A NOTE FROM THE
W
producer
elcome to the Kiplinger Theatre! I am thrilled to welcome you to Flexible Theatre Company’s production of COMPANY: Live in Concert. I can think of no better way to end this semester than with one of Stephen Sondheim’s most loved musicals. When it was first produced on Broadway in 1970, Company pushed the limits of musical comedy – it was expressionistic and psychological, it played around with time and place, and it was unabashedly contemporary. Often hailed as the first commercially successful concept musical, Company opened the door for many equally as adventurous musicals, including A Chorus Line (1975), Nine (1982), Tommy (1993), and even Spring Awakening (2006). Forty-three years later, Company is still relevant to nearly every audience that it is presented to. When Danny and I first conceived a concert staging of Company last March, we had no idea it would grow to be what we have on stage today. I am tremendously proud of what this all-student cast and creative team has accomplished. This production is particularly exciting because it brings together some of the most talented singers and actors at both Cornell University and Ithaca College. The cast comes from an incredibly diverse range of background – from pre-vet Animal Science majors to B.F.A. Musical Theatre majors. Not only is this representative of the collaborative nature of theatre, I think it embodies the heart of theatre at Cornell. Our company truly benefits from having such a fascinating, intelligent, and unique cast. I would like to thank the Department of Performing & Media Arts for being so accommodating. Letting an entirely student-produced musical like Company be staged in the Kiplinger Theatre takes a lot of trust, and I am proud to attend a University where the faculty and staff respect the importance student-led creative initiative. Specifically, I would like to thank Fritz Bernstein and Dick Archer for their help with the technical elements of the show. Additionally, I would like to thank Pam Lillard and Jenny Tindall for assisting with the administrative side of the production. Finally, I would like to thank Flexible Theatre Company’s adviser E.D. Intemann for his trust in the company and the production. Lastly, I would also like to thank the incredible members of the production team – Sarah Byrne, our incredibly organized Stage Manager; Anna Brenner, the assistant director who kept the production together; Tyler Ehrlich, our wildly talented Orchestra Director and Conductor; and Danny Bernstein, our Director/Musical Director (and the 2013-2014 Cornell Undergraduate Artist of the Year) who has done an amazing job leading the cast and teaching some of Sondheim’s trickiest music. A special thanks to our Company Manager Claudia Gerecke, to Emily Walker for helping me when I need it most, and to my fellow designers, Ellen Pyne, Madeline Brumback, and Zoë Guzy-Sprague; Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the performance! Sincerely, Brian J. Murphy Producer, Flexible Theatre Company
COS E
r
F L E X I B L E T H E AT R E C O M PA N Y P R ES E N T S
company LIVE IN CONCERT
MUSIC BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM
BOOK BY LYRICS BY GEORGE FURTH STEPHEN SONDHEIM DECEMBER 7, 2013 KIPLINGER THEATRE, SCHWARTZ CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRODUCED BY BRIAN J. MURPHY DIRECTED AND MUSIC DIRECTED BY DANNY K. BERNSTEIN ASST. DIRECTED BY ANNA ALISON BRENNER COSTUME DESIGN BY ELLEN PYNE
SCENE DESIGN BY ZOE GUZY-SPRAGUE
ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR TYLER EHRLICH
LIGHTING DESIGN BY BRIAN J. MURPHY
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER SARAH BYRNE
SOUND DESIGN BY MADELINE BRUMBACK
COMPANY MANAGER CLAUDIA GERECKE
FEATURING ROGER REED WITH KATHRYN ALLISON, KATRINA AMBERG, CAROL BASS, NICHOLAS CARROLL, SARAH COFFEY, ADRIENNE JACKSON, SHANTI KUMAR, STEVE MARKHAM, KATELYN PIPPY, ALEXANDER QUILTY, HANNAH RICHTER, LUKE STARK, & SPENCER WHALE COMPANY IS PRESENTED THROUGH SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (MTI) ALL AUTHORIZED PERFORMANCE MATERIALS ARE ALSO SUPPLIED BY MTI. 421 WEST 54TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019 PHONE: 212-541-4684 FAX:212-397-4684 WWW.MTISHOWS.COM
MUSICAL
numbers
ACT ONE Opening/Company...................................................................................................................................................Company The Little Things You Do Together............................................................................................................Joanne and Couples Sorry/Grateful..............................................................................................................................................Harry, David, Larry You Could Drive A Person Crazy............................................................................................................Kathy, April and Marta Have I Got A Girl for You............................................................................................................Larry, Peter, Paul, David, Harry Someone Is Waiting......................................................................................................................................................Robert Another Hundred People................................................................................................................................................Marta Getting Married Today............................................................................................................Amy, Paul, Jenny and Company Marry Me a Little............................................................................................................................................................Robert ACT TWO Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You?..........................................................................Robert and Couples Poor Baby...........................................................................................................................Sarah, Susan, Jenny, Amy, Joanne Have I Got A Girl for You (Reprise)............................................................................................Larry, Peter, Paul, David, Harry Barcelona.......................................................................................................................................................Robert and April The Ladies Who Lunch..................................................................................................................................................Joanne Being Alive....................................................................................................................................................................Robert Finale Ultimo (Company).......................................................................................................................Robert and Company Company is presented with one fifteen-minute intermission. Please Note: There is no photography, videography, or recording of any kind allowed during this performance. Please silence all cell phones before the start of the performance. Below: Images of the Playbill from the original 1970 production of Company.
MEET THE
company
KATHRYN ALLISON (Marta) Flexible Theatre Company Debut! Kathryn is delighted to play the role of Marta in Company. She’s a senior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major at Ithaca College. Previous IC main-stage credits include Ntozake Shange/Sonnny Carson in Fires in the Mirror, u/s Mama Morton in Chicago. Other IC credits include The Dirty War Project: a devised piece. Professional credits include Effie White in Dreamgirls and Babet/Old Beggar Woman in Les Misèrables at Interlakes Summer Theatre, Nelly in Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Millbrook Playhouse. She also played Sister Chantelle in bare with the Melodramatics Theatre Company. Featured soloist: Paper Mill Playhouse, Don’t Tell Mama’s, and The Duplex. Special thanks to the Cast, Danny, Brian, and Anna. Much love to Bob and Debra.
her fellow cast members and the creative team for putting together such a wonderful production. ADRIENNE JACKSON (Jenny) is a senior at Cornell majoring in Theatre. She has acted in The Cherry Orchard, Long Ago in May, Macbeth, and is working on Titus Andronicus at the moment. This is her first musical and is super stoked to have it be a Sondheim!
SHANTI KUMAR (Kathy) is a Cornell freshman studying International Agriculture and Rural Development. Her favorite past performances include Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel), Pippin!, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Grease, West Side Story (Maria), and most recently HAIR at Risley Theatre. When going back home to the Bronx, she also likes to KATRINA AMBERG (Susan) is a sophomore at Cornell count people getting out of the subway and thinks that University. While studying Animal Science (Dairy Science), Manhattan is out of place because it surrounds Central she has found that her sanity can only be maintained Park. She could not be more grateful for this opportunity through occasional theatre and the friends she has made to perform in one of Sondheim’s greatest works alongside a during productions. She has recently been seen in Risley cast and production team oozing with talent. Theater’s production of Bat Boy, and a concert reading of Les Misèrables as Madame Thenardier. While not onstage LUKE STARK (Peter) is a junior Animal Science major in or furthering her love of cute fuzzy things, Katrina is a sister the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell of Pi Beta Phi. She has loved working with such an amazing University. Last semester he was in Bat Boy at Risley Theatre production team, and is absolutely honored to be working and is looking forward to performing in Far From Canterbury with such a talented and fun cast. “Life is Company!” next semester at the Schwartz Center. CAROL BASS (April) is a Senior double major in Performing and Media Arts and Economics. She has performed in many plays at both Risley Theatre and the Schwartz Center, including Emergence, Long Ago in May, The Doctor Despite Himself, Much Ado about Nothing, and The Tempest. She doesn’t have anything more to say.
STEVE MARKHAM (Paul) is a sophomore Physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. He has performed in various shows at Risley Theatre, including Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Bat Boy and Durang/Durang. Recently, he joined Last Call a capella. Next semester, he will be playing Marcus in the Schwartz production of Far From Canterbury. Steve enjoys long train rides and singing NICHOLAS CARROLL (David) is a senior at Ithaca College in the shower. where he’s pursuing his BFA in Musical Theatre. He is thrilled to be part of this “company” for his first show at KATELYN PIPPY (Sarah) is a junior Performing and Media Cornell University! Most recently, Nicholas was seen as Arts major. She couldn’t think of a more perfect way to the Baker in Into the Woods with IC main-stage. Other IC end a theatre-packed semester than by doing a Sondheim credits include Jules in boom, Reverend Todd in Man from show with so many people whom she loves, and she is Nebraska, Ensemble in Light in the Piazza, among others. thankful to Danny, Anna, and the rest of the creative team A huge thank you to Danny, the cast, and crew for their for the opportunity! Previously this semester she Assistant dedication. Directed The Last Five Years and appeared as Sally in A Lie Of The Mind. Some recent/favorite credits include Bat Boy SARAH COFFEY (Joanne) is a sophomore Performance (Shelley), Avenue Q (Kate Monster), Bye Bye Birdie (Kim), and Media Arts major at Cornell University. Previous credits and Captain Louie (Roberta, off-broadway, Little Shubert include Beth in A Lie of the Mind (Schwartz Center), Cathy Theatre). in The Last Five Years (Risley Theatre), and Meredith in Bat Boy (Risley Theatre). Next semester she will play Tamora in ALEXANDER QUILTY (Harry) is a junior at Cornell University, Titus Andronicus (Schwartz Center) and Dolores in Danny majoring in Animal Science in hopes of becoming a vet. He Bernstein’s Far From Canterbury. She would like to thank was most recently seen earlier this semester as the title
MEET THE
company character in another show by Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His past credits at the Schwartz include Adding Machine and Elegies, and in the spring he will be seen in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, and Far From Canterbury, an original musical by Danny Bernstein. He is very excited to have worked on Company with an such incredibly talented team of actors and designers and hopes you enjoy the show. ROGER REED (Robert) is a senior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major at Ithaca College from Evansville, Indiana. Previous Ithaca College main-stage credits include Wolf/Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods, Dionysus in The Baachae, Professor Callahan in Legally Blonde, world premiere of The Dirty War Project, Kent in Reasons to Be Pretty, dancer in Illuminated Bodies, and Trojan Servant in Electra. Other credits include Freddy understudy and Ensemble in My Fair Lady at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Matt in The Fantasticks, Daniel Beauxhomme in Once on This Island, and Sir Bors/ Ensemble in Spamalot at the Boothbay Playhouse; and Larry in Company at the Hangar Theatre. “Much love to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hoover, Mark, and friends for their constant support.”
Performance. This is the fifth musical he has directed and music directed at Cornell, following Lucky Stiff, Avenue Q, Bat Boy: The Musical, and The Last Five Years. Other music directing credits include Adding Machine, Urinetown, and Elegies: A Song Cycle. Danny has won Cornell’s HeermansMcCalmon Playwriting Competition twice, in 2011 and 2012, and his full-length musical, Far From Canterbury, will premiere at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts in the Flexible Theater this April, a project for which he has won the 2013-2014 Cornell Undergraduate Artist of the Year award. Special thanks to everyone who helped to make this production possible.
ANNA ALISON BRENNER (Assistant Director) is a sophomore English and Performing & Media Arts double major at Cornell. Her most recent theatre credits include Durang/Durang at Risley Theatre (director), The ThirtyMinute Waltz in the Schwartz Center’s Ten Minute Playfest (playwright), and Melancholy Play at the Schwartz Center (assistant director); currently, she is assistant directing Titus Andronicus that will go up at the Schwartz this January/ February. She is so thrilled to have been a part of this incredible production and would like to thank her fabulous family, friends, cast, crew, and, of course, the wonderful HANNAH RICHTER (Amy) is so thrilled to be doing her Danny Bernstein, for making this all possible. first production at Cornell! Hannah is a senior at Ithaca College studying Musical Theatre. Favorite credits include MADELINE BRUMBACK (Sound Designer) is a graduate Rapunzel in Into the Woods at Ithaca College, Toad in a student in Operations Research at Cornell University. Prior Year with Frog and Toad at the Hangar Theatre, Logainne to arriving at Cornell, she earned a Bachelors of Music from in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Hope St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Previous audio experience Summer Repertory Theatre, Agatha in Guys and Dolls at includes acting as a Recording Engineer for performances Barrington Stage Company and Hodel in Fiddler on the by the orchestras, bands, and choirs of St. Olaf College. Rood at Performance Now Theatre Co. Thanks to Danny for Madeline is excited to finally extend these skills to the being one of the most inspirational people I have ever met theatre! and to Matt for putting up with me. Cheers! SARAH BYRNE (Stage Manager) is a junior Biology and SPENCER WHALE (Larry) is a senior Theatre major studying Society major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell Directing at Cornell University, who is very excited to be a University. When she isn’t taking twenty-two credits part of one of his all-time favorite musicals. Spencer has and trying to be pre-med, she writes a column for the performed in a number of Schwartz Center productions, Cornell Daily Sun and is involved with what many would notably Our Town, Those Learned Ladies, and The Cherry call too much theatre. She is the general manager of the Orchard, as well as Risley’s recent production of Durang/ Melodramatics Theatre Company, where she has managed Durang, among many others. Some past directing credits (in various capacities) Sweeney Todd, Spelling Bee, bare, include Melancholy Play at the Schwartz Center, Macbeth Spring Awakening and RENT. She also coordinated and and The Tempest, as President of the Cornell Shakespeare stage managed the Ten-Minute Playfest at the Schwartz in Troupe, and bare for the Melodramatics Theatre Company. October. She is so excited to be working on this amazing Currently, he is directing Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus for production, and would like to thank the cast and creative the Schwartz Center’s 25th Anniversary Season. team for all of their enthusiasm and hard work. DANNY K. BERNSTEIN (Director, Music Director) is a senior Music major at Cornell University with a minor in Theatre
TYLER EHRLICH (Orchestra Director) is a senior at Cornell University in the College of Arts and Sciences. Company
marks his eighth musical conducted at Cornell, having worked on Sweeney Todd, Spelling Bee, bare, Spring Awakening, RENT, Little Women: The Musical, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels all with the Melodramatics Theatre Company. He is in the clarinet studio of Lenora Schneller and studies conducting with Cynthia Johnston Turner. Next year, Tyler hopes to pursue graduate studies in conducting. He would like to thank his friends and family for their constant support, and his past and present music teachers for all they have taught him. CLAUDIA GERECKE (Company Manager) is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Her recent productions include Hair, Durang/ Durang, Bat Boy, Little Shop of Horrors, and Dr. Horrible at Risley Theatre. Schwartz Center credits include 24 Hour Playfest and Melancholy Play. ZOË GUZY-SPRAGUE (Scene Designer) is a senior English major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. Selected set design credits include: The Last Five Years at Risley Theatre, The Merchant of Venice at Worcester College, Oxford University; Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog at Risley Theatre; Elegies: a song cycle at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Zoë also serves as a board member of the Melodramatics Theatre Company, and has worked as Technical Director and Master Carpenter for the MTC. BRIAN J. MURPHY (Producer, Lighting Design) is a sophomore Government and Performing & Media Arts double major at Cornell University. Some previous design credits include: Hair (scene) at Risley Theatre, A Lie of the Mind (assistant lighting) at the Schwartz Center, The Last Five Years (lighting and scene) at Risley Theatre, Spelling Bee (scene) at Risley Theatre, Bat Boy (scene and lighting). Brian is also the graphic designer for the Department of Performing & Media Arts and the Schwartz Center. Beside theatre, Brian is also an Undergraduate Admissions Ambassador, a clerk in the Office of the Assemblies, and a Resident Advisor in Risley Hall. Thanks to Danny, Anna, Tyler, and Ed for helping to make this production possible. ELLEN PYNE (Costume Design) is a junior Fiber Science and Apparel Design major with a focus on Costume Design at Cornell University, and she plans on attending graduate school for Costume Design. She was the costume designer for Melodramatics Theatre Company’s past three shows, including Sweeney Todd, and also recently designed Risley Theatre’s The Last Five Years. She is so happy to be working with the ridiculously talented group of people contributing to this production and would like to thank them all.
PRODUCTION STAFF Producer/Production Manager.....................Brian J. Murphy Director/Music Director...........................Danny K. Bernstein Assistant Director..................................Anna Alison Brenner Production Stage Manager................................Sarah Byrne Orchestra Director...............................................Tyler Ehrlich Company Manager......................................Claudia Gerecke Front of House Manager..................................Emily Walker Technical Liaison.........................................Steven Blasberg Scene Design............................................Zoë Guzy-Sprague Costume Design...................................................Ellen Pyne Lighting Design...........................................Brian J. Murphy Sound Design.......................................Madeline Brumback Fly Rail Operator...................................................Elana Loeb Box Office..........................................................Jillian Holch ORCHESTRA Conductor...........................................................Tyler Ehrlich Keyboard 1....................................................Jeremy Weiser Keyboard 2............................................................Rain Zhou Reed....................................................................Eric Bodnar Reed...........................................................Jonathan Karsch Reed.......................................................................Nick Pino Reed........................................................................Jae Baek Trombone................................................................Zac Shirk Bass.................................................................Sam Lupowitz Drums.........................................................Corinne Steffens FLEXIBLE THEATRE COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD President.....................................................Brian J. Murphy Vice President.......................................Anna Alison Brenner Member......................................................Claudia Gerecke Member............................................................Jillian Holch Adviser............................................................E.D. Intemann SPECIAL THANKS Fritz Bernstein Dick Archer Pamela Lillard E.D. Intemann The Department of Performing & Media Arts Jeff Cox University Communications Cat Holmes CUTonight Executive Board Student Assembly Finance Commission Risley Theatre Melodramatics Theatre Company, Inc. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church Bianca Di Cocco Emily Walker
“If you are afraid of loneliness,
don’t marry.”
-Anton Chekhov