KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
BEGINS May 29
BEFORE YOU GO
KNOW
We look forward to seeing you at La Jolla Playhouse at your upcoming performance of Come From Away. Below is some additional information about the production and the venue to enhance your theater-going experience. Parking Parking is free for all subscribers. For all others parking is $2 (subject to change), Mon-Fri. Upon arrival to campus, please purchase your parking permit from one of the automated pay stations located next to the information kiosk. Simply park, note your space number, and pay $2 at the pay station. Pay stations accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express or cash ($1 and $5), and do not give change. You will not need to return to your car. Parking is free on the weekends.
Audience Engagement Events The Playhouse offers unique opportunities for audience members to delve deeper into the play with these special performance series options: Foodie Friday: Buy a ticket to Come From Away and enjoy San Diego’s finest food trucks, plus a complimentary microbrew tasting from Stone Brewing Company. - Friday, June 26 starting at 6:00 pm Talkback Tuesdays: Participate in a lively discussion with actors and Playhouse staff members after the performance. - Tuesday, June 16 following the 7:30 pm performance - Tuesday, June 23 following the 7:30 pm performance Discovery Sunday: Explore the themes of the production with special guest speakers. - Sunday, June 28 following the 2:00 pm performance Insider Events: Join Playhouse staff for a special pre-performance presentation that gives an insider’s view of the play. - Wednesday, June 24 at 6:45 pm - Saturday, June 27 at 1:15 pm
Accessibility A golf cart is available to assist patrons with accessibility issues to and from the parking lot. Please notify Patron Services prior to your performance if you are in need of this service; additionally, you may pull into the five minute parking in front of the theatre, and a friendly La Jolla Playhouse greeter will assist you.
ACCESS PERFORMANCES Open Captioned Performance: This performance has open captioning for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing. - Sunday, June 14 at 2:00 pm ACCESS (ASL Interpreted & Audio Described) Performance: This performance has American Sign Language interpretation for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing, and audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. - Saturday, June 20 at 2:00 pm ASL Interpreted Performance: This performance has American Sign Language interpretation for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing. - Friday, June 26 at 8:00 pm Dining
James’ Place is the Theatre District’s new on-site restaurant. Developed by renowned Sushi Master James Holder, the menu includes his signature sushi, as well as delectable dishes created with Prime and Angus cuts of beef, locally and sustainably harvested seafood, along with seasonal dishes. A lighter fare menu is also served at the newly-redesigned sushi/cocktail bar, featuring craft beer and California wines. James’ Place is open daily. Happy Hour begins in the bar at 3:00 pm and dinner reservations begin at 5:00 pm. For reservations, please call (858) 638-7778. We also recommend the following nearby restaurants: Dolce Pane e Vino 16081 San Dieguito Road Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 dolcepaneevino.com
Pamplemousse Grille 514 Via de la Valle, Suite 100 Solana Beach, CA 92075 pgrille.com
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 8970 University Center Lane San Diego, CA 92122 flemingssteakhouse.com
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 rockbottom.com
Giuseppe Restaurants & Fine Catering 700 Prospect Street San Diego, CA 92037 giuseppecatering.com
Roppongi Restaurant & Sushi Bar 875 Prospect Street La Jolla, CA 92037 roppongiusa.com
Children under the age of 6 are not permitted in the theatre during performances unless otherwise posted.
A MESSAGE FROM THE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
MISSION STATEMENT: La Jolla Playhouse advances theatre as an art form and as a vital social, moral and political platform by providing unfettered creative opportunities for the leading artists of today and tomorrow. With our youthful spirit and eclectic, artist-driven approach, we will continue to cultivate a local and national following with an insatiable appetite for audacious and diverse work. In the future, San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse will be considered singularly indispensable to the worldwide theatre landscape, as we become a permanent safe harbor for the unsafe and surprising. The day will come when it will be essential to enter the La Jolla Playhouse village in order to get a glimpse of what is about to happen in American theatre.
JollaPlayhouse Playhousehas hasreceived receivedthe La La Jolla the highest ratingCharity from Charity highest rating from Navigator, Navigator, the nation’s premier the nation’s premier charity evaluator. charity evaluator. P4 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe
Like so many of us, the events of 9/11 are indelibly etched in my memory. I was living in New York at the time, and in the weeks that followed nothing was more important than connecting with friends and loved ones. Sharing a meal, a drink – sometimes in stunned silence – was a way of expressing our appreciation of each other. As the days went by, we © Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego/ZUMA Wire began to question what we were doing with our lives, asking “Should I change my life?” Many Americans were asking the same question, and I remember a lot of people around the country making decisions to go about living their lives differently. When I first read the script of Come From Away and listened to the musical score, I was deeply moved by the story of this small Canadian community of 10,000 on the remote island of Newfoundland that provided whatever was needed for 7,000 people who were diverted to their airport when 9/11 hit. During a terrifying time, our neighbors to the north did exactly what they’d always done – provide for their fellow human beings in a time of need. When I traveled to Gander, Newfoundland, in June of last year with Come From Away authors David Hein and Irene Sankoff, I had the pleasure of meeting the actual people who are characters in the show and experienced their hospitality firsthand. The islanders couldn’t have been more warm, funny, friendly and eager to share their homes, bars, food, music and rituals – yes, I kissed the cod. David and Irene have done what all artists aspire to: tell an authentic story of a people and a place that is both absolutely singular and yet universal. They have spent five years researching the story of five extraordinary days in Gander, Newfoundland that forged lasting friendships and changed lives, including their own. The events of 9/11 and Gander are inextricably intertwined – 9/11 put the town on the map, but what the town and surrounding areas gave in return was immeasurable. I know that as you watch the performance, you will bring your own memories of that fateful day. I hope that you – like the “Plane People” – find laughter, healing and hope in the hands and hearts of the people of Newfoundland.
CHRISTOPHER ASHLEY
LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE presents Michael S. Rosenberg Managing Director
Christopher Ashley Artistic Director
Book, Music and Lyrics by
Irene Sankoff AND David Hein Choreographed BY
Music Supervision by
KELLY DEVINE
Ian Eisendrath
DIRECTED BY
Christopher Ashley A Co-Production with Seattle Repertory Theatre
Featuring
Petrina Bromley*, Geno Carr*, Jenn Colella*, Chad Kimball*, Joel Hatch*, Rodney Hicks*, Lee MacDougall*, Amanda Naughton*, Allison Spratt Pearce*, Caesar Samayoa*, Q. Smith*, Michael Turner ‥, Astrid Van Wieren*, Sharon Wheatley* Orchestrator Additional Musical Arrangements Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Associate Music Director Dialect Coach Casting Local Casting Dramaturg Creative Consultant Production Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Production Manager
August Eriksmoen Ian Eisendrath Beowulf Boritt Toni-Leslie James Howell Binkley Gareth Owen Alec Berlin Joel Goldes Telsey + Company; Rachel Hoffman Teresa Sapien Shirley Fishman Michael Rubinoff Martha Donaldson* Jennifer Kozumplik* Audrey Hoo
Come From Away (NAMT Festival 2013) was originally developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project, Michael Rubinoff Producer, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada and was further developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists, in East Haddam, Connecticut. The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council and Steve and Paula Reynolds/The Fifth Avenue Theatre, Seattle WA also provided development support.
THE CAST (in alphabetical order)
Bonnie......................................................................................................... Petrina Bromley Oz........................................................................................................................... Geno Carr Beverley............................................................................................................. Jenn Colella Colin 1...............................................................................................................Chad Kimball Claude...................................................................................................................Joel Hatch Bob...................................................................................................................Rodney Hicks Nick.............................................................................................................Lee MacDougall Janice................................................................................................. Allison Spratt Pearce Colin 2........................................................................................................Caesar Samayoa Lana........................................................................................................................... Q. Smith Beulah......................................................................................................Astrid Van Wieren Diane......................................................................................................... Sharon Wheatley Understudies: Amanda Naughton and Michael Turner ‡
Setting: September, 2001 and 2011 Central Newfoundland and other locations Come From Away is performed in one act without intermission.
Additional Staff Assistant Director.......................................................Jessica Bird
Assistant Lighting Designer .............................Sherrice Mojgani
Associate Choreographer....................................Richard J. Hinds
Lighting Design Assistant...................................... Gwikyoung Ko‡
Associate Sound Designer................................... Russell Godwin
Production Assistant.......................................... Kendra Stockton
Assistant Scenic Designer....................................... Jenna Carino
Stage Management Assistant......................Amanda Nussbaum‡
Assistant Costume Designer....................................Mary Rochon Costume Design Assistant..................................... Dominique Hill
Stage Management Intern.........................................Sarah Harris ‡
* Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage
Managers in the United States. The theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association. This theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
This theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. La Jolla Playhouse is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for the nonprofit professional theatre. ‡ UC San Diego M.F.A. Candidates in residence at La Jolla Playhouse.
MUSICAL NUMBERS You Are Here...........................................................................................................................COMPANY Welcome to Newfoundland...................................................................................CLAUDE, COMPANY 38 Planes................................................................................................................................COMPANY Blankets and Bedding.............................................................................................................COMPANY 28 Hours/Wherever We Are.....................................................................BEVERLEY, JOEY, COMPANY Darkness and Trees................................................................................................................COMPANY Costume Party........................................................................................ DIANE, BEVERLEY, COMPANY Prayer*.........................................................................................COLIN 1, LANA, BEULAH, COMPANY On the Edge............................................................................................................................COMPANY Screech In...............................................................................................................CLAUDE, COMPANY Me and the Sky.......................................................................................................................BEVERLEY Stop the World............................................................................................... NICK, DIANE, COMPANY Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere.................................................................................COMPANY Something’s Missing..............................................................................................................COMPANY Finale.......................................................................................................................CLAUDE, COMPANY
* Prayer of St Francis dedicated to Mrs. Frances Tracy. © 1967, OCP, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
ORCHESTRA Music Director/Conductor/ Keyboard/Accordion/Harmonium................................... Ian Eisendrath Associate Music Director/Acoustic Steel String/ Nylon String/Baritone/Electric Guitars................................ Alec Berlin Acoustic Steel String Guitar/Mandolin/ Irish Bouzouki............................................................ David Maldonado
Bodhran/Djembe/Cajon/Udu....................................................Tim Foley Drumset/Percussion.......................................................... Ben Morrow Music Contractor................................................................Lorin Getline Rehearsal Guitar................................................................... Alec Berlin
Fiddle.................................................................................Tiffany Sieker
Rehearsal Percussion...............................................................Tim Foley
Whistles/Uilleann Pipes/Irish Flute/Ney/Bodhran.............. Ben Power
Keyboard Programmer.............................................Gabriel Mangiante
Electric/Acoustic Basses............................................. Michael Pearce
Copyists...................................................... Zach Redler, Ryan Driskell Music Department Assistants............... Logan Skirm, Sarah Wheeler
All musicians are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.
Acknowledgements Special thanks to Nezam Etemadi and Nilofar Etemadi Robert Charles Vallance, Broadway Wig Company Dialect coaching by Language.net Sound equipment provided by Masque Sound • Lighting equipment provided by ELS
THE COMPANY Petrina Bromley, Bonnie La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Regional credits: Enron, The Sound of Music, Tartuffe, Metamorphoses, Based on the Myths of Ovid (National Arts Centre, Ottawa); Oil and Water (Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, St. John’s; Factory, Toronto; The Grand, London; Vertigo, Calgary; National Arts Centre, Ottawa); Fear of Flight (Artistic Fraud, St. John’s; Factory, Toronto; The Cultch, Vancouver); Cabaret, White Christmas:The Musical (TaDa!); Little Women: The Musical and Songs for a New World (Theatre St. John’s). Ms. Bromley is delighted to be a come-from-away in California, having come all the way from her home in Newfoundland. Geno Carr, Oz La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Off-Broadway: Bush Wars. National Tours: The Phantom of the Opera, The Buddy Holly Story and Grease. Favorite Regional: the Broadway-bound Allegiance, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (The Old Globe); Leo Bloom in The Producers, Harold in The Full Monty (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse); Charlie in The Foreigner (Lamb’s Players – Associate Artist); Guiteau in Assassins, Orin and others in Little Shop of Horrors (Cygnet Theatre – Resident Artist); Billis in South Pacific (Heritage Theatre Festival); Thurio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Maine Shakespeare Festival). Education: M.F.A., Acting and Directing, Sarah Lawrence College; Dual B.A., Music and Theatre, Hartwick College. For my beautiful wife, Nancy, and our baby boy due in August! www.GenoCarr.com Jenn Colella, Beverley is thrilled to return to La Jolla Playhouse where she last starred in Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin as Hedda Hopper. Ms. Colella recently co-starred on Broadway with Idina Menzel in If/Then. Other Broadway credits: Chaplin, High Fidelity and Urban Cowboy (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination). Off-Broadway: Title role in Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Lily Tomlin, producer); Lucky Guy, the improvisation show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, Slut and the revival of Closer Than Ever. Favorite regional credits: Amelia Earhart, Take Flight (McCarter Theatre); Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun (PCLO); Georgie, The Full Monty (Paper Mill, with Elaine Stritch); title role in Peter Pan (Sondheim PAC); Cleo in The Times They Are A-Changin’ (The Old Globe); Daisy Hilton in Side Show (Kennedy Center). TV: All My Children, The Good Wife, Cashmere Mafia and Rescue Me. Film: Uncertainty (with Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Stand Up Comedy: Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store in LA. Education: M.F.A. in Acting from UC Irvine. Joel Hatch, Claude La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: Annie and Billy Elliot. Off-Broadway: Adding Machine, A Musical, for which he received the OBIE and Lucille Lortel awards. National Tours: Showboat, Ragtime and Beauty and the Beast. Regional: Bull Durham (Alliance Theatre); House and Garden, Pericles, Oedipus Complex (Goodman Theatre); Another Part of the Forest, Rough Crossing, Benefactors, Our Town (Writers Theatre); Inherit the Wind (Indiana Rep); Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare). Television: Boardwalk Empire, Elementary and The Good Wife.
Rodney Hicks, Bob La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys (Clarence Norris), Jesus Christ Superstar (Peter), RENT (Benny – closing cast; Paul & others – original cast). Off-Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well (Rodney – 2006 NY Revival), The Nightshade Family (Henry), From My Hometown (Philly Audelco Award nomination – Leading Actor), among others. Regional: Dreamgirls (Curtis Taylor, Jr.) and The Mountaintop (Martin Luther King, Jr.) at Portland Center Stage; Big River (Jim – Seattle Times Footlight Award) at Village Theatre; The Scottsboro Boys (Hayword Patterson – Barrymore Award, Leading Actor) at Philadelphia Theatre Company; Lobby Hero (William) at Geva Theatre; King Lear (Edmund) at Denver Theatre Center, among others. TV: roles on Leverage, GRIMM, Law & Order: CI, Hope & Faith, among others. Love to my husband Chris and our dogs Logan and Trevor. www.rodneyhicksnow.com. Chad Kimball, Colin 1 originated the role of Huey Calhoun in La Jolla Playhouse’s production of Memphis, which went on to receive the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical and earned him a Tony Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical. Mr. Kimball was also seen on Broadway as John Lennon in Lennon (Broadhurst Theatre). He donned the guise of Milky-White in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods (also at the Broadhurst) with Vanessa Williams. Other Broadway credits include The Civil War and Good Vibrations. Off-Broadway: Finian’s Rainbow (Irish Repertory Theatre), My Life with Albertine (Playwrights Horizons) and Godspell (York Theatre). Regional theatre includes Sweeney Todd (Signature Theatre), Baby (Paper Mill Playhouse), Chess in concert and Little Fish (The Blank). Mr. Kimball won a Bistro Award for his solo concert, which he reprised at Joe’s Pub. He is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory. More at www.chadkimball.com Lee MacDougall, Nick La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. National Tours: The Wizard of Oz and Mamma Mia!. Regional: The Music Man, Fuente Ovejunas (Stratford Festival); On the Town, Counsellorat-Law (Shaw Festival); Urinetown (CanStage); Guys and Dolls (Theatre Calgary); Twelve Angry Men (Drayton). As a playwright: High Life (Soulpepper); The Ginkgo Tree (Arts Club); Who Has Seen the Wind (ATP). As a director: Rope’s End, Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, Joseph..., All Shook Up. www.leemacdougall.ca. Amanda Naughton, Understudy La Jolla Playhouse: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chasing the Song (DNA series). Broadway: Into the Woods (2002 revival), The Secret Garden (also national tour; Jefferson Award nominee). Off-Broadway: Romance in Hard Times (Public Theater), Hundreds of Hats (WPA Theatre), 3 Postcards (Circle Rep) and Mr. President (Douglas Fairbanks Theatre). Regional: SoCal audiences have seen Ms. Naughton at The Old Globe in Bethany, A Doll’s House, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Jane Austen’s Emma – A Musical Romantic Comedy, Lost in Yonkers, The Women, The Constant Wife, Loves & Hours, Paramour and at La Mirada in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Other regional: Goodspeed Musicals, L.A. Opera, South Coast Repertory and Walnut Street Theatre, among others. TV: Betty Roberts on AMC’s original series, Remember WENN, Law & Order: CI, Law & Order: SVU, Payne with John Larroquette and Chappelle’s Show. Film: Mexico City and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Personal credits: wonderful husband, marvelous child and adorable dog.
THE COMPANY Allison Spratt Pearce, Janice La Jolla Playhouse: Sideways and Cry-Baby. Broadway: Curtains, Cry-Baby and Good Vibrations. Off-Broadway: originated Miss B. in Enter Laughing. Regional: Phoebe in As You Like It, Jane in Emma, Viola in Twelfth Night (The Old Globe); Eliza in My Fair Lady (Cygnet Theatre, Capital Repertory Theater); Sally in Cabaret (National Tour). Film and TV: The Smurfs, He Got Game, NY-70, numerous national commercials and hosting on HSN. M.F.A. in Drama from The Old Globe/USD and B.F.A. in Music Theatre from Elon University. Mrs. Pearce is a private coach and works with MTCA, which provides college audition preparation for musical theater and acting programs. www.allisonsprattpearce.com Caesar Samayoa, Colin 2 La Jolla Playhouse: Carmen. Most recently originated the role of Escamillo in a new adaptation of Carmen directed by Moisés Kaufman for the Tectonic Theater Project. Broadway: Sister Act and The Pee-Wee Herman Show. Credits include leading roles in film, TV, Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatre companies around the country, including The Public Theater – Shakespeare in the Park, Yale Rep, Goodspeed Opera House, Huntington Theatre, Barrington Stage, Les Freres Corbusier, Primary Stages, Urban Stages, The Play Company, Sundance Theater Lab and Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Mr. Samayoa has also appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and in various national and international concert tours. B.F.A., Ithaca College. Q. Smith, Lana La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Last seen on Broadway as Mrs. Andrew in Mary Poppins, and the first revival of Les Misérables. Off Broadway/Tours/Concerts include: Mabel Washington in Fame: The Musical (cast album); various roles of Mrs. Corry, Mrs. Andrew and Bird Woman in Mary Poppins; Abyssinia: A Gospel Celebration with Wynton Marsalis (Lincoln Center); Showboat in concert (Carnegie Hall); Smokey Joe’s Café starring Gladys Knight; The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Central America) with Wanderlust Theatre Company; The Black Gospel Singers (Germany); soloist with the Omaha Symphony’s Requiem; guest soloist at Hillary Clinton’s Vital Voices Awards Ceremony (The Kennedy Center) and guest soloist during President Obama’s Inaugural Ceremonies representing the state of Nebraska. Graduate of Ithaca College. Special thanks to Christopher Ashley, Telsey, BRS/Gage, my loving parents and my light in a storm. God is good! Michael Turner, Understudy La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Mr. Turner is an M.F.A. student at UC San Diego, where his credits include: Hamlet, Golden Boy, She Stoops to Conquer, Borealis and Battlecruiser Aristotle. Regional credits: Drift (NYC); A Christmas Carol (Ford’s Theatre, D.C.); The Full Monty (Miami); Stones in His Pockets (Dallas); Floyd Collins (Florida - Carbonell Award nomination); Blood Brothers (Dallas - Column Award winner). Over 20 television commercials and countless voiceovers. He is the voice of several video game characters, including “Zero” in Borderlands 2, and has voiced characters in many anime series (Black Butler, Full Metal Alchemist, Legend of the Legendary Heroes).
Astrid Van Wieren, Beulah La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Ms. Van Wieren recently originated the role of Fielding in The Colony of Unrequited Dreams for Newfoundland’s premiere theatre company: Artistic Fraud. She also led the beautiful Belles Soeurs company as Germaine Lauzon, which will be remounted next spring at The (Canadian) National Arts Centre. She was also in the North American premiere and First National U.S. Tour of Mamma Mia! (Little Star). Other recent, favorite roles include (all premieres): Grandma in The Way Back to Thursday (Passe Muraille); Huhu in Ubu Mayor (One Little Goat); Holly in Myth of the Ostrich (Toronto Fringe). Other memorable credits include: Baal in Baal (Mercury) for which she wrote music and lyrics; Louise in Danny, King of the Basement (Roseneath); and Lorraine in the riveting drama, This Wide Night (Mercury/Mermaid Parade), for which she won the prestigious Dora Award. Ms. Van Wieren is beyond thrilled to be working again with Irene and David. She was part of their company for My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding (Mirvish). Sharon Wheatley, Diane La Jolla Playhouse: 2015 Gala. Broadway: Avenue Q, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Cats. Ms. Wheatley sings with symphonies around the country and performed her solo act, Bette on Me at New York City’s renowned 54 Below. She also writes for actress Kristin Chenoweth and has a published memoir, ‘Til the Fat Girl Sings (Adams Media). After 23 years of city living, Sharon recently relocated to San Diego with her family to enjoy fish tacos and sunshine. Her performance is dedicated to her parents, who were traveling internationally on 9/11. Thanks to Rachel Hoffman, Craig Holzberg and Christopher Ashley. Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Book, Music, Lyrics are a Canadian husband-and-wife writing team. Their first show, My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding (based on David’s mother’s true story) was the hit of the Toronto Fringe Festival and picked up by Mirvish Productions for an extended run. It went on to win “Outstanding New Musical” and “Best Book” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and has now played and won awards across North America, with Sankoff and Hein performing in most productions. Come From Away was developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project and Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists and was recently showcased at the NAMT Festival of New Works. Their next musical, Mitzvah, was recently developed at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival and will receive workshops in New York and Toronto this year. Sankoff and Hein are the recipients of a Bryden “Ones-to-Watch” award, a Playwrights Guild of Canada award, and several ASCAP Plus awards. Their daughter, Molly, got her first tooth in Newfoundland and has been growing up with Come From Away. Love and thanks to everyone who has helped us on this incredible journey. It takes a village to raise a child – and it takes an even bigger village to raise a musical while raising a child!
THE COMPANY Christopher Ashley, Director/Playhouse Artistic Director has served as Artistic Director at La Jolla Playhouse since 2007. During his tenure, he helmed the world premieres of The Darrell Hammond Project, Claudia Shear’s Restoration and Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley’s A Dram of Drummhicit, as well as John Guare’s adaptation of His Girl Friday, Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the musicals Xanadu and Memphis, which went on to Broadway, winning four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical. In addition, he spearheaded the Playhouse’s Without Walls site-specific theatre series, the Resident Theatre program and the DNA New Work Series. Prior to joining the Playhouse, Mr. Ashley directed the Broadway productions of Xanadu (Drama Desk nomination), All Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), as well as The Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration productions of Merrily We Roll Along and Sweeney Todd (Helen Hayes Award for Direction). Other New York credits include: Leap of Faith, Blown Sideways Through Life, Jeffrey (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla, Regrets Only, Wonder of the World, Bunny Bunny, Communicating Doors, The Night Hank Williams Died and Fires in the Mirror (Lucille Lortel Award). He also directed the feature films Jeffrey, Blown Sideways Through Life for PBS, and Lucky Stiff, to be released July 2015. Mr. Ashley is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama League Director Fellowship and an NEA/TCG Director Fellowship. Kelly Devine, Choreographer La Jolla Playhouse: Peter and the Starcatchers, Zhivago, Private Fittings. Broadway: Doctor Zhivago, Rocky (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award nomination and Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Rock of Ages. Off-Broadway: Rock of Ages, Fat Camp, Frankenstein, Anne Wrecksick. Regional: Toxic Avenger, A Christmas Story, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Sneaux. Stratford Shakespeare Festival: Cabaret, Romeo and Juliet. International: Rocky (Germany), Doctor Zhivago (Australia), Rock of Ages (West End, UK tour, Toronto, Australia – Helpman/Green Room Award). Opera: Faust (Metropolitan Opera/London Coliseum), Wozzeck (San Diego Opera). Film/TV: Mozart in the Jungle, Dear Dumb Diary, Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, Happy Texas, Zombie Prom. Ian Eisendrath, Music Supervisor, Additional Musical Arrangements La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: A Christmas Story. Regional: Aladdin, A Room with a View, Secondhand Lions, Vanities, Oklahoma!, On the Town, Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Company, Sweeney Todd, Carousel, Titanic and Miss Saigon (5th Avenue Theatre); The Nutcracker and Susan Stroman’s Take Five (Pacific Northwest Ballet); A Christmas Story (Kansas City Rep); Cabaret (Theatre Under the Stars, The Ordway, American Musical Theater of San Jose); Miss Saigon (Casa Mañana). Mr. Eisendrath is the Music Supervisor and Alhadeff Family Director of New Works at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Education: B.M.A. in conducting musical theatre from University of Michigan. August Eriksmoen, Orchestrator La Jolla Playhouse: Memphis, Chasing the Song (DNA New Work Series). Broadway: Gigi (orchestrations); First Date (orchestrations); Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway (additional orchestrations); The Addams Family (dance arrangements, additional orchestrations); Memphis (dance arrangements); Million Dollar Quartet (associate music supervisor); Ring of Fire (associate music director); All Shook Up (music director); Rent (associate conductor). Off-Broadway: Bare (orchestrations), Romantic Poetry (orchestrations), Walmartopia (orchestrations/supervision), Imperfect Chemistry (orchestrations/supervision). Others: 2011 Billboard Music Awards, I Am Harvey Milk, Bright Star, Bull Durham, Kristin Chenoweth (in concert), Chita Rivera (in concert), James and the Giant Peach, All Shook Up (first national tour, dance arrangements/additional orchestrations), Universal Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Busch Gardens Scrooged, Always...Patsy Cline.
Beowulf Boritt, Set Designer La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. San Diego: The Scottsboro Boys, Murder for Two and Working at The Old Globe. Broadway: Act One (Tony Award), The Scottsboro Boys (Tony nomination), On the Town, Hand to God, Sondheim on Sondheim, …Spelling Bee, LoveMusik, Rock of Ages, Chaplin, Bronx Bombers, Grace, The Two and Only. Off-Broadway: 99 shows, including The Toxic Avenger, The Last Five Years, Miss Julie, Roundabout, MTC, Public, Second Stage, Vineyard, MCC, Primary Stages and the New Group. Other Designs: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York City Ballet) and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He received a 2007 OBIE Award for sustained excellence. Toni-Leslie James, Costume Designer La Jolla Playhouse: Glengarry Glen Ross, Milk Like Sugar. She is a Tony Award-nominated costume designer, having designed on Broadway for Lucky Guy, The Scottsboro Boys, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, King Hedley II, The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches & Perestroika and Jelly’s Last Jam. Off-Broadway, she has designed multiple productions for The Public, Playwrights Horizons, Lincoln Center, NYTW and over 15 productions for the NY City Center Encores series. Regionally her work has been seen at La Jolla Playhouse, Steppenwolf, The Long Wharf, The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival and others. Howell Binkley, Lighting Design La Jolla Playhouse: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Chasing the Song, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Memphis, Xanadu, Cry-Baby, Zhivago, The Wiz, Private Fittings, Palm Beach, Jersey Boys, The Farnsworth Invention, Dracula, Eden Lane and How to Succeed... starring Matthew Broderick. Broadway works include: Honeymoon in Vegas, Doctor Zhivago, After Midnight, Jesus Christ Superstar, How to Succeed... starring Daniel Radcliffe (2011 Tony nomination), Lombardi, Million Dollar Quartet, Memphis, West Side Story (2009 Tony nomination), Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, In the Heights (2008 Tony nomination), Avenue Q, The Full Monty, Parade and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993 Tony nomination). Off-Broadway: Hamilton. Elsewhere: The Joffrey Ballet’s Billboards; Resident Lighting Designer/Co-Founder, Parsons Dance. Awards: A five-time Helen Hayes Award recipient, Mr. Binkley received the 1993 Olivier Award and Canadian Dora Award for Kiss of the Spider Woman. 2006 Henry Hewes Design Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony Award® for Jersey Boys. Gareth Owen, Sound Design La Jolla Playhouse: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His awards include an Olivier Award for Merrily We Roll Along and Memphis, Tony Award® nominations for A Little Night Music and End of the Rainbow, nominations for Top Hat and End of the Rainbow. He has designed more than 250 commercial musicals. Recent productions include: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (USA); The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act, Hairspray and Singin’ in the Rain (all Worldwide); Titanic (Toronto); Moederik Wil Bij de Revue (Holland); I Can’t Sing, Memphis, Let It Be and Woman in Black (all in London’s West End); The Producers and Top Hat (UK Tour); The Rocky Horror Show (Australia). Joel Goldes, Dialect Coach happily returns to La Jolla Playhouse where he coached Memphis, The Cosmonaut’s Last Message... and others. Mark Taper Forum: Immediate Family. Film/TV: Fifty Shades of Grey, The End of the Tour, Lucky Stiff, Charming, Fury, Nymphomaniac, Frankenstein, Gotham, The Crazy Ones, The Runner, The Night Shift, After Earth, Hatfields & McCoys (Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Kevin Costner, whom Joel coached), Killing Hasselhoff, NCIS: Los Angeles, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, The Company Men, 24, Outsourced, CSI, The Hangover and CSI: New York. Mr. Goldes also coached the Disney Interactive series It’s a Small World. www.TheDialectCoach.com
THE COMPANY Shirley Fishman, Dramaturg Now in her 14th season, she is the Playhouse’s Resident Dramaturg and has worked on such plays and musicals as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Chasing the Song, Ether Dome, Side Show, Sideways, Glengarry Glen Ross, An Iliad, Hands on a Hardbody, American Night, 2015 POP Tour The Astronaut Farmworker and other projects in development. During her five years at the Joseph Papp Public Theater she dramaturged such projects as Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz and Tina Landau’s Space, among others, and was co-curator of the New Work Now! annual new play festival. She serves as a Playwright’s Dramaturg for UC San Diego’s Wagner New Play Festival and has been a dramaturg at Sundance Theatre Lab, Magic Theatre, Native Voices at the Autry and Playwrights Project, among others. She is an M.F.A. graduate of Columbia University’s Theatre Theory/Criticism/Dramaturgy program. Telsey + Company, Casting La Jolla Playhouse: Chasing the Song, Hands on a Hardbody, Blood and Gifts, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Dram of Drummhicit, Milk Like Sugar, Little Miss Sunshine, Limelight, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bonnie & Clyde, 33 Variations and Memphis, among others. Broadway/Tours: Fiddler on the Roof, The Color Purple, Allegiance, On Your Feet!, Hamilton, Something Rotten!, An American in Paris, Finding Neverland, The King and I, Hand to God, Kinky Boots, Wicked, If/Then, The Sound of Music, Newsies, Pippin, Motown, Rock of Ages and Million Dollar Quartet. OffBroadway: New York Spring Spectacular, Atlantic, MCC, Second Stage and Signature. Regional: A.R.T., Goodspeed, New York Stage and Film, Paper Mill and Williamstown. Film: Fun House, Ithaca, The Intern, Ricki and the Flash, Focus, The Last Five Years, Song One, A Most Violent Year and Into the Woods. TV: Flesh and Bone, Peter Pan Live!, Penny Dreadful, Masters of Sex and commercials. www.telseyandco.com
Martha Donaldson, Production Stage Manager La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: You Can’t Take It with You, The Lion King, Next to Normal, [title of show], Top Girls, The Year of Magical Thinking and James Joyce’s The Dead. Numerous Off-Broadway credits include shows at New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public Theatre and Shakespeare in the Park, Duke Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, Minetta Lane Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse and many others. National Tour: The Vagina Monologues. Jennifer Kozumplik, Assistant Stage Manager La Jolla Playhouse: Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin (DNA New Work Series) and His Girl Friday. Cygnet Theatre: My Fair Lady, A Christmas Carol, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Maple and Vine, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Gem of the Ocean, Man of La Mancha, Dirty Blonde, Our Town, Private Lives and Noises Off. San Diego Repertory Theatre: A Hammer, A Bell, and A Song to Sing, In the Wake, Superior Donuts, Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, Blessing of a Broken Heart, The Who’s Tommy, The Road to Mecca, The Seafarer, Doubt and Water and Power. ion theatre: Frozen, La Gaviota and Punks. Education: B.A. San Diego State University. Seattle Repertory Theatre was founded in 1963 and is currently led by Acting Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann. One of America’s premier non-profit resident theatres, Seattle Repertory Theatre has achieved international renown for its consistently high production and artistic standards, and was awarded the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. With an emphasis on entertaining plays of true dramatic and literary worth, Seattle Rep produces a season of plays along with educational programs, new play workshops and special presentations.
PLAYHOUSE LEADERSHIP Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director Please see Mr. Ashley’s bio on the previous page.
Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director has served as the Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse since April, 2009. Working in partnership with Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, he has developed and produced new work by Ayad Akhtar, Trey Anastasio, Amanda Green, John Leguizamo, Carey Perloff, Jay Scheib, Herbert Siguenza, Basil Twist, Michael Benjamin Washington, Sheri Wilner, Doug Wright and The Flaming Lips. Playhouse collaborations have included projects with UC San Diego, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The New Children’s Museum, San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego Rep, Tectonic Theatre Project, the I.D.E.A. District and the cities of Escondido and Chula Vista. Additionally, he fostered the growth of the Playhouse’s award-winning Performance Outreach Program (POP) Tour, achieving the most performances at local schools in Playhouse history. Previously, Mr. Rosenberg was Co-Founder and Executive Director of Drama Dept., a New York non-profit theatre company, where he produced new works by the likes of Douglas Carter Beane, Warren Leight, Isaac Mizrahi, Paul Rudnick and David & Amy Sedaris. His early work included stints at The Kennedy Center, Kaiser Permanente, National Dance Institute and an Atlantic City casino. As a Theatre Communications Group Board member, he is proud to be on the Global and Diversity & Inclusion Committees.
Debby Buchholz, General Manager has served as general manager of La Jolla Playhouse since 2002. She is the Secretary of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT) and a member of its Executive Committee. In 2009, she received a San Diego Women Who Mean Business Award from The San Diego Business Journal. Previously she served as Counsel to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. She was a faculty member of the Smithsonian Institution’s program on Legal Problems of Museum Administration. Prior to The Kennedy Center, she served as a corporate attorney in New York City and Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of UC San Diego and Harvard Law School. Ms. Buchholz and her husband, noted author and White House economic policy advisor Todd Buchholz, live in Solana Beach and are the proud parents of Victoria, Katherine and Alexia. Des McAnuff, Director Emeritus served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director from 1983 through 1994, and from 2001 through April, 2007. Under his leadership, the Playhouse garnered more than 300 awards, including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Playhouse to Broadway credits: Jersey Boys (four Tony Awards); Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (Tony Award); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (five Tony nominations); director and co-author with Pete Townshend on The Who’s Tommy (Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Director) and Big River (seven Tony Awards), among others. Film credits: Quills, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Iron Giant (9 Animation Society awards) and Cousin Bette. Recipient of the Drama League’s 2006 Julia Hansen Award, Mr. McAnuff served as Artistic Director at Canada’s Stratford Festival from 2007 through 2012. He recently directed the hit productions of Sideways, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Jesus Christ Superstar at the Playhouse.