Berkeley Rep: Angels in America

aids in the United States today 25 · 4 questions for the cast 27 · The program for Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes 33

THE BERKELEY REP M AGA ZINE 2017–18 · ISSUES 5–6

I N T H I S I S SU E 16

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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S ANGE LS IN AME RICA: A GAY FANTAS IA ON NATIONAL THE ME S · 33 P ROL O G U E A letter from the artistic director · 7 A letter from the managing director · 8 R E P ORT S The Messenger has arrived: The art of theatrical flying · 13 Crossing paths: An intergenerational conversation · 16 June 2018, when 21 Ground Floor projects roam · 19 F E AT U R E S The Origin Story · 20 Tinkering and tinkering: An interview with Tony Kushner and Tony Taccone · 21 In free fall: A snapshot of aids in the mid-1980s · 23 aids in the United States today · 25 No apologies: The life of Roy Cohn · 26 4 questions for the cast · 27 What do Prior Walter and Roy Cohn have in common? Artist-in-residence Stephen Spinella · 29

M E E T T H E C A ST & C R E W · 3 4

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Considerations Only beverages in cans, cartons, or cups with lids are allowed in the house. Food is prohibited in the house.

You are welcome to take a closer look, but please don’t step onto the stage or touch the props.

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Any child who can quietly sit in their own seat for a full performance is welcome at Berkeley Rep. Please inquire if you have questions about content or language. All attendees must be ticketed: please, no babes in arms.

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If you leave during the performance, we may not be able to reseat you until an appropriate break. You may watch the remainder of the act on a lobby or bar screen.

T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E 2017 –1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 The Berkeley Rep Magazine is published at least seven times per season.

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Editor Karen McKevitt Art Director Nora Merecicky Graphic Designer Kendall Markley

Writers James Dinneen Anthony Jackson Sarah Rose Leonard Madeleine Oldham Arielle Rubin

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P ROL OG U E from the Artistic Director

The state of our Union has always been pre-

carious. American history is the history of constant struggle, between those trying to foment change and those trying to maintain some version of the status quo. The very nature of our democracy, straddling the line between giving voice to every opinion while maintaining civility and respect for the law, is always exposed to discord and upheaval. It is a precarious balance at best, and when that balance is undone, when the Marginalized are ignored or oppressed to the point of despair, polarization sets in, unleashing waves of hatred and violence.

Never more so than now. Led by our President, who seems hell-bent on destroying that balance, expressions of generosity towards our political opponents seem to have all but evaporated. Every new tweet from the White House brings a new outpouring of bile, accusing anyone who disagrees with the administration of being a liar, a cheat, or a traitor. Fueled by this behavior, a seismic political and cultural shift is underway, an attempt by ultra-conservative forces to assert their worldview over the entire country. Not only are the progressive ideals and legislative gains of the last 80 years under attack, but truth itself. “Fake news” has become part of our lexicon.

There is no objective truth, these people tell us, save for what serves the individual.

Every transaction—political, economic, sexual—is fueled primarily by the ruthless code of self-interest and the correctness of their old world order. Amidst the chaotic, day-to-day fights over various issues, another, larger struggle has emerged…a struggle over the definition of human nature: whether we see ourselves through the prism of our basest animal instincts or the “angels of our better nature.”

Which brings me to Angels in America. My favorite play by my favorite writer. One Tony Kushner: True Great Vocalist, Knowing Mind, Tongue-of-the-Land, Seer-Head!

With its fierce dissection of America’s political power, its championing of democracy, and its embracing of all things human, Kushner’s play is a spectacular, visionary portrait of our country. Its vast assortment of themes all emanate from the central, animating question: Can we change? In time. Before it’s too late.

Do we have the vision necessary to re-imagine our democracy, the will to sustain a society built on equality and inclusion, the courage to look at our prejudices, to look beyond our personal experience and commit to the greater good? These questions are more pressing than ever. We can only hope that our answers approach the transcendent optimism of the play.

It is a great gift to present Angels to you. We have tapped the full measure of our resources and skills to realize its astonishing, imaginative reach. Thank you for supporting our efforts, for actively participating in the conversation, and for being open.

We love you for that….

Sincerely,

Tony Taccone

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P ROL OG U E from the Managing Director

As Tony Taccone has been looking toward the end of his long and successful tenure as artistic director of Berkeley Rep, there have been projects he has wanted, maybe even needed, to be able to mark as “done” and artists whom he has wanted to recognize.

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Angels in America is one of those undertakings that Tony absolutely needed to revisit before he left. We have talked about this remarkable American masterpiece for many years, and it is altogether fitting that in this, his penultimate season, we should finally undertake this theatrical equivalent of Mt. Everest.

However, it is next season, Tony’s last, that represents so much of the thoughtfulness that has shaped our programming for 20 years. It includes the return of director Les Waters, who will helm A Doll’s House, Part 2, a wildly funny riff on Ibsen’s classic of early feminism. And we are proud to introduce you to Jackie Sibblies Drury, whose play Fairview—a fearless and fascinating exploration of race in America—was incubated in our Ground Floor Summer Residency Lab. Associate Director Lisa Peterson and her collaborator Denis O’Hare return for the first time since An Iliad with The Good Book, a timely exploration of our relationship to the Bible. And, we re-introduce you to Geoff Sobelle (who was last at Berkeley Rep with All Wear Bowlers in 2006), a terrifically exciting artist whose Home plays with form and structure in a way that we think you will love. In the tradition of our varied and always surprising adventures in music theatre, we are so proud to offer you a new musical, Paradise Square, that brings together director Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project), local playwright Marcus Gardley (The House that will not Stand) along with Craig Lucas (Amélie), choreographer Bill T. Jones (Spring Awakening), and lyricist Nathan Tyson (Amélie) for an epic story set during the Civil War when race and draft riots threatened to tear New York’s Five Points neighborhood apart. This show brings back artists we love while introducing you to fresh new faces.

It seems so right that Mary Zimmerman will return with a reprise of a classic that may be among the most beloved plays in our history, Metamorphoses, in which Ovid’s stories will once again come vividly to life from primal waters set in our intimate Peet’s Theatre. And lest you wonder where will Tony be, he has yet to pick his final project of the season. But, even knowing Tony as well as I do, I wouldn’t predict which Tony it will reflect: the earnest, ironic, irreverent, or iconic. I just know that I’m going to want to be here to see it.

No single play embodies just one reason to take its place in Tony’s final season.

But together I’d say they are quintessential Taccone. I hope you will join us as a season subscriber for the 2018–19 season and help us make Tony’s final season a resounding success.

Warmly,

415.392.2910

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CELEBR ATE 2018–19 Join us for our 50th anniversary season!

Subscribe today for the best seats at the best prices Ticket packages on sale now berkeleyrep.org/sub

A Doll’s House, Part 2

By Lucas Hnath Directed by Les Waters Main Season · Roda Theatre Starts September 2018 Welcome to A Doll’s House, Part 2 —a fiercely intelligent and theatrically scintillating play that delighted audiences both on Broadway and off.

Who’s that knocking on the door? Nora is back in this audacious Tony Award-nomi“Smart, nated comedy. It’s been 15 years since she funny and slammed that same door on her marriage utterly and children in the revolutionary final scene of Ibsen’s signature play. Now a engrossing” successful yet scandalous writer, she’s —New York Times being blackmailed by a judge and needs her former husband’s help. But her family has a few grievances they need to air first.

No worries—familiarity with Ibsen is not required to utterly, thoroughly, and unequivocally enjoy this play.

Co-production with Huntington Theatre Company

Fairview

By Jackie Sibblies Drury Directed by Sarah Benson Limited Season · Peet’s Theatre World premiere Starts October 2018 Witness the work of Jackie Sibblies Drury— one of the brightest voices in American theatre today—as she tackles our thorniest questions about society and race in a fully unpredictable and thrilling theatrical experience.

It begins simply enough: It’s Grandma’s birthday, and Beverly needs the family’s celebration to be perfect. But her husband is no help, her brother hasn’t arrived, and her teenage daughter may be in trouble. What’s more, they are being watched…and judged.

Soon, the attitudes and assumptions of these watchers begin to manifest in the family’s celebration, forcing them to fight for their very identities.

In association with Soho Rep

Paradise Square: A New Musical Main Season · Roda Theatre World premiere Starts December 2018 Obie Award-winning director Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project and Master Class), award-winning playwrights Marcus Gardley (The House that will not Stand) and Craig Lucas (Amélie), and lyricist Nathan Tysen (Amélie) return to Berkeley Rep along with Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones to bring you this incredible musical based on extraordinary real-life stories.

World Premiere Musical

It’s 1863 and in a 20-block area of Manhattan known as the Five Points, Black and Irish Americans live side by side, work together, marry, and for a brief period realize racial harmony. However, the intensifying Civil War soon results in the first-ever Federal draft, leading to riots as Whites are called to enlist while Blacks are barred from serving.

Will the hard-won bonds of friendship, community, and family in the Five Points prevail or be severed forever?

Calling upon a variety of musical and dance traditions including Irish step-dancing and African traditional forms (Juba dancing), as well as new ones created from their fusion (tap dance), Paradise Square subverts and reframes some of the most popular music of the 19th century while honoring and celebrating this unique neighborhood’s diverse inhabitants, whose passionate, moving, and heartbreaking experiences burn in our imaginations today.

Paradise Square is produced by special arrangement with Garth H. Drabinsky in association with Peter LeDonne and Teatro Proscenium Limited Partnership

“It’s not only my 21st and final season as Berkeley Rep’s artistic director, but also Berkeley Rep’s 50th anniversary. People have been asking me what kinds of plays I’ll choose to commemorate these milestones. My answer?

Keep producing audacious work by masterful artists who tell us urgent, captivating, and entertaining stories.”

—T O N Y TACCO N E , M I C H A E L LE I B E R T A R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R

Metamorphoses Based on the myths of Ovid Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman from the translation by David R. Slavitt Main Season · Peet’s Theatre Starts January 2019 Berkeley Rep presented Mary Zimmerman’s breathtaking Metamorphoses at the turn of the millennium—it later received a Broadway run and garnered her a Tony Award. She’s become a Berkeley Rep favorite, enthralling audiences with eight gorgeous productions.

Don’t miss your chance to experience her signature tour de force, the provocative and mesmerizing Metamorphoses.

Mary Zimmerman’s signature tour de force

Dreams and reality collide with gods and mortals in Mary Zimmerman’s ode to the power of love—and the shadows that lurk beneath it. From a 24-foot wading pool in our intimate 400-seat theatre, she summons Ovid’s classical tales of passion, betrayal, hope, and transformation, inviting us into a realm of shared cultural myths and beautiful, unshakable visions.

Co-production with Guthrie Theater

Home Created by Geoff Sobelle Scenic Conception by Steven Dufala Directed by Lee Sunday Evans Original songs by Elvis Perkins Limited Season · Roda Theatre Starts March 2019 Straight from acclaimed performances at bam in New York and venues around the world, Obie Award-winning physical theatre artist Geoff Sobelle and his ensemble of actors, dancers, and designers treat you to an enchanting visual and immersive spectacle.

Right before your eyes, a two-story house is conjured from the shadows. Residents past, present, and future rollick through its rooms in an impromptu dance that defies time and space, magically transforming our mundane everyday tasks into a glorious, intimate, and profound celebration.

A dreamlike infusion of illusion, live music, story, and ingenious engineering, this captivating show invites you to make its house your Home.

The Good Book

By Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson Directed by Lisa Peterson Main Season · Peet’s Theatre Starts April 2019 Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson (the team behind An Iliad) apply their formidable creative energy to unearth the all-too-human formation of the most influential book in Western history— the Bible.

This powerful play weaves together three distinct yet connected stories: a devout young man struggling to reconcile his belief with his identity; an atheist biblical scholar trying to find meaning as she faces her own mortality; and the creative journey of the Bible itself—from ancient Mesopotamia to medieval Ireland to suburban America—through the many hands, minds, hearts, and circumstances that molded this incredibly potent testament to the human spirit.

Plus one more play to be announced— directed by Tony Taccone!

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The Messenger has arrived: The art of theatrical flying

Clockwise from top right Ellen McLaughlin and Kathleen Chalfant in For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday in the 2015–16 season (photo by Kevin Berne); the beginnings of the angel wings in Berkeley Rep’s costume shop; Flying by Foy staff work with Christina Sajous during a rehearsal for American Idiot in the 2009–10 season

BY ARIELLE RUBIN

In a shower of unearthly white

light, spreading great opalescent gray-silver wings, the Angel descends through the ceiling into the room and floats above the bed.

The Angel crashing through the ceiling in Prior’s bedroom is perhaps the most iconic and memorable stage direction in Angels in America. This epic moment is all at once thrilling and frightening, graceful and magical. How does the magic happen? Berkeley Rep collaborated with longtime partner Flying By Foy to choreograph and execute the flying effects in Angels in America.

Flying By Foy provides flying systems and state-of-the-art automation for numerous arts organizations,

concert tours, and television productions worldwide. Established in 1975, the leading theatrical flying service has worked with Berkeley Rep on many productions, most recently For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday in the 2015–16 season. Together the two organizations select the best flying systems for each individual production.

“It starts with the creative end,” says Joe McGeough, director of operations at Flying By Foy. When working with an organization he asks the questions, “What do you want to accomplish? What is the flying like in this show?” By establishing the artistic vision, Flying By Foy can better understand the scope of the flying needs.

From there, the aerial company starts to ask the technical questions about the facility and the design elements.

After ascertaining the size of the theatre and the available fly space, Flying

By Foy can begin to shape the vision into reality.

For Angels in America, Berkeley Rep expressed an interest in multi-dimensional, fluid movement which provides a “larger feeling of grandeur,” as Production Manager Peter Dean describes it. It was also important that the Angel fly and control herself in an effortless manner to create the grandest yet safest spectacle. Thus, the team determined an automated system (as opposed to CO N TIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 3

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a manual pendulum or pulley system) would provide the most mobility for the show. Flying By Foy’s Aereography® system is a 3D design tool that allows them to digitally choreograph the flying effects for the production. Instead of a 2D system that only moves up and down, or side to side, the automated system permits a flying path that moves smoothly through space. This method also enables the company to program all the movement before even arriving in the theatre. Then, when they finally get to the space and install the equipment, they can fine tune with the director as needed.

In addition to working with the director and production manager, Flying By Foy also consults performers, technicians, and designers to guarantee cohesiveness amongst all the production elements. When considering what flying equipment to use, the company talked with Scenic Designer Takeshi Kata to make sure everything fit comfortably in the space, particularly when the ceiling gives way during the Angel’s extraordinary entrance.

Flying By Foy also communicated with Costume Designer Montana Blanco regularly, as costumes interact the most with the flying technology itself.

Costumes serve an important role because they must simultaneously mask the harness without inhibiting it.

The Angel wings provide an especially exciting challenge in Angels in America given their spectacular size and weight, so Montana and Flying By Foy worked together to ensure the wings interact in harmony with the flying equipment.

To help actors prepare for their flying roles, Flying by Foy teaches best techniques and balancing skills. With this training the actors gain extra confidence and are more relaxed and in control of their flight.

The entrance of the Angel is one of terror, but it is also one of enchantment, creating an unforgettable moment of exhilaration and grace. No matter the equipment used, there is a sense of magic when a person flies through the air. Maybe this speaks to the essential human desire to connect with the world beyond, or maybe we just like flying. Either way, Flying By Foy allows the magic to take flight.

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Crossing paths: An intergenerational conversation EDITED BY ANTHON Y JACKSON

Sumayya Bisseret-Martinez

What happens when

we forget where we came from? What happens if there is no one there to remind us of the battles that were fought and won for the freedoms we have today? Berkeley Rep Teen Core Council Members Uma Channer and Sumayya Bisseret-Martinez spoke with Angels in America Advisory Council members Michael Kossman and Jim Tibbs about intergenerational issues facing the lgbtq community.

Sumayya: In Teen Council, we were interested as to how we talk about the history of the aids epidemic, especially with many of us identifying as young queer people, and translate it to youth so they’re informed in their community. During the aids epidemic, there was a man in the Oval Office who was apathetic to the lives of queer people; there are many parallels to the person currently in the White House. Can you speak to these two eras?

Michael: There are several words that characterized how it made me feel: disenfranchised, marginalized, invisible… that was often the word. “We’re here and we are queer and we are here to stay.” That’s where it started. We were kind of invisible. For a long time, we had a president that wouldn’t even say the word aids. You couldn’t be out, let alone be elected to a political office. Those are some of the ways it made us feel because that’s how we were treated.

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Jim: I grew up in Kentucky in a family that was very religiously conservative.

I came out to my parents when I was 15 in 1973 and they chose just to completely ignore it, they wouldn’t acknowledge the fact I was gay. What was happening on a national level was the same thing that was happening for me on a very personal level. We felt invisible, we felt disenfranchised, but to some degree it felt like a continuation of everything that I had experienced up to that point. I didn’t really have any reason at that point in my life to expect anything different.

Michael: In fairness to our elders at the time, they also didn’t have the tools or the cultural norms to know how to deal with it either. I know when I came out there were two things that were presented to me by my mother, one of which was “Oh my god you are going to get sick.” That was the logical progression, and “you can’t have children.”

Those were cultural norms. “You’re telling me this, and that means X.” Today our community has better education or better tools to manage those things and they don’t jump to conclusions that are by definition negative.

Jim: My mother got married at 22, and my father had to tell her homosexuals existed. She did not know that there were people attracted to the same sex. She grew up in central Virginia. So roughly 15 years after that to find out that her son is gay, she didn’t know how to deal with it; she did not have the tools. She tried to do the best

she could. She didn’t throw me out of the house. But she was totally at a loss. My parents chose to ignore it and pretend like it wasn’t happening, which was what Reagan did about the aids crisis. We’ll just ignore it and pretend that it isn’t happening.

Sumayya: I find sometimes there’s a disconnect between my generation and yours with our understanding of lgbtq history. How did you inform yourself as a young lgbtq person?

Jim: When I was in high school, our school required us to do a senior thesis.

I can’t believe I had the courage to do this, but I wrote my high school graduation paper on male homosexuality.

Michael: You were a pioneer!

Uma: That is awesome.

Jim: You know why I did it? There was no information available other than the religious condemnation. I was so desperate for some semblance of hope that I went to the Cincinnati library, which was near the town I grew up in, and I checked out every book that had anything in there about [homosexuality] and it was all very scientific. It was mostly books about homosexuality from the psychological standpoint. That was really helpful for me writing that paper. There was enough positive information available that I was actually able to come to terms and start accepting and loving myself.

Michael: So when you were doing that, it was right around the time that

Jim Tibbs

some medical books said homosexuality was an illness. And it actually got removed from those books, right? In like the mid-’70s?

Jim: I wrote my paper in ’76, and a lot of what I was drawing on was research that led to it being re-categorized as not an illness but a human condition. That was my major resource for information, and then, of course, moving to San Francisco there were a lot more positive images to draw on, but in the Midwest and small towns it was bleak.

Michael: I’m curious if you guys encounter this at all, there was a time when conversion therapy was a thing.

People were given shock therapy and sent off to treatment to live for six months to therapy the gay out of you.

Uma: I know people whose parents wanted to do that to them.

Michael: Debunking the theory of conversion therapy took a long time.

Uma: Were you out in the ’80s? What was it like living during such an intense period of time for queer people in the U.S.?

Jim: I grew up in a small town. I don’t even know where I got the courage to come out at such a young age in Kentucky in the ’70s. I was really asking for it. I felt completely isolated and alone. If there were other gay people in my high school, there was really no way to find out.

Uma Channer

Michael: Unless it was the real obvious person. Femme gay guy, who everyone knew was gay but was always involved in drama.

Jim: I was that guy! I moved from Kentucky to San Francisco in 1981.

There was an incredible feeling of liberation where I could be open and I was included and I wasn’t isolated.

There was a lot of joy, even as aids was spreading and we were becoming more aware of the magnitude of it.

There were thousands if not millions of people coming into the city looking for a place where we could be safe and create a community. The revelation, once the magnitude of aids was known, it was almost like feeling that we were cursed. For me because I grew up in a really strict religious background, that was very hard, because religion had been a huge part of my life. Even though I rejected a lot of it. It was amazing that I had this voice in the back of my head saying, “Are they right?”

Michael: It was very difficult to deal with. You feel like you are who you are.

We are all God’s creatures regardless of where you fit on the religious spectrum.

To be told you are cursed because of who you are and it is putting you and other people at risk for a horrible death.

There once was a time that treatment was difficult, death was rather fast or drawn out for a long time. It is pretty demoralizing, that the scourge of the earth is coming at you because of who you love.

Michael Kossman

Uma: How do you think the aids crisis changed the lgbtq community, and do you think it impacts our community today?

Michael: There’s a really long list, but one of the positive things: it brought the gay and lesbian communities together in ways that they weren’t before.

I graduated from high school in 1982, then after college came back to San Francisco. In the early part of that the gay guys and the lesbians really didn’t mingle very much. Two very separate communities. When the aids crisis came, the communities really came together in a way that still exists today.

Jim: I totally agree.

Sumayya: What tools and information did you wish you had and what advice do you have for the younger lgbtq community?

Michael: In terms of the advice: not being afraid to engage in the political process, not being afraid to go to city hall or call your representatives. I used to think none of that was accessible to me, like, “Who am I, don’t I need to know somebody to get a messages to Nancy Pelosi’s office?” Actually, no, you don’t! You need to send emails and you need to go knock on the door and you need to make phone calls.

Jim: I would say don’t take your freedom for granted. I feel a lot safer now, but I’m ever vigilant. I think our rights have to be won and reestablished.

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I don’t think we should take anything for granted especially in this current political climate. I think we all need to be very vigilant to make sure we don’t lose ground.

Michael: Complacency is dangerous.

Jim: That’s probably the best way to say it. Apathy and complacency are super dangerous.

Uma: What are your hopes for younger generations of queer people?

Hopes? Fears? Wishes?

Michael: My hope would be that you can continue to make progress, socially. By that I mean laws can change, but people’s minds don’t change just because laws change. And you have to continue to work on moving culture forward. We live in such a bubble here. You don’t have to go very far to get outside of our bubble. Take marriage equality.

Yes, it’s the law of the land but there is certainly a county seat somewhere that is not going to issue you a marriage license, and they don’t care what the law is. There is a difference in putting laws in place and changing minds. I would hope that we continue to make progress on that front.

Jim: My thought is along the same lines. My wish is that your generation and those that will follow can experience the feeling of true safety which, for me growing up and even now, even though we live in this incredibly amazing area, I don’t know if I will ever feel completely safe. I mean I grew up and was bullied and beaten and bashed and I will take that to my grave; I don’t know that I will ever feel completely safe. So I hope that your generation and those who follow will live in a world where they feel safe. I also hope that there is still some sense of community, as the gay community is integrated with society in general.

I would hope that there is still some tie that binds in terms of there being some sense of community. I know for me that has meant so much, and I would hate to see that completely disappear.

Uma: Me too.

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Throughout the performances of Angels in America, Berkeley Rep partnered with 12 local service organizations doing the work of true Angels in our community. Join us in amplifying the work they do. aguilas Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (baaits) Community United Against Violence (cuav) Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Larkin Street Youth Services pflag Oakland/East Bay Oakland lgbt Community Center Oasis Legal Services/Asylum for lgbtqia+ Immigrants Pacific Center for Human Growth Queer Alliance and Resource Center San Francisco aids Foundation Spectrum Queer Media Berkeley Rep would like to thank the following individuals and organizations who helped guide our dramaturgical and outreach efforts.

Show consultants Terri Bimes—UC Berkeley Marcy Fraser, RN Steven Leiner, NP, hiv Specialist M.J. and Kathryn Pritchett— Berkeley lds Institute of Religion Naomi Seidman—Graduate Theological Union Mike Shriver Angels in America Advisory Council Philip Anderson Judy Appel Stephen Belford Bernard Boudreaux George Duran Rosemary Gardner Andrew Hattori Michael Kossman Kathy Levinson Jonathan Logan Bobby Minkler Jenn Nickl Stewart Owen Tom Raffin Mark Ryle Bill Stewart Jim Tibbs Scott Walton

Additional special thanks Juan Ahonen-Jover Ken Ahonen-Jover Kirsten Berzon Matthew Coles John Cunningham Andrea Rees Davies Patrick Dunlap Viva Delgado Roger Doughty Joshua P Gamson Graduate Theological Union Kelly Hart Alice Hill Estie Hudes Intiman Theatre Joanie Juster Xavier Johnson Diane Jones Robert Lempert Royce Lin Daniel Matt Tom Nolan Robert Rees Signature Theatre Craig Souza Sandra Varner The Wilma Theater Thanks to the names Project Foundation, Berkeley Rep is honored to display two panels of the aids Memorial Quilt in the lobby of the Theatre.

The aids Memorial Quilt is composed of more than 49,000 panels on 5,956 blocks (blocks are the 12-foot square building blocks of the Quilt seen at displays). Most blocks are composed of eight separate panels, remembering the lives of eight individuals lost to aids. The names Project Foundation continues to receive new panels throughout the year at the Foundation office in Atlanta, GA. Spin the world forward Berkeley Rep is working with our 12 partners and other local organizations to distribute thousands of free and deeply discounted Angels in America tickets to their constituents. By making a gift, you can be part of sharing Angels in America's message of hope and inclusion with young people, lgbtq communities, and those impacted by hiv/aids in the Bay Area.

Text prior to 71777 to make your gift today.

June 2018, when 21 Ground Floor projects roam

R E P ORT

BY SARAH ROSE LEONARD

The Ground Floor: Berkeley

Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work will welcome 21 projects to the rehearsal rooms of our Harrison Street campus, the most ever accepted into the Summer Residency Lab in its seven-year history. The eclectic and ambitious slate of projects were selected from a record 690 submissions. Over an intense four-week period, close to 100 artists will roam our halls, exchanging ideas, breaking bread, and inspiring us all and each other as they craft their works-in-progress.

The Ground Floor is a top-notch research & development facility for some of the nation’s most prominent and promising theatre-makers. The Summer Residency Lab aims to create a space for artists that is not influenced by the pressure of imminent public exposure, so — unlike many other development opportunities—it does not require recipients to present a reading or performance at the end of their residencies. Nonetheless, many projects will reach a stage where the creators request an invited audience or even engage community members as collaborators.

2018’S SUMMER RESIDENCY LAB ARTISTS AND PROJECTS: Avi Amon and Julia Gytri experiment with traditional Ladino folklore, Ottoman shadow puppetry, and musical fusions of Middle Eastern and electronica sounds in Salonika.

Christina Anderson’s Berkeley Rep commission, the ripple, the wave that carried me home, examines a Black family’s relationship to swimming and lifelong determination to integrate the public pools in their city.

Eliza Bent tells the story of a group of misfits as they debate art in the basement office of an undergraduate art and literature magazine during the 2001-2002 school year in her play Indeed, Friend! Together they

examine poetry, aesthetics, and Islamophobia.

Andy Bragen collaborates with Ana Graham and Antonio Vega of the New York City- and Mexico City-based company Por Piedad Teatro to create Summit, in which a Mexican couple and a North American couple work together to “save the world.”

Marisa Carr’s Punk Rock Mix Tape Play is a loosely autobiographical work about coming of age in the punk scene as a teenage girl in a brown body during the post-9/11 Bush administration.

Carla Ching’s Revenge Porn examines a very public investigation of a very private pain. And vice versa.

Alexandra Collier, Heather Christian, and Mia Rovegno’s Together is a glimpse into a New York apartment building where connections are made despite addictions to devices.

Erin Courtney’s Ann, Fran, and Mary Ann examines surviving trauma, neuroscience, God, and patterns.

Shelley Doty’s We 3 uses music, movement, and soliloquy to trace the common threads linking three women of color living disparate lives.

Ryan J. Haddad’s Good Time Charlie is a campy, heartfelt portrait of gay mentorship and a family’s evolution over 30 years.

Naomi Iizuka and Paul Hodge’s Okuni is a new musical about a 16th-century Shinto priestess who rose from obscurity to become a legendary erotic performer celebrated for playing the roles of both men and women.

Candrice Jones’ Flex, constructed in the form of a four-quarter basketball game, looks at the two female basketball players who want to go pro in rural Arkansas.

Based loosely on the 16th-century story by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, Min Kahng’s Calafia: A Reimagining explores themes of tribalism and the tension between evolution and preservation.

In Kimber Lee’s untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon project, a woman trapped in a cycle that bleeds through time and space looks for a way out.

Leonard Madrid’s Las Arañas is a play about monsters. It explores the local legend of Las Arañas, Spider-women who haunt a small New Mexican town.

Baruch Porras-Hernandez’s solo show Love in the Time of Piñatas wrestles with immigrant guilt, makes out with it a little, then transforms it into a hilarious show that asks: what’s at the end of the Mexican immigrant road?

Baruch hopes it’s donuts.

Sarah Ruhl will write the second act of her Berkeley Rep commission, currently titled Lock her up! (Becky Nurse).

Tina Satter’s Untitled Reality Winner Project: Verbatim Transcription stages the (almost) verbatim official transcription of the June 2017 fbi interrogation leading to the arrest of Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old woman from Texas accused of leaking top-secret U.S. intelligence.

Zarina Shea’s Just up the Road, Slightly is the portrait of a marriage depicted through the lens of personal tragedy and national narrative in South Africa’s Western Cape.

In Joe Waechter’s Berkeley Rep commission Breakaway, the lines between ice rink and living room collide in a dark and hilarious study of masculinity, sexuality, and fantasy in the world of sports.

Arisa White’s opera Post Pardon is inspired by poet Reetika Vazirani who killed her 2-year-old son and then took her own life in the summer of 2003.

For announcements about public presentations or other opportunities to interact, please sign up for our mailing list: berkeleyrep.org/groundfloor.

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T H E O R IGI N ST O RY In 1989, Tony Taccone, then the artistic director of Eureka Theatre Com-

pany, commissioned Angels in America. The Eureka, comprised of a small group of artists in the Castro, produced scrappy political theatre. Oskar Eustis, the dramaturg at Eureka (now the artistic director of The Public Theater in New York City), insisted that Taccone meet an up-and-coming writer named Tony Kushner. Taccone, Eustis, and Kushner quickly learned they spoke the same language: all three were ambitious artists, fervent progressives, and obsessed with the power of words. Four years after the three met, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, was born.

What followed would take a book to unpack. (In fact, the brand new book The World Only Spins Forward by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois outlines the entire history of the play’s journey from page to stage.) The play slowly but steadily grew to be a phenomenon. Imagine Hamilton breaking into the mainstream at a pre-internet pace, without the merchandise. It received its full premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, co-directed by Taccone and Eustis. It then went on to Broadway, where it swept the Tony Awards, and London, where it played at The National Theatre. Angels in America has since become one of the most important plays in the global theatrical canon. The play regularly receives productions at professional theatres, colleges, and high schools. It is the subject of countless academic articles and books. In 2003, Mike Nichols directed a film adaptation for hbo. Angels is a touchstone of American culture.

Given that history, it’s strange that Berkeley Rep has never produced Angels. Taccone secured the rights for a production years ago, but the timing never felt right. Then, shortly after the 2016 election, Taccone woke up one morning with the play in mind. At a time when our leaders have issued travel bans, deported hundreds, questioned the value of truth, and reduced language to insulting sound bites, a play that champions inclusion in rich, epic language felt exactly right.

Yes, it’s long. Yes, it’s worth it. Plays like this don’t come around often.

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Tony Taccone (left) and Tony Kushner P H OTO BY K E V I N B ER N E

T I N K E R I NG A N D T I N K E R I NG A N I N T E RV I E W W I T H T O N Y K U S H N E R A N D T O N Y TACC O N E

Angels in America Production Dramaturg Sarah

Rose Leonard spoke with Tony Kushner and Tony Taccone about what it has been like to work on Angels in 2018. As is normal whenever the two Tonys get together, the conversation ranged widely, from the revision process for Perestroika to post-Civil War politics to Proust.

Tony Kushner, what made you agree to this production of Angels?

TK: I do everything Tony tells me.

[Laughter] Tony has done pretty much everything I’ve written here at Berkeley Rep. Right?

TT: Most of it. I haven’t done Caroline, or Change.

TK: Yeah except for Caroline. Fuck you. [Laughter] We have a long and really enjoyable collaboration. I love his work, I love working with him. His support has meant a lot to me. He’s the first person to ask to do iho [The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures] outside of Oskar Eustis [artistic director of The Public Theater] who was in on it from the very beginning. That is enormously meaningful. I really love Berkeley Rep. I love the area. I love the theatre. I love the physical plan. The staff is the best of the nonprofit theatre and the happiest in a certain sense and the most supportive. It feels like home. And obviously this is where the play came from. I mean it’s a New York play, but a San Francisco theatre commissioned it and a lot of the writing happened at the Russian River or at Cafe Flore.

You’re still making changes to Perestroika. What’s made you tinker with it again?

TK: I didn’t think I would. I thought that when I published the version from the Signature Theatre production in 2013 that was it. Then Marianne Elliott [the director of The National Theatre production currently running on Broadway] called me after the first reading of Perestroika and—we’d been working on the play for year—she said, “Oh my god. It’s so long. Can you cut any of it?” I was really annoyed by that. I thought, “You’ve had a year to say this and you’re gonna say it now when I was in the middle of ten million other things?”

She also began to say regularly, “The Angel’s Epistle is confusing.” I’ve always known that it’s confusing! The Angel is not a human character!

My nieces live in Vienna and they’d never seen Angels.

After watching the London production my niece Ciara said, “I didn’t know you could write something that optimistic.”

[Laughter ] All they’d seen is iho.

TT: Right. Right. Little different.

TK: So I said to them, “I’m not quizzing you, but did you understand the Angel’s Epistle?” They’re both incredibly smart, and they said, “We didn’t get it in the moment. But it didn’t worry us because we felt certain that we would understand it at some point.” By the end of the play, they both felt they understood it. So I called Marianne and I said, “Well my nieces understood it.” And she said, “Are you sure they were telling CO N TIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 1

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you the truth because you’re their uncle, maybe they just didn’t want to hurt your feelings?”

TT: Harsh!

TK: I don’t think they were lying! I think they were describing what people experience. I rewrote it so much for the first Broadway production that Ellen McLaughlin [the original Angel], who’s a good friend, literally threw me out of her dressing room because I came in and said, “I have the nineteenth version, I just changed a couple...” She said, “You really have to get out of my dressing room right now. I’m serious, you have to leave.” There was a threat of physical violence. You can’t blame her. I kept changing it every five minutes. Tinker. Tinker. Tinker.

Eventually, the Epistle became familiar to me in a way that can be dangerous. It’s like trying to listen to whether or not the audience can understand the words of a song or a scene.

If you know it really well your brain will supply clarity that isn’t actually there.

How did they eventually get you to change it?

TK: I stopped screaming and yelling at everybody saying, “The play’s thirty-four years old and it doesn’t need cutting.” I sat down went through it with Antonia Grilikhes-Lasky—who’s one of my two dramaturgs, her and Oskar—and I said, “We’ll read the scenes to each other and any time one of us hears anything that seems like it’s not really necessary say something.”

I thought, “What if I try and shake off the influence of James Merrill and Changing Light at Sandover and William Blake and everything else that got mixed up in that?” I started to organize it more. I would send Tony every new draft. But Marianne kept saying, “But I still don’t know what it means.” I kept saying, “WHY WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO! SHE’S GONNA RUIN EVERYTHING!” But I kept tinkering and tinkering and tinkering for this new version. I’ll have a sense when I’ve made it too clear.

Did Taccone understand the Epistle rewrites?

TT: I was part of the early incarnations of the play, so I was very attached to the mystery. The audience working does not worry me. What worries me is making things obvious.

TK: I’m not opposed to having an audience work. They have to sit for seven and a half hours.

Did you have a sense that Angels would speak to the future as deeply as it does?

TK: Since the day I wrote it the Epistle has been called the Anti-migratory Epistle. When I saw The National’s first rehearsal it was right after Trump’s inauguration. The Angel was screaming about “Don’t migrate” and of course that had a very different meaning. The idea’s always been that, while the Angels are not Republicans—they’re not stupid, thought-disordered, corrupt, proto-fascist assholes like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan…and if you don’t quote me on that you can’t publish anything in this interview—the Angels are reactionaries. In the sense that they’re reacting to a problem and wishing that the world would spin backwards. That we could retreat from what we are doing, from the forward fluxes of time, and go back to something. Which is an impossibility. Which is always destructive. Going forward is also destructive. But going backward produces monstrosities. That’s why my model for 2 2 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

the Angels is always the Politburo circa 1980s. These people who are trying to make something run that has completely run out of gas. The people who are left in charge of it before Gorbachev arrived had no vision at all. They were literally fabulous and dull all at once. Bureaucrats.

Did that resonance surprise you?

TK: I have to say I was a little impressed. I was thinking, “Where’d I get that from?” Immigration is a fight that’s been going on since, well forever. There was a very ugly fight in the early ’90s, but the play was already written.

TT: This guy [Kushner] is probably the most rigorous student of American history that I’ve ever met. Certainly in our field there’s nobody even close. He has a very rigorous dialectical materialist approach to history. He has a tendency to predict things. I remember he was on to Osama bin Laden before anyone else with his play Homebody/Kabul. When we produced it we thought, “Who is that?” Then, suddenly Osama bin Laden is headline news. So, it is unsurprising to me that somebody who has such a penetrating view of history could actually imagine some of what has come to pass.

TK: I don’t think there’s any magic about predicting or not predicting stuff. The trick is just like when you’re reading a script to do a production, you have to be a good reader of things. You have to really read very carefully and notice details and you have to say, “What are the implications of these details?” The trick that you should develop is just to be alive in the world. Proust is so great at proving that everything that flits through your brain, every little shadowing feeling, is worth looking into because it’s all in reaction to something that’s really going on. Reality is so dense and so complicated. Those little intuitions you have the minute you meet somebody, or read something, and then you push away so that common sense can take over, that thing that you pushed away is meaningful too. It’s not always correct. But it’s often telling you something that will lead you to something true. You need to pay attention to that kind of stuff.

What’s an example of how Reagan’s legacy impacts us today?

TK: What was clear, not just to me but a lot of people in the early ’80s, was that Reagan was a huge shift in norms.

Reagan and Bush started out by committing treason. They negotiated with the Shah to hang on to the American hostages until the day of the inauguration so they could stage this thing. They negotiated as private citizens with a foreign power.

Sound familiar? That was the very first thing that they did. You could go back to the Miami Conventions in 1960 and see how Republicans were beginning to talk about a radical rejection of one’s loyalty to anything but oneself. Which of course is going to include country. It’s the end of the thing that Lincoln kept saying: you must have some kind of secular religion, a belief in the union, in the Constitution. Nothing holds us together except our decision to be held together.

We all want to believe that American democracy is 270 years old and will withstand anything. It is an old democracy and has a lot of resiliency and we’re seeing it in action now, but, as President Obama said as he was leaving office (I don’t know who he was quoting), “We have to be jealous and anxious guardians of democracy at all times.”

About 100 demonstrators protested on the steps of New York’s City Hall on Friday, November 15, 1985 as a City Council committee considered legislation to bar pupils and teachers with the aids virus from public schools A P P H OTO/ R I C K M A I M A N

I N F R E E FA L L:

A S NA P S H O T O F A I D S I N T H E M I D -1 9 8 0 S

BY SARAH ROSE LEONARD

In Angels in America, the character Prior Walter,

sick with aids, speaks of an ancestor voyaging to the New World. He describes a sinking longboat, passengers thrown at random into the sea. This scene, where anyone could be chosen to die next, describes what it felt like to be a gay man in New York City or San Francisco at the height of the aids epidemic. Death devastated a newly formed, vulnerable community, while homophobia strangled government response.

Angels in America takes place between October 1985 and January 1986, the heart of the aids epidemic. Between 1984 and 1986, scientists, medical practitioners, and activists alike made great strides in learning about hiv —the virus responsible for aids —and the immune system in general. This time came to be known as “the period of discovery.” An extended feud between an American scientist and the French lab that discovered the virus led to delays in medical advancement.

President Ronald Reagan didn’t say the word “aids” until 1985, after his famous friend Rock Hudson had died. The first federal resources dedicated to hiv prevention became available shortly thereafter, but the medical industry responded in ways that frustrated people living with hiv/aids (plwha) by concentrating on the virus and not the infections that killed people. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control (cdc) reported approximately 7,000 aids-related deaths in 1985. In the world of Angels in America, there are no medications, no social support,

and no large-scale government action for plwha. A diagnosis of aids was essentially a death sentence.

In the early days, theories existed about how aids spread, but society at large knew few hard facts. People felt scared to eat at restaurants, to shake hands, to hug. Dentists started wearing gloves and masks for fear of infection. Many plwha were turned away from hospitals, ignored by ambulances, and stranded in their apartments. Hospitals restricted same-sex partners to formal visiting hours, and no hospital in New York would allow them to enter the icu. In 1982, the leading cancer hospital in New York City, Memorial Sloan Kettering, instituted a formal ban on treating victims of the “gay cancer.” Fear was widespread, but felt most acutely in the gay community. Men reported combing their bodies for telltale purple lesions—Kaposi’s sarcoma— or running to the doctor every time they had a cold. Additionally, many plwha died a “social death” before they passed: they lost their jobs, apartments, loved ones abandoned them, and the health care system was unprepared to care for them. aids stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It is caused by infection with hiv, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. hiv attacks particular cells in the immune system, leaving it unable to fight off Opportunistic Infections (OIs) and certain unusual cancers. People die from the syndrome in CO N TIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 3

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aids, from infections, or a host of infections that a weakened immune system cannot fight off. These OIs normally do not harm people with healthy immune systems, but in a person with hiv they are fatal. In Angels in America Prior and Roy experience a host of OIs: pneumonia, mycobacterial infections, invasive fungal infections, Kaposi’s sarcoma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. During the period of discovery, medical professionals scrambled to address these OIs, trying a slew of drugs, but they worked in uncharted territory. Most of these infections were rarely seen before aids, and the medical establishment focused more on addressing the newly discovered virus than on developing treatments for OIs. Within the first few years after the cdc reported the first cases in 1981, scientists knew aids was transmitted primarily by sex, blood transfusions, and shared needles. Yet, that information took years to make its way to the general public. aids ranked low on the national political agenda, mostly due to rampant homophobia. Even though aids affected other communities as well—such as hemophiliacs and people who injected drugs—the gay community became the most prominent punching bag. Many political decision makers believed that they wouldn’t get sick because they were straight, so they didn’t have to pay attention to the “boutique” illness. In 1982, Reagan’s press secretary joked about aids in response to a reporter asking if the president knew about the rising death toll. He said to the reporter, “I don’t have it, do you?” and proceeded to acknowledge that no one at the White House knew about it. Reagan’s sluggish response set the tone for the majority of Americans: it signaled that the disease was not a major concern despite the thousands dying around the country.

Due to this sort of stigmatization, aids felt far away for the rest of America. David France, the author of How to Survive a Plague, said, “Unless you were personally admitted into what Susan Sontag called ‘the kingdom of the sick,’ it was not hard to put the growing epidemic out of mind.” Nearly 600 people died before the New York Times put a story on the front page. Few television news programs made any substantive mention of aids. Yet, within that kingdom of the sick, aids dictated everyday life. Marcy Fraser, a San Francisco-based aids nurse, describes her life during the early 1980s as taking care of dying people during the day, delivering food to sick friends at night, and helping clear out apartments of those who died on the weekends. Funerals became a part of the weekly routine for many.

The shock the gay community felt during the epidemic was so pronounced partially because it came on the heels of gay liberation and the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Many people could not comfortably come out in their hometowns, so they flocked to the safe havens of San Francisco and New York City, the centers of the counter-culture movement.

Promiscuity became central to the identity of many gay men.

David France notes, “The era of Gay Liberation began a process of discovery. To act flauntingly on one’s sexual appetence was essentially an act of rebellion, but also of self-affirmation, identity exploration, and community forging. What from the outside might have looked like pure carnal zeal was the rudimentary first pass for this emerging young culture.” When aids took hold of this community the blow was immense.

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Beautiful, healthy men in their 20s—the last people you would expect to get sick—died by the thousands. Much later, after scientists officially discovered the virus hiv, researchers went back to a large bank of stored blood from 1982 and confirmed a high infection rate among gay men. In San Francisco, blood samples from 42.6 percent of the cohort tested positive, in New York City, 26.8 percent. Scientists determined that the virus started in the U.S. in New York, then spread to San Francisco and elsewhere in the mid-1970s. The virus spread rapidly and invisibly; it takes hiv five to eight years to progress to an aids diagnosis without effective treatment.

In the early days of the epidemic, the medical field was underfunded when it came to research and resources, and government agencies were often slowed by their own bureaucracy. Reagan’s extreme budget cuts made the situation even worse. Additionally, Reagan received strong support from the Religious Right, which strongly lobbied against safe-sex education, believing it would be worse to describe gay sex to young people than to deprive them of the information they needed to stay healthy. Congressional staffers joked that the National Institutes of Health (nih) really stood for “Not Interested in Homosexuals.” Activists and plwha derided the government’s response to aids, calling it an utter failure. The 47,993 lives lost between 1981 and 1987 demonstrate that the government failed to adequately respond to the aids epidemic.

The process to approve drugs was, and still is, slow and bureaucratic. One notable breakthrough came in 1985: azidothymidine, known as azt. The drug entered clinical trials in 1985, but once word got out that it extended the lives of the infected, activists and plwha demanded the drug’s release for sale. Under pressure, the fda sped up its approval system and the drug went to market in 1987 at an inordinately high price: $8,000 a year (more than $17,000 today). For the first time, people felt optimistic. But the drug came with severe side effects: it interfered with the ability to produce new blood cells, causing severe anemia. People suffered greatly on azt, and many still died. Later, studies showed that azt prolonged life by an average of about two months. The drug acquired a bad name in the hiv community once people realized how little it did. But 1985, azt symbolized hope, despite the awful side effects.

In Angels, after Prior tells the story of the sinking longboat and people pulled at random into the sea, his boyfriend Louis says, “Please get better. Please. Please don’t get any sicker.”

Death battered away at the consciousness of plwha and their loved ones. One of the reasons Angels in America is so notable is because it reacted to the epidemic from the inside. Written throughout the late 1980s, the play received its full premiere in 1992 in Los Angeles, and audiences greeted it with cathartic recognition. Many in the lgbtq community felt the play articulated their unique experience of trauma. In the midst of an epidemic, Tony Kushner, a 36-year-old gay man, shed light on the crisis engulfing his community, and America at large, and delivered optimism. Kushner set the play at a pivotal moment of the aids crisis: in the mid-1980s, consciousness rose and medical advancements happened, but at the same time thousands died with no cure in sight. Progress was underway, but for many it was already too late.

AIDS IN THE U N I T E D STAT E S T O DAY aids continues to rage on worldwide: there were approximately 36.7 million people living with hiv/aids at the end of 2016. Yet, much progress has been made since 1985.

Medical advancements hurtle ahead, sex education is more widespread, and social stigmas are greatly reduced. There is still no cure for hiv, but with effective treatment, people can live long, healthy lives. Below is a snapshot of hiv in the U.S. today.

In the United States at the end of 2015, an estimated 1.1 million people were living with hiv.

Of those people, about 15 percent, or 1 in 7, did not know they were infected.

In the United States, gay and bisexual men continue to be the group most affected by hiv. According to the cdc, 1 in 6 men who have sex with men (msm) will be diagnosed with hiv in their lifetime, including 1 in 2 African American msm, 1 in 4 Latino msm, and 1 in 11 white msm. Transmission is also high among men who were born after the height of the epidemic and so weren’t exposed to the early hiv-prevention campaigns.

People who inject drugs have a much higher lifetime risk of contracting hiv than the general population.

A disproportionally high rate of infection affects the transgender community, specifically transgender women.

In 2013, the percentage of transgender people who received a new hiv diagnosis was more than 3 times the national average.

Antiretroviral therapy, which prevents hiv from reproducing in the body, was first introduced in 1995.

This made it possible to live long, healthy lives with aids for the first time. Today, people who take their medications regularly can achieve normal life expectancies.

In 2012, the PrEP, a prophylaxis that lowers the risk of contracting hiv, was approved by the fda. Over the past four years, an estimated 80,000 patients have filled prescriptions in the U.S. PrEP has been found to be up to 99 percent effective in preventing people who have not been infected with hiv from contracting the virus.

It was recently discovered that if an hiv-positive person has an undetectable viral load they cannot sexually transmit hiv.

There is hope within the hiv medical community that the rate of new infections could even reach zero.

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NO A P OL O GI E S:

T H E L I F E O F ROY CO H N

BY MADELEINE OLDHAM

When thinking about Roy Cohn, the first word that might come to mind is

ruthless. Today’s press frequently notes that Donald Trump learned most of his bullying, hardball tactics from Cohn, who was his lawyer. Writer Sam Roberts said of Cohn, “He worked with a three-dimensional strategy, which was: 1. Never settle, never surrender.

2. Counter-attack, counter-sue immediately. 3. No matter what happens, no matter how deeply into the muck you get, claim victory and never admit defeat.” These rules help explain how Cohn’s life appears in retrospect as a mass of contradictions, and yet to Cohn, who invented his own perverse and ironclad logic about how to move through the world, absolutely straightforward.

Fierce in both intelligence and drive, Cohn graduated from law school at the age of 20. His family ran in powerful circles, and he parlayed their connections into positions of influence for himself. He landed in a federal prosecutor’s office, and instantly proved a key player in some major espionage cases. One of which, the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, solidified his burgeoning reputation at a mere 24 years of age as a formidable legal acrobat.

The Rosenbergs were convicted of being Russian spies and given the death penalty.

Though uncertainty surrounds the role that Ethel played, most experts believe them both guilty. However, the trial strayed from the letter of the law, and contemporary sentiment holds that their executions should never have been carried out due to transgressions on the part of the prosecution. Cohn later boasted of extensive behind-the-scenes manipulation, in addition to strong-arming questionable testimony that sealed the Rosenbergs’ fates.

Cohn thrived in this kind of murky legal territory: he reveled in finding and exploiting loopholes, skirting boundaries, and intimidating opponents.

His performance on the Rosenberg trial catapulted him into the national spotlight, and opened the door for Cohn to work alongside Senator Joseph McCarthy in his quest to expunge communism. The infamous McCarthy investigations employed fear-mongering, blackmail, and flagrant violations of the truth in order to elicit confessions from any public figure who caught an eye. Anyone suspected of being gay was doubly at risk, as Cohn and McCarthy conflated homosexuality and communism. Evidence didn’t matter, that could be manufactured. Cohn was in his element, machinating and designing smoke and mirrors to disguise the thin ice on which he walked.

As the tide of public opinion finally turned and McCarthy, disgraced and shamed, saw his influence deteriorate and disappear, Cohn emerged virtually unscathed. Despite orchestrating the bulk of what brought about McCarthy’s fall from grace, Cohn went on to establish a private law practice representing business moguls, mafia men, assorted public figures, and even the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, deepening his sway on the hidden power structures that made America run. He applied his unique brand of immoral ingenuity to politics as well, offering some shady assistance to Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 election.

It’s hard to circumvent the law for an entire lifetime, but Cohn came very close. His unscrupulousness finally caught up with him a few weeks before he died, when he was found guilty of wrongdoing on multiple counts, and at last disbarred. But no one gamed the system better than Roy Cohn. A social power player who lived with his mother until she died when he was 40, a tyrannical and merciless hardliner who possessed an utterly magnetic and undeniable charisma, an intensely greedy man who gave generously to charity, a vehement anti-gay crusader who slept with men and died of aids, Cohn snaked his way through life with wily yet unwavering focus. Morality may have been a moving target, but the goal stayed fixed: always go out on top. He almost succeeded.

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4 QU E ST ION S F OR T H E CA ST

BY SARAH ROSE LEONARD

Top row Randy Harrison, Lisa Ramirez, and Caldwell Tidicue; Middle row Bethany Jillard, Stephen Spinella, and Francesca Faridany; Bottom row Benjamin T. Ismail, Carmen Roman, and Danny Binstock

When did you first encounter Angels in America?

Lisa Ramirez (The Angel): I went to one of the first readings at the Eureka Theatre. The actress who originated the role of The Angel, Sigrid Wurschmidt— we just became friends and I just started acting—invited me to the first reading.

Randy Harrison (Prior Walter): The play came out when I was in high school. I was a theatre nerd, I read whatever theatre magazines there were.

So I read about it before it came to Broadway. I remember there was a pbs special where they interviewed George C. Wolfe and Tony Kushner and you saw the actors rehearsing scenes. I then saw the original Broadway cast. I was a gay kid, and it was a really important legitimizing of my experience.

Carmen Roman (Hannah Pitt): I understudied the role of Hannah for the National Tour in 1994. In the audition Tony Taccone said, “What role did you cover?” I said, “This one.” And he goes, “But you’re just now old enough to play it!”

Francesca Faridany (The Angel): I never got to see it. When it was done at act in 1994 I was across the Bay at Berkeley Rep doing An Ideal Husband.

I could never make the show because I was onstage at the same time.

Bethany Jillard (Harper Pitt): In theatre school someone did the Harper/ Joe “I burned your dinner” scene. It was such a fantastic scene, so I read the play. I didn’t grow up during the aids epidemic, so I was struck by what that was like for the first time. Also, I was Canadian. So the fantasia extended to being American.

Danny Binstock (Joe Pitt): In drama school someone was assigned the courthouse steps scene (“crazy cold sun…”). But I didn’t read the play cover to cover until my audition for this. I was shocked at how much of it was familiar.

At different times I was just rocked, time and time again; I still cannot read the last page of the play by myself without weeping.

CO N TIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 7

CO N TIN U E D FRO M PR E VI O U S PAG E

Ben Ismail (Louis Ironson): I didn’t read it until my first year of college. I wrote my final project on the aids plays of the ’90s, focused on The Normal Heart and Angels in America.

Caldwell Tidicue (Belize): The hbo version. It struck me that it’s a show about aids, but also about love, loyalty, friendship, desperation…

What initially drew you to your role?

Francesca: I find the language so delicious! I’m a big classical actress. I love to get big, live in huge emotion, but keep it real at the same time. It’s that great pull between two things, and the opportunity to do that doesn’t come along often.

Caldwell: A lot of plays and movies have a tendency to create these mystical Negro characters who never do wrong.

Belize is a lot more fully realized than that.

Randy: I was always scared of Prior. When I first discovered the show, I related strongly to Louis. What scared me about the play initially was the reality of hiv and aids. Sickness and death were something that I wanted as far away from my own person as possible—as everybody does, to an extent.

But now, having experience with people who’ve been sick and people who’ve died, I’m recognizing the stuff you face when you face mortality. It’s astounding to play this character who is facing the extreme reality of his mortality at a really young age—and on top of that he’s been abandoned by any kind of societal support he had as an American gay man in the ’80s— and to watch the way that he rises, how he grows through facing these experiences.

Ben: I related to Joe initially. I’m not the Marlboro Man at all so I knew I would never play him. But Louis was scary.

I thought, “Why are you doing the things that you’re doing?

How could you possibly leave him?” Well, you don’t have to deal with death every day, Ben. Maybe you’d be a little more empathetic if you did.

Louis has much of the social anxiety that I’ve dealt with in my own life and I love his intelligence. At the same time, he’s this heart-gushing, weeping wad of love. It’s great to play the tension between those qualities.

Danny: I skated over a lot of Joe’s politics initially, which allowed me to see his struggle without any judgement. He wants things that are at odds with each other, which was very playable.

Carmen: All of these characters feel close to me. Every single one. They all share a thing that I have, which is a pragmatism. I have that in my life, maybe to a fault sometimes.

How has your understanding of your character changed since rehearsals started?

Bethany: Tony has helped me explore the element of Harper that is a type of Cassandra; she is a kind of prophet in this play too. I think it’s not a coincidence that she and Prior match up in the dream sequence and in heaven. They encounter each other in those moments where revelation is the most necessary and they each need something to go on.

Lisa: I think that The Angel is actually really funny. And The Angel’s language is so daunting! Tony keeps saying, “Follow the language. You don’t really have to do much as an actor.” Shakespeare’s the same way. It’s like a galloping horse.

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If you try to tie it or manipulate it, it’s not going to work. You have to go with the flow of the language.

Caldwell: My first thought was that I’ll play Belize like myself—I’m a black drag queen and he’s a black ex-drag queen, so I’ll just do it like me! But I’ve realized Belize is not just Caldwell post-drag. He’s watching his best friend die. He wants his friend to be able to enjoy what might be his last days on earth.

Randy: It’s a reality that’s easy to gloss over, but when you play this part, you have to really sit with the feelings of being betrayed by your body and confronting death, the complete unknown.

Ben: I was afraid of having to justify and advocate for the guy that’s leaving his lover. I didn’t have to research very long before the terror sank in—aids was decimating the already small community. Anybody could be next. In talking with people who were experiencing this, that’s the thing that has stuck out the most to me and that’s what’s made it playable. It’s not merely selfish, it’s— Randy: It’s preservation, in a way.

What has this play taught you?

Randy: I’m astounded at how quickly people forget about things. This community was shaped by this disease. I’ve talked to gay guys who haven’t heard of this play. That’s the privilege of where we are now, as far as managing the disease. People don’t understand the cost that an entire generation of people went through. It’s shocking to me. Even myself, in doing the research, realizing “Oh yeah, this was a time where if you have KS, you’re going to be lucky to live two more months. You’re dead.” It’s important that we not forget about this.

Ben: While there are many great advancements in the gay community that we’ve made, it’s the same political shit we were dealing with 30 years ago. It seems fatalistic to say there will always be oppression to fight, but that’s what it’s underlining for me. It seems like we didn’t learn anything, yet I know we did because my life’s better than it would have been 30 years ago.

Caldwell: I like to consider myself a learned homosexual, so I have learned a lot about the virus and what it entails. The play has also taught me about interpersonal relationships.

You’d think I’d know more about interpersonal relationships considering they’ve been on my mind longer than the hiv virus has, but I will say this—even though they say the virus transforms a lot, interpersonal relationships are transforming a whole lot faster.

Lisa: That there are always other things at work besides the human experience. There is a mythical quality to everyone’s life.

Francesca: The issue of change is so crucial. It’s breathtaking how much that idea is sewn into the play. You wouldn’t necessarily think about that if you were watching the play for the first time, but once you get that little light inside your head you can’t forget it.

Bethany: There are times when you just want to weep for the state of politics in this country. And yet, working with this group of people and doing this play, you feel like there are enough of us on the side of hope to try and swing it that way.

The play is teaching me in the current moment about trying to live on the side of hope.

W H AT D O P R IO R WA LT E R A N D ROY CO H N H AV E I N CO M M O N? A RT I S T- I N - R E S I D E N C E S T E P H E N S P I N E L L A

BY SARAH ROSE LEONARD

Stephen Spinella (right) and Michael Ornstein in the Eureka Theatre production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches S T E V E R I N G M A N / S A N F R A N C I S CO C H R O N I C L E / P O L A R I S

Stephen Spinella is one of Tony Kushner’s primary muses. He originated roles in almost all of Kushner’s plays, and Kushner wrote the role of Prior Walter with Spinella in mind. Spinella played Prior for almost five years on Broadway, earning two Tony Awards for his performances. Now, Spinella steps into the role of Roy Cohn. He is also an artist-in-residence at Berkeley Rep during the run of Angels, teaching classes and participating in public events. In between rehearsing scenes Spinella sat down with Production Dramaturg Sarah Rose Leonard to discuss performing a play he knows so well from a whole new perspective.

You met Tony Kushner in grad school. What drew you to each other initially?

I saw a project he did with a number of students, all women. It was small and messy and very challenging. The audience didn’t sit in chairs, we sat on the floor. It was a first-year project about feminism and I think they talked about vaginas and it was all so radical. I didn’t understand all of it, but it was so completely innovative.

Then he asked me to do a project. I did this thing from Moby-Dick, this long speech about all the different kinds of whales. It was all very high concept.

And then you started small companies together.

I don’t remember what the first company was called. The second company was called 3 P Productions. 3 P’s for the three P’s of theatre: politics, poetry, and popcorn. The popcorn was Brecht, saying, “Look, if you’re not having any fun, they’re not having any fun.”

Stephen Spinella as Prior in the Eureka Theatre production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches K AT Y R A D DAT Z / S A N F R A N C I S CO C H R O N I C L E / P O L A R I S

What was it like to play Prior for so long?

It was great! I did a New York Times interview when it was on Broadway, and I said, “Look, it took me five years to figure out this part.” This is a hard, hard part. I wish I had five years to work on everything. I was a very slow actor. I’ve gotten much faster in my decrepitude.

When did the idea of playing Roy first occur to you?

Tony Kushner called me and said, “Tony Taccone is going to call you, and he’s going to ask you to play Roy Cohn next year in Angels.” And I was like, “Roy Cohn?

You told me years ago that I didn’t have a Jewish bone in my body.” He said, “I never said that.” And I said, “Yes you did. You just never remember the things you said to me that now you regret.” I didn’t want to play him.

Why not?

Because I hate being in hospital beds. And he seemed so unpleasant and so ugly and gross.

Stephen Spinella, 2018 P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S

What finally appealed to you?

I got a text from Kushner saying—all I really remember is one word—“vital.”

That Roy is incredibly vital. I had already gone back and read all the Roy scenes, and it really hit me. That’s the fun of playing this guy who is dying. He is fighting it tooth and nail. It’s this knockdown, drag-out fight with this person who has this incredible will to live. It’s different than Prior, who in a way is running from his own death. Roy is just trying to get his ducks in a row and he’s fighting the disease. He loses constantly, yet he keeps coming back. He is unrelenting, and that appeals to me. I’m not going to be in that hospital bed until I am ready to die. The hospital bed is going have to grab me and pull me into it.

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Y E A R S P ROP H ET ICA L!

BY JA ME S DINNEEN

3 0 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

The angel Moroni delivering the plates of The Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith

In Judeo-Christian traditions, the return

of the Messiah to rule a paradise on Earth for 1,000 years is called the Millennium. Millenarianism is the belief in the imminent approach of that Millennium. In secular contexts, millenarianism is any view of history that expects the advent of an era of peace and prosperity, often after a slide into decadence and doom. Millenarian themes and images figure prominently in Angels in America. Every character in the play, religious and secular, left and right, real and imagined, expresses a vision of a paradise that will come after the apocalypse of the 1980s. aids, political crises, natural and nuclear disaster, even the approach of the year 2000 seem to be omens of the End of the World or something like it. To invoke this millenarianism for the ’80s, Angels draws from the long and colorful history of millenarian prophecy, especially as it manifested itself in 19th century America.

Millenarian ideas in Christianity are offspring of the messianic tradition in Judaism. The Old Testament prophesized that the Messiah, God’s anointed son, would restore the Kingdom of David in Jerusalem after a period of trial and subjugation.

Early Christians were Jews who believed Jesus was that Messiah. His appearance and martyrdom therefore initiated the process by which the world would end. The vivid descriptions of angels, plagues, earthquakes, deluges, and deserts in Matthew, the Epistles of Paul, and the Revelation of John described what would happen just before Christ returned to establish His Kingdom on Earth for 1,000 years. Many early Christians, eager for an end to their persecution by Romans and non-Christian Jews, expected He’d be back within their lifetimes.

The Christian theologian St. Augustine, reflecting in the fifth century on the not-yet-come Second Coming, counseled that disappointed believers adopt a more spiritual interpretation of scripture. Apocalypse and Millennium were allegories for the eternal spiritual struggle between good and evil, not descriptions of actual events to come. Though people could do good in life to gain entry after death, the City of God could only exist in heaven. On Earth, the Millennium had arrived with Jesus and was sustained by the Church through which He ruled. This otherworldly vision of millennium, which influenced centuries of Catholic theology, is very different from the more fleshly vision that would take root in America in the 19th century.

Millenarian thinking has played a role in American history since Columbus sailed west with ambitions of achieving the universal conversion to Christianity that would usher in the Day of Judgement. Puritans fleeing persecution in Europe saw their settlement in New World as an opportunity to establish a New Jerusalem. The American Revolution heralded its own share of patriot prophets. But the 19th century saw the largest and most spectacular awakening of American millenarians.

A sense of revival and egalitarian possibility in the fledgling republic produced a new breed of radical, common-man preachers. Social issues like slavery, poverty, and alcoholism made for potent subjects in apocalyptic sermons. Abolitionists like Nat Turner and John Brown—whose failed raid at Harpers Ferry and subsequent execution contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War—were both inspired to violent action by the prospect of initiating the Millennium by initiating

widespread slave revolt. William Miller, another important, if largely forgotten, homegrown doomsayer, made the rookie mistake of preaching a specific date for the End of the World: October 22, 1844. The Millerites’ “Great Disappointment” when the sun rose on October 23 led to recalculations and lasting reformations like the Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 1844 also saw the presidential bid and subsequent murder of Joseph Smith, the original Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the American millenarian creed most central to Angels: Mormonism.

Born in 1805, Smith, like Miller, came of age in the region of upstate New York known as the “Burned-over District” for its evangelical zeal. Overwhelmed by the crowd of proselytizers competing for his faith, so the story goes, the 14-year-old Smith had a vision of God and Jesus who assured him that he should not join any of the existing denominations. Three years later, an angel named Moroni visited Smith and told him that a book written on golden plates containing the true Gospel was buried in a nearby hillside. After unearthing the plates several years later, Smith interpreted them using a special pair of stone spectacles to dictate The Book of Mormon which, along with the Bible, forms the sacred text of Mormonism.

Mormons believe that Jesus will return to Earth to rule His Kingdom during the Millennium. But in contrast to versions of the Millennium in which Jesus would return regardless of what people did, the Mormon Millennium is partly contingent on the right action of people. Before Jesus will return to personally rule the Kingdom of God, Mormons must prepare the way through evangelism and good works. Distinctively, Mormons also believe that the Kingdom will be ruled from a New Jerusalem, called Zion, to be built in America. Violence and prejudice thwarted early Mormon efforts to build Zion in Independence, Missouri, and subsequent efforts to build the Kingdom in Nauvoo, Illinois ended with Smith’s murder. The exodus of Mormon believers from Nauvoo following those years of persecution as religious outsiders was, in part, motivated by the sense of living in the latter days before Christ’s return to this continent. The founding of Salt Lake City and the establishment of a Mormon theocracy at the conclusion of the trek west in 1847 was a hugely fulfilling step in that millenarian mission. As Harold Bloom writes in The American Religion, “The entire burden of Joseph Smith’s prophecy was that the Kingdom of God was destined to be set up in America, and that only a Chosen People could rely upon themselves enough to be able to organize the Kingdom.”

Written in the 1980s, Angels in America is in conversation with this old millenarian tradition. As in previous centuries, nightmares of economic, social, and environmental apocalypse stir dreams of a paradise to come after the cataclysm.

“It’s 1986 and there’s a plague,” shouts Prior Walter. A hole is opening up in the sky. A voice from heaven announces that the millennium approaches. Whether it does, what it would bring, and to whom it would bring it are questions that, to say the least, remain open. In Angels, we are confronted with the questions of millennium as they stood at the end of the last century when, as Walt Whitman put it at the end of his, “No one knows what will happen next, such portents fill the days and nights; Years prophetical!”

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NEX T AT BERKELEY REP

What the Constitution Means to Me Heidi Schreck DIREC TED BY Oliver Butler BY

STARTS M AY 3 PEET ’ S THE ATRE

SEASON SPONSORS

Heidi Schreck P H OTO BY C H R I S T I A N P E ACO C K

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents

B E R K E LE Y R E PE R TO RY TH E ATRE TO N Y TACCO N E , M I CH A EL LEI B ER T A R TIS TI C D I R EC TO R S U SA N M E DA K , M A N AG I N G D IR EC TO R

A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

PA R T O N E : M I L L E N N I U M A P P R O A C H E S

Tony Kushner DIRECTED BY Tony Taccone BY

APRIL 17–JULY 22, 2018 RODA THE ATRE · M AIN SE A SON Part One has two 15-minute intermissions.

Part Two has two 15-minute intermissions.

Angels in America is made possible thanks to the generous support of SEASON SPONSORS

Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

PA R T T W O : P E R E S T R O I K A

CAST

(I N O R D E R O F A P P E A R A N C E)

Hannah Pitt/Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz/ Carmen Roman Henry/Ethel Rosenberg/ Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov Roy M. Cohn/Prior 2 Stephen Spinella Joseph Porter Pitt/Prior 1/ Danny Binstock The Eskimo/The Father Harper Amaty Pitt/Martin Heller Bethany Jillard Belize/Mr. Lies Caldwell Tidicue Louis Ironson Benjamin T. Ismail Prior Walter/The Man in the Park Randy Harrison The Angel/Emily, A Nurse/ Francesca Faridany Sister Ella Chapter/A Homeless Woman/ Lisa Ramirez Mormon Mother

PRODUC TION S TAFF Scenic Design Takeshi Kata Costume Design Montana Blanco LE A D S P O N S O R S

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Stewart & Rachelle Owen

Lighting Design Jennifer Schriever Sound Design Jake Rodriguez/Bray Poor Projection Design Alexander V. Nichols Composer Andre Pluess Fight Direction U. Jonathan Toppo

E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S

Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Guy Tiphane Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson SPONSORS

Maria Cardamone & Paul Matthews David & Vicki Cox James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen Michael H. Kossman Sandra & Ross McCandless Additional support provided by the Partners of Angels in America.

Affiliations The director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union. The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designers in lort Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists Local usa-829, iatse.

Casting Amy Potozkin, csa Tara Rubin Casting, csa Production Dramaturg Sarah Rose Leonard Flying Flying By Foy Special Effects Design Jeremy Chernick Production Stage Manager Michael Suenkel Assistant Stage Manager Leslie M. Radin The actors and stage managers are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

MILLENNIUM APPROACHES was first performed in a workshop production presented by Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum, May 1990 The world premiere was presented by the Eureka Theatre Company, May 1991 Opened in London at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, January 1992 Opened in New York at the Walter Kerr Theatre in April 1993 The first production of ANGELS IN AMERICA, Parts One and Two was presented at the Mark Taper Forum PERESTROIKA was first performed as a staged reading by the Eureka Theatre Company in May 1991 The world premiere was presented by the Mark Taper Forum in November 1992 The play was presented by New York University/Tisch School of the Arts in April 1993 The play opened in London at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain in November 1993 Opened in New York at the Walter Kerr Theatre in November 1993 ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC www.broadwayplaypub.com ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART TWO: PERESTROIKA is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC www.broadwayplaypub.com 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3 3

BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S Danny Binstock

J O S E P H P O R T E R P I T T/ P R I O R 1/ T H E E S K I M O/ T H E FAT H E R

Danny is making his Berkeley Rep debut. He recently starred in the world premiere of The Man in the Ceiling (Bay Street Theatre) based on Jules Feiffer’s book.

His New York credits include the Broadway production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Bones in the Basket for the Araca Group’s off-Broadway festival. He performed in director Ivo Van Hove’s production of A View from the Bridge (Ahmanson Theatre, Kennedy Center). His recent regional credits include The Music Man (Guthrie Theater), The Imaginary Invalid (Fisher Center at Bard), The Last Match (City Theatre), Pop! (Yale Repertory Theatre), The May Queen (Geva Theatre), Assassins (PlayMakers Rep), and Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare Theatre Company). On television, Danny has appeared on The Blacklist (nbc) and Codes of Conduct (hbo). His films include A Good Marriage, Good Friday, and No Pay, Nudity. Danny is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama mfa program and earned his bfa from the University of Michigan.

Francesca Faridany

T H E A N G E L / E M I LY, A N U R S E / S I S T E R E L L A C H A P T E R /A H O M E L E S S W O M A N/M O R M O N M O T H E R

Francesca played the title role in her own adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s Fräulein Else at Berkeley Rep (also Sundance Theatre Lab, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and McCarter Theatre Center). Her Broadway credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Macbeth, Man and Boy, The 39 Steps, and The Homecoming. Her off-Broadway credits include This Day Forward, The NY Idea, Orlando, and The Stronger. Francesca received the 2013 Helen Hayes Best Actress Award for Strange Interlude (Shakespeare Theatre, DC).

Other highlights include Julia in Albee’s A Delicate Balance (McCarter Theatre), Narrator in the Sitwell/Walton Façade (Caramoor Music Festival), Cassandra in Agamemnon opposite Tyne Daly (Getty Villa), and the many productions with director Stephen Wadsworth, including As You Like It, The Oresteia, Don Juan, Design for Living, An Ideal Husband, Changes of Heart, and The Game of Love and Chance.

Her film credits include Black Panther, Love After Love, The Audition, and Conceiving Ada. She voiced Lady Macbeth and Titania for the WordPlay Shakespeare series, and her radio credits include Quartermain’s Terms (bbc). She 3 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

profiles

appeared on TV in Homeland, Law & Order, Law & Order: svu, True Crime: Menendez, Falling Water, E.R., and Deadline. Francesca trained in London at The Drama Centre.

Randy Harrison

P R I O R WA LT E R / T H E M A N I N T H E PA R K

Randy is making his Berkeley Rep debut.

His New York credits include Wicked (Broadway), Harbor (Primary Stages), Edward the Second (Red Bull Theater), Antony and Cleopatra (Theatre for a New Audience), and The Singing Forest (The Public Theater). He toured nationally as the Emcee in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret. His recent regional credits include Sunday in the Park with George and The Glass Menagerie at Guthrie Theater, Red at Cleveland Playhouse, The Habit of Art at Studio Theatre in DC, Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Pop! at Yale Repertory Theatre, and six seasons at Berkshire Theatre Festival (Equus, Amadeus, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Ghosts, Waiting for Godot, and The Who’s Tommy). Randy’s TV credits include Mr. Robot, Bang Bang You’re Dead, and Queer as Folk. He made his directorial debut with the web series New York is Dead, which won best comedy at the New York Television Festival and is available on Funny or Die.

Benjamin T. Ismail LO U I S I R O N S O N

Benjamin is thrilled to be making his official Berkeley Rep debut with Angels in America, though he did appear for a week as an understudy in 2015’s Tartuffe.

Select regional credits include The Invisible Hand (American Stage Theatre Company); Disgraced, Speech & Debate, Tribes, and The Santaland Diaries (Capital Stage); Peter Pan and The Secret Garden (Playhouse on the Square); Cloud 9, The Pillowman, The Submission, and Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Big Idea Theatre); and The Mystery of Irma Vep and Cinderella (Sacramento Theatre Company). He comes to Berkeley Rep directly from his residency at American Stage in St. Petersburg, FL, where he directed, acted, and designed several shows in 2017. He is former artistic director of Big Idea Theatre in Sacramento and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Bethany Jillard

H A R P E R A M AT Y P I T T/ M ARTIN HELLER

Bethany is thrilled to be making her debut with Berkeley Rep. As a company member with the Stratford Festival of Canada for five seasons, her credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Beaux’ Stratagem, Othello, The Three Musketeers, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Little Years, Dangerous Liaisons, and Peter Pan. Regional credits include Disgraced (Cincinnati Playhouse); Othello (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Seagull, Gone with the Wind (world premiere), and After Miss Julie (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); How It Works, The Little Years, and Cake and Dirt (Tarragon Theatre); My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Theatre PANIK); A Man of No Importance (Musical Stage Co.); That Face (Nightwood/Canadian Stage); and Tough! (Factory Theatre). Her film and television credits include If I Were You with Marcia Gay Harden (Paragraph), Murdoch Mysteries (Shaftesbury), Bloodletting... (tmn), Rookie Blue (abc), and I Love You... But I Lied (Lifetime). She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.

Lisa Ramirez

T H E A N G E L / E M I LY, A N U R S E / S I S T E R E L L A C H A P T E R /A H O M E L E S S W O M A N/ M O R M O N M O T H E R

Lisa is a nationally produced playwright and actor who has performed with numerous Bay Area theatres, including Ubuntu Theater Project, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Actor’s Theatre, Crowded Fire, and Campo Santo. In New York Lisa has performed at the Atlantic Theater Company, the Cherry Lane Theatre, Working Theater, 3-Legged Dog, Intar, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, and New York Theatre Workshop. Lisa’s first play, Exit Cuckoo (nanny in motherland) was first presented off Broadway by the Working Theater and toured in various theatres throughout the U.S. and Europe. Other writing credits include To the Bone, Art Of Memory, Invisible Women-Rise, All Fall Down, Pas De Deux (lost my shoe), and Down Here Below.

Carmen Roman

H A N N A H P I T T/ R A B B I I S I D O R C H E M E LW I T Z / H E N RY/ E T H E L R O S E N B E R G/A L E K S I I A N T E D I L L U V I A N OV I C H P R E L A P S A R I A N OV

Carmen understudied the national tour of Angels in America 24 years ago. Her off-Broadway credits include The Iphigenia Cycle (Theater for a New Audience from Court Theatre in Chicago) and The Mysteries (Classic Stage Company). Regionally she performed in Native Son at Yale Repertory Theatre; The Audience at TimeLine Theatre; Wit, Black Snow, and Brutality of Fact (Goodman Theatre); Side Man (Steppenwolf Theatre); The Price (Syracuse Stage and Geva Theatre Center); The Importance of Being Earnest (Center Stage in Baltimore); and Sonia Flew (Huntington Theatre). Film & TV credits include Chicago P.D. (Susan Williams), Betrayal (Connie Mrozek), Boss (Dr. Gabriella Reyes, recurring), Law & Order (Judge Einhorn, recurring), Law & Order: svu and Criminal Intent, and Savages. She is a company member of American Blues Theater, Chicago. Carmen was a 2002 Fox Fellow, and received the Sarah Siddons Award, Florence Herscher Award, and Joseph Jefferson Awards for Master Class and Wit.

Stephen Spinella

R OY M . C O H N / P R I O R 2

Stephen won two Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards for the original Broadway productions of Tony Kushner’s epic Angels in America plays, which marked his Broadway debut. He has since starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening; revivals of A View from the Bridge, Electra, and Our Town (with Paul Newman); and James Joyce’s The Dead, for which he won a third Drama Desk Award, as well as an Outer Critics Circle Award, and was again a Tony nominee. His most recent Broadway credit is The Velocity of Autumn, co-starring Estelle Parsons. Off Broadway Stephen won an Obie for Love! Valour! Compassion! He also appeared in An Iliad (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), alongside Meryl Streep in The Seagull directed

by Mike Nichols, and in Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Among his feature film credits: Alfonso Cuarón’s Great Expectations, Tim Robbins’ The Cradle Will Rock, Gus Van Sant’s award-winning Milk, Quentin Dupieux’s cult hit Rubber, and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. He will appear this fall in Can you ever forgive me? starring Melissa McCarthy. Stephen has guest-starred on Will and Grace, Frasier, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, Nip/

Tuck, and Alias. He’s had recurring roles on The Education of Max Bickford, 24, Desperate Housewives, Royal Pains, and Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick.

Caldwell Tidicue B E L I Z E /M R . L I E S

Caldwell, popularly known as Bob the Drag Queen, is the winner of the Emmy Award-winning reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8. His standup special, Suspiciously Large Woman, premiered on logo TV this past summer. Film credits include Rough Night, Cherry Pop, Words— a Documentary, and Straight Outta Oz. Television credits include hbo’s High Maintenance and Playing House.

Caldwell is currently working on a documentary titled A Queen for the People. Visit BobTheDragQueen.com. #PurseFirst

Tony Kushner P L AY W R I G H T

Tony Kushner’s plays include A Bright Room Called Day; Angels in America, Parts One and Two; Slavs!; Homebody/Kabul; the musical Caroline, or Change; and the opera A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck, both with composer Jeanine Tesori. He has adapted and translated Pierre Corneille’s The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky’s The Dybbuk, Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan and Mother Courage and Her Children, and the English-language libretto for the opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’ film of Angels in America, and for Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Lincoln. His books include Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak, 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling With Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon. Tony Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, among other honors. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.

Tony Taccone

D I R E C T O R /M I C H A E L L E I B E R T ARTISTIC DIREC TOR

Tony is celebrating his 20th anniversary season. During Tony’s tenure as artistic director of Berkeley Rep, the Tony Award-winning nonprofit has earned a reputation as an international leader in innovative theatre. In those 20 years, Berkeley Rep has presented more than 70 world, American, and West Coast premieres and sent 23 shows to New York, two to London, and one to Hong Kong. Tony has staged more than 40 plays in Berkeley, including new work from Julia Cho, John Leguizamo,

Culture Clash, Rinde Eckert, David Edgar, Danny Hoch, Geoff Hoyle, Itamar Moses, and Lemony Snicket. He directed two shows that transferred to London, Continental Divide and Tiny Kushner, and three that landed on Broadway: Bridge & Tunnel, Wishful Drinking, and Latin History for Morons. Prior to working at Berkeley Rep, Tony served as artistic director of Eureka Theatre, which produced the American premieres of plays by Dario Fo, Caryl Churchill, and David Edgar before focusing on a new generation of American writers. While at the Eureka, Tony commissioned Tony Kushner’s legendary Angels in America and co-directed its world premiere.

He has collaborated with Kushner on eight plays at Berkeley Rep, including Brundibar and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Tony’s regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Center Theatre Group, the Eureka Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, the Huntington Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Public Theater, and Seattle Repertory Theatre. As a playwright, he debuted Ghost Light, Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, Game On, written with Dan Hoyle, and It Can’t Happen Here, written with Bennett S. Cohen. In 2012, Tony received the Margo Jones Award for “demonstrating a significant impact, understanding, and affirmation of playwriting, with a commitment to the living theatre.”

Takeshi Kata

SCENIC DESIGNER

Takeshi designed The Last Tiger in Haiti at Berkeley Rep. Recent New York credits include Office Hour (The Public Theater), Man From Nebraska (Second Stage Theater), The Profane (Playwrights Horizons), Derren Brown: Secret (Atlantic Theater Company), Forever (New York Theatre Workshop), and Gloria (Vineyard Theatre). Regional work includes designs for the Alley Theatre, American Players Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Ford’s Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Nashville Opera, Old Globe, Resident Ensemble Players, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Yale Repertory Theatre. Takeshi has won an Obie Award and has been nominated for Drama Desk, Barrymore, Connecticut Critics Circle, and Ovation Awards. He is an assistant professor at the usc School of Dramatic Arts and has an mfa from Yale School of Drama.

Montana Blanco

COSTUME DESIGNER

Montana is returning to Berkeley Rep after having designed An Octoroon last season. His off-Broadway credits include The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World (Lucille Lortel nomination) and In the Blood (Signature Theatre); Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theater); Ghost Light and War (Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3); Red Speedo and Nat Turner in Jerusalem (New York Theatre Workshop); The Last Match (Roundabout Theatre Company); 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 35

BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S Hamlet, Teenage Dick, and Pretty Hunger (The Public Theater); O, Earth (the Foundry Theatre); and Orange Julius (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater). Regional credits include The Bluest Eye (Guthrie Theater), War (Yale Repertory Theatre), Measure for Measure (Santa Cruz Shakespeare/California Shakespeare Theater), and Side Show and Our Country’s Good (Brown/Trinity Repertory Company).

Upcoming: Is God Is and Fairview (Soho Rep), He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box (Theatre for a New Audience), The House that will not Stand (New York Theatre Workshop), and Lempicka (Williamstown Theatre Festival).

Training: Yale School of Drama, mfa; Brown University, MA; Oberlin College, BA; Oberlin Conservatory of Music, BM. Visit montanaleviblanco.com.

Jennifer Schriever

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Jennifer is a lighting designer based in New York City. Her Broadway credits include Eclipsed and John Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown (also filmed for hbo). Her off-Broadway credits include Bobbie Clearly and On the Exhale (Roundabout Theatre Company); The Amateurs (Vineyard Theatre); In the Body of the World (Manhattan Theatre Club); School Girls, or the African Mean Girls Play (mcc Theatre); Strange Interlude (Transport Group); …Discord (Primary Stages); Today is my Birthday (Page 73); The Moors (Playwrights Realm); Bright Half Life (Women’s Project); Eclipsed, ToasT, and A Second Chance (The Public Theater), Night is a Room (Signature Theatre Company); and Sunset Baby (Labyrinth Theater Company).

Regionally, she has designed at Goodman Theatre, Center Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodspeed Opera House, Studio Theatre in DC, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, South Coast Repertory, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Her opera credits include Die Fledermaus and Pearl Fishers (Metropolitan Opera); Faust, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and La Traviata (Mariinsky Theatre in Russia); and The Pearl Fishers (English National Opera in London).

Jennifer is an adjunct professor at Purchase College. Visit jenschriever.com.

Jake Rodriguez

SOUND DESIGNER

Jake is a sound designer and composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area who last worked with Berkeley Rep on the world premiere of Imaginary Comforts, or The Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit. His regional credits include An Octoroon and the world premieres of X’s and O’s: A Football Love Story; Troublemaker, or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures of Bradley Boatright; Girlfriend; and Passing Strange at Berkeley Rep; The Christians at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Playwrights Horizons, and the Mark Taper Forum; the world premiere of A 3 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

profiles

Thousand Splendid Suns at American Conservatory Theater and Theatre Calgary; Hamlet (2012) at California Shakespeare Theater; the world premieres of Bruja and Oedipus el Rey at Magic Theatre; and The Events at Shotgun Players. Jake is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace Award.

Alexander V. Nichols

PROJEC TION DESIGNER

Alexander returns to Berkeley Rep for his 33rd production. Broadway credits include Wishful Drinking, Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Latin History For Morons, and off-Broadway productions of Los Big Names, Horizon, Bridge & Tunnel, Taking Over, Through the Night, In the Wake, In Masks Outrageous and Austere, and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me!. Regional theatre credits include designs for American Conservatory Theater, the Mark Taper Forum, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Dance credits include resident designer for Pennsylvania Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and American Repertory Ballet. He was the lighting supervisor for American Ballet Theatre and has been the resident visual designer for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. His designs are in the repertory of San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, among others. Recent projects include Elizabeth Cree at Opera Philadelphia, Nixon in China at the LA Philharmonic, and Bluebeard’s Castle for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.

Andre Pluess COMPOSER

Andre has worked with Berkeley Rep on numerous shows: after the quake, The Arabian Nights, Argonautika, Blue Door, Ghost Light, Honour, Metamorphoses, The Secret in the Wings, Treasure Island, and The White Snake.

His Broadway credits include 33 Variations, The Clean House, I Am My Own Wife, and Metamorphoses. His other credits include many productions for About Face Company (artistic associate), Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company (artistic associate), Northlight Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater (resident designer), and other Chicago and regional theatres. His more recent projects include Cymbeline at the Shakespeare Theatre, Equivocation at Arena Stage, Ghost Light and The Merchant of Venice at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Macbeth and Titus Andronicus at California Shakespeare Theater (where he is an artistic associate), Palomino at Center Theatre Group, Sex with Strangers at Steppenwolf, and Stage Kiss at the Goodman, as well as the score for the film The Business of Being Born. Andre received a Barrymore Award, a Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk and Lortel nom-

inations, multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards and Citations, and an LA Ovation Award for composition and sound design.

U. Jonathan Toppo FIGHT DIREC TOR

Jonathan’s New York credits include Sweat (on Broadway at Studio 54 and also at The Public Theater), for which he received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Fight Choreography. His regional credits include Pericles at the Guthrie Theater, Mojada at Portland Center Stage, Pirates of Penzance at Portland Opera, and All the Way at Seattle Repertory Theatre.

He has been the resident fight director at Oregon Shakespeare Festival since 2007, where he has worked on Julius Caesar; Shakespeare in Love; Hamlet; Richard II; Guys and Dolls; Fingersmith; The Happiest Song Plays Last; The Comedy of Errors; Water by the Spoonful; Richard III; Into the Woods; The Taming of the Shrew; A Streetcar Named Desire; King Lear; The Unfortunates; The Liquid Plain; Cymbeline; Romeo and Juliet; Animal Crackers; All the Way; Henry V; August: Osage County; Henry IV, Part Two; The Pirates of Penzance; To Kill a Mockingbird; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Ruined; and Henry IV, Part One.

Amy Potozkin, csa

D I R E C T O R O F C A S T I N G/ A R T I S T I C A S S O C I AT E

This is Amy’s 28th season at Berkeley Rep. Through the years she has also had the pleasure of casting plays for act (Seattle), Arizona Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, B Street Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Marin Theatre Company, the Marsh, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Social Impact Productions Inc., and Traveling Jewish Theatre. Amy cast roles for various independent films, including Conceiving Ada, starring Tilda Swinton; Haiku Tunnel and Love & Taxes, both by Josh Kornbluth; and Beyond Redemption by Britta Sjogren. Amy received her mfa from Brandeis University, where she was also an artist in residence. She has been an audition coach to hundreds of actors and a presentation/ communication coach to many businesspeople. Amy taught acting at Mills College and audition technique at Berkeley Rep’s School of Theatre, and has led workshops at numerous other venues in the Bay Area. Prior to working at Berkeley Rep, she was an intern at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Amy is a member of csa, the Casting Society of America, and was nominated for Artios Awards for Excellence in Casting for The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures; One Man, Two Guvnors; and An Octoroon.

Tara Rubin Casting, csa CASTING

Tara Rubin Casting’s most recent Berkeley Rep credits are Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times

of The Temptations and Macbeth. Selected Broadway credits include Prince of Broadway, Bandstand, Indecent, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hansen, A Bronx Tale, Cats, Falsettos, Disaster!, School of Rock, Gigi, Bullets Over Broadway, Aladdin, Les Misérables, The Heiress, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Spamalot, The Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys, and The Phantom of the Opera. Off-Broadway credits include The Band’s Visit; Here Lies Love; and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Regional credits include Yale Repertory Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, and Asolo Rep.

Sarah Rose Leonard

P R O D U C T I O N D R A M AT U R G/ L I T E R A RY M A N AG E R

Sarah Rose is the literary manager at Berkeley Rep. Before returning to the Bay Area, where she grew up, she was the literary associate at Signature Theatre in New York City. In New York she held positions as the associate agent at AO International, Next Generation Fellow at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the cuny Graduate Center, literary resident at Playwrights Horizons, and literary associate at Page 73. She has dramaturged productions of Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of The Temptations (Berkeley Rep); Iron Shoes (Shotgun Players); A Tale of Autumn and You For Me For You (Crowded Fire); A Particle of Dread,

Kung Fu, Big Love, and The Wayside Motor Inn (Signature Theatre); and The Hotel Colors (the Bushwick Starr). Sarah Rose has workshopped new plays with Martyna Majok, Kate E. Ryan, and Mia Chung at The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work.

ism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures.

Among his favorite shows at Berkeley Rep are Execution of Justice, Endgame, Pentecost, The Composer is Dead, and Taking Over.

Leslie M. Radin

A S S I S TA N T S TAG E M A N AG E R

Jeremy Chernick and his associate Lillis Meeh have partnered on special effect design for more than five years and on many productions. Together they have dumped blood, smoke, snow, freight, and fun onto shows all over the globe. Highlights include American Psycho on Broadway, Rocky The Musical on Broadway, Let the Right One In for the National Theatre of Scotland, Guards of the Taj for the Atlantic Theater Company, A Christmas Carol for the McCarter Theatre, and Punk Rock, as well as multiple productions with mcc Theater, the New Group, Lincoln Center Festival, and Signature Theatre.

Leslie is very pleased to be back at Berkeley Rep after most recently stage managing An Octoroon, Aubergine, Head of Passes, and Troublemaker, or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures of Bradley Boatright. She started at Berkeley Rep as the stage management intern in 2003 and has also worked at American Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre Company, California Shakespeare Theater, Center Repertory Company, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. She has traveled with Berkeley Rep productions to the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the New Victory Theater in New York. Her favorite past productions include Aubergine, Wittenberg, Sisters Matsumoto, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and The Secret in the Wings.

Michael Suenkel

Susan Medak

Michael began his association with Berkeley Rep as the stage management intern for the 1984–85 season and is now in his 24th year as production stage manager. For Mr. Kushner and Mr. Taccone, he stage managed Hydriotaphia, Slavs!, Homebody/Kabul, Brundibar, and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capital-

Susan has served as Berkeley Rep’s managing director since 1990, leading the administration and operations of the Theatre. She has served as president of the League of Resident Theatres (lort) and treasurer of Theatre Communications Group (tcg), organizations that represent the interests of nonprofit theatres

Jeremy Chernick

SPECIAL EFFECTS DESIGNER

P R O D U C T I O N S TAG E M A N AG E R

M A N AG I N G D I R E C T O R

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Extraordinary Performance.

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profiles across the nation. Susan chaired panels for the Massachusetts Arts Council and has also served on program panels for Arts Midwest, the Joyce Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Closer to home, Susan serves on the board of the Downtown Berkeley Association (dba). She is the founding chair of the Berkeley Arts in Education Steering Committee for Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Cultural Trust. Susan serves on the faculty of Yale School of Drama and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Mont Blanc Ladies’ Literary Guild and Trekking Society. She was awarded the 2012 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal by the Berkeley Community Fund and the 2017 Visionary Leadership Award by tcg. During her time in Berkeley, Susan has been instrumental in the construction of the Roda Theatre, the Nevo Education Center, the renovation of the Peet’s Theatre, and in the acquisition of the Harrison Street campus.

Theresa Von Klug

G E N E R A L M A N AG E R

Before joining Berkeley Rep, Theresa had over 20 years of experience in the New York not-for-profit performing arts sector where she has planned and executed events for dance, theatre, music, television, and film. Her previous positions include the interim general manager for The Public Theater; general manager/line producer for Theatre for a New Audience, where she opened its new state-ofthe-art theatre in Brooklyn and filmed a major motion picture of the inaugural production of Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, released June 2015; production manager at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and New York City Center, including the famous Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert; and field representative/ lead negotiator for the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. She holds a MS in Labor Relations and Human Resources Management from Baruch College.

Peter Dean

P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R

Peter began his Berkeley Rep career in 2014, and since then some his favorite productions include Party People, X’s and O’s (A Football Love Story), Monsoon Wedding, and Aubergine.

Previously, he served as production manager at The Public Theater, where favorite works include Here Lies Love, Father Comes Home from the War Parts 1–3, Mobile Shakespeare, and The Tempest as well as musical collaborations with Sting, the Roots, and the Eagles. Peter also helped Alex Timbers develop Rocky the Musical, The Last Goodbye, and the cult classic 3 8 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

Dance Dance Revolution the Musical. Other favorites include working with Edward Albee to remount The Sandbox and The American Dream at their original home at the Cherry Lane Theatre, working on Little Flower of East Orange directed by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and being a part of the development team for The Ride, an interactive four-mile traveling performance in the heart of Times Square. Regionally Peter has worked with the Huntington Theatre Company, American Repertory Theater, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Trinity Rep, Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Colorado Ballet, Central City Opera, and the Denver Center Theatre Company. Peter is a graduate of Otterbein University.

Madeleine Oldham

R E S I D E N T D R A M AT U R G/ D I R E C T O R , T H E G R O U N D F LO O R

Madeleine is the director of The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work and the Theatre’s resident dramaturg. She oversees commissioning and new play development, and dramaturged the world premiere productions of Aubergine, The House that will not Stand, Passing Strange, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), among others. As literary manager and associate dramaturg at Center Stage in Baltimore, she produced the First Look reading series and headed up its young audience initiative. Before moving to Baltimore, she was the literary manager at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where she oversaw an extensive commissioning program.

She also acted as assistant and interim literary manager at Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Madeleine served for four years on the executive committee of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and has also worked with act (Seattle), Austin Scriptworks, Crowded Fire, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Kennedy Center, New Dramatists, Playwrights Center, and Portland Center Stage.

Proud Supporter of Berkeley Rep

Lisa Peterson

A S S O C I AT E D I R E C T O R

Lisa is a two-time Obie Award-winning writer and director whose previous projects at Berkeley Rep include Office Hour (2018); Watch on the Rhine (2017); It Can’t Happen Here (2016); Madwoman in the Volvo (2016); An Iliad (2012), which Lisa co-wrote with Denis O’Hare and which won Obie and Lortel Awards for Best Solo Performance; Mother Courage (2006); The Fall (2001); and Antony & Cleopatra (1999).

Other recent West Coast productions include You Never Can Tell (California Shakespeare Theater), Hamlet (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and Chavez Ravine (Ovation Award for Best Production— Center Theatre Group). She has directed world premieres by many major American writers, including Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Donald Margulies, José Rivera, David Henry Hwang, Luis Alfaro, Marlane Meyer, Naomi Wallace, Basil Kreimendahl, and many others. She regularly works at the Guthrie Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, and

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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S New York Theatre Workshop. Lisa and Denis are working on a new play about faith called The Good Book and a commission for McCarter Theatre Center titled The Song of Rome. Lisa is also writing a new music-theatre piece with Todd Almond called The Idea of Order, co-commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and Seattle Rep.

Jack & Betty Schafer SEASON SPONSORS

Betty and Jack are proud to support Berkeley Rep. Jack just rotated off the Theatre’s board and is now on the boards of San Francisco Opera and the Straus Historical Society. He is an emeritus trustee of the San Francisco Art Institute and the Oxbow School. Betty is on the board of EarthJustice, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, and Sponsors of Educational Opportunity. In San Francisco, she is engaged in the launch of Wise Aging, a program for adults addressing the challenges of growing older. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren.

Michael & Sue Steinberg SEASON SPONSORS

Michael and Sue have been interested in the arts since they met and enjoy music, ballet, and live theatre. Michael, who recently retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s West, served on Berkeley Rep’s board of trustees from 1999 to 2006 and currently serves on the board of directors of the Jewish Museum. Sue serves on the board of the World of Children. The Steinbergs have always enjoyed regional theatre and are delighted to sponsor Berkeley Rep this season.

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family SEASON SPONSOR

Roger Strauch is a former president of Berkeley Rep’s board of trustees and is currently vice president of the board. He is chairman of The Roda Group (rodagroup.com), a venture development company based in Berkeley. The Roda Group is a lead investor in new battery, carbon capture, and water remediation technology companies based in Silicon Valley and Vancouver, Canada. Roger is chairman of the board of directors of Cool Systems, the manufacturer of Game Ready, a medical physical therapy system. He is also chairman of the board of trustees for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. He is a member of the UC Berkeley Engineering Dean’s college advisory board; a member of the board of Northside Center, a mental-health services agency based in Harlem, New York City; and a co-founder of the William Saroyan Program in Armenian Studies at Cal. Roger also leads the Mosse Art Restitution Project, which searches for family art illegally confiscated during Germany’s Third Reich. His wife, Julie A. Kulhanjian, is an attending physician at 4 0 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

profiles

Oakland Children’s Hospital. They have three college-age children.

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau LEAD SPONSORS

Warren and Frances are avid watchers of live theatre, which includes Berkeley Rep and an annual pilgrimage to London’s West End. Having loved Berkeley Rep for years and previous Tony Kushner plays (both at Berkeley Rep and in London!), they are thrilled to sign on as sponsors of Angels in America. They are very proud of the cutting-edge exceptional theatre that Berkeley Rep continuously produces.

Frances’ day job is as professor of physics and dean of mathematical and physical sciences at UC Berkeley and Warren is a machinist and welder at 5th Street Machine Arts.

Stewart & Rachelle Owen LEAD SPONSORS

Rachelle and Stewart are honored to sponsor Angels in America. Rachelle is a former social worker and serves on the board of Bay Area Community Services. Stewart is a former vice chairman of Young & Rubicam and partner/ owner of mcgarrybowen. He serves as president on the Berkeley Rep board and on the boards of a number of startups through his investment company, Roble Partners.

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation LEAD SPONSOR

The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that advance social justice by empowering world-changing work in the arts, investigative journalism, documentary film, education. They are a catalyst for ideas and actions that illuminate the world and create positive change. Some of the programs the Foundation supports include The Logan Nonfiction Program, the Center for Investigative Reporting/Reveal, Chicago’s Invisible Institute, the Logan Media Center of the Logan Center for the Arts, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Foundation is committed to increasing community access to theatre, music, and film. Jonathan Logan previously chaired the Center for aids Services in Oakland and founded the lgbtq family organization, Our Family Coalition. He is also a Berkeley Rep trustee, board member (former chair) of the Center for Investigative Reporting, and advisory board member of the ucb Graduate School of Journalism.

Target

LEAD SPONSOR

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at 1,826 stores—including 67 stores in the Bay Area—and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week. Target first supported Berkeley Rep in 1988.

Guy Tiphane

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR

Guy Tiphane blogs at guytiphane.wordpress.com.

David & Vicki Cox SPONSORS

Dave and Vicki have been active in the theatre world for nearly 30 years, first with the Guthrie Theater, where Dave was at one time chair of the board, and now with Berkeley Rep, where he is a board member. Vicki, a women’s rights activist, is a past national board member of Americans for the UN Population Fund and Planned Parenthood. The retired ceo of Cowles Media, Dave pursues interests in media and environmental causes. Previously, he was the board chair of Earthjustice and Link Media. The Coxes love Berkeley Rep’s dedication to risk-taking and its emphasis on contemporary plays, as well as its commitment to developing theatre works and artists.

James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen SPONSORS

Appointed U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg

by President Bill Clinton, James Catherwood Hormel was the first openly gay United States ambassador. In 1981, he co-founded the Human Rights Campaign and in 1995, he funded the creation of the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library. He holds leadership positions on numerous boards and councils around the country. James was one of the first funders of the original Angels in America production (1990–91). Dedicated to civic and social justice, and an animal and environmental welfare advocate, Michael Peter Nguyen works alongside James on their charitable giving foundation and has served on the San Francisco Public Library Commission for two terms. A musician, choreographer, writer, and trustee of the American Conservatory Theater, Michael is profoundly passionate about the arts and humanities.

Michael H. Kossman SPONSOR

Michael is thrilled to deepen his involvement with Berkeley Rep by sponsoring Angels in America as well as being a member of the production’s Advisory Council. Michael’s theatre involvement goes all the way back to an elementary school production of Peter Rabbit in 1971. He has appeared in various productions around the Bay Area, including Jesus Christ Superstar (College of Marin) and Brigadoon (the Mountain Play), as well as having spent two years as a supernumerary with the San Francisco Opera. Michael has spent significant time with numerous Bay Area nonprofits, most recently as a board member at Frameline, and March 31, 2000 was declared Michael

Kossman Day in San Francisco in recognition of his contributions to the city and its people.

His day job keeps him busy as the Chief Operating Officer of Aspiriant, an independent wealth management firm serving affluent families across the country.

Sandra & Ross McCandless SPONSORS

Sandra is a long-standing Berkeley Rep board member who has served as co-chair of the corporate committee and as a member of the executive and compliance committees. Sandra represents management in employment matters as a partner of the global law firm Dentons. She is also a neutral arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. Sandra has been named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times. She is also a leader of the American Bar Association, the largest professional services organization in the world, and has served on its board of governors and chair of its finance committee. Ross teaches science and mathematics at Mount Diablo High School and is an avid dancer and birdwatcher.

The McCandless’ love of theatre dates back to Sandra and Ross’ joint performance at Harvard College in William Saroyan’s Hello Out There. Their daughter Phyra McCandless, son-in-law Angelos Kottas, and granddaughter Hyonia are also enthusiastic members of the Berkeley Rep family.

BART

SEASON SPONSOR

Bay Area Rapid Transit (bart) is the backbone of the Bay Area transit network and serves more than 100 million passengers annually. bart’s all-electric trains make it one of the greenest and most energy-efficient transit systems in the world. Visit bart.gov/bartable to learn more about great destinations and events that are easy to get to on bart (like Berkeley Rep!). At bart.gov/bartable, you can find discounts, enter sweepstakes offering fantastic prizes, and find unique and exciting things to do just a bart ride away. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for bartable This Week, a free, weekly email filled with the latest and greatest bartable fun!

Peet’s Coffee

SEASON SPONSOR

Peet’s Coffee is proud to be the exclusive coffee of Berkeley Repertory Theatre and salutes Berkeley Rep for its dedication to the highest artistic standards and diverse programming.

Peet’s is honored to support Berkeley Rep’s renovation with the new, state-of-the-art Peet’s Theatre. In 1966, Alfred Peet opened his first store on Vine and Walnut in Berkeley and Peet’s has been committed to the Berkeley community ever since. As the pioneer of the craft coffee movement in America, Peet’s is dedicated to small-batch roasting, superior quality beans, freshness and a darker roasting style that produces a rich, flavorful cup. Peet’s is locally roasted in the first leed ® Gold certified roaster in the nation.

2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 4 1

BE R K E L E Y R E P PRESENTS profiles Wells Fargo

SEASON SPONSOR

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COMING UP NEXT AT AURORA

By JONATHAN SPECTOR Directed by JOSH COSTELLO

By SARAH BURGESS Directed by JENNIFER KING

STARTS APR 13

STARTS JUN 22 TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION: 510.843.4822 | AURORATHEATRE.ORG

YOUR ACT IS RELEVANT Classes for all levels berkeleyrep.org/classes 510 647-2972 42 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

Wells Fargo is proud to support the award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre as a season sponsor for the last 12 years because of its dedication to artistic excellence and community engagement. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. The bank is committed to building better every day to meet our customers’ financial goals. For more information, please visit wellsfargo.com.

Associate special effects designer Lillis Meeh Assistant scenic designer Se Oh Costume shop April Bonasera Nelly Flores Milena Geary Alea Gonzales Andrea Phillips Anna Slotterback Kennedy Warner Deck AV Jorge Cortes Deck crew Gabriel Holman James McGregor Matt Reynolds Kourtney Snow Dialect coach Jessica Berman Draper Alex Zeek Electrics Spencer Dixon Joshua van Eyken Zach Fischer Cicily Clare Gruber Chris Hartzell Gabriel Holman Bradley Hopper David Lynch Melissa Ramirez Minerva Ramirez Sarina Renteria Corey Schaeffer Nathanael C. Schiffbauer Andrea J. Schwartz Kourtney Snow Ericka Sokolower-Shain

Scenic artists Kristen Augustyn Kate Fitt Katie Holmes Lassen Hines Chris Jee Anya Kazimierski Video programmer Ahren Buhmann Video technicians CC Gruber Lauren Wright Wardrobe Andrea Phillips Anna Slotterback Kennedy Warner Wings—Craftsperson Kelly Koehn Wings—Technician Margaretta Grazier

Proud to Support Berkeley Rep

Personal attention thoughtful litigation final resolution Our goal is to preserve our client’s dignity and humanity.

L A W

Associate sound designer Madeleine Oldham

Scene shop James Chandler Jennifer Costley Erica Engel Will Gering Chance Grable ET Hazzard Carl Martin Sean Miller

F A M I LY

ADDITIO NAL S TAFF Associate director Will Detlefsen

FA M I LY L AW G R O U P, P. C .

575 Market Street, Suite 4000 San Francisco, CA 94105 415.834.1120 www.sflg.com

Additional projection equipment from WorldStage Inc. Medical consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by Cindy J. Chang, MD, ucsf Clinical Professor, and Steven Fugaro, MD.

Want to take Angels in America home with you?

Pick up a script, jacket, or book in our gift shop!

Followspot operators/Deck electricians Sarina Renteria Spencer Dixon Hair & makeup designer Amy Bobeda Production assistant Sofie Miller Props Lisa Mei Ling Fong Zoe Gopnik-McManus Anya Kazimierski Noah Kramer Dara Ly Baz Wenger

2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 43

50

BERKELEY REP’S

YE AR S AN D G LOWIN G

Join us as we toast Berkeley Rep’s past, present, and future at a spectacular evening at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco honoring 50 seasons of spectacular theatre.

Berkeley Rep’s OVATION—50 Years and Glowing—is a night of celebration. It’s also a night to support the Theatre’s innovative work both on and off stage, from its productions and new play development program to nurturing the next generation of theatre-makers and theatre-goers.

Reconnect with luminary artists and friends, from Berkeley Rep’s earliest days to the present, over a sumptuous and celebratory feast. Get ready to bid on one-of-a-kind getaways and vip experiences. And be prepared for a surprise or two during this theatrically festive evening.

SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 · 6:00PM

The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco · 600 Stockton Street, San Francisco

TICKETS START AT $750 PER PERSON

Proceeds from OVATION support all of the work on Berkeley Rep’s stages, as well as the Theatre’s arts education and new play development programs.

RSVP

Julia Starr at 510 647-2901 or concierge@berkeleyrep.org Or visit berkeleyrep.org/ovation

JOIN US! HONORARY COMMITTEE

Hope Alexander-Willis Todd Almond Tony Amendola & Judith Marx Mikhail Baryshnikov The Honorable Tom Bates & the Honorable Loni Hancock Joy Carlin James Carpenter The Honorable Keith Carson & Maria Carson Kathleen Chalfant Adam Chanler-Berat Charles Dean Colman Domingo Paul Dresher & Philippa Kelly Eve Ensler Steven Epp Oskar Eustis Mona Golabek Daniel Handler & Lisa Brown Geoff Hoyle Linda Lee Johnson Moisés Kaufman Maxine Hong Kingston The Honorable Barbara Lee Delroy & Nasha Lindo Sharon Lockwood Flicka McGurrin Rita Moreno Bill Rauch Emma Rice Ken Ruta Mitzi Sales & John Argue Anna Deveare Smith Joe Spano Stephen Spinella Sir Patrick Stewart Anne Swift Michael Tilson Thomas & Joshua Robison Stephen Wadsworth & Francesca Faridany Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan Alice Walker Alice Waters Les Waters & Annie Smart Mary Zimmerman

BE R K E L E Y R E P THANKS

We thank the many institutional partners who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic and community outreach programs.

We gratefully recognize these donors to Berkeley Rep, who made their gifts between January 2017 and February 2018.

Institutional Partners LEGEND

Ground Floor donor

G IF T S O F $ 10 0,0 0 0 A N D A B OV E The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation The Shubert Foundation Time Warner Foundation, Inc. G IF T S O F $50,0 0 0 –9 9,9 9 9 The Reva and David Logan Foundation Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Koret Foundation National Endowment for the Arts The Bernard Osher Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Tournesol Project

G IF T S O F $2 5,0 0 0 –49,9 9 9 Anonymous BayTree Fund The Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Philanthropic Fund Wallis Foundation Walter & Elise Haas Fund Woodlawn Foundation G IF T S O F $ 10,0 0 0 –24,9 9 9 Anonymous Berkeley Civic Arts Program Ramsay Family Foundation

G IF T S O F $5,0 0 0 –9,9 9 9 Anonymous Distracted Globe Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Reinhold Foundation G IF T S O F $ 1,0 0 0 –4,9 9 9 Joyce & William Brantman Foundation Civic Foundation jec Foundation Karl & Alice Ruppenthal Foundation for the Arts rhe Foundation

COR P OR AT E S P ON S OR S SEASON SPONSORS

LE A D S P O N S O R S

SPONSORS Mechanics Bank Wealth Management The Morrison & Foerster Foundation

B U S IN E S S M E M B E R S Aspiriant Wealth Management BluesCruise.com Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union Field Paoli Architects, in memory of John & Carol Field Perforce Foundation tmg Partners, in memory of John & Carol Field

CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S Armanino llp Deloitte McCutcheon Construction Panoramic Interests Schoenberg Family Law Group PE RFO R M A N CE S P O N S O R S Bayer Boston Properties, in memory of John & Carol Field Gallagher Risk Management Services Macy’s

E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S

American Express

Is your company a corporate sponsor? Berkeley Rep’s Corporate Partnership program offers excellent opportunities to network, entertain clients, reward employees, increase visibility, and support the arts and arts education in the community.

For details visit berkeleyrep.org/support or call Daria Hepps at 510 647-2904.

I N-K I N D S P ON S OR S E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S

M AT C H I NG G I F T S SPONSORS Hafner Vineyard Latham & Watkins llp Mayer Brown llp mcgarrybowen Ramsay Winery Rhoades Planning Group Robert Meyer’s Mangia/Nosh Catering Company Semifreddi’s Whole Foods Market Viks Chaat & Market PA R T N E R S act Catering Almare Gelato Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen

Au Coquelet Aurora Catering Autumn Press Bare Bobby G’s Pizzeria Brown Sugar Kitchen Comal Corison Winery Donkey & Goat Winery East Bay Spice Company Eureka! five Gather Restaurant gio’s Pizza & Bocce Hugh Groman Catering Jazzcaffè La Méditerranée

La Note Lucia’s of Berkeley ocho Candy Picante PiQ Platano Salvadoran Cuisine Revival Bar + Kitchen Suya African Carribbean Grill Sweet Adeline Bakeshop Tigerlily Triple Rock Brewery Venus Zut! Tavern on 4th St. Hotel Shattuck Plaza is the official hotel of Berkeley Rep.

The following companies have matched their employees’ contributions to Berkeley Rep. Please contact your company’s HR office to find out if your company matches gifts.

Accenture · Adobe Systems Inc. · Apple · Applied Materials · Autodesk Inc. · Bank of America · Chevron Corporation · Clorox · Dolby · Electronic Arts Outreach · Farallon Capital Mangement · Fremont Group Foundation · Gap Foundation · Genentech · Google · ibm Corporation · Intel Corporation · John & Maria Goldman Foundation · Johnson & Johnson · Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Levi Strauss & Co. · Microsoft · Morrison & Foerster · norcal Mutual Insurance Company · Oracle Corporation · Pixar Animation Studios · Salesforce · Shell Oil · Sidley Austin llp, San Francisco · Union Bank, The Private Bank · Varian Medical System · visa u.s.a., Inc. · Workday

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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 young people every year. We gratefully recognize these donors to Berkeley Rep, who made their gifts between January 2017 and February 2018.

BE R K E L E Y R E P THANKS

Individual Donors

To make your gift and join this distinguished group, visit berkeleyrep.org/give or call 510 647-2906.

S P ON S OR C I RC L E SEASON SPONSORS Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Jean & Michael Strunsky Guy Tiphane Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson Gail & Arne Wagner

LE A D S P O N S O R S Edward D. Baker Yogen & Peggy Dalal Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Jonathan Logan & John Piane Jane Marvin/Peet’s Coffee Stewart & Rachelle Owen Mary Ruth Quinn & Scott Shenker

SPONSORS Anonymous (2) Maria Cardamone & Paul Matthews David & Vicki Cox Thalia Dorwick Robin & Rich Edwards Cynthia A. Farner David & Vicki Fleishhacker Paul Friedman & Diane Manley Jill & Steve Fugaro Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff Scott & Sherry Haber James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen Jerry & Julie Kline Jack Klingelhofer Suzanne LaFetra Sandra & Ross McCandless Dugan Moore Pam & Mitch Nichter Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg Sheli & Burt Rosenberg, in honor of Len & Arlene Rosenberg Joe Ruck & Donna Ito

E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S Anonymous Barbara Bakar Michelle Branch & Dale Cook Susan Chamberlin John Dains Bill Falik & Diana Cohen Kerry Francis & John Jimerson Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Lata Krishnan & Ajay Shah Monica Lopez & Sameer Gandhi Marjorie Randolph Rummi & Arun Sarin kbe

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman Liliane & Ed Schneider Nick & Laura Severino Barry Lawson Williams & Lalita Tademy Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S Anonymous (2) Shelley & Jonathan Bagg Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Valerie Barth The Battle Family Foundation Ben Brown & Louise Rankin Brook & Shawn Byers Lynne Carmichael Julie & Darren Cooke Robert Council & Ann Parks-Council Paul Daniels, in honor of Peter Yonka William Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards Tracy & Mark Ferron Steven Goldin Hitz Foundation Christopher Hudson & Cindy J. Chang, MD K

Ms. Wendy E. Jordan Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Ted & Carole Krumland Peter & Melanie Maier Helen M. Marcus Dale & Don Marshall Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas Martin & Janis McNair Ed Messerly & Sudha Pennathur Steven & Patrece Mills M Norman & Janet Pease Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Barbara L. Peterson Gary & Noni Robinson Cynthia & William Schaff Emily Shanks M Pat & Merrill Shanks Shirlen Fund, in memory of Shirley and Philip Schild Ed & Ellen Smith Karen Stevenson & Bill McClave Lisa & Jim Taylor Wendy Williams Linda & Steven Wolan Martin & Margaret Zankel

A R T I S T IC DI R E C T OR’ S C I RC L E PA R T N E R S

Anonymous (4) Tarang & Hirni Amin Stephen Belford & Bobby Minkler Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton Barbara & Rodgin Cohen Karen & David Crommie Lois M. De Domenico Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards Nancy & Jerry Falk Kimberley Goode Nelson Goodman Ms. Teresa Burns Gunther & Dr. Andrew Gunther Richard & Lois Halliday Earl & Bonnie Hamlin Peter & Florence Hart, in memory of John L. Field Bonnie & Tom Herman Kathleen & Chris Jackson Barbara E. Jones, in memory of William E. Jones Seymour Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton Duke & Daisy Kiehn Wanda Kownacki Louise Laufersweiler & Warren Sharp Eileen & Hank Lewis Sumner & Hermine Marshall Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Susan Medak & Greg Murphy Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody Janet & Clyde Ostler Sandi & Dick Pantages Rezwan & Azarmeen Pavri Kermit & Janet Perlmutter Pure Dana Fund Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun Timothy Rempel K Gregg Richardson & Lee Mingwei K Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey

Beth & David Sawi Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner Joyce & Jim Schnobrich Neal Shorstein, MD & Christopher Doane Stephen & Cindy Snow Audrey & Bob Sockolov Vickie Soulier Deborah Taylor Barrera Susan West Barry Williams Patricia & Jeffrey Williams Sheila Wishek Sally Woolsey

B E N E FAC TO R S

Anonymous (6) Roy & Judith Alper Peggy & Don Alter Pat Angell, in memory of Gene Angell Martha & Bruce Atwater Naomi Auerbach & Ted Landau Nina Auerbach Linda & Mike Baker Michelle L. Barbour Leslie & Jack Batson Don & Gerry Beers M David Beery & Norman Abramson Michael S. Berman, in memory of John & Carol Field Caroline Beverstock Naomi Black Cynthia & David Bogolub Caroline Booth Bernard Boudreaux Linda Brandenburger Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar M Broitman-Basri Family Don & Carol Anne Brown Tracy Brown & Greg Holland

4 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

Don Campbell and Family M Ronnie Caplane Leslie Chatham & Kathie Weston Betsey & Ken Cheitlin Paul Collins K Constance Crawford James Cuthbertson Barbara & Tim Daniels M Richard & Anita Davis Francine & Beppe Di Palma Corinne & Mike Doyle Linda Drucker Bill & Susan Epstein Merle & Michael Fajans Lisa & Dave Finer Ann & Shawn Fischer Hecht Linda Jo Fitz Patrick Flannery Thomas & Sharon Francis Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels Donald & Dava Freed Herb & Marianne Friedman James Gala Kevin & Noelle Gibbs Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter Daniel & Hilary B. Goldstine Mary & Nicholas Graves Robert & Judith Greber Anne & Peter Griffes Garrett Gruener & Amy Slater Migsy & Jim Hamasaki Bob & Linda Harris Vera & David Hartford Ruth Hennigar Christina Herdell, in memory of Vaughn & Ardis Herdell Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen Elaine Hitchcock Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling M Don & Janice Holve, in memory of Daisy & Paul Persons

Hilary & Tom Hoynes Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Roxanna Jackman, in honor of Mary & Norman Jackman Bill & Lisa Kelly Duke & Daisy Kiehn Stephen F. Kispersky Jean Knox Michael Kossman John Kouns & Anne Baele Kouns Lucy Kuntz, in honor of The Cage Players Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz Randy Laroche & David Laudon Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis Nancy & George Leitmann, in memory of Helen Barber Henry Lerner, in honor of Joanne Levene Lerner Ellen & Barry Levine Suzanne & William Lingo Dixon Long Vonnie Madigan Elsie Mallonee Lois & Gary Marcus Charlotte & Adolph Martinelli Rebecca Martinez Jill Matichak Kirk McKusick & Eric Allman Dan Miller Andy & June Monach Scott Montgomery & Marc Rand Judith & Richard Oken Sheldeen Osborne Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser Bob & MaryJane Pauley Mary Ann Peoples, in memory of Lou Peoples

Linda Protiva Lawrence Prozan Bill Reuter & Ruth Major Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley Deborah Romer & William Tucker David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Boyard & Anne Rowe Enid & Alan Rubin Lisa Salomon & Scott Forrest Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland Jeane & Roger Samuelsen Jackie & Paul Schaeffer Linda & Nathan Schultz Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. Dave & Lori Simpson Sherry & David Smith Valerie Sopher Sally & Joel Spivack Gary & Jana Stein Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young Susan Terris Sam Test Sushmita Vij Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss Beth Weissman Wendy Willrich Steven Winkel & Barbara Sahm Sam & Joyce Zanze Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter Jane & Mark Zuercher

LEGEND K M

in-kind gift matching gift

We are pleased to recognize first-time donors to Berkeley Rep, whose names appear in italics.

BE R K E L E Y R E P T H A N K S Individual Donors

CH A M PIO N S

memory of John & Carol Field · Pier & Barbara Oddone · Carol J. Ormond · Lynette Pang & Michael Man · Gerane Wharton Park · Regina Phelps · Malcolm & Ann Plant · Gary & Jean Pokorny · David & Bobbie Pratt · David & Mary Ramos · Kent Rasmussen & Celia Ramsay · Reuben, Junius & Rose, llp, in memory of John & Carol Field · Audrey & Paul Richards · Helen Richardson · John & Jody Roberts · Galen Rosenberg & Denise Barnett · Martha Ross · Dace P. Rutland · Teddy & Bruce Schwab · Andrew & Marva Seidl · Beryl & Ivor Silver · Cherida Collins Smith · Alice & Scott So · Douglas Sovern & Sara Newmann · John St. Dennis & Roy Anati · Monroe W. Strickberger · Pate & Judy Thomson · Michael Tubach & Amrita Singhal · Larry Vales · William van Dyk & Margi Sullivan · Jennifer M. Van Natta · Pamela Gay Walker/Ghost Ranch Productions · William R. Weir · Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor · Susan & Harvey Wittenberg · Charles Wolfram & Peter Wolfram · Ron & Anita Wornick

Anonymous (4) · Fred & Kathleen Allen · Elisabeth Andreason & Melissa Allen · Marcia & George Argyris · Ross E. Armstrong · Jolie Baumgardner · Susan Benzinger, in memory of Zan Gray Bealmear · Robert Bransten, in memory of John & Carol Field · Davis Carniglia & Mary-Claire Baker · John Carr · Paula Carrell · Anthony J. Cascardi · Sumir Chadha · Ed & Lisa Chilton · Richard & Linnea Christiani · John & Izzie Crane · Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat · David Deutscher · Burton Peek Edwards · Susan English & Michael Kalkstein · Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny · Martin & Barbara Fishman · Frannie Fleishhacker · James & Jessica Fleming · Samuel Fogleman, in memory of Zan Gray Bealmear · Don & Janie Friend, in honor of Bill & Candy Falik · Chris R. Frostad M · Ann Harriman, in memory of Malcolm White · Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky · Rick Hoskins & Lynne Frame · Dean Francis · Howard Hertz & Jean Krois · The Hornthal Family Foundation, in honor of Susie Medak · Marilyn & Michael Jensen-Akula · Randall Johnson · Corrina Jones · Fred Karren, in memory of Beth Karren · Dennis Kaump · Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff · Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes · Craig Labadie · Susilpa Lakireddy · Helen E. Land · Jane & Mike Larkin, in memory of Jerry & Marilyn Ungar · Barbara & Thomas Lasinski · Marcia C. Linn · Sidne S. Long · Jay & Eileen Love · Naomi & Bruce Mann · Match Vineyards · John E. Matthews · Erin McCune · Karen & John McGuinn · Harry Mixon Esq · Geri Monheimer, in honor of Sharon Kinkade · Brian & Britt-Marie Morris · Jerry Mosher · Marvin & Neva Moskowitz · Patricia Motzkin & Richard Feldman · Daniel Murphy · Jane & Bill Neilson · Christina & Geoffrey Norman, in

Anonymous (18) · Abbey Alkon & Jonathan Leonard · Emily Arnold · Steven & Barbara Aumer-Vail · Susan & Barry Baskin · Stephanie Beach · Richard & Kathy Berman · Ed & Kay Blonz · Karen Bowen & Beth Gerstein, in honor of Donald Trump · Marilyn Bray · Peter Brock · Craig Broscow · John H. Buckman · Jane Buerger · Dr. Alan Burckin & Carol Olmert · Laura Chenel · Terin Christensen · Karen Clayton & Stephen Clayton · Jane & Tom Coulter · Carolyn & Phil Cowan · Michael & Denise Coyne · Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor · Pam & Mike Crane · Sheila Cullen · Sharon & Ed Cushman · Jill & Evan Custer · Brett D’Ambrosio · Kathleen Damron · Pat & Steve Davis · ddl Productions, in memory of Zan Bealmear ·

We gratefully recognize the following donors whose contributions were received from January 11 to February 23, 2018

Celia Bakke · Bruce Carlton · Joshua Dapice · Debashis Dhar & Devyani Biswas M · Geoffrey & Shawn Haynes · Al Hoffman & David Shepherd · George & Leslie Hume · Anne & Douglas Jensen · Kathleen Quenneville & Diane Allen · Hugh & Aletha Silcox · Arthur Weil · Ann Willoughby · Bob & Judi Yeager M

A DVO C AT E S

S U PP O R T E R S

Harry & Susan Dennis · Jerome & Thao Dodson · Kathy Down & Greg Kelly · Kristen Driskell · David Drubin · Anita C. Eblé · Jessica & Michael Eisler, in memory of John & Carol Field · Alan Entine · Gini Erck & David Petta · Michael Evanhoe · Sheilah & Harry Fish · Brigitte & Louis Fisher · Martin Fleisher · Michael & Vicky Flora · Jacques Fortier · Mary & Stan Friedman · David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson · Karl & Kathleen Geier · Tim Geoghegan · Gwendolyn Goldsby, in memory of Angela Paton · Barry & Erica Goode · Gail Gordon & Jack Joseph · Gene Gottfried · Rico & Maya Green · Sheldon & Judy Greene · Don & Becky Grether · Ken & Karen Harley · Paula Hawthorn & Michael Ubell · Clifford Hersh · Dixie Hersh · Doug & Leni Herst, in honor of Susie Medak · Fran Hildebrand · Alex Ingersoll & Martin Tannenbaum · Mr. & Mrs. Harold M. Isbell · Ann L. Johnson · Reese & Margaret Jones · Claudia & Daly Jordan-Koch · Kaarel Kaljot · Pat Kelly & Jennifer Doebler · Kimberly J. Kenley-Salarpi · Beth & Tim Kientzle · Christopher Killian & Carole Ungvarsky · Jack & Birthe Kirsch · Deborah & David Kirshman, in memory of John & Carol Field · Jeff Klingman & Deborah Sedberry · Susan Kolb · David & Joan Komaromi · Kenneth Kulander · Wayne Lamprey & Dena Watson-Lamprey · Robert Lane & Tom Cantrell · David & Mari Lee · Glennis Lees & Michael Glazeski · Ray Lifchez · Julianne Lindemann & Michael Weinberger · Jennifer S. Lindsay · Deidre & Loren Lingenfelter, in memory of Zan Bealmear · Jacqui & Terry Long · Loveable Feast, in memory of Zan Bealmear · Gerry & Kathy MacClelland · Paul Mariano · Charles Marston & Rosa Luevano · Igor Maslennikov · Caroline McCall & Eric Martin · Daniel & Beverlee McFadden · John G. McGehee · Brian McRee · George & Jeri Medak, in memory of Alexandra Victoria GrayBealmear · Ruth Medak · Ralph & Melinda

CO N T RIB U TO R S

Anonymous (3) · Mark Amaro · Dale Barnes, in honor of John Jimerson & Kerry Francis · Jeffry & Diane Bernstein · Melissa Cadwallader & William E. Kramer · Mrs. Robert Force · Mary & Doug Fraser · Daniel & Kate Funk · John & Diane Gossard · Nina G. Green · Bill & Judy Hein · Adrienne Hirt & Jeffrey Rodman · Ron & Virginia Iverson · Jane Kaplan · Landis Communications Inc. · Julie Montanari & David Pearson · David & Patsy Newhouse · Wendy Polivka & Evan Painter · Tom Raffin, in honor of Woof Kurtzman · Paco Ramirez · Carolyn Ramsey · Ruth Rosen & David Galin · Ellen Rosenfield · Dana Smith · Kara & Mark Theiding M · Carol Verity · Robert Visser

Mendelson · Aliza & Peter Metzner · Marlene & Stephen Miller · Jeff Miner · The Morris Family: Susan, Kathy, Karen, Steve & Jaxon · Ronald Morrison · James & Katherine Moule · Aki & Emi Nakao · Ron Nakayama · Sharon Noteboom · Judy Ogle · Suzette S. Olson · Eddie & Amy Orton · Frederick Oshay · Todd Parr · Brian D. Parsons · P. David Pearson & Barbara Schonborn · Bob & Toni Peckham, in honor of Robert M. Peckham, Jr. · James & Susan Penrod, in honor of Dale & Don Marshall · Lewis Perry · James F. Pine M · F. Anthony Placzek · Charles Pollack & Joanna Cooper · Susie & Eric Poncelet · Roxann R. Preston · Paula B. Pretlow · Rich Price · Laurel & Gerald Przybylski · Sheldon & Catherine Ramsay · Teresa L. Remillard · Rick & Stephanie Rogers · Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth · Dorothy R. Saxe · Laurel Scheinman · Bob & Gloria Schiller · Dr. David Schulz · Seiger Family Foundation · Marc & Jane Seleznow · Sarah E. Shaver · Steve & Susan Shortell · Joshua & Ruth Simon · William & Martha Slavin · Carra Sleight · Suzanne Slyman · Jerry & Dick Smallwood · Sigrid Snider · Robert & Naomi Stamper · Herbert Steierman · Annie Stenzel · Carol Sundell · Tracy Thompson · Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller · Henry Timnick · Amy Tobin & Scott Jacobson · Lynn Tolin, in memory of John & Carol Field · Mike & Ellen Turbow · Dean Ujihara · Sharon Ulrich & Marlowe Ng · Sarah Van Roo · Mr. Leon Van Steen · Gerald & Ruth Vurek · Louise & Larry Walker · Robert & Sheila Weisblatt · Sallie Weissinger · Dr. Ben & Mrs. Carolyn Werner · Robert T. Weston · Dick & Beany Wezelman · Sharon & Kenneth Wilson · Laura & Ernest Winslow · Dorothy Witt · Margaret Wu & Ciara Cox · Lee Yearley & Sally Gressens

FRIE N D S

Anonymous · Corwin & Margaret Booth · James M. Brown · John E. Caner · Robin & Ryszard Chetkowski · Deborah Collins · Jim & Jeanette Cottle · Jediah Craig · Elizabeth Anne Doyle, in memory of John Doyle · Carol Field · Gilbert & Sally Gradinger · Dr. & Mrs. Alan Harley · Laurence Lange · Paul & Barbara Liston · Jo & Joe Macaluso, in memory of our sons David & John Macaluso · Martin & Ruth Malkin · John & Rosemary Merchant · John R. Petrovsky · Charleen Raines · Ms. Mary Rudser · Gretchen Saeger · Steven Saxe · Anne Shanto · Carole Sheft · Donna Smith-Harrison & Samuel Harrison, in memory of Nancy & Rossi · Lydia Stack · Henry & Susan Veit · Karen Yoshioka Special thanks to Marjorie Randolph for establishing The Marjorie Randolph Professional Development Fund, which supports the Berkeley Rep staff.

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BE R K E L E Y R E P T H A N K S

Donors to the Annual Fund

Sustaining members as of February 2018:

The society welcomes the following new member: Paula Carrell

Anonymous (7) Norman Abramson & David Beery Sam Ambler Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan Ken & Joni Avery Nancy Axelrod Edith 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 Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor M. Laina Dicker Thalia Dorwick Rich & Robin Edwards Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards Bill & Susan Epstein William Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards Dr. Stephen E. Follansbee & Dr. Richard A. Wolitz Kerry Francis

Dr. Harvey & Deana Freedman Joseph & Antonia Friedman Paul T. Friedman Dr. John Frykman Laura K. Fujii David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter Mary & Nicholas Graves Elizabeth Greene Don & Becky Grether Richard & Lois Halliday Julie & Paul Harkness Linda & Bob Harris Fred Hartwick Ruth Hennigar Douglas J. Hill Hoskins/Frame Family Trust Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Robin C. Johnson Bonnie McPherson Killip Lynn Eve Komaromi Scott & Kathy Law Ines R. Lewandowitz Dot Lofstrom Helen M. Marcus Dale & Don Marshall Sumner & Hermine Marshall Rebecca Martinez Suzanne & Charles McCulloch John G. McGehee

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Margaret D. & Winton McKibben Ruth Medak Susan Medak & Greg Murphy Stephanie Mendel Toni Mester Shirley & Joe Nedham Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits Pam & Mitch Nichter Sheldeen G. Osborne Sharon Ott Amy Pearl Parodi Barbara L. Peterson Regina Phelps Margaret Phillips Marjorie Randolph Bonnie Ring Living Trust Tom Roberts David Rovno Tracie E. Rowson Deborah Dashow Ruth Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Betty & Jack Schafer Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. Kevin Shoemaker Valerie Sopher Michael & Sue Steinberg Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart Jean Strunsky Henry Timnick Guy Tiphane

Phillip & Melody Trapp Janis Kate Turner Dorothy Walker Weil Family Trust— Weil Family Karen & Henry Work Martin & Margaret Zankel

Gifts received by Berkeley Rep:

Anonymous Estate of Suzanne Adams Estate of Helen Barber Estate of Fritzi Benesch Estate of Carole B. Berg Estate of Nelly Berteaux Estate of Jill Bryans Estate of Nancy Croley Estate of Carol & John Field Estate of Rudolph Glauser Estate of Zandra Faye LeDuff Estate of John E. & Helen A. Manning Estate of Richard Markell Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez Estate of Margaret Purvine Estate of Leigh & Ivy Robinson Estate of Stephen C. Schaefer, in honor of Jean and Jack Knox Estate of Peter Sloss Estate of Harry Weininger Estate of Grace Williams

Members of this Society, which is named in honor of Founding Director Michael W. Leibert, have designated Berkeley Rep in their estate plans. Unless the donor specifies otherwise, planned gifts become a part of Berkeley Rep’s board-designated endowment funds, where they will provide the financial stability that enables Berkeley Rep to maintain the highest standards of artistic excellence, support new work, and serve the community with innovative education and outreach programs, year after year.

For more information on becoming a member, visit our website at berkeleyrep.org/mls or contact Daria Hepps at 510 647-2904 or dhepps@berkeleyrep.org.

Spin the World Forward Berkeley Rep is partnering with local service organizations to distribute thousands of free and deeply discounted Angels in America tickets to their constituents.

P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S

Benjamin T. Ismail and Randy Harrison

Make a gift today to share the transformative power of theatre with our community.

4 8 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 7–1 8 · I S S U E S 5 – 6

Text PRIOR to 71777 berkeleyrep.org/prior

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER PRESENTS

A NEW AMERICAN ODYSSEY

BEGINS APR 25 Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3

by Suzan-Lori Parks Directed by Liz Diamond A coproduction with Yale Repertory Theatre

A WORLD–PREMIERE MUSICAL | BEGINS JUNE 6

DIRECTED by SHERYL KALLER

MUSIC AND LYRICS by PAUL SCOTT GOODMAN

BOOK & ADDITIONAL LYRICS by PAMELA GRAY

ACT-SF.ORG

BASED ON HER SCREENPLAY A WALK ON THE MOON

415.749.2228

BOA R D OF T RU ST E E S

BE R K E L E Y R E P STA F F Michael Leibert Artistic Director Tony Taccone

Managing Director Susan Medak

General Manager Theresa Von Klug ARTISTIC Director of Casting & Artistic Associate Amy Potozkin Director, The Ground Floor/ Resident Dramaturg Madeleine Oldham Literary Manager Sarah Rose Leonard Artistic Associate Katie Craddock Associate Director Lisa Peterson Artist in Residence Stephen Spinella Artists under Commission Todd Almond · Christina Anderson · Jackie Sibblies Drury · Dave Malloy · Lisa Peterson · Sarah Ruhl · Tori Sampson · Joe Waechter P R ODUC T ION Production Manager Peter Dean Interim Assistant Production Manager Zoey Russo Company Manager Jean-Paul Gressieux S TAG E M A NAG E M E N T Production Stage Manager Michael Suenkel Stage Managers Molly Meg Legal · Leslie M. Radin · Kathy Rose · Karen Szpaller · Chris Waters · Kimberly Mark Webb Production Assistants Bradley Hopper · Hana Kadoyama · Amanda Mason · James McGregor · Sofie Miller · Betsy Norton S TA G E OP E R AT ION S Stage Supervisor Julia Englehorn P R OP E R T I E S Properties Supervisor Jillian A. Green Assistant Properties Supervisor Amelia Burke-Holt Properties Artisan Samantha Visbal S C E N E S HOP Technical Director Jim Smith Associate Technical Director Matt Rohner Shop Foreman Sam McKnight Master Carpenter Jamaica Montgomery-Glenn Carpenters Patrick Keene · Read Tuddenham SCENIC ART Charge Scenic Artist Lisa Lázár COSTUMES Costume Director Maggi Yule Associate Costume Director/ Hair and Makeup Supervisor Amy Bobeda

Tailor Kathy Kellner Griffith First Hand Janet Conery Wardrobe Supervisor Barbara Blair ELECTRICS Master Electrician Frederick C. Geffken Production Electricians Christine Cochrane · Kenneth Coté S OU N D A N D V I DE O Sound Supervisor James Ballen Sound Engineers Angela Don · Annemarie Scerra A DM I N I S T R AT ION Controller Suzanne Pettigrew Associate Managing Director/ Manager, The Ground Floor Sarah Williams Associate General Manager Amanda Williams O’Steen Yale Management Fellow Jaime Totti Executive Assistant Kate Horton Bookkeeper Kristine Taylor Associate Controller Eric Ipsen Payroll Administrator Katie Riemann Tessitura User Interaction Administrator Destiny Askin Information Technology Manager Dianne Brenner DE V E L OPM E N T Director of Development Lynn Eve Komaromi Associate Director of Development Daria Hepps Director of Individual Giving Laura Fichtenberg Stewardship Officer Woof Kurtzman Institutional Giving Manager Julie McCormick Individual Giving Coordinator Kelsey Scott Special Events Manager Lauren Shorofsky Development Database Coordinator Jane Voytek Development Associates Maddie Gaw · Julia Starr M A R K E T I NG & C OM M U N I C AT ION S Director of Marketing and Communications Peter Yonka Director of Public Relations Tim Etheridge Art Director Nora Merecicky Communications & Digital Content Director Karen McKevitt

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Audience Development Manager Samanta Cubias Webmaster Christina Cone Video & Multimedia Producer Benjamin Michel Program Advertising Pamela Webster Front of House Director Kelly Kelley Front of House Manager Debra Selman House Managers Elizabeth Anne Bertolino · Elle Black · Aaron Eaves · Aleta George · Kimberly Harvey-Scott · Tuesday Ray · Debra Selman Lead Concessionaires Molly Conway · Nina Gorham · Kimberly Harvey-Scott · Lucca Troutman · Emily Weiss Concessionaires Chloe Auletta-Young · Jessica Bates · Will Flanagan · Lorenz Gonzales · Autumn Goodman-Torrez · Katie Holmes · Serene LaBue-Deshais · Luci Liss · Johnny Lloyd· Krista Posell · Win Wallace Ticket Services Director Geo Haynes Subscription Manager Laurie Barnes Box Office Supervisor Julie Gotsch Box Office Agents Gabrielle Boyd · Carmen Darling · Jordan Don · Katherine Gunn · Lian Ladia · Jaden Pratt OP E R AT ION S Facilities Director Mark Morrisette Facilities Coordinator Andrew Susskind Building Engineer Thomas Tran Building Repair Technician Kevin Pan Facilities Assistants Theresa Drumgoolie · Sophie Li · Carlos Mendoza · Guy Nado · Jesus Rodriguez · LeRoy Thomas

Hurteau · Anthony Jackson · Kasey Klem · Krista Knight · Julian LópezMorillas · Dave Maier · Reid McCann · Patricia Miller · Alex Moggridge · Edward Morgan · Jack Nicolaus · Slater Penney · Greg Pierotti · Lisa Anne Porter · Diane Rachel · Rolf Saxon · Elyse Shafarman · Arje Shaw · Joyful Simpson · Cleavon Smith · M. Graham Smith · Elizabeth Vega · James Wagner · Dan Wolf Teaching Artists Amber Flame · Carla Pantoja · Dave Maier · Elena Wright · Jack Nicolaus · Lindsey Schmeltzer · Radhika Rao · Salim Razawi · Simon Trumble · Teddy Spencer · Andre San-Chez · Bryan Quinn · Shannon Davis · Zoe Swenson-Graham · Daryl Harper · Miriam Ani Teen Core Council Neo Barnes · Jesias Burrell · Uma Channer · Adin Gilman-Cohen · Mirabel Connor · Miya Drain · Devin Elias · Anna Granados · Fiona Deane-Grundman ·Alecia Harger · Kayla Hansen · Kyla Henderson · Zoe Larkin · Avery Martin · Sumayya Bisseret-Martinez · Lucy Urbano · Alana Walker · Hannah Williams · Sophia Villamor Docent Co-Chairs Matty Bloom, Content Joy Lancaster, Recruitment Selma Meyerowitz, Off-Sites and Procedures Angels in America Docents Matty Bloom, Lead Docent Selma Meyerowitz, Lead Docent Jim Brown · Beth Cohen · Miles Drawdy · Monica Fox · Helen Gerken · Jodi Grigas · Mark Liss · Dale Marshall · Ellen Kaufman · Dee Kursh · Richard Lingua · Joan Sullivan · Susan Wansewic · Steve Wolan · Ron Zak

2017–1 8 B E R K E L E Y R E P FELLOWSHIPS Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow Nicholas Kowerko Company Management Fellow Alice Stites Costume Fellow Kiara Montgomery Development Fellow Ariana Johnson Education Fellow BERKELEY REP Ky’Lend Adams S C HO OL OF T H E AT R E Graphic Design Fellow Director of the School of Theatre Kendall Markley Rachel Hull Harry Weininger Sound Fellow Associate Director Cecilia Pappalardo MaryBeth Cavanaugh Lighting/Electrics Fellow Program Manager, Training and Domino Mannheim Community Programs Anthony Jackson Marketing/Digital Communications Fellow Education Communications and Arielle Rubin Partnerships Manager Marcela Chacón Peter F. Sloss Literary/ Dramaturgy Fellow Data and Tessitura Analyst James Dinneen Katie Riemann Community Programs Administrator Production Management Fellow Hayley Rowland Modesta Tamayo Properties Fellow Faculty Mara Ishihara Zinky Bobby August Jr. · Erica Blue · Jon Burnett · Rebecca Castelli · Eugenie Scenic Art Fellow Chan · Iu-Hui Chua · Jiwon Chung · Chrissy Curl Sally Clawson · Deborah Eubanks · Scenic Construction Fellow Susan Garner · Christine Germain · William Ebeler Nancy Gold · Gary Graves · Marvin Stage Management Fellow Greene · Susan-Jane Harrison · Tait Adams Gendell Hing-Hernández · Melissa Hillman · William Hodgson · Andrew

President Stewart Owen Vice Presidents Carrie Avery Richard M. Shapiro Roger A. Strauch Jean Z. Strunsky Treasurer Felicia Woytak Secretary Leonard X Rosenberg Chair, Trustees Committee Jill Fugaro Chair, Audit Committee Kerry L. Francis Board Members Edward D. Baker Michelle Branch David Cox Amar Doshi Robin Edwards Lisa Finer Karen Galatz Bruce Golden Steven Goldin Scott Haber David Hoffman Jonathan C. Logan Jane Marvin Sandra R. McCandless Susan Medak Pamela Nichter Sudha Pennathur Laura Severino Emily Shanks Tony Taccone Kelli Tomlinson Gail Wagner Past Presidents Helen C. Barber A. George Battle Carole B. Berg Robert W. Burt Shih-Tso Chen Narsai M. David Thalia Dorwick, PhD Nicholas M. Graves Richard F. Hoskins Jean Knox Robert M. Oliver Marjorie Randolph Harlan M. Richter Richard A. Rubin Edwin C. Shiver Roger A. Strauch Martin Zankel Sustaining Advisors Rena Bransten Martha Conte Thalia Dorwick, PhD William T. Espey William Falik David Fleishhacker Paul T. Friedman Nicholas M. Graves Richard F. Hoskins Carole Krumland Dale Rogers Marshall Julie McCray Helen Meyer Dugan Moore Peter Pervere Marjorie Randolph Patricia Sakai Jack Schafer William Schaff Michael Steinberg Michael Strunsky Martin Zankel

F OU N DI NG DI R E C T OR Michael W. Leibert Producing Director, 1968–83

Beverley Calvo, joined in 2011

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