p l ayw se ON STAGE AND OFF
October 10 through november 9, 2014
40 th anniversary season P H I L A D E L PH I A T H EAT RE CO M PA NY at the
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PH IL ADEL P H I A TH E ATR E CO MPANY at the
Sara Garonzik Executive Producing Director
Priscilla M. Luce President
By
lisa d’amour featuring
K.O. DelMarcelle
Set Design vince mountain
Tom McCarthy
Geneviève Perrier
Steven Rishard
Matteo J. Scammell
Costume Design janus stefanowicz
Lighting Design nicole pearce
Director of Production roy w. backes
Sound Design daniel perelstein
Production Stage Manager DANielle Commini PTC Casting Amy dugas brown
PTC Dramaturg Carrie chapter Directed by
maria mileaf The World Premiere of DETROIT was produced and presented by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL; Martha Lavey, Artistic Director and David Hawkanson, Executive Director. Playwrights Horizons produced the New York premiere of DETROIT Off-Broadway in 2012. DETROIT is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
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From Suzanne and Ralph Roberts
We wish Philadelphia Theatre Company much success on the start of their 40th Anniversary Season! We applaud their mission to produce compelling new American theatre and congratulate Sara Garonzik on what looks to be another exciting season. We look forward to what’s next on the horizon. Break a leg! Suzanne and Ralph
FROM THE president Dear Friends, Welcome to DETROIT, the first production in PTC’s 40th Anniversary season! We are absolutely delighted that you are with us for this milestone event. We are launching the season on the wings of an extraordinary commitment by the Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts Foundation to make an additional $2.5 million grant to PTC. This is the largest single grant for operations in the history of the company and we are deeply grateful to Suzanne and Ralph for this demonstration of their belief in PTC’s artistic mission and contributions to Philadelphia’s cultural life. PTC is our region’s foremost producer of new American plays and musicals and home to some of the country’s finest and most celebrated playwrights, composers, directors, actors and other theatrical artists. This season we offer you a spectacular lineup of contemporary theatre that represents some of the best of PTC – compelling drama with thought provoking themes and plenty of opportunities to explore the ideas behind the plays through interactive discussions with the creative teams involved with each production. Check out our 40th Anniversary exhibition in the theatre lobby for a look at all 176 PTC productions since the company was founded in 1974! You’ll see a Playwise program from each one of those productions on the large wall behind the staircase. Managing a performing arts enterprise in today’s difficult economic and funding environment is a challenge. PTC has had its share of complications. Today, we are focused on organizational renewal and building financial sustainability so that we can continue to bring you the great theatre the community expects of us. We know we have a great future -- and we hope you’ll join us for the ride. Enjoy the show!
Priscilla M. Luce | President
from the executive producing director Dear Friends, Philadelphia Theatre Company turns 40 this year and from October through July, our stage will be bursting with an amazing array of theatrical events, featuring world class playwrights, composers and artists who will inspire you with their fresh ideas and energy. It is a year when thrilling young voices join hands with master craftsmen in celebrating the uniquely American perspective that has long been at the heart of our mission. PTC’s commitment to produce and develop the work of contemporary American playwrights has been a part of its creative DNA since its inception. Under the artistic leadership of Robert Hedley, the company developed new work by some of our nation’s finest writers such as David Rabe, Thomas Gibbons, Leslie Lee and Lanie Robertson. We have been proud to carry on this tradition ever since. Our season opener, Detroit, by the rising Lisa D’Amour, is a sterling example of this legacy. An intriguing meditation on the American Dream, the action in the play appears to be as real as the beer cans her characters drink, yet its final impact is as elusive as the dissipating vision of the prosperity they chase. D’Amour’s exploration of these larger social themes, combined with her searching mind and artful writing are characteristic of the kind of play PTC has celebrated over the past 40 years, and we are proud to launch our season with this Pulitzer Prize finalist. The anniversary season continues with works by John Patrick Shanley, Terrence McNally and a gifted new playwright, Kimber Lee, whose play brownsville song (b-side for tray) was the break-out hit of this year’s Humana Festival of New American Plays. Discovering an exciting young writer is always reason to celebrate and we are proud to co-produce this powerful new play with the Long Wharf Theater. It’s themes of family and forgiveness set against a challenging world of incidental violence will set the table for invigorating public conversation among artists, thought-leaders and audiences ---another PTC hallmark. We’ll also be adding in surprising new events this season to enhance your appreciation of our work and complement the other fun and engaging activities you’ve come to love: PTC@Play with its staged readings of imaginative new work; Skyped interviews with playwrights, a virtual Book Club and a soon-to-be announced Monday night series where PTC’s most celebrated and inspiring theater-makers will share with you their inner-most thoughts about how they work and the trends they spot in American theatre. Thank you all for joining us at Detroit. Our most special and heartfelt thanks, however, go to Suzanne and Ralph Roberts whose enduring support of Philadelphia Theatre Company has allowed us to celebrate our 40th year.
Sara Garonzik | Executive Producing Director
CAST Sharon.....................................................................................................................................K.O. DelMarcelle* Frank............................................................................................................................................Tom McCarthy* Mary.......................................................................................................................................Geneviève Perrier* Ben...............................................................................................................................................Steven Rishard* Kenny...................................................................................................................................Matteo J. Scammell * Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association
Time: Now Place: Not Necessarily Detroit detroit runs without intermission
The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. All electronic devices such as beepers, cell phones, and watch alarms must be turned off prior to the performance.
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 THEATERS ARE REPRESENTED BY UNITED SCENIC ARTISTS LOCAL USA-829, IASTE. PRODUCTION EMPLOYEES ARE REPRESENTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE EMPLOYEES, MOVING PICTURE TECHNICIANS, ARTISTS AND ALLIED CRAFTS OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND CANADA, LOCAL 8. PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE LEAGUE OF REGIONAL THEATRES (LORT), A CONSTITUENT MEMBER OF THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC. (TCG), A MEMBER OF THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CULTURAL ALLIANCE (GPCA), THEATRE ALLIANCE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA (TAGP), THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. ONE OPEN CAPTION PERFORMANCE IS PROVIDED FOR EVERY PRODUCTION TO OUR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PATRONS. ONE AUDIO DESCRIPTION PERFORMANCE IS PROVIDED FOR OUR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PATRONS. LARGE PRINT, AND AUDIO CASSETTE PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Support for Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Accent on Accessibility Program Comes From: Independence Foundation Louis N. Cassett Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
who’s who K.O. DelMarcelle (Sharon) PTC debut! Favorite acting credits: Henry V, Private Lives, Romeo & Juliet (Lantern), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Bristol), Lady from the Sea and Anne Frank (EgoPo), Gossamer (People’s Light), and Hysteria (Wilma). Recent choreography: Ceasar’s Palace O’Fun (Walnut Street Theater), The Consul (Philadelphia Opera Collective), and Emma (Lantern *Barrymore nomination Outstanding Choreography/Movement). Faculty member at West Chester University & Community College of Philadelphia. Director of Programming for local ballroom dance non-profit company Dancing With The Students. Recently named Lantern Education Associate. Proud member of AEA. Love always to Charlie. Thank you cast, crew, Maria, and new PTC friends. Tom McCarthy (Frank) Credits include: Glengary Glen Ross at Eagle Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre’s Brighton Beach Memoirs; Theatre Exile’s The Philly Fan; People’s Light & Theatre Company’s Glengarry Glen Ross; Wilma Theater’s Escape from Happiness; Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Minutes from the Blue Route, among others; and Arden Theatre Company’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, for which he received the Barrymore Award for Best Actor in 1997. In 2003, he was awarded Philadelphia Theatre Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Television/film appearances include Law & Order, Homicide, New York Undercover, West Wing, The Wire, Random Hearts, Fallen, Up Close and Personal, and The Mighty Macs. Geneviève Perrier (Mary) is delighted to be returning to PTC. She last performed here as Kate in Seminar and as Steph in reasons to be pretty, which earned her a Barrymore for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Regional credits: Skylight (Barrymore for Outstanding Leading Actress) Lantern Theater, 39 Steps (Theatre Horizon & Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), The Lady from the Sea (EgoPo), Any Given Monday (Theatre Exile), and Private Lives (Lantern Theater). Training: BFA from NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts & MFA from Temple University. Thank you to Maria and Sara for this opportunity. Steven Rishard (Ben) is a new resident of Philadelphia, and is happy to be making his PTC debut. He most recently played Chris in Saviana Stanescu’s Useless at IRT Theater in NYC. Other credits there include Luz at La Mama, P.S. Jones and the Frozen City with Terra Nova Collective, the Herdsman in The Bacchae for Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, The Pagans at Abingdon Theater, A Heartbeat to Baghdad at The Flea Theater, and In the Penal Colony at Classic Stage Company. With the theater company Divison13 Productions: Act Without Words 1 at the Brooklyn Can Factory. Cascado and Journeys Among the Dead at HERE. Regional credits include Quartet at The Court Theater, The Rainmaker at Triad Stage, and The Beautiful Dark at Premiere Stages. TV credits include Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, The Americans, Kings, Unforgettable, and Treme. Film credits include Shelter (6 Souls) and Hal Hartley’s latest film Meanwhile. Steven works regularly with the Lark Play Development Center.
who’s who Matteo J. Scammell (Kenny) is a member of OBIE Award-winning experimental theater company, New Paradise Laboratories. Since 2012, he has participated in the creation of new work as well as revamped favorites, including 27, PROM (with UNCW), and this year’s The Adults. Outside of NPL, he has worked with several theater companies in Philadelphia, including The Wilma (Our Class), The Arden, Simpatico, Bright Light, Theatre Horizon, The Walnut (Other Desert Cities), 11th Hour, and Stillpoint (Lear Debessonet). BFA from UArts. Lisa D’Amour (Playwright) A playwright and co-artistic director of PearlDamour, an OBIE-award winning interdisciplinary performance company. Most recently, Lisa’s plays have been produced by The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia), Woolly Mammoth Theater (Washington D.C.), Playwrights Horizons (NYC), ArtSpot Productions (New Orleans), The National Theater (London), and Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago). Her new play, Airline Highway, is being produced this season at Steppenwolf and at MTC on Broadway. Her play Detroit was a finalist for both the 2011 Pulitizer Prize for Drama and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a past recipient of the Alpert Award for the Arts, the Steinberg Playwright Award, and is a 2013 Doris Duke Artist. Lisa is a core alum of the Playwrights’ Center and a past resident playwright at New Dramatists. She lives with her husband, composer Brendan Connelly, in Brooklyn and New Orleans Maria Mileaf (Director) is thrilled to be back at PTC where she has previously directed Neil LaBute’s reasons to be pretty, Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, Tracy Scott Wilson’s The Story (Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction), How I Learned to Drive, The Beauty Queen of Lenane, Nickel and Dimed, and Wit. In New York she has directed new plays for Primary Stages, The Vineyard, Playwright’s Horizons, The Play Company, Lincoln Center Festival, Women’s Project, New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Cherry Lane, and DTW. Regionally, Maria has directed at Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Stage and Film, La Jolla Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Geffen, and recently helmed N. Richard Nash’s The Rainmaker for the Old Globe in San Diego. On the West End, Mileaf directed Richard Schiff in Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel. She lives in NYC with her husband and their two children. Vince Mountain (Set Designer) is very happy to return to PTC after designing reasons to be pretty in 2012. Vince has worked at various regional theatres, including the Alley Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse, and Jeff Daniel’s Purple Rose Theatre Company, where he is also a Resident Artist. He has also designed for the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Central City Opera, Opera Omaha, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company. In addition to his professional design career, he teaches scenic design in the BFA Design & Production program at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Janus Stefanowicz (Costume Designer) It is her ninth collaboration with director Maria Mileaf; most memorable are reasons to be pretty, Ruined, The Story, How to Learn to Drive, The Beauty Queen of Lenane, Wit, and Nickel and Dimed. Janus also designed the Best Costume Barrymore Award winner Intimate Apparel produced at PTC in 2006.
who’s who Janus has worked at numerous regional theatres, including Manhattan Theatre Club, ACT Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, NY Stage & Film, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Wilma Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, The People’s Light and Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Janus is the resident Costume Designer and shop manager for Villanova University’s Theatre Department. Since 1996, she has been nominated for 16 Barrymore Awards and has won three: the 2006 Barrymore Award for Best Costume for Intimate Apparel at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and the 2003 Barrymore Award for Big Love and 1998 Award for On the Razzle, both at the Wilma Theater. Nicole Pearce (Lighting Designer) Previously with Maria Mileaf: Sugar Syndrome, A Nervous Smile, Blithe Spirit (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Sakrahm Binder (The Play Company). Selected NY credits include: The American Dream & The Sandbox directed by Edward Albee (The Cherry Lane); Beebo Brinker Chronicles directed by Leigh Silverman (37 Arts); US Drag & Edgewise directed by Trip Cullman (The Play Company); Carmina Burana (Carnegie Hall); Trouble in Mind (Two River Theatre) directed by Jade King Carroll; Savage in Limbo directed by Pam MacKinnon (The Juilliard School); Penalties & Interests (LABrynth Theatre Company); The Golden Dragon directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (The Play Company); Betrothed (Ripetime); and Trial by Water (Ma-Yi). Worked with choreographers Mark Morris, Aszure Barton, Robert Battle, Jessica Lang, John Heginbotham, Alexander Ekman, and Andrea Miller; Netherlands Dance Theater, Introdans, Brimingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan, Ballet Memphis, and The Joffrey Ballet. www.nicolepearcedesign.com Daniel Perelstein (Sound Designer) is a freelance sound designer, composer, and musical director in Philadelphia. Detroit is his Philadelphia Theatre Company debut. His work has recently been heard at Opera Philadelphia, Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre, Live Arts Festival, People’s Light and Theater, Kimmel Center, the Annenberg Center, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theater, Lantern Theater, Flashpoint Theater, and many others. Daniel is the resident sound designer for the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, and has been active in the new play development community as conference composer at PlayPenn and as a member of the Artistic Circle of the Writer’s Room at the Arden Theater. Daniel won the 2012 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Sound Design and has been nominated for additional Barrymore Awards in multiple categories. As a 2013 Independence Foundation Fellow, Daniel is reinforcing his work in sound and music with an 18-month study in the visual arts. Education: B.S. Engineering, B.A. Music, Swarthmore College. Roy W. Backes (Director of Production) is a top honors graduate of Point Park University’s BFA conservatory theater program in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He began his career as Prop Master for the late, great Fred Rogers on the landmark PBS show Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Mr. Backes has spent over three decades in the professional theater, working as a Production Stage Manager, Production Manager, and General Manager both on and Off-Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country, including Pittsburgh Public Theater, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Roundabout Theatre Company, Freedom Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bay Street Theatre, Hartmann Theater, Prince Music Theater, Wilma Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, and many more. Roy is a proud member of Actors Equity and the Production Managers Forum. Roy thanks his wife Lisbeth and son Oliver for their love and undying support. Accept grace.
who’s who Danielle Commini (Production Stage Manager) Philadelphia Theatre Company: Production Stage Manager; Colin Quinn’s Unconstitutional, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Tribes, Nerds, 4000 Miles, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Venus in Fur, Seminar, and Bella: The Color of Love. Assistant Stage Manager; The Mountaintop, Stars of David, reasons to be pretty, The Outgoing Tide, The Scottsboro Boys, Red, Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, Ruined, Let Me Down Easy, Race, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Opera Company of Philadelphia: Stage Management Intern; Otello. Walnut Street Theatre: Stage Management Apprentice; Fiddler on the Roof, Fallen Angels, The Eclectic Society, and Oliver!. Received a B.F.A. from University of the Arts. Special thanks to the PTC staff, especially Bridget and Annie. Much love to Mom, Dad, and Will for unending support. Carrie Chapter (Literary Manager/Dramaturg) is a graduate of Washington College and Villanova University. Her workshop and production credits include the National Music Theatre Conference and the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center; PlayPenn New Play Development; Geva Theatre Center; Playwrights Horizons; Primary Stages; and Inis Nua Theatre Company. Ms. Chapter also provided workshop dramaturgy for Broadway’s The Book of Mormon. She is also an instructor at Temple University. Ms. Chapter is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). Amy Dugas Brown (PTC Casting Director) is a casting director, director, audition coach, senior lecturer at University of the Arts, and project director for the Actors’ Project at University of Pennsylvania’s Brain Behavior Laboratory. She spent ten seasons as Associate Artistic Director at Arden Theatre Company and is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University. She is married to Philadelphia actor Ben Dibble and together they have three children. Sara Garonzik (Executive Producing Director) has led Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) since 1982. Now celebrating its 40th Anniversary Season, PTC is a nationally respected theatre and the only one in its region with a mission dedicated to producing and developing new American plays and musicals. She has introduced more than 140 world and regional premieres, including new work by Terrence McNally, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Christopher Durang, Tracey Scott Wilson, John Henry Redwood, Naomi Wallace, Jeffrey Hatcher, Bruce Graham and others. These productions have garnered 59 Barrymore Awards and 189 nominations. In 2007, PTC opened the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, a universally designed, fully accessible state-of-the-art facility on the Avenue of the Arts. PTC now serves a diverse audience of more than 60,000, including thousands of Philadelphia public high school students through its award-winning Drama Contact program, established in 2004. PTC has won two awards from the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia—one for Arts Management Excellence (1997) and the other for its partnership with developer Carl Dranoff in creating the Suzanne Roberts Theatre/Symphony House development (2008.) In 1991, Sara was named to PTC’s Board of Directors. She has also served as President of the Board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund (2009-12) and was a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Council. Other previous board service includes Artreach and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural
who’s who Alliance (GPCA). She currently sits on the Advisory Boards of both the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia and PlayPenn, a new play development organization. In addition to board service, she has reviewed grant proposals on a number of theater panels for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio State Arts Councils as well as for the Knight Foundation Arts Challenge in Philadelphia; the TCG Fox Foundation Actor Fellowships; the McKnight Foundation Advancement Awards for Playwriting, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference; The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Women and was named one of Business Philadelphia’s and Philadelphia Magazine’s “People to Watch.” In 2010 she became a Distinguished Daughter in the Court of Honor at Philadelphia High School for Girls. Other honors include the President’s Award from Philadelphia Young Playwrights; the Achievement Award from the American Association of University Women, an honor she proudly shared with Dawn Staley and Terry D’Alessandro; and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Arts Pioneer Award. She has lived and worked in Center City Philadelphia since graduating from Temple University. Priscilla M. Luce (President) has a broad background that covers virtually all aspects of non-profit management, positioning, philanthropy, and volunteerism. She served 11 years as vice president of a national non-profit fund-raising and management consulting firm, guiding the boards of trustees and staff of more than 50 schools, colleges, museums, performing arts, hospitals, and other organizations in raising annual, capital, endowment, and deferred gifts for their institutions. Previously, she held public relations positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Mount Holyoke College, and spent the majority of her long career in corporate communications with TRW Inc., a Fortune 100 company based in Cleveland. She also directed a $16 million fund-raising campaign for the Cleveland Public Schools, and is an expert in crisis management, strategic planning, marketing communications, and issue communications. Luce has been volunteer president and executive director of The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in Philadelphia since 2000. Under her leadership, this family Foundation is developing a leading-edge grant making style that emphasizes collaboration with non-profit partners to implement innovative approaches addressing evolving community and social needs in Philadelphia. She is executive producer of a documentary film, “Mr. Philadelphia – The Story of Albert M. Greenfield,” which aired on WHYY in Philadelphia. Luce has consulted with non-profit organizations as well as companies in the manufacturing and real estate sectors. Her work has included strategic and operational planning, fundraising feasibility analysis and planning, constituency development, organizational positioning, and marketing communications. Luce is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and attended executive marketing programs at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; the London Business School, and the J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia, the Forum of Executive Women, and the Pennsylvania Society.
a Q&A with playwright lisa d’amour The following is a reprinted interview conducted by Jan Farrington for TheaterJones, originally published Sunday, September 22, 2013, in which Lisa D’Amour discusses her play, DETROIT.
TheaterJones: Just using the name Detroit is a kind of provocation, isn’t it? You have to know that the audience will come in with a lot of images, ideas, and political and social opinions—lots of baggage.
see that if you go and spend time there. There’s a lot that’s lost in my play, but there’s also something at the end of the play that feels like a bubbling up of something new, of potential. It’s the feeling of a cycle of loss that might lead to a rebirth. I can’t say I was thinking of all of that consciously when I wrote the play, but I think it was hovering on the edge of my imagination. And it’s become quite clear to me as I’ve watched several different productions of the play.
Lisa D’Amour: And it’s interesting, the baggage has shifted somewhat since I wrote the play in 2009. Although the play on its surface looks like a regular, naturalistic play, it reads a little more like a fable. It’s rather stylized, and the setting is not an acWhen I chose the name, You catch Ben and Mary, tual neighborhood in I thought about how the the more middle-class Detroit. When I chose of the play, at a the name, I thought city holds a mythic place couple particular moment in about how the city time: he’s been laid off, in the American psyche. holds a mythic place in but still has one more the American psyche. month of severance pay. It’s as if they’re It reminds us of our general ideas about still in the lifeboat, looking at the water the death of the American Dream, about white flight, about the death of manufac- full of sharks—but they haven’t fallen into the water yet. And Ben is still thinking turing, and so forth. I’m not from Detroit, and I feel I titled the play very much as an maybe he’ll save them with an e-business he’s setting up. The other couple has outsider. People in Detroit have a much more specific knowledge of what it means already lost more, fallen further down the economic scale. to live there. Both couples are in the lifeboat, and they’re both in a very precarious position. And I don’t think they would have reached out to each other if they weren’t. If they were completely settled and safe Detroit’s been so much in the public eye inside their bubbles, there’d be no need the last year or so because of the bankfor help or new knowledge. But I feel like ruptcy proceedings. It’s gone from a city struggling to find its way to suddenly feel- both sets of couples are craving some ing like a city that’s hit rock bottom. How- kind of new knowledge; it’s almost as if ever, that’s the general view. Since I wrote each couple wants to be the other. And so they’re trying to connect, trying to the play I’ve visited Detroit twice, once for a theater festival, and once to actually find—in whatever strange and awkward see a production of Detroit in Detroit. I’ve ways—a new path, because neither couple is very satisfied with the path that learned a lot about the city. You start to see the people behind the headlines, the they’re on. do-it-yourself grassroots movements to TJ: So what are they looking for— try and revitalize whole neighborhoods. some 2.0 version of life, “an” American You start to see people taking matters Dream, if not the old one? into their own hands. But you really only TJ: When you say things have shifted or changed since you wrote the play, what do you mean?
I think Mary and Ben have a very limI really love plays that take you on a wild ited view of what it means to succeed and surprising ride—that make you go within the American Dream. They’ve gone “Wow, I never expected that person to down that conventional path. And now, say that!” I hope that laughter sometimes I wouldn’t say they’re at opens up a space, a rock bottom, but they’re potential for something. I I really love plays down there and I think often think about people sometimes when you that take you on a wild coming into the theater, get to that point your super-stressed out, and and surprising ride perception doesn’t just I believe that a really change, it can also widen. surprising play can make I think maybe they’re trying to figure out you stop for a moment and see a larger “well, what is my American Dream?” Who world—which can affect the choices we am I as an individual, with all my ragged make in that world. edges? How can I break away from conTJ: There really hasn’t been a huge vention and maybe forge my own path? wave of plays that have dealt head-on Which is something Mary and Ben never with the impact of all this economic really did before, question the path they turmoil on “regular” people—it’s surwere on. Kenny and Sharon [the other couple] have had a more complicated prising, in a way. path because it was forged by their addiction. They’ve been in their own kind of It was kind of a happy accident that I wrote this play when I did. I never sat fantasy land. down and thought: “The economy is fallTJ: If I were looking at the Great Reces- ing apart and I’m going to write about it.” sion as source material—the whole But it was in the news, and my Dad was economic downturn and its impact trying to figure out his retirement account in the past few years—I’m not sure after the market had crashed for a second “comedy” would be the first thing that time, so this anxiety was around me. And would spring to my mind. But that’s you’re always looking for ways to start a play with characters who are in a tough where you took it. position that has the potential for change. There’s a certain amount of humor in all I think it’s hard to write directly about of my work, though it’s a humor with a things; even a play like Angels in America, very strange tone, I think. People laugh in that was so political, doesn’t come at this play because the situations or turns of those ideas head on, but by fracturing conversation are strange. I think the way them and going at it from a lot of differthis two-couple relationship develops is ent, very personal angles. People might unexpected, so I think a lot of the laughwant to look at a play called Bethany by ter is surprise, too. But this isn’t Noises Off Laura Marks that premiered in New York last year, though—which is about a single [laughs]; it’s not that kind of play. mother trying to cope with the economic TJ: Is it part of your intention to let mess. comedy “help” in some way—to make people think or feel “OK, maybe there TJ: You live in two urban places that are different lives we could lead” even are no strangers to cycles of breakif things are taking a downturn? ing down and building up again—you Well, I’m pro-laughter. I think, you know, bought a house post-Katrina in New
Orleans, and also live in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. I wasn’t living in New Orleans when Katrina hit, but all my family and many friends were, and I was there a lot in the next year helping clean up my brother’s house, which had taken on seven feet of water. Watching that city come back was one of the most profound experiences of my life. And watching the almost immediate action by so many individual people, as every level of government—city, state, federal—totally failed them, was a really moving and kind of miraculous experience, and greatly affected the way I view the end of this play. TJ: I don’t know if you like this term, but Detroit does seem to have been a “breakthrough” work for you. It took some big awards and generated a lot of recognition around the country. What’s changed in your playwriting life these past couple of years? It was and it wasn’t a breakthrough, but then I feel I’ve forged a very strange career—I have mostly been in small theaters, doing site-specific performance experiences, and doing a lot of teaching. And I think within that field I was, before this, considered a fairly successful artist. It never dawned on me that I was going to make another leap—so few people ever make their whole living from their plays. I was trying to figure out what kind of artist I was, not how I could write a hit play. But there was a series of happy accidents that got Detroit to Steppenwolf, in part because of a longtime connection I’ve had with a woman named Polly Carl, who works with them now. So really the trajectory to Steppenwolf and that first production was a very slow and steady one, since it involved years of relation-
ships. But what’s changed are some really specific things. For the past two years I’ve been able to live on the royalties from Detroit and a couple of amazing awards I’ve received. I haven’t been teaching, which is a really new way of living my life. […] Playwriting is such a roller coaster ride, of course. There’s no telling if I’ll be able to keep living on what the plays earn—my plays are all really different, and I don’t expect all of them to have this kind of reception.
The applause is getting louder for REX 1516
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FIFTEEN SIXTEEN
1516 South Street 267-319-1366 • rex1516.com
by Carrie Chapter, PTC Dramaturg
“Such a perfect memory, sometimes I wonder if it was real at all…”
What the play, DETROIT, presents is an open-ended inquiry about where we are going, where we have been, and what defines us in Anytown, USA. In our recent times there is the need to reflect on how the American Dream was advertised to us - these perfect homes in close proximity to the perfect job, solidifying an image worthy of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Yet, what has transpired tells a very different story. So, who sold the promise of the ideal lifestyle, and will its buyers ever see a refund?
- Frank, DETROIT
Sowing the Seeds of the American Dream To begin with, the invention of the American Dream originated with Henry Ford – or, at least in cooperation with the automobile industry. However, the transition from city life to suburban life started before Ford was even born. By the 1850s, American cities were enjoying new modes of accessibility with the evolution of mass transit – notably, the
electric rail line. Soon, residents and workers had the option of commuting in and out of the city with greatly improved speed and convenience. By the time Ford revolutionized personal travel with the Model T in the 1900s, Americans could afford the advantages of an automobile with a new sense of independence and the opportunity to live far beyond the city limits. At the end of World War II, a wave of economic prosperity surged. Returning soldiers were in need of affordable housing to accommodate their growing, “booming” families. Entrepreneur William Levitt aimed to satisfy this need. With support from the Veterans Administration and the Federal Housing Association, he began construction on a series of housing developments, which consisted of detached, single-family homes built along an artery connecting future residents to New York City and the industrial compounds on Long Island. These developments would be referred to as “communities”, delivering a cozy, trusting (yet exclusive) feel to interested homeowners. Sales skyrocketed the moment the offices opened for business in 1947. By the 1950s and 1960s, “Levittowns” sprung up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Its cookie-cutter rows of identical houses set a standard for healthy, stable American life. The growth of the suburbs coincided with another phenomenon: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. With the building of the Interstate Highway system, the country embraced a connectivity never before imagined.
The Reality of Urban and Suburban Sprawl During the 1960s and into the 1970s, the suburban ideal had run amuck, spreading over acres of land like wildfire.
The first use of the term “urban sprawl” was coined in 1956; the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) defines it as “low-density residential and commercial development on previously undeveloped land.” In truth, the suburbs mutated into centers in service to commerce; the role of the homeowner as consumer became paramount. The neighborhood culture was slowly being replaced by strip malls, corporate chains, and fast food establishments – at the expense of other homegrown values. With the increase in housing subdivisions and population growth, there were social and environmental repercussions. Such impacts included increases in traffic and pollution, loss of natural habitats/deforestation, vanishing farmland, and the segmentation of people in general as the result of an ever-widening gap in the standard of living. What once existed as freshly mown architectural refuges now looked like tree-less, vinyl-sided complexes – one long, winding road leading to the same cul-de-sac.
The American Homeowner, Foreclosed and Recessed It all started with an expensively rendered bubble – eight trillion dollars, to be exact, and bloated with a glut of subprime mortgages and bad credit. When the real estate bubble burst in 2007, the entire country was dragged under in a socioeconomic undertow, remaining submerged for the next few years. Consumer spending and business investments plummeted, and the labor force dwindled, losing 8.4 million jobs between 2008 and 2009, leaving the U.S. with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. Those living in the suburbs – arguably, the first victims of the housing crisis – were thrust into a great unknown. Residences
were foreclosed at an alarming rate, and neighborhoods, once idyllic homesteads, were now reduced to havens for squatters and other transients. By losing their homes and jobs, the middle-class had forsaken the core of their consumer identity. The Great Recession prompted a reluctant phrase: suburban poverty. The most recent example can be seen in Detroit, Michigan. Over the last several months, and without warning, the Detroit Water Collections Project shut off the water supply to nearly 19,500 residents in the city and its surrounding suburbs. In light of worsening finances, they believed, if the water could be shut off to delinquent accounts, the city could relieve some of the $90 million debt burden. But, at what cost to the individual? Neighbors turned into activists, forming the Detroit Water Brigade to protest in front of the mayoral office and shuttle bottles of water to those in need. Many residents are still waiting for their running water to be restored. What is critical here is what such actions say about the state of an American way of life - not just Detroit, but U.S. towns everywhere, big and small.
The Fate of the Middle Class In October 2010, the United States was still quaking in the aftershocks of the economic collapse; the labor market still had 5.4% fewer jobs than it did before the Great Recession began. It has been widely reported that this will continue to be one of the slowest recoveries in our nation’s history. So, where does that leave the dreamy worker bees, the dedicated congregants of the middleclass? Over the last 13 years, the median household income has been steadily dropping; the middle-class earnings have fallen by more than 9 percent. There is hope to be salvaged in the stock
market rebounding, to further inspire consumer and investor confidence, but there is still greater economic inequality to surmount in the meantime. Rather than re-examining the same questions of disparity, the play DETROIT suggests there is a chance to redefine what it means to be subjects of an endangered class. What can be remade out of the rubble, or is it better to begin anew? Several advertisements promoted suburban houses in the 1950s as “the home they all promised you, but only we are building” – in the here and now, its remains are as good as the promise. *Source information courtesy of National Geographic, USA Today, The State of Working America, Business Insider, the Levittown Historical Society, Center for American Progress, and Forbes magazine. Photo: Tract housing near Union, Kentucky from the air. Photo by Derek Jensen (Tysto) ; 20 June 2005.
ANNUAL FUND 2014-2015 Philadelphia Theatre Company is deeply grateful for the support it receives from the many generous individuals, corporations, foundations and government partners who contribute to the Annual Fund. For more information about PTC’s artists, productions, and programs, please call the Development Office at 215-985-1400 ext. 117. This list acknowledges donors as of September 25, 2014. The Artists Circle Where great theatre and great theatre friends meet Executive Producers Circle ($25,000+) David & Nancy Colman Julia & Eugene Ericksen Victor Keen and Jeanne Ruddy Mr. and Mrs. H.F. Lenfest Dale Penneys Levy & Richard Levy Alan & Janet Widra Producers Circle ($10,000 - $24,999) Marilyn & Robert Birnhak Fran & Neal Cupersmith Alice L. George David and Linda Glickstein Daniel Green Glenn Gundersen & Susan Manix Mr. Tom Kirdahy Monika Krug Susan & James Meyer Jerry & Cookie Riesenbach James T. Smith & Debra Klebanoff Kristen Phillips and Matt Schreck Harriet & Larry Weiss Directors Circle ($5,000-$9,999) Anonymous Ms. Lee Ducat Carole Haas Gravagno & Emilio Gravagno Joal Greenberg & Marcy Gringlas Mr. and Mrs. Bruce E. Kardon Sally Lyn Katz Don & Lynne Rosenblit Carol Saline & Paul Rathblott Elliot Schwartz Bryna & Andrew Scott Laura & Richard Steel Shel & Karen Thompson Stephen & Rosalyn Weinstein
Designers Circle ($2,500-$4,999) Anonymous Tracy & Rick Burke Mr. Edward A. Comer Dorothy J. del Bueno Jane and Joe Goldblum Christine Kanter Arthur M. Kaplan & R. Duane Perry Madeleine & Steve Kessler David Lerman & Shelley Wallock Priscilla M. Luce Maureen E. Pugh June & Stephen Wolfson Playwrights Circle ($1,000-$2,499) Dr. Peter H. Arger Charlotte & Dirk Ave Jim & Kim Balaschak Carol Blank & Dr. Horace Barsch Arthur & Janice Block Louis Bluver Linda & Jonathan Chorney John & Priscilla Clement Michael & Ellen Singer Coleman Diane Cribbs & Arthur M. Mann Brigitte F. Daniel, Esq. Dr. James F. Dougherty Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Edelman Phyllis & Howard Fischer Esther Flaster Teresa Gavigan & Larry Besnoff Sally Walker & Thomas Gilmore Henry & Sheila Gladstone Rosalie Burns Goldberg & Herbert I. Goldberg Mignon Groch John & Meredith Hanamirian Tom & Wendy Hibberd A. Ron Hunter Harvey & Virginia Kimmel William L. Leonard Fran & Leon L. Levy
Charisse R. Lillie Lynn & Joe Manko Seymour Millstein Robin Palley Joyce & Tim Ratner Barbara Rice & Tina Phipps Noel Rosales & Vic Spain Sue Perel Rosefsky Jeannette & Dick Rosen Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Rubenstein Andrew and Melinda Rudolph Vesna & Howard Sacks Patricia Saddier Michael Sanyour & Laurada Byers Sherrie Savett Dr. Nathan & Dolly Beechman Schnall Eric & Robin Settle Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sheerr Marjorie & Howard Silverman Gayle & David Smith Kathleen Stephenson, Esq. Barbara & Robert Tiffany Bettyruth Walter, PH. D. Bernie & Marilyn Weidenaar Jeanne P. Wrobleski, Esq. PTC Performers Impresarios ($500-$999) Jane & Peter Cohen Edwin & Judy Gerber Marjorie & Jeffrey Honickman Marc & Susan Howard Bruce McKittrick & Wendy E. Wilson Mary Ann B. & Joel I. Lawson Drs. Selina Luger & Michel Hoessly Mrs. Catherine Rawcliffe Chris & Cecelia Ross Antoinette F. Seymour Dr. Stanton & Sara Kay Smullens Mr. Leon C. Sunstein Jr.
STAR PERFORMERS ($250-$499) Dr. Ronald Abraham Barbara Abrahams Dr. Victor & Arlene Adlin Barbara & Mickey Black Sandra A. Bloch Mrs. Marilyn A. Brown Andrea & Alexander Ehrlich Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Freeman II Elizabeth H. Gemmill Esq. Kenneth L. George Joseph S. Holman Fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey John E. Holohan Fred and Beth Jacoby Donald and Dorothy Kardon Rhena & Steven Kelsen Debra Fein & Kenneth Kleinman Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kleinman George F. Koch, Jr. & Santo A. DiDonato Pamela D. Laws & Robert I. Whitelaw Mr. Daniel T. Lee Mr. Paul R. Levy Dr. Joseph Lex David S. Miller Mr. Jerome Napson Paul Nutaitis & Robert Clark Mr. and Mrs. David B. Pudlin Esq. Paul Rabe & Cheryl Gunter Mary Jo Reilly Barbara & Dan Rottenberg Carl & Mary Ellen Schneider James L. Smith Robert Smith and Maris Ogg Robert Taglieri & Timothy Moir Mr. F. Gordon Yasinow Tom and Jackie Zemaitis Ensemble Performers ($100-$249) Anonymous (6) Mr. and Mrs. Bennett Aaron Alan Aarons Dr. Christina Ager Ms. Janet M. Andereck Robert & Betty Anderson Dr. Nancy Aronson Ann Auerbach Mrs. Liesel Baker Dr. William F. Barr Robert & Sandy Clay Bauer Bruce and Sara Berger
Drs. Alice Hausman & Jesse Berlin Ann & Tom Blackburn Mr. Alvin Brothers David & Ann Brownlee Ms. Elizabeth Carmalt Ms. Sarah Carmalt Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Carozza Lani & John Carrow Timothy P. Carey Keith Case and Maurice D. Gross John & Teresa Cavenagh Scott & Nelly Childress Saul & Sandra Clair Matt & Barbara Cohen Judy Cohen Mr. and Ms. Stephen D. Cohen Mr. Brian Coleman Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Commini Darlene & John Cooke Rosalie Coombs James D. Crawford & Judith Dean Dr. and Ms. John A. DeFlaminis Mr. and Mrs. Anthony C. Demarco Mr. & Ms. Henry Donner Ellen Dooneief Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Dorsey Ms. Beverly M. Dotter Dr. & Mrs. William Douglass Elizabeth Dow Lois & John Durso Susan J. Ellis Herbert Ershkowitz Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Evans Sue and Jim Fagnani Judy & Leonard Feldman Mr. and Mrs. H. Robert Fiebach Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Fields Mary Flournoy Geraldine and Richard Fox Amie & Mark Frankel David Furniss Ms. Phyllis Furst & Mr. Bill Davol Bernardo Garcia Mark Garvin Emilia DeMarco & James F. Giblin Dave & Sandy Gift Dr. and Ms. Alex Glijansky Joan Gmitter Mr. and Mrs. Morris Gocial Dr. and Mrs. Allan Gold Jeanne Goldberg Mr. Milton Goldberg Toni Alperin Goldberg
Judy & Joel Golden Richard & Claire Goldman Ms. Brenda Goode Ms. Janet Golup Ms. Sandra S. Gordon Rick & Diane Graboyes Phillip Graneto and Janice Breen Dr. Tamar Ezekiel Granor Paul D. Green Marsha Gross Elaine Hamilton Ms. Mary Hardwick Judy C. Harris Sharon Harris Karen & Bruce Harrison Adrienne & Eric Hart Ms. Gail Hauptfuhrer Mr. Jack Hewes Mr. Paul M. Hirshorn Dr. and Mrs. Marc R. Inver Sandy & Richard Josephs Mr. Jeffrey Josephson Tudy & Hy Kahn Mary & Donald Kane Ms. Judith M. Katz Doug & Ruth Keating Mr. and Mrs. David H. Kilmer Ms. Linda G. Kirshner Richard & Marcia Klafter Jim & Nina Korsh Mr. and Mrs. Don Kramer Leslie & Marvin Kreithen Selma & Goncer Krestal Mr. & Mrs. Harry Landrum Magdalyn Y. Lawton Mrs. Ilene Lefko Joe & Virginia Leonard Harvey & Joan Levitan Mr. Stuart Levy Terri Loring & Robert Margolies Ronnie & Larry Margel Jim and Cheryl Marple Dr. Frances G. Martin Ms. Barbra Maxwell Lynne Maxwell Jim McCaffery Deborah McColloch & Charles Valentine Mr. Michael K. McClure Mrs. Patricia Metzger Judith & Martin Miller Dr. and Mrs. Manley Mincer Mr. Richard Mitchell Mark & Laura Moffa
Dr. Wanda Mohr Jeff & Maxine Morgan Mr. James R. Murray Jr. Mr. Kenneth Myers Earnestine P. Neal Mr. and Mrs. Larry Ness Eliot & Bonnie Nierman Stuart & Carol Ockman Linda L. Osler John & Sandi Packel David Pierson & Barrie Trimingham Claudia Pine-Simon Ronald E. Powers Barbara Z. Presseisen Mr. & Mrs. F. Jerome Purcell Mr. Donald Quiring Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Rassas Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rathmill Robert & Wanda M. Rauch Margery and Raymond Reed Lorraine & Marvin Riesenbach Mrs. George Roberts Ms. Gail Robinson Cintra Rodgers Avery Rome Dulcie Romm Tony & Barbara Rooklin Barbara Ann Rosenberg Sally & Edwin Rosenthol Mr. Leonard Rossio Bernard & Harriet Rothman Dr. Harvey Rubin Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Rubin Lisette & Jerry Ruderman Arlene D. Schaller Dr. Daniel B. Schneider Neal & Sheila Schneider Kate & Stanley Schreiner David A. Schwartz Dr. Louis & Linda Schwartz Mr. and Mrs. David Scott Bob and Didi Scott Marilyn & Jerome Segal Bubbles Seidenberg Dr. Larry and Bonnie Seidman Dr. David Shapiro Keith Shively & Thomas Williams Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shulman Anne C. Singer Mr. Israel Skolnick Mrs. Constance Smukler Ronnie and Dr. Robert Somers
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Sorauf Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Spallone Debbie & Gary Stahl Mr. and Ms. Paul Stark Lucille B. Stein Bette Steinberg Ethan and Patricia Stenger Dr. Robert E. Stern Ms. Corrine Stone Mr. and Ms. Jim Sumerson Nina E. Tafel Dr. and Mrs. John Taylor Tom & Joan Tropp Mr. and Mrs. Norman A. Trudel John R. Urofsky Norman K. Walker Linda & Alan Warshaw Mr. Thomas E. Watkins Mr. James Weber Eileen Weinberg Mr. David Weinstein George H. Weiss, M.D. Tracey Weiss & Bill Goldberg Mr. and Mrs. Harold B. Wells Jr. Mr. Peter Wellhofer Fran and Marvin Welsch Ms. Carolyn L. Whitaker Connie & Sankey Williams Sherry Shamansky & Wallace Wing Roger & Lillian Youman Bernie & Barbara Zbrzeznj Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Zutz Gifts in Memory In Memory of Laurie Beechman from Dr. Nathan & Dolly Beechman Schnall In Memory of Ken Kaiserman from Arthur M. Kaplan & R. Duane Perry In Memory of Annie Richardson from Jerome Napson In Memory of Donald Stanley Wilf and in Honor of Dr. Peter Arger from Elaine W. Baer and Gloria A. Moskowitz In Memory of Donald Stanley Wilf From Dr. Peter Arger
Gifts in honor In Honor of Susan Meyer’s Special Birthday Bruce and Sara Berger Arthur and Leslie Frankel Margery and Raymond Reed Robert Smith and Maris Ogg
In Honor of Jerry Riesenbach from Fred and Beth Jacoby
In Honor of Jerry Riesenbach and Sara Garonzik from Lynn and Joe Manko In honor of Carol Saline’s Birthday from the Book Club
Corporate Partners Let Philadelphia Theatre Company put your business in the spotlight. For more information about corporate memberships, sponsorships and in-kind support, please call 215.985.1400 x117 season Sponsors AKA Rittenhouse Center City Film and Video PECO Wines Til Sold Out - WTSO.com Corporate Sponsors ($25,000+) Lincoln Financial Foundation PECO cOrporate producers ($10,000 – $24,999) Blank Rome LLP CRW Graphics Corporate pARTNERS ($5,000 – $9,999) Dranoff Properties, Inc. Republic Bank Sage Financial Group Corporate mEMBERS ($3,000 – $4,999) Samuel T. Freeman & Company Shamrock Clean Spring Garden Construction Company Wells Fargo Foundation other Corporate gifts Aribella Events The Bourse Merchants Association Carl Alan Floral Designs The Chubb Corporation Mr. Nicola Cinalli Cupersmith, Wilensky, Steiger, Stempler & Company, LLP DoubleTree by Hilton, Philadelphia Center City Electronic Ink Firstrust Bank O’Donnell & Naccarato, Inc. Philadelphia Event Planners Valley Green Bank
Matching Gifts Alliance Bernstein Bank of New York Mellon GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Matching Gifts Program Merck Partnership for Giving Lincoln Financial Foundation Matching Gift Program UBS Employee Giving Program FOUNDATION SUPPORT Ann B. Ritt Charitable Foundation The Civic Foundation, Inc. The Charlotte Cushman Foundation Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation Dramatists Guild Fund Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award Linda & David Glickstein Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation The Hamilton Family Foundation The Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation Independence Foundation Knights Arts Challenge of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Arts-Education Fund The Lida Foundation Lomax Family Foundation The Miller Worley Foundation Performing Arts Foundation, Inc. Fund for Children of The Philadelphia Foundation The Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Ralph J. Roberts The Caroline J. Sanders Trust The Victory Foundation Archie D. & Bertha H. Walker Foundation June and Steve Wolfson Family Foundation The William Penn Foundation The Wyncote Foundation
Government SUPPORT Philadelphia Theatre Company receives State arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a State agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Philadelphia Theatre Company is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Philadelphia Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
This list acknowledges donors as of September 25, 2014. PTC strives for accuracy in its donor listings. If there is a misprint or your name has been inadvertently omitted, please call 215.985.1400 x117
Contact the development office: 215.985.1400 x117
Major GiftS Philadelphia Theatre Company is grateful to the following major donors for their foresight in helping us in achieving a bright future. It is because of their commitment, goodwill and continued generosity that PTC has grown to become one of the finest theatres in the region. Thank you!
$1,000,000+
$20,000 to $49,999
Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts
Tracy and Rick Burke Alice L. George Estate of Ellis K. Ginsberg Sally Lyn Katz Monika Krug Dale Penneys Levy & Richard Levy Susan & James Meyer Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott Bryna and Andrew Scott James T. Smith and Debra Klebanoff
$100,000 to $999,999 Dr. Peter H. Arger* Julia & Eugene Ericksen The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The Kaiserman Family Kaiserman Company, Inc. H.F. and Marguerite Lenfest The Miller Worley Foundation $50,000 to $99,999 Dorothy J. del Bueno David and Nancy Colman Priscilla M. Luce Sue Perel Rosefsky** Harriet & Larry Weiss Alan and Janet Widra
*The Peter Arger and Donald Wilf New Play Fund ** Kenneth S. Kaiserman Fund for Artistic Excellence
Capital Campaign Contributors Philadelphia Theatre Company applauds these major donors for their generous support of the campaign to help bring Philadelphia Theatre Company and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre to the Avenue of the Arts.
LEAD DONORS
Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts
The Arcadia Foundation
Diane and Douglas A. Roberts
Marilyn and J. Robert Birnhak
Sue Perel Rosefsky
City of Philadelphia
Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Anita and Terry Steen
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The Kaiserman Family
Shel and Karen Thompson U.S. Airways Community Foundation
THE CORNERSTONE SOCIETY PATRONS Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Tracy and Rick Burke Citibank Michael M. Coleman David and Nancy Colman Dorothy J. del Bueno
Harriet and Larry Weiss
Roberta and Carl Dranoff
Alan and Janet Widra
Ernst & Young
Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts
THE CORNERSTONE SOCIETY BENEFACTORS
Donna and Barry Feinberg
Weight Watchers of Philadelphia, Inc.
Ken and Edna Adelberg
Independence Foundation Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest
June and Steve Wolfson The William Penn Foundation
THE FOUNDERS CLUB
Valla Amsterdam Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Beneficia Foundation
Debbie and Bob Fleischman Matt and Marie Garfield Teresa Gavigan and Larry Besnoff Hamilton Family Foundation Independence Blue Cross
Blank Rome LLP
Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation
The Comcast Family
Connelly Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Maher
Cozen O’Connor
Will and Lucille Daniel
The Dietrich Foundation
Sir David Bruce Duncan and Lady Deana Pitcairn Duncan
Richard and Alice Norman Mandel
Catherine Roberts Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton
Linda and David Glickstein Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Family Foundation Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust A at the recommendation of Carole Haas Gravagno Mr. and Mrs. Jon Harmelin KieranTimberlake Associates Monika Krug Richard and Dale Levy Kim and Rob Roberts The Fulcrum Foundation Lincoln Financial Foundation Susan and James Meyer
Frank and Barbara Osinki
Samuel S. Fels Fund
PNC
Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2 at the recommendation of Leonard C. Haas
Don and Lynne Rosenblit
Sally Lyn Katz
Neal and Sheila Schneider
The Lida Foundation
Shire Pharmaceuticals
Jerry and Cookie Riesenbach
James T. Smith and Debra I. Klebanoff
Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott Bryna and Andrew Scott
Kenneth M. Rutherford
Laura and Richard Steel
Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr.
Tracey B. Weiss and William I. Goldberg
Leslie MIller and Richard Worley
Special thanks to our many other donors.
Philadelphia Theatre Company Productions Key Code
All productions are Philadelphia premieres unless otherwise note v
World Premiere
l
Co-Production
n
East Coast, Professional or American Premiere
m
Production moved on to NY or other regional theater.
the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (2007 - Present) 2013 - 14 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog NERDS Book & Lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, Music by Hal Goldberg nlTRIBES by Nina Raine VANYA and sonia and masha and spike by Christopher Durang COLIN QUINN UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2012 - 13 mvSTARS OF DAVID book by Charles Busch adapted from book by Abigail Pogrebin, various Composers THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall SEMINAR by Theresa Rebeck l VENUS IN FUR by David Ives Love, Loss, and What I Wore A collection of stories by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman* 2011 - 12 red by John Logan The Scottsboro boys music and Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb book by David Thompson nthe outgoing tide by Bruce Graham reasons to by pretty by Neil LaBute 2010 - 11 the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee book by Rachel Sheinkin music and lyrics by William Finn RACE by David Mamet LET ME DOWN EASY by Anna Deavere Smith mvBella: the color of love by Theresa Tova and Mary Kerr RUINED by Lynn Nottage Colin Quinn: Long Story short
2009 - 10 Humor Abuse by Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt The Light in the Piazza by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel mvGolden Age by Terrence McNally mvRed Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins by Margaret Engel & Allison Engel Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson Chicago’s the second city 50th anniversary tour 2008 - 09 mvUnusual Acts of Devotion by Terrence McNally 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother by Kate Moira Ryan & Judy Gold Resurrection by Daniel Beaty At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee Grey Gardens book by Doug Wright, Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie vthe city of nutterly love co production with Chicago’s The Second City 2007 - 08
vBeing Alive music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and directed by Billy Porter M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Third by Wendy Wasserstein vThe Happiness Lecture by Bill Irwin
plays & Players theater
(1982 - 2007)
2006 - 07 nMurderers by Jeffrey Hatcher The Frog Bride by David Gonzalez mvNerds://A Musical Software Satire by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner, music by Hal Goldberg lIn The Continuum by Danai Gurira & Nikkole Salter Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton 2005 - 06 vmAdrift in Macao book & lyrics by Christopher Durang, music by Melnick Ben Franklin: Unplugged by Josh Kornbluth in collaboration with David Dower After Ashley by Gina Gionfriddo Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage vmSome Men by Terrence McNally
2004 - 05 Trumbo by Christopher Trumbo with Bill Irwin The Story by Tracey Scott Wilson Elegies: A Song Cycle by William Finn Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg 2003 - 04 Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks Nickel and Dimed by Joan Holden vAccording to Goldman by Bruce Graham The Goat Or, Who Is Sylvia? by Edward Albee 2002 - 03 Fully Committed by Becky Mode King Hedley II by August Wilson The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown vmA Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher 2001 - 02 Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies nThe Infidel by Bruce Norris The Play About the Baby by Edward Albee vmBarbra’s Wedding by Daniel Stern 2000 - 01
mCompleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher
vmNo Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs by John Henry Redwood This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theater Project 1999 - 00
lDinah Was: The Dinah Washington Musical by Oliver Goldstick
mvWhite People by J.T. Rogers Wit by Margaret Edson Side Man by Warren Leight
1998 - 99 How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel vmLives of the Saints by David Ives Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moisés Kaufman The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh
Philadelphia Theatre Company Productions 1997 - 98 Full Gallop by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson Minutes from the Blue Route by Tom Donaghy A Question of Mercy by David Rabe nmBirdy by William Wharton, adapted by Naomi Wallace 1996 - 97 vmBunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel lSylvia by A.R. Gurney Seven Guitars by August Wilson 1995 - 96 Three Viewings by Jeffrey Hatcher I Am A Man by Oyamo Broken Glass by Arthur Miller Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally 1994 - 95 All in the Timing by David Ives Keely and Du by Jane Martin The Woods by David Mamet vmMaster Class by Terrence McNally 1993 - 94 Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies The World Goes ‘Round by John Kander and Fred Ebb n“2” by Romulus Linney Night Sky by Susan Yankowitz 1992 - 93 Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lucas Mountain by Douglas Scott with Len Cariou vTiny Tim is Dead by Barbara Lebow Lips Together, Teeth Apart by Terrence McNally 1991 - 92 National Anthems by Dennis McIntyre Miss Evers’ Boys by David Feldshuh nLady-Like by Laura Shamas vmNagasaki Dust by W. Colin McKay 1990 - 91 Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet The Cocktail Hour by A.R. Gurney with Celeste Holm nPill Hill by Samuel Kelley 1989 The Middle of Nowhere songs by Randy Newman and Tracy Friedman
1988 - 89 Elaine’s Daughter by Mayo Simon The Voice of the Prairie by John Olive Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet Hannah Senesh by Lori Wilner and David Schechter adapt: of Senesh diaries Avner the Eccentric with Avner Eisenberg 1987 - 88
vlStauf by Eric Saltzman and Michael Sahl co-produced with the American Music Theater Festival Orphans by Lyle Kessler nSouthern Exposure: Sister and Miss Lexie by Eudora Welty, adapt. by Brenda Curran; and From The Mississippi Delta by Endesha Ida Mae Holland vmHospitality by Allan Havis Out! by Lawrence Kelly First fully-mounted production 1986 - 87 Williams & Walker by Vincent D. Smith mvlCitizen Tom Paine by Howard Fast with Richard Thomas, co-produced with The Kennedy Center Days and Nights Within by Ellen McLaughlin As Is by William M. Hoffman 1985 - 86 Painting Churches by Tina Howe lSplit Second by Dennis McIntyre. Co-produced with Freedom Theatre. Original commissioned from Grover Washington, Jr. Great American Sideshow: One Acts by Romulus Linney, Alan Zweibel and Robert Pine Extremities by William Mastrosimone 1984 - 85 Terra Nova by Ted Tally Geniuses by Jonathan Reynolds To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday by Michael Brady Fool for Love by Sam Shepard 1983 - 84 Getting Out by Marsha Norman True West by Sam Shepard Strange Snow by Steve Metcalfe Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson
1982 - 83 Wings by Arthur Kopit Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon by James McLure Final Passages by Robert Schenkkan Dylan Thomas by Jack Aranson with Jack Aranson 1981 - 82 When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder by Mark Medoff The Vietnamization of New Jersey by Christopher Durang Nuts by Tom Topor
various theatres
(1975 - 1981)
1980 - 81 The Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson Alice Through The Looking Glass company developed by Lewis Carroll Hooters by Ted Tally Jesse and the Bandit Queen by David Freeman Getting Out by Marsha Norman 1979 - 80 Streamers by David Rabe vThe Insanity of Mary Girard by Lainie Robertson The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill vDementia 80 by Don Steele 1979 Ashes by David Rudkin vThe Exhibition by Thomas Gibbons vSome of My Best Friends are Women by Don Steele and Edward Earle 1978 The Seagull by Anton Chekhov The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie by Albert Innaurato vThe Persecution of Eugene Waterman by Louis Lippa vThe Final Concert Tour of Mickey Colossus by Peter Mattaliano A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare vCenter City Soap by Dorothy Louise
continued >>
Philadelphia Theatre Company Productions 1976 - 77 vThe Lion and the Lamb by Joseph Orazi vFuture Tense by John Sevcik vThe Keeper by Karolyn Nelke 27 Wagons Full of Cotton by Tennessee Williams vMars by Clay Goss She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (Theatre in the Court) Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (Theatre in the Court)
1976
vMarlowe by John Yinger
Rain by W. Somerset Maugham, adapted by Colton and Randolph vThe Crossing/As I Lay Dying A Victim of Spring by David Rabe & Leslie Lee vThe Three Daughters of M. Dupont by E. Brieux, translation by Pauline Jones Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (NewMarket)
1975 The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice Sargeant Musgrave’s Dance by John Arden vBetween Now and Then by Leslie Lee
P HILADEL PH I A T H EAT RE CO M PA N Y at the
join us for our 2014/2015 season! Pick 3 or 4 plays, then add a hit musical!
october 10 - november 9
Detroit
by Lisa D’Amour A Pulitzer Prize finalist! “SUPERB! A rich and addictively satisfying dark comedy.” – The New York Times november 28 - December 28
outside mullingar
by John Patrick Shanley Tony Award Nominee for Best Play! “SHANLEY'S finest work since DOUBT.” - The New York Times february 6 - March 8
mothers and sons
by Terrence McNally Tony Award Nominee for Best Play! “Terrence McNally has just written his best play!” – Huffington Post may 1 - May 31
brownsville song (b-side for tray)
Add a hit musical!
by Kimber Lee A co-production with Long Wharf Theatre The HIT of the 2014 Humana Festival of New Plays! “Writing so INTIMATE that it bestows the power to unlock hearts.” – Louisville Courier-Journal
NERDS (PTC, 2013)
Photo by Paola Nogueras
june 6 - june 28
murder for two
book and music by Joe Kinosian book and lyrics by Kellen Blair Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Nominated! “A MUST-SEE jolt of caffeinated creativity!”– NY1
subcribe today! call 215.985.0420 or stop by audience services
about our THEATRE The Suzanne Roberts Theatre, designed by Kieran Timberlake Associates, is owned and operated by Philadelphia Theatre Company and is the Company’s first permanent home. PTC is proud that the creation and development of its home, in partnership with Symphony House developer Carl Dranoff, has become a model for civic redevelopment; one that capitalizes on the ability of the arts to reinvigorate districts for residential and commercial revival. The space is contemporary, elegant and urbane, and features a 160’ double height glass facade on the Avenue of the Arts. The interior is defined by a uniquely warm and sculptural 365 seat main stage auditorium with a proscenium arch of interlocking leather tiles, a spacious and contemporary mezzanine, and a planned 100 seat flexible second stage for new play development, intimate performances, and educational programming. Our stage house significantly enhances our ability to respond to the most imaginative visions of our creative teams with its spacious wings, soaring fly gallery, and trapped stage. The Theatre offers a full range of public amenities with an on-site box office, ample public rest rooms, a concession stand, and lobbies designed for patron comfort and engagement with the City visible through large expanses of glass. The grand staircase leads from the main floor to the double height mezzanine lobby. The Theatre’s contemporary universal design makes it one of the country’s most accessible performing arts venues and supports one of PTC’s core values ensuring that our artistry is accessible to everyone in our community.
about suzanne Roberts Philadelphia Theatre Company is honored to name its home after Suzanne Roberts--actress, playwright, director, educator, producer and philanthropist. For more than 40 years, Suzanne has been a leading champion of the Philadelphia theater community. An actress by training, Suzanne has engaged as an artist in meaningful public service with projects as diverse as performing in dramas to inspire the purchase of war bonds during World War II to national appearances in plays discouraging racism and alcoholism. Demonstrating the breadth of her artistry, Suzanne has performed on many stages throughout our region in plays from Shakespeare to A.R. Gurney. She has also performed in a variety of media including radio and television and is well known to audiences as the creator and host of the Emmy Award winning “Seeking Solutions with Suzanne.” One of Suzanne’s lifelong passions has been using theater to improve the lives of young people. Through the Suzanne Roberts Cultural Development Fund, she has supported the outreach work of theater and dance companies in sharing their creativity with school children and young adults. Portrait of Suzanne Roberts by Alan Kole. Photo of Mainstage of Suzanne Roberts Theatre, home of Philadelphia Theatre Company, by Mark Garvin
for your information Box Office Hours:
During Productions Monday - Sunday: 12:00pm to showtime Between Productions Monday – Friday: 10:30am to 5:30pm Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Open Caption Performance:
Photography
The use of photographic or recording devices is strictly prohibited. Please note: The audience may be photographed by PTC staff for archival and publicity purposes. If you prefer that your likeness not appear in PTC materials, please notify the House Manager.
11/1/14 at 2pm
Group Ticketing & Events
For audience members who are hearing impaired. A large LED captioning screen, positioned beside the stage, scrolls text of the lyrics/dialogue in tandem with the lyrics/dialogue of the performance.
Student Matinees, In-School Workshops, and Summer Camp
Assisted Listening Devices:
State-of-the-Art assisted listening headsets that use an infrared signal to wirelessly deliver all dialogue, music and sound from the show at a personally adjustable volume are available for free at every PTC performance through the House Manager or concessionaire. Please ask about T-coil device options that are compatible with your hearing aid.
Audio Description Performance & Sensory Workshop 10/25/14 at 2pm
For audience members who are blind or low vision. Assistive listening devices are provided, through which a trained audio describer fills in the visual details and action on stage, live while it is being performed. A sensory workshop is provided before the show in which teaching artists provide in depth explanations of the visual aspects of the show, with patrons often invited on stage to touch and experience the set and costumes. Large Print programs available upon special request. Contact the box office to make a reservation for this workshop and/or performance. PTC’s accessibility programming is sponsored by the Lincoln Financial Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Accessibility to the Arts in Pennsylvania for Individuals with Disabilities Program. Accessibility technology in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre was made possible by a grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation.
Contact PTC’s Sales Director, Carol Flannery at 215.985.0420 x104
Contact PTC’s Education Department at 215.985.1400 x111
Facility Rentals
Contact Eric Thomas at 215.985.0420 x105 or ethomas@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
Volunteer Opportunities
Contact Eric Thomas at 215.985.0420 x105
Advertising Opportunities
Contact Carol Flannery at 215.985.0420 x104 or cflannery@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
Parking and Public Transportation
The Theatre is easily accessible by the Walnut/Locust and Lombard/South SEPTA Broad Street Subway stations, 15th/16th PATCO station, Route “C” bus, or taxi. On-site parking is available at the InterPark lot, as well as nearby garages along Broad Street. PTC Subscribers can pick up $2-off parking vouchers for the Interpark at the Box Office.
Rest Rooms, Elevator, Water Fountains
LADIES’ & MEN’S ROOMS are located on the orchestra level of the Theatre. All rest rooms are ADA compliant. The ELEVATOR is located to the left of the concession stand which may be used to reach the mezzanine level. WATER FOUNTAINS are located outside the restrooms.
Lost & Found
If you have lost or found an item, please see the Box Office or House Manager. PTC is not responsible for loss or theft of personal belongings.
2014/15 board of directors E. Gerald Riesenbach, Esq., Chairman David L. Colman, AIA, Vice President Julia Ericksen, Ph.D., Vice President Glenn Gundersen, Vice President Brigitte Daniel, Secretary Monika Krug, Treasurer
Sara Garonzik Sally Lyn Katz Victor Keen Dale Penneys Levy Priscilla M. Luce James M. Meyer, CFA Donald Rosenblit, Chairman Emeritus Carol Saline Elliot Schwartz
James T. Smith, Esq. Harriet Weiss Alan Widra
Members Emeritus Joanne Harmelin Sheldon L. Thompson Bettyruth Walter, Ph.D. Tracey Weiss, Ph.D.
former board presidents Kenneth Kaiserman* Robert Greenfield* Thomas M.S. Wheelock Lewis C. Ross Carole Phillips*
John Friedman Donald Rosenblit William F. O’Donnell Monika Krug Cheryl Green
Bernard A. Weidenaar Sheldon L. Thompson E. Gerald Riesenbach, Esq. Michael M. Coleman
*deceased
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY STAFF LEADERSHIP Executive Producing Director Sara Garonzik President Priscilla M. Luce artistic/ programming staff Literary Manager & Dramaturg Carrie Chapter Director of Education Maureen Sweeney Assistant Director of Education Will Dennis Interim Education Coordinator Joshua Campbell Teaching Artists Susan Berger, Christina Binder, Jarrett McCreary, David Pershica, Savid Stradley, Josh Yoder, Jessica Wickes Literary Intern Paige Klaniecki administrative staff Manager of Board & Administrative Services Sharon Kling Development Consultant Christine Mickletz Manager of Annual Giving Jessie Pasquariello Sales Director Carol Flannery Marketing Manager Rose Schnall Thomas Marketing Assistant Samuel Chattin Venue Services Manager R. Eric Thomas Audience Services Manager Kristen Norine Publicist Deborah Fleischman Audience Services Supervisors Lesley Berkowitz, Alexander Rioh Audience Services Associates Kasual Owens-Fields, Hannah Sandler, Jane Sorensen, Jane Washburn House Managers Aaron Bell, Ben Coppolla, Arlen Hancock, Randi Hickey, Antoine Jones, Jennifer MacMillan, Jack Tamburri, Sara Tortoro Development Intern Kait Finegan
Production staff Director of Production Roy W. Backes Company Manager Bridget A. Cook Production/Operations Manager Matthew F. Lewandowski II Assistant Stage Manger Annie Halliday Assistant Costume Designer Jenn Lanyon Assistant Sound Designer Patrick Lamborn Custodians Dorene Hobbs, Marvin Smith HOUSE CREW Master Carpenter/Rigger Paul Hewitt Production Electrician Terry Smith Sound Supervisor Daniel A. Little Prop Master Melissa A. Cristaldi Little Lighting Supervisor Alyssandra Docherty Utility Stage Hand Jay Wojnarowski Wardrobe Supervisor Maxine Johnson Production Apprentice Joe Samala Lighting Programmer Uel Bergey RUN CREW Lighting Board Operator Alyssandra Docherty Sound Board Operator Daniel A. Little Deck Crew Josue Carazo, Jacob Lyon Goddard, Jay Wojnarowski Wardrobe Janet Connors, Danielle Joh, Maxine Johnson Special thanks 12th Street Gym Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Melanie Hazzard, Prospect Park, PA Branch Manager Scenery by Proof Productions Special Effects by J&M Special Effects
PEP Events
Our FREE Patron Enrichment Programming gives the audience a chance to see behind-the-scenes of each production and discuss the ideas and issues raised by each show.
Meet-the-Artists (MTA)
Backstage Tour
10/16 and 10/30
10/25 post-matinee
Stick around right after the show for a talk-back and audience Q&A with the cast of Detroit.
Join a member of PTC’s staff for a backstage tour of the set. Learn how the set was conceived and built, and how the crew runs the show!
Special Topics 10/21 post-show Catch the on-stage conversation immediately following the 6:30pm performance “Little Boxes Made of Ticky Tacky: The Life of a Suburban Development” with guest moderator, Lawrence Levy, Executive Dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies.
American Playwrights in Context (APIC)
Book Club Like us on Facebook and join the online conversation about Music for Torching by A.M. Homes
Audio Description 10/25 - 2PM performance
Open Captioning 11/1 - 2PM performance
11/4 post-show
Join us for an on-stage Skype conversation with playwright, Lisa D’Amour. Community Outreach Sponsor
P h i l a d e l p h i aT h e at r e C o m pa n y. o r g / p e p
NEW for 2014/2015 POST-SHOW HAPPY HOUR Join your fellow theatre lovers in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre lobby after every show for cocktails and conversation! Our bar will stay open one hour after the conclusion of the performance with Happy Hour-priced beer and wine, plus a specialty cocktail created for each production.
up next in our 40th anniversary season
outside brownsville
Mullingar
song (b-side for Mary tray) John Patrick Shanley B. Robinson by
directed by
2013 tony award nominated
the weirdness and wonder of love
PHIL AD ELPH IA THEATRE COM PANY at the
NOV 28 – DEC 28
PhilaTheatreCo.org 215.985.0420