Geva Guide: Spring 2016

SPRING 2016 MIRACLE WORKERS

An interview with Peggy Cosgrave and Tom Dudzick

WAR STORY

Inside the gripping story of An Iliad

BIRD WATCHING

To Kill A Mockingbird still resonates

SOUL SISTERS

The good cause behind the Catechism Series

OVER THE MOON

Geva partners with the Theatre Royal, Ireland, to stage a classic

DANCING LESSONS

Geva and Kitchen Theatre Company cook up a comedy

TEEN CENTRAL

The growing impact of a local youth program

QUEEN FOR A DAY

Geneseo grad Molly Smith Metzler discusses her Geva debut

TAKE A BOW

Maggie Brooks on Summer Curtain Call

DISCOVER LEARN CONNECT DO January - June, 2016 www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

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The spring lineup features great comedies, dramas and award-winning American classics. There’s still time to lock in your great seats and it’s easy: just call or visit the Box Office, and we’ll help find the package price that’s right for you.

Call today (585) 232-4382

SPRING 2016

The Fielding Stage Series is supported in part by the Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Community Foundation

SPRING 2016 Welcome to the first half of 2016, seen through the theatrical programs and productions at your Geva Theatre Center. We hope that you take advantage of as many events in this historic building as possible. Geva’s non-profit mission is to serve our region with professional artistry, but also to engage its citizens in activities that stimulate the mind, touch the heart, and nourish the spirit. All made right here in Rochester, New York.

The Geva Guide is a great way to gain insight. From the first article featuring actress Peggy Cosgrave to the final interview with former County Executive Maggie Brooks, you will see that women play a starring role in the life of Geva Theatre Center. Peggy created the central role in Miracle on South Division Street. Lisa Peterson co-created An Iliad. Of course, Harper Lee wrote one of the most endearing American books of the 20th Century. The Late Nite Catechism series has celebrated the tireless work of nuns, and our “Sister” – Colleen Moore – has given back to the local sisterhood every time she performs here. My artistic relationship with Kitchen Theatre Company Artistic Director, Rachel Lampert, has developed into an ongoing partnership for the Fielding Stage and brings Dancing Lessons to Rochester. Proud SUNY Geneseo alum, Molly Smith Metzler, penned The May Queen which concludes our Wilson Stage series. And Maggie Brooks is a fitting subject as my go-to leading lady of our Summer Curtain Call gala. I’m a lucky guy.

The Geva Guide is like a secret treasure map: follow it to stumble upon hidden delights of which you’ve never seen. Make new friends, or introduce old ones to the joys found at this special place. Try something new in the Fielding Stage, or decide to support Geva’s innovative educational efforts.

Great Theatre lives here at your Geva Theatre Center. There’s something for everyone.

Mark Cuddy Artistic Director

About this guide

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Geva Theatre Center is more than just a venue for live entertainment. In addition to over 450 performances each year, Geva offers many other ways that you can connect with artists and your community. Throughout this guide, we’ve highlighted some upcoming events, grouped them with other offerings that might interest you, and noted some of the key aspects with an icon key like the one you see below. If you have any questions about an event, you can get more information at www.GevaTheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at (585) 232-4382. We’d love for you to discover a new way to engage with your theatre!

Reservation Required

Discussion

Fielding Stage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Wilson Stage Performance

Sunday Salon Discuss the play with the cast after select performances.

Follows Second and Fourth Sunday Matinees More info: www.GevaTheatre.org

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GEVA: Other than the plays, what keeps you coming back to Geva?

PC: Of course, because I’ve been coming back for 23 years, I have people who are genuine friends there that I spend time with that I don’t see otherwise, except when I come to perform. Also, I’ve always found architecture fascinating, and all of upstate New York is filled with interesting architecture, so I love coming back for that.

Miracle on South Division Street, by Buffalo native Tom Dudzick, is the imagined story behind a real-life shrine that stands in the neighborhood where Dudzick grew up. The production stars Geva favorite Peggy Cosgrave. Here, Dudzick and Cosgrave share their thoughts about the play, and about living and working in Western New York.

GEVA: Peggy, by way of introducing yourself, would you tell us about some of your favorite roles that you’ve played at Geva in the past?

PEGGY COSGRAVE: This is going to be my 23rd year coming to Rochester. The first play I did there was Later Life, by A.R. Gurney [another Buffalo-born playwright], and I loved it because I got to play five different characters. And then I got to play Lulubelle Alexander in State of the Union [by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay]. She was this flamboyant, sort of Martha Mitchelltype character, who just spoke it like she saw it and wasn’t politically correct. One of my true favorites, of course, was the role of Peggy in Women Who Steal, which Carter Lewis wrote for me.

And then this last role, Dottie, in Good People [by David Lindsay-Abaire], was just right up my alley.

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www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

GEVA: Tom, Geva audiences will remember your work from Over the Tavern, which is set in the same Buffalo neighborhood as Miracle on South Division Street.

What is it about that area that inspires you to tell its stories?

TOM DUDZICK: I guess a therapist, or psychiatrist, would say I was just digging deep into my psyche, because I grew up there. My childhood happened to be pretty funny. With Over the Tavern, I just decided, you know what? I’d better write these things down. These stories that I would be telling my friends about growing up over the tavern, and the run-ins with the nuns and all that.

And then Miracle on South Division Street, [the statue] is about a block and a half from where the tavern was. It’s life-sized, and it’s in a 20-foot shrine, made of brick and glass. And I said, that’s dramatic all by itself, enough to write a play about. So, I interviewed the caretaker, who lived across the street from it and kept the flowers fresh, and kept the lightbulb changed and everything. And honestly, it was not that interesting a story. It was very cut and dried. The barber had a vision so he built the statue of the lady who appeared to him. And that was it. So I made up the story, keeping the statue as the anchor for the whole thing.

GEVA: What was your upbringing in the neighborhood like?

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Discussion

Fielding Stage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Wilson Stage Performance

Ask a question, make a suggestion or join the discussion! Geva is your theatre, and your voice matters. Be part of the conversation!

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YOUR MIND

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SPEAK

Reservation Required

Sunday Salon

THE HORNETS’ NEST

TECH TALK

Discuss the play with the cast after select performances.

Watch directors, designers & actors work onstage before opening.

Follows Second and Fourth Sunday Matinees

Debate polarizing questions raised by a play reading.

March 28, 7pm May 9, 7pm

More info: www.GevaTheatre.org

Free, but reservations are required

Donate now at www.GevaTheatre.org

TD: I was born in 1950, and it was going through a decline, but I didn’t know that. I was a kid, and it was very lively to me. There were lots of mom-and-pop stores, and lots of traffic, and lots of kids and families. Plus, you had the railroad tracks all around, and big factories and warehouses, and I could play in their garbage dumpsters.

Then New York State built the Thruway right through the neighborhood. So people instead of, on the way home from work, stopping at Big Joe Dudzick’s tavern or stopping at the hardware store, they would just zip right through on the Thruway. So stores started going out of business and people started leaving for the suburbs, and eventually my parents did too, in 1964.

For donors of $100+

TD: I think Western New Yorkers just feel it more. They feel the play, like, “This is us.” Here, you do get a sense of possession that someone in Ohio wouldn’t have, like, “Oh, that’s me, that’s the kind of people I grew up with.”

GEVA: What do you hope that audiences will take away from the story?

TD: Oh, I just hope they have a good time. And of course, one always hopes, if you write a story like this, you always hope that maybe they’ll just be a little more tolerant of other people’s ways of life, the way Clara becomes of her own daughter at the end. n

GEVA: Peggy, you played Clara Nowak in the worldpremiere production and have returned to the role more than once. What draws you to this play?

PC: The play was not completed when I started to do it.

And Tom trusted me to help with the process. I got to put my stamp on Clara – no one else had ever said those words. What I love about playing her is that she’s just a good mom. She’s not a sophisticated person, but she’s full of common sense and love, and that carries her and her family through everything. And her courage, to stay in that neighborhood and to live where it’s not the safest place for her to be. She could have moved, but she wants to keep her soup kitchen open.

GEVA: This play has been performed all over the country. Do you think audiences in Western New York get something from the story that other people miss?

WILSON STAGE SERIES

JANUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 7

By Tom Dudzik | Directed by Pamela Hunt

A Buffalo family’s legend is shaken in this heartfelt and hilarious comedy from the author of Over the Tavern.

With Support from:

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In 2005, Lisa Peterson, a well known New York City-based director, wanted to create a play in reaction to the second Iraq war.

“Somewhere in the world,” she said in an interview, “people are always at war,” and Peterson wanted to explore why that is. A friend suggested looking at the Greek classics. “Then I did a bit of research about the Homeric tradition, and that turned me on right away. I thought, ‘Oh, this was the first spoken word piece, the first solo performance - hundreds of years before the invention of drama (as we know it) in Greece.

And it was meant to be heard out loud and learned by ear and improvised - it must’ve been improvised - before it was ever written down.’” That sparked her imagination, and she reached out to her friend, actor Denis O’Hare, perhaps most recognized today for his roles in HBO’s “True Blood,” the film Milk, and onstage in Take Me Out and Sweet Charity.

“Lisa Petersen called me up to ask me if I had ever read The Iliad,” O’Hare says on his website. “I do remember reading The Odyssey but I couldn’t remember having read The Iliad. I said, ‘Yes, of course,’ because – well, you just have to.”

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www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

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CONNECT

Reservation Required

Discussion

Fielding Stage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Wilson Stage Performance

Attending the theatre can be a great opportunity to share an experience with friends or make new ones. Meet, mix and mingle!

Business Member Night

Out at Geva

YoPro Night

Network with other business members at a local eatery.

Mingle with the LGBTQ community in a pre-show reception.

Become a Business Member for as little as $500

Second Thursday of each ESL Wilson Stage Series production

Party with other Young Professionals at a special pre-show reception.

First Thursday of each ESL Wilson Stage Series production

For more information, call (585) 420-2011

Mention “Out at Geva” when you call.

Mention “YoPro” when you call.

I sing

Every I

this it’s

time

the

-the Poet, An Iliad O’Hare and Peterson teamed up to co-author a modern telling of Homer’s stories of battles, gods, loyalty and rage.

“You know, in the old days,” the play’s Poet tells us, “we’d be in a tavern, or a bar, I guess you would say. It was so much easier to talk about these horrors in a bar.” To focus the story, they concentrated on the fight between Achilles and Hector. “The point is,” the Poet says, “Helen’s been stolen, and the Greeks have to get her back.” And the Poet launches into one of the most famous war stories of all time.

Through everyday language and metaphors, the Poet connects the battle of Troy to our contemporary lives.

In a world that seems always to be in the midst of one armed conflict or another, the lessons to be gleaned from Homer’s story are essential. At the same time, the solo nature of An Iliad creates a sense of wonder and joy – only a great performer can enact a battle, playing each and every role in the tale on his own. n

Fielding STAGE SERIES

February 4 – February 21

By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare Based on Homer’s The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles

A captivating retelling of Homer’s epic classic spanning three millennia of love, battle and honor.

The Fielding Stage Series is supported in part by the Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Community Foundation

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In a 1991 Library of Congress survey, To Kill a Mockingbird ranked second only to the Bible as the book that had made a difference in reader’s lives. What has made this story so popular, when even its author, Harper Lee, expressed famously low expectations for her work?

Shortly after its publication, she said, “I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird... I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I’d expected.”

The story, told now in three formats – Lee’s novel; Horton Foote’s film adaptation starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch; and Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation – seems as relevant today as it was when it won the Pulitzer Prize forty-five years ago. And that may not be a good thing.

In 1962, as the film was about to premiere, Lee told a journalist, “It is and it isn’t autobiographical. For instance, there is not an incident in it that is factual. The trial, and the rape charge that brings on the trial, are made up out of a composite of such cases and charges. What I did present as exactly as I could were the climate and tone, as I remember them, of the town in which I lived.”

Atticus Finch (based on Lee’s own father, lawyer A.C. Lee) succinctly sums up that climate by explaining, “In our courts when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.”

Mockingbird reveals the full extent of those ugly facts of life through the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American man accused of raping a white woman. It’s tempting, due to the circumstances and the time and location of the story, to tie Mockingbird to the infamous trial of the Scottsboro Boys. That case, which lasted for six years beginning in 1931, saw nine black youths accused of raping two white girls on a train. Despite a lack of evidence and inconsistent testimony, the boys were found guilty and sentenced to death. Years of appeals removed the death penalty from their sentences, and as time

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www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

By Lara Rhyner, Associate Director of Education and Jenni Werner, Literary Director and Resident Dramaturg passed, the trial itself was shown to be a great miscarriage of justice. However, that change in public opinion came about too late, as their lives had already been irrevocably altered.

Harper Lee agreed that the trial of the Scottsboro Boys was “an example of deep-South attitudes on race vs. justice that prevailed at the time.” Yet the cases that inspired Mockingbird happened much closer to her home.

In Lee’s hometown of Monroeville in 1933, a black man named Walter Lett was arrested and accused of raping a white woman named Naomi Lowrey near a brick factory.

Lett claimed that he did not know Lowrey, and that he had been working somewhere else when the crime occurred.

He was convicted (the jury took until 9pm the day of the trial to come to a decision on this capital case) and his execution date was set. However, many of Monroeville’s citizens thought there was something amiss, and three stays of execution were granted for Lett while citizens argued their objections to the trial and verdict. In the end, the Governor decided to commute the sentence to life

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Discussion

Fielding Stage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Wilson Stage Performance

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Check out something you’ve never seen before. It might just be the next big thing – and if it is, you saw it here first!

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DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW

Reservation Required

Regional Writers Showcase

Young Writers Showcase

Geva comedy improv

Readings of plays by Rochester-area writers, selected in cooperation with Writers & Books.

Short plays by Rochester area students aged 13-18.

Inspire a story and laugh out loud as it comes to life!

April 25 and May 2, 7pm

May 14, 4pm

Free, but reservations are required

Free, but reservations are required

Most tickets are $10 www.GevaComedyImprov.org

in prison. However, while he sat in Kilby’s Prison on Death Row (the same prison that held the Scottsboro Boys), Lett suffered a mental breakdown. He was judged insane by the state physician inspector and sent to the Searcy Hospital for the Insane, where he died of tuberculosis in 1937.

jury pool, black defendants were convicted at an 81% rate and white defendants at a 66% rate. When the jury pool included at least one black member, conviction rates were almost identical: 71% for black defendants and 73% for whites.”

Additionally, in 1919, Harper Lee’s father defended two black men who had been accused of murder. At the age of 29, A.C. Lee had been appointed to the case by the court.

He did his best, but lost, as he had probably been expected to do, given the times. His clients were hanged and their bodies mutilated. A.C. Lee never accepted another criminal case again, and spoke of this case only in vague terms.

Christopher Shields, in his biography Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, connects these two cases to that of Tom Robinson, saying “This time, under his daughter’s sensitive hand, A.C. Lee, in the character of Atticus Finch, could be made to argue in defense of Walter Lett, and his virtues as a humane, fair-minded man would be honored.

Worth pointing out, however, is that Mr. Lee himself only gradually rose to the moral standards of Atticus. Like most of his generation, he believed that the current social order, segregation, was natural and created harmony between the races. A.C. Lee did change his views and, by the 1950’s, had become an advocate for civil rights.

In addition to the racial inequities in today’s criminal justice system, Mockingbird speaks to our current social climate. Sadly, there are countless examples of intolerance in our country today: the shooting deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, resulting in the Black Lives Matter campaign; the protests over racial discrimination at the University of Missouri and on other college campuses; and the shooting of worshippers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston and the ensuing debate over the Confederate flag are merely three such incidents. Harper Lee issues a call to action: through her moving story of the Reconstruction South, she urges us today to stand up for what’s right and treat all people with fairness and respect.

The relevance of Harper Lee’s story forty-six years after its publication should probably be disconcerting. Today, our jails are disproportionately filled with black men. A 2012 study published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found a disturbing correlation between the makeup of prison populations and the racial makeup of juries.

According to the authors, “In cases with no blacks in the

Following in the footsteps of Geva’s previous projects, “August Wilson: An American Century” and “Theatre and Race: A Community Conversation”, To Kill a Mockingbird provides an opportunity to continue the communitywide discussion about current local and national issues including the intersection of race and poverty, the inequities of the American justice system, and ongoing issues within our prison system.

Throughout the run of Geva’s production, there are a number of opportunities to follow Atticus Finch’s advice to Scout: “You never really understand a person until you

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consider things from his point of view, until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”

The Stage Door Project: Geva’s nationally renowned program, where we partner with a local school – in this case, School of the Arts, one of the most diverse schools in Monroe county with well over half of the students qualifying for the free or reduced lunch program – for an in-depth mentorship between professionals and their student counterparts that stretches from the stage to our artistic, production, and marketing departments and beyond. Students will have unlimited access to their professional counterparts and the artistic process throughout the winter and spring as we build and rehearse the Geva production. Back at school, the students will take their experiences and use them as a mirror while they craft their own production of Mockingbird, which will be performed on Geva’s Wilson Stage, with existing scenic, lighting, and sound elements, and Geva’s full crew and technical support. The Stage Door Project performance of To Kill a Mockingbird will be on Tuesday, March 15th at 7:30pm. $16 tickets are available for purchase at the Geva box office.

P.L.A.Y. Program: Our student matinee series, which includes a teacher workshop, curriculum-integrated Discovery Guide for educators and their students, pre-show in-class workshops for students, school day matinee performances, talkbacks with the cast following each matinee, and artist visits to the classroom.

Teen Central Program: An artist-led workshop and free tickets to a Saturday matinee performance for students involved in the downtown Central Library’s Teen Central program.

Prologue: Lively and informative 30-minute talks given prior to every performance of Mockingbird. A member of the cast will share background on the play’s origin, history, and content, as well as the creative process that shaped the production.

Teen Chorus: Under Artistic Director Lorie Dewey’s direction, our production will cast 6-8 School of the Arts students, who will serve as the play’s chorus.

They will help shape the story by acting as, among other things, contemporary witnesses to the narrative recounted by Jean Louise Finch. Local children will also fill the roles of Scout, Jem, and Dill.

Community Ensemble: Our production will also feature many Rochester citizens, including families of School of the Arts students and families of our Summer Academy students, as ensemble members in mob and courtroom scenes.

Stage Door Cohorts: This offshoot of our successful, flagship Cohort Club program will invite the families of the Stage Door Project and Teen Chorus students, and community ensemble members and their families to witness and participate in the creation of our production by encouraging these cohorts to experience our company meet & greet, first readthrough, rehearsal process, tech, previews, and performances, and to share their insights with the rest of the Rochester-area community through blog posts and conversation.

Because of Mockingbird’s relevancy to our past, present, and future societal and judicial state of affairs and civic engagement, it is vital that the Rochester community, especially our youth and their families, participate in our production – as actors, conversational participants, and observers. Much like Scout, Jem, and Dill, the young adults and families of our community also play a key role in witnessing, recognizing, calling our attention to, and working together to create solutions to the injustices that surround us. n

WILSON STAGE SERIES

FEbruary 16 - march 20

Sunday Salon: Post-show talkbacks with the cast on February 28th and March 13th, following the 2pm matinee.

Community discussions: These Thursday evening conversations, moderated by Geva’s artistic staff and experts from the community, will focus on various themes – literary, historical, societal, racial, and judicial.

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www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

Adapted by Christopher Sergel | Directed by Mark Cuddy

An enchanting adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning American masterpiece.

With Support from:

Religious orders that have received donations over the years have used the funds to buy handicapped-accessible vans and, generally, to improve the daily lives of nuns who taight so many to be the people that they are.

For over 160 years the Sisters of St. Joseph have worked to teach and heal the Rochester Community. There are currently 211 sisters left in Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester. Today, they own and operate Nazareth Elementary School, sponsor ministries, and do mission work. Many sisters also serve as Pastoral Administrators, health care workers, social workers, realtors and much more. Funds collected from Geva’s performances of Late Nite Catechism support the Motherhouse and the healthcare facility. The Motherhouse is the heart of the sisters’ congregational life and is home to over 110 sisters.

NYC-based actress Colleen Moore is Geva’s “Sister.” Over the years she has made friends among the staff here at Geva and in the Rochester community. One who has become a close friend is Sheila Walsh, SSJ. They first met in 2011, following a performance of Late Nite Catechism.

Walsh was touched by the announcement of a collection for the Sisters of St. Joseph. “The announcement blew my mind,” said Walsh. “I met her in the lobby after the show, we got talking and I invited her to the Motherhouse.”

“Through Late Nite Catechism, I have met a very talented, lovely, warm actress who has become a good friend.”

Walsh regularly brings friends and sisters from the Motherhouse to see Late Nite Catechism at Geva and is looking forward to this season’s installment: Will My Bunny Go to Heaven? in the Fielding Stage in March. “I can’t wait! And I will bring all my friends!” n

According to the National Catholic Reporter, one of the more significant issues facing the U.S. Church is a growing crisis in unfunded retirement and elderly care costs that religious orders of men and women (mostly women) are facing within the next couple of decades.

Since its debut in 1993, productions nationwide of Late Nite Catechism, Sister’s Christmas Catechism and other “Sister” shows have raised more than $2 million for the retirement needs of nuns, with Geva audiences contributing over $20,000 since the series debut here in 2011. The majority of dollars raised at Geva have been given to the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters of Mercy right here in Monroe County. The funds collected go to a retirement fund, which pays for sisters at the Motherhouse.

Fielding STAGE SERIES

March 1 - MARCH 27

By Maripat Donovan

Part pageant and “wHOLY” hysterical, ‘Sister’ imparts lessons about the Easter season.

The Fielding Stage Series is supported in part by the Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Community Foundation

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EVENTS CALENDAR SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

JAN 10

11

12

17

18 Magic in the Making Open House 4pm-7pm VIP Tour

19

25

26

FEB 1

2

8

9

15

16

22

23

29

MAR 1

2

7

8

9

14

15

24

31

7

MIR 2pm Sunday Salon MIR 7pm MIR 2pm MIR 7pm

MIR 2pm Sunday Salon ILIAD 3pm

14

21

28

6

ILIAD 3pm

MOCK 2pm ILIAD 3pm MOCK 7pm MOCK 2pm Sunday Salon MOCK 7pm

MOCK 2pm EASTER 3pm MOCK 7pm

13

20

27

3

MIR 2pm MIR 7pm

MOCK 2pm Sunday Salon EASTER 7pm

MOCK 2pm EASTER 3pm EASTER 3pm

MOON 2pm MOON 7pm

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MIR 7:30pm

MIR Student Matinee MIR 6pm

MIR 7:30pm

MIR 7:30pm

ILIAD 7pm

MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK 6pm

13

20

27

3

10

17

24

Director’s Forum Lunch EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

EASTER 7pm Stage Door Project MOCK 7:30pm

21

22

Plays in Progress 7pm 28

4

EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

Hornets’ Nest 7pm

29

5

MOON Meet + Greet EASTER 7pm MOON 7:30pm

MOON 6pm

16

23

30

6

MIR 7:30pm

MIR 7:30pm

MIR 7:30pm

MIR 2pm MIR 7:30pm

ILIAD 7pm

ILIAD 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK 7:30pm

EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK 2pm EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK Student Matinee New Season Announcement EASTER 7pm EASTER 7pm

MOON 7:30pm

MOON 7:30pm

www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

THURSDAY 14

21

28

4

11

18

25

3

10

17

24

31

7

MIR 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm MIR 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm

MIR 7:30pm

MIR Student Matinee ILIAD 7pm MIR 7:30pm

ILIAD 7pm

ILIAD 7pm MOCK 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm

MOCK 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm

MOCK Student Matinee EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK Student Matinee EASTER 7pm MOCK 7:30pm

MOCK Student Matinee EASTER 7pm

EASTER 7pm

MOON 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm

MOON 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm

FRIDAY 15

22

29

5

12

19

26

4

11

18

25

MIR 8pm

MIR 8pm GCI 8:30pm

MIR 8pm

ILIAD 7pm MIR 8pm

ILIAD 7pm

ILIAD 7pm MOCK 8pm

MOCK 8pm GCI 8:30pm

EASTER 7pm MOCK 8pm

EASTER 7pm MOCK 8pm

MOCK Student Matinee EASTER 7pm MOCK 8pm

EASTER 7pm

SATURDAY 16

23

30

6

13

20

27

5

12

19

26

APR 1

2

8

9

MOON 8pm GCI 8:30pm MOON 8pm

MIR 2pm MIR 8pm MIR 4pm MIR 8:30pm GCI 8:30pm MIR 4pm MIR 8:30pm

ILIAD 2:30pm MIR 4pm ILIAD 7:30pm MIR 8:30pm ILIAD 2:30pm ILIAD 7:30pm

MOCK 2pm ILIAD 2:30pm ILIAD 7:30pm MOCK 8pm MOCK 4pm MOCK 8:30pm GCI 8:30pm EASTER 3pm MOCK 4pm EASTER 7pm MOCK 8:30pm EASTER 3pm MOCK 4pm EASTER 7pm MOCK 8:30pm EASTER 3pm MOCK 4pm EASTER 7pm MOCK 8:30pm EASTER 3pm EASTER 7pm MOON 2pm MOON 8pm GCI 8:30pm MOON 4pm MOON 8:30pm

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

APR 10

11

12

17

18

19

25

26

MAY 1

2

3

8

9

MOON 2pm Sunday Salon MOON 7pm

24

MOON 2pm DAN 3pm MOON 7pm

MOON 2pm Sunday Salon DAN 3pm DAN 3pm

15

22

29

MAY 2pm MAY 7pm

MAY 2pm Sunday Salon MAY 7pm MAY 2pm MAY 7pm

MAY 2pm Sunday Salon

Regional Writers Showcase 7pm

Regional Writers Showcase 7pm

10

Hornets’ Nest 7pm

16

17

23

24

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MAY Meet + Greet MOON 7:30pm

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MOON 2pm DAN 7pm MOON 7:30pm

MAY 7:30pm

MAY 7:30pm

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MIR | Miracle on South Division Street

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FRIDAY

DAN 7pm MOON 7:30pm

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DAN 7pm

MAY 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm

MAY 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm

MAY 7:30pm

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DAN 7pm MOON 8pm

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DAN 7pm MOON 8pm

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MAY 8pm GCI 8:30pm

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DAN 2:30pm MOON 4pm DAN 7:30pm MOON 8:30pm DAN 2:30pm MOON 4pm DAN 7:30pm MOON 8:30pm DAN 2:30pm Tech Talk DAN 7:30pm MAY 2pm MAY 8pm

MAY 4pm Young Writers 7pm MAY 8:30pm MAY 4pm MAY 8:30pm GCI 8:30pm MAY 4pm MAY 8:30pm

2016

ANNOUNCEMENT

SUMMER CUR T AIN C A LL

Discover the exciting new season!

March 16

The Elegant Summer Gala June 3 // 6:30pm

MOCK | To Kill a Mockingbird

Open Captioned

Free Event

JUN 1

MOON | A Moon for the Bisbegotten DAN | Dancing Lessons

Audio Description

Fielding Stage Performance

Producer’s Circle Event DAN 7pm MOON 7:30pm

16/17 SEASON

Go behind the scenes during our free open house tour January 18 // 4pm - 7pm

Discussion

THURSDAY

28

DAN 7pm

MAY 7:30pm

11

MAY 6pm

MOON 7:30pm

Reservation Required

Sign Interpreted

ILIAD | An Iliad

MAY | The May Queen

Opening Night

EASTER | Sister’s Easter Catechism GCI | Geva Comedy Improv

Dates, times, shows and artists subject to change.

Visit www.GevaTheatre.org for the most up to date information.

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Over the

MOOn

When Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten opens at Geva on April 2nd, Rochester will welcome a truly international production to our city.

The production will have begun its journey, much like some of the play’s characters, in a town in Ireland.

Early in 2014, Patrick Burke, Managing Principal for The Burke Group, approached Geva’s Artistic and Executive directors, Mark Cuddy and Tom Parrish, with a proposal.

Primarily because of the Sister Cities program, Rochester has many business partnerships with Waterford, Ireland.

The best example of this business connection is the Irish Bausch and Lomb facility, Waterford’s largest employer.

But, Burke wondered, what about creating a cultural exchange? If the theatres in the Sister Cities partnered on an artistic project, Burke proposed that the respective business communities would raise funds to sponsor that collaboration. This proposal gave birth to a series of conversations between Cuddy and Ben Barnes, Artistic Director of Ireland’s 200-year-old Theatre Royal. Like the relationship between the two cities, the friendship of Cuddy and Barnes is not a new one – the two first met during Cuddy’s sabbatical in County Sligo, twelve years ago. At the time, Barnes was the Director of The Abbey Theatre, in Dublin, and had already established a career as a freelance director in the United States and Canada.

Interestingly, the two theatres have a good deal in common - much like Geva’s home (a former arsenal), Theatre Royal’s building once served a military purpose.

Built in the late 1700s, the assembly rooms were used as quarters for several military regiments, and later the theatre hosted many of the great touring performers of the mid-twentieth century, as did Geva. In the 1950s, the theatre was nearly converted into offices for the city of Waterford, but theatre enthusiasts campaigned successfully to manage the theatre on behalf of the people of Waterford, earning it the title, “the people’s theatre.” Unlike Geva, however, Theatre Royal does not usually produce its own work, but presents touring productions. Because of the difference in theatre structures, Burke agreed, most of the sponsorship money would go toward supporting the Irish side of the collaboration.

Clearly, theFestival partnership could be a good fit.Tickets “Then and The Fringe runs September 17 - 26. information available www.RochesterFringe.com began,” says are Mark Cuddy,at “the process of thinking about what to do. We decided quickly that, whatever show we

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The Theatre Royal, Waterford, Ireland partnered on, the creative team should be split as evenly as possible to ensure a true collaboration between Ireland and America, between Waterford and Rochester. This meant that the design team and actors would be a mixture of Irish and American professionals, and that Ben and I would work together to choose the play.”

And then things got even more interesting. How do you choose a play for two vastly different communities, to be shared across an ocean? “We started thinking about Irish playwrights,” Cuddy shares, “but it wasn’t long before we decided on an Irish American writer who is celebrated in both countries: Eugene O’Neill.” O’Neill’s father left County Kilkenny (not far from Waterford) as a young child, when the family immigrated to the United States, landing in Buffalo. And, since Geva has only produced two plays by O’Neill in its 43 year history (A Moon for the Misbegotten in 1978-1979 and Ah, Wilderness! in 1982-1983), the choice seemed timely.

After much consideration, Cuddy and Barnes selected A Moon for the Misbegotten, a rich play about hope and redemption, which was O’Neill’s final masterpiece.

“This is a luminous play,” says Cuddy. “It’s so rewarding to tackle giant plays such as Moon because they require a deep commitment from first-class actors and a first-class creative team.” This production is in good company: the play is enjoying a bit of a renaissance right now, having just been performed to great acclaim at the Williamstown Theatre Festival by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson.

This production of A Moon for the Misbegotten will be directed by Ben Barnes, and the production will rehearse

and open first in Waterford. To design the set and costumes, Cuddy and Barnes hired the Tony-nominated Irish designer, Joe Vaněk. Vaněk is most well known in the United States for his designs of plays written by the late Brian Friel (his Tony nominations came for his scenic and costume designs for the 1992 Broadway run of Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa). Because of the difficult logistics involved in shipping internationally, the set will be built twice – once by Irish carpenters and once by Geva’s carpenters – but the costumes and hand props will travel with the actors from Waterford to Rochester. From the United States, they selected Tony-nominated Lighting Designer Annie Wrightson (August: Osage County) and Sound Designer Lindsay Jones, both frequent Geva designers. The creative team is completed by Geva’s Literary Director/Resident Dramaturg Jenni Werner, who will practice “virtual dramaturgy” from the U.S. while the team is in Ireland.

Four of the five-actor cast (2 Irish and 2 American actors) will perform in both countries. The final role will be played by a different actor in each country. Because the process of securing work visas and Union approval for international work is complicated, casting began last spring, nearly a full year before opening night in Rochester.

Rochester has long been an international business community, with its major companies partnering with others around the globe. Geva Theatre Center is proud to add to this legacy with a cultural collaboration across the Atlantic. This spring, the magic of theatre will unite these two cities, 3,200 miles apart. n

WILSON STAGE SERIES

March 29 - APRIL 24

By Eugene O’Neill | Directed by Ben Barnes

An American classic about two lost souls and their touching encounter under a full moon.

With Support from:

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WILSON STAGE SERIES

Written by Mark St. Germain | Directed by Sara Lampert Hoover

April 14 - May 1

The Fielding Stage Series is supported in part by the Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Community Foundation

For the past three years, Geva has partnered with Kitchen Theatre Company of Ithaca to present a production in the Fielding Stage. Geva first partnered with them in 2014 with the hugely successful Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins. Last season’s A Body of Water was a hit with Geva audiences, and this season Rochester audiences will fall in love with Dancing Lessons by Mark St. Germain, a charming romantic comedy about a high-functioning man with Aspergers and a sidelined Broadway chorus girl.

Led by Artistic Director Rachel Lampert and Managing Director Steven Nunley, the Kitchen is noted for its bold and engaging programming. The Kitchen Theatre Company is now in its 24th season and their intimate 99-seat theatre, located in Ithaca’s thriving West End, invites a bold relationship between actor and audience.

The theatre is committed to new and recent work, which makes it a natural partner for Geva and productions in the Fielding Studio Series. The Kitchen regularly commissions new works by playwrights such as Adam Bock and Brian Dykstra and has produced a number of world premieres and first full productions. Plays and musicals originating at the Kitchen have moved to theatres in New York City and have been presented at the NY Musical Theatre Festival.

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“A phone call from Mark Cuddy three years ago began the partnership between Kitchen Theatre Company and Geva,” said Rachel Lampert. “By the time Mark called, I had chosen the Kitchen season. Mark was interested in talking about possibly bringing one of our productions to Geva’s Fielding Stage. We worked our way down Kitchen’s roster of plays for the following season. It was intriguing and a little surprising to get Mark’s take on my play choices. Ultimately, it was very satisfying to talk frankly about some of the challenges we thought we would face producing a particular play; how it differed for each theatre; and what we would try to do with the production. Since that first phone call we have partnered three times. What is really exciting is that this has evolved from Mark ‘shopping’ in Ithaca, to him suggesting a list of plays to me, and vice versa, and then some back and forth - sharing insights and then coming to a conclusion as to what works best for both theatres. There are many winners here. Our audiences find out about another theatre in the region; I cannot tell you how thrilled I was at a talkback at the Kitchen when a patron identified themselves as coming from Rochester and loving Black Pearl Sings!, and decided to check out this little theatre in Ithaca.

“Kitchen Theatre Company designers and directors get their work seen by an entirely new group of potential collaborators and the actors are thrilled to have additional weeks added to their contracts,” Lampert continues. “And they love the new actor housing that Geva has. They are very kind about our housing, but it is clear they feel like they are treated like royalty in Rochester! For the region it is a boon because the ticket buyers who drive from one city to the other are likely to eat a meal, maybe check out a shopping area and expand their theatre-going experience with plays that ‘the other’ theatre might not offer without this partnership. I am so glad I got Mark’s call again for this season. I look forward to Dancing Lessons coming this Spring.

“New York State is a big place, and we often don’t get to partner with arts organizations outside of our Rochester community – which is why this relationship is so rewarding for both the Kitchen and Geva,” commented Mark Cuddy. “Kitchen Theatre Company creates small, compelling, high-quality productions that fit quite nicely into our Fielding Stage aesthetic. They get to expand their reach into Rochester, and we get to host a professional company we admire. However, I have always maintained that people collaborate, not institutions. It is the mutual respect that Rachel Lampert and I have for each other as Artistic Directors that makes this possible.” n

A safe, welcoming, and popular after school destination for many Rochester city teens. Teen Central’s librarian, Xandi DiMatteo, shares with us the impact Geva’s partnership with Teen Central has had on Rochester’s youth.

Teen Central, a division of Central Library a few short blocks from Geva in the heart of downtown Rochester, focuses on teens in the 7th-12th grades.

Teens at Central come from all over the city and from many different schools. We have kids who come in and play guitar, draw comics, read, and play games. We have teens who find a family of spirit in the library. With the generous support of the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library, we do our best to offer experiences that take teens by surprise and open other worlds for them.

Our relationship with Geva Theatre Center is a great example of this.

Geva has been a valuable partner to Teen Central since 2009, when they brought actors and actresses from the August Wilson series to the library for workshops. Our teens were intensely interested in how the actors came to their profession, the substance of August Wilson’s dramas, and the transformational aspect of performing. We were fortunate to have such impactful outcomes from this relationship that Geva developed an ongoing workshop schedule with Teen Central and continues to provide our teens with multiple opportunities every season to meet with actors and artists, and attend public matinee performances.”

There are many common threads with each workshop: education, dedication, and being inspired internally to create externally. Geva’s artist-educators and the professional actors demystify aspects of live theatre, and share with the students how rewarding and energizing it is to have a live audience. Following the performance of Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant, our teens were given the opportunity to participate in a Q & A with a Tuskegee airman who answered their questions about what it was like to be in the military when it was segregated.

Teens come to the library to hang out, but, because of Geva, what they often find is an opportunity to make a connection with the world. When I chaperoned a group of the teens at a performance of Spamalot, they were laughing and taking selfies with the cast after the show!

People in the audience took note of what a great group of teens they were and asked where we came from...and I was proud to tell them of Teen Central’s collaboration with Geva. Thanks to our relationship with Geva, our teens may see live theatre for the first time. They realize that creativity is necessary in real life, participating in the audience is a way to be part of the play, and that being involved in theatre can feed the soul – and even the bank account!

Here is some feedback our teens and adult mentors have shared: Ciana: “I really enjoyed Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant because it was based on a true story. It was very emotional because of this, and it meant even more because the playwright not only played Katherine, but she was Katherine’s niece in real life.”

Keaira: “The Little Shop of Horrors plant was made perfectly! The voice of the plant was awesome! If I had not seen this show with the library, I probably would not have seen it at all. I loved the play so much that I wanted to take family, and I really appreciated the chance to see the play.”

Justin: “Spamalot was my first experience with live theatre – it was fun and funny! The actors were really generous - they took selfies with us - and the whole performance was excellent!”

Victoria: “Thank you so much for helping our Rochester teens. Sometimes experiences like this are the bright spot in a teen’s life. Sometimes it can be a life-changing experience.” - Academic Coordinator, Liberty Partnerships Program, Monroe Community College n

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MSM: The May Queen was a commission from Chautauqua Theatre Company, a company I’ve had a great history with. Some plays come out really hard, and it’s like pulling teeth. But The May Queen is not one of those plays. It’s set in my hometown; I have a real fondness for these characters. None of them are real people, but the emotional connection I have with them is based on real people. And I really wanted to write this play for a long time, so it came out easily.

JW: This is the first play you’ve written about Kingston. What made this the right time?

When playwright Molly Smith Metzler visited Rochester during the Festival of New Theatre, she sat down with Literary Director Jenni Werner to chat about The May Queen.

JW: So, Molly, talk to us a little about your process writing The May Queen.

MSM: I think I’m old enough that I have a little perspective about how special it is to have a hometown.

I don’t think you appreciate that when you’re in your twenties. Frankly, I didn’t appreciate it until I had my daughter, and it was that sense that when you go home, your neighbors know you. Kingston has a lot of character. It’s a really warm place and, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to appreciate that going home can be really special.

JW: There’s a character in The May Queen who goes home too, but it’s not so special for her. Why is it so hard for Jen Nash to come home?

MSM: Well, there’s a real crowning of the May Queen in Kingston. At Kingston High School it’s a huge deal.

The entire high school votes for the May Queen, not just the seniors. There’s a parade, the band plays, and the stadium is packed. And if you’re the May Queen, it’s a huge honor, but you’re also kind of pegged with this title. It comes with a lot of Kingston legacy.

My mom probably can’t tell you who was President when she graduated from high school, but she can tell you who the May Queen was. She’s that “chosen girl.” And I think that’s a blessing and a curse. I wanted to explore what it’s like to be the one; the chosen one. The one we’re all kind of watching to see what happens, how there’s more pressure on that person, and how, maybe, going home for her is way more complicated than it is for me to go home.

) Metzler (left Molly Smith arlton Amanda Ch r to c e ir D d an

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JW: You weren’t the May Queen?

MSM: (laughs) I was not the May Queen, but I was on the May court.

There’s a court of 6 girls, and they put

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BEHIND-THE-SCENES

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Prologue

MAGIC IN THE MAKING

MEET AND GREET

Meet an actor and hear a lively, informative pre-show talk.

Prologue starts 1 hour before each Wilson Stage show

Tour the set of Miracle on S. Division St. and ask questions at Geva’s annual open house.

January 18, 4pm-7pm No reservations required

Meet the cast and director on their first day of rehearsal.

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More info: call (585) 232-1366

them all in ridiculous togas and parade them in. And I was kind of eye-roll-y about the whole thing. You know, there’s the nerd, and the cool kid, and the jock on the court. And I was the nerd vote. And the most beautiful, popular girl was the May Queen, as per always. And it’s that funny thing where you’re like, “Oh, what happened to her? What exciting man did she marry? Or what exciting woman did she marry? Or what great country is she living in? What language did she learn? How big was her diamond?” And when you find out that they’ve actually struggled more than you have, it’s interesting. It’s a target on your head.

JW: One of the things I love about your plays is that they begin light and funny, and you think that it’s purely comedic. You’re just going to laugh. And then you’re still laughing, but they open up into something deeper. How do you know when to make that shift? Is that something you’re conscious of? Or does that just happen naturally?

MSM: I find when I’m getting to know characters, I let them lead me. And usually - like in life - things that are funny aren’t funny for long. Even the most hilarious comedian usually comes from a kind of dark background.

I tend to really gravitate to characters that have a lot of dimension because I think that’s just sort of true. But I also think that comedy is relaxing. You know, usually, if you sit down in a Shaw play, and you’re like, “This is going to be a searing drama, and I’m going to go on a two-hour journey,” you have to be in a different mind frame. But if you’re sort of glided into a drama, I just think it’s a gentler ride. And I feel like that’s a natural way to get into a story that’s going to have a little bit of depth. I like to be a gentle storyteller.

To get involved contact the Development Department

JW: Is there anything that you would want people to think about before they come to see the play?

MSM: I think high school is an incredibly impressionable, vulnerable time, and in so many ways, we’re shaping who we are as adults. And we can have an incredible impact on each other and not know. How we shape our own narrative about who we are, and how other people shape us. And in so many ways, you can’t escape who you were in high school, even if you want to. Jessie will never escape being our May Queen. She could get the Nobel Prize for Neuroscience, and we will still mostly talk about the fact that she was May Queen. n

WILSON STAGE SERIES

MAY 3 - 29

Written by Molly Smith Metzler | Directed by Amanda Charlton

In this fun and fresh new comedy, a humdrum office is upended by the homecoming of their former May Queen.

With Support from:

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Outgoing County Executive Maggie Brooks has graced the Wilson Stage several times since 2006 as a performer in Geva’s annual fundraiser for education, Summer Curtain Call. Geva sat down with Maggie for a short interview.

Geva: You have performed in the Summer Curtain Call five times since 2006; what are some of your most memorable moments?

Maggie Brooks: I always enjoy sharing the stage with Skip Greer and I have several moments that stand out. I’ll never forget the first time I came up through the floor of the stage singing a song from Hello, Dolly! Singing a Tina Turner song (in a far too short skirt) was fun, but my most memorable was singing “Willkomen” (from Cabaret) in German, French, and English. The song still rumbles around in my head.

Geva: You have performed with other local dignitaries, including political figures from both parties. What can you tell us about this?

MB: Having Joe Robach and Dave Seely sing to me was a high-point, but Dave Seely’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run” will be etched in my mind forever.

Geva: Now that you’re retiring from county government, do you plan to audition for upcoming Geva productions?

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MB: Singing and acting are my guilty pleasures, but if the goal is to attract audiences to Geva, I better stick to the sidelines.

Geva: Summer Curtain Call is Geva’s biggest fundraising event of the year, with proceeds going to our educational programming. Why do you feel theatre is an important part of the educational mix?

MB: I was shy growing up. Theatre taught me selfawareness, confidence, risk-taking, creativity, life skills you can’t learn in a classroom, qualities that have served me well in my adult life and career.

Geva: What theatre or music/dance training did you receive prior to appearing on the Geva stage?

MB: I started formal training in acting, singing and dancing when I was 13. I continued pursuing the dream in college, and was a “wedding singer” for many years.

Geva: Is it true that you once came in first in a karaoke contest doing Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary”?

MB: Maybe in my dreams but, no, it didn’t happen.

Geva: As you look back on your many years of government service, how do you feel you have impacted the local arts scene?

MB: I hope in a positive way, as an unwavering cheerleader/champion for arts and culture. Rochester has a world-class reputation that brings a competitive advantage. n

IN THE ART YOU LOVE

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2016

SUMMER CURT AI N CAL L Th e Elegant S ummer G ala J un e 3 // 6 :3 0 pm

L ive D E L E C TA B L E E X C I T I N G U N F O R G E T TA B L E MUSIC

FOOD AND DRINK

AUCTIONS

LIVE PERFORMANCE

SCENE@GEVA N ews from YO U R T heatre

The A Christmas Carol Opening Night toast and reception

Playwright Molly Smith Metzler (wearing glasses) in town for the Festival of New Theatre Donor Open Rehearsal for A Christmas Carol

Deputy Mayor Leonard Redon Dedicating the Son House blues trail marker

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A conversation with Michael Riedel of the New York Post

CONOLLY AD SPACE

Geva Theatre Center 75 Woodbury Blvd.

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SPRING 2016

Non - Profit U.S. Postage PAID Rochester, NY Permit #482

JANUARY - JUNE, 2016 www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

The cast of Monty Python’s Spamalot, photo by Huth Photography

15/16 SEASON W

Wilson Stage Series

W

Monty Python’s Spamalot Sep 9 - oct 11

F

Fielding Stage Series

W

Red

F

The Lion

W

Miracle on South Division Street jan 12 - feb 7

F

An Iliad

W

To Kill a Mockingbird feb 16 - mar 20

W

A Moon for the Misbegotten

F

Dancing Lessons

W

The May Queen

oct 20 - nov 15 nov 11 - nov 22 feb 4 - feb 21 mar 29 - apr 24

apr 14 - may 1 may 3 - may 29