A CHRISTMAS CAROL Playbill - Winter 2018 by Great Lakes Theater

Cleveland’s Classic Company Presents

Charles Dickens’

a christmas Carol OHIO THEATRE

November 30-December 23, 2018

Tri-C Creative Arts Dance Academy

SETTING THE STAGE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GreatLakesTheater.org

Welcome..................................................................................................................... 4 About Great Lakes Theater............................................................................................ 6 A Christmas Carol......................................................................................................... 9 Cast of Characters...................................................................................................... 10 Spotlight on A Christmas Carol.................................................................................... 11 The Artistic Company................................................................................................. 22 Donors....................................................................................................................... 32 Trustees..................................................................................................................... 37 Staff.......................................................................................................................... 38 November/December at Playhouse Square.................................................................... 39

WELCOME Dear Friends,

at Playhouse Square

elcome to Great Lakes Theater’s 30th anniversary production of Gerald Freedman’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The production has been experienced by more than 750,000 people in its over-quarter century on stage at the Ohio Theatre, nearly half of whom were students and children, many seeing their very first play. We are truly grateful to Mr. Freedman, and his extraordinary design team, for giving Great Lakes Theater and our entire region this amazing gift of theater which has transcended generations and united our community in powerfully meaningful ways. We are grateful to so many people for the enduring success of A Christmas Carol, from the artists and technical staff who have and continue to keep this production as fresh as the day it opened, to the funding community of foundations, corporations and individuals who have supported our work on Dickens’ masterpiece over the years. We extend special thanks again this year to the John P. Murphy Foundation, whose support of A Christmas Carol began with our original production in 1989 and has continued ever since. In addition, I encourage you to look through this playbill at the list of individual members, corporations and foundations that support us. Please consider joining them with a year-end contribution to Great Lakes Theater! While we invest in maintenance of this holiday production each year as our budget allows, special resources are occasionally needed for more significant refurbishments, repairs and technological updates. This anniversary year was just such an occasion. We thank The Cleveland Foundation, The John P. Murphy Foundation, The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation and the Great Lakes Theater Board of Trustees for their increased support during this extraordinary anniversary season. Their generous additional investment ensures that Great Lakes Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol will remain a vibrant holiday tradition in our community for generations to come! This winter/spring, we invite you to join us across the street in our intimate Hanna Theatre home during the second half of our 57th season for our productions of Agatha Christie’s courtroom thriller, Witness for the Prosecution; Shakespeare’s uproarious comedy, The Taming of the Shrew; and the Tony-winning rock ’n’ roll tribute, Million Dollar Quartet. From all of us at Great Lakes Theater, we wish you a very happy holiday.

Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director

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5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION REBORN

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March 2–3 Playhouse Square ENTIRELY NEW 2019 PRODUCTION • WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA

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ABOUT GREAT LAKES THEATER

at Playhouse Square

he mission of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), through its mainstage productions and its education programs, is to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience. Since the company’s inception in 1962, programming has been rooted in Shakespeare, but GLT’s commitment to great plays spans the breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods –– including the 20th century –– and provides for the occasional mounting of new works that complement the classical repertoire. Classic theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, revel in eloquent language, and preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate communal spirit. On its mainstage and through its education programs, GLT seeks to create visceral, immediate experiences for participants, asserting theater’s historic role as a vehicle for advancing the common good and helping people make the joyful and meaningful connections between classic plays and their own lives.

The company’s commitment to classic theater is magnified in the educational programming that surround its productions. Since its inception, GLT has had a strong presence in area schools, bringing students to the theater for matinee performances and sending specially trained actor-teachers to the schools for weeklong residencies developed to explore classic drama from a theatrical point of view. GLT is equally dedicated to enhancing the theater experience for adult audiences. To this end, GLT regularly serves as the catalyst for community events and programs in the arts and humanities that illuminate the plays on its stage. Great Lakes Theater is one of only a handful of American theaters that have stayed the course as a classic theater. As GLT celebrates a decade in its permanent home at the Hanna Theatre, the company reaffirms its belief in the power of partnership, its determination to make this community a better place in which to live, and its commitment to ensure the legacy of classic theater in Cleveland.

YOU’RE INVITED!

BACKSTAGE

bash MARCH 16, 2019

HANNA THEATRE, PLAYHOUSE SQUARE Enjoy a live show featuring Great Lakes Theater artists. Then, join us backstage and party with the performers and crew! • Food Stations • Open Bars • Live Music • Dancing

TICKETS & INFORMATION: 216.453.4442 GreatLakesTheater.org/event/BACKSTAGEBASH

Photo: Roger Mastroianni

Great Lakes Theater

Winter/Spring 2019 Cleveland’s Classic Company Hanna Theatre

presents

Playhouse Square

Agatha Christie’s Gripping Courtroom Thriller

Feb. 15 - Mar. 10, 2019 Shakespeare’s Uproarious Battle of the Sexes

Mar. 29 - Apr. 14, 2019 A Tony-Winning Rock ‘n’ Roll Tribute

May 3 - 26, 2019 TICKETS START AT $15!

•

STUDENTS SIT IN ANY SEAT FOR $13!

216.241.6000 / GreatLakesTheater.org Groups of 10 or more save big! Call 216.453.4457.

“...a drama company of exceptional quality...” -The Wall Street Journal

season sponsors:

Ohio Theatre | Nov. 30 – Dec. 23, 2018

Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director

With generous support from:

The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Presents th

CHARLES DICKENS GERALD FREEDMAN VICTORIA BUSSERT

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY STAGED BY

Company

Charlotta Banzhaf Laura Welsh Berg* Lynn Robert Berg* Kelsey Anne Brown Aled Davies* Jodi Dominick* David Holbert Patrick John Kiernan*

Roderick Lawrence* Colleen Longshaw* Andrew May* Ian McLaughlin Jessie Cope Miller* Marlowe Miller Owen Mills Laurien Palmer Avery Pyo

Brenna Sherman David Anthony Smith* Sun-Hee Smith Corlyn Marie Stauffer Nick Steen* Alex Syiek* M.A. Taylor* Chase Christopher Zadd

Scenic Design John Ezell & Gene Emerson Friedman

Costume Design James Scott

Lighting Design Mary Jo Dondlinger & Cynthia Stillings

Sound Design Tom Mardikes & Stan Kozak

Music Adaptor/ Arranger Robert Waldman

Production Stage Manager Tim Kinzel*

Music Director Matthew Webb

GreatLakesTheater.org

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Choreographer David Shimotakahara

Assistant Stage Manager Jessica B. Lucas*

*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

There will be one fifteen-minute intermission. Great Lakes Theater student subscriptions are subsidized by a generous gift from Eaton.

CAST OF CHARACTERS Cleaveland Family

at Playhouse Square

Father, who will become Bob Cratchit..................................................................... Nick Steen * Mother, who will become Belle and Fred’s Wife..............................................Laura Welsh Berg*† Miss Elizabeth, who will become Fan........................................................... Kelsey Anne Brown Master Richard, who will become Dick Wilkins..................................................... David Holbert Miss Abigail...................................................................................................... Sun-Hee Smith Master Robert.......................................................................................Chase Christopher Zadd Miss Polly....................................................................................................... Brenna Sherman Master William, who will become Tiny Tim..........................................Ian McLaughlin, Avery Pyo Samuels, who will become Ebenezer Scrooge.................................................. Lynn Robert Berg * Muggeridge, who will become Christmas Present....................................................... Alex Syiek * Jane, who will become Mrs. Cratchit....................................................................Jodi Dominick * Nephew Fred.............................................................................................. Roderick Lawrence * First Charity Man.................................................................................................... M.A. Taylor * Second Charity Man............................................................................................... Aled Davies * Street Singer............................................................................................. Patrick John Kiernan * Sled Boy............................................................................................................ Marlowe Miller Skate Girl..................................................................................................... Charlotta Banzhaf Street Children................................................................. Laurien Palmer, Corlyn Marie Stauffer Marley......................................................................................................David Anthony Smith * Christmas Past......................................................................................... Patrick John Kiernan * Boy Scrooge....................................................................................................... Marlowe Miller Adolescent Scrooge...............................................................................Chase Christopher Zadd Mr. Fezziwig........................................................................................................... Aled Davies * Young Scrooge............................................................................................ Roderick Lawrence * Mrs. Fezziwig................................................................................................ Colleen Longshaw * Fezziwig Guests……………......................Laura Welsh Berg*, Kelsey Anne Brown, Jodi Dominick*, Jessie Cope Miller*, Sun-Hee Smith, Alex Syiek*, M.A. Taylor*, Chase Christopher Zadd

Cratchit Family Peter.................................................................................................................. David Holbert Martha....................................................................................................... Kelsey Anne Brown Belinda............................................................................................................ Sun-Hee Smith James..................................................................................................Chase Christopher Zadd Sarah............................................................................................................. Brenna Sherman Miner....................................................................................................................Andrew May * Lighthouse Keeper....................................................................................David Anthony Smith * Helmsman.............................................................................................................. M.A. Taylor * Cynthia......................................................................................................... Colleen Longshaw * Topper...................................................................................................................Andrew May * “Ignorance”....................................................................................................... Marlowe Miller “Want”.......................................................................................................... Brenna Sherman Christmas Future....................................................................................... Patrick John Kiernan * Rich Men...................................................... Aled Davies*, Andrew May*, David Anthony Smith * Joe the Keeper........................................................................................................ M.A. Taylor * Laundress..................................................................................................... Colleen Longshaw * Charwoman.........................................................................................................Jodi Dominick * Undertaker...............................................................................................David Anthony Smith * Debtor..................................................................................................................... Alex Syiek * Debtor’s Wife................................................................................................ Jessie Cope Miller * Soloist.............................................................................................................. Laurien Palmer Delivery Boy............................................................................................................ Owen Mills

Scene: London, 1864, and in the imagination of the listener

† Dance Captain

* Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

SPOTLIGHT AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO CHARLES DICKENS’

A CHRISTMAS CAROL th

no rt

Fa east ho vor ohi tr li ite o’s ad da it y io n

Generous support for Spotlight was provided by

Donald F. and Anne T. Palmer

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

SPOTLIGHT

From inspiration to the stage

Then-Artistic Director Gerald Freedman displays elements of John Ezell’s scenic design scale model for the Great Lakes Theater production of A Christmas Carol.

n the spring of 1988, Great Lakes Theater made an enterprising decision: to invest in a lavish new take on Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. Opening night, in November 1989, was 18 months away, but there wasn’t a moment to lose. There was money to raise. The theater’s production team estimated that the ambitious show would cost $550,000 which was double the amount budgeted for a typical production at the time. The theater’s then-board-chair John Collinson agreed to take the lead in securing corporate support at an unprecedented level. There was a script to develop. Artistic director Gerald Freedman had a vision for the adaptation: he would frame it within the context of a family reading Dickens’ story aloud before bedtime. The “frame story” would allow Freedman to incorporate Dickens’ narrative voice, as well as evoke the intimacy of the writer’s own public readings where Dickens famously strove to make the audience feel — as he explained to a friend — “as if we had been sitting around the fire.” There was spectacle to create. Freedman and scenic designer John Ezell were determined that the production would fully exploit the resources of the Ohio Theatre, which served as the home venue for Great Lakes Theater at the time. The Ohio Theatre’s trap doors, fly

John Collinson, a civic leader, the CEO of Chessie Systems, and Great Lakes Theater’s Board Chair in 1989, played a leading role in securing the theater’s future by helping to raise the $550,000 needed to launch Great Lakes Theater’s inaugural production of A Christmas Carol.

space and counterweight system were ideally suited for creating the dramatic scene changes and other stage tricks needed for a ghost story. There were things to be built. “As the set design evolved,” production manager Tony Forman later explained, “it became clear that there was not enough space in the Ohio Theatre to go quickly and effectively from location to location with complete sets.” Moveable set elements would have to suggest different locations, and technical director Martin Simonsen would have to figure out the turntables, pulleys and levers needed to make them move. But the set elements could only glide quickly if they were lightweight. Victorianera filigrees and other scenic elements had to be carved out of Styrofoam — including a 19-foottall cornucopia filled with 5,000 grapes the size of ping-pong balls. Costume designer James Scott sketched renderings for 80 costumes, 30 of which would be built from scratch by three drapers and five seamstresses. Freedman didn’t originally plan

Actors John Buck Jr. (left) and William Leech (right) portrayed the iconic roles of Jacob Marley and Scrooge in the 1990 staging of A Christmas Carol.

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A Christmas Carol’s Scenic Designer John Ezell, with Technical Director Martin Simonsen, surveys Styrofoam carving in the Great Lakes Theater scene shop.

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

From inspiration to the stage (continued)

Scenic designer John Ezell championed the use of innovative methods and materials, such as carved/painted Styrofoam, in order to realize his large-scale vision for the original production – including the gargoyles that populate Scrooge’s bedroom, a 19' tall cornucopia, and a festive “Christmas Fantasy” finale scenic element. Great Lakes Theater’s scene shop has referenced Ezell’s original renderings to faithfully match his visual instructions when restoring the painted Styrofoam elements ever since.

for music to play a major role in the production, but music began to seep in, and sound designer Stan Kozak soon found himself organizing allnight recording sessions. And then there were practical problems for actors and stagehands to solve. For his sudden and fearsome entrance as the ghost of Jacob Marley, actor John Buck Jr. found that he had to crouch on a ladder with eight lengths of chains arrayed around him, his head and shoulders pulled in and ready to rear up against the trap door above him. Two stagehands had to help him manage the chains and navigate the ladder. Onstage, Buck developed a way of flicking the chains, twisting and untwisting them around himself so that they wouldn’t get caught on the grates needed for the fog machines. Sound board operator John Reilly drilled with him so he could precisely time clanking sound effects with Buck’s movements.

Out of such attention to detail, stage magic was conjured. Designed to be repeated multiple seasons, the show is now in its 30th year. Maintaining the production requires the same painstaking commitment each year. The wear and tear of time cannot show on the production’s elaborate costumes and set pieces, which are refurbished on a rotating basis. In its long history, the Great Lakes Theater production of A Christmas Carol has always hewed to Gerald Freedman’s original direction. But its annual restaging has given opportunities to emerging directors within the company. Victoria Bussert, who arrived in Cleveland as a directing intern to Freedman in 1985, restaged the piece 12 times over the years, more than any other director. Other longtime company members have stepped up in turn to ensure the ever-fresh vitality of the theater’s cherished holiday tradition.

❅

SPOTLIGHT

playnotes: A Christmas Carol

s the year 1843 wore on, Charles Dickens was increasingly hard-pressed. Although the 31-year-old writer had already authored six successful novels, his latest entry, Martin Chuzzlewit, was selling poorly. His publishers wanted their advance back. His spendthrift father stoked his worries. His wife Catherine was pregnant with their fifth child. He needed a best-seller. A Christmas Carol was one for the ages. Scrooge — the very name has entered dictionaries as a synonym for miser. His phrase, “Bah, humbug,” is still on our lips. In the United States alone, a million copies of the story have been sold. But the book was a gamble at the time.

An image of Dickens at the shoe polish factory, included in one of the earliest biographies of Dickens in 1892

By 1843, the young man already had the wildly successful Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby to his name. But fear of financial failure dogged him. Born in 1812 to John and Elizabeth Dickens, the second of eight children, the novelist later described his father as “a jovial opportunist with no money sense.” The elder Dickens spent several months in Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison in 1824. His 12-year-old son had to go to work in a rat-infested shoe polish factory. Undaunted by his scant schooling, the younger Dickens pursued respectability relentlessly.

“A Christmas Carol is a national benefit and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness.” – William Makepeace Thackeray

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A portrait of Charles Dickens painted by Francis Alexander during Dickens’ American tour in 1842, a year before he published A Christmas Carol

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

playnotes (continued)

from a cheap pirated edition and a lawsuit against the pirating printer ate up most of the profits. Dickens didn’t relieve his financial pressures, although he notched a timely and timeless accomplishment. The festivities that we still associate with Christmas — trees and cards, family gatherings, carolsinging and seasonal food and drink — were just becoming popular in England in the 1830s and 1840s. Queen Victoria and her GermanEight illustrations by Punch caricaturist John Leech also marked born husband were popularizing his the first edition of A Christmas Carol as a prestige publication. native holiday custom of decorating live evergreen trees indoors. Between 1827 and 1836, he vaulted from law Antiquarians were publishing anthologies of old clerk to court stenographer to court reporter to English carols and ballads. The Oxford newspaper sketch writer to author of The Pickwick Movement was promoting the restoration of Papers. And yet, with improvident parents and ritual to Anglican worship. Dickens had already siblings and a growing family to support, the written several brief Christmas sketches in 1835 writer could not rest. and 1836. The time was right in 1843 for a Charles Dickens first gained attention with longer piece that indulged the growing taste for humorous sketches published in newspapers holiday cheer. and periodicals under the pseudonym Boz. He A child-centered depiction of Christmas pioneered the practice of releasing fictional resonated with Dickens’ personal mythology. work in serialized form, several chapters at a Commentators have noted that he often put time, usually once a month. But Dickens and his children at the heart of his work. Witness Oliver publishers decided to present his new seasonal Twist, David Copperfield and Pip of Great story in a hardcover volume, bound in crimson Expectations. Dickens’ sunny memories of early cloth, with pages edged in gilt. Dickens financed childhood, eclipsed by his family’s indigence, the printing himself, in return for a cut of the left an indelible mark. In A Christmas Carol, a profits. The gamble might have paid off. bitter man finds redemption in compassion for Released on December 19, the first run of 6,000 his own lost childhood and the crippled Tiny copies of A Christmas Carol ran out by Christmas Tim. As the story’s narrator proclaims, “It is Eve. The second and third editions sold by year’s good to be children sometimes, and never better end, and there were 11 printings in 1844. than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder However, high production costs, competition was a child himself.”

“The beauty and blessing of the story ... lie in the great furnace of real happiness that glows through Scrooge and everything around him. ... Whether the Christmas visions would or would not convert Scrooge, they convert us.” – G. K. Chesterton

Images of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert celebrating Christmas with their family, such as this 1850 engraving from Godey’s Lady’s Book, helped to popularize Christmas trees.

laissez-faire capitalist approach to social problems, mocking: “Are there not treadmills, gibbets; even hospitals, poor-rates, New PoorLaw?” In Dickens’ story, Carlyle’s litany becomes a searing refrain — “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”— while Scrooge gives chilling voice to the common perception of Malthus’ solution for overcrowding: “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” We’re still reckoning with Dickens’ probing questions and clinging to the humanity and hope in his answers.

“There is no clear sign that [Dickens] wants the existing order to be overthrown, or believes that it would make very much difference if it were overthrown. For in reality his target is not so much society as ‘human nature.’” – George Orwell

❅

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The childhood theme of A Christmas Carol may have also prompted the ghost story form. Later in life, Dickens often recalled how his nanny told gruesome ghost stories. Four of the five stand-alone Christmas stories that he would publish between 1843 and 1848 would contain elements of the supernatural. But the Christmas setting also spoke to Dickens’ profound sympathy for impoverished children in industrialized cities. In A Christmas Carol, two “Charity Men” solicit money from Scrooge for poor families at Christmas. “We choose this time,” they explain, “because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.” In Great Expectations, Dickens would write of childhood as a time when “there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt as injustice.” The injustices felt by poor children were on Dickens’ mind in 1843. Earlier that year, he toured tin mines in Cornwall, where children labored in filth. He visited a so-called “ragged” or “charity school” in London — before the advent of universal public education — and was appalled by the students’ destitution. He originally planned to write a political pamphlet titled, An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child. While he did give a speech about educational reform in Manchester that October, he decided that a Christmas story might have greater impact. Abstract ideas about education give way in Dickens’ story to spectral images: “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy.” Arguments raged in the newspapers of the day. Economist Thomas Robert Malthus, an older contemporary of Dickens, observed the paradoxical cycle of plenty, population growth, overcrowding and population-thinning diseases. Philosopher Thomas Carlyle countered the

SPOTLIGHT

A Christmas Carol Through The Ages

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

❅ Stage adaptations of

A Christmas Carol proliferated quickly. Eight stage productions hit English stages within two months of the book’s release. But the most notable performances of A Christmas Carol during the author’s lifetime can be attributed to Dickens himself. As his career advanced Charles Dickens at one of his and he no longer many public readings, in 1867 had time to put out a new Christmas story every year, he announced that Dickens’ memorable appearance in he would instead do public readings of his greatest Birmingham was reported in the Cleveland Christmas “hits.” Particularly memorable were read- Plain Dealer on February 16, 1854. ings conducted in December 1853 at the Birmingham Town Hall to benefit a proposed “Industrial and Literary Institute.” The entry fee was reduced for workers; 2,500 were in attendance one night. As Dickens wrote to a friend afterward, “a more delicately observant audience it is impossible to imagine. They lost nothing, misinterpreted nothing, followed everything closely, laughed and cried with the most delightful earnestness and animated me to that extent that I felt as if we were all bodily going up into the clouds together.” Dickens would continue to read publicly from A Christmas Carol until his death in 1870.

❅ The great actor-managers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Henry Irving and Herbert Beerbohm Tree, were more drawn to the role of Fagin in adaptations of Oliver Twist. Interest in adapting A Christmas Carol grew with the rise of radio, which could replicate the intimacy of Dickens’ own readings. In 1934, the Columbia Broadcast System signed American actor Lionel Barrymore to a five-year contract to perform A Christmas Carol for an annual holiday radio broadcast. Barrymore would go on to perform the role of Scrooge on radio nearly every year until 1953. In 1947, he recorded an abbreviated version of the story for a record released by MGM. He was tapped to star in MGM’s 1938 movie version of the story, but broke his leg just before filming was to begin and had to be replaced by Reginald Owen.

Promotional poster for Lionel Barrymore’s radio broadcast in 1939

❅ The 1951 film starring

❅ The character of Scrooge has entered popular culture in a variety of ways, from the cartoon figure of Scrooge McDuck to Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol to comedian Bill Murray’s Scrooged.

bah humbug

scrooge through the seasons

❅ Great

Lakes Theater has produced A Christmas Carol every year since 1989, spanning the tenures of three artistic directors. Five actors have played the role of Scrooge; three have played Jacob Marley. The resident company developed under current producing director Charles Fee has provided opportunities for individual actors to play a variety of roles over time and for longtime cast members to try their hand at staging as well. Lynn Robert Berg, 2016-present (photo 2016)

William Leech, 1989-1995 (photo 1994)

Dudley Swetland, 1997-2007 (photo 2001)

John Woodson, 1996 (photo 1996)

Aled Davies, 2008-2015 (photo 2008)

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Scottish character actor Alistair Sim, which was released in the United Kingdom under the title Scrooge, is frequently screened on television during the holiday season. Although Turner The 1951 film of Dickens’ story, starring Classic Movies has Alistair Sim, has become a classic. deemed it “the standard by which all other Scrooges are compared,” numerous television and film versions of the story have appeared over the Patrick Stewart as Scrooge years. Scrooge has most notably been played by Albert Finney in 1999 (1970), George C. Scott (1984) and Patrick Stewart (1999), who also created a “reading” performance of the piece for the stage.

On behalf of all of us at Great Lakes Theater, we say thank you to each of our Choir Performance Partners for sharing their talents with us!

2018

A Christmas Carol

pre-show choir Performance Partners

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Immaculate Heart of Mary Grace Note Choir

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14 Southeast Local School Swing Choir

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 Woodsy’s Music Studio (mat.) The University of Akron’s Nuance (eve.)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 Musigals (mat.) Ashland H.S. Sing & Swing / Arrow Dynamics (eve.)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 The Singing Angels THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Shaker M.S. Honors Choir

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 Lake Ridge Legacy Chorus (mat.) Brimfield 5th Grade Choir (eve.)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 Old Brooklyn Community M.S. Honors Choir

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18 Canterra Musica, Oberlin Choristers

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus Chamber (mat.) Brecksville-Broadview Heights Chamber Choir (eve.)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19 Bay Schools Choir THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20 Lake Ridge Academy Choir FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21 Trinity H.S. Chamber Choir

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 Constellation Schools, Parma H.S. Concert Choir

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22 Greater Cleveland Chorus (mat.)

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13 Saint Joseph Academy Chorale

e applaud the following donors for their support of our 30th anniversary production of A Christmas Carol. Their donaSpecial Holiday tions enabled us to activate Matching Grant Challenge funding generously provided by The John P. Murphy Foundation and The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation – enabling the refurbishment of the production and ensuring that A Christmas Carol will remain a vibrant holiday tradition for generations to come! (Updated through: 11/8/18)

Thanks!

Michelle R. Arendt Walt & Laura Avdey Dalia & Robert Baker Mr. & Mrs. John Beebe Gary D. Benz & Betsy A Karetnick David & Carolyn Bialosky Kim & Bart Bixenstine Mr. Todd M. Burger & Ms. Kristie Beck Bill & Judie Caster Gail Cudak & Thomas Young Carolyn & Charles Dickson Barry & Suzanne Doggett Carol Dolan & Greggory Hill Timothy J. Downing & Ken Press Dr. Howard Epstein Natalie Epstein Dianne V. Foley

10 20

Ms. Lynn M. Gattozzi & Mr. Glenn Myers Elizabeth Grove & Rich Bedell Mr. & Mrs. Arthur C. Hall III Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Hartwell Mary Elizabeth Huber Diane Kathleen Hupp William W. Jacobs Mr. & Mrs. Joseph H. James Jack & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer Paul R. & Denise Horstman Keen Katie Kennedy & Doug White Faisal Khan & Angela DiCorleto Bob & Nanci Kirkpatrick Susan & John Lebold Mr. & Mrs. William E. MacDonald III David and Denise Maiorana

Special Thanks

Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Mayer Katie McVoy & Justin Cernansky Michael Mumford & Neil Vakharia Janet E. Neary Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Peterman Tim & Lynn Pistell Georgianna T. Roberts Ms. Ana G. Rodriguez Pablo R. Ros, M.D.& Karin Herrmann Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford Sally J. Staley Geoff & Catherine Tanner Bob Taylor & Jeff Herrmann Kris & George Tesar Arthur L. Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Wellener IV

Margaret Lynch, Writer/Researcher Stacy Mallardi-Stajcar, Casual Images Graphic Design

THE ARTISTIC COMPANY

at Playhouse Square

Laura Welsh Berg* Mother/Belle/Fred’s Wife/ Ensemble Thirteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Shows at GLT include Hamlet (Hamlet), Macbeth, And Then There Were None, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III, Sweeney Todd, The Tempest, Hay Fever, My Fair Lady, All’s Well That Ends Well, Major Barbara, Macbeth, Measure for Measure and She Stoops to Conquer. At Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: Viola in Twelfth Night and Speed in Two Gentlemen of Verona. Chicago credits include The Farnsworth Invention at Timeline Theater, Arms and the Man at Centerstage and Mill Fire at SheilPark. She has a BA in theater from Baldwin Wallace University and an MFA in acting from DePaul University. For Dougfred. L’MLS Lynn Robert Berg* Samuels/Ebenezer Scrooge ✶ Seventeen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Great Lakes Theater: Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), The Ghost and Player King (Hamlet), Malvolio (Twelfth Night), Richard III (Richard III), Frank Ford (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Polixenes (The Winter’s Tale), Doctor Parker (Bat Boy: The Musical), Caliban (The Tempest), Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Other credits: Don Armado (Love’s Labour’s Lost), Dr. Watson (The Hound of the Baskervilles) with Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Hucklebee (The Fantasticks), Bill Walker (Major Barbara), Edmund (King Lear), Hastings (She Stoops to Conquer) with Idaho Shakespeare Festival. M.F.A. from the University of Delaware Professional Theater Training Program. For Doug. SLL’M ✶ Lydia & Neely Abbey

✶ Thank you to our Character Sponsors for their generous support of the Great Lakes Theater acting company.

Kelsey Anne Brown Miss Elizabeth/Fan/Martha Cratchit/Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut season Kelsey is thrilled to be a part of the 30th anniversary of A Christmas Carol after appearing in Mamma Mia! and Pride and Prejudice this season! Favorite credits include Lizzie u/s in Lizzie (Playhouse Square), Charity in Anything Goes (Baldwin Wallace University) and Cheerleader/Flyer in Bring It On (Beck Center for the Arts). Kelsey will be graduating in May from the music theater program at Baldwin Wallace University. She is overjoyed to spend the holidays here with GLT and would like to thank her amazing professors, friends and family for their continuous love and support. @kelseyannebrown Aled Davies* Second Charity Man/ Mr. Fezziwig/Rich Man 1 Eighteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Sir William Lucas/Mr. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice, Seyton the Porter in Macbeth, Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol, Snug/Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Marcellus/The Gravedigger in Hamlet, Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, The Old Actor in The Fantasticks, Scrooge/Samuels in A Christmas Carol, King Lear in King Lear, John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Your Chairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dorn in The Seagull, Deputy Governor Danforth in The Crucible, Prospero in The Tempest, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. A proud and appreciative member of Actors’ Equity since 1984. Jodi Dominick* Jane/Mrs. Cratchit/ Charwoman/Ensemble Nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous roles: Susy in Wait Until Dark, Fantine in Les Misérables, Mistress

Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Molly Ralston in The Mousetrap, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and Olivia in Twelfth Night. Eight seasons at The Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Other credits: I Love You Because at the 14th Street Theater in Playhouse Square; Carrie The Musical, Passion and The Break Up Notebook at Beck Center. Other theaters: New World Stages, Hudson Backstage Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Hayworth Theatre, Dobama Theatre and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Jodi is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music.

On (Twig) and In The Heights (Ensemble/ Sonnie u/s) at Beck Center, West Side Story (Baby John) at Baldwin Wallace, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Quasimodo) at Players Guild Theatre, Mamma Mia! (Ensemble) at Great Lakes Theater. David would like to thank God, his family and friends, BWMT19 and the faculty at BW. For more information visit DavidHolbert.com or on Instagram @_davidholbert.

David Holbert Master Richard/Peter Cratchit/ Dick Wilkins/Ensemble Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater

Patrick is delighted to return to Great Lakes Theater for the 30th production of A Christmas Carol! Most recently, he played Cassius in Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s touring “Shakespearience” production of Julius Caesar. Favorite credits include Guildenstern in Hamlet (Great Lakes Theater), Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare - Young Shakespeare), Jake in Shiner (Good Luck Macbeth) and the Narrator

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David is thrilled to be returning to the GLT stage. Some of his recent credits include Newsies (Crutchie) and Footloose (Jeter/Willard u/s) at Clinton Showboat, Hair (Tribe/Claude u/s), Bring It

Patrick John Kiernan* Streetsinger/Christmas Past/ Christmas Future/Ensemble Six seasons with Great Lakes Theater

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in Side by Side by Sondheim (Shadowland Stages). In addition to his work onstage, Patrick is a sound designer whose work has appeared off-Broadway and in regional theaters around the country. Many thanks to the cast, crew and staff at Great Lakes Theater for their support of this magical production! For you, DM.

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Roderick Lawrence* Young Scrooge/Nephew Fred/ Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut season Blessed and grateful to be home for the holidays and performing in Cleveland for the first time in seven years! Credits include Television: Comedy Central’s Broad City; Film: What The Heart Wants (coming 2019), Immune (MIFF Best Short); National Tour: The Lion King (Simba u/s). NYC/LA: Othello in John Leguizamo’s Othello: The Remix, Bebe Winans (alt) in Born for This: Bebe Winans Story. August Rush: The Musical, Youth in Passing Strange (Playhouse Square). Love to God, Mom, Pops, Evan, Shelby, Granny, Aunts, Cousins, Vicky B and Camille. Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre. Follow @rodericklaw ~Life is a mistake that only art can correct. Colleen Longshaw* Cynthia/Mrs. Fezziwig/ Laundress/Ensemble Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Colleen is excited be returning to Great Lakes Theater in this heartwarming Cleveland tradition. Colleen is a Cleveland native who holds an MFA in acting from Kent State University. Credits include Kiss Me, Kate (national tour), The Groove Factory (New York Music Theatre Festival), Hairspray, Caroline or Change, Fences, The Full Monty, Piano Lesson, Sister Act, Aida, Starmites, Made in America, A Christmas Carol, The Color Purple, South Pacific, Dreamgirls, Once On This Island, Big River, Avenue X, Godspell, The Buddy Holly Story, Twelfth Night. God bless us, everyone.

Andrew May* Topper/Miner/Rich Man 3/ Ensemble Nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater Andrew has lost count of how many times he has been happily affiliated with this production either acting, directing or both. It is the gift that keeps on giving to him, this company and community — to the children who grew up performing in it and to their dedicated families that make it possible. Thank you Charles Dickens for continuing to teach the lesson which we seem to keep forgetting. We may never learn it completely, but if it weren’t for Dickens’ compelling “ghost” of a reminder we most certainly would be more amiss. Jessie Cope Miller* Debtor’s Wife/Ensemble Seven seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous shows include Macbeth and Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival and Into the Woods here at Great Lakes Theater and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Other credits: Abuela Claudia in In The Heights, Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot, Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly! and the Leading Player in Pippin. A graduate of the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and a proud Actors’ Equity member since 2005. Many thanks to the entire company. Much love to Marlowe and family. For Dougfred, Always. David Anthony Smith* Marley ✶/Lighthouse Keeper/ Rich Man 2/Undertaker Sixteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater David just finished a run as Ivan in The Seafarer at Resident Ensemble Players. GLT audiences have seen him as Prospero (The Tempest), Iago (Othello), Jaques (As You Like It), Duke of Buckingham (Richard III), Muggeridge/Christmas Present/Debtor (A Christmas Carol), Viscount Goring (An Ideal Husband), Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Malvolio (Twelfth Night), Macduff (Macbeth), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Sergius (Arms and the Man) and Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest).

He has performed at the Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theater in San Diego, South Coast Repertory, Laguna Playhouse, Sierra Rep, Madison Rep and Shakespeare festivals of Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Garden Grove, Rhode Island, Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Forever and a day — Natalia. This one’s for Doug. ✶ David P. Porter & Margaret K. Poutasse

Alex Syiek* Muggeridge/Christmas Present/Debtor/Ensemble Four seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous GLT credits: Bill in Mamma Mia!, Clopin in Hunchback of Notre Dame, Snout/Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Factory Foreman/Claquesous/ Grantaire in Les Misérables, Richmond in Richard III and Policeman in Sweeney Todd. Other favorite credits: Andrew Jackson in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Color and Light Theatre Ensemble), Bob White in White Christmas (Northern Stage), Mr. Franklin in Passing Strange (14th Street Theatre). BM in music theater performance from Baldwin Wallace University and an MFA in musical theater writing from NYU. Proud member of Actors’ Equity. He would love to thank his mother, father and sister for their support. ✶ Thank you to our Character Sponsors for their generous support of the Great Lakes Theater acting company.

Young Company Charlotta Banzhaf Skate Girl/Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut season Previous shows at University School Productions include All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Play, Schprintze in Fiddler on the Roof and Lucy in Narnia. Other works include James and the Giant Peach with HYT, Woodstock in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and Jail House Rock at HBT. Charlotta is a sixth- grader at Ruffing Montessori. She enjoys voice lessons and free time with her friends and family. Ian McLaughlin Master William/Tiny Tim Three seasons with Great Lakes Theater Ian’s previous credits include Mowgli in Jungle Book (Ohio Youth Ensemble Stage), Winthrop in The Music Man (Normandy High School), Medea’s son in Medea (Cleveland Institute of Music), Randy in A Christmas Story (Cleveland Play House) and Bud Ogden-Porter in Mothers and Sons (Beck Center for the Arts). Film credits: Brian in Monsters and Ryder (ADR) in Anhedonia. He has studied acting with the Cleveland Play

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Nick Steen* Father/Bob Cratchit/Ensemble Seven seasons with Great Lakes Theater Nick is thrilled to be a part of this amazing holiday tradition here at Great Lakes Theater. Previous roles include Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Sam in Mamma Mia!, MacDuff in Macbeth, Theseus and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Laertes in Hamlet, Mike Talman in Wait Until Dark, Phillip Lombard in And Then There Were None, Clifford in Deathtrap. Nick holds an MFA from the American Conservatory Theater. He hosts a webseries about cars, Gearhead Garage, that he and his fiancé Nicki created. Nick has endless gratitude for his family and Nicki. <4 you, my gorgeous fish! www.NickSteen.com

M.A. Taylor* First Charity Man/Helmsman/ Joe the Keeper/Ensemble Fifteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater M.A. is honored to be a part of the 30th anniversary of A Christmas Carol. Previous credits with GLT include Murderer, Macbeth; King Louis Xll/Ensemble, The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Reynaldo, Hamlet; Feste, Twelfth Night; Doolittle, My Fair Lady; Rogers, And Then There Were None; Nathaniel, Love’s Labor’s Lost. Also at PTTP/Rep, Boise Contemporary Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He holds an MFA from the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP). Many thanks to his families (genetic & professional) — may your Holidays bring you Joy & Peace. These performances are dedicated to Dougfred Miller, my friend.

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House, Great Lakes Theater and Broadway Artist Alliance in New York City. Ian would like to thank his family and friends for their love and support for helping him follow his dreams.

to be back at GLT for another season of A Christmas Carol. She would like to thank her family, friends and Lee Burneson Middle School for supporting her. Enjoy the show!

Marlowe Miller Sled Boy/Boy Scrooge/ Ignorance Great Lakes Theater debut season Marlowe is very excited to make her professional debut with Great Lakes Theater. She’s practically grown up around GLT with her Mom and Dad, Jessie Cope and the late Dougfred Miller, and loves being with her theater family and friends. She’s also seen some of the best musicals out there like Wicked, Matilda, Mean Girls and even Hamilton on Broadway, but her favorite musical is Waitress! When Marlowe isn’t acting, singing and dancing, she loves to draw, read, write stories and play with friends. She sends love to all this holiday season, but most especially to her Dad.

Avery Pyo Master William/Tiny Tim Great Lakes Theater debut season Previous shows include Oz, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Little Mermaid Jr, James and the Giant Peach, Madagascar Jr, Pirates of Penzance, We the People, Big Bad Musical, Ho Ho Ho Chronicles and Jungle Book Jr. Other theaters: Medina Showbiz, Academy of Dramatic Arts, 82nd Street Theater, Buckeye Community Theater, Ohio Youth Ensemble, Spotlights. Avery is a fourth-grader at C.R. Towslee Elementary School in Brunswick, Ohio.

Owen Mills Delivery Boy/Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut season This is Owen’s first-ever show at Great Lakes Theater and he is so excited. This marks his 14th show, most recently coming off of Elf at Brecksville Theatre and Newsies at Near West Theatre. His favorite show credits include Scrooge, Madagascar, A Christmas Carol, HO HO HO! The Santa Clause Chronicles, The Music Man, Newsies and Elf. Owen is in the seventh grade at North Royalton Middle School.

Laurien Palmer Soloist/Street Child Three seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous roles include Zacco e Vanzetti, soloist and choir, The International Opera Theatre, Citta Della Pieve, Italy; A Christmas Story, Esther Jane, Cleveland Playhouse; The Nutcraker, Clara, Bassett Elementary School; Godspell, ensemble, Mary Poppins, ensemble, Near West Theatre. Laurien trains with Valerie Saalbach, NYC, Denise Simon, NYC, Broadway Artists Alliance, Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland City Dance and A Class Act NY. Laurien is thrilled

Brenna Sherman Miss Polly/Sarah Cratchit/ Want Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Brenna is 9 years old and in the fourth grade. She is thrilled to be back with Great Lakes Theater, having played Sled Boy and Ignorance last season. She’s been performing on stage since age 4 and on camera since age 3. Her film, The Clovehitch Killer with Dylan McDermott, released November 16, and will be on Netflix in The Last Summer, playing KJ Apa’s sister, in summer 2019. She studied vocal performance with Amy Hanratty and takes tap dancing, basketball and sewing. She wants to thank the GLT staff and her mom, dad and brother Brady for their support. Instagram @brennasherman Sun-Hee Smith Miss Abigail/Belinda Cratchit/ Ensemble Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Sun-Hee Smith is a seventh-grader at St. Bernadette School in Westlake and is thrilled to be back in the cast of A Christmas Carol. Her other credits include A Christmas Story (Helen) at Cleveland Play House, Snow White’s Adventures (Snow White) and Hillbilly Holiday (Bobby Sue) at The Beck Center, Music Man (Gracie Shinn) at Cain

Park, La Boheme with Cleveland Opera Theater and Mary Poppins (chimney sweep) and Newsies (Specs) at Near West Theater. As a winning author in the 10-10 New Plays Festival, her play The Heart of a Princess was recently produced by Chagrin Valley Little Theater. She plays piano and flute, enjoys singing, playing volleyball and skiing.

Chase Christopher Zadd Master Robert/James Cratchit/Adolescent Scrooge/ Ensemble Six seasons with Great Lakes Theater Chase is 12 years old and in sixth grade at Bethany Lutheran School. Previous credits: Near West Theatre in Newsies, Show Boat and Xanadu; Cassidy Theatre in Titanic, Alice in Wonderland, Show Business and Into the Woods (Jack); Great Lakes Theater as understudy for Colin Craven in A Secret Garden. He has learned so much from Great Lakes Theater and considers them his second family. Chase has also learned so much from acting/musical theater classes at Cassidy Theater and has trusted voice coach Amy Hanratty. He truly appreciates everyone who has helped him realize his dream of musical theater and thanks his family and friends for their support and love.

Understudies Aled Davies*, Nick Drake, Shelby Griswold, Gillian Han, Charles Miller, Jessie Cope Miller*, Owen Mills, Coryln Marie Stauffer

Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director Seventeen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Directing credits at GLT: Misery, Hamlet, And Then There Were None, Dial “M” for Murder, Deathtrap, Blithe Spirit, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing artistic director of three independently operated, professional theater companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002); Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho (since 1991) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Incline Village, Nevada (since 2010). His appointments have resulted in a dynamic and groundbreaking producing model for the companies, in which more than 60 plays have been shared since 2002. In 2009, Charles was honored to receive recognition for his leadership by the Cleveland Arts Prize as a recipient of the Martha Joseph Award. Other awards include The Mayor’s and Governor’s awards for Excellence in the Arts, Idaho. From 1988 to 1992, he held the position of artistic director at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California. He has also worked with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, the Milwaukee and Missouri repertory theaters, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. In addition to his work with the companies in Ohio, Idaho and Nevada, Charles is active within the community. He has served as a member of the strategic planning committee for the Morrison Center, as producer of the FUNDSY Award Gala (’96, ’98 and 2000), and as producer of the 1996 Idaho Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Charles has served on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. He received his B.A. from the University of the Pacific and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Along with his wife, Lidia and daughter, Alexa, Charles resides in Boise, Cleveland and Lake Tahoe — a feat that is only possible because of the incredible love and support of his family, and the generous communities he serves!

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Corlyn Marie Stauffer Street Child/Swing Great Lakes Theater debut season Corlyn is honored and excited to be part of her first production at Great Lakes Theater. Most recently seen as Les in Newsies (Near West Theatre) and Mouse in A Year with Frog & Toad (82nd Street Theater). She has appeared in three productions with Triple Threat Summer Camp. Corlyn has been dancing competitively for eight years in tap, jazz, hip-hop and musical theater. When not acting, she loves spending time with family and friends. Corlyn is 11 years old and in sixth grade at St. Albert the Great School. Instagram @corlynmarie

Directors

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Gerald Freedman Director, Adaptor Thirty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater Gerald Freedman is Dean Emeritus of the School of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, one of the leading undergraduate acting conservatories in the nation. A book about Gerald’s life and teachings, The School of Doing, was published last year, and is available at the GLT gift shop and online. An Obie Award winner and the first American invited to direct at the Globe Theatre in London, Gerald is regarded internationally for his direction of productions of classic drama, musicals, operas, new plays and television. He served as leading director of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival from 1960 to 1971, the last four years as artistic director. He was co-artistic director of John Houseman’s The Acting Company from 1974 to 1977, artistic director of the American Shakespeare Theatre from 1978 to 1979, and artistic director of Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1985 to 1997. Gerald has staged 29 of Shakespeare’s plays, along with dozens of other world classics. He made theater history with his off-Broadway premiere of the landmark rock musical Hair, which opened the Public Theater in 1967. Broadway direction includes The Robber Bridegroom; The Grand Tour; the revival of West Side Story, co-directed with Jerome Robbins; the premiere of Arthur Miller’s The Creation of the World and Other Business and Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Gerald also directed opera productions for the Opera Society of Washington (Kennedy Center), the San Francisco Opera Company and the New York City Opera. Prior to becoming Dean of the UNC School of the Arts, he also taught at Yale and Juilliard. A native of Lorain, Ohio, he received both his BS and his MA (summa cum laude) from Northwestern University, and trained with Alvina Krause, Emmy Joseph and at The Actors Studio. Victoria Bussert Director, Staging Thirty-three seasons with Great Lakes Theater Victoria returns for her 33rd season at GLT, balancing the professional and academic worlds between her active life as an award-winning free-lance director while holding the position of Director of Music Theatre for

Baldwin Wallace University. Nationally, her work has been seen at Manhattan Theatre Club, York Theatre, New World Stages, Goodspeed Opera, Playhouse Square, Portland Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Anchorage Opera. Her international credits include Friar Tuck in Russia, The Who’s Tommy in Brazil, the Danish premiere of Avenue Q (2012 Reumert Award nomination) and the European premieres of Lizzie and [title of show] for the Fredericia Theater in Denmark. Last year, Victoria made her London directorial debut with the critically acclaimed production of Lizzie. Other recent directing assignments have included Mamma Mia!, The Hunchback of Notre Dame for GLT/ISF, Hair for Beck Center for the Arts and Cabaret for Baldwin Wallace University. This one is for my mentor, Gerald Freedman, the original adapter/director of our Christmas Carol. Happy 30th Anniversary! www.VictoriaBussert.com David Shimotakahara Choreographer Thirty seasons with Great Lakes Theater David Shimotakahara was a member of the Atlanta Ballet, Boston Repertory Ballet, Kathryn Posin Dance Company and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. He performed with Ohio Ballet under the direction of Heinz Poll from 19831998. In 1998, he founded GroundWorks Dance Theater, for which he is Executive, Artistic Director. Based in Cleveland, the company is committed to creating and producing new work in dance. Mr. Shimotakahara has choreographed for opera and theater with Cleveland Opera, Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Play House and the Dallas Theater Center. From 1996 - 2018, he has received eight Individual Artist Fellowships for Choreography from the Ohio Arts Council. In 1998, he received a McKnight Foundation Fellowship from the Minnesota Dance Alliance to create new work in the Minneapolis, St. Paul communities. Mr. Shimotakahara was awarded the 2000 Cleveland Arts Prize for Dance. In 2002, his work with GroundWorks Dance Theater was voted “One of 25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine. In 2007, he received the OhioDance award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of the Dance Artform. In 2010 and 2014, Mr.

Shimotakahara was a recipient of a Creative Workforce Fellowship, a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Designers Mary Jo Dondlinger Lighting Designer Thirty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater Career design credits include productions for Circle in the Square, The Irish Repertory Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, TheatreWorks (Hartford) and many others. Mary Jo has long been associated with the York Theatre Company off-Broadway where she designed the original production of The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), as well as many other musicals and plays. Most recent credits at Great Lakes Theater are The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Fantasticks, Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd and Sondheim on Sondheim. John Ezell Scenic Designer Forty-two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Award-winning associate artistic director and

Gene Emerson Friedman Scenic Designer Thirty seasons with Great Lakes Theater Gene has designed Gerald Freedman’s adaptations of A Christmas Carol and People Who Led to My Plays, as well as The Dearest Friends, The Boor, The Enemies, The World of Sholom Aleichem and What the Butler Saw (Great Lakes Theater Festival). Other designs include Calderon’s Life is a Dream (New York’s Lincoln Center); Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Romeo and Juliet (Heart of America Shakespeare Festival); Second City Does Arizona (Arizona Theatre Company); A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman, Master Class, I’m Not Rappaport (Kansas City Rep); The Music Man, Carousel, La Cage aux Folles (Stages- Saint Louis); Death and the Maiden (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). Gene is architectural historian of the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe [1629] at Zuni Pueblo, and he

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Matthew Webb Music Director Twelve seasons with Great Lakes Theater This is Matthew’s eighth year as music director of A Christmas Carol. Previously at Great Lakes Theater: Mamma Mia!, Beehive, Macbeth (sound design), Hamlet (sound design), The Fantasticks, Sweeney Todd, Sondheim on Sondheim, Guys & Dolls, Cabaret, Bat Boy, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Into the Woods, Macbeth, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. For three years, he created the sound design for Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s, Shakespearience, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest, and their productions of Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing. Matthew is currently Music Director of Music Theatre at Baldwin Wallace University, of which he is also a proud alum. He sends abundant love and gratitude to Vicky, Sara, Charlie, and his amazing parents, Carol and Jerry. Merry Christmas!

director of design at GLT under Vincent Dowling, Gerald Freedman and James Bundy. He has designed for Broadway; New York Shakespeare Festival; NY Public Theatre; Crossroads Theatre; Roundabout Theatre; Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger; Williamstown; Berkshire; Old Globe; Coconut Grove; Asolo State Theatre; Arizona Theatre Company; Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Dallas Theatre Center; Indiana and Kansas City repertory theaters; Cincinnati Playhouse; Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa; the Istanbul Cultural Olympics; Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts; Lyric Opera; Blackstone Theatre and Second City in Chicago; Cincinnati Ballet; Royal Danish Ballet; Royal Theatre in Copenhagen; Swedish Riksteater and the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm; and CBS, PBS-TV and Swedish State Television. His drawings have been exhibited in New York, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Prague and Brussels. His work received the Award for Experimental Television Art in Milan, Italy; two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards for Excellence; and 15 national Critic’s Circle awards, including the 2011-2012 Connecticut Critics Circle Award for best professional sets at the historic Westport Country Playhouse. He is a Fellow of the College of the American Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

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serves as archivist and curator of the Casa de Santo Nino also at Zuni. He is a tenured associate professor of design at UMKC. His fine art, “Stages Of Conversion,” has been seen at multiple galleries.

Stan Kozak Sound Designer Thirty-three seasons with Great Lakes Theater Stan Kozak, among his more than 50 design credits, most recently designed sound for Bat Boy: the Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Comedy of Errors. His work in 1979 and 1981 with Geraldine Fitzgerald on Streetsongs at GLT led to the original cast album. Mr. Kozak was the resident sound designer for four seasons at the Porthouse Theatre Company, including productions of Driving Miss Daisy, Niteclub Confidential and And a Nightingale Sang. His collaborations with Victoria Bussert at Baldwin-Wallace College include productions of Chess, Hair, Cabaret, West Side Story, Tommy in Concert, the Ohio premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion and one of the first nonprofessional productions of Phantom of the Opera. For Cain Park, his design credits include Secret Garden; Fiddler on the Roof; Bat Boy: the Musical; Tick, tick...Boom; Nine; The Wiz; and Pippin. Mr. Kozak has also designed sound for Dobama Theater, Cleveland Opera, Beck Center, the Jewish Community Theater and TrueNorth Cultural Arts. He has served as sound designer for the All-City Musical for the last nine seasons, as well as for the Ideastream Gala concert with Bebe Neuwirth in 2005. He was honored to be among the first group of LORT sound designers to achieve recognition in USA 829. Tom Mardikes Sound Designer Thirty seasons with Great Lakes Theater Tom Mardikes most recently designed sound for GLT’s summer 2005 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. His past designs have been for Julius Caesar, The Dybbuk, King Lear, Hamlet and The Cherry Orchard. He has worked on more than 250 professional productions nationwide, where he has designed for Kansas City (formerly Missouri) Rep, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Starlight Theatre, the Unicorn Theatre, the

Dallas Theatre Center, Syracuse Stage, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, the Roundabout, Buffalo Studio Arena, Alley Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. In the spring of 2015, he designed sound for Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing for Repertory Theatre St. Louis and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He is a professor and the head of graduate sound design training at the nationally prominent professional theatre-training program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2005, he co-founded Kansas City Actors Theatre that has successfully produced acclaimed productions with its artist-led, artist-driven mission. James Scott Costume Designer Twenty-nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater James Scott has designed costumes for productions of works by Shakespeare, Moliere, Ibsen, Chekhov, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini at regional theaters and opera houses across the country. Among his favorite productions are Love’s Labour’s Lost for the New York Shakespeare Festival; Ten Little Indians, Arcadia, The Miracle Worker and The Most Happy Fella for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; The Merchant of Venice for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Norma and Il trovatore for the Minnesota Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Washington Opera; MacBeth, Othello and The Taming of the Shrew for the Acting Company’s national tours; Funny Girl, Fiddler on the Roof and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the Sundance Theatre; and Sweeney Todd, I pagliacci, and Il viaggio a Reims for the Portland Opera in Oregon. His production credits for Great Lakes Theater span more than 20 years, and include Romeo and Juliet, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Rough Crossing, As You Like It and A Little Night Music. Mr. Scott is a graduate of New York and Brown universities, and attended the School of Law at The City University of New York. He is also an elite figure-skater and is thrilled that Cleveland hosted the Gay Games in 2014. He would like to dedicate the design for this production in memory of Susan Gregg, director of Fallen Angels for Great Lakes Theater.

Robert Waldman Music Adaptor and Arranger Thirty seasons with Great Lakes Theater Robert Waldman has written primarily for the theater. He began his career as a protégé of Frank Loesser, and his music has been heard in Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo at Cleveland Play House and Edgardo Mine at the Guthrie Theater, as well as in GLT’s production of Glass Menagerie; in New York in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, The Heiress, Voices in the Dark; and Lincoln Center’s Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Ivanov, Dinner at Eight, The Rivals, Jon Robin Baitz’ A Fair Country and Ten Unknowns. Most recently, his work was heard in Wendy Wasserstein’s Third, David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre and Peter Parnell’s The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket. Waldman composed the score for Broadway’s Here’s Where I Belong and The Robber Bridegroom, which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, as well as winning most recently the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival in NYC, and Florida’s Poinciana and Parker Playhouse’s revue of Lois Wyse’s Funny You Don’t Look Like a Grandmother. His music has been heard in Arthur Laurents’ 2 Lives;

Hartford Stage’s musical, America’s Sweetheart; Long Wharf’s As You Like It and The School for Scandal; Washington Shakespeare Theater’s Richard II and The Country Wife; as well as the Kennedy Center musical, Swing. Performances of Mr. Waldman’s compositions have been heard in films, on television, in ballets and in numerous commercials and concert halls. Illustrated collections of some 40 of his piano compositions for children have been published by G. Schirmer — among them A Swing Bag, A Rag Bag, A ¾ Bag and A Santa Bag. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in musical theater, the Dramatists Guild of America’s Flora Roberts Award for Outstanding Music for the Theater and the JEFF Award in Chicago for Best Original Music for Driving Miss Daisy.

Stage Management Tim Kinzel* Production Stage Manager Nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater Tim has stage-managed 30 plus productions for Great Lakes Theater. Recent credits include Mamma Mia!, Beehive - The 60’s Musical, Misery, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Forever Plaid and Hamlet. Tim has multiple stage management credits from Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizon, Cherry Lane Theater NYC and Houston’s Stages Repertory Theatre. Love to his family and friends. Cleveland native and diehard sports fan. Thank you for supporting the arts at Playhouse Square. For Dougfred Miller. Jessica B. Lucas* Assistant Stage Manager Seven seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous assistant stage management credits include Mamma Mia!, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, My Fair Lady, The Secret Garden, King Lear and A Christmas Carol with Great Lakes Theater; and Luna Gale with Cleveland Play House. Stage management credits include Pride & Prejudice, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wait Until Dark with Great Lakes Theater. Jessica earned her BA in theater from the University of Scranton and is a proud member of AEA. GF, you are the best.

GreatLakesTheater.org

Cynthia Stillings Lighting Designer Twenty-eight seasons with Great Lakes Theater Cynthia Stillings designs regionally and nationally, and designed the Great Lakes Theater premiere of Adrienne Kennedy’s Ohio State Murders. Opera and dance credits include Sweeney Todd, Carmen, Of Mice and Men, Man of La Mancha and Turandot for Cleveland Opera, where she was resident lighting designer; Tartuffe for Skylight Opera Theatre; and An American Festival for the Cincinnati Ballet. Regional theater credits include Utah Shakespearean Festival, where she designed The Matchmaker, Candida and the world premiere of the new musical Lend Me a Tenor, the Musical; Madison Repertory Theatre; Porthouse Theatre; Cain Park Theatre; The Contemporary American Theatre Company; Phoenix Theatre Circle and an award-winning production of Assassins for Players Theater Columbus. Ms. Stillings is currently Associate Dean of the College of the Arts at Kent State University.

DONORS The trustees, staff and artistic company of Great Lakes Theater express our deepest gratitude to the hundreds of supporters of Cleveland’s Classic Company. The donors listed below and on the following pages made generous gifts to our Annual Fund between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. “I can no other answer make but thanks.” Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene iii

at Playhouse Square

Make a Contribution Great Lakes Theater served more than 100,000 students and adults last year through its Hanna and Ohio Theatre mainstage productions and education programs throughout northeast Ohio. This would not have been possible without the annual support of the hundreds of generous donors listed below. Please consider joining the Great Lakes Theater family by making a contribution to support Cleveland’s Classic Company. Visit the “Support Us” section of our website (GreatLakesTheater.org) or call us at (216) 453-4442 to learn more about our Membership and donation opportunities.

Sponsors: Company Sponsors $100,000 and above The Cleveland Foundation***

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture*** Lead Sponsors $50,000 to $99,999

The George Gund Foundation*** The Kulas Foundation*** The John P. Murphy Foundation***

The David & Inez Myers Foundation*** Ohio Arts Council*** The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation*** Sponsors $25,000 to $49,999

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation** The Community Foundation of Lorain County*** The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation*** The Reinberger Foundation***

Shakespeare in American Communities: National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest* John & Barbara Schubert***

Season Sponsors:

Media Sponsors:

*3 – 5 consecutive years as a donor **6 – 9 consecutive years as a donor ***10 or more consecutive years as a donor

THE LEGACY SOCIETY

Great Lakes Theater’s Legacy Society honors individuals, families, foundations and other generous donors that make gifts to Great Lakes Theater’s Endowment Fund or have made a provision for Great Lakes Theater through their estate plans. Please consider becoming a member of the growing list of generous Great Lakes Theater Legacy Society supporters and help ensure that classic theater endures for future generations in northeast Ohio by designating Great Lakes Theater a beneficiary in your will, trust or other estate plans.

“Evermore thanks.” Kathleen L. Barber* Marilyn* & Paul* Brentlinger Willard & Donna Carmel Mary* & Leigh Carter Natalie & Morton* Epstein Gerald Freedman GAR Foundation Edward S. Godleski Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson Mary Jane Davis Hartwell*

Richard II, Act II, Scene ii

Samuel S. Hartwell The Hershey Foundation Jack & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer Kate Lunsford Thomas* & Margaret Lynch Charitable Trust Mary Anne* & Jack McGrath Janet & Bob* Neary James A . Nelson*

Donald & Anne Palmer Jean Z.* & John S.* Piety Tim & Lynn Pistell Professor Alan Miles Ruben & Judge Betty Willis Ruben The John Sherwin Family George* & Marjorie* Springer Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford Arthur L. Thomas Audrey* & Dick* Watts

*Deceased: The legacy of these generous donors lives on for future generations.

LEAVE A LEGACY!

For more information regarding planned gifts, please contact Todd Krispinsky, Director of Institutional Advancement. (216) 453-4449 | tkrispinsky@greatlakestheater.org

THE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY Annual Fund donors of $1,000 and above are members of Great Lakes Theater’s “Shakespeare Society” and are entitled to special, exclusive benefits, including invitations to special events and activities. For more information, contact Todd Krispinsky at (216) 453-4449.

at Playhouse Square

Avon Circle ($10,000 to $24,999) The Abington Foundation** The Eva L. & Joseph M. Bruening Foundation*** Eaton Corporation*** First Energy Foundation The GAR Foundation*** Jack & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer*** The Lubrizol Foundation*** Thomas & Margaret Lynch Charitable Trust Janet E. Neary*** The Nord Family Foundation*** Nordson Corporation Foundation*** Don & Anne Palmer*** Tim & Lynn Pistell*** PNC Foundation** Georgianna T. Roberts*** The Shubert Foundation*** Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford***

Stratford Circle ($5,000 to $9,999) The Bicknell Fund Mr. Todd M. Burger & Ms. Kristie Beck** Fred & Mary Behm*** Bill & Judie Caster* Ms. Anne B. DesRosiers & Mr. Stephen L. Kadish* Carol Dolan & Greggory Hill*** Evelyn Dolejs** Natalie Epstein*** Ernst & Young, LLP*** The Harry K. & Emma R. Fox Foundation*** Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Hartwell*** Paul R. & Denise Horstman Keen** Diane Kathleen Hupp* Mr. & Mrs. Leslie H. Moeller*** Mary Perkins David P. Porter & Margaret K. Poutasse*** Christopher & Gail Steward Kevin M. & Anne R. White** Robert C. & Emily C. Williams**

Globe Circle ($2,500 to $4,999) Anonymous (2)

Chuck & Bonnie Abbey*** Michelle R. Arendt*** Walt & Laura Avdey*** BakerHostetler, LLP Dalia & Robert Baker*** David & Carolyn Bialosky** Kim & Bart Bixenstine** Glenn & Jenny Brown*** Mr. & Mrs. Homer D. W. Chisholm*** Gail Cudak & Thomas Young*** Timothy J. Downing & Ken Press*** Dianne V. Foley* Lynn M. Gattozzi Derek & Lynne Green Elizabeth Grove & Rich Bedell* Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP Mr. & Mrs. Arthur C. Hall III Mary Elizabeth Huber William W. Jacobs*** Katie Kennedy & Doug White Faisal Khan & Angela DiCorleto* Mr. & Mrs. John J. Lane* The Laub Foundation*** Susan & John Lebold* Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Mayer*** Jack McGrath*** Donald W. Morrison*** Nicholas & Sue Peay*** Dr. Scott & Mrs. Judy Pendergast*** Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Peterman*** Thomas A. Piraino & Barbara C. McWilliams** Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Ruhl*** Kim Sherwin** Sally J. Staley*** Brit & Kate Stenson*** Jason R. Suslak Kris & George Tesar Ulmer & Berne LLP*** University Suburban Health Center Mr. & Mrs. Paul L. Wellener IV*** John & Lori Wheeler* Ms. Rebecca A. Zuti & Mr. Anthony D. DeCello**

Folio Circle ($1,000 to $2,499) Anonymous (1) Jennifer & Michael Armstrong Robyn & David Barrie*** John & Laura Bertsch** H.F. & J.C. Burkhardt***

Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP*** Jack & Janice Campbell*** Donald & Annamarie Chick*** Robert & Susan Conrad Carolyn & Charles Dickson*** Ms. Leslie C. Dickson* Barry & Suzanne Doggett*** Dr. Howard Epstein* Charles, Lidia & Alexa Fee** Dale & Linda Gabor* Steve Gariepy & Nancy Sin*** The Giant Eagle Foundation** The Gries Family Foundation*** Drs. Thomas & Cynthia Gustaferro* Geoffrey Michael Heller Memorial Fund Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.*** Kenneth Karosy*** Donna M. & Alex I. Koler The Milton A. & Charlotte R. Kramer Charitable Foundation* Eva & Rudolf Linnebach* Mr. & Mrs. William E. MacDonald III* Rita & Charles Maimbourg McGrath/Spellman Family Trust Mr. & Mrs. Douglas McGregor Katie McVoy & Justin Cernansky Mr. & Mrs. John C. Morley*** Michael Mumford & Neil Vakharia Karen Nemec** Pamela G. Noble & E. Macke Bentley IV** Mr. & Mrs. Patrick W. O’Connor** Mr. & Mrs. Wilmer M. Piper*** John & Norine Prim*** Ms. Ana G. Rodriguez Linda Schlageter*** Naomi G. & Edwin Z. Singer Family Fund, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland*** Nancy Stokes The Alvah Stone & Adele Corning Chisholm Memorial Fund* Diana & Eugene Stromberg*** Gerald F. Unger*** Mary C. Warren** Julie Sabroff Willoughby* *3-5 consecutive years as a donor. **6-9 consecutive years as a donor. *** 10 or more consecutive years as a donor.

Welcome! The following individuals made their first gift, returned as active donors or increased their gift to Great Lakes Theater’s Annual Fund during the period of July 1, 2018 through October 31, 2018. The Great Lakes Theater family is grateful for your support! Mr. & Mrs. John Beebe Glenn & Jenny Brown Mr. Edward A. Chuhna Ms. Elizabeth W. DeBoer Mrs. Mary J. Decker Audrey DeClement Ms. Elizabeth Eckstein Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. Gray Tom & Kirsten Hagesfeld

Benefactor ($750 to $999) James Eschmeyer*** Mr. & Mrs. Donald Kimmel*** Ken & Mary Loparo***

Sustainers ($500 to $749)

Patrons ($250 to $499) Anonymous (2) The Thomas & Joann Adler Family Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland*** Dr. & Mrs. Peter & Kathy Alscher Thomas & Joan Baker* Mr. & Mrs. Benham S. Bates** Kathy Berkshire*

John & Jeannene Bertosa** Paul & Heather Blonsky* Gary & Kay Bluhm** Bernice A. Bolek*** Richard & Mary Ann Brockett* Barbara J. Burke** Tim & Cindy Carr** Mr. & Mrs. Lucien H. Case* Ms. Megan Casserlie* Rollin & Anne Conway** Dr. & Mrs. Kevin D. Cooper** Bruce & Maryellen Cudney*** Audrey DeClement*** Pete & Margaret Dobbins* Ted Elrick Mr. & Mrs. L. William Erb* Dr. & Mrs. Robert L. Fairchild Jon & Mary Fancher** Ann & Harry Farmer* Mary Eileen Fogarty*** Deborah A. Geier*** Bob & Mia Graf Lee & Peter Haas** Virginia Hansen*** Tom & Luz Higgason Mrs. Edith Hirsch Mr. Herbert J. Hoppe, Jr.* Robert & Linda Jenkins** Dr. Steven & Lena Kanter Bernie & Nancy Karr*** Eileen Kennedy & Greg Cloyd Larry & Joy Kent** Bill & Susan Kirchner* Bob & Nanci Kirkpatrick*** James & Rosemary Koehler Ronald G. Kollar*** Ursula Korneitchouk* Stephen & Carolyn Kuerbitz* Chris & Laura Larson*** Mr. & Mrs. Brian Lawler** Morton & Lola Litt* Anne R. & Kenneth E. Love** Jennifer & Peter Meckes* Steven & Dolly Minter David & Leslee Miraldi*** Steve Z. & Mary Gibbs Mitchell*** Dale Sr., Dale Jr. & Gayle Montgomery Toni & Linda Moore*** Susan N. Morley

Pablo R. Ros, M.D. & Karin Herrmann Doris A. Schultz Geoff & Catherine Tanner Ms. Suzanne W. Tenbrook Arthur L. Thomas Dr. & Mrs. Ken Tomecki Mr. Edward Vargo Ms. Adele Viguera

Ronald Mortus Rick & Paula Reed Dr. Edward J. Rockwood*** Otmar & Rota Sackerlotzky*** Jim & Joan Schaefer Jeff & Beth Ann Sedam Mr. Bahman Y. Sharif Dr. Howard & Beth Simon* Katherine Stokes-Shafer Karl & Carol Theil** Frank & Vicki Titas** Robert & Marti Vagi** Raymond & Carolyn Voelker* Nancy-Anne Wargo* Dr. & Mrs. Gregory A. Watts** Chris & Mary Weaver Mr. John Wiedemann & Ms. Pamela Schnellinger* Brian Wynne & Patrick Cozzens** Ms. Margaret E. Zellmer**

Associates ($125 to $249) Anonymous (3) Donna Beletic* Ms. Pamela Benson* Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Berges Roger Bielefeld*** Peter Blohm John Bolton*** Ms. Dorothy F. Borer* Mr. Stanley C. Brandt & Ms. Mary K. Whitmer*** Joanne R. Bratush*** Mike & Carole Brown* V. Elizabeth Brown** Larry & Andi Carlini** Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Charlick** Jean McQuillan & Richard Christ*** John & Donna Clifford*** Joanne Clifford James Collins Stan & Lisa Corwin* David & Gayle Cratty*** Mary J. Decker Mr. Alex Derkaschenko John Doucette Daniel & Joyce Dyer ** Mr. & Mrs. Robert Eikenburg***

Gene & Patricia Ewald Mary Ann & Joseph Fischer** David V. Foos*** Mr. & Mrs. Gerald R. Frei** Mr. & Mrs. Lou Galizio*** Mrs. Carla Gallagher* Mrs. Barbara J. Garris Virginia T. Goetz* Kathy Grekco Jean E. Gubbins** Tom & Kirsten Hagesfeld*** Ms. Bonnie Ann Hajek Curt & Karen Henkle** Ms. Robin Herrington-Bowen* Mr. & Mrs. Douglas M. Hicks Rick Hoch* Mark & Lynn Hofflund* Kathy & Jamie Hogg*** Ms. Elizabeth A. Irwin Marie Ivkanec* Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Janson** Deb & Gar Kaminski Marilyn & Howard Karfeld*** John & Linda Karolefski Lauren Kawentel** Samuel C. Kennell* William & Marion Kettering** Michael & Lynn Kleinman* Mr. Thomas Knox* Mr. & Mrs. Mark D. Kozel*** Jacob Kronenberg & Barbara Belovich*** Fred & Joann Lafferty*** Jennifer & Robert Larson** Gregory Leach* Gregory & Vickie Leyes** Brian & Renee Lowery** James Marino Joseph Marinucci Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. McDonald*** Roy & Cindy Moore*** Pat Murphy & Mike Kupiec Ms. Barbara H. Nahra Tom & Mary Neff** Thomas Neff Ms. Brenda Norton Robert & Margery Orth* Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Patalon* Mr. & Mrs. James M. Petras Mr. & Mrs. Harold I. Pittaway III

GreatLakesTheater.org

Anonymous (1) Gary D Benz & Betsy A Karetnick Julia & Ben Brouhard** Christopher & Nancy Coburn Evans Charitable Foundation* Mr. Joseph A. Ferritto Janet & Patricia Glaeser*** Gary & Joanna Graeff* William Hasler Mark & Barbara Mazzone** Francis & Viola McDowell** Helen & Harry Mercer*** The Mersol Family*** The Music & Drama Club* Deborah L. Neale*** Thomas & Helen Rathburn** Mrs. Sharon L. Rogers*** Dr. & Mrs. Lynn A. Smith*** Albert Stratton Wulf & Moira Utian Carol Lee Vella*** Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Warren*** Margaret & Loyal Wilson** Women’s Committee of Great Lakes Theater Festival*** Mr. Lee C. Zeiszler** Patrick M. Zohn*** John & Jane Zuzek***

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph H. James Ms. Catherine M. Kilbane & Mr. Donald H. Bullock Ms. Sharon Madger David & Denise Maiorana Mr. & Mrs. J. Adin Mann Larry & Susan Rakow Robinson Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland

at Playhouse Square

Mr. William Plesec Ms. Mary L. Pollak* Andrew & Brenda Pongracz* Mr. & Mrs. Louis Pongracz** Ms. Bette M. Prendergast James & Susan Prince* Ms. Betsy R. Quinn* Peter E. Renerts Reinhold & Ginny Roedig*** Donna Schuerger*** Steve & Kathy Schultz** Ms. Annette Shaughnessy Donna Sheridan*** Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Slavin*** James Sonday William E. Spatz** Susan St. John** Mr. Arthur D. Stehlik & Mrs. Sherri L. Stehlik Kathlyn & Harry Stenzel*** Ms. Margaret A. Svoboda Sean Swick Joanne M. Uniatowski Anne Unverzagt & Richard Goddard*** Mr. & Mrs. James D. Vail** Christine & Daniel Vento* Ryan Vidmar Carol A. Vidoli*** Ms. Kimberly A. Vivolo* Michael Wagner Ms. Kathleen Waits** Mrs. Betty S. Weiss** Roger & Nancy Welchans Jean Wingate Thomas M. Wladyka* Jeanne Wojciechowicz James & Sandra Wood** John & Dianne Young***

Friends ($75 to $124)

Anonymous (3) Lori Adler** Carol Barnak Kimberley Barton Thomas D. Basco Brian & Teresa Bester* Tom & Dorothy Bier Dr. & Mrs. Dieter F. Bloser*** Susan Bobey** Phyliss M. Boggs Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Bolton*** Ms. Anita K. Bridges* Mr. & Mrs. Seth Brodsky Daniel Brown Kathy Caldwell Dr. & Mrs. Dale H. Cowan* Samuel Cowling*** Ms. & Mr. M. Judith Crocker* Judith Darus* Chris & Mary Ann Deibel*** The Eldridge Family Mary Emerson Dr. & Mrs. Michael Eppig Janice Evans** Nancy Facchiano

Mr. & Mrs. Frank L. Field*** Carmela Freeman Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Freeman Charles & Julia Gall** Nicholas & Marsha Gallo Lisa Greb John Greene* Marian Hancy** Jean Heller* Ms. Eleanor W. Helper* Frank & Gerry Hoffert** Ms. Carolyn R. Horn Clyde A. Horn*** Dr. Randal N. Huff Ron & Joanne Hulec*** Mary Immormino James & Gale Jacobsohn Thomas Jecker Dennis Kelly** Mr. Gilbert P. Kenehan** Mr. Kenneth R. Kessler Mr. & Mrs. Albert Kirby Mary Jo Klements David R. Knowles Mr. & Mrs. Gregory G. Kruszka* Leslie Lahr* Ms. Linda V. Lefkovitz* Chuck & Donna Loper Mr. & Mrs. John S. Lupo Susan E. Lust Alex Machaskee Paul S. Malchesky Janet Mann Anne Martin* Gretchen Mates Connie May James L. Mayer Cathy J. McCall*** Mr. David McKissock Rev. Edward E. Mehok*** Antoinette Miller*** Mr. John M. Moss & Mrs. Karen J. Moss Mark Norris Gerald Norton* Joan M. Oravec*** Meribeth Pannitto* Peggy & Michael Partington*** John R. Pendergast Brian Perry & Ka Pi Hoh* Mr. Alan A. Pomiecko Ms. Karen Powers Mr. James E. Racic Judy & Clifford Reeves*** Mr. & Mrs. Gerald P. Rencehausen Ms. Jacqueline Y. Rhodes** Ms. Lori Riga Robinson Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland* Ms. Lois Schneider William & Lisa Schonberg Doris A. Schultz** Randall & Sara Shaner Richard Shirey* Dr. Dave & Faye Sholiton* Mary Slak Marg Slesnick Mary Slowey*

Roy & Alma Smith* Ms. Dana Snyder Mr. & Mrs. John Southworth* Dale M. Sroka John & Leslie Stanforth Kara Suzelis Kathryn Sweeny Dr. Elizabeth Swenson* Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Tatman* Edwin Upton Natalie Vloedman Tom Wagner & Malinda Smyth** Mrs. Barbara S. Walker** Rev. & Mrs. David M. Walker*** Mrs. Alice H. Webster* Adam Wilde Colleen Williams & Jim Persichitti Paul Wolansky Nancy N. Yood Arthur & Deborah Zinn** Maxene Zion *3 – 5 consecutive years as a donor **6 – 9 consecutive years as a donor ***10 or more consecutive years as a donor

Endowment Fund Gifts to the Great Lakes Theater Endowment Fund were received from the following donors between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018 Edward S. Godleski Mary Jane Davis Hartwell* Janet & Bob* Neary Jean Z.* & John S.* Piety David P. Porter & Margaret K. Poutasse in memory of Morton G. Epstein Thomas* & Margaret Lynch Charitable Trust

Gifts were received in honor of: Diane Foley by: Mark Freeman Carla P. Gallagher by: Jim Gallagher Tom Hanks by: Sam Garrett Mary A. Price by: Martha & Wayne Bifano

Gifts were received in memory of: Claudine Clinton by: Pam & Russ Kilpatrick, Mary Slowey Judith Kutcher by: George A. Hoy, Lawrence R. Gonet, Donald P. Koch, Mr. James W. Kutcher, Ruth Rayle, P. Joyce Rhodes, Billy Taylor Michael Markic by: Nancy Smith

Matching Gift Corporations Eaton Corporation GE Foundation IBM Corporation The Lubrizol Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Perkins Charitable Foundation PNC Foundation Schneider Electric North America Foundation The Sherwin-Williams Company Many companies, like the ones listed above, match all or a portion of their employees’ charitable giving. Is your employer a matching gift company? Find out by contacting your employer or the Great Lakes Theater Development Office at (216) 453-4442.

The Women’s Committee Formed in 1961, the committee is Great Lakes Theater’s longest standing volunteer support group. Members act as hosts for our actors, provide support in our administrative office and at events, and cheer us on throughout the season. If you would like to become a member, call Joanne Hulec at (216) 252-8717 for more information. Officers Janice Campbell, President Kathy Berkshire, Co-Vice Chair Barb Chernus, Co-Vice Chair Viola McDowell, Recording Secretary Bernice Bolek, Corresponding Secretary Nanci Kirkpatrick, Treasurer

Every effort is made to ensure that our donor records are current and correct. Please contact Great Lakes Theater’s Development Office at (216) 453-4442 or via email at lsteward@ greatlakestheater.org with questions or to report updates and revisions.

TRUSTEES Chair

William W. Jacobs *†

President

Timothy J. Downing *

Secretary

Kim Bixenstine *

Treasurer

Kathleen Kennedy *

Trustees

John E. Katzenmeyer † Denise Horstman Keen Faisal Khan * John W. Lebold * William E. MacDonald III † David M. Maiorana Ellen Stirn Mavec † Mary J. Mayer John E. McGrath † Katie McVoy * Leslie H. Moeller Mike Mumford Janet E. Neary † Pamela G. Noble * Michael J. Peterman † Timothy K. Pistell † David P. Porter † Georgianna T. Roberts † Ana Rodriguez

Pablo R. Ros, M.D. John D. Schubert † Peter Shimrak † Thomas G. Stafford Sally J. Staley Diana W. Stromberg Catherine Tanner Kristine M. Tesar Arthur L. Thomas Gerald F. Unger Thomas D. Warren Nancy Wellener Patrick Zohn Rebecca A. Zuti * Executive Committee † Life Trustee

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE In 2002, Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland, Ohio) and Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, Idaho) conceived a unique, strategic producing alliance designed to maximize return on organizational investments, increase production efficiencies, create long term work opportunities for artists and share best practices. In 2010, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (Incline Village, Nevada) joined the collaborative — further contributing to the momentum of the revolutionary producing prototype's success. The long term results have been remarkable. The alliance's three independent, 501c3 regional theaters have shared over 60 jointly-created productions — each featuring long term, multi-city employment opportunities for artistic company members. This revolutionary producing model has realized its vision and exceeded expectations while simultaneously resulting in notable audience growth for each company.

GreatLakesTheater.org

Michelle Arendt Jennifer Armstrong Walter Avdey Dalia Baker Gina L. Beebe Gary Benz

David L. Bialosky Todd M. Burger * William Caster * Gail L. Cudak Carolyn Dickson † Leslie Dickson William B. Doggett † Carol Dolan * Dr. Howard G. Epstein Natalie Epstein *† Dianne V. Foley * Stephen H. Gariepy Lynn M. Gattozzi Elizabeth A. Grove * Arthur C. Hall, III Samuel Hartwell * Mary Elizabeth Huber Diane Hupp Joseph H. James

STAFF Leadership Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director Bob Taylor, Executive Director

Management Team

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Director of Educational Services.................Kelly Schaffer Florian Production Manager................................Jeff Herrmann Director of Institutional Advancement.................Todd Krispinsky Director of Educational Programming...... Lisa Ortenzi

Artistic Artistic Associate..............................................Tom Ford

Education Education Assistant.................Chennelle Bryant-Harris Education Outreach Associate................David Hansen School Residency Program Actor-Teachers................. Trevor Buda, Adam Graber, Tim Keo, Adrionna Powell Lawrence, Kimberly Martin, Zyrece Montgomery, Shaun Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill, Leah Smith

Finance & Administration Manager of Finance & Administration...................Stephanie Reed

Institutional Advancement Audience Engagement Coordinator........ Jeremy Lewis Marketing & Communications Manager................................................. Kacey Shapiro Annual Fund & Special Events Coordinator......................................Elizabeth Steward Advancement Associate...................Olivia M. Williams

Production Assistant Production Manager...........Corrie E. Purdum Technical Director.......................................Mark Cytron Assistant Technical Director..........William Langenhop Master Carpenter.......................................Lindsay Loar Carpenter/Welder...............................Richard Haberlen Carpenter.............................................Nathan Glowacki Properties Master..............................Jessica Rosenlieb Properties Assistant ..........................Bernadine Cockey Costume Director............................ Esther M. Haberlen

Assistant Shop Manager/Draper....................Leah Loar First Hand............................................... Christine Krysa Crafts........................................................Zachary Hickle Milliner........................................................Marta Glazen Stitchers.............Mackenzie Malone, Christina Spencer Wardrobe Supervisor........................Mackenzie Malone Wardrobe Crew....................Marta Glazen, Zack Hickle, Leah Loar, Peter Sherman, Christina Spencer Master Electrician.....................................Tammy Taylor Electrician Assistants.... Andrew Bidwell, Ralph Melari Charge Scenic Artist.................................... Ruth Lohse Audio Supervisor.....................................Brian Chismar Production Stage Manager......................... Tim Kinzel* Assistant Stage Manager................. Jessica B. Lucas* Production Associate/ Young Company Supervisor..................... Amy Essick Run Crew...........................Brian Chismar, Nicki Cathro, Richard Haberlen, William Langenhop, Lindsay Loar, Ralph Melari, Tammy Taylor, Gary Zsigrai Ohio Theatre Crew................Thomas Boddy, Chris Guy, Shaun Milligan, Nathan Tulenson

Volunteers

Company Doctor.......Dr. Donald Ford & Cleveland Clinic Trinity High School Costume Interns.......Dishaina Goins, Kalicia Straight

Special Thanks Great Lakes Theater is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT) and operates under agreements with LORT, Actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Equity Association, American Federation of Musicians, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the United Scenic Artists, which are unions representing professional actors, stage managers, musicians, stagehands, directors, choreographers, and designers, respectively, in the United States. LORT

1501 Euclid Ave., Suite 300 Cleveland, OH 44115 P: (216) 241-5490 F: (216) 241-6315 W: GreatLakesTheater.org

Playbill Editor: Linda Feagler For advertising information, please contact Matthew Kraniske: 216-377-3681

NOV./DEC. AT PLAYHOUSE SQUARE OUTCALT/ HELEN/ ALLEN ALLEN ALLEN Sunday

Monday

HANNA

KENNEDY’S

Tuesday

THE MUSICAL PHENOMENON lesmiz.com

Les Misérables Pride and Prejudice Sweat

Les Misérables

OHIO

Wednesday

Les Misérables Mamma Mia! On The Trail of Big Cats

CONNOR KEYBANK US BANK WESTFIELD PALACE STATE PLAZA STUDIO Thursday

Friday

NOVEMBER

Saturday

Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Les Misérables Les Misérables Pride and Prejudice Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! Sweat Sweat Sweat Dirty Songbook The Dirty Songbook The Music of Cream The A View from the Aziz Ansari View from the Bridge View from the Bridge Bridge Les Misérables Les Misérables Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! Violet Violet Violet Ballet Hispanico

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Violet Ballet Hispanico Double Dare Live!

Les Misérables

Les Misérables Cleveland Comedy Festival

Les Misérables Violet Cleveland Comedy Festival

Les Misérables Violet Boney James Anita Baker Cleveland Comedy Festival

A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story Holidazzle

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Les Misérables Violet MTP Presents: Just for Laughs Cleveland Comedy Festival The Singing Angels

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A Christmas Story The Cleveland Pops Orchestra: A Christmas Spectacular Peppa Pig Live!

Chicago

Chicago A Christmas Story

DECEMBER

An Evening with Harry Chicago A Christmas Story Connick Jr.

Chicago A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol NCMC: Snowbound Thom Yorke

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Rudolph The RedNosed Reindeer

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Rudolph The RedNosed Reindeer Dave Koz and Friends CLE Jazz Orchestra w/ Helen Welch

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol The Nutcracker

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol The Nutcracker Behind the Scenes of Serial Season 3

25 26 27 28 29 30 1

Chicago A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Trailer Park Boys

A Christmas Carol NCMC: Snowbound

The Piano Guys: Christmas Together

GreatLakesTheater.org

Les Misérables Violet Anita Baker Cleveland Comedy Festival

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Rudolph The RedNosed Reindeer The Hip Hop Nutcracker

A Christmas Story A Magical Cirque Christmas

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Straight No Chaser

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol The Nutcracker

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Spamilton: An American Parody

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Spamilton: An American Parody

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Spamilton: An American Parody Mannheim Steamroller Christmas

Spamilton: An American Parody

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol Spamilton: An American Parody

Spamilton: An American Parody

23/30 24/31 25 26 27 28 29 Spamilton: An American Parody

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