Cleveland’s Classic Company at the Hanna Theatre presents
February 10 – March 5, 2023
February 10 – March 5, 2023
On behalf of our artists, staff and Board of Trustees, welcome to the second half of Great Lakes Theater’s 61st season!
Our mission, “to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience,” guides our mainstage productions and our educational programming. We believe 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.
We move into the second half of our season by bringing you the delightfully Austen-tatious romantic comedy, Sense and Sensibility. After the tremendous response to our 2018 production of Pride and Prejudice, we are incredibly excited to bring another Jane Austen masterpiece to the Hanna stage. This exuberant, inventive adaptation shares humorous insight and bold theatricality flawlessly executed by the skilled hands of Co-Directors, GLT Associate Artistic Director Sara Bruner and GLT Resident Artist and Interim Production Manager Jaclyn Miller. We are deeply grateful to John and Barbara Schubert for their generous support of our production of Sense and Sensibility.
Our spring Shakespeare production, As You Like It, is one of our favorites. This enchanting comedy brings us back to the fertile Forest of Arden, where a charming adventure ensues with some of Shakespeare’s most beloved characters. Then, after long last, we cannot wait to present the jazzy musical celebration of Fats Waller, Ain’t Misbehavin’, as a fitting finale to the season.
We sincerely hope you will join us for the remaining productions in our 61st season! We encourage you to read your program and look around the theater tonight to see the names of many friends, partners, corporations and foundations whose support make all of this possible. We encourage you to join these donors by becoming a Great Lakes Theater family member with your gift. We extend our sincere gratitude to all of our sponsors and Annual Fund Donor Members, with continued appreciation to our partners of over 40 years at Playhouse Square, and the tireless efforts of our Board of Trustees, dedicated administrative staff, gifted artists and the tremendous generosity of this community.
We hope to see you in our audience again soon.
Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director Bob Taylor Executive DirectorThe mission of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), through its mainstage productions and its education programs, is to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience.
Since the company’s inception in 1962, programming has been rooted in Shakespeare, but GLT’s commitment to great plays spans the breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods –– including the 20th century –– and provides for the occasional mounting of new works that complement the classical repertoire.
Classic theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, revel in eloquent language, preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate communal spirit. On its mainstage and through its education programs, GLT seeks to create visceral, immediate experiences for participants, asserting theater’s historic role as a vehicle for advancing the common good and helping people make joyful and meaningful connections between classic plays and their own lives.
The company’s commitment to classic theater is magnified in the educational programming surrounding its productions. Since its inception, GLT has had a strong presence in area schools, bringing students to the theater for matinee performances and sending specially trained actor-teachers to the schools for weeklong residencies developed to explore classic drama from a theatrical point of view. GLT is equally dedicated to enhancing the theater experience for adult audiences. To this end, GLT regularly serves as the catalyst for community events and programs in the arts and humanities that illuminate the plays on its stage.
Great Lakes Theater is one of only a handful of American theaters that have stayed the course as a classic theater. As GLT celebrates more than a decade in its permanent home at the Hanna Theatre, the company reaffirms its belief in the power of partnership, its determination to make this community a better place in which to live, and its commitment to ensure the legacy of classic theater in Cleveland.
With generous support from:
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY JANE AUSTEN
DIRECTED BY SARA BRUNER AND JACLYN MILLER
Laura Welsh Berg*
Maggie Kettering*
Vilma Silva*
Scenic Designer
Courtney O’Neill
Composer and Sound Designer
Company
Nick Steen* M.A. Taylor*
Costume Designer
Mieka van der Ploeg
Paul James Prendergast Wig and Hair Designer
Iran Micheal Leon
Ángela Utrera*
Hanako Walrath*
Joe Wegner*
Lighting Designer
Erica Lauren Maholmes
Dialect Coach
Lynn Robert Berg
Production Stage Manager
Sarah Kelso*
Assistant Stage Managers
Nicki Cathro* and Imani Sade*
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States SENSE AND SENSIBILTY is presented by special arrangements with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
The world premiere of SENSE AND SENSIBILTY was produced by Bedlam (Eric Tucker, Artistic Director; Andrus Nichols, Producing Director)
Great Lakes Theater student subscriptions are subsidized by a generous gift from Eaton. There will be one fifteen-minute intermission.
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
Elinor Dashwood Maggie Kettering*
Marianne Dashwood ................................................................................. Ángela Utrera*
Edward Ferrars/Mrs. Jennings ....................................................................... Joe Wegner*
Gossip 1/Margaret/Lucy Steele Hanako Walrath*
Gossip 2/Lady Middleton/Anne Steele/Mrs. Dashwood .................................... Vilma Silva*
Gossip 3/Colonel Brandon/Robert Ferrars/Thomas/Mrs. Ferrars Nick Steen*
Gossip 4/Fanny/Willoughby.................................................................. Laura Welsh Berg*
Gossip 5/John Dashwood/Sir John Middleton/Doctor M.A. Taylor*
Dance Captain Jillian Kates*
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
SB: Alright. What is the thing that you like most about this story when you’re ruminating on it?
JM: To me, I feel like this is truly a love story between two sisters and that, to me, is the most beautiful thing about this entire piece. Sure, there’s the relationships, the family dynamic, the social structure, the manners — all of it. But at the heart of it, it is the love between those two sisters.
SB: Yeah, and two sisters that literally could not be any more different as human beings.
JM: Oh, polar-opposites, and yet, also completely complimentary. And what’s amazing is that they both have things to learn from one another, right? They each need a little bit of the other one’s qualities.
SB: How would you characterize them? Like snapshot: Marianne is this. Elinor is this.
JM: I think that Elinor is “duty” and Marianne is “abandon.” Those would be my words for them. What would be yours?
SB: Chaos and order?
JM: (laughs) Yeah.
SB: Marianne is “chaos.” Elinor is “order.”
JM: Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. So, I just want to note that today, December 16, happens to be Jane Austen’s birthday. We are having this conversation on Jane Austen’s birthday which I just like the — what’s the word — the kismet of it all.
SB: I know! That was a great surprise …
JM: It was a great surprise.
SB: … that we decided to have that conversation today. I have to admit, this play to me is daunting. I mean, every play feels daunting to me in some way, and it’s like “Well, what brand of daunting is this play?” This play is daunting to me because there are so many people who know this story better than I do — who grew up with it, who have
loved it, read it multiple times. It’s folded into their consciousness so much more than mine. In many ways, I was a person who just assumed that I would reject Jane Austen because I thought, “She’s not in alignment, not my kind of writer, not my kind of girl,” right?
JM: Sure.
SB: That was so wrong, and I just had to come to her when I did and in the way that I did. Now, my admiration and sort of disbelief that this human being ever existed — ever wrote these stories — I’m like how, How did you do this?
JM: She’s an absolute pioneer. Trailblazer. Extraordinary human.
SB: I know.
JM: The fact that it was such a short, concentrated amount of time that her work was written and published. She was published anonymously — and only posthumously, her brother insisted that she get the recognition and stated who she was aloud. Talk about someone who marched to the beat of their own drum.
SB: And created paths — was creating things beyond these characters. She was creating forms, ideas. She’s so feminist for her time — which is extraordinary.
JM: So feminist.
SB: How intellectually sophisticated she was. How
emotionally intelligent she was in her writing. I mean, so, ya know — Happy Birthday, Jane Austen. Thank you.
JM: Happy Birthday, Jane!
SB: And sorry it took me so long! My first little bit of “Wait a minute, I might like this,” was when I saw the original production of this adaptation that Bedlam did in New York City. I knew the playwright, Kate Hamill. I knew one of the stars, Jason O’Connell. I’d been hearing about this production. It was one of those plays that it’s like, “Who’s this company and what are they doing”? People flocked and it was a total critical success. I went and saw that thing by myself, sat in the audience and had one of those theater experiences — that you only have, as far as I can tell — you have maybe a handful of times in your life. And by handful, I mean like three to five. It was partially about the story. It was partially about that ensemble of actors. It was about the theater language that I saw exhibited that I’d never seen exhibited before. It was a lot about the spirit with which they were approaching it — which was this irreverent, wild, utterly intelligent and sophisticated but free world that you stepped into, and I will never ever forget it. It was awesome.
JM: I was not fortunate enough to see it. This is my second time working on this show, and I absolutely love this adaptation. I’ve worked on Austen pieces with a more standard approach to the story, and there is so much that is beautiful about that approach. But what I admire and love about Kate Hamill’s adaptation is that it’s exactly what you just identified. Even without having seen it on the page, you can tell.
SB: It’s in the writing. JM: It’s in the writing: the wildness, the abandon, the connection, the collective, the ensemble feel. It stems from an extraordinary love, respect and admiration for Austen — lifting her up in a new way. To use one of Kate’s statements: to be in conversation with the audience now as opposed to the way that it’s, sort of, traditionally done. I think that that’s really remarkable about this adaptation.
SB: Yeah, I agree with you, and that’s why I’m excited to work on it because so much of the aesthetic that Kate builds into the script is one that I
have found myself chasing now for many years and trying to hone and share … I think it’s a huge gift to an audience to take a classic [and] love the classic, but to “yes, and” the classic and go, “Yeah this thing has existed. Let’s examine why it’s important. Let’s keep it in the here and now. Let’s make it vibrant” and not be re-creationists. We are not here to re-create things. We’re here to provide a modern lens and show why these things are classics and make them belong to all of us now, which [Kate] talks about in her notes in a way that’s very eloquent. To whoever is reading this, I hope you’ve gone back and read Kate’s notes because they’re …
JM: Awesome. SB: …awesome.
JM: Let me just do a final, button-up, question.
SB: OK.
JM: I feel that part of our job and responsibility — when you’re approaching whatever piece you’re about to direct — is to say, “Why here? Why now? How is this relevant?” Often with the classics, there are things that are similar but different. There are always things that existed in the past that are still similar and relevant to the way that they exist today. So, what can you identify — themes, ideas, anything that you feel? This is really a “we” question but I’m gonna give it to you: What we’re identifying as the how/why it’s relevant and what are the carry-throughs over the generations?
SB: I mean, I’m just gonna make it super simple because it’s something that I find myself thinking about a lot lately — which is, there’s no single narrative in here. This thing is awesome because it’s about a lot of different things.
JM: Yep.
SB: Why now? For me, it’s about love. And it’s about different versions of love. It’s about love winning and us finding our paths even when it’s heartbreaking, it’s hard, it seems like it’s not gonna happen. You know we have a story that starts with a death and ends where it ends, right? And I want that in my life right now. I don’t want to ruminate so much on the tougher things, and the hopeless or the ugly things so much [as] about being alive. I know they’re there and I do want to examine those stories sometimes, but right now, Love? Yeah.
They high five
As a playwright, returning to one of your early plays is an odd, somewhat removed, feeling. If you’ve written a play correctly, it’s an unintentional snapshot of who you were when you wrote it, and the issues that were crowding your subconscious at the time. As Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing — all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” When I think about why I adapted Sense and Sensibility, and why it contains so much of my DNA from 2013 when I wrote it, I have to go back to its origin story.
I first wrote this show out of an odd combination of love and frustration.
First, the love (you always have to start with the love). To be perfectly clear, I am still in deeply, truly, madly, embarrassingly hearts-and-starsand-googly-eyes love with the theater. I love that unlike film, it’s ephemeral — changing from night to night, from show to show. It’s like a sand mandala – more precious because it’s temporary and only about the present moment. As any theater maker can tell you, no two performances are exactly the same: Perhaps there’s an especially boisterous laugh in the audience, and everyone’s energy is lifted. Perhaps an actor fumbles a line (as we all sometimes do), and the resultant jolt of adrenaline makes everyone listen a little bit closer. Perhaps a moment hits a bit harder, and everyone’s breath is taken away. It’s stuff like this that made humanity invent the craft! I love the people gathering to enact an old, old ritual: The audience and actors all feeling and breathing and achieving some kind of catharsis and community together. I love the theater for its potential — for the empathy it can awaken. Nothing makes me feel more connected to others than when I experience a truly amazing play or musical, whether from onstage or off — when I find myself laughing and crying for the lives of imaginary human beings. Nothing cures me of loneliness like seeing the secrets of others’ hearts onstage.
So, that’s the love.
Now the frustration.
When I first wrote this play, I was feeling deep, deep irritation and ambivalence about my sometimes-seemingly-contradictory identity as a femi-
nist and a theater maker. At the time, I wasn’t always proud of the work I was hired to do, or the auditions I had taken. I sometimes felt as if I was performing a cardboard cut-out of identity.
Working as an actor in New York City, I so often was particularly frustrated by a dearth of complex, female-centered characters and storylines. And it wasn’t just me. I had so many friends — talented, trained, passionate artists — who were dropping out of the business because of a lack of opportunity. For millennia, women working in the theater (when they were allowed onstage at all) were largely relegated to playing tertiary characters in male narratives — the girlfriend, the wife, the prostitute. This is particularly true, of course, in the classics. (There are three female roles for every 16 male roles in Shakespeare, for example.) Now, there are some great roles for girlfriends, wives and prostitutes, but I was tired of non-male artists losing the chance to lead the stories (and thus losing out on career opportunities). I wanted to open doors that had been shut for too many for too long. I wanted to create new feminist classics.
I started with adaptation because I believe that the classics present an incredible opportunity to reshape and refocus narratives. To kick down doors and let all the people in. They’re so often cultural touchstones for us — we teach them in schools, and pass them down from gen-
eration to generation. They shape who we think of as protagonists — and what we view as a protagonist’s journey. I come at adaptation with a new play lens — which is to say, I think of it as a collaboration between myself and the original author (who is sometimes, like Jane Austen, currently dead). And I knew that when I started adapting classics, I wanted to create plays that were in conversation with the original, but not copy-and-paste recreations. I wanted to make highly theatrical, inclusive, irreverent, ensemble-based work that embraces the here-and-now, the moment we’re all in together — as opposed to retracing old patterns.
In an ever-evolving art like the theater, it’s important that we not try to freeze texts in some cold marble tomb, never to be disturbed. We need to let these narratives run around, living raucously in the daylight — getting dirty, starting trouble and having some fun along the way.
Thus, my first draft was written.
Fortunately, some things have changed for the better since 2014, when this play was first produced. More and more artists are breaking through closed doors, and creating bold new narratives (as well as more just and equitable workspaces). I’m tremendously excited by the work I see being created in the American theater, and the ways in which old beliefs are being chal-
lenged. I firmly believe that reshaping stories can help reshape culture. When we ensure that narratives of all types can take center stage, we know that we can all be protagonists, no matter our gender identity or background or circumstance. We can be heroes — or heroines — of our own stories.
I’m thrilled to have the fantastic duo of Sara Bruner and Jaclyn Miller direct this piece, leading so many great artists in collaboration on Sense and Sensibility to find new ways in which this play can evolve. I wrote Sense and Sensibility because I believe so deeply that the theater belongs to everyone and that this work can evolve and change to meet the times and improve upon itself in every iteration. I may have originally written this play out of love and frustration, but it belongs to this ensemble now. It belongs to these audiences and performers and to this ephemeral room, where you’ll experience it together. It may contain snapshots of the past, but what I love about the theater is how deeply it is rooted in the present moment.
Returning to one of your early plays is an odd, somewhat removed, feeling, but I believe the oddness comes because I know it’s not just my play anymore. The moment you all gather together in the old theatrical ritual, this story is no longer just mine or just Jane Austen’s. It’s yours.
“I come at adaptation with a new play lens — which is to say, I think of it as a collaboration between myself and the original author...”
– Kate Hamill
ane Austen was born in 1775 in a parsonage in Steventon, Hampshire, England. The daughter of Rev. George and Cassandra Leigh Austen, Jane was the seventh child in a family of eight and one of only two girls.
Jane Austen’s extended family encompassed many of the socioeconomic conditions she depicted with such specificity in her novels. Her father’s people were wealthy wool merchants, but his particular family branch had fallen a few notches. The Leighs, her mother’s family, were landed gentry. But since land and money were rarely passed down through the mother, the Austens participated in the Leigh lifestyle as visitors.
While her brothers made their way in the world, Jane and her sister stayed at home. But theirs was not a life of unruffled domesticity. Rev. Austen tutored boarding students in his home. Since space was needed for paying customers, Jane was shipped out from time to time to boarding schools or wealthy relatives.
The parents and daughters downsized to rented rooms in the resort town of Bath when Rev. Austen retired in 1801. After his death, the widowed mother and her daughters rotated among various relatives for several years. Experiences of financial insecurity and dependency permeate Jane Austen’s novels. Jane never married.
Financial concerns did not prevent Jane Austen’s family from nurturing her as a writer. Rev. Austen had a library of 500 books and pro-
vided his daughters with pen, paper and literary subscriptions. Amateur theatricals at Leigh family gatherings also introduced Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal and other witty comedies of the day. Writing clever prologues and epilogues for such gatherings was a family sport.
Jane joined the fray at an early age. Three volumes of “juvenilia” survive and include a play based on Samuel Richardson’s The History of Sir Charles Grandison and a History of England in Oliver Goldsmith’s lively style. As widely as young Jane read, a subscription in June 1796 to Fanny Burney’s Camilla, a comic tale of misunderstanding in love, seems to have spurred her to greater ambition. While visiting her brother in Kent from October 1796 to August 1797, she drafted a book called First Impressions, later retitled Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen’s father sent First Impressions to a publisher in 1797, but it was rejected. An early version of Northanger Abbey received a more encouraging response in 1803, but didn’t see print.
Sense and Sensibility, attributed anonymously to “a lady,” was the first of Jane Austen’s works to be published, in 1811. Pride and Prejudice followed in 1813, Mansfield Park in 1814 and Emma in 1815. Jane’s brother Henry revealed his sister’s name to the public for the first time when he published Persuasion and Northanger Abbey after her death in 1817.
Scenic designer Courtney
O’Neill’s rendering sets the stage for this playful and frenetic production. The stage floor features an ever-present, allseeing eye as a center medallion, while the Toile de Jouy wallpaper matches the actors’ base costumes, allowing them to blend into the background, all the while observing and commenting on the action.
Austen’s novels center famously on the strictures of propriety and behavior in polite English society. Through her play adaptation, Kate Hamill explodes the interior life of the characters in Sense and Sensibility, as a small ensemble of performers manically race about to inhabit the Dashwood family and the entire community they encounter.
The scenic design and costumes in the Great Lakes Theater production not only highlight but are a necessary component in telling this story. Mieka van der Ploeg’s costumes must be functional, as actors and backstage dressers have numerous quick changes throughout the performance. But the costumes also communicate the playful uniqueness of Hamill’s adaptation. Black and white base costumes are period-inspired (though, as designer van der Ploeg said, “not strictly period-accurate”) then layered over with anachronistically bright and colorful silhouette pieces for individual characters.
These fantastic creations are set against Courtney O’Neill’s funhouse of a set, a representa-
Mieka van der Ploeg’s costume design enables the acting company to change characters quickly and sometimes in full view of the audience. The quick changes are made possible by utilizing the black and white Toile de Jouy base costume and layering other costume pieces as necessary.
tion of a parlor and a garden, with a variety of doorways for farcically timed comings and goings. A great eye feature in the floor suggests the constant observation participants in Georgian society found themselves under, which is not so different from ours today. — David Hansen
Laura Welsh Berg*
Gossip 4/Fanny/Willoughby
Seventeen seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Credits with GLT include, most recently, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Julius Caesar (Cassius), Pride and Prejudice (Lizzie), Mamma Mia! (Rosie), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Rosaline), And Then There Were None (Vera), Macbeth (Witch) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Ford). She has a BA in theater from Baldwin Wallace University, and an MFA in acting from the theater school at DePaul. She is currently an assistant professor of acting and directing in the music theater program at Baldwin Wallace University, and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Lynn Robert Berg* Understudy
Twenty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Seven seasons as Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), Brutus (Julius Caesar), the title roles of Macbeth and Richard III, Friar John (Romeo and Juliet), Don Pedro (Much Ado About Nothing), Charlie Cowell (The Music Man), The Ghost and Player King (Hamlet), Zoltan Karpathy (My Fair Lady), Gremio (The Taming of the Shrew), Malvolio (Twelfth Night) and Frank Ford (The Merry Wives of Windsor). Other credits include Bill Austin (Mamma Mia!), Don Armado (Love’s Labour’s Lost ), Watson ( The Hound of the Baskervilles), and Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; Hucklebee (The Fantasticks), Mayhew (Witness for the Prosecution), Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), Jonas Fogg (Sweeney Todd) and Polixenes (The Winter’s Tale) at Idaho Shakespeare Festival; and Short Shakespeare MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Jillian Kates*
Understudy
Nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Select previous GLT roles include Stephano in The Tempest, Marian in The Music Man, Portia in Julius Caesar, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Jane in Pride and Prejudice, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Texas/Sally understudy in Cabaret. She also appeared in the ensemble of the Broadway National Tour of Wicked and covered the roles of Glinda and Nessarose. Proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Oklahoma raised, Brooklyn based. So much love to the supremely talented creative team, cast, crew and office staff members that make up this magical place. @smallfirevintage
Maggie Kettering*
Elinor Dashwood
Six seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous shows include The 39 Steps, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, A Christmas Carol, Love’s Labour’s Lost, And Then There Were None, Blithe Spirit and Much Ado about Nothing. Additionally, she has worked with Peninsula Players (Miss Holmes, Outside Mullingar, Lend Me a Tenor), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (Holmes and Watson), House Theatre (Season on the Line – Joseph Jefferson nomination), Shakespeare Theatre Company (Henry IV, parts 1 and 2), TimeLine Theatre (My Kind of Town) and Northlight Theatre (Season’s Greetings – Jack Springer Award). Maggie is a resident of Chicago, an Ironman finisher and a believer in Snuffleupaguses.
Vilma Silva*
Gossip 2/Lady Middleton/ Anne Steele/Mrs. Dashwood
Debut season with Great Lakes Theater
Most recently, Vilma
appeared as Old Jo and Scrooge alternate in the McCarter Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol. Vilma has been a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 25 seasons, most recently in King John, an all-female and non-binary OSF production in collaboration with the Upstart Crow Collective, as King Philip of France and Lord Salisbury. Some of her favorites at OSF include Destiny of Desire, Mojada, The River Bride, Water By The Spoonful, King Lear, Henry VIII, A View From The Bridge, The Taming of the Shrew, Gibraltar, Pericles, Two Sisters and a Piano, The Three Musketeers and The Magic Fire (OSF/Kennedy Center). Other theaters include Steppenwolf Theatre, TheatreWorks, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Dallas Theater Center, American Conservatory Theater and El Teatro Campesino.
Nick Steen*
Gossip 3/Colonel Brandon/ Robert Ferrars/Thomas/ Mrs. Ferrars
Ten seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous roles include Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Macduff in Macbeth, Caliban in The Tempest, Laertes in Hamlet, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Lombard in And Then There Were None, Orestes in Elektra and Clifford in Deathtrap. Nick holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Evansville, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theater. He’s also a voice actor whose work can be heard on Hulu, Spotify and social media. He has endless gratitude for his family and for the love of his life, Nicki. NickSteen.com
M.A. Taylor*
Gossip 5/John Dashwood/ Sir John Middleton/Doctor
Eighteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater
A proud new resident of Ohio who was previously seen in Romeo and Juliet, Peter; Much Ado About Nothing, Verges; A Christmas Carol, Charity Man, Old Joe; Julius Caesar,
Calphurnius; Macbeth, Murderer; and The Fantasticks, Old Actor. Favorite roles include Doolittle: My Fair Lady, Puck: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Carter/Dr. Wyatt: Witness for the Prosecution, Third Actor: Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Count Dracula: Dracula. Other companies include Resident Ensemble Theater, Boise Contemporary Theater and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He holds an MFA from the University of Delaware/Professional Theater Training Program. Special thanks to his Families (genetic and professional). Forever to Dougfred and Kathryn.
Ángela Utrera*
Marianne Dashwood
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
From Asturias, Spain, Ángela was last seen on GLT’s stage as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Ghost of Christmas Past/ Ensemble in A Christmas Carol and Miranda in The Tempest, and is so excited to come back this spring! She has assistant-directed City of Altar and Teen Dad at the Sin Muros play festival at Stages Theatre in Houston. Ángela earned her acting/directing BFA from Sam Houston State University.
Hanako Walrath*
Gossip 1/Margaret/ Lucy Steele
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous GLT credits include A Christmas Carol (Elizabeth/Martha/Fan), The 39 Steps (Pamela/Margaret/Anabella understudy), Romeo and Juliet (understudy) and Much Ado About Nothing (understudy). Other recent theater credits include The Sound of Music (Liesl) and South Pacific with the Cleveland Orchestra, Lizzie, Kinky Boots and Spring Awakening. Hanako is a senior music theater major at Baldwin Wallace University, and is thrilled to be graduating with a Bachelor of Music in the spring! Lots of love to Mom, Dad, Maiko and her puppy Romeo.
Joe Wegner* Edward Ferrars/ Mrs. Jennings
Three seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Off-Broadway: Judgement Day (world premiere) (Park Avenue Armory). Regional theater: Romeo & Juliet, The 39 Steps, Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew (GLT, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare), Archduke (world premiere) (Center Theater Group), Guys and Dolls, A Wrinkle in Time (world premiere), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Very Merry Wives of Winsor Iowa, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, Romeo and Juliet (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Guys and Dolls (Wallis Annenberg Center), The School for Lies (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), In the Blood (Mixed Blood Theatre). TV/Film: Tales of the City (Netflix).
Education: BFA, Southern Oregon University. www.joewegner.net
Dario Alvarez, Lynn Robert Berg*, Jillian Kates*, Jaedynn Latter, Zoe Lewis, Grace McVey, Maddi O’Connell
Sara Bruner Director
Seventeen seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Directing credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival Alice in Wonderland; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis The Cake; Arizona Theatre Company Cabaret; Great Lakes Theater/Idaho Shakespeare Festival Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew and A Christmas Carol (four years); At Idaho Shakespeare Festival, directed/adapted educational tours of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Much Ado about Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew. Other theaters include Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, Drop Dance Collective, Baldwin Wallace University. Acting credits
include Norma McCorvey in Roe (world premiere) at Arena Stage and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Viola and Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Sue Trinder in Fingersmith (world premiere), LeFou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time (world premiere) at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; company member at Great Lakes Theater for 10 years, Idaho Shakespeare Festival 19 years, Oregon Shakespeare Festival five years. Education: Executive MBA, Boise State University. Awards: 2018 Princess Grace Award for directing.
Jaclyn Miller DirectorFive seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Director credit for GLT: The 39 Steps. Choreography/Movement credit for GLT: Romeo and Juliet, Little Shop of Horrors, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, The Music Man, Julius Caesar, Mamma Mia!, The Taming of the Shrew, Pride and Prejudice and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Regional credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival: It’s Christmas, Carol!, Hairspray, Alice in Wonderland, Book of Will, Shakespeare in Love, Twelfth Night, The Yeoman of the Guard, Fingersmith (world premiere), The Cocoanuts and My Fair Lady; South Coast Rep: She Loves Me; Arizona Theatre Company: Cabaret and The Music Man; Guthrie Theatre: The Cocoanuts; and Baltimore Center Stage: Fun Home Additionally, Jaclyn has worked as an associate director and/or choreographer around the country at theaters that include Arena Stage, Kirk Douglas Theater, Ogunquit Playhouse, Portland Opera and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.
Charles Fee
Producing Artistic Director
Twenty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Directing credits at GLT: Much Ado About Nothing, Sleuth, Witness for the Prosecution, A Christmas Carol, Misery , Macbeth , Hamlet, And Then There Were None, Dial “M” for Murder, Deathtrap, Blithe Spirit, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing artistic director of three independently operated, professional theater companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002), Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho (since 1991) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Incline Village, Nevada (since 2010). His appointments have resulted in a dynamic and groundbreaking producing model for the companies, in which more than 60 plays have been shared since 2002. In 2009, Charles was honored to receive recognition for his leadership by the Cleveland Arts Prize as a recipient of the Martha Joseph Award. Other awards include The Mayor’s and Governor’s awards for Excellence in the Arts, Idaho. From 1988 to 1992, he held the position of artistic
director at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California. He has also worked with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, the Milwaukee and Missouri repertory theaters, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. In addition to his work with the companies in Ohio, Idaho and Nevada, Charles is active within the community. He has served as a member of the strategic planning committee for the Morrison Center, as producer of the FUNDSY Award Gala (’96, ’98 and 2000), and as producer of the 1996 Idaho Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Charles has served on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. He received his BA from the University of the Pacific and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Along with his wife, Lidia and daughter, Alexa, Charles resides in Boise, Cleveland and Lake Tahoe — a feat that is only possible because of the incredible love and support of his family, and the generous communities he serves!
Kate Hamill Playwright
Kate Hamill is an actor/playwright who was named Wall Street Journal ’s Playwright of the Year, 2017. Her work includes her play Sense and Sensibility (in which she originated the role of Marianne) and was the winner of the Off-Broadway Alliance Award 2016, Drama League Award nominee; and was performed more than 265 times offBroadway. Other plays include Vanity Fair at the Pearl Theatre (in which she originated the role of Becky Sharp; and was an OffBroadway Alliance Award nominee 2017), Pride and Prejudice at Primary Stages and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (in which she originated the role of Lizzy Bennet and was an Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominee). Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, Dallas Theater Center, PlayMaker’s Rep, Folger Theatre (receiving eight Helen Hayes Award nominations and was the S&S winner of Best Production), Arvada Center and others. Upcoming work includes productions at Shakespeare Theatre of DC, A.C.T., Trinity Rep, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public, Kansas City Rep and Dorset Theatre Festival. Upcoming world premieres include Little Women at the Jungle Theater and Primary Stages and Mansfield Park at Northlight Theatre. She is currently working on new adaptations of The Odyssey and The Scarlet Letter, as well as several new original plays (Prostitute Play, In the Mines, Love Poem). Kate was one of the Top 20 most-produced playwrights in the country this season. kate-hamill.com
Iran Micheal Leon
Wig and Hair Designer
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
He has designed shows throughout the West Coast as a hair/wig designer and costume designer. Previous work includes wig master and interim key hair stylist for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Other theaters include Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater, Celebration Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Hollywood Bowl, A
Noise Within, Azusa Pacific University and Askew Theatre Company. Instagram: iml_ design_elements
Erica Lauren Maholmes
Lighting Designer
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous design credits include Matt & Ben (Penobscot Theatre Company), Amerikin (Alley Theatre), The Cake (Omaha Community Playhouse) and The Fairy Doll (Kansas Ballet Company). Previous assistant credits include Bald Sisters (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), The Notebook: A New Musical (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), The 39 Steps (Great Lakes Theater), The Gradient (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis) and Pipeline (Cleveland Play House). Erica is an alum of the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (2016, 2021), West Chester University (BA), and Illinois State University (MFA). She is a proud member of Black Theatre Network and Design Action.
Courtney O’Neill
Scenic Designer
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Courtney returns to Cleveland after designing last year’s The 39 Steps. Her designs have been seen at Cleveland Play House, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Denver Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Apollo Theater, Court Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Victory Gardens, Writers Theatre, Mosaic Theater Company, Dallas Theatre Center, Children’s Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, South Coast Repertory and Milwaukee Repertory Theater, among others. Courtney teaches at DePaul University and Northwestern University, and has received multiple awards, including a Joseph Jefferson Award and the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. courtneyoneill.com
Mieka van der Ploeg
Costume Designer
Debut season with Great Lakes Theater
Credits include designs with Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater,
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, American Players Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago (Lyric Unlimited), Lookingglass Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Second City, Redmoon Theater, The Hypocrites, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, Theater Wit, Albany Park Theater Project, Manual Cinema and the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater. She won a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2020 for First Love is the Revolution at Steep Theatre. She is proud to be a member of USA829.
Paul James Prendergast
Composer and Sound Designer
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous credits at GLT include Peter Pan and The Imaginary Invalid. Broadway credits include All The Way, The Great Society and Julius Caesar. Select regional credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival (25 productions), Guthrie, Seattle Rep, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, Long Wharf, Geffen, Hartford Stage, Cal Shakes, Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory, American Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse, Alley, Alliance, Kennedy Center, Cincinnati Playhouse and Baltimore Center Stage. Commercial work includes extensive theme park and museum installations. Accolades include Grammy and Drama Desk nominations; Broadway World, Ovation, Drama-Logue, Garland, Gregory, Footlight and Gypsy awards. Paul’s work as a singer/ songwriter has appeared in films, on recordings and in music venues nationwide.
Sarah Kelso*
Production Stage Manager
Six seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previous shows include Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, The 39 Steps, Sleuth, Million Dollar Quartet, Beehive the
’60s Musical and A Christmas Carol. Twelve seasons with Idaho Shakespeare Festival include Ain’t Misbehavin’, The 39 Steps, Sleuth, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Million Dollar Quartet, Beehive the 60s Musical, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Forever Plaid, The Fantasticks and Steel Magnolias. Ten seasons with Boise Contemporary Theater include The Wolves, With Love and a Major Organ, Good Bitch Goes Down, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and A Skull in Connemara. Sarah is a graduate of Boise State University’s Department of Theatre Arts.
Nicki Cathro*
Assistant Stage Manager
Seven seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Previously served as production stage manager for Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest and Julius Caesar. Assistant stage manager for Little Shop of Horrors, Sleuth, The Music Man, Witness for the Prosecution, Misery, Macbeth and Pride and Prejudice. Production assistant for Hamlet, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other theater work includes ASM for Every Brilliant Thing at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Nicki earned her BFA in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas and is a member of AEA. She is overjoyed to be back in the theater with her husband and friends.
Imani Sade*
Assistant Stage Manager
Three seasons with Great Lakes Theater
Imani is so excited to be back at The Hanna for her third season! Previous GLT credits include The Music Man and The 39 Steps. Other credits are LIZZIE (The Beck Center), Into the Woods (Baldwin Wallace University), Jersey Boys Streaming (Playhouse Square), Greenwood: An American Dream Destroyed (Karamu House) and If/Then (Lakeland Civic Theatre). Imani would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support.
The trustees, staff, and artistic company of Great Lakes Theater express our deepest gratitude to the hundreds of supporters of Cleveland’s Classic Company. The donors listed below and on the following pages made generous gifts to our Annual Fund between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. “I can no other answer make but thanks.” Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene iii
Great Lakes Theater serves more than 100,000 students, adults, and artists annually through our Hanna and Mimi Ohio Theatre mainstage productions and education programs throughout Northeast Ohio. Please consider joining the Great Lakes Theater family by making a gift today!
To learn more about Donor Membership and other gift-giving opportunities, visit us online at GreatLakesTheater.org/Support, or contact Jeremy Lewis, Development & Donor Relations Manager at (216) 453-4457 or jlewis@greatlakestheater.org.
$100,000 and above
The George Gund Foundation
John P. Murphy Foundation
$50,000 to $99,999
David and Inez Myers Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
John & Barbara Schubert
$25,000 to $49,999
Arthur L. Thomas
Over 800 patrons generously donated the value of their tickets back to support Great Lakes Theater during pandemic-related disruptions during our 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 seasons. This vital “intermission” support has enabled us to raise our curtain once again. We are truly grateful! Check out the full list of donors online.
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.” Richard II, Act II, Scene ii
Judie & Bruce Amsel
Mrs. Al A. Archambault°
Kathleen L. Barber°
Marilyn° & Paul° Brentlinger
Willard & Donna Carmel
Mary° & Leigh Carter
Natalie & Morton° Epstein
Gerald Freedman°
GAR Foundation
Edward S. Godleski
Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson
Mary Jane Davis Hartwell°
Samuel S. Hartwell
The Hershey Foundation
Jack° & Mary Ann Katzenmeyer
Thomas° & Margaret° Lynch
Charitable Trust
Mary Anne° & Jack McGrath
Janet & Bob° Neary
James A. Nelson°
Donald F. & Anne T. Palmer
Jean Z.° & John S.° Piety
Tim & Lynn Pistell
Ron° & Nancy° Pottorff
Professor Alan Miles Ruben & Judge Betty Willis Ruben
The John Sherwin Family
George° & Marjorie° Springer
Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford
Arthur L. Thomas
Audrey° & Dick° Watts
Ms. Margaret E. Zellmer°
A gift to the Great Lakes Theater Endowment Fund was received from the following donor between July 1, 2022 and January 11, 2023. Edward S. Godleski
°Deceased: The legacy of these generous donors lives on for future generations.
For more information regarding planned gifts, please contact Todd Krispinsky, Managing Director. (216) 453-4449 | tkrispinsky@greatlakestheater.org
Annual Fund donors of $1,000 and above are members of Great Lakes Theater’s “Shakespeare Society” and are entitled to exclusive benefits, including access to special services, events, and opportunities to connect deeply with Cleveland’s Classic Company. To learn more, contact Jeremy Lewis at (216) 453-4457.
$10,000 to $24,999
The Eva L. and Joseph M. Bruening Foundation
Gail Cudak
Carol Dolan & Greggory Hill
Eaton
Fifth Third Bank
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
Robert° & Janet E. Neary
The Nord Family Foundation
Nordson Corporation Foundation
Donald F. & Anne T. Palmer
Georgianna T. Roberts
Ms. Ana G. Rodriguez
The Shubert Foundation
Thomas G. & Ruth M. Stafford
The Stocker Foundation
The Family of Jill Hearey
The Treu-Mart Fund, a supporting organization of the The Cleveland Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
U.S. Bank
The Thomas H. White Foundation, a KeyBank Trust
Robert C. & Emily C. Williams
$5,000 to $9,999
Dalia & Robert Baker
Carol A. Barnak
Fred & Mary Behm
Mr. Todd M. Burger & Ms. Kristie Beck
Bill & Judie Caster
Evelyn Dolejs°
Natalie Epstein
Elizabeth Grove & Rich Bedell
The Harry K. and Emma R. Fox Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Hartwell
Diane K. Hupp
Paul R. Keen & Denise Horstman Keen
Donna M. Koler
Rita & Charles Maimbourg
Thomas A. Piraino & Barbara C. McWilliams
Tim & Lynn Pistell
Greg Pribulsky & Donna Heinz
A.J. & Nancy Stokes
$2,500 to $4,999
Anonymous
Chuck & Bonnie Abbey
Beth A. Adams
Michelle R. Arendt
Walt & Laura Avdey
Kim & Bart Bixenstine
Mitch & Liz Blair
Glenn R. & Jeanette G. Brown
Homer Chisholm° & Gertrude Kalnow
Chisholm Fund
George A. M. & Heather Currall
Timothy J. Downing & Ken Press
Charles, Lidia & Alexa Fee
Dianne V. Foley
Lynn M. Gattozzi & Glenn Myers
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur C. Hall III
Katie Kennedy & Doug White
Faisal Khan & Angela DiCorleto
Ms. Catherine M. Kilbane & Mr. Donald H. Bullock
Mr. & Mrs. John J. Lane, Jr.
The Laub Foundation
Victor C. Laughlin, M.D. Memorial Foundation Trust
Susan & John Lebold
David & Denise Maiorana
Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Mayer
Jack E. McGrath
Karen Nemec
The NRP Group LLC
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick W. O’Connor
Dr. Scott & Mrs. Judy Pendergast
Michael & Barbara Peterman
Rick & Paula Reed
Kim Sherwin°
Sally J. Staley
Geoff & Catherine Tanner
Kris & George Tesar
Mr. & Mrs. Paul L. Wellener IV
$1,000 to $2,499
Anonymous
The Alvah Stone & Adele Corning
Chisholm Memorial Fund
Gary D. Benz & Betsy A. Karetnick
John & Laura Bertsch
Kip T. & Catherine Bollin
Joanne R. Bratush
Jack & Janice Campbell
Donald & Annamarie Chick
Christopher & Nancy Coburn
Mrs. Anthea Daniels & Mr. Matthew Burke
Mr. Mark Davis
Rebecca Dunn
Dr. Howard Epstein
The Giant Eagle Foundation
James Graham & David Dusek
Rich & Barbara Gray
The Gries Family Foundation
Drs. Thomas & Cynthia Gustaferro
Geoffrey Michael Heller Memorial Fund
Mary Elizabeth Huber
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.
James & Rosemary Koehler
Jim & Paula Lang
Eva & Rudolf Linnebach
Ken & Mary Loparo
Mr. & Mrs. John S. Lupo
Mr. & Mrs. William E. MacDonald III
Katie McVoy & Justin Cernansky
Jennifer & Peter Meckes
Roy & Cindy Moore
Mr. & Mrs. John C. Morley
Deborah L. Neale
Michael Novak
M.B. Perkins Donor Advised Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Wilmer M. Piper
John & Norine Prim
Linda Schlageter
Katherine Stokes-Shafer
Anita Stoll & Pete Clapham
Diana & Eugene Stromberg
Mr. Frederick & Mrs. Elizabeth G. Stueber
James L. Wagner
Nancy-Anne Wargo
Mary C. Warren
Mr. & Mrs. Harold L. Williams
Welcome! The following individuals made their first gift, returned as active donors, or increased their gift to Great Lakes Theater’s Annual Fund during the period of July 1, 2022 through December 14, 2022. The Great Lakes Theater family is grateful for their support!
Anonymous (5)
Walt & Laura Avdey
Mary S. Baker
Ms. Lisa Bennett
Pam & Scott Benson
Kim & Bart Bixenstine
Bernice A. Bolek
Kip T. & Catherine Bollin
Mr. William Bost
H.F.° & J.C. Burkhardt
Robert Carlyon
The Alvah Stone & Adele Corning
Chisholm Memorial Fund
Mr. Edward A. Chuhna
Patricia Brownell & James Collins
Gail Cudak
Mr. Mark DiDonato
John & Maryann Doucette
Rebecca Dunn
Bob & Kay Eikenburg
Katharine Elek
Evans Charitable Foundation
Gene & Patricia Ewald
Mr. Joseph Ferritto
$750 to $999
Robyn & David Barrie
Gary & Joanna Graeff
Mr. & Mrs. Brian Lawler
Jeff & Nancy Reinhart
Otmar & Rota Sackerlotzky
Randall & Sara Shaner
Dr. & Mrs. Lynn A. Smith
Christopher & Gail Steward
$500 to $749
Ms. Carol Arbaczewski
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Baehr
Mary S. Baker
Gary & Kay Bluhm
Julia & Ben Brouhard
Eileen Kennedy & Greg Cloyd
Jim & Berni Cockey
Audrey DeClement
Barry & Suzanne Doggett
Jennifer Dowdell Armstrong
Michael Dunn
Evans Charitable Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. Robert L. Fairchild
Mr. Joseph Ferritto
Deborah A. Geier
Janet & Patricia Glaeser
Mrs. Edith Hirsch
Mr. & Mrs. Fishwick
Dianne V. Foley
The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation
Michael Frank & Pat Snyder°
Carla & Jim Gallagher
Larry & Jean Gilbert
Dr. Sidney Goldstein
The George Gund Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Hahn
Meredith Hester
Carrie Hujarski
Susan K. Jagoda
Drucilla Knutsen
The Lehman Family
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Letts
Ms. Cathy Lincoln
Eva & Rudolf Linnebach
The Lubrizol Foundation
Andrea & Michael Lyons
Rita & Charles Maimbourg
Mr. & Mrs. Steve McMahon
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Glenn & Susan Morley
Gary Nemeth & Gail Jones-Nemeth
Thomas Jorgensen & Jocelyn Ruf
Bernie & Nancy Karr
Dr. & Mrs. Robert L. Katz
Larry & Joy Kent
Ursula Korneitchouk
Stephen & Carolyn Kuerbitz
Chris & Laura Larson
Barbara & Mark Mazzone
Helen & Harry Mercer
David & Leslee Miraldi
Toni & Linda Moore
The Music and Drama Club
Barbara B. O’Connor
Mr. John Rampe
Tom L. & Helen Rathburn
Mrs. Sharon L. Rogers
Jacob Scholl & Charlotte A. Estafen
Dina & Richard° Schoonmaker
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Scoggin
Jack & Terry Southworth
Rex & Judy Stanforth
Karl & Carol Theil
Jeanette H. Thomas
Mary W. Trevor
Chris & Mary Weaver
Brian Wynne & Patrick Cozzens
The Music and Drama Club
Nordson Corporation Foundation
David Oldham
Mr. & Mrs. James M. Petras
Tom L. & Helen Rathburn
Reinhold & Ginny Roedig
Mr. & Mrs. Todd Rustad
Sarah & Bryan Salisbury, a Donor
Advised Fund of Renaissance
Charitable Foundation
Doris A. & Richard E. Schultz
Alan & Debbie Shubert
Jack & Terry Southworth
Christopher & Gail Steward
Sean & Tabitha Swick
Lori Trehan
Lance Whitson & Terry Juhn
Mr. & Mrs. Harold L. Williams
Mr. Warren I. Williamson & Ms. Lael A. Kilpatrick
Thomas & Suann Winczek
Thomas M. & Barbara A. Wladyka
Gerry & Jeanne Wojciechowicz
Mr. Bruce Zake
Mr. Lee C. Zeiszler
John & Jane Zuzek
Anonymous
The Thomas and Joann Adler
Family Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Judie & Bruce Amsel
Joel & Teresa Andreani
Mr. & Mrs. Benham S. Bates
Mrs. Kathryn Berkshire
John & Jeannene Bertosa
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Beyer
Mike & Carole Brown
V. Elizabeth Brown
Cindy & Tim Carr
Rollin & Anne Conway
Dr. & Mrs. Kevin D. Cooper
Gilbert & Lisa Corwin
Pete & Margaret Dobbins
Mr. Theodore Elrick
Jon & Mary Fancher
Bill & Terri Frey
Carla & Jim Gallagher
Elizabeth Hecht & Peter Savoy
Doug & Suzanne Hicks
Mr. Herbert J. Hoppe, Jr.
Robert & Linda Jenkins
Stephen L. Kadish
Deb & Gar Kaminski
Charles King & Catherine Keating
Bob° & Nanci Kirkpatrick
Michael & Lynn Kleinman
Ronald G. Kollar
Mr. & Mrs. Mark D. Kozel
Robert & Jennifer Larson
Daniel Leschnik
Kenneth E. & Anne R. Love
The Mersol Family
Bill & Marilyn Miller
Steve Z. & Mary Gibbs Mitchell
Glenn & Susan Morley
Ms. Barbara H. Nahra
Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Patalon
Ms. Diane L. Pauley
Frederick Perry
Ms. Lori Riga
Dr. Edward J. Rockwood
Sarah Sessions Reid
Mr. James Sonday
Frank & Vicki Titas
Martha C. Tomb
Lori Trehan
Ken Vinciquerra & Louise Acheson
Mr. & Mrs. James L. Wamsley III
Dr. & Mrs. Gregory A. Watts
Jerry & Carolyn Webb
Ms. Jean Wingate
Juliet Zavesky
Zilber Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
$125 to $249
Anonymous (5)
Cheryl Barnes
Pam & Scott Benson
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Berges
Roger Bielefeld
Mr. & Mrs. David R. Blackman
Susan Bobey
John Bolton
Larry & Andi Carlini
Robert Carlyon
Gary Ciolli
John & Donna Clifford
David & Gayle Cratty
Ronald Cross
Daniel Divis
John & Maryann Doucette
Bob & Kay Eikenburg
Mr. & Mrs. L. William Erb
Clyde & Janice Evans
Gene & Patricia Ewald
Mr. & Mrs. Fishwick
David V. Foos
Ms. Gay Maire Goden
Ms. Linda Grau
John Greene
Jean E. Gubbins
Richard & Jo Anne Harris
Curt & Karen Henkle
Thomas Higgason
Lynn & Mark Hofflund
Ms. Marie Ivkanec
James & Gale Jacobsohn
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Janson
Marilyn & Howard Karfeld
Lauren Kawentel
William & Marion Kettering
Mr. & Mrs. David R. Knowles
Mike Kupiec & Pat Murphy
Ms. Leslie Lahr
Jeremy Lewis & Daniel
Napolitano
Gregory & Vickie Leyes
Brian & Renee Lowery
Antoinette Miller
Tim Miller
Tom & Mary Neff
Ms. Brenda Norton
Mr. Gerald Norton
Joan M. Oravec
Brian Perry & Ka Pi Hoh
Mr. David Porter
Bette Prendergast
James & Susan Prince
John & Betsy Quinn
Dr. James E. Racic
Frank Rausche
Ms. Jacqueline Y. Rhodes
Robinson Family Philanthropic
Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Rosen
Doris A. & Richard E. Schultz
Mr. Richard Shirey
William E. Spatz
Susan St. John
Mr. Glenn S. Steffens
Sean & Tabitha Swick
Jeffrey Tasse
Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Tatman
The Edward & Katherine Thomas
Family
Dr. & Mrs. Ken Tomecki
Dr. Joanne M. Uniatowski
Mary Velotta
Christine & Daniel Vento
Kimberly Vivolo
Mr. & Ms. Michael Wagner
Ms. Kathleen Waits
Mr. David Wildermuth
Thomas M. & Barbara A.
Wladyka
James & Sandra Wood
John & Dianne Young
Anonymous (2)
Lori Adler
Thomas & Joan Baker
Ms. Carol Barasha
Ms. Kimberley Barton
Mr. Thomas D. Basco
Tom & Dorothy Bier
Amelia & Heather Blonsky
Dr. & Mrs. Dieter F. Bloser
Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Bolton
Richard & Mary Ann Brockett
Kathy Caldwell
Ms. Patricia Campbell
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Cercone
Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Charlick
Mr. Edward A. Chuhna
David & Carol Consolo
Dr. & Mrs. Dale H. Cowan
Ms. Linda Cowie
George & Mary Crehore
Judith Darus
Mr. Brad Dawson
Chris & Mary Ann Deibel
Mr. Alex Derkaschenko
Mrs. Mary Helen Doherty
The Eldridge Family
Dr. J. Robert & Carol A. Fowler
Kurt & Barbara Fretthold
Mr. Gregory Fritz
Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Gabb
Jeffrey M. Gamso
Ms. Pamela S. Goetsch
Virginia T. Goetz
Marian Hancy
Iris & Tom Harvie
Debra & Tom Hayes
Jean Heller
Mr. Steven M. Izen & Mrs. Susannah Muskovitz
Ron & Mary Ann Janke
Dr. Kalish R. Kedia
Ms. Kerry King
Albert & Karen Kirby
Bill & Susan Kirchner
Benjamin R. Kirkpatrick
Ms. Amanda Kost
Richard B. Kotila
Ms. Margaret K. Krall
Jacob Kronenberg & Barbara Belovich
Charles Kruger
James & Tayna Lewan
Timothy Liston
David & Cheryl Lundgren
Susan E. Lust
Robert MacDougall
Kenneth & Joan MacGillivray
Paul S. Malchesky
Ms. Anne Martin
Ms. Shari Mathisen
Ms. Constance May
Lynda & Charlie Mayer
Mr. John A. Mazzella
Cathy J. McCall
Ms. Allison E. McCallum
Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. McDonald
Jeanette McGovern
Jean McQuillan
Elizabeth Meister
Ms. Cheryl A. Moskwa
Mr. John M. Moss & Mrs. Karen J. Moss
Mr. & Mrs. Oliver° & Mary Emerson
Joseph M. & Meribeth A. Pannitto
Lou M. Papes
Christa Petryszyn
Mr. & Mrs. Harold I. Pittaway III
Chandana A. Reddy
Judy & Clifford Reeves
Kathryn & Heath Reinhardt
Mr. & Mrs. Gerald P. Rencehausen
William Robak
Carolyn Rufo
Stephen Ruscher
Bryan Salisbury
Cindie Carroll-Pankhurst & Mark Salling
Schaum Family
Ms. Meredith M. & Mr. Oliver E. Seikel
Donna Sheridan
Dr. Dave & Faye Sholiton
Mr. & Mrs. Vernon C. Sponseller
Todd & Patty Standen
Betsy Sullivan
Laura Lee Sutera
Ian & Kara Suzelis
Marcia J. Terstage
Ms. Leslie N. Thomas
Anne Unverzagt & Richard Goddard
Natalie & James Vloedman
Thomas Wagner & Malinda Smyth
Rev. & Mrs. David M. Walker
William Wallis
Mr. Raymond Washio
Lance Whitson & Terry Juhn
Thomas & Suann Winczek
Dr. Thomas Zarlingo
Patrick M. Zohn
Gifts to the Great Lakes Theater Endowment Fund were received from the following donors between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Edward Godleski
Gifts were received in honor of:
Melanie Bordelois by:
Sylvia Bordelois
Jack & Janice Campbell by: Holly Tomasch
Carol Dolan by: Mary Dolan & David Haracz
Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival Interns 1977-78 (A Merry Band of Players) by: Mary Beidler Gearen
Natalie G. Epstein by: Marilyn Bedol
Chad & Andrea Deal
Mr. Gene DiVincenzo
Dr. Lauren Goldman
Mr. & Mrs. Henry Goodman
Rabbi Eddie & Dr. Roxanne Sukol
Wulf & Moira Utian
Mr. David I. & Mrs. Ann K. Warren
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Wasserstrom
Mr. Adam Weinsein
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Wiesenberger
Denise Horstman Keen by: George Leggiero
Catherine Tanner by: Christie Lucco & Michael Devlin
Bob Taylor by: Mitch & Liz Blair
Charles, Lidia & Alexa Fee
Gifts were received in memory of:
Charles “Chuck” Dickson by: Georgianna T. Roberts
Elsie Glassford by: Angela Kovacs
Bob Kirkpatrick by:
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Chernus
Carole Nicolosi by:
Ms. Joyce L. Adams
Dr. James Sheridan by: Donna Sheridan
James Weiss by: Holly McTernan
William W. Jacobs by:
Ms. Deborah Glosserman
Samantha Jacobs & Aubrey Wynne
Many companies, like the ones listed below, match all or a portion of their employees’ charitable giving. Is your employer a matching gift company? Find out by contacting your employer or the Great Lakes Theater Development Office at (216) 453-4457.
The Albert M. Higley Co. Dominion Foundation
Eaton
GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
The Lubrizol Foundation
Nordson Corporation Foundation
The Perkins Charitable Foundation
PNC Foundation
Progressive Insurance Foundation
Schneider Electric North America Foundation
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) 2528717 for more information.
Janice Campbell, President Barbara Chernus, Recording Secretary
Bernice Bolek, Corresponding Secretary
Nanci Kirkpatrick, Treasurer
Thank you to our donors! Every effort is made to ensure that our donor records are current and correct. Please contact the Great Lakes Theater Development Office at (216) 453-4457 to share an update or request a revision.
°Deceased: The legacy of these generous donors lives on for future generations.
Great Lakes Theater Camp is a summer drama camp with musical theater elements that immerses students in interactive and educational theater-based activities. Theater Camp is a unique opportunity for students to work with and learn from Great Lakes Theater’s professional teaching artists in a fun, safe and supportive environment.
a summer camp for students ages 5-18
For more info: GreatLakesTheater.org/camp
Chair
Samuel Hartwell*
President
Kim Bixenstine*
Secretary
Elizabeth A. Grove*
Treasurer
Kathleen Kennedy*
Trustees
Beth A. Adams
Michelle Arendt
Jennifer Dowdell
Armstrong*
Walter Avdey*
Dalia Baker
Gary D. Benz
Kip T. Bollin
Todd M. Burger*
William Caster*
Gail L. Cudak
George A. M. Currall
Anthea Daniels
Christopher Dean
Carolyn Dickson†
Barry Doggett†
Carol Dolan*
Timothy J. Downing*
Dr. Howard G. Epstein*
Natalie Epstein†
Dianne V. Foley*
Lynn M. Gattozzi
Arthur C. Hall III*
David M. Hopkins
Mary Elizabeth Huber
Diane Kathleen Hupp
Faisal A. Khan*
John W. Lebold*
Andrea S. Lyons
William MacDonald III†
Charles Maimbourg*
David M. Maiorana
Ellen Stirn Mavec†
John E. McGrath†
Katie McVoy*
Ingrid A. Minott*
Janet E. Neary†
Michael Novak
Michael J. Peterman†
Timothy K. Pistell†
David P. Porter†
Gregory Pribulsky*
Uma M. Rajeshwar
Georgianna T. Roberts†
John D. Schubert†
Peter Shimrak†
Thomas G. Stafford*†
Sally J. Staley
Diana W. Stromberg
Catherine Tanner*
Kristine M. Tesar*
Arthur L. Thomas
Nancy Wellener
* Executive Committee
† Life Trustee
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 producing prototype’s success. The long-term results have been remarkable. The alliance’s three independent, 501c3 regional theaters have shared over 60 jointly-created productions — each featuring long-term, multi-city employment opportunities for artistic company members. This revolutionary producing model has realized its vision and exceeded expectations while simultaneously resulting in notable audience growth for each company.
Leadership
Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director
Bob Taylor, Executive Director
Management Team
Associate Artistic Director ........................ Sara Bruner
Director of Educational Services ................Kelly Schaffer Florian
Managing Director Todd Krispinsky
Resident Artist & Interim Production Manager Jaclyn Miller
Director of Educational Programming..... Lisa Ortenzi
Director of Administration...................Stephanie Reed
Director of Marketing & Communications Kacey Shapiro
Development
Development & Donor Relations Manager .................................................. Jeremy Lewis
Patron Services Coordinator Marilyn Niksa
Marketing
Audience Cultivation Coordinator.............. Amy Essick
Education
Education Outreach Associate David Hansen
School Residency Program
Actor-Teachers Noelle Elise Crites, Kelly Elliott, Gabe Heffernan, Tim Keo, Amaya Kiyomi, Olivia Morey, Avery LaMar Pope, A’Rhyan Samford, Asia Sharp-Berry
Production
Assistant Production Manager Lindsay Mandela
Company Manager Lauren Tidmore
Technical Director ...................................... Mark Cytron
Assistant Technical Director ............ Richard Haberlen
Assistant Scenic Designer Joy Ahn
Master Carpenter Lindsay Loar
Carpenters Val Kozlenko, Bill Langenhop, Ralph Melari, Gary Zsigrai
Properties Master ............................ Bernadine Cockey
Assistant Properties Master Gina Meluso
Charge Scenic Artist Ruth Lohse
Assistant Scenic Artist ................................James Todd
Scenic Artist Intern ......................................Dylan Todd
Costume Director ........................... Esther M. Haberlen
Assistant Costume Shop Manager/Tailor .....Leah Loar
Crafts Artisan/Milliner ........................... Zachary Hickle
Crafts Assistant ........................................Joseph Bruch
Draper......................................................... Diana Sidley
Lead First Hand .........................................Tina Spencer
Junior First Hand ..................................... Eleanor Dobry
Stitchers ..................Jen Goldstein, Serenity-Grace Tate
Design Assistant & Wardrobe Supervisor........................ Cheyenne Moore
Wardrobe Crew........... Joseph Bruch, Arianna Smedley
Resident Hair & Wig Supervisor ..... Iran Micheal Leon
Master Electrician ................................... Tammy Taylor
Audio Supervisor ................................... Josh Brinkman
Production Assistant ................................... Imani Sade
Run Crew ............................. Ralph Melari, Gary Zsigrai
Hanna Theatre Crew ............................. Thomas Boddy, Shaun Milligan, Lester Parker Jr., Nathan Tulenson
Health & Safety Team .......... Jaclyn Miller, Amy Essick, Lindsay Mandela, Lauren Tidmore
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.
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Playbill Editor: Linda Feagler
For advertising information, please contact Matthew Kraniske: 216-377-3681
For questions or service that may provide a quality, entertaining experience, please see the House Manager on duty. A RedCoat usher can direct you to their office location.
Smoking, including electronic smoking or “vaping,” is not permitted indoors at Playhouse Square.
Your feedback is important. For matters that are not immediate or for additional questions you may have, please access our online comment form at playhousesquare.org/contact-us. We read and share all comments with the staff and meet often to discuss how we can improve upon your experience at Playhouse Square.
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Buy your tickets ONLY from the Playhouse Square Ticket Office, at playhousesquare.org, by phone at 216-241-6000 or your licensed group/travel leader. (We cannot guarantee validity or admittance for tickets purchased elsewhere, nor can we issue replacement tickets if they are lost or stolen). Help us keep ticket prices affordable and fair for everyone.
Cameras, including cameras on cell phones and other personal handheld devices, audio/video recorders and flash photography are strictly prohibited.
The experience of a live performance can be ruined by the interruption of ringtones, vibrating phones or conversation. The magic of a darkened theater can be disrupted by the light of someone text messaging as well. Please be considerate to others and remember to turn off your cell phone for the duration of the show.
Playhouse Square gratefully acknowledges the people of Cuyahoga County for their historical support to theater restoration, upkeep and programming, as well as through their ongoing contributions through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.
Hadestown
I’m Back Now Sense & Sensibility
Nat Geo Live - Wild Hope
I’m Back Now Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth
Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth Riverdance
The Gruffalo
Disney’s Aladdin PAW Patrol Live!:
Heroes Unite
CSU Spring Dance Concert 2023
Alonzo King LINES
Ballet
Taylor Tomlinson ABBApalooza
As You Like It
Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Sense & Sensibility Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth
Disney’s Aladdin Disney’s Aladdin DRUSKI: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Tour
HITS! The Musical MercyMe
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
Hadestown Flanagan’s Wake CIFF’s Get Shorty
As You Like It
I’m Back Now Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth
Flanagan’s Wake Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth
Fortune Feimster Riverdance
Flanagan’s Wake
Disney’s Aladdin
PAW Patrol Live!
CSU Spring Dance Concert 2023
Flanagan’s Wake Blues Is Alright Tour
I’m Back Now Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth
Jump Back BallA Night on the High Seas
Flanagan’s Wake Sense & Sensibility
The Skin of Our Teeth Riverdance
The Gruffalo
Flanagan’s Wake
Disney’s Aladdin
PAW Patrol Live!
CSU Spring Dance Concert 2023
Alonzo King LINES Ballet
Flanagan’s Wake
Taylor Tomlinson ABBApalooza
Flanagan’s Wake As You Like It
The Irish Tenors 25th Anniversary Tour
Flanagan’s Wake
Flanagan’s Wake As You Like It
We believe that all Cleveland youth should have access to high-quality arts education. Through the generosity of our donors, we are investing to scale up neighborhoodbased programs that now serve 3,000 youth year-round in music, dance, theater, photography, literary arts and curatorial mastery. That’s setting the stage for success. Find your passion, and partner with the Cleveland Foundation to make your greatest charitable impact.
(877) 554-5054
www.ClevelandFoundation.org/Success