Proudly Presents
STARRING Charles Lane Cowen Stephanie Rohr Lane Halverson Denise Smolarek John Zimmerman Jamey McDunn Micheal A. Kott Marie Clawsen Whitney Wickham Mike McCarthy & Lucas Craig
Directed by Dante J. Orfei
Scenic Design by Michael Nedza
Lighting Design by Dante Orfei
Costume Design by Joelle Beranek
Multimedia Design by Micheal A. Kott
Produced by Eddie Sugarman Produced by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC of New York, NY Jedlicka Performing Arts Center 1
SET TING The action takes place in an apartment over a sub-branch of the National United Bank in Royal Windsor, England. There will be one 15-minute intermission. The use of flash photography and video recording devices without the written permission of the management is prohibited. Please remember to silence or turn off your cellular phones and other messaging devices. CAST Charles Lane Cowen................................................................................................. Peter Hunter Stephanie Rohr...................................................................................................... Frances Hunter Lane Halverson......................................................................................................Brian Runnicles Denise Smolarek ................................................................................................ Eleanor Hunter John Zimmerman.............................................................................................. Leslie Bromhead Jamey McDunn.......................................................................................... Superintendent Paul Micheal A. Kott........................................................................................................... Mr. Needham Marie Clawsen..........................................................................................................................Susan Whitney Wickham............................................................................................................... Barbara Mike McCarthy.................................................................................................... Delivery Man #1 Lucas Craig............................................................................................................ Delivery Man #2 BIOGR APHIES Charles Lane Cowen (Peter Hunter) is thrilled to return to the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center where he was recently seen as Joe Kennedy/Jerry in Grey Gardens and Sydney Carton in the regional premier of A Tale of Two Cities (The Musical). Other Chicago credits include Romeo and Juliet with Two Pence Shakespeare and Never Have I Ever: The Musical with Heckle Her Productions at the Second City. Before coming to Chicago he was Associate Director for the Beechwood Theatre Company in Newport, RI where he acted in and directed numerous one-act plays including his own adaptation of scenes from Shakespeare as well as improvisational shows. Charles has also worked with such prestigious companies as the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV, the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Tutto 2 Jedlicka Performing Arts Center
Theatre in Austin, Texas, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. He holds a B.A. in Drama from the University of Dallas where he studied acting, directing, and puppetry. Stephanie Rohr (Frances Hunter) is delighted to be performing in her first show in the US after spending the last few years in UK. She is relishing the chance to (good naturedly) mock the Brits now that she’s back on this side of the pond. While in London, she earned her MA in Classical Acting from Drama Centre London, and went on to perform in several shows including the Oliviernominated La Boheme (Soho Theatre), All Together Now (Barbican Centre), Medea 2.0 (Roundhouse Studio), and the premiere of the new musical Zipporah (George Wood Theatre). Past
B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) favorite roles include Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Cinderella in Into the Woods. Stephanie can be seen next as Lady Macduff in New Rock Theater’s production of Macbeth, which opens in May. She would like to thank everyone involved for a great experience and her friends and family for their support. Lane Halverson (Brian Runnicles) has is happy to be appearing on the JPAC stage again and again and again. Regular JPAC theatre-goers may remember him as Mr. Shumway in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker Sings!, Sam Silver in Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, Charles W. Browning III in 45 Seconds from Broadway, and The Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof, to name a few. Thanks Dante, Eddie and Diana for all your “spot check” assistance when and wherever needed. Enjoy the show!f, to name a few. Enjoy the show! Denise Smolarek (Eleanor Hunter) is delighted to return to Jedlicka for this comic romp from “across the pond.” She previously appeared here as Miss Pross in A Tale of Two Cities and Sister Aloysius in Doubt. Other theater credits include To Kill a Mockingbird (Beverly Theatre Guild), The Elephant Man (Village Players Theatre), Hairspray (Beverly Arts Center) and Garden of the Three (Gorilla Tango Theatre). She’s also appeared in several indie films including The Interrogation and Parallel Universe. Denise directs the Liturgical Drama Group at her parish. Thanks, Dante for another wonderful opportunity.
John Zimmerman (Leslie Bromhead) is on the JPAC stage for the second time. He performed in Nightwatch in 2009. John has appeared in several theater productions in Chicago and the suburbs. His favorite roles include Grandpa in Grapes of Wrath, Felix in The Odd Couple, Judge Danforth in The Crucible and Frank in Lovers and Other Strangers. John thanks JPAC for casting him, and also thanks his family for their support and inspiration. Jamey McDunn (Superintendent Paul) is thrilled to be making his debut at JPAC. He was last seen as Kris Kringle in Steel Beam’s production of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. His favorite roles include The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, Oliver Warbucks in Annie and Mr. Mayor in Seussical. He would like to thank Dante, Eddie and Diana for all of their hard work. Finally, without the love and support of his wife, Sue and his daughter, Colleen, Jamey’s life story would be called “No Love, Please, You’re Miserable”! Micheal A. Kott (Mr. Needham & Multimedia Design) is a veteran performer at the JPAC having been involved in countless shows over the last 12 years. Among his favorites are Blood Brothers, Moonlight & Magnolias, Peter Pan, and Tuesdays with Morrie. Micheal directed this season’s productions of The Muckle Man and Grey Gardens. He is very grateful to Dante Orfei for his friendship, support, encouragement and trust. Micheal is the founding director of the Green Jedlicka Performing Arts Center 3
B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) Door Theatre in Garlstedt, West Germany. Currently he is the Artistic Director of Master’s Backstage Players in Carol Stream, Illinois. Micheal was also an ensemble member of Cenacle Theatre in Chicago, where he acted and directed numerous productions. His directing credits include the critically acclaimed production of Murderer, by Anthony Shaffer. He can be seen in Brain Damaged Film’s 2008 release: Secrets Of The Clown. Mike is the multimedia specialist for Morton College by day and at night divides his time among the various theatres in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. He is very thankful to Dr. Felicity Thoet for her guidance and direction. She is a wonderful director and he thanks her for her knowledge. Marie Clawson (Susan) is excited to be part of such a great cast for her first show with JPAC! Cherished credits include: Gypsy (Dainty June), Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical (Indian Lady), No No Nanette (Pauline), Closer (Alice), Taming of the Shrew (Trania), Jamaica Inn (Mary Yellan), The Murder Room (Susan Hollister), Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee (Lucia Amory), and Cabaret (Fritzie). Many thanks to everyone who worked on the production for making it such a good show and such a good time. Marie can currently (literally, like immedi-
ately after this show) be seen in Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque at the Gorilla Tango Theatre. Whitney Wickham (Barbara) grew up in the Great State of Montana where she started doing Community Theater. After studying for five years at the University of La Verne, California she moved to Hamburg, Germany with her husband where she attempted to get her foot into the Broadway Europe scene. Going back and forth between Germany and Los Angeles for three years, she was able to land a few small featured roles on television and film in LA. She will be starring in a feature film starting in April. This is her first performance at the JPAC. She is really excited to be a part of this production and thanks the Cast, Crew, Family, and Friends for continuing to love and support her. Mike McCarthy (Delivery Man #1) is proud to make his JPAC stage debut.“Big Mike” is a student here at Morton College and plans to graduate this year. He has been acting since High School, where he has played a variety of roles, and has written some short plays. He has also performed at The Illinois High School Theatre Festival. He is very grateful to be here and thanks his family for all their support.
C R E AT I V E S TA F F P R O F I L E S ( c o n t .) Dante J. Orfei (Director & Lighting Design) has been the Artistic Director at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center for over 25 years. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has produced and directed a travel documentary titled European Sojourn, which aired on PBS. Dante also directed the U.S. Premiere of the musical Metropolis and worked closely 4 Jedlicka Performing Arts Center
with the show’s creator, Academy and Grammy Award-winner Joseph Brooks on the development of the show. This past fall, Dante directed the national regional theatre premiere of Brooks’ most recent Broadway show, In My Life. He has studied with Tony Awardwinners Harold Prince and Jules Fisher. He recently directed the Midwest Regional Premiere of the Queen rock
C R E AT I V E S TA F F P R O F I L E S ( c o n t .) musical, We Will Rock You, and has also directed the World Premiere of Nefertiti – The Musical, as well as Premiere Chicago Productions of Little Women, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love, Blood Brothers, Jekyll and Hyde, The Baker’s Wife, and numerous plays by Olivier Award-winning playwright Ray Cooney, including the U.S. Premiere of Cooney’s It Runs in the Family. Dante has directed well over 125 stage productions on the professional, dinner theatre and academic levels.
costumes for numerous productions in both academic and professional theaters; some of her favorites include Into the Woods, The Bald Soprano, Charlotte’s Web (Northwestern University), Death and the Maiden (Triton College), Richard II (Apex Theater), The Wood Demon (Library Theater), and Side by Side by Sondheim (Light Opera Works). Joelle is also on staff at Northbrook Theater where she designs and constructs costumes for their Children’s Theater and Theater for Young Audiences.
Michael Nedza (Scenic Designer/ Technical Director) has been designing throughout the Midwest for over 20 years. He has designed over 50 shows here at the JPAC. His favorites include, Tommy, In My Life, We Will Rock You, Jekyll and Hyde, Two into One, Joseph…, Me and My Girl, and 1776. Michael is a Theatre Arts faculty member here at Morton College. Previously, Michael was the Technical Director at Moraine Valley College. While there he was recognized with the “Award of Merit” from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his set designs of The Middle Ages (2001) and Picasso at the Lapine Agile (2006).
Eddie Sugarman (Producer) is Morton College’s Theatre Manager and Managing Director of the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Eddie appeared on Broadway in the original cast of the Tony award-winning musical Ragtime. As a writer, his musical Meet John Doe (written with Andrew Gerle) has been produced at theatres across the country. The Ford’s Theatre production of Meet John Doe in Washington D.C. received seven Helen Hayes Award nominations and won two. He is also very proud of his new musical The Nutcracker Sings! (written with Jihwan Kim) which was first seen here at JPAC! Eddie has also won a Jonathan Larson Award and an ASCAP Foundation grant and recently had the honor of serving on the Musical Theatre Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Western Springs with his wonderful wife Kara and his beautiful, crazy kids Sam and Lucy.
Joelle Beranek (Costume Designer) is very glad to be back again at JPAC where she has done costume design for many productions including Hairspray, A Tale of Two Cities, A Year in the Death of Eddie Jester and The Nutcracker Sings! She holds a BA from Northwestern University where she majored in Theater and Art History. She has designed the
T H E AT R E S TA F F Ushers/Concessions...............................................................Bob Jadach, Margie McGowan Theatre Technical Staff.................................................................................... Arthur Stepanek, Martin Vanegas, Karl Ziegler Theatre Office Staff/Production Assistant............................................................. Diana Visk
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