Origin Story 14 · An interview with Mira Nair 16 · The epic Indian wedding 19 · The program for Monsoon Wedding 22
THE BERKELEY REP M AGA ZINE 2 016 –17 · I S S U E 6
I N T H I S I S SU E
BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S MON S OON WE DDING · 2 2 P ROL O G U E
M E E T T H E C A ST & C R E W · 24
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A letter from the artistic director · 5 A letter from the managing director · 7
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R E P ORT A spectacular OVATION for Monsoon Wedding · 10 Harnessing imaginative power... · 12
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F E AT U R E S Origin Story · 14
Considerations
Relation translation: Who’s who in Monsoon Wedding · 15 An intoxication with life: An interview with Mira Nair · 16 The epic Indian wedding · 19 CON T R I BU T OR S Foundation, corporate, and in-kind sponsors · 41 Individual donors to the Annual Fund · 42 Michael Leibert Society · 44 A BOU T BE R K E L E Y R E P Staff, board of trustees, and sustaining advisors · 46
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T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E 201 6 –17 · I S S U E 6 The Berkeley Rep Magazine is published at least seven times per season.
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2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3
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P ROL OG U E from the Artistic Director
Some directors impress you with their
talent. Others with their passion. Still others with their ability to mobilize their fellow artists. It’s rare that one person combines all these skills in equal measure. Mira Nair is one such person. I met Mira three years ago in New York. We sat in a very loud restaurant in midtown as she told me of her desire to turn Monsoon Wedding into a musical. “It’s been a dream of mine for 10 years,” she told me. “The clash between classes, between the old traditions and the modern, Western world is only increasing…so the story is still very relevant. And there’s so much music at an Indian wedding! It makes perfect sense as a musical.” As she talked the sound of everyone else in the restaurant disappeared. Her words were inspiring, offering me a glimpse into the wellspring of her imagination, the ferocity of her intellect, and the openness of her heart. Within 20 minutes I knew that, at the very least, I wanted to work with her. Two hours later I was dying to read the script. But it’s a long journey from artistic dreaming to an actual production. Most new plays are developed through a series of workshops, and Monsoon Wedding was no exception. Spearheaded by the esteemed producing team of Margo Lion and Steve and Ruth Hendel, several drafts were created and read before Berkeley Rep became involved. A few months after my initial date with Mira, we were invited to attend a workshop where the role of the patriarch of the family was played by none other than Mira herself. (It turned out that she was pretty damned good!) Even at that early stage of development, several things stood out: the music was spectacular, the romantic, multi-layered story compelling, and it was a gigantic undertaking. Mira was rightfully insistent that the entire look and feel of the piece be utterly authentic, meaning that every detail, from the props and costumes to the musical arrangements to the accents used by the actors…everything had to be exactingly specific. Just to cast the play meant a worldwide search for South Asian actors who could bring the play to an English-speaking audience. When you added up all the risks, it was fantastically ambitious. Which is why it’s perfect for us. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Berkeley is a great place to incubate the play, not only because we have a great staff, but because our audience (that’s you) is the best in the country. This is a city that embraces difference, that celebrates people of every race, creed, and color. A city that seeks to empathize as part of its political practice, and to understand other cultures as a means of deepening our understanding and appreciation of the world. This spirit of respectful openness allows us to do the work we do. It’s why you come to the theatre. So it is with great joy that we welcome you here tonight. May you be drenched in the loving water of the monsoon.
Four floors of fabulous fabrics since 1952.
Sincerely,
Tony Taccone
2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 5
May 2017 Volume 49, No. 5
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P ROL OG U E from the Managing Director
I can’t think of a time when we’ve been able
to announce a new season that was filled with more luminaries, more exciting projects, more eclecticism, or more great stories than the 2017–18 season. The season features the first major Bay Area revival of Angels in America (Parts One and Two!) in 20 years, directed by Tony Taccone, whose collaboration with playwright Tony Kushner goes back 26 years. It’s a production that has attracted some of the best actors ever seen on our stage, and some who have yet to be seen here! In a partnership with our friends Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman, who helped us bring American Idiot to Berkeley in 2009, we open the new musical Ain’t Too Proud— The Temptations, helmed by the really brilliant director Des McAnuff (of Jersey Boys and The Who’s Tommy fame). This show is destined to move on to New York after its Berkeley run. See it here first. You already love the songs. Now sit back and enjoy the story behind them. For all of you who loved Aubergine as much as I did, you’ll be pleased to hear we’re bringing back playwright Julia Cho with her new play, Office Hour, a shocking and timely story about one of the crises playing out in our schools today. Julia’s inventive approach to storytelling and her keen intelligence will not disappoint you. If that were all, it would be a season we’d be so proud to offer you. But there is so much more. Beloved Bay Area writer Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket, who’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is a television hit) brings his wicked humor and keen eye to a family drama that will speak to anyone who had a family...right. I mean all of us! We are so lucky to have Nilaja Sun back with us. She blew us all away 10 years ago with her piece about the state of our schools, No Child...In fact, we turned hundreds of people away when she sold out in a matter of days. But you have a chance to guarantee your seats to her new show, Pike St., by subscribing now. Judging from the initial response to the show’s first performances in Washington, DC and New York, Nilaja’s performative power is still as potent as when we last saw her. And we have yet to announce any of the special events that will round out the year. As always, our subscribers will get first dibs on every one of those shows as they fall into place. Without an ounce of cynicism or a hint of hucksterism, I’m telling you this is a season you are not going to want to miss. So sign up today. Go online to berkeleyrep. org and just do it. You are going to thank me for it! Warmly,
Susan Medak
2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 7
S E A S O N SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR THE BEST SEATS AT THE BEST PRICES! TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE NOW BERKELEYREP.ORG/SUB
Left to right Dominique Morisseau, playwright of AIN’T TOO PROUD—THE TEMPTATIONS; Daniel Handler, playwright of Imaginary Comforts, or The Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit; Lisa Peterson, director of Watch on the Rhine; Julia Cho, playwright of Office Hour (photo by Jennie Warren); Tony Taccone and Tony Kushner (photo by Kevin Berne); Nilaja Sun, playwright of Pike St. (photo by Carol Rosegg) 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
AIN’T TOO PROUD—THE TEMPTATIONS Book by Dominique Morisseau Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog Music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler Musical Direction/Supervision & Arrangements by Kenny Seymour Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo Directed by Des McAnuff Limited Season · Roda Theatre · Starts Aug
Imaginary Comforts, or The Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit By Daniel Handler Directed by Tony Taccone Main Season · Peet’s Theatre · Starts Sep
Watch on the Rhine
By Lillian Hellman Directed by Lisa Peterson A co-production with the Guthrie Theater Main Season · Roda Theatre · Starts Nov
Office Hour
By Julia Cho Directed by Lisa Peterson Limited Season · Peet’s Theatre · Starts Feb
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES PART TWO: PERESTROIKA By Tony Kushner Directed by Tony Taccone Main Season · Roda Theatre · Starts Apr
Pike St.
By Nilaja Sun Directed by Ron Russell Main Season · Peet’s Theatre · Starts May
SEASON SPONSORS
2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 9
R E P ORT
The OVATION committee with Mira Nair and Berkeley Rep staff members P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
Gavel girl DawnMarie Kotsonis captures a winning bid P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
A spectacular OVATION for Monsoon Wedding B Y J U L I A S TA R R
On Saturday, April 1, the ballrooms at the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel were stunningly transformed into the world of Monsoon Wedding for Berkeley Rep’s biggest night of the year! Together with over 350 of the Bay Area’s top arts supporters, we raised our glasses to toast director Mira Nair and the creation of bold and imaginative theatre over a truly unforgettable evening full of music, wonder, and joyous celebration. In keeping with the baraat custom in Indian wedding ceremonies, an intricately costumed white horse greeted guests upon their arrival and provided the perfect photo op. While sipping specialty cocktails, guests strolled the Marigold Market, our Silent Auction featuring thrilling cultural adventures, exquisite culinary experiences, and delectable wines. The Silent Auction came to a memorable close as the reverberating beats of Deep Singh’s dhol filled the room, beginning a procession into the banquet hall. Guests were awed as they moved into the Grand Ballroom, which exuded color with beautiful tents and vibrant table settings. During the sumptuous feast featuring oven-roasted lamb and fine wines, Mira Nair and the cast of Monsoon Wedding took the stage to give guests a special sneak peek of the new musical—including two numbers from the show. Before dessert, DawnMarie Kotsonis, fondly known as the Gavel Girl, started a thrilling live auction, all in support of Berkeley Rep. Competition was fierce for hot tickets like an adventure in India, dinner prepared by famed food and wine connoisseur Narsai David, and a trip on The World, the largest private residential yacht on earth. 1 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
The evening’s festivities came to a close as guests raised their paddles in support of Citizen Rep, the Theatre’s initiative to encourage civic engagement through community partnerships, public programs about critical issues, and teen advocacy programs. All told, the evening raised $775,000 to support the Theatre’s artistic endeavors and community engagement programs. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our guests for helping us toast Mira Nair and showing their love for Berkeley Rep. A very special thanks to our Diamond Sponsors—Fossil Group, Bruce Golden and Michelle Mercer, Hotel Shattuck Plaza, and the Roda Group—and the dedicated OVATION committee who made this event truly special.
Drs. Thomas Kailath and Anuradha Luther Maitra with Mira Nair and members of the Monsoon Wedding cast P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
R E P ORT
Harnessing imaginative power from generation to generation BY MARCELA CHACÓN
The Suffrag-Ant was assistant-directed by Jack Nicolaus in 2016 P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
Five Crows Summer Intensive 2016
Evangeline Summer Intensive 2016
P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
Magick Golf Summer Intensive 2016 P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
1 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
Having opened its doors in 2001, the Berke-
ley Rep School of Theatre has grown along with its students and teaching artists, making it an important member of the vibrant local theatre community. Fulfilling our mission to foster creative potential, the School continues to witness the transformation of young students into flourishing artists. Their talent, creativity, and curiosity have helped build a safe space for artistic exploration, limitless imagination, and self-discovery. This shared passion for cultivating the artistic tradition of theatre and the common belief of using performing arts as a powerful educational tool has given birth to a large family of professional artists committed to supporting the next generation of theatre advocates. Today, many of our former School of Theatre students are coming back as directors, playwrights, teachers, and teaching assistants, passing down the knowledge and experience they have accrued over their careers and helping others find their artistic voice. This summer our School of Theatre family gets together again for another year of vast creation and theatremaking in our Summer Intensive Program. As they are welcomed to our dynamic family, middle and high school students will immerse themselves in the fascinating world of theatre through teambased projects. New students will discover their own voice, as well as enjoy the opportunity to learn from our very talented teaching alumni, who will encourage them to develop the commitment necessary for artistic excellence. As we take a journey through Monsoon Wedding and explore the traditions around one of the most exuberant family reunions ever seen at Berkeley Rep, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce you to some members of our School of Theatre family and tell you bit more about our tradition. We asked some of our former students who are now returning as teaching artists about what the School of Theatre means to them, and the importance of the theatre today. Sam Weiner started at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre when he was a freshman in high school. Today he teaches improv and is an assistant director in our Summer Intensive program. Roxie Perkins’ first encounter with the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre was in the Summer Intensive of 2006; after taking a number of classes, she directed a play in the Teen One-Acts Festival. She is now one of the School’s professional playwrights. Alyssa Gable started taking classes at the School of Theatre 10 years ago and will be a teaching assistant this summer. Jack Nicolaus has been at the School every summer since 2001. Now he teaches Beginning Acting and will be directing one of the original plays that will be written and performed during the high school Summer Intensive session. He also helps students around the Bay Area apply their creative potential through our outreach program. What does the Berkeley School of Theatre mean to you? Roxie: The first class I took at the School of Theatre was the high school Summer Intensive, and the experience was revelatory. Never before had I felt so supported and challenged by teachers and students alike. That experience set the bar for the type of artistic communities I wanted to be a part of and the type of artist I wanted to become. Having my voice be heard and respected as an artist gave me a sense of purpose and possibility that motivated me to turn my previously poor
“That experience set the bar for the type of artistic communities I wanted to be a part of and the type of artist I wanted to become.” —ROX IE PE R K IN S
academic life around, graduate high school, and go to college to study theatre. Alyssa: A family. The summers I spent at Berkeley Rep were where I created my second home. The directors, playwrights, and my peers gave me the confidence to be comfortable with who I am. I will hold on to the memories and the important lessons I’ve learned forever. I want to give back to the community that had already given me so much. I learned important skills like accountability and responsibility, not only to myself, but also to others. Sam: The School of Theatre not only imparts first-rate training in acting, something I have dedicated my life to, but also represents the greater values of understanding, curiosity, and a sense of play. These eternal touchstones are incredibly important both on and off the theatre stage, and I’m proud to say that Berkeley Rep helped foster them in me, and I can only hope to do the same in the hearts and minds of the next generation. Jack: The School of Theatre is my artistic and educational home space. It has blessed me with countless opportunities to define my identity as an arts educator, and gave me support to spread my wings and advocate the transformational power of theatre in communities around the Bay. What is the importance of theatre today? Sam: With so much technological evolution in the way we live our lives, so much (cyber) space in between us as individuals, seeing real human beings have intense emotional experiences mere feet from us in the audience could not be more important. Roxie: Theatre is an important tradition because it is the most pure form of storytelling: bodies in a shared space and time looking for meaning in themselves and each other. Alyssa: Theatre is a form of expression. It pushes you to places you could never go, mentally and physically. Its importance is invaluable. The tradition of passing down our love for theatre continues as new students and artists come to our School and the commitment to inspire and support our students gets stronger through the years. Thank you for supporting Berkeley Rep, and welcome to our family! 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 3
The Origin Story: Monsoon Wedding
When producer Margo Lion called Tony
Taccone to ask if he’d be interested in talking to Mira Nair about a theatre project, Tony did not need any time at all to think about it. One resounding yes and a trip to New York later, he found himself face to face with one of the most luminous, dynamic, fiercely generous, and inarguably talented artists of our time. Mira’s body of work speaks for itself—films like Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala helped redefine what a Hollywood success could look like. The chance to work with an artist of this magnitude doesn’t come along every day, and Tony wasn’t about to pass it up. Mira wanted to adapt her radiant film, Monsoon Wedding, for the stage. It would be one of the most expansive endeavors Berkeley Rep had ever attempted, with artists coming from all over the world, designs pushing the limits of our theatre’s capacities, resources stretched to their max, and requiring more people firing on all cylinders than ever before. Normally, an artistic director would take time to carefully consider a proposition this massive, really weighing whether or not we could serve the project well. In this case, there was just no need: Mira is a force of nature. She, and we, would make it work. Mira’s exceptional artistry and uncompromising appetite for excellence, along with her devotion to creating a spectacle worthy of an Indian wedding, combine to take an already great story and transform it into a truly unparalleled theatrical experience. We are honored that Margo and Mira selected us as the company they wanted to work with to premiere this production. 1 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
Vijaya
Ria's parents
Tej a.k.a. "pRaAjI" "daadi" a.k.a. "matAjI"
Ria VERMA
gRaNd motHER
MOHaN RaI
SaROJ RaI "MUMMy"
HEMaNT RaI
In Indian social circles, the terms “aunty” and “uncle” can apply to any person in the generation above yours. Terms for relatives are a lot more specific: titles vary for family members on the father’s versus the mother’s side of the family, for their elder versus their younger siblings, and for how to address someone versus how to refer to them. “Mumma” and “Papa” are as common as the American “Mom” and “Dad,” but that is where the simplicity ends. For example, “Daadi” means paternal grandmother and “Naani” means maternal grandmother. One of the songs in Monsoon Wedding refers to “sassey” (plural for “sas”), which means mothers-in-law.
LaLIT VERMA
PiMMI VERMA
"Papa"
“muMMa"
varun VERMA
Aditi’s “sas”-to-be is Saroj Rai, who encourages Aditi to call her “Mummy,” an affectionate term for a mother. “Sas” is her title, but “Mummy” is how she wishes to be addressed. Furthermore, relatives may refer to each other by more casual titles rather than use the most proper terminology. Tej, as Lalit’s elder brother-in-law, should be addressed as “Jijaji” but is instead called “Praaji,” a way to refer to an elder brother (indicating a greater closeness than with a brother-in-law). Literary Fellow Ankita Raturi and Graphic Design fellow Cynthia Peñaloza took some time to decode the familial relationships and terminology that appear in Monsoon Wedding.
CL CHaWLa
SHasHi CHaWLa
aLIya cHawLa
PRAAJI respectful term for elder brother MATAJI respectful term for mother DAADI father’s mother
"NaaNI"
NAANI mother’s mother MUMMY alternative for “Mumma”
AdItI VERMA
ViKrAm
Pk dUBEy
ALICe
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AN INTOXICATION WITH LIFE: AN INTERVIEW WITH
Mira Nair P H OTO BY I S H A A N N A I R
1 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
BY SARAH ROSE LEONARD & JOEL DOCKENDORF
Mira Nair, the renowned film director, returns to
her theatre roots with a musical adaptation of her 2001 hit independent film Monsoon Wedding. Her diverse body of work ranges in subject matter and style, including feature films and documentaries such as Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, India Cabaret, Vanity Fair, The Namesake, and Queen of Katwe. However, they all universally exude Nair’s signature infectious curiosity. She is a woman you can’t say no to. Her warmth is irresistible, her sense of humor contagious, her artistic rigor inspiring. Joel Dockendorf, Berkeley Rep’s video and multimedia producer, sat down with Nair between rehearsals to discuss what it’s like to reimagine her film as a new musical. I hear that you started your career in theatre. Making Monsoon Wedding as a stage musical was in a way like coming home. I was deeply, intuitively happy as an actor on stage when I first began working. From age 16 until 19, I was part of a repertory company—several actually—in Calcutta with this radical Bengali playwright called Badal Sircar; we used to take political theatre out into the streets. Then I came to this country on a scholarship to Harvard to study theatre and to become an actor. At the time, Harvard didn’t offer a theatre concentration, so I spent my summers at La MaMa in New York, where I apprenticed with the extraordinary founder Ellen Stewart. There, I got to observe and work with great heroes of mine like Joseph Chaikin, Andrei Serban, and Liz Swados. Theatre is part of my dna and it feels comfortable to adapt one of my films into a musical. But this certainly is also new for me. It is my first musical, and it has been a long time in the making. Namit Das (Dubey) and Anisha Nagarajan (Alice) P H OTO BY J OA N M A R C U S
What is it like coming back to a piece of work that you started 16 years ago? When we made this film, we were painting a portrait of a globalizing India, the India in fact that we now live in, you know? It was a juxtaposition of the ancient and modern in every way: architecturally, emotionally, sexually. That was almost 15 years ago. Now, India is almost a superpower—more known to the world and more confident in its crossover wealth. Now more than ever, there is an enormous division and discrepancy between the rich and the poor. There is actual depravity with the ostentation of wealth. There are all kinds of manifestations of this crazily global yet not always progressing India. So now in 2017, we’ve updated the musical to reflect not just the complexity and the madness of today’s India, but also what’s going on in America. Monsoon Wedding the musical is equally about today’s India and today’s America: the bride and the groom both meet across the oceans and they both have their own vision of India and America. This is that beautiful collision that is at the heart of Monsoon Wedding. The heart of our story is also about different kinds of love. There’s what I call “ old shoe love”—the love between the father and mother of the bride over many years that may have faded in passion and yet completely finds itself again. Then there is the love that is arranged that could ignite—the love between the groom and the bride. There is the love over a flower, the nonmaterial love of Alice and Dubay, the maid and the tent man. And finally there is the sick, twisted love that is also unfortunately in our lives. Monsoon Wedding, we hope, is a gorgeous blend of all these different kinds of love that together creates a sense of joy on stage. That is what we are aspiring for. And it’s just kind of nice to be making an antidepressant. We need that right now! When did the idea that Monsoon Wedding could be a musical pop into your head? When the film opened in 2002, it ran for months and broke box-office records at the Paris in New York. My agent, the legendary Sam Cohn, had his office in front of it. He told me he would pop in for 20 or maybe 45 minutes every other day to see the film to, “save his shrink bills,” because it made him happy. One day he took me to dinner and casually said, “You should really think about making it into a musical.” That was my “aha!” moment. The film is an explosion of what we call masti—the intoxication to live. Music was already in the bones of the film of Monsoon Wedding; I work with music like it’s oxygen. So his suggestion to turn it into a musical just seemed right. That was already more than 12 years ago. The first people I talked to were two of my friends—Vishal and Sabrina. Vishal is the great composer of our musical, he understands the pulse of the pop of Indian music but comes from the ancient study of the classical music, which is exactly how I wanted that bridge to be served. Sabrina is the writer of the screenplay who I jumped into learning the completely new form of the book of a musical. Together we made the first few songs, which are still with us in the play. And then we found Susan Birkenhead, a veteran Broadway lyricist, who has this amazing talent for entering another culture and completely, sinuously understanding the colloquialisms and language, then CO N TIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 7
CO N TIN U E D FRO M PR E VI O U S PAG E
Mira Nair (center) with the cast and crew of Monsoon Wedding P H OTO BY J OA N M A R C U S
translating that into lyrics. It can be a little hard to put the four of us in a room, because we all have big-ish lives and live across oceans but the devotion has been steadfast. And our fantastic producers like Margo Lion and Stephen and Ruth Hendel have labored to create these oases of time for us across the years. We’ve gone through about five workshops, continuing to hone the piece together. And then the casting! Casting Monsoon Wedding, without exaggeration, has taken five years. Because—the talent is so there—but to sing, dance, and act onstage amongst the best is not an opportunity that is given to many South Asian actors, you know? We tapped into the world of classical Indian singing and dancing in India, and even within America. Our casting directors really had to scour the place, and now we are beholden with treasures. I recently saw an article about the show Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, talking about when Shoba Narayan stepped into the lead role for a night, it made her the first South Asian female in a principal role on Broadway since Bombay Dreams ran over 10 years ago. And she is currently the only South Asian female in a Broadway musical. You know the first day of rehearsal for Monsoon Wedding, I got out of the subway in Times Square, and I said “All brown people follow me!” Because we were heading to rehearsal! [Laughs.] It really is a gorgeous privilege to bring our talent to a world that needs to know it, and will be enlivened for it. What does music add to the story? All kinds of music and song are interwoven into any wedding. So we had that on our side, but also the musical form meant that great emotions, or even small ones, could be sung. And the beautiful thing about working with such an authen1 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
tic team is that we know how and where to explore different traditions of music. For example, we had a big song in Act Two that is sung and performed in our story in the Qawwali tradition, a North Indian tradition of duet singing. One day I asked Vishal, “Let’s have a Bhatially melody,” a boatman’s melody which is part of our tradition. And Vishal immediately came up with this beautiful melody which became “Goddess of the Light.” It became this exquisite moment in our musical when Alice emerges like a candelabra, like this goddess of the light. How do you envision the musical speaking to the audience? I think the musical is coming from a very authentic place, but a place that is also playful, irreverent, and modern in terms of its use of design, music, and costume. It is about the character of an India that is constantly changing and of an America that is constantly changing. So it is very topical. It is about people who come from other places and make either this country home, or vice versa. I think people will see themselves in this story and in this family because it is a universal story. The story of a family that does not want to split, that does not want to break despite the vicissitudes of life. In Monsoon Wedding, the story of this family is told in a combination of great truth and great fun. Fun is critical, but fun cannot mask darker things. We strived for a beautiful kind of balance between silence and music, darkness and real joy. At its foundation, our story is about love. We all yearn for that, don’t we? We all want to understand love. We want to recognize what love is and how we become a part of it. That is what I hope to create onstage—a feeling of masti, of a kind of intoxication with life. I want to take you to an India you may not have seen, and an America that has to wake up to us.
the epic indian wedding B Y A N K I TA R AT U R I
There may not be any such thing as the “typical”
Indian wedding. The bride and groom may practice Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism; might ethnically descend from North or South India; and could reside in any one of India’s culturally distinct 36 states and union territories. On top of that, the ceremony could follow traditional or modern customs, and the marriage could arise from an arranged or a love match. The possibilities are dizzying. Moreover, Indian families celebrate for at least three days with events each day. From hours of henna application to the bride’s hands and feet to the groom’s entrance dancing atop an elephant to the myriad mischievous games between their two families, Indian weddings across the board are nothing if not epic. Popular culture has embraced North Indian weddings as something of a gold standard. Even outside India, the most iconic, recognizable wedding customs come from the North Indian tradition. The Verma family in Monsoon Wedding originates from the North Indian state of Punjab, and Aditi Verma’s wedding to Hemant Rai epitomizes all the staples of a big Punjabi wedding. Each ritual holds its own religious or cultural significance, but the essential undercurrent throughout a Punjabi wedding is its masti, a Hindi word perhaps best translated as “indubitable fun.” The first ceremony you’ll see in Monsoon Wedding is the sagai, also sometimes called the mangni: the formal engagement ceremony. In an arranged marriage, the families agree on the match, so no one proposes. Instead, they set a date for the engagement, which includes an exchange of rings, gifts, and sweets. On any happy occasion, especially an engagement or wedding, you are likely to hear the phrase “muh meetha karo,” meaning, “Sweeten your mouth” as aunties (those female friends and relatives of all Indian parents that collectively take it upon themselves to raise everyone’s children) jovially forcefeed sweets and confections to the happy couple. Some time later, the wedding festivities begin in earnest. These include a number of pre-wedding traditions taking place over two or three days leading up to main ceremony. First up comes the haldi ceremony, which takes place at the respective homes of the bride and groom. Family members apply haldi, or turmeric, paste to the bride and the groom’s skin to brighten and even its tone in preparation for the wedding. The paste’s yellow color is considered auspicious and purifying, and the application supposedly protects the bride and groom from the ominous nazar, or evil eye. Each family member applies turmeric paste in turn to the face, neck, hands, and feet, but inevitably someone will go for the hair and soon the ceremony has turned into an all out war resembling a water balloon fight, the bride or groom fending for themselves against the rest of
their respective families. After the haldi, the families ask the Hindu Lord Ganesha to ensure that the wedding transpires smoothly and without obstacle in a prayer ceremony called the Ganesha pooja. The next day’s affairs begin with the mehendi, the Hindi word for henna. The mehendi ceremony features henna application to the bride’s hands, forearms, feet, and ankles. Henna supposedly holds many medicinal uses, for example as a cooling agent that calms the nerves or an antiseptic that protects against infectious diseases; Hindu and Muslim weddings as well as other significant ceremonies throughout the South Asian and Arab world feature henna application as an important tradition. Two or three henna artists focus specifically on the bride, who may sit for as long as eight hours while the henna artists adorn her skin. The bride’s female friends and family also get their henna done, but the bride’s henna features the most intricate and elaborate designs. The henna artists typically hide the bride and groom’s names in the pattern on the bride’s hands for the groom to find later, a ploy to make the groom hold the bride’s hands for as long as possible while searching for their names. Henna takes a long time to dry and fall off, leaving a dark red design temporarily adorning the skin. The longer you wait to rub the dry henna paste off, the darker and longer lasting the end effect. Lemon juice and oil application over drying henna helps to keep it wet and prevent it from falling off too quickly. Some say the darker the henna’s color on the skin, the
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deeper the love will form between husband and wife, and the later the design fades, the more auspicious for the marriage. Next comes the sangeet, a Hindi word meaning “song,” during which the bride’s friends and family entertain her with song and dance while she waits for her henna to finally dry and fall off. This function, partly born out of the long period of time during and after the mehendi, when the bride cannot really use her hands lest she ruin her henna, is traditionally a ladies-only affair, and restricted to the bride’s side of the family. However, in modern Indian weddings, the bride and groom enjoy a fullfledged song and dance show put on by the family and friends of both. Guests organize themselves into groups, such as the cousins or the aunties, and choreograph dance routines days in advance, often informally competing for best performance. Today, the sangeet serves as a pre-wedding reception of sorts, a euphoric celebration of the wedding to come. Finally, the day of the wedding arrives. Everyone wears vibrant colors. In sharp contrast with Christian weddings, Hindu wedding attire never features white, a color reserved for mourning. Black also is considered too staid a color for a wedding, which should be festive and bright. The most popular outfit for a Punjabi groom is a sherwani, a kind of heavily embroidered suit jacket that extends past the knees, worn with fitted pajama pants. On his feet, the groom wears Punjabi juttis, a flat, pointed shoe embroidered to match the sherwani, which might have soft gold and cream-colored tones. The groom in a Punjabi wedding also sports a turban in red, pink, or some other vibrant color. Male family members wear matching turbans as well. The history of the Punjabi turban, or pagdi, is steeped in Sikh history (Sikh men originate from Punjab and wear a turban every day), but the practice soon spread to non2 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
Sikh Punjabis who now wear turbans at weddings as a mark of esteem and dignity. Lastly, the groom wears a dupatta, a long scarf hanging loosely around the neck, which will become a crucial component of the wedding ceremony. Many Indian brides wear sarees, but in North Indian weddings and Punjabi weddings in particular, lehengas reign in popularity. Bridal lehengas consist of a high-waisted, widebrimmed, ankle-length skirt and a crop top, both heavily embroidered in vibrant bridal colors: typically reds, pinks, and oranges. The bride’s mother, grandmothers, and mother-inlaw give her jewelry to wear specially on this day, often pieces these women wore on their own wedding days. These may include her nath, a hoop nose ring with a chain that runs across the cheek and connects with jewelry worn on the bride’s ear or in her hair. In another uniquely Indian adornment, the maang tikka, a chain runs along a center parting in the bride’s hair with a pendant at the end that rests on her forehead. Punjabi brides also wear chooda, a set of 21 red and white bangles, presented by the bride’s maternal uncle. Traditionally, the bride would wear her chooda for 40 days after the wedding, a useful identifying feature of a young bride new to her husband’s community, but since the bride now does not necessarily move in with the groom’s family, many Punjabi brides no longer heed this old custom. Like the groom, the bride also wears a dupatta, but hers is a wide, translucent scarf matching her lehenga, draped back from her forehead flowing over her hair, shoulders, and down her back. Skin glowing from haldi, hands and feet covered in intricate mehendi designs, lehenga on and dupatta draped, jewelry and makeup applied, the bride finally appears ready for the main wedding ceremony, traditionally hosted by her family. The groom, along with his family and friends, arrive singing and dancing in nothing less than a full-fledged party known as the baraat. The groom sits atop a horse or elephant surrounded by
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On the seventh step, they vow to be loyal to one another. Here, they often play another game to win dominance: the bride and groom race back to their seats after the completion of the final circle and the first to sit down will end up the dominant partner in the marriage. A grand reception follows the wedding ceremony featuring a buffet of North Indian dishes, and lots of drinking and dancing. In the most common Indian wedding game of all, the bride’s siblings and cousins try to steal the groom’s shoes during the ceremony (which takes place barefoot). If they emerge successful, then they can barter with the groom at the reception for money or gifts in exchange for his shoes back. The groom’s side stays on high alert to protect the groom’s shoes, but the bride’s side almost always wins. Finally comes the bidaai, or the goodbye. Traditionally, the bride left her home to go live with the groom’s family at this moment. The bride would throw rice and coins behind her as she left her parents’ house to wish them health and prosperity. The modern bidaai serves as a farewell for both bride and groom, and resembles the moment in a Western wedding when the bride and groom drive off in a “Just Married” car. Like everything else in a Punjabi wedding, it of course must feel bigger and brighter. Family and friends might line up on either side of the road and create an archway with handheld sparklers for the bride and groom to walk under as they leave the wedding venue. Instead of a car, perhaps a brightly ornate rickshaw or tuk-tuk awaits the newlyweds who leave, as they arrived, in splendor. They leave behind them endless memories, a hefty cleanup, and those ever-present Indian aunties reminding the unmarried next generation, to their ceaseless chagrin, “You’re next!” 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 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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his friends, family, and drummers playing the Indian dholak (a horizontal drum worn around the neck). The group dances to the wedding venue, often the bride’s home, where the bride’s family welcomes the groom’s family. The bride and groom take their places beneath the mandap, or the wedding stage, a four-posted canopy somewhat resembling the Jewish chuppah. Their parents also sit under the mandap, with close relatives at the periphery. Traditional Hindu wedding ceremonies can last hours; guests get offered snacks and beverages at regular intervals. Modern couples go so far as to abbreviate many of the customary prayers and rituals. In one of the most iconic and enduring rituals, the bride and groom exchange garlands, called the jai mala, typically made of marigolds. The couple places the garlands around each other’s necks, each bowing their head to the other in turn. Derived from the Ramayana, a sacred Hindu epic, the jai mala exchange echoes the moment Sita garlanded Rama by way of accepting his proposal. In modern ceremonies, the bride and groom both garland each other, signifying their acceptance of the marriage. Each will try to garland the other first, a game family members will egg on by hoisting the bride and groom’s chairs higher, trying to give their own side the advantage. A common joke holds that whomever garlands the other first will emerge the dominant partner in the marriage. Another quintessential ritual, the saat phere, or the “seven circles around the fire” (also sometimes called saptapadi, or the “seven steps”), begins with a family member, typically the bride’s brother, tying a knot between the bride and groom’s dupattas (scarves). The couple then walks seven times around a ceremonial fire, indicating god as a witness to the marriage. Each circle or step represents a different wedding vow or prayer for the marriage. For example, on the fifth step, the bride and groom pray for healthy, beautiful, and brave children.
B ERKELE Y REPERTORY THE ATRE TONY TACCONE, MICHAEL LEIBERT ARTIS TIC DIREC TOR AND SUSAN MEDAK , M ANAGING DIREC TOR PRESENT S THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
BA SED ON THE MOTION PIC TURE MONSOON WEDDING BOOK BY
MUSIC COM POSED AND ORCHES TR ATIONS BY
SABRINA DHAWAN
VISHAL BHARDWAJ
LYRIC S BY
SUSAN BIRKENHEAD
SCENIC DESIGN
LI G H T I N G D E S I G N
CO S T U M E D E S I G N
SOUND DESIGN
PROJ E C T I O N D E S I G N
MIKIKO SUZUKI M AC ADA MS
DONALD HOLDER
ARJUN BHA SIN
SCOT T LEHRER
PE TER NIGRINI
A E R IA L D E S I G N
O RC H E S T R AT I O N S
ARR ANGEMENTS
GREGG CURTIS/ THE AERIAL S TUDIO
MIKE BRUN
VISHAL BHARDWAJ C AR MEL DE AN M AYUKH SARK AR
D R A M AT U RG
CASTING
A D D IT I O N A L C A S T I N G
S TAG E M A N AG E R
ARPITA MUKHERJEE
CINDY TOL AN ADA M C ALDWELL
NANDINI SHRIKENT S TEPHANIE GORIN
MICHAEL SUENKEL*
M U S I C D I R E C T I O N BY
GREG KENNA M U S I C S U PE RV I S I O N BY
C AR MEL DE AN C H O R E O G R A PH Y BY
LORIN L ATARRO DIREC TED BY
MIRA NAIR M AY 5–JUNE 25, 2017 · RODA THE ATRE · M AIN SE A SON This show includes a 15-minute intermission. Monsoon Wedding is made possible thanks to the generous support of SEASON SPONSORS
Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family
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M E D IA S P O N S O R
We are especially grateful to the following sponsors for their lead support of Monsoon Wedding:
Yogen & Peggy Dalal Robin & Rich Edwards Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Lata Krishnan & Ajay Shah Monica Lopez & Sameer Gandhi Pam & Mitch Nichter Rummi & Arun Sarin kbe Tomlinson Family Gail & Arne Wagner
CAST Lalit Verma Jaaved Jaaferi Pimmi Verma Mahira Kakkar* Aditi Verma Kuhoo Verma Varun Verma Rohan Gupta Ria Verma Sharvari Deshpande Vijaya/Naani Palomi Ghosh Tej Alok Tewari* CL Chawla
Sorab Wadia*
Shashi Chawla Monsoon Bissell Aliya Chawla Emielyn D. Das Hemant Rai Michael Maliakel Saroj Rai Krystal Kiran Mohan Rai/Tameesuddin Andrew Prashad Grandmother Meetu Chilana* Alice Anisha Nagarajan* PK Dubey Namit Das Vikram/Congress Ali Momen Lottery Levin Valayil* Swings Dani Jazzar,
Namita Kapoor*
BAND Conductor/Keyboards Greg Kenna Drums Russ Gold† Acoustic and Electric Guitar Schyler McFadden† Acoustic and Electric Bass Sascha Jacobsen† Trumpet Scott Englebright† Trombone and Tuba Ryan Black† Dhol, Dholak, Tabla, Daf, Percussion Deep Singh Contractor Aharon Wheels Bolsta Contractor Kevin Porter Copyist JoAnn Kane Music/Russell Bartmus
Affiliations The director and choreographer are members 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.
*Indicates a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States Indicates a member of Musicians Union Local 6, American Federation of Musicians
†
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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S Monsoon Bissell S H A S H I C H AW L A
Monsoon is making her debut at Berkeley Rep. She is the co-creator of Two Women Talking, a live, unscripted performance in which two women weave their life stories together— stories that take place between western and eastern worlds, touching on issues of personal identity, culture, gender, sexuality, violence, illness, and tradition. It has been performed in theatres and universities across the United States and India. She starred in Zindagi Channel’s Jackson Heights. Monsoon was the first assistant director of the film Monsoon Wedding. She holds a Master of Arts and a Master of Education from Columbia University in Psychological Counseling.
Meetu Chilana
GR ANDMOTHER
Meetu is making her Berkeley Rep debut. Select credits include principal vocalist in Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana (Radio City Music Hall, State Kremlin Palace Moscow) and Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza (national tour), along with The Shaking Earth (New York Theatre Workshop), and Jihad: The Musical (Edinburgh). She hosts for Visit the usa (US Tourism Board) and avs TV, an internationally syndicated Bollywood program. She has released two original albums as a singer/songwriter and her voice-over work can be heard on Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4, Google, Cuisinart, and numerous books on Audible. bfa nyu Tisch, and drama at Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Visit MeetuMusic.com.
Emielyn D. Das A L I YA C H AW L A
Emielyn is a singer, dancer, and actress. She is of mixed Indian descent and has sung and acted in around five different languages. Emielyn has Facebook page with over 3,800 likes, a Soundcloud page with over 70,000 plays, and has just started a YouTube channel. For the past six months, she has been working on her first self written and composed EP, which will be released soon. Emielyn has been cast in August: Osage County, Into the Woods, and the feature film, The Valley, and has directed a children’s play called What Happened 24 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
profiles
After Once Upon a Time and many more. Now debuting in Mira Nair’s musical Monsoon Wedding, Emielyn hopes to take her career far and to be forever in touch with the world of music and theatre.
Namit Das PK DUBEY
Namit is making his Berkeley Rep debut. He is a regular face on Indian television and films and has been working in the theatre for over 12 years. He has been involved with the long-running Mumbai hit, Hamlet the Crown Prince, for eight years. Other theatre credits include Stories in a Song and The President Is Coming. Film credits include the much acclaimed Wake Up Sid, Ghanchakkar, and Ankhon Dekhi. Television credits include Sumit Sambhal Lega (the official Indian version of Everybody Loves Raymond). For the past two years he has been performing with his band, Namit Das+Anurag Shanker.
Sharvari Deshpande RIA VERMA
Sharvari is currently living in New York and making her Berkeley Rep debut. Regional theatre credits include Kyun Kyun Ladki (Gillo Theatre Repertory), Hanuman Ki Ramayan, and She-He-Shey. New York theatre credits include Chokher Bali and The Queen. She is also trained in Indian music and dance. She is studying acting at Columbia University.
Palomi Ghosh V I J AYA / N A A N I
Palomi is a film/theatre actor. Her latest film, Mukti Bhavan (Hotel Salvation), premiered at the 74th Venice Film Festival, 2017. Prior to that she received the President’s Award for her role in Nachom-ia Kumpasar (Let’s dance to the rhythm), an Indian Jazz biopic based in 1960s Goa. She played Carmen in the Indian adaptation of George Bizet’s opera set in a contemporary nightclub. She has also worked on the yet-to-release Gandhi of the Month, a feature film starring Harvey Keitel. Palomi is a graduate in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University whose interest in acting peaked when she took theatre electives in final year of university.
Rohan Gupta
VA R U N V E R M A
Rohan is making his professional theatre debut at Berkeley Rep. He is a graduate of Bard College where he performed in productions including The Importance of Being Earnest, Elektra, and Woyzeck. He has appeared in the films The Reluctant Fundamentalist (directed by Mira Nair) and Framed. Born and raised in India, Rohan now calls New York City home.
Jaaved Jaaferi L ALIT VER M A
Jaaved “JJ” Jaaferi is globally popular in various ways with varied audiences. He is an actor, a dancer, voice artist, choreographer, and producer. From his first Hindi film, Meri Jung (1985), Jaaved has created iconic characters over 60 Hindi films. Some of the films he has acted in—Fire, Salaam Namaste, Singh Is Kinng, Boom, The Forest, Bang Bang!, and more— have breached the global market. On Indian TV, Jaaved created and acted in path-breaking shows like Flashback and Timepass on the then newly launched Channel V (India). He co-created and judged Boogie Woogie, India’s first reality dance show on TV that had a weekly run for 17 years. He has performed live on stage, in dance shows, stand-up routines, Bollywood, and variety shows. Jaaved is very excited to make his Berkeley Rep debut.
Dani Jazzar SWING
Dani is excited to be making his Berkeley Rep debut. His European credits include Saturday Night Fever (Cologne, European tour), Miami Nights (Dusseldorf), and Fame the musical (UK tour). Canadian credits include Bernardo in several productions of West Side Story (Vancouver Opera, Citadel Edmonton, Theatre Calgary); ups guy in Legally Blonde, Cabaret, and Spamalot (Theatre Aquarius/Drayton Entertainment); Rum Tum Tugger in Cats (Stirling Festival Theatre); Pirates of Penzance, 9 to 5 The Musical, Oklahoma!, and The Little Mermaid (Drayton Entertainment); Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage West Calgary); and several Christmas pantomimes (Elgin Theatre/Ross Petty Productions). His film and TV credits include appearances in American
BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S Gods, The Strain, Covert Affairs, Nikita, Traitor, Anon, Mirror Mirror, The Love Guru, and Once Upon a Mattress.
Mahira Kakkar PIMMI VERMA
Mahira is making her Berkeley Rep debut. New York credits include Trial of An American President and Sophistry (Theatre Row), Romeo and Juliet (the Public Theater), Clive (the New Group), Opus (Primary Stages), Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons), When January Feels Like Summer (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Betrothed (Ripe Time), The Ragged Claws (Cherry Lane Theatre), Harper Regan (Atlantic Theatre), and Cavedwellers (the Pearl Theatre Company). Select regional credits include work at Hartford Stage, the Huntington Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre Center, Cleveland Playhouse, the Old Globe, Denver Center Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Center Stage in Baltimore, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Film work includes Oil and Vinegar, Hechki, Hank and Asha, and A Night in the Hill. TV credits include Blue Bloods, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Odd Mom Out, The Big C, and Blacklist. Mahira is a proud member of est, Hero Theatre, and the Actors Center. Training—Juilliard. Visit mahirakakkar.com.
Namita Kapoor SWING
Namita is making her Berkeley Rep debut. She is the artistic director of Hindu Swing, a rhythmic dance journey exploring Jack Cole’s relationship between American jazz and classical Indian dance. Performing credits include the first national tour of Bombay Dreams (Theater of the Stars), The King and I (American Musical Theater), Corposonic (Lincoln Center), Jazz Tap Ensemble (the Joyce Theater), The International Body Music Festival (SF Jazz), The Love Guru (Paramount Pictures), and Just Dance India (Star TV). Her choreographer, performer, and teacher credits span from India, Brazil, Turkey, and Iceland to Japan, and she works actively in the styles of jazz, tap, and Indian contemporary choreography. She has worked with Gregory Hines, Baayork Lee, Lynn Dally, Marguerite Derricks, Hrithik Roshan, Farah Khan, and Vaibhavi Merchant. Visit namitakapoor.com.
profiles
Krystal Kiran
Ali Momen
Krystal is honored to be making her Berkeley Rep debut. Select live stage/theatre credits include Bombay Dreams (original Broadway cast, Broadway Theatre nyc), lead vocalist on AR Rahman’s Jai Ho World Tour (Arenas), Lord of the Rings (Princess of Wales, Toronto), and West Side Story (Citadel, Edmonton). Select film/television credits include Suicide Squad, Hairspray, Private Eyes, Minority Report, Hemlock Grove, Workin’ Moms, Hellcats, and The Love Guru. Krystal is an honorary graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and scholarship graduate of the Professional Theatre Training Program at the Banff Centre. Passionate about teaching, she has taught extensively across the U.S., Canada, Europe, UK, and India and is founder of House of Kiran & Maple Batalia Memorial Scholarship for the Arts supporting South Asian female arts students. Connect @krystalkiran.
Ali is thrilled to be making his Berkeley Rep debut with this amazing team. A Canadian, his credits include Disgraced (Mirvish), Much Ado About Nothing (Tarragon Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Canadian Stage), Kite Runner (Theatre Calgary/Citadel Theatre), Iceland (Why Not Theatre), Sultans of the Street (Young People’s Theatre, Dora Award), and Born Yesterday, An Ideal Husband, Serious Money, After The Dance, and Devil’s Disciple for the Shaw Festival. His film and television credits include Beeba Boys (dir. Deepa Mehta), Traitor (dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff), Houdini and Doyle, Incorporated, The Strain, All Gamer, Kim’s Convenience, L.A. Complex, and Combat Hospital.
SAROJ R AI
Michael Maliakel HEMANT RAI
Michael is making his Berkeley Rep debut. A classically trained baritone, Michael’s stage credits include the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, the Shoe Salesman in Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, Monsieur Presto in Les mamelles de Tirésias, and the Baritone in Philip Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox. He recently appeared in Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas and Britten’s Curlew River with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Michael has performed as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles across the country, including the Savannah Philharmonic, the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Aeolus Quartet, the Greenwich Choral Society, and the Long Island Choral Society. Awards include First Prize in the American Traditions Competition, First Prize in the nats National Music Theater Competition, and Third Prize in the Lotte Lenya Competition. Visit michaelmaliakel.com.
V I K R A M /C O N G R E S S
Anisha Nagarajan ALICE
Anisha is making her Berkeley Rep debut. Broadway credits include the role of Priya in the original cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber and AR Rahman’s Bombay Dreams (Broadway Theatre), and the Actors’ Fund benefit concert of Hair (New Amsterdam Theatre). Most recently, she performed in the concert production of Secret Garden at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Regional credits include Princesses (5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle), The Wiz (La Jolla Playhouse), and Rent (Hangar Theatre, Ithaca). She is best known for her role as Madhuri on NBC’s television series Outsourced. Other television and film credits include Rita (Bravo/Fox), Ugly Betty (abc), Grey’s Anatomy (abc), Code Black (cbs), and Jane Wants a Boyfriend, currently available for viewing on Showtime. She has performed with AR Rahman, U2’s Bono and the Edge, and Devo. She has a bfa from nyu’s Tisch School and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
Andrew Prashad
M O H A N R A I/ TA M E E S U D D I N
Andrew is making his Berkeley Rep debut. A trained and versatile dancer as well as a musician, singer, and actor, he is quickly becoming one of the leading tap dance artists in Canada, teaching and choreographing across North and South America. He is an award-winning 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 5
Elizabeth “Libby” Clark, joined in 2009
Thinking
BIGGER
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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S actor, composer, and writer, having recently had his self-produced short film officially selected in 12 festivals around the world and winning four awards including Best Short Film. He was a featured singer and dancer on 20th Anniversary World Tour of Riverdance and recently finished a production of Anything Goes with Drayton Entertainment. Andrew just finished mounting his one-person show One Step at a Time to critical acclaim, and is extremely excited to journey forward with the Monsoon Wedding team. He graduated from the University of Toronto at Mississauga with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Performance as well as French Literature.
Alok Tewari TEJ
Alok is making his Berkeley Rep debut. His theatre credits include The Strangest (Semitic Root); The Band’s Visit (Atlantic Theater Company); Awake and Sing! (the Public Theater/ naatco); The Queen, Martyrs Street, and Blind Angels (Theater for the New City); A Fable, Through the Yellow Hour, and War (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); Bunty Berman Presents, Rafta, Rafta…, and Marie and Bruce (the New Group); Night Over Erzinga and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Lark); Masked (Buenos Aires); Inana (Denver Center Theatre Company); Betrothed (Ripe Time); and Marco Polo (the Group, Argentina). Television credits include Iron Fist, House of Cards, Royal Pains, The Blacklist, Madam Secretary, Deadbeat, Blue Bloods, 30 Rock, Homeland, Fringe, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Guiding Light. Films include Shelter and Brooklyn’s Finest.
Levin Valayil LO T T E RY
Levin is making his Berkeley Rep debut. Regional credits include Craig Carnelia and Joe Tracz’s Poster Boy directed by Stafford Arima (Williamstown Theatre Festival) and The Fabulous Lipitones (the New Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Virginia Repertory Theatre). He recently performed in the new musical We Live in Cairo as a part of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre at New World Stages, and has been seen by New York audiences as Bhuvan in Bollywood and Vine (the Lion Theatre) and as Michael in Zuccotti Park (Robert Moss Theater). Levin received first place in the Classical Singer Vocal Competition in the Young Artist/Music Theater division in 2013. He has
profiles
a BM in music therapy and voice performance from Berklee College of Music and an mfa in musical theatre from Boston Conservatory.
Kuhoo Verma ADITI VERMA
Kuhoo is making her Berkeley Rep debut. Her New York credits include Good Kids, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Spring Awakening (New York University). Film credits include Judd Apatow’s The Big Sick. She was also a soloist at the album premiere of Calling All Dawns at Lincoln Center, by Grammy Award-winning composer Christopher Tin.
Sorab Wadia C L C H AW L A
Sorab is making his Berkeley Rep debut. Born in Bombay, India, he has performed internationally as an actor and singer in an eclectic mélange of projects ranging from The Play of Daniel, a medieval music-drama, to the notorious Jihad! The Musical on London’s West End. Last summer he was honored to play Shylock and Gratiano in a historic production of The Merchant of Venice performed outdoors in the Jewish Ghetto in Venice, Italy. He garnered rave reviews for his performance as Ali Hakim on the Broadway tour of Trevor Nunn’s production of Oklahoma! Sorab tours internationally with Kite Runner, a one-man play directed by Wynn Handman. Off-Broadway shows include The Tempest (LaMama), Bunty Berman Presents… (the New Group), and Nymph Errant. TV credits include The Blacklist: Redemption, Madame Secretary, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 30 Rock, and Chapelle’s Show. Films include The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim, and Suburban Girl. You can find more at SorabWadia.com and follow him on Facebook at SorabWadiaPerformer.
Ryan Black
TROMBONE/ TUBA
As a multi-low brass instrumentalist, Ryan is performing in many different genres, from the classical concert hall to the salsa clubs. He is seen playing tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, and tuba around the Bay Area’s bustling music scene, having performed with many of the area’s finest orchestras here and in several states of Mexico. Oftentimes
he is seen playing in the pit for Broadway shows in San Francisco and Sacramento on multiple instruments. He is currently working with the Tommy Igoe Big Band, the Fil Lorenz Orchestra, Avance, and the Marcus Shelby Orchestra. He has performed in horn sections for the Temptations, Natalie Cole, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra Jr., the O’Jays, Sheila E., Wayne Newton, Idina Menzel, and Kevin Spacey. Ryan can be heard on a variety of recordings, including Pacific Mambo Orchestra’s Grammy-winning self-titled album.
Scott Englebright TRUMPET
Scott has been a professional musician since leaving University of North Texas to play lead on Maynard Ferguson’s band in 1995. In addition to playing lead on Maynard’s band, Scott has toured as lead player with Paul Anka, Bobby Caldwell, and Woody Herman. Scott’s favorite regional theatre credits include Mambo Kings, Annie, 42nd Street, Spamalot, and White Christmas. National tours include West Side Story and I Love Lucy—Live on Stage. Scott can be heard on the cast album of A Chorus Line among several big band recordings, radio, and television. Scott currently plays with Transcendence Theater Company of Glen Ellen and the Santa Rosa Symphony. Scott resides in Vallejo and you can check out his work on YouTube.
Russ Gold DRUMS
Russ is enjoying his third production at Berkeley Rep having performed with Emma Rice’s acclaimed company Kneehigh in Tristan & Yseult and in Berkeley Rep’s An Audience with Meow Meow. Russ has toured extensively with productions of Jersey Boys and Julie Taymor’s The King Stag. Russ’ local productions include Wicked (Orpheum), Rent (Golden Gate), and Chicago (Harris Center). Russ pursued acting at American Conservatory Theater and has been featured in local and national television broadcasts. A cbs recording artist with jazz group Full Circle, Russ is thrilled to have been on the Grammy list twice for his work with Nando Lauria and Indian jazz group Natraj. Russ is a graduate of Berklee College where he received the Buddy Rich Jazz Master’s award.
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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S
profiles
Sascha Jacobsen
Schuyler McFadden
Sascha was born into a musical family, going as far back as his great, great, great, great-grandfather, who was a bassist for the Moscow Opera. Sascha has performed with Rita Moreno (Life Without Makeup, Berkeley Rep), Hugh Jackman, Martin Short, Mandy Patinkin & Patti LuPone, Marc Shaiman, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, Andrew Lippa, and many others. He is the founder of the Musical Art Quintet, which performs his original works. Strad Magazine say his music is “...Stylish and Vigorous...beautifully arranged,” and the East Bay Express declared, “Classical Music is sexy again.” Sascha also performs with Argentine tango group, Trio Garufa, and can be found dancing tango when not performing music.
Schuyler is excited to be returning to Berkeley Rep. Schuyler has been a local musician for the last decade in the Bay Area, playing many musicals such as Book of Mormon first national tour, Motown the Musical first national tour, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Cabaret, and many more. Schuyler’s last appearance at Berkeley Rep was with Amélie, and is excited to be part of another one of Berkeley Rep’s world premieres!
AC O U S T I C A N D E L E C T R I C B A S S
AC O U S T I C A N D E L E C T R I C G U I TA R
Deep Singh
D H O L / D H O L A K / TA B L A / DA F/ P E R C U S S I O N
Deep is making his Berkeley Rep debut. Born and raised in London, England, he has been steeped in music since the age of 3, and at 6 years old became a disciple of the late tabla master, Ustad Allah Rakha. Deep’s versatility as a performer, composer, producer, and engineer has given him a unique place in the music industry, resulting in some very innovative collaborations with leading artists from the East and West. Some of Deep’s work includes A.R. Rahman/Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Bombay Dreams, Twyla Tharp’s musical Come Fly Away, composing music for the prime minister of India “Anthem of Us” which debuted at Madison Square Garden and Times Square, Devo-Sutra, various projects with Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, ghost-writing for several pop artists, Sharabi (intoxication)—a band which combines bhangra and klezmer music. Visit halfkaste.com.
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BE R K E L E Y R E P PRESENTS profiles Mira Nair
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“Villa Marin is My Home” Diane and Norris enjoy an active life together that is filled with traveling, performing, composing, painting and RETIREMENT LIVING REDEFINED much more. The freedom to focus their time on their many talents, along with being a part of a community of like-minded individuals, are just a few of the reasons Diane and Norris RETIREMENT LIVING REDEFINED call Villa Marin their home.
VILLA MARIN
Mira was born and raised in Orissa, India, and graduated from Delhi and Harvard universities. A student of the theatre, she worked as an actress in the Badal Sircar’s street theatre in Kolkata in 1975, and Barry John’s Theatre Action Group in New Delhi 1974–76. In New York, she apprenticed at Ellen Stewart’s La MaMa, working with Joseph Chaikin and the Talking Band. She began making documentary films in the ’70s. Her narrative feature debut, Salaam Bombay! (1988), won the Camera D’Or at Cannes and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. A prolific independent filmmaker who casts unknowns alongside Hollywood stars, Mira has directed Mississippi Masala (1991), The Perez Family (1995), Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), the Golden Lion-winning Monsoon Wedding (2001), Hysterical Blindness (2002), Vanity Fair (2004), The Namesake (2006), Amelia (2009), and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). Her most recent film, Queen of Katwe, about a Ugandan girl with an aptitude for chess, stars Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. A longtime activist, Mira founded Salaam Baalak Trust for street children in 1988, and Maisha, a free filmmaking school for East Africans, in 2005. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2013, India’s distinguished civilian honour.
Sabrina Dhawan BOOK
This is Sabrina’s first time writing for the stage. Produced screenwriting credits include Monsoon Wedding, Cosmopolitan, 9/11, Kaminey, and Ishqiya, Rangoon. Sabrina received a BA (English) from Delhi University, an MA (Communications Research) from University of Leicester, and an mfa (Film) from Columbia University. She is also a professor at the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at the Tisch School of the Arts, nyu.
VILLA MARIN
Vishal Bhardwaj
VILLA MARIN
Vishal is a filmmaker, composer, director, writer, and singer. He also produces films under his banner VB Pictures. Vishal has composed music and songs for numerous films such as Maachis (1996), Satya (1998), Chachi 420 (1998), Godmother (1999), and the wildly popular theme songs for The Jungle Book in Hindi. As a director, he is known for his adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays—Maqbool (2003), based on Macbeth; Omkara (2006), based on Othello; and Haider (2014), based on Hamlet. Other directorial titles include Makdee (2002), The Blue Umbrella (2005), Kaminey (2009), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011),
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100 Thorndale Drive, San Rafael (415) 492-2408 www.villa-marin.com 3/23/17 6:44 PM
C O M P O S E R /A R R A N G E M E N T S
Passion, Flair, Romance IT’S ALL AT THE SYMPHONY
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS
ANTHEIL’S JAZZ SYMPHONY
SHOSTAKOVICH
TCHAIKOVSKY MAY 25–27
JUN 23–25
JUN 28–JUL 1
Shostakovich with Matthias Goerne and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth
Music for a Modern Age
MTT Conducts Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony bring a uniquely theatrical concert experience to Davies Symphony Hall, featuring the movers and shakers of the American contemporary classical music scene. Dynamic dancers and imagery enhances the musical program featuring Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony and the West Coast Premiere of MTT’s own song cycle of Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind.
Experience Berlioz’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy, as Michael Tilson Thomas leads the Grammy Awardwinning SF Symphony and Chorus, along with internationally acclaimed opera singers Sasha Cooke, Nicholas Phan and Luca Pisaroni in this powerful production.
A symphony in all but name, Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti is a tribute to Mahler’s song cycle Das Lied von der Erde. Hear Shostakovich’s moving depiction of the famous artist’s achievements and struggles through the majestic voice of Matthias Goerne, followed by Tchaikovsky’s soaring Fifth Symphony. Conducted by Manfred Honeck.
The Jun 25 concert benefits the Orchestra’s pension fund.
This concert is performed without intermission. These concerts, a part of The Barbro and Bernard Osher Masterworks Series, are made possible by a generous gift from Barbro and Bernard Osher.
FLOOR SEATS START AT
$39*
sfsymphony.org 415-864-6000 Concerts at Davies Symphony Hall. Programs,artists, and prices subject to change. *Subject to Availability Box Office Hours Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat noon–6pm, Sun 2 hours prior to concerts Walk Up Grove Street between Van Ness and Franklin Inaugural Partner
Official Airline
BE R K E L E Y R E P PRESENTS profiles and Matru ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013). His music and films have won several national and international awards.
Susan Birkenhead LY R I C I S T
Susan received a Tony Award nomination for her first show, Working, in 1978. She received another Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for her lyrics for Jelly’s Last Jam (1992). She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Triumph of Love (1998), and won an Outer Critics Circle Award for What About Luv? (1984). She won an L.A. Drama Critics Award for Minsky’s (2009). Regional theatres she has worked at include Long Wharf Theatre; Goodman Theatre; the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Canada; the Mark Taper Forum; Yale Repertory Theatre; and Baltimore’s Center Stage. She is currently working on The Secret Life of Bees with Lynn Nottage, Duncan Sheik, and Sam Gold, and Betty Boop with David Foster, Sally Robinson, and Jerry Mitchell.
Lorin Latarro
CHOREOGR APHER
Lorin choreographed Broadway’s Waitress, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Donmar transfer), Waiting for Godot (Patrick Stewart/Ian McKellen), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (associate choreographer), the Public Theater’s Twelfth Night and Odyssey (the Delacorte Theater), Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 21 Chump Street and Peter and the Wolf at bam, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Fanny (Encores), Queen of the Night (Drama Desk Award), As You Like It (director Michael Mayer in Toho Tokyo), Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre Center), Taste of Things To Come (the York, as director), Beaches (Drury Lane), Kiss Me, Kate (Barrington Stage Company), and Green Day’s American Idiot (Berkeley Rep and Broadway, associate choreographer). Lorin performed in 12 Broadway shows, and danced for Tharp, Momix, and Martha Graham. Lorin is a Bucks County Playhouse artistic associate, and a Juilliard graduate and adjunct professor. Upcoming projects include Independence for Des McAnuff, Assassins for Encores, and La Traviata for the Metropolitan Opera.
Carmel Dean
MUSIC SUPERVISOR/ ARRANGEMENTS
Carmel is a New York-based, Australian-born composer, musical director, and arranger. She is thrilled to be returning to Berkeley Rep after having been musical director for American Idiot here and on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include If/Then, Hands on a Hardbody, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. As a composer, her work includes the new 3 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
musical All I Could See (book by Dick Scanlan, currently in development with nyc’s Transport Group). She is a graduate of nyu’s Musical Theatre Writing Program and a member of the bmi Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Visit carmeldean.com.
Music For The Land Saving the places that make the East Bay special
Mayukh Sarkar
ARRANGEMENTS
Mayukh is a musician with 20 years of experience in this field. He specializes in playing the guitar, bass guitar, tenor banjo, and mandolin and played with various artists in India. He has been conducting guitar workshops in many Indian cities since 2004. He joined Indian film industry in 2010. He has been assisting Vishal Bhardwaj as a music assistant since 2014. He has been associated with Monsoon Wedding since 2015. It is an honor to be associated with Berkeley Rep. Mayukh completed his high school in 1998. He went on playing the guitar and exploring music since then.
jmlt.org
San Francisco Opera Orchestra musicians Janet Popesco Archibald, Emil Miland and pianist Margaret Fondbertasse are generously donating proceeds from the sale of their new CD to John Muir Land Trust. Now available at jmlt.org.
Greg Kenna
MUSIC DIREC TOR
Greg’s previous credits include Frozen (workshop), An American in Paris (Broadway and Paris), The Wiz Live! (nbc), Dogfight (Second Stage Theatre; music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), The Sound of Music and Guys and Dolls (Carnegie Hall), Hair (international tour), Lempicka (music and lyrics by Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer), and You Never Know and Lysistrata Jones (Meadow Brook Theatre). He is a graduate of nyu/Steinhardt.
Mike Brun
C O - O R C H E S T R AT O R
Mike is a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and multi-instrumentalist known for the wide range of his projects and skills. This is Mike’s first production at Berkeley Rep. Other theatre credits include music director/onstage musician for Mr. Burns (Playwrights Horizons), co-arranger/orchestrator/onstage musician for Twelfth Night (Delacorte Theater), music director/arranger/onstage musician for Tumacho (Wild Project), and co-arranger/onstage musician for Old Hats (Signature Theatre). Mike is composer of Bull’s Hollow (in development as a Jerome Foundation grant-funded commission for Ars Nova) and a co-composer of The Gray Man and Folk Wandering. He serves as adjunct faculty at Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and is an alum of the 2014–15 Civilians Research & Development Group as well as the 2014 Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project.
Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams SCENIC DESIGNER
Mikiko’s work has been seen at the Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, the Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, A Contemporary Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cornerstone Theater Company, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among others. Her off-Broadway credits include Working Theater, Epic Theatre 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3 3
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G
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Ensemble, Intar Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and the National Asian American Theatre Company. Her work has been seen internationally at the Nissay Opera, Nikikai Opera, Suntory Hall, Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Tokyo, Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, and Biwako Hall in Otsu. As an associate scenic designer, her Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, That Championship Season, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Next Fall, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Mikiko currently teaches at Rutgers University and Fordham University.
Arjun Bhasin
COSTUME DESIGNER
This production marks Arjun’s return to Monsoon Wedding; he designed the costumes for the 2001 film. It is his fifth collaboration with Mira Nair—their projects include The Namesake, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Kama Sutra. Today, Arjun shuttles effortlessly between Hollywood and Bollywood, crisscrossing sensibilities and ideologies. Recent film and television work includes Marielle Heller’s upcoming film Can You Ever Forgive Me? starring Melissa McCarthy, hbo’s Divorce with Sarah Jessica Parker, 3 Generations, Love Is Strange, Begin Again, and Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning Life of Pi. Bollywood films include Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, Rang De Basanti, and Dil Chahta Hai. Arjun studied film and design at nyu’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Donald Holder
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Donald previously designed Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk and Maurice Sendak’s Brundibar at Berkeley Rep. His recent work on Broadway includes Anastasia, Oslo, In Transit, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, The Father, The King and I, On the Twentieth Century, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, Spiderman—Turn Off the Dark, Ragtime, Movin’ Out, The Boy From Oz, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and many others. He has designed over 50 Broadway productions, received two Tony Awards (The Lion King and South Pacific) and 11 Tony nominations. Opera credits include Otello, Two Boys, The Magic Flute, and the upcoming Samson et Delilah at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Carmen for the Chicago Lyric and Houston Grand Opera, and Death and the Powers and Moby Dick for the Dallas Opera. For television, he designed the theatrical lighting for seasons one and two of Smash (nbc Dreamworks). Donald is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, and currently a Professor of Lighting Design at Rutgers University.
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Scott Lehrer
NEW ARRIVALS THIS SPRING:
SOUND DESIGNER
Scott received the first Tony awarded to sound for the Lincoln Center Theater revival of South Pacific. Recent theatre work includes Richard Nelson’s Gabriel Family Plays at the Public Theater, the national tour of The King and I, the Broadway productions of Hello Dolly, The Front Page, Chicago, Shuffle Along, Fiddler on the Roof, Dames at Sea, The King and I, Living on Love, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Delicate Balance, A Raisin in the Sun, Lucky Guy, Chaplin (Drama Desk Award), and Mike Nichols’ productions of Death of a Salesman and Betrayal. He has also designed over 50 of New York City Center’s Encores series. Recording projects include the Broadway cast recording of An American in Paris (Grammy nomination), Loudon Wainwright’s Grammy-winning High Wide and Handsome, Bebe Neuwirth’s Porcelain, and Meredith Monk’s mercy. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Scott was faculty at Bennington College from 2001 until 2013.
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Peter Nigrini
PROJEC TION DESIGNER
Peter’s Broadway credits include A Doll’s House, Part 2; Amélie, A New Musical; Dear Evan Hansen; An Act of God; Heidi Chronicles; The Best Man; Fela!; and 9 to 5. His other credits include Grounded and Here Lies Love (the Public Theater), Wakey, Wakey (Signature Theatre), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Second Stage Theatre), Notes from Underground (Yale Repertory Theatre), The Grace Jones Hurricane Tour, Rent (New World Stages), Real Enemies (bam Next Wave Festival), and Blind Date (Bill T. Jones). For Nature Theater of Oklahoma, No Dice and Life & Times (Burgtheater, Vienna). His upcoming projects are Lucia di Lammermoor (Santa Fe Opera) and The SpongeBob Musical (Broadway 2017–18).
Gregg Curtis
AERIAL DESIGNER
Gregg is an aerial director and designer conceiving gravity-defying action for live events, theatre, and filmed media. Gregg has worked with and for Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Polansky Shakespeare Center, Beyonce’s Formation Tour, Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz Tour, The Bregenz Opera Festpiele’s Andre Chenier, Franco Dragone’s Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria, and Delaguarda’s Villa Villa. He has designed and directed many corporate events for clients such as Red Bull Media House, The Gap, Adobe, and The Golden State Warriors/Chase Center “Groundbreaking Ceremony.” Gregg found his acrobatic roots in the sport of gymnastics in which he is a former U.S. national champion. Gregg is the executive artistic director of the Aerial Studio out of Ventura, CA, which is a circus arts training facility as well as a design and production hub for all things aerial.
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Arpita Mukherjee
D R A M AT U R G/A S S I S TA N T D I R E C T O R
Arpita is the artistic director of Congressional Award-winning Hypokrit Theatre Company. 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 35
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2017/2018 SEASON LUNA GALE
By Rebecca Gilman | Sept-Oct, 2017
A NUMBER
BAY AREA PREMIERE
By Caryl Churchill | Mar-Apr, 2018 At Harry’s UpStage in the Dashow Wing
THE ROYALE
EUREKA DAY
BAY AREA PREMIERE
WORLD PREMIERE
WIDOWERS’ HOUSES
DRY POWDER
By Marco Ramirez | Nov-Dec, 2017
By George Bernard Shaw | Jan-Feb, 2018
By Jonathan Spector | Apr-May, 2018
By Sarah Burgess | June-July, 2018 BAY AREA PREMIERE
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Credits include My First Time, Romeo and Juliet, Eh Dah: Questions for My Father (Best Book at New York Musical Festival), and Queen (reading at Ma-Yi Theater Company). In 2015, she founded the first South Asian Performing Arts Festival in New York, Tamasha. Upcoming: How to Succeed as an Ethnically Ambiguous Actor (off Broadway). Arpita is grateful to Mira Nair for this opportunity and to the wondrous cast and creative team of Monsoon Wedding.
Cindy Tolan & Adam Caldwell CASTING
Cindy and Adam have worked together since 2005. Broadway credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time, Betrayal, Macbeth, Cinderella, A View From the Bridge, All My Sons, Xanadu, and Avenue Q. Film credits include Straight Outta Compton, Maggie’s Plan, The Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, with TV credits including the upcoming hbo movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Michael Suenkel
P R O D U C T I O N S TAG E M A N AG E R
MOVIE N W O R U YO IT ED D AN LM FI WRITE, DIRECT, ACT, TENSIVE IN G N TI AC D AN G IN AK M LM FI –FRI 6:30–9:30 PM ON M · 17 20 4, UG –A 17 L JU ENTERING GRADES 9–12 MERINTENSIVE M SU G/ OR P. RE EY EL RK BE · REGISTER TODAY!
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Michael began his association with Berkeley Rep as the stage management intern for the 1984–85 season and is now in his 23rd year as production stage manager. Some of his favorite shows include 36 Views, Endgame, Eurydice, Hydriotaphia, and Mad Forest. He has also worked with the Barbican in London, the Huntington Theatre Company, the Juste Pour Rire Festival in Montreal, La Jolla Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theater, the Public Theater and Second Stage Theater in New York, and Yale Repertory Theatre. For the Magic Theatre, he stage managed Albert Takazauckas’ Breaking the Code and Sam Shepard’s The Late Henry Moss.
Karen Szpaller
A S S I S TA N T S TAG E M A N AG E R
Karen is thrilled to be back for her 13th season at Berkeley Rep. Her favorite past Berkeley Rep productions include Tribes, The Wild Bride, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Eurydice, Fêtes de la Nuit, Comedy on the Bridge/Brundibar, Compulsion, and Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West. Her favorites elsewhere include The Unfortunates, A Christmas Carol (2006–16), Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, 1776, Stuck Elevator, Blackbird, Curse of the Starving Class, and The Tosca Project at American Conservatory Theater; Anne Patterson’s art and theatrical installation Seeing the Voice: State of Grace and Anna Deavere Smith’s On Grace, both at Grace Cathedral; the national tour of Spamalot in San Francisco; Wild with
Happy, Striking 12, and Wheelhouse at TheatreWorks; Ragtime and She Loves Me at Foothill Music Theatre; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at San Jose Repertory Theatre; Salomé at Aurora Theatre Company; and Urinetown: The Musical at San Jose Stage Company. Karen is the production coordinator at TheatreWorks.
Garrett Rollins
A S S I S TA N T S TAG E M A N AG E R
Garrett’s recent credits include, on Broadway, Our Mother’s Brief Affair (Manhattan Theatre Club), Wolf Hall Parts One & Two, and Wicked, and the first national tour of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. His off-Broadway credits include Kid Victory (Vineyard Theatre) and Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story. His regional credits include The Invisible Hand, Art, Red, and Camelot (Westport Country Playhouse). Garrett has an mfa in Stage Management from Columbia University and a BA in Theatre from the University of Maine.
Tony Taccone
MICHAEL LEIBERT ARTISTIC DIREC TOR
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 19 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 the shows that transferred to London, Continental Divide and Tiny Kushner, and two that landed on Broadway as well: Bridge & Tunnel and Wishful Drinking. 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 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, and Game On, written with Dan Hoyle. 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.”
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BE R K E L E Y R E P P R E S E N T S Susan Medak
M A N AG I N G D I R E C T O R
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, organizations that represent the interests of nonprofit theatres 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. She was awarded the 2012 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal by the Berkeley Community Fund. Susan serves on the faculty of Yale School of Drama and is a proud member of the Mont Blanc Ladies’ Literary Guild and Trekking Society. 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 both the Osher Studio and 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), 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, 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
profiles
the Roots, and the Eagles. Peter also helped Alex Timbers develop Rocky the Musical, The Last Goodbye, and the cult classic 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.
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 27th 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 and One Man, Two Guvnors.
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 who is currently the associate director at Berkeley Rep. Previous projects at the Theatre include It Can’t Happen Here (2016); An Iliad (2012), which Lisa cowrote 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). For California Shakespeare Theater, Lisa directed You Never Can Tell, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, All’s Well That Ends Well, and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Other recent West Coast productions include Hamlet, Henry IV Pt 2, and Othello (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); and Chavez Ravine (Ovation Award for Best Production), Palestine New Mexico, Electricidad, Water & Power, The House of Bernarda Alba, Body of Bourne, and Mules (Mark Taper Forum). She has directed world premieres by many major American writers, including Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Donald Margulies, Jose Rivera, Ellen McLaughlin, Mac Wellman, Marlane Meyer, Polly Pen, Naomi Wallace, and many others. She regularly works at the Guthrie Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Ojai Playwrights Conference, and Sundance Theatre Lab. Lisa and Denis are working on a new play about faith and the Bible called The Good Book, and a commission for the McCarter Theatre 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
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 SPONSORS
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, focused on cleantech investments, best known for launching Ask.com and for being an early investor in TerraVia (nasdaq: tvia, terravia.com), a next-generation food, nutrition, and specialty ingredients company that harnesses the power of algae. Roger is chairman of the board of CoolSystems, a medical technology company, and 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 Oakland Children’s Hospital. They have three college-age children.
Yogen & Peggy Dalal LEAD SPONSORS
Yogen and Peggy Dalal have been avid theatregoers since they first met. Both have served on the board of TheatreWorks, and Yogen is currently on the board of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They live in Palo Alto and are engaged with a variety of arts organizations and nonprofits. They are fans of Mira Nair and are excited to see a bit of Bollywood make it to the Berkeley Rep stage.
Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer LEAD SPONSORS
Michelle and Bruce have been ardent supporters of Berkeley Rep since 1993, when they moved with two young children in tow to Berkeley. Their favorite evenings at Berkeley Rep were usually the discussion nights, where often friends would join them as well. Michelle and Bruce always felt that
Robin & Rich Edwards EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
Robin and Rich have been strong supporters of Berkeley Rep for more than 20 years when they started serving on the gala committee (on which they continue to serve). Rich was co-chair of the Narsai Toast for five years. Robin retired from active law practice as a partner of Dentons US llp five years ago and joined Berkeley Rep’s board in early 2012. Rich retired in 1998 as a senior partner of SF’s Robertson Stephens & Co., a high-techfocused investment bank, and became a professional photographer. Both Rich and Robin have been very active as board members and fundraisers for numerous Bay Area nonprofit organizations. They now spend about half the year traveling the world by sea.
Pam & Mitch Nichter
EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
Pam and Mitch recently retired from their longtime careers as partners at Osterweis Capital Management, a San Francisco investment manager, and Paul Hastings, a global law firm, respectively. They recently moved to their home in San Luis Obispo County where they keep busy enjoying the beauty that life offers by gardening, hiking, traveling, and, of course, wine tasting. Pam serves on the board of trustees at Berkeley Rep and is chair of its Investment Committee. Pam and Mitch have been enthusiastic supporters of Berkeley Rep for years and are thrilled to help sponsor this production of Monsoon Wedding.
Rummi & Arun Sarin kbe EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
Both Rummi and Arun attended the University of California at Berkeley and have lived in the Bay Area for over 30 years. They have been involved in many civic activities around the University and have been major supporters of the arts in the Bay Area. Rummi has served on the boards of Berkeley Rep and the International House. Arun currently serves on the Board of Visitors of UC Berkeley and the Blum Center. Arun was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2010 for his services to the communications industry after serving as chief executive officer of Vodafone plc.
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
Michael & Sue Steinberg
Berkeley Rep was an exceptional Bay Area cultural treasure as it was willing to support courageous new works and nurture innovative young playwrights. In 2002, Bruce and Michelle moved to London, where they nourished themselves on a steady diet of English theatre (note the proper spelling) until they could return to their beloved Berkeley Rep. They are delighted once again to be back in the very center of leading-edge theatre and are honored to be lead producers for two of this season’s great productions. Their two now-grown children are also tremendous theatre junkies and will hopefully be joining Bruce and Michelle for some of this season’s performances.
F A M I LY
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.
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
It’s not a wedding without gifts!
A NE W MU AC CL AI ME SIC D DI RE CT AL FR OM OR MI RA NA IR
BOOK BY
Sabrina Dhaw an
MUSIC BY
Vishal Bhard waj
LYRICS BY
Susan Birke nhead
DIREC TED
BY
Mira Nair
Visit the Monsoon Wedding Bazaar in our lobby for show posters, T-shirts, and tasty Indian treats
2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3 9
Gail & Arne Wagner
EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
Arne Wagner retired from the law firm of Calvo Fisher & Jacob in San Francisco. In his retirement, he teaches high school math parttime and serves as treasurer for Tiba Foundation. Gail Wagner recently retired from Kaiser in San Leandro where she was a hematologist and oncologist. She is the founder of Tiba Foundation (tibafoundation.org), an organization investing in community healthcare in an underprivileged district of western Kenya, in partnership with Matibabu Foundation. She is also on the board of Africa Cancer Foundation usa. Gail has been a Berkeley Rep trustee for five years and, together, Gail and Arne have been attending the Theatre since they were students in 1972.
Additional staff Assistant director Arpita Mukherjee
Production driver Larry Tesse
Assistant scenic designers Libby Stadstad, Chika Shimizu, G. Warren Stiles
Props Amelia Burke-Holt, Zoe Gopnik-McManus, Anya Kazimierski, Dara Ly, Kirsten Royston, Samantha Visbal, Baz Wenger, Rebecca Willis
Assistant costume designers China Lee, Urmila Motwani (India) Assistant to Ms. Nair Molly Houlahan Associate choreographer Namita Kapoor Associate lighting designer Yuki Nakase
BART
Associate projection designer Robert Figueira
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Associate sound designer Will Pickens
Peet’s Coffee
Deck crew Bradley Hopper, Sofie Miller, Matt Reynolds (tent and fly), Kourtney Snow (automation)
SEASON SPONSOR
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.
Wells Fargo
SEASON SPONSOR
As a top corporate philanthropist in the Bay Area (according to the S.F. Business Times), Wells Fargo recognizes Berkeley Repertory Theatre for its leadership in supporting the performing arts and its programs. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. Talk to a Wells Fargo banker today to see how we can help you become more financially successful.
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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
Projection editor C. Andrew Bauer
Additional props support Kathy Fabian/Propstar Scene shop Daniel Brickman, Ross Copeland, Jennifer Costley, Will Gering, ET Hazzard, Carl Martin, Sean Miller, Shannon Perry, Stephanie Shipman, Jessica Tralka Scenic artists Chrissy Curl, Lassen Hines, Katie Holmes, Christopher Jee, Anya Kazimierski, Anna McGahey, Melanie Treuhaft Sound technicians Jermaine Battle, Sarah Jacquez, Greg Smith
Casting associate Nicholas Petrovich
Video technicians Cicily Clare Gruber, Sarina Renteria, Lauren Wright
Creative consultant Sarna Lapine
d3 programmers Kyle Bjordahl, Dustin Engelskind
Costume shop Nelly Flores, Milena Geary, Alea Gonzales, Kelly Koehn, Allison Mortimer, Andrea Marlo Phillips, Anna Slotterback, Keely Weiman
Wardrobe Claire Giffith, Eva Herndon, Andrea Marlo Phillips, Maren Preston, Anna Slotterback
Dialect coach Jessica Berman Electrics Shae Baer Burnette, Cicily Clare Gruber, Gabriel Holman, Kelly Marie Kunaniec, Melissa Ramirez, Minerva Ramirez, Sarina Renteria, Matt Reynolds, Corey Schaeffer, Nathanael Schiffbauer, Andrea J. Schwartz, Kourtney Snow, Ericka Sokolower-Shain, Caitlin Steinmann, Molly Stewart-Cohn, Thomas Weaver, Lauren Wright Followspot operators Sarina Renteria, Caitlin Steinmann
Studio teacher Victoria Northridge Additional scenery elements The Aerial Studio, Hudson Scenic Studios, Kathy Fabian/Propstar, Tom Carroll Scenery Additional sound equipment Masque Sound, Meyer Sound Additional electrics equipment Christie Lites, Inc. Additional video equipment SenovvA, Inc. Immigration legal services provided by the Law Offices of Lisa Palter. Special thanks to Ruth & Steve Hendel, Margo Lion, and Roy Gabay.
Keyboard programmers Randy Cohen, Taylor Williams
Special thanks to Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Ash Chopra, Theresia Gouw, Lisa Hepps, and Joe Ruck & Donna Ito.
Lightboard programmer Bridget Chervenka
Special thanks to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Jose Hernandez.
Music assistant David Aaron Brown
Rehearsed at NEW 42ND STREET® Studios
Copyist Alex Jackson
Medical consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by Cindy J. Chang MD, ucsf Assoc. Clinical Professor and Steven Fugaro, MD.
Production assistant Betsy Norton Production assistants (nyc) Alice Pollitt, Jeana Caporelli
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’s Annual Fund, who made their gifts between February 2016 and March 2017. LEGEND
BE R K E L E Y R E P THANKS
Donors to the Annual Fund
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 G IF T S O F $50,0 0 0 –9 9,9 9 9 Edgerton Foundation The Reva and David Logan Foundation National Endowment for the Arts The Bernard Osher Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Time Warner Foundation, Inc. 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 Woodlawn Foundation G IF T S O F $5,0 0 0 –9,9 9 9 Anonymous Berkeley Civic Arts Program Distracted Globe Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Ramsay Family Foundation Karl & Alice Ruppenthal Foundation for the Arts
G IF T S O F $ 1,0 0 0 –4,9 9 9 Joyce & William Brantman Foundation Butte Creek Foundation Civic Foundation James Irvine Foundation jec Foundation San Francisco Foundation Frank Sinatra Foundation twanda Foundation
COR P OR AT E S P ON S OR S SEASON SPONSORS
G I F T S O F $ 10 0,0 0 0 A N D A B OV E
SPONSORS
G I F T S O F $ 3,0 0 0 – 5,9 9 9
Mechanics Bank Wealth Management The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
Bayer Boston Properties, in memory of John & Carol Field Gallagher Risk Management Services Macy’s
CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S
G I F T S O F $ 6,0 0 0 –11,9 9 9
E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
G I F T S O F $ 2 5,0 0 0 –49,9 9 9
American Express
PE R FO R M A N CE S P O N S O R S
G I F T S O F $ 12 ,0 0 0 –2 4 ,9 9 9
Armanino llp City National Bank Deloitte Faber Daeufer & Itrato PC McCutcheon Construction Panoramic Interests Schoenberg Family Law Group
B U S IN E S S M E M B E R S
G I F T S O F $ 1, 5 0 0 –2 ,9 9 9
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 CH A M PI O N S
G I F T S O F $ 1,0 0 0 –1, 49 9
Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP, in memory of John & Carol Field 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
act Catering Almare Gelato Italiano Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen Aurora Catering Autumn Press Avasar Mandap Rentals B&B Kitchen & Bar Bare Snacks Big 4 Party Rentals Bistro Liaison Bogatin, Corman & Gold brk Cancun Comal Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Donkey & Goat Winery Drake’s Brewing Company East Bay Spice Company Eureka!
five Gecko Gecko Hafner Vineyard Hugh Groman Catering & Greenleaf Platters Jazzcaffè La Mediterranee La Note Latham & Watkins llp Mayer Brown llp Phil’s Sliders Picante PiQ Platano Salvadoran Cuisine Quady Winery RAJ Tents Ramsay Winery RedHawk Foods llc Revival Bar + Kitchen
Robert Meyer’s Mangia Nosh Catering St. George Spirits Sudha Pennathur Suya African Carribbean Grill Sweet Adeline Tigerlily Venus Restaurant Whole Foods Market Hotel Shattuck Plaza is the official hotel of Berkeley Rep. Pro-bono legal services are generously provided by Latham & Watkins llp and Mayer Brown llp
M AT C H I NG G I F T S 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. Adobe Systems Inc. · Advent Software · American Express · Apple · Applied Materials · Argo Group · at&t · Bank of America · BlackRock · Bristol Myers Squibb · Charles Schwab & Co, Inc · Chevron Corporation · Clorox · Constellation Energy · Dolby · Gap · Genentech · Google · ibm Corporation · John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · kla Tencor · Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Macy’s Inc. · Matson Navigation Company · Microsoft · Morrison & Foerster · norcal Mutual Insurance Company · Nvidia · Oracle Corporation · Salesforce.com · Shell Oil · Sidley Austin llp, San Francisco · Synopsys · The Walt Disney Company · Union Bank, The Private Bank · visa u.s.a., Inc. 2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 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 THANKS
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’s Annual Fund, who made their gifts between February 2016 and March 2017.
Donors to the Annual Fund
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
$ 10 0,0 0 0 +
Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family
LE A D S P O N S O R S
$ 5 0,0 0 0 – 9 9,9 9 9
Barbara & Rodgin Cohen Martha Ehmann Conte Yogen & Peggy Dalal Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Jonathan Logan Jane Marvin/Peet’s Coffee Stewart & Rachelle Owen Mary Ruth Quinn & Scott Shenker
E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
$ 2 5,0 0 0 –49,9 9 9
Edward D. Baker Michelle Branch & Dale Cook Rena Bransten Susan Chamberlin John & Stephanie Dains Bill Falik & Diana Cohen Kerry Francis & John Jimerson
Monica Lopez & Sameer Gandhi Pam & Mitch Nichter Marjorie Randolph Jack & Valerie Rowe Rummi & Arun Sarin kbe Jean & Michael Strunsky Guy Tiphane Tomlinson Family Gail & Arne Wagner
SPONSORS
$ 12 ,0 0 0 –2 4 ,9 9 9
Anonymous (2) Barbara & Gerson Bakar Carole B. Berg Maria Cardamone & Paul Matthews David & Vicki Cox Thalia Dorwick Robin & Rich Edwards Cynthia A. Farner David & Vicki Fleishhacker Paul Friedman & Diane Manley Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Scott & Sherry Haber Jack Klingelhofer Suzanne LaFetra Sandra & Ross McCandless
Dugan Moore Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg Sheli & Burt Rosenberg, in honor of Len & Arlene Rosenberg Joe Ruck & Donna Ito Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman Liliane & Ed Schneider Janis Turner Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen Martin & Margaret Zankel
A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S
$ 6,0 0 0 – 11,9 9 9
Anonymous (3) Shelley & Jonathan Bagg Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Valerie Barth & Peter Wiley Lynne Carmichael Daniel Cohn & Lynn Brinton Julie & Darren Cooke Robert Council & Ann Parks-Council Daryl Dichek & Kenneth Smith, in memory of Shirley D. Schild William Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards Tracy & Mark Ferron John & Carol Field, in honor of Marjorie Randolph
Virginia & Timothy Foo Jill & Steve Fugaro Hitz Foundation Ms. Wendy E. Jordan Ted & Carole Krumland Zandra Faye LeDuff Dixon Long Peter & Melanie Maier, in honor of Jill Fugaro Dale & Don Marshall Martin & Janis McNair Helen & John Meyer / Meyer Sound Steven & Patrece Mills M Norman & Janet Pease Mary Ann Peoples, in memory of Lou Peoples Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Barbara L. Peterson Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun Pat Rougeau Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Cynthia & William Schaff Emily Shanks M Pat & Merrill Shanks Karen Stevenson & Bill McClave Lisa & Jim Taylor Wendy Williams Linda & Steven Wolan
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
$ 3,0 0 0 – 5,9 9 9
Anonymous (6) Michelle L. Barbour Stephen Belford & Bobby Minkler Becky & Jeff Bleich Cynthia & David Bogolub Brook & Shawn Byers Ronnie Caplane Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton Betsey & Ken Cheitlin Constance Crawford Karen & David Crommie Lois M. De Domenico Delia Fleishhacker Ehrlich Nancy & Jerry Falk Frannie Fleishhacker Mary & Nicholas Graves Ms. Teresa Burns Gunther & Dr. Andrew Gunther Richard & Lois Halliday Earl & Bonnie Hamlin Vera & David Hartford Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen Renee Hilpert K James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen, in honor of Rita Moreno Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Kathleen & Chris Jackson Barbara E. Jones, in memory of William E. Jones Seymour Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton Duke & Daisy Kiehn Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Wanda Kownacki Louise Laufersweiler & Warren Sharp Nancy & George Leitmann, in memory of Helen Barber Eileen & Hank Lewis Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel Elsie Mallonee Helen Marcus & David Williamson Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas M Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Susan Medak & Greg Murphy, in honor of Marcia Smolens
Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody Eddie & Amy Orton Janet & Clyde Ostler Sandi & Dick Pantages Rezwan & Azarmeen Pavri Kermit & Janet Perlmutter Gregg Richardson & Lee Mingwei K David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Beth & David Sawi Joyce & Jim Schnobrich Stephen Schoen & Margot Fraser Linda & Nathan Schultz Beryl & Ivor Silver Ed & Ellen Smith Stephen & Cindy Snow Audrey & Bob Sockolov Vickie Soulier Deborah Taylor Pamela Gaye Walker/ Ghost Ranch Productions Beth Weissman Susan West Patricia & Jeffrey Williams Steven Winkel & Barbara Sahm Sheila Wishek Sally Woolsey
B E N E FAC TO R S
$ 1, 5 0 0 –2 ,9 9 9
Anonymous (5) Mel Adamson K Pat Angell, in memory of Gene Angell Martha & Bruce Atwater Naomi Auerbach & Ted Landau Nina Auerbach Linda & Mike Baker Leslie & Jack Batson Don & Gerry Beers David Beery & Norman Abramson Michael S. Berman, in memory of John & Carol Field Barbara Bernstein K Annikka Berridge Caroline Beverstock Naomi Black M Brian Bock & Susan Rosin
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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
Caroline Booth Bernard Boudreaux Linda Brandenburger Broitman-Basri Family Don & Carol Anne Brown Brenda Buckhold Shank, MD, PhD Katherine S. Burcham M Don Campbell & Family Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor James Cuthbertson Meredith Daane M Barbara & Tim Daniels M Richard & Anita Davis Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat Francine & Beppe Di Palma Corinne & Mike Doyle Linda Drucker Susan English & Michael Kalkstein Bill & Susan Epstein Merle & Michael Fajans Lisa & Dave Finer Ann & Shawn Fischer Hecht Linda Jo Fitz Patrick Flannery James & Jessica Fleming Thomas & Sharon Francis Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels Donald & Dava Freed Herb & Marianne Friedman Chris R. Frostad M James Gala Kevin & Noelle Gibbs M Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter Daniel & Hilary B. Goldstine Nelson Goodman, in memory of Marilyn Goodman Robert & Judith Greber William James Gregory Anne & Peter Griffes Garrett Gruener & Amy Slater Migsy & Jim Hamasaki Bob & Linda Harris Ruth Hennigar Christina Herdell, in memory of Vaughn & Ardis Herdell Doug & Leni Herst, in honor of Susie Medak
Howard Hertz & Jean Krois Elaine Hitchcock Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling M The Hornthal Family Foundation, in honor of Susie Medak’s leadership Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger Polly & Greg Ikonen Marilyn Jensen-Akula Beth & Fred Karren Doug & Cessna Kaye Bill & Lisa Kelly Stephen F. Kispersky Jean & Jack Knox Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff John Kouns & Anne Baele Kouns Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz Helen E. Land Robert Lane & Tom Cantrell Randy Laroche & David Laudon Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis Ellen & Barry Levine Jennifer S. Lindsay Suzanne & William Lingo Vonnie Madigan The Madison Family K Naomi & Bruce Mann Lois & Gary Marcus Sumner & Hermine Marshall Charlotte & Adolph Martinelli Rebecca Martinez Jill Matichak Erin McCune Kirk McKusick & Eric Allman Dan Miller Andy & June Monach Scott Montgomery & Marc Rand Jerry Mosher Marvin & Neva Moskowitz Daniel Murphy Judith & Richard Oken Sheldeen Osborne Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser Gerane Wharton Park Bob & MaryJane Pauley
Tom & Kathy Pendleton David & Bobbie Pratt Linda Protiva Lawrence Prozan Andrew Raskopf & David Gunderman Bill Reuter & Ruth Major Matt Pagel & Corey Revilla John & Jody Roberts Leigh Robinson Deborah Romer & William Tucker Boyard & Anne Rowe Enid & Alan Rubin Lisa Salomon & Scott Forrest Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland Jeane & Roger Samuelsen Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey Stephen C. Schaefer Jackie & Paul Schaeffer Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner Edie Silber & Steve Bomse Beryl & Ivor Silver Dave & Lori Simpson Margaret Skornia Cherida Collins Smith Sherry & David Smith Alice & Scott So David G. Steele Gary & Jana Stein Stephen Stublarec & Debra S. Belaga Duncan Susskind K Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young Susan Terris Samuel Test Michael Tubach & Amrita Singhal Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss Barry Lawson Williams & Lalita Tademy Wendy Willrich Charles & Nancy Wolfram Ron & Anita Wornick Sam & Joyce Zanze Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter Jane & Mark Zuercher
BE R K E L E Y R E P T H A N K S
Donors to the Annual Fund
CH A M PIO N S
$ 1,0 0 0 –1, 49 9
Anonymous (7) · Tracy Achorn · Abbey Alkon & Jonathan Leonard · Gertrude E. Allen, in memory of Robert Allen · Roy & Judith Alper · Elisabeth Andreason & Melissa Allen · Marcia & George Argyris · Ross E. Armstrong · Jolie Baumgardner M · Susan Benzinger, in memory of Zan Gray Bealmear · Patti Bittenbender · Naomi Black · Robert Bransten, in memory of John & Carol Field · Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar M · Davis Carniglia & Mary-Claire Baker · Paula Carrell · Anthony J. Cascardi · Stan & Stephanie Casper · Sumir Chadha · Leslie Chatham & Kathie Weston · Ed & Lisa Chilton · Patty & Geoff Chin · Terin Christensen · Roberta Christianson, in memory of Bea · Mike & Pam Crane · Abby & Ross Davisson · Harry & Susan Dennis · Robert Deutsch · David Deutscher · Burton Peek Edwards · Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny · Martin & Barbara Fishman · Samuel Fogleman, in memory of Zan Gray Bealmear · Dean Francis · Mary & Stan Friedman · Don & Janie Friend, in honor of Bill & Candy Falik · Craig Labadie · Glennis Lees & Michael Glazeski · Kim Golden & Jean Suda in honor of Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer · Tim & Mary Haifley · Ann Harriman, in memory of Malcolm White · Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky M · Don & Janice Holve, in memory of Daisy & Paul Persons · Mr. & Mrs. Harold M. Isbell · Randall Johnson · Corrina Jones · Dennis Kaump · Marilyn Kecso · Christopher Killian & Carole Ungvarsky · Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes · Susilpa Lakireddy · Henry Lerner, in honor of Joanne Levene Lerner · Ms. Sidne S. Long · Jay & Eileen Love · John E. Matthews · Susan & J. Patterson McBaine · Ruth Medak · Geri Monheimer, in honor of Sharon Kinkade · Brian & Britt-Marie Morris · Margo Murray · Claire Noonan & Peter Landsberger · Christina & Geoffrey Norman, in memory of John & Carol Field · Pier & Barbara Oddone · Lynette Pang & Michael Man · Regina Phelps ·
We gratefully recognize the following members of the Annual Fund whose contributions were received from January 25, 2017 to March 31, 2017: S U PP O R T E R S
$ 2 5 0 –49 9
Anonymous (4) · Alvin Baum, in memory of John & Carol Field · Law Offices of Steven Birnbaum · Carolyn & Phil Cowan · Martha & William Crowe · Toni Deser & Paul Rodman M · Debashis Dhar & Devyani Biswas M · Daniel Friedland & Azlynda Alim M · Kate Funk · Charlie Haas, in honor of John & Carol Field · Robert Jacob & Diane Penn · Beth & Tim Kientzle M · Deborah & David Kirshman, in memory of John and Carol Field · Marit Lash · Sandra MacKenzie-Cioppa, in honor of Josie & Everett Goldfarb · Jennifer Nixon & Charles Wood · Wendy Polivka & Evan Painter · Bonnie Raitt · William Yragui
CO N T RIB U TO R S
$ 15 0 –2 49
Anonymous (3) · Mehrdad Afrahi · Alice Benet · Joanie Ciardelli · Carla & Paul Cooper, in memory of John Field · Linda Biewer Elstob · The Department of Epidemiology-sph Brown University Faculty and Staff, in memory of John & Carol Field · Mrs. Robert Force · Miriam Green · Austin & Lynne Henderson · Aaron & Myra Latkin · John Lee · Adrienne W. Lewis ·
Gary F. Pokorny · David & Mary Ramos · Kent Rasmussen & Celia Ramsay · Charles Rice · Helen Richardson · Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley · Horacio & Angela Rodriguez · Rosov Consulting · Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth · Laurel Scheinman · Teddy & Bruce Schwab · Seiger Family Foundation · Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. · Neal Shorstein, MD & Christopher Doane · Valerie Sopher · Douglas Sovern & Sara Newmann · John St. Dennis & Roy Anati · Monroe W. Strickberger · William van Dyk & Margi Sullivan · Pate & Judy Thomson · Prof. Jeremy Thorner & Dr. Carol Mimura · Alistair & Nellie Thornton · Jennifer M. Van Natta · William R. Weir
A DVO C AT E S
$500–999
Anonymous (20) · Fred & Kathleen Allen · Robert & Evelyn Apte · Steven & Barbara Aumer-Vail · Celia Bakke · Jolie Baumgardner · Steven Beckendorf & Cynthia Hill · Richard & Kathy Berman · Robert Berman & Jane Ginsburg · Steve Bischoff · The Blackman Family · Gun Bolin · Karen Bowen & Beth Gerstein, in honor of Donald Trump and Mike Pence · Ellen Brackman & Deborah Randolph · Marilyn Bray · Diane Brett · Peter Brock · Craig Broscow M · Dr. Paula Campbell · Robert & Margaret Cant · Bruce Carlton · John Carr · Kim & Dawn Chase · Laura Chenel · Karen Clayton & Stephen Clayton · Jane & Tom Coulter · Michael & Denise Coyne · Sharon & Ed Cushman · Jill & Evan Custer · Brett D’Ambrosio · Robert & Loni Dantzler · Joshua Dapice M · Pat & Steve Davis · ddl Productions, in memory of Zan Bealmear · Jacqueline Desoer · Jerome & Thao Dodson · Carol Dolezal · Amar Doshi · Kristen Driskell · Anita C. Eblé · Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards · Roger & Jane Emanuel · Joseph & Judith Epstein · Gini Erck & David Petta · Michael Evanhoe · James Finefrock & Harriet Hamlin · Brigitte & Louis Fisher ·
Lisa Manning · Andrew R. McGrath · Jennifer Miller & Jamie Isbester · Diane Schreiber & Bryan McElderry M · Cathy J. Tennant, MD · Abba Terr · Robert Visser M
FRIE N D S
$ 75 –149
Anonymous (5) · Robert & Karen Abra · Alison Boeckmann · Margaret Booth · Martha Carothers & Bruce Bigatel, in memory of Zan Gray Bealmear · Leslye Corsiglia · Lori Crowley · Ira Dearing · Michael and Beni Fein · Joyce Field, in memory of Carol & John Field · Wendy Friefeld · John Gearen · Shauna Kay Hannan · Joshua Jones · Elizabeth Kelly · Mike & Mary Jo Kelly · Nancy Helen Kromm, in honor of Peggy Thow · Melissa & Steve Lawton · Kewchang Lee, M.D. & Kevin DeYager · Paul & Barbara Liston · Bruce & Myrna Lockey · Joseph Matarese · Judith Maurier · Robert & Mia Morrill · Sora Lei Newman · Rachael Noguera M · Dominique Philippine M · Amanda Pope, in memory of John & Carol Field · Bonnie Preston · Larry E. Ruff · Bill Schubert · Carole Sheft · Ida D. Shen M · Corinne Stewart · Kathy & Corinne Stewart · Isabelle Stierli · Galyn Susman · Ann Sydeman · Kara & Mark Theiding M · Frederick Tollini · Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita M · Barbara & William Vaughan · Meredith Watts · David J. Weber · Susan Weeks · Shawna Werle · Xinni Zhang
PAT RO N S
$ 1 –74
Anonymous (12) · Monica Ajer · Graciela S. Alarcon · Adam Altgelt · Amanda Kay Amaro · Doug Anderson · Peter Armstrong · Karin Ashley · Andrew Avins · Carole Barry · David &
Michael & Vicky Flora · Jacques Fortier · Midge Fox K · Christie Fraser · Harvey & Deana Freedman · David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson · Karl & Kathleen Geier · Tim Geoghegan · Arlene Getz · Judith & Alex Glass · Gwendolyn Goldsby, in memory of Angela Paton · Barry & Erica Goode · Gail Gordon & Jack Joseph · Jane Gottesman & Geoffrey Biddle · Gene Gottfried · Linda Graham · Priscilla Green, in honor of Maya & Rico Green · Sheldon & Judy Greene · Don & Becky Grether · Frede S. Hammes · Ken & Karen Harley · Janet Harris · Geoffrey & Marin-Shawn Haynes · Irene & Robert Hepps · Dixie Hersh · Fran Hildebrand · George & Leslie Hume · Alex Ingersoll & Martin Tannenbaum · Stephen & Helene Jaffe K · Anne & Douglas Jensen · Pam & Ted Johann M · Charles & Laurie Kahn · Kaarel Kaljot · Helmut H. Kapczynski & Colleen Neff · Patricia Kaplan · Pat Kelly & Jennifer Doebler · Kimberly J. Kenley-Salarpi · Sue Fisher King · Jack & Birthe Kirsch · Beverly Phillips Kivel · Susan Klee & David Stoloff · Jeff Klingman & Deborah Sedberry · Judith Knoll · Joan & David Komaromi · Natalie Lagorio · Jane & Michael Larkin · Barbara & Thomas Lasinski · David & Mari Lee · Renee M. Linde · Deidre & Loren Lingenfelter, in memory of Zan Bealmear · Mark & Roberta Linsky · Dottie Lofstrom · Loveable Feast, in memory of Zan Bealmear · Bruce Maigatter & Pamela Partlow · Joan & Roger Mann · Sue & Phil Marineau · Igor Maslennikov · Caroline McCall & Eric Martin · Marie Singer McEnnis · Daniel & Beverlee McFadden · Brian McRee · George & Jeri Medak, in memory of Alexandra Victoria Gray-Bealmear · Joanne Medak, in honor of Susan Medak · Jamie Miller, in memory of Helene Sabin · Marlene & Stephen Miller · Jeff Miner · Harry Mixon Esq · James & Katherine Moule · James Musbach · Aki & Emi Nakao · Ron Nakayama · Greg Neukirchner · Jeanne E. Newman · Judy Ogle · Suzette S. Olson · Peggy O’Neill · Carol J. Ormond · Nancy Park · Brian
D. Parsons · James Pawlak · Kyle Peacock · P. David Pearson · Bob & Toni Peckham, in honor of Robert M. Peckham, Jr. · James & Susan Penrod, in honor of Dale & Don Marshall · Paul & Suzanne Peterson · Anne Petrowsky · James F. Pine M · F. Anthony Placzek · Malcolm & Ann Plant · Charles Pollack & Joanna Cooper · Susie & Eric Poncelet · Timothy & Marilyn Potter · Roxann R. Preston · Rich Price · Laurel & Gerald Przybylski · Lois & Dan Purkett · Sheldon & Catherine Ramsay · Teresa L. Remillard M · Paul & Margaret Robbins · Rick & Stephanie Rogers · Galen Rosenberg & Denise Barnett · Dorothy R. Saxe · Joyce & Kenneth Scheidig · Bob & Gloria Schiller · Mark Schoenrock & Claudia Fenelon · Dr. David Schulz M · Cynthia Sears · Andrew & Marva Seidl · Steve & Susan Shortell · Joshua & Ruth Simon · William & Martha Slavin · Carra Sleight · Suzanne Slyman · Jerry & Dick Smallwood · Sigrid Snider · Louis & Bonnie Spiesberger · Robert & Naomi Stamper · Herbert Steierman · Lynn M. & A. Justin Sterling · Carol Sundell · Tracy Thompson · Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller · Amy Tobin & Scott Jacobson · Mike & Ellen Turbow · Dean Ujihara · Sharon Ulrich & Marlowe Ng · Mark Valentine & Stacy Leier-Valentine · Jennifer M. Van Natta · Gerald & Ruth Vurek · Adrian Walker · Louise & Larry Walker · Buddy & Jodi Warner · Dena & Wayne Watson-Lamprey · Mike Weinberger & Julianne Lindemann · Harvey & Rhona Weinstein · Robert & Sheila Weisblatt · Sallie Weissinger · Dr. Ben & Mrs. Carolyn Werner · Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor · Robert T. Weston · Sharon & Kenneth Wilson · Fred Winslow & Barbara Baratta · Laura & Ernest Winslow · H. Leabah Winter · Susan & Harvey Wittenberg · Margaret Wu & Ciara Cox · Bob & Judi Yeager M · Lee Yearley & Sally Gressens · Sandra Yuen & Lawrence Shore
Carol Berluti · Mr. & Mrs. Ross W. Blue · Dvora & Neil Boorstyn · Sydney Buice · Lee & George Burnett · Sophia & Virginia Cafaro-Mirviss · William Callahan · Ken Waldeck & Paula A Clark · Pascale Cohen · Darlene B. Comstedt · Kelly Corcoran · Sara Castellanos Cortez · Sophie H. Cripe · Sara Danielson · Paul E. Davis · Kyle Dayrit · Janet M. DeMaio · Sharon Dickson · Shannon Dubach · Wendy Earl · Glenda Edwards · Mica Estrada & Carl Magruder · Mr. & Mrs. Richard Fallenbaum · Gail Falls · Ernie J. Fazio Jr · Lindley Frahm · Marcy Fraser · Kristina Galante · Bonnie Gamble · Barbara Ann George · Deborah Gilman · Mitchell Gitin · Bob Gomez · Ms. Phyllis Gorelick · Lorri Gray · Zachary & Carolyn Griffith · Daniel Guerrero · Rebecca Haggerty · Eileen Hamm · Eleanor Grace Harnett · Nicholas Harsch · Michael & Joan Healy · Lara Heisler · Steve Hernandez & Vivian Jaquette · Melinda Hershon · Penny Hubbard · Rebecca Husband · Michelle Huston · Don Ino · Denise W. James · Filip John · I-Ming Kao · Ellyn Kaschak · Marsha Kermish · Leslie King · Kali Klena · Thierry & Lisa Koblentz · Chris Konnerth · Susan Kraft & Patrick Scott · Brooke Kuhn · Ana Lacasta · Lynne Lancaster · Zelda Laskowsky · Sara Lautenbach · Susan Ledford · Michelle Lemieux & Melissa Browning · Len J. Lester · Barbara Lowe · Michael & Alex Luby · Timothy Lupton · Kelsey Mackin · Sean Marney · Anna Mattos-Massey · Margaret McCaffery · Mark McLaughlin · Michelle Medeiros · Maria Yecenia Mendez · Grace Merecicky, in honor of Nora Merecicky · Kanako Mhatre · Harriett Michael · Cameron Miller · Gordon Miller · John Mitchell · Jacob Moore · Nadine Nakazawa · Andrew Neuschatz · Jennifer Normoyle · Jean O’Donnell · Sara
O’Hearn · Vivian Olsen · Ian Patten · Margo Pizzo · Edward & Virginia Plant, in memory of John & Carol Field · Christy Ponte · Lisa Prach · Lisa Price · Andrew Procopiou · Martha Putnam · Teresa Ramirez · Jane Rioseco · Christina Rogers · David Ross · Heather Dean Schulte · Benjamin Schwartz · Megan Segre · Roberta Shao · William Simons · Andrea Sohn · Gwen Souza · Lydia Stack · Ina-Katrin Stahl & Hendrik Bluhm · Annie Stenzel · Gwynne Stoddart · Joe Streng · Tom Sullivan · Christine Tachner · Scott Steven Taylor · Tori Tichy · Elsa Trexler · Joan A. Trezek · Ronald Trotter · Patti Birge Tyson · Margarita Ugarte · Lisa M. Walsh · Peter Whitehead · Catherine Wilmoth · Leonardo Martinez Witrago · Peter Yarbrough · Judy Zimmerman · Christine Zwerling
LEGEND K in-kind gift
M
matching gift
We are pleased to recognize first-time donors to Berkeley Rep, whose names appear in italics.
2 0 1 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 43
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 March 2017:
Anonymous (7) Norman Abramson & David Beery Sam Ambler Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan Ken & Joni Avery Nancy Axelrod Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Susan & 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 Jon & 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 Lynn Eve Komaromi Bonnie McPherson Killip 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 Susan Medak & Greg Murphy
Stephanie Mendel Toni Mester Shirley & Joe Nedham 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 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 endowment, 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, in perpetuity. 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.
Join Berkeley Rep’s community of donors and enjoy great perks—from backstage tours and meet-the-artist events to access to prime house seats and personalized concierge service. Join now and start your VIP experience today.
berkeleyrep.org/give 4 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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
PHOTO BY CHESHIRE ISAACS
YOUR BACKSTAGE PASS
“This decade’s most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today” —New York Times
NEXT AT BERKELEY REP
BY
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Eric Ting DIRECTED BY
STARTS JUN 23 · PEET ’S THEATRE
SEASON SPONSORS
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 Associate Artist Liesl Tommy TCG Artist-in-Residence Reggie D. White 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 Associate Production Manager Amanda Williams O’Steen Company Manager Jean-Paul Gressieux Production Driver Johnny Van Chang S TAG E M A NAG E M E N T Production Stage Manager Michael Suenkel Stage Managers Leslie M. Radin · Karen Szpaller · Julie Haber · Kimberly Mark Webb Production Assistants Amanda Mason · 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 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 Draper Alex Zeek 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 Video Supervisor Alex Marshall A DM I N I S T R AT ION Controller Suzanne Pettigrew Associate General Manager/ Human Resources Manager David Lorenc Associate Managing Director/ Manager, The Ground Floor Sarah Williams Executive Assistant Kate Gorman Bookkeeper Kristine Taylor Associate Controller Eric Ipsen Director of Technology Gustav Davila Tessitura User Interaction Administrator Destiny Askin Desktop Support Specialist Dianne Brenner Yale Management Fellow Trent Anderson 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 Director of Special Events Julie Cervetto Individual Giving Manager Joanna Taber Special Events Coordinator Lauren Shorofsky Development Database Coordinator Jane Voytek Development Associate Kelsey Scott Executive Assistant Jennie Goldfarb B OX OF F I C E Ticket Services Director Geo Haynes Subscription Manager Laurie Barnes Box Office Supervisor Julie Gotsch Box Office Agents Carmen Darling · Faith Darling · Jordan Don · Jaren Feeley · Katherine Gunn · Jeffrey Kimmich · Eliza Oakley · Jaden Pratt · Anna Slotterback
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 6 –1 7 · I S S U E 6
M A R K E T I NG & C OM M U N I C AT ION S Director of Marketing, Communications, and Patron Engagement Polly Winograd Ikonen Director of Public Relations Tim Etheridge Marketing Director Peter Yonka Art Director Nora Merecicky Communications & Digital Content Director Karen McKevitt Audience Development Manager Samanta Cubias Webmaster Christina Cone Video & Multimedia Producer Joel Dockendorf Program Advertising Pamela Webster Front of House Director Kelly Kelley Front of House Manager Debra Selman House Managers Steven Coambs · Juliet Czoka · Aleta George · Mary Cait Hogan · Angie Nicolas · Claire Patterson · Tuesday Ray · David Rogers · Debra Selman Lead Concessionaires Steven Coambs · Angelica Foster · Nina Gorham Concessionaires Jessica Bates · Molly Conway · Alisha Erlich · Lorenz Gonzales · Katie Holmes · Daron Jennings · Benjamin Ortiz · David Rogers · Chenoa Small
Susan-Jane Harrison · Gendell HingHernández · Andrew Hurteau · Krista Knight · Julian López-Morillas · Dave Maier · JanLee Marshall · 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 · Daniel Talbott · Elizabeth Vega · James Wagner Jan and Howard Oringer Teaching Artists Amber Flame · Carla Pantoja · Dave Maier · Elena Wright · Jack Nicolaus · Lindsey Schmeltzer · Radhika Rao · Salim Razawi · Simon Trumble · Teddy Spencer · Gendell Hernandez · Andre San-Chez · Sally Rademaker · Bryan Quinn · Shannon Davis · Zoe Swenson-Graham · Daryl Harper · Miriam Ani Teen Core Council Neo Barnes · Abram Blitz · Bridey Caramagno · Carmela Catoc · Uma Channer · Fiona Deane-Grundman · Lucy Curran · Devin Elias · Adin Gilman-Cohen · Alecia Harger · Kyla Henderson · Krysia Olszewska · Maya Simon · Chloe Smith · Isabelle Smith Docent Co-Chairs Matty Bloom, Content Joy Lancaster, Recruitment Selma Meyerowitz, Off-Sites and Procedures Monsoon Wedding Docents Ellen Kaufman, Lead Docent Richard Lingua, Assistant Lead Francine Austin · Sandy Greenberg Joan Sullivan · Steve Wolan · Susan Wansewicz
2016–17 B E R K E L E Y R E P FELLOWSHIPS Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow Chika Ike Company Management Fellow Morgan Steele Costume Fellow Kennedy Warner Development Fellow Julia Starr Education Fellow Michael Curry Graphic Design Fellow Cynthia Peñaloza Harry Weininger Sound Fellow Mariah Brougher BERKELEY REP S C HO OL OF T H E AT R E Lighting/Electrics Fellow Josh Hemmo Director of the School of Theatre Rachel Hull Marketing/Digital Communications Fellow Associate Director Lauren Goldfarb MaryBeth Cavanaugh Peter F. Sloss Literary/ Education Communications and Dramaturgy Fellow Partnerships Manager Ankita Raturi Marcela Chacon Production Management Fellow Program Manager, Training and Zoey Russo Community Programs Anthony Jackson Properties Fellow Noah Kramer Registrar Katie Riemann Scenic Art Fellow Community Programs Administrator Yoshi Asai Modesta Tamayo Scenic Construction Fellow Lauren Williams Faculty Bobby August Jr. · Erica Blue · Jon Stage Management Fellow Burnett · Rebecca Castelli · Eugenie Laura Baucom Chan · Iu-Hui Chua · Jiwon Chung · Sally Clawson · Laura Derry · Alexandra Diamond · Deborah Eubanks · Susan Garner · Christine Germain · Nancy Gold · Gary Graves · Marvin Greene · OP E R AT ION S Facilities Director Mark Morrisette Facilities Coordinator Andrew Susskind Building Engineer Thomas Tran Maintenance Technician Johnny Van Chang Facilities Assistants Theresa Drumgoolie · Sophie Li · Alex Maciel · Carlos Mendoza · Jesus Rodriguez · Diego Ruiz · LeRoy Thomas
President Stewart Owen Vice Presidents Carrie Avery Roger A. Strauch Jean Z. Strunsky Treasurer Emily Shanks 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 Paul T. Friedman Karen Galatz Bruce Golden Scott Haber David Hoffman Jonathan C. Logan Jane Marvin Sandra R. McCandless Susan Medak Pamela Nichter Richard M. Shapiro Tony Taccone Gail Wagner Felicia Woytak 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 Thalia Dorwick, PhD William T. Espey William Falik David Fleishhacker Nicholas M. Graves Richard F. Hoskins Carole Krumland Dale Rogers Marshall Helen Meyer Dugan Moore Mary Ann Peoples Peter Pervere Marjorie Randolph Pat Rougeau 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
THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION COMES TO A.C.T.
BATTLEFIELD BASED ON THE MAHABHARATA AND THE PLAY
“EXTRAORDINARY” CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“EXCEPTIONAL”
BY JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIÈRE
WASHINGTON POST
“STUNNING”
ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY PETER BROOK AND MARIE-HÉLÈNE ESTIENNE
LE FIGARO
NOW– MAY 21
A.C.T. CELEBRATES
THE SUMMER OF LOVE WITH THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL! BEGINS JUN 7
“ROCKS THE HOUSE!” THE NEW YORK TIMES
“WILD AND JOYOUSLY RAUCOUS” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY RANDY JOHNSON
A.C.T.'S GEARY THEATER
415 GEARY STREET
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“City National helps keep my financial life in tune.” So much of my life is always shifting; a different city, a different piece of music, a different ensemble. I need people who I can count on to help keep my financial life on course so I can focus on creating and sharing the “adventures” of classical music. City National shares my passion and is instrumental in helping me bring classical music to audiences all over the world. They enjoy being a part of what I do and love. That is the essence of a successful relationship. City National is The way up® for me.
Michael Tilson Thomas Conductor, Educator and Composer
©2017 City National Bank
Hear Michael’s complete story at cnb.com/Tuned2SF
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The way up.
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