MAGAZINE
THE AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE The Geffen Playhouse in association with Daryl Roth presents
an intimate collection of stories written by
Nora Delia Ephron Ephron and
based on the book by
Ilene Beckerman directed by
Jenny Sullivan original new york production directed by
Karen Carpenter
LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE
FROM THE PRODUCING DIRECTOR
WELCOME TO THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE GOOD THEATER NEVER GOES OUT OF FASHION. And finally, after wanting to work together for many years, the Geffen Playhouse and Los Angeles natives Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron bring Love, Loss, and What I Wore to the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. This “en vogue” collection of witty, poignant stories has attracted so many talented artists that it features a rotating cast of actors – all of whom bring a unique quality and depth to the multitude of characters they play. In addition, we are pleased to welcome director Jenny Sullivan and lighting designer Lap Chi Chu. This creative pair has brought to life an evening of elegant simplicity. Down to the performers’ black ensembles which put the finishing touches on this universal story about the love/hate relationship women have with their clothing. Last season’s plays in the Audrey included Through the Night, starring Daniel Beaty, Wrecks, starring Ed Harris, and I Bought A Blue Car Today, starring Alan Cumming — three extraordinarily talented male performers. Now, with a rotating cast of five women, Love, Loss, and What I Wore brings a distinctly feminine voice to this intimate space. This production is the most recent in this last year’s flurry of work produced in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. As we look forward to the current season, we hope to bring you new work at various stages in development — from readings and workshops to fully realized productions. The Audrey promises to be a true playground for playmaking and we hope you will participate in the process. In the meantime we are pleased to offer up this wonderful new comedy by the Sisters Ephron. See you at the theater,
Gilbert Cates Producing Director
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Gilbert Cates PRODUCING DIRECTOR
Randall Arney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ken Novice MANAGING DIRECTOR
THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE IN ASSOCIATION WITH DARYL ROTH PRESENTS
an intimate collection of stories Written by
Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron Based on the book by
Illene Beckerman
Casting Director
Phyllis Schuringa
Lighting Design
Lap Chi Chu
Production Stage Manager
Young Ji
Directed by
Jenny Sullivan Original New York production directed by
Karen Carpenter
Original New York Production currently running at Westside Theatre produced by Daryl Roth. See www.lovelossonstage.com for more information. P2 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE
SCENES Gingy’s Story My Mother Clothesline — What My Mother Said The Bathrobe Holly’s Story Gingy’s Story, continued Clothesline — The Bra The Prom Dress Madonna The Gang Sweater Boots Clothesline — The Dressing Room The Shirt Gingy’s Story, continued
Lynne’s Story Sisters Clothesline — The Closet Gingy’s Story, continued Annie’s Story Fat/Thin Shoes Clothesline — I Just Want to Say I Hate My Purse Brides Clothesline — Black Gingy’s Story, continued Geralyn’s Story Gingy’s Story
THE AUTHORS WISH TO THANK THE WOMEN WHO CONTRIBUTED THEIR STORIES: Amanda Abarbanel-Rice, Heather Chaplin, Nancy De Los Santos Reza, Gail Kass, Alex Leo, Geralyn Lucas, Merrill Markoe, Holly Millea, Stephanie Mnookin, Anne Navasky, Pamela Newton, Rosie O’Donnell, Shira Piven, Mary Rodgers, Elizabeth Segal, Nancy Short, Alex Witchel, Lisa Zeiler PRODUCTION STAFF FOR LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE Wardrobe Stylist Alex Jaeger Production Assistant Brooke Baldwin Light Board Operator/Master Electrician Dan Tuttle Technical Director Mark Maldenado Hair & Makeup Helena Cepeda Wardrobe Supervisor HOLLY VICTORIA Original New York Production opened at the Westside Theatre on October 1, 2009, featuring Samantha Bee, Tyne Daly, Katie Finneran, Natasha Lyonne, and Rosie O’Donnell. Stage Managers: Nancy Elizabeth Vest, Bess Marie Glorioso; Associate Producer: Alexander Fraser; General Manager: Adam Hess; Assoc. General Manager: Jodi Schoenbrun Carter; Asst. to Daryl Roth: Greg Raby. The Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The Geffen Playhouse, a non-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.
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PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES ABOUT THE PRODUCTION NORA EPHRON (Co-Writer) Nora Ephron is a journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. Her credits include Heartburn, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle You’ve Got Mail and the play Imaginary Friends. She received three Oscar nominations for screenwriting. Her books include Crazy Salad, Scribble, Scribble and Heartburn. Her latest book, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, was a number one best seller. Her latest film is Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Her play Love, Loss and What I Wore, written with her sister Delia Ephron, is currently running Off-Broadway at the Westside Theater. Nora lives in New York City. DELIA EPHRON (Co-Writer) Delia Ephron is an author, playwright and screenwriter. She has written books for adults, teens, and children— fiction, non-fiction, humor— including the novels Hanging Up and Big City Eyes. Screenwriting credits include The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, You’ve Got Mail, Michael, This Is My Life and Hanging Up. Her latest novel, The Girl with the Mermaid Hair , was published in January 2010 and is a sequel to her critically acclaimed novel, Frannie in Pieces. Her best-selling book How to Eat Like a Child was adapted as a musical for television and subsequently became a theatrical musical for children.
(Indie Award) with Joseph Fuqua; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Tuesdays with Morrie; Defying Gravity; Happy Days; Art; Dancing at Lughnasa (Indie Award); The Rainmaker; Little Foxes; Love Letters with Jack Lemmon and Felicia Farr; Old Wicked Songs with Harold Gould. Manitoba Theatre Centre: The Dresser with Len Cariou and Granville Van Dusen; Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara: Tea At Five with Stephanie Zimbalist; The Clean House (Indie Award); Dublin Carol and The Memory of Water; Other theaters: West Coast premiere of Jane Martin’s Flags; Death of a Salesman with Stuart Margolin and Wendy Phillips at AUM in Montgomery; The Falcon Theatre: The Memoirs of Abraham Lincoln with Granville Van Dusen; Jenny was Associate Director for the Los Angeles production of The Vagina Monologues and also directed the premiere of Vince McKewin’s Ad Wars; Her world premiere of Jane Anderson’s The Baby Dance began at Pasadena Playhouse and then moved to Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre (CT Critics’ Directing Award) and the Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway. In six seasons at Williamstown: MACS (A Macaroni Requiem), Defying Gravity, Hotel Oubliette, Dirt and The Ferry Back. Film credits: Access All Areas and The Next Best Thing (in which she had the good fortune to direct her father Barry). Jenny is most proud of the world premiere of her play J for J with Jeff Kober and the late great John Ritter.
JENNY SULIVAN (Director) Rubicon Theatre: Doubt, Trying, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Indie Award) with Joe Spano and Karyl Lynn Burns; Spit Like A Big Girl; You Can’t Take It With You; Hamlet
LAP CHI CHU (Lighting Designer) At the Geffen: Wrecks, Fat Pig, Boston Marriage. New York City design credits include The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage, Dance Theater
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Workshop, PS 122, the Kitchen, Danspace, Primary Stages, and Juilliard Opera. Regional designs include the Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, San Jose Rep, Intiman Theatre, Portland Stage Company, Shakespeare & Company, Cleveland Play House, the Evidence Room, Virginia Opera, and the Ordway Music Theater. Lap is the lighting designer for Chamecki/Lerner (Visible Content, Hidden Forms, I Mutantes Seras, and Please Don’t Leave Me), performed in the United States and Brazil. He has received multiple Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and a “Drammy” Award for Best Lighting. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and New York University. He teaches lighting design at California Institute of the Arts. YOUNG JI (Production Stage Manager) Geffen Playhouse: Ricky Jay: A Rogue’s Gallery; Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara. Center Theatre Group: The Cherry Orchard (Taper); Wrecks, Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Pyrenees, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Apollo, Flight, New Works Festival (Kirk Douglas Theatre); Speak to Me (CTG P.L.A.Y. in-school program). Other Los Angeles: with The Antaeus Company: Cousin Bette, American Tales, Tonight at 8:30, Phaedra (Getty Villa), ClassicsFests 04, 06, 08, 10, Mother Courage and Her Children, Pera Palas, The Dickens Project, Chekhov X 4; LA Theater Works: Secret Order, Sonia Flew, Work Song; Matrix Theater: Dealing with Clair; Theatre@Boston Court: A Winter People. Tour: Jerry Quickley’s Live from the Front; Finland: Urban Festival, NYC: Public Theater, Apollo Theater; Portland: TBA Festival; Seattle: Bumbershoot Festival; and
others; Mariachi Los Camperos De Nati Cano; Fiesta Navidad ’06. Member of the Matrix and the Antaeus Theater Companies. DARYL ROTH (Producer) Is proud to hold the singular distinction of producing six Pulitzer-Prize winning plays: August: Osage County, Proof, Wit, How I learned to Drive, Anna in the Tropics and Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. Other Productions: The Baby Dance, Bea Arthur on Broadway, Beckett/Albee, Camping with Henry and Tom, Caroline or Change, A Catered Affair, Closer than Ever, Coram Boy, Curtains, De La Guarda, Dear Edwina, Esoterica, The Goat or Who is Sylvia, Fela!, Indoor/Outdoor, Irena’s Vow, A Little Night Music, Manuscript, Mary Stuart, Medea, Old Wicked Songs, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Play About the Baby, Salome, Snakebit, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, The Tempermentals, Thom Pain..., Thurgood, Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Vigil, What’s That Smell..., Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf?, The Year of Magical Thinking. PHYLLIS SCHURINGA (Casting Director) Phyllis is in her seventh season as Casting Director at the Geffen Playhouse. Recent plays include: Equivocation, Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas, Farragut North, The Seafarer, Time Stands Still, By the Waters of Babylon, The Quality of Life, and Third. Prior to the Geffen, Phyllis served as casting director for the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play), the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile (and subsequent productions including
LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE
PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES ABOUT THE PRODUCTION Westwood Playhouse and The Briar Street in Chicago), Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow and Charles L. Mee’s Time to Burn. Broadway transfers include: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony for Best Revival) and The Song of Jacob Zulu. She teaches auditioning at Steppenwolf West.
RANDALL ARNEY (Artistic Director) Randall begins his eleventh season as Artistic Director at the Geffen where he has directed The Seafarer, Atlanta, David Mamet’s Speed-ThePlow, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, Stephen Jeffreys’ I Just Stopped by to See the Man, Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl, David Rambo’s God’s Man in Texas and Conor McPherson’s The Weir. An ensemble member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1984, Arney also acted as the company’s artistic director from 1987 to 1995. Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations) and The Grapes of Wrath (Tony Award winner). Arney’s acting credits with Steppenwolf include Born Yesterday, Ghost in the Machine, The Homecoming, Frank’s Wild Years, You Can’t Take It With You, Fool for Love, Coyote Ugly, True West and Balm in Gilead. Film/ TV credits include Normal, Weapons of Mass Distraction (both for HBO), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) and Judging Amy (CBS).
San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. He holds a B.A. from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. from San Diego State University.
KEN NOVICE (Managing Director) Prior to joining Geffen Playhouse Novice served as Managing Director and Director of External Affairs at Pasadena Playhouse. Prior to that he was Director of Marketing and Public Relations for San Diego’s Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theatre developing marketing and public relations programs for Jack O’Brien’s revival of Damn Yankees, the Tony Award-nominated musical The Full Monty, Henry IV starring John Goodman as well as the Tony-nominated hit Play On! among many others. Novice’s credits also include marketing and public relations with the Tony Award-winning Denver Center Theater Company and New York’s Circle Repertory Company. As Director of Programming for YouthStream Media Networks he developed national marketing and public relations programs for major motion pictures from Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks S.K.G., Buena Vista Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox, MGM, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers Pictures. He also currently manages Ken Novice Entertainment Marketing, working with such clients as The Salvation Army, Sephra Fountains LLC, and promotional partners including Warner Brothers, American Express and Gelson’s among others. Novice served as Head of Theatre Management for the California State University Long Beach theatre management M.F.A./M.B.A. degree program and has been a guest lecturer at
GILBERT CATES (Producing Director) Gilbert Cates is recognized as a leader in television, film and theater. Currently presiding as the Producing Director of the Geffen Playhouse, he is dedicated to enriching the Los Angeles theatrical spectrum by presenting the finest in contemporary and classical theater. In November 1996, Cates was the recipient of the Jimmy Dolittle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theater. He received the 1999 Ovation Award for best play for Collected Stories, starring Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis, which he directed at the Geffen. The accolades for Cates expand into other areas of the entertainment industry. He produced and directed the 1970 film version of the Broadway hit I Never Sang for My Father, starring Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. The movie earned three Academy Award nominations. Cates also directed Joanne Woodward and Sylvia Sidney in the 1973 film Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, which received two Oscar nominations. Other film directing credits include: The Promise, One Summer Love, The Last Married Couple in America, Oh! God Book II and Backfire. He further distinguished himself as director and/or producer of a number of television dramatic
specials. These include NBC’s 1972 Emmy Award-winning To all My Friends on Shore, starring Bill Cosby, ABC’s 1974 The Affair starring Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, NBC’s 1975 After the Fall starring Faye Dunaway and Christopher Plummer. Other credits include: Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye, The Kid from Nowhere, County Gold, Faerie Tale Theater’s Rapunzel and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hobson’s Choice, Burning Rage, Consenting Adults, Fatal Judgment, Do You Know the Muffin Man, Call Me Anna, Absolute Strangers, In My Daughter’s Name, and Tom Clancy’s Netforce (Cates directed James Agee’s A Death in the Family for Masterpiece Theater’s American Collection of PBS and Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories for PBS Hollywood Presents). In September 2002, he directed David Eldridge’s Under the Blue Sky for The Geffen Playhouse and directed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2005, the inaugural production in the newlyrenovated Geffen Playhouse. In February 2007 he directed Jeffrey Hatcher’s A Picasso in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. He served two terms as President of the Directors Guild of America from 1983 to 1987. In 1989, he received the Guild’s Robert B. Aldrich Award for extraordinary service and, in 1991, he received the DGA’s Honorary Life Membership. He also served as Dean of the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television (which he founded) from 1990—1998. In 2008, Cates produced the 80th Annual Academy Awards show for ABC, his 14th occasion producing the Awards, for which he has already garnered 84 nominations and 17 Emmy Awards. Mr Cates was born in New York City and attended Syracuse University. Married to Dr. Judith Reichman, he has four children, two stepchildren and six grandchildren. PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P5
Begins November 2 – MUST CLOSE December 12, 2010
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LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE
GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE STAFF Gilbert Cates Producing Director
Randall Arney Artistic Director
Ken Novice Managing Director
ARTISTIC
PRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNICATIONS
Mary Garrett Artistic Manager Amy Levinson Literary Manager/Dramaturg Heidi Snoe Executive Assistant to the Producing Director Phyllis Schuringa Casting Director & Assistant to the Artistic Director Kristina Leach Literary Associate Regina Miller Development Director Ellen Catania Director of Major Gifts & Corporate/Foundation Partnerships Angela LaManna Annual Fund Manager Jessica Brusilow Associate Director of Donor Relations Ava Bogle Development Assistant Jamie Sherman Development and Events Manager
EDUCATION
Debra Pasquerette Education Director Louise Hung Resident Teaching Artist & Education Associate Alex Rogals Education Coordinator
ADMINISTRATION
Frankie Ocasio Executive Assistant to the Managing Director Maryam Kermani Staff Accountant Janet Huynh Staff Accountant Maureen Lestelle Human Resources/Benefits Manager Marguerite Harris Receptionist
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Miguel del Castillo Victor Cueva De Loera Mario Santillan-Perez
Facility Manager Maintenance Custodial
Daniel Ionazzi Matthew Carleton Jill Barnes Dwayne Barnes James Grabowski Darren Rezowalli Leah A. Lewis Allison Rawlings Tyler Tangalin
Behnaz Ataee General Manager
Production Manager Technical Director Production Coordinator Assistant Technical Director Sound Master Master Electrician Wardrobe Supervisor Director of Communications Communications Intern
MARKETING & SALES
Joseph Yoshitomi Marketing Director Karen Gutierrez Associate Marketing Director Mark San Filippo Ticket Services Director Ivy Khan Marketing Coordinator Brian Dunning Graphics / Production Artist Stephanie Strand Audience Services & Subscription Manager Paul Millet Group Sales Janice Bernal Associate Box Office Manager Bryan Martin Associate Box Office Manager Janet Huynh Assistant Box Office Manager Korie Benavidez, Audrey Cain, Ariel Goldberg, Scott Kriloff, Richard Martinez, Lilach Mendelovich, Ryan Sandoval, Martin Wurst Box Office Staff Zack Hamra, Rodrigo Perez, Grace Resler, Ben Seay Audience Services
FRONT OF HOUSE
Jeni Pearsons Events Coordinator Tyler Tangalin Supervising House Manager Jessica Kummer, Sarah Rosenbloom, Zack Schultz House Managers Abdoulaye N’Gom Head Usher Beth Behrs, Adam Carr, Lindsey Cerny, Tiger Curran, Tommy French, Matt Jones, Sean Jones, Kimberly Legg, Katie Mitchell, Leah Munson, Jonathan Schwartz, Julianne Tveten Ushers
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE. The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association; The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union. PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P7
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Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024 Administrative Offices.............310.208.6500 Box Office................................. 310.208.5454 Subscriber Hotline.................. 310.208.2028 geffenplayhouse.com
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TICKET SERVICES Box Office Window When shows are not in performance, the Box Office window is open: 7 Days a Week...............................12 pm— 6 pm During the run of a show, the window will be open until curtain. Please note: The Box Office is unable to process exchanges and future sales one hour prior to curtain time on any performance day. Phone Center....................... 310.208.5454 If you are calling regarding single tickets or general information, the Box Office Phone Center is open: 7 Days a Week...............................12 pm— 6 pm The Box Office window and Phone Center are closed on major holidays. SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Subscriber Hotline............... 310.208.2028 If you are a Geffen subscriber, the Subscriber Hotline is available to assist you Monday through Friday from 10 am until 6 pm.
TICKET DONATIONS If you cannot use your tickets, you may release them to the Geffen prior to the date of your show, in time for resale, and you will receive an acknowledgement for a charitable contribution. Please mail to: Geffen Ticket Services 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024 or call the Box Office. REFUNDS It is the policy of the Geffen Playhouse not to issue refunds on subscriptions or on any single performance tickets. AT THE THEATER Accessible Accommodation The Geffen Playhouse is fully committed to ensuring a satisfying theater experience for our patrons with special needs or disabilities. The theaters have been designed to provide excellent seating for patrons in wheelchairs. Please call the Box Office to discuss your needs.
Listening Devices Infrared listening devices are available free of charge at all performances. Listening devices can be retrieved at the Theater Concierge Desk in the lobby. Please arrive early to obtain a listening device, they are subject to availability. Signed Performances When appropriate, each play of the season will have a special performance that will be sign-language interpreted for the deaf and hearing impaired. Call the Box Office for more info or email boxoffice@geffenplayhouse.com. Late Seating Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on-stage. To minimize disturbance to other patrons, you may be sat into the first available location by the house staff even if different from your assigned seat. Be advised that some productions or circumstances may not allow for late seating. To ensure you enjoy the performance in your assigned seat, please arrive at the theater early. PARKING The following parking facilities are convenient to the Geffen Playhouse; all facilities provide parking for patrons with special needs or disabilities: Westwood Plaza — 924 Westwood Blvd. Phone...............................................310.208.4474 Flat Rate of $7 after 5 pm* Hours of Operation: Monday—Thursday ........................7 am—12 am Friday ...................................................7 am—1 am Saturday ..............................................8 am—1 am Sunday..............................................10 am—11 pm Westwood Center — 1100 Glendon Ave. Phone...............................................310.208.8589 Flat Rate of $6 after 5pm* Hours of Operation: Monday—Friday............................... 8 am—1 am Saturday..............................................9 am—2 am Sunday................................................11 am—11 pm * Please note these facilities do not honor Donor Parking Passes.
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