Applause -- The Suffragette's Murder -- February 7-March 9, 2025

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APPLAUSE

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SIGHTLINE

WWelcome! We are delighted that you are joining us for Back to the Future: The Musical, our 19th annual Colorado New Play Summit, and the debuts of the never-before-seen The Reservoir and The Su ragette’s Murder

This time of year is especially exciting as we welcome representatives of the American theatre to our New Play Summit featuring two fully produced world premieres complemented by four readings of works in development.

Those in our industry know all too well that many of the bastions of new works have suffered in the wake of COVID, which is all the more reason to celebrate the continuation of our own Colorado New Play Summit.

Without widespread commitment to new works, audiences would have never seen Hamilton, The Book of Will or even a transfer from film-to-stage of an immensely popular title like Back to the Future (see pages 12-13).

Every new production takes a great idea, a committed playwright, a theatre willing to take a risk, and steadfast patrons who believe in creating stories for new generations.

We are grateful for those sponsors who make our new play development program possible: Summit sponsors the PettiboneGraham Family, SCFD, Semple Brown Architects, and Robert & Carole Slosky. Additionally, we applaud those who support our world premieres: Chevron, the Edgerton Foundation, Katie Fox, Philip & Marcie Munishor, Robert & Judi Newman, Susan Fox & Ted Pinkowitz, Martin & Jo Semple, and June Travis.

And, of course, we are immensely appreciative of your presence. You are the soul of our story and the lifeblood of our legacy. Enjoy the show!

Vladimir

Warm regards,

Script

Janice Sinden

Janice Sinden, President & CEO

HONORING OUR ELDERS

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts honors and acknowledges that it resides on the traditional and unceded territories of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Peoples. We also recognize the 48 contemporary Indigenous Tribes and Nations who have historically called Colorado home.

IN THIS ISSUE

The Su ragette’s Murder pg 10 Back to the Future: The Musical pg 12

The Reservoir .................................. pg 14

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF UPCOMING SHOWS:

APPLAUSE

VOLUME XXXV • NUMBER 5 • JAN - MAR 2025

EDITOR: Suzanne Yoe

DESIGN DIRECTOR: Kyle Malone

DESIGNER: Brenda Elliott

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS: Paul Koob, Lucas Kreitler

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Misha Berson, Lisa Bornstein, Emma Holst, Joanne Ostrow

Applause is published eight times a year by Denver Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with The Publishing House, Westminster, CO. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Call 303.893.4000 regarding editorial content.

Angie Flachman, Publisher For advertising 303.428.9529 or sales@pub-house.com coloradoartspubs.com Applause magazine is funded in part by

Denver Center for the Performing Arts is a non-profit organization that engages and inspires through the transformative power of live theatre.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Hassan Salem, Chair

Ruth Krebs, Vice Chair

David Jacques Farahi, Secretary/Treasurer

Nicole Ament

Dr. Patricia Baca

Brisa Carleton

Jerome Davis

Elizabeth Hioe

Deb Kelly

Kevin Kilstrom

Lynn McDonald

Susan Fox Pinkowitz

Manny Rodriguez

Alan Salazar

Richard M. Sapkin

Martin Semple

William Dean Singleton

Robert Slosky

Tina Walls

Dr. Reginald L. Washington

Sylvia Young

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Navin Dimond

Margot Gilbert Frank

Jeannie Fuller

Robert C. Newman

Daniel L. Ritchie

Cleo Parker Robinson

Judi Wolf

HELEN G. BONFILS FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Martin Semple, President

William Dean Singleton, Vice President

Dr. Reginald L. Washington, Secretar y/Treasurer

Nicole Ament

Marco D. Chayet

David Jacques Farahi

Kevin Kilstrom

Ruth Krebs

Susan Fox Pinkowitz

Hassan Salem

Robert Slosky

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT

Janice Sinden, President & CEO

Jamie Clements, Vice President, Development

Chris Coleman, Artistic Director, Theatre Company

John Ekeberg, Executive Director, Broadway & Cabaret

Angela Lakin, Vice President, Marketing & Sales

Glen Lucero, Vice President, Venue Operations

Laura Maresca, Chief People & Culture Officer

Charlie Miller, Executive Director & Curator, Off-Center

Lisa Roebuck, Vice President, Information Technology

Charles Varin, Managing Director, Theatre Company & Off-Center

Allison Watrous, Executive Director, Education & Community Engagement

Jane Williams, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

by Amanda Tipton

Photos

DCPA EDUCATION

PREPPING STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN THEATRE

IIn Sunset Boulevard, former silent-film star Norma Desmond says: “I’m ready for my close-up.” But exactly what does it take to get ready for your close-up, your audition, or your first big role?

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts offers a variety of educational programs from classes on acting, voiceover, and movement to in-school programs including playwrighting and musical theatre. Here are some recent DCPA Education students who have stepped into the spotlight.

JAKE BRASCH

In January, Jake Brasch will see his first play, The Reservoir, produced as a three-city co-production. Brasch got his start in DCPA Education’s acting classes both as a student and later as a teacher’s assistant, appeared in A Christmas Carol, graduated from Denver School for the Arts and Tisch School of the Arts (NY), and completed Julliard with his Master’s degree.

ANDY DUS

Long-time DCPA Education acting student Andy Dus “graduated” to acting in local theatre productions with Cherry Creek Theatre, Curious New Voices and many others before heading to the big screen in All Men are Wicked. He’s just been cast in his yet-to-beannounced second film.

ABIGAIL BROOKS LEHRER

Abigail Brooks Lehrer received the DCPA’s 2018 Bobby G High School Musical Theatre Award for Outstanding Actress. After high school, she attended The Institute for American Musical Theatre and made a name for herself as a performer on TikTok, which secured her spot on “American Idol Season 20.”

RYAN OMAR STACK

Ryan Omar Stack moved to Denver in 2010 to pursue a career in business, but needed a creative outlet. He took the DCPA’s adult acting classes for two years before appearing with Benchmark Theatre, Arvada Center, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Local Theater Company and Denver Center Theatre Company.

VARIOUS

A full roster of DCPA Education acting students joined DCPA Head of Acting, Timothy McCracken, in the SAG film short Burning the Old Man (Danny Mann, Lisa Collins and Jenny Eaves) and the 2023 film Publish or Perish (Mia Park).

DCPA Education connects with nearly 140,000 students each year through on-site classes and in-school programs. Learn more at denvercenter.org/education

PreK - Adult

No Experience Required

1-Day Workshops

Multi-Week Courses

Daytime, Evening, and Weekend Classes

YOURSELF ON STAGE

Photo by McLeod9 Creative
Sponsored by
Mia Park
Jenny Eaves
Danny Mann
Lisa Collins
Abigail Brooks Lehrer
Ryan Omar Stack
Andy Dus
Jake Brasch

THE SUFFRAGETTE’S MURDER: A MYSTERY AND MORE

TThe year is 1857. The locale is a boardinghouse on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It’s a homey dwelling, run by an upstanding middle-aged couple. But behind its unremarkable façade lies a den of activists engaged in the fight for women’s suffrage — in an America where only men of property have the right to vote.

This is the vivid setting of Sandy Rustin’s The Su ragette’s Murder, now having its world premiere at Denver Center Theatre Company. In 2023, the serio-comic play had a public reading in the Company’s Colorado New Play Summit, and then was picked for the mainstage — an opportunity Rustin relished.

“Denver Center is an amazing place, very much committed to producing new work,” says Rustin, a veteran of Broadway who turned her hand to playwriting while raising her two sons. That career move has been quite a success.

Clue, her crowd-pleasing adaptation of a film based on the perennial whodunit board game, has kept audiences pondering whether Mr. Mustard committed murder in the library with the wrench, or Mrs. Peacock did the deed in the study with a knife. The play has been widely produced among regional theatres and now has an ongoing national tour.

The Su ragette’s Murder also involves a mystery. But the play is a mélange of antic comedy, serious drama, and fascinating history too. And it delves into a topic that has been top of mind in recent times for women theater artists — most notably the creators of Su s, a dark horse, 2024 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about the long, hard fight to win the vote.

Rustin’s interest in crafting her own play on the subject was triggered by an intriguing assignment. “I

was invited by Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota to be a playwright in residence,” she says. For the Suffragist Project, a centennial celebration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which grants women the right to vote, “the theater commissioned four playwrights to write plays on the theme of suffrage,” explains Rustin. “So first I took myself to the library and did a whole lot of research.”

She became interested in the turbulent, pre-Civil War period in the mid-19th Century, around the time a landmark conference was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y., with the intention “to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women.” The 1848 conclave effectively launched the U.S. movement to obtain the vote for women, a goal not achieved for more than half a century.

One particular account of life in that era sparked Rustin’s imagination. “I found this wonderful book from 1858, The Physiology of New York Boarding-Houses by Thomas Butler Gunn. There was a chapter on vegetarian boardinghouses. And in my play vegetarianism became a euphemism for people requiring a safe haven.”

The boardinghouse she concocted is run by Alma and Albert Mayhew, and populated with a diverse set of characters ostensibly sympathetic to the cause — though some have secret agendas of their own.

Says Rustin, “I developed who would be living in the house first and how their stories would intertwine. Then I just got to it. Often, it’s in the actual writing that I discover the plot and find my way to the mystery.”

Folding a mystery into the play was a natural for Rustin. As a child she was a fan of the Encyclopedia Brown mystery books, and while developing her script for Clue, she reveals, “I became a nut for Agatha Christie, her life,

Illustration by Kyle Malone

and her mysteries.” (Along with her famous whodunit novels, Christie penned plays, like the long running The Mousetrap.)

“I think it’s fun as an audience member to have an activity while you watch a play run the gamut of emotions,” claims Rustin. “In a mystery you become an active participant, because you’re trying to figure out something for yourself. That’s unique to the genre. And it’s a wonderful challenge as a writer, because you have to keep the audience in mind at all times.”

Rustin is also drawn to farce. “I love physical comedy, so the text of this play is deeply tied to the physicality. I have another play, The Cottage, a feminst farce set in 1923 in the British countryside. I thought it would be fun to write one in a similar style in a different period and place, focusing on feminism in a different way.”

ON WITH

THE SHOW!

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In a mystery you become an active participant, because you’re trying to figure out something for yourself.… And it’s a wonderful challenge as a writer, because you have to keep the audience in mind at all times.
— SANDY RUSTIN, PLAYWRIGHT

While the Mayhews and their cohorts humorously attempt to pull off a pseudo-séance and a bold act of political protest while not blowing their covers, The Su ragette’s Murder also reflects on the lives of people on the fringes of mainstream society.

One boarder is a young Irishman, part of a wave of Irish and other immigrants thronging to America. Also on hand are a spunky young woman, pregnant and unmarried, and her protective mother. And suspicious of everyone in the household is a constable investigating the disappearance of one of the inhabitants.

To the still-resonant, overlapping themes of inequality, Rustin has added what she calls “a spoonful of sugar” — humorous repartee, knockabout shenanigans, and a plot with some genuinely surprising twists and turns.

For the world premiere production of The Su ragette’s Murder, Denver Center Theatre Company welcomed Rustin’s direct involvement. “I’ve been happily engaged in selecting a director, talking with the dramaturg,” she reports. “And I’ll be in Denver through the rehearsal process right through to the opening.”

In fact, it’s no mystery that Rustin may be doing some more script tweaking as the play heads into its first run. She says with a laugh, “It’s a work in progress all the way up to opening night.”

THE SUFFRAGETTE’S MURDER

FEB 7 – MAR 9 • KILSTROM THEATRE

ASL Interpreted and Audio Described performance: Feb 16 at 1:30pm Stay for a Post-show Discussion: Feb 19 & Mar 5

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GREAT SCOTT! Back to the Future: The Musical Takes Flight

This much they knew: the DeLorean would have to fly.

As screenwriters Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis contemplated bringing their beloved 1985 film, Back to the Future, to the stage, they were aware that not everything would transfer. Audiences in 2024 wouldn’t have the same appetite for the terrorists pursuing Doc, for example, and the skateboard chase felt too dangerous onstage. But the DeLorean? A non-negotiable.

“One of the things that we started off thinking about is there are certain touchstones of the movie that people would not even bother with if we didn’t have the DeLorean,” Gale says. “We knew we had to make the car fly. That just had to happen.”

Back to the Future, now lauded as a sci-fi classic, catapulted Michael J. Fox to next-level stardom as the teenager Marty McFly, who is jolted back to the 1950s with the wild-haired scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), where he must make sure his parents fall in love, thereby ensuring his birth.

The musical did not move quite as fast as Doc’s timetraveling sports car. In 2005, Zemeckis and his wife, Leslie, were in New York catching some theater when they saw The Producers, the record-breaking 2001 musical based on a more than 20-year-old film. “They came out very impressed, very giddy, and Leslie turns to Robert and says, you know what would make a good musical?”

“We really started working on it in earnest in February 2006,” Gale continues. “The first person we called was [composer] Alan Silvestri because if you want the musical to sound like Back to the Future, you hire the guy who made Back to the Future sound like Back to the Future.”

Gale took on the task of writing the book for the musical, and to collaborate with Silvestri, they brought in Glen Ballard, the co-writer of Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill, and Silvestri’s collaborator on the Zemeckis film Polar Express. The four of them began meeting at Zemeckis’s office in Carpinteria, California. The quartet worked beautifully. So what took nearly 20 years to get the musical on stage?

Surprisingly, finding a theatrical producer. Even with a solid gold property like Back to the Future, it wasn’t an easy sell.

“The thing about doing a Broadway musical is that it’s kind of a tight, closed fraternity, and we would keep getting, ‘Well, why do you think you guys could do this? You’ve never done a musical before.’ And we’d say ‘Well, yeah, we haven’t done a musical before, but we have done Back to the Future before.”

Another producer was daunted by the technical challenges, saying he didn’t want to work that hard. Others wanted to take control of the production, but Zemeckis and Gale, who owned the theatrical rights, weren’t about to let go of the title.

“Finally in about 2012, Glen Ballard got hired to work on a musical based on the movie Ghost with [the Eurythmics’] Dave Stewart, and the producer of that show, Colin Ingram, turns out he was a huge Back to the Future fan. Colin just went crazy for the idea. He had exactly the right energy, the right attitude.”

He also said, “Why wouldn’t I want you guys to be the creative force on this, because you guys know Back better than anyone,” Gale recalls.

Back to the Future Don Stephenson and Caden Brauch.
Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

Gale grew up in St. Louis, the son of musical theater fans, and that Midwestern decency shines through after decades in Hollywood. His mother and grandfather were professional violinists, and Gale remembers going to shows at the Muny, where his grandfather would be playing in the orchestra of the beloved outdoor theater. Gale grew up on the mid-century classics: Rodgers and Hammerstein, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls.

“Those were the musicals that gave me the understanding of the form, the Golden Age stuff,” he says. “That was what we wanted to do with Back to the Future, take the way that they used to do musicals and jazz it up with technology, but the core of it is going to be the human core that we grew up with.”

Gale took on writing the book for the musical, and is credited as co-creator and producer with Zemeckis. The two became friends as film students at the University of Southern California. Their script for Back to the Future the movie was not seen as a sure thing; it was rejected 44 times. Only after Zemeckis had a hit with Romancing the Stone did the script get picked up.

That was what we wanted to do with Back to the Future, take the way that they used to do musicals and jazz it up with technology, but the core of it is going to be the human core that we grew up with.
— BOB GALE, BOOK/CO-CREATOR/PRODUCER

In addition to Silvestri and Ballard’s original songs written for the theater, the musical includes Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and, by Huey Lewis and the News, the signature songs “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time.” For Gale, writing a musical moved him from fan to creator.

“There was always a lot of give and take between myself, between Alan, Glen, and between [director] John Rando,” Gale says. “He said, ‘If there’s a really important piece of exposition, you have to have it in dialogue. You can’t put it in the song. The audience is not going to remember the lyrics of a song. John Rando, he’s a walking encyclopedia of musical theater and I got the best education just by working with him.”

Back to the Future: The Musical opened in London in 2021 and began its Broadway run at the Winter Garden in August of 2023. As of the Applause publication date, it was slated to close on Broadway January 5. In addition to the U.S. tour, the show is slated for Japan, Germany and Australia, as well as Royal Caribbean cruise lines.

“If you’re a parent, you can bring your kids,” Gale says with a chuckle. “If you’re a kid, you can bring your parents.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

JAN 22 – FEB 9 • BUELL THEATRE

ASL Interpreted, Audio Described, Open Captioned performance: Feb 2 at 2pm

UP NEXT FROM BROADWAY LIFE OF PI

Based on the best-selling novel, Life of Pi is an exquisite production that quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Winner of three Tony Awards® and the Olivier Award for Best Play, the Broadway and West End sensation Life of Pi is “an exhilarating evening of theater” (The Wall Street Journal ).

After a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger.

Featuring breathtaking artistry, Life of Pi ’s world-class puppets are representations of living, breathing animals on stage. The process begins with scores of research — observing their moves, sounds, emotional responses to different situations, and more.

Each puppet is formed from plastazote, a type of polyethylene foam. Artisans carve the foam by hand into different shapes. Then, the animals are hand painted with lifelike colors, designs, and unique elements to make each puppet appear real.

Some of the larger animals are supported by structures such as metal spines to keep the animals intact while the limbs move. The puppets are worn by performers like backpacks or maneuvered by hand — the Royal Bengal tiger in particular uses both manipulations.

Experience these works of art in action when Life of Pi visits the Buell Theatre from March 18 – 30.

LIFE OF PIHiran Abeysekera, Richard Parker (Fred Davis, Scarlet Wilderink, Andrew Wilson). Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
Back to the Future Caden Brauch and Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

FINDING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE RESERVOIR

TThe presentation of The Reservoir by the Denver Center Theatre Company marks a full-circle return for a Colorado playwright who grew up at this theater. Jake Brasch is coming home in multiple ways for the world premiere of The Reservoir, his deeply personal play about addiction, Alzheimer’s, and inter-generational connections, soon to be in production nationally.

The play is loosely based on his experience the year he moved home from New York to Denver during a time of need, and the support he got from surprising allies, notably his four distinctive grandparents.

After winning over audiences in a staged reading at the 2023 Colorado New Play Summit, The Reservoir was picked to be part of the Denver Center Theatre Company’s 2024/25 mainstage season.

In a remarkable first, the play will be launched in partnership with L.A.’s Ge en Playhouse and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, tremendously expanding its potential exposure in successive stagings.

“Everybody has been unbelievably supportive and programmed this play for the right reasons,” Brasch said. With three institutions involved, “there were a lot of logistical hurdles production-wise, but for me it’s just been amazing.

“It’s hugely cool and kind of unprecedented and I feel so grateful.”

The play’s overlay of humor makes the tough subject matter easier to absorb. It’s a painfully revealing semiautobiographical work that ends up being a love letter to family.

“Yes, it’s revealing, but about people finding joy in spite of hardship. That’s my family currency, humor is everything. If we’re laughing, we’re good.”

The tension between the di cult emotional moments and the laugh-out-loud humor keeps the tone crisp.

“As a play about di cult stu , it fights really hard to remain a comedy,” he said. Ultimately, he figures, if people leave with questions, the play has done its job.

Denver audiences will appreciate the many local references in the show — from the Cherry Creek Reservoir to Colfax Ave. to the unnamed Tattered Cover bookstore. The landmarks pack extra meaning here, but that shouldn’t lessen the impact for viewers elsewhere. “The specific is universal,” Brasch said. “I can’t tell you how many people come up to me after hearing this play and say it reminds them of their family whose background is completely di erent.” Brasch has been working on The Reservoir since 2020. The title refers both to the physical reservoir, where Josh, the protagonist, wakes up after a drunken blackout, and to the scientific idea of “cognitive reserve,” which Brasch calls “the umbrella over the play.” All the tricks seniors are told to do — crossword puzzles, exercise, taking a di erent route home — to build brain power to stave o senility, those things do work for a while, he said.

“Oh, my grandma was so methodical about her calendar, curiosity, exercise…looking back, when she did slip, it was a shockingly quick slip. Six to eight months.”

As always, the theater provides a place to grapple with big questions.

“Since I was an infant, my whole world was theater,” Brasch said. He performed in the Denver Center’s A Christmas Carol at age 11, is a graduate of Denver School of the Arts, and a veteran of Curious Theatre’s acclaimed New Voices youth playwriting program.

Yes, The Reservoir is revealing, but about people finding joy in spite of hardship. That’s my family currency, humor is everything. If we’re laughing, we’re good.
—JAKE BRASCH, PLAYWRIGHT

In his online biography, Brasch identifies as “a queer, sober, Jewish clown from Colorado and a recent graduate from the playwriting program at The Juilliard School.” While he spent years working as a kids’ birthday party clown, he’s relieved to be retired from that avocation. (He’s never letting go of the great picture that advertised his services.)

He plans to stay active in theater even as he teases the idea of venturing into TV or film.

“I think this [play] could be a great film; it would be very di erent.”

Unlike some playwrights who struggle with the shared creative energy required of a Hollywood writers’ room, Brasch claims he finds the idea of working collaboratively appealing. “Not to have to be the person with the answers,” he said.

Looking forward, this will be an exciting year as his play rolls out around the country. But Brasch has learned the hard way to embrace uncertainty as an essential element of living.

“Something recovery has taught me: whatever I think is going to happen, I’m usually wrong. That can be crushing. But ultimately what The Reservoir is about is that you should not be trying to figure everything out as you’re moving through it. You’re inevitably going to be wrong.”

It’s about going with the flow or stepping aside to understand what’s possible.

“When I was hitting the same wall over and over again, it was hard to imagine I’d ever break through it,” he said. “Turns out, I wasn’t supposed to break through; I was supposed to turn right.”

THE RESERVOIR

JAN 17 – MAR 9 • SINGLETON THEATRE

ASL Interpreted and Audio Described performance: Feb 9 at 1:30pm Stay for a post-show discussion: Feb 12, 18 & 20

6 CORE VALUES. 1 DENVER CENTER.

1. BELONGING

We build a respectful and empathetic culture through our active commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

2. COLLABORATION

We produce our best possible work together by engaging people with diverse perspectives, lived experiences and talents around our shared goals.

3. COMMUNITY

We cultivate open, responsive, a rming relationships and partnerships for a greater collective impact.

4. CREATIVITY

We embrace innovation and imagination in our daily work to advance our mission.

5. INTEGRITY

We act responsibly, with honesty, accountability and transparency.

6. SUSTAINABILITY

We prioritize the wellbeing of our team, our finances and the environment to ensure our thriving future.

Learn more about what drives the DCPA, and where we’re going, at denvercenter.org/plan

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Chris Coleman, Artistic Director

Charles Varin, Managing Director

presents

THE SUFFRAGETTE’S MURDER

With

Annie Abramczyk*, Matthew Boston*, E. Clayton Cornelious*, Diana Dresser*, Megan Hill*, Kevin Isola*, Chloe McLeod, Linda Mugleston*, Mike Peebler*, Gareth Saxe*, Rowan Vickers*, Curtis Wiley*

SCENIC DESIGN BY Reid Thompson

VOICE AND DIALECT BY Jeffrey Parker

Stage Managers: Sage Hughes*, Malia Stoner*

COSTUME DESIGN BY Beth Goldenberg LIGHTING DESIGN BY Marika Kent

FIGHT DIRECTION BY Geoffrey Kent

DRAMATURGY BY Leean Kim Torske

SOUND DESIGN BY Sinan Refik Zafar

CASTING BY Grady Soapes, CSA and Laura Schutzel, CSA

DIRECTED BY Margot Bordelon

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT BY Peggy Carey

The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited.

THE KILSTROM THEATRE • FEB 7 – MAR 9, 2025

The Suffragette’s Murder was originally commissioned by FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE, Richard Hopkins, Producing Artistic Director.

The Suffragette’s Murder was originally produced and featured at the 2023 Colorado New Play Summit at the Denver Center Theatre Company, Chris Coleman, Artistic Director.

Recipient of the Denver Center Theatre Company’s Women’s Voices Fund.

The Suffragette’s Murder is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. SPOTLIGHT

SEASON SPONSOR

DR. WALTER WILSON

CAST

(In order of appearance)

Mrs. Alma Mayhew Megan Hill*

Mr. Archibald Orton Gareth Saxe*

Mr. Albert Mayhew Matthew Boston*

Mr. Leopold Albright ............................................................................................................................................... Rowan Vickers*

Mrs. Miriam Adams Linda Mugleston*

Miss Mabel Adams Annie Abramczyk*

Mr. Tennyson Jennings Curtis Wiley* Constable Kevin Isola*

Mr. Tennyson Jennings Understudy E. Clayton Cornelious*

Mrs. Alma Mayhew/Mrs. Miriam Adams Understudy Diana Dresser*

Mrs. Miriam Adams/Miss Mabel Adams Understudy Chloe McLeod

Mr. Archibald Orton/Mr. Leopold Albright/Constable Understudy Mike Peebler*

Mr. Albert Mayhew Understudy Gareth Saxe*

SETTING

July 5, Morning, 1857. The Mayhew Boarding House on New York’s Lower East Side.

THE SUFFRAGETTE’S MURDER will be performed with a 15-minute intermission.

Assistant Director

Christine Kahane Stage Manager................................................................................................................................................................ Malia Stoner*

Assistant Stage Manager Sage Hughes* Stage Management Apprentice Sam Forrest

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

WHO’S WHO

ACTING COMPANY

(In order of appearance)

MEGAN HILL (Mrs. Alma Mayhew) has originated roles in the World Premieres of: Ramiz Monsef’s The Ants (Geffen Playhouse), Crystal Skillman’s Open (The Tank/AFO Theater), Crystal Skillman’s Cut (Under St. Marks), Amy Staats’ Eddie And Dave (The Atlantic, Drama Desk Nomination, NY Times Best of List), Mara NelsonGreenberg’s Do You Feel Anger? (Vineyard Theater and Humana Fest), Leah Nanako Winkler’s The Brightest Thing in the World (Yale Rep), Leah Nanako Winkler’s Kentucky (P73/EST), and Rob Askins’ Hand to God (EST), among others. Most recently, Megan was seen in POTUS (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes Nomination). Her play The Last Class: A Jazzercize Play has enjoyed runs in NY, DC, and Seattle. Training: BFA, Cornish College of the Arts; MFA, ART/MXAT IATT at Harvard. @meganhillwhat.

GARETH SAXE (Mr. Archibald Orton/ Mr. Albert Mayhew Understudy). At the DCPA: Anna Karenina, You Lost Me, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hotter than Egypt

Broadway credits include: Heartbreak House, The Homecoming, and The Lion King. Other New York credits include: Nikolai and the Others (Lincoln Center), Harper Regan (Atlantic), The Winter’s Tale and Richard III (The Public), and Echoes of the War (The Mint). Colorado credits include: Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Loves Labors Lost, (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Noises Off and Dracula (Arvada Center); and Art (Aurora Fox). Film credits: Public Enemies and Day Night, Day Night Training: Colorado College, NYU MFA.

MATTHEW BOSTON

(Mr. Albert Mayhew). At the DCPA: The Lehman Trilogy

Other credits include: leading roles at DCPA, Old Globe, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, A.C.T, Berkeley Rep, Intiman Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Trinity Rep, Hartford TheaterWorks, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Portland Center Stage, George Street Playhouse, Centerstage, Dallas Theater Center, A Contemporary Theatre, Two River Theater Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 59E59, SoHo Rep, and many others. TV/Film: “City on a Hill,” “For Life,” “Elementary,” “The Blacklist,” “Mysteries of Laura,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order,” The Kitchen, In the Family, Out and About, and Ghost Ship

ROWAN VICKERS

(Mr. Leopold Albright). DCPA debut. Broadway: Lobby Hero (Hayes Theater) and TINA: The Tina Turner Musical (First National Tour). OffBroadway: Nat Turner In Jerusalem (NYTW, World Premiere), The Sensuality Party (The New Group), Picnic and Come Back Little Sheba (Transport Group). Regional: Measure For Measure (California Shakespeare Theatre), Bad Jews (Studio Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Santa Cruz Shakespeare), Macbeth (Stratford Festival, Canada), Peter Pan (The Grand Theatre, Canada), Sex Object (The PIT). TV/Film: “Silo” (Apple TV), “Instinct” (CBS), “Law & Order SVU” (NBC), “Mayday” (Discovery), and Labor, Lies and Murder (Lifetime). Training: Juilliard.

LINDA MUGLESTON (Mrs. Miriam Adams). At the DCPA: A Christmas Carol, Sweeney Todd, Wild Fire, and Quilters. Broadway: The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Beautiful, On The 20th Century, Cinderella, Anything Goes, Young Frankenstein, Wonderful Town, Nine, Into the Woods, Kiss Me Kate, On the Town, and Hello, Dolly! Regional: Souvenir (Pioneer Theatre Company), Bye Bye Birdie (Kennedy Center), Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (The Old Globe), Cinderella (Geva Theatre), Noises Off! (Skylight Theatre), Sunset Boulevard (Portland Center Stage), Sound of Music (Muny and Carnegie Hall), Kristina (Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall).

ANNIE ABRAMCZYK (Miss Mabel Adams) (She/Her) is making her DCPA debut! Recent credits include: falcon girls (Yale Repertory Theatre, World Premiere). She is an honors graduate of NYU Tisch –Experimental Theatre Wing and Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Annie also earned a journalism degree from NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She has worked with the International Theatre Workshop Amsterdam, The Prep NY, the Verbatim Performance Lab, and the Drama Division at The Juilliard

School. Represented by Rebel Creative Group and Take3Talent. Special thanks to Theresa Pittius.

CURTIS WILEY (Mr. Tennyson Jennings) is thrilled to be back at DCPA with The Suffragette’s Murder Curtis made his Broadway debut in the original Broadway company of Ain’t Too Proud. NYC credits: The Total Bent (The Public Theatre), Rothschild & Sons (The York Theatre), Pageant - The Musical, and The Great Society. Regional Theatres: Arden Theatre Company and Arena Stage. He can be heard on the GRAMMYnominated Broadway cast recording of Ain’t Too Proud, The Total Bent by Stew and The Negro Problem, Rothschild & Sons, Pageant - The Musical, and others. He can be seen in “Queens Of Christmas” currently streaming on BET+. Stay in touch on IG: @curtis_wiley.

KEVIN ISOLA (Constable). Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club. Off-Broadway: Wheelhouse Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Transport Group, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, NYSF/ The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, The Women’s Project, others. Regional: Two River, Barrington Stage, The Old Globe, Shakespeare Theatre Center, The Guthrie, The McCarter, South Coast Rep, Center Stage, Yale Rep, among others. Film: Miles, Blumenthal, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 24 Nights, and others TV: “The Equalizer,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Billions,” “Bull,” “The Blacklist,” “Elementary,” “Deadbeat,” “Damages,” “Law and Order,” and others.

E. CLAYTON CORNELIOUS (Mr. Tennyson Jennings Understudy) is a two-time Tony Award-nominated producer and a Grammy Awardwinning 26-year Broadway veteran. He is currently producing a show he created for the corporate market called HITCityTemptations Edition and is co-producing on the upcoming Broadway show, Midnight in the

Garden of Good and Evil. Broadway credits: The Caterpillar in Wonderland, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line, The Music Man, Kat & the Kings, The Lion King, POTUS, and Rat Pack: Live from Vegas! He is a proud graduate of Point Park University and currently getting his MBA at Cambridge College. Website: Eclaycorn.com and IG: Eclaycorn.

DIANA DRESSER (Mrs. Alma Mayhew/ Mrs. Miriam Adams Understudy) (She/ Her). At the DCPA: Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” (Choreographer), Emma, A Little Night Music (Assistant Director), Anna Karenina, Sweet & Lucky, The Wild Party, All the Way, Jackie and Me, The Giver, and Girls Only. Other credits include: Ten Myths... (Buntport Theater); The Book Club Play, Our Town (Arvada Center); The Sound Inside, Frozen (Curious Theatre); Tiny Beautiful Things (BETC); The Underpants, It’s a Wonderful Life (Theatre Aspen); Hunchback of Notre Dame, Honeymoon China (Theatre de la Jeune Lune); and close to 50 productions at Creede Repertory Theatre. Film: Remembering Us, Searching for Fortune, What We’ve Become, and Juncture.

MIKE PEEBLER (Mr. Archibald Orton/Mr. Leopold Albright/ Constable Understudy) is honored to make his debut with the DCPA. He holds a degree in acting from Northwestern University and an MFA from UCLA. His stage work spans Southern California and beyond, including his role as Associate Artistic Director for Shakespeare Orange County. Most recently he appeared in Laguna Playhouse’s critically acclaimed production of Holmes and Watson. On screen, Mike has appeared in numerous television series such as “1923,” “Hacks,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago PD,” and “Mad Men.” He extends heartfelt gratitude to his wife, Laurie, and daughter, Sabrina, for their unwavering love and support. IG: @mpeebler.

CHLOE MCLEOD

(Mrs. Miriam Adams/ Miss Mabel Adams Understudy) (She/ Her). At DCPA: A Christmas Carol, Anna Karenina, and This is Modern Art. Other Theatres: The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale, Henry VIII (Utah Shakespeare Festival); The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Book of Will, The Alchemist, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Odyssey, and You Can’t Take It With You (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet (DCPA Shakespeare in the Parking Lot); Fun Home (Miners Alley). AMDA, NYC.

PLAYWRIGHT

SANDY RUSTIN is one of the “most produced playwrights” in America (American Theatre magazine). Sandy’s comedy, The Cottage marked her Broadway debut last year. Her stage adaptations of Clue and Mystic Pizza will tour the U.S. in 2025. Her recent adaptation of Dear World was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick. Sandy’s production, Now Never Knows Tomorrow, is in development with GRAMMY Award-winner, Edie Brickell. She has written for Disney, STX Entertainment, Primary Wave Music, and Mattel. Other works: Loch Ness, Rated P…for Parenthood, Elijah, Struck, Always Something There, and more. Love to Evan, Isaac and Charlie. sandyrustin.com @sandyrustin_

DIRECTOR

MARGOT BORDELON. At the DCPA: The Lehman Trilogy, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and You Lost Me New York: …what the end will be, Something Clean, and Too Heavy For Your Pocket (Roundabout); Let’s Call Her Patty and Plot Points in Our Sexual Development (LCT3); peerless (Primary Stages); Wives (Playwrights Horizons); Do You Feel Anger? (Vineyard); Eddie and Dave (Atlantic); Blood of the Lamb (Occasional Drawl); The Pen (Premieres NYC); A Delicate Ship (Playwrights Realm). Regional: ACT, Arena Stage, Actors Theatre Louisville, Alliance, American Theater Company, Geffen, Huntington, Marin Theater Company, Roundhouse, Steppenwolf, the Wilma, and Yale Rep. margotbordelon.com

CREATIVE TEAM

PEGGY CAREY (Production Manager) is the newest of the PM team, joining as Associate Production Manager in 2022. Before then, she worked at The Public Theater (New York, NY) as an Associate Production Manager where she managed readings, developments, and events, and hired stage management teams. Additionally, she helped to originate the Ithaca Fringe Festival as Production Director and has also worked at Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Sie Film Center, and the Kitchen Theatre and studied in both London and the National Theatre Institute.

BETH GOLDENBERG (Costume Designer) (She/Her) is a New Yorkbased costume designer working in theatre, opera, dance and film. Her New York designs include: Songs of Resistance: Brundibar and Der Kaiser Von Atlantis (On Site Opera at Carnegie Hall); Circus: Wandering City (BAM Next Wave); and The Mother of Us All (New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Juilliard). Her regional designs include: Data (Arena Stage); Fiddler on the Roof (Philadelphia Orchestra and UMS); Indecent (Seattle Rep); Henry V (Hartford Stage); and Macbeth, Stabat Mater, the little match girl passion (Glimmerglass). MFA, NYU/Tisch. bethgoldenberg.com.

GEOFFREY KENT (Fight Director). Previous DCPA credits (22 seasons) include Vietgone, Richard III, Superior Donuts, Dracula, Tommy, Romeo & Juliet and more. Other work includes the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (14 seasons) including Three Musketeers, Henry 4 part 1, Julius Caesar and more; Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Henry 6 part 1, Treasure Island; Orlando Shakespeare Theatre’s Cymbeline, Romeo & Juliet; American Shakespeare Center’s Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra; Opera Colorado’s Carmen, Porgy & Bess; Aspen Sante Fe Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet. Geoffrey is one of only twenty Fight Masters with the Society of American Fight Directors. www.geoffreykent.com

MARIKA KENT (Lighting Designer) (She/Her) is a Brooklyn-based lighting designer. Recent/upcoming: Sweeney Todd, Clyde’s, Choir Boy, Gem of the Ocean, School Girls, or the African Mean Girls Play (Portland Center Stage); Ulysses and Seagull (Elevator Repair Service); Reconstructing

(The TEAM); Fences (Trinity Rep); POTUS (Arena Stage); Catch as Catch Can (Playwrights Horizons). Marika teaches design at NYU’s Playwrights Horizons Theater School and is a proud member of USA Local 829. Marikakent.com.

JEFFREY PARKER (Voice and Dialect Coach) (He/Him). At the DCPA: The Lehman Trilogy, A Little Night Music, The 39 Steps and A Christmas Carol. Jeffrey is a Professor of Theatre at MSU Denver, a Certified Teacher of both Fitzmaurice Voicework and Knight-Thompson Speechwork, and the Director of Voice and Text for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Jeffrey is also a Henry Award-winning actor. Training: MFA, UC Irvine. BA, UCLA. Jeffrey is the co-author of Experiencing Speech, a book that helps develop speech and accent skills for any reader at any level.

LAURA SCHUTZEL, CSA (Casting) is thrilled to make her DCPA debut! From 2003-2020, she cast with Tara Rubin Casting on Broadway, OffBroadway, and regional productions. Select credits: NY Casting Director for History Boys, Farnsworth Invention and Associate on others (Broadway), Second Stage, 2ST Uptown, The Acting Company (Off-Broadway), Yale Repertory Theatre (15+ seasons), Westport Country Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, Old Globe, and more. Member, CSA; Artios Award for Excellence in Regional Theatre Casting, 2019. In her free time, she reads plays and shares audition tips. See More Plays!

GRADY SOAPES, CSA (Casting) (He/ Him) is the Director of Casting and Artistic Producer with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Grady has cast over 50 DCPA productions including Rattlesnake Kate, Theater of the Mind, The Chinese Lady, The Who’s Tommy, and The Wild Party. Choreography credits include A Christmas Carol (3 seasons), Twelfth Night, Goodnight Moon, Anna Karenina, As You Like It, Drag Machine, Lord of the Butterflies, DragON (Denver Center); Natasha, Pierre and…, Into the Woods, The Liar (Arvada Center); Comedy of Errors (Colorado Shakespeare Festival). Grady also works as a Casting Director for Sylvia Gregory Casting where he has cast multiple commercials, TV, film, and video game projects.

REID THOMPSON (Scenic Designer) (He/Him). At the DCPA: The Lehman Trilogy and You Lost Me. Select

New York Off-Broadway credits: Roundabout Theater Company, Atlantic Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Ma-yi, Clubbed Thumb. Select Regional: Arena Stage, Yale Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Asolo Rep, Miami New Drama, Baltimore Center Stage. Opera: Heartbeat Opera, Stony Brook Opera. Educational: Juilliard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Fordham. Film/TV: Set design and art direction credits on “Kaleidoscope,” “Fallout,” “The Girls on The Bus,” The Instigators, A Complete Unknown, Spike Lee’s High To Low, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Untitled. Education: Yale School of Drama. reidthompsondesign.com

LEEAN KIM TORSKE (Dramaturg) is the Director of Literary Programs for the Denver Center Theatre Company. In the past, she’s served as the Literary Manager and Casting Associate at Northlight Theatre, Director of the Russ Tutterow Fellowship at Chicago Dramatists, and a publicist and discussion facilitator at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. As a freelance dramaturg and theatre artist, she worked with theatres throughout the Chicagoland area including A Red Orchid Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, Definition Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, and more. Her play Pity Party is featured in Smith & Kraus’s 105 Five-Minute Plays for Study and Performance. Most recently, her play And the Wind Howls was commissioned and produced by Relative Theatrics with support from the Wyoming Arts Council.

SINAN REFIK ZAFAR (Sound Designer). Broadway: English and What the Constitution Means to Me Off-Broadway: What to Send Up When It Goes Down and Wish You Were Here (Playwrights Horizons); English (Obie Award) and Shhh (Atlantic Theater Company); Letters from Max (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations, Signature Theatre); Which Way to the Stage and All the Natalie Portmans (MCC); To My Girls (Second Stage); The Vagrant Trilogy and Cullud Wattah (The Public Theater). Regional: Kennedy Center, Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Rep, Williamstown, among others. M.F.A. Yale School of Drama. sinanzafar.com

STAGE MANAGEMENT

SAGE HUGHES (Assistant Stage Manager). (She/Her). Previously at the DCPA: Hamlet, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Emma, Cebollas, A

Little Night Music, Theater of the Mind, Colorado New Play Summit, Choir Boy, Rattlesnake Kate, and A Christmas Carol. Other regional credits include UNDONE: The Lady M Project and Local Lab 12 (Local Theater Company); Kinky Boots, The Revolutionists, and The Phantom Tollbooth (Hangar Theatre Company); and Shoes for the Santo Niño (Santa Fe Opera) Production management credits: Sweeney Todd, Queens Girl in the World, Lost Girl, and The Sun Serpent (Hangar) Sage holds a BA in Theatre and English from the University of New Mexico.

MALIA STONER (Stage Manager) (She/Her). At the DCPA: The Lehman Trilogy, Rubicon, The Color Purple, The Chinese Lady, Rattlesnake Kate, A Christmas Carol, A Doll’s House, The Santaland Diaries, Colorado New Play Summit ‘22. Other Theatres: Waitress, I Do! I Do!, Million Dollar Quartet (Arvada Center); One Man, Two Guvnors and The Winter’s Tale (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Aubergine, Small Mouth Sounds, and Around the World in 80 Days (TheatreWorks); Beehive the 60’s Musical (Lone Tree Arts Center); Lab 11: You Enjoy Myself (Local Theatre Company); Newsies, Man of La Mancha, Beauty and the Beast, Music Man, Slipper, and the Rose, 42nd Street, Forever Plaid, A Wonderful Life, Evita, and Kiss Me, Kate (Candlelight Dinner Playhouse); Gypsy, Addams Family, Aida, Godspell (Little Theatre of the Rockies); Coppelia (Colorado Ballet Academy); Nutcracker (Colorado Dance Theatre).

THEATRE COMPANY LEADERSHIP TEAM

CHRIS COLEMAN (Artistic Director) is passionate about the connection between stories and community. He joined the DCPA Theatre Company as Artistic Director in November of 2017 and has directed Hamlet, Rubicon, A Little Night Music, Hotter Than Egypt, Much Ado About Nothing, Rattlesnake Kate, Twelfth Night, A Doll’s House, Anna Karenina, and Oklahoma! Previously, Chris served as Artistic Director for Portland Center Stage in Oregon for 18 years. Under his leadership, PCS renovated the city’s historic Armory into a new home, saw annual attendance nearly double, workshopped 52 new plays that went on to productions at over 100 theaters around the US and UK, and became a national leader in how theaters engage with their community.

In 1988, Chris founded Actor’s Express in Atlanta (in the basement of an old church), a company that continues to be a cultural force in the Southeast today. He has directed at major theaters across the country, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Alliance Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, ACT/Seattle, the Asolo, Pittsburgh Public, 59E59, and New York Theater Workshop. He and his husband, actor/writer Rodney Hicks, live in Reunion with their 18 lb. terrier mix. Since moving to Colorado, he has hiked Dominguez Canyon, wandered the Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde, explored a working mine in Creede, and rafted down the Arkansas River.

CHARLES VARIN (Managing Director) and his team are responsible for the administrative, financial, and business operations for Theatre Company and Off-Center productions and other artistic initiatives. Since joining the Theatre Company in 2006, he has played a major role in executing the artistic vision of the organization and facilitating the production of shows such as Theater of the Mind, Sweet & Lucky, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Sense & Sensibility the Musical, The 12, Sweeney Todd with DeVotchKa, and many more. Charles is passionate about artistic innovation and firmly believes in DCPA’s long-standing commitment to new plays and new voices.

In addition to DCPA staff, the following crew worked on this production: Rebecca Bandy, Patty Bizarro, Andy Bruening, Jason Bushey, Lisa Ehrle, Mimi Finn, Christina HadleyDike, Kai Kramer, Phi Le, Nikki Mayer, Anna Sanchez, Jack Yoder..

The Director and Fight Director are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.

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.

Backstage and Ticket Services Employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. (or I.A.T.S.E.)

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

TAKING PHOTOS AT THE THEATRE

We welcome you to take photos in the theatre before and after the performance. If you post on social media, please credit, and tag the DCPA and the design team:

@denvercenter

#DCPATheatreCompany

#TheSuffragettesMurder

Playwright: Sandy Rustin @sandyrustin_

Director: Margot Bordelon @margotbordelon

Scenic Designer: Reid Thompson

Costume Designer: Beth Goldenberg

@beth_valerie

Lighting Designer: Marika Kent

Sound Designer: Sinan Refik Zafar

Fight Director: Geoffrey Kent

Voice and Dialect Coach: Jeffrey Parker

Dramaturg: Leean Kim Torske

Casting: Grady Soapes, CSA @grayzvander and Laura Schutzel, CSA

Photos and the video and/or audio recording during any part of the performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited

PLEASE BE ADVISED

• LATECOMERS and those exiting the theatre are seated at predetermined breaks in designated areas.

• CHILDREN 4+ are welcome in our theatres and must be ticketed.

• ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES, LARGE PRINT PROGRAMS & BOOSTER SEATS are available in most theatres. Ask an usher to direct you.

• BRAILLE PROGRAMS are available with 2 weeks’ notice to accessibility@dcpa.org

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is one of the largest non-profit theatre organizations in the nation, presenting Broadway tours and producing theatre, cabaret, musicals, and immersive productions. In its 2023/24 season, the DCPA offered 908,685 engagements, generating a $193.4 million economic impact.

The Theatre Company is grateful for the funds provided by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. Special thanks also to grants from the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation; and contributions from corporations, foundations and individuals. The Theatre Company is a division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, a non-profit organization serving the public through the performing arts.

The Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States; and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. The Theatre Company also operates under an agreement with Denver Theatrical Stage Employees Union, Local No. 7 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada.

The Theatre Company is constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for not-for-profit resident theatre companies.

The costumes, wigs, lighting, props, furniture,scenic construction, scenic painting, sound and special effects used in connection with this production were constructed and coordinated by the Theatre Company’s Production Staff.

STAY AFTER THE PLAY

Enjoy a free post-show discussion with the cast after select performances.

The Su ragette’s Murder Wed, Feb 19 at 7pm Wed, Mar 5 at 7pm

GO BEHIND THE SCENES

Find out how costume designers, set builders, propmakers, and technical specialists create our shows from scratch.

Behind-the-Scenes Tours take place Mondays and Saturdays at 10am

During these walking tours, you will experience recent updates to our storied performance spaces and discover the people and processes that bring theatre to life.

$12 • 90-minute guided tour

BOOK NOW

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DRINK, DINE AND DELIGHT IN THE CULTURAL HUB OF DENVER.

Consider joining one of the DCPA’s premium membership societies for an exclusive experience before and after the curtain rises.

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For unforgettable evenings all Broadway season long, treat yourself to first-class dining and seats. Enjoy the best seats in the house, pre-show cocktails, dinner in Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House and private intermission in the fabulous Wolf Room.

Contact: Marc Ravenhill • mravenhill@dcpa.org • 303.572.4594

DIRECTORS SOCIETY

Want the premium subscription experience at all of Denver Center Theatre Company’s subscription shows for you or your clients? Enjoy our most exclusive seating, fine dining pre-show in the Seawell Ballroom, post-show parties with artists and creatives, behind-the-scenes discussions, and more.

Contact: Marc Ravenhill • mravenhill@dcpa.org • 303.572.4594

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

DCPA Corporate Member nights help you enhance client relationships, make new connections, motivate employees, and improve your bottom line. In addition to insider ticketing and pre-show cocktails and dining for eight of our most popular shows each season, your company will receive brand recognition and exclusive perks for your employees.

Contact: Caitie Maxwell • cmaxwell@dcpa.org • 303.446.4840

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BROADWAY’S BRIGHTEST

Join us in the spring and summer as we host Broadway’s finest shows. From beloved films to bestselling novels, these are the stories you love — live and in person.

2024 /25 SEASON SHOWS

Now – May 4

THEATRE ON YOUR TERMS

Prepare to laugh until you cry as we continue the 2024/25 season with a slate of brand-new comedies and one certified cult classic. See three or more with a Choose Your Own subscription or mix and match your shows with a 6-, 8-, or 10-pack of Power Passes.

STEP 1: RALLY YOUR TEAM!

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Each game has 4 teams of up to 6 players competing to own it all!

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We are so grateful to our partners and to the thousands of donors and event participants over the years that have helped to improve and enrich the lives of those in our community.
— THE DENVER POST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
PROUD MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE DCPA

TThe Denver Post is proud to support the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, both through sponsorship of its acclaimed theatre productions as well as with grant funding through The Denver Post Community Foundation. Our longstanding partnership with DCPA has given countless individuals of all ages, the opportunity to experience and develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

The Denver Post Community believes in giving back to the communities in which it serves and proudly supports hundreds of nonprofits’ programs and events. Support is given in many ways: through The Denver Post Community Foundation, employee volunteering, and in-kind advertising

The Denver Post Community Foundation, a recognized 501 (c)(3) nonprofit agency, raises funds through individual and corporate donations, through its unique Signature Events and Programs and through the annual holiday Season To Share campaign. The overall mission is to improve and enrich the lives of those in our community through support of programs that benefit arts and culture; children and youth; education and literacy; and the provision of basic human services. To date, $11,595,250 has been raised and distributed.

• Signature Events and Programs

These well-established events and programs have become staples in the community. They offer partners, participants and volunteers something unique each year. They include: Pen & Podium Literary Lecture Series , Passport To The Arts, and the Colorado State Spelling Bee.

• The Denver Post Season To Share

The Denver Post Season To Share holiday fundraising campaign is an annual effort culminating each December 31. Donations up to $1,000,000 will be matched at $.50 per dollar, by our matching partner The Denver Children’s Foundation, making an even greater impact for our neighbors in need. These funds will support more than 50 local nonprofit agencies who prepare children and youth for success in the classroom and in life, protect children and families in need with medical care, nourish those experiencing hunger, and house those in need of a permanent home. Visit seasontoshare.com for more information. Together We Can Make A Di erence denverpostcommunity.com

The Denver Post Pen & Podium Series
The Denver Post Season To Share
Beloved Novelist and Essayist Amy Tan
One of our core values at Carboy is growing a community and creating a cultural experience for wine in Colorado.

COFFICIAL CORPORATE WINE SPONSOR OF THE DCPA

Carboy Winery is excited to announce its partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA), bringing together Colorado’s flourishing wine scene and the city’s dynamic arts community. This collaboration reflects Carboy’s ongoing commitment to enriching the local landscape and fostering meaningful connections through wine. Known for its innovative and bold approach to winemaking, Carboy has played a pivotal role in the Colorado wine renaissance. “One of our core values at Carboy is growing a community and creating a cultural experience for wine in Colorado,” says Kevin Webber, CEO and cofounder. “Partnering with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts allows us to further that mission by supporting one of the state’s most influential creative institutions.”

Carboy Winery remains steadfast in its mission to increase awareness of Colorado wine and embed it into the state’s ethos through a variety of imaginative initiatives. This partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts exemplifies Carboy’s dedication to that vision. By blending the art of winemaking with the energy of live theater, Carboy seeks to make Colorado wine an essential part of the community experience. The collaboration provides an opportunity to highlight the unique character of Carboy’s wines while engaging audiences in a way that celebrates the innovation and vibrancy of the region. Through this alliance, Carboy is redefining how people experience both wine and the arts, inspiring a deeper connection to Colorado’s adventurous spirit.

DCPA

Janice Sinden President & CEO

Donna Hendricks Executive Assistant, President & CEO

Julie Schumaker Manager, Board Relations

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE

Jane Williams CFAO

Sara Brandenburg Director, Accounting Services

Jennifer Jeffrey Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Kristina Monge Associate Accountant

Jennifer Siemers Director, Accounting

Audrey Smith Associate Manager, Accounting

BROADWAY & CABARET

John Ekeberg Executive Director

Administration

Ashley Brown Business Manager

Alicia Bruce General Manager

Lisa Prater Operations Manager

Garner Galleria Theatre

Abel Becerra Technical Director

Jason Begin+, Anna Hookana+ Core Stagehands

DEVELOPMENT

Jamie Clements Vice President

Connor Carlin Associate Director, Major & Planned Gifts

Sarah Darlene Manager, Grants & Reports

Caroline Eppers Manager, Corporate Partnerships

Kara Erickson-Stiemke Coordinator

Emily Kettlewell Associate Director, Annual Giving

Caitie Maxwell Senior Director, Major Gifts

Marc Ravenhill Associate Director, Donor Relations

Megan Stewart Associate Director, Special Events

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Allison Watrous Executive Director

Stuart Barr Technical Director

Leslie Channell Director, Business Operations

Lyndsay Corbett Teaching Artist & Manager, Bobby G

María Corral Director, Community Engagement

Heather Curran Teaching Artist & Manager, Playwriting

Elliot Davis Evening Registrar & Office Coordinator

Rachel Ducat Executive Assistant & Business Manager

Rya Dyes Registrar & On-Site Class Manager

Gavin Juckette Teaching Artist & Manager, TYA Engagement & Music

Timothy McCracken Head of Acting

Rick Mireles Manager, Community Engagement

David Saphier Teaching Artist & Manager, In-School Programming

Charlotte Talbert Librarian

Rachel Taylor Teaching Artist & Manager, Literary Engagement & Resiliency

Justin WalvoordTeaching Artist & Manager, Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

Samuel Wood Director, Education & Curriculum Development

EVENT SERVICES

Samantha Egle, Cody Gocio Senior Sales & Event Managers

Stori Heleen-O’Foley Event Technical Manager

Shane Hotle Audio Engineer

David Mandlowitz Video Engineer

Natalia Marroquin, Phil Rohrbach Sales & Event Managers

DCPA TEAM

Tara Miller Event Sales & Operations Director

Brook Nichols Event Technical Director

Kate Olsen Event Sales Coordinator

Benjamin Peitzer Event Technical Lead

Michael Harris, Alex Taylor Lighting Designers

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lisa Roebuck Vice President For security purposes, the IT team has been omitted.

MARKETING & SALES

Angela Lakin Vice President

Whitney Testa Executive Assistant, Marketing & Broadway

Marketing

Heidi Bosk Associate Director, Press & Promotions, Broadway & Cabaret

Erin Bunyard Senior Digital Strategist

Sofia Contreras, Lucas Kreitler Graphic Designers

Brenda Elliott, Paul Koob Senior Graphic Designers

Harper Anne Finch Manager, Social Marketing

TJ Forlenza Copywriter

Claire Graves Director, Produced Programs

Brittany Gutierrez Associate Director, Communications

Linda Horan Program Manager

Jeff Hovorka Director, Sales & Marketing, Broadway & Cabaret

Emma Holst Associate, Communications & Content

Emily Kent Director, Insights & Strategy

Michael Ryan Leuthner Director, Digital Marketing

Emily Lozow Associate Director, Sales & Marketing, Broadway & Cabaret

Kyle Malone Director, Design

Dan McNulty Analyst

Todd Metcalf Media Producer

Hannah Selwyn Manager, Email Marketing

Sergio von Kretschmann Manager, Website

Julie Whelan Manager, Produced Programs

Mikayla Woods Coordinator, Produced Programs

Suzanne Yoe Director, Content & Communications

Ticketing & Audience Services

Jennifer Lopez Director

Jessica Alverson*, Tamika Cox*, Zeah Edmonds*, Lauren Estes*,

Luke Fish*, Jen Gray*, Noa Halpern*, Phi Johnson-Grimes*, Noah Jungferman*,

Noelle Norris, Alexander Roy,

Holly Stigen*, Bronwen VanOrdstrand*,

Alfonso Vazquez*,

Rob Warner* Ticket Agents

Kirsten Anderson*, Scott Lix*,

Liz Sieroslawski*,

Greg Swan* Subscription Agents

Jon Collins Manager, Subscription

Katie Davis Manager, VIP Ticketing

D.J. Dennis*, Edmund Gurule*,

Alison Orthel*, Lane Randall*,

Hayley Solano*, Sam Stump*,

Andrew Sullivan* Counter/Show Leads

Billy Dutton Associate Director, Operations

Danielle Freeman Manager, Customer Service

Claire Hayes, Ella Mann, Robert McCowan Managers, Box Office

Chris Leech Coordinator, VIP Ticketing

Katie Spanos Associate Director, Subscriber Services

Group Sales

Jessica Bergin Associate Director

BK Kamin Manager, Audience Development

Elias Lopez Coordinator

Maddie Young Associate, Education & Group Sales

OFF-CENTER

Charlie Miller Executive Director & Curator

Cat Huck Assistant Operations Manager

Courtney Ozaki Creative Producer

Mike Pingel Operations Manager

OPERATIONS

Sarah Arzberger Administrator

Vincent Bridgers Manager

Adam Busch Analyst

Aaron Chavez Lead

Ruben Cruz, Jordan Latouche Engineers

Simone Gordon Associate Director

Kyle Greufe

Senior Analyst

Maria Herwagen Junior Analyst

Brandon LeMarr Manager

Tara Perticone Analyst

Joseph Reecher Senior Engineer

Cordelia Taylor Coordinator

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Laura Maresca CPCO

Equity & Organization Culture

Seán Kroll Coordinator

Human Resources

Brian Carter Senior Business Partner

Andrew Guilder HR & Recruiting Specialist

Michaela Johnson Interim Mailroom Assistant

Paul Johnson Manager, Payroll & Compliance

Jocelyn Martinez Business Partner

Kinsey Scholl Manager, Operations

THEATRE COMPANY

Administration

Charles Varin Managing Director

Emily Diaz Business Admin./ Asst. Company Manager

Alex Koszewski Company Manager

Ann Marshall General Manager

Artistic

Chris Coleman Artistic Director

Jessica Eckenrod Artistic Associate

Grady Soapes Artistic Producer & Casting Director

Leean Kim Torske Director, Literary Programs

Madison Cook-Hines Literary Assistant

Costume Crafts

Kevin Copenhaver Director

Chris Campbell Assistant

Costume Shop

Janet MacLeod Director/Design Associate

Meghan Anderson Doyle Design Associate

Katarina Kosmopoulos First Hand

Ingrid Ludeke, Carolyn Plemitscher Drapers

House Crew

Douglas Taylor+ Supervisor

James Berman+, Forest Fowler+, Dave Mazzeno+, Kyle Moore+,

Piper Stormes+, Matt Wagner+ Stagehands

Joseph Price+, Kelley Reznik+ Assistants

Lighting Design

Charles MacLeod Director

Connor Baker+ Production Electrician

Lily Bradford Assistant

Paint Shop

Kristin Hamer MacFarlane Charge Scenic Artist

Melanie Rentschler, Sasha Seaman Scenic Artists

Production

Jeff Gifford Director

Julie Brou Administrative Assistant/ Office Manager

Matthew Campbell Production Manager

Peggy Carey Associate Production Manager

Prop Shop

Meghan Markiewicz Supervisor

Sara Pugh Associate Supervisor

Bennet Goldberg, Georgina Kayes, Ashley Lawler Artisans

Andrew McGlothen Prop Carpenter

Scene Shop

Eric Moore Technical Director

Albert “Stub” Allison, Robert L. Orzolek, Josh Prues Associate Technical Directors

Jeremy Banthoff, Tyler D. Clark, Amy Wynn Pastor, Kyle Scoggins Scenic Technicians

Louis Fernandez III Lead Scenic Technician

Brian “Marco” Markiewicz Lead Carpenter

Scenic Design

Lisa Orzolek Director

Kevin Nelson, Nicholas Renaud Assistants

Sound Design & Technology

Alex Billman Supervisor

Meagan Holdeman+, Timothy Schoeberl+, Dimitri Soto+ Technicians

Elena Martin Associate Supervisor

Stage Management

Anne Jude Supervisor

Wayne Breyer, Liz Campbell, Corin Davidson, Harper Hadley, Brandon T. Holmes, Sage Hughes, Nick Nyquist, Malia Stoner Stage Managers

Anna Cordova, Sam Forrest, Megan Franco Apprentices

Wardrobe

Heidi Echtenkamp Supervisor

Robin Appleton^, Amber Krimbel^, Lauren LaCasse^, Lisa Parsons Wagner^, Nicole Watts^, Kami Williams^ Dressers

Wigs

Diana Ben-Kiki Supervisor

Abby Schmidt^, Marisa Sorce^ Wig Assistants

VENUE OPERATIONS

Glen Lucero Vice President

Merry Davis Financial Manager

Jane Deegan Administrator

Facilities

Craig Smith Director

Dwight Barela, Mark Dill, Bryan Faciane, John Howard, Iver Johnson Engineers

Steven Bilbao, Abraham Cervantes, Lindsey Cervantes, Carmen Molina, Judith Primero Molina, Juan Loya Molina, Blanca Primero Custodians

Michael Kimbrough Manager, Engineering

Brian McClain Manager, Custodial

Patron Experience

Evan Gendreau Associate Director

Kaylyn Kriaski, Leilani Lynch, Aaron McMullen, Stacy Norwood, Valerie Schaefer Assistant Managers

Kelly Breuer, Nora Caley, Amy Howard, Robin Lander, Barbara Pooler, Wendy Quintana, Ayden Smith House Managers

Safety & Security

Quentin Crump Director

Jacquelyne Schmidt Manager, Health & Safety

Timothy Allen, Jodi Benavides Lead Security Officers

Mayte Armendariz, Samara Attridge, David Bright, Judy Clanton, Ariana Cuevas, Erika Gajarszki, Ethan Kemberlin, Isabella Samaniego, Marcus Sanders, Tori Witherspoon, Angel Zanudio Security Specialists

Judy Briggs Front Desk

YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER

WEDDINGS AT DCPA

Let the DCPA set the stage for your special day! We’re no strangers to big productions and will make sure your love story takes center stage. Whether intimate or grand, our team will give you personalized care to make all your dreams come true.

Working with our theatrically trained, in-house Event Services team, you can select from the spectacular Seawell Ballroom or intimate Directors Room plus your choice of:

• Eight caterers

• Customized bar package from Sodexo Live!

• Dramatic lighting design and Broadway-caliber sound

As one of the largest nonprofit theater organizations in the country, the DCPA provides a great avenue for connecting with our community and our clients through the arts.
— NICOLE AMENT, SHAREHOLDER AT BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK AND DCPA TRUSTEE

PROUD CORPORATE MEMBER OF THE DCPA

FFounded in 1968 by three University of Colorado graduates, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck provides its clients a value that no other western law firm can match— an integrated approach that combines sensible business solutions with a federal, state and local government perspective. The firm’s 300 lawyers and policy professionals provide multidisciplinary legal counsel that drives results and connects business leaders to the information they need to make decisions.

For more than 55 years, Brownstein has called downtown Denver home. Long before the term “corporate social responsibility” arrived on the scene, our founders, Norm Brownstein, Jack Hyatt and Steve Farber, created a culture of giving back to the local community from the first day the firm opened its doors.

Today, Brownstein continues to foster this value— investing in its communities through board service, volunteerism, sponsorships, donations and pro bono legal services. Its commitment to philanthropy goes beyond words and dollars, empowering employees to volunteer their time and talents in a way that is meaningful to them. From hosting hands-on volunteer opportunities to helping employees identify nonprofit and civic board positions that fit their passions, Brownstein’s employees give back to make the communities where they live and work stronger.

“As a member of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Board of Trustees, I get to see firsthand the impact that the DCPA has on our community,” said Nicole Ament, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. “As one of the largest nonprofit theater organizations in the country, the work of so many people on and off the stage helps celebrate artistic achievements, create educational experiences and foster conversations. It also provides a great avenue for connecting with our community and our clients through the arts.”

Brownstein is proud to support the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the success of Colorado’s creative economy.

We believe that the arts have the power to connect and inspire our neighbors, and we are proud to support the DCPA.
— STEVE PEATE, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF AMERISTAR CASINO RESORT SPA
PROUD CORPORATE MEMBER OF THE DCPA

AAmeristar Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk is proud to continue its partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. This collaboration highlights a dedication to supporting the arts and enriching the local community. Together, Ameristar and the DCPA aim to bring the magic of live theatre to the entire Denver community by offering the opportunity to experience world-class performances right in their backyard.

Steve Peate, Vice President and General Manager of Ameristar Casino Resort Spa, shared his excitement about the partnership: “Partnering with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is another fantastic opportunity to positively impact the community. At Ameristar, whether through charitable or civic organizations, supporting our community is part of our culture. We believe that the arts have the power to connect and inspire our neighbors, and we are proud to support the DCPA.”

It’s about having a passion not only to entertain, but to also change lives. It’s about wanting to foster a vibrant community of giving and contribute to causes which seek to create a better tomorrow. When the curtain falls, Ameristar will be standing with the DCPA.

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