KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
BEFORE YOU GO
KNOW
We look forward to seeing you at La Jolla Playhouse at your upcoming performance of Sideways. 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: Insider Events: Meet with a staff member 1 hour prior to the performance for an insider’s discussion. - Saturday, August 3 at 1:00 pm - Wednesday, August 7 at 6:30 pm Talkback Tuesday: Join cast and crew for a discussion following the performance. - Tuesday, July 23 following the 7:30 pm performance - Tuesday, July 30 following the 7:30 pm performance ACCESS Performance: During this performance, La Jolla Playhouse provides American Sign Language interpretation for audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing and audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. - Saturday, July 27 at 2:00 pm Discovery Sunday: Explore the themes of the production with special guest speakers. - Sunday, August 11 following the 2:00 pm performance ADDITIONAL EVENTS Foodie Friday: Buy a ticket to Sideways and enjoy a complimentary microbrew tasting from Stone Brewing Company. Plus, the finest San Diego food trucks will be on hand. - Friday, July 19 at 6:00 pm - Friday, August 2 at 6:00 pm - (Food Truck Thursday) August 8 at 6:00 pm - Friday, August 16 at 6:00 pm
Accessibility A golf cart is available to assist patrons with accessibility issues to and from the parking lot. Please notify the Box Office 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. Pardon Our Dust – Theatre District Landscape Improvement Project Landscape improvements will include new walkways, exterior plazas, enhanced signage and lighting, as well as permanent seating areas. Additionally, eucalyptus grove restoration will reinforce the unique character of the Theatre District and its connection to the greater UC San Diego campus. La Jolla Playhouse productions will continue without interruption, but please look for signs and ushers to be your guide around the fenced-in work areas. For more information please contact Patron Services. Dining Please note that our on-site restaurant, JAI by Wolfgang Puck, is now closed. We are excited to introduce you to a new restaurant partner in the Fall. Until then, UC San Diego Hospitality Services will be presenting two dining options to our theatergoers: La Jolla Playhouse Coffee Bar, offering specialty coffees, sandwiches, salads and desserts; and La Jolla Playhouse Restaurant, featuring hot dishes. Please see our website at LaJollaPlayhouse.org/dining or 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
SIDEWAYS CONTENT WARNING This production contains haze, loud gunshots, cigarettes, nudity and adult language and content.
MISSION: 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.
La Jolla Playhouse has received La Jolla Playhouse has received the the highest rating from Charity highest rating from Charity Navigator, Navigator, the nation’s premier the nation’s premier charity evaluator. charity evaluator. P4 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe
CHRISTOPHER ASHLEY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
A MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR As I write this, I’m trying to come up with a word to describe what it’s like being at La Jolla Playhouse today. The best word I can come up with is “ferment”— as in “intense activity.” We’re happily abuzz with five companies in residence for various shows, new plays, workshops and presentations. As His Girl Friday finishes its run, Tribes is beginning its preview process, Sideways is in its third week of rehearsal and The Who & The What (the last play in our season) is in workshop this week with a flurry of new discoveries and plot twists. Tonight we start performances of Neva, a new play from Chile about the necessity of theatre, and with our Young Performers Workshop summer program in gear for six weeks, we’re cultivating the next generation of theatre artists. Rex Pickett just rushed past my office, new script pages in hand. He’s re-imagining his novel Sideways as a play. It’s the story of two men suffering from Peter Pan syndrome and avoiding the vicissitudes of real life, who take a wine-soaked road trip to Santa Ynez wine country in search of the perfect Pinot Noir. Rex is in rehearsals, deep inside the rewriting process and collaborating with his director Des McAnuff, turning his hilarious and touching odyssey of two guys on a wine binge into a new theatrical experience for you to savor. With all of this activity, we’ve formed a community of playwrights, directors, actors, designers, teachers and students who, along with our artist-in-residence — scenic designer Robert Brill (His Girl Friday and 35 other Playhouse plays!) — are invigorated by our commitment to new play development, and what it promises to bring to our stages — and to you. Thank you for adding to the “ferment” by being an integral part of our process and sampling our ever- growing yield.
E C N E I AUD ENT M YS E G A ENGFOR SIDEWA
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LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE presents Michael S. Rosenberg Managing Director
Christopher Ashley Artistic Director
by
Rex Pickett Directed by
Des McAnuff Featuring
Nadia Bowers*, Patrick Breen*, ZoË Chao*, Vi Flaten‡, Sean Allan Krill*, Cynthia Mace*, Jeff Marlow*, Tom Patterson ‡, Allison Spratt Pearce*, Jorge Rodriguez*, Mike Sears*, Jasmine St. Clair ‡ Scenic Design Costume Design Lighting Design Sound Design Video & Projection Design Composer Choreographer Fight Director Wig & Hair Design Voice & Dialect Coach Dramaturg Casting Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Local Casting Directors Producing Director Production Manager
Robert Brill Paul Tazewell Michael Walton Cricket S. Myers Sean Nieuwenhuis Michael Roth Lisa Shriver Steve Rankin Charles G. LaPointe Eva Barnes Shirley Fishman Tara Rubin Casting Anjee Nero * Jennifer Wheeler Kahn * Marike Fitzgerald / Teresa Sapien Dana I. Harrel Linda S. Cooper
THE CAST (in order of appearance)
Patrick Breen.............................................................................................................................................................Miles Jeff Marlow..............................................Roman/David/Sanford patron/Hitching Post patron/tasting room manager/ Los Olivos patron/Clubhouse Bar patron/Fess Parker manager Vi Flaten.......................................................Evelyn/Babs/Sanford patron/Hitching Post patron/tasting room manager/ Los Olivos patron/Clubhouse Bar patron| Jorge Rodriguez............................................ Jared/Charlie/tasting room manager/Los Olivos waiter/wedding guest Sean Allan Krill........................................................................................................................................................... Jack Cynthia Mace....................Phyllis/Hitching Post patron/tasting room manager/Los Olivos patron/Fess Parker patron Mike Sears..........................Chris/tasting room manager/Los Olivos patron/Fess Parker patron/tailor/wedding guest Nadia Bowers............................................................................................................................................................Maya Jasmine St. Clair.............................................Claudia/Lissy/Clubhouse Bar patron/Fess Parker guide/wedding guest Zoë Chao......................................................................................................................................................................Terra Allison Spratt Pearce................. Victoria/Brenda/Hitching Post waitress/tasting room manager/Fess Parker patron Tom Patterson........................................................ Brad/Hitching Post host/tasting room manager/Los Olivos patron/ Fess Parker patron/wedding guest| Setting Santa Monica to the Santa Ynez Valley and on to Paso Robles. Sideways is performed with a 15-minute intermission. Assistant Director Assistant Scenic Designer Assistant Costume Designer Assistant Lighting Designer Assistant Video and Projection Designer Directing Assistant Sound Design Assistant Stage Management Assistant Production Assistant Stage Management Interns
Hannah Ryan Natalie Khuen Erick Sundquist Kristin Hayes Eric May Kate Jopson ‡ Melanie Chen ‡ Megan Sprowls ‡ Kendra Stockton James Hickey and Elizabeth Radabaugh
Understudies
Vi Flaten........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Maya Jeff Marlow.................................................................................................................................................................................................. Miles Jorge Rodriguez..............................................................................................................................................................................................Jack Jasmine St. Clair............................................................................................................................................................................................ Terra
Acknowledgements Sharp Business Systems • Genesee Dry Cleaners • Rick Morton Special thanks to Peter Sprague, guitarist. Music recorded at Spragueland Studios, Encinitas, CA * Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. This theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association. ‡
UC San Diego M.F.A. Candidates in residence at La Jolla Playhouse.
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.
Why I Love
Pinot by Allen Meadows Monday 22 February 2010
She can be fickle, and she’s certainly high maintenance, but her transcendent beauty, focused authority and soulful passion has captivated Allen Meadows for more than 30 years. He tells us why. It has been said that those who love Pinot Noir are the most passionate of all wine lovers. Pinot enthusiasts will spend hours trying to find a few bottles of exceptionally rare wines and freely spend considerable sums on criss-crossing the globe to commune with others who share their passion. It’s even possible to attend a conference celebrating the Pinot Noir grape every month of the year. Most Pinot enthusiasts cut their wine drinking teeth on other varieties for the first five to 10 years. By the end of this training, they have become relatively sophisticated in their tastes, understand what they like and generally know their way around a wine store. More prosaically, this is also often the point when young wine lovers can begin to more comfortably afford their evolving tastes. It is a sad fact that inexpensive, high-quality Pinot Noir is almost non-existent. While it is possible to buy goodquality, reasonably priced, entry-level Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay, alas this is not the case with Pinot. While increasing sophistication and available funds can explain much about the transformation of taste in favour of Pinot Noir, there is something more fundamental at work. This tipping point often coincides with the moment when the typical wine lover begins searching to add an intellectual component to their wine appreciation. Dare I describe it as the point where mere hedonism is no longer sufficient? However the transformation occurs, it almost always involves amazement and appreciation over how a wine that seems so light in the mouth can pack so much focused flavour authority. It is what I call the ‘power without weight’ palate impression that a fine Pinot delivers better than any other red wine. Add to that Pinot’s unmatched ability to offer a chameleonesque range of drinking experiences and it’s no wonder the Pinot neophyte is rapidly seduced by the grape’s siren call. Few of us can resist. The road less travelled In contrast to the more typical wine-learning path, I have been interested in Pinot-based wines almost from the moment I started ‘chasing the grape’ in 1976. After a year-long dalliance with Bordeaux, by happenstance I tried a bottle of 1967 Richebourg from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti that completely changed my wine horizons. That Richebourg moved me so profoundly that I became fascinated with all things Pinot Noir.
Moreover, it lit a burning desire to see for myself the land and the people that had created the most beautiful wine that I had ever experienced. That desire was gratified in 1979 when I spent almost two months in Burgundy, walking the vineyards and chatting with anyone and everyone who would deign to educate this by-then obsessed American. It has been 30 years since that first visit and while I have occasionally poked around the rest of the wine world, I have always held Pinot-based wines in the highest esteem. As someone who has seen a few periods where even the best Burgundies languished on retailers’ shelves, it is with wry amusement that I look at the explosion of interest in Pinot Noir since Rex Pickett’s 2004 novel (later made into a film) Sideways. Interest in the grape, and the wines created from it, has never been higher. While a social happening, such as a wildly popular novel or movie, can create interest in something, it cannot sustain that interest if there is no intrinsic substance beyond novelty. If this observation is true, then we should be able to establish the substance behind Pinot Noir as well. But first, a few basics are in order… Pinot Noir is among the most ancient grape varieties, and is estimated to be only one to two generations removed from the original single plant species called Vitis Vinifera. There is still debate as to whether Pinot’s cultivation in Burgundy is the result of it having been brought by the region’s early invaders, specifically the Greeks and Romans, or whether it is a domesticated version of wild vines that were previously growing in the forests. Recent archeological work has established beyond doubt that vines were already being cultivated in Gevrey-Chambertin by the end of the first century. It is not known with certainty if these vines were necessarily Pinot Noir, but it is certainly plausible. Whatever the roots of Pinot in Burgundy might be, it is indisputable that the history of the grape is closely aligned with that of the region itself. By the 12th century, it had already become the dominant variety in the Côte d’Or. This is all the more surprising given Pinot’s well-deserved reputation for being difficult to grow and, in a region this far north, notoriously difficult to ripen. That the grape was capable of creating sublime wines was not in question, but it often didn’t – much to the chagrin of the peasantry who depended on the wine produced for income, as well as a potable liquid that was safer than water.
Not Not illogically, illogically, some some peasants peasants were were tempted tempted to to plant plant the the more more productive productive Gamay, Gamay, which which had had also also shown shown an an affinity affinity for for Burgundy’s Burgundy’s soils soils and and climate. climate. ItIt was was easier easier to to grow grow and and ripened ripened earlier, earlier, yet, yet, despite despite these these significant significant benefits, benefits, the the Gamay-based Gamay-based wines wines were were rarely rarely as as good. good. The The lower lower prices prices paid paid for for GamayGamaybased based wines wines eventually eventually began began to to compromise compromise the the tax tax revenues revenues of of the the ruling ruling classes classes and and ultimately ultimately led led to to Duc Duc Philip Philip le le Hardi’s Hardi’s famous famous 1395 1395 edict, edict, banning banning the the ‘disloyal ‘disloyal Gamay’. Gamay’. Quality Quality improvements improvements in in both both the the vineyards vineyards and and the the wines wines during during the the Middle Middle Ages Ages were were driven driven primarily primarily by by the the Benedictines Benedictines and and their their successors, successors, the the Cistercians. Cistercians. The The church-owned church-owned vineyards vineyards were were considered considered to to be be the the finest finest in in Burgundy Burgundy and and their their ceaseless ceaseless efforts efforts drove drove quality quality inexorably inexorably upward, upward, adding adding to to the the region’s region’s reputation. reputation. However, However, as as significant significant as as these these contributions contributions were, were, they they are are not not the the most most consequential consequential of of them. them. Instead, Instead, the the most most lasting lasting and and important important of of the the monks’ monks’ contributions contributions was was the the notion notion of of terroir, terroir, that that ubiquitous ubiquitous concept concept celebrated celebrated by by some some and and loathed loathed by by others. others. Whether Whether one one agrees agrees with with the the concept concept or or not, not, it’s it’s aa critical critical idea idea –– terroir terroir is is the the basis basis for for understanding understanding Burgundy. Burgundy. ItIt is is the the precept precept upon upon which which the the region’s region’s wines wines are are classified, classified, conceptualised, conceptualised, discussed discussed and and marketed; marketed; one one cannot cannot penetrate penetrate the the Burgundian Burgundian mindset mindset without without acknowledging acknowledging this this reality. reality. To To Burgundians, Burgundians, the the grape grape is is no no more more than than the the vehicle vehicle through through which which the the underlying underlying terroir terroir is is expressed. expressed. Terroir Terroir is is also also the the basis basis upon upon which which Burgundy’s Burgundy’s celebrated celebrated hierarchy hierarchy is is constructed, constructed, which which codifies codifies in in aa four-tier four-tier system system the the underlying underlying assumption assumption that that some some vineyards vineyards are are inherently inherently more more gifted gifted than than others. others. The The monks monks attached attached special special significance significance to to the the differences differences between between the the vineyards, vineyards, interpreting interpreting them them as as divine divine messages. messages. Hence Hence they they strove strove to to refine refine these these earth-based earth-based signals. signals. This This is is particularly particularly noteworthy noteworthy because, because, unlike unlike 95% 95% of of all all the the other other wine wine regions regions in in the the world, world, they they did did not not blend blend the the differences differences away away or or blend blend grape grape varieties. varieties. Purity Purity of of expression expression was was the the goal. goal. Vinously Vinously speaking, speaking, the the monks monks ruled ruled Burgundy Burgundy for for more more than than 900 900 years. years. Their Their meticulous meticulous record-keeping record-keeping and and insights insights were were legendary legendary as as they they compared compared wines wines from from ever-smaller ever-smaller parcels, parcels, noting noting the the tiniest tiniest of of distinctions distinctions over over succeeding succeeding generations generations that that resulted resulted in in aa very very effective effective mapping mapping of of the the underlying underlying voice voice of of the the land. land. So So widespread widespread were were these these views views about about vineyard vineyard quality quality that that even even when when the the monks monks were were deposed deposed and and their their properties properties seized seized in in 1789, 1789, their their influence influence and and philosophical philosophical leanings leanings lived lived on on and, and, in in fact, fact, remain remain with with us us today. today. Pinot Pinot as as lie lie detector detector Pinot’s Pinot’s exquisite exquisite sensitivity sensitivity to to where where and and how how itit is is grown grown and and the the techniques techniques used used in in its its production production do do much much to to explain explain why why PinotPinotbased based wines wines continue continue to to fascinate fascinate us us today. today. The The grape’s grape’s ability ability to to so so accurately accurately reflect reflect its its origins origins also also does does much much to to make make clear clear the the widely widely accepted accepted platitude platitude among among winemakers winemakers that that Pinot Pinot cannot cannot reach reach its its full full potential potential ifif itit is is treated treated like like any any other other red red wine wine variety. variety. Alas Alas all all of of this this tenderness tenderness and and careful careful handling handling tends tends to to make make good good Pinot Pinot an an expensive expensive drink. drink. Though Though there there are are many many reasons reasons that that contribute contribute to to the the high high prices, prices, the the primary primary explication explication is is that that good-quality good-quality Pinot Pinot does does not not come come from from high high yields. yields. There There are are always always exceptions exceptions to to any any rule rule but but in in general, general, yields yields for for Pinot Pinot are are half half those those of of Cabernet Cabernet Sauvignon. Sauvignon. Moreover, Moreover, farming farming Pinot Pinot is is always always more more expensive expensive than than growing growing the the equivalent equivalent amount amount of of Cabernet, Cabernet, primarily primarily due due to to its its heightened heightened susceptibility susceptibility to to various various vine vine maladies. maladies. Reasonably Reasonably
good good Cabernet Cabernet can can be be found found for for about about $10 $10 (£6), (£6), whereas whereas it’s it’s rare rare to to find find interesting interesting Pinot Pinot below below $25 $25 (£15). (£15). Indeed, Indeed, really really good good Pinot Pinot is is aa very very rare rare animal animal below below $40 $40 (£25) (£25) or or so. so. Emotionally Emotionally thrilling thrilling Pinot Pinot is is the the rarest rarest animal animal of of all; all; II can can count count on on one one hand hand the the number number I’ve I’ve had had that that would would sell sell for for less less than than $100 $100 (£60) (£60) today. today. Indeed, Indeed, II coined coined aa phrase phrase that that captures captures the the essence essence of of the the challenge: challenge: ‘In ‘In the the search search for for great great Pinot, Pinot, you you may may not not always always get get what what you you pay pay for, for, but but you you will will never never get get what what you you don’t don’t pay pay for.’ for.’ In In short, short, great great Pinot Pinot is is never never cheap. cheap. Perhaps Perhaps this this is is one one of of the the reasons reasons why why wine wine lovers lovers seem seem to to consistently consistently hold hold Pinot Pinot to to aa higher higher standard standard than than other other wines. wines. A A scandal scandal in in Bordeaux Bordeaux or or some some new new winemaking winemaking gimmickry gimmickry that that further further distorts distorts the the resulting resulting wine wine in in California California or or Australia Australia is is barely barely newsworthy. newsworthy. But But there there is is something something deeper deeper going going on on with with Pinot-based Pinot-based wines. wines. People People seem seem personally personally offended offended ifif the the same same distortions, distortions, legal legal or or otherwise, otherwise, occur occur in in Burgundy. Burgundy. Serve Serve aa passable passable Syrah Syrah to to your your friends friends and and there there are are few few complaints, complaints, ifif no no compliments. compliments. But But serve serve aa passable passable Pinot Pinot to to the the same same group group and and there’s there’s almost almost inevitably inevitably someone someone who who voices voices disappointment disappointment and and speaks speaks indignantly indignantly of of unrealised unrealised potential potential and and confidences confidences abused. abused. It’s It’s worth worth asking asking why why this this is. is. Is Is itit simply simply that that the the clear clear expression expression of of place place the the label label promised promised was was not not delivered? delivered? Partially, Partially, but but there’s there’s more more than than that that at at work work here. here. Wine Wine distribution distribution channels channels are are awash awash in in flashy flashy and and ultra-modern, ultra-modern, fruit-driven fruit-driven wines wines that that are are technically technically perfect perfect and and easy easy to to like like but but soulless. soulless. While While there there is is nothing nothing overt overt to to dislike dislike with with such such wines, wines, the the enthusiast enthusiast in in search search of of something something profound profound can can immediately immediately sense sense the the absence absence of of distinction, distinction, the the absence absence of of any any underlying underlying terroir terroir and and the the absence absence of of soul. soul. As As aa friend friend of of mine mine once once said, said, ‘Soulless ‘Soulless wines wines exist exist because because the the winemaker winemaker intervened intervened to to provide provide what what the the vineyard vineyard either either has has not not or or could could not.’ not.’ This This is is why, why, of of all all the the grape grape varieties varieties that that exist, exist, Pinot Pinot alone alone bears bears the the brunt brunt of of our our moral moral expectations. expectations. Pinot Pinot is is the the last last bastion bastion where where that that sense sense of of place place is is not not only only expected expected but but essential essential to to creating creating aa gratifying, gratifying, even even moving moving drinking drinking experience. experience. Pinotphiles Pinotphiles understand understand that that because because Pinot Pinot is is capable capable of of delivering delivering aa captivating captivating and and unique unique drinking drinking experience, experience, that’s that’s what what itit should should do. do. In In this this sense, sense, Pinot Pinot is is the the moral moral compass compass of of the the wine wine world. world. This, This, more more than than any any other other reason, reason, is is why why we we pay pay top top dollar. dollar. And And this this explains explains why why Pinots Pinots that that fail fail to to deliver deliver –– and and there there are are unfortunately unfortunately too too many many of of them them –– evoke evoke aa much much greater greater sense sense of of disappointment. disappointment. We We feel feel let let down; down; indeed, indeed, we we have have been been let let down. down. ItIt is, is, of of course, course, possible possible that that the the site site specified specified on on the the label label has has nothing nothing interesting interesting to to say. say. It’s It’s also also possible possible that that the the winemaker winemaker didn’t didn’t believe believe in in the the site site enough enough to to allow allow itit to to speak. speak. Either Either way, way, Pinots Pinots that that are are held held in in the the highest highest regard regard are are those those which which can can consistently consistently speak speak of of their their origins origins and and which which no no amount amount of of technological technological intervention intervention or or winemaking winemaking sophistry sophistry can can replicate. replicate. Which Which explains explains why why aa gifted gifted terroir terroir that that is is allowed allowed to to speak speak clearly clearly through through the the vehicle vehicle of of Pinot Pinot Noir Noir is is capable capable of of giving giving us us unique unique wines wines of of transcendent transcendent beauty beauty that that no no other other variety variety can can match. match. Happily, Happily, there there are are more more and and more more examples examples of of great great Pinots Pinots available, available, not not only only in in Burgundy Burgundy but but in in California, California, Oregon Oregon and and New New Zealand. Zealand. Honourable Honourable mention mention should should also also go go to to aa number number of of wines wines coming coming from from cool-climate cool-climate Australia, Australia, in in particular particular the the Yarra Yarra Valley Valley and and Mornington Mornington Peninsula. Peninsula. Read Read more more at at http://www.decanter.com/people-and-places/winehttp://www.decanter.com/people-and-places/winearticles/483750/allen-meadows-why-i-love-pinot articles/483750/allen-meadows-why-i-love-pinot
A FINE BROMANCE The joys of male bonding
Hugs are replacing handshakes, and platonic man love is all over the screen – in Hollywood and on British television – as men get in touch with their feelings for one another. Emily Dugan reports. Expressions of friendship between men have long been limited to a firm handshake; a congratulatory punch in the shoulder and, perhaps after a few beers, a friendly headlock. Verbal endearments were kept to variations on “cheers, mate” and the occasional “fair play”. But now all that has changed thanks to something called Bromance. The word – formed from “brother” and “romance” – defines a new type of friendship between men. It has come to describe a social revolution that has been gathering momentum since the term was first used between skating buddies in the 1990s. Firmly heterosexual men, who might once have winced at the thought of intimate time with another man, are embracing the joys of male bonding. Hollywood’s take on platonic man love will arrive in cinemas this week. I Love You, Man follows Peter Klaven, played by Paul Rudd, on his quest to find a best man for his wedding. After a series of “man-dates” he kindles a friendship so intense that it makes his fiancée jealous. The film follows last month’s UK release of the MTV reality television series Bromance, which follows Hollywood rich kid Brody Jenner in his search for new chums. While the love-that-does-not-speak-its-name has been the staple of films from The Odd Couple in 1968 to the latest part of the Fast and Furious franchise, Bromance takes it into new territory. Under the new rules it’s OK to hug, to share your innermost feelings, and even – shock, horror – tell your friend you love them. A wave of bromantics is dominating the world of film and television. In the UK we have the comedians James Corden and Mathew Horne as well as the joined-at-the-hip television presenters Ant and Dec. In America, high-profile friendships such as the one between George Clooney and Brad Pitt are making headlines. According to Dr Michael Kimmel, a sociologist at the State University of New York, the phenomenon extends beyond celebrity friendships and is rooted in changes in the way we live our lives. Dr Kimmel, the author of Guyland, a study of young male
friendships, explains the revolution that has happened in the way men relate to each other. He says that by delaying big life choices such as marriage, men have changed the nature of their friendships. “In the world of ‘guyland’ portrayed by movies like I Love You, Man and Knocked Up, the motto ‘bros before hos’ rules: it values male friendship as the most important thing,” says Dr Kimmel. “There is a demographic revolution because guys feel no pressure to get married or have children. It’s a refusal to grow up in some ways; a way to avoid adult responsibility.” This need for time alone with a special male friend can also be explained by the cultural change that has put men and women on an equal footing, Dr Kimmel believes. “Bromances or men’s friendships can’t be analysed at the moment without monitoring the influx of women into every arena of life. It used to be that you’d be in an all-male world, but now that women have – according to some men – ‘invaded’ that world, so bromance is formed as a defence.” Christine Northam, a counsellor with Relate, the British relationship charity, says she has noticed a distinct shift in the intensity of male friendships described by her clients in recent years. “The young men I see now are more in tune with their emotions and do talk to their male mates,” she explains. “Men’s friendships feature larger in their lives these days. I think it’s in part because more men are going to university and forming strong bonds. But it’s also because girls are more independent now and marriage is happening much later.” Dr Arthur Cassidy, a psychologist specialising in adult friendships, says that this embracing of male friendship is not to be confused with homosexuality. “It’s very distinct from what we would call a gay relationship. We’re finding there’s a distinct trend where guys who are not gay seek out relationships with other men.” Read morea at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/ a-fine-bromance-the-joys-of-male-bonding-1667528.html
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(L-R): Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Case and Hunter Foster in Hands on a Hardbody, photo by Kevin Berne
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artists under commission productions transferred to Broadway new works commissioned
Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, photo by Carol Rosegg
30,000 70 San Diegans reached each year through our Education and Outreach programs
35
patrons attending Playhouse productions annually
$5,000,000 donated annually by Playhouse supporters
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, photo by Kevin Berne
world premieres launched
300
Tony Awards for shows that moved to Broadway
100,000
P16  PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe
Montego Glover and the cast of Memphis, photo by Kevin Berne
awards for its productions
1,000 La Jolla Playhouse volunteers
$14,000,000+ spent by the Playhouse each year on great works of theatre
Students in an Education and Outreach program
Douglas Sills and Jenn Lyon in His Girl Friday, photo by Kevin Berne
PATRON SERVICES PATRON SERVICES is located in the lobby area of each theatre. A representative is available to answer questions and hand out assisted listening devices, restaurant guides, performance schedules and subscription information. BARS AND CONCESSIONS are open one hour prior to curtain and during intermissions. To avoid the rush, intermission beverages can be ordered before the show. CAMERAS AND RECORDING DEVICES are strictly prohibited in the theatre. Please check these items with the House Manager and turn off your camera phone. PLEASE SILENCE all electronic devices including cellular phones, watches and pagers before the performance. PARKING is free for subscribers; $2 for the general public on weekdays (free on weekends). Upon arrival to campus, please enter your parking space number and pay the automated paystations located in the parking lot. Spaces that are not paid for are subject to ticketing by UC San Diego Campus Police. BABES IN ARMS Out of respect for fellow audience members and the performers, babes in arms are not permitted in the theatre during performances.
ACCESSIBILITY
La Jolla Playhouse provides wheelchair-accessible seating and parking. Wheelchair seat locations are available for wheelchair users and a companion at all performances; be sure to advise the reservationist that you require a wheelchair location. Additionally, a golf cart is available to assist patrons with accessibility needs to and from the parking lot. Please notify the Box Office 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.The Playhouse also provides assisted listening devices for patrons who are hard of hearing. Devices are available, free of charge, at the Patron Services Center prior to performances (subject to availability). Listening Devices Provided in Part by
ACCESS PERFORMANCE One performance of each production is designated as an ACCESS performance. These performances feature American Sign Language interpretation for the deaf and hard of hearing and live audio description for patrons who are blind/ low-vision. Pre-show touch tours provide design information to enhance the production experience for blind/low-vision patrons as well. The ACCESS performance for Sideways takes place on Saturday, July 27 at 2:00 pm.
LATECOMERS or PATRONS WHO LEAVE THEIR SEAT DURING THE PERFORMANCE will be admitted to the standing room section of the theatre at the discretion of the House Manager. They may take their assigned seats at intermission. La Jolla Playhouse accepts no responsibility for inconvenience to latecomers. Safety in the Theatre District La Jolla Playhouse is constantly working with the UC San Diego Police Department and UC San Diego Transportation and Parking Services, which operates the parking lot and security system, to maintain and improve security conditions for patrons and staff members. Additionally, patrons and staff are welcome to use UC San Diego Community Service Officers (CSOs) for an escort to their cars by calling (858) 534-WALK (9255). Further questions regarding security may be addressed to UC San Diego Police at (858) 534-HELP (4357). DOCTORS AND PARENTS expecting calls during the performance should leave their names and seat numbers with the House Manager before the show. Leave the following number with your service: (858) 550-1030. THEATRE TOURS Tour the stages and production shops of the Playhouse facilities and learn more about the history of La Jolla Playhouse and the role that it plays in the community. Contact (858) 550-1070 x101.
We are pleased to announce that the La Jolla Playhouse Restaurant and Coffee Bar hosted by UC San Diego Hospitality Services is open for all summer performances. Come early to enjoy a seated dinner featuring a wide array of locallysourced and organic dishes including Grilled Organic Romaine Heart Salad, Braised Certified Angus Beef Shortribs and Coconut Panna Cotta with Candied Jalapeno Papaya Salsa. For reservations, operating hours and more information, please call (858) 638-7778.
PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P17
THE COMPANY Nadia Bowers, Maya La Jolla Playhouse: Tartuffe and The Farnsworth Invention, both with Des McAnuff. Broadway: The Farnsworth Invention, Doubt, Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Collapse (Women’s Project); Wildflower (Second Stage); Julius Caesar (Public, NYSF); The Netflix Plays (Ars Nova); Dog and Wolf (59E59 Theaters) and others. Regional: Circle Mirror Transformation (Huntington Theatre); Tartuffe (Westport Playhouse); Crimes of the Heart (Aquila Morong/Open Fist); Boston Marriage, Blood Wedding (Guthrie). TV/Film: NCIS, every incarnation of Law & Order, The Young and the Restless, As the World Turns, Little Ones, Non-Stop. B.A.: Dartmouth College. M.F.A.: NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. www.nadiabowers.com. Patrick Breen, Miles La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: Brighton Beach Memoirs, Big River, Next Fall, The Normal Heart. OffBroadway: Wild Animals You Should Know, Celebration/ The Room, The Substance of Fire, Fuddy Meers. Film: Ishtar, Galaxy Quest, Men in Black, Just a Kiss, The Bleeding House. TV: Criminal Minds, Major Crimes, CSI: Miami, Will and Grace, 21 Jump Street, Gimme a Break, Sex and the City, Frasier, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife. Web Series: Whole Day Down. Zöe Chao, Terra La Jolla Playhouse: Surf Report. Other theatre credits: Making Love Over There (Asylum Theatre); The Kitchen Painting, Girls on the Clock (Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory). Film: Dirty Beautiful. TV: The Protector, Hart of Dixie. Education: M.F.A. in Acting from UC San Diego. B.A. in Art History from Brown University. To my badass grandparents, the strongest three spirits I know. Vi Flaten, Evelyn/Babs La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Off-Broadway: My First Time (New World Stages); Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans (Theater for the New City). Regional: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, Pygmalion (Southwest Shakespeare); Betty’s Summer Vacation, Metamorphoses (Nearly Naked Theater). TV: Law & Order: SVU, I Just Want My Pants Back, College Humor, TVLand’s Movie Cliche Theater. Currently a second year student in UC San Diego’s M.F.A. Acting Program. www.ViFlaten.com Sean Allan Krill, Jack La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia!, standby for Harry Connick, Jr. in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Off-Broadway: Hit the Wall (Barrow Street); A Civil War Christmas (NY Theatre Workshop); The Brother/Sister Plays (Public). Tours: Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Leon Rabin & Carbonell Award nominations), Mamma Mia!. Regional: Hot L Baltimore (Steppenwolf); Antony and Cleopatra (Hartford Stage); Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare); George in Sunday in the Park with George (Skylight); The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties (Court); Brigadoon (Jeff Award nomination - Marriott); Spamalot (Oakbrook); Forever Plaid (Jeff Award, Best Ensemble - Royal George). www.seanallankrill.com
Cynthia Mace, Phyllis La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. New York Theatre: Nightingale (MTC, standby for Lynn Redgrave); Psychomachia, Safe Home, Die Ahme Frau, The Eva Triliogy. Regional: Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (Yale Rep); Stevie in Albee’s The Goat opposite Brian Kerwin, director: Warner Shook; Garland Award: Best Actress (Mark Taper Forum); Prism in Importance of Being Earnest opposite Lynn Redgrave (Paper Mill Playhouse); Sally in The Mandrake Root opposite Lynn Redgrave, director: Warner Shook (San Jose Rep); Harper in world premiere of Angels in America, Millennium Approaches and Perestroika (Mark Taper Forum); Long Wharf, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Portland Stage and more. TV: The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU, Onion News Network, Weapons of Mass Distraction, Icebound. Film: Michael Clayton, The Alphabet Killer, When a Man Loves a Woman, Fearless. Jeff Marlow, Roman/David La Jolla Playhouse: Glengarry Glen Ross. Regional: Hamlet, Nothing Sacred (South Coast Repertory); You Can’t Take It with You, Extraordinary Chambers (Geffen Playhouse); Moonlight and Magnolias, An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf, And the Winner Is, The Sleeper (Laguna Playhouse); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Reprise); Sheldon & Mrs. Levine, Where’s Poppa (Falcon Theatre); Indoor/Outdoor, Around the World in 80 Days (Colony Theatre – L.A. Ovation Award nomination). Tours of the U.S., Europe and Asia with the Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised], The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) and Completely Hollywood (abridged). TV: N.C.I.S., Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Without a Trace, The Bernie Mac Show, Strong Medicine, Judging Amy. Film: Akeelah and the Bee, The Hebrew Hammer. Tom Patterson, Brad La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. New York: Sick (Coyote Rep); Streamers, Welcome to the Moon (440 Studios). Regional: Schooled (New Helvetia); Murder on the Nile, Bedroom Farce (Barnstormers); Shotgun (Florida Studio Theatre); Arms and the Man (Electric Theatre Company); Of Mice and Men (Northern Stage). National Tour: The Color of Justice (Theatreworks/USA). He is currently a student in the UC San Diego M.F.A. Acting Program. AEA Member. B.F.A.: NYU. He is originally from South Bend, Indiana. Allison Spratt Pearce, Victoria/Brenda La Jolla Playhouse: Cry-Baby. Broadway: Curtains, CryBaby, 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 (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. Ms. Pearce is a private coach and works with MTCA, which provides college audition preparation for musical theater and acting programs. www.allisonsprattpearce.com
THE COMPANY Mike Sears, Chris La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday, Hands on a Hardbody (u/s), Bonnie & Clyde. Off Broadway: When Words Fail (Houseman Theatre); Leap (Abingdon Theatre); To Have and to Hold (Phil Bosakowski Theatre). Off Off Broadway: New Dramatists, New York Fringe Festival, The American Globe Theatre, The Present Company, Boomerang Theatre Summer Shakespeare, NY Musical Theatre Works, The Producer’s Club and The Duplex. Regional: Birds of a Feather (Diversionary Theatre); Tortilla Curtain (San Diego Rep); A Behanding in Spokane, Man from Nebraska (Cygnet Theatre); Simpatico (New Village Arts); Killer Joe (Compass Theatre); Good Boys (Mo’olelo); The Glory Man (Lamb’s Players); Tuesdays with Morrie (North Coast Rep). Mr. Sears is a graduate of the William Esper Studio in New York City and a member of AEA. Jorge Rodriguez, Charlie, Jared La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing (N.V.A.); Julia (Ion Theatre); References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Moxie Theatre). TV: Terriers. Member of SAG/AFTRA. Continues to further his craft with worldrenowned master teacher Larry Moss in LA and NY, and locally with Candis Paule. Jasmine St. Clair, Claudia/Lissy La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Student in M.F.A. Acting Program, UC San Diego. UCSD credits include: Spring Awakening, Cry Old Kingdom, In the Red and Brown Water, Tonight We Improvise and Little Children Dream of God. She thanks her friends and family back east for all their love and support, and is super honored and blessed to be working with such an amazing cast, crew and director at LJP.
Rex Pickett, Playwright attended UC San Diego, where he graduated summa cum laude. He moved to L.A. to attend USC graduate film school and left after one year when the opportunity to make an independent feature film arose. He has written numerous screenplays for both film and television. Most notably, he wrote the 2000 Best Live Action Short Oscar winner My Mother Dreams the Satan’s Disciples in New York, and the novel Sideways, which was adapted into the critically-acclaimed, Oscar-winning film of the same title by Alexander Payne. He recently came out with his Sideways sequel, Vertical, which won the prestigious Gold Medal for Fiction from the Independent Publishers Book Awards. In addition to film and TV scripts, he has written numerous magazine articles and directed two feature films.
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Des McAnuff, Director is Director Emeritus of La Jolla Playhouse and its previous Artistic Director. In over 18 years with the Playhouse, he directed more than 30 productions of Shakespeare and other classics, new plays and musicals, including last season’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. During his two tenures, he opened all three of the Playhouse’s theatres and helped develop the graduate residency program, the POP Tour for young audiences and the Page to Stage program. His adventurous leadership won the Playhouse 300 awards for excellence, including the Tony for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Fifteen productions were sent to Broadway, beginning with Big River in 1985 (which received Tony Awards for Best Director and Musical). The two-time Tony, Olivier and Dora Award-winning director’s other La Jolla productions which went on to Broadway include Jesus Christ Superstar, Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention, Jersey Boys (Tony and Olivier Awards: Best Musical), Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (Tony Award), Dracula, How to Succeed…, The Who’s Tommy (also co-authored with Pete Townshend, Tony and Olivier Awards: Best Director; Olivier: Best Musical) and A Walk in the Woods. As immediate past Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, he mounted 70 productions, including revivals of Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar, and filmed Caesar and Cleopatra, The Tempest (both with Christopher Plummer) and Twelfth Night. Opera: Faust at the Metropolitan Opera and English National Opera and Wozzeck at the San Diego Opera. Film: Cousin Bette and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (director), The Iron Giant (producer) and Quills (executive producer). In June 2011, he was honored with a doctorate from Ryerson University and in 2005 he received the prestigious Julia Hansen Award for lifetime achievement in directing.This past year he was awarded Canada’s esteemed Governor General’s National Arts Center Award and the Order of Canada. Upcoming projects include: Christopher Plummer’s A Word or Two, Dr. Zhivago, Fetch Clay Make Man by Will Power at New York Theater Workshop and the Broadway revival of 700 Sundays. Robert Brill, Scenic Designer / La Jolla Playhouse Artist-in-Residence Mr. Brill’s designs for La Jolla Playhouse include this season’s His Girl Friday, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Wiz, Creditors and many others. For Broadway his designs include Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls (Tony nom), Assassins (Tony nom), Cabaret, Design for Living and Buried Child. His other collaborations with Des McAnuff include Faust (Met Opera/ENO); Wozzeck (SD Opera); Sinatra (Radio City) and numerous productions for the Stratford Festival, including Henry V, The Tempest, Caesar and Cleopatra and Christopher Plummer’s A Word or Two. Other credits include Doubt (Minnesota Opera); MobyDick (Dallas Opera, San Diego, San Francisco and others); The Laramie Project (BAM and others); White Noise (Chicago); Robin and the Seven Hoods (Old Globe); On the Record (Disney); American in Paris (Boston Ballet); and Clockwork Orange (Steppenwolf). A graduate of UCSD and a founding member of Sledgehammer Theatre, he is a recipient of the Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration, and a 2011 La Jolla Playhouse Honors Award.
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PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P19
THE COMPANY Paul Tazewell, Costume Designer La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Jesus Christ Superstar, Memphis, The Wiz, Private Fittings and Palm Beach. Broadway: A Streetcar Named Desire, Memphis, In the Heights, The Color Purple, Bring in ’da Noise… (Tony nominations); Magic/Bird; Jesus Christ Superstar; Lombardi; The Miracle Worker; Guys and Dolls; Caroline, or Change; A Raisin in the Sun; Drowning Crow; Elaine Stritch: At Liberty; On the Town; Fascinating Rhythm; Def Poetry Jam. Off-Broadway: Ruined, McReele, Flesh and Blood, Fame, Boston Marriage and Harlem Song. Stratford Shakespeare Festival: A Word or Two, Pirates of Penzance, Henry V, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Tempest, Macbeth, Caesar and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet. Regional: Guthrie, NYSF, Old Globe, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alliance, Pasadena Playhouse. Opera: Faust (English National Opera); Porgy and Bess (Chicago Lyric, San Francisco Opera, L.A. Opera, Washington Opera); Magdalena (Théâtre du Châtelet); Little Women (New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera); Treemonisha (St. Louis Opera). Awards: Three Helen Hayes Awards plus Lucille Lortel, Jefferson, Princess Grace and Irene Sharaff awards.
Michael Roth, Composer Mr. Roth is pleased to return to La Jolla Playhouse, having composed music and sound for over 35 productions as resident composer. Credits include: A Word or Two and The Tempest (filmed for theatrical release and Bravo), both with Christopher Plummer and directed by Des McAnuff (Stratford Festival); Jews & Baseball (documentary with Sandy Koufax, narrated by Dustin Hoffman); many projects with Randy Newman, including music direction/arrangements for Princess and the Frog (Disney) and editing five songbooks. Broadway: premieres of Brooklyn Boy (Daniel Sullivan, director) and A Walk in the Woods. Off-Broadway: The Persians, Dinner with Friends, and many more. Regional: over 50 productions at South Coast Repertory, including The Whale and world premieres of Mr. Marmalade, Wit and Culture Clash’s The Birds. With Tom Stoppard: American premieres of Indian Ink and The Invention of Love; collaborations with Sarah Ruhl and Mac Wellman; accompanying singers from Alicia Keys to Marni Nixon. Mr. Roth’s chamber opera Their Thought & Back Again is available via iTunes; his string quartet treatment of Beckett’s Imagination Dead Imagine and his piano sonata Fats November will premiere soon. www.rothmusik.wix.com/rothmusik
Michael Walton, Lighting Designer La Jolla Playhouse: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Mr. Walton has collaborated with Des McAnuff on a number of productions at the Stratford Festival, including A Word or Two (starring Christopher Plummer), Henry V, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, As You Like It and The Tempest. His other designs for the Stratford Festival include Fiddler on the Roof, The Three Musketeers, Othello, The Misanthrope, The Matchmaker, The King of Thieves, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet. Mr. Walton has designed throughout Canada where his credits include: Next to Normal (TC/Citadel Theatre); The Rocky Horror Show, Little Women: The Musical (Citadel); Albert Herring, Maria Stuarda (Pacific Opera); And Slowly Beauty, The Year of Magical Thinking (Belfry/ National Arts Centre); Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage); The Last Five Years, The Drawer Boy (Grand Theatre). Upcoming productions include Venus in Fur (Canadian Stage) and the Canadian Opera Company production of Cosi Fan Tutte, directed by Atom Egoyan.
Lisa Shriver, Choreographer La Jolla Playhouse: Jesus Christ Superstar, Randy Newman’s Faust, The Farnsworth Invention. Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar, Ring of Fire, The Farnsworth Invention, The Story of My Life (Assoc. Director). As Assistant Choreographer: The Producers, Into the Woods, Oklahoma, Titanic, Amour, Thou Shalt Not. Selected regional: The Tempest, Caesar and Cleopatra, Mackers (Stratford Shakespeare Festival); Into the Woods (w/ Fiasco Theatre Company), Take Flight, Fetch Clay Make Man (McCarter Theater); Director/Choreographer of Motherhood the Musical (produced in 9 cities). Film: A Christmas Carol (with Jim Carrey), A Beautiful Mind, Tony and Tina’s Wedding, Hysterical Blindness. As Assistant Choreographer: The Polar Express, Mixed Nuts, Center Stage. Thank you to Des McAnuff, LJP, Pamela Cooper and The Cooper Company. Love to Brian and Viola.
Cricket Myers, Sound Designer La Jolla Playhouse: Nightingale. Broadway: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination). Off-Broadway: Marvelous Wonderettes. Regional: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Vigil, Burn This, The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Ovation nomination), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The Subject Was Roses (Mark Taper Forum); The Wake, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Ovation nomination); The Little Dog Laughed (Ovation nomination, Kirk Douglas Theatre); Book Club Play (Arena Stage); In the Wake (Berkeley Rep); Wrecks, Some Girl(s), Emergency (Ovation nomination, NAACP nomination; Geffen); Parisian Woman, The Fantasticks, Sight Unseen, Elemeno Pea, Three Days of Rain and Trip to Bountiful (South Coast Rep). Ms. Myers has earned 13 Ovation Nominations, as well as winning an LADCC and a Garland Award in Los Angeles. www.cricketsmyers.com Sean Nieuwenhuis, Video and Projection Design La Jolla Playhouse: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Jesus Christ Superstar. Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar. Regional: The Who’s Tommy, A Word or Two, Wanderlust, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cabaret (Stratford); Mythbusters Live, Larry King: Standing Up (Touring); Anne of Green Gables (Confederation Centre); Romeo and Juliet (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Opera: Faust (Metropolitan Opera); Nixon in China (San Francisco Opera); Lillian Alling, The Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera). Event: 100th Grey Cup Halftime; 2010 Paralympic Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
P20 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe
Steve Rankin, Fight Director La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday; Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; Bonnie & Clyde; Memphis; The Farnsworth Invention; The Wiz; Zhivago; Palm Beach; Jersey Boys; Dracula, The Musical; The Who’s Tommy; Elmer Gantry; The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. Broadway: Memphis; Bonnie & Clyde; Guys and Dolls; The Farnsworth Invention; Jersey Boys; Dracula; Henry IV, Parts I and II; The Who’s Tommy; Twelfth Night; Two Shakespearean Actors; Getting Away with Murder and Anna Christie. Off-Broadway: The Third Story, Pig Farm, The Real Inspector Hound, The Night Hank Williams Died and Below the Belt. Stratford Shakespeare Festival: The Who’s Tommy, Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, Caesar and Cleopatra, Macbeth, Henry V. Metropolitan Opera: Rodelinda; Boris Godenov; Faust; Iphegenie at Tauride. Mr. Rankin plays mandolin with the New Folk Artist Susie Glaze and the HiLonesome Band. Charles G. LaPointe, Wig & Hair Design La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday, A Dram of Drummhicit, Peer Gynt, Bonnie & Clyde, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Broadway: Motown, Jekyll and Hyde, Clybourne Park, Newsies, The Columnist, Magic/Bird, Bonnie & Clyde, The Mountaintop, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Merchant of Venice, Memphis, Henry IV, The Rivals, Cymbeline, Lombardi, Fences, Looped, Miracle Worker, Superior Donuts, 33 Variations, Guys and Dolls, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, The Color Purple, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Good Vibrations, The Apple Tree, A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Radio Golf, Sight Unseen, High Fidelity, Xanadu and Bring It On.
THE COMPANY Eva Barnes, Voice & Dialect Coach La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday, A Dram of Drummhicit, Jersey Boys, Xanadu, Carmen, Restoration, Zhivago, Palm Beach, The Third Story, The Scottish Play, The Love of Three Oranges, Tartuffe, The Adoration of the Old Woman, The Model Apartment and Our Town. Other theatres: Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre (Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sir Peter Hall), Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, D.C., McCarter Theatre, San Diego Rep, Missouri Repertory Theatre and Joseph Papp Public Theater. She has performed in many of these same theatres. She coached Anna Deavere Smith’s House Arrest and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (Broadway and PBS film). Film: Big Night. Ms. Barnes is on the Acting Faculty at UC San Diego. Shirley Fishman, Resident Dramaturg Now in her 12th season at the Playhouse, Ms. Fishman recently served as dramaturg on Glengarry Glen Ross, An Iliad, Hands on a Hardbody and American Night. Other projects include Ruined, Surf Report, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bonnie & Clyde, Creditors, Herringbone, Unusual Acts of Devotion, the Playhouse’s production of Xanadu and UC San Diego’s The Revenger’s Tragedy, directed by Christopher Ashley. At the Joseph Papp Public Theatre she dramaturged such projects as Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz and Tina Landau’s Space, among others. Co-Curator of the New Work Now! Annual festival. She serves as a Playwright’s Dramaturg for UC San Diego’s Wagner New Play Festival and has been a Dramaturg at the Sundance Theatre Lab, 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. Tara RUbin Casting, Casting La Jolla Playhouse: selected credits include Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Nightingale, Peter and the Starcatcher, Most Wanted, The Farnsworth Invention and The Wiz. Broadway: The Heiress; Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson; Ghost; One Man, Two Guvnors (US Casting); Jesus Christ Superstar (US Casting); Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway; How to Succeed...; Promises, Promises; A Little Night Music; Billy Elliot; Shrek; Guys and Dolls; The Farnsworth Invention; Young Frankenstein; The Little Mermaid; Mary Poppins; My Fair Lady; Pirate Queen; Les Misérables; Spamalot; Jersey Boys; …Spelling Bee; The Producers; Mamma Mia!; Phantom of the Opera and Contact. OffBroadway: Love, Loss, and What I Wore; Old Jews Telling Jokes. Regional: Yale Repertory. Tara Rubin CSA, Merri Sugarman CSA, Eric Woodall CSA, Kaitlin Shaw CSA, Lindsay Levine CSA, Scotty Anderson. Anjee Nero, Stage Manager La Jolla Playhouse: Chasing the Song workshop with the writers of Memphis, Blood & Gifts, Ruined, A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Christopher Ashley, Herringbone, The Seven, The Adding Machine and Mother Courage, among others. Selected Old Globe credits include Be a Good Little Widow, Allegiance – A New American Musical, A Room with a View, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, Kingdom and the 2007 Shakespeare Festival. Ms. Nero has worked with several prominent regional theatres including Center Theater Group, SITI Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and more. Other selected credits include Schick Machine (Paul Dresher Ensemble), touring nationally and internationally, Dream Report (Allyson Green Dance featuring Lux Borreal) and Garden of Forbidden Loves and Garden of Deadly Sound (IMAGOmoves), which toured to the International Hungarian Theatre Festival in Romania. Ms. Nero recently stage managed the 2013 LJP Gala, featuring The Flaming Lips.
JENNIFER WHEELER KAHN, Assistant Stage Manager La Jolla Playhouse: Brahman/i, The Tall Girls (workshops), Little Miss Sunshine, Surf Report and Creditors. National Tour: In the Heights. OffBroadway: Clara’s Christmas Dreams. Regional: Other Desert Cities, Allegiance, Richard III, As You Like It, Inherit the Wind, Some Lovers, Six Degrees of Separation, Working, Twelfth Night, Coriolanus and Cyrano de Bergerac (The Old Globe), and many others. She holds a B.F.A. in Stage Management from USC. Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director has served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director since October, 2007. During his tenure, he has helmed the Playhouse’s productions of His Girl Friday, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Dram of Drummhicit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Restoration and the acclaimed musicals Xanadu and Memphis, which won four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Prior to joining the Playhouse, he 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 Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along. Other New York credits include: Blown Sideways Through Life, Jeffrey (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla, Regrets Only, Wonder of the World, Communicating Doors, Bunny Bunny, The Night Hank Williams Died, Fires in the Mirror (Lucille Lortel Award), among others. Mr. Ashley also directed the feature film Jeffrey and the American Playhouse production of Blown Sideways Through Life for PBS. Mr. Ashley is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama League Director Fellowship and an NEA/TCG Director Fellowship. Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director has served as Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse since April, 2009. During his four years at the Playhouse, he has worked in partnership with Artistic Director Christopher Ashley to produce 15 world premieres, 9 Playhouse commissions and the hit musicals Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Hands on a Hardbody and Little Miss Sunshine. He was also instrumental in bringing the Page To Stage workshop of John Lequizamo’s Diary of a Madman to the Playhouse, which transferred to Broadway. Additionally, he fostered the growth of the Playhouse’s awardwinning Performance Outreach Program (POP) tour, achieving the most performances at local schools in Playhouse history. Previously, 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 and Amy Sedaris. He has been a part of the producing teams for the Broadway productions of Grey Gardens and American Buffalo and the national tour of Little House on the Prairie. He serves on the boards of La Jolla Country Day School and the Theatre Communications Group. Debby Buchholz, General Manager has served as general manager of La Jolla Playhouse since 2002. She is a member of the Executive Committee and of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). 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, DC. 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.