The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays rounds out our 2014 season, and it has been a pleasure to spend my holidays with my theatrical family. They have been a joy to work with, both onstage and off, and they are what makes the experience so great. They are some of the hardest working and dedicated people I have ever met! As the season draws to a close (what a year it has been!), we’re proud to report that Avenue Q broke attendance records, moving it into the top five most attended productions in the theatre’s history. We continue to achieve critical acclaim for all of our productions. Many of us have been nominated on Broadway World for categories ranging from best musical to best set design. Our patron base has grown and we have been named the Best Community Theatre in Connecticut by Connecticut Magazine. We have surveyed our patrons and have listened to your suggestions. We are about to embark, in the next few months, on a major renovation initiative for the benefit of the theatre and our guests. None of which we could have accomplished without you – our devoted donors, subscribers, and patrons. As we begin our new year, we are proud to announce our 48th season. 2015 brings you The Lyons: a witty, dark comedy by Nicky Silver, Stephen Temperley’s poignant Souvenir starring Priscilla Squires, The timely and dramatic Time Stands Still by Donald Marguilies, Ken Ludwig’s hilarious and riotous Leading Ladies, and finally John Van Druten’s classic, Bell, Book and Candle. Of course, we will be still presenting our Page2Stage readings and our successful children’s program. In closing, we cannot continue to grow without you or your support. Be it fiscally, through volunteering, building, acting, chairing a committee, or spearheading a project, we are always looking for new people to join us in our effort to provide quality entertainment in your own backyard. So come along and experience the fun and excitement of live theatre first hand.
Glenn R. Couture President www.theatreworks.us
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presents
Directed by Glenn R. Couture THE CAST William Gillette Martha Gillette Felix Geisel Madge Geisel Simon Bright Aggie Wheeler Inspector Goring Daria Chase
Charles Schoenfeld Mary Wilson Frank Arcaro M.J. Hartell James Hipp Reesa Roccapriore Janice Conner Robyn Maitland
SETTING The living room of the mansion of William Gillette on the Connecticut River near East Haddam, Connecticut. TIME December 1936 Originally Produced by Cleveland Play House Michael Bloom, Artistic Director Kevin Moore, Managing Director. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
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Production Staff Director .................................................................... Glenn R. Couture Stage Manager .........................................Kristi Petersen-Schoonover Costume Design ................................................................ Susan Aziz Lighting Design ............................ Richard Pettibone, Scott Wyshynski Running Crew ............................................................. Michele Ingram Set Design ...... Richard Pettibone, Scott Wyshynski, Glenn R. Couture Builders ...................................... Richard Pettibone, Scott Wyshynski, ...................................................... Malcolm Fano, Glenn R. Couture, ....................................... Frank Russo, John Bolster, Sonnie Osborne Sound Design ................................Nathan Schoonover, Tom Libonate House Managers ................................... Mary Kimball, Kathy Bolster, .....................................................................Christine Daley, Jill Pace Publicist .........................................................................Tom Libonate Production Photography ................................. Ghostlight Photography Web Site ........................................................... printplusdesignllc.com Producers ................................... Richard Pettibone, Glenn R. Couture Special Thanks Norwalk High School, Dionne Miller Couture, Susan Pettibone, Beth Plotkin, FM97.3 WZBG Backstage with Johnny O WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
JANICE CONNER (Inspector Harriet Goring) is delighted to again be involved in a production at TheatreWorks. Previous shows for Janice here have included Present Laughter and Season’s Greetings. Favorite roles include Dottie in Noises Off (Warner), Julia in Lend me a Tenor (Goshen Players), and the role she is again playing in this show, Inspector Goring in The Games Afoot (Thomaston Landmark Theater). She expresses sincere appreciation to Glenn for this opportunity to once again bring “order from chaos” alive through the character of the Inspector. When not learning lines for a play, Janice can be found running the roads of Northwest Connecticut in a quest to find her own “order from chaos.” Love to Martin, always. FRANK ARCARO (Felix Geisel) is pleased to be back in a fantastic ensemble piece here at TheatreWorks. After an absence from the stage of many years, Frank took the plunge last year and appeared in The Cripple of Inishmaan. At Boston College, he appeared in A Man For All Seasons (Cromwell) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom), among others, and he directed The Real Inspector Hound and Old Times. Hats off to all to the fans and supporters of TheatreWorks! www.theatreworks.us
WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
M. J. HARTELL (Madge Geisel) When she first stepped on the TheatreWorks stage in 2000, she promised to become “a regular.” She’s kept her word, never missed a show, and been well rewarded with stellar experiences both “in the house” and “in front of the house.” Along the way, she’s enjoyed performing in Barefoot in the Park, Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Fuddy Meers, The Elephant Man & The Man Who Came to Dinner. Now, she’s triply rewarded by being reunited with a wonderful director, joined with talented individuals with whom she has never worked, and offered a chance to play a role that is not someone’s mother. Other than a boisterous child, a horse (yes, you read that right), an amnesiac who disfigured her ex-husband with hot bacon grease, and a Pinhead (again, you read that right), she was often “the mother.” (Thank you, Glenn!) M.J. has also performed at The Brookfield Playhouse, Ridgefield Theater Barn, Musicals at Richter and D’Art. Presently, she is performing daily as a middle school English teacher at Talcott Mountain Academy for gifted and talented students. M. J. dedicates her performance to her close friend and theater mentor, Liz Marek, killed in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103. JAMES HIPP (Simon Bright) is celebrating the holiday season again at his favorite place called not alone. His previous holiday was spent at this theatre in Boeing Boeing as Bernard. Prior, he played Leslie in Seascape as well as Bartley McCormick in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Outside TheatreWorks, some of his favorite roles include George in Of Mice and Men and Dick in See Dick, a comedy written by local playwright, William Hughes. You may recognize him from television, where he appeared as Background Man One in a deodorant commercial ten years ago. Thanks to Glenn for the direction and the rest of the cast for not telling him who did it ‘til opening night… MARY WILSON (Martha Gillette) is “thrilled to death” to be part of The Game’s Afoot, her first production with TheatreWorks. And she feels there’s no place like “Holmes for the Holidays” with such a wonderful cast, crew and staff. Some of her other appearances include The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (Clockwork Repertory), It’s A Wonderful Life (The Phoenix Stage Company), You Can’t Take It With You (The Gary-The Olivia), and Harvey (Brookfield Playhouse). Special thanks to Glenn for this fabulous opportunity to play the role of Martha. Her husband feels the somewhat vague and dithering woman she is portraying is a good fit! www.theatreworks.us
WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
ROBYN MAITLAND (Daria Chase) is excited to to return to the TheatreWorks Stage. This LAMDA trained actress was last seen on the TheatreWorks stage as Clarice Bernstein in David Mamet’s November. She has also appeared here in Present Laughter (Liz), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Chorus) and Almost, Maine (Hope and Glory). She has also appeared off Broadway and in several independent films. For many years, she served as creator and advisor for New Fairfield High School’s Fall Productions. Her other talents include set painting, interior design, and was an Odyssey of the Mind coach for 10 years. She is currently studying acting in New York City. Thank you to the cast and crew for a great holiday adventure! REESA ROCCAPRIORE (Aggie Wheeler) was last seen on the TheatreWorks stage in Boeing Boeing as Gabriella. In May, she played Veronica in God of Carnage at the Brookfield Theatre for the Arts. This past year, she has also appeared in the short films Bite Me, 9Realms: Scourge of Hell, and Subject to Retaliation. She has studied theatre and film acting in CT, NY, and Philadelphia. She’s so excited to be a part of this production and would like to thank her wonderful director, Glenn, for giving her this opportunity. She would also like to thank her husband, Christopher, and all her friends and family for their overwhelming support and creative influence. CHARLES SCHOENFELD (William Gillette) was assembled in 1886 in the workshop of horologist Preston Stumpmeyer from parts of old clocks and telescopes. Charles was a gift for his creator’s niece, Lucretia, who was too shy to find a husband by conventional means—but she rejected him on the grounds that he tended to whirr and clink when he chewed. So that he might learn to pass more unimpeachably as human, he began a lifelong association with the theater. In 1959, an unfortunate encounter with saltwater taffy left his inner workings immobilized for 20 years, until he was sold to an antiques dealer in New Hampshire and subsequently restored. He was relieved to discover that the ’60s and ’70s weren’t such a bad thing to have missed. Recent roles include Sherlock Holmes in The Strange Case of Alice Faulkner (Town Theater of Rocky Hill) and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Guild of Simsbury).
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WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
KRISTI PETERSEN SCHOONOVER (Stage Manager) is delighted to once again work behind the scenes at TheatreWorks New Milford, where most recently she stage managed the shows Seascape and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. A short fiction writer by trade, Kristi’s dark magic realist pieces have been featured in countless publications and anthologies. She thanks fellow Goddard College alumnus Glenn for this amazing opportunity and says: look how far we’ve come from that incredibly creepy collection of buildings in the middle of nowhere, eh? SUSAN BECKER AZIZ (Costume Designer) is thrilled to be back at TheatreWorks for her second show. She designed the costumes for Earnest, or What’s in a Name? last summer. She makes costumes, dolls and puppets for theatre, dance and opera in her studio in Litchfield. Her work has been seen at Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Hartt School, Hartford Children’s Theatre, Thomaston Opera House, Warner Theatre, Nutmeg Ballet, the Opera Department of Western Connecticut State University, and in the colossal puppet productions at St. Michael’s Church in Litchfield. Susan is a teaching artist at the Taft School in Watertown. Thanks to Glenn and the AFootians for being fabulous, and especially to Peter for never-ending love and support. GLENN R. COUTURE (Director) is blessed to be working with such an incredible cast and crew. What a great way to spend my holidays! Glenn serves as the President of the Board of Directors for TheatreWorks. He most recently appeared onstage as Brian in Avenue Q and as Lady Bracknell in Earnest or What’s in a name. His directorial duties include the critically acclaimed The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Season’s Greetings and Brighton Beach Memoirs. In his spare time (what little he has these days) he teaches physics at Norwalk High School. He has participated in numerous productions on and off stage. Thanks to all involved in making this show so much fun - especially an awesome production team. Glenn would like to thank his wife, Dionne for her continued support, love and infinite understanding. He cannot wait until the world’s next Broadway star arrives in May!
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KEN LUDWIG is an internationally acclaimed playwright who has had six shows on Broadway and six in the West End. He has received two Laurence Olivier Awards (England’s highest theatre honor), three Tony Award nominations, two Helen Hayes Awards, and his work has been commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company. The Game’s Afoot; or Holmes for the Holidays won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Mystery of 2012. Crazy For You won the Olivier and Tony Awards as Best Musical and Lend Me A Tenor (two Tony Awards and the Olivier nomination for Comedy of the Year), was called “one of the two great farces by a living writer” by The New York Times. Other Broadway and West End shows include Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche, Moon Over Buffalo starring Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Joan Collins and Frank Langella, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , and Treasure Island (Theatre Royal, Haymarket; AATE Distinguished Play Award). Shakespeare in Hollywood was commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company and won the Helen Hayes Award as Best Play. Other plays and musicals include Leading Ladies, Be My Baby, The Beaux’ Stratagem (adaptation with Thornton Wilder at the request of the Wilder Estate), The Three Musketeers (Bristol Old Vic), An American in Paris, The Fox on the Fairway, Midsummer/ Jersey, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas and Baskerville . He was given the 2013 Distinguished Career Award by the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the largest gathering of theatre professionals, faculty, and students in America. His work has appeared in The Yale Review and he has written a book for Crown Publishing entitled “How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare.” He studied music at Harvard with Leonard Bernstein and theatre history at Cambridge University, and he is on the Board of Governors of the Folder Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. For more information please visit www.kenludwig.com. AUTHOR’S NOTE William Gillette was a star of the American stage during the early part of the 20th century. He wrote the play Sherlock Holmes in collaboration with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and he starred in it with enormous success in both New York and London for a total of 1,300 performances spread over thirty years. He became associated with Holmes in the public’s imagination; and with his royalties from this and other plays, he built a replica of a medieval castle on the Connecticut River filled with gadgets representing the latest technology. It was here that he entertained the casts of his latest New York hits, and he remained beloved to his fans until his death in his eighties. Gillette Castle is open to the public to this day. For more information see: www.ct.gov/deep/gillettecastle www.theatreworks.us
Sincere thanks to all our supporters Artists $5,000+ • Grant & Jacqui Smith • Tillie Page Laird • Theodore Hine • Connecticut Office of the Arts • Harcourt Foundation Playwrights Circle $1,500+ • The James J. McInerney and Gary R. Fafard Foundation • Connecticut Community Foundation • Allen Greenberg • Savings Bank of Danbury • Marian & Douglas Wise • Mrs. Ishier Jacobson Sponsors $500+ • The Geraldine Stutz Trust • Maria Jacobson • Stephen Sondheim • Michele Shackelford • Norman Adler • Anonymous • Francis Arcaro • Lucinda & David Pollack • CCA • Jude Callirgos • Rich & Suzi Pettibone • Kathy & John Bolster • Anonymous • Brian Ashfield • Stephen Anbinder • The Jean Widmark & Richard Widmark Foundation, Inc. Partners $250+ • Deborah Begin • KC & Jonathan Ross • Ruth & Leonard Diamond • June Baldyga • Harry Cohen • Paul Sinclaire • Glenn & Dionne Couture • Donald Karcheski • Diane & David Lockwood • Ann M. Mckinney Advocates $100+ • David & Alice Sprintzen • Dr. Marilyn & Robert Gansel • Donald Bickford • Bruce & Ilene Dresner • Anonymous • Penny Palmer • Elizabeth & Roger Smith • Stephen & Gloria Gorell • Anonymous • Margie Bueide • Ronald Olsen • Joe Russo • Bodil & Warren Braren • David & Kathy Elmore • Tom & Carol Broesler • Dr. Joseph Privitera • James Scrimgeour • Emily & Mario Lucibello • Vicki & Kevin Sosbe • Bernice Wollman & Warren Rubin • John & Carole Pettibone • Chicken Liver’s Mom & Dad • Henry Spector • Harold & Patty Jacobson • Ann M. McKinney • Annabella Abrons • Carmela Castro • Catherine Libonate • Chris & Lisa Simo-Kinzer • Laurie Hornbecker • Nancy Hutchinson • Timothy Beard • Nancy Brittingham • Dr. William T. Winsor • Andrew Flatt • Cynthia Hudak • Heritage Village Theatre Guild • Joseph & Angela Barna • In memory of Dr. William T. Winsor Guild • Stephen Anbinder • Robert Grossman • In memory of Hope Meinhardt • Priscilla Squiers • Henry & Susan Tritter • Dolores Teleski • Marilyn Lieff • Jim & Lois Benfield Associates $50+ • Philip & Marion Kallinikos • Sonnie Osborne • Ronald Wozniak • Peter & Lucille Cronin • Ellen Alpert • Marilyn Lieff • Ethel Anderson Krenkel • Dolores Teleski • Rebecca Devine • Maura & Frederick Pauli • Norma Hart • Margaret Mongin • Peg Molina • Janet Huntington • Jacky Saulnier & Bruce Becker • Jan King • Grace & Tom Vetter • Virginia Smith • Vincent Romeo & Edwin Sparn • Lawrence Apolzon • Deborah Gogliettino • E. Bruce Mather • Kevin Taylor • Sharon Francis • Jill & Michael Pace • Anonymous • Nancy W. Babington • Mr. & Mrs. Charles S. Ullmann • Lawrence Greenspan • Pamela Coleman • Barbara Ajello • Robert Grossman • George Thomas • Joseph Montebello • Anonymous • Nancy Hutchinson • Mary Bannon Every effort has been made to ensure that all donors’ names are included and listed correctly. If you notice any errors or omissions, please email info@theatreworks.us and let us know so that we may have the opportunity to correct our error and properly recognize your contribution.
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