who had spent as much time as she could at the house before the retreat to feel like the ‘lady of the house,’ took out the trash.”

2020 — West End / BBC: After premiering in January 2020, the West End production of Conor McPherson’s new adaptation of Uncle Vanya, directed by Ian Rickson, shut down early due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The production was subsequently recorded in August 2020 at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, becoming one of the first theatre productions to be filmed during the pandemic, starring Richard Armitage and Toby Jones.

2023 — Off-Broadway: Apparently, one doesn’t need much space to stage Uncle Vanya. Directed by Jack Serio, this retelling reunited Marin Ireland (as Sonya) and Bill Irwin (as Professor Serabyakov) in an apartment loft in New York City alongside titans from the American theatre including Tony-winner David Cromer as Vanya and Tony-winner Will Brill as Astrov. This “hyper-intimate” production was capped at 40 audience members, and the location was kept secret and “off the beaten path” for theatregoers – with a couple characters’ action starting on the fire escape of the loft.

2023-2025 — West End / Lucille Lortel Theatre: After a sold-out run, Andrew Scott (Ripley, All of Us Strangers) brings all nine characters to life in Tony-winner Simon Stephens’ (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime) one-man adaptation titled Vanya , premiering at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End and subsequently filmed by National Theatre Live. During the development process, Scott, Stephens, Rosanna Vize (Set Designer and Co-Creator), and Sam Yates (Director and Co-Creator) shared ideas for the characters through WhatsApp voice messages, and the show features a oneman sex scene. It will make its American debut in March 2025 when it premieres Off-Broadway at the prominent Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Through all these productions, we learn that Chekhov’s stories are simultaneously canonical and ripe for reinvention. In an 1899 letter to his wife Olga Knipper, Chekhov declares, “Art, especially the theatre, is a world you cannot enter without stumbling over the threshold… You must prepare for it, expect it, and follow your path.”

QUOTATIONS FROM THE MOSCOW ART THEATRE LETTERS , BY JEAN BENEDETTI; “MY FAVOURITE PLAY: PENELOPE WILTON” BY DAVID BENEDICT IN THE STAGE ; LETTERS ON THE SHORT STORY, THE DRAMA, AND OTHER LITERARY TOPICS BY ANTON CHEKHOV, EDITED BY LOUIS S. FRIEDLAND; “INTERVIEW: ANDREW SCOTT” BY RACHEL COOKE FROM THE GUARDIAN ; “VANYA ON LAKE LUCILLE” BY STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN IN AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE ; PHOTOS FROM (TOP LEFT) NY PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTION; (BOTTOM LEFT) THE STAGE ; (BOTTOM CENTER) THE VANYA COMPANY; (BOTTOM RIGHT) COURTESY NATIONAL THEATRE

Andrew Scott in 2023’s Vanya

SCENIC DESIGN

ROBERT BRILL

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE

JOHANNA PFAELZER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | TOM PARRISH, MANAGING DIRECTOR

A co-production with Shakespeare Theatre Company

UNCLE VANYA

BY ANTON CHEKHOV

ADAPTED BY CONOR McPHERSON

DIRECTED BY SIMON GODWIN

COSTUME DESIGN

SUSAN HILFERTY

HEATHER C. FREEDMAN

FIGHT AND INTIMACY CONSULTANT

DANIELLE O’DEA CASTING DANICA RODRIGUEZ KARINA FOX

STAGE MANAGER

ELISA GUTHERTZ

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND AUDIENCE SERVICES

VOLEINE AMILCAR

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AUDREY HOO

LIGHTING DESIGN JEN SCHRIEVER SOUND DESIGN DARRON L. WEST WIG DESIGN SATELLITE WIGS, INC.

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER ANTHONY O. BULLOCK

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER — NEW WORK victor cervantes jr. GENERAL MANAGER SARA DANIELSEN

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE ANTHONY JACKSON

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND DIVERSITY

MODESTA TAMAYO

Anonymous Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ARI LIPSKY

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AMANDA WILLIAMS O’STEEN presents

ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DAVID MENDIZÁBAL

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS

Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

Jonathan Logan & John Piane The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Gail & Arne Wagner

SEASON SPONSORS

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Jack & Betty Schafer Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR

Marcia Grand

CAST

In order of appearance

Kina Kantor ........................ Ensemble

Nancy Robinette

John Benjamin Hickey

Sharon Lockwood

Hugh Bonneville

Tom Nelis ...........................

Marína Timoféevna

‘Nana’, an elderly nanny/nursemaid to the family

Mikhaíl Ástrov a doctor

Maríya Voinítsky

‘Grandmaman’, mother of the professor’s first wife

Iván Voinítsky

‘Vanya’, Maríya’s son

Aleksándr Serébryakov

‘Alexandre’, a retired professor

Craig Wallace ...................... Ílya Ílyich Telégin

‘Waffles,’ a former landowner, lodging with the family

Melanie Field .......................

Sófya Aleksándrovna

‘Sonya’, Alexandre’s daughter from his first marriage

Ito Aghayere .......................

Eléna Andréevna

‘Yelena’, Alexandre’s second wife

UNDERSTUDIES

Anne Darragh

Kina Kantor

James Whalen

John Leslie Wolfe

Maríya Voinítsky, Marína Timoféevna

Eléna Andréevna, Sófya Aleksándrovna

Iván Voinítsky, Mikhaíl Ástrov, Ensemble

Aleksándr Serébryakov, Ílya Ílyich Telégin

Understudies never substitute for listed performers unless a specific announcement or notice is made at the time of appearance.

The actors and stage managers on this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

This theatre operates under agreement with the League of Resident Theatres, Actors’ Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists.

Please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights, and actionable under United States copyright law.

OPENING NIGHT: FEBRUARY 19, 2025

PEET’S THEATRE

THERE WILL BE ONE 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION

FOR THIS PRODUCTION

Assistant Director ........................................

Xiaoyu (Mary) Liu (Peter F. Sloss Artistic Fellow)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Krista Intranuovo Pineman, Katharina Windemuth

Assistant Scenic Designers Elizabeth Barrett, Miike Kaukl, Nicholas Ponting, Tzu Yu Su Costume Assistants

Associate Lighting Designer...................................................................Andrew Cissna

Assistant Lighting Designers .................... Isaac Castillo, Renata Taylor-Smith (Electrics Fellow)

Associate Sound Designer Ryan Matthew Hall

Assistant Sound Designer

Kaileykielle Hoga (Harry Weininger Sound Fellow)

Hair and Makeup Design ....................................................................... Susan Hilferty

Associate Hair & Makeup Design.

Satellite Wigs

Production Assistant Trinity Wickland (Stage Management Fellow)

Deck Crew James McGregor (Head Stage Technician and Automation), Isaac Jacobs, Brittany Johnson, Hannah Linaweaver Wardrobe Crew .................... Barbara Blair (Wardrobe Supervisor), Jessa Dunlap, Mika Rubinfeld

Hair and Wigs Crew ............................................................. Alexander Class, Letzy Lugo

Lighting Programmer/Board Operator Desiree Alcocer Sound Show Crew Courtney Jean (A1)

Scenic Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Scenic & Paint Shops

Additional Scenery Fabricators

Cameron Edwards, Jamaica Montgomery Glenn, Isaac Jacobs, Caleb Knopp, Carl Martin, Drea Ronquillo, Chris Russell, Matt Sykes, Maggie Wentworth, Cassidy Carlson (Scenic Construction Fellow)

Additional Scenic Artists Kenzie Bradley, Julie Ann Brown, Katie Holmes, Allie Kranyak, Cayla Ray-Perry, Wyn Di Stefano, E Wayman-Murdock, Caitlyn Brown (Scenic Art Fellow)

Props Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Properties Shop

Additional Props Artisans ............... Kat Demith, Katelyn Fitt, Zoe Gopnik-Mcmanus, Jack Grable, Sofie Miller, Becca Salsburg-Frank, Jason Joo (Props Fellow)

Costumes Built by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Costume Shop

Additional Costume Technicians.................. Breanna Bayba, Kathleen Crowley, Sophia Gallegos, Crafts-Kelly Koehn, Hannah Velichko, Chris Weiland, Amanda Geyer (Costumes Fellow)

Additional Costumes Built by STC Costume Shop, Alex Zeek Costumes, Myrrhia Fine Knitwear

Lighting Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Lighting Department

Additional Lighting Technicians .................. Frankie Aranguren, Emma Buechner, Angelina Costa, Brittany Cobb, A.Chris Hartzell, Jacob Hill, Hannah Linaweaver, Charlie Mejia, Riley Richardson, Erin Riley, Taylor Rivers, C. Swan-Streepy, Matthew Sykes

Sound Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sound and Video Department

Additional Sound Technicians Elliot Orr, Camille Rassweiler, Chris Thompson

Guitar Coach .......................................................................................Maggie Forti

Piano Coach ........................................................................................ Yana Reznik

Dramaturgical Consultants ........................................ Olga Ovcharskaia, Dr. Carol Rocamora

Production Manager Kali Grau

Production Management Associate ........................................................ Octavia Driscoll

Assistant Production Manager ........................... Rhea Mehta (Production Management Fellow) Company Manager Ryan Duncan-Ayala

Assistant Company Manager Katie Anthony (Company Management Fellow) Company Management Assistant ............................................................. LeeAnn Dowd

Medical Consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by Agi E. Ban DC, John Carrigg MD, Cindy J. Chang MD, Christina Corey MD, Neil Claveria PT, Patricia I. Commer DPT, Kathy Fang MD PhD, Steven Fugaro MD, Olivia Lang MD, Allen Ling PT, Liz Nguyen DPT, Mari Onoyama PT, Christina S. Wilmer OD, and Katherine C. Yung MD

ARTISTIC

BERKELEY REP STAFF

Johanna Pfaelzer . .Artistic Director

David Mendizábal Associate Artistic Director/Director of In Dialogue

victor cervantes jr .Associate Producer — New Work

Karina Fox Associate Casting Director & Artistic Associate

Rebs Chan In Dialogue Coordinator

Todd Almond, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Dipika Guha, Richard Montoya, Nico Muhly, Lisa Peterson, Sarah Ruhl, Tori Sampson, Jack Thorne, Joe Waechter . Artists Under Commission

GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Sara Danielsen General Manager

Ryan Duncan-Ayala Company Manager

Emily Betts .General Management Associate

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Audrey Hoo . . .Director of Production

Kali Grau . . .Production Manager

COSTUMES

Maggi Yule .Costume Shop Director

Kiara Montgomery Resident Design Associate

Star Rabinowitz Draper

Barbara Blair Wardrobe Supervisor

ELECTRICS

Frederick C. Geffken . Lighting Supervisor

Sarina Renteria . .Associate Lighting Supervisor

Kenneth Coté . Senior Production Electrician

Desiree Alcocer Production Electrician

PROPERTIES

Jillian A. Green Properties Supervisor

Amelia Burke-Holt . .Associate Properties Supervisor

Brittany Watkins . Properties Artisan

SCENE SHOP

Matt Rohner, Jim Smith . Co-Technical Directors

Read Tuddenham Assistant Technical Director — Shop

Grant Vocks Assistant Technical Director — Engineering

August Lewallen, Zach Wziontka Scenic Carpenters

SCENIC ART

Lisa Lázár . . .Charge Scenic Artist

STAGE OPERATIONS

Julia Englehorn . .Stage Supervisor

Gabriel Holman .Associate Stage Supervisor

James McGregor Head Stage Technician

SOUND/ VIDEO

Lane Elms . . .Sound and Video Supervisor

Rebecca Satzberg .Associate Sound and Video Supervisor

Angela Don . . Senior Sound Engineer

Akari Izumi . . Sound Engineer

BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE

Anthony Jackson Director of the School of Theatre

MaryBeth Cavanaugh .Director of Classes and Summer Programming

Ashley Lim . Marketing and Registrations Manager

AeJay Antonis Marquis Mitchell . .Education Programs Associate Euan Ashley . .In-School Residency and Curriculum Supervisor

Leah Sanginiti Elementary Camp Programming Specialist

Bobby August Jr., April Ballesteros, Phaedra Tillery-Boughton, Jessica Bettencourt, Diana Brown, Erica Blue, Rebecca Castelli, Rebs Chan, Iu-Hui Chua, Jiwon Chung, Lauren Brody-Clarke, Amelia Costales-Downey, Jim Edgar, Deb Eubanks, Rachel Garlin, Nancy Gold, Gary Graves, Linda Girón, Lore Gonzales, Marvin Greene, Susan Jane Harrison, Wayne Harris, Bailey Hopkins, Gendell Hing-Hernandez, Harper Iles, Paul Jennings, Erolina Kamburova, Jennifer LeBlanc, Dave Maier, Carolyn McCandlish, Amanda Nguyen, Matthew Lawler, Jonathan Moscone, Joel Ochoa, Joe Orrach, Robert Parsons, Hans Probst, Julius Rea, Bri Reads, Pamela Rickard, Alexandra Rivers, Teresa Salas, M. Graham Smith, Hayley Sherwood, Joyful Simpson, Brennan Pickman-Thoon, Samuel Tomfohr, James Wagner, Joshua Waterstone, Dan Wolf, Phil Wong, Elizabeth Woolford . .Teaching Artists

Matty Bloom, Joy Lancaster, Selma Meyerowitz . Docent Chairs

Ted Bagaman, Beth Cohen, Michelle Cordero, Miles Drawdy, Charles Evans, Randi Helly, Sue Kaplan, Jim Krampf, Mark Liss, Virginia McCarthy, Judith O’Rourke, Gigi Singer Docents

ADMINISTRATION

Tom Parrish . . Managing Director

Katie Riemann Associate Finance Director

Jennifer Light Payroll Administrator

Alanna McFall . . . Bookkeeper

Kate Horton Senior Executive Assistant and Board Relations Manager

Modesta Tamayo .Director of Human Resources and Diversity

Kira Findling .HR Coordinator

DEVELOPMENT

Ari Lipsky . Director of Development

Laura Fichtenberg . .Associate Director of Development

Kelsey Scott . Senior Institutional Giving Manager

Andrew Maguire . Philanthropy Officer

Harper Brown Annual Fund Manager

Isabella Chayet . Corporate Partnerships Manager

Elaina Guyett . .Stewardship and Events Manager

Rodrick Edwards . .Development Coordinator

Cassidy Milano Development Operations Coordinator

OPERATIONS

Amanda Williams O’Steen . .Director of Operations

Peter Orkiszewski . Associate Director of Operations

Adam Johnson . . Facilities Manager

Thomas Tran Building Engineer

Jesus Rodriguez Building Technician

Theresa Drumgoole, Wendi Lau

Sophie Li, Darrel De La Rosa . .Facilities Assistants

Destiny Askin . .CRM Project Manager

Christina Cone .Web and Database Specialist

Nicole Peña .Medak and Rentals Manager

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Voleine Amilcar Director of Marketing and Audience Services

Heather Orth . .Associate Director of Marketing

DC Scarpelli .Creative Director

Kevin Kopjak –

Prismatic Communications . Public Relations Consultant

Lindsey Abbott . .Audience Development Manager

Sarah Doherty . .Digital Marketing Manager

Calvin Ngu .Video and Multimedia Content Creator

Quinn Barringer .Graphic Designer

AUDIENCE SERVICES

Saoirse Keogh . Box Office Supervisor

pan ellington, Matthew Hayden, Olga Khitarishvili, Jack Melcher, Em Parker Box Office Agents

Kelly Kelley Front of House Director

Maddi Gjovik, Armando Herrera, Caitlyn Lee . .Audience Services Supervisors

Megan Bedig, Steven Cole, Camille Kobelin, Jade Laity,

Caitlyn Lee, Alana Melvin, Niya Paul, Nicolas Puorro,

Tuesday Ray, Alana Scott, Anna Vorobyeva,

Kailani Zabala Audience Services Representatives

2024/25 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS

Katie Anthony . .Company Management Fellow

Caitlyn Brown .Scenic Art Fellow

Cassidy Carlson .Scenic Construction Fellow

Amanda Geyer Costumes Fellow

Kaileykielle Hoga . Harry Weininger Sound Fellow

Mondara Ixchel . . .Education Fellow

Jason Joo .Properties Fellow

Xiaoyu (Mary) Liu

.Peter F Sloss Artistic Fellow

Manon McCollum .Bret C Harte Artistic Fellow

Rhea Mehta . .Production Management Fellow

Renata Taylor-Smith . . . .Electrics Fellow

Zach Terrillion . .Marketing and Development Fellow

Trinity Wicklund .Stage Management Fellow

Ito Aghayere

Eléna Andréevna

Ito is thrilled to make her Berkeley Rep debut! She brought Guinan to life in Star Trek: Picard and shared laughs with Patricia Heaton in Carol’s Second Act. On Broadway, she tackled powerful roles in Junk (Ayad Akhtar) and Bernhardt/Hamlet (Theresa Rebeck). Off-Broadway highlights include Mlima’s Tale (The Public), The Liquid Plain (Signature), Familiar (Playwrights Horizons, Lucille Lortel nomination), among others. You’ve seen her in films like Logan Lucky and Fear the Night and TV shows like Chicago Med, The Blacklist, and more. Next up: leading and producing her first feature, directed by her husband, Leon Hendrix III. Proud Duke grad and Columbia alum. IG: @itoaghayere AEA Member.

Hugh Bonneville

Iván Voinítsky

Hugh Bonneville’s film credits include Notting Hill, Iris, The Monuments Men, I Came By, and the Paddington movies. Paddington in Peru is now in theatres and the third Downton Abbey film will be released in September. His television roles include the BAFTA-winning Twenty Twelve and W1A (BBC) and Robert Crawley in ITV’s global hit, Downton Abbey, for which he received nominations for a Golden Globe and two Emmys. The cast won three SAG Awards for Outstanding Ensemble. Hugh recently played the title role in the mini series Douglas Is Cancelled and appears in The Agency on Paramount+. The second season of The Gold, a six-part BBC drama about a famous gold bullion robbery in 1983, will be broadcast on PBS later this year. Hugh’s stage career spans more than three decades and includes seasons with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most recent appearances were in Enemy of the People and Shadowlands, at Chichester Festival Theatre. His memoir, Playing Under the Piano is now available in paperback. Hugh is a patron of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, The National Youth Arts Trust, Scene & Heard, and The Primary Shakespeare Company.

Melanie Field

Sófya Aleksándrovna

Melanie is thrilled to be making her Berkeley Rep debut with this gifted team. TV: A League of Their Own (Amazon), American Horror Stories (Hulu), Heathers (Paramount Network), Florida Girls (POP TV), The Angel of Darkness (TNT), Shrill (Hulu), You (Netflix), Killing It (Peacock). Broadway: The Phantom of the Opera, Evita. Tours: Wicked. Proud graduate of NYU and Yale School of Drama. For my Kitty Girl and Mr. Wells.

John Benjamin Hickey

Mikhaíl Ástrov

John Benjamin Hickey has appeared on Broadway in Love! Valour! Compassion!, Cabaret, The Crucible, Mary Stuart, The Inheritance (Tony nomination), and The Normal Heart (Tony Award). He recently directed the Broadway revival of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, which also played the West End. His films include Lilly (upcoming), Salem’s Lot, Sublet, Pitch Perfect, Flags of Our Fathers, The Anniversary Party, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Taking of the Pelham 123, and Mapplethorpe. On TV, he was Emmy-nominated for his role on Showtime’s The Big C Additional credits include Daredevil: Born Again, In Treatment, Manhattan, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, Modern Family, Hannibal, Law & Order (all of them), The Good Wife, and The Good Fight. He is proudly making his Berkeley Rep/ Shakespeare Theatre debut with Uncle Vanya.

Kina Kantor

Ensemble, u/s Eléna Andréevna, Sófya Aleksándrovna

Kina is a Bay Area actor, artist, and cellist. Kina is honored to return to Berkeley Rep. Selected Bay Area credits include: the West Coast premiere of Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks), Naomi Iizuka’s world premiere of Garuda’s Wing in repertory with her PlayOn! translation of Richard II (The Magic Theatre/Campo Santo), originating the role of Gao-Ming in the world premiere of The Great Khan (San Francisco Playhouse), The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (San Francisco Playhouse), Tiny Beautiful Things (San Francisco Playhouse), The Far Country u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Great Wave u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Other credits include: American Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, and The San Francisco Mime Troupe. Kina is a company member of the Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC) and PlayGround SF. Kina is a company member of the Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC) and PlayGround SF. She is a teaching artist for SF Shakespeare Festival, StageWrite, and the Academy of Art University in SF. Film: Free (2024), You’ll Lose a Good Thing (2024) @kinakantor PRONOUNS: SHE/HER

Sharon Lockwood

Maríya Voinítsky

Sharon is pleased to return to Berkeley Rep, continuing a relationship that began nearly 40 years ago. Among her favorite credits are Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike (Bay Area Critics Circle Award), Wintertime, Volpone, and Zorro in Hell. She has performed regularly at A.C.T. including 16 seasons of A Christmas Carol, and spent many summers playing the parks and touring with Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. In her regional work, Sharon originated the role of Barbara in Nickel and Dimed, directed by Bartlett Sher which played the Mark Taper in Los Angeles. Among

her other regional credits are La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Rep, and the Alley Theatre—most recently as Deirdre in The Humans. Sharon was honored with a Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship for her regional career, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Theatre Bay Area. She appeared in the films Mrs.Doubtfire, Long Road Home, and the video game Psychic Detective for Electronic Arts.

Tom Nelis

Aleksándr Serébryakov

Broadway: Girl From the North Country, Indecent, The Visit, Enron, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, Aida . Recent Off-Broadway: Ragtime (City Center), King Lear and The Beautiful Lady (Cafe La Mama). International: The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Suzuki Company of Toga, SITI Company, and international tours with Laurie Anderson, Songs And Stories From Moby Dick and Richard Foreman, Pearls For Pigs. Awards: Eliot Norton Outstanding Performer (Prospero - The Tempest), OBIE (Marshall McLuhan - The Medium), Drama League Nominee (Leonard Bernstein - Score). Founding member of SITI Company, MFA, UC San Diego. Tomnelis.com

Nancy Robinette

Marína Timoféevna

Nancy Robinette is new to Berkeley Rep, but not to the Shakespeare Theatre, where she most recently played in Everybody, and earlier Sweet Bird of Youth, Way of the World, Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Little Foxes, An Ideal Husband, The Rivals, The Imaginary Invalid, The Silent Woman, Henry IV, Twelfth Night, and The Winter’s Tale. On Broadway she performed in Prayer for the French Republic (Outer Critic’s Circle nomination) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Film and TV: Serial Mom, The Three Christs, Soldier Jack, The Hunley. She received the Helen Hayes Tribute for her many years of work in Washington.

Craig Wallace

Ílya Ílyich Telégin

DC Area select: Shakespeare Theatre Company: Numerous productions including Our Town and King Lear (directed by Simon Godwin); Round House Theatre: Radio Golf, Ink, Master Harold and the Boys; Folger Theatre: Othello (Othello), Twelfth Night; Ford’s Theatre: Fences (Troy), Death of a Salesman (Willy Loman), The Laramie Project, A Christmas Carol (Ebenezer Scrooge); Arena Stage: All the Way, The Great Society, K2; Signature Theatre: Primary Trust, Angels in America; Regional: Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Education: Howard University, BFA. Pennsylvania State University, MFA. Royal National Theatre, London.

Anne Darragh

u/s Maríya Voinítsky, Marína Timoféevna

Anne is thrilled to be part of this amazing team. Previous productions at Berkeley Rep include Suddenly Last Summer and The Life of Galileo. She has performed in numerous world premieres including the Eureka Theatre production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America and (most recently) 180 Days. To Die. To Live. by Stephanie Weisman at The Marsh, and The Kind Ones by Miranda Rose Hall at the Magic Theatre. Other world premieres include works by Neena Beber, Michelle Carter, Anthony Clarvoe, Anne Galjour, Barry Gifford, Rebecca Gilman, Allan Havis, Julianne Jigour, Denis Johnson, Lynne Kaufman, Julie Marie Myatt, Peter Nachtrieb, Bill Talen, and Brian Thorstenson.

James Whalen

u/s Iván Voinítsky, Mikhaíl Ástrov, Ensemble

James is delighted to be at Berkeley Rep for the first time. He was last seen as Sir Lawrence Wargrave in And Then There Were None at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. Among his favorite recent productions are Ragtime and Daphnes’ Dive at Signature Theatre, Shipwreck (Woolly Mammoth), The Heiress (Arena Stage), and Small Mouth Sounds (Round House Theatre). He has also performed at The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, The Olney Theatre Center, Mosaic Theatre, and Theatre J. Regionally he played Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Some of his favorite TV and film credits include House of Cards, VEEP, I Love You But I Lied, Money Matters and A Beautiful Mind.

John Leslie Wolfe

u/s Aleksándr Serébryakov, Ílya Ílyich Telégin

New York: Broadway: Sarava, Evita, Passion, Parade. NY City Opera: Brigadoon, Most Happy Fella. Tours: Phantom of the Opera/Las Vegas, Parade, Evita, Martin Guerre, Brightstar. Regional: Kennedy Center: Passion, Golden Child. Signature Theatre: Sweeney Todd, Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes, Titanic, Three Penny Opera, Passion. Arena Stage: Mother Courage, Damn Yankees. Ford’s Theatre: Ragtime, 1776, Christmas Carol, Captains Courageous, To Kill a Mockingbird. TV: House of Cards, The West Wing, The Wire, Homicide. Film: HBO’s Something the Lord Made, Amira and Sam, The Invasion, Step Up, Invincible. Photography: www.jlwfaces.com.

Conor McPherson

Adaptor

Conor McPherson was born in Dublin. His plays include The Weir, Girl from the North Country (with Bob Dylan), The Seafarer, The Night Alive, Shining City, Port Authority, This Lime Tree Bower, and St Nicholas. Honors for his work include the Laurence Olivier Award, New York Critics Circle Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics Circle Award, and five Tony Award nominations.

Simon Godwin

Director

Simon Godwin joined Shakespeare Theatre Company as Artistic Director in September 2019. He has served as Associate Director of the National Theatre of London, Royal Court Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, and Royal & Derngate Theatre. STC: Comedy of Errors, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Timon of Athens, and the 2024 production of Macbeth with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma, which also played in Liverpool, Edinburgh, and London. Washington National Opera: Romeo & Juliet. International: UK: National Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing (ft. Katherine Parkinson and John Heffernan), Romeo and Juliet (ft. Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley and filmed for Sky Arts/ PBS), Antony and Cleopatra (ft. Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo), Twelfth Night, Sunset at the Villa Thalia, The Beaux’ Stratagem, Man and Superman, Strange Interlude. Royal Shakespeare Company: Timon of Athens (ft. Kathryn Hunter and reimagined in 2020 for Theatre for a New Audience and STC), Hamlet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Royal Court Theatre: Routes; If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep; NSFW; The Witness; Goodbye to All That; The Acid Test; Wanderlust. Japan: Theatre Cocoon: Hamlet. Awards: Evening Standard/Burberry Award for an Emerging Director (2012).

Robert Brill

Scenic Design

For Berkeley Rep: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, The Laramie Project. Broadway credits include Hell’s Kitchen (Tony nomination), How to Dance in Ohio, Dancin’, Thoughts of a Colored Man, Ain’t Too Proud (Tony nomination), Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Assassins (Tony nomination), set and club design for the acclaimed revival of Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls (Tony nomination), Buried Child, Design for Living, among others. Brill is a founding member of Sledgehammer Theatre, a recipient of the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration, and a member of design faculty at UC San Diego. Visit robertbrilldesign.com or follow @brill_robert

Susan Hilferty

Costume Design

Berkeley Rep credits include Swept Away, Compulsion, Dream of a Common Language, The Illusion, Born in the RSA, Road to Mecca, Twelfth Night, Woman Warrior, Tooth of Crime, and Convict’s Return. Hilferty has designed sets and costumes for over 400 productions across the globe. Broadway: Wicked (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle), Swept Away, Parade, Funny Girl, Present Laughter, Spring Awakening, Lestat, Into the Woods. Directorial collaborations: Athol Fugard (40-plus productions), Joe Mantello, Yaël Farber, James Lapine, Michael Mayer, Richard Nelson, Tony Kushner, JoAnne Akalaitis, Des McAnuff, Rebecca Taichman, Sharon Ott, Tony Taccone. Other: Opera (Aida, Metropolitan Opera), dance (Alvin Ailey), circus (Ringling Brothers) and concerts (Taylor Swift). Many honors include three lifetime achievement awards. Faculty: NYU/Tisch Graduate/ Design (25 years as chair). susanhilferty.com

Heather C. Freedman

Costume Design

Heather C. Freedman is a visual artist and designer for theatre, opera, and film. Recent costume design work includes: Tina Howe’s Where Women Go, world premiere, HERE Arts Center (Henry Hewes nomination: Best Costume Design); Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, NYU Steinhardt; Newtown Odyssey, a floating opera on and for Newtown Creek co-created by composer Kurt Rohde, writer Dana Spiotta and artist Marie Lorenz; Play House, Brown University. Broadway credits include Assistant Costume Design for Swept Away and Funny Girl (designer: Susan Hilferty) and Caroline, or Change (designer: Fly Davis). Heather is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and NYU Tisch Design for Stage and Film, where she is adjunct faculty. She lives in New York City.

Jen Schriever

Lighting Design

Berkeley Rep: What the Constitution Means to Me, Angels in America, Chinglish. Broadway: Eureka Day, Mother Play, A Strange Loop (Tony Nom), Death of a Salesman (Tony Nom), 1776, Birthday Candles, Lackawanna Blues, What the Constitution Means to Me, Lifespan of a Fact, Eclipsed, Ghetto Klown. Regional: The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical (ACT), A Transparent Musical (CTG). Opera: A Thousand Splendid Suns (Seattle Opera), Die Fledermaus, Pearl Fishers (Metropolitan); Faust, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Traviata (Mariinsky, Russia); and The Pearl Fishers (ENO). Obie Award for sustained excellence in design. Adjunct Professor, Purchase College. Mom: Henry. www.jenschriever.com

Darron L. West

Sound Design

Darron is a Tony and OBIE Award-winning sound designer whose 30-year career spans theatre and dance, Broadway and Off-Broadway, and numerous regional theatres. His work has been heard in over 700 productions all over the United States and internationally in 15 countries. Additional honors include the Drama Desk, Lortel, Audelco, and Princess Grace Foundation Statue Award, among many others. Thirty year company member designing the productions of Anne Bogart’s SITI company. At Berkeley Rep: Cult of Love, Chinglish, Compulsion, To The Lighthouse, and Finn In The Underworld.

Satellite Wigs, Inc.

Wig Design is a tale of 2 Sara(h)s with over 20 individual Broadway credits between them. Sara Donovan (most recently the hair supervisor of & Juliet, Broadway) & Sarah Levine (most recently the associate hair & makeup designer for Swept Away, Broadway) met as hair & makeup apprentices at The Juilliard School. While working together in television they formed a wig making company focused on creating high end wigs, facial hair & custom pieces for personal, professional theatrical, and cinematic needs. Their work can be seen most recently on stage and in film for A Wonderful World (Broadway), Babes, Smile 2, & Companion @satellitewigs

Danica Rodriguez

Casting

STC: Leopoldstadt, Babbitt, Comedy of Errors, The Matchbox Magic Flute, Macbeth, The Lehman

Trilogy, As You Like It, Macbeth In Stride, Evita, Here There Are Blueberries, King Lear, Jane Anger, Much Ado About Nothing, Red Velvet, Our Town, The Merchant of Venice. New York: Off-Broadway: The Public Theater: cullud wattah*, Romeo y Julieta, Soft Power, for colored girls..., Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare in the Park), Mojada, Ain’t No Mo’*. Regional: Folger Theatre: Our Verse in Time to Come; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes*, Incendiary; The Kennedy Center: The Day You Begin; JAG Productions: Next to Normal; The Civilians: El Condor Magico, and others. Awards: Theatre Communications Group 2021 Rising Leader of Color. Personal: she/her, Founding Trainer with Broadway for Racial Justice Casting Directive, Training: Dartmouth College, BA in Film & Media Studies. Instagram: @danicarodriguezcasting DanicaRodriguez.com (*World Premiere)

Karina Fox

Casting

Karina has been working as a Casting Director, Producer, and Director in the Bay Area since 2017. Now on her third season at Berkeley Rep, Karina has worked on the casting of over ten mainstage shows as well as The Ground Floor Summer Lab. Before joining Berkeley Rep in 2022, she was at Magic Theatre serving as the Producing and Casting Director. Previous Magic Theatre casting credits include The Kind Ones, Monument, or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play), The Resting Place, and The Virgin Play Series (2018-2022).

Elisa Guthertz

Stage Manager

Elisa has been a stage manager in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. Most recently she stage managed Data at Arena Stage, and Bulrusher at McCarter Theatre Center and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Some of her many shows at American Conservatory Theater include Big Data, The Headlands, Fefu And Her Friends, Testmatch, Seascape, and Sweat Other credits include: Mother Road, English, the ripple, the wave that carried me home, Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Toni Stone at A.C.T. and Arena Stage; Sanctuary City at BRT and Arena Stage; A Thousand Splendid Suns at A.C.T., The Old Globe, and Theatre Calgary; Big Love at Long Wharf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Brooklyn Academy of Music; The Good Body with Eve Ensler at A.C.T. and the Booth Theatre on Broadway; The Vagina Monologues with Eve Ensler at Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco.

Anthony O. Bullock

Assistant Stage Manager

Berkeley Rep debut. New York: Off-Broadway: Classic Stage Company: The School for Lies; Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals: A Nation Grooves (workshop) and The Night Falls (workshop). Regional: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Arena Stage, McCarter Theatre Center, TheatreSquared, Shakespeare & Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Passage Theatre, among others. He has spent the last five seasons as the Resident Stage Manager at Theater J in Washington DC. International: Wuzhen Theatre Festival/ The Goodman Theatre: The White Snake (dir. Mary Zimmerman). Training: Oklahoma City University: BFA in Stage Management. PRONOUNS: HE/HIM/ANY

Shakespeare Theatre Company

Co-Producer

For more than 35 years, the Tony Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company has dedicated itself to being the nation’s premier classical theatre. STC tells vital stories in audacious forms, stories that are Shakespearean in the deepest sense, even if (and especially when) they are not written by Shakespeare. By focusing on works with profound themes and complex characters, STC’s artistic mission is to use the past to illumine urgent questions in the present.

Johanna Pfaelzer

Artistic Director

Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in 2019 as its fourth artistic director, following 12 years as artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based developer of new works for theatre, film, and television. Johanna is proud to have developed work by notable established and early career writers like Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Goddess by Saheem Ali, Michael Thurber, and Jocelyn Bioh; The Humans by Stephen Karam; Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell; The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe; The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar; A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac; The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu; The Great Leap by Lauren Yee; Doubt by John Patrick Shanley; The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses; The Jacksonian by Beth Henley; and Green Day’s American Idiot. Johanna previously served as associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater and is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Program. She lives in Berkeley with her husband, Russell Champa, and their son, Jasper.

Tom Parrish

Managing Director

Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multivenue performing arts centers to major Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley Rep, he served as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as associate managing director/ general manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer and “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego. He received his MBA/MA in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in Theater Arts and Economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Northwestern University. He and his husband live in Berkeley.

THANK YOU to our supporters!

We thank the many organizations and individuals who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic, education, and community engagement programs.

Institutional Funders

FOUNDATION

Anonymous (3)

The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation

Civic Foundation, Inc.

Davis/Dauray Family Fund

The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.

The Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Philanthropic Fund

Eva Gunther Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

JEC Foundation

Koret Foundation

Laurents/Hatcher Foundation

Libitzky Family Foundation

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

The Maurer Family Foundation

Miranda Lux Foundation

Morris Stulsaft Foundation

The Bernard Osher Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg

Charitable Trust

Tarbell Family Foundation

Taube Philanthropies

Westridge Foundation

Woodlawn Foundation

Corporate & Hospitality Sponsors

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Armanino LLP

Aurora Catering

Bank of Marin

SEASON SPONSOR

EXECUTIVE SPONSORS

The

Resilience Campaign

Comal

Covenant Wines

Hammerling Wines

The Morrison & Foerster Foundation

Panoramic Interests

Pinx Catering

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

Andrea Gordon Real Estate

BluesCruise.com

Perfusion Vineyard

Smile City Photo Booth

PUBLIC FUNDING

Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Commission

National Endowment for the Arts

BENEFACTOR SPONSORS

Broc Cellars

City Baking Co.

Eureka!

Family Laundry

Gallagher Risk Management Services

Heroic Italian

JazzCaffè

Kermit Lynch

Lucia’s Berkeley

Picante

TheatreWorks

Berkeley Repertory Theatre gratefully recognizes the following contributors for their transformational contributions to The Resilience Campaign that support the organization’s future.

Anonymous

California Wellness Foundation

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Robin & Rich Edwards

David & Vicki Fleishhacker

Kerry Francis & John Jimerson

Jill & Steve Fugaro

Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

Marcia Grand

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Sudha Pennathur & Edward Messerly

Jack & Betty Schafer

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Michael & Sue Steinberg

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

Gail & Arne Wagner

Linda & Steve Wolan

We thank the many individuals in our community who help Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provoking, and thrilling theatre and bring arts education to thousands of people every year. We gratefully recognize our donors at the Champion level and above, who made their gifts between September 1, 2023, and November 26, 2024. We also express our deep gratitude to all of the Friends of Berkeley Rep that we are unable to recognize here due to space limitations.

Sponsors Circle

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS

Anonymous

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

Jonathan Logan & John Piane

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Gail & Arne Wagner

SEASON SPONSORS

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Jack & Betty Schafer

Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

LEAD SPONSORS

Barbara Bass Bakar

Jill & Steve Fugaro

Mary Ruth Quinn & Scott Shenker

EXECUTIVE SPONSORS

Christina Crowley

Anne & Anuj Dhanda

Christopher Doane & Neal Shorstein, MD

Robin & Rich Edwards

Bill Falik & Diana Cohen

Dr. Daniel F. Goodman

Marcia Grand

Melinda Haag & Chuck Fanning

Scott & Sherry Haber

Fred Levin

Melanie Maier

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Sudha Pennathur & Edward Messerly

Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Michael & Sue Steinberg

Chris & Mike Rupp, Descendant Cellars

Steven & Linda Wolan

Artistic Director’s Circle

PARTNER

Anonymous (2)

Valerie Barth

Jeffrey & Karen Breslow

John Brennan & Stephanie McKown

Linda Brown

Italo & Susan Calpestri

Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton

John Dains

Richard DeNatale & Craig Latker

Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Linda Jo Fitz

Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels

Karen Grove & Julian Cortella

Earl & Bonnie Hamlin

Lisa Herrinton

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

The Jackson Family Foundation

Teresa Kersten

Duke & Daisy Kiehn

Joel Linzner & Teresa Picchi

Elsie Mallonee

Mona Marbach

Marymor Family Fund

Judy Minor

Sandi & Dick Pantages

Lauri Paul & Mark Hamilton

Johanna Pfaelzer & Russell Champa

Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey

Emily Shanks

Ama Torrance & David Davies

Larry Vales

Sarah Van Roo

Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor

BENEFACTOR

Anonymous (4)

Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery

Eric Allman & Kirk McKusick

Philip Arca & Sherry Smith

George & Marcia Argyris

Michelle L. Barbour

Becky & Jeff Bleich

Ronnie Caplane

Lisa Conte

Constance Crawford

Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor

Dr. Jim Cuthbertson

Barbara & Tim Daniels

Richard & Anita Davis

Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat

Bill DeHart

Corinne & Mike Doyle

Sandra & Ken Eggers

William & Susan Epstein

Jerry Falk

Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny

James & Jessica Fleming

Dean Francis

Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim

Jack Klingelhofer

Suzanne LaFetra Collier

Erin McCune

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Jack & Valerie Rowe

Todd Rubin

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman

Sargina & Marc Silvani

Cynthia & William Schaff

Jean Strunsky, in memory of Michael Strunsky

Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Anonymous (3)

Edith Barschi & Robert Jackson

Anna Bellomo & Josh Bloom

Marc Blakeman

Lynne Carmichael

Cindy J. Chang, MD & Christopher Hudson

Cynthia A. Farner

David & Vicki Fleishhacker

Shirlen Fund

Sharon & Tom Francis

Herb & Marianne Friedman

Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi

Mio & Jon Good

Mary W Graves

Robert & Judith Greber

Anne & Peter Griffes

Migsy & Jim Hamasaki

Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky

Henry L. Hecht

Tamra C. Hege

Elaine Hitchcock

Stan Hoffman

Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling

Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger

Marilyn & Michael Jensen-Akula

Muriel Kaplan & Bob Sturm

Bill & Lisa Kelly

Dana Kirkland

Peggy Kivel

Jane & Mike Larkin, in memory of

Lynn & Gerald Ungar

Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney

Jay & Eileen Love

Luna Foundation

Susanna & Brad Marshland

Rebecca Martinez

Henning Mathew

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Susan Mazzetti

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Laura Graham

Elise Haas

Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen

Sy Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton

Duke & Daisy Kiehn

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

Eileen & Hank Lewis

Helen M. Marcus, in memory of

David J. Williamson

Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas

Martin & Margi Cellucci McNair

Seth Mickenberg & Alfredo Silva

Julie Moreland

Tom Parrish & Steve Dow

Norman & Janet Pease

Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun

Audrey & Paul L. Richards, in honor of Barbara Peterson

David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich

Dennis Ryan & Rebecca Sutter-Ryan

Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel

Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland

Sarah E. Shaver

Audrey & Bob Sockolov

Barbara Tomber

Wendy Williams

Robin Meezan

Stephanie Mendel

Andy & June Monach

Ronald Morrison

Shanna O'Hare & John Davis

Carol J. Ormond

Janet & Clyde Ostler

Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser

Barbara L. Peterson

Leslie & Mark Ragsdale

Dr. Jason Ravenel & Leann Ravenel

Terri Remillard

Carla & David Riemer

Gary & Noni Robinson

Becky Saeger & Tom Graves

Jeane & Roger Samuelsen

Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz

Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner

Allan & Maria Smith

Ed & Ellen Smith

Henry Spencer & Nicky Cass

Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young

Henry Timnick

Deborah & Bob Van Nest

Gerald & Lynda Vurek-Martyn

Brian Watt & Daisy Nguyen

Beth Weissman

Patricia & Jeffrey Williams

Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter

Friends of Berkeley Rep

CHAMPION

ADVOCATE

Anonymous (16)

• Don & Gerry Beers • Paul Bendix

Anonymous (3) • Linda & Mike Baker • Celia Bakke • Michael Barnett and Judith Bloomberg

• David Ahirhima • David Baer • Paula Bakalar • Irene Balcar • Linda Barron • Steven Beckendorf • Richard & Kathi Berman • Brent Blackaby • Mark & Peggy Bley • James Blume & Kathryn Frank • Judy Blumenstein • Thomas Bosserman

• Cathy Bristow • Paul Brody • John Brorsen • Aimee Brown • Jane V. Buerger • John Bundschuh & Deborah Sorondo • Robert P. Camm & Susan Pearson • Robert & Margaret Cant • Bruce Carlton • Daren Chan • Steven and Karin Chase • Laura Chenel

• Bart Connally • Karen & David Crommie • Josh Dapice

• Patti Bittenbender • Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar • Fran Burgess • Stacey Carlo • Dr. Jon Carr • Keith & Maria Carson • Terri Clark and Marty Lay

• Richard & Anita Davis • Jacqueline Desoer • Carol DiFilippo • Joan

M. Dove & Jim Daughn • Donald and Jeannette Dow • Ben & Mary Feinberg • Donald & Dava Freed • Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter • Mary Grogan • Sylvaine Guille • Thomas & Elizabeth Henry

• Mr. Robert and Judy Huret • May Johnston • Sudhir Kasanavesi

• Susan Kolb • Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes • Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz • Shirley Langlois • Ellen & Barry Levine • Marcia C. Linn

• Mark & Roberta Linsky • Gerry & Kathy MacClelland • Lois & Gary

Marcus, in memory of Ruth Weiland, Mose & Selma Marcus • Paul Mariano & Suzanne Chapot • Geri Monheimer • Mina Morita • Jane

Neilson • Judith & Richard Oken • Juan Oldham & Deborah Morgan

• Bob & MaryJane Pauley • Tushar Ranchod • Todd & Susan Ringoen • Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley • John & Jody Roberts • Mitzi K. Sales • Lisa A. Salomon • Helen Schulak • Deborah Sedberry & Jeff Klingman • Susan Shafton • Laura Shennum • David & Lori Simpson • Amrita Singhal & Michael

Tubach • Suzanne Slyman • Betsy Smith • Cherida Collins Smith

• Valerie Sopher • Trevor & Anne-Marie Strohman • Jane & Jay

Taber Sam Test • Annie Ulevitch • William van Dyk & Margi

Sullivan • Kimberly Webb & Richard Rossi • Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss

• Irene Yen

• Joan & Edward Conger • Cathy Corison and William Martin • Pam & Mike Crane • Rajen Dalal • Harry & Susan Dennis • Kathryn

Doi • Lynne Dombrowski • Joe & Lisa Downes • Tammerlin Drummond • Kevin Eggan • Sue J. Estey • Paul Finkle & Sue DeVinny

• Martin & Barbara Fishman • James & Jessica Fleming • Carol & Tony Friscia • Chris R. Frostad • Lisa and Jack Fuchs • Clara Gerdes & Ken Greenberg • Ellen Geringer & Chris Tarp • Paul Goldstein & Dena Mossar • Judy & Sheldon Greene • Mark Greenstein • Karen Greig & Mike Frank • Don & Becky Grether • Jeannene Hansen • Dennis & Juanita Harte • Paula Hawthorn & Michael Ubell • Donald Hershman • Al Hoffman & David Shepherd • Rachel & John Horsch • Hilary & Tom Hoynes • Maria Inchauspe • Patricia J. Ishiyama • Atsuko Jenks • Barbara & Peter Jensen • Alan Karras & David Schulz • Leslie Karren • Jeanne Killian • Ralph & Tonya Koenker • Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff • Diana & Jim Krampf • Andrea & Kenneth Krueger • Lucy Kuntz and Ned Fielden • Kevin & Claudine Lally • Wayne Lamprey & Dena Watson-Lamprey • Susan Carol Ledford • Elizabeth Lewis • David Lindsay & Maggie Ingalls • Jennifer S. Lindsay • Ari Lipsky & David Nahmias • Steve & Judy Lipson • Margo & Josh Lowensohn • Peter Luk • Nancy Lumer • Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch • Rob and Diane Master • Don Mathews • M. Mathews & K. Soriano • Kevin McCarty • Amelie Mel de Fontenay • Ellen Meltzer and George Porter • Melinda & Ralph Mendelson • Susan Morris • Ron Nakayama • Sandra Nichols • Daniel Null & Karen Williams Null • James O'Toole • Lynne Parode & Sterling Lim • Perttula Family • Patti Oji Haas • Jeannie Pfaelzer & Peter Panuthos • Malcolm & Ann Plant • Kathleen Quenneville & Diane Allen • Daniel & Barbara Radin • Elizabeth Raffin • Jackie Lynn Ray • Kalpana Reddy • Michael Rocha • William Rogers • Patrick Romani • Shasta Roope • Tonya Roope • Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth • Eve Saltman & Skip Roncal, in honor of Kerry Francis & John Jimerson • Dorothy Saxe • Eric & Lauren Schlezinger • Teddy & Bruce Schwab • J Deborah Sedberry & Jeff Klingman • Jacob Sevart • Ruchira Shah & David Grunwald • Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. • Steve & Susan Shortell • Beryl & Ivor Silver • Robert Sinha • Linda Snyder • Gary & Jana Stein • Carol Sundell • Margo & Drew Tammen • Kathy Taylor • Ruthann Taylor • John & Christine Telischak • Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller • Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita • Dale Underwood & Kirsti Aho • Jill Van Dalen • Leon Van Steen • Benny & Liz Varon • Faye Wilson • Galen Wilson • Barbara & Mordechai Winter • H. Leabah Winter • Susan Wittenberg • Molly Wood • Moe & Becky Wright • Ned Zlatarev

The Michael Leibert Legacy Society

Berkeley Rep gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who have generously provided for the theatre in their estate plans:

Anonymous (9)

Norman Abramson & David Beery*

Sam Ambler

Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan

Ken & Joni Avery

Nancy Axelrod

Edie Barschi

Neil & Gene Barth

Susan & Barry Baskin

Linda Brandenburger

Broitman-Basri Family

Bruce Carlton & Richard G. McCall*

Stephen K. Cassidy

Paula Champagne & David Watson

Terin Christensen

Sofia Close

Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor

Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor

Narsai* & Venus David

Darren & Sunshine Deffner

M. Laina Dicker

Christopher Doane & Neal Shorstein, MD

Thalia Dorwick

Robin & Rich Edwards

Thomas W. Edwards

& Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Bill & Susan Epstein

William Espey

& Margaret Hart Edwards

Bill Falik & Diana Cohen

Dr. Stephen E. Follansbee

& Dr. Richard A. Wolitz

Catherine Fox

Kerry Francis

Dr. Harvey & Deana Freedman

Joseph & Antonia Friedman

Paul T. Friedman

Laura K. Fujii

David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson*

Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter

Mary & Nicholas* Graves

Elizabeth Greene

Sheldon & Judy Greene

Don & Becky Grether

Barry* & Micheline Handon

Julie & Paul Harkness

Linda & Bob Harris

Fred Hartwick

Ruth Hennigar

Daria Hepps

Douglas J. Hill*

Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley

Hoskins/Frame Family Trust

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

Robin C. Johnson

Janice Kelly & Carlos Kaslow

Bonnie McPherson Killip

Lynn Eve Komaromi

Michael H. Kossman

Woof Kurtzman

Scott & Kathy Law

Dot Lofstrom

Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch

Andrew Maguire

Helen M. Marcus

Dale* & Don Marshall

Rebecca Martinez

Sarah McArthur LeValley

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Suzanne & Charles McCulloch

John G. McGehee

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Ruth Medak

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Stephanie Mendel

Toni Mester

Shirley & Joe Nedham

Jane & Bill Neilson

Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Wallace Oman

Sharon Ott

Fr. David Pace

Amy Pearl Parodi

Barbara L. Peterson

Regina Phelps

Margaret Phillips

Mark J. Powers & Albert E. Moreno

Marjorie Randolph

Gregg Richardson

Bonnie Ring Living Trust

David Rovno, M.D.

Tracie E. Rowson

Deborah Dashow Ruth

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D.

Emily Shanks

Valerie Sopher

Michael & Sue Steinberg

Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart

Jean Strunsky

Mary, Andrew & Duncan Susskind

Jim Tibbs & Philip Anderson

Henry Timnick

Guy Tiphane

Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita

Phillip & Melody Trapp

Janis Kate Turner

Gail & Arne Wagner

Barry & Holly Walter

Weil Family Trust - Weil Family

Susan West

Steven & Linda Wolan

The Woolfson Blumenfeld

Living Trust

Karen & Henry Work

Anders Yang, JD

Martin & Margaret Zankel

* deceased

GIFTS RECEIVED BY BERKELEY REP

Estate of Suzanne Adams

Estate of Pat Angell, in memory of

theater architect Gene Angell

Estate of Nina Auerbach

Estate of Helen C. Barber

Estate of Fritzi Benesch

Estate of Carole B. Berg

Estate of Nelly Berteaux

Estate of Jill Bryans

Estate of Paula Carrell

Estate of Victoria Carter

Estate of Nancy Croley

Estate of John & Carol Field

Estate of Ralph Garrow

Estate of Richard & Lois Halliday

Estate of Nancy Kornfield

Estate of Audrey J. Lasson

Estate of Zandra Faye LeDuff

Estate of Ines R. Lewandowitz

Estate of Jim Lillienthal

Estate of John E. & Helen A. Manning

Estate of Richard Markell

Estate of Sumner

& Hermine Marshall

Estate of Margaret D. & Winton McKibben

Estate of Robert S. Newton, in honor of John T. & Jean Knox

Estate of Sheldeen G. Osborne

Estate of Timothy A. Patterson

Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez

Estate of Margaret Purvine

Estate of Guy T. Roberts, Jr.

Estate of Leigh & Ivy Robinson

Estate of Gretchen Saeger

Estate of Stephen C. Schaefer, in honor of Jean and Jack Knox

Estate of Kevin Shoemaker

Estate of Peter Sloss

Estate of Louis & Bonnie Spiesberger

Estate of Harry Weininger

Estate of Grace Williams

Estate of Sheila Wishek

As of December 2024.

Berkeley Rep makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these listings. If there is an error or you would like to adjust your listing, please contact us at 510 647-2905 or give@berkeleyrep.org.

MAKING THEATRE

MEET THE ARTISANS WHO BUILD OUR SHOWS

BY CREATIVE DIRECTOR DC SCARPELLI

Berkeley Rep’s shop artisans are among the very best in the industry, and they’re often challenged to create sets that use innovative techniques and unique problem-solving to achieve the set designer’s vision. Think of their use of water, as in last season’s Bulrusher, or turning a vintage truck into a metamorphosing centerpiece, as in Mother Road, or creating a set that integrates intricately coordinated audio and video triggers, as in Mexodus. The possibilities are infinite, and the solutions ingenious.

And then, sometimes, the challenges are simply a matter of logistics…

For co-productions, where a show moves from one co-producing theatre to the next, the set, costumes, props, and any integrated lighting and sound equipment is usually shipped to the next theatre after our run closes. There’s usually enough time between closing at Berkeley Rep and first day of technical rehearsals at the next venue to allow for shipment by truck and load-in at the new venue.

For Uncle Vanya, though, the scheduling has worked out so that the cast will start tech rehearsals at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC (where director Simon Godwin is artistic director) just a week after the show closes here.

The solution? Berkeley Rep’s shop artisans have built, concurrently, two nearly-identical sets for Vanya — one for Berkeley Rep and a second for STC — that will truck shortly after our production opens. STC will get their set and install it while our production is still running. Berkeley Rep co-technical director Matt Rohner says the questions around such a move are myriad: “How much time will STC have to devote to the carpentry details — hanging doors, finishing trim, etc.? Most small details like this will be resolved here, we hope. STC may have their own challenges, but we want to give them the best possible product.”

“It’s a big challenge keeping track of all the bits and pieces of any large, naturalistic, four-wall set. Building two of the same thing simultaneously was a lot to juggle, label, and keep track of. On top of that, the two sets are slightly different from each other. The thrust stage at STC is a different size from the Peet’s, so their set has some extra pieces and a few extra doors. So many doors!”

But, despite the time and labor crunch, thanks to all the hard work in Berkeley Rep’s shops, Vanya will have a nearly identical country house in both Berkeley and Washington, DC — for as long as he’s allowed to stay in it!

Sometimes, big jobs look deceptively small. But here we have Double fireplaces, double floors, and, as Matt says, “so many doors!”

PHOTOS — TOP: MATT ROHNER; BOTTOM:

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY

When you join the Michael Leibert Legacy Society, you help secure the future of Berkeley Rep’s treasured tradition of producing adventurous and thought-provoking theatre.

How to join? It’s easy!

Make a bequest: Defer a gift until after your lifetime. Name Berkeley Rep in your will (designate a specific amount, a percentage, or a share of the residue).

Gift of retirement assets: Avoid twofold taxation on your IRA or other retirement plans. Name Berkeley Rep as full or part beneficiary of the remainder of the assets after your lifetime.

MICHAE L LEIBERT LE GA CY SOCIETY

BERKELEY REP

To learn more ways to leave your legacy, contact Philanthropy Officer Andrew Maguire at 510 647-2904 or amaguire@berkeleyrep.org.

APR 5–MAY 11, 2025

BY MOISÉS KAUFMAN AND AMANDA GRONICH CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY MOISÉS KAUFMAN BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT, BRIAN & DAYNA LEE, AND SONIA FRIEDMAN PRODUCTIONS ART COURTESY TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT

In 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and ignited a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of these historical photographs — what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity.

Tickets at berkeleyrep.org

The cast of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

MAR 20

APR 4,5,6

MAY 2,3,4

BERKELEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

MAY 9

JOHN CRUZ

MAY 15 & 16

ELIADES OCHOA

MAY 17 & 18

Berkeley Rep: Uncle Vanya

UNCLE VANYA

Boldly’s Defining Courage

Patti LuPone

Strong Foundations BERKELEY REP’S NEXT-GENERATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

We’re proud to partner with

Peet’s Coffee!

What Uncle Vanya is Giving Us Now

Fifty

UNCLE VANYA

CAST

UNDERSTUDIES

FOR THIS PRODUCTION

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BERKELEY REP STAFF

THANK YOU to our supporters!

Institutional Funders

Corporate & Hospitality Sponsors

The

Resilience Campaign

Sponsors Circle

Artistic Director’s Circle

PARTNER

Friends of Berkeley Rep

CHAMPION

ADVOCATE

The Michael Leibert Legacy Society

MAKING THEATRE

MEET THE ARTISANS WHO BUILD OUR SHOWS

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY

MICHAE L LEIBERT LE GA CY SOCIETY

BERKELEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

JOHN CRUZ

ELIADES OCHOA

BILL FRISELL

Articles inside

From Russia to Berkeley

What Uncle Vanya is giving us now

Welcome