KING LEAR Playbill - Great Lakes Theater (Fall 2015)

Cleveland’s Classic Company at the Hanna Theatre presents

Oct. 2 – Nov. 1, 2015

cleVeland Play house

2015-16 season next on stage...

the crucible

a christmas story

little shoP of horrors

oct 10 – nov 8 | outcalt theatre

nov 27 – dec 23 | allen theatre

Jan 9 – feb 7 | allen theatre

The village of Salem is run wild with tales of witchcraft.

Deep-seated jealousies, lust and greed are bubbling to the surface from the heat of each neighbor’s exaggerated accusations. Revenge has replaced reason; mere rumors are now damning evidence — and no one is safe. Astoundingly relevant, Arthur Miller’s controversial American classic dares to put us all on trial.

He’s back! One boy. One holiday wish. And a world that seems to be conspiring to make certain it doesn’t come true. The record-breaking show returns to the CPH stage in all its pink-bunny-suit, glowingleg-lamp, triple-dog-daring glory. The perfect holiday treat for the entire family.

Seymour is a nerdy floral clerk with a knack for plants, but not much else. However, one peculiar plant might just be his ticket to fame, fortune — and the girl of his dreams. There’s only one teeny — but ‘growing’ — problem: This plant has an unquenchable thirst for the red stuff (type O, A, or B... he’s not picky). Mixing Motown and B-movies, Little Shop of Horrors is a gleefully twisted, screamingly funny hit musical.

written by Arthur Miller directed by lAurA Kepley

written by phil GreciAn based on the motion picture written by JeAn Shepherd, leiGh Brown & BoB clArK directed by John MccluGGAGe

book and lyrics by howArd AShMAn music by AlAn MenKen based on a film by roGer corMAn screenplay by chArleS Griffith directed by AMAndA dehnert

Visit our website to order tickets and see the entire 100th season!

216.241.6000 | clevelandplayhouse.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GreatLakesTheater.org

Welcome..................................................................................................................... 4 About Great Lakes Theater............................................................................................ 5 News & Notes.............................................................................................................. 6 King Lear.................................................................................................................... 9 Cast of Characters...................................................................................................... 10 Spotlight on King Lear................................................................................................ 11 The Artistic Company................................................................................................. 21 Donors....................................................................................................................... 31 Trustees..................................................................................................................... 37 Staff.......................................................................................................................... 38 Oct./Nov. at Playhouse Square.................................................................................... 39

Be the Star of the Show PHOTO: JULIE HAHN/SUGARBUSH DESIGN

In the glamour of Downtown Cleveland’s Theater District allow Wyndham’s service professionals to host your Wedding Reception, Rehearsal Dinner, and Wedding Brunch. Contact Beth Blankenship, our wedding specialist at 216-615-3325 or bblankenship@wyndham.com

1260 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115 216-615-7500 www.wyndhamcleveland.com

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WELCOME Dear Friends,

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at Playhouse Square

n behalf of our artists, staff, and Board of Trustees, welcome to Great Lakes Theater’s 54th season! Our mission, “to bring the pleasure, power, and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience,” guides our mainstage productions as well as our educational programming, in the belief that theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, and provide our student audiences a glimpse of a broader world and the wellspring of learning made possible through the arts.

Our fall repertory season is a study in contrasts, in which the natural environment plays a central role both metaphorically and literally. Nature’s healing powers in The Secret Garden, and destructive powers in King Lear, constantly underscore the action of these two plays; just as the tragedy of an aging king’s disintegration, descent into madness and death are contrasted by a child’s experience of awakening, healing, and growth in The Secret Garden. Setting the plays against each other in “rep” creates an exceptionally profound experience of the human condition. Seeing the acting company move effortlessly between these productions — under the brilliant direction of Victoria Bussert and Joe Hanreddy — is a reminder of the incredible talent that has become the hallmark of Great Lakes Theater! I sincerely hope you will treat yourself to both productions.

As you read through your program and look around the theater tonight, you will see the names of many friends, partners, corporations and foundations, whose generous support makes all of this possible. Let me encourage you to join these donors by becoming a member of the Great Lakes Theater family with your gift! (As a reminder, ticket sales account for only 50% of the cost of producing our mainstage productions and educational programs.)

As the curtain rises on our 54th season, we offer special thanks to The Kulas Foundation for their support of The Secret Garden. We also express our appreciation to the “Shakespeare in American Communities” program of the National Endowment for the Arts for a generous grant in support of our production of King Lear.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all of our season sponsors and annual members, with continued thanks to our partners of more than 30 years at Playhouse Square and the tireless efforts of our dedicated administrative staff, board of trustees, and the tremendous generosity of this community!

I hope to see you in our audience again soon.

Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director

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ABOUT GREAT LAKES THEATER

Great Lakes Theater’s spring 2015 production of The Tempest. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni) he mission of Great Lakes Theater, through its main stage 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 Great Lakes’ 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, preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate communal spirit. On its main stage 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 programs 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 through Surround, a series of community programs that explore the themes of a main stage production. To this end, Great Lakes Theater 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 Great Lakes moves into a new era with a permanent home in 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.

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

GreatLakesTheater.org

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NEWS & NOTES Sensory Friendly

at Playhouse Square

For a third consecutive season, Great Lakes Theater, in partnership with Theatre Development Fund: Autism Theatre Initiative, Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Milestones Autism Resources, will present a sensory-friendly performance of its production of A Christmas Carol on Wednesday, November 25 (11 a.m.) at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square, making live theater accessible to children and adults on the autism spectrum and their families. Tickets are $15 and seating is general admission. For complete information, visit GreatLakesTheater.org/event/sensory.

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National Honors

Secret Delights

Happy 35th Birthday

Cleveland’s Classic Company is in select company! Arts Midwest, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, recently announced $1M in grants to 40 nonprofit, professional theater companies across 26 states to perform the works of William Shakespeare for students through Shakespeare in American Communities.

We at Great Lakes Theater are proud to have been selected as one of this season’s grantees for our current production of King Lear and we’re thrilled to be able to introduce future generations to the classics as a result of this prestigious award of support.

On May 16, 2015, Great Lakes Theater patrons and guests enjoyed an evening of delights in one of Cleveland’s hottest re-emerging neighborhoods when the theater held its annual benefit at the Aloft Hotel on the east bank of the Flats. Catered by Lago Restaurant and Wine Bar, The Secret Gala celebrated the 2015 season opener, The Secret Garden, with guests attending in festive English garden party attire.

The successful event was chaired by GLT trustees Beth Grove (pictured above with husband Rich Bedell) and Bill Caster, and sponsored by PNC Bank.

1980 was a memorable year. The U.S. defeated the U.S.S.R. in the “Miracle on Ice,” CNN hit the airwaves, Pac-Man was born … and in northeast Ohio, an even more extraordinary event was celebrated – the creation of Great Lakes Theater’s School Residency Program! From its visionary beginnings, the program has grown into a model of excellence in arts education. Today, teams of “actor-teachers” bring the excitement of classic drama to over 15,000 students in English classes at nearly 100 schools annually! And, if you’re wondering … the appropriate gift is coral.

Photo: Roger Mastroianni

Great Lakes Theater

Cleveland’s Classic Company at Playhouse Square

presents...

2015 2016

SEASON

Join us

FOR AN EXPANDED SEASON!

A Tony Award-Winning Musical for the Whole Family

the secret garden

September 25 - October 31, 2015 / Hanna Theatre Book & lyrics by Marsha Norman / Music by Lucy Simon / Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Shakespeare’s Towering Tragedy

king lear

October 2 - November 1, 2015 / Hanna Theatre

By William Shakespeare

Northeast Ohio’s Favorite Holiday Tradition

a christmas carol November 28 - December 23, 2015 / Ohio Theatre

By Charles Dickens / Adapted and Directed by Gerald Freedman

Agatha Christie’s Murder Mystery Classic

and then there were none February 26 - March 20, 2016 / Hanna Theatre

By Agatha Christie

A Hilarious Labor of Love and Laughter

love’s labour’s lost

April 8 - 24, 2016 / Hanna Theatre

By William Shakespeare

The World’s Longest Running Musical

the fantasticks

May 13 - 29, 2016 / Hanna Theatre

Book & lyrics by Tom Jones / Music by Harvey Schmidt

216.241.6000 / GreatLakesTheater.org

Hanna Theatre Oct. 2 – Nov. 1, 2015

Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director

With generous support from

Presents

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by

JOSEPH HANREDDY Company

J. Todd Adams* Cassandra Bissell* Neil Brookshire* Gabriel Brown Stephen Mitchell Brown* Robyn Cohen* Aled Davies* Scenic Designer Linda Buchanan Fight Choreographer Ken Merckx

Jonathan Dyrud* Tom Ford* Peter Gosik* Leah Jennings* Jillian Kates* Ben Kemper Sara Masterson

Costume Designer Martha Hally

Dougfred Miller* Mary Mondlock Laura Perrotta* Katie Proulx* Colton Ryan David Anthony Smith* Dustin Tucker*

Lighting Designer Paul Miller

Production Stage Manager Tim Kinzel*

GreatLakesTheater.org

by

Sound Designers Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen

Assistant Stage Manager Jessica Lucas*

There will be one fifteen-minute intermission.

Great Lakes Theater’s production of King Lear is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Student Subscriptions to Great Lakes Theater are subsidized in part by a generous gift from Eaton Corporation. *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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at Playhouse Square

CAST OF CHARACTERS King Lear .................................................................................................. Aled Davies * Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter................................................................. Laura Perrotta * Regan, Lear’s second daughter ..................................................................Robyn Cohen * Cordelia, Lear’s youngest daughter.......................................................Cassandra Bissell * Duke of Albany, husband to Goneril ...........................................Stephen Mitchell Brown * Duke of Cornwall, husband to Regan......................................................... Dustin Tucker * Earl of Kent.......................................................................................... Dougfred Miller * Earl of Gloucester.......................................................................... David Anthony Smith * Edgar, Gloucester’s legitimate son............................................................J. Todd Adams * Edmund, Gloucester’s illegitimate son.................................................... Jonathan Dyrud * Lear’s Fool..................................................................................................... Tom Ford * Oswald, servant to Goneril........................................................................... Peter Gosik * King of France..................................................................................... Neil Brookshire* † Duke of Burgundy......................................................................................Ben Kemper All other ensemble roles........................................................................ Neil Brookshire*, Gabriel Brown, Peter Gosik*, Leah Jennings*, Jillian Kates*, Ben Kemper, Sara Masterson, Mary Mondlock, Katie Proulx*, Colton Ryan † Fight Captain *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Run Times Act I: 1 hour and 15 minutes Intermission: 15 minutes Act II: 1 hour and 20 minutes Total Run Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes

NIGHTCAP SATURDAYS

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Stick around after Saturday (non-opening night) evening performances to meet and mingle with the cast and crew of the show in the Hanna Theatre lounge. The Hanna’s bar is open ninety minutes after the show on Nightcap Nights!

spotlight an insider’s guide to

Generous support for Spotlight was provided by

Donald F. and Anne T. Palmer

From the Director Joseph Hanreddy

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Spotlight on king lear

overs of Shakespeare may differ on which play stands as his finest artistic achievement, but gather a group of theater artists for drinks and shop-talk and they’ll likely agree that King Lear, with its titanic range of emotion, vast physical landscape, dark ironic humor, and snarl of mysteries, contradictions, ambiguities and paradoxes, render it one of the theater’s greatest challenges to realize in performance. From the opening moments, Lear is ferociously intense as family resentments and fragile egos ignite an ungoverned rant of rage that unleashes betrayal, barbarous cruelty and civil war. Every character, from monarch to lunatic beggar, is set on a struggle for sanity and survival in a ravaged kingdom.

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There have been an abundance of notable productions of Lear in recent years and the play’s current popularity is a testament, not only to its brilliance and theatricality, but also to its timeliness. King Lear is very much a story for the early years of the 21st century. The personal and political miscalculations, self-serving ambition, cruelty, paternalism, sexism, and emotional detachment portrayed in this 400 year old play are shockingly contemporary in the context of such horrors as torture, genocide, subjugation of women and barbaric acts of terrorism that have grown to be an everyday part of our awareness.

A modern viewing of the play can’t help but invite comparisons between Shakespeare’s Renaissance imaginings of devastation in a kingdom gone mad, and images of chaos and suffering on our computers and television screens that are burnt into our consciousness. Shakespeare’s depiction of a “tipping point,” a disastrous chain of events that ruptures the perilously fragile membrane separating civilized order from chaos—setting life as we know it hurtling down a slope to extinction with inexorable speed—is a frighteningly plausible outcome of any number of present-day conflicts. His investigation of the dilemma of the dispossessed and aged finds immediate resonance in our communities. His questioning of the elusiveness and mysteries of cosmic justice and the existence or absence of a heavenly plan for us on earth parallels our con-

temporary discord on matters religious, political and philosophical. And as theater, the play is uncannily modern in the way a master playwright allows language, thought, imagination and gut-wrenching emotional intensity to trump realism in the brilliantly simple and imaginative theatrical devices he constructs for his epic tale.

King Lear’s consistent thwarting of our impulse to draw a clear moral message from the story is yet another astonishing aspect of its modernity.

Any “lesson” that we find in one part of the play is nullified somewhere else. For example: we learn through suffering and pain; or conversely: the randomness of suffering and pain proves the pointlessness of existence. Or supernatural powers have a plan for us, or no plan, or are just, or unjust, or are vindictive, or sadistic, or arbitrary, or not there at all. Ultimately, this restless questioning as to “what it’s all about” rides tandem with Shakespeare’s gripping story to create one of the most compelling combinations of thought and action in dramatic literature.

Summary

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daughters join forces to demand that Lear dismiss his Knights. Lear flees into a freezing thunderstorm, accompanied by the Fool and the disguised Kent.

Cornwall and Regan arrest Gloucester for his aid to Lear; they accuse him of treason before Cornwall savagely blinds him.

Cornwall receives a mortal wound from a servant who comes to Gloucester’s defense.

Edgar, in the disguise of “Poor Tom”, discovers his father being led by a faithful servant.

At Gloucester’s request “Poor Tom” leads him toward the cliffs of Dover, where the old man intends to take his own life.

Edmund and Goneril, having become lovers during the journey, arrive at her estate.

Albany castigates his wife for her cruelty to her father.

A French army, led by Cordelia in an effort to rescue her father, lands at Dover.

Regan, newly widowed and jealous of Goneril’s intentions towards Edmund, tries to entice her sister’s servant to let her read a letter Goneril has written to him.

Edgar deceives the despairing Gloucester into believing that he is on the precipice of the cliffs of Dover, rather than on level ground, and convinces him that he has survived his attempt at suicide.

Lear, wandering the countryside in his madness, stumbles upon Gloucester and Edgar. As Cordelia’s army prepares to meet the English forces she is reconciled with her father, who begs her forgiveness. The English, led by Edmund, defeat the French. Lear and Cordelia are captured and Edmund secretly gives a command that they be executed. Edgar kills Edmund in a duel and tells Albany of his father’s death. Goneril, jealous of Regan’s romantic and political alliance with Edmund, poisons her. Goneril commits suicide after Albany exposes a plot between her and Edmund to kill him. Cordelia is executed in prison and Lear dies from grief at her passing.

Kent, broken from the many sorrows, leaves to die and it is left to Edgar to lead the country out of a cloud of sorrow and regret.

Spotlight on king lear

ing Lear announces his intention to abdicate his power to his three daughters. His eldest, Goneril, is married to the Duke of Albany, his middle child, Regan, to the Duke of Cornwall. The Duke of Burgundy and the King of France are at the Court, both to woo Lear’s youngest daughter, Cordelia. Before revealing the details of the division of the kingdom, Lear asks each of the daughters to tell how much she loves him, intimating the largest share will go the daughter who expresses the most affection. Goneril speaks an embellished expression of endearment and Regan does her best to follow suit.

Cordelia remains silent, and when pressed, offends both her father and sisters, saying that it is only natural that her future husband will have half her love. Lear flies into a rage; he disowns Cordelia, leaving her share of the kingdom to Cornwall and Albany to “digest.”

He banishes his faithful ally, the Earl of Kent, for coming to his daughter’s defense and does his best to discourage her suitors. The King of France refuses to be dissuaded, and agrees to marry Cordelia without a dowry and they leave for France.

The Earl of Gloucester’s illegitimate son, Edmund, deceives him into believing that Gloucester’s legitimate son, Edgar, is laying a plot to kill their father in order to come into his inheritance early.

Lear and his Knights visit Goneril and Albany’s estate on a hunting trip. When she criticizes the behaviors of the Knights and Lear’s Fool, Lear lays a hurtful and devastating curse of infertility upon her and storms off to stay with Regan.

Fleeing the manhunt his father has set for him, Edgar disguises himself as a religious beggar, calling himself “Poor Tom.” Regan and Cornwall visit the Earl of Gloucester, hoping to secretly enlist him in a civil war against Goneril and Albany. Lear, accompanied by the Fool, tracks Regan to Gloucester’s estate and is angered to find his messenger (Kent in disguise) placed in stocks on Cornwall’s order. Goneril arrives and the

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Playnotes: Shakespeare’s King Lear

Spotlight on king lear

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e’ll never know how Shakespeare came to write King Lear. Without knowing the how or why, we can appreciate, with director Joe Hanreddy, that King Lear is “one of the theater’s greatest challenges.”

But several backdrops can provide insight into Shakespeare’s towering achievement.

The first known performance of King Lear took place on December 26, 1606, at the court of King James. Shakespeare was 42 years old then and in full command as a playwright. In today’s parlance, he was a “playwright in residence” and also an actor and shareholder in the theater company known as “The King’s Men.” The company was already in the ascendant before James assumed the English throne in 1603, and the king’s patronage confirmed their dominance. By 1606, the King’s Men were performing at court at least 10 times a year or more, which was almost twice as often as they had performed for James’s predecessor, Elizabeth. Court performances helped the company to weather the vagaries of the box office at their outdoor Globe Theatre and their indoor Blackfriars Theatre, where King Lear was also presented in 1609.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in the 1590s, Shakespeare had extensively explored the ways in which kings assumed and wielded power in the English history plays. Succession was a paramount political question during the reign of the unmarried and childless Elizabeth.

James assumed the English throne peacefully in 1603; he was heir to Henry VIII’s sister through both his mother and his father and had already produced a male heir by then. But the threat of civil unrest remained.

Before he became King of England and Ireland, James had already been King of Scotland since 1567. Scotland and England were at that time independent nations—Ireland had already lost its sovereignty—and they were only united, uneasily, in the person of James. The conflicting hopes of religious factions also buffeted the King, whose mother, Mary Queen of Scots, had been a staunch Catholic and opponent of the Tudor march toward Protestantism. The foiled Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was initiated by Catholics who felt betrayed that James had not reversed the Tudor religious policies.

King Lear does not comment clearly on such

Portrait of King James I of England, attributed to John de Critz, c. 1606.

topical events. But a play about a king who divides his kingdom among three children could have been particularly resonant at a time when James was struggling to hold together a kingdom of three political entities. The title given the play in the 1608 edition--The True Chronicle History of King Lear—reminds us that the chronicles Shakespeare raided for his history plays (Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain, Ralph Holinshed’s Chronicles, The Mirror for Magistrates, and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene) named Lear a historical king of England. King Lear had already been the subject of an earlier anonymous play in 1594. A provincial acting troupe was arrested for performing several plays, including one about King Lear, whether Shakespeare’s or the anonymous play, in 1610 in the home of a Catholic sympathizer.

While it is difficult to recover the significance King Lear may have had in the political landscape of the day, the play’s profound exploration of the human condition is universal. Every chronicler before Shakespeare had given the story of Lear a happy ending; while Lear’s divi-

sion of his kingdom threatened its stability, his loyal daughter Cordelia restored order in the end. Shakespeare found a parallel story of a father with a loyal son and a disloyal son in Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, and it provided the subplot in King Lear involving the Duke of Gloucester and his sons Edgar and Edmund.

The tragic arc of Sidney’s story—and the possibilities for counterpoint between the two story lines—may have influenced Shakespeare’s decision to recast King Lear as a tragedy.

While Shakespeare had written tragedies throughout his career, four tragedies poured forth between 1604 and 1607 (Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra). Scholars have sometimes turned to the playwright’s biography to ponder the bleakness of his tragic vision during those years. The inevitable deaths of loved ones often force a person to confront mortality.

Shakespeare’s son Hamnet died in 1596, and the playwright’s father died in 1601.

Like Lear, Shakespeare seems to have been contemplating retirement by 1606. He bought a large house in his hometown of Stratford in 1597 and added substantial acreage in 1602 and 1605. Shakespeare editor David Bevington has noted that King Lear, like many of Shakespeare’s mature works, turns on the fraught relationship between a father and a daughter ready for mar-

The roles that actor Robert Armin is thought to have played include the Fool in King Lear, Touchstone in As You Like It, and Feste in Twelfth Night.

The Coat of Arms used by King James I after his accession to the English throne in 1603 displayed the English Tudor rose, the Scottish thistle, and the Irish harp.

riage. Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna married physician John Hall in 1607, and his daughter Judith would marry in 1616. Shakespeare’s own time of life and family situation may have led him to consider the complicated dance of generations. But, in the end, the scope and mastery of King Lear defy explanation.

Spotlight on king lear

The title page to the 1608 quarto edition of King Lear.

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King Lear Through the Ages

Spotlight on king lear

The three kingdoms that King James tried to unite pulled apart during the English Civil War, also known as “The War of Three Kingdoms.” The monarchy was overthrown and theater was suppressed until the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. When the theaters re-opened, Shakespeare’s tragedies did not fit the conflict-adverse sensibilities of the day. King Lear was deemed especially offensive—with the barbarity of Gloucester’s blinding and the wanton killing of Cordelia. In 1681 Nahum Tate adapted King Lear for actor-manager Thomas Betterton. Tate eliminated the bawdy Fool entirely, and created a happy ending for the play, which now concluded with a marriage between Cordelia and Edgar.

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It was Tate’s version of King Lear that held the stage throughout the 18th century and provided the basis for the performances of such legendary actor-managers as David Garrick. In 1765, Samuel Johnson, an early editor of Shakespeare, was still defending Tate’s choices, remarking, “[T]he publick has decided. Cordelia, from the time of Tate, has always retired with victory and felicity. And, if my sensations could add any thing to the general suffrage, I might relate, that I was many years ago so shocked by Cordelia’s death, that I know not whether I ever endured to read again the last scenes of the play till I undertook to revise them as an editor.”

Nahum Tate was the Irish-born poet who gave King Lear a happy ending in 1681.

Actor-manager David Garrick was still performing Tate’s adaptation to great acclaim into the late 1770s.

British actor William Charles Macready was the first to restore the play’s tragic ending in 1838; the pathos and tenderness with which he performed it were praised by his contemporaries.

William Charles Macready was the first to restore the tragic ending of King Lear in 1838.

Henry Irving’s 1892 production of King Lear achieved a sense of spectacle through the use of painted drops.

The 19th century witnessed a quest for heightened and spectacular naturalism on stage. With King Lear’s storm and open heath, many theater producers shared Charles Lamb’s judgment that “Lear is essentially impossible to be represented on a stage.” But in 1892, impresario Henry Irving, working from artist Ford Madox Brown’s drawings, marshaled the resources for creating an aweinspiring scenic environment using painted drops.

While Irving’s painterly scenes were filled with realistic detail, he is also credited with introducing a symbolic approach in his production of King Lear. The play moved from richly furnished interior settings to stark exteriors indicated by a bare stage and a painted drop. Observes scholar Alan Hughes, “it was as though the rich spectacle of theatre had been stripped away from Lear with his other illusions, leaving him alone in the void.”

Lawrence Carra tackled King Lear during his first season as artistic director of Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in 1966, with Emery Battis as Lear and Norma Joseph as Cordelia.

The psychological approach to the play’s setting has shifted the emphasis toward the actor, and the role of King Lear has always represented the summit for older actors—from Laurence Olivier to Ian McKellen. At Great Lakes Theater, King Lear has been played by veteran company members Emery Battis in 1966 and Larry Gates in 1981 and by guest artists Wesley Addy in 1974 and Hal Holbrook in 1990.

GLT artistic director Gerald Freedman collaborated in 1990 with scenic designer John Ezell and actor Hal Holbrook as Lear (pictured here with Gloria Biegler as Cordelia) to create a production that used visual metaphor in service of psychological realism.

Spotlight on king lear

The 20th century has moved toward more psychological, abstract or metaphoric approaches to realizing the storm that batters Lear. In several recent productions— the 1997 production with Sir Ian Holm at the National Theatre and the 2007 Royal Shakespeare Company production with Sir Ian McKellen—actors have portrayed Lear’s descent into madness by stripping naked.

In the 1990 production at Great Lakes Theater with Hal Holbrook, the confining consequences of Lear’s choices were made manifest by large cables that increasingly constricted the king’s range of motion.

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Spotlight on king lear

From inspiration to design

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This architectural detail of a window inspired director Joe Hanreddy and scenic designer Linda Buchanan.

This image of a building commissioned by Mussolini in 1935 for the Sapienza University of Rome is one of many that the production team looked at during the design process.

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irector Joe Hanreddy began the production process by asking himself and his design team, “What is timely about this play?” They decided that the play spoke to them of a very contemporary nightmare scenario in which “a series of man-made events escalate quickly to a tipping point.” Setting the play in a contemporary environment would forefront the play’s timeliness.

And yet, when they thought about contemporary hotspots for unrest, they decided that they didn’t want to direct the audience to focus on a particular crisis in today’s news in a way that would obscure the play’s universality.

Seeking a balance between timeliness and timelessness, the production team turned to visual imagery.

Knowing that they wanted to start with an orderly environment that would subsequently collapse, they looked at images of “Brutalist” architecture, along with public buildings in Fascist Italy and Soviet-Bloc countries. These sources had in common, explains scenic designer Linda Buchanan, “large, simple forms, made of such harsh materials as concrete and steel,

Ruined buildings in war-torn Eastern European cities provided images of the disintegration that would take place during the course of the play.

which conveyed power and control in a visual form.” The discoloration that attends the aging of such materials suggested a way to convey the corruption that riddles the seeming order.

A specific image of a large round, multipaned window set into a concrete wall provided

Goneril

a focal element for the production’s scenic design. The round shape reinforced the many references in the play to Fortune’s wheel. The window panes suggested a way to accomplish the sense of disintegration gradually that would also open up space for the exterior scenes that increasingly dominate the action of the play.

With ideas for the space underway, attention turned toward the people moving within it.

“What people choose to wear,” observes costume designer Martha Hally, “is a signal of how people want to present themselves to the world.”

The contemporary setting, adds director Hanreddy, allows for a stylistic shorthand.

Today’s audiences understand today’s stylistic references and can immediately interpret the significance of the differences between Goneril’s more conservative attire, Regan’s more “fashion-forward” look, and the simpler lines and fabrics that Cordelia prefers.

Actors provide the final dimension to the production. Hanreddy’s goal as director is to help the actors live with the contradictions in their characters. Lear and Gloucester, for example, are “misogynistic and paternalistic,” says Hanreddy, “but each is capable of love. We wouldn’t be interested in them if they weren’t.”

Cordelia

Contemporary clothing styles provided costume designer Martha Hally with a shorthand for expressing the differences between the conservative Goneril, fashion-forward Regan, and unaffected Cordelia.

Spotlight on king lear

Costume Design by Martha Hally

Regan

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Learn More and Explore Experience Enhancement Salon Thursdays

Grab a beverage and enjoy a 30 minute pre-show discussion with a GLT artist an hour before the curtain.

Nightcap Saturdays Stick around after the evening performance to mingle in the Hanna’s lounge – open ninety minutes following the show.

Director’s Night Enjoy a pre-show discussion with our Artistic Director and the director of the show an hour before curtain.

sights and sounds GreatLakesTheater.org

Visit our website for the latest production related audio and visual content in the Sights and Sounds section of our show page.

Special Thanks

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

THE ARTISTIC COMPANY J. Todd Adams* Edgar Five seasons at Great Lakes Theater

Cassandra Bissell* Cordelia Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater Cassandra is delighted to return to Great Lakes Theater, having appeared previously as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. She is based in Chicago where select credits include: Chicago Shakespeare Theater (The Tempest, Richard II, King John, Short Shakespeare!Romeo & Juliet and ShortShakespeare!Macbeth), Court Theatre (Arcadia, Hamlet), Northlight (Detroit ’67), Steppenwolf (The Berlin Circle), Victory Gardens (Memory House), Next Theatre (In

Neil Brookshire* King of France/Ensemble Five seasons at Great Lakes Theater Most recently with Great Lakes Theater: Much Ado About Nothing, Cabaret, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Taming of the Shrew. Other regional work: Boise Contemp­orary Theater, Cadence Theatre Co, Company of Fools, dancing with Idaho Dance Theatre, ten seasons with Idaho Shakes­peare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Opera Idaho, Peninsula Players, and Seattle Novyi Theatre. He is also a painter and a filmmaker. He appeared in The Pact and Stygian, and wrote/produced the short films Upper Fields, a Postcard, Flesh & Blood. He has a BA from Boise State and an MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University.

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Previously for Great Lakes Theater: The Tempest (Caliban), Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), Richard III (Clarence/Catesby), As You Like It (Oliver), The Imaginary Invalid (Bonnefoi) and The Winter’s Tale (Cleomenes). Regional: The Tempest, King Lear, As You Like It, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Imaginary Invalid and The Winter’s Tale at Idaho Shakespeare Festival; The Crucible (Reverend John Hale) at Pioneer Theatre Company; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (Sherlock Holmes) at the Utah Shakespeare Festival; Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio) at the Denver Center; Henry IV pt.

1 (Hotspur), The Three Musketeers (Aramis), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Costard) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck) at Shakespeare Santa Cruz; The Importance of Being Earnest (Jack) and The Real Thing (Billy) at PCPA; Drawer Boy, Lonesome West, Entertaining Mister Sloane and Cyrano de Bergerac (South Coast Repertory); Gross Indecency (Mark Taper Forum); King Lear (San Diego Repertory). Film/Television: Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Flyboys and Warriors of Virtue. Mr. Adams holds an MFA from the American Conservatory Theater.

The Blood, Measure for Measure), Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (Mary’s Wedding – Jeff nomination, Best Actress), Shakespeare on the Green (Othello). Regional (LORT) credits: Utah Shakespeare Festival (Sense & Sensibility, Comedy of Errors), Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Much Ado About Nothing, The Secret Garden, King Lear), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (My Name is Asher Lev, In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play), Actors’ Theatre of Louisville (Memory House, In the Next Room), Cleveland Play House (Pride & Prejudice, Noises Off.) Small Professional Theatre (SPT) credits: Company of Fools (Proof), freeFall Theatre (Harvey), Renaissance Theaterworks (Amelia, The Understudy, Crumbs from the Table of Joy), and six seasons at Peninsula Players in Door County, WI. Cassandra holds a BA in Gender Studies from the University of Chicago and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG/ AFTRA.

Gabriel Brown Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut Gabriel Brown is thrilled to be performing at ISF/GLT for the first time! He was most recent-

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ly seen in Beck Center for the Arts’ production of Dogfight (Stevens). Other credits include A Chorus Line (Zach), Carousel (Billy Bigelow) at Baldwin Wallace, Les Misérables (Enjolras), and Joseph…Dreamcoat (Joseph) at Timber­ lake Playhouse and Winsor! (Crooner) at Beck Center. Gabriel is a rising senior in the musical theatre department at Baldwin Wallace University. He would like to thank his family, Caroline, Czarnota, and MT ’16 for all of their support and love.

Stephen Mitchell Brown* Duke of Albany Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater GLT & Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Jean Valjean, Les Misérables (Cleveland Critics and Broadway World Cleveland Award – Best Actor); Bardolph, Merry Wives of Windsor; Topper, A Christmas Carol. Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde (revival). National Tours: Jekyll & Hyde; Chauvelin, The Scarlet Pimpernel; “Leadville” Johnny, The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Regional: Homer Hickam Sr., Rocket Boys (Legacy Theatre); Rochester, Jane Eyre (Legacy Theatre –Atlanta’s Suzi Bass Award – Best Actor); Oliver! (Paper Mill Playhouse); Manuel, Captain’s Courageous; Enoch Snow, Carousel; Prof. Bhaer, Little Women; NicelyNicely, Guys and Dolls (all at Cumberland County Playhouse); Beast, Beauty and the Beast (Fireside Theatre); Cinderella’s Prince/ Wolf, Into the Woods; Thurston Wheelis, Greater Tuna (both at Jenny Wiley Theatre).

BA in theater with music minor from Muhlenberg College. Proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Special thanks to Charlie, Vicky and Greg; Eddie and Take 3 Talent; EMG; Mom, Dad, Ginger, Sadie, and my wife, Leah Jennings. Much love. stephenmitchellbrown.com Robyn Cohen* Regan Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater

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Ms. Cohen is delighted to return to GLT where she recently played Margot Wendice in Dial M For Murder. Select Los Angeles credits include:

The Exonerated opposite Jeff Goldblum, the West Coast Premiere of Neil Labute’s The Shape Of Things/Laguna Playhouse, No Way Around But Through/The Falcon Theatre (starring Melanie Griffith and Scott Caan), Proof/Long Beach Playhouse, Rigoletto/The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Grand Tour/ The Colony Theatre (under Jerry Herman).

NY/Regional performances with: The Actors Theatre of Louisville (Tom Jones), The Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center (NY), The Ford’s Theater (D.C.), Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Sacramento Light Opera, Bucks County Playhouse, and The National Tour of Cabaret. Ms. Cohen starred in the Television series Gravity for STARZ network and has made additional TV appearances on: Cristela, N.C.I.S., The Mentalist, The Defenders, Invasion, The Closer, Angel, The Strand, N.C.I.S. L.A., Starved, LAX. Select Film credits: Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic opposite Bill Murray, The Celestine Prophecy, Zzyzx, Beau Jest, Road Hard and James Franco’s films Good Time Max, Fools Gold and his soon to be released Bukowski. Appearances in over 75 national commercials. BFA: The Juilliard School. LOVE to her Family. News/info: @TheRobynCohen –Enjoy!

Aled Davies* King Lear Fifteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater Previously for GLT: Scrooge/ Samuels in A Christmas Carol, Gonzalo in The Tempest, Chief Inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder, John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Arvide Abernathy in Guys and Dolls, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Major Metcalf in The Mousetrap, Brabantio in Othello, The Earl of Caversham in An Ideal Husband, Sheriff Reynolds in Bat Boy: The Musical, 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, King of France in All’s Well That Ends Well, Prospero in The Tempest, David Bliss in Hay Fever, Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of

Being Earnest, Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar, Claudius in Hamlet, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, Buckingham in Richard III and Topper in A Christmas Carol.

Aled has been a proud and appreciative member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1984. Go BROWNS!!!

Jonathan Dyrud* Edmund Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater

Tom Ford* Lear’s Fool Ten seasons at Great Lakes Theater Great Lakes Theater: Stephano in The Tempest, Sidney Bruhl in Deathtrap, Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Thénardier in Les Misérables, Sweeney in Sweeney Todd, Hastings/Tyrrel in Richard III, Argan in The Imaginary Invalid, Mr. Paravicini in The Mousetrap, the Baker in Into the Woods, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the King of Navarre in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Casca in Julius Caesar, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Nicola in Arms and the Man and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Idaho

Peter Gosik* Oswald/Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut Peter is elated to make his Great Lakes Theater/ISF debut! Favorite credits in­clude Enjolras in Les Misérables (Riverside Theatre), Robbie in A Man Of No Importance (Arvada Center for the Arts) El Gallo in The Fantasticks (Flat Rock Playhouse), Man #2 in The World Goes Round (Florida Studio Theatre), The Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (First National Tour), and Smudge in Forever Plaid (Heritage Rep).

Peter has workshopped new musicals with directors Jerry Zaks and Tony Stevens and appears in the An Idiot Abroad Christmas Special with Karl Pilkington and Warwick Davis. Peter holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association.

Love and gratitude to Mom, Dad, Eddie and the team at Take 3 Talent. Thanks to Charlie, Vicky, Greg, Joe and Michael Cassara Casting for this tremendous opportunity. For Elenor, Lloyd, & Shirley. petergosik.com

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Jonathan is thrilled to be a part of Great Lakes/ISF this season. GLT: Tony Wendice in Dial “M” for Murder; Antonio in The Tempest. New York: Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Caius Lucius in Cymbeline (Hip to Hip Theater Company,) Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew (Pulse Ensemble Theater) Huck in the world premiere of Minstrel Show (The Weasel Festival.) Regional credits: Four seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare FestivalMedvedenko in The Seagull, Froth and Friar Peter in Measure for Measure, Ensemble in To Kill a Mockingbird, Solomon in Speech and Debate, C.B. in Dog Sees God, and Marcus Gee in Yellowface. His film credits include Bartender in My Crazy Love (Oxygen Network,) Captain in So SOHA, Pale Interviewee in Redheads Anonymous and Verder in Big House. Training: BFA in Theater Performance from Southern Oregon University. Visit him at JonathanWDyrud.com.

Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest, The Secret Garden, King Lear, Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, Richard III, The Imaginary Invalid, The Winter’s Tale, The Mousetrap, Into the Woods, Macbeth, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown and The Fantasticks. Other theaters include: Boise Contemporary Theater, Portland Stage Company, New London Barn Playhouse.

Broadway: Alan Ayckbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s By Jeeves at the Helen Hayes Theater. TomFordActor.com

Leah Jennings* Ensemble Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater Previously at GLT: Les Misérables; The Merry Wives of Windsor and A Christmas Carol. National tours: Molly, The Unsinkable Molly Brown; Milly, Seven Brides... Regional: Carrie, Carousel; Adelaide, Guys & Dolls; Meg, Little

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Women; Nancy, Oliver! (Cumberland County Playhouse); Madame Dindon, La Cage Aux Folles (Theatre By The Sea); Mrs. Nordstrom, A Little Night Music; Camelot (White Plains PAC); Mrs. Phagan, Parade (Gallery Players); The Sound of Music (North Shore Music Theatre); Searching for Romeo (NYMF).

Cabaret: The Amanda McBroom Project (MAC Award – Special Production); 54 Sings: Merrily We Roll Along (54 Below). MM in musical theater from Oklahoma City University. Proud Member of AEA. Special Thanks to Charlie, Vicky, and Greg; Eddie and Take 3 Talent; Florence Birdwell; Eric Michael Gillet; mom-Sarah; Dad; Ginger and Sadie; and my wonderful husband, Stephen Mitchell Brown. Huzzah! leahjennings.com Jillian Kates* Ensemble Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater Jillian Kates is thrilled to return, having previously appeared in Cabaret and The Taming of the Shrew. She was most recently seen in the touring company of Wicked as the Glinda/ Nessarose US and is a proud alumnus of the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Depart­ ment. Some favorite credits include Young Edie in Grey Gardens, Reno in Anything Goes, Marian in The Music Man, and Cinderella in Into the Woods. Jillian would like to extend many, many, thanks to her family, squeebs, Charlie, Vicky, Greg, Joel, and the entire cast, crew, and staff of GLT for this amazing opportunity. For my Nanny who I know is there inside me.

Ben Kemper Duke of Burgundy/Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut

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Ben is elated to join the company for his first season at Great Lakes. Favorite productions include Aimee and Jaguar (Helmut/Herr Schmidt), The Grapes of Wrath (Jim Casey), and The Laramie Project (Doc O’Conor, et al) at the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, Arcadia (Septimius Hodge), The Tempest (Gonzalo), and Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights (Vizier, et al) with Lovers and

Madmen, and the first Lebanon, MO production of Talley’s Folly (Matt Friedman). Ben is a graduate of Northwestern University. Deep thanks to the family and the festival.

Sara Masterson Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut Sara is thrilled to be making her debut with GLT! Credits: A Little Night Music (Anne) New London Barn Playhouse, Follies (Sally) Baldwin Wallace University, How to Succeed… (Ens./US Rosemary) Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Love Story (Jenny) Playhouse Square/BW, Carrie: The Musical (Sue) Beck Center for the Arts/BW. Sara is a senior pursuing a BM in musical theater at Baldwin Wallace University. Endless thanks to Vicky, Greg and all the happy players at GLT. All my love to BWMT’16 and my incredible family. “I am sure there is magic in everything.”

Dougfred Miller* Earl of Kent Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater Previous appearances for Great Lakes Theater include no fewer than four characters in Dial “M” for Murder (Lesgate, O’Brien, Pendleton and Williams), King Alonso in The Tempest, the Dukes in As You Like It, the title role in Macbeth, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace, Cassius in Julius Caesar, Jaques in As You Like It, Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest and a widely acclaimed Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. In several seasons with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, his roles include Holofernes in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Horatio in Hamlet, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, several Dukes, an Emperor in Amadeus, and Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. He has played Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Versati in The Underpants at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Jim Tyrone in A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Coach House Theatre, King Arthur in Spamalot at the Beck

Center (opposite his real-life Lady of the Lake, Jessica Cope), Lysander in a Vietnamese/ English production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Central Dramatic Theatre Company in Hanoi, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Portland Center Stage, Richard in Richard III and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company, and Prospero in The Tempest and the Duke in Measure for Measure with the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Doug is a graduate of the PTTP at the University of Delaware and a proud member of Actors’ Equity.

Mary Mondlock Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut

Laura Perrotta* Goneril Fourteen seasons at Great lakes Theater Laura is happy to return to GLT where she has performed since 1999! A native New Yorker, Laura Perrotta has worked extensively in regional theater including off-Broadway and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She currently resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and has enjoyed the last decade as a company member at Great Lakes Theater and Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Favorite roles include Arkadina in The Seagull, Lady M in Macbeth, Amanda Prynne in Private Lives, Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband, and Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret. Last summer she returned to the Festival to play M’Lynne Eaton in Steel Magnolias directed by Sari Ketter.

Katie is thrilled to be returning to GLT for her second season with this incredible company. Past credits with GLT/Idaho Shakespeare Festival include Les Misérables and Merry Wives of Windsor. Katie is a graduate of The New York Conservatory for the Arts and was an original company member of the Roschman Dance Company. NY credits include Spike Heels, Wet: Shakespeare, The Art of Dining, and the independent film, Nothing Phases Me. Regional roles include the Mute in The Fantasticks as well as the title role in Aladdin, An Original Pantomime at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, Adriana in The Comedy of Errors for ISF’s 2015 Shakespearience, Meg in Little Women, Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story, Nancy D. in A New Brain, and Val in A Chorus Line. Love and thanks to Joel, Charlie, Vicky and Greg.

Colton Ryan Ensemble Great Lakes Theater debut Colton Ryan is so thrilled to be coming back to Cleveland to perform with Great Lakes Theater! Some of his favorite credits include Eddie Birdlace in Dogfight and Tommy in Carrie the Musical at Beck Center for the Arts, Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees and Gangster No. 1 in Kiss Me, Kate at New London Barn Playhouse, and Paul in A Chorus Line at Baldwin Wallace University. He is currently a rising junior at Baldwin Wallace as a music theater major. He wants to thank his mom and sister for raising him to be the man that he is, and to Adrian for showing him the man he wants to be.

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Mary is ecstatic to join the GLT family for the first time!

She has most recently been seen in Playhouse Square’s production of Saturday Night Fever (Flo/Doreen). Other credits include: Carousel (Carrie Pipperidge), A Chorus Line (Maggie) at Baldwin Wallace, Cabaret (Sally Bowles) at Weathervane Playhouse, and West Side Story (Maria) at Interlochen Arts Academy. Mary is a senior Music Theatre major at Baldwin Wallace University. She would like to thank her family, teachers, John, and MT ‘16 for their everlasting encouragement and love.

Katie Proulx* Ensemble Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater

David Anthony Smith* Earl of Gloucester Thirteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater In 13 seasons at Great Lakes Theater, audiences have seen him as Prospero in the Tempest, Iago in

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Othello, Jaques in As You Like It, Duke of Buckingham in Richard III, Muggeridge/The Ghost of Christmas Present/ Debtor/ Ensemble in A Christmas Carol, Viscount Goring in An Ideal Husband, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Macduff in Macbeth, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Sergius in Arms and the Man, Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar and Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost. He has performed at the Tony-Award-winning Old Globe Theater in San Diego, South Coast Repertory, 14 seasons with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (title role in Henry V), Laguna Playhouse, Sierra Rep, Madison Rep and the Shakespeare festivals of Utah, Colorado, Garden Grove, Rhode Island, Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Forever and a day — Natalia.

Dustin Tucker* Duke of Cornwall Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater Broadway: The Rainmaker (Roundabout). Off-Broad­way credits include: SoHo Rep, Manhattan Ensemble Theater, Primary Stages, Culture Project and HERE. For Great Lakes Theater he played Touchstone in As You Like It (BroadwayWorld Cleveland, Best Actor), the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol and Trinculo in last season’s production of The Tempest. Mr. Tucker currently resides in Portland, Maine, where he is an Affiliate Artist with Portland Stage Company and has appeared in Fully Committed, Greater Tuna, Bach at Leipzig, The 39 Steps, Peer Gynt, Vigil, and six seasons of The Santaland Diaries (BroadwayWorld Maine, Best Actor). His other regional credits include: Williamstown, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Sierra Rep and Festival Stage of Winston-Salem. A proud and blessed member of Actors’ Equity Association. Much love to Peter. dustintucker.com

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Understudies Neil Brookshire*, Gabriel Brown, Tom Ford*, Kathryn Griffin, Leah Jennings*, Ben Kemper, Sara Masterson, Katie Proulx*, Drew Ross, Colton Ryan

Directors Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director Fourteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater Directing credits at GLT: 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, Hamlet, 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 Lake Tahoe, 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, in Boise, 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 20-year-old 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!

Joseph Hanreddy Director Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater

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Joe directed Richard III for Great Lakes Theater and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in 2013. His past work includes seventeen seasons as the Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, as well as leading the Madison Repertory Theater and the Ensemble Theater Company in Santa

Barbara. Since leaving the Milwaukee Rep, Joe’s off-Broadway production of Molière’s The Misanthrope was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for best revival. His most recent work includes adapting and directing Sense and Sensibility as well as for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, as well as directing for the Connecticut Repertory Theater, REP/ Delaware, Writer’s Theater in Chicago and Northwestern University. Joe’s stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (with JR Sullivan) has been performed at several major regional theaters, including the Oregon and Utah Shakespeare festivals, South Coast Rep, The Cincinnati Playhouse, Round House Theater, Connecticut Rep and the American Player’s Theater. In 2015/16, their adaptation of Sense and Sensibility will be performed at Sacramento Theater Company, Pacific Conservatory of Arts, Connecticut Rep, and Joe will direct a production at the People’s Light and Theater Company in Philadelphia.

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Ken Merckx Fight Choreographer Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater Ken Merckx has choreographed fights and taught actors theatrical combat for film, television, theater and universities all across the country. Ken is the resident fight choreographer for Idaho and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festivals, A Noise Within (Los Angeles) and Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland). He is proud to have staged violence for the world premieres of Steven Dietz’s Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (Pasadena Playhouse), Jeffery Hatcher’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (San Jose Repertory) and The Suicide Club (Arizona Theatre Company), Octavio Solis’ Cloudlands (South Coast Repertory), Jane Martin’s Somebody/Nobody directed by Jon Jory (Arizona Theatre Company) and the theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (San Jose Repertory). Mr. Merckx received his MFA, in acting, from the University of Illinois and his BA, in theater studies, from the University of Washington.

Designers Linda Buchanan Scenic Designer Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater

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Linda is returning for her second season at GLT having designed ISF’s Richard III in 2013. Buchanan has designed hundreds of productions at theaters throughout the country and abroad. Recent work: Two Trains Running (Goodman Theatre), Tommy and Miss Saigon (Paramount Theatre, Chicago), Moby Dick and A Christmas Carol (Syracuse Stage), Communicating Doors (Alley Theatre). Awards: Merritt Award for Design and Collaboration, Jefferson Awards for House (Goodman), Black Snow (Goodman) and I Hate Hamlet (Royal George), Helen Hayes Award for Dancing at Lughnasa (Arena Stage). Notable past projects include the premiere production of Marvin’s Room, 10 regional productions, and commercial productions in New York and London. As design director of R.D. Design Associates, she designed the State of Illinois Center dedication ceremony and over 100 environments

for corporate theater and special events.

Buchanan is associate dean and head of scene design at The Theatre School at DePaul, and a member of USAA. Martha Hally Costume Designer Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater GLT: Richard III Regional: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, CenterStage (Baltimore), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theater of St Louis, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Portland Stage, Alley Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre. New York: Fashions For Men, London Wall, A Little Journey, Wife To James Whelan (Mint Theater) Richard 2 (Pearl Theater Company) Three Men On A Horse, The Late Christopher Bean, Bedroom Farce (TACT); Secret Order (59E59); Banished Children of Eve, Gaslight, The Field (Irish Repertory Theatre) Opera: Chicago Opera Theater, Virginia Opera, Little Orchestra Society of Lincoln Center, Center For Contemporary Opera (NYC) Upcoming: The Patsy (world premiere) Resident Ensemble Players (Univ. of Delaware) marthahally.com Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen Sound Designers Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen’s Broadway credits include music composition and sound for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Miracle Worker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Speed of Darkness, music for My Thing of Love and sound for the Larry David’s Fish in the Dark, This Is Our Youth, Of Mice and Men, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Superior Donuts, reasons to be pretty, A Year with Frog and Toad, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hollywood Arms, King Hedley II, Buried Child, The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Grapes of Wrath. Off-Broadway credits include music and sound for Sticks and Bones, Checkers, Inked Baby, After Ashley, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Boy Gets Girl, Red, Space, Marvin’s Room, sound for The Spoils, Jitney, Family Week, Juvenilia, Brundibar, The Pain and the Itch and music direction and sound for Eyes for

Consuela and Ruined. They have created music and sound at many of America’s resident theaters (often with Steppenwolf Theatre) and at several international venues.

Please visit www.milbomusic.com.

Paul Miller Lighting Designer Great Lakes Theater debut

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Stage Management Tim Kinzel* Production Stage Manager Seven seasons at Great Lakes Theater Previous Stage Management credits for Great Lakes Theater include The Tempest, Dial “M” for Murder, Merry Wives of Windsor, Deathtrap, As You Like It, Richard III, Blithe Spirit, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Imaginary Invalid, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Christmas Carol. Tim has

“I’m a long-time listener of WCLV. I love being able to listen to the Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts…I really feel like I’m there every time.”

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On Broadway: Amazing Grace, The Illusionists, Legally Blonde, Freshly Squeezed, Laughing Room Only. OffBroadway: Clinton – The Musical, Pageant, Vanities - the Musical, Waiting for Godot, Addicted, Nunsense, Balancing Act. Regional theaters: Stratford Shakespeare, Chicago Shakespeare, Pioneer Theatre Company, Idaho Shakespeare, Asolo Repertory, A.C.T., Cleveland Play House, Pasadena Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Baystreet Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, The Maltz Jupiter Theatre and others. National tours: The Illusionists, Elf, Shrek, Story Time Live, Wizard of Oz, Legally Blonde, Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, The

Producers, The Sound of Music. Inter­ national: West Side Story (Milan), Legally Blonde (London and Vienna), Race for Love (China), Cinderella and Saturday Night Fever (Manila, Singapore and Malaysia). Television: Camelot (Live from Lincoln Center) and numerous Comedy Central specials. Paul has been the Lighting Director for The New Year’s Eve Celebration from Times Square for the last 15 years.

- Alan Markowitz & Cathy Pollard

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multiple stage management credits from the following companies: Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizon, Cherry Lane Theater NYC and Houston’s Stages Repertory Theatre. He also holds multiple production assistant and intern credits with Alley Theater, Houston Grand Opera and Stages Repertory Theater. Diehard Cleveland sports fan. Love to his family, friends and Cleveland who have supported him and the arts over the years. Go Tribe! Here we go Brownies, here we go!

This is Jessica’s fourth season with Great Lakes Theater. Previous credits include Dial M for Murder, Les Misérables, A Christmas Carol and Deathtrap with Great Lakes Theater.

Dial M for Murder, Secret Garden, and King Lear with Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Twelfth Night and The Misanthrope with Cleveland Play House/CWRU MFA Program. And Memphis, Rent and Aida with the All-City Musical program. Jessica earned her BA in theater from the University of Scranton.

Jessica has also worked as the company manager for Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

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Jessica B. Lucas* Assistant Stage Manager Four seasons at Great Lakes Theater

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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 made generous gifts between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. “I can no other answer make but thanks.” Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene iii

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 join the Great Lakes Theater family by making a tax-deductible 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 programs.

Sponsors Company Sponsors $100,000 and above Cuyahoga Arts and Culture** Lead Sponsors $50,000 to $99,999 The David and Inez Myers Foundation*** The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation***

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

Sponsors $25,000 to $49,999 PNC Foundation The Reinberger Foundation***

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation The GAR Foundation*** The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation***

Season Sponsors:

GreatLakesTheater.org

The Cleveland Foundation***

Season Media Sponsors:

The Business Alliance of Great Lakes Theater

*3 – 5 consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor **6 – 9 consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor ***10 or more consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor

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THE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY Individual donors of $1,000 and above are members of Great Lakes Theater’s “Shakespeare Society” and are entitled to certain benefits, including invitations to special Society events and activities. For more information, contact Don Bernardo at (216) 453-1068.

at Playhouse Square

Avon Circle $10,000 to $24,999 The Abington Foundation* Eaton Corporation*** The Community Foundation of Lorain County*** Janet & Bob Neary*** The Nord Family Foundation*** Dr. & Mrs. Donald Palmer*** Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Pistell*** Mrs. James O. Roberts*** Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford*** John & Barbara Schubert*** The Shubert Foundation***

Stratford Circle ($5,000 to $9,999) Bridgewater Associates, Inc.** The Eva L. and Joseph M. Bruening Foundation*** Mr. Todd M. Burger & Ms. Kristie Beck Barry & Suzanne Doggett*** Carol Dolan & Greggory Hill** Mr. & Mrs. Morton G. Epstein** Ernst & Young, LLP*** Fifth Third Bank Forest City Enterprises, Inc.* The Harry K. and Emma R. Fox Foundation*** The Giant Eagle Foundation* Jack & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer*** Paul R. & Denise Horstman Keen** The Laub Foundation*** Mr. & Mrs. Leslie H. Moeller*** David P. Porter & Margaret K. Poutasse*** The Thomas H. White Foundation, a KeyBank Trust**

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

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Chuck & Bonnie Abbey** Walt & Laura Avdey** Dalia & Robert Baker*** Robyn & David Barrie*** William & Viia Beechler Mitch & Liz Blair***

Glenn & Jenny Brown*** The Carmel Family Foundation Bill & Judie Caster* Mr. & Mrs. Homer D. W. Chisholm*** The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation*** Gail Cudak & Thomas Young*** Richard & Evelyn Dolejs* Timothy J. Downing & Ken Press* Charles, Lidia & Alexa Fee** Dianne V. Foley Henry G. Grendell Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Hartwell*** Susan C. & Jeffery A. Hastings** Diane Kathleen Hupp William W. Jacobs*** Victor C. Laughlin, M.D. Memorial Foundation Trust*** The Lubrizol Foundation*** MAP Royalty, Inc.* Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Mayer*** Mr. & Mrs. Douglas McGregor * Donald W. Morrison*** Nicholas & Sue Peay*** Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Peterman*** Dr. Scott & Mrs. Judy Pendergast*** Prof. Alan Miles Ruben & Judge Betty Willis Ruben Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Ruhl*** Dr. & Mrs. Gerard Seltzer* Kim Sherwin** Steve Gariepy & Nancy Sin*** Sally J. Staley*** Target* Arthur L. Thomas Donna & Richard Walsh*** Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Wellener IV*** John and Lori Wheeler

Folio Circle ($1,000 to $2,499) Michelle R. Arendt*** John & Laura Bertsch* David & Carolyn Bialosky* Kim & Bart Bixenstine* H.F. & J.C. Burkhardt*** Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP** Jack & Janice Campbell*** Donald & Annamarie Chick***

The Alvah Stone & Adele Corning Chisholm Memorial Fund Beverly J. Coen* Brian Wynne & Patrick Cozzens* Carolyn & Charles Dickson*** Mr. Gerald Freedman Mr. Edward S. Godleski** Ms. Roe Green The Gries Family Foundation*** Elizabeth Grove & Rich Bedell* William R. Gustaferro*** John & Virginia Hansen*** Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.*** Donna M. & Alex I. Koler Charlotte R. Kramer John J. and JoAnn D. Lane Ken & Mary Loparo*** Jack McGrath*** Mr. & Mrs. William E. MacDonald III Mr. & Mrs. John C. Morley*** Mr. & Mrs. William Osborne, Jr.*** Thomas J. Pajk Mr. & Mrs. John S. Piety*** John & Norine Prim*** Linda Schlageter*** Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph K. Schmeller* Laura & Alvin Siegal Donald A. & Catherine C. Sinko** Brit & Kate Stenson*** Diana & Eugene Stromberg*** Mr. Robert A. Tschannen*** Gerald F. Unger*** Mary C. Warren** Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Warren** Mr. & Mrs. Kevin M. White* Robert & Emily Williams* Julie Sabroff Willoughby Margaret & Loyal Wilson* Patrick M. Zohn***

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.”

Marilyn* and Paul Brentlinger Willard and Donna Carmel Mary* and Leigh Carter Natalie and Morton Epstein Edward S. Godleski Samuel S. Hartwell Kate Lunsford Mary Anne* and Jack McGrath Janet and Bob Neary

Richard II, Act II, Scene ii James A. Nelson* Donald and Anne Palmer Lynn and Tim Pistell Professor Alan Miles Ruben and Judge Betty Willis Ruben George* and Marjorie* Springer Thomas G. and Ruth M. Stafford Arthur L. Thomas Audrey* and 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 Don Bernardo, Director of Development, (216) 453-1068 | dbernardo@greatlakestheater.org.

at Playhouse Square

Sustainers ($500 to $999) Dr. & Mrs. James E. Arnold Jeffrey Boecker & Susan Iler Bette Bonder & Patrick Bray** The Rev. Dr. Joan Campbell* Beverly and Bruce Cameron Christopher & Nancy Coburn*** Ms. Leslie C. Dickson* The Phyllis H. & William H. Evans Charitable Foundation Richard Furnstahl & Teresa Stankiewicz Janet & Patricia Glaeser*** Gary & Joanna Graeff Lee & Peter Haas Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Heller Kenneth Karosy*** Stewart & Donna Kohl Eva & Rudolf Linnebach Rosa and Samuel Lobe Memorial Fund of the Jewish Federation** Mr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Lynch*** Brian & Cindy Murphy** Francis & Viola McDowell** Helen & Harry Mercer** David & Leslee Miraldi*** Deborah L. Neale*** Ms. Karen Nemec* Mr. & Mrs. Patrick W. O’ Connor** Thomas & Helen Rathburn** Dr. & Mrs. Bradford J. Richmond* Mrs. Kathy Salem* Mr. & Mrs. Mark Siegel** Naomi G. & Edwin Z. Singer Family Fund, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland* Lloyd Snyder & Margaret Terry Kathleen Turner*** Raymond Voelker Dr. & Mrs. Gregory A. Watts* Women’s Committee of Great Lakes Theater*** Ms. Rebecca A. Zuti & Mr. Anthony D. DeCello * John & Jane Zuzek***

Patrons ($250 to $499)

34

Lori Adler* Thomas & Joann Adler** Mary Archambault Mr. & Mrs. Benham S. Bates** Fred & Mary Behm** Dr. & Mrs. David F. Bennhoff Mr. & Mrs. Roger A. Boehnlein* Bernice A. Bolek*** John Bolton** Paul & Heather Blonsky Gary & Kay Bluhm** Julia & Ben Brouhard* Paul Campbell Tim & Cindy Carr* Ms. Megan Casserlie Tom & Anita Cook* Bruce & Maryellen Cudney Audrey DeClement***

Donors Play a Leading Role Did you know that ticket revenue covers only half of the cost of creating a Great Lakes Theater production? Generous donors ensure that our productions of timeless classics, “re-imagined” for contemporary audiences, are of the highest quality. Thanks to donors like you, we’ve connected over four million people to the classics over the last five decades!

Learn more about how you can play a part at GreatLakesTheater.org.

Ms. Anne B. DesRosiers & Mr. Stephen Kadish* Pete & Margaret Dobbins Jeanne S. Epstein*** James Eschmeyer*** Jon & Mary Fancher* Ann & Harry Farmer Mary Ann & Joseph Fischer Ilona K. Gram* John & Barbara Hemsath Kathy & Jamie Hogg*** Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Jahn Robert & Linda Jenkins* Bernie & Nancy Karr*** Ruben Kasap Ms. Joylen J. Kent* Mr. & Mrs. Donald Kimmel** Bill & Susan Kirchner Bob & Nanci Kirkpatrick*** James Koehler Ronald G. Kollar** Jacob Kronenberg & Barbara Belovich** Ms. Theresa Kuehn** Chris & Laura Larson Stephen & Lillian Levine Morton & Lola Litt Anne R. & Kenneth E. Love* Mr. David McKissock Rita C. McLaughlin John J. Meiburger The Mersol Family*** Steven & Dolly Minter Mary & Steve Mitchell*** Dale Sr., Dale Jr. & Gayle Montgomery Ms. Brenda Norton Mr. & Mrs. Robert Oshinsky** Lou M. Papes* Mr. & Mrs. Wilmer M. Piper***

Thomas A. Piraino & Barbara C. McWilliams* Progressive Insurance Foundation Dr. Edward J. Rockwood*** Mrs. Sharon M. Rogers** Otmar & Rota Sackerlotzky*** Richard Shirey Dr. Howard Simon Dr. & Mrs. Lynn A. Smith** Karl & Carol Theil* Frank & Vicki Titas** Dr. & Mrs. Ken Tomecki** Robert & Marti Vagi* Mr. & Mrs. James D. Vail* Carol Lee Vella Nancy-Anne Wargo Mr. John Wiedemann & Ms. Pamela Schnellinger Mr. Lee C. Zeiszler* Ms. Margaret E. Zellmer Ruth & Sidney Zilber***

Associates ($125 to $249) Chuck & Maureen Adler Randy & Pam Ballard* Donna Beletic* Ms. Pamela Benson Jerry & Kathy Berkshire John & Jeannene Bertosa* Tom & Dorothy Bier*** Elizabeth Bishop Denise Blanda* Susan Bobey** Ms. Dorothy F. Borer Ms. Robin Herrington Bowen*** Joanne R. Bratush** Mr. James Brown V. Elizabeth Brown**

Richard & Mary Ann Brockett Larry & Andi Carlini** Jean McQuillan & Richard Christ*** John & Donna Clifford*** Rollin & Anne Conway* Dr. & Mrs. Kevin D. Cooper* David & Gayle Cratty** Lowell & Carole Davis*** Chad & Andrea Deal Marilyn P. Demeter*** Daniel & Joyce Dyer * Mr. & Mrs. Robert Eikenburg*** Dr. & Mrs. Michael Eppig*** Mr. & Mrs. L. William Erb Howard P. Erlichman** Susan L. Fike*** Mary Eileen Fogarty*** David V. Foos** Mr. & Mrs. Gerald R. Frei** Lillian Friedman Mr. & Mrs. Lou Galizio*** Mrs. Barbara J. Garris* Deborah A. Geier*** Gary & Katie Geoffrion Greg & Gail Gibson*** Larry & Jean Gilbert* Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. Gray** John Greene Tom & Kirsten Hagesfeld** Michael & Suzanne Harris* Arlene & William Hazlett* Curt & Karen Henkle** Clyde A. Horn*** Ron & Joanne Hulec*** James & Gale Jacobsohn* Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Janson* Ms. Margaret Kaczmarek Marilyn & Howard Karfeld*** Lauren Kawentel**

Friends ($75 to $124) Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Bahler Mr. & Mrs. Donald Bercu Dr. & Mrs. Dieter F. Bloser*** Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Bolton*** Mr. D. Stephen Botorff & Ms. Patricia J. Moyer**

Mr. Stanley C. Brandt & Ms. Mary K. Whitmer*** Carol Brenneman Mike & Carole Brown Barbara J. Burke* Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Charlick Samuel Cowling** Judith Darus Chris & Mary Ann Deibel*** Ms. Marilyn Dewees Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Doherty Donna Douglas*** Bob & Ginny Eckardt The Eldridge Family*** Mr. & Mrs. Oliver F. Emerson Deena & Richard Epstein** Janice Evans* Mr. & Mrs. Frank L. Field*** Mr. & Mrs. Ralph C. Frey* Katherine A. Ganz Virginia T. Goetz Jean E. Gubbins* Betty Haberkamp Hazel Haffner*** Marian Hancy** Debra & Tom Hayes Jean Heller Ms. Eleanor W. Helper Robert T. Hexter Frank & Gerry Hoffert* Mark & Lynn Hofflund Marie Ivkanec Dennis Kelly* Mr. Gilbert P. Kenehan* Samuel C. Kennell William & Marion Kettering* Larry & Janet Kilgore** Mr. & Mrs. Albert Kirby Stuart & Anne Klein Mary Jo Klements Mr. & Mrs. Mark D. Kozel*** Debra Krause Mr. & Mrs. Gregory G. Kruszka Pat Murphy & Mike Kupiec* Leslie Lahr Thomas & Anne LaMotte Mr. & Mrs. Robert Larson* Howard S. Levin Gregory & Vickie Leyes* Ted & Mary Lomac*** Mr. & Mrs. John M. Lovett Mr. & Mrs. John S. Lupo Ronald & Elizabeth Manolio*** Gretchen Mates** Rev. Edward E. Mehok*** Antoinette Miller** Tom & Mary Neff* Ken Noetzel* Fulton & Thea O’Donoghue David Oldham** Joan M. Oravec*** Peggy & Michael Partington** Mr. William Plesec Ms. Mary L. Pollak Mr. Alan A. Pomiecko

Mr. & Mrs. Louis Pongracz* Jeffrey Powell Larry & Susan Rakow* Judy & Clifford Reeves** Donna & James Reid*** Heath & Kathryn Reinhardt The Reinker Family*** Mr. & Mrs. Gerald P. Rencehausen Ms. Jacqueline Y. Rhodes* Barbara S. Robinson* Keith & Margaret Robinson Barbara Sabo William & Lisa Schonberg Dina & Richard Schoonmaker*** Doris A. Schultz** Steve & Kathy Schultz* Linda Sebald Randall & Sara Shaner Dr. Dave & Faye Sholiton Alma L. Smith Tom Wagner & Malinda Smyth* Darwin L. Steele *** Katherine Stokes-Shafer Albert & Bernice Strasshofer*** Ms. Elizabeth Swenson Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Tatman Mr. & Mrs. George Thomas Mr. & Mrs. Frederick C. Tyler, Jr. Carol A. Vidoli*** Adele Viguera Ms. Kimberly A. Vivolo Natalie Vloedman Michael Wagner Rev. & Mrs. David M. Walker*** Gordon & Virginia Wepfer* Sharon & Yoash Wiener*** Arthur & Deborah Zinn** *3 – 5 consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor

Bob & Nanci Kirkpatrick Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Pistell Mr. & Mrs. Harold I. Pittaway III Mr. & Mrs. Richard W. Powers Jeff & Bethann Sedam Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford Sally J. Staley Dr. & Mrs. Ken Tomecki Matha C. Towns Mr. & Mrs. Roger S. Vail John & Dianne Young

Matching Gift Corporations Eaton Corporation FirstEnergy Foundation GlaxoSmithKline Foundation IBM Corporation The Lubrizol Corporation Nordson Corporation Foundation

Gifts were received in honor of: Gail Cudak Mort and Natalie Epstein Chris Fornadel Todd Krispinsky Michael Peterman Tom Stafford Sally J. Staley

Gifts were received in memory of: Paul Brentlinger Geoffrey Michael Heller H. Ronald Pottorff

**6 – 9 consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor

The Women’s Committee

***10 or more consecutive years as an Annual Fund donor

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.

Matinee Idols Donors who underwrote tickets to 2015-2016 Student Matinees so more students can attend.

Chuck & Bonnie Abbey American Tank and Fabricating Mrs. Al A. Archambault Robyn & David Barrie Ms. Melanie Bingham Richard & Mary Ann Brockett Jack & Janice Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Chernus Chad & Andrea Deal Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph H. Garfield, Jr. Ted & Nancy Goble Mrs. Mary Jane Hartwell Ron & Joanne Hulec Dr. Shelly & Jan Jones Artz Jack & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer

GreatLakesTheater.org

David & Sue Klepac*** Michael & Lynn Kleinman* Mr. Thomas Knox Fred & Joann Lafferty*** Mr.& Mrs. Brian Lawler* Ms. Carla Licastro* Brian & Renee Lowery** Frederick C. Luckay Robert MacMurray Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. McDonald*** Jennifer & Peter Meckes Nan Miller** Toni & Linda Moore** Roy & Cindy Moore** Nordson Corporation Foundation** Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Patalon Brian Perry & Ka Pi Hoh Andrew & Brenda Pongracz Ms. Betsy R. Quinn Ms. Lori Riga* Reinhold & Ginny Roedig*** Mr. & Mrs. James A. Saks** Mr. Mark J. Salling & Ms. Cindie Carroll Pankhurst*** Donna Schuerger** Donna Sheridan*** John & Susan Siegfried Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Slavin** David & Rita Smith*** Mr. Joseph A. Sopko Mr. & Mrs. John Southworth William E. Spatz** Kathlyn & Harry Stenzel*** Jan & Bill Stern Susan St. John** Anita K. Stoll Albert Stratton* Mr. & Mrs. Timothy L. Sullivan** Mr. & Mrs. William W. Taft Mr. Joseph E. Talaba Elizabeth Twohig** Anne Unverzagt & Richard Goddard** Ryan Vidmar James L. Wagner* Ms. Kathleen Waits* Mrs. Barbara S. Walker* Mrs. Betty S. Weiss* Thomas M. Wladyka James & Sandra Wood* Mr. & Mrs. James Xinakes** John & Dianne Young Dr. C. Russell & Cynthia Zachem

Officers

Barbara Cercone, President Janice Campbell, 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 call the Development Office (216.453.4442) with questions or to report updates and revisions.

35

INNOVATION FUND

at Playhouse Square

Great Lakes Theater is extremely grateful to the following generous donors who recently contributed to match a $200,000 grant from The Cleveland Foundation to create the “Great Lakes Theater Innovation Fund.” This permanent endowed fund will provide entrepreneurial capital to enable Great Lakes Theater to pursue projects designed to further enhance the company’s growth and sustainability.

36

Chuck & Bonnie Abbey Walt & Laura Avdey David & Carolyn Bialosky Kim & Bart Bixenstine Mitch & Liz Blair H.F. & J.C. Burkhardt Bill & Judie Caster Beverly J. Coen Gail Cudak & Thomas Young Carol Dolan & Greggory Hill Richard & Evelyn Dolejs Timothy J. Downing & Ken Press Dr. Howard Epstein Dianne V. Foley Geoffrey Michael Heller Memorial Fund

Dr. Edward S. Godleski Elizabeth Grove & Rich Bedell Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Hartwell Susan C. & Jeffery A. Hastings William W. Jacobs Jack and Mary Ann Katzenmeyer Paul R. & Denise Horstman Keen Donna M. & Alex I. Koler John J. and JoAnn D. Lane Dr. Lawrence E. Lohman & Mrs. Mary J. Lohman Ken & Mary Loparo Mr. & Mrs. William E. MacDonald III Mr. & Mrs. Leslie H. Moeller Donald W. Morrison

Janet and Bob Neary Dr. Scott & Mrs. Judy Pendergast Elizabeth & Harlan Peterjohn Lynn & Tim Pistell David P. Porter & Margaret K. Poutasse John & Barbara Schubert Kim Sherwin Squire Patton Boggs Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford Brit & Kate Stenson Diana & Gene Strombert Gerald F. Unger Mr. & Mrs. Kevin M. White Julie Sabroff Willoughby

TRUSTEES Chair

Thomas G. Stafford*

President

Samuel Hartwell*

Secretary

Kim Bixenstine*

Treasurer

Walter Avdey*

Trustees

Denise Horstman Keen Jonathan Leiken William MacDonald III+ Ellen Stirn Mavec+ Mary J. Mayer John E. McGrath Leslie H. Moeller Danielle M. Morris Janet E. Neary* Robert D. Neary Pamela G. Noble* Michael J. Peterman Thomas A. Piraino, Jr. Timothy K. Pistell David P. Porter Georgianna T. Roberts Ana G. Rodriguez Rudolph K. Schmeller John D. Schubert+

Peter Shimrak+ Laura Siegal+ Mark C. Siegel Sally J. Staley Diana W. Stromberg Gerald F. Unger Donna Walsh Thomas D. Warren Nancy Wellener Kevin M. White Julie Sabroff Willoughby 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 50 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 Dalia Baker David Bialosky* Mitchell G. Blair* Todd M. Burger* William Caster*

Beverly J. Coen Gail L. Cudak Carolyn Dickson+ Leslie Dickson William Barry Doggett+ Carol Dolan* Timothy J. Downing* Dr. Howard G. Epstein* Natalie Epstein* Dianne V. Foley* Rudolph Garfield+ Stephen H. Gariepy Henry G. Grendell Elizabeth A. Grove* Susan Hastings Diane Kathleen Hupp William W. Jacobs* Faisal Kahn John E. Katzenmeyer

37

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

Management Team

at Playhouse Square

Director of Development.........................Don Bernardo Production Manager...............Christopher D. Flinchum Director of Educational Services.................Kelly Schaffer Florian Director of Marketing & Strategic Advancement......................Todd Krispinsky Director of Educational Programming...... Lisa Ortenzi

Artistic

Wardrobe Crew......................................Tamara French, Miranda Marti, Zach Hickle Wig Design.....Mary Schilling-Martin and Caitie Martin Master Electrician.................................... Tammy Taylor Charge Scenic Artist......................................Angi Grow Audio Supervisor.............................. Richard Ingraham Production Stage Manager.........................Tim Kinzel* Assistant Stage Manager.................. Jessica B. Lucas* Production Associate...................................Amy Essick Stage Management Intern.................. Dayne Sundman Run Crew................ Richard Haberlen, Patrick Kiernan, Gary Zsigrai Hanna Theatre Crew........... Thomas Boddy, Chris Guy, Shaun Milligan, Robert Prah

Artistic Associate.........................................Sara Bruner Artistic Associate..............................................Tom Ford

Special Thanks

Education

Great Lakes Theater is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT) and operates under agreements with LORT, Actors’ 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.

Education Outreach Associate................David Hansen School Residency Program Actor-Teachers........................................... Luke Brett, Chennelle Bryant-Harris, Chelsea Cannon, DeLee Cooper, Khaki Hermann, Tim Keo, Shaun O’Neill, Will Sanborn

Administration Audience Engagement Manager............Chris Fornadel Donor Relations Associate......................Rebecca Frick Assistant Production Manager...............Corrie Purdum Finance Associate.................................Stephanie Reed Trinity High School Intern...................Heather Cochran Office Volunteers.........Janice Campbell, Janet Glaeser

Mark Liderbach and Arrow Video

LORT

Production Technical Director.......................................Mark Cytron Assistant Technical Director..........William Langenhop Master Carpenter.......................................Lindsay Loar Carpenter/Welder...............................Richard Haberlen Properties Master............................. Bernadine Cockey Props Assistant.....................................Rachel Bertrand Costume Shop Manager.................Esther M. Haberlen Assistant Shop Manager.................................Leah Loar Wardrobe Supervisor.................... Colleen McLaughlin

1501 Euclid Ave., Suite 300 Cleveland, OH 44115

P: (216) 241-5490 F: (216) 241-6315 W: GreatLakesTheater.org

Playbill Editor: Linda Feagler

38

For advertising information, please contact Matthew Kraniske: 216-377-3681

OCT./NOV. AT PLAYHOUSE SQUARE OUTCALT/ HELEN/ ALLEN ALLEN

ALLEN Sunday

Monday

King Lear

HANNA

KENNEDY’S

Tuesday

Bullets Over Broadway

4

Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden The Crucible Last Comic Standing

5

Bullets Over Broadway The Crucible

OHIO

Wednesday

Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden

6

7

CONNOR PALACE Thursday

STATE

US BANK WESTFIELD PLAZA STUDIO

Friday

OCTOBER

Saturday

A Comedy of Tenors Death and the Maiden

A Comedy of Tenors King Lear Death and the Maiden

Bullets Over Broadway King Lear

Bullets Over Broadway King Lear Gigantick Dimensions Gladys Knight & The O’Jays

A Comedy of Tenors King Lear Death and the Maiden Past. Present. Future Certified Crazy Comedy Tour Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden Gigantick Dimensions The Crucible Josh Groban The Dancing Wheels

Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden The Crucible GroundWorks Evil Dead/Musical The Investigation

Bullets Over Broadway King Lear The Secret Garden The Crucible GroundWorks Evil Dead The Musical The Investigation Russell Peters

King Lear The Crucible The Investigation 1964 The Tribute Bill Burr

King Lear The Secret Garden The Crucible The Investigation David Sedaris Joel Grey: Up Close and Personal

The Secret Garden The Crucible The Investigation Air Play Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson

The Secret Garden King Lear The Crucible The Investigation Air Play Perfectly Marvelous: John Kander

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder The Crucible The Investigation Ubu Roi Voice of a Legend: Enrico Caruso

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder The Crucible The Investigation Ubu Roi Cle Jazz Orchestra ODC - DANCECleveland

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder The Investigation Ubu Roi

Guide to Love & Murder The Investigation Ubu Roi A Prairie Home Companion Camille A. Brown & Dancers SOULmate?

1

8

Bullets Over Broadway King Lear The Crucible

King Lear The Crucible

The Secret Garden The Crucible

3

9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden The Crucible Evil Dead The Musical

The Crucible

The Secret Garden The Crucible The Investigation Joel Grey: Up Close and Personal

The Crucible Air Play

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 The Secret Garden The Crucible Air Play

The Secret Garden The Crucible Air Play Alvin and The Chipmunks

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

NOVEMBER

King Lear The Crucible Johnny Mathis

A Gentleman’s Guide A Gentleman’s Guide A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder to Love & Murder to Love & Murder The Crucible Ubu Roi

2

8

9 10 11 12 13 14

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

3

p

1

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder The Crucible The Investigation Cannoli, Latkes, and Guilt!

Bo Burnham

4

5

A Gentleman’s Guide A Gentleman’s Guide A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder to Love & Murder to Love & Murder Ubu Roi Paula Poundstone

6

GreatLakesTheater.org

Bullets Over Broadway The Secret Garden The Crucible

2

7

The Dumbass

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A Christmas Carol (Sensory-Friendly)

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol The Santaland Diaries Cleveland Pops

22/29 23/30

So You Think You Can Dance

FOR MATURE ELVES ONLY

SANTALAND DIARIES

A Christmas Story Festival of Praise Tour The Santaland Diaries

A Christmas Story A Christmas Carol The Santaland Diaries Lira Ensemble Joyous Jubilee

24 25 26 27 28

BY DAVID SEDARIS

New shows are announced every week. Sign up for the Playhouse Square newsletter at playhousesquare.org to get advance notices by email!

39

Legacy William

*

Family is a top priority for us. Which is why we want to know that the decisions we make now will ensure a bright future for us, our children and our grandchildren. Our FirstMerit Client Advisor understands our aspirations and helped us develop a long-term investment plan. He also helps us manage our day-to-day banking needs so we can focus on what’s important. We have peace of mind knowing our legacy will live on.

TO L E A R N MOR E A B O U T F I R S T M E R I T P R I VA T E B A N K , C O N T A C T : Tom Anderson,

Senior Vice President, at 216-694-5678 or tom.anderson@firstmerit.com.

Follow the latest market trends @firstmerit_mkt

*William reflects a composite of clients with whom we’ve worked; he does not represent any one person.

Non-deposit trust products are not insured by the FDIC; are not deposits or obligations of FirstMerit Bank, N.A, or any of its affiliates; are not guaranteed by FirstMerit Bank, N.A or any of its affiliates; and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal invested.

Member FDIC

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