George A. Ingram
Life Director
Life
Director
Hartford Stage has recently lost two longtime board members whose dedication to this theater has left a lasting mark.
To honor their memory, we are dedicating this production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running to George A. Ingram and Roger S. Loeb.
Thank you to the many individuals who have made donations in honor of these great supporters of Hartford Stage.
Welcome to Two Trains Running, our first production of 2025 and a thrilling return to the work of August Wilson, one of our greatest American playwrights. Two Trains Running represents the 60s decade within Wilson’s majestic American Century Cycle, and feels particularly salient as we enter a time of transition in our country, where no matter our personal or political beliefs, we ponder what the future will bring.
Wilson’s gift for creating public stories out of private anguish — connecting the individual dreams and challenges of his characters, their stories, their histories with the larger shifts the country — makes for compelling and ever-relevant drama. His beginnings as a poet are evident in his writing, and the language of his characters sweeps over us and invites us to enter the world he creates, one that is both realistic (particularly in a play like Two Trains Running) and deeply poetic.
As you enter the diner at the core of the play, we invite you to lean into the language, to welcome in this world of Pittsburgh in 1969, and to be as expansive and large-hearted as Wilson’s characters. We are grateful to have you in our audience, a word that originates from the Latin word “audientia” — for the act of listening. What a gift to listen together to August Wilson.
Enjoy the show.
Melia Bensussen Artistic Director
Cynthia Rider Managing Director
Wolf Postell Pringle
Memphis ................................................................................... Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr.
Risa ........................................................................................................................ Taji Senior
Holloway .......................................................................................
Jerome Preston Bates
Hambone David Jennings
Sterling Rafael Jordan
West ........................................................................................... Jeorge Bennett Watson
SETTING: A restaurant in Pittsburgh. 1969.
THERE WILL BE ONE INTERMISSION.
Assistant Director Nathaniel Akingbemi
Associate Scenic Design .......................................................... Danielle DeLaFuente
Associate Wig, Hair & Makeup Design .................................................... Tony Lauro
Assistant Lighting Designer ............................................... Hannah Nicole Corbett
Production Assistant Alyssa Edwards
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
The Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound Designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.
The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
MELIA BENSUSSEN Artistic Director
CYNTHIA RIDER Managing Director
Directed by Gilbert McCauley
Scenic Design Lawrence E. Moten III
Costume Design Devario D. Simmons
Lighting Design Xavier Pierce
Original Music & Sound Design Gregory Robinson
Wig, Hair & Makeup Design J. Jared Janas
Intimacy Coordinator Kelsey Rainwater
Vocal Coach Cynthia Santos DeCure
Casting Alaine Alldaffer & Lisa Donadio
Production Stage Manager lark hackshaw
Assistant Stage Manager Adalhia Ivette Hart
Associate Artistic Director Zoë Golub-Sass
Director of Production Bryan T. Holcombe
General Manager Emily Van Scoy
Originally Produced on Broadway by Yale Repertory Theatre (Stan Wojewodski, Jr., Artistic Director), Center Theatre Group/ Ahmanson Theatre (Gordon Davidson, Artistic/Producing Director) Herb Alpert/Margot Lion, Scott Rudin/Paramount Pictures, and Jujamcyn Theaters (James H. Binger, Chairman; Rocco Landesman, President; Paul Libin, Producing Director; Jack Viertel, Creative Director); produced in association with Huntington Theatre Company (Peter Altman, Producing Director; Michael Maso, Managing Director), Seattle Repertory Theatre and Old Globe Theatre (Jack O’Brien, Artistic Director; Thomas Hall, Managing Director).
Originally mounted by Yale Repertory Theatre (Lloyd Richards, Artistic Director; Benjamin Mordecai, Managing Director)
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: ConcordTheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
SEASON SPONSORS
LEAD PRODUCTION SPONSOR
PRODUCER
Sally Speer
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION SPONSOR
Two Trains Running is a part of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, an epic 10 play series with one play for each decade of the 20th century. The plays chronicle the African American experience throughout the century, and take place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Wilson grew up — except Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom which takes place in Chicago. Some characters — like Aunt Ester, pictured here in Gem of the Ocean — make appearances (or are mentioned) in multiple plays. While writing through the major events of the 20th century, Wilson zooms in on the daily lives of people and families, living in this community.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, premiered in 1986
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, premiered in 1984
1936 The Piano Lesson, premiered in 1987
Cleavant Derricks and Elise Taylor performing in The Piano Lesson (2016, Hartford Stage). Photo by T. Charles Erickson.
Seven Guitars, premiered in 1995
Fences, premiered in 1985
Wendell Wright and Wandachristine in Fences (2007, Hartford Stage).
Photo by T. Charles Erickson.
Two Trains Running, premiered in 1990
Jitney, premiered in 1982
King Hedley II, premiered in 1999
Radio Golf, premiered in 2005
August Wilson grew up in Pittsburgh’s Hill District: the setting for all but one of the ten plays in his American Century Cycle. In the early 1800s, the Hill District was a hub for immigrant families who came to work in the steel mills during the Industrial Revolution. After slavery ended, many African Americans moved to the Hill District. By the early 1900s, the Hill had become a diverse and vibrant community rich in culture. And then, its infrastructure began to crumble.
Many of the inhabitants of the Hill moved on to other parts of the city, leaving a significant African American majority. In the mid-1900s, the Hill District became a lively network of African American owned shops, restaurants, barbershops, and nightclubs.
In 1955, the federal government approved a redevelopment plan which cleared out 95 acres of homes and business on the Hill and displaced more than 8,000 residents. Meanwhile, the federal government built federally funded public housing. The Hill District had more public housing than any other neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Pittsburgh steel industry collapsed, causing rampant unemployment. This was bad news for the Hill District. The crime rates rose and buildings deteriorated from lack of upkeep. Random demolition of these buildings left vacant lots. The demolitions in the 1950s and the demise of the steel industry left a poor and crime-ridden neighborhood, isolated from the rest of the city.
AUGUST WILSON (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street — The August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.
By Nathaniel Akingbemi
For this production of Two Trains Running, Director Gilbert McCauley invited Nathaniel Akingbemi, a 2nd year MFA Dramaturgy student at UMass Amherst (where McCauley is a professor), to write his thoughts about August Wilson and this play:
The Man.
Some of us engage with what we can do, some us engage with what we’re compelled to do, but August Wilson wrote plays that he was called to. As a result, he’s left us with stories that will continue to influence the landscape of American theater — while simultaneously giving accounts of the past and future of Black people in America. His plays attract traditional theater audiences with storytelling and style, but they also contain accurate instructions for visceral healing and growth for Black people.
August Wilson existed as a poet, historian, and prophet. He lived during a time where artists of color, if conscious, felt motivated to merge their art and activism. Even still, he engaged with them differently as he helped push the Black Arts movement forward. This is a part of why his art has been able to activate us all and why he is considered, “theater’s poet of Black America” Wilson wrote plays
that cover American history over the course of one hundred years, through the lens of Pittsburgh and with a soulful heart. He understood what preceded him and captured the pulse of what was yet to come. Wilson may not be the first playwright to offer political plays or ones that challenge the audience. However, I do believe that he set the stage for a type of theater that continues to guide and heal.
For those familiar with the man and The American Century Cycle, more so than the individual works themselves, Two Trains Running may occupy space as simply “the 60’s play.” But for those familiar with the play. Two Trains Running resonates as a living poem. Wilson once said,
“There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both.”
In 1969, African Americans had to wrestle with how to maintain and withstand during a period of hopelessness: prominent Black leaders were murdered, promises of change were broken, and the next step forward felt even more difficult.
The ride of death is certain, and we don’t know that we’re on it until we know… or don’t; but what does the ride of life look like for those beyond the margins? Each character in Two Trains Running is a symbol of what life looks like for a kind of black person that has and always will exist.
There are limitless options of despair, but still a choice must be made.
There are Gods and prophets to believe in, but can our hearts be saved?
Maybe we’ll choose to crash out, succumb to violent rage
Or should we choose survival, and make peace with the cage?
Guess we’ll play the numbers, our luck might come in spades
Given all this sorrow, we should be due any day
But in each day freedom delays; the pain pours down like rain
And in each day freedom betrays, our souls gets rearranged
Still, in life, or death, whichever way… we cannot miss this train.
Holloway
Hartford Stage: Pill Hill. Broadway: Seven Guitars, Stick Fly, Jitney, American Son, Death of a Salesman. Off-Broadway: The Refuge Plays (Roundabout Theatre Company); The Public, Theatre Row, Circle Repertory Company, Playwrights Horizons, New Federal Theatre, The Negro Ensemble Company, among others. Regional: Seven Guitars (opposite Viola Davis, world premiere, Goodman Theatre); Yale Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Arena Stage, Arden Theatre Company, Wilma Theater, People’s Light, Folger Theater, among others. Director: The Man in Room 304 (Luna Stage); Seven Guitars (Triad Stage); A Raisin in the Sun (Livingstone College); August Wilson’s American Century Cycle (Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History). Writer: Electric Lady, Augusta Brown, Mr. Unemployed, Jimi Hendrix (screenplay). Film: Shaft, Peeples, Musical Chairs, Tio Papi, The Out-of-Towners. Television: All My Children, Oz, Law and Order: SVU, NY Undercover, Sesame Street, Lights Out, Notes from the Field. Awards: AUDELCO seven-time winner. Education/Training: London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art; University of Tennessee; Knoxville College; The New School. Professional Positions: Teaching Staff at Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
DAVID JENNINGS
Hambone
Hartford Stage: Debut. Broadway: Days of Wine & Roses; Tina: The Tina Turner Musical; Once on This Island; After Midnight; Hands on a Hardbody. Off-Broadway: Ragtime, The Secret Life of Bees. West End/London: The Genius of Ray Charles. National: Ragtime, Miss Saigon, Kinky Boots, Waitress, Porgy & Bess, Freaky Friday, Dreamgirls (with Jennifer Holliday), Ain’t Misbehavin’. Television: Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, The Shield, The Sinner, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Awards: Grammy nomination (Ain’t Misbehavin’ 30th anniversary recording). @djmusicbiz
RAFAEL JORDAN
Sterling
Hartford Stage: Debut. Off-Broadway: Caesar and Cleopatra, The Fears. Regional: Fences (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); Paradise Blue (City Theatre); King Lear (The Wallis); King Charles III (Shakespeare Theatre Company; Seattle Rep; American Conservatory Theatre); runboyrun, Dogeaters (Magic Theatre); American Buffalo, Detroit ‘67 (Aurora Theatre Company); The Glass Menagerie (Cal Shakes); Shakespeare in Love (Seattle Shakespeare Company); 365 Days/365 Plays (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Film: The Nurse, Christmas Eve, The Man Who Feared. Television: Law & Order: SVU, FBI: Most Wanted, Godfather of Harlem,
City on a Hill, Blue Bloods, One Life to Live. Awards: Bay Area Critics Circle, Best Production (American Buffalo); San Francisco Black Film Festival, Award of Merit (The Man Who Feared). Education/Training: M.F.A. Acting, American Conservatory Theatre. Professional Positions: Founding producer/director/writer, Village Park Productions LLC. @ rafaeliscoolbutrude / @villageparkproductions.
Wolf
Hartford Stage: The Hot Wing King. Broadway: Good Night, Oscar (with Sean Hayes); A Free Man of Color. Off-Broadway: Othello: The Remix (Westside Theatre); The Urban Retreat (The Public); The Seven (New York Theatre Workshop); Song for New York (Mabou Mines); Hoodoo Love (Cherry Lane Theatre); The Misanthrope, pen/man/ship (Molière in the Park). Regional: Our Daughters, Like Pillars (The Huntington); The Matchmaker (Goodman Theatre); Q Brother’s Christmas Carol, Othello: The Remix, Funk It Up (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Seven (La Jolla Playhouse); Broke-ology (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); A Soldier’s Play (Arkansas Repertory Theatre). Film: 30 Miles from Nowhere, Unknown Soldier, Orange Bow. Television: Rescue Me, Unforgettable, Law & Order, Law & Order: CI. Gaming Voice-Over/Motion Capture: GTA IV, GTA: The Lost & The Damned, Red Dead Redemption II (Rockstar Games). Writer/ Composer: Q Brother’s Christmas Carol, Long Way Home, ms. estrada, Last Stop on Market Street. Education/Training: B.A. Theater, Bates College; Acting Conservatory Training, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London, England). Professional Positions: Podcast producer, Roasting Vegetables and LOC Mixtape (FableVision, Library of Congress). postellpringle.com
TAJI SENIOR
Risa
Hartford Stage: Debut. Off-Broadway: Bernarda’s Daughters (The New Group; National Black Theatre). Regional: Nightbird (Austin Playhouse); ‘A’ (What the Black Girl Found While Searching for God) (radio play, The Parsnip Ship, NY); devour. (official selection, LadyFest 2019, The Tank). Education/Training: M.F.A. Acting, University of California Los Angeles; B.A., Journalism, Texas Tech University.
GODFREY L. SIMMONS, JR.
Memphis
Hartford Stage: All My Sons, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. OffBroadway: The Old Settler (Primary Stages); Betty’s Summer Vacation (Playwrights Horizons); Free Market (Working Theatre); Leader of the People (New Georges); Ice Island (KC MeltingPot Theatre); Dispatches
From (A)mended America (co-writer), The Winning Side, Macbeth, Einstein’s Gift, A Hard Heart, Richard III, A More Perfect Union, Widowers’ Houses (co-adapter), Passion Play (Epic Theatre Ensemble). Regional: Possessing Harriet (HartBeat Ensemble); My Children! My Africa! (HartBeat Ensemble; Civic Ensemble); The Old Settler (TheaterWorks Hartford); Two Trains Running, A Raisin in the Sun, Blues for an Alabama Sky (Syracuse Stage); Home, Elektra (Round House Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Peter Pan (People’s Light); Spunk (Barrington Stage Company); Fast Blood, The Trump Card (Civic Ensemble); Romeo and Juliet (Charlotte Repertory Theatre); Prelude To A Kiss (Olney Theatre Center); Pygmalion (Arena Stage); The Shoe, A Cherry Timedive (The Cherry Arts). Film: The Lost Children, Raw Intensity, The Appointment, Crazy Man Crazy, Run of the House Television: Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Third Watch, As the World Turns. Awards: AUDELCO Award, Best Supporting Actor in a Play; 2012 TCG/Fox Fellow; Participant in TCG/SPARK Leadership Program. Education/Training: B.A., College of William and Mary. Professional Positions: Artistic Director, HartBeat Ensemble; former Artistic Director and co-founder, Civic Ensemble; former Producing Artist, Epic Theatre Ensemble; Lifetime member, Ensemble Studio Theatre; Associate Artist, Epic Theatre Ensemble.
JEORGE BENNETT WATSON
West
Hartford Stage: Debut. Off-Broadway: An Incomplete List … (Prism Festival); Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet (MAD Company); House of Telescopes (Pipeline Theatre Company); POWERHOUSE (Manhattan Rep); …what the end will be (Roundabout Theatre Company); Superhero (Houses on the Moon); The Johnsons (JACK); Babette’s Feast (Theater at St. Clements). Regional: bulrusher (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); bulrusher (McCarter Theatre Center); Coriolanus, Timon Of Athens (Utah Shakespeare Festival); The Purists (The Huntington); A Human Being, of a Sort (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Fences (Resident Ensemble Players at University of Delaware); The Royale (Capital Repertory Theatre); Babette’s Feast (Portland Stage); Antony & Cleopatra (Orlando Shakes); The Piano Lesson (Arena Stage); Take Me Out, Jitney (Studio Theatre). Film: Absent; Beyond Zero; From New York, I Love You; The Meadow; Taking the Reins; Losing Days; The Bull Cage; Holiday for Heroes. Television: Comfortably Numb, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Organized Crime, FBI: Most Wanted, Ms/Manage, For Life, Luke Cage, The Defenders, Shameless, Cold Case, Justified, The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street. Awards: Helen Hayes Award nomination, Best Ensemble (The Bluest Eye); AUDELCO nomination, Best Ensemble (Superhero). Education/Training: Studio Acting Conservatory; Ivana Chubbuck Acting Conservatory; Terry Knickerbocker Studios; Atlantic Acting School.
GILBERT MCCAULEY
Director
Gilbert McCauley is a masterful theatrical storyteller and a Full Professor in the Department of Theater at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has served as the Producing Artistic Director of Oakland Ensemble Theatre, Resident Director at Rites and Reason Theatre, as an acting company member of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and he is an alum of the New York Drama League’s Directors Project. Mr. McCauley has directed Off-Broadway and at regional theaters around the country including Arena Stage, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, New Century Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, and the National Theatre of Ghana. His directing credits include: Barbecue by Robert O’Hara; salt/city/blues by Kyle Bass; Athol Fugard’s Master Harold... and the Boys; Lynn Nottage’s Sweat; The Mountaintop by Katori Hall; Jackie Sibblies Drury’s We are Proud to Present...; The Call by Tanya Barfield; Cheryl L. West’s Jar the Floor; The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez; Gees Bend by Elyzabeth Gregory-Wilder; Hell in High Water and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi by Marcus Gardley; Peter Morgan’s Frost/ Nixon; August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and Fences; Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play; and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.
Scenic Design
Hartford Stage: Debut. Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits (Circle in the Square Theatre) Off-Broadway: Guide for the Homesick (LDK Productions); Reconstructing (Brooklyn Academy of Music); Ghost of John McCain (SoHo Playhouse); The White Chip (MCC Theater); Covenant (Roundabout Theatre Company); Patience (Second Stage Theater); Stargazers, STEW (Page 73). Regional: Henry VI: Parts I and II, King James, Twelfth Night, Trouble In Mind (The Old Globe Theatre); Gem of The Ocean (Two River Theater); Metamorphoses (Folger Theatre); Black Cypress Bayou (Geffen Playhouse); Bulrusher (McCarter Theatre Center; Berkeley Repertory Theatre); Silent Night, Cosí Fan Tutte, Faust (Wolf Trap Opera); Proof, The Brothers Size, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (American Players Theatre); Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (Alley Theatre); Blues for an Alabama Sky (McCarter Theatre Center; Guthrie Theater); Appropriate, The Little Foxes (South Coast Repertory); Christmas in Connecticut (Goodspeed Musicals); it’s not a trip it’s a journey; We declare you a terrorist… (Round House Theatre); How I Learned What I Learned, Native Son (PlayMakers Repertory Company). Member: USA 829. motendesigns.com; @motendesigns
DEVARIO D. SIMMONS
Costume Design
Hartford Stage: Debut. Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man. OffBroadway: Table 17, The White Chip, Bees and Honey, Tumacho, Between the Bars, Emergency!, PS. Regional: Geffen Playhouse, Clarence Brown Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Asolo Repertory Theatre, TheatreSquared, Geva Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bucks County Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Baltimore Center Stage. Tours: In the Heights (2nd National Tour). Film: Rustin. Television: Turn, Mercy Street. Guest Artist: The Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Member: United Scenic Artist 829.
Lighting Design
Hartford Stage: Debut. Regional: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Public, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie Theater, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Alley Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Rep, Arena Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Westport Country Playhouse, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage at The Armory, George Street Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Two River Theater, Olney Theatre Center, Intiman Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Florida Studio Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Triad Stage, Charlotte Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Crossroads Theatre. Education/Training: M.F.A. Design for Stage and Film, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
Original Music & Sound Design
Hartford Stage: Debut. Regional: King James, Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley); Wine in the Wilderness, Re-Memori (Penumbra Theatre); Every Brilliant Thing (Baltimore Center Stage); Paradise Blue (Aurora Theatre Company); August Wilson’s Two Trains Running (Marin Theatre); salt/city/blues (Syracuse Stage). Awards: San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle, Excellence in Theatre Award (Water by the Spoonful); San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle nomination (Proof, August Wilson’s Two Trains Running).
Wig, Hair & Makeup Design
Hartford Stage: All My Son; It’s a Wonderful Life; Ah, Wilderness! Broadway: Once Upon a Mattress; Our Town; Mary Jane; Prayer for the French Republic; Purlie Victorious;, Good Night, Oscar; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Ohio State Murders; & Juliet; Kimberly Akimbo; Topdog/Underdog; How I Learned to Drive; American Buffalo; Jagged Little Pill; Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune; Gettin’ the Band Back Together; Bandstand; Indecent; Sunset Boulevard; The Visit; The Real Thing; Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill; Motown; Peter and the Starcatcher; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; All About Me. Recent Off-Broadway: Sally & Tom (Drama Desk nomination), I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Sabbath’s Theater, The Refuge Plays, My Broken Language, Between the Lines, The Tap Dance Kid.
Intimacy Coordinator
Hartford Stage: The Hot Wing King. Broadway: Hell’s Kitchen. Off-Broadway: Sally & Tom, Manahatta, White Noise, The Tempest, Measure for Measure (The Public); Walden (Second Stage Theater); Liberation (Roundabout Theatre Company). Regional: Wish You Were Here; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles; the ripple, the wave that carried me home; Choir Boy (Yale Repertory Theatre); Between Two Knees (McCarter Theatre Center). Film: Baby Ruby. Television: The Artist, The Green Veil. Professional Positions: Lecturer in Acting at David Geffen School of Drama; Fight and Intimacy Director, Yale Repertory Theatre.
Vocal Coach
Hartford Stage: The Hot Wing King. Off-Broadway: Cymbeline (New York Classical Theatre). Regional: The Hot Wing King (Baltimore Center Stage); Wish You Were Here; Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles; Today is My Birthday; El Huracán (Yale Repertory Theatre); La Broa’ (Trinity Repertory Company); Queen of Basel (TheaterWorks Hartford); Quixote Nuevo (Seattle Rep; Portland Center Stage at The Armory; South Coast Repertory; Denver Center for the Performing Arts; Round House Theatre); In The Heights (Marriott Theater; Phoenix Theatre; Chance Theater); Laughs in Spanish (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Scenes with Cranes (REDCAT); I Come From Arizona (Children’s Theatre Company). Television: Orange is the New Black, The Affair. Education/Training: B.A. Acting, University of Southern California; M.F.A. Acting, California State University, Los Angeles. Professional Positions: Voice and Dialect Coach; Associate Professor of Acting at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale; certified teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork and Fitzmaurice Voicework®; Member of SAG/AFTRA, AEA; Co-editor of Scenes for Latinx Actors and Latinx Actor Training.
ALAINE ALLDAFFER & LISA DONADIO
Casting
Hartford Stage: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; All My Sons; Simona’s Search; Pride and Prejudice; Trouble in Mind; The Art of Burning; The Mousetrap; It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Ah, Wilderness!; Quixote Nuevo; Ether Dome. Broadway/Off-Broadway: Downstate, Circle Mirror Transformation; Stereophonic, A Strange Loop, Clybourne Park, Grey Gardens, The Flick (Playwrights Horizons); The Flick (Barrow Street Theatre). Regional: The Old Globe Theatre, The Huntington, Williamstown Theatre Festival. Television: The Knights of Prosperity, Ed, Monk. Awards: Artios Award (Downstate, Circle Mirror Transformation); Drama Desk and Obie Awards, Best Ensemble (Circle Mirror Transformation).
lark hackshaw
Production Stage Manager
Hartford Stage: Debut. Broadway: Stick Fly, A Soldier’s Play, Chicken and Biscuits, for colored girls …, The Cottage. Off-Broadway: Dorothy Dandridge! The Musical, The Best We Could, Simon Says, Cork, Mama, I Want to Sing. Regional: Over 50 shows with Alliance Theatre; Dallas Theater Center; Indiana Repertory Theatre; Arena Stage; Cleveland Playhouse; San Jose Repertory Theatre; Arizona Theatre Company; Trinity Repertory Company; The Muny; North Carolina Black Repertory Company. Tours: Anne & Emmett; Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk (with Savion Glover); Dreamgirls (with Jennifer Holiday). Awards: National Black Theatre Festival, Outstanding Achievement in Stage Managing; Howard University, Outstanding Achievement for a Howard Alumni. Professional Positions: Long-time Line Producer/Executive Assistant for WinstonSalem’s International Black Theatre Festival.
ADALHIA IVETTE HART
Assistant Stage Manager
Hartford Stage: Debut. Broadway/Touring: Parade, The Wiz. Off-Broadway: Cats the Jellicle Ball (Perelman Performing Arts Center); The Counter (Roundabout Theatre Company); Suffs, Cullud Wattah, As You Like It, Plays for the Plague Year, Romeo and Juliet (The Public); The Search for Signs… (The Shed); A Burning Church (New Ohio Theatre). Education/ Training: Kean University; The Juilliard School. Thank you to Bea, Kailah, Arianna, and Mr. Wagner. aihart.com
A vibrant collage of chaos, cultura, and connection.
Written By Alexis Scheer
Directed By Lisa Portes APRIL 17 - MAY 18, 2025
JUNE 5 - JUNE 29,
Written
By
Madeleine George
Directed By Zoë
Golub-Sass
The world’s most famous romance.
Written By William Shakespeare Directed By Melia Bensussen
Make a one-time $1,500 gift to have a personalized Hartford Stage seat of your own, or honor a loved one for a long-lasting legacy.
Hartford Stage has been led by Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and Managing Director Cynthia Rider since the summer of 2019. The theater’s mission is to enlighten, entertain, and educate by creating programming of the highest caliber that has a transformative impact on audiences, the community, and its field. Under Bensussen’s artistic vision, the theater has reimagined classics including Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! which reopened the theater to great acclaim following the pandemic and brought more work celebrating the Latiné heritages in the region, including Quixote Nuevo, the virtual American Voices New Play Festival, Kiss My Aztec!, Espejos: Clean, and Simona’s Search. Hartford Stage has produced various world premieres including the Broadway successes Anastasia and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (winner of four 2014 Tony Awards), and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful (winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama). Hartford Stage’s vast education programs engage students of all ages from across the state through student matinee performances, in-school programs, theatre classes, and youth productions. HartfordStage.org
Melia Bensussen is an award-winning director and artistic leader who has directed extensively at leading theatres throughout the country. The first woman to lead Hartford Stage, she has been its Artistic Director since the summer of 2019. Devoted to new work as well as to classic texts, she was appointed Artistic Director of the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center in 2024. Raised in Mexico City, Bensussen is fluent in Spanish and has translated and adapted a variety of texts, including her edition of the Langston Hughes translation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding, published by Theater Communications Group. Among her credits developing and premiering new works, she co-conceived and directed, alongside playwright Kirsten Greenidge, the theatrical adaptation of Anthony J. Lukas’ Pulitzer Prize winning Common Ground, which premiered at the Huntington Theater in Boston. A graduate of Brown University, Bensussen serves on the Arts Advisory Board for the Princess Grace Foundation, and on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). Prior to her position at Hartford Stage, she was Chair of the Performing Arts Department of Emerson College, in Boston. She is the recipient of an OBIE Award for Outstanding Direction, as well as the Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation for Excellence in Directing.
Managing
Rider has been the Managing Director of Hartford Stage since 2019. Previously, she was the Executive Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and prior to joining OSF, Cynthia Rider spent nine years at Kansas City Repertory Theatre as Managing Director and the Associate Director for Advancement & Administration. Her experience also includes six years as Executive Director of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. In her early non-arts career, she served as Associate Director of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership, which worked to strengthen small and medium-sized manufacturers across the state. Rider’s theatre experience also includes time spent on the stage. After graduating from Boston University, she started her theatre career as a resident company member at the Alley Theatre in Houston.
Our award-winning education programs provide students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds with innovative opportunities that challenge and inspire. Using theater techniques, we build community and citizenship, promote a passion for literacy and creative expression, and encourage lifelong learning.
Throughout the year, we have classes for youth and adults looking to improve their acting skills.
STUDENT MATINEES: Middle and high school students are invited to join us for special performances throughout the year. They’ll get to see the show, plus participate in a talkback with the cast. Add-on workshop with a teaching artist available! Tickets start at $20, with discounts available for Title 1 schools.
CONNECTIONS: Connections is an in-school program that brings teaching artists into classrooms to explore a book through drama, strengthening reading comprehension skills and building excitement about reading.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS: Bring a Hartford Stage teaching artist to your afterschool program! Programs range from drama classes to full productions and are designed based on the needs of each individual school.
We are working toward greater anti-racism, equity, justice, inclusion, and belonging for all at our theater. We invite you to join us on this journey.
We strive to create a place where all people feel a sense of belonging across the organization. We strive to create a culture where everyone sees themselves, their styles, their culture, and their humanity reflected and appreciated in all the work we do.
We strive to equip our staff, volunteers, and board with opportunities to strengthen their personal and collective understanding of the inequities and injustices within and outside our organization and build skillsets that bring greater consciousness into every aspect of our work.
We strive to build an organization that recognizes the humanity of every member of our staff, board, volunteer, audience, and community and the needs and necessities to live and thrive in the 21st century.
Words matter. Actions speak louder. Learn more at HartfordStage.org
We recognize that our theater is built on land that was once and still is peopled by indigenous tribes, specifically territory of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Golden Hill Paugussett, and Schaghticoke peoples and their ancestors of these lands: the Wangunk, the Podunk, and the Tunxis.
The Set the Stage campaign is focused on two areas where donors like you can impact the future.
As we look ahead, we envision a thriving theater that continues to tell compelling and relevant stories—from the classics to the contemporary—that tell of our common humanity and welcomes intergenerational audiences that reflect the communities around us.
ENDOWMENT Building a robust endowment will ensure Hartford Stage is here fulfilling its mission for decades to come.
The $20 million raised will secure our vision and enhance our community.
The Set the Stage campaign is focused on two areas where donors like you can impact the future.
PROGRAMMING Donations are a crucial component to creating the world-class art you see on our stage, and for sharing the power of what theater can do with our community.
ENDOWMENT Building a robust endowment will ensure Hartford Stage is here fulfilling its mission for decades to come.
PROGRAMMING Donations are a crucial component to creating the world-class art you see on our stage, and for sharing the power of what theater can do with our community.
Learn more about how you can be a part of the legacy of Hartford Stage. Please join us in setting the stage for Hartford Stage’s next 60 years.
$2 MILLION+
Stanley Black & Decker*
$1 MILLION+
The Hartford* Travelers*
$750,000+
Don & Marilyn Allan
Rick & Beth Costello
$500,000+
The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Jack & Donna Sennott
$250,000+
David & Janice Klein
$100,000+
Doug & Sheryl Adkins
Sue Ann Collins
The Robert & Francine Goldfarb Family Fund
Wes & Chloe Horton
Thomas & Margah Lips
Chrissie & Ezra Ripple
$50,000+
John & Suzanne Bourdeaux
Ellen Brown & Jim Bean
Walter & Dianne Harrison
Barbara & Matthew Hennessy
Barnaby Horton & Hannah Granfield-Horton
Estate of Mary Jean Kilfoil
Marjorie E. Morrissey
$20,000+
Anonymous
David & Kathleen Jimenez
Barri Marks
Judith Meyers
Mike & Colleen Nicastro
*BUSINESS PARTNERS
+deceased
$10,000+
Anonymous
Sara Bareilles
Marla & John Byrnes
The Edgemer Foundation
Marilda Gandara & Scott O’Keefe
Estate of Christine Hunihan
Andy & Jen Pace
Rosalie Roth
Elease & Dana Wright
$5,000+
Devon & Thomas Francis
David Hawkanson
George A.+ & Helen Ingram
Theodore & Nancy Johnson
Dan & Arlene Neiditz
Dr. William Petit Jr.
Ted Whittemore
Sherwood & Maggie Willard
Zachs Family Foundation
$100 - $4,999
William H. & Rosanna T. Andrulat
Charitable Foundation
Kathleen & David Bavelas
Robert & Catherine Boone
Alana & Matt Curren
Mary Ellison
George & Laura Estes
Matthew & Katherine Grosso
Emily & Patrick Harrington
Carolyn Johnson
Marcia Lattimore
Amy & Neal Mandell
Andrew Palmer
Robert Parrott & Sally Wister
Gil & Kathy Salk
Pam & Peter Sobering
Claire Stermer
Rhonda Tobin & Jeffrey Smith
Paul & Karen Torop
Richard Wenner
Thank you to all our donors. We are grateful for the generosity throughout our entire community and recognize all of our supporters on our website at HartfordStage.org/recognition. We are happy to acknowledge here those with leadership contributions in the past 12 months, December 30, 2023 –December 31, 2024.
PRODUCER CIRCLE • $25,000+
Jill Adams & Bill Knight
Don & Marilyn Allan
The Cheryl Chase & Stuart Bear Family Foundation
Rick & Beth Costello
Wes & Chloe Horton
David & Janice Klein
Jack & Donna Sennott
Sally Speer
Judith & William Thompson
OVATION SOCIETY • $10,000+
Sue Ann Collins
Francine & Robert Goldfarb
Arnold Greenberg
Dianne & Walter Harrison
George A.+ & Helen Ingram
Jane & Roger S.+ Loeb
The Pryor Family Foundation
Chrissie & Ezra Ripple
Elizabeth Schiro & Stephen Bayer
Elizabeth Vandeventer
ENCORE SOCIETY • $5,000+
Andra Asars
Duff Ashmead & Eric Ort
Jennefer Carey Berall
Patti Broad
Jamie & Isaac Cohen
Devon & Thomas Francis
Nancy Goodwin
Barbara & Matthew Hennessy
Jeffrey & Nancy Hoffman
Barnaby W. Horton & Hannah GranfieldHorton
+deceased
Konover Coppa Family Fund
Katherine J. Lambert
Christopher Larsen
Thomas & Margah Lips
Amy & Neal Mandell
Barri Marks
Harry E. Meyer
Judith Meyers & Richard Hersh
Michael & Colleen Nicastro
Kristen Phillips & Matthew Schreck
Douglas H. Robbins
Rosalie B. Roth
Suzanne B. Ruffee
Donald & Linda Silpe
Nelson+ & Helen Sly
Sally & Allan Taylor
Maggie & Sherwood Willard
Mark & Patty Willis
Elease & Dana Wright
The Zachs Family Foundation
PATRON SOCIETY • $3,500+
Paul & Joanne Bourdeau
John & Suzanne Bourdeaux
Marla & John Byrnes
Robert L. & Susan G. Fisher
Ruth Fitzgerald & Dave Sageman
Marilda Gandara & Scott O’Keefe
Doris & Ray Guenter
David & Gail Hall
Carrie & Jonathan Hammond
Jackie & Drew Iacovazzi
Adlyn & Theodore Loewenthal
Ed & Kelly Lyman
Cynthia K. Mackay
Ernest & Mickey Mattei
Robert A. & Joan C. Penney
Rhonda Tobin & Jeffrey Smith
Nicole Vitrano & Art Wallace
Yvette Yelardy & Daniel Morgenstern
IN HONOR OF MELIA BENSUSSEN
Tracy King
William V. & Patrick M. Madison-McDonald
IN HONOR OF KATHERINE LAMBERT
Janet Faude
IN HONOR OF AMY & NEAL MANDELL
Debi & Peter Miller
IN HONOR OF CYNTHIA RIDER
Anne Rider & Rob Hinrichs
Ellen Rider & Stanley King
IN HONOR OF BELLE RIBICOFF’S 100TH BIRTHDAY
Chrissie & Ezra Ripple
Rosalie Roth
IN HONOR OF ROSALIE ROTH
Karl Krapek Jr.
IN HONOR OF ROSALIND SPIER
Karen & Phillip Will
IN HONOR OF RHONDA TOBIN
Shari & Jay Tobin
IN HONOR OF HANS WALSER & CAROL SCOVILLE
Karen Kleine
IN HONOR OF PATTY WILLIS
The Burkehaven Family Foundation
IN MEMORY OF ROBERT EPSTEIN
David & Janice Klein
IN MEMORY OF GALINA FAYNGERSH
Diana Lee
IN MEMORY OF BEVERLY G. HIMELSTEIN
Michael J. Moran
IN MEMORY OF GEORGE INGRAM
Scott Bartelson
Sue Ann Collins
Craig Ingram
Jonathan & Rita Johnson
Tom & Margah Lips
IN MEMORY OF ROGER LOEB
Theresa I. Awad Roe
Bank of America Private Bank
Dr. & Mrs. Robert Berland
Patty Bernstein
Suzan & Keith Bickel
Bros. Associates
Brown Forman Inc.
Edgar B. Butler Jr.
Elizabeth Casanovas
The Cheryl Chase & Stuart Bear Foundation
Crazy Bruce’s Discount Liquors
John Cummings
Diageo North America
Eder Bros Inc.
F & F Distributors Inc.
Rick & Judie Goldenthal
Drivers and Warehousemen of Allan S. Goodman
Arnold Greenberg
The Greggains Family
Bill & Paula Hannon
Bonnie & John Harte
Epstein & Rubenstein Families at HB
David & Janice Klein
Melanie & David Landau
Larry Levine & Addison Reserve
Eliot N. Mag
Joan Merritt
Harold & Janet Moskowitz
Robert Naboicheck
Arlene & Daniel Neiditz
Elizabeth Paquin
Gail Perfetti
Michael & Susan Perl
John & Roselie Polo
Judith Satlof
Sue Shechtman
Lainy Silver
Kathy Suisman
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of CT
IN MEMORY OF MARGARET MACDONNELL
William MacDonnell
IN MEMORY OF BOB MONTSTREAM
Ami Monstream
IN MEMORY OF LOIS M. O’HARE
Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. O’Hare
IN MEMORY OF BERNICE POKSAY KIM O’NEAL
Anonymous
IN MEMORY OF ELIZABETH PIERCE
Dorella Bond
IN MEMORY OF MARGARET RUMFORD
Robert & Marilyn Anderson
Dariel Muldonn
$200,000+
The Shubert Foundation
Stanley Black & Decker*
$100,000+
Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development
The Hartford*
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Raytheon Technologies*
$75,000+
Burry Fredrik Foundation
The Katherine K. McLane & Henry R. McLane Charitable Trust
$50,000+
Connecticut Judicial Branch
Greater Hartford Arts Council
The John and Kelly Hartman Foundation
SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc.
The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts
Travelers*
$25,000+
Cigna
The Elizabeth M. Landon & Harriette M.
Landon Charitable Foundation
Ensworth Charitable Foundation
Roberts Foundation for the Arts
Robinson & Cole LLP*
*BUSINESS PARTNERS
$15,000+
Bank of America
Global Atlantic*
Lucille Lortel Foundation
The MorningStar Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Talcott Resolution*
United States Treasury
$10,000+
The BFA Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Conning*
Liberty Bank
The William & Alice Mortensen Foundation
$5,000+
Allan S. Goodman, Inc.
Bradley, Foster & Sargent
The Burton & Phyllis Hoffman Foundation
The George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation
Jana Foundation
JCJ Architects*
McDonald Family Trust
Stanley D. & Hinda N. Fisher Fund
William H. & Rosanna T. Andrulat
Charitable Foundation
$3,000+
Bartlett, Brainard, Eacott*
The University of Saint Joseph
Entertain clients, engage vendors, or reward employees and support Hartford Stage.
Your charitable or in-kind contribution will support the artistic, educational, and community programming at Hartford Stage. Select benefits that align best with your priorities, and receive prominent recognition all season-long.
It’s easy to become a Business Partner and all partnerships will be fully customized to meet your needs!
Benefit options include:
• Complimentary Show Tickets
• Recognition Opportunities
• Unique Private Event Spaces
• Fully Catered Events
• Conversations with Artists
• Invitations to Special Events
Call us today to create your unique partnership agreement!
LEARN MORE:
Contact Director of Development
Jennifer Levine at jlevine@hartfordstage.org or 860-520-7249.
An Endowment Fund is an investment account for a non-profit organization. The goal of an endowment fund is to exist into perpetuity; to provide support to the organization not only in the present time, but in the future as well. Our Endowment Fund offers a dependable and reliable source of income, which allows us to balance out the unpredictable revenue from ticket sales and charitable contributions.
How does Hartford Stage use its Endowment Fund?
Hartford Stage uses an annual draw up to 5% from our endowment to support our artistic programming, our summer education camp, and maintenance to our theater facility.
Why should I donate to the endowment?
A gift to the endowment is a gift to the future of Hartford Stage. The larger the endowment, the larger the annual draw, providing much needed stability in our income stream. This ensures that Hartford Stage can continue to entertain, educate, and enlighten audiences for years to come.
How can I donate to Hartford Stage’s Endowment?
Make a direct gift through: Cash Donations • Stock Donations
Contributions from your IRA or Donor-Advised Funds
Joining our Shakespeare Society
To learn more about the Hartford Stage endowment, Shakespeare Society, or to contribute, contact Director of Development Jennifer Levine at jlevine@hartfordstage.org or 860-520-7249.
The Shakespeare Society comprises individuals who have provided for the future of Hartford Stage in their estate plans. Hartford Stage is deeply grateful for their generosity and foresight. The members of this group help to ensure the legacy of Hartford Stage. Have you included Hartford Stage in your estate plans? Tell us about it! Call Evan Kudish, Manager of Board & Donor Relations, at 860-520-7241 to share your plans and allow us to thank you.
Thank you to all members of our Shakespeare Society:
Anonymous (15)
Brian & Betty Ashfield
Richard & Alice Baxter
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Bourdeau
Mrs. Joan Brown
Kimberley & Christopher Byrd
Marla & John Byrnes
Mario R. Cavallo
Sue Ann Collins
Richard G. Costello
Ms. Linda Diana DeConti
Mr. Reginald Gregory DeConti
Robert L. & Susan G. Fisher
Kathy Frederick & Eugene Leach
Victoria E. Gallo
Carrie & Jonathan Hammond
Walter & Diane Harrison
Helen Ingram
David & Janice Klein
Joel M. & Naomi Baline Kleinman
Katherine J. Lambert
Christopher Larsen
William C. Leary
Tom & Margah Lips
Mark & Liisa Livingston
Elaine T. Lowengard
Donna Matulis
Judith Meyers & Richard Hersh
Ki Miller
Arthur & Merle Nacht
Judge Jon O. Newman
Lyn Oliva & John Brighenti
Belle K. Ribicoff
Ezra & Chrissie Ripple
Prudence P. Robertson
Barbara Rubin
Carol W. Scoville
Donald & Linda Silpe
Marjorie K. & Jack S. Solomon, Doreen A. Cohn, Faith L. Solomon Fund
Jennifer Smith Turner & Eric Turner
Mary L. Stephenson
Elsa Suisman
Robert & Gretchen Wetzel
Michael Wilson & Jeff Cowie
Henry M. Zachs
Michael & Ellen Zenke
Hartford Stage fondly remembers these late members of the Shakespeare Society.
Anonymous (6)
Margaret Atwood
Cynthia Kellogg Barrington
Maxwell & Sally Belding
Susan R. Block
Clifford S. Burdge
Edward C. Cape
Ruth Cape
Anna & David Clark
James H. Eacott, Jr.
David Geetter
Yummy Graulty
George A. Ingram
Dieter & Siegelind Johannes
Hugh M. Joseloff & Helen J. Joseloff
Nafe E. Katter
Janet M. Larsen
Joe Marfuggi
Mr. & Mrs. Henry R. McLane
Mary & Freeman Meyer
Tuck Miller
Ann & George Richards
Dr. Russell Robertson
Robert K. Schrepf
Talcott Stanley
Janet S. & Michael Suisman
Helen S. Willis
Louise W. Willson
Michael D. Nicastro, President
Elease Wright, Vice President
Devon Francis, Treasurer
Richard G. Costello, Secretary
GOVERNING DIRECTORS
Douglas Adkins
Don Allan
Patti Broad
Marla J. Byrnes
Shari Cantor
Jamie Hait Cohen
Julio Concepción
Mark G. Contreras
Alana Curren
Anne D’Alleva
Jarret Eamiello
John Doran
Marilda Lara Gándara
Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin
Emily Harrington
Rydell Harrison
Annie Hildreth
Barnaby Horton
Very Rev. Miguelina Howell
Jackie B. Iacovazzi
Katherine Lambert
Aaron Lyles
Kelly M. Lyman
Sibongile Magubane
Amy Leppo Mandell
Barri Marks
Marjorie E. Morrissey
Andy Pace
Sarah M. Patterson
Esther A. Pryor
Allan B. Taylor
Judith E. Thompson
William J. Thompson
Rhonda J. Tobin
Nicole Vitrano
Patty Willis
Yvette Yelardy
Young Professional
Board Directors
Cordelia Brady
Kentavis Brice, Co-Chair
Brennden D. Colbert
Angel Cotto
Brittnee Johnson-Colbert
Kaitlyn Keeler
Greidy Miralles
TJ Noel-Sullivan
Malia Peres
Claire Stermer, Co-Chair
Nathan Sykes
Maxwell Toth
Alia Walwyn-James
George L. Estes III
Arnold C. Greenberg
Walter Harrison
Jeffrey S. Hoffman
George A. Ingram+
David M. Klein
Roger S. Loeb+
Belle K. Ribicoff
Christina B. Ripple
Linda Fisher Silpe
Sherwood S. Willard
HONORARY DIRECTORS
Carrie Hammond
Barbara Hennessy
Nancy P. Hoffman
Robert A. Penney
Rosalie Roth
Bruce Simons
EMERITUS DIRECTORS
Margaret B. Amstutz
R. Kelley Bonn
Sara Marcy Cole
Susan J. Copeland
Susan G. Fisher
Judith C. Meyers
PAST PRESIDENTS
Jill Adams
Joel B. Alvord
Paul L. Bourdeau
David W. Clark Jr.+
Sue Ann Collins
Ellsworth Davis+
Elliot F. Gerson
Thomas J. Groark Jr.+
John W. Huntington+
Walter Harrison
David R. Jimenez
David M. Klein
Edward Lane-Reticker+
Janet Larsen+
Thomas D. Lips
Scott McAlister+
Tuck Miller+
Christina B. Ripple
Jack Sennott
Deanna Sue Sucsy
Jennifer Smith Turner
Peter R. Wilde+
EX OFFICIO DIRECTORS
John B. Larson
US Representative, First Congressional District of Connecticut
Arunan Arulampalam
Mayor City of Hartford
Melia Bensussen
Artistic Director
Hartford Stage
Cynthia Rider
Managing Director
Hartford Stage
LEADERSHIP
Melia Bensussen, Artistic Director
Position endowed by Janet S. Suisman
Cynthia Rider, Managing Director ADMINISTRATION
Emily Van Scoy, General Manager
Sara Walnum, Business Manager
ARTISTIC
Zoë Golub-Sass, Richard P. Garmany Associate Artistic Director
Jeffrey Steele, Artistic Management Assistant DEVELOPMENT
Jennifer Levine, Director of Development
Evan Kudish, Manager of Board & Donor Relations
Sierra Vazquez, Annual Fund Manager
Travis Kendrick-Castanho, Development Associate EDUCATION
Jennifer Roberts, Director of Education
Nina Pinchin, Associate Director of Education
Emely Larson, Studio Manager
2024/2025 Teaching Artists
Marie Altenor, Isaiah Artis, Thomas Beebe, Lauren Cavanaugh, Caitlin Collazo, Levi Cote, Brandon Couloute, Robert H. Davis, Shelby Demke, Erica LuBonta, Greg Ludovici, Jan Mason, Jessica MacLean, Tori Mooney, Justin Pesce, Erin Rose, Kevin Scott
MARKETING
Todd Brandt, Director of Marketing
Molly Flanagan, Marketing Associate
House Management
Scott McEver, Audience Experience and Front of House Manager
Lindsay Abrams, Events Coordinator/ Assistant House Manager
Aarron Schuelke, Assistant House Manager
Bartenders:
Tanya Bermudez, Sam Chiasson, Tracy Chinnici, Karen Kudish, Kimberly Quinn, Nefris Quiterio, Erica Santa Lucia, Kerry Yerkes
Gift Shop Attendants/Event Bartenders: Art Arpin, Paulette Caldwell, John Harbison
Patron Services
Lindsey Hoffman, Box Office Manager
Briana Maia, Box Office Supervisor
Corey Welden, Box Office Supervisor
Box Office Representatives:
Julie Borsotti, Amaris Diaz, Rick Sahlin, Lindsey Taft
Bryan T. Holcombe, Director of Production
Wesley McCabe-Schroeder, Assistant Production Manager
Alyssa Edwards, Production Assistant
Set Construction & Scenic Art
Aaron D. Bleck, Technical Director
Jared Wolf, Assistant Technical Director
Ian Sweeney, Lead Carpenter
Audra Giuliano, Scenic Carpenter
Nathalie Schlosser, Charge Scenic Artist
Costumes & Wardrobe
Alex Meadows, Costume Shop Director
Grace Petersen, Assistant Costume Director
Joshua Richardson, Wardrobe Supervisor
James Weeden, Draper
Rio Cañas, First Hand/Stitcher
Props
Joe Dotts, Props Manager
Claire Linden-Dionne, Assistant Props Manager
Lighting
Jackie Costabile, Lighting Manager
Ethan Sepa, ALDM, Programmer
Sara Dorinbaum, Light Board Operator
Sound
Lucas Clopton, Audio/Video Manager
Jim Busker, Assistant Audio/Video Manager
Company Management
Christopher Rowe, Company Manager
Facilities
Michael Langer, Facilities Manager
Marissa Menezes, Crafts Artisan
Gabriela Esposito, Deck Crew
Kathleen Kennan, Scenic Artist
Margaret McFarland, Allison Nishimura, Joseph O’Brien, Stitchers
Hanna Zammarieh, Wigs Supervisor
Alexander Zeek
Theatre Department, Central Connecticut State University
Downtown Hartford YMCA
Goodspeed Musicals
Residence Inn by Marriott Hartford Downtown
