Performances Los Angeles December 2016 by California Media Group

DECEMBER 2016

GIL CATES THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enriching the cultural life of Los Angeles through plays and educational programs that inform, entertain and inspire.

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Taylor, Age 8, Pastel

Celebrating

Walt

Years

y Motif e n s A Di

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Selected as One of the Top Five Art Programs in the Nation.

2016 Recipient

Michael, Age 16, Oil

This is so nice! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to attend the awards and share this wonderful event honoring Ed and Sher. I did get a little teary-eyed when they accepted their award and I didn’t care how loud I applauded them! It’s special to be around people who really inspire our kids. Mike is very fortunate to be a part of KidsArt and we are thrilled that he loves to create beautiful art. He genuinely loves to go to class and learn and have a good time while doing it. Chloe, Age 17, Colored Pencil

Mina, Age 7, Oil Pastel

– Michelle Goulet - KidsArt Parent

Why learn to draw and paint? Builds pride & independence in learning

Increases focus and attention span

Improves fine motor skills & hand-eye coordination

Art enhances academic performance

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⁄⁄⁄⁄ december 2016

contents 16 ONE MORE TIME

Performance encores showcase artists’ virtuosity and magnify their bond with the audience.

20 LET IT GO LIVE!

From hit film to the musical stage— at Disney’s California Adventure: Frozen—Live at the Hyperion.

26 SWAN SONG

Jeffrey Kahane’s last season as Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra director.

33 program

Cast, who’s who, director’s notes, chairman’s letter and donors.

6 in the wings

Amélie, a New Musical at Ahmanson Theatre; Disney artist Eyvind Earle exhibition at Forest Lawn Museum.

12 dateline

ABT’s Nutcracker in Costa Mesa; choreographer Mark Morris roasts the Tchaikovsky chestnut in New York.

50 shopping

The Edit by Freda Salvador + Janessa Leoné at Culver City’s Platform.

56 HOME

Former model Meredith Metcalf is now known for her ceramics.

62 62 dining

72 travel

66 WINE

80 back page

L.A. was one of the world’s few major cities without a dining room atop its tallest building—until now.

Winemaker J. Lohr turns 80— and releases his finest cabernet sauvignon to celebrate.

Accordions and Acadiana: twostepping through Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole country.

Arts District downtown.

2 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

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Perform

“First Republic shares our passion for innovation and world-class performance.” ANDREA MILLER

Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer, Gallim Dance 2014 Guggenheim Fellow

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PUBLISHED BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MEDIA GROUP PUBLISHER Jeff Levy EDITOR Benjamin Epstein ART DIRECTOR Carol Wakano

Celebrate with Strauss Waltzes and Operetta Excerpts, featuring European Singers, Dancers and Full Orchestra!

PRODUCTION MANAGER Ellen Melton PRODUCTION ARTIST Diana Gonzalez CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Heidi Schwindt ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lyle Laver ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kerry Brewer, Tim Egan, Heather Heintz, Julie Hoffman, Jessica Levin Poff, Heather Price, Crystal Sierra ADVERTISING SERVICES Dawn Kiko Cheng

Photo by Chris Lee

Strauss Symphony of America Peter Guth, conductor (Vienna) Lara Ciekiewicz, soprano (Winnipeg) Brian Cheney, tenor (New York) Dancers from Europaballett St.Pölten (Austria) & International Champion Ballroom Dancers THE MUSIC CENTER’S WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

TICKETS: 323.850.2000 musiccenter.org

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017 at 2:30 pm salutetovienna.com

Info: 1.800.545.7807

Produced by: Artists subject to change without notice

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sarah Daoust, Gillian Glover, Priscilla Goslett, Roger Grody, Joseph LeMoyne, Francis Lewis, Zoe Lorenzo, Libby Slate, Robert Whitley ONLINE EDITOR Christina Xenos BUSINESS MANAGER Leanne Killian Riggar MARKETING MANAGER Anna Ciric ADMINISTRATION Amina Karwa, Danielle Riffenburgh HONORARY PRESIDENT Ted Levy For information about advertising and rates, contact Southern California Media Group. 3679 Motor Ave., Suite 300 Los Angeles, CA 90034 Phone: 310.280.2880 Fax: 310.280.2890 Visit Performances Magazine online socalpulse.com PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE is published monthly by Southern California Media Group to serve theatrical attractions throughout the West. All rights reserved. © 2016 Southern California Media Group

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12-Dece

G A L E R I E

M I C H A E L

ARMAND HENRI LEROUX, b. 1948 Snow Covered High Street Give the gift of art this holiday season. Beginning in December find discounts on works by Chagall, Dalí, Leroux, Miró, Picasso, Renoir and more. 224 NORTH RODEO DRIVE | BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210 Monday-Friday 10-7 | Sunday 11-5 | 310 273 3377 www.galeriemichael.com | art@galeriemichael.com

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EVENTS ⁄⁄⁄⁄ EXHIBITS ⁄⁄⁄⁄ PERFORMANCES

INTHEWINGS

A career retrospective and centennial celebration of Eyvind Earle (1916-2000), through Jan. 1 at Forest Lawn Museum, marks the artist’s first major exhibition in Los Angeles in 25 years. Eyvind Earle: An Exhibit of a Disney Legend features some 65 oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and sketches spanning seven decades; they highlight Earle’s mysterious, primitive, disciplined and nostalgic style, his remarkable technical skill and his legacy. Found in the personal collections of filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson and writer Dean Koontz, his works are known for a perception of landscapes that simultaneously captures grandeur and simplicity and conveys a supernatural aura, a ghostliness, to everything from hills to distant waves. 1712 S. Glendale Blvd., Glendale, 800.204.3131, forestlawn.com

COURTESY OF THE EARLE FAMILY TRUST

Eyvind Earle, Paradise (1973), at Forest Lawn Museum

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amélie, cheshire isaacs / courtesy berkeley repertory theatre

Soon after meeting, DANCE dancers Ioannis Mandafounis, Fabrice Mazliah and May Zarhy realized they shared an interest in a bareness of style in which essential elements of what choreography might be are questioned. They formed the Mamaza Dance Company, based in Switzerland and Germany, and their work has since been co-produced and presented worldwide. In Eifo Efi, Jan. 14-15 at Odyssey

Theatre, the performers offer their understanding of two people as being more-thanwhat-two-people-can-be, filling the performance space with versions or echoes of themselves. Though only two bodies actually appear, the use of reflective elements and diverting strategies enhance the visual, with the “just two” revealing the presence of others. 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A., 310.477.2055, odysseytheatre.com

Phillipa Soo as a crushingly shy Parisian waitress in Amélie, a New Musical at the Ahmanson Theatre. Soo earned a Tony nomination for her star turn in Hamilton.

Performers in Mamaza Dance Company’s Eifo Efi at Odyssey Theatre fill the performance space with versions or echoes of themselves.

Adapted from the classic film MUSICAL by French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Broadway-bound Amélie, a New Musical revolves around a crushingly shy Parisian waitress who makes it her mission to bring happiness to those her around by secretly arranging little moments of pleasure in their lives. Amélie the movie captivated audiences worldwide, and with a creative team including Tony Awardwinning director Pam McKinnon, the musical, playing Dec. 4-Jan. 15 at the Ahmanson Theatre, seems destined to do the same. Leading the cast is Phillipa Soo, who recently earned a Tony nomination for her star turn in the Broadway musical Hamilton. 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.972.4400, centertheatregroup.org PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE 7

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Events ⁄⁄⁄⁄ exhibits ⁄⁄⁄⁄ performances

Los Angeles Ballet, The Nutcracker

Karl Benjamin, IF #1, aka Crystallization (1959)

the Pomona Valley; the artists who arrived in the 1940s; the GIs who came to study after World War II; and the contemporary

artists who continue to call Claremont home. 536 W. First St., Claremont, 909.621.3200, claremontmuseum.org

Los Angeles Ballet’s BALLET The Nutcracker is set on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles in 1912. In it, Clara dreams of faraway lands, snow-covered landscapes and a most memorable Mouse King. The choreography is by artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, Catherine Kanner designed the sets and Mikael Melbye the costumes, and the music is by Tchaikovsky, of course! Dates: Dec. 3-4 at the Alex Theatre; Dec. 10-11 at the Dolby Theatre;

Dec. 16-18 at UCLA Royce Hall; and Dec. 22-24 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Each performance features special appearances by the cast and Santa Claus. Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, 818.243.2539; Dolby Theatre, Hollywood & Highland, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; UCLA Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, L.A., 310.825.4401; Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach, 310.318.0644; losangelesballet.org

nutcracker, reed hutchinson

The Depot in Claremont has MUSEUM been renovated and repurposed into the Claremont Museum of Art, and the inaugural exhibition, (re)Generation: Six Decades of Claremont Artists, is up. The former transit ticket office has gotten a second “skin” so art can be installed without harming the structure, and the elegant atrium has been upgraded with gallery lights. (re)Generation, on display through March 12, features selections from the intimate museum’s permanent collection that reflect the region’s artistic legacy: the influence of Millard Sheets, who grew up in

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F O R YO U R C O N S I D E R AT I O N BEST ACTRESS N ATA L I E P O R T M A N

“A BEAUTIFUL, COMPLEX TAKE ON THE BIOPIC. NATALIE PORTMAN IS FLAWLESS AND UTTERLY CAPTIVATING AS JACKIE KENNEDY.” LYNN HIRSCHBERG – W MAGAZINE

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Martha Rosler, First Lady (Pat Nixon), from the series House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, c. 1967-1972

Fill your holidays with music. Among highlights of its Deck CONCERTS the Hall series, Walt Disney Concert Hall presents its Holiday Sing-Along on Dec. 17, and 12-man “orchestra of voices” Chanticleer Dec. 20. Revered female African-American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock inspires and entertains Dec. 21, trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval leads a Latin-flavored jazz holiday program Dec. 22, and a sing-along screening of the heartwarming White Christmas Dec. 23 is sure to keep spirits bright. To ring in the New Year, Pink Martini’s irresistible fusion of Brazilian samba, 1930s Cuban dance and Parisian café music can’t be beat! 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown, 323.850.2000, laphil.org

Beginning in the 1960s, artists increasingPHOTO ly turned to news media—both print and televised—as a rich source of inspiration. Breaking News: Turning the Lens on Mass Media, Dec. 20-April 30 at the Getty Museum, presents works by artists who have employed appropriation, juxtaposition and mimicry, among other means, in order to create photographs and videos that effectively comment on the role of the news media in determining the meaning of images. Those works include Robert Heinecken’s A Case Study in Finding an Appropriate TV Newswoman (A CBS Docudrama in Words and Pictures) of 1984; Alfredo Jaar’s untitled series from 1995 based on Newsweek magazine covers; and Donald R. Blumberg Daily Photographs, 1969-1970, 1969 - 1970—yes, that’s the title—inspired by newspaper photos. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A., 310.440.7300, getty.edu

White Christmas at Walt Disney Concert Hall

GETTY, COURTESY MARTHA ROSLER AND MITCHELL-INNES & NASH, NY; DIGITAL IMAGE COURTESY MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/LICENSED BY SCALA/ ART RESOURCE, NY

Events ⁄⁄⁄⁄ exhibits ⁄⁄⁄⁄ performances

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⁄⁄⁄⁄ shows elsewhere

DATELINE

’Tis the season for cultural highs and lows in New York. Choreographer Mark Morris roasts a Tchaikovsky chestnut with The Hard Nut, an adultnew york friendly 1970s-era take on The Nutcracker, Dec. 10-18 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The gender-bending lads of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are both naughty and nice when they don tutus and pirouette into the Joyce Theater, spreading comedic cheer Dec. 13-31. The old year ends on two exceptionally high notes at Lincoln Center on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31): The Metropolitan Opera premieres its lavish new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and mezzosoprano Joyce DiDonato lends her silken voice to the New York Philharmonic for Rodgers & Hammerstein show tunes at David Geffen Hall. Some enchanted evening, indeed.

Kristian Schuller / Metropolitan Opera

Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette

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⁄⁄⁄⁄ SHOWS ELSEWHERE

Disney’s film Frozen comes to life on the ice Dec. 21-30 at the O2 Centre, its cast of familiar LONDON characters skating through a winter wonderland. The much loved score—which includes “Let It Go,” Academy Award winner for best original song—provides the backdrop. “A Whole New World,” from Disney’s Aladdin, won in the same category a different year. The Prince Edward Theatre has been playing host to the popular musical about beggar Aladdin, princess Jasmine and the Genie since June; the run continues through April. Not that he knew it at the time, but none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the score for Amadeus, the bioplay about the composer now at the National Theatre—and as purported musical rival Antonio Salieri would be the first to admit, it’s sublime.

Lucian Msamati as Salieri in Amadeus at the National

Misty Copeland and Herman Cornejo lead the opening-night cast of the American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker, Dec. 9-18 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. “Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has made his own Christmas Miracle,” the Los Angeles Times wrote following last year’s performances, “a joyful Nutcracker ballet that is ravishing and clever enough to inspire multiple viewings.” The Pacific Symphony accompanies. In nearby Irvine, Yuan Yuan Tan is the Sugar Plum Fairy and fellow San Francisco Ballet dancer Tiit Helimets the Cavalier in the Nutcracker pas de deux when Festival Ballet Theatre presents its version of the beloved Tchaikovsky ballet Dec. 10-11 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. THE WEST

Misty Copeland in American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker

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ONE MORE TIME SONDRA RADVANOVSKY WAS HAVING A GOOD night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown. The American soprano, giving a recital as part of the L.A. Opera season, had performed repertory ranging from Verdi to Copland, interspersed with personal stories and an emotional tribute to her late father. Now she’d returned for encores—to an audience so enthusiastic she ended up singing four. Radvanovsky, who before that evening in 2014 had starred at L.A. Opera in Tosca and reprises her title role in some performances during Tosca’s upcoming run April 22-May 13, chose a diverse array of encores: “Io son l’umile ancella” from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, “I Could Have Danced All Night” from Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady, “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca and “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi, both by Puccini. It was obvious that the audience wanted to hear whatever she had to offer, and she, in turn, was happy to oblige. Perhaps no part of a performance exemplifies the artist-audience bond more than the encore, the short musical piece (or pieces) that extends a

concert after the curtain call, giving listeners a few more minutes of entertainment to enjoy and often accompanied by an explanation of its personal meaning to the performer. Indeed, affirms Radvanovsky, “I think the most important thing about an encore is that it has significance to you, the performer, and is something that you are known for or something that means a lot to you, such as a Russian singing a Russian song. It’s also an opportunity to sing something that you love but might not have fit into Sondra Radvanovsky sang a diverse array the context of the whole recital of encores to conthat you were doing." clude her L.A. Opera recital, from “Vissi Another thing that makes a d’arte” from Tosca good encore: “Get the audience to “I Could Have Danced All Night” on their feet and let them leave from My Fair Lady. on a ‘high’ feeling—it is the last thing they hear you sing.” Radvanovsky usually chooses her encores, she says, “from a handful of rehearsed pieces, strictly because I know them like the back of my hand and also, after singing a long concert, you want

COURTESY L.A. OPERA

PERFORMANCE ENCORES SHOWCASE ARTISTS’ VIRTUOSITY AND MAGNIFY THEIR BOND WITH THE AUDIENCE. BY LIBBY SLATE

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FILM TITLE: FENCES

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pieces and held a contest online for another work. She regularly plays the works throughout her concerts; her CD recording of the 27 pieces won a 2015 Grammy Award. Encores also have their place in the world of cabaret, where, quips singer Jason Graae, “You tell them that you’re leaving, but you never really go.” In earlier years, notes Graae, who performs a Jerry Herman Celebration with guest star Karen Morrow Jan. 11 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, “it used to be that an encore was something the audience demanded: ‘We want more!’ and you’d do your favorite song or a tour de force, something not related to the show. Now, an encore is built into the show; you carefully choose it and come out if one person is clapping.” Still, Graae relishes the fact that there are no rules in cabaret; his encores have ranged from a little ditty called “The Slasher Song” to the love song “I Promise You a Happy Ending” from Herman’s Mack & Mabel. One principle does abide, though: Know your audience and choose accordingly. Sometimes during an encore, he’ll enhance the already intimate cabaret audience bond by putting down the microphone to sing. “You’re vulnerable, singing from the heart. It’s a nice thing to do.” What does Graae want the audience to take away from his encores? “Hopefully, they’ve been entertained,” he says. “That’s all I can ask.” Wild Up founderdirector Christopher Rountree, who likens encores to a “reverse amuse bouche,” and singer Jason Graae.

ROUNTREE, RUS ANSON

something that’s not too technically taxing. I normally avoid something that is too difficult, such as ‘Casta diva’ from Norma. I also like to try and mix it up—the first encore is something fast and short, followed maybe by something sort of sentimental, followed by, usually, the last encore, the real pièce de résistance aria that ends on a long, high note.” Though not this opera star’s preference, an encore—the French word for “again”—can also showcase a performer’s virtuosity, be it in speed, dexterity or drama. Christopher Rountree, founderdirector of Wild Up—the contemporary classical music collective, playing the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge Feb. 16—uses another French term, this one culinary, to describe concert codas. “Encores are quite a conundrum, aren’t they?” he muses. “I mean, basically what we’re trying to do with an encore is like a reverse amuse bouche” —an appetizer, literally something to entertain the mouth—“give the audience something they didn’t know they were going to get, just in this case at the end, not the beginning. And isn’t the encore a beautiful place to create a moment of contact between artist, now speaking from stage, and audience?” The encore has evolved through time—artists used to simply perform once more a piece they had already sung or played—and has advanced again recently, thanks to the efforts of violinist Hilary Hahn. Seeing a dearth of modern-day encore material, several years ago Hahn began commissioning 26 composers from around the world to create such 18 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

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LET IT GO LIVE FROM HIT FILM TO THE MUSICAL STAGE, WITH A LITTLE IMAGINEERING: FROZEN—LIVE AT THE HYPERION. By LIBBY SLATE

Piotr A. Redlinski / Disneyland Resort

Princess sisters Anna and Else of the fictional Norwegian kingdom Arendelle

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Beguelin, a four-time Tony nominee who had written the book for Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway. She hired Liesl Tommy, whom she’d worked with while on staff at the La Jolla Playhouse, to direct. Tommy was Tony-nominated this year for directing the play Eclipsed; designers and other creators also had Tony nominations and wins among their credits. The show, called Frozen—Live at the Hyperion, opened last May at the theme park’s Hyperion Theater, following a 13-year-run there by Aladdin—A Musical Spectacular. To gain a better understanding of the theme park experience, Tommy explored both Disney California Adventure and sister park Disneyland, accompanied by set designer Robert Brill. “We spent many hours on rides and in engaging guests in casual conversation, asking about their favorite rides and about [the film] Frozen,” recalls Brill, a two-time Tony nominee who has also designed for the La Jolla Playhouse, as well as for the production of Moby-Dick performed by L.A. Opera last year. While there, Brill thought about being swept away into a whole other world; Tommy, he says, thought about “how our minds get unlocked, being in a theme park.” That sense of release would prove a vital element in the show, scenically, musically and metaphorically. “We asked, ‘What are the key visual icons of the film?’” Brill says. “One thing that became clear was that doors were going to become very important in the design.” With the sisters isolated from each other growing up because of Elsa’s sometimes dangerous powers, they communicated only on either side of a door. As queen, Elsa leaves Arendelle, having unknowingly created an eternal winter,

AS PLANNING BEGAN FOR THE STAGE-MUSICAL adaptation of the hit 2013 Disney animated film Frozen, to be performed at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Walt Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger gave Walt Disney Imagineering executive creative director Dana Harrel a few specifications. The show had to be Broadway-caliber. It had to feel like part of a theme park experience. And it had to be under an hour long. “Those are really big ‘wants,’ ” Harrel says. “Bob Iger wanted the show to be one of the jewels of Disney California Adventure.” Points taken. The story is about princess sisters Anna and Elsa of the fictional Norwegian kingdom Arendelle and the magical powers to control ice and snow that Elsa, who becomes queen upon their parents’ deaths, has had to quash since childhood. To adapt the script, Harrel turned to Chad

THIS PAGE AND OVERLEAF: Scott Brinegar / Disneyland Resort

Frozen—Live at the Hyperion, at Disney’s California Adventure, features elaborate sets and special effects and show-stopping production numbers.

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”HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE FILM?” ASKS WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR DANA HARRELL RHETORICALLY. “HOW DO YOU DO A FINALE SO THAT YOU CAN CREATE MAGIC?” then returns, replaces winter with summer and decrees that the castle be opened. “There’s a sense of hope then,” Brill says. One of the songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, “Love Is an Open Door,” furthers that tone. The song also provided the perfect solution to the creators’ quest for a proper ending. “In the film, all the songs happen in the first 30 minutes, and there’s no finale,” Harrel points out. “How do you balance the film? How do you do a finale so that you create magic?” Musical supervisor-arranger-adaptor Jason Michael Webb and choreographer Christopher Windom devised a finale set to the tune, with stirring ensemble vocal and dance arrangements, the reunion of most of the major characters and even the return of the sisters’ parents. Some other songs that had been solos and duets in the film were turned into ensemble numbers throughout the show. All vocals are sung live, to a score recorded by a 65-piece orchestra conducted by Frozen resident music director John Glaudini. The most famous song, Elsa’s Oscar-winning anthem to personal authenticity, “Let It Go,” requires a singer who can build the song vocally as Elsa gives full rein to her powers, Glaudini says. “All her life, she’s been told, ‘Don’t talk about it; don’t let anyone know,’ ” he notes. “She learns her power, but she’s also discovering her voice. So she builds, and at that last moment, she’s made that journey—she owns her voice, and she owns her magic. She takes it to the next part of the show.” To express that journey scenically, Harrel

wanted to find a way to connect Elsa’s move away from Arendelle to a mountain home of her own making and to have the audience feel connected to her first moments of feeling free. Brill turned to a set piece he had long remembered from the Rolling Stones “Bridge to Babylon” tour—a tall bridge that swings the performer into and over the audience. “I’d always thought that was spectacular in terms of theater,” he says. In Frozen, the bridge takes the form of a staircase of ice, which delivers Elsa into the audience and then connects to the mountain castle. It’s not only characters who undergo transformation; Brill wanted to sweep audiences into a different world, particularly those guests who were familiar with the theater in its Aladdin years. He and Tommy had been discussing the Northern Lights and how they sometimes resembled a curtain of light; he decided upon an actual curtain—made of nearly 45,000 square feet of custom-dyed fabric—which almost entirely surrounds the audience and provides a backdrop for scenic projections. The projections are among the many technological components of the stagecraft, including a 2,200-square-foot, 44,000-pound onstage video wall, an automated turntable for scenic changes and motion-capture technology that tracks performers onstage for lighting and video purposes. But as in the Disney theme parks themselves, technology is there to enhance the storytelling. “The show is definitely a faithful representation of the film,” Harrel says. “We’ve tried to give it the same feeling but in a theatrical version.”

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ONE NIGHT IN LATE SEPTEMBER, AUDIENCES AT UCLA’s Royce Hall in Westwood were treated to a short explanation of how the second movement rhythm of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony reflected the composer’s fascination with the Greek epic poems of Homer and their dactylic hexameter rhythm. The speaker was not a classics professor, but Jeffrey Kahane, music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), introducing the symphony during the opening concert weekend of his 20th season with the ensemble. He had spent years learning classical Greek and Latin to read Homer and other authors in their native languages in order to better understand their influence on composers and music. That interpretative exploration is just one of the hallmarks of Kahane’s tenure with the orchestra, which ends at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. Since becoming LACO’s fifth music director, in 1997, Kahane has helped build a struggling orches-

tra into a robust ensemble; introduced new works by contemporary composers; and been lauded for his educational efforts and community involvement. When hired, the Los Angeles native had been conducting only since 1988; he was and is an accomplished pianist and harpsichordist and conducts some programs from the keyboard. “This orchestra has been a part of my life for a third of my life,” says Kahane, who turned 60 in September. “If I ever have “This is a profoundly another orchestra, it’s probably emotional time, bittersweet,” says not going to be for 20 years. outgoing artistic This is a profoundly emotional director Jeffrey Kahane. He has time, bittersweet.” been named the orchestra’s conductor His final season is a highly laureate. personal one. “I chose every program with the idea of doing things that have particularly special meaning to me,” he says. Among those are a world premiere by Julia Adolphe, whom he selected for LACO’s Sound

ANNIE LESSER

JEFFREY KAHANE’S FINAL SEASON AS LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR INCLUDES PERSONAL PROGRAM FAVORITES AND THE ‘LIFT EVERY VOICE’ FESTIVAL. BY LIBBY SLATE

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parallels those of Weill and his own mother. “They all came to this country as refugees from the Nazis, they all identified very proudly as Americans, and they all had a great passion for justice and a great concern for civil rights,” he notes. The closing event of the festival will be the first Los Angeles performance since 1950 of Weill’s apartheid-themed musical Lost in the Stars, presented in partnership with CAP UCLA, Jan. 28-29 at Royce Hall. Besides professional singers, the cast includes students from the Renaissance Arts Academy, an Eagle Rock charter school, part of the festival’s educational component for which Kahane strongly advocates. Festival details were still being finalized at press time; visit laco.org for more information. The festival was a key attraction for Scott Harrison, LACO’s executive director of 13 months, when he interviewed for the position; it exemplifies Kahane’s legacy. “The greatest gift Jeffrey is giving us with his departure is the artistic collaboration, community engagement and artistic integrity for LACO, for the seasons to come,” Harrison says. He has also been impressed at the way Kahane imparts program music’s historical and societal context: “It’s spellbinding,” he says. Also marveling at Kahane’s educational bent— think the Beethoven-Homer connection—is Julie Jeffrey Kahane—also professor of keyboard studies at USC— leads the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from the piano.

JAMIE PHAM

Investment composition-commissioning program (March 18 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and March 19 at Royce Hall); Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a longtime “bucket list” desire (April 22 at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena and April 23 at Royce Hall); and other works by Mozart, Brahms, Handel, Mahler and Schubert. In all, he’ll conduct five of the season’s eight Orchestral Series programs. A centerpiece of the season is Lift Every Voice, a three-week festival in January taking place at various venues around the city. Kahane conceived and curated the festival—a mix of performances, discussions and engagement with the community—to explore the theme, he says, of “the fight against injustice, the fight against bigotry and oppression of all kinds. These are things that have always been important to me because of my family history, being a child of a refugee from Nazi Germany.” The title comes from the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is sometimes referred to, Kahane says, as “the black American national anthem.” It was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson in 1899 and set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson the following year. The central figures of the festival are Kurt Weill— “a composer for whom I’ve always had a great love, and incredibly enough, found out late in life that I’m actually related to him, on my mother’s side”— and Rabbi Joachim Prinz, whose story, Kahane says, 28 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE

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Gigante, a LACO first violinist since 1986. “And on top of that,” she says, “he’s a great musician. He has such a beautiful soul when he plays. “I’ve had the opportunity to play chamber music with him,” Gigante says, “and he’s so exciting. Usually in chamber music you know what’s going to happen, you rehearse, but with Jeffrey, you don’t know—the tempo may change. You have to be on your toes!” Kahane has been named LACO conductor laureate; he also has other guest conducting gigs lined up and is professor of keyboard studies at USC. Looking back over his time with the chamber orchestra, Kahane says that highlights include performing at Carnegie Hall and the ensemble’s European tour. “The orchestra took a risk with me,” he reflects. “I didn’t have a track record as a music director or conductor. They took a chance that my musicianship and creative impulses were the right things for the orchestra. “I think it’s probably safe to say that those people who took the risk are happy that they did. I certainly am very happy! “Conducting is the only form of music-making that you can only really learn on the job,” Kahane adds. “And I’ve learned a lot.”

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WELCOME TO THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

Photo by Jeff Lorch Photography

ICEBERGS

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AS WE CONSIDER EACH YEAR WHICH PLAYS to bring to the Geffen, we read many we want to produce, but only rarely have we committed to a new play after our first read. Such was the case with Alena Smith’s Icebergs. We knew immediately that this smart, touching, deeply human comedy was the ideal way to introduce Alena’s work to our audience. A global story with a uniquely Los Angeles focus, Icebergs takes on a premise as old as theater itself — a couple in a time of crisis, deciding whether to have a child — and reframes it in our present moment with young Angelenos at the center. Sharply observed, tender and profound, this play explores anxieties around climate change and career success, the kind of ever-present concerns that threaten to become overpowering if we pay them too much mind. When worries often buried find their way to the surface and the future is all but clear, a small tribe of friends must decide whether and in what they will have faith. What becomes most important in the most tenuous of times? As always, I have the great pleasure of working with a superbly talented team of designers who create an idyllic Silver Lake home — a fantasy of a perfect oasis, a carefree and easy escape from the world. The phenomenal ensemble of Thora Birch, Nate Corddry, Rebecca Henderson, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe and Keith Powell has gamely brought Alena’s play to life with all the warmth and vulnerability it requires. I am delighted to welcome Alena to the Geffen family and to welcome you to the world premiere of Icebergs. Enjoy the show! Randall Arney

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MARTHA HENDERSON CO-CHAIR

PAMELA ROBINSON CO-CHAIR

PATRICIA KIERNAN APPLEGATE RANDALL ARNEY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

BETH BEHRS DR. GENE D. BLOCK KEVIN BRIGHT HAROLD A. BROWN GIL CATES JR.

Photo by Jeff Lorch Photography

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MICHAEL CENTENO MARY ANN CLOYD MERLE DANDRIDGE DR. BRAD EDGERTON MARK FLEISCHER SUE FLEISHMAN HERBERT M. GELFAND CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

GIL CATES, JR.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR ICEBERGS, our first world premiere of the 2016/2017 season. Our esteemed Artistic Director Randall Arney has assembled a stellar cast to bring to life this play made rich by the incredibly fresh voice of playwright Alena Smith. This timely and tempestuous story raises big questions of climate change, professional ambition and family planning in today’s world. These questions are at the heart of our upcoming discussion, “Raising the Curtain on Icebergs: A Conversation at the Geffen Playhouse,” on Monday, November 28. Moderated by KPCC’s John Horn, the discussion will bring together artists, experts and audiences to dive into the key issues raised by the play. This free-to-attend event is generously supported by Participant Media. Visit geffenplayhouse.org/raisingthecurtain for more information. In addition, I hope that you will join us on Saturday, December 10 and Monday, December 12 to experience the inspiring culmination of our 2016 Veterans Writing & Performance Project. In each of these shows, Veterans perform the personal stories they have crafted and honed while participating in our three- month writing program. To attend, please email veteransevent@geffenplayhouse.org. I encourage you to log on to geffenplayhouse.org for the latest information, production updates and new content on our blog and social media channels. Thank you again for your support of the Geffen Playhouse! Gil Cates, Jr.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PATRICIA L. GLASER SAM GORES ADI GREENBERG ARTHUR GREENBERG JOAN KALOUSTIAN LORETTA EVERETT KAUFMAN DR. GERALD S. LEVEY CARLA MALDEN SUSAN MALLORY GINNY MANCINI BARRY MEYER B. SCOTT MINERD STEVEN A. OLSEN HOLLY RICE LINDA BERNSTEIN RUBIN TERI SCHWARTZ RICHARD SHERMAN FRED SPECKTOR LORRAINE SPURGE CYNTHIA P. STAFFORD HOWARD TENENBAUM VICE CHAIRMAN

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AN AMERICAN MASTERPIECE

WRITTEN BY EUGENE O’NEILL

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BREAKING THE ICE WITH ICEBERGS PLAYWRIGHT ALENA SMITH

BY RACHEL WIEGARDT-EGEL

Playwright Alena Smith. Photo by Jeff Lorch Photography.

SET ON A HOT EARLY NOVEMBER NIGHT IN THE HILLS OF SILVER LAKE,

Icebergs tells the story of a couple on the precipice of deciding whether or not to have a baby. Against the backdrop of climate shifts unprecedented in human history, this play asks how we grapple with a biological and emotional drive to bring new life into the world when

Ruscha. There’s something about the quality of light in Los Angeles. I write plays instead of making paintings, but I was still trying to respond to that. Two characters in Icebergs — Abigail and Calder — are trying to work in Hollywood, and you work as a writer on a television show. What was it about the story of being in “the industry” that made you want to tell it on stage? AS: What I’m aiming to do with a lot of my plays is give

the world itself seems to be falling apart. In the week

the audience the feeling that they’ve just walked in off

before rehearsals began, I had the opportunity to chat

the street and are witnessing the real, intimate lives of

with playwright Alena Smith about evoking the feeling

people. That’s why I like to write plays that, more or less,

of Los Angeles, developing a world premiere play and

operate in real time. I’m trying to create characters that feel

writing a comedy about climate change.

like people you might know. So, in the context of a play

Where did the play come from? What was the impulse for you to write it?

about thirtysomethings in Silver Lake, working in film and television is what a lot of them would be doing. But I also have brought in characters who are not in the industry, and

Alena Smith: One place it definitely came from was wanting

none of the characters are completely defined by their jobs.

to write a play set in Los Angeles that was reflective of

That’s one of the tensions in the play: how much do we

the experiences that I’ve had since moving here about four

define ourselves by what we do for work and how much do

years ago. I wanted to capture a certain atmosphere or

we define ourselves by the more personal parts of our lives

vibe that I feel is specific to life in this city, and I wanted

like who we love, our friends, our family? How much value

this play to be seen in the context of other artwork that

do we give to that private side of things, even in a town like

has organically grown out of Los Angeles and been done

Hollywood where it feels like all anybody focuses on are

by Los Angeles artists — high among those for me is Ed

public, professional ambitions?

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The play is a world premiere, and you’ve been developing it at the Geffen for some time. What has that process been like for you? AS: Compared to previous plays, there was an ease to the writing of this one that I think actually fits with the general atmosphere of Los Angeles that I was trying to capture. I gathered the images and the emotions and the people that I wanted to express and I let them sit for long enough so that when I wrote it, it kind of came out the way it is and things haven’t changed that much over the development. With that said, we had a wonderful workshop in April at the Geffen where we had a group of actors come together to read the play and have a series of really deep conversations about the issues sparked by it. That allowed me to deepen and clarify the characters’ different journeys, so I think the play got substantially stronger from that workshop time even if the DNA of it was always there.

THE TRUTH IS STILL INCONVENIENT WITH CALIFORNIA’S ONGOING DROUGHT and Los Angeles’ increasingly frequent heat waves, it does not take long for many Angelenos to turn to climate change in casual conversation. Any particularly hot day seems to invariably be accompanied by a cursory, “Ugh, global warming.” Despite this, it is usually easy to avoid going too deep down the rabbit hole of worry as most of us have yet to experience truly harmful effects. Researchers cannot so easily ignore the data, which finds that continuing to use fossil fuels at current rates will cause global temperatures to rise two degrees Celsius by 2036, “crossing a threshold that will harm human civilization.” 1 Governments worldwide have yet to make major changes to stem the tide, leading to a

The play’s characters are so of this moment — as are the environmental concerns — but the central conflict of whether or not to have a child feels timeless. What was it about this question that compelled you to reexamine it?

research vacuum in which scientists continually attempt

AS: I think that it may be a timeless question, but our generation is approaching it in a very different way from previous ones. That has to do with shifts in expectations for women — and for men — and a renegotiation of roles within a relationship. It also has to do with the economic realities that have caused people to put off childbearing for longer and longer. And there’s the sense that we may have already crossed a certain brink after which catastrophic climate change is inevitable. So, I’m trying to look at it from the perspective of this moment with this demographic of people and their social conditions.

climate activists can experience. 2

to find solutions while watching policy lag behind. The term “climate trauma” has even begun to circulate in reference to the patterns of stress and hopelessness that For women and men considering having a child, there is another kind of stress altogether: the question of whether to bring a baby into a world likely unable to sustain a rapidly increasing population. There is practical concern over an increased carbon footprint — in America, having one fewer kid would save almost 20 times more carbon emissions over a lifetime than all other individually attainable conservation measures combined. 3 Many also question the morality of leaving a child with a potentially uninhabitable planet. In response to these worries, some people have decided not to have children. Some are spurred to political action.

The relationships in the play are so central that it’s not an “issue play,” but, as you mentioned, it does deal with anxiety around climate change. I love that you’re able to integrate the anxiety of the characters without being prescriptive. Can you talk a bit about that balancing act?

Some are simply left to process their anxiety. And this

AS: There is an emerging philosophy around climate change that has to do with acceptance, and this play is really about processing a lot of grief. That’s the reason why it takes place on the Day of the Dead. It’s about loss. I’m a playwright. I don’t know how to help us to stop using all fossil fuels — this play is going to be using fossil fuels. So, from a human perspective, it’s about learning how to cope with a pretty devastating situation. I hope, perhaps, that the audience will feel some solace in joining together as a community to look deeply at these things.

for women to share their fears about the climate crisis as a

That being said, there’s a great deal of humor in the play even as it deals with more serious topics — did you set out to write it as a comedy? AS: I think that’s just my voice. I tend to find in my plays that the sadder things get, the funnier things get.

phenomenon seems to be gaining momentum — this past August, NPR profiled both a philosopher who tries to convince college students not to have large families and a group called Conceivable Future that organizes meetings reproductive crisis. 4 This is hardly the first time that potential parents have questioned whether it is right to bring new life into an unsafe world — U.S. birth rates fell during the Great Depression, for example. Perhaps there has always been a lurking danger causing people in every generation to fear having children. The question we, as individuals and as a society, now face is how we can possibly move forward. 1 Mann, Michael E. “Earth Will Cross the Climate Danger Threshold by 2036.” Scientific American. 2014. 2

Caldwell, Gillian. “16 Tips for Avoiding Climate Burnout.” Grist. 2010.

Stauth, David. “Family Planning: A Major Environmental Emphasis.” OSU News and Research Communications. 2009.

Ludden, Jennifer. “Should We Be Having Kids In The Age Of Climate Change?” NPR. 2016.

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P5

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THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION OF

Written by

Alena Smith Scenic Designer

Costume Designer

Anthony T. Fanning

David Kay Mickelsen

Lighting Designer

Composer & Sound Designer

Daniel Ionazzi

Richard Woodbury

Dramaturg

Rachel Wiegardt-Egel

Production Stage Manager

Young Ji

Assistant Stage Manager

Elizabeth A. Brohm

Casting Director

Phyllis Schuringa, CSA

Directed by

Randall Arney Recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award Major support for this world premiere production provided by the Edgerton Foundation New Play Production Fund EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS CIRCLE MEMBERS

Laurie & Bill Benenson • Martha Henderson • Pamela Robinson Hollander & Robert Hollander Loretta Everett Kaufman & Victor Kaufman • Jason & Yvonne Lee • B. Scott Minerd Linda Bernstein Rubin & Tony Rubin • Kimberly Steward & Josh Godfrey • Miranda & Brett Tollman

Opening Night: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 SEASON SPONSOR

OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSOR

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ICEBERGS

CAST OF CHARACTERS (In alphabetical order)

Abigail .................................................................................................................................................. Thora Birch* Calder ............................................................................................................................................... Nate Corddry* Molly .................................................................................................................................... Rebecca Henderson* Nicky .......................................................................................................................... Lucas Near-Verbrugghe* Reed .................................................................................................................................................... Keith Powell*

UNDERSTUDIES (In alphabetical order)

Reed ........................................................................................................................... Lovensky Jean-Baptiste* Calder / Nicky ................................................................................................................................ Zach Kenney* Abigail / Molly ............................................................................................................................. Lauren Lovett* *Indicates member of Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Understudies never substitute for listed players unless specified.

PLACE / SETTING A living room in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. The Day of the Dead. RUNNING TIME Approximately 2 hours. There will be one 15 minute intermission.

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PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES

THORA BIRCH (Abigail) Thora Birch is thrilled to make her debut at the Geffen Playhouse in the world premiere of Icebergs. Birch’s upcoming films include Phillip Noyce’s Above Suspicion, reuniting her with her director from Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger, opposite Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston and Johnny Knoxville. This year, she’s also completed filming on the political thriller Public Affairs, the romantic comedy The Competition (her first foray into the genre) and The Etruscan Smile, starring opposite Brian Cox, Rosanna Arquette and JJ Feild. In addition to Thora’s SAG Award win for her much-lauded turn in American Beauty, she has been nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. Some of her most iconic roles also include those in Ghost World, Hocus Pocus, Now and Then, All I Want for Christmas and Paradise. Thora has acted professionally since the age of 6.

NATE CORDDRY (Calder) Theater: The Graduate (Broadway National Tour), Hamlet/Romeo and Juliet (National Shakespeare Company), nine seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Television: Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Hindenburg Explodes, Mom, Difficult People, Harry’s Law, New Girl, TRON: Uprising, 30 Rock, The United States of Tara, The Pacific, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Film: The Circle, Ghostbusters, Equity, St. Vincent, The Heat, Girl Most Likely, Katie Says Goodbye, The Invention of Lying, Yogi Bear.

REBECCA HENDERSON (Molly) Theater: Bright Half Life (Women’s Project Theater); The Wayside Motor Inn (Signature Theatre); Your Mother’s Copy of the Kama Sutra, The Whale and The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons); Too Much Too Much Too Many (Roundabout Theatre Company); The Collection and A Kind of Alaska (Atlantic Theater Company); La Brea and Roadkill Confidential (Clubbed Thumb); Red-Handed Otter (Playwrights Realm); Autumn Sonata (Yale Repertory Theatre); bobrauschenbergamerica (American Repertory Theater). Film and television: Mistress America, Appropriate Behavior, Actresses, Rectify, The Good Wife, They Remain, True Story, The Mend, Cleansed, Compliance, Meskada, Frank the Bastard, Diving Normal, The Impossibilities, Wallflowers and Grand Theft Auto IV & V. M.F.A., Columbia University. Rebecca is originally from Vancouver, Canada and splits her time between New York and Los Angeles.

LUCAS NEAR-VERBRUGGHE (Nicky) Theater: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Ritz on Broadway, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Macbeth at Shakespeare in the Park. Other Off Broadway credits include Boom, Oohrah!, The Common Pursuit directed by Moises Kaufman, Assistance by Leslye Hedland and most recently MCC’s Permission by Tony-nominated playwright Robert Askins. Lucas was also in the West Coast premiere of Seminar opposite Jeff Goldblum, directed by Sam Gold. Need to Know at Rogue Machine Theatre. Film: Our Idiot Brother, A Birder’s Guide to Everything, The Bad Guys, The Tiger Hunter, the upcoming A Woman, A Part opposite Maggie Siff and Lazy Eye written and directed by Tim Kirkman. Television: Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, and Josh Porter on NBC hit Grimm.

KEITH POWELL (Reed) Theater: Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Lobby Hero (Portland Stage Company), Macbeth (Pittsburgh Public Theater), As Bees In Honey Drown (Hangar Theatre), The Nerd (Delaware Theater Company), The French (HB

Playwrights Foundation), The Island (Contemporary Stage), The Boys Next Door (Grand Opera House). Television: seven seasons as Toofer on 30 Rock (Screen Actors Guild Award); recurring on The Newsroom and About A Boy; guest star on Deadbeat, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Judy’s Got A Gun, Reno 911! and NCIS: Los Angeles; and star of Keith Broke His Leg (Indie Series Award: Best Actor in a Comedy). Film: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Syrup, My Name Is David (also writer and producer). Keith was also the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company in Wilmington, DE, producing/ directing plays starring Lynn Redgrave, Keith David, and Jasmine Guy. He is currently in the NBC Emerging Directors program working on the show Superstore, and is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts. ALENA SMITH (Playwright) Alena Smith is a playwright and television writer, recently named one of Variety’s 10 TV Writers to Watch. She is a writer and producer on Showtime’s The Affair, and previously wrote for HBO’s The Newsroom. An original television series she created is in development with Anonymous Content. Alena’s plays include The New Sincerity, The Bad Guys, Plucker, The Sacrifices and The Lacy Project. The Bad Guys was adapted into a film which premiered at the 2015 Austin Film Festival. Alena received her M.F.A. in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, and studied philosophy at Haverford College and the University of Oxford. In addition to writing for theater and television, Alena created the Twitter character @TweenHobo, which The Believer called “one of the most

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PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES

RANDALL ARNEY (Director / Artistic Director) Randall Arney has been a theater professional for over 30 years and has served as Artistic Director of the Geffen Playhouse since 1999. In addition to his artistic programming and oversight at the Geffen, Arney has helmed many productions for the theater, most recently Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, Slowgirl, American Buffalo, Superior Donuts, The Female of the Species, The Seafarer, Speedthe-Plow and All My Sons. Arney is an ensemble member and former Artistic Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre where his directing credits include: Slowgirl, The Seafarer, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden, Curse of the Starving Class, Killers and The Geography of Luck, among others. Arney also directed Steppenwolf’s world premiere of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as well as the subsequent national and international acclaimed productions. Mr. Arney’s acting credits with Steppenwolf include Born Yesterday, Ghost in the Machine, The Homecoming, Frank’s Wild Years, You Can’t Take it with You, Fool for Love, True West, Balm in Gilead and

Coyote Ugly. As the Artistic Director for Steppenwolf from 1987 to 1995, he oversaw the creation of a new stateof-the-art theater which is Steppenwolf’s current home. Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations) and The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony Award, Best Play). Mr. Arney has an M.F.A. degree in Acting from Illinois State University and has taught master classes and workshops at UCLA, Steppenwolf, around the U.S. and in Tokyo. ANTHONY T. FANNING (Scenic Designer) Geffen Playhouse: Harriet’s Return, Switzerland, Outside Mullingar. Broadway: August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. National Tour: The Who’s Tommy directed by Victoria Bussert. Regional: Guthrie Theater, South Coast Repertory, The Old Globe, Seattle Rep, Huntington Theatre Company, Ahmanson Theatre, San Diego Opera and Geffen Playhouse. As an Art Director for film, Tony has had the privilege of working with Steven Spielberg (Lincoln, Munich, War of the Worlds, Amistad), Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express, What Lies Beneath), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Steven Soderberg (Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen), Nancy Meyers (What Women Want), Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Joel and Ethan Coen (Intolerable Cruelty). Film and television production design credits include: Jim Sheridan’s Brothers, Rod Lurie’s remake of Strawdogs, Jim Field Smith’s Butter, Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal, Chris Carter’s The After and Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s Better Call Saul. Tony won an Emmy for his Art Direction on the pilot episode of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing.

DAVID KAY MICKELSEN (Costume Designer) Mr. Mickelsen returns to the Geffen Playhouse having previously designed Stage Kiss, Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, The Female of the Species, All My Sons and Paint Your Wagon. He has designed over 300 productions at many regional theaters across the country. Companies include South Coast Repertory; Pasadena Playhouse; The Old Globe; Laguna Playhouse; Guthrie Theater; Ford’s Theatre; Berkeley Rep; Seattle Rep; Denver Center for the Performing Arts; Northlight Theatre Company; the Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and Utah Shakespeare Festivals; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Arizona, Pioneer, and Geva Theatre Companies; Tennessee, San Diego, New Mexico, Missouri, and St. Louis Repertory Theatres; Williamstown and Sundance Theatre Festivals; and the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis. Originally from Canby, Oregon, Mr. Mickelsen now makes his home in Long Beach, California. DANIEL IONAZZI (Lighting Designer) Recent designs for the Geffen Playhouse include Thom Pain (based on nothing); Outside Mullingar; The Night Alive; Reasons to Be Pretty; Ruth Draper’s Monologues; Slowgirl; Build; Yes, Prime Minister; American Buffalo; The Jacksonian; Radiance; Red Hot Patriot and Superior Donuts. His work has also been seen at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, and Denver Center Theatre Company. His design for the New York production of The Jacksonian garnered a Lucille Lortel nomination. He designed the lighting installation for Teatro alla Moda for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Trajectoire

and Catapult for the dance company Diavolo. His design work can also be seen in the 4-D cinematic experience, Beyond all Boundaries, at the National World War II Museum. Daniel is Production Manager for the Geffen Playhouse, a member of the faculty of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and Director of Production for the Department of Theater. He is the author of The Stage Management Handbook and The Stagecraft Handbook.

ICEBERGS

imaginative uses for Twitter so far.” Tween Hobo: Off The Rails, a novel based on the account, was published by Gallery Books in 2014. Her essays about writing for theater, television and the internet have been published in Grantland and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

RICHARD WOODBURY (Composer & Sound Designer) Previous Geffen credits include sound design and original music for The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, Slowgirl, The Jacksonian, Superior Donuts, The Seafarer, All My Sons, Boy Gets Girl and others. Broadway credits include Desire Under the Elms, August: Osage County, Talk Radio, A Long Day’s Journey into Night, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Death of a Salesman and others. Credits at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where Richard is Resident Sound Designer, include The Matchmaker, 2666, The Little Foxes, stop.rest, Rapture Blister Burn, A Christmas Carol, Ask Aunt Susan, Luna Gale, Measure for Measure, Red, Other Desert Cities, Camino Real, Candide, The True History of the Johnstown Flood and many others. Steppenwolf Theatre Company credits include Mary Page Marlow, The Night Alive, Slowgirl, Belleville, Up, The Seafarer, August: Osage County, I Just Stopped By To See The Man and others. Richard’s work also has appeared at the Stratford Festival in Canada, London’s Lyric and National Theatres, in Paris, France and at regional theaters across the United States. He has received Ovation, Joseph Jefferson, Helen Hayes, IRNE and NAACP Awards for outstanding sound design as well as the Ruth Page award for Outstanding Collaborative Artist.

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PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES RACHEL WIEGARDT-EGEL (Dramaturg) Rachel is the Literary Associate at the Geffen Playhouse, where she works to support the artistic staff in season planning and fostering new plays. She has previously worked in a dramaturgy/literary management capacity at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre Center, Marin Theatre Company and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Favorite past dramaturgy projects include Jason Grasl’s Lying with Badgers (Native Voices at the Autry Festival of New Plays), Mike Bartlett’s An Intervention (Williamstown Theatre Festival) and Carson Kreitzer’s Lasso of Truth (assistant dramaturg, Marin Theatre Company). A graduate of UCLA’s English department, she is thrilled to be back in Westwood and working on this play. YOUNG JI (Production Stage Manager) Geffen Playhouse highlights include Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, The Country House, Mel Brooks: Live at the Geffen, American Buffalo, The Exorcist, The Jacksonian. NYC: The Jacksonian, Assistant Director (The New Group). Other Los Angeles: Cousin Bette, King Lear, The Autumn Garden (Producer); La Ronde, The Glass Menagerie (Director); Tonight at 8:30, Phaedra (Getty Villa), Mother Courage and Her Children, Pera Palas, Chekhov X 4. Currently the Artistic Coordinator at the Geffen Playhouse and married to actress/director Jeanie Hackett. ELIZABETH A. BROHM (Assistant Stage Manager) Geffen Playhouse: Big Sky; Barcelona; Thom Pain (based on nothing); Bad Jews; The Night Alive; Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin; Ruth Draper’s Monologues; Yes, Prime Minister; By the Waters of Babylon;

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself); Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress; Boy Gets Girl; The Unexpected Man; Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks; Looking for Normal; The Weir; Dinner With Friends; Defiled; Wit; It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. National Tour/ Kennedy Center: Wit. Other: Production Coordinator, Geffen Playhouse 2001-2007; Cup Coordinator, X-Prize Foundation; Lecturer in Stage Management, UCLA since 2005. M.F.A. in Stage Management from UCSD. Love to Gino & Mack. PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA (Casting Director) Phyllis is the Casting Director and Artistic Associate for the Geffen Playhouse. Recent plays include Big Sky, Barcelona, Outside Mullingar, These Paper Bullets!, Bad Jews, The Night Alive, Switzerland, The Country House, American Buffalo and Shiv at the Boston Court. Before joining the team at the Geffen, she was the casting director for Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago where her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play), the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile (and subsequent productions including Westwood Playhouse and Briar Street Theater in Chicago), Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow and Charles L. Mee’s Time to Burn. Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award for Best Revival) and The Song of Jacob Zulu. She teaches auditioning at Steppenwolf West and is a member of the Casting Society of America and the Ovation Rules Committee.

GIL CATES, JR. (Executive Director) Gil Cates, Jr. has proudly served on the Geffen Playhouse Board since 2012 and has years of producing and directing experience in theater, film and television. Gil’s theater credits include the awardwinning Names (Matrix Theatre) starring Dixie Carter and Greg Mullavey, The Night I Knocked Out Joe Frazer and Lost 90 Pounds (Gardner Stage Theater), as well as Three Sisters and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (both at Syracuse Stage). Gil’s film credits include The Surface (starring Sean Astin and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Chris Mulkey), Jobs (starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, as well as Geffen Playhouse alumni Matthew Modine and Ron Eldard) and the 2011 feature film Lucky (starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margret and Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Tambor). In addition, Gil produced and directed the critically acclaimed Life After Tomorrow, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, which won best documentary at the Phoenix Film Festival and later had its premiere Christmas Eve on Showtime. His other films include Deal (starring Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison and Charles Durning), The Mesmerist (starring Geffen Playhouse alumnus Neil Patrick Harris), and the critically acclaimed independent film Order of Chaos. Gil also made his television directorial debut with an episode of the NBC comedy, Joey, starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc. He studied at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, and holds a B.F.A. in Drama from Syracuse University in 1991.

REGINA MILLER (Chief Development Officer) Regina has been a development professional for over 18 years, working with non-profit institutions, foundations and corporations on strategy, analysis and fundraising. She has worked for Simon Wiesenthal Center, The Clinton Foundation, Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative, Hank Azaria’s Determined to Succeed, Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach Project, Water.org, Codenow. org among others. Prior to the Geffen, Regina served as the Director of Partnerships for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire where she led strategic planning and development while executing policies that advanced the organization’s visibility and growth. Regina also has a strong passion for teaching. After graduating from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, she taught in preschools and kindergartens in New York. From the age of 13, Regina worked as a professional dancer on Broadway as well as with a number of prominent modern dance ensembles. Fusing two of her interests, she created a highly successful program which incorporated dance therapy and creative movement into an early childhood curriculum as well as wrote and produced a television show based on this concept. In addition to being a published author and photographer with Tallfellow Press and Prometheus Books, Regina has taught and lectured at numerous schools in New York, Los Angeles and abroad.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

GEFFEN AT A GLANCE

PRODUCTION STAFF FOR ICEBERGS

ADDRESS

Assistant Scenic Designers Yuki Izumihara and Sydnie Ponic Assistant Costume Designer Lisa Leonhardt Assistant Lighting Designer Ning Ji Wardrobe Supervisor Jenny Foldenauer Stage Crew Donavan Martinelli Production Assistant Rowan Smith Properties Assistant Cami Viand Properties Artisan Mallory Birkrem Properties Artisan Weston Shively

Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Set provided by Scenic Highlights Lighting Equipment provided by 4Wall Entertainment Lighting Sound Equipment provided by Jon Sound Inc. Production Photographer Jeff Lorch Photography Media Filming Four Leaf Media Key Art Stockholm Design SPECIAL THANKS UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Scene, Prop, Sound and Costume Shops; London Cleaners UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION Geffen Playhouse is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles, specifically the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Geffen Playhouse values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops and internships. Students are also able to work and learn from distinguished visiting Geffen artists such as Alan Ayckbourn, Jon Robin Baitz, Annette Bening, Ed Harris, David Ives, Neil LaBute, David Mamet, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, John Rando and Kathleen Turner in areas of directing, playwriting, acting, design, dramaturgy, management and production. Geffen Playhouse also draws upon the distinguished experts in the university to enhance the theater’s programs and research.

Administrative Offices ... 310.208.6500 Mon – Fri .................. 10:00 am — 6:00 pm Box Office Phone Line .... 310.208.5454 Daily ............................ 7:00 am — 6:00 pm Subscriber Hotline ........... 310.208.2028 Daily .......................... 12:00 pm — 6:00 pm Please visit geffenplayhouse.org for hours, parking and more information

TICKET SERVICES BOX OFFICE WINDOW When shows are not in performance, the box office window is open: Daily .......................... 12:00 pm — 6:00 pm During the run of a show, the window will be open until curtain. Please note: the box office is unable to process exchanges and future sales one hour prior to curtain time on any performance day.

ACCESS

ASL

ACCESSIBLE ACCOMMODATION Geffen Playhouse is fully committed to ensuring a satisfying theater experience for our patrons with special needs or disabilities. Please contact the box office or an usher to discuss your needs.

AT THE THEATER

This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. 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

LATE SEATING Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on stage. To minimize disturbance to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available location by the house staff even if it is different from your assigned seat. Be advised that some productions or circumstances may not allow for late or return seating.

This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union. The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.

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SCENE AT THE GEFFEN

The cast of Barbecue with playwright Robert O’Hara and director Colman Domingo

Opening Night of Barbecue Sponsored by Audi of America, Inc., City National Bank, Douglas Elliman, Hint Water, KIND, Los Angeles magazine, and STK Los Angeles

Madeline and Bruce Ramer, Founding Chair of the Geffen Board

Donors Jonathan and Mara Blum

Director Colman Domingo and playwright Robert O’Hara

Donor Donna McKenna and her daughter Madlyne Stutz

Board Co-Chairs Pamela Robinson and Martha Henderson

Donors Manuela and Jimmy Goren

Photos by Jordan Strauss

Former Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso with his wife, Fay Mancuso

BE A PART OF THE SCENE AT THE GEFFEN AND ATTEND OUR OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATIONS CALL THE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AT 310.208.6500 EXT. 128

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SOCIALIZE @MEGANLEEJOY

ICEBERGS

#BARBECUE

#Barbecue was AMAZING! Cleverly hilarious social commentary with truly inspiring acting. #BARBECUE CINDY McQUADE

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Very unique and entertaining. It was full of surprises and well executed. Congratulations to the writer and director! @FRANCES_FISHER

#BARBECUE

@AISHAHINDS

#BARBECUE

@CheriseBoothe gives a masterclass performance in @GeffenPlayhouse production of #Barbecue! #BARBECUE LANA SOROKO

Thank you for bringing such a thoughtprovoking play to your stage. Race, gender, unfound perceptions, family dynamics… you left no stone unturned. Well done! #BARBECUE #BARBECUE

@ADRIANA.L.TREVINO

@CARFAN_5801

Saw #Barbecue last night @GeffenPlayhouse. It’s a very clever comedy about race and perception. This is a must see! #BARBECUE

ENGAGE WITH THE GEFFEN! Post, tweet and share during your next visit! @YVONNEORJI

@GEFFENPLAYHOUSE #ICEBERGS PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P13

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DON’T MISS A SINGLE MOMENT

GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE 2016/2017 SEASON THE MODEL APARTMENT

THE LION

AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER

Written by DONALD MARGULIES Directed by MARYA MAZOR

Written & Performed by BENJAMIN SCHEUER Directed by SEAN DANIELS

Featuring GIOVANNI ADAMS, MARILYN FOX, MICHAEL MANTELL & ANNIKA MARKS

JANUARY 4 – FEBRUARY 19, 2017 LOS ANGELES PREMIERE

NOW ON STAGE THROUGH NOVEMBER 20!

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE

GIL CATES THEATER

Written by EUGENE O’NEILL Directed by JEANIE HACKETT

Written by MATTHEW LOPEZ Directed by MIKE DONAHUE

Featuring JANE KACZMAREK & ALFRED MOLINA Additional casting to be announced.

APRIL 4 – MAY 14, 2017 WEST COAST PREMIERE

JANUARY 31 – FEBRUARY 19, 2017

ACTUALLY

CONSTELLATIONS

AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER

GIL CATES THEATER

Written by ANNA ZIEGLER

Written by NICK PAYNE Directed by GIOVANNA SARDELLI

MAY 2 – JUNE 11, 2017 CO-WORLD PREMIERE WITH WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL

JUNE 6 – JULY 16, 2017 LOS ANGELES PREMIERE

2016/2017 SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW! geffenplayhouse.org/season | 310.208.2028 GEF_PROG_1116-Icebergs.indd 14

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“SPELLBINDING!” “THE BEST MUSICAL I’VE SEEN THIS YEAR!” — The Huffington Post

“AN IRRESISTIBLE WINNER... DEEPLY MOVING!” — New York Daily News

Photo by Nilaya Sabnis

Written & Performed by BENJAMIN SCHEUER Directed by SEAN DANIELS A good storyteller uses everything he has. So Benjamin Scheuer uses his guitar — actually, six guitars — in The Lion, an uplifting musical experience that tells one man’s gripping coming-of-age story. The award-winning songwriter inspires and disarms with his raw wit and emotional depth as he leads you on a rock n’ roll journey from boyhood to manhood, through pain and healing, to discover the redemptive power of music.

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE BEGINS JANUARY 4, 2017 AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

@GEFFENPLAYHOUSE | 310.208.5454

GEFFENPLAYHOUSE.ORG/THE-LION GEF_PROG_1116-Icebergs.indd 15

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TIME STANDS STILL Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies was a world premiere commission. It went on to play the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony for Best Play. It later became one of the top ten produced plays in the United States.

THE JACKSONIAN After enjoying its sold-out extended world premiere run at the Geffen, The Jacksonian went on to an Off Broadway run at the Acorn Theater complete with the Geffen cast including Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Glenne Headly and Bill Pullman. Robert Falls, Artistic Director of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, helmed both productions.

A HOME FOR NEW WORK OVER OUR 21 YEAR HISTORY, THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE IS PROUD TO HAVE produced 35 world premiere plays. We have always sought to add to the incredible canon of new American plays that grows exponentially each year. Many of these plays have gone on to have multiple productions including Broadway debuts and regional revivals. This season we add to our ever-growing body of new work with two world premieres: Alena Smith’s Icebergs and Anna Ziegler’s Actually, two powerhouse plays sure to have great impact on the theatrical landscape of Los Angeles and beyond.

SWITZERLAND With funding from the Edgerton Foundation, the Geffen commissioned Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith and granted production rights for the co-world premiere to Sydney Theatre Company (Co-Artistic Directors Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett). After a tremendous production here, Switzerland has recently opened at the Melbourne Theatre Company where it is continuing to enjoy a successful run.

THE COUNTRY HOUSE The Country House by Donald Margulies was a co-production with the Manhattan Theatre Club. Commissioned by MTC, Margulies and director Dan Sullivan were committed to developing the play out of town before debuting on Broadway. Having created many new plays here, they agreed the Geffen was an ideal venue to develop and premiere this Chekhovian inspired piece.

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A HISTORY OF GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTIONS 2015/2016

Big Sky by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros

In & Of Itself by Derek DelGaudio

2014/2015

Switzerland* by Joanna Murray-Smith

Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin by Hershey Felder

2013/2014

The Country House by Donald Margulies

Death of the Author by Steven Drukman

Ruth Draper’s Monologues by Ruth Draper

Wait Until Dark* adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher

2012/2013

Nothing to Hide by Derek DelGaudio and Helder Guimarães

Coney Island Christmas* by Donald Margulies

Build by Michael Golamco 2011/2012

Mona Golabek in The Pianist of Willesden Lane adaptation by Hershey Felder

The Exorcist adaptation by John Pielmeier

The Jacksonian by Beth Henley

Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie by Alan Alda

2010/2011

The Escort* by Jane Anderson

Extraordinary Chambers by David Wiener

The Break of Noon by Neil LaBute

WISHFUL DRINKING Inspired by her life in Hollywood, and created right here at the Geffen, Carrie Fisher’s world premiere Wishful Drinking directed by Joshua Ravetch was a wild romp with hilariously revealing stories ranging from her debut in Shampoo to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars. The play then moved to Berkeley Rep and on to New York’s famed Studio 54.

2009/2010 Nightmare Alley by Jonathan Brielle

Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas by Blair Singer

2008/2009 Time Stands Still* by Donald Margulies 2007/2008 The Quality of Life* by Jane Anderson Atlanta by Marcus Hummon and Adrian Pasdar

Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress by Joan Rivers, Douglas Bernstein, Denis Markell

2006/2007 Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher 2005/2006 My Buddy Bill by Rick Cleveland 2004/2005 Paint Your Wagon* adaptation by David Rambo 2002/2003 Pearl by Debbie Allen

Rose and Walsh by Neil Simon

2001/2002 Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple by Neil Simon 2000/2001 He Hunts* adaptation by Phillip Littel

Looking for Normal by Jane Anderson

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks by Richard Alfieri

1999/2000 Defiled by Lee Kalcheim 1998/1999

Hedda Gabler* adaptation by Jon Robin Baitz

THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE Introduced to us by longtime Geffen collaborator Hershey Felder, The Pianist of Willesden Lane was a smash hit world premiere and ran a record 21 weeks in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen in 2012. The play, starring Mona Golabek, went on to a national tour before coming back to the Geffen, this time in the Gil Cates Theater, in 2014. It then continued to delight audiences around the country and the world including a run at the St. James Theater in London, UK.

*Commissioned world premieres

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

VETERANS WRITING & PERFORMANCE PROJECT OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS, A GROUP OF TWELVE VETERANS has been gathering in the Jason & Yvonne Lee Geffen Playhouse Annex to write original monologues about heroes in their lives as a part of the Geffen Playhouse Veterans Writing & Performance Project. These workshops will culminate in public performances in the Gil Cates Theater on Saturday, December 10, at 11:00am and Monday, December 12, at 7:30pm. Tickets to attend these performances are free, thanks to a grant from the Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation. We hope you can join us! “The stories were incredibly articulate and exceptional. They were all from the heart and sucked you in whether you were ready for it or not. Riveting stories of heroism and the importance of keeping a sense of humor when facing adversity inspired me to look at my problems from a new perspective. A truly fantastic experience in your beautiful theater. Thank you.” “I was awed by the wonderful writing, the excellent acting, and the superb directing of this evening of theater. It was a memorable night and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.”

Photos by Jeff Lorch Photography

Here is what the audience had to say after last year’s performance:

RSVP FOR ONE OF THESE PERFORMANCES BY EMAILING VETERANSEVENT@GEFFENPLAYHOUSE.ORG

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DONATE Each season the Geffen Playhouse serves more than 15,000 disadvantaged youth, students, veterans, seniors and community members through our education and community engagement programs. As you are making year-end charitable gifts, we hope you will consider the Geffen Playhouse and help us give the gift of arts to our community. As a thank you for your gift, we invite you to enjoy the following benefits. EDUCATION ADVOCATE $1,000+

DIRECTOR $5,000+

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • Join us at Opening Nights! 2 tickets to all Opening Nights in the Gil Cates Theater Opening Nights are by invitation only and include complimentary valet parking, a pre-show cocktail reception with drinks and appetizers and a post-show party where you can meet the cast and enjoy a fun party.

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • 2 VIP orchestra tickets to An Evening with Frenchie Davis on Monday, January 9th at the Geffen Playhouse • Access to the Marcia Israel Curley Founders Room, featuring complimentary drinks, coffee, snacks and private restrooms • Recognition on a glass panel in our lobby • Be in the know! Receive early access to Spotlight productions and special events at the Geffen Playhouse • Personalized assistance with renewing your subscription from someone in our development office • Ability to upgrade your single tickets or subscription seats into house seats (subject to availability)

ARTISTIC ADVOCATE $500+ SPONSOR $3,000+

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • VIP Flex Pass subscription — 2 house seats to all shows in the Gil Cates Theater season and the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater season. Just call the development office and tell us when you want to see the shows, and we’ll find you great seats! • A unique behind-the-scenes experience for one show in the season personalized for you. Possibilities include attending a rehearsal, design presentation, or set tour

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • 2 orchestra tickets to An Evening with Frenchie Davis on Monday, January 9th at the Geffen Playhouse • Parking will be a breeze! VIP parking at a lot directly across the street from the Geffen • A Geffen Playhouse script from the current or past season signed by the cast of the show

ASSOCIATE $250+

Photos by Jeff Lorch Photography

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • 2 rear orchestra tickets to An Evening with Frenchie Davis on Monday, January 9th at the Geffen Playhouse • Recognition in the program • Caffeine is on us! Coffee card good for unlimited coffee and tea at the Geffen Playhouse bar

PARTNER $1,500+

ALL BENEFITS AT LOWER LEVELS PLUS… • Let us help you book house seats at theaters nationwide. Simply call our VIP theatrical concierge • Unlimited drinks are on us! Bar card for unlimited drinks at the Geffen Playhouse bar

AFFILIATE $150+ • 2 mezzanine tickets to An Evening with Frenchie Davis on Monday, January 9th at the Geffen Playhouse • Drinks are on us! 2 complimentary drinks at our Geffen Playhouse bar • Dessert is on us! A complimentary cookie at the Geffen Playhouse bar

TO DONATE NOW, PLEASE VISIT GEFFENPLAYHOUSE.ORG/DONATE OR CALL 310.208.6500 EXT. 128

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P19

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ANNUAL DONORS Geffen Playhouse recognizes the following individuals and organizations for their generous support of our Annual Fund and Backstage at the Geffen. Donors are listed at the Associate level and higher for gifts made between August 15, 2015 and October 15, 2016. In appreciation, donors enjoy a host of special benefits including house seats, complimentary drinks, receptions and much more. For more information, please call Jamie Mikelich at 310.208.6500 ext. 128.

CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE $50,000+

Anonymous Audi of America, Inc Ben/Joyce Eisenberg Foundation Mrs. Carol K. Block & Chancellor Gene D. Block Claudia & Kevin Bright City National Bank Elizabeth & Gil Cates, Jr. Mary Ann Cloyd David Geffen Foundation Douglas Elliman Real Estate Edgerton Foundation The Edward A. & Ai O. Shay Family Foundation Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer & Melvin Keefer Herbert M. & Beverly J. Gelfand In Memory of Alice Ghostley & Felice Orlandi Sam Gores The Adi & Jerry Greenberg Foundation Guggenheim Partners Investment Management Holdings, LLC Carole & Bill Haber Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Martha Henderson Rabbi Uri D. Herscher & Dr. Myrna Herscher Cindy & Alan Horn Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg Glorya Kaufman Loretta Everett Kaufman & Victor Kaufman Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation Keyes Automotive Group Sandra Krause & William Fitzgerald L&N Andreas Foundation Latham & Watkins LLP Mr. and Mrs. Jason & Yvonne Lee Susan & David Leveton Ginny Mancini Fay & Frank Mancuso John McCrite & Juan Lopez Donna McKenna & Flynn Chernos Kelly & Ron Meyer B. Scott Minerd Ann & Jerry Moss Moss Foundation Paradigm Talent Agency Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Participant Media Plaza La Reina PricewaterhouseCoopers Madeline & Bruce Ramer Pamela Robinson Hollander & Robert Hollander Linda Bernstein Rubin & Tony Rubin Richard & Barbara Sherman Shubert Foundation

Skirball Foundation Karen & Vic Smith Cynthia P. Stafford Jodi & Howard Tenenbaum Miranda & Brett Tollman UCLA The Walt Disney Company Ken Willner & Jim Stine Judy & Chancellor Charles E. Young Dirk & Natasha Ziff

ARTISTIC CIRCLE $25,000 - $49,999

Anonymous (2) Aegon Transamerica Foundation Patricia Kiernan Applegate Robert C. Baral Laurie & Bill Benenson Valarie De La Garza & Michael Centeno City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Classic Party Rentals Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Carol & Paul Frimmer Mellody Hobson The Lear Family Foundation Los Angeles County Arts Commission Los Angeles magazine George Lucas Family Foundation Marcia Israel Foundation, Inc. Sandra E. Milken Napa Valley Grille Lynda & Stewart Resnick Holly Rice Samsung Electronics America Patti & Bruce Springsteen Judith & Bruce Stern Kimberly Steward & Josh Godfrey STK Shel & Cynthia Stone

PRODUCER

$10,000 - $24,999 Anonymous (2) Ariel Investments Beth Behrs Georgette Bennett & Leonard Polonsky Charles A. Black, Jr. Board of Supervisors County of Los Angeles Brotman Foundation of California Eileen & Harold Brown Roma Downey & Mark Burnett The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Capricorn Investment Group Marcy Carsey Stephanie & Jonathan Carson The Chatwal

Carole Bayer Sager & Robert A. Daly Edward Avedis Dr. & Mrs. Paul Eisenberg EMC Eric Flamholtz & Yvonne Randle Susan & Mark Fleischer Susan & Eric Fleishman Fox Entertainment Group The Friedman Group Gagosian Gallery, Inc Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc. Ghurka Ann & Jim Gianopulos The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation Patty Glaser & Sam Mudie Goldman Sachs Andy & Carlo Brandon-Gordon Manuela & James Goren Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association Arthur Greenberg Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP C. Curtis Grisham In Memory of Morris A. Hazan Samantha & Eric Heer Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa Stanley Iezman & Nancy Stark Liberty Ross & Jimmy Iovine Joseph Drown Foundation The Kinloch Club, New Zealand Janine & Peter Lowy Carla Malden Mona Malden Susan & Peter Mallory Nancy & Michael McClelland Wendy & Barry Meyer MOCA Foundation Marcia & Brett Molotsky Morgan Stanley National Endowment for the Arts Northern Trust, NA Christine Marie Ofiesh Mo Ostin Carol & Bill Ouchi Palomino Paramount Pictures Laurie MacDonald & Walter Parkes Popland Studios Judith Reichman, MD Gail & Andrew Roth Rouse Appraisals Richard Ruskell Pastries The Simms/Mann Family Foundation The Skoll Foundation Fred Specktor & Nancy Heller Sugarfish Thompson Coburn LLP Steve Tisch U.S. Bank Union Bank Uniworld River Cruises Inc Warner Bros. Entertainment Well Done Catering Westfield Group Rita Wilson & Tom Hanks Ruth Ziegler Richard & Mae Ziman

P20 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE

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ANNUAL DONORS $5,000 - $9,999 Anonymous Katie McGrath & J.J. Abrams Jehan F. Agrama & Dwora Fried Paul G. Allen AMC Amgen Foundation Hilary & Jack Angelo Cathy & Shel Bachrach The Alec Baldwin Foundation Belmond La Samanna Annette Blum Mara & Jonathan Blum Heather Thomas & Skip Brittenham The Eli & Edythe L. Broad Foundation Cindy & Bob Broder Amanda Brown & Justin Chang Linda & Jerry Bruckheimer Maya Burkenroad & Tai Lopez Glenn & Lynn Cardoso Beate & Christopher Chee Comcast | NBC Universal Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Creative Artists Agency Merle Dandridge & Christopher Johnston Debra Davis Robin Dearden & Bryan Cranston Dream Warrior Group Fielding Edlow & Larry Clarke Susanna Felleman & Erik Feig FENDI Americas Lawrence N. Field First Republic Bank Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea Kiki & David Gindler Priscila Giraldo Sue & Steve Glusker Gloria & Peter Gold Mary Ann & Irwin Gold Elizabeth Guber Sugarman & Jason Sugarman Leo S. Guthman Fund Jackson Henry Gail & Stanley Hollander Vicki Iovine & David Coiro Bernice & Wendell Jeffrey Yvonne & Damien Jordan Marvin Jubas & Janet Wald Mannon Kaplan Sally & Dr. Manny J. Karbelnig Julie & David Kavner KIND Bars Alex Kurtzman & Samantha Kurtzman-Counter Wendy Kurtzman La Valencia Cody Lassen & Nitzan Mekel Eileen & Kase Lawal Drs. Gerald & Barbara Levey Lucques Catering Padma & Rao Makineni Anne & Steve Martin Sherry Martin & Chaim Troman Merle & Jerry Measer Lance & Hillary Milken Judy Zaban Miller & Lester Miller Kate Moran & Mikki Rosenberg

Benedicta & Geoffry Oblath Liza & Conan O’Brien Maura O’Neill Pottash/Ferguson Family Foundation Kay & Bob Rehme Joyce Rey The Richenthal Foundation Mayor Richard Riordan Jane Rissman & Richard Sondheimer Eden & Steven Romick Ronen Levy Events Rikki Rosen Thomas L. Safran Hon. Nicole A. Avant & Ted Sarandos Dawn Scherer Judi & Bruce Schindler Jody & Arthur Schmid Michael Schwab Steve & Paula Mae Schwartz Tina & David Segel Michael & Glenda Shaw The Simon-Strauss Foundation Singer Family Foundation Lorraine Spurge & Patrick Mitchell Arnold Stiefel Tanino Ristorante The Tuck Room & Tavern Thomas Safran & Associates Theatre Communications Group Todd Reed, Inc. Karen Zoller, MD & David Tillman, MD The Travel Corporation Alice & Norman Tulchin Michael E. Walsh West LA Poker William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Karen & Rick Wolfen Jennifer Young & Katrina Nason Diva Zappa In Loving Memory of Herman Ziegler Ruth & Stan Zicklin Ziffren Brittenham LLP

SPONSOR

$3,000 – $4,999 Janis Adams & John Lyons Annette Bening & Warren Beatty Madelyn Bennett & Eric Gibson Paula & Bruce Bennett Shelly & Libby Bergen Susan Booth & Christopher Wadden Hilton Bora Bora Pearl VJ Boyd Robert Brook & Jacqueline Kosecoff Dr. Fanya Carter, PhD Scott, Susan & Joshua Corwin Shelley Wike Cranley Janice & Billy Crystal Lori Galin Marion Goldenfeld Mary Lynn & Howard Gottfried Stephen Sass & Steven Hochstadt Dora & Neil Kadisha Barbara & Ronnie Kahn Deborah & Ivan Kallick Lenny & David Kelton Peggy Crosby Klugman & Jack Klugman

Thea & Neal Koss Renee & Meyer Luskin Vicki Magasinn & Robert Somer Rio & Frank Morse One & Only Palmilla Judi & Tim Ritchie Maria Rodriguez & Victoria Bullock Craig E. Rogers Sue Rosenwasser Lori & David Rousso Paula & Allan Rudnick Judy & Mike Sapir Vanessa & Dr. Stephen Shew Leigh Silverton Allen Blue & Kira Snyder Karen & William Timberlake Triada Palm Springs Vernon, Barry & Dale Tyerman in Honor of Ruth Tyerman Lentz Jennifer von Schneidau The Waterman Family Foundation Joanne & Ken Weinman Leslie White & Al Limon Patricia Youngman

PARTNER

$1,500 - $2,999 Anonymous (4) Pat & Sandy Adams Miriam Aguiar Olga S. Alderson Debbie Allen Bonnie & Bill Apfelbaum Aversano Family Trust Kathy Baker & Steven Robman Allison Balson Irene Baron Robert E. & Maria H. Barron Richard Bautzer & David McDowell Patricia & Mark Benjamin John Bjorge & Mary McKelvey Carolyn & Martin Bloom Dr. Wallace P. Brithinee Marla Campagna Debra & Peter Cappos Pat & Bill Chin Darcy Christal Laurel & Aaron Clark Linda & John Coleman David Conney, M.D. Janine Cristiano Elizabeth Dalling Pam Dawber Dana Delany Deborah Divine Janie Docter Susan & Jonathan Dolgen Victoria Dummer Natalie Eshaya Carol & J.B. Esterkin Judy & Mike Fantasia Sonia & Robert Freedman and Family Helen & Arthur Geoffrion Tina & Michael Gittelson Sunny & Alvin Grossblatt Craigar Grosvenor The Guerin Foundation Vera & Paul Guerin Melissa Harman

Teri Hatcher Bucky Hazan, Teles Properties Alan & Michelle Heilpern Dr. John D. Hofbauer & Dr. Laura E. Fox In Honor of Development Roger & Linda Howard Brian Irving & Dayna Cussler Nancy & Len Jacoby Carrie Johnson Willette & Manny Klausner Katherine Kleindienst Tatiana & Howard Lipson Mary & John Lithgow Eduardo Martinez Jill Mazursky Janis B. McEldowney Sue McHugh & Herb Seese Sheila & Joel Mendelsohn Patrice & James Mitchell Patricia Mitchell The New York Palace Michael Nicklin Debbie & Norman Nixon Olympus Theatricals Michael R. Oppenheim Carol & Alan Ostroff Cheryl Petersen & Roger Lustberg Tara & Robert Pietri Herbert & Marilyn Piken Ruth Popkin Robert Quayle Lee Ramer Lindy Robbins Sonny & Cynthia Rodriguez Rose Brand Rosa Rosenberg Nancy Stephens & Rick Rosenthal and The Rosenthal Family Foundation Wil Rosser Michael Schlesinger Susan Schwarz Berton Carol ‘Jackie’ & Charles Schwartz Dean Teri Schwartz Matthew Shakman Dominique Shelton Robert Siew & William Mark Hafeman Snyder Family Foundation Ray Stark Mitch & Sherry Stein Lisa Stonich Meghan Strange Surf Air Audri & Stan Tendler Paul Tetreault Daniel Tongbai Jane & Theodore Valentine Susan & Peter Van Haften Karen & Francesco Vanderbaan Deborah Walsh Denise & Peter Walsh Gelena & Seth Weissman Cherie Wrigley Debra Zavala Barbara & Stanley Zax Marcie & Howard Zelikow Leslie & Robert Zemeckis Ellen & Arnold Zetcher David Zuckerman & Ellie Kanner-Zuckerman

ICEBERGS

DIRECTOR

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P21

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ANNUAL DONORS EDUCATION ADVOCATE $1,000 - $1,499

Anonymous (2) Harry & Gay Abrams/Abrams Artists Agency Dr. Richard Ackerman & Miriam Shakter Laura & Harvey Alpert Charitable Foundation Patti & Harlan Amstutz Margaret Campbell Arvey AudioQuest Russ, August & Kabat Carol Ann & D.C. Bakeman Richard & Shelley Bayer Jerry Beckman Sigrid & Alan Belinkoff Lydia & David Bell Susan & Eric M. Bender Peter & Barbara Benedek Wendy & John Bergquist Diane & James Berliner Sharon & Artie Berrick Joe Blackstone & Jamie Mohn The Bordy & Leibovic Families Brenda & Alan Borstein Helen Breitwieser & James Jacks Wendy & David Brotman Chancellor Albert Carnesale & Mrs. Robin Carnesale Peg Casey David Cates & Christine Vavak Jane Cates Jonathan & Elena Cates Melissa Cates & Roger Claman Steven Cerasale & Mary Katherine Cocharo Martha Chase Sachiko T. Cochran MD & Joseph T. Araki In Recognition of Carl & Barbara Cohen Culver Hotel Ruth Daugherty Suzanne Deal Booth & David Booth Deluscious Cookies Carolyn Dirks/Brett Dougherty Dennis & Jeralyn Doty Jan & Thea Drayer Gerald & Sally Ducot Marilyn P. Dunn Dr. & Mrs. William M Duxler In Honor of Education & Community Engagement Colleen M. Ellis Terri & David Elston The English Language Center Carl & Courtenay Enright Lynne & Michael Feldman Donnovan Field Sydney M. Finegold, M.D. Steve Freedman Ben & Susan Friedman G2 Graphic Service, Inc. Jeanne & Arnold Geffner The Gibbs Family Cherna & Dr. Gary Gitnick Charlotte Gold Dr. Irene Goldenberg Louis & Linda Goldsman Roz & Abner Goldstine Helene Gordon Adrienne Grant & Paul Jennings Jack Grossbart & Marc Schwartz Deidre Hall Salli Harris Michael Parks & Judith Hayward

Murray & Gail Heltzer David Coleman & Jean Himmelstein Coleman Rand Hoffman & Charlotte Robinson Tamara Horwich & Gerry Lipshutz Toni Hoyt Lynn Hunt & Margaret Jacob Linda Janger Joseph B. Gould Foundation J.W. Hulme Co Linda & David Kagel Joyce & Don Kaiserman Marcy Kaplan & Eric Gold Karney Guren Family Foundation In Honor of Judi Kaufman Barbara & Stuart Klabin Kent Klavens & Judy Vourlas Lynda & Neal Hersh Judy Knapp Leslie & Norman Koplof Carol Krause Deborah Lacusta & Daniel Castellaneta Helene Laub Steven & Nancy Lippman Jeffrey & Elisabeth Lipsman Judith Locke & Dennis Massie Karen & Peter Locke London Cleaners, Inc Karen & Frederick Lorig The Jennifer and Greg Malins Foundation Eric G.C. Mark The Miles Family Barbara & Fred Miller Andrew & Laura Mintzer Joanne & Joel Mogy Montage Hotels and Residences In Loving Memory of Harvey S. Morse Lon Morse & Toni Hollander Morse Joan & Fred Nicholas Albert & Barbara Nichols John Nickoll Deborah & Stacey Olliff Ornest Family Foundation Gia Paladino & Michael Wise Philip & Leslie Paton Amanda Crick & Glenn Pfeffer Pier South Craig Piligian Jane Rascoff Richard Rasiej & Joan Herman Harvey & Joyce Reichard Sandra C Ribble Donald B. & Susan F. Rice In Memory of Frances Richman Esther & Howard Richmond Linda & Manny Rider Beth Roberts & Warren Smith Dolores Rogers Ronda & Fred Rose Brad & Nancy Rosenberg David A. & Karen Richards Sachs Susana Salazar Mark San Filippo Nancy & Ted Sanborn Jay Sandrich Savitsky Satin & Bacon Toni & John Schulman Don & Cynthia Schwartz David Schwartz Foundation, John S. Schwartz Don & Cynthia Schwartz John Schwartz Peggy and Robert Shapiro John & Lori Shaw Phyllis & Martin Shephard

Doris & Michael Sherman Holly & Larry Shulman Rita & Jose Sigal Ron Silverman & Soraya Ross Joan & Jerry Snyder Drs. Matthew & Marion Solomon The Somaini Family Christine Taylor & Ben Stiller Jordan Strauss Photography Barbra Streisand & James Brolin David & Katherine Stritzinger Eric Strom & Eileen Goodis Aaron & Melissa Stroud Sugarfina Sunrise Springs Katy Sweet The Tatasciore Family Anne C. Taubman & David Boyle John Teeples & Nicolas Martinez, Jr. John Turmes Catherine & Leonard Unger Daniel & Shauna Valenzuela Alan Van Vliet Julie & Peter Weil Marcia Williams & Gene Lucero Judith & Philip Winik Wright Maritime Group Anna & Stephen Yallourakis June Yip & David Wong

ARTISTIC ADVOCATE $500 - $999

Anonymous (5) Terry & Richard Abrams Laurence & Ilene Abramson Betsy Alevy Nancy Antoniou Eloise & Mark Appel Bonnie Arnold Jeanne Bailey Janet & Irwin Barnet Linda Barnett Irene Baron Sigrid & Alan Belinkoff Yvette Bergeron & Dean Bailey Kristen Bird Diane & Richard Birnholz Black Market Gelato Larry & Julie Blivas In Honor of Phyllis Blivas Pamela & Bill Bohnert Michael J. Bordy Laura D. Campbell Andrew Carlberg Lee & Shelby Chaden Cindy Clark Ginger Conrad In Loving Memory of Ed Cypert Greg & Leslie Dannon Dr. Udayakumar Devaskar Roni & Ethan Eller Lidia & Mauricio Epelbaum David & Joyce Evans Marjorie & Arthur Fine The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Fund Michael & Lynne Flynn Myrna Forest Burt & Nanette Forester Judith R. Forman and Dr. Cynthia Pikus Sharlene & Sol Galper The Gewecke Family Benita & Bert Ginsberg Annie & Tom Goepel

Marcy Goldstein Ellie Goodman Lori & Robert Goodman Diana & Ronald Granit Gigi & Don Grant Gaby & Rob Greenberg Marcy & Edgar Gross Madeline Gussman Carolyn & Bernie Hamilton Arlene S Harris Sheila & Chester Hasday Zvia Hempling Jack Hileman & Roxanne Huddleston Jim Hliboki & Hildi Snodgrass Dorothy Hoffman Kelley M. Hogan Gerald Isenberg Jackie & Warren Jackson Brad & Kay Jensen Brett Johnson Robert Jones Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Kamine Christine Kaplan Stan Kasten Dean Kauffman & Carlos Andres Mosquera-Tangarife Patricia Keating Nancy Mette & Barnet Kellman Beverlee Bickmore & James Kelly Corie & Michael Koss Marlene & Donald Kottler Tam & David Lachoff Joan & Christopher Larkin Jeanne & Christopher Lavagnino Sandi Lawless Ginger Leibovitz Suzann Levine Brenda & Warren Lincoln Neil L. & Ora D. Macfarlane George Manet Elizabeth Marcellino Mr. & Mrs. Phillips H. Marshall Stewart Mayeda David Israeli & Dr. Marie Mazzone Richard Milling Teddie J. Milner Sue & Monty Mohrman Paula Moseley, EdD Sandra Moss Carol & Jerry Muchin Sherri & Arnie Nelson Robert & Anita Nitta Doreen & Donald Nortman Sylvia & Robert Paris Barbara & Gary Pasquinelli Barbara & Peter Patman Jonna & Alfred Peguero In Memory of Michael Piller Ruth Pilot Berta & Lou Pitt Rabbi Steven & Didi Carr Reuben Carrie Richman Carlene Ringer Allison & Bennett Rosenthal Tyler Rubin Crystal Salapatas In Memory of Hon. Maxwell Salter Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers Nancy & Steven Schneider Stanley Schneider Susan & Peter Schwab Traci Shelton Carol & Arthur Silbergeld Robin & Robert Sills Manish Singh Martin & Leah Sklar

P22â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PERFORMANCESâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; MAGAZINE

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ANNUAL DONORS

ASSOCIATE $250 - $499

Anonymous (10) Emanuel & Nancy Abrams Norman & Toshka Abrams Patricia Abrams Actors Equity Foundation, Inc Anne Adair & Steve Ganzberg Barbara Adams Elaine & Michael Agran Charles & Annick Allen Sylvia Almstadt Merryl & David A. Alpert Jan & David Altemus Peter Anderson Robert C. Anderson Philip Angerhofer & Stephen A. Jones Debra & Benjamin Ansell Jc & Jack Appelbaum Steven D. Arias Dr. Sandra & Dr. Charles Aronberg Barbara & Ethan Aronoff Marc & Elizabeth Axelrod Lynne Babbitt Cecilia Ball Edward Barad & Carol McCully Victoria Bates Randy Bayard Judith & Thomas Beckmen Dawn & Marshall Bein Dr. Timothy Belavich & Bernie Knobbe Marshall Bell Richard N. Berger JoAnn Bernard Barbara Berkowitz Karen Berkowitz Marsha C. Berkowitz Beverly Bierer Claudia & Ronald Bitzer Jeff Boland Frances & Thomas Booth Toby Bornstein Nina & Judge Anthony Borwick Burt Boyar Paula Brand Mona Brandler Leah Lynn Broidy Lionel Brown Mitchell Brown Marshall Bull David & Kathy Burke Marcia Burnam

Marlene & David Capell Phil Carlin Scott Carter & Bebe Johnson Miss Irene Castaldo Ellen & Jeff Catania Ling Chan Sandra Chan Diane Chernansky Mike Clements Anselm Clinard In Memory of Dr. Alan Cohn Ivan Contreras Lionel Conway Linda Covette Jon Cowan Susan Georgine Craig Norman & Nancy Cravens Shawn Cunningham Ingrid Curtiss, MD Ames Cushing Col. Tony, Donna & Taylor Daniell Jeffrey S. Davidson Ruth B. Davis Elizabeth De Oliveira Bert Deixler Hal & Roberta Delevie Brian Demsey Gayle & Dan Devin Robert Ditullio Suzanne & Bruce Dodds Carol Jean Doehring Sandy & Gerry Dorfman Daryl & Paul F. Doucette Jacki & Murray Drechsler Helina Dreicer Earthlings.com Michael East Roy Eddleman Mona & Barry Edwards Chiedu Egbuniwe Larry & Elke Ereshefsky Janet Fattal Francesco Federico Mimi Alpert Feldman Paul & Karen Finkel Donna Finley Evaline Fishman Margaret Flanders William & Elisabeth Fleischman Lynne & Michael Flynn Myrna ‘Pepper’ Forest Dolores Franco Julia Franz Fran Fredella & Scott Rubin Donald & Sandy French Kenneth J. Friedman & Marilynn J. Friedman Family Foundation Lynn & Barry Friesen Laurelle Frome & Brady Frome Yuri & Yelena Furman Gina Furth Larry & Judith Garshofsky Russell Gersten Dr. Diane & Michael Glazer Hannah Godwin Lorain Goldberg Mark & Molly Goldberg Francine Golden & Marvin Schlossman Dr. Peter Goldman Dina Goldstein Ellie & Barry Goldstein Roger Gordon Liz Gottainer & David Sadkin Debbie & Glenn Gray

Joan Green Madelyne Green Paul & Louise Greenberg Randi & Jerome Greenberg Larry Guli Eve Haberfield & David N. Johnson Janet S. Hadley Kambiz Hakim Mary & Alan Halkett Roberta Hamilton Tess Harper Richard Hart Judy L. Hartley Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Haveson Michael & Candice Herman Winifred C. Hervey Penny Hildebrand Cina Hodges Gayle Hooker Dale & John Hopmans Lonnie Levi Israel Robert & Gail Israel Frederic A. & Nancy Jacobus Martha Jones & Paul Zerella Robert Jones & Julie Anne Robinson Jerry Joseph Joanne & Larry Kahn Lesly Kahn Yolla Kairouz David Kaminow Jean Kaplan Donald Kates Harris Katleman Owen Kato Dana Katz Morgan Kay William & Renee Kendall Louanne Kennedy Debra Kessler Dr. Ann Kirsch & Mr. Jonathan Kirsch Irwin Kishner Dr. Phyllis Klein Laurie & Milton Klorman Dolph Kornblum & Florence Robins Doctors Mark & Lena Labowe Eleanor & Mark Lainer Bruce Landau Carol D. Lande Susan Lava Sharon & Lawrence Lavenberg In Memory of Katie Layman Ann Leland Donna Levi Gail J. Levine Marla E. Levine Anita & Burton Levinson Rick & Vivian Levy Lawrin & Linda Lewin Reuben Lim Molly & Peter Lindgren Bonnie Lisle Cynthia Llaca Leslie & Adam Lobel Lori & Tom Low Anne L. Lynch Guillaume & Crystal Maillet John & Susan Mamer Marcus Mancini

Carol & Doug Mancino Pauline Marks Goran Marnfeldt Douglas Mcavoy, Jr. Jim & Kathy McCaffery Patrick W. McDivitt Jeanne McDonald-Powers & Travis Powers Robert Mercer Eileen & Paul Meshekow Erik & Melanie Messerschmidt Reed & Linda Metzger Lori Meyers & James Marano Norma & Larry Meyers Philip & Joan Miller Jeff Milman Matlin & Robert Mirman Thomas Mitchell Irina & Andrew Molasky Laurie & Chuck Mondrus Henry Moon Shelagh Moriarty Howard Morris John Moschitta Carol & Jerry Muchin My-Petite Alexander Levine & Catherine Nameth Jason Neidleman Sherri & Arnie Nelson Mark & Diane Neubauer Tom Nevermann Chris & Richard Newman Jeff Newman Charna & Allen Nissenson Myra Nourmand Lawrence Ross & Linda Nussbaum Adrienne & Arthur Omansky Dr. Ronald & Iris Onkin Cynthia & Todd Palm Edward Parker Abhilash & Kelly Patel Joanne Patten Naidu & Jane Permaul Susan Petelik Jack & Jane Pollock Zazi Pope Lance Powell Jeff Prater Philip Pritchett Neil & Lisa Greer Quateman Elyse Resch Mr. & Mrs. James Richards Steve & Linda Richman Lindy Robbins Barbara & David Rognlien Janis & Avi Rojany Robert Rosania Barry Rosen & Neil Bokal Beverly & Melvin Rosenthal Dr. Martin & Lorraine Ross Terry Ross Virginia Ross Michael, Michon & Jackson Roth Susan Rovner Anne Sacks Mr. & Mrs. Simon Salloom Nan Sarno Susan & Kenneth Sarno Ellen Sassa Linda & Cliff Schaffer

Chris T. Schmidt Joel & Sonia Schneider Gary & Karen Schneider Jane & Bill Schopf Christine Schultz John H. Scott Nell Scovell Scott Shagrin Dr. Mary Jo & Paul Shane Elise Shanfeld Annette & Leonard Shapiro Sasha & Eugenia Shapiro Barbara Vickery & Martin Shapiro Judy & Tom Sharp Melanie Sharp & Kevin Miller Netta & Uri Shohet Seymour & Dorothy Siegel Linda & Ronald Slates Diane Good & Frank Smith Barbara & Hal Smith James Smith & Loreen Ayer Marcia L. & Mark J. Smith Jean Smith-Moore Karen Smits Donald & Caitlin Sohn Christine Sorgi Dr. Robert & Margo Sorrentino Bruce Spector Debra Spector M Leslie Stearns Sy Strasberg William Stringer Penny Strowger Mr. Kayser Sume & Dr. Renee Sabshin Ann Sunderland Katherine Sung Lance & Maureen Tan James Tate Phyllis & Franklin Tell Marjorie Thomson Jacqueline G. Tousley Joyce & Josh Trabulus Miriam Trogdon Brigitta Troy Dr. Gerald D. Turbow Sofia Vaisman Deborah Valdez Anthony Vasek Bobette Vikan Carole Wagner-Vallianos & Peter Vallianos Dr. & Mrs. William Walsh Gloria Walther Marvin Wasserman Elisa Wayne Polly & Herb Weinberg Myrna Lou Weiner Sherry Weinman & Michael Umansky Marsha & Steven Weiss Richard & Joyce Wickline Rae Jeane Williams Gary & Karen Winnick Bruce & Marci Wiseman Marc Wishingrad Susan Wolford Shana Wong Diana Lynn Woods Joseph Wu Sandy Zwirn

ICEBERGS

Dr. Jerry & Marci Smith Trudy Sokol Sold Out Crowd Rita Spiegel Arthur Stern Sharon Suarez Mr. & Mrs. David Tann Nancy Thomas Ira & Laurie Waldman Marcia & Dr. Charles Wasserman David Weiss Pat West Connie & John Weston In Memory of Milton A. Williams, Jr. Charlie Wilson Jay Weinstein & Lori Woldar Arnold & Tricia Zane Crystal Zehetner & Julia Ramadan

HAVE WE MADE AN ERROR?

To report a misspelling or omission in these listings, please contact the Development Department at 310.208.6500 ext. 128

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P23

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GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE STAFF Randall Arney Artistic Director

Gil Cates, Jr. Executive Director

ARTISTIC

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Amy Levinson Artistic Associate / Literary Director Phyllis Schuringa Artistic Associate / Casting Director Young Ji Artistic Coordinator / Company Manager Rachel Wiegardt-Egel Literary Associate Makenna Pitz Literary Intern

Regina Miller Chief Development Officer Ellen Catania Senior Vice President, Development Jessica Brusilow Rollins Director of Education Partnerships & Donor Relations Jamie Mikelich Director of Individual Giving & Spotlight Manager Kristen Smith Eshaya Development & Education Programs Coordinator Scott Kriloff Development Concierge & Database Manager Clay Dzygun Office Coordinator for Executive Director / Development Taylor Cerny Development Assistant Jessie Sherman Development Assistant Austin Merrill Development Intern

Jessica Buzzard Director of Marketing & Communications Director of Advertising & Karen Gutierrez Audience Development Mark San Filippo Director of Ticketing & Database Administrator Associate Director of Brian Dunning Marketing Creative Ashley Bodul Associate Director of Public Relations Marketing Coordinator Kevin O’Brien Janice Bernal Box Office Manager Box Office Manager Bryan Martin Zack Hamra Assistant Box Office and Audience Services Manager Vaneh Assadourian, Kaitlin Huwe, Richard Martinez, Cameron Reck, Celia Rivera, Celeste Russi, Box Office Staff Alyssa Tyson Katy Sweet, Pam Giangregorio, Anna Yan, Pip Jones Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations Sue Fleishman Communications Consultant Outreach Assistant Quinn Francis Ramon Garcia Mission Continues Fellow

EDUCATION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Jennifer Zakkai Director of Education & Community Engagement Carolyn Marie Wright Manager of Education & Community Engagement Brian Allman, Ramy Eletreby, David Guerra, McKenna Kerrigan, Robert Paterno, Teaching Artists Connor White Hermie Castillo Mission Continues Fellow

Karim Bouzzit

DEVELOPMENT

ADMINISTRATION Behnaz Ataee Peter Banachowski Samone Watts Marguerite Harris

Chief Financial Officer Accounting and Payroll Manager Accounts Payable Receptionist

PRODUCTION Daniel Ionazzi Production Manager Jill Barnes Associate Production Manager / Company Manager Sam Craven-Griffiths Technical Director Evan Friedman Associate Technical Director Properties Master Rich Gilles James Grabowski House Sound Supervisor Darren Rezowalli Lighting & Video Supervisor Ramine Ameli Production Electrician

System Administrator

FRONT OF HOUSE Jeni Pearsons Director of Special Events David Gerhardt Supervising House Manager Jane Phillips Harper Deputy Supervising House Manager Lead Concierge Amy Farkas James Porter Lead House Manager Josiah Davis, Brett Donaldson, Caroline Harrison Kohler, Nathaniel Meek, Roxana Meyers House Managers Claudia Baffo, Rebecca Birstock, Kailey Bray, Toshi Calderon, Taylor Cerny, Vianney Cossyleon, Ida Herndon, Isaac Jay, Olivia Lowe, Sarah Lyddan, Aaron Newman, JoJo Nwoko, Shannon O’Hara, Madison Shamoun, Charmee Taylor, Adam Turney, Cody Williams, Dennis Woullard Ushers Rob Mersola Bar Manager & Mixologist Manuel Mayorga Weekend Bar Manager Skylar Adams, Adam Carr, Brenda Davidson, Sarah Drescher, Ryan Turner Bartenders/Event Staff

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Miguel del Castillo Mario Santillan-Perez Juan Carlos Umaña

Facility Manager Custodial Cleaning Custodial

Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. This project was also funded in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles. Geffen Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.

P24 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE

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“JESSICA CHASTAIN IS MAGNIFICENT! A TOUR-DE-FORCE, OSCAR-WORTHY PERFORMANCE” ®

SCOTT MANTZ ACCESS HOLLYWOOD

“EXPLOSIVE!” PETE HAMMOND DEADLINE

“JESSICA CHASTAIN IS SENSATIONAL . .SHE BURNS UP THE SCREEN” PETE HAMMOND DEADLINE

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DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN: Bechtolf- Peter Schneider Production Lang (Brünnhilde); Fujimura (Fricka); Nylund (Sieglinde); Meier (Waltraute); Terfel (Wotan); Dean-Smith (Siegmund); Vinke (Siegfried); Schmeckenbecher (Alberich); Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Mime). PLUS TOSCA (Kaufmann; Gheorghiu); EUGENE ONEGIN (Bezsmertna; Maltman, Breslik); LADY MACBETH OF MZENSK (Westbroek; Bankl, Jovanovich). 5-Star Deluxe Hotel Grand

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PLATFORM: SHOES THE EDIT BY FREDA SALVADOR + JANESSA LEONÉ FREDA SALVADOR SHOES, designed in San Francisco and handcrafted in Elda, Spain—a town renowned for its footwear industry, not far from the Mediterranean port of Valencia—are hip, comfortable and approachable. After a four-month run as a pop-up, the 5-year-old brand founded by Megan Papay and Cristina Palomo-Nelson now has a permanent place at L.A.’s most talked about shopping environment, Culver City’s Platform. “We started Freda because we wanted to offer statement flats and boots, shoes that are

effortless but make an outfit,” Papay says. Adds PalomoNelson, “From running to meetings to chasing kids, we’re on our feet all day and will never sacrifice fit for style. That is why we are committed to offering both.” Put on the spot to describe their line’s style, PalomoNelson says, “Clean, tailored, menswear-inspired, but with added interest, like a hat or big necklace.” Papay says, “Baggy, boy shapes, but embellished, and not afraid to mix a print.” The hottest place to shop, sip and snack in Los Angeles, Platform gives both merchants

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Van Goghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bedroom On loan from the Art Institute of Chicago

December 9, 2016â&#x20AC;&#x201C;March 6, 2017 at the

www.nortonsimon.org Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, 1889, The Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection.

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Prices shown are subject to availability.

and consumers a reason to be optimistic about the future of brick-and-mortar retail. The antithesis of a suburban mall, Platform has the energy and spirit of a miniature downtown, combining distinctive retailers and restaurants with progressive design. If you’re looking for a reason to stop shopping on your iPad in bed, Platform may actually get you offline. Between checking out Freda Slavador shoes, Tom Dixon home accessories and Magasin menswear, you can enjoy an iced latte at Blue Bottle Coffee or a killer chacuterie platter at the Cannibal. Papay and Palomo-Nelson share their 1,000 square feet of pricey real estate with hat and handbag maker Janessa Leoné in a boutique known as the Edit by Freda Salvador + Janessa Leoné. Interior designer Lynsey Grieve worked with the young designers to create a minimalist space in which the merchandise—shoes and bags are tastefully displayed on backlit floating white shelves or cubes—pops out against a whitewashed backdrop. Adding warmth are a modern sliding barn door, arrangements of cacti and a contemporary leather sling chair juxtaposed against a worn Turkish rug.

The slip-on Keen mule ($350) in silver metallic leather, with a 1-inch heel accented with a sleek leather strip, is a good example of how the two designers marry comfort and aesthetics in a casual shoe that does not concede style to comfort. Ankle boots ($525) with sturdy 4-inch heels are crafted from indigo-colored leather with crocodile print embossing, while a pair of booties with 21/2-inch heels and a handwoven body work beautifully with a comfy pair of old jeans. Another approachable Freda Salvador design is reflected in a pair of tasseled loafers ($385) whose soft outer tongue features a chic cheetah print. “I’m very excited for the opportunity to communicate directly with our customers and have them experience our products in a way that we designed for them,” Leoné says of her first boutique. The designer, whose supermodelfavored hats combine a dose of

Cou Pho

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AML-Pe

and an en l a c i s u m cha g n i l ical reinvent ntin r k t a r e h a ion g t p f s o ”.

“A

t ac

—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

Phillipa Soo (Hamilton, 2016 Tony® Nomination) BOOK BY Craig Lucas MUSIC BY Daniel Messé LYRICS BY Nathan Tysen & Daniel Messé

with

Based on the motion picture written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Guillaume Laurant Courtesy of Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Photo by Chesire Isaacs.

Sam Pinkleton DIRECTED BY Pam MacKinnon

CHOREOGRAPHY BY

Check website for holiday performance schedule!

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Holiday Plans? Hanukkah and Christmas are just around the corner, and to start planning your special gatherings, Gelson’s has prepared holiday meals that are every bit as delicious as home cooked. We carry Hanukkah meals (Beef Brisket, Rotisserie Chicken, or Kosher Salmon) and Christmas meals (reduced Sodium Turkey Dinners, complete holiday Turkey Dinners, Spiral Glazed Ham Dinners and the ever popular Boneless Rib Roast). Whether you are looking for a holiday dinner, a delectable platter from our catering menu or the perfect side offerings to complement your holiday table—Gelsons knowledgeable chefs offer an array of dishes. Visit Gelsons.com and celebrate healthy living ideas from our own staff dietitian Jessica Siegel, MPH, RD. From our Kitchen and family to yours— all the best holiday wishes and memories.

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sh op p ing 3182101 Arts in LA

bohemianism with a generous Print Ad splash of sophistication,4.625x7.375 reports she is a longtime admirer 4c of the work of Papay and Palomo-Nelson. The feeling is mutual, as Papay explains. “We enhance and support each other’s businesses in such an effortless and authentic way.” And, she adds, “we have a very similar customer, so we love being able to fill her accessory needs.” The Fia ($205), a stunning teal-hued felt hat with wide brim and black leather band, is representative of Janessa Leoné’s headwear line. Wells Fargo is proud to help bring the arts Meanwhile, her black or nude to all Los Angelenos. Virginia messenger bag ($485), Classical music. Stunning gardens. Ever-changing exhibits and a streamlined design with special places for curious kids. They’re all right here in Los Angeles, sophisticated suede detailing, and many are presented in full or in part by Wells Fargo. If you haven’t seen or heard them, you’re in for a treat. If you have, enjoy is part of a very smart handbag them again soon. Some experiences cannot be repeated often collection. enough. That’s why Wells Fargo supports the arts in Los Angeles. “She’s a badass,” Papay says of Freda Salvador’s typical customer, insisting that while her style may or may not be dictat© 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ed by trend, she totally owns All rights reserved. ECG-3182101 it. Adds Palomo-Nelson, “She’s confident, interesting, and has no time for things to slow her 3182101 Arts in LA Print Ad.indd 1 9/8/16 down, especially footwear.” —Joseph LeMoyne

Some of the best views

in L.A. are indoors.

1:54 PM

The Edit by Freda Salvador + Janessa Leoné Platform, 8850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 310.907.9301 fredasalvador.com janessaleone.com PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE 55

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H OME Tapered etched vases: “rustic...but meticulous.”

Where Academics and the Arts Come Together

PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS CERAMICS BY MEREDITH METCALF FOURTH-GENERATION Southern Californian Meredith Metcalf is driven both by a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. A former commercial model and actress, she also performs in two indie rock bands when she’s not too busy raising a family in her Highland Park home. What she is becoming best known for, however, are the exquisite ceramics she creates in a studio behind her house. With two boys and three dogs, that studio is sometimes a busy place. “In some ways, ceramics is a terrible art to be working on around small

children, with everything being so fragile, but as far as the process, it’s pretty ideal for me,” says Metcalf, obviously an accomplished multitasker. She usually has about five pieces in progress at any given time. “It feels like an ADD wonderland in my studio,” she says with a smile. “With my work, I feel like I can see something from start to finish in a relatively short period of time, so at the end of the day I have accomplished something tangible,” says Metcalf of ceramic art. Although many suggest that her work shows elements

Join us for an Open House

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of midcentury modernism, Metcalf has difficulty identifying her art with any particular genre. “I would say my work is somewhat rustic...but meticulous,” she says. Etched vases (starting at $100) are among her signature items, distinguished by the vertical etching that provides both visual interest and a tactile texture. Shallow etched trays and bowls (from $160) with neutral interior surface glazing match the vases. They are available in vibrant yellow or blue, with unglazed lips and bases that add an additional dimension of rusticity. “I’m not concerned about things looking too perfect,” Metcalf says. “I think seeing the hand in the work makes it much more interesting.” A series of vases covered with petal-like dimples range from a rustic version with raw stoneware finish and glazed turquoise interior ($390) to a smaller and more finished bowl glazed in yellow. Earthenware vases, bowls and canisters (from $150) feature a raw aesthetic that is tempered by a refined, sophisticated element: a thin band of gold near the rim. The gilt embellishment is a detail that creates considerable interest and completely changes the personality of the piece.

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36 micro-performances for limited audiences seated on the Royce Hall Stage

Tue, Dec 6 - Sun, Dec 11 Royce Hall “It’s a reminder that one person - armed with a story and some bric-a-brac - can create colossal worlds” – The Stage

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Metcalf’s attractively imperfect etching reappears on the round bases of table lamps (from $850) in which the etching creates the effect of rugged mosaic tiles. Other lamps, with variously shaped bases, reflect a similar etching technique. As a maker of bowls, vases and lamp bases, form and function are very much intertwined in the ceramicist’s approach. “A piece’s functionality becomes a part of its aesthetic to me, and the elements that make it useful or practical resonate as beautiful,” she says. Combining a slightly primeval aesthetic with elegance are small white-glazed footed bowls (from $60) featuring an irregular, imperfect rim that is bordered in metallic gold. A series of dark clay bowls are given a sophisticated touch through a smooth, graceful

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finish enhanced with drops of gold. Most of the artist’s products successfully introduce rustic, even primitive elements into more sophisticated forms and themes, a harmony that truly distinguishes her work. The self-taught Metcalf is rapidly gaining attention, along with a diverse group of artisans that reinforces the status of Los Angeles as a hub for artisanal creativity. Metcalf’s studio is not open to the public, but her products —refreshingly handcrafted items in a mass-production world—can be purchased online. Her ceramics are also available at Lawson-Fenning showrooms in Silver Lake and on Melrose Avenue, a company previously featured on these pages. There is a long tradition in decorative arts to aspire to the most refined, meticulously detailed results as possible. Metcalf, however, succeeds in creating a satisfying structure, rhythm and balance through imperfections that provide nuance. “Perfect makes me nervous,” says the 36-year-old artist. —Roger Grody

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DI N I N G

THE COMMUNITY ARTS THEATER SOCIETY (CATS) PRESENTS

Lyrics by Tim Rice Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber November 18, 19, 22, 25, 26, 30 December 2, 3 At 7:30 November 20, 27, December 4 At 1:30 At Big Bear’s own State-of-the-art Performing Arts Center 39707 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake (909) 866-4970

www.bigbeartheater.org Karen Sargent Rachels, Producer Directed and Staged by Michael Reno

VIEW FROM THE TOP 71ABOVE AT THE US BANK TOWER DOWNTOWN DESPITE FAILURE AFTER failure, restaurateurs continue to chase views from the very highest perches. There are few cities in the world where a top floor of the tallest building in town is not occupied by a dining room. Los Angeles, however, had not been one of those cities until this summer, when 71Above debuted atop the US Bank Tower, nearly 1,000 feet above street level. US Bank Tower’s reign as the city’s tallest structure will end next year when the spire of the Wilshire Grand Center surpasses it. Among recent improvements, the building now fea-

tures a glass-ensconced exterior chute called Skyslide that swerves 45 feet from the 70th to the 69th floor, a new observation deck and the restaurant. 71Above’s various experiences include a cushy lounge, a long curvilinear bar, main dining room and a quieter semiprivate dining area, all blessed with spectacular views. The restaurant is modern, with a honeycomb-like ceiling and contemporary light fixtures to match. Curvilinear booths naturally face the windows, and though there is not a bad seat on the floor, the restaurant’s website allows

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Every seat in the dining room, nearly 1,000 feet above street level, is blessed with spectacular views.

customers to select specific tables when making a reservation. Those white oak tables are paired with sleek club chairs, and despite a sense of formality, the setting is hardly the kind of over-starched environment one might expect at these rarefied heights. The chef on the 71st floor is Vartan Abgaryan, most recently of Cliff’s Edge in Silver Lake. He once cooked at New York’s long-defunct but never-forgotten Lutèce before arriving in L.A., where he worked at Tim Goodell restaurants including Public Kitchen at the Hollywood Roosevelt. At lunch, the menu features two courses for $35. At dinner, a three-course menu—with half a dozen choices for each stanza —is $70. Additional courses may be added. A terrific kickoff to a meal are poached oysters, beautifully presented in their shells in a bowl of river-worn stones, enhanced with a light Champagne-béarnaise sauce and topped with uni and caviar. Layered in a bowl are potatoes subject to various techniques—a foam over a puree atop a crisp—with spicy chorizo hidden at the bottom, the dish crowned with a deep amber egg yolk.

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DI N I N G

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A second course includes a long, narrow slice of foie-gras terrine deftly plated with red and gold beets and sprinkled with toasted pistachios and tonka beans. Other options: steak tartare, grilled octopus 9:54 AM and celery root-apple agnolotti in a cream sauce with black truffles and Parmesan frico. Among third courses, harissa, raisins, pine nuts and preserved lemon give a filet of line-caught halibut a North African treatment. Caramelized sea scallops are dappled in an eye-catching Indian-inspired vadouvan-curry sauce. Peppercrusted rib-eye—temperature can be an issue, so be sure to reinforce your preference with your server—is plated with sweet potatoes, bone marrow puree and smoked soy jus. Surprisingly indulgent is the crispy-skinned chicken, a juicy breast dressed to the nines with foie gras mousse, black

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truffles and chanterelles. The wine list showcases both large and immediately recognizable producers as well as intriguing boutique wineries; for a pricey view restaurant there are some excellent values scattered throughout the international roster. Pastry chef Gregory Baumgartner, formerly of Bourbon Steak and Spring, creates artfully plated, sometimes unnecessarily complex desserts. A study in chocolate features multiple forms of the ingredient: pudding-like crémeux, gel and ganache, variously smoked or salted and plated with a vanilla yogurt sorbet that cuts the richness. Memorable both for flavor and texture is a velvety caramel custard topped with trufflepraline almonds and a coconutsorbet quenelle and dusted with a pork-maple powder. The inevitable problem with high-rise restaurants is that even with exceptional cuisine, the view is constantly competing for attention. Nevertheless, Los Angeles deserves great vistas of its revitalized downtown and 71Above succeeds in being more than just window dressing. —Roger Grody 71Above, US Bank Tower 633 W. Fifth St., downtown 213.712.2683, 71above.com PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 65

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IF THERE IS ANY CALIFORNIA : vintner who deserves a monument to himself, Jerry Lohr would be at or near the top of the list of contenders. Over more than four decades, his namesake winery, J. Lohr, has delivered exceptional wines at fairly modest prices to slake the thirst for California wine. The monument in this case is another J. Lohr wine—the finest Lohr has ever made. The 2013 J. Lohr “Signature” cabernet sauvignon was created to mark Jerry Lohr’s 80th birthday on Jan. 1, 2017. Only 966 six-bottle cases were

produced, and each bottle will retail for $100 upon release, making it by far J. Lohr’s most expensive offering. I tasted the “Signature” during a meeting with Lohr and longtime winemaker Jeff Meier. Meier is CEO and director of winemaking for the massive J. Lohr operation, which stretches from Paso Robles to San Jose, with a tiny piece of the Napa Valley in the mix to keep things interesting. If you know the winery from its inexpensive line of Paso Robles cabernets and merlots or Monterey chardonnays, you wouldn’t immediately peg the

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WINE

Winemaker Jerry Lohr on an ATV

“Signature” cabernet as a J. Lohr product, although most of the grapes (primarily cabernet sauvignon and 18 percent merlot) are sourced from two of Lohr’s favorite Paso Robles vineyards, Beck and Creston, and the balance of petit verdot (3 percent) from Carol’s Vineyard in Napa Valley. I have long admired J. Lohr’s commitment to quality in affordable wines. I was also impressed when the winery upped its game several years ago with a line of Bordeauxstyle blends priced at $50 per bottle: POM, after the fashion of Pomerol; PAU, in the mold of classic Pauillac; and ST. E, in the manner of Saint-Emilion. “We did that to give the winemakers a chance to use everything they had in the cupboard,” says Lohr. “We were saying, ‘Show us what you can do.’ It was an intellectual challenge.” 68 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE

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The Best Show In Town!

J. Lohr’s so-called Bordeaux cuvees have been a critical success and routinely take top awards at major international wine competitions. Though the success of the Bordeaux cuvees set a high bar for the J. Lohr “Signature” cabernet sauvignon, it was a bar the wine easily cleared. Aged 19 months in new French oak, “Signature” exhibits a density and richness, with polished tannins, that rivals the finest cabernets made in America, in the same league as cabernets from Spottswoode, Far Niente, Caymus and Nickel & Nickel, to name a few. “It handled the new oak very well, just soaked it up,” notes Meier. The wood smoke and spice blend seamlessly with the massive dark fruit. The note of mocha and roasted coffee bean that drives most cabernet lovers absolutely wild. “Signature” is suave and elegant on the palate, with supple tannins and remarkable length on the finish. It’s pushing the alcohol at 14.99 percent, but it does so without a trace of heat. This astonishing wine is a fitting tribute to a man who has introduced so many across the United States to the beauty of California wine, particularly

GREYSTONE GR “...unique, classy, entertaining...a living history”— L.A. Times

“T HE M ANOR ”

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ORIGINAL PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY BEVERLY OLEVIN

Everyone’s talking about it: Murder & Madness at Greystone Mansion! record Back for aut” year! 15th “sell-o

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/CONTINUED TO PAGE 78

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ACCORDIONS AND ACADIANA TWO-STEPPING THROUGH CAJUN AND CREOLE COUNTRY ACADIANA. THERE’S A SOUNDtrack to this region of Louisiana, and it is the lively music of the bayou—Creole zydeco, Cajun two-steps and country waltzes. It is the lilt of fiddles, the tempo of rubboards, the percussion of foot-stomping dancers and, always, the lively accordions that figure front and center at any musical gathering. In Acadiana, the music takes the slow drawl of Southern life—the sultry bayou nights, the scent of magnolia blossoms and the taste of boiled crawfish—and infuses it with an abundance of swing and spice in an up-tempo tuneful gumbo.

Here, no matter the holiday, celebration or night out, music surrounds you. It’s the joie de vivre that transcends the generations, whether at house parties known as fais dos dos, or in the clubs and dance halls, where partners hold each other and move in rapturous coordination. For those unacquainted with the genre: Cajun music, and the culture it epitomizes, has its roots in the traditions of the French Acadians (aka Cajuns), who settled in southwestern Louisiana after their ouster from Nova Scotia (Acadie) in the mid-1700s.

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Even the trees have rhythm in Acadiana.

Zydeco is the wilder, looser sister to Cajun music, with more funk in the beat and swivel in the dancers’ hips. The mixed-race Creole people had added their ancestors’ African, Caribbean and Native American influences to what was called “French music.” The result is highly syncopated and joyful. Whether it’s Cajun or zydeco, you can’t listen to it and not want to get up and dance. Though the music is featured at many festivals around the country, the best place to experience it remains its source. Composed of 22 parishes (counties), Acadiana stretches along the bayous and prairies west of New Orleans to the Texas state line, but the epicenter is the city and environs of Lafayette. Its warm and friendly inhabitants keep the CajunFrench language and traditions alive with rollicking music, zesty cuisine and a strong sense of place and purpose. Voted the Happiest City in America in 2014 by the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch website, the city of about 100,000 has also amassed other awards and accolades in the last several years. Lafayette is counted among travelchannel.com’s Top 10 All

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American Vacations 2015 as well as Condé Nast Traveler’s Diamonds in the Rough. It was named AAA Southern Traveler’s best getaway in the South, tastiest town in the South and its gumbo the best in Louisiana. Southern Living also recognized Lafayette as tastiest town of the South; USA Today included the Festival Acadiens et Creoles in its Top 10 best cultural festivals, and the home of the University of Louisiana was voted No. 2 in Travel + Leisure’s list of America’s Best College Towns. The list goes on! Gallup deemed it most optimistic city, Rand McNally/USA Today best food city, and the Oakland Tribune one of America’s best music towns. Any visit to Acadiana is a celebration, but to truly experience the nuances of Cajun and Creole culture, as well as getting your fill of nonstop music and dancing, go to one of the many festivals that take place throughout the year.

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There’s Mardi Gras in February, Festival International in April, Crawfish Festival and Zydeco Extravaganza in May, Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in September, and Festival Acadiens et Creoles and Blackpot Festival in October. Any of those events will give you an understanding and a memorable taste of what makes Acadians so happy. Visit layfayettetravel.com for details. Festival or not, you can “pass a good time,” as they say there, at such popular dance venues as Blue Moon Saloon, Artmosphere, Randol’s, and Feed and Seed, just to name a few in Lafayette; Pat’s Atchafalaya Club and Whiskey River Landing in nearby Hendersonville; and La Poussiere in Breaux Bridge, about 10 miles east. On Saturday mornings, enjoy your eggs and mimosas with a side of zydeco at the Zydeco Breakfast at Café des Amis in Breaux Bridge. There’s a line to get in the door long before the live band starts up at 8:30 a.m., and the packed-in dancers don’t start drifting away until the music ends at 11:30 a.m. It’s a must-do, and after you’ve indulged in everything from beignets to boudin, you can work it off with more dancing. —Wendy Lemlin

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wines produced in the Central Coast districts of Monterey and Paso Robles. The fact that it’s a $100 wine made to honor a vintner whose reputation was cemented with affordable wines for the masses shouldn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. The way I see it, “Signature” is a steal. If someone in the Napa Valley had produced it, it would likely cost double the price.

TASTING NOTES J. Lohr 2013 “Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles, $100) Created to honor founder Jerry Lohr’s 80th birthday, the wine is a monumental achievement, showing that the J. Lohr winery, well known for its value wines, has the chops to run with the big dogs of the wine industry. The first vintage of “Signature, is set to be released Jan. 1, so get in line, because only 966 six-packs were made. Even at such a young age, “Signature” exhibits a gorgeous bouquet of spice, cassis and mocha. On the palate the wine shows complex layers of ripe black fruits, with beautifully integrated tannins and a smooth finish of tremendous length. By far the finest wine ever made by J. Lohr. Rating: 98. —Robert Whitley

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FOR THE CURIOUS MUSIC | CULTURE | NEWS | NPR

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BACK PAGE ⁄⁄⁄⁄ DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT ⁄⁄⁄⁄ PHOTO BY DANIEL ENNIS

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