Animal Crackers Program

Sep 4–Oct 13, 2013

Book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby Adapted by Henry Wishcamper Original Orchestrations by Doug Peck Directed by BJ Jones

Animal Crackers dance of the holy ghosts: a play on memory A Civil War Christmas Stones in His Pockets Twelfth Night The Liquid Plain Wild with Happy

SEASoN51 Theater for the H eart

Animal Crackers | a

Cast

Table of contents

An Introduction to the World of the Play

Musical Numbers

3

The Setting

4

The Marx Brothers

5

Meet the Writers

6

Vaudeville Roots & Broadway Lights

8

Bios: The Cast

9

Bios: The Artistic Team

14

Q&A with Kwame & Stephen

Brothers are ever present here, even when

15

Bios: The Staff Audience Services

“playing” at such characters as Captain

18

Supporting the Annual Fund

Spaulding. (For more on vaudeville in America, see p. 6.)

22

Preview: Up Next & Off Stage

24

Center Stage Staff

in 1928, is a vaudeville-style musical full of classic slapstick, banter, and variety numbers.

Like many early Broadway productions, the show depends less on its loose plot (about stolen art at a society party) than on its comedy routines and stock characters—the timeless caricatures created by the Marx

With a blend of shtick, song-and-dance, and cross-talk, the trio of Groucho, Harpo,

Animal Crackers Book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind Music and Lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby Adapted by Henry Wishcamper Original Orchestrations by Doug Peck

Sep 4–Oct 13, 2013 2

Animal Crackers, which debuted on Broadway

Directed by BJ Jones

(in alphabetical order)

Brad Aldous* The Professor

Dina DiCostanzo* Arabella/Mrs. Whitehead

Erin Kommor* Grace Carpenter/Mary

Season 51 Presenting Sponsor:

John Scherer* Doucet/Wally Winston Catherine Smitko* Mrs. Rittenhouse

Captain Kate Murphy* Stage Manager

Animal Crackers is sponsored by:

enjoyed successful runs at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Williamstown Theatre Festival and will be seen in 2014 at the Denver Center Theatre Company.

Additional support from:

Benjamin Royer* Assistant Stage Manager

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association

The Artistic Team George S. Kaufman & Book Morrie Ryskind Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby Music & Lyrics Henry Wishcamper Adaptation Doug Peck Orchestrations

BJ Jones Director

Tammy Mader Choreographer

Paul Kalina Physical Comedy Director

Laura Bergquist Musical Director

wackiness and laugh-out-loud comedy of the Marx Brothers was just the right mix

Neil Patel Scenic Designer

to kick off Season 51 here in Baltimore.

Festival, Center Stage Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah knew the off-the-wall

Media Partner:

Thank you for joining us for the first of seven shows dedicated to music,

laughter, poetry, and heart. ❤

Season 51 at Center Stage is made possible by:

CENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

This adaptation of Animal Crackers received its world premiere at Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois in September 2009.

Robert Falls, Artistic Director, Roche Schulfer, Executive Director, Henry Wishcamper, Director

David Burdick Costume Designer Mark McCullough Lighting Designer Zachary Williamson Sound Designer Gavin Witt Production Dramaturg

Pat McCorkle Casting Director

Lynn Baber, CSA Additional Casting

b

Bruce Randolph Nelson* Capt. Spaulding

a new polish brought back to life the timeless comedy—and commentary—of

Calling it “great, zany fun,” when he saw Animal Crackers at Oregon Shakespeare

Sean Montgomery* John Parker/Jamison

comedy, playful puns, and cunning wit. (Read more about the Brothers on p. 4.)

the Marx Brothers for a new audience. Since then, Wishcamper’s adaptation has

Jonathan Brody* Emmanuel Ravelli/Fight Captain

Their work, perfect for the entire family, features a timeless range of broad physical

Chicago with this new adaptation. Fresh orchestrations, a streamlined cast, and

Sean Blake* Hives/Roscoe W. Chandler/Dance Captain

and Chico (plus Zeppo and sometimes Gummo) are legends of American comedy.

In 2009, Henry Wishcamper revived Animal Crackers at the Goodman Theatre in

The Cast

Chris Hofer Music Contractor

PLEASE TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY 410.986.4080 (during performances).

Animal Crackers | 1

M usical

Numbers

Now there’s a man with an open mind— you can feel the breeze from here.

S et t in g

Act I

Opening Act

Hives, Footmen

Hooray for Captain Spaulding

Three Little Words

Everyone Says I Love You

Ravelli

Why am I So Romantic?

Mary, John

The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me

Finale Act I

Company Arabella, Winston

Grace, Mrs. Whitehead Company

~ 15 Minute Intermission ~

time and place

I would never belong to a club that would have me as a member.

Act II

Long Island Low Down

Show Me a Rose

Watching the Clouds Roll by

Professor’s Dream

Four of the Three Musketeers

Finale

Winston, Arabella, and Company Captain Spaulding, Mrs. Rittenhouse Mary, John Professor Captain Spaulding, Ravelli, Jamison, Professor Company

Orchestra

Conductor/Musical Director

Violin

Woodwinds

Trumpet

Percussion

Bass/Contractor

Laura Bergquist

José Cueto Keith Daudelin Tom Williams Greg Herron Chris Hofer

The

Rittenhouse Ma nor

on Long Island, New York in 1930

Animal Crackers takes place in a high-society Long Island mansion, Rittenhouse Manor, where the owner of the estate, Mrs. Rittenhouse, is throwing a gala party.

Long Island was home to numerous mansions at the beginning of the 20th Century, most of which were concentrated on the northwest coast of the island. Known as the Gold Coast, this area was home to prominent families including the Vanderbilts, the Hearsts, and the Guggenheims. The area is also the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby.

Gatherings in this era were extravagant and extended affairs. Guests would arrive expecting food and drink as well as a variety of entertainment, such as the musical performances prominent guests enjoy at the Rittenhouse Manor.

Image: Kahn Estate, Oheka Castle

2

Animal Crackers | 3

The Marx

Brothers

Stories vary wildly as to how and why they got their nicknames— but with them came the basic archetypes they would play on stage and on screen, no matter the particular storyline.

Groucho: Named for his

typically sour countenance.

Glasses, cigar, and oversized painted black mustache and eyebrows (replacing earlier glued-on facial hair); loping gait; morning suit (striped trousers and swallowtail coat). Generally a flim-flam artist, a puffed-up pretender in the person of an official or expert.

Zeppo (pictured) & Gummo: Named—

in Zeppo’s case—after a sideshow act, a monkey, or helium-filled zeppelins (accounts vary) and in Gummo’s for his gum-soled shoes and sneaky manner. Mainly versions of romantic straight men.

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

Not even five years before Animal Crackers had its clamorous Broadway opening in 1928, the Marx Brothers nearly folded their act for good. They were underemployed, out of cash, and without realistic prospects in their chosen field of vaudeville. Any day, they would become just another small-time, washed-up touring troupe poised somewhere between has-been and never-was.

Instead, they roared back from the brink.

Still, their near-failure was more likely than their eventual triumph, as their origins hardly augured a future of wealth, fame, and worldwide recognition. Yet, at their peak, they were among the best-known entertainers anywhere.

Born to immigrants and raised in a massively overcrowded New York apartment, the five

Chico: Named (Chick-o, not

Cheek-o) for his skirt-chasing ways. Undersized corduroy coat, mop of dark curls, brimmed hat, and faux-Italian accent. Generally plays the immigrant huckster, a mix of con artist and bumpkin.

Plays piano with a distinctive flair.

Marx boys followed their maternal relations into entertainment. Their mother first tried to showcase her boys as a classy singing act, with small success. By 1914, this had given way to a comic routine better suited to their abilities—and audience tastes. In various permutations, the brothers Marx honed their skills for almost two decades in relative obscurity on the road, in the school of showbiz hard knocks. They toured the vaudeville circuit, playing small towns, evolving their act and the characters that would define them.

By 1923, though, things were looking grim.

Their latest show had flopped and the touring circuit they’d signed with went belly up, leaving them without venues to play.

They put their best material into a last-ditch gamble, a legit Broadway show—and when iconic critic Alexander Wolcott accidentally stumbled on their opening, he raved. Indeed,

Harpo: Named for his

signature instrument. Red curly wig, battered top hat, voluminous overcoat with endless pockets, and a bicycle horn by which he communicates. Prone to petty theft and susceptible to any pretty face. Eternally silent, but eloquent on the harp.

he fell head-over-heels in love, adopting Harpo into his urbane circle, and the Brothers’ fate was assured. They unleashed their signature mayhem—combining zany physical slapstick with agile verbal wit— in two more Broadway hits before shifting permanently to film after Animal Crackers.

It can’t have hurt that the boys’ uncle was Al Shean, vaudeville legend and half of the beloved comedic duo Gallagher and Shean. But odds might have been stacked even more in their favor than appearances would suggest. After all, the brothers emerged from the fertile community of immigrants and their offspring that produced so many successful and self-made artists, actors, writers, and composers of the early 20th Century.

For selected clips of the Marx Brothers signature mayhem and several longer retrospectives, visit our website www.centerstage.org/AnimalCrackers/digital-dramaturgy.

4

I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.

Meet the Writers:

Ryskind & Kaufman

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

Among the success stories rivaling the Marx Brothers were the book-writing collaborators of Animal Crackers, Morrie Ryskind and George S. Kaufman. They too achieved wealth, acclaim, even fame— and they too emerged from versions of that same hardscrabble world of Jewish immigrants, forged in the creative crucible of New York, that so shaped the period’s theater.

Kaufman’s family had left Germany to settle in Pittsburgh; Ryskind’s parents fled Byelorussia to settle in Brooklyn, in what he later termed “the Jewish equivalent of a log cabin on the frontier.” But while Groucho and gang got their education on the road and in the footlights, Kaufman and Ryskind headed to Manhattan to pursue writing.

Still, it took many years and the twisted turns of coincidence for the alchemy to gel.

Kaufman snuck into theater via criticsm, his capacity for humor landing him the gig as a drama critic, in which post he remained—memorably skewering and lauding his peers—through the height of his own playwriting efforts. Ryskind went first to journalism school and worked as a reporter before getting lured, almost accidentally, into playwriting. A chance meeting paired him with Kaufman and Groucho to write (uncredited, by his own request) The Cocoanuts. That success brought them together for another round on Animal Crackers.

More success on stage and in film followed.

Highly assimilated, worldly Kaufman nevertheless remained enough of an That their paths would ultimately cross ironic outsider to lampoon and lambaste was nearly inevitable. Groucho, Kaufman, society and its pretensions through his and Ryskind all separately submitted eternal wit, an American version of Oscar humorus and light verse to a popular Wilde. Ryskind began as a radical firebrand, newspaper column, and Kaufman was but spanned with empathy the spectrum among the founders of the elite gathering from high society to down-and-out and of wits known as the Algonquin Roundtable, from sophisticated wit to madcap anarchy. which eventually also counted Harpo as Groucho and kin were eternally the a favorite member.

outsiders storming the castle but staying for the feast. Together, they formed three sides of a double-headed nickel.

While Groucho regularly credited Kaufman for some of his best lines, Kaufman agonized that he could barely recognize a word of his own writing in the Brothers’ antics. Still, as one wag later noted, “There are only two genuine wits on American television: Groucho Marx and George S. Kaufman. Without Kaufman, television is half-witted.”

Though Kaufman never thought that his wit or work would long endure, and while Ryskind abandoned his early convictions for a career in conservative politics, their fruitful partnerships shaped theater and comedy alike, from then to now—and in their voices on the page we can hear echoes of that dynamic, vanished melting pot. ❤ Both Ryskind and Kaufman, like the Marx Brothers, were inveterate collaborators, who did their best work in teams. Find a few of their noteworthy partnerships and legendary successes online at www.centerstage.org/AnimalCrackers/ digital-dramaturgy.

Animal Crackers | 5

Vaudeville Roots &

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

Broadway Lights

I didn’t like the play, but then I saw it under adverse conditions—the curtain was up.

If you ever sat through a talent show in high school or summer camp, you probably recognize the vaudeville format, though in most cases vaudeville performances were probably more professional.

Looking back, it can seem like a cross between pure chaos and total anarchy, little more than a jumble of acts and routines. .

The typical vaudeville show followed a fairly standard revue format, but alternated loosely among styles and forms within that template. Routines, or “turns,” might include any of the following: • musical numbers from instrumental virtuosos to nonsense patter songs • variety acts like juggling and plate spinning • acrobatics and other physical feats • comic sketches and cross-talk • highbrow recitations, poetry readings, or lectures • magic acts • ethnic and regional caricatures • dancing girls • trained animals and child performers • alleged experts (hypnotists, mind readers, clairvoyants) • or just about whatever else could reliably hold an audience’s attention.

Some 12 or 15 of these acts would be arranged in a single evening (or afternoon), providing a sampler platter of entertainment. It is this loose, seemingly haphazard structure and rambunctious carnival atmosphere—bordering on simmering anarchy, with a constant, improvisatory, self-aware engagement with the audience—that Ryskind and Kaufman captured so captivatingly in Animal Crackers. There—erupting within the vague outline of a genteel romantic mystery-of-manners—bubbles all the catcalling, pratfalling, stream-ofconsciousness of the Orpheum, the Palladium, the Hippodrome, and the rest of the vaudeville circuit.

6

Vaudeville’s roots were as diverse as the country that produced it —a dynamic mixture of the polyglot, immigrant urbanism of New York and the endless variety of the communities around the circuit. Though it began to emerge before the Civil War, vaudeville rose to prominence between the 1890s and the 1920s. By the 1930s, it slowly but inexorably gave way to radio, then film, then television (though it would also profoundly infect, and live on in, each of these in some fashion).

While its heyday proved as brief as its influence was extensive, vaudeville could trace a complicated and long genealogy.

It boasted some classical roots, including elements of Greek New Comedy and Roman farces (as do Shakespeare and Molière, among others) and more than a liberal dose of commedia dell'arte, from slapstick (physical “bits” or routines) to comic archetypes like the Marx Brothers characters. It shared aspects of British Music Hall and Panto; of Yiddish theater; of America’s minstrel shows and Wild West spectaculars. And (never mind protestations of innocence) hints of its more risqué cousin, burlesque. It shared branches with the sideshow and the freak show, and with Barnum’s famous circus and its many imitators. The vaudeville circuit encompassed all kinds of crowds in all manner of communities, and so an eclectic form naturally drew on elements of this eclectic world to reflect back what audiences knew or wanted.

Making the leap of medium and technology, early film boasted many vaudeville vets, especially silent comedians like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin—who made physical slapstick, a measure of anarchy, and fearless invention viable career paths for many who followed. Without them, no Danny Kaye, no Jerry Lewis, no Jim Carrey, no Cosmo Kramer. Equally, Abbott and Costello, the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, the Little Rascals, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Carol Burnett, and so many others owed much to these early roots.

The trio who accompanied Judy Garland on her yellow-brick antics were erstwhile vaudevillians. The debonair leading man we know as Cary Grant started out as Archie Leach, vaudeville hoofer and acrobat.

Mel Blanc and his alter-ego Bugs Bunny memorialize many a vaudeville-inspired routine, as do scores of their animated peers. Samuel Beckett’s Didi and Gogo are unrecognizable without vaudeville, and without it television sitcoms from The Honeymooners and M*A*S*H onwards become unimaginable. From sad clown Emmett Kelly to silent clown Bill Irwin, from stand-up comedy to the antics of Penn and Teller, vaudeville gets credit. Where would Johnny Carson or his colleagues be without variations on variety acts, or where the deathless Saturday Night Live. And what is YouTube if not the biggest variety show ever compiled? ❤

Look for more on vaudeville at www.centerstage.org/AnimalCrackers/ digital-dramaturgy..

Animal Crackers | 7

Bios

Bios

The Cast

Brad Aldous*— Professor. Center Stage:

debut. Regional— Williamstown Theatre Festival: Animal Crackers; Vineyard Playhouse: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged); Shakespeare Santa Cruz: Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth; St. Michael’s Playhouse: Cirque Du Souffle. Tour—Britney Spears “Circus” Tour.

Film/TV—Confessions of a Shopaholic, Boardwalk Empire, Unforgettable, Law and Order, L&O: CI, As the World Turns, Standard Deviants TV, plus over 30 episodes of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Other—UCB Theater: Snipe Hunt, Merkin, Robot TV, Piledriver. For my family.

Sean Blake*— Hives/Chandler/ Dance Captain

Center Stage: debut. Tour/ International—Show Boat (First National, Dance Captain/ Swing; Australia, Assoc.

Chorographer). Regional—credits include, Goodman: The Story, Purlie, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Rose Tattoo, Bounce; Northlight Theatre: Grey Gardens, Everything’s Ducky, A Civil War Christmas; Court Theatre: Porgy and Bess (Sportin’ Life), Raisin, Carousel (with Long Wharf Theatre); Seattle Rep: Birdie Blue; Alabama Shakespeare: Nobody; Chicago Shakespeare: Timon of Athens; Fulton Opera: Hot Mikado. Awards—Two-time Jeff Award nominee and Black Theatre Alliance Award nominee in Chicago. Other Professional— Choreographer: Court Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Caroline, or Change.

Sean can be heard on the original cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince’s Bounce. Many thanks to BJ and Center Stage for this opportunity.

Jonathan Brody*— Ravelli/Fight Captain.

Center Stage: debut.

Broadway—Spamalot, original companies of Titanic, Me and My Girl, Sally Marr...and her escorts (w/ Joan Rivers). Off Broadway—Gimpl Tam & The Megile of Itzik Manger (in Yiddish), Eating Raoul, Theda Bara & the Frontier Rabbi, Pirates of Penzance. Tours—Mary Poppins, Spamalot, Funny Girl, My Fair Lady. Regional—Animal Crackers (Goodman, Williamstown), Hamlet, I Hate Hamlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Time Stands Still, Lost in Yonkers, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Dybbuk, The Mystery of Irma 8

The Artistic Team Vep, Urinetown, Groucho: A Life in Revue, and many productions of Forever Plaid. TV— Boardwalk Empire; Guiding Light; Great Performances productions of Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner, and Porgy and Bess: An American Voice (George Gershwin), all on PBS. Proud member of Actor’s Equity for 30 years.

Dina DiCostanzo*— Arabella/Mrs. Whitehead.

Center Stage: debut. Chicago Credits—Drury Lane Oakbrook: Boeing Boeing, Hairspray, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Of Thee I Sing, Evita, Anything Goes, and more; Drury Lane Water Tower: Grand Hotel (Jeff Nomination); Marriott Lincolnshire: My One and Only, 42nd Street; Mercury Theatre: The Christmas Schooner, Rocky Horror Show Live!; Northlight Theatre (and Capital Rep Albany): The Marvelous Wonderettes; Victory Gardens Theatre: God and Country; Lakeshore Theatre: The Water Coolers; Theatre at the Center: 42nd Street, Singin’ in the Rain, Grease, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes..., Cats. Film/TV/Print— Cottonelle, The Roomplace, Aurora Health Care, Legit, Marshall Fields, Payless Shoe Source. A Chicago native, Dina is the founder of TheDressingRoomMag.com, a proud AEA member, and Columbia College Chicago Theatre Program graduate. Thank you for supporting the arts!

Erin Kommor— Grace/Mary. Center Stage:

debut. Regional—Goodspeed Opera House: Come From Away (Diane), Snapshots ft.

Stephen Schwartz (Susie). Other—Boston Conservatory: The Apple Tree (Eve), Necessary Targets (Nuna), Mercy Hospital (Carla), Rocky Horror (Columbia).

Education—Boston Conservatory Musical Theatre Major 2013. Gratitude for my loving and inspiring parents: Paula & Steve. Thank you to CGF Casting. For my sister, Morgan.

Always looking up for you, Alex.

Sean Montgomery*— John Parke/Jamison.

Center Stage: debut. National Tours—Mary Poppins, 9 to 5 (First National). Regional— Repertory Theatre St. Louis: Sunday in the Park with George; Atlanta Theatre of The Stars: Oklahoma!; The MUNY: Les Miserables, Pajama Game, Hello, Dolly!; Theatre By The Sea:

Drowsy Chaperone, Crazy For You; Gateway Playhouse: Show Boat, Drowsy Chaperone; American Heartland Theatre: Backwards In High Heels. Education—BFA, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Sean is a member of AEA and SAGAFTRA. Thank you to CGF Talent, McCorkle Casting, and Center Stage. Love to my family and Tess! www.sean-montgomery.com

Bruce Randolph Nelson*— Captain Spaulding.

Center Stage: …Edgar Allan Poe (Poe), Galileo (Professor), Arms and the Man (Soldier/Bear).

Regional—Rep Stage: The Goat (Martin), Hysteria (Dalí), The Violet Hour (Gidger, Helen Hayes Award), The Dazzle (Langley, Helen Hayes Award), Irma Vep (Lady Enid, Helen Hayes nom), Faith Healer (Teddy, Helen Hayes nom); Everyman Theatre: Company Member, August: Osage County (Steve), The Beaux’ Strategem (Boniface/ Foigard), You Can’t Take It with You (Kolenkhov), Private Lives (Elyot), Shipwrecked! (Louis/Best Actor City Paper), I Am My Own Wife (Charlotte), The Pavilion (Narrator/Best Actor City Paper); Folger Theatre: The Comedy of Errors (Antipholus of Ephesus), She Stoops to Conquer (Tony); Olney Theatre Center: Farragut North (Paul), The Underpants (Cohen); Woolly Mammoth Theatre: Company Member, Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Dwight, Originated Role), Fuddy Meers (Limping Man, Helen Hayes nom); The Shakespeare Theatre: The Taming of the Shrew (Tranio); Signature Theatre: Never the Sinner (White). Tour—National Players.

Facilitation—McCormick Spice, Johns Hopkins University. Teaching—Howard Community College, Everyman Theatre, Stevenson University. Education—Towson University.

John Scherer*—Doucet/ Winston. Center Stage: debut.

Broadway—LoveMusik, By Jeeves, Sunset Boulevard, The Most Happy Fella. Off Broadway—Dames at Sea, Olympus on My Mind, Preppies.

Tours—42nd Street; White Christmas; Cats; Hello, Dolly! (w/ Michele Lee); Mame (w/ Juliet Prowse). Regional—Paper Mill: Boeing Boeing, 42nd Sreet, Oklahoma, 1776; Goodspeed Opera House: George M, The Apple Tree, A Funny Thing…Forum; Arena Stage: On The Town; Goodman Theatre: Riverview; Ahmanson Theatre: 3hree; St. Louis Rep: The Foreigner, Hay Fever; Pittsburgh Public: The Odd Couple, Broadway; Cleveland Playhouse: Company; Cincinnati Playhouse: The Foreigner, Stand Up Tragedy; Kansan City Rep: A Flea in

Her Ear; Olney Theatre: Lend Me A Tenor, The Secret Garden; Cape Playhouse: Boeing Boeing, Unnecessary Farce, My One and Only; The MUNY: Spamalot; Pittsburgh CLO: Tommy, Carousel, 1776. TV—Law & Order, L&O:SVU, L&O:CI, The Shield, Crossing Jordan, Titus, Guiding Light. Awards—Helen Hayes Award Nominations (By Jeeves, On the Town); Connecticut Critics Circle Award (George M).

Scenic Designer Neil Patel

Catherine Smitko*— Mrs. Rittenhouse.

Center Stage: debut.

Regional—Goodman Theatre: Camino Real (Calixto Bieito, dir.), The Rose Tattoo, Heartbreak House, A Christmas Carol; Marriot Theatre: Les Miserables (Mme. Thenardier, Jeff Nominated: Ensemble), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Domina), Cinderella (Wicked Step Mother); Chicago Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (Nurse); Drury Lane Theatre: Oliver! (Widow Corney), Funny Girl (Mrs. Brice); Louis Theatre (Northwestern): Andrew Lippa’s Asphalt Beach, Sheldon Harnick’s A Doctor In Spite Of Himself; Magic Theatre: Steven Sater and Duncan Shiek’s Nero: Another Golden Rome (Agrippina), Pleasure and Pain; Royal George Theatre: Black and Blue (one-woman show); Arkansas Rep: Les Miserable (Mme. Thenardier). Catherine, a Chicagoan, sings like mad with several rock bands, Tragic SuperLover, Jinx Titanic and The Ladykillers, and Expo ’76. Cheers! * Member of Actors’ Equity Association

Animal Crackers Director BJ Jones

George S. Kaufman & Morrie Ryskind—Playwrights.

George S. Kaufman (1889–1961) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is known as one of the most successful writers and directors in the first half of the 20th Century; between 1921 and 1958, at least one Kaufman project appeared every season on Broadway. Plays with Moss Hart include Once in a Lifetime (1930), Merrily We Roll Along (1934), You Can’t Take It With You (1936), and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939). Kaufman was also a respected director; besides some of his own plays, his best-known credits included the original productions of The Front Page (1928), My Sister Eileen (1940), and Guys and Dolls (1950). Morrie Ryskind (1895–1985) was a leading playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, and director. Kaufman and Ryskind co-wrote the librettos for the stage version of Animal Crackers (1928) then wrote the screenplays for four Marx Brothers films: The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), A Night at the Opera (1935), and Room Service (1938). They also co-authored the librettos for the Gershwin musicals Of Thee I Sing! (1932 Pulitzer Prize) and Let ’Em Eat Cake (1934). Ryskind received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for My Man Godfrey (1936) and Stage Door (1939). Ryskind’s Broadway credits also included the librettos for Strike Up the Band (1930, music by George Gershwin, lyrics

by Ira Gershwin), and Louisiana Purchase (1941, music and lyrics by Irving Berlin). During the 1940s and ’50s Mr. Ryskind became a political columnist for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby— Music & Lyrics. Bert Kalmar and Harry

Ruby’s collaboration spanned from the 1920s to 1940s, and took them from Tin Pan Alley to Broadway and eventually to Hollywood.

Born in New York in 1884, Kalmar performed as a magician in tent shows and in vaudeville before founding a music publishing company.

Born in New York in 1895, Ruby made a living

as a pianist on the vaudeville circuit until Kalmar hired him to plug songs. The two began a collaboration that would create some of the best-known tunes of their era, including “Who’s Sorry Now?,” “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” and “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” (co-written with Oscar Hammerstein II). They wrote music and lyrics for Broadway shows including The Ziegfeld Follies, The Ramblers, The Five O’Clock Girl, Animal Crackers, and High Kickers. The team moved to Hollywood in 1930 and contributed songs to films including Check and Double Check, The Cuckoos, The Kid from Spain, and the Marx Brothers’ film Horsefeathers. In 1950, three years after Kalmar’s death, the duo’s success story was made into a film starring Fred Astaire as Kalmar and Red Skelton as Ruby. Although Ruby continued to write after Kalmar’s death, he did not produce another hit. He died in 1974.

Henry Wishcamper—Adaptor.

Center Stage: debut. Playwright/Adaptor— Animal Crackers (Goodman, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, upcoming at Denver Center); Katharsis: The Polish Play; Theater at Monmouth: Pippi Longstocking. Resident Artistic Associate at the Goodman Theatre, Artistic Director of Katharsis Theater Company, Drama League Directing Fellow. Other Professional—Director, Off Broadway— MTC: Spirit Control; LCT3: Graceland; Atlantic Theater Company: Port Authority; New World Stages: Elvis People; Katharsis: The Polish Play; Keen Company: Pullman Car Hiawatha. Regional— Guthrie: The Birds; Goodman: Animal Crackers (Joseph Jefferson nomination), Other Desert Cities, Talking Pictures; Old Globe: Engaging Shaw, The Mystery of Irma Vep; Barrington Stage: Art; Hartford TheaterWorks: The Seafarer and Speech & Debate; Portland Stage: The Good Thief. Assistant Director of Broadway productions of August: Osage County and Shining City. Upcoming—Director, A Christmas Carol (Goodman), the world premiere of Seth Bockley’s Ask Aunt Susan (Goodman), and the Animal Crackers | 9

Bios

The Artistic Team

American premiere of Conor McPherson’s adaptation of Strindberg’s The Dance of Death (Writers Theatre). Education—Yale University.

Doug Peck— Orchestrator. Regional— Jungle Book, Candide, Dreamgirls, Shenandoah, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, Hair, Grey Gardens, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast. Recordings—Bright Young People, Foiled Again Live, Loving, Repeating. Other— Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers’, TimeLine, Northlight, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Ravinia, Huntington, Long Wharf, Asolo, Peninsula Players. Film— A Night at the Oscars. Awards— Five Joseph Jefferson Awards, Two After Dark Awards for music direction.

Education—Northwestern University graduate, Interlochen Center for the Arts.

BJ Jones—Director, is in his 16th season

as Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre where he commissioned and directed the world premieres of Stella & Lou, The Outgoing Tide (Jeff Nomination, Best Director), Better Late, and Rounding Third, as well as productions of Grey Gardens, The Price (Jeff Nomination, Best Director), A Skull in Connemara, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. He has guided the world premieres of The Last Five Years, The Gamester, and Studs Terkel’s ‘The Good War’. From Second City to Shakespeare, BJ has directed Pitmen Painters (Jeff Nomination, Best Director, Timeline), A Number (Next), 100 Saints You Should Know (Steppenwolf), The Dresser (Body Politic). Regional—Glengarry Glen Ross (Suzie Bass Nominee, Best Director, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre), Enchanted April (Asolo Theatre), and productions at Cherry Lane Theatre NY, Galway Arts Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, The Asolo, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. As a performer, Mr. Jones is a two-time Jeff Award winner and has appeared at Northlight, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Court, and other theaters throughout Chicago. Film/TV—credits include The Fugitive, Body Double, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Early Edition, Cupid, and Turks, among others.

Tammy Mader—Choreographer.

Center Stage: debut. Regional—Drury Lane Theatres: Gypsy, Spamalot, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (Jeff Nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jeff Award), Kiss Me Kate (Jeff Nomination), Anything Goes (Jeff Nomination), My One And Only (Jeff Award), Grand Hotel, The Full Monty; Court Theatre: Guys & Dolls, Invisible Man; Marriott Theatre: 42nd St. (Jeff Award); Theater At The Center: She Loves Me, Singin’ In The Rain (Jeff Nomination), Grand Hotel, 42nd St.; Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Elizabeth Rex; Porchlight: Assassins.

10

Other Professional—Director/Choreographer, Regional—Drury Lane Theatres: Hairspray (Jeff Award), Buddy; The Buddy Holly Story; Marriott Theater: My One And Only. Faculty—Lou Conte Dance Studio. SDC, AEA, AGMA.

Paul Kalina—Physical Comedy Director. Center Stage: debut. Regional—

Williamstown Theatre Festival: Animal Crackers; Goodman: Animal Crackers, Pirates; Steppenwolf: Closer, Endgame (clown training Ian Barford); Iowa Repertory Theatre: No Fish in the House; Court Theatre: Romance Cycle; Performance: Drury Lane Oakbrook: The 39 Steps; with 500 Clown: 500 Clown Macbeth, 500 Clown Frankenstein, 500 Clown Christmas Carol, 500 Clown and the Elephant Deal (at PS 122, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Midland Arts Center in Birmingham, England). Other Professional— Co-Founding member of the physical theatre company 500 Clown, Represented Artist with Cirque du Soleil, Assistant Professor of Movement at The University of Iowa. Education—MFA, University of Idaho.

Awards—2006 KCACTF Stage Directors and Choreographers Fellowship.

Laura Bergquist—Musical Director.

Center Stage: debut. National Tours—The King and I, Titanic, Miss Saigon. Current projects—Allegiance (w/ George Takei and Lea Salonga), Daddy Long Legs (Boston Critics Award for Musical Direction), Jane Austen’s Emma, all planning Broadway productions.

New York—numerous readings, concerts and workshops for NAMT, New York Stage and Film, New York Musical Theatre Festival, Midtown International Theatre Festival; performances at Joe’s Pub, Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Hall. Regional—Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse, TheatreWorks, Northlight, Cleveland Playhouse, Rubicon, St. Louis Rep, Lyric Theater of Oklahoma, Music Theatre of Wichita. Awards— ASCAP Awards recipient for composition. Laura maintains a large coaching studio and has students on Broadway, Off Broadway, National tours, and cruise ships.

She is a frequent guest conductor in regional theaters and a clinician in universities and churches. Many thanks to BJ, Tammy, Kate, our marvelous cast, talented orchestra and all the fine folks at Center Stage.

Neil Patel—Scenic Designer. Center Stage: Mud Blue Sky, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, American Buffalo, Working it Out, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Once on This Island, Elmina’s Kitchen, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Hostage, As You Like It, many others. Broadway—Soul Doctor; Oleanna; Wonderland; [title of show]; Ring of Fire; ’night,

Mother; Sideman (also West End & Kennedy Center). Off Broadway—Signature Theatre: stop.reset, My Children! My Africa!; Second Stage: By the way, Meet Vera Stark, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Peter & Jerry, Living Out; Roundabout: McReele, Hurrah at Last; Vineyard: Now.Here.This., The Long Christmas Ride Home; MTC: Between Us, Glimmer Glimmer and Shine; MCC: The Mercy Seat; NYTW: The Beard of Avon, Lydie Breeze, Resident Alien, A Question of Mercy, Bob, Quills, Slavs!; Playwrights Horizons: Lobster Alice, On the Mountain; Public/NYSF: Dirty Tricks, Othello. Regional—includes Guthrie, Steppenwolf, La Jolla, McCarter, Alley, Long Wharf, Mark Taper. Opera—Chicago Lyric Opera: Anna Bolena; Houston Grand Opera: Mary Stuart, Spoleto: Le Villi and Mese Mariano; NYCO: Alcina; Santa Fe: Carmen, Salome, Madame Mao; Minnesota: Madame Butterfly; St. Louis: Cavalleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, Gloriana; Nikikai: Cosi Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni; FGO: Anna Karenina. Film-Some Velvet Morning (TriBeCa) Television—In Treatment (HBO). Awards—Obie Award (2), Helen Hayes Award, Eddy Award, Hewes nom (5), Drama Desk nom (3).

David Burdick— Costume Designer.

Center Stage: The Mountaintop; …Edgar Allan Poe; An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man; A Skull in Connemara; The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Working it Out; Cyrano; Caroline, or Change; Hearts; Things of Dry Hours; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Elmina’s Kitchen; Picnic; a.m. Sunday; The Rainmaker; Blithe Spirit; many others. Regional— Everyman Theatre: The Beaux’ Stratagem, August Osage County, You Can’t Take It with You, Private Lives, All My Sons, The Mystery of Irma Vep; Walnut Street/Totem Pole: The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Moon Over Buffalo.

Opera—Cincinnati: Don Giovanni; Boston Lyric: I Puritani; Tulsa: Tosca, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Fidelio. Dance—BAM: FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance; Dayton Contemporary: Lyric Fire (world premiere, dir./choreographer Dianne McIntyre). Miscellaneous—Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Spectacular.

Mark McCullough— Lighting Designer. Center Stage: The

Homecoming, Short Plays by Thornton Wilder, Travels with My Aunt, The Woman in Black, Feminine Singular: Hannah Senesh, Big Butt Girls. New York—Broadway: The American Plan; Accent on Youth; After Miss Julie; Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway; National and UK Tour); Off-Broadway: The Language Archive; Old Money; Mouth to Mouth; How I Learned to Drive; The Long Christmas Ride Home; This is Our Youth; Lobby Hero. International—London, West End: Whistle Down the Wind; Paladium Stuttgart: Rebecca; Royal Shakespeare

Company; Gate Theatre, Dublin. Opera— Metropolitan Opera; The Bolshoi; La Scala; New York City Opera; Washington National Opera; Glimmerglass; Lyric Opera of Chicago; San Francisco Opera; Teatro Real Madrid; Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Opéra National du Rhin; Opera North; Seattle Opera and National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Regional— Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, The Huntington Theatre, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare, The Guthrie, Steppenwolf, among others.

Upcoming—The Visit a new musical (Ronacher Theatre, Vienna) and the world premiere of the new Frank Wildhorn musical Artus Theatre St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Zachary Williamson— Sound Designer. Center Stage: …Edgar

Allan Poe, Into the Woods, ReEntry. Broadway (Associate)— Lysistrata Jones; Roundabout: The Ritz, Pal Joey. Off Broadway— Irish Rep: New Girl In Town, Molly Sweeney, White Woman Street, Candida, The Hairy Ape, and others; Second Stage: Vanities; Urban Stages: ReEntry. Regional—Kansas City Rep: Pippin, Cabaret; Clarence Brown: Amadeus; 5th Avenue Theatre: Hairspray, On the Town; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Dallas Theater Center: Fly By Night, Give It Up!; Two River Theater: Carry It On, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well, 26 Miles, ReEntry, and others; Long Wharf; Westport Country Playhouse; Pasadena Playhouse; Round House Theatre; Virginia Stage; Asolo; Actors Theater of Louisville; St. Louis Rep; Vermont Stage; Syracuse Stage.

Currently, he is the associate designer for Wicked, maintaing the Broadway and national touring productions.

Captain Kate Murphy*— Stage Manager. Center Stage: Resident

Stage Manager; Stage Manager: Mud Blue Sky, The Mountaintop, …Edgar Allan Poe, A Skull in Connemara, American Buffalo, Crime & Punishment, Let There Be Love, The Santaland Diaries; Assistant Stage Manager for The Importance of Being Earnest, Things of Dry Hours, Trouble in Mind, Three Sisters, Radio Golf, The Murder of Isaac, Once on this Island, King Lear; Assistant Production Manager 2008–09. Regional—Trinity Rep: Boeing Boeing; Actors Theatre of Louisville: All Hail Hurricane Gordo*, The Clean House, Moot the Messenger*, Dracula, The Ruby Sunrise*, Tall Grass Gothic*, The Drawer Boy, Amadeus, As You Like It (*premieres at the Humana Festival of New American Plays); Contemporary American Theater Festival: The Overwhelming, Pig Farm; Totem Pole Playhouse: Over 75 productions through 13 summer stock seasons. Film/TV— Route 30, Route 30 Too!, Next Food Network Star. Proud Actors Equity and ASCAP Member.

Benjamin Royer*—Assistant Stage Manager. Center Stage: The Voysey

Inheritance, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Elmina’s Kitchen, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Sweeney Todd, Misalliance, The Rainmaker, Intimate Apparel, No Foreigners Beyond This Point, Peter Pan. Regional—Shakespeare Theatre Company: Strange Interlude, The Heir Apparent, The Merchant of Venice, An Ideal Husband, Candide, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Henry V, Richard II, As You Like It, Phèdre, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Ion, Twelfth Night, The Way of the World, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Argonautika, Edward II, Tamburlaine, Hamlet, Richard III; Actors Theatre of Louisville: A Tuna Christmas; Contemporary American Theater Festival: Heartless, Discourse, Mr. Marmalade, Sex, Death and the Beach Baby, The God of Hell, Sonia Flew; Rep Stage: T Bone n Weasel.

Education—University of Richmond, BA in Theatre Arts and Psychology.

Gavin Witt—Production Dramaturg.

(See page 15)

Pat McCorkle— Casting Director.

Center Stage: The Mountaintop, Bus Stop, Gleam. Pat McCorkle (C.S.A.) and associate, Joe Lopick, cast the critically acclaimed Tribes and Our Town for Barrrow Street Theatre in New York. Memorable Broadway casts include End of the Rainbow, The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, The Glass Menagerie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Amadeus, She Loves Me, Blood Brothers, A Few Good Men, among many others. Notable Off Broadway projects include Almost Maine, Ears on a Beatle, Down the Garden Paths, Killer Joe, Mrs. Klein, Driving Miss Daisy. A partial list of feature film projects include Premium Rush, Ghost Town, Secret Window, Basic, Tony and Tina’s Wedding, The Thomas Crown Affair, The 13th Warrior, Madeline, Die Hard with a Vengeance, School Ties, etc, and for television, humans for Sesame Street, Californication (Emmy nomination), Hack, Strangers with Candy, Barbershop, Chapelle’s Show, among several others.

Animal Crackers | 11

Au dience

for making for making a mark in in a mark Baltimore.

Baltimore.

services

Dining

Sasha’s Express, our pre-performance dinner service, is located up the lobby stairs in our Mezzanine café.

Service begins two hours before each performance.

McCormick is proud to support

Center Stage

KPMG KPMGLLP LLPisisproud proudto to support supportCenterStage.

CenterStage.

Recording

On-Stage Smoking

We use tobacco-free herbal imitations for on-stage smoking and do everything possible to minimize the impact amount of smoke that drifts into the audience. Let our Box Office or front of house personnel know if you’re smoke sensitive.

Accessibility

Wheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance.

We offer free assistive listening devices, braille programs, and magnifying glasses upon request. An Open Captioned performance* is available one Sunday performance of each production.

Several performances also feature Audio Description*.

pnc.com pnc.com

Parking

kpmg.com kpmg.com ©2013 The PNC Financial Services ©2013 Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PNCGroup, Bank, National Association.

Member FDICNational The PNC Financial Services Inc. AllAll rights reserved.

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Member FDIC ©2013 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. rights reserved.

PNC Bank, National Association.

Member FDIC ©©2013 2013KPMG KPMGLLP, LLP,a aDelaware Delawarelimited limitedliability liabilitypartnership partnershipand and the theU.S. U.S.member memberfirm firmofofthe theKPMG KPMGnetwork networkofofindependent independent member memberfirms firmsaffiliated affiliatedwith withKPMG KPMGInternational InternationalCooperative Cooperative (“KPMG (“KPMGInternational”), International”),a aSwiss Swissentity. entity.AllAllrights rightsreserved. reserved.

Printed Printedininthe theU.S.A. U.S.A.The TheKPMG KPMGname, name,logo logoand and“cutting “cutting through throughcomplexity” complexity”are areregistered registeredtrademarks trademarksorortrademarks trademarks ofofKPMG KPMGInternational.

International.NDPPS NDPPS203778 203778

Come as a Group and Save!

Groups of just 10 or more

enjoy special benefits, perks, and discounts up to 50% off.

Groups Benefits: • Discounted Tickets • Priority Seating • Student & Group Rates • Flexible Payment Options • Event Planning Assistance

Enhance Your Experience: • Post-show Discussions* • Pre-and Post-Show Dining Options • Artist Meet & Greets* • Guided Backstage Tours*

Book your group today!

410.986.4008 | groups@centerstage.org 12

Phones

Please silence all phones and electronic devices before the show and after intermission.

Photography and both audio and video recording are strictly forbidden.

We We look look forward forward to to your your next next is proud to bePNC a part of CENTERSTAGE. Because isisproud totobe CENTERSTAGE. PNC proud beaapart partofof CENTERSTAGE.Because Because brilliant brilliant PNC we know a community that works together thrives we know a community that works together we know a community that works togetherthrives thrives together. together. together. performance. performance. pnc.com

Drinks

You are welcome to take beverages with lids to your seats! But please, no food.

*Subject to availability.

Some exclusions apply.

If you are parking in the Baltimore Sun Garage (diagonally across from the theater at Monument & Calvert) you can pay via credit card at the pay station in the garage lobby or if you have a pre-paid voucher, enter your voucher after entering your parking ticket, in the machine as you leave.

You may use your pre-paid voucher at either the pay station in the garage lobby or at the in-lane pay station as you exit. We are unable to validate parking tickets.

Feedback

We hope you have an enjoyable, stress-free experience! Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed: info@centerstage.org. *For Animal Crackers: Sunday, September 29.

Audio Description at both 2 pm and 7:30 pm, Open Captioning at 7:30 pm.

Animal Crackers | 13

Q & A

with Kwame & Stephen

BIOS A conversation with Artistic Director, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Managing Director Stephen Richard.

What first appealed to you about Animal Crackers?

KKA: Its zaniness. Its absolute, off-the-hook sense of fun and craziness. Quite simply that I laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

To start the season off with great laughter just appealed to me.

Do you have a favorite Marx Brother?

Kwame Kwei-Armah: No, I don’t, actually.

It’s really silly I realize, because of course like everybody, I grew up on those movies.

But it really was the Brothers together that I enjoyed seeing—the interaction between all of them, and the juxtaposition of one against another that really made me laugh a lot as a kid.

Stephen Richard: I grew up watching Groucho’s television show, which began about the time I was old enough to watch television. I would have to say that he has always been a vision of what wonderful, spontaneous, improvised comedy can be for me. And it was much wackier than anything else on television at that time, so it was kind of extraordinary.

SR: I will play into the cliché of the business guy: When Arena Stage produced it, it was the most successful show in their first 50 years. That appealed to me. But I also loved the zaniness. It is an extraordinarily funny, good time.

Do you have a favorite contemporary form of comedy, maybe in film or TV? KKA: I’m not sure I do—I don’t watch a lot of television. The last thing that I was addicted to was the Dave Chappelle Show.

SR: In terms of moments, distilled moments, I probably carry more bits from The Simpsons than anything else.

KKA: That’s a really good answer! I would absolutely concur with that. The Simpsons— bloody love it.

What kind of humor attracts you the most?

Do you have a favorite joke— that’s fit to print?

KKA: Low-brow. On a regular basis, lowbrow comedy [laughs]. Actually, low-brow and political comedy—I love the comedy of Chris Rock and Richard Pryor. If I’m going to go look up some comedy, I’m going there.

But invariably the bits I like the best are the rude bits. I’m happy to accept the low culture part of myself and revel in it.

KKA: No. [laughs]

SR: Certainly I like a lot of things, and I love political humor, I don’t want to diminish that. But I think it's absurdity—the zany absurdity that the Marx Brothers embodied, and goes through Monty Python to the present—that appeals to me. It has a bit of an intellectual quality to it, but it’s also just ridiculous.

SR: Everyone knows it, but my favorite— in part because my wonderful wife is afraid of bears—is the old joke in which two guys are walking in the woods, and one of them says, “What do you do when you see a bear?”

The other guy says, “I run like hell.”

The first guy says, “But you can’t outrun a bear.”

The other guy says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear.”

KKA: In truth, that’s what Animal Crackers does. It comments on the state of the economy and the state of the system that we live under, about the rich and the poor and the one percent. It has all that zaniness and absurdity right at its core, but yet is also intellectually appealing for those who want to see it.

Join the conversation!

Email hjackson@centerstage.org with your questions for Kwame and Stephen. centerstagemd

14

@centerstage_md

The Staff

Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, an award-winning

British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, is in his third season as Artistic Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. At Center Stage he has directed The Mountaintop; An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man (one of City Paper’s Top Ten Productions of 2012), for which he was named Best Director; and Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours. Among his works as playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love—which had their American debuts at Center Stage—as well as A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, and Seize the Day. His latest play, Beneatha’s Place, debuted at Center Stage in 2013 as part of the ground-breaking Raisin Cycle. His other directorial credits include Let There be Love and Seize the Day at the Tricycle Theatre, the World Premiere of Detroit ’67 at The Public Theatre, and the World Premiere of The Liquid Plain at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Kwame has served on the boards of The National Theatre and The Tricycle Theatre, both in London. He served as Artistic Director for the World Arts Festival in Senegal, a month-long World Festival of Black Arts and Culture, which featured more than two thousand artists from 52 countries participating in 16 different arts disciplines. He was named the Chancellor of the University of the Arts London, and in 2012 was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Managing Director Stephen Richard,

a leader on the national arts scene for more than 30 years, is the Managing Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stephen most recently worked as Vice President, External Relations, for the new National Children’s Museum. Previously, he served 18 years as Executive Director of Arena Stage, where he planned and managed the theater’s $125 million capital campaign for the Mead Center for American Theater. Also a professor of Arts Management at Georgetown University, he has served on the boards and committees of some of the nation’s most prestigious arts organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, American Arts Alliance, the League of Resident Theatres, and the Theatre Communications Group, and currently serves on the Advocacy Committee of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.

Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy Gavin Witt came to

Center Stage in 2003 as Resident Dramaturg, having served in that role previously at several Chicago theaters. As a dramaturg, he has worked on well over 60 plays, from classics to new commissions— including play development workshops and freelance dramaturgy for TCG, The Playwrights Center, The New Harmony Project, The Old Globe, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, CATF, The Kennedy Center, and others. A graduate of Yale and the University of Chicago, he was active in Chicago theater for more than a decade as an actor, director, dramaturg, translator, and teacher, not to mention co-founder of greasy joan & co. theater, while serving as a regional Vice President of LMDA, the national association of dramaturgs. He has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago and DePaul University, and locally at Towson University.

Animal Crackers | 15

Center Stage joins Americans for the Arts in thanking

for its generous and ongoing support of the arts.

Congratulations

on being recognized as one of 10 companies in the US for outstanding contributions to the arts at this year’s

BCA 10:

Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America

16

Animal Crackers | 17

su ppo rt Supporting The Annual Fund at Center Stage January 22, 2012— July 25, 2013

The following list includes gifts of $250 or more—individual, corporate, foundation, and government contributions—made to the Center Stage Annual Fund between

January 22, 2012 and July 25, 2013. Although space limitations make it impossible for us to list everyone who helps fund our artistic, education, and community programs, we are enormously grateful to each person who contributes to Center Stage.

We couldn’t do it without you!

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS

The Center Stage Society represents donors who, with their annual contributions of $2,500 or more, provide special opportunities for our artists and audiences. Society members are actively involved through special events, theater-related travel, and behind-the-scenes conversations with theater artists.

Artists Circle ($25,000+)

The Miriam and Jay Wurtz Andrus Trust William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards Penny Bank Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter The Annie E. Casey Foundation The Charlesmead Foundation James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering

J.I. Foundation Francie and John Keenan Mr. and Mrs. E. Robert Kent, Jr. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds Mr. and Mrs. J. William Murray George Roche Mr. and Mrs. George M. Sherman Mr. Louis B. Thalheimer and Ms. Juliet A. Eurich

Edgerton Foundation New American Play Awards

($5,000- $9,999)

Kathleen Hyle

Anonymous

Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

Ms. Katharine C. Blakeslee

Marilyn Meyerhoff Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Mr. and Mrs. Philip Rauch The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Smith, Jr. Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Ms. Katherine L. Vaughns

Playwrights Circle

Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Sylvia and Eddie Brown The Cordish Family The Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr. Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Brian and Denise Eakes Dick and Maria Gamper Dr. and Mrs. Neil D. Goldberg Fredye and Adam Gross

Ms. Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

Martha Head

Producers Circle

Murray Kappelman

($10,000- $24,999)

The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hill Kwame and Michelle Kwei-Armah The John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc.

Peter and Millicent Bain

The Macht Philanthropic Fund

The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Foundation

Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker

James T. and Francine G. Brady The Bunting Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting

John and Susan Nehra Stephen Richard and Mame Hunt

Directors Circle

($2,500- $4,999)

Anonymous The Lois and Irving Blum Foundation Drs. Joanna and Harry Brandt Mary Catherine Bunting August and Melissa Chiasera Gene DeJackome and Kim Gingras The Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Doggett, III Mr. and Mrs. Michael Falcone Ms. Suzan Garabedian The Harry L. Gladding Foundation/Winnie and Neal Borden Goldseker Foundation/Ana Goldseker Robert and Cheryl Guth The Hecht-Levi Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Immelt Jonna and Fred Lazarus Mr. and Mrs. Earl and Darielle Linehan/ Linehan Family Foundation Mrs. Diane Markman Linda and John McCleary Mr. and Mrs. John L. Messmore Jim and Mary Miller Jeannie Murphy The Israel & Mollie Myers Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Pakula Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire and Mark Cheshire Lainy Lebow Sachs and Leonard Sachs Monica and Arnold Sagner Scott and Mimi Somerville Scot T. Spencer Mr. Michael Styer Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Mariana Thoms

The Jim & Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation

Trexler Foundation, Inc. - Jeff Abarbanel and David Goldner

Mr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce L. Ulrich

Ted and Mary Jo Wiese

Daniel P. Gahagan

Dr. Edgar and Betty Sweren, in honor of Center Stage's 50th Anniversary

Cheryl Hudgins Williams and Alonza Williams

John Gerdy and E. Follin Smith

Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thompson Webb

Sydney and Ron Wilner

The Goldsmith Family Foundation

Ms. Linda Woolf

Drs. Nadia and Elias Zerhouni

The Nathan & Suzanne Cohen Foundation The Helen P. Denit Charitable Trust Ms. Nancy Dorman and Mr. Stanley Mazaroff Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Droppa

18

The Laverna Hahn Charitable Trust

Mr. and Mrs. Loren and Judy Western

Associates

($1,000- $2,499) Anonymous Ms. Taunya Banks Donald Bartling Mr. and Mrs. Marc Blum John and Carolyn Boitnott Jan Boyce Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Brown Sandra and Thomas Brushart Meredith and Joseph Callanan The Campbell Foundation, Inc. Caplan Family Foundation, Inc. Sally and Jerry Casey John Chester Ann K. Clapp Constantinides Family Foundation Ms. Gwen Davidson The Richard & Rosalee C. Davison Foundation Albert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie Deering James DeGraffenreidt and Mychelle Farmer Rosetta and Matt DeVito Mr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia McMillan Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dott Jack and Nancy Dwyer Ms. Nicole Epp Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman Frank and Jane Gabor Jose and Ginger Galvez Pamela and Jonathan Genn, in honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone Richard and Sharon Gentile, in honor of the Center Stage Costume Shop Ms. Sandra Levi Gerstung Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Griswold, IV Annie Groeber, in memory of Dr. John E. Adams The Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation F. Barton Harvey, III and Janet Marie Smith Bill and Scootsie Hatter Sandra and Thomas Hess Drs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry Wohl Len and Betsy Homer The A. C. and Penney Hubbard Foundation Joseph J. Jaffa Max Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Mark Joseph Francine and Allan Krumholz H.R. LaBar Family Foundation Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Sandy and Mark Laken John and Andi Laporte, in honor of Philip and Lynn Rauch Dr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr.

Joseph and Jane Meyer John and Beverly Michel Tom and Cindi Monahan Ms. Stacey Morrison and Mr. Brian Morales The Honorable Diana and Fred Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Roger F. Nordquist and Joyce Ward Irene E. Norton Mr. and Mrs. Lee Ogburn Ms. Jo-Ann Mayer Orlinsky Dr. Bodil Ottesen Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman Jill and Darren Pratt Ms. Kathleen C. Ridder, in honor of Peter Culman The James and Gail Riepe Family Foundation Nathan and Michelle Robertson The Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation Kurt and Patricia Schmoke Mr. and Mrs. Todd Schubert Gail B. Schulhoff Charles and Leslie Schwabe The Tim and Barbara Schweizer Foundation, Inc. Barbara and Sig Shapiro The Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation The Earle & Annette Shawe Family Foundation Dr. Barbara Shelton Dana and Matthew Slater Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Smelkinson Judith R. and Turner B. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith Dr. and Mrs. John Strahan Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Taylor John A. Ulatowski United Way of Central Maryland Campaign Kathryn and Mark Vaselkiv Carolyn and Robert Wallace Nanny and Jack Warren, in honor of Lynn Deering Janna P. Wehrle Mr. Todd M. Wilson and Mr. Edward DeLaplaine Ann Wolfe and Dick Mead John W. Wood Dr. Laurie S. Zabin Mr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in honor of Terry Morgenthaler

Colleagues ($500-$999)

Anonymous Ms. Diane Abeloff, in memory of Martin Abeloff The Alsop Family Foundation Mrs. Alexander Armstrong Mr. Robert and Dorothy Bair Mayer and Will Baker, in honor of Terry Morgenthaler Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Amy and Bruce Barnett Charles and Patti Baum Jaye and Dr. Ted Bayless Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Judge Robert Bell Steve and Teri Bennett S. Woods and athy L. Bennett Harriet and Bruce Blum Cindy Candelori Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Christ

Joan Develin Coley and M. Lee Rice Barbara Crain and Michael Borowitz Robert and Janice Davis Richard and Lynda Davis The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby Lynne Durbin and John-Francis Mergen Patricia Egan and Peter Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman Patricia Yevics-Eisenberg and Stewart Eisenberg The Eliasberg Family Foundation Buddy and Sue Emerson, in appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen Donald and Margaret Engvall Sandra and John Ferriter Ms. Nancy Freyman Dr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane Dwyer Frank and Tara Gallagher Mary and Richard Gorman Stuart and Linda Grossman Louise A. Hager Terry Halle and Wendy McAllister Donald and Sybil Hebb Lee M. Hendler, in honor of Peter Culman Betsy and George Hess Mrs. Heidi Hoffman Mr. and Mrs. James Hormuth Ralph and Claire Hruban Mr. James Hughes Mr. Edward Hunt Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Imes Richard Jacobs and Patricia Lasher Ms. Mary Claire Jeske James M. and Julie B. Johnstone BJ and Candy Jones Dr. and Mrs. Juan M. Juanteguy Ms. Shirley Kaufman B. Keller Mr. George W. King Judith Phair King and Roland King Stewart and Carol Koehler Mr. John Lanasa, in honor of Peter Culman Joseph M. and Judy K. Langmead Claus Leitherer and Irina Fedorova Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Lesser Marilyn Leuthold Kenneth and Christine Lobo Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Lynch The Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation, Inc. Maryland Charity Campaign Ms. Mary L. McGeady Dr. Carole Miller Mr. Jeston I. Miller Stephanie F. Miller, in honor of The Lee S. Miller Jr. Family George and Beth Murnaghan Rex and Lettie Myers Michael and Phyllis Panopoulos Chris and Deborah Pennington Mr. and Mrs. James and Mimi Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Bonnie Pitt Dave and Chris Powell Robert E. and Anne L. Prince Richard and Kay Radmer Ronald and Carol Reckling Mrs. Peggy L. Rice Ms. Jane Rodbell Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rojas Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr. Kevin and Judy Rossiter Mrs. Bette Rothman Mr. Al Russell Sheila and Steve Sachs Ms. Renee C. Samuels Eugene and Alice Schreiber Philanthropic Fund The Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin Memorial Foundation Georgia and George Stamas Susan Somerville-Hawes, in honor of The Encounter Program Station North Arts and Entertainment District Sanford and Karen Teplitzky Mr. and Mrs. Barbara and Paul Timm-Brock Sharon and David Tufaro Mr. and Mrs. George and Beth Van Dyke In memory of Sally Wessner Mr. Michael T. Wharton Dr. and Mrs. Frank R. Witter Eric and Pam Young Mr. Norman Youskauskas Mr. Paul Zugates

Advocates

($250-$499) Anonymous Walter and Rita Abel Mr. and Mrs. Delbert L. Adams Bradley and Lindsay Alger Ms. Donna Arbogast Mr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, II Michael Baker Mr. and Mrs. Martin Beer Alfred and Muriel Berkeley Rachel and Steven Bloom, in honor of Beth Falcone Chad Bolton, in honor of Peter Culman Perry and Aurelia Bolton Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryan Mr. David Bundy Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Burnett II Ms. Deborah W. Callard The Jim and Anne Cantler Memorial Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. David Carter Mr. Andrew J. Cary Mr. and Mrs. James Case Ms. Cynthia Cindric Stanton Collins Combined Federal Campaign Comprehensive Car Care/ Robert Wagner David and Sara Cooke B.J. and Bill Cowie Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Crofton Mr. and Mrs. David and Gloria Crockett Ms. Alice M. Dibben Sally Digges and James Arnold Deborah and Philip English

Ms. Rhea Feikin, in memory of Colgate Salsbury Ms. Jeannette E. Festa Bob and Susie Fetter Genine and Josh Fidler, in honor of Ellen and Ed Bernard Dr. and Mrs. Robert P. Fleishman Mr. and Mrs. George Flickinger Donna Flynn Joan and David Forester Dr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr. Virginia K. Adams Mark and Patti Gillen Hal and Pat Gilreath Mr. Bruce Goldman Herbert and Harriet Goldman Mr. Howard Gradet Joseph Griffin Thomas and Barbara Guarnieri Mr. David Guy Jane Halpern and James Pettit Ada Hamosh Dr. and Dr. James and Vicki Handa Melanie and Donald Heacock In Memory of Eric R. Head Aaron Heinsman William and Monica Henderson Sue Hess Mr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr. Ms. Irene Hornick Dr. and Mrs. J. Woodford Howard Ms. Sarah Issacs Mr. William Jacob James and Hillary Aidus Jacobs Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kaplan Richard and Judith Katz Dr. and Mrs. Myron Kellner Steve and Laurie Kelly, in memory of Rodney Stieff Donald Knox and Mary Towery, in memory of Carolyn Knox and Gene Towery David and Ann Koch Gina Kotowski Edward Kuhl Drs. Don and Pat Langenberg Mr. Richard M. Lansburgh Mr. and Mrs. William Larson Drs. Ronald and Mary Leach Leadership— Baltimore County Sara W. Levi Marty Lidston and Jill Leukhardt Dr. and Mrs. John Lion Cheryl London Scott and Ellen Lutrey Nancy Magnuson and Jay Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren Ms. Karen Malloy Mr. Elvis Marks Joan and Terry Marshall Don Martin Eleanor McMillan Mary and Barry Menne Bruce Mentzer Ms. Darlene Miller Minds Eye Cinema

Board of Trustees Robert W. Smith, Jr., President Edward C. Bernard, Vice President Juliet Eurich, Vice President Terry H. Morgenthaler, Vice President E. Follin Smith, Treasurer J.W. Thompson Webb, Secretary Penny Bank Katharine C. Blakeslee* James T. Brady C. Sylvia Brown* Stephanie Carter August J. Chiasera Janet Clauson Lynn Deering Jed Dietz Walter B. Doggett, III Jane W.I. Droppa Brian Eakes Beth W. Falcone Daniel Gahagan C. Richard Gamper, Jr. Suzan Garabedian Carole Goldberg Adam Gross Cheryl O'Donnell Guth Martha Head* Elizabeth Hurwitz Kathleen W. Hyle Ted E. Imes Murray M. Kappelman, MD* John J. Keenan E. Robert Kent, Jr. Joseph M. Langmead* Kenneth C. Lundeen* Marilyn Meyerhoff* Hugh Mohler J. William Murray Charles E. Noell Esther Pearlstone* Judy M. Phares Jill Pratt Philip J. Rauch Harold Rojas Monica Sagner* Renee C. Samuels Todd Schubert Charles Schwabe George M. Sherman* Scott Somerville Scot T. Spencer Michael B. Styer Harry Thomasian Donald Thoms Katherine Vaughns+ Cheryl Hudgins Williams Linda S. Woolf * Trustee Emeriti + Center Stage honors the legacy of Katherine Vaughns and her many contributions as a Trustee, patron, donor, and friend of our theater.

The Montag Family Fund of The Community

Animal Crackers | 19

su ppo rt CORPORATIONS

Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone

James W. and Shirley A. Moore

Dr. and Mrs. Clayton Moravec

Ms. Cassie Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Mr. and Mrs. William H. Mullin

Dr. and Mrs. C.H. Murphy

Stephen and Terry Needel In memory of Nelson Neuman Claire D. O'Neill

Mr. Thomas Owen

The P.R.F.B. Charitable Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum Justine and Ken Parezo

George Edward Parrish, Jr. Fred and Grazina Pearson Linda and Gordon Peltz

Mr. William Phillips Ron and Pat Pilling

Thea Pinskey

Mr. Mike Plaisted and Ms. Maggie Webbert Mr. Rex Rehfeld and Ms. Ellen O'Brien Cyndy Renoff and George Taler

Dr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary Anne Facciolo

Natasha and Keenan Rice

Alison and Arnold Richman Liz Ritter and Larry Koppelman

Ida and Jack Roadhouse

Mr. and Mrs. Domingo and Karen Rodriguez, in honor of Emma Grace Barnes Mr. Wilfred Roesler

Louis and Luanne Rusk

Mr. and Mrs. Barry and Linda Williams Brian and Patricia Winter Deborah King-Young and Daniel Young Harold and Joan Young Mr. William Zerhouni

Special Grants & Gifts:

The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Government Grants Center Stage is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Center Stage’s catalog of Education Programs has been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist.

Baltimore County Executive, County Council, & Commission on Arts and Sciences Carroll County Government

The Baltimore Sun

Mr. Steve Schwartzman

Blimpie

Leslie Shepard

Mrs. Kimberly Shorter Mr. and Mrs. L. Siems

Dr. and Mrs. Donald J. Slowinski

Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PC Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon

Atwater's

Berger’s Cookies

Pizza Hut

Brown Advisory

PromoWorks Republic National Distributing Company

Chapel Valley Landscape Company

Sabatino's The Signman

Ernst & Young

Style Magazine

FTI Consulting, Inc.

Subway Urbanite

Howard Bank

Utz Quality Foods Village Square Café

Lord Baltimore Capital Corporation

A Vintner's Selection

McGuireWoods LLP

Wawa Wegman's

Pessin Katz Law P.A.

Whitmore Print & Imaging www.thecheckshop.us

Matching Gift Companies

The Abell Foundation, Inc. Bank of America

Constellation Energy

Exxon Corporation GE Foundation Illinois Tool Works Foundation Kraft Foods

Casa di Pasta

McCormick & Co. Inc.

PNC Bank

Chipotle

Stanley Black & Decker

Eddie’s on Saint Paul

T. Rowe Price Group

SunTrust Bank

T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc. Producers Circle

The P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Venable, LLP Whiteford, Taylor and Preston Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. Wells Fargo Directors Circle Alexander Design Studio Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A. Bay Imagery

Mrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor of Bill Geenen

Schoenfeld Insurance Associates

Express Vending

Stevenson University

The Fractured Prune

The Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Ms. Joann Strickland

Mr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail Swanbeck

Becky and Andrew Swanston

Mr. Joseph Terino, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman Cindy and Fredrick Thompson

Fisherman's Friend/ Pez Candy, Inc.

Gertrude's Restaurant Gianni's Italian Bistro GT Pizza

HoneyBaked Ham Co.

The Helmand

Millie Tyssowski

The Jewish Times

Ms. Magda Westerhoust

Mars Super Markets

Laura and Neil Tucker, in honor of Beth Falcone

April Duncan Wall

Hotel Monaco

Iggie's

Mamott

Funk & Bolton, P.A.

Associates

Greg's Bagels

Mr. Martin Toner, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman

Visit us at bankofamerica.com

Stifel Nicolaus

Edible Arrangements

Renee Straber, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman

Bank of America is pleased to support Center Stage for its active community involvement and in appreciation of its important role in advancing the public good.

Saul Ewing LLP

The City Paper

Eggspectations

Like individuals, businesses are members of the community too. The most extraordinary enterprises take this connection to heart, doing what they can to help their neighborhoods grow.

PNC Bank

Rosie and Jim Smith

Ms. Jill Stempler

Bank of America is proud to support Center Stage.

Environmental Reclamation Company

Shugoll Research

Norfolk Southern Foundation

The Charles Theater

The Baltimore Life Companies

Planit Agency

The Brewer's Art

The Classic Catering People

American Trading & Production Corporation

Oriole's Pizza and Sub

WYPR Radio

Playwrights Circle Anonymous

Pizza Boli's

MASCO Corporation

Cakes by Pamela G

Artists Circle

New System Bakery

The Deering Family Foundation

Ms. Gloria Savadow

Clair Zamoiski Segal, in honor of Judy Witt Phares

Michele’s Granola

Gifts In-Kind

The Afro American

SEason 51 Presenting Sponsor

Maryland Public Television

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Akbar Restaurant

Dr. Chris Schultz

Maryland Office Interiors

Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government

Steven and Lee Sachs

Frank and Michelle Sample

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Ms. Camille Wheeler and Mr. William Marshall

We make every effort to provide accurate acknowledgement of our contributors. We appreciate your patience and assistance in keeping our lists current. To advise us of corrections, please call 410.986.4026.

Ayers Saint Gross, Incorporated Chesapeake Plywood, LLC

©2013 Bank of America Corporation | AR9E9C35

Animal Crackers | 21

prev iew

up next in Season 51

u p nex t “The richness of [Gardley’s] language… brings to mind the work of August Wilson.” –The New York Times

Beginning Nov 19

@ center Stage

A NEW HOLIDAY CLASSIC

a play on memory Oct 9–Nov 17

By Marcus Gardley Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah Oscar Clifton is a Blues man living through his memories of the past, until his estranged grandson Marcus pays a visit.

Together, they confront a history of loves, regrets, and missed opportunities.

This acclaimed play by Marcus Gardley is a poetic family drama set in the key of Blues—a memory-scape skipping seamlessly across the decades.

OSCAR: I wish you could be more like the sun.

He comes in the same shape every dawn— just as bold, just as big.

A man can clock his rise to him.

But you—you got phases.

You got moods. dance of the holy ghosts is a play about an American family across a 22-year period and the music that follows, haunts, and flows from them. Marcus Gardley carries his audience across three generations and on a journey through time.

We come to know his characters by witnessing snapshots of their lives as they fall in and out of memory, letting us see endearing and heartbreaking scenes that make up their saga.

The play centers on Marcus who, like the playwright, is an intellectual and a poet. Both he and his grandfather, Oscar—a crass and cavalier aging jazz musician—navigate a series of memories that include Marcus’s childhood and the love of Oscar’s life.

OFF STAGE

An American Musical Celebration

By Paula Vogel Directed by Rebecca Taichman Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel spins a musical tale of hope and forgiveness. It’s a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in 1864 and all along the Potomac, from the White House to the battlefields, friends and foes alike find their lives strangely and poetically intertwined. Weaving together carols and folk songs, this “beautifully stitched tapestry of American lives” (The New York Times) is sure to become a new holiday classic for the entire family.

“It’s hard not to be touched by the plain beauty.”

Backstage@ Center Stage Saturday, September 28, 10 am-2 pm Backstage @ Center Stage, our annual free, family open house, will feature tours, workshops, demonstrations, and performances throughout the theater.

Bring the whole family and get a behind-the-scenes look at how theater is made. Hear local storytellers, check out the costume photo booth, take a self-guided tour, enjoy face painting, stage combat training, a balloon artist, and much more!

–New York Post

22

Animal Crackers | 23

staff Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE–Artistic Director | Stephen Richard–Managing Director Administration

Associate Managing Director–Del W. Risberg Executive Assistant–Kacy Armstrong Management Fellow–Kevin Maroney

Artistic

Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy– Gavin Witt Artistic Producer–Susanna Gellert Artistic and Dramaturgy Intern–Catherine Rodriguez The Lynn and Tony Deering Artistic Intern– Samantha Godfrey

Audience Relations

Box Office Manager–Mandy Benedix Assistant Box Office Manager/Subscriptions Manager– Jerrilyn Keene Assistant Box Office Manager– Blane Wyche Senior Patron Services Associate–Lindsey Barr Patron Services Associates–Samrawit Belai, Tiana Bias, Maura Dwyer, Froilan Mate, Kristina Szilagyi Bar Manager–Sean Van Cleve Audience Relations Intern –Laura Baker Audio Description–Ralph Welsh & Maryland Arts Access Front of House|Volunteer Coordinator–Alec Lawson

Audio

Supervisor–Amy Wedel Interim Engineer–Eric Lott The Jane and Larry Droppa Audio Intern– Daniel Hogan

Community Programs & Education

Director–Rosiland Cauthen Community Programs & Education Fellow– Dustin Morris Community Programs & Education Fellow–Kristina Szilagyi Community Programs and Education Intern– Joshua Thomas Teaching Artists–The 5th L; Oran Sandel; Jerry Miles, Jr.; CJay Philip; Wambui Richardson; Joan Weber

Costumes

Costumer–David Burdick Tailor–Edward Dawson Stitcher–Jessica Rietzler The Judy and Scott Phares Costumes Intern– Eileen Chaffer Wardrobe Intern–Lucy Wakeland

Development

Director–Cindi Monahan Annual Fund Manager–Katelyn White Grants Manager–Debbie Joy Events Manager–Brad Norris Development Associate–Julia Ostroff Development Assistant–Christopher Lewis Auction Coordinator–Sydney Wilner Auction Assistant–Norma Cohen The Edward and Ellen Bernard Development Intern– Astoria Aviles

The Center Stage Program is published by: Center Stage Associates, Inc. 700 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Editor Maggie Beetz Art Direction/Design Bill Geenen Associate Editor Heather Jackson Advertising Sales ads@centerstage.org

24

Dramaturgy

Director–Gavin Witt Artistic Producer–Susanna Gellert Artistic and Dramaturgy Intern–Catherine Rodriguez Summer Intern–Ally Kocernhan

Finance

Director–Susan Rosebery Business Manager–Kathy Nolan Associate–Carla Moose

Graphics

Art Director–Bill Geenen Production Photographer–Richard Anderson Marketing Multimedia Fellow–Leslie Datsis Graphics Intern–Callan Silver Summer Intern–Hanna Williams Summer Photography Intern– Lauren Fiasconaro

Information Technologies

Director–Joe Long Systems Administrator–Mark Slaughter

Electrics

Lighting Director–Lesley Boeckman Master Electrician–Bevin Miyake Staff Electrician–Anthony Reed The Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce L. Ulrich Lighting Intern–Carly Shiner

Multimedia

Multimedia Coordinator–Stew Ives Multimedia Intern–Gregory Towle

Marketing & Communications

Director–Tony Heaphy Marketing Manager–Madeleine Long Public Relations Manager–Heather C. Jackson Publications Manager–Maggie Beetz Marketing Associate/Group Sales–Tia Abner Summer Marketing Assistant/Digital Content– Batya Feldman Marketing and Public Relations Intern–Sarah Bichsel

Operations

Facilities Manager–Shawn Whitenack Building Engineer–Dan Pearce Custodial Services–MultiCorp. Grady Hughes Security Guards–James Williams

Production Management

Production Manager–Mike Schleifer Company Manager–Sara Grove Associate Production Manager– Caitlin Powers Production and Stage Management Intern– Quincy Price Company Management Intern–Te’ La Williams

Properties

Manager–Jennifer Stearns Assistant Manager– Nathan Scheifele Artisan–Samantha Kuczynski The Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Properties Intern–Elizabeth Chapman

CONTACT INFORMATION

Box Office Phone 410.332.0033 Box Office Fax 410.727.2522 Administration 410.986.4000 www.centerstage.org info@centerstage.org

Scenery

Technical Director–Tom Rupp Assistant Technical Director–Laura P. Hilliker Shop Supervisor–Trevor Gohr Carpenters–Mike Kulha, Hunter Montgomery, Scott Richardson Scene Shop Intern–Amber Chaney

Scenic Art

Scenic Artist–Stephanie Nimick Intern–Roxanne Miftahittin

Stage Management

Resident Stage Managers–Captain Kate Murphy, Laura Smith Production Assistant–Lindsay Eberly The Peter and Millicent Bain Stage Management Intern–Chandalae Nyswonger

Stage Operations

Stage Carpenter–Eric Burton Wardrobe Supervisor–Linda Cavell The following individuals and organizations contributed to this production of

Animal Crackers—

Assistant Costume Designer–Maggie Mason Assistant Lighting Designer–Jax Messenger Drapers–Sue McCorkle, Ginny McKeever Carpenters–Bernard Bender, Joey Bromfield, Mark Eisendrath, Seth Foster, J. R. Fritsch, Mike Steiner Electricians–Christina Elwell, Jake Epp, Aaron Haag Follow Spot Operators–Lisa Allen, Christina Elwell Hair and Wigs–Denise O'Brien Playwrights under Commission: de'Adre Aziza, Ken Greller, James Magruder, Daniel Reitz, KJ Sanchez Soft Goods Artisan–Jeanne-Marie Burdette Sound Mixer–Stephanie Riddle Wardrobe Assistant–Anna Tringali Additional Legal Services –Arthur F. Fergeson and Ansa Assuncao, LLP Center Stage operates under an agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

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 theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. Musicians engaged by Center Stage perform under the terms of an agreement between Center Stage and Local 40-543, American Federation of Musicians.

Center Stage is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the national collective bargaining organization of professional regional theaters.

Material in the Center Stage performance program is made available free of charge for legitimate educational and research purposes only. Selective use has been made of previously published information and images whose inclusion here does not constitute license for any further re-use of any kind. All other material is the property of Center Stage, and no copies or reproductions of this material should be made for further distribution, other than for educational purposes, without express permission from the authors and Center Stage.

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