"The Completely Fictional--Utterly True--Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe" Program

thorne

By Stephen Thorne Directed by Curt Columbus

Oct 17–Nov 25

2012–13 season An Enemy of the People The Completely Fictional— Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe Bus Stop The Mountaintop Mud Blue Sky The Raisin Cycle

Clybourne Park Beneatha’s Place

Letter from the

Playwright

Many years ago, my mother and father came home from a vacation and were eagerly greeted by my brother and sister and myself. We hugged our parents madly and immediately began to circle their suitcases like sharks, trying to guess at what treasures they might have brought home for us. My parents looked at each other—a little weary and also very happy—happy to be home again. They opened their bags and indeed there was treasure. One item given to me was a record called Famous Ghost Stories with Scary Sounds. On it were—yes, it’s true—lots of scary stories performed by vigorously animated readers. One of the stories was The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Many years later I find myself having written a play about him. I began that process by recalling, in vivid detail, that story from that record.

What is it about Poe that sticks so firmly into one’s consciousness?

Is it simply the nature of his work—its darkness—its hypnotic effect upon the reader? Is it his preoccupation with death? Or is it his role as the tortured artist? Certainly, all this and more is part of Poe’s legacy.

Poe’s ability to mix fact and fiction, imagination and science, gives his work a kind of documentary feel at times, and (because it is fiction after all) a disorienting sensation of truth. So many of his narrators begin their tales by saying, “I am simply going to tell you the facts of what happened to me. The facts of this extraordinary experience.”

Often the reader is left musing, “This feels true, but is it?”

It is this spell—this trick of perception—that I most admire in Poe. It is a device that he applied to his own life, altering and revising his own narrative as he struggled with success and failure, rising again and again after falling so far.

And then he was gone, the circumstances of his death an actual mystery. What remains is an incomplete and oftentimes contradictory portrait that entices us to fill in the missing details. Our participation is necessary in making his story—and his stories—animate.

As for the story I told you about my parents? To be honest, the details are fuzzy. I remember the record. I remember being very young. I remember it as a gift from my parents. And I remember listening to it over and over. The rest was filled in by me. But I assure you, it is completely true.

Stephen Thorne, Playwright

The Completely Fictional— Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of

Edgar Allan Poe

By Stephen Thorne• Directed by Curt Columbus

Oct 17–Nov 25, 2012 Presenting Partner

Season Sponsors

Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation Jane and Larry Droppa Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Phil and Lynn Rauch Jay and Sharon Smith Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

Associate Season Sponsor

The Cast

Naomi Jacobson* Eliza/Others

Curt Columbus Director

Caroline Kaplan* Virginia/Others

Eugene Lee Scenic Designer

Jimmy Kieffer* Dickens/John Allan/

David Burdick Costume Designer

Others

Kenneth Lee* Kindly Doctor/Others Bruce Randolph Nelson* Edgar Allan Poe Erick Pinnick* Moran/Others Libya Pugh* Valdemar/Others

Kathleen Hyle Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

Charlie Thurston* Young Edgar/Others

Season Partners

Captain Kate Murphy*

The Rouse Company Foundation

The Artistic Team

Josh Epstein Lighting Designer Zachary Williamson Sound Designer Gavin Witt Production Dramaturg Sharon Jenkins Choreographer Nancy Krebs Dialect Consultant Stephanie Klapper Casting Director

Stage Manager

Laura Smith*

Assistant Stage Manager

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association T. Rowe Price Foundation

Media Partners

The Setting

Time: October 7, 1849—and outward.

Place: Initially, Washington College Hospital, Baltimore.

…Poe is made possible by support from

James and Janet Clauson

World Premiere produced by Trinity Repertory Company Curt Columbus Artistic Director, Michael Gennaro Executive Director, May 2011

There will be two 10-minute intermissions.

Please turn off or silence all electronic devices.

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.

In case of emergency (during performances only) 410.986.4080

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CENTERSTAGE

The MANY FACES of The sheer range of his literary output would surely offer enough diversity for most writers. Not for Edgar Allan Poe. Unwilling (or perhaps unable) to content himself as merely a poet, dramatist, novelist, and creator of landmark short fiction, Poe took on more identities in his brief four decades of life than any fractured protagonist in his signature tales of madness or mystery. Sometimes driven by necessity (or fiscal desperation), sometimes by what appears to be a mix of curiosity, ambition, and compulsion, the peripatetic Poe varied his time as a leading literary light with stints as a cadet, soldier, scholar, critic, editor, publisher, and more. In keeping with this mutability, there are countless towns up and down the eastern seaboard with legitimate claims to Poe as some form or other of native son.

Boston has the honor of his birth, albeit by accident of timing. On January 19, 1809, a couple of itinerant actors, David and Elizabeth (Arnold) Poe welcomed son Edgar. Dad hailed from a prominent Baltimore family with honored service in the Revolutionary War; Mum arrived from England in 1796 and was on her second marriage. Neither was around long: David scampered off a year later, and Elizabeth soon succumbed to consumption, leaving two-year-old Edgar and his two siblings to be farmed out to various foster families. Edgar ended up with wealthy Virginia merchant John Allan and his family, but by 1815 was taken off to master Latin, French, history, and literature at an English school.

In 1826, Poe enrolled at the then-new University of Virginia, where his chief distinction was as a drinking, gambling rake. After a year, with little more than massive debts to his name and the curses of his foster father in his ears, Poe returned to Boston long enough to enlist in the Army under an assumed name (Perry).

He advanced rapidly to sergeant major in an artillery regiment, serving in and around Charleston. But he shortly arranged for a substitute and quit, moving to Baltimore to live with his grandmother, an aunt, his sickly brother, and their young cousin, Virginia—whom he would later marry before her 14th birthday.

Giving up on his military career, Poe tried his hand at writing. Moving to New York, he published some poems but found his stories rejected everywhere. Nearly starving, he pleaded for support from John Allan, to no avail. By 1835, still nearly destitute, Poe landed a job as a newspaper editor. This off-and-on career in journalism would ebb and flow over the next decade, taking Poe serially from New York to Philadelphia to Richmond with various stops in between for Providence, Baltimore, and even The Bronx.

He achieved some notoriety as a literary and dramatic critic, won plaudits for a few poems, and even made an international splash with short tales of mystery and the macabre—but could not make any of it pay, or last. He could barely support his little household of cousin-wife and mother-in-law-aunt, and struggled with drink and other demons. When Virginia died of consumption in 1845, a shattered Poe joined a temperance league and poured himself into writing.

On September 27, 1849, Poe left Richmond for New York. Stopping in Philadelphia on the way, he then vanished for a week—reappearing on October 3 in Baltimore. Barely conscious and bedraggled, he was taken to Washington College Hospital for what proved to be his last role, as a patient. Never fully recovering, Poe died in the hospital on Sunday, October 7, 1849 and was buried in Baltimore.

E DGA R A LL A N POE

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 3

Literary Criticism

will not, from what is Those who know us se it our intention, here premised, suppo sale laudation of to enter into any whole We are not sure that “Barnaby Rudge.” […] ly ty is not ver y general the limit of critical du lence may be misapprehended. Excel a proposition which or , considered an axiom t just in proportion becomes self-eviden cision with which to the clearness or pre excellence if it need it is put. [...] It is not as such. To point out to be demonstrated auties of a work, is too particularly the be these beauties are to admit, tacitly, that […] In teaching what not wholly admirable. fac t, shall we more perfection is, how, in n in specifying what rationally proceed tha it is not?

Barnaby Rudge — Review of Dickens’

IT was man y and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maid en there liv ed whom yo By the nam u may know e of ANNAB EL LEE; And this mai den she lived with no oth Than to love er thought and be love d by me.

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingd om by the se a; But we love d with a love th at was more th I and my AN an love — NABEL LEE— With a love that the win géd seraphs Coveted her of heaven and me.

—"Annabel Lee"

Wilkie Collins Arthur Conan Doyle Verlaine Rene Magritte

Robert L. Stevenson

ary that I give the It is now rendered necess hend them myself…. fac ts—as far as I compre t three years, had been My attention, for the las subjec t of Mesmerism; repeatedly drawn to the ago, it occurred and, about nine months t in the series of to me, quite suddenly, tha there had been to, experiments made hither st unaccountable a ver y remarkable and mo as yet been omission: —no person had rtis. It remained to mesmerized in articulo mo such condition, there be seen, first, whether, in susceptibility to the existed in the patient any ly, whether, if any magnetic influence ; second or increased by the existed, it was impaired extent, or for how condition ; thirdly, to what chments of Death long a period, the encroa process. might be arrested by the of M. Valdemar" —"The Fac ts in the Case

Tim Burton

Charles Addams

Gustave Courbet

Gothic Poetr y

“Prophet!” said I, “thin g of evil! — prophet still , if bird or d evil! — Whether Te mpter sent, or whether tempest toss ed thee her e ashore, Desolate ye t all undaun ted, on this deser t land enchanted— On this hom e by Horror haunted— tell me truly , I implore — Is there —is there balm in Gilead?— tell me — te ll me, I implo re !”

Quoth the ra ven, "Never more.”

—“The Raven ”

Sp a w n

Oscar Wilde

James Ellroy Alfred Hitchcock Dashiell Hammett Stanley Kubrick

Ambrose Bierce

CENTERSTAGE

Hailed as the progenitor of science fiction and mystery novels alike, and the inspiration for volumes of verse and thousands of feet of film, Poe drew on a classical education and voracious reading for a wide array of sources and influences of his own. These included classical literature from Greek tragedies and Platonic dialogues to the epics of Homer

Gustav Dore Aubrey Beardsley Arthur Rackham Edvard Munch Jean Corot D.W. Griffith David Cronenberg Raymond Chandler Franz Kafka Roger Corman Odilon Redon

Edward Gorey M.R. James

Many

Multi-faceted Mr. Poe, man of many homes and even more careers, appropriately produced many forms of literary output—more than one of them spawning new genres. He wrote in many voices and many guises, from non-fiction literary theory to abstruse philosophical colloquy, from landmark detective fiction to haunting gothic horror. He could appear as a dry analyst in prose, or a lush sentimentalist in verse. He gripped readers with thrilling fear, captured their imaginations with scientific speculation, and skewered his fellow writers for perceived lapses.

Science Fiction

Romantic Po etry

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The

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

Voices of Poe and Virgil. The metaphysics of Dante, Donne, and Milton shaped his content and his form. Romantic poets Keats, Shelley, Byron, Blake, Coleridge, Goethe, and Schiller spun their spell, as did acerbic satirists Defoe and Swift. Dickens was a contemporary and a correspondent, and Polidori’s The Vampyre and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein occupy spots of honor in his literary lineage.

A highly visual and atmospheric writer, with family roots in theater and a reputed fondness for music, Poe also exhibits the influence of artists like Bosch, Brueghel, Goya, da Vinci, Pontormo, El Greco, and Tintoretto; of the Jacobean tragedies by such macabre maestros as Shakespeare, Webster, Middleton, Dekker, and Ford; and of musical sources like German lieder and French chansons as well as fantastical settings by Berlioz.

The greater par t of the fe ar ful night h worn away, ad and she who h ad been dea again stirred d, once —and now more vigoro hither to…Th u sl y than e corpse, I re peat, stirred more vigoro , an d now usly than bef ore. The hues flushed up w of life ith unwonte d energ y into countenance the —the limbs relaxed—an that the eyel d , save ids were yet pressed hea together, an vi ly d that the b andages and of the grave draperies still impar te d their charn to the figure el charac ter , I might hav e dreamed th Rowena had at indeed shak en of f, utter fetters of D ly , the eath. But if this idea was then, altoge n ot , even ther adopte d, I could at no longer, w least doubt hen, arising from the bed with feeble , tottering, steps, with cl osed eyes, an the manner d with of one bewild ered in a drea thing that w m, the as enshroud ed advanced and palpably b odily into the mid dle of the ap ar tment.

—"Ligeia"

Mallarme

It may rea dily be sup posed tha my friend t the part , in the dra played by m a at the Ru not failed e Morgue of its imp , had ression up the Parisia on the fan n police. W ci e s of ith its em of Dupin h issaries, th ad grown e name in to a househo simple cha ld word. T rac ter of th he ose induc had disen tions by w tangled th h ic h he e mystery explained never hav even to th in g b een e Prefec t… that the a it is not su ffair was re rprising g a rd ed as little miraculou less than s, or that th e Chevalie abilities a r’s analy ti cquired fo cal r him the [A]nd the credit of in cases were tu ition. not few in was made which att to engage e mpt his service One of th s at the Pre e most rem fec ture. arkable in of the mu stances w rder of a y as that oung girl named M —"The My arie Rogêt. stery of M arie Rogêt"

Philosophy

Gothic/Horr or

o f Po e

Mystery

Rimbaud

e wise that one or two of th You will remember doubt to ers…had ventured among our forefath as ,” term “improvement the propriety of the . There ss of our civilization applied to the progre uries of the five or six cent were periods in each en wh , ion g our dissolut immediately precedin ding en nt intellec t, boldly co arose some vigorous w, no to whose truth appears for those principles vious— reason, so ut terly ob our disenfranchised race to r ou t ould have taugh principles which sh s, rather nce of the natural law submit to the guida als control. At long interv than at tempt their on each up g kin loo appeared, some master-minds adation in science as a retro-gr advance in prac tical ions from pt Yet these noble exce the true utility. […] gthen it by served but to stren the general misrule opposition.

Monos and Una” —“The Colloquy of

Stephen King

Ray Bradbury Henry James

Daphne du Maurier

Charles Baudelaire

Sheridan Le Fanu

Richard Matheson

Sigmund Freud H.P. Lovecraft Shirley Jackson Jules VerneRobert Bloch Lou Reed Maurice Ravel Claude Debussy Walt Whitman Wallace Stevens James M. Cain H.G. Wells Carl Gustave Jung Jorge Luis Borges Edouard Manet

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 5

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, Y T E I R A V E T I N I INF en tu ry A m er ican -C o r th e H ap py P ar ad e o f 19thto e ill ev d au V ue sq le ur B m o fr The ater

u rg P ro du c t ion Dr a m at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b y ga v i n w i t t. . . . .

aby. s a t h e at er batri a w e Po n a l l cal sense A E d gar rguably —a highly the road to travelling actors, and —a born on the s riately, in translating element For bet ter or for worse, he was es much of his fiction. Approp vad per e her osp not atm ht and mig t se, tha day of spectacle, suspen the 19th-century stage of Poe’s e, …Poe employs elements of , what might he form per m the of his life and work to the stag see to d long enough for Poe live had s ent par his If t. aren be immediately app have witnessed?

, the CivilularWar d an 12 18 of ar W e th n ee tw s be mas s de pop ched a rise in In the deca concurrent urban growth mat industrial manufacturing and ld choose from an

a shif t towards curious and the cultured cou s aspiring to consequence, the the entertainment. In towns and citie d the high end of the scale. At s, and classical theater occupie ure lect sic, Mu . ws. ions sho e opt icin ent array of entertainm tent shows and med and dime museums, or rowdy ws sho k frea s, use circ ring ws. sho other end were tou ed the several forms of variety hybrid that drew on both, blar Spanning the vast middle, in a

-saloons, ed concertgan d u cl in s m r fo e zas, and spectacular Thes es, spectacles, extrava t pastiches, music halls, revu

wha minstrel shows, burlesques, le panoply gradually evolved into as variety shows, and the who wn kno ally es actu seri e a ed wer e pris Som com extravaganzas. true. Variety shows tever name, certain elements held wha by to But ario ille. dev scen Vau ent as evid wn became kno es. Often with no as “turns,” of widely different styl wn kno s of ette se vign sen or ing es erly scen f und of distinct, brie hm, pace, and an cture, designed to provide rhyt stru ain cert s, but che e sket loos ic a com had , bers they unif y them, tines, dance num s and contortionists, magic rou bat acro ers, ure sing feat sed ht wca mig sho ws s sho unity. The turn y cameos. Typically, variety classical recitations to celebrit providing short plays, and any thing from their name, variety was the key, five to 15 minutes long. True to from them of h eac s, turn en about a doz n surly, audiences. protection from often rowdy, eve not only the spice of success but

sques d b u r l e han n a s w o h s l e r t s n i ge of banter m From : first, a “walk-around” and exc e-part structure for the evening -act

came a more cohesive, thre diverse turns; and finally, a one n, an “olio,” or variety sec tion of the r; uto rloc ent inte an and ns between comedia l revue added a final compon h variety sketches, the musica wit e ctur stru t to e-ac tion thre nec this con To e skit to conclude. turns that had littl traditional variety show boasted the ere Wh y. cast unit le al sing ctur a d stru use of thematic and ured in each—musical revues formers and different acts feat y. stor and one another—with different per e ogu dial h wit s, songs, and dances interwoven throughout per forming sketche

s n io t a v o n in id r b y h e s e h Out of t

rans who shaped early s. But also came a host of vete 1930 the ugh thro ing last ille, t through to the present. came they heyday of Vaudev eymooners and I Love Lucy, righ Hon The to rs the Bro x Mar he might not bat an eye. film and television, from the episode of America’s Got Talent, st late the or , feld Sein of un Were Poe to stumble on a re-r

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Cast

Naomi Jacobson*— Eliza/Others.

Jimmy Kieffer*— Dickens/John Allan/ Others. CENTERSTAGE:

CENTERSTAGE—debut.

New York—Atlantic Theatre: The Rivals. Regional — Scenes From An Execution Shakespeare Theatre Co: (Galactia). Regional— Merry Wives of Windsor; Arena Stage: A View from Playmakers Repertory: Big the Bridge (Beatrice); The Goodman: Mary River, As You Like It, Opus, All My Sons, Pride Zimmerman’s Pericles (Bawd/Lychorida); and Prejudice, Nicholas Nickleby Parts 1 & 2, Shakespeare Theatre Company: Richard ll Shipwrecked!, The Importance of Being (Duchess of York, Helen Hayes Award), Earnest, The Little Prince, Pericles; Julius Caesar (Calpurnia); Woolly Mammoth Chautauqua Theater: Amadeus, Macbeth; Theatre: 20 year Company Member, Dead Alliance Theatre: A Christmas Carol, Livin’ Man’s Cell Phone (Hermia, premiere), The in the Garden, To Kill a Mockingbird, Twelfth Unmentionables (Nancy); Signature Theatre: Night. Other credits—99 Ways to F@#k God Of Carnage (Veronica); Arizona Theatre a Swan, The Flu Season, Autobahn. Film/ Company: Ten Chimneys (Louise, premiere); TV—Criminal Minds, A Place Apart, Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale (Paulina), A Reason to Believe. Education—MFA, Henry VIII (Katherine); Wolf Trap Opera: University of North Carolina at Chapel The Inspector (The Inspector, premiere); Hill. Awards—Independent Weekly Ford’s Theatre: State Of The Union (Norah/ Best Supporting Performances 2010.

Grace Draper); Kennedy Center; Berkshire Kenneth Lee*— Theatre Festival; Milwaukee Rep; Round Kindly Doctor/Others.

House Theatre, Olney Theatre Center; CENTERSTAGE: Snow Falling Delaware Theatre Company. Film/TV—I Fall on Cedars.

Off Broadway— To Pieces, Her Father’s Eyes, Homicide: Life on The Pearl: Hamlet; Mabou the Street. Awards—2009 Lunt Fontanne Mines: Li, The Last King; Fellowship through Arena Stage (with Lynn Ma-Yi Theatre: The Suitcase Redgrave), 2 Helen Hayes Awards, 12 Helen Trilogy.

International— Singapore Repertory Hayes nominations, DC Arts Commission Theatre: Death of a Salesman, The Cherry Individual Artist Grant.

Orchard. Regional—Arena Stage: M. Butterfly; Shakespeare Theatre: Henry IV Caroline Kaplan*— Parts 1 & 2, Hamlet; NJ Shakespeare Fest: Virginia/Others.

Pericles; People’s Light & Theatre: Trying CENTERSTAGE—debut. to Find Chinatown, How We Talk in South New York—Player’s Club: Boston; Arkansas Rep: Hamlet; Magic What Are We Doing (Eve).

Theatre: Leonce and Lena, Woyceck, The Regional—Trinity Rep: The Beaux’ Stratagem; American Players’ Merchant of Venice (Jessica); Theatre: Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hamlet, Guthrie Theater: Going Live! (Amber/etc.); The Tempest. Film/TV—Delocated, Deception, Williamstown: Three Sisters; Riverside Children of Invention (Sundance), Across the Theatre: The Threepenny Opera (Polly), Universe, L&O: CI, One Life to Live, Love & Camino Real; Playwrights Rep: Baz and Adventure in NY. Director—Colored Me (Kat), Principle, Principal (Kay); College Exposures (La Mama). Education—BFA, NYU Light Opera: Candide (Cunegonde), The Tisch School of the Arts (Cinema, Theatre, Merry Widow (Valencienne), Anything Goes (Hope). Education—MFA Brown University/ English); Public Theatre Shakespeare Lab; MFA, American Conservatory Theater.

Trinity Rep, Vassar College.

Gratitude to friends & family for their incredible support; and to CENTERSTAGE for the opportunity. www.ikennethlee.com

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 7

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Cast [cont]

Bruce Randolph Nelson*—Poe.

CENTERSTAGE: 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, 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.

Erick Pinnick*—Moran/ Others. CENTERSTAGE—

Once on This Island.

Broadway—A Christmas Carol (Mr. Smythe, w/ Frank Langella). Off Broadway— The Tin Pan Alley Rag (Walter Payton). Touring—Sunset Boulevard (John, w/ Petula Clark), Jesus Christ Superstar (Pilate). Regional—Theater Raleigh: RACE (Henry); Florida Studio Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Mitch); Prince Theater: Dreamgirls (Curtis); Pioneer Theatre: Paint Your Wagon (Ulyssess Wilson), Five Guys Named Moe (No Moe); Trinity Repertory Company: Annie (Bert Healy); Ritz Theatre: Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Valentin); Papermill Playhouse: Baby (Dean Webber, u/s Nick), Follies (Ensemble, cast recording); Westchester Broadway Theatre: Smokey Joe’s Café (Adrian); Gorilla Theatre: Side Show (Jake); Hangar Theatre: The Wiz

(Tinman); Open Stages: Yellowman (Eugene); Actors Theatre of Louisville: Once on This Island (Daniel); Goodspeed Opera House: Swinging on a Star (Standby); Education—James Madison University.

Libya Pugh*—Valdemar/ Others. CENTERSTAGE—

The Rivals; Caroline, or Change. Off Broadway/ Tour—New Victory: The Bluest Eye (Claudia); Classical Theatre of Harlem: Romeo and Juliet (Lady Capulet, NY, FL, NC, PA), Ain’t Suppose to Die a Natural Death (Scavenger Lady). Off Off Broadway— Lookingglass: Odyssey. Regional—Baltimore Shakespeare Festival: Hamlet (Gertrude); Peterborough Players: Doubt (Mrs. Muller); Shakespeare on the Sound: Julius Caesar (Portia); Goodman: Dreams of Sara Breedlove (dir. Regina Taylor); Steppenwolf: The Bluest Eye, Wedding Band (Julia); Congo Square: From the Mississippi Delta, The Piano Lesson (Berniece); Chicago Shakespeare: Macbeth; Milwaukee Rep: A Christmas Carol; Milwaukee Shakespeare: As You Like It (Rosalind); First Stage Milwaukee: Smoldering Fires; St. Louis Black Rep: Train Is Comin’. Film/TV—Platinum Wings (TV Pilot), Law & Order: SVU, One Life To Live, Jack’s Big Music Show. Education—UIUC (MFA).

Professional—Co-founding Ensemble Member of Congo Square. Teaching Artist— Harlem School of The Arts.

Charlie Thurston*— Young Edgar/Others.

CENTERSTAGE—debut.

New York—Cherry Lane: Pictures and Dreams; Columbia Stages: Moon for the Misbegotten. Regional— Trinity Rep: The Completely Fictional […] Tale of Edgar Allan Poe (World Premiere); Chautauqua Theater Company: Three Sisters, Love’s Labour’s Lost, You Can’t Take It with You, Macbeth, Carve; Breadloaf Acting Ensemble: Hamlet; Creede Repertory Company: To Fool the Eye, A Wonderful Noise, Swiss Family Robinson, Urinetown, Sweeney Todd, Crazy For You, Drood, Fools, Life is a Dream; Riverside: Big Love, Prosperity, Long Christmas Ride Home. Education— MFA Brown/Trinity Rep. For Becky.

D AV I D K E LT Z A S

POE

For more than 20 years, audiences have been thrilling to the sound of Poe’s works brought to life by actor David Keltz, from the masterpiece “The Raven” to the terrifying “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and many others.

410-669-6582 www.davidkeltz.com

Approval or blame will follow in the world to come.

Hear the Peabody Concert Orchestra, Peabody Singers, and Peabody-Hopkins Chorus perform Schubert’s Mass No. 6 in E-flat major on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 8:00 pm in Miriam A. Friedberg Hall To purchase tickets, call the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800 Visit www.peabody.jhu.edu/events for Audio Program Notes and the complete 2012-2013 Peabody Concert Calendar

AUDIO PROGRAM

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 9

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Artistic Team

Stephen Thorne—Playwright—is a

BFA, The Art Institute of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon; MFA, The Yale School member of the resident acting company at of Drama; three honorary doctorates.

Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Awards—Tony Award, American Theatre Rhode Island, where he has played Hamlet, Wing’s Design Award, Outer Critics’ Circle Homer Wells in The Cider House Rules, John Award, Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Proctor in The Crucible, Arthur in Camelot, and Robert in Boeing-Boeing, among others. Award, Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Achievement, the Pell Award, and was As an actor, Stephen has appeared at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Long Wharf recently induced into the New York Theatre Hall of Fame. He lives with his wife, Brooke, Theatre, and the Riverside Shakespeare in Providence.

Festival. He has been a member of the Breadloaf School of English Acting Ensemble David Burdick— Costume Designer. since 1999. The Completely Fictional— CENTERSTAGE: An Enemy of the People; Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar The Whipping Man; A Skull in Connemara; Allan Poe was developed at Trinity Repertory The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Working Company with Curt Columbus and the it Out; Cyrano; Caroline, or Change; Hearts; resident acting company.

Things of Dry Hours; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Elmina’s Kitchen; Picnic; a.m. Sunday; Curt Columbus—Director/Trinity The Rainmaker; Blithe Spirit; many others.

Repertory Artistic Director— joined Regional—Everyman Theatre: You Can’t Trinity Rep as Artistic Director in January 2006. His directing credits for Trinity include Take It with You, Private Lives, All My Sons, The Mystery of Irma Vep; Walnut Street/ His Girl Friday, The Merchant of Venice, Totem Pole: The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Camelot, Cabaret, The Odd Couple, The Moon Over Buffalo. Opera—Cincinnati: Secret Rapture, The Receptionist, A Christmas Don Giovanni; Boston Lyric: I Puritani; Carol, Memory House, Blithe Spirit, Cherry Orchard, and the world premiere of Stephen Tulsa: Tosca, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Fidelio. Dance—BAM: FLY: Five First Ladies Thorne’s ...Poe. Three of his plays—Paris by Night, The Dreams of Antigone, and Sparrow of Dance; Dayton Contemporary: Lyric Fire (world premiere, dir./choreographer Dianne Grass—premiered at Trinity. His adaptation McIntyre). Miscellaneous—Baltimore of Crime and Punishment (with Marilyn Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Spectacular.

Campbell) is published by Dramatists’ Play Service. Curt’s translations of Chekhov’s plays are published by Ivan R. Dee, including a collection, Chekhov: The Four Major Plays.

Sparrow Grass is being published by DPS. Curt lives in Pawtucket with his partner, Nathan Watson.

Josh Epstein—Lighting Designer.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Regional—Mark Taper Forum, The Guthrie, The Goodman, Long Wharf Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Alliance Theater, Actor’s Theater of Louisville, Playmaker’s Rep., Lyric Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Off Broadway—New Eugene Lee—Scenic Design.

Georges Theater Company, Julliard School CENTERSTAGE—debut. Broadway— Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross. Off Broadway— of Drama, Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Signature: Heartless; Westside Theatre: My Name Is Asher Lev; MCC: The Other Place. La MaMa, Naked Angels, Macy’s 2006–08 New York City Holiday Windows. Opera— Regional—Hartford Stage: Hedda Gabler; Minnesota Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Long Wharf: My Name Is Asher Lev; Arena Wolf Trap Opera Company, Berkshire Opera, Stage: The Music Man; Trinity Rep: His Girl Friday, Clybourne Park. Film/TV—Production Manhattan School of Music. Education— Received MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of designer for NBC’s Saturday Night Live the Arts. Awards—Recipient of the NEA/TCG (1974-Present). Professional—Resident Career Development Program for Designers. scenic designer at Trinity Rep. Education— www.joshepsteindesign.com.

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The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 11

Biog r aphies

The Artistic Team [cont] Zachary Williamson—Sound Designer. CENTERSTAGE: Into the

Your noteworthy performance deserves one word: Bravo KPMG congratulates CENTERSTAGE on its 50 th Anniversary Season kpmg.com © 2012 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International.

NDPPS 105976

Woods, ReEntry. Broadway— Lysistrata Jones; Roundabout: The Ritz, Pal Joey (Associate). 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: On the Town; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Dallas Theater Center: Give It Up!; Two River Theater: Carry It On, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, 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.

Gavin Witt—Production Dramaturg.

See page 17.

3 P a c k Memberships

Next Up

Three Plays, Your way!

It’s not too late to become a Member! For a limited time only, select any three shows remaining in our 2012–13 Season and save up to 37% off the full price!

$79 Previews $99 Weekdays $129 Weekends

buY YOurS tODAY— in person, call, or go online!

Nov 21–Dec 23

410.332.0033 • centerstage.org

By William Inge Directed by David Schweizer

12 |

CENTERSTAGE

Captain Kate Murphy*—Stage Manager. CENTERSTAGE: Stage Manager

for A Skull in Connemara, American Buffalo, Crime & Punishment, Let There Be Love, The Santaland Diaries; Assistant Stage Manager for An Enemy of the People, 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 70 productions through 12 summer stock seasons. Film/ TV—Route 30, Route 30 Too!, Next Food Network Star. Proud Actors Equity and ASCAP Member.

Laura Smith*—Assistant Stage Manager. CENTERSTAGE: Resident Stage

Manager; An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man, Gleam; The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Cyrano; Working it Out; Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Regional—Everyman: Pygmalion, Shipwrecked!, The Exonerated, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Gem of the Ocean, And a Nightingale Sang, The School for Scandal, A Number, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Yellowman; Woolly Mammoth: Gruesome Playground Injuries, House of Gold, The Unmentionables, Vigils, After Ashley; Folger: Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors (ASM); Olney Theatre: Stuff Happens; Theater Alliance: Headsman’s Holiday, Pangea, [sic]; Catalyst: Cloud 9; Longacre Lea: Man with Bags.

Sharon Jenkins— Choreographer.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Ms. Jenkins has been a choreographer and director at Trinity Rep for over 40 years, where she has worked with Artistic Directors Adrian Hall, Richard Jenkins, Amanda Dehnert, Oskar Eustis, and Curt Columbus. Ms. Jenkins spent 20 years as the dance director at Hope Arts Magnet School in Providence, RI, 15 years as a dance specialist with the RI State Council on the Arts, 10 years as a dancer with RI Dance Rep, and 10 years as a choreographer for the Arabella Project. In addition to her work at Trinity Rep, Ms. Jenkins has choreographed at Long Wharf Theatre, Arena Stage, and Hartford Stage. She was choreographer for Paramount Pictures feature School Ties, and is married to Academy Award-nominated actor Richard Jenkins.

Nancy Krebs—Dialect Consultant.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Regional—Studio Theatre: The Habit of Art (American Premiere), The Enda Walsh Festival: The Walworth Farce & The New Electric Ballroom; Rep Stage: The Temperamentals, Yellowman, Or, Barrymore, Two by Barrie; Olney Theatre Center: Witness for the Prosecution, Charlie’s Aunt, Blithe Spirit, Carousel, Lend Me a Tenor, Morning’s at Seven, Oliver!, Doubt, Of Mice and Men; The Theatre Alliance: The Woman

A place where Edgar Allan Poe and Baltimore are celebrated on a daily basis.

Reservations suggested 601 South Clinton Street, Baltimore, MD 21224 410.522.2929 | www.annabelleetavern.com

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 13

Biog r aphies

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

Pericles (c. 495-429 BCE) Planned gifts offer you creative ways to share your passion for the theater with generations to come. Fifty percent of Americans are living without a will. Their life savings may be spent in ways they never intended.

Make sure that does not happen to you. Live smart. When you name CENTERSTAGE as a beneficiary, you can trust that your money will be spent wisely by a non-profit organization you already know and trust.

Your foresight is our future… and your peace of mind.

Master Your Own Legacy…

Join the Heritage Circle at CENTERSTAGE To learn more about opportunities to include CENTERSTAGE in your estate plans, please contact the Director of Development, Cindi Monahan at 410.986.4020.

The Artistic Team [cont] Who Amuses Herself; Everyman Theatre: The Crucible, Red Herring, My Children!

My Africa!, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Watch on the Rhine, Cripple of Inishmaan, Candida, Betrayal, Sight Unseen, Turn of the Screw, I Am My Own Wife; Bay Theatre: Master Harold and the Boys, The Norman Conquests. She is Voice Instructor in the Theatre Department of the Baltimore School for the Arts and is a member of AFTRA, AEA, and SAG. Nancy is thrilled to be a part of this production.

Stephanie Klapper— Casting Director. CENTERSTAGE: The Whipping

Man, A Skull in Connemara. Her work has been seen on Broadway, Off Broadway, regionally, internationally, on television, internet, and film. Selected credits include: Broadway—A Christmas Story, The Musical; Dividing the Estate; Bells Are Ringing, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. Off Broadway—Emotional Creature (Linney Theatre at the Signature); Daisy Foote’s HIM; Horton Foote’s Harrison, Texas; The Morini Strad (Primary Stages); Twelfth Night (New York Classical Theatre); Karen O’s Stop the Virgens!

(St. Anne’s Warehouse); Cactus Flower (Westside Theatre); The Temperamentals (New World Stages). Regional—A Christmas Story, The Musical (National Tour); Emotional Creature (NY Casting/ Berkeley Rep); White Snake (New York Casting/Oregon Shakespeare Company); Nobody Loves You (Old Globe, San Diego); Three Musketeers (Cincinnati Playhouse); Venice (KC Rep/Kirk Douglas Theatre); God of Carnage (Capital Rep); Assassins (Milwaukee Rep); The Cherry Sisters (NY Casting/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville).

Film/TV—Alice Jacobs is Dead, Roberta, Feast of the Goat; Lazytown. Member— Casting Society of America and The League of Professional Theatre Women. *Member of Actors’ Equity Association

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CENTERSTAGE

CENTERSTAGE offers its

congratulations to Pumpkin Theatre, Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre, and Arena Players on their milestone anniversary seasons!

Celebrating 45 years

Celebrating 50 years

Celebrating 60 years The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 15

CENTERSTAGE

Applause.

As we mark our 75th year in Baltimore, we join CENTERSTAGE in celebrating its own milestone anniversary—50 years of artistic excellence provided through thought-provoking theater for this great community.

That’s no small act.

We’re proud to be a long-time supporter of this remarkable cultural institution, which truly enriches our city’s quality of life.

As loyal fans, we say, Bravo!

16 |

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Biog r aphies

FYI

The Staff

Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, an

award-winning British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, is in his second season as Artistic Director. Last season he directed The Whipping Man, and previously 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 CENTERSTAGE—as well as A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, and Seize the Day. 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, joined CENTERSTAGE in January 2012. Stephen comes most recently from a position 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, League of Resident Theatres, and Theatre Communications Group. twitter: @sjrcenterstage

Audience Services Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy Gavin Witt, came to CENTERSTAGE

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.

Pre-Show Dining Visit Sascha’s Express, our preperformance dinner service located just up the lobby stairs in our Mezzanine Café. Featuring delicious prix fixe dining, service begins two hours before each performance. You’ll find the current menu at www.centerstage.org/saschas.

Accessibility Programs Wheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance.

For patrons who are hearing impaired, we offer assistive listening devices at no charge. An Open Captioned performance is available for one Sunday performance of each Classic Series production for deaf and hearing impaired patrons. Several performances also feature Audio Description, and Braille programs or magnifying glasses are available upon request.

On-Stage Smoking When a play requires on-stage smoking, we use tobacco-free herbal imitations and do everything possible to minimize the amount of smoke that drifts into the audience. If you’re smoke-sensitive, be sure to let our Box Office know.

Photography & Recording Prohibited Because of copyright and union regulations, photography or recording of performances—both audio and video—is strictly forbidden.

Be Courteous Please silence your cell phone, pager, or other electronic devices both before the show starts and after intermission.

And, while you’re welcome to take beverages with lids to your seat, eating is never allowed inside the theater.

Anything else we can do?

CENTERSTAGE wants every patron to have an enjoyable, stress-free experience. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed: info@centerstage.org.

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 17

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True— Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe

poe-tograph contest #CSPoetograph Baltimore, fall, Halloween, Football—it’s hard not to spot hometown hero Edgar Allan Poe in his many forms around town this time of year!

Find your Poe (whatever that means to you), snap a “Poe-tograph,” and post it to Twitter using the hashtag #CSPoetograph.

get creative!

The cleverest Poe discoveries will win Poe-tastic prizes, like tickets to The Completely Fictional—Utterly True— Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe and swag from Poe partner Baltimore Washington Beer Works (creator of The Raven Lager)!

Plus, all submissions will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of 3Pack Memberships to the 2012–13 Season at CENTERSTAGE!

18 |

CENTERSTAGE

co nversat io n s

with Kwame and Stephen

After 10 months together, how has the working relationship between you two been going?

Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director • Absolutely wonderful. Stephen has been in the business since the mid-’80s, and he never once pulls rank. He never says, “Well we did this at so-and-so and when we did this, you’ll find, dear boy…” He’s never done that with me, someone who is a novice to this business. And that’s not only filled with integrity, it makes me listen to everything he says with three ears, not two. I really scrutinize and listen. Stephen is both advisor and partner. When the board was going through the selection process, I said, “I want someone who I can place 100% trust in their judgment.” And that’s how I feel about the relationship, thus far. I feel very comfortable and very looked after, yet not in a condescending way.

Stephen Richard, Managing Director • One thing that I believe passionately is that every organization is different and, to fulfill its finest potential, it needs to be unique. One of the many great things about working with Kwame is that he does not come with a set of expectations. He’s exploring this thing, and it’s almost as if I’m starting over again. I get to rethink CENTERSTAGE through Kwame’s vision.

Each program this season will include a short conversation between CENTERSTAGE’s fearless leaders.

That is really remarkable. I had sort of finished my theater career; I was off doing something else. I had been in theater for 30-plus years, and had figured I was done with that. It took, frankly, Kwame’s passion and intelligence and artistry—but also his fresh vision of what a theater can be, in a community and a country—to get me excited again.

Is there a day-to-day moment, something that makes you say, “Thank goodness Kwame/Stephen is here for that!”?

KKA • Yes. And it’s more than “Thank goodness Stephen’s here.” From the moment he arrived, I thought, “Thank God Stephen’s here.” It meant that there is a whole part of the organization that I can just hand over to him. The comfort, when I wake up most mornings, of never having to worry about that side of the business… Every day I say thank God, because I know I don’t have to think about it. I just kind of go, “Great, it’s being looked after.”

SR • I had the opposite reaction. This is rare, it’s weird; I wake up thinking, “What’s Kwame going to come up with today?”

[Kwame laughs] And can we do it, or is this one of those things where I have to say, “Gosh, it is a great idea, we’ll get to that, eventually, won’t we?”

KKA • In 2020!

SR • I can’t tell you how exciting that is.

It’s marvelously energizing and absolutely wonderful. But far from relaxing…I am running to keep up.

KKA • We both are.

Last time you talked about being new to Baltimore. Is there anything that you are craving to go out and explore, something you’ve heard about that you want to do?

SR • I’ve been here six months, and while I have seen a fair amount of the art in Baltimore, and attended several other theaters—Everyman, Single Carrot—I look forward to continually getting out and seeing more of the museums and other arts organizations.

KKA • I feel very strongly about really understanding all parts of Baltimore—I’ve gotten out to some of the deprived areas, but not enough of it for my own personal satisfaction. How else can I fully develop a mission to link the work we do here with all of the communities of Baltimore and Maryland? I want to reach not just those who come now, but those who might later aspire to come.

We encourage you to join the conversation!

You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, or just email hjackson@centerstage.org with your questions for Kwame and Stephen. centerstagemd

@centerstage_md The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 19

Pr e v ie w: Bus Stop

By William Inge • Directed by David Schweizer • Nov 21–Dec 23, 2012

By Susanna Gellert, Artistic Producer

On

a blustery winter evening, a bus en route from Kansas City to Montana stops at Grace’s Diner to wait out a snowstorm that has blocked the roads. Passengers come inside to escape the cold and refresh themselves with hot coffee, homemade pies,

a bigger world—who come together to form a “family of lost souls,” in the words of director David Schweizer.

William Inge wrote Bus Stop in 1955 while he was living it up in New York City, taking lunch with Tennessee Williams at the Algonquin Hotel ,and hanging out with the likes of James Dean and Barbara Baxley. Born and raised in

“Virge. I hate to sound like some pitiable weaklin’ of a man, but there’s been times the last few months, I been so lonesome, I…I jest didn’t know what t’do with m’self. How ’bout you, Virge? Don’t you ever get lonesome too?”

“It takes strong men and women to love…People strong enough inside themselves to love without humiliation. People big enough to grow with their love and live inside a whole, wide new dimension. People brave enough to bear the responsibility of being loved and not fear it as a burden.” —Bus Stop and ham sandwiches (hold the cheese). As they wait for the dawn and clear skies, this busload of strangers discovers that sometimes love, friendship, and family come when you least expect them.

Set in the heartland of 1950s America, Bus Stop is small in scale but offers an expansive vision of the beauty and heartache of human longing. Extremes of quiet conversation and raucous celebration, gentle introspection and boisterous merriment (including a show-stopping song-and-dance routine in the second act!) join to create a story of isolated individuals finding connection with one another as the sun breaks through the storm.

The play is a true ensemble piece that brings together a colorful assortment of American characters—Bo, the lovelorn rodeo star; Cherie, a chanteuse yearning for romance; Carl, the bus-driver content with simple pleasures; Alma, a schoolgirl dreaming of 20 |

CENTERSTAGE

Kansas, Inge would later say that “it was the nature of New York” that made him discover the quiet beauty of the Midwest. This urbane playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize (for Picnic) had plays on Broadway and movie-stars bringing his characters to life in Hollywood, never abandoned the potent image of the wholesome heartland where he grew up. He offers up a piece of Americana with that slice of apple pie.

Bus Stop begins previews on November 21, just in time for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. You won’t find a prize turkey in this play and there are no dancing mice. There are, however, stories of love lost and found—and of people growing into a new sense of who they are and what the world has to offer if you let yourself see what’s beneath the surface. This winter, we invite you to do just that.

50 th An ni versary From the Fire: Rebirth

As we move through our landmark anniversary season, we invite you to help us celebrate our past. For videos, audio interviews, and memories of our history, visit www.centerstage.org/anniversary.

Jan uary 1 0, 1974 Eleven years after CENTERSTAGE’s debut, disaster struck the growing company.

Just past midnight, after the opening night performance of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a fire was reported at the theater’s North Avenue location. An hour later, the blaze had grown to a six-alarm event, summoning 120 firefighters to the scene.

The fire eviscerated the interior of the theater, damaged the structure beyond repair, and cast CENTERSTAGE’s future in grave doubt.

Undeterred by the enormity of the loss, the theater’s resilient leadership and dedicated company vowed to continue with the season. Then CENTERSTAGE Board President Donald Rothman described the public’s reaction: “No sooner had the news of this disaster spread than arose an outpouring of response…the hearts of the people of this community seemed to have been genuinely touched, and offers of auditoriums came from everywhere.”

The very next evening the curtain rose at the Baltimore Museum of Art’s auditorium and the run of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? continued without missing a single scheduled performance.

Addressing the large, supportive crowd gathered in the unfamiliar space, Rothman declared, “The words of the author are here. And you, the audience, are here. And that is what theater is all about.”

In the months that followed, an inspiring capital campaign led to the acquisition and renovation of a new home for CENTERSTAGE in the historic former Loyola College building. Thanks to the generosity of the Jesuits, enormous philanthropic support from the city and community members, and substantial grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation, CENTERSTAGE opened its 1975–76 Season in the unique Calvert Street home where the theater thrives to this day.

Go online to hear Peter Culman and former Board President Murray Kappelman (above) share first-hand accounts of the fire and how the show went on. And don't miss personal video interviews with founding company members such as Rhea Feikin, and early patrons recounting historical events at CENTERSTAGE.

Visit www.centerstage.org/anniversary for a more in-depth look at our history— and keep an eye on the programs throughout the season as we chronicle each era of CENTERSTAGE’s growth in the Baltimore community.

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 21

S u ppo rt in g the Annual Fund @ CENTERSTAGE July 1, 2011– August 30, 2012

The following list includes gifts of $250 or more—individual, corporate,

foundation, and government contributions—made to the CENTERSTAGE Annual Fund between July 1, 2011 and August 30, 2012. 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 CENTERSTAGE.

We couldn’t do it without you!

50 th Anniversary Season Presenting Sponsor

Associate Season Sponsors Kathleen Hyle

Media Partners

Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

Season Sponsors

Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation Jane and Larry Droppa Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Phil and Lynn Rauch Jay and Sharon Smith Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

Corporate Sponsors

T. Rowe Price Foundation

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS The CENTERSTAGE 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 William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund

The Miriam and Jay Wurtz Andrus Trust Ellen and Ed Bernard

Stephanie and Ashton Carter

The Charlesmead Foundation James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering Kathleen Hyle

Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

Marilyn Meyerhoff

Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares

George Roche

Phil and Lynn Rauch

Mr. and Mrs. George M. Sherman

The Shubert Foundation, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Smith, Jr. Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Producers Circle ($10,000–$24,999)

The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Penny Bank

The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, Inc.

The Bunting Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting

The Helen P. Denit Charitable Trust

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CENTERSTAGE

Ms. Nancy Dorman and Mr. Stanley Mazaroff Jane and Larry Droppa John Gerdy and E. Follin Smith The Goldsmith Family Foundation The Laverna Hahn Charitable Trust Martha Head J.I. Foundation Mr. and Mrs. E. Robert Kent, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel G. Macfarlane Mr. and Mrs. J. William Murray Ms. Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III Mr. Louis B. Thalheimer and Ms. Juliet A. Eurich Ms. Katherine L. Vaughns

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hill Murray and Joan Kappelman Francie and John Keenan Kwame and Michelle Kwei-Armah The John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc. The Macht Philanthropic Fund Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker John and Susan Nehra Stephen Richard and Mame Hunt The Jim & Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation Dr. Edgar and Betty Sweren, in honor of Kwame Kwei-Armah and his OBE Award recognition Ms. Linda Woolf

Playwrights Circle

directors Circle

Anonymous Peter and Millicent Bain Ms. Katharine C. Blakeslee James T. and Francine G. Brady Sylvia and Eddie Brown The Nathan & Suzanne Cohen Foundation The Cordish Family The Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr. Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Brian and Denise Eakes Fascitelli Family Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Neil D. Goldberg Ms. Lara Hall Donald and Sybil Hebb

Anonymous The Lois and Irving Blum Foundation, Inc. Drs. Joanna and Harry Brandt Mary Catherine Bunting The Annie E. Casey Foundation August and Melissa Chiasera The Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Doggett, III Mr. and Mrs. Michael Falcone Dick and Maria Gamper Ms. Suzan Garabedian The Harry L. Gladding Foundation/ Winnie and Neal Borden Fredye and Adam Gross Robert and Cheryl Guth

($5,000–$9,999)

($2,500–$4,999)

F. Barton Harvey, III and Janet Marie Smith, in honor of Peter Culman The Hecht-Levi Foundation, Inc. Dr. and Mrs. J. Woodford Howard The Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation Ms. Sherrilyn A. Ifill Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Immelt Francine and Allan Krumholz Mr. and Mrs. Herschel L. Langenthal Jonna and Fred Lazarus Mrs. Diane Markman Linda and John McCleary Mr. and Mrs. John L. Messmore Jim and Mary Miller Jeannie Murphy Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Pakula Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire and Mark Cheshire Monica and Arnold Sagner Scot T. Spencer Mr. Michael Styer Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Mariana Thoms Trexler Foundation, Inc. - Jeff Abarbanel and David Goldner Kathryn and Mark Vaselkiv Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thompson Webb Mr. and Mrs. Loren and Judy Western Scott and Mary Wieler Ted and Mary Jo Wiese Cheryl Hudgins Williams and Alonza Williams Sydney and Ron Wilner

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS Associates

($1,000–$2,499) Anonymous

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Ms. Taunya Banks Donald Bartling

Mr. and Mrs. Marc Blum

John and Carolyn Boitnott

Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Brown Sandra and Thomas Brushart Maureen and Kevin Byrnes

Meredith and Joseph Callanan

The Campbell Foundation, Inc.

Caplan Family Foundation, Inc. Sally and Jerry Casey John Chester Ann K. Clapp

Dr. Joan Develin Coley and Mr. Lee Rice Constantinides Family Foundation

Robert and Janice Davis

The Richard & Rosalee C. Davison Foundation

Mr. James H. DeGraffenreidt, Jr. and Dr. Mychelle Y. Farmer Albert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie Deering Rosetta and Matt DeVito

Mr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia McMillan

Ms. Jo-Ann Mayer Orlinsky

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman Ms. Beth Perlman

Ronald and Carol Reckling Ms. Kathleen C. Ridder, in honor of Peter Culman The James and Gail Riepe Family Foundation

Ms. Ana Goldseker

Stuart and Linda Grossman

H.R. LaBar Family Foundation Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar and Faith Feingold, in memory of Sally W. Feingold

Scott Sherman and Julie Rothman

Andrea and Samuel Fine

Susan Somerville-Hawes, in honor of Encounter

Charles & Leslie Schwabe

The Tim and Barbara Schweizer Foundation, Inc. Bayinnah Shabazz, M.D.

Barbara and Sig Shapiro

The Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation

The Earle & Annette Shawe Family Foundation

Dennis and Patty Flynn

Dr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane Dwyer

Louise A. Hager

In memory of Sally Wessner

Sharon and David Tufaro

Terry Halle and Wendy McAllister

Mr. Michael T. Wharton

Melanie and Donald Heacock

Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Smelkinson

Betsy and George Hess

Rebecca Henry and Harry Gruner Mrs. Heidi Hoffman

Sandy and Mark Laken Joseph M. and Judy K. Langmead

Dr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr. Marty Lidston and Jill Leukhardt

Mr. and Mrs. Earl & Darielle Linehan/Linehan Family Foundation

Maryland Charity Campaign

Ms. Michelle McKenna-Doyle Joseph and Jane Meyer

Tom and Cindi Monahan

Ms. Stacey Morrison and Mr. Brian Morales Mr. and Mrs. Lee Ogburn

($250–$499) Anonymous

Mr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, II

Ms. Harriet F. Iglehart

Drs. Lewis and Diane Becker

Ms. Mary Claire Jeske

Rachel and Steven Bloom, in honor of Beth Falcone

Michael Baker

Dr. and Mrs. John Strahan

Richard Jacobs and Patricia Lasher

Judge Robert Bell

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Taylor

BJ and Candy Jones

Mr. Chad Bolton, in honor of Peter Culman

Susan and Brian Sullam

Sanford and Karen Teplitzky John A. Ulatowski

United Way of Central Maryland Campaign

Mr. and Mrs. George and Beth Van Dyke Carolyn and Robert Wallace Nanny and Jack Warren, in honor of Lynn Deering Janna P. Wehrle

Ann Wolfe and Dick Mead John W. Wood

Dr. Laurie S. Zabin

Mr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in honor of Terry Morgenthaler

Max Jordan

Dr. and Mrs. Juan M. Juanteguy Peter and Kay Kaplan Ms. Shirley Kaufman

Mr. and Mrs. Padraic Kennedy, in honor of Ken Lundeen

Ziger/Snead Architects

($500–$999) Anonymous

Lindsay and Bradley Alger

The Alsop Family Foundation Mrs. Alexander Armstrong Art Seminar Group

Mr. Robert and Dorothy Bair

Mayer and Will Baker, in honor of Terry Morgenthaler Amy and Bruce Barnett

Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. and Patti Baum Ms. Jane Baum Rodbell

Jaye and Dr. Ted Bayless Fund Mr. and Mrs. S. Woods and Catherine L. Bennett

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Blum, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum Rose Carpenter

Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Christ

Combined Charity Campaign

Perry and Aurelia Bolton

ChiChi and Peter Bosworth Betty Jo Bowman Jan Boyce

Beth and Dale Brady

Roland and Judy Phair King

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryan

Mr. John Lanasa, in honor of Peter Culman

Ms. Deborah W. Callard

Stewart Koehler

Mr. Claus Leitherer and Mrs. Irina Fedorova Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Lesser Marilyn Leuthold

Dr. and Mrs. John Lion

Mr. Jeston I. Miller

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Joseph

Advocates

Mr. Edward Hunt

Colleagues

Joseph J. Jaffa

Eric and Pam Young

Mr. and Mrs. Jon Baker, in honor of Terry Morgenthaler

Mr. E. Zuspan

Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Imes

Dr. and Mrs. Frank R. Witter

Mr. James Hughes

Drs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry Wohl, in honor of Carole Goldberg

The A. C. and Penney Hubbard Foundation

Robert and Patricia Tarola Diana and Ken Trout

Dr. Barbara Shelton

Judith R. and Turner B. Smith

Mr. Ben Stone

Mary and Richard Gorman

Lee M. Hendler, in honor of Peter Culman

Dana and Matthew Slater

Georgia and George Stamas

Hal & Pat Gilreath

The Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. James Hormuth

Ms. Renee C. Samuels Ms. Sherry Schnepfe

Drs. Nadia and Elias Zerhouni

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Homer

Sheila and Steve Sachs

The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc.

Bill and Scootsie Hatter

Sandra and Thomas Hess

Mr. Al Russell

Ms. Nancy Freyman

Patricia Yevics-Eisenberg and Stewart Eisenberg

Janet and John Gilbert

Patricia Egan and Peter Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman

Mrs. Bette Rothman

Mrs. Gail Schulhoff

Mr. and Mrs. Todd Schubert

Jack and Nancy Dwyer

Ms. Sandra Levi Gerstung

Dave and Joyce Edington

The Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin Memorial Foundation

Mr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce Ulrich

Jonathan and Pamela Genn, in honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone

Kevin and Judy Rossiter

Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr.

Sandra and John Ferriter

Mr. Grant Roch

Scott and Mimi Somerville

Jose and Ginger Galvez

The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby

Gene DeJackome and Kim Gingras

The Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation

Dr. David A. Robinson

Ms. Lynne Durbin and JohnFrancis Mergen

Frank and Jane Gabor

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rojas

Mr. and Mrs. Eugene H. Schreiber

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman

The Deering Family Foundation

Donald and Margaret Engvall

Nathan and Michelle Robertson

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dott

Buddy and Sue Emerson, in appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen

(continued)

Kenneth and Christine Lobo

Mr. David Bundy Cindy Candelori

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 Donna and Tony Clare

Dr. Carole Miller

Stanton Collins

Stephanie F. Miller, in honor of The Lee S. Miller Jr. Family

Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Crafton

The Montag Family Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone George and Beth Murnaghan Lettie Myers

Judith Needham and Warren Kilmer Roger F. Nordquist and Joyce Ward

David and Sara Cooke Ms. Barbara Crain

Mr. Thomas Crusse and Mr. David Imre, in honor of Stephanie and Ash Carter Richard and Lynda Davis

Sally Digges and James Arnold Mr. and Mrs. Ivor Edmonds

Deborah and Philip English Mr. Dennis Epps Ms. Rhea Feikin

Mr. and Mrs. James and Mimi Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Ms. Jeannette E. Festa

Mr. Mike Plaisted and Ms. Maggie Webbert

Mr. and Mrs. George Flickinger

Bonnie Pitt

Dave and Chris Powell

Bob and Susie Fetter

Dr. and Mrs. Robert P. Fleishman

Dr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr. Virginia K. Adams

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Radmer

Mark and Patti Gillen

Mrs. Peggy L. Rice

Robert W. Smith, Jr., President Edward C. Bernard, Vice President Juliet Eurich, Vice President Terry H. Morgenthaler, Vice President E. Follin Smith, Treasurer Katherine L. Vaughns, Secretary Katharine C. Blakeslee+ James T. Brady+ C. Sylvia Brown+ Stephanie Carter August J. Chiasera Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire Janet Clauson Lynn Deering Jed Dietz Walter B. Doggett, III Jane W.I. Droppa Brian Eakes Beth W. Falcone C. Richard Gamper, Jr. Suzan Garabedian Carole Goldberg Ana Goldseker Adam Gross Cheryl O’Donnell Guth Martha Head Kathleen W. Hyle Ted E. Imes Murray M. Kappelman, MD+ John J. Keenan E. Robert Kent, Jr. Joseph M. Langmead+ Jonna Gane Lazarus Kenneth C. Lundeen Michelle McKenna-Doyle Marilyn Meyerhoff+ 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 George M. Sherman+ Scott Somerville Scot T. Spencer Michael B. Styer Ronald W. Taylor Donald Thoms J.W. Thompson Webb Ronald M. Wilner Cheryl Hudgins Williams Linda S. Woolf + Trustees Emeriti

Joan and David Forester

Ms. Jill Pratt

Robert E. and Anne L. Prince

Board of Trustees

Constance A. Getzov

Herbert and Harriet Goldman

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 23

Advocates continued Mr. Howard Gradet

Richard and Sheila Riggs

The Brewer’s Art

Thomas and Barbara Guarnieri

Ms. Elizabeth Ritter and Mr. Lawrence Koppelman

Casa di Pasta

CORPORATIONS

Cima Model Management

Artists Circle

Ron and Andrea Griesmar Ms. Doris M. Gugel Mr. David Guy

Jane Halpern and James Pettit Ms. Paulette Hammond

Dr. and Dr. James and Vicki Handa

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hawes In Memory of Eric R. Head Sue Hess

Mr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr. Mr. Jonathan Hornbeck Ms. Irene Hornick

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Horowitz Ms. Deborah Hylton Ms. Sarah Issacs

Mr. William Jacob

James S. and Hillary Aidus Jacobs

A.H. Janoski, M.D., in honor of Jane Janoski James and Julie Johnstone Richard and Judith Katz B. Keller

Dr. & Mrs. Myron Kellner

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. Kelly

Donald Knox and Mary Towery, in memory of Carolyn Knox and Gene Towery

Richard and Mary Rimkunas

Ida and Jack Roadhouse

Mr. and Mrs. Domingo and Karen Rodriguez, in honor of Emma Grace Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Roesler Louis and Luanne Rusk

Frank and Michelle Sample Ms. Gloria Savadow

Frederica and William Saxon, Jr. Mr. Steve Schwartzman Ms. Minnie Shorter

Mr. and Mrs. L. Siems

Dr. and Mrs. Donald J. Slowinski Rosie and Jim Smith

Solomon and Elaine Snyder Joseph Sterne

Mrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor of Peter Culman Brenda and Dan Stone Ms. Joann Strickland

Mr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail Swanbeck Ted and Lynda Thilly

Fredrick and Cindy Thompson Robin and Harold Tucker

Comprehensive Car Care/ Robert Wagner

Calvert Wine & Spirits Charcoal Grill

The Classic Catering People Chipotle

The City Paper

Eggspectations

Fisherman’s Friend/PEZ Candy, Inc. Gertrude’s Restaurant Greg’s Bagels GT Pizza

Gutierrez Studios Haute Dog

HoneyBaked Ham Co. The Helmand

Hotel Monaco Iggie’s

The Jewish Times Marriott Minato

Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PC Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon New System Bakery

No Worries Cosmetics Oriole’s Pizza and Sub Pazo

David and Ann Koch

Donald and Darlene Wakefield

Pizza Boli’s

Gina Kotowski

Ms. Camille Wheeler and Mr. William Marshall

PromoWorks

Mr. Norman Youskauskas

Roly Poly

Dr. and Mrs. Randi L. Kohn Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Lagas

Drs. Don and Pat Langenberg Mr. Richard M. Lansburgh

Mr. and Mrs. William Larson Drs. Ronald and Mary Leach Sara W. Levi

Terry Lorch and Tom Liebel Paul and Anne Madden

Nancy Magnuson and Jay Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren Mr. Elvis Marks Don Martin

Ms. Michael McMullan

Mary and Barry Menne

Carolyn and Michael Meredith Peniel and Julia S. Moed

Mr. and Mrs. James and Shirley Moore The Honorable Diana and Fred Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Mullin Dr. Patrick Murphy and Dr. Genevieve A. Losonsky Stephen and Terry Needel

In memory of Nelson Neuman Nina Noble

Ms. Irene Norton and Heather Millar The P.R.F.B. Charitable Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum

Michael and Phyllis Panopoulos Justine and Ken Parezo

Ms. Magda Westerhoust

Pizza Hut

Harold and Joan Young

Republic National Distributing Company

Mr. Paul Zugates

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Special Grants & Gifts

Senovva

Sabatino’s

Shugoll Research

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

The Signman

Government Grants

A Vintner’s Selection

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. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

CENTERSTAGE’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.

CENTERSTAGE participates annually in Free Fall Baltimore, a program of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

Style Magazine

Sunlight LLC, in honor of Kacy Armstrong Urbanite Wawa

Wegman’s

Whitmore Print & Imaging WYPR Radio

www.thecheckshop.us

Matching Gift Companies

The Abell Foundation, Inc. Bank of America

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Constellation Energy The Deering Family Foundation Exxon Corporation

France-Merrick Foundation GE Foundation

Goldseker Foundation IBM Corporation

McCormick & Co. Inc.

Fred and Grazina Pearson

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

Chris and Deborah Pennington

Carroll County Government

PNC Bank

Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government

Stanley Black & Decker SunTrust Bank

Gifts In-Kind

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.

Linda and Gordon Peltz Mr. William Phillips

Ronald and Patricia Pilling Mrs. Kathy Piven

Leslie and Gary Plotnick

Dr. Albert J. Polito and Dr. Redonda G. Miller

The Afro American

Connie and Roger Pumphrey

Akbar Restaurant

Dr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary Anne Facciolo

Art Litho

Alison and Arnold Richman

Blimpie

Cyndy Renoff and George Taler

Natasha and Keenan Rice

24 |

CENTERSTAGE

Dean Alexander Au Bon Pain

The Baltimore Sun

Norfolk Southern Foundation Open Society Institute

T. Rowe Price Group

Playwrights Circle

Anonymous Accenture American Trading & Production Corporation The Baltimore Life Companies Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A. Brown Advisory Environmental Reclamation Company FTI Consulting Howard Bank Lord Baltimore Capital Corporation McGuireWoods LLP PNC Financial Services Group Procter & Gamble Stifel Nicolaus Transamerica Financial Solutions Group Venable, LLP Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

Directors Circle T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc. Producers Circle

Alexander Design Studio Bay Imagery E*Trade Financial Corporation Funk & Bolton, P.A. Offit | Kurman, Attorneys at Law Pessin Katz Law P.A. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Schoenfeld Insurance Associates Stevenson University The Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Associates

Ayers Saint Gross, Incorporated Chesapeake Plywood, LLC Corporate Office Properties Trust Ernst & Young LLP

Now Live!

To celebrate its 50th anniversary CENTERSTAGE asked 50 of the country’s leading playwrights to answer a simple question: What is my America?

The responses, captured in 50 new monologues filmed by awardwinning director Hal Hartley, range from the political to the personal, and form a snapshot of our nation through the eyes of its playwrights.

New videos online every Tuesday through

Election Day on November 6, 2012.

Go online to watch the videos, see the release schedule, and sign up to receive updates. www.centerstage.org/myamerica.

Or stop by the Media Wall in our lobby to see all of the videos NOW. Above: Terry O’Quinn in A Brand New Man by Rinde Eckert.

MY AMERICA iS SUPPORTed BY Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 25

CENTERSTAGE and the Enoch Pratt Free Library present their participation in The Big Read, a month-long series of events, performances, and educational outreach focused on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe. The program kicked off in September with live performances, free books, and more as part of CENTERSTAGE’s 50 Fest and the Baltimore Book Festival. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Stay tuned for more events being added to the schedule, which will be updated at www.centerstage.org/poe.

Thursday, October 25 Single Carrot Theatre’s The Poe Project 6:30 pm • Light Street Branch An interactive new work derived from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe

by Genevieve de Mahy. This is a unique performance opportunity for the audience to interact with artists and each other, while exploring the reaches of Poe’s indelible poetry and prose.

Tuesday, October 30 Single Carrot Theatre’s The Poe Project (see above) 6:30 pm • Central Library

Wednesday, November 14 6 pm • Reisterstown Branch CENTERSTAGE’s Encounter program performs the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Teens retell Poe’s writings and muse on his impact on their lives today.

AfterThoughts • CENTERSTAGE Post-show conversation with artistic staff and Poe-related experts: Thursday, November 1 Thursday, November 8 Sunday, November 11 Thursday, November 15

Sunday, November 4 Single Carrot Theatre’s The Poe Project (see above) 7 pm • Liam Flynn’s Ale House The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

26 |

CENTERSTAGE

Attendees at Poe's gravesite ceremony on October 7 at Westminster Burying Grounds.

Baltimore Community Foundation Web: www.bcf.org

Phone: 410.332.4171

The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe | 27

Sta ff Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE–Artistic Director Administration

Associate Managing Director–Del W. Risberg Executive Assistant–Kacy Armstrong The Ellen and Ed Bernard Management Intern– Batya Feldman Yale Fellow–Alyssa Simmons

Artistic

Associate Artistic Director–Gavin Witt Artistic Producer–Susanna Gellert Artistic Senior Fellow–Kellie Mecleary The Lynn and Tony Deering Artistic Intern– Samantha Godfrey

Audience Relations

Box Office Manager–Mandy Benedix Assistant Manager/Subscriptions Manager– Jerrilyn Keene Assistant Manager–Blane Wyche Full-time Assistants–Lindsey Barr, Ashley Fain, Rachel Holmes, Alana Kolb, Christopher Lewis Part-Time Assistant–Froilan Mate Bar Manager–Sean Van Cleve House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator– Bertinarea Crampton Assistant House Managers–Linda Cavell, Faith Savill Audience Relations Intern–Quincy Price Audio Description–Ralph Welsh & Maryland Arts Access

Audio

Supervisor–Amy Wedel Engineer–Eric Lott The Jane and Larry Droppa Audio Intern– Andrew Graves

Community Programs & Education

Director–Julianne Franz Education Coordinator–Rosiland Cauthen Community Programs & Education Intern– Dustin Morris The James and Janet Clauson Education Intern– Kristina Szilagyi Teaching Artists–The 5th L; Oran Bandel; Jerry Miles, Jr.; CJay Philip; Wambui Richardson; Joan Weber

Costumes

Costumer–David Burdick Tailor–Edward Dawson Craftsperson–William E. Crowther Stitcher–Jessica Rietzler The Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Costumes Intern– Elizabeth Chapman The Judy and Scott Phares Costumes Intern– Anna Tringali

Development

Director–Cindi Monahan Grants Manager–Sean Beattie Annual Fund Manager–Katelyn White Events Coordinator–Brad Norris Development Assistant–Julia Ostroff Assistant–Christopher Lewis

The CenterStage Program is published by: Center Stage Associates, Inc. 700 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Editor Heather C. Jackson

Assistant Editor Kiirstn Pagan

Art Direction/Design Bill Geenen Design Jason Gembicki

28 |

CENTERSTAGE

Stephen Richard–Managing Director Auction Coordinator–Sydney Wilner Auction Assistant–Norma Cohen

Dramaturgy

Director–Gavin Witt Dramaturgy Senior Fellow–Kellie Mecleary Apprentices–Roisin Dowling, Christine Prevas, Kate Ramsdell, Bennett Remsberg, Matthew Buckley Smith, Lucy Walker

Finance

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

Graphics

Art Director–Bill Geenen Senior Designer–Jason Gembicki Production Photographer–Richard Anderson Graphics Intern–Michelle Fleming Digital Media Intern–Leslie Datsis

Information Technologies

Director–Joe Long Systems Administrator–Mark Slaughter

Shop Supervisor–Trevor Gohr Carpenters–Joey Bromfield, Mike Kulha, Scott Richardson Scene Shop Intern–Ryan Cole

Scenic Art

Scenic Artist–Stephanie Nimick Intern–Lauren Crabtree

Stage Management

Resident Stage Managers–Captain Kate Murphy, Laura Smith The Peter and Millicent Bain Stage Management Interns–Brent Beavers, Lindsay Eberly

Stage Operations

Stage Carpenter–Eric Burton Wardrobe Supervisor–Linda Cavell

The following designers, artisans, and assistants contributed to this production of

Lighting

The Completely Fictional— Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe—

Marketing & Communications

Assistant Lighting Designer–Scot Gianelli Lighting–Cartland Berge, Zach Dalton, John Elder, Jake Epp, Aaron Haag, Michael Sperber, Joey Walls Carpenters–Bernard Bender, Mark Eisendrath, Seth Foster, J.R. Fritsch Draper–Ginny McKeever Wigs & Hair–Denise O'Brien

Lighting Director–Lesley Boeckman Master Electrician–Lily Bradford Multimedia Coordinator–Stew Ives Staff Electrician–Bevin Miyake The Barbara Capalbo Electrics Intern–Scot Gianelli Director–Tony Heaphy Public Relations Manager–Heather C. Jackson Marketing Manager–Timmy Metzner Digital Media Associate–Timothy Gelles Marketing Associate–Tia Abner The Jay and Sharon Smith Marketing and Public Relations Fellow–Kiirstn Pagan Media Services–Planit

Operations

Director–Harry DeLair Operations Assistant–Len Dozier Housekeeper–Kali Keeney, Jacqueline Stewart Security Guards–Crown Security

Production Management

Production Manager–Mike Schleifer Assistant Production Manager– Caitlin Powers Company Manager–Sara Grove Production/Stage Management Intern–Ashley Riester Company Management Intern–Matt Shea

Properties

Manager–Jennifer Stearns Assistant Manager– Nathan Scheifele Artisan–Jeanne-Marie Burdette The Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Properties Intern–Kimberly Townsend

Scenery

CENTERSTAGE 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 CENTERSTAGE perform under the terms of an agreement between CENTERSTAGE and Local 40-543, American Federation of Musicians.

CenterStage 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.

Technical Director–Tom Rupp Assistant Technical Director–Laura P. Merola

Advertising Sales ads@centerstage.org

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

Material in the CENTERSTAGE 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 CENTERSTAGE, 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 CENTERSTAGE.

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