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Love in Hate Nation WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL Music, Lyrics and Book by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis Directed by John Simpkins
NOV 9 – DEC 1
Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare Directed by Sara Holdren
JAN 11 – FEB 2
August Wilson’s Radio Golf Directed by Obie Award winner Brandon J. Dirden
The Hombres WORLD PREMIERE By Tony Meneses Directed by Annie Tippe
FEB 29 – MAR 22
APR 11 – MAY 10
Lackawanna Blues Written, Performed and Directed by Tony Award winner Ruben SantiagoHudson Original Music Composed by Bill Sims Jr. Additional Music Composed by Chris Thomas King
JUNE 6 – 28 For more information on this season's productions, pick up a season brochure in the lobby or visit tworivertheater.org.
SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE BOX OFFICE OR ONLINE AT TWORIVERTHEATER.ORG 2
ABOUT US
LEADERSHIP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
John Dias Artistic Director
Michael Hurst Managing Director
Robert M. Rechnitz Executive Producer Joan H. Rechnitz Associate Producer
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Anne Luzzatto President Kathleen Ellis Vice President Hon. Edward J. McKenna, Jr. Treasurer Susan Olson Secretary Stephen Becker Marilyn Broege Amanda Butterbaugh Carolyn Cushman DeSena Gale Grossman Todd Herman Caroline Huber Mary Jane Kroon Nyire Melconian Adam Rechnitz Joan H. Rechnitz Robert M. Rechnitz Geoffrey Sadwith Maureen Silliman Mary Carol Stunkel Webster Trammell Richard B. Worley Howard P. Aronson Kathryne Singleton Emeritus Board Members
ARTIST ADVISORY BOARD May Adrales Barbara Andres Brandon J. Dirden Joel Grey Lisa Kron Martin Moran Brenda Pressley Ruben Santiago-Hudson Tanya Saracho Maureen Silliman Leigh Silverman Jennifer Tipton
Two River Theater produces a theatrical season that includes American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we also offer 40+ events that reflect our diverse community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Staying true to our founding principles, we bring a fresh eye to American and world classics, and we have commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run). Two River serves thousands of students and community members through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools, and throughout our region. Each season, we host numerous artist residencies, workshops and readings, and present an annual Cabaret of New Songs for the Musical Theater in association with NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program. Two River’s three-story Center for New Work, Education and Design will open in the fall of 2019. Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst. tworivertheater.org
5 Title Page
7 Patron Services 9 A Note from the Artistic Director John Dias 11 Cast of Characters 13 Bios 16 Notes from the Dramaturg 20 Leadership Bios 21 Production Spotlight: Nance Williamson 22 An Interview with Playwrights Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers 24 UPDATE: Center for New Work, Education & Design 26 Pave the Plaza 29 Coming Soon: Love in Hate Nation 31 Book Club 34 Play Dates & Fall Intensives 35 A Little Shakespeare 36 In Memoriam: Scott L. Friedman 38 Individual Donors 41 Institutional Support 43 Meet Our Staff 46 Scene at Two River 3
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3/22/18 4:01 PM
John Dias Artistic Director Michael Hurst Managing Director Robert M. Rechnitz Executive Producer Joan H. Rechnitz Associate Producer
IN A CO-PRODUCTION WITH HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL PRESENTS
CYRANO
By Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers Adapted from the play Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
With Jason O’Connell
Luis Quintero
Britney Simpson
Chris Thorn
Nance Williamson
SCENIC DESIGNER.................................................................Kristen Robinson COSTUME DESIGNER.........................................................Jessica Wegener Shay LIGHTING DESIGNER..........................................................Paul Toben SOUND DESIGNER.................................................................Palmer Hefferan FIGHT CONSULTANT..........................................................Stephen Michael Spencer CASTING .........................................................................................Stephanie Klapper Casting PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER ......................... Janelle Caso
Directed by Meredith McDonough
OPENING NIGHT: SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 JOAN AND ROBERT RECHNITZ THEATER
Cyrano received its world premiere at Amphibian Stage Productions in Forth Worth, TX.
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Two River Theater is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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PATRON SERVICES Thank you for joining us at this performance. Two River Theater is dedicated to making your experience the best that it can possibly be. Please note the following offerings and requests to better enhance your time at the theater: BEFORE PLAY Join us 45 minutes prior to every performance in the Two River lobby for a pre-performance talk, which will give you valuable insight into the play you are about to see. Talks last 10-15 minutes and are led by a member of the company or Two River’s Artistic Department.
JOIN US FOR A DELICIOUS PRE-SHOW MEAL and positively impact your community. JBJ Soul Kitchen serves an in-need and paying customer. Hours of Operation Wed. - Sat. Dinner 5:00 - 7:00 PM Sunday Brunch 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM If you are hungry or hunger to make a difference. Come by and learn why we say:
POST-PLAY DISCUSSIONS Post-play discussions are scheduled following select performances of every subscription series production. During these discussions, audiences are invited to share their questions and responses to the work on stage with members of the cast and staff of the theater. Post-play discussion dates for the current season can be found in our season brochure or on our website.
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INSIDE TWO RIVER EVENTS A series of mostly FREE arts & humanities events specially curated for each of our productions. Events include film screenings, book club, poetry readings, crafting nights, lectures, social events with our artists & more! To make sure you are first to hear about these events sign up for our email list, follow us on Facebook, and stay tuned to our website!
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BOX OFFICE Box Office Hours: Monday through Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday from 12-5pm and starting one hour prior to all performances.
CONCESSIONS Coffee, tea, water, soda, candy, and snacks are available at the concessions stand in the lobby. Only water will be permitted into the theater during performances.
COURTESY Please limit food and drink, taking photographs and cell phone usage to our lobby or outside the theater. Late seating will occur at the discretion of Management.
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A NOTE FROM THE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
JOHN DIAS Photo by Danny Sanchez.
Dear Friends, I wonder if you share my frustration with the shifting notions of “rhetoric” in our cultural conversation. It has become, almost exclusively, a naughty word, especially in politics. These days, rhetoric seems to stand for “false statements” and “empty promises.” It’s a critical bomb now to lob at a political opponent: I heard a commentator recently say, “she’s full of rhetoric!” Do I betray my inner conservative leanings when I say I long for the days when we valued our ability to use language in subtle and sophisticated ways? Don’t you love it when we communicate with finesse and panache rather than treat words as a bludgeon to wield at will like a bully in a school playground? Twitter makes this hard; and the whole digital divide has managed to trick us into believing we’re having social connections by sending drones and avatars of our selves for a one-sided conversation in the ether. Our interactions are missing presence, the exchange of breath, and heat and rhythm that can only happen when two bodies share the same space. Intercourse—which originally only meant shared communication—can never actually happen on the internet. Will you join me and let’s see if we can restore some respect to rhetoric? It is after all, “the oldest art” and may share some wonderful qualities with its sibling, “the oldest profession.” To state it simply (which, of course it isn’t): rhetoric is the art of persuasion. And, it does go all the way back. I mean, all the way back—consider Adam and Eve. But, it was Aristotle who wrote the book. Literally, his 4th Century BC treatise Rhetoric attempts to defend rhetoric against Plato’s earlier criticism and legitimate concern that persuasive language in the wrong hands—or on the wrong lips—could lead an audience to ill intent. Aristotle considered all the moral and ethical questions involved in the art of persuasion. It’s certainly tricky and complex and Aristotle had a lot to say, but from his Rhetoric, I distill two fundamental ideas I wish we could bring back to our social medium. Firstly, that persuasion only works in the unmediated presence and connection of speaker to listener. And secondly, that it is most (perhaps, only) effective when arrayed with style and beauty. Consider Cyrano: Despite what he thinks of himself and his physical appearance, there’s an aspect of his outward beauty that is unsurpassed—his seductive language, his rapier wit. Cyrano is the non plus ultra of successful rhetoricians. And yet he can’t get his art of persuasion fully to work to his benefit. He has—on the inside—everything every man might envy and what most women desire: he’s a passionate soldier and patriot, eminently capable but selfless and humble. A true hero. To Cyrano, it’s his outside that is the problem. But, it’s as if he can’t see the nose on his face. He possesses the most potent persuader: language, poetry, rhetoric, but he chooses to hide his true self in a mediated presence. Until, at last, he embraces the simple truth of his gift: his panache. A word that has come to mean that which Aristotle meant when he wrote that language must have “style and beauty” to be effective. But, originally “panache” referred to the feathery plume in a Frenchman’s hat. It developed the figurative sense of “dashing” from the verve and swagger of one bold enough to wear such an adornment in public. Cyrano’s panache is Aristotle’s rhetoric: an engaged and engaging wit, boldly and courageously present, and unafraid of beauty in whatever form it takes. When was the last time you really felt that on Facebook? Welcome to the theater!
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CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Cyrano...............................................................................Jason O’Connell Christian, Sister Marthe, Bellerose...................Luis Quintero Roxane, Cadet...............................................................Britney Simpson DeGuiche, Ragueneau, Montfleury, Cadet..................................................................................Chris Thorn LeBret, Duenna, Lise, Monk, Unsavory Character..................................................Nance Williamson
Cyrano will be performed with one intermission.
PRODUCTION CREDITS Assistant to the Director: Kamilah Bush Assistant Scenic Designer: Kate Campbell Assistant Costume Designer: Danica Martino Associate Sound Designer: Ien DeNio Casting Director: Stephanie Klapper, CSA Casting Assistants: Lacey Davies and Leah Shapiro Assistant to SKC: Caitelin McCoy
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union. NI SCE C A
UNITED
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CA 8 L USA
The Designers at this Theatre are Represented by
United Scenic Artists • Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
Two River Theater is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and ArtPride New Jersey.
CELEBRATING
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IN BUSINESS
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BIOS
MEET THE ARTISTS!
LUIS QUINTERO (Christian, Sister Marthe, Bellerose) is thrilled to be making his Two River debut! Recent credits include: The River Bride (Stages Repertory Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Man of La Mancha (Triad Stage); Around the World in 80 Days (A.D Players); American Mariachi (Denver Center Theatre Company/The Old Globe, San Diego; Love’s Labour’s Lost (The Acting Company/HVSF); Cyrano, Into the Woods, Twelfth Night, Book of Will, Pride and Prejudice (u/s) (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); A Midsummers Night’s Dream (N.C Symphony); The Lightning Thief, A Christmas Carol (TheaterWorksUSA); Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Our Town (Generations, A Theater Company). BFA: University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
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Antique Center of Red Bank
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JASON O’CONNELL (Cyrano, Co-Playwright) is a NYC-based actor, writer and director whose plays include Cyrano, The Dork Knight (Abingdon Theatre, Joe’s Pub at The Public), and Fat and Scant of Breath: or, Stabbing at Hamlet. Directing credits include the world premiere of Cyrano (Amphibian Stage), Pride and Prejudice (Syracuse Stage), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), and Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Texas Shakespeare Festival). As an actor, Jason’s Off-Broadway credits include Harold Ryan in Happy Birthday, Wanda June (Wheelhouse/The Duke on 42nd St), Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages), Bottom and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Pearl), Edward Ferrars and Robert Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility (Bedlam/The Gym at Judson), and Trigorin in The Seagull (Bedlam/Sheen Center). Regional acting credits include Noises Off and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Two River Theater, The Play’s the Thing at A.P.T., Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Great Lakes Theater, Next Fall at Florida Studio Theatre, All My Sons and Frost/Nixon at Arkansas Rep, the title role in Hamlet at Texas Shakespeare Festival, the title role in Richard III at Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and 24 plays in 10 seasons with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (favorite roles include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Dorante in The Liar). Jason has appeared on several episodes of NBC’s Law & Order franchise, and has performed stand-up comedy all over NYC, including at Caroline’s on Broadway. He won the NYIT award for Outstanding Lead Actor in Don Juan in Hell (also cited as one of the year's best performances by The Wall Street Journal); the premiere production of Cyrano received Best Play and Best Director citations from the Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum. Jason is a founding member of NYC theatre company The COOP, and makes his home in Queens with his fiancée, the actress/playwright Kate Hamill. www.jason-oconnell.com.
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BRITNEY SIMPSON (Roxane, Cadet) This is Britney’s first season performing at Two River Theater. Into the Woods, Cyrano, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); Nina Simone: Four Women (Seattle Repertory Theatre); Beauty and the Beast, The Odyssey, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Wiz, Guys and Dolls, the world-premiere production of Head Over Heels, The Cocoanuts (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); A Christmas Carol (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); The Wizard of Oz, Our Town, Fiddler on the Roof (PCPA Theaterfest); ’S Wonderful (Oregon Cabaret Theatre). She has performed with The Britt Festival in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Education: The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She dedicates this show to the tragic hero of her life, her late stepfather, Darryl Seabrooks. CHRIS THORN (DeGuiche, Ragueneau, Montfleury, Cadet) is excited to debut at Two River Theater. Broadway: Bernhardt/ Hamlet (Roundabout). OffBroadway: Measure for Measure (The Acting Company), Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages), Twelfth Night (Pig Iron), Miss Lily Gets Boned (Studio 42), King John (NY Shakespeare Exchange), The Bird and the Two-Ton Weight (EST), The Most Damaging Wound (The Production Company), Dead Man’s Socks (Ma-Yi). Regional: The Guthrie, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (two seasons), CATF (two seasons), Barrington Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Fulton Theatre Company, TheaterWorks Hartford, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and The Acting Company. Film/TV: Madam Secretary, Still on the Road, Sonnet Project. Training: Boston University, LAMDA. He is a native of South Berwick, ME. NANCE WILLIAMSON (Le Bret, Duenna, Lise, Monk, Unsavory Character) is thrilled to debut at Two River Theater. Nance has performed on Broadway in Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass, Henry IV (Lincoln Center) and Cyrano (both with Kevin Kline), and Romeo and Juliet (with Orlando Bloom). Notable Off-Broadway credits include Pride and Prejudice, Eric Tucker’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seagull, An Empty Plate in the Café Grand Boeuf with George Wendt, Marvin’s Room, Two Gentlemen of Verona in Central Park, and plays at the New Victory, MTC and Roundabout Theatre. Over Nance’s
35-year career she has worked extensively around the country; highlights include Steel Magnolias and Dividing the Estate at Dallas Theater Center, where she was a company member performing in over 35 productions; Boeing-Boeing and Shooting Star at Trinity Rep; The Glass Menagerie and Ladies Man at Pioneer; The Misanthrope at Arena Stage; A Moon for the Misbegotten at Alliance; Delaware, Book of Will and Benediction at Denver Center; and 19 seasons at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where favorite roles include Beatrice, Cleopatra, Lady M, Portia, Jacques, Mrs. Malaprop, Kate and the Nurse. On TV Nance can be seen on The Good Wife, Fringe, Prince Street and all the Law & Orders. Nance and her husband Kurt Rhoads celebrated 35 years of marriage and have collaborated on 66 plays together. BRENDA WITHERS (Co-Playwright) is a writer, actor and founding member of the Harbor Stage Company. Her plays include The Ding Dongs, Northside Hollow and String Around My Finger and have been produced at places like Performance Space NY, Urbanite Theatre, Amphibian Stage and Portland Stage. Onstage credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hartford Stage, Geva Theatre Center and McCarter Theatre, where she is currently appearing in Gloria: A Life. Brenda has enjoyed playwriting residencies with the Camargo Foundation, New Georges and the Huntington Theatre, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College. MEREDITH MCDONOUGH (Director) is thrilled to be here with Cyrano after its delightful run at HVSF. Meredith was the associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville for the past seven seasons where favorite directing includes both parts of Angels in America, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and The Last Five Years. In the Humana Festival she directed the premieres of Marginal Loss, Dot, brownsville song (b-side for tray) and Airness, amongst others. Before ATL, she was the Director of New Works at TheatreWorks in CA where she directed the world premieres of Triangle, Upright Grand and Auctioning the Ainsleys. Other San Francisco credits include the premiere of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and The Lily’s Revenge with Taylor Mac. Regionally, favorites include Noises Off (The Guthrie), Fair Use (Steppenwolf), Eurydice (Williamstown), The Book Club Play (Dallas Theater Center) and the D.C. premiere of the musical Summer of ’42 and the US premiere of NSFW (Roundhouse). Meredith was the Associate AD of The Orchard Project, the New Works Director for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, a Drama League Fellow, an alum of the WP Directors Lab, a Kesselring Award Panelist and was on the Board of SDC. Education: Northwestern; MFA, UCSD. KRISTEN ROBINSON (Scenic Designer) is a New York Citybased set designer. She previously designed The Lion in Winter for Two River Theater. Her work ranges from site-specific installations to outdoor Shakespeare. A Princess Grace Fellow, she holds her MFA from Yale University. USA 829. Assistant Professor of Scenic Design at Purchase College, SUNY. kristenrobinsondesign.com 15
NOTES FROM THE DRAMATURG
SHINING A (MOON) LIGHT ON CYRANO
By the time Edmond Rostand penned his most famous work, Cyrano de Bergerac, in 1897, the image of the moon had already pervaded the work of French artists for more than a century. In literature, Jules Verne’s 1865 novel, From the Earth Edmond Rostand (1868-1915) to the Moon, and its 1870 sequel, Around the Moon, tell the story of three astronauts that build a cannon-like device to shoot their aircraft to the lunar body. In visual art, Vincent Van Gogh painted The Starry Night in 1889 from his window at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in Southern France. Both of those works depict the moon as a sublime, celestial body. As Kelly Grovier writes on the history of moon symbolism, in the 18th and 19th century, the moon became “a lyrical aspiration, emblematic of unreachable ideals.”
In music, French composer Claude Debussy used the 18th century folk song “Au clair de la lune” (“By the Light of the Moon”) as the foundation for his 1881 song, “Pierrot” and then wrote his more famous “Clair de Lune” (“moonlight”) in 1890. The third movement of “Clair de Lune” is itself inspired by a poem of the same title written by Paul Verlaine in 1869. Verlaine’s poem tackles the often-contradictory
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meanings that the moon can carry in the French imaginary. He writes in the final stanza, “with the sad and beautiful / moonlight, / which sets the birds in the trees / dreaming, / And makes the fountains sob / with ecstasy, / The tall slim water streams / among the marble statues.” Verlaine’s bittersweet imagery reflects the slipperiness of the moon, which has both a light side and dark, controls the earth’s ever-shifting tides, and for many years was considered to control changes in human behavior.
In keeping with tradition, Rostand embraced the moon in his Cyrano de Bergerac by tapping into both the image’s grandeur as well as its ambivalence. Like the moon, the play’s lead, Cyrano, is a man of captivating immensity, but also paradoxes. He has a cool head in battles of wit, yet a fiery temper when provoked. He’s both a lover, crafting the play’s most gorgeous poetry to woo his beloved Roxane, and a fighter, confronting 100 armed men to protect his friend. In many ways, Cyrano represents many ideals of manhood. He’s brave, chivalrous, sensitive, principled, intelligent, altruistic, skilled, witty, full of panache. The list goes on. However, despite these traits, Cyrano harbors a deep From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne Cover by Henri de Montaunt insecurity about
his abnormally large nose. This insecurity could partially account for why the majority of Cyrano’s scenes takes place, “’neath the moonshine.” In one such scene, that very moon becomes the inspiration for one of Cyrano’s most imaginative stories. At one point in the play The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Roxane asks Cyrano to stall his Worlds of the Moon and Sun by Cyrano de Bergerac rival, the Count DeGuiche. To do this, the quick-witted Cyrano tells DeGuiche that he is a being that has fallen from the moon. This invention is a clever nod to the real Cyrano de Bergerac, from whom Rostand drew inspiration, and his 1657 novel, The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Worlds of the Moon and Sun, in which a fictional Cyrano travels to the moon to meet its inhabitants. In Cyrano’s account of the moon, “he locates…all that he loved on earth—birds, trees, philosophy, music, poetry. There Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655) he becomes free from worldly sorrows; there alone could one pay for a meal with sonnets and epigrams…There his long nose is esteemed.” For the real Cyrano de Bergerac, the moon represents a utopia, in which the fictional Cyrano can be at peace with the totality of himself. Even if he won’t say it openly, Rostand’s Cyrano shares similar aspiration to feel loved for everything he is, nose and all. n
The Starry Night, oil on canvas by Vincent van Gogh
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JESSICA WEGENER SHAY (Costume Designer) HVSF: The Sea-Maid’s Music, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Selected New York: Lewiston/Clarkston (Rattlestick), The Performers (Broadway), A Kid Like Jake, All-American (LCT3), Outside People (Vineyard), Suicide, Inc., The Dream of the Burning Boy (Roundabout Underground), Oohrah! (Atlantic), Next Fall, Armed and Naked in America, The Mistakes Madeline Made (Naked Angels). Resident Designer, Vampire Cowboys. Costume Supervisor, Fordham University LC. PAUL TOBEN (Lighting Designer) The Story of My Life (Broadway). Electra in a One Piece, The Realm (Wild Project); Cry It Out (Northlight); The Mystery of Love and Sex, Witch (Writers Theatre); The Wolves (Studio Theatre); Noises Off (The Guthrie); Angels in America, Evocation to Visible Appearance, Airness, The Roommate (Actors Theatre); NSFW (Round House). paultoben.com
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PALMER HEFFERAN (Sound Designer) Broadway: The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54), Grand Horizons (upcoming, Second Stage). OffBroadway: Marys Seacole (Lincoln Center); Wild Goose Dreams (The Public); The New Englanders, Sugar in Our Wounds, Important Hats… (Manhattan Theatre Club); BLKS, Collective Rage, Charm, School Girls (MCC Theater); Do You Feel Anger? (Vineyard); Something Clean, Bobbie Clearly (Roundabout); Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages); Fabulation, Death of the Last Black Man… (Signature Theatre); Friend Art (Second Stage); Samara, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (Henry Hewes nomination, Soho Rep.); Today Is My Birthday (Henry Hewes Award, Drama Desk nomination, Page 73). Regional: Tell Me I’m Not Crazy, Grand Horizons, Dangerous House, Seared, Romance Novels… (Williamstown Theatre Festival); As You Like It, Henry V, Henry IV, Part One (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); peerless (TBA Award, Marin Theatre); Baby Screams Miracle (Helen Hayes Award), Guards at the Taj, Cherokee (Woolly Mammoth). Palmer received a 2019 Obie Award for “Sustained Excellence in Sound Design.” MFA: Yale School of Drama. STEPHANIE KLAPPER (Casting Director) is so happy that this beautiful HVSF production of Cyrano has continued. Her work is often seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. She continues her long collaborations with numerous companies such as Primary Stages, Mint Theatre, New York Classical Theatre, Masterworks, Resonance Ensemble, american vicarious, The Philadelphia Orchestra, FIAF, Capital Rep, Adirondack Theatre Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, American Players Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, amongst many others. Member: Casting Society of America. Her work on this production is dedicated to the memory of her father, who shared his love of Cyrano with her. JANELLE CASO (Production Stage Manager) The Public: The Tempest, Wild Goose Dreams, Mlima’s Tale, Under the Radar Festival, Oedipus El Rey, Star-Crossed. Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Noises Off. National Tour: Evil Dead. Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Cyrano, Into the Woods. Other Regional: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Othello, The Comedy of Errors, Frost/Nixon, RFK, Hurlyburly, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Philadelphia Orchestra Valentine’s Day Concert. MFA: Columbia University. HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL (Co-Producer) is a critically acclaimed, professional, non-profit theater company based in Garrison, NY, one hour north of Manhattan. Now in its 33rd year, the Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged under an iconic, open-air Theater Tent overlooking the Hudson River at historic Boscobel House and Gardens. In recent years, the Festival has also ventured beyond the Tent, touring work to regional venues, transferring productions to other theaters, engaging its community through radically participatory art-making, and reaching over 60,000 students and educators annually through yearround education programs. Learn more at hvshakespeare.org.
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John Dias assumed his position as Artistic Director of Two River Theater in 2010 after working as a producer and dramaturg in New York for 20 years. In partnership with Managing Director Michael Hurst he has brought new acclaim and vitality to the 25-year-old theater, which will open a threestory Center for New Work, Education and Design in the fall of 2019. Dias launched Two River’s first literary department and commissioning program; during his tenure Two River has produced 14 world premieres (including Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George, which enjoyed an Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway run, and Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, the theater’s first Broadway production) and developed numerous other plays and musicals. He has spearheaded new initiatives for the theater including the Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) summer festival of plays and music by Latinx artists; an annual musical theater cabaret in partnership with New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program; and the popular education program A Little Shakespeare, which introduces the works of Shakespeare to hundreds of young people each year. Under his leadership, Two River serves thousands of students and community members each season through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools, and throughout Monmouth County. He is the co-author and was the director of Two River’s musical The Ballad of Little Jo, which he wrote with composer Mike Reid and lyricist Sarah Schlesinger. Throughout his career, John has been a leading advocate for bold new American plays and stimulating productions of the classics, including the Broadway productions of Lisa Kron’s Well and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. For 12 seasons, he worked in a variety of capacities at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, and he co-founded Affinity Company Theater and The Playwrights Realm. He has been a Tony Award nominator, a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous other organizations, and he has taught at New York University and Yale University. John currently teaches in the graduate school at Columbia University. He received his BA from George Washington University and his MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Michael Hurst has been the Managing Director of Two River Theater since 2011. Under his joint leadership with Artistic Director John Dias, Two River has experienced ambitious growth and enjoyed new recognition in the national theater community, and will open a three-story Center for New Work, Education and Design in the fall of 2019. During his tenure, Two River has embarked on two Strategic Plans; produced 14 world premieres (including Hurricane Diane by Playwrightin-Residence Madeleine George, which enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway, and Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, the theater’s first Broadway production); developed numerous other new plays and musicals; and launched the Inside Two River audience-engagement program, which reaches more than 5,000 patrons annually. Prior experience includes 16 years at The Public Theater, including four years as General Manager and six as Managing Director. Michael was responsible for all financial aspects of the productions at The Public Theater and Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. During his tenure at The Public, he oversaw the Broadway transfers of many productions, including Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Take Me Out, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play; and Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change. Michael was also part of all strategic planning including the opening of Joe’s Pub, now considered one of the country’s best small venues for music and performance. Prior to coming to Two River, Michael was Chief Operating Officer of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which presents the New York Film Festival. At the Film Society, he oversaw the building of a new three-theater, $40-million facility that opened in June 2011. Michael served as Vice President for The Off-Broadway League and was a member of The Broadway League for 14 years. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and currently serves on the Board of Trustees as Vice Chairman for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and on the Advisory Board for the Indie Street Film Festival. Robert M. Rechnitz founded Two River Theater in 1994 and serves as the theater’s Executive Producer. In 2015/16, Two River premiered his play (written with Kenneth Stunkel), Lives of Reason. An educator, writer, and director, he is one of New Jersey’s most esteemed theater leaders. He earned his PhD from the University of Colorado and was a Professor of American Literature at Monmouth University for 35 years, contributing scholarly articles and short stories to various academic journals. As Two River’s Executive Producer, he oversaw the theater’s move from Monmouth University in West Long Branch to the Algonquin Arts in Manasquan. While the company was in residence in Manasquan, he planned for and oversaw the building of Two River’s state-of-theart, two-theater complex in Red Bank as its permanent home. He directed the opening production in the new building, the classic American comedy You Can’t Take It with You, in 2005. Among the other notable productions he has directed at Two River are Curse of the Starving Class (for which he received a nomination for Best Director of a Comedy from The Star-Ledger), True West, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, Thieves’ Carnival, Uncle Vanya, American Buffalo, Barefoot in the Park and The Belle of Amherst. Bob is an active member of a number of organizations benefiting our Monmouth County, including serving as a Board member for several local non-profits. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors, commendations, and accolades.
AN INTERVIEW WITH NANCE WILLIAMSON Member of the Cyrano company, Nance Williamson boasts a 35-year acting career, with more than 150 productions under her belt. She spoke with Artistic Assistant Kamilah Bush.
KAMILAH BUSH: You’ve had a pretty remarkable career so far – but one of the special things about it is that you’ve acted alongside your husband, Kurt Rhoads, in a number of shows. What has that experience been for you two? NANCE WILLIAMSON: Kurt and I have done 66 plays together; but we met doing As You Like It and then we got married six months later, and then have just been lucky enough to continue to do plays together and not kill each other. Although, Kurt has killed me, three or four times on stage, and I've slapped him a lot. (Laughs) So we have a very peaceful marriage because we get to work it all out on stage. We’ve done Antony and Cleopatra, the Macbeths, and Beatrice and Benedict – a lot of those kinds of Shakespeare couples. KB: You mention Shakespeare – I think the other special thing about your career is that most of the shows you have done have been the classics— NW: Kurt has about 80 Shakespeare productions under his belt, and I have done over 40. I’m so grateful because there’s so few parts for women – so I’ve been fortunate to play a lot of traditionally “male” roles. I’ve learned a lot, and continue to learn a lot about being a human from Shakespeare. KB: Speaking of Hudson Valley, this production of Cyrano premiered there, and it was in that beautiful tent, outside. Now that is moving inside, to Two River, how do you think it will change?
NW: The space obviously changes a production. Here at Two River you can certainly control lights and sound in a more traditional way. And the space at Hudson Valley dictates bold, clean acting choices just to be seen and heard by everybody. Here at Two River you can be a little more subtle. I’m looking forward to exploring Cyrano in a more intimate way and creating a more nuanced performance.
PRODUCTION SPOTLIGHT:
KB: In this production you play multiple characters, what is it like juggling all of that in one show? NW: A lot of these characters we developed in the room. There was no map for that, other than the script of course. So we tried lots of accents and lots of different voices and things like that. We had to figure out how to change on a dime and technically support that. Jason [O’Connell] and Brenda [Withers] have written an irreverent, romantic, playful adaptation of Rostand’s play. It has one foot in the 17th century and it also has another foot in today. Cyrano’s main story is of course the love triangle between Cyrano, Roxane and Christian, so my characters support that story. They’re just like a little pastiche of paint thrown on this really big canvas– you just have to make sure that it balances out in a way that works for the whole. KB: Is there a moment in the show that is the most fun for you to perform? NW: It's hard for me to pick a moment. I love the balcony scene - so many scenes! What's fun about our Cyrano, in a lot of ways, is what happens backstage; we do quick changes the whole time. There's this whole dance that goes on onstage and then offstage with everybody morphing into different characters and different costumes. It's this kind of beehive of activity around this whole production, a kind of energy that goes into doing a play with only five people that's sort of thrilling. So it's hard to pick a moment, just because the whole thing is like a 3D moving puzzle piece. KB: What do you hope audiences walk away with after seeing this version of Cyrano? NW: What’s fun and delightful and playful and quite moving about this Cyrano is that it’s filtered through Brenda and Jason’s contemporary eyes. I think, like Cyrano, we all have something we hate about ourselves, so Cyrano’s “flaw” prevents him from seeing his amazing talents and gifts. I feel like a lot of us can identify. We too, can be our own worst enemies. A lot of people know what it is to love someone that they can’t tell that they love them. I try to always think that there’s some audience member going through whatever my character’s going through. The audience may not necessarily have the right words and circumstances to give voice to those feelings and it’s our job to say it in a way that they go. “Yep, that’s how I feel.” I want that every time for the theater, but especially for this one, that an audience’s heart and ours beat as one. That we can laugh and think and feel in one room together for a couple of hours. n 21
PLUCK AND PASSION PLAYWRIGHT-IN-RESIDENCE MADELEINE GEORGE INTERVIEWS CYRANO CO-PLAYWRIGHTS JASON O’CONNELL AND BRENDA WITHERS
Why Cyrano? What is it about this story that makes it such a perennial favorite over time, do you think? BW: It’s such an expansive story—at the center is a heartbreaking love triangle, but I find the peripheral battles just as captivating. It’s rare that a piece truly contains “something for everyone,” but I’d say Cyrano manages it. Poetry, passion, piety, pride—and that's just the p's. JOC: It also feels like a universal cautionary tale about self-perception and the premium we place on physical beauty. I’ve said this before, but I feel there’s a strain of adolescent fantasy that runs through the play. Those warring self-images that fill all our teenage daydreams—simultaneous visions of exceptionalism and worthlessness—are so heartbreakingly encapsulated in the character of Cyrano. He knows he’s the greatest yet fears he’s the least. As uniquely accomplished and distinguished as the character is, he is also, to my mind, very much Everyman. And why now? Was it just Jason’s hunger to play the juicy title role (!) 22
that made you want to open this piece up, or is there something about this timeless story that’s timelier than we might guess? JOC: The truth is that—while this is indeed a role I’ve always wanted to play!—the idea for us to collaborate on our own adaptation was pretty much dropped in our laps! Just over two years ago, Kathleen Anderson Culebro, the Artistic Director of Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, TX, reached out to me about directing a small-cast version of Cyrano for her theater. I was very excited by the prospect, but the scripts we knew of which had been built for smaller casts didn’t really speak to us. Kathleen suggested that I write a brand-new adaptation, which—while an intriguing idea—felt like a verrrrrry tall order (especially considering that we were only four months away from the first rehearsal). It was then that she suggested I write it with Brenda Withers. The amazing thing is that Kathleen had no idea that Brenda had actually been one of my dearest friends for the last 18 years! It felt like a sign, and so—despite the seeming impossibility of the task— Brenda and I decided to take the leap. It
all began with Kathleen, though. The idea of taking on the role for Two River and HVSF came along after John Dias and Davis McCallum saw that first production down in Texas. Do you think of Cyrano as a romantic comedy in the traditional sense? Or is it more than just a romantic comedy? JOC: To be sure, Cyrano has all the hallmarks of a traditional romantic comedy (or, more accurately, it has all the hallmarks of about 75% of a traditional romantic comedy), but it goes to different, more complicated places. Mainly, this is because, despite the dramatic liberties Rostand takes in his storytelling, Cyrano de Bergerac was an actual man and his life took turns that don’t line up with the classic Hugh Grant/Meg Ryan rom-com structure. (Side note: How did those two not make a movie together?) That said, it is understandable that one would think of Cyrano in those terms—not only because the plot zigs where one imagines it might zag, but because our most famous modern-day cultural touchstone for the story is probably Steve Martin’s 1987 film, Roxanne, which is structured
as a traditional (and quite delightful) romantic comedy. It was certainly my first exposure to the story and it remains a great favorite. BW: As a person who has watched Bringing Up Baby about one million times, I’m probably a bad candidate for identifying what could be “more” than a romantic comedy. Honestly, I think it’s such a potent genre, because, as with Cyrano, a romantic entanglement opens the characters’ hearts and allows them to approach other big ideas with vulnerability—class, war, corruption, community. In everything from Much Ado About Nothing to Born Yesterday to You’ve Got Mail, the light touch makes heavy issues palatable, and reaches audiences in ways they don’t see coming. How have you kept Rostand close in your adaptation, and how have you let him go? JOC: I like the way you phrase the question—it makes it feel like a dance. And, as they say to kids at a middle school prom, you always want to “leave a little room for the holy spirit.” Adaptation, for my money, requires a delicate balance between honor and irreverence. Respecting the heart and soul of the original, while bringing something new to the party. I think Brenda and I are both a little like Cyrano, which helps—we’re romantics with a shared love of poetry and language, and mischievous clowns who like to upend the status quo whenever we can. BW: I think what we lost in rhyming couplets, we made up for in pluck and passion. Because we were crafting contemporary version, we knew some aspects of Rostand’s original (which, to start with, was in French) had to break apart, but we made a real point to keep an eye on preserving the author’s intent. There’s no missing his penchant for lyricism, his flair for the dramatic, his wry sense of humor. We aimed to stick the spirit of the text more than the letter, to adapt his magic, not replace it. I hope the adventure inherent in his original shines through in our homage.
Can you talk about what it has meant to distill the ensemble of this potentially sprawling cast down to five people? What secret superpowers are unleashed within the story through this act of streamlining? BW: Early on Jason suggested we embrace the egalitarian angle of the piece—Rostand gives almost everyone in the play an appreciation of or penchant for poetry. Art and beauty makes all the characters in this play tick, suggesting the same blood running through the veins of peasants, princes, etc. I think assigning multiple roles to every actor highlights that sense of shared experience—the artist is the baker is the soldier is the nun. It was a surprise to catch that connection the first time I saw the piece on its feet, and I’m happy to feel it deepens the message of kinship. JOC: The piece at its core speaks to the idea that we all contain multitudes, so why not embrace that concept fully? There’s a delight in seeing friends and enemies inhabiting the same body and swapping personas in the blink of an eye. As our version of LeBret proclaims early on: “A man can be more than one thing... We all have secret selves.” This isn’t the first time this version of Cyrano will be performed. Is the production evolving from its previous iterations? Will you miss performing under the stars? JOC: Performing out under the HVSF tent is always magical. However, I’ve been involved with several HVSF productions that have moved indoors after their Hudson Valley runs, and I’ve always found that the shows gain new and exciting layers as a result of being transferred. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that there are fewer wild cards to contend with (thunderstorms, heatwaves, errant skunks/snapping turtles/wild turkeys, etc.), but the audience’s focus seems to sharpen in a really interesting way. BW: Thanks to some lessons we’ve learned in performance, and some terrific feedback from collaborators,
we are continuing to develop parts of the script. The shift from an outdoor atmosphere to a more traditional theater set-up at Two River requires a little tailoring and we’re also working towards balancing entertainment and enrichment. We’re so lucky to have a creative team in place that’s responsive and game for improvement. JOC: The brilliant Meredith McDonough (who has directed the play both at HVSF and Two River) has illuminated and elevated our play in ways I could never have imagined. The same is true of our designers’ visions and our cast’s interpretations... it all has an evolutionary effect. You’ve both been founding members of theater companies, and have worked with some of the same artistic collaborators over and over. How have long-term relationships with fellow artists informed the work you do as writers and actors? BW: I think an ensemble of artists that really understand each other usually digs much farther much faster—the aesthetic shorthand and shared history let you hit the ground running, especially with new works. The economics of our industry is tempting theaters to embrace shorter and shorter rehearsal periods. Repeat collaborations are a great way to combat that trend. JOC: I’ve found that collaborating with kindred spirits deepens my own understanding of myself as an artist. As an actor, when you feel confident and secure in a rehearsal room, you can go to places you never thought possible. As a writer, it’s a joy to put language in the mouths of performers you love— voices you can hear clearly in your head, actors you can depend on. That said, it’s also important to be able to work with (or at least be open to working with) anyone. Actors need to feel free to experiment in every room. Plays need to be sturdy enough to withstand many interpretations. And directors need to be able to communicate their vision to as many collaborators as possible. n
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UPDATE: CENTER FOR NEW WORK, EDUCATION & DESIGN Two River Theater is gearing up to officially open our Center for New Work, Education and Design. The Center will allow us to grow the impact and reach of our education programs, new-play development activities and many free community events we offer through our Inside Two River program. The building will include two rehearsal studios; scenery, props and costume shops; centrally located offices; and multiple storage areas. With the completion of the building, the parking lot will be back online as well.
ARCHITECT
kgd Grammer Designs
OWNERS REPRESENTATION Greyhawk GENERAL CONTRACTOR CORP Hall Building ENGINEERS InSite Engineering French & Parrello Associates Lewis S. Goodfriend & Associates 24
FIRST LOOK INSIDE OUR NEW BUILDING— STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING EVENTS AND TOURS!
Overview
Conference Room
Two River Theater Staff in Studio A
1st Floor Wood Shop
Metal Shop
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OUR PLAZA RENOVATION In addition to the construction of our Center for New Work, Education and Design, we are transforming our entrance into a welcoming and useful amenity for our patrons and neighborhood. The plaza renovation includes beautiful foliage, benches, tables and chairs, better lighting, a bike rack and a pergola stage for events and programming.
ENG R AVE A PAVER. SUPPORT T WO RI VER. BE AUTIFY OU R COMMU NI T Y.
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PAVE THE PLAZA
ADD TO THE BEAUTIFICATION OF OUR THEATER AND OUR COMMUNITY BY ENGRAVING A PAVER ON OUR PLAZA. Join us and have your name, business or loved one recognized among our most loyal and generous patrons for years to come.
GRANITE PAVERS BENEFACTOR - $7,500 - A wave of beautiful 18 x 36 inch red granite pavers will grace the lobby entrance. We have a limited number of these special pavers available. Contact Angela Kluwin at akluwin@trtc.org or 732.345.1400 x1830 to reserve.
STONE PAVERS Pavers are 6 x 9 inches and pricing is based on the prominence of their placement. You can engrave up to 4 lines, 24 characters max (including spaces) per line.
CHAMPION - $2,500 – your paver will be located right in front of the lobby entrance! PATRON - $1,000 – your paver will be located by benches and close to the entrance of our theater. PRODUCER - $500 – your paver will be located west of the box office or near the new parking lot.
GROUP PAVER - $125 – per name. Organize a group of 4 or let us add you to a single paver with 3 other patrons! One full name will be listed on each line (24 characters max, including spaces). Group pavers will be installed west of the box office or near the new parking lot. Ordering your personalized paver is easy! Visit the box office or order online at tworivertheater.org/plaza
*Giving has never been simpler. For pavers $500 and above, donors have the option to make monthly automatic credit card payments.
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160 Route 35 South . Red Bank, NJ
732.345.9977
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COMING SOON:
World Premiere Musical
LOVE IN HATE NATION Music, Lyrics and Book by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis Directed by John Simpkins ——
NOV 9 – DEC 1/2019
J OA N A N D RO B E RT R E C H N I T Z T H E AT E R
This fall, Two River is thrilled to produce Love in Hate Nation, a turbulent rock romance by Joe Iconis, the Tony Award nominated composer and lyricist of the worldwide sensation Be More Chill! Set in a 1960s Juvie Hall, this eagerly anticipated world premiere uses classic “bad girl” movies as the inspiration for the story of young people caught between eras of a changing America. Sixteen-year old Susannah Son is carted off to the National Reformatory for Girls to get her head put on straight. There she meets the aggressively incorrigible Sheila Nail, and a relationship forms which leads to an all-out “revolution in the institution” as they attempt to break out of the boxes society has created around them. Girl Group Wall of Sound harmonies are filtered through a punk rock spirit in this rebellious and romantic new musical. The powerhouse cast of Love in Hate Nation includes Sydney Farley (Gloria “Ya Ya” Meeks), Amina Faye (Susannah Son), Jasmine Forsberg (Brenda “Rat” Ratowski), Lauren Marcus (Miss Asp), Kelly McIntyre (Sheila Nail), Lena Skeele (Dorothy Donaldson), Emerson Smith (Kitty Minx), Ryan Vona (The Guy) and Tatiana Wechsler (Judith Ramone).
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PRODUCTION SPONSOR:
For tickets, visit tworivertheater.org, call 732.345.1400 or stop by the box office.
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FREE INSIDE TWO RIVER EVENTS
2019/20 BOOK CLUBS
As a part of its Inside Two River Series, the theater will continue its Book Club as a platform for facilitating conversations surrounding the plays in our season. We find that some of the most interesting and fruitful conversations arise when discussing two different works of art and how they relate to each other. Based on that principle, we started the Two River Book Club, in which we choose books that feel like they’re in conversation with the plays in our season, either in theme, context, or content, and come together with our audience to discuss the books, plays, and whatever else may come up. Monday, September 23, 2019 | 6:30 Production: Cyrano with book by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers Book: The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Worlds of the Moon and Sun by Cyrano de Bergerac. Written in the mid-17th Century by the real-life Cyrano de Bergerac, The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Worlds of the
Moon and Sun, follows a character named Cyrano as he attempts to reach the moon and contact the civilization living 238,900 miles away. In connection with Two River’s production of Cyrano, this book club will introduce readers to the work of the man that inspired numerous dramatic adaptations of his life. Monday, October 28, 2019 | 6:30 Production: Love in Hate Nation music, lyrics, and book by Joe Iconis Book: Letters to ONE: Gay and Lesbian Voices from the 1950s and 1960s Edited by Craig M. Loftin Long before the Stonewall riots, ONE magazine―the first openly gay magazine in the United States― offered a positive viewpoint of homosexuality and encouraged gay people to resist discrimination and persecution. Letters to ONE is comprised of letters written to the magazine from their readership. In connection to our world-premiere musical, Love in Hate Nation, we’ll discuss sexuality, family, love, and rebellion in the 1950s and 1960s. Monday, January 6, 2020 | 6:30 Production: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Book: Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf Written by Virginia Woolf, one of the most prolific novelists of th the early-20 Century, Orlando: A Biography follows Orlando, a poet, whose gender mysteriously changes from man to woman at the age of thirty. After that, Orlando goes on to live for three-hundred more years of adventures. From Queen Elizabeth I’s reign to 1928, Woolf crafts an irreverent trip through English literary history. In connection with
our production of Twelfth Night, we’ll discuss gender, class, English literature, and battles of wit. Monday, April 6, 2020 | 6:30 Production: The Hombres by Tony Meneses Book: Hustle by David Tomas Martinez Hailing from San Diego California, poet David Tomas Martinez has won numerous prizes and fellowships for his work including a Pushcart Prize, New England Book Festival’s prize in poetry, the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award, the Verlaine Poetry Prize, and an NEA Fellowship. With his first collection of poems, Hustle, Martinez’s speaker recounts in a series his childhood, the ups and downs of growing up in San Diego, and his journey to manhood. In connection with our production of The Hombres, we will discuss machismo, love, and healing. Monday, June 1, 2020 | 6:30 Production: Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson Book: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff When his father goes missing, twenty-twoyear-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. Set in 1954, Atticus, George, and Letitia encounter both the everyday terrors of Jim Crow America as well as malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the macabre worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. In connection with our production of Lackawanna Blues, we will discuss the Great Migration, northern racism in the mid-20th Century, and reconstructing family histories. n 31
2019-2020 SEASON NOW
ON SALE! An Evening with
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singing her hit singles Brand New Key, Lay Down, Peace Will Come, Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma and Ruby Tuesday
SEPTEMBER 28 8 PM ●
OCTOBER 4 8 PM ●
WILLIAM CLOSE
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THE EARTH HARP
OCTOBER 11 8 PM ●
Bridgman | Packer Dance Voyeur & Other Works
As seen on
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OCTOBER 18 8 PM ●
NOVEMBER 2 • 8 PM
NOVEMBER 15 8 PM ●
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2/16/18 6:10 PM
SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION
PLAY DATES
Children with teaching artist Carmen Rubin and Metro Scholars during the Oo-Bla-Dee Play Date pilot last season.
At Two River Theater, we are always looking for ways we can make theater a family-friendly experience. Last season, during our production of Oo-Bla-Dee, we piloted a new initiative that allowed parents to attend the theater while their children had creative fun in a safe environment. This year, we are excited to expand Play Dates as a season-long program.
While parents and guardians attend a performance, their children ages 6-11 will engage with professional Two River Teaching Artists— playing theater games and making crafts—as they explore themes inspired by the production. Play Dates will be offered during a 3pm Saturday matinee of every show in our subscription season and will cost $10 per child. To sign-up online, book your tickets to a Play Date performance. You will be prompted to add the supplementary event “Play Date” as you move through the check-out process.
SAV E T H E P L AY DAT E S! Cyrano: Love in Hate Nation: Twelfth Night: August Wilson’s Radio Golf: The Hombres: Lackawanna Blues:
SE PT. 2 8 NOV. 16 JA N. 18 MA R CH 7 A PR I L 18 J UNE 1 3
NEW THIS SEASON:
FALL INTENSIVES
Students from Two River Theater Summer Intensives 2019. Photo by Yurik L. Lozano
Is your high schooler looking for something fun and creative to do on November's Teacher's Convention break? This year, we are creating an opportunity for students in grades 9-12 to join us for theater training in one of the brand-new studios in our Center for New Work, Education and Design. Fall Intensives will take place on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8 from 9am-4pm. Students will have the chance to spend all day working with professional teaching artists—singing, dancing, playing theater games, creating, doing acting exercises, devising, and exploring. The sky’s the limit! The cost for the two-day immersive experience is $150; some need-based scholarships are available. Registration is open andRspots more E G are I Slimited T E R– for ON L Iinfo N EandAtoTsignTup, Wvisit O Rtworivertheater.org/summer-intensives. I V E R T H E AT E R . O R G 34
A LITTLE SHAKESPEARE AUDITIONS ANNOUNCED FOR OCTOBER It’s time for Little Shakes! Two River Theater introduces hundreds of young people—and adults—to the work of the Bard through our annual A Little Shakespeare program, which is now in its seventh season. Each A Little Shakespeare production is a 75-minute abridged version of a Shakespeare play that is directed and designed by theater professionals, and performed and supported backstage by high school students. Since 2013, more than 120 students have participated in six A Little Shakespeare productions, performing for thousands of audience members. This season, the A Little Shakespeare production will be Twelfth Night, which will be produced in the Marion Huber Theater in conjunction with director Sara Holdren’s mainstage production of the full play in the Rechnitz Theater. A Little Shakespeare: Twelfth Night will be adapted and directed by Em Weinstein, a writer and a director of new plays, films, musicals, and interactive installations. At Yale School of Drama, Weinstein’s directing credits include the first workshop production of Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris and an all-female, pop-infused Romeo & Juliet set in a Catholic high school. Says Weinstein, “Twelfth Night is Shakespeare at his most playful: with fools and twins and music: the food of love. But it’s also an incredibly sharp investigation of gender performance with Viola finding her bravery, independence and power in drag as Cesario. It’s also a rich and complex look at how we treat each other: when Malvolio’s hilarious humbling in his yellow stockings turns into an act of painful bullying and we’re made to question our own laughter at his expense. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be tackling this piece with a group of talented teens.” Student actors for A Little Shakespeare: Twelfth Night will be cast through auditions, followed by three months of rehearsals. Auditions will be held at Two River Theater on Monday, October 28 starting at 3:30 by appointment only. To learn more about auditions and opportunities to be part of the production team or run crew, visit tworivertheater.org/a-little-shakespeare. All photos of last season’s A Little Shakespeare: Macbeth by Scott L. Friedman.
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IN MEMORIAM:
FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 15TH 8PM
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 16TH 8PM
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 17TH
SCOTT L. FRIEDMAN
Beginning in 2006, Scott L. Friedman was the go-to photographer for Two River Theater’s Education department, taking photos of nearly every student performance, workshop, Little Shakes production, and summer program. His ability to perfectly capture those fleeting, magical moments, paired with his gentle spirit and unwavering belief in the importance of our work with young people, made Scott a constant collaborator and a dear friend. On August 23, 2019, Scott died after a brief but mighty battle with cancer. He is greatly missed. n
3PM
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 23RD 8PM
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 24TH 3PM
Patrick Monaghan as Bottom in A Little Shakespeare: Midsummer; Photo by Scott L. Friedman
GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
Visit: www.PhoenixRedBank.com/tickets or Call: 732-747-0014
At The Count Basie Center For The Arts 36
The cast of A Little Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors. Photo by Scott L. Friedman
IT ALL BEGINS HERE Nursery through Grade 8
That moment when...
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OCT 16 9-11AM OCT 23 9-11AM NOV 14 9-11AM NOV 19 9-11AM Contact our Admissions Office today at admissions@rcds.org 35 Bellevue Avenue . Rumson, NJ 07760 732.842.0527 . www.rcds.org
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INDIVIDUAL
DONORS
THANK YOU to the following generous individuals who made contributions to the theater! VISIONARY CIRCLE ($25,000+)
Anonymous Cynthia Bajorek and Robert E. Evanson** Caroline P. Huber** Joanna and Brian Leddin** Sidney and Helaine Lerner** Victoria and William Marraccini** Joan and Robert Rechnitz** Richard Worley and Leslie Miller**
THE INNOVATOR CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999)
Anonymous Lisa and Stephen Becker** Jane Bergere Marilyn and Bob Broege** Melissa and Joseph C. Del Broccolo, III** Jeremy Grunin** Phyllis Kinsler Mary Jane and Rick Kroon** David Lee Anne Luzzatto and Gordon Litwin** Nancy A. Mulheren** Joshua Rechnitz* Ms. Emily Rechnitz* Liz and Adam Rechnitz* Anne Marie Schultz** Anne and Sheldon Vogel**
BENEFACTOR ($5,000-$9,999)
Anonymous (2) Sam Chevalier Elizabeth Columbo** Kelly and Brooks Cullen** Carolyn DeSena** The Gravina Family Foundation, Inc.** Gale and Dr. Robert B. Grossman** Guttenplan Family Foundation Joan and Paul Hamelberg Lanae and Todd Herman** Barbara and Joseph Hollander** Barbara and Jim Hrebek
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Katherine Kovner Linda McKean The Honorable Edward J. McKenna** Nyire and Gregory Melconian** Diane and Ross Millhiser JP Nicolaides and the Honorable Ed Zipprich Sean O’Connell Susan and Ty Olson** Mary Beth and Gerald Radke** Steve Scopellite** Susan E. Whyman**
CHAMPION ($2,500-$4,999)
Howard P. Aronson** Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Barrett** Hall Building*** Diane and Robert Butters** Juliet Cozzi and Ronald Gumbaz Dr. and Mrs. Miguel Damien** Mr. and Mrs. Thomas DeFelice** John Dias Gail and John Duffy** Joan Ellis** Kathleen Ellis and the Honorable Kenneth Pringle* Susan and Brett Flynn Thomas K. Hessman** Christina Hewitt Maureen and James Hurst* Michael Hurst Kathryn Kent and Robert Patton*** Cathy Larson Sharon Falco and Doctor Jonathan Lustgarten*** Wendy and Gerald Marks** Beth and Vincent Mazza Shirley and Bob Neff** Ms. Barbara Nevius and Mr. Tom Curtis Gloria Nilson Fund** Allyn and Patrick Quagliano Patricia and Vernon Ralph** Lori and Geoffrey Sadwith** Cathy Sivo**
Maureen Silliman and William Parry** Mary Carol Stunkel Cynthia and Bill Wilby Meta and Dr. Ralph Wyndrum Miss Chryssa Yaccarino
PATRON ($1,000-$2,499)
Anonymous Jutta and George Aguilar Barbara and Andy Andres** Ms. Jay Appleton Marie and Robert Arbour Mrs. Deborah and Mr. Richard B. Ansell Kasandrea Banks The Honorable William G. Bassler Melissa and John Bonello*** Lois P. Broder Barbara and Tom Carroll** The Carton Family*** Tamara Casriel Dr. and Mrs. E. F. Cheslock Isabella and John Chiappinelli** Mr. Chris Cole** Lynne and Jan Dash Nancy and Michael Del Priore Lorraine and Bob Henry Daniel L. Hertz Jr.** Mr. Dave Hoder** Marti and Bruce Huber** Melissa and Paul Hurst Ginny Kamin John Klein** Ms. Tricia Krietzberg** Edward Madden John McEwen** Lisa and Quinn McKean, III** Mr. Albert Mishaan Sonya Moroney** Aida and Brian Murphy Jesse Muscarello*** Lauren Nicosia** Rev. and Mrs. William Riker Paulette and Lawrence Roberts** Monica and John Ryan** Linda and Andrew Safran** Candy and Dr. Sigmund Sattenspiel
June and Mort Seligman** Bruce Sherrill and Robert Cordrey Caryl and Charles Sills Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Sorensen** Kathryne and Richard Singleton Mr. and Mrs. William Spector ** Elizabeth Tortorella and Ivan Polonsky Kathy and Webster Trammell** Penny and Larry Turtel** Catherine Weiss and Samuel Huber Joan Zakanych David Zippel
PRODUCER ($500-$999) Anonymous Meredyth Armitage Rosalyn Azzolina** Nancy and Ed Butler Lucy Campanella John Caroli** Mr. Thomas Carroll** Barbara and Harold Chafkin Joan and John Cleary Susan and Alan Coen Judy and Richard Fuller Laraine and Ned Gaunt** Mr. and Mrs. Heywood Knopf** Bobbi and Bob Krantz** Senator Joe Kyrillos** Maxine Macnow** Kimberly Mason Theresa Mattina Paula and Larry Metz** Robert Mortenson Trudy and Charles Parton Ms. Patricia Perfect Monica Reid The Craig and Flori Roberts Foundation, Inc. Sheila Schwartz Carol Stillwell** Nancy Wong
DIRECTOR ($250-$499)
Anonymous (2) Lisa and Michael Absatz Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Aglione Lynne Beach Alba Di Bello Barbara Benson Risa and Mr. Richard Bertodatti** Sarah and Colin Bradley*** Dorothy and Michael Bailey Dr. Janice Breen
Amanda Butterbaugh and Michael Mulheren** Dr. Joseph J. Calabro Lucy Campanella Paul Chalifour** Donna and Michael Castellano Marjorie and Peter Cavalier Kyllene Cox Donald Crocker** Karen and Joseph D’Amore Dr. Jack Demarest Phil Dorian* Lisa and Carl Dumont Judith and William Fraser Henry Gajda** Matthew Goldzweig May Louie and Walter Graczyk Gail and Marc Harrison Barbara Boas and Stephen Hecht Kimberly and Thomas Jarck** Patricia and William Jaeger Ann Roseman and Stan Lumish Bob MacKasek Maria Noschitta** Mary Pearson Marion and Michael Portnoy Senator Declan O’Scanlon** Karen and David Rajala Ginger and Joel Richmann Toni Rinella and Brian Compton Louis Rodriguez Peggy Sansone Peter A. Schkeeper Linda Schottland William G. Shlala Susan Stamler Joe Stampe** Karin and Joe Stein Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steinman Patrice Sullivan Janet and P.J. Rotchford Nannette and Richard Tereo Stephen Thurber Judith and Joseph Vassallo Dee and Fred Williamson Dr. Kenneth Womack** Marjorie and Zeke Zaccaro Barbara and Maurice Zagha
MATCHING GIFTS
The following have provided matching gifts to Two River on behalf of their employees.
American Online Giving Foundation Black Rock Matching Gift Program C.R. Bard Foundation Goldman Sachs HSBC Matching Gifts Program** IBM Corp Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts JPMorgan Chase Foundation New Jersey Resources Matching Gift Microsoft Corporation Prudential Financial, Inc. (3) TE Connectivity Verisk Analytics (2) Verizon Wireless *Includes matching gift. **Includes Special Event Donation *** Special Event Donation
TRIBUTES AND MEMORIALS Dr. Jack Demarest In memory of Kenneth Stunkel Mrs. Diane DeLoche In memory of Kenneth Stunkel Debra Dengrove In honor of Kenneth Stunkel Mr. David Herrstrom In memory of Kenneth Stunkel Mrs. Caroline Huber In memory of Kenneth Stunkel Kristi Kaepplein In memory of her mother Jane Ms. Barbara Kenas In memory of Helen Selinger Mrs. Helen Kim In Memory of Kenneth Stunkel Mrs. Mary Jane Kroon In Memory of Kenneth Stunkel Renee Maxwell In memory of Art Kamin Ms. Lauren Nicosia In honor of Edward J. McKenna Jr. Drs. Joan H. and Robert M. Rechnitz In Memory of Kenneth Stunkel Maureen Silliman and William Parry In honor of Michael Stelle Ms. Sheila Sachs In memory of Elaine Rennert Susan Stamler In honor of Mary Jane Kroon Listing reflects gifts made between August 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019. 39
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FOR EXPERIENCES • Young Family Playdates • Birthright Israel • Israel Education • Films • Travel to Israel & Overseas • Jewish Camp • Adult Education
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MEET OUR STAFF ARTISTIC Stephanie Coen Associate Artistic Director Taylor Barfield Literary Manager Madeleine George Playwright in Residence Kamilah Bush Artistic Assistant Brian Eckert Artistic Assistant ADMINISTRATION Alma MalabananMcGrath General Manager Margaret Shafai Director of Finance Karen Pierce Staff Accountant AUDIENCE SERVICES, PR & MARKETING Courtney Schroeder Director of Marketing Jenna Castano Associate Director of Marketing Hannah Walker Institutional Marketing Manager Yurik L. Lozano Multimedia Manager Lauren Mancuso Marketing Associate Michele Klinsky Box Office Manager Evan Kudish Box Office Supervisor Lynn Kroll Box Officer/Group Sales Coordinator Vernette Spicer Box Officer/Access Coordinator Samantha Truglio Matt Yee Box Officers Angela White House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Carmen Balentine Doreen Fromage Melissa Javorek Julie Mullen Francesca Trerotola Assistant House Managers Tess Ammerman Briana Butler Kelsey Butler Colette Dante Bobby DiGenova Thomas Dougherty John Knodel Matt Markowski Janet Pepsin Daniel Pino Kayla Santry
Gabby Scerbo Nicholas Trerotola Elena Zambrowski Front of House Staff DEVELOPMENT Denyse Reed, Director of Development Katie Benson Special Events Manager Thomas Dougherty Events Assistant Rachel Hulsart Institutional Giving Manager Angela Kluwin Associate Director of Development EDUCATION Kate Cordaro Director of Education Amanda Espinoza Education and Community Engagement Manager Lea Anello Corinda Bravo Amanda Butterbaugh Devin Fletcher Shane O’Neil Maria Paduano Elliot Roth Steven Wilson Teaching Artists Em Weinstein Adaptor/Director OPERATIONS Dave Hartkern Director of Facilities Wayne Van Sant Maintenance Supervisor Vinnie Gillick Lamar Hicks William Hinton Building Maintenance PRODUCTION Lauren Kurinskas Director of Production Will Cruttenden Associate Production Manager Jackie Romeo Production Management Assistant Alison Campbell Company Management Assistant Jacqueline Deniz Young Technical Director Colleen Dolan Scenic Charge Fiona Malone Assistant Technical Director
Duane Noch Master Carpenter Christian Dilks Staff Carpenter Laura Nuneviller Shop Assistant Marlène Whitney Properties Supervisor Victoria Schilling Assistant Properties Supervisor Mich Davis Properties Assistant Lesley Sorenson Costume Shop Supervisor Jill DiGiuseppe Draper Maggie Barnett Wardrobe Supervisor Jennah H. Cruz Costume Assistant Sue Patino Lighting Supervisor Dan Montano Sound Supervisor Cassie Mazza Abigail Lynn Smith Lighting & Sound Assistants Niew Bharyaguntra Devin Christor Production Assistants SPECIAL SERVICES Gilda Rogers Community Relations Social Sidekick Press & Publicity Design Army Graphic Design Suzanne Anan Graphic Design T. Charles Erickson Production Photography Michael Boylan Director, Cinematographer Gordon N. Litwin, Esq., Litwin & Provence, LLC Legal Counsel WithumSmith + Brown Auditors VOLUNTEERS Arthur Aaron Ronnie Aaron Marlene Abelon Debbie Adamchak Juanita Agee Deisy Aguilar Irwin Altschiller Maddy Altschiller Karen Anderson Ellen Balthazar Dennis Banks Gale Baran Paddy Barber Carl Battaglia Ellen Battaglia
Marie Bauso Joyce Becker Marla Beil Carmen Benimeli Barbara Berg Joan Blake Roza Blackwood Kathy Boushie Marti Bookstein Charles Blake Mercedes Brand Carmela Brady Barbara Brodzinski Arlene Brown Monica SchneiderBrewer Robert Buchbinder Loriz Burke April Bunn Carmen Cancel-Seaman Kathleen Castore Dora Chu Barbara Chasser Rita Chiarini Roslyn Cooper Nancy Daley Elizabeth De Carvalho Marie DeMarco Diane DeLoche Ronni Donza Susan DiGiacomo Ginjer Doherty Bonnie Delaney Maddie Emile Eleanor Falcichio Ellen Falvo June Farkouh Robyn Flipse Prudence Frechette Judy Fuller Robert Gannon Janet Garcia Nancy Gargan Laurett Gannon Pat George Lara Gomez Margaret Graf Marilyn Griffin Constance Gryczka Mark Guberman Kathie Hari Karen Harrington Helene HelgesenMonserrate Elaine Held Cynthia Hellman Jeri Held Karen Hespe Karen Heyer Marion Holinaty Caroline Huber Cecilia Jelic Shirley Johnson Virginia Kamin Barry Kaplan Dee Kaplan Bev Keyes Karen Kelly Barbara Kenas Phyllis Kinsler
Karen Kirkwood Dottie Kirschenbaum Eleanor Kitzhoffer Mavis Kolb Diane Kragh Diane Kuriloff Harriet Kuropatwa Betti Lane Mary Anne Lapiana Margaret Lelivelt Bob Levine Carol Levine Barbara Lipton Donna Lizotte Kathy Lloyd Diane Lopresti Frank Lopresti Sharon Lucas Gay Lowden Lynn Marie Macy Iris MacNeil Joanne Mallon Robert Mallon Sheryle Mallen Janis Marano Phyllis Marberry Libby Markowitz Pamela Marhan Lynne Martocci Mary Mason Susan Mazur Anne Mayer Casandra Mazzaro Vinnie Mazza Joan McCue Eileen McDermott Jo McKeon-Hutton Bill McMurray Mary Melosh Evelyn Mendelsohn Dorothy Michels Carol Migliore Joanne Mieszkowski Bernard Miller Carol Miller Susan Minehardt Roland Monserrate Linda Monti Marilynne Morley Gloria Moro Susan Moss Michele Mullin Alicia Murray Judith Mugrace Leslie Nicholson Julia Norton Judith Nock Kathy Nielsen Jennifer Newton Maureen O'Connor Leach Annie O'Rourke Linda Pacotti Dolores Palonetti Katherine Parisi Marilyn Pennell Art & Pat Perri Tracy Peternich Claire Planchere Jeanette Peterson
Terri Pinto Terri Pontecorvo Philomena Porcello Lois Priest Marion Quinn Moira Quinn Judy Rector Fran Reinhold Mary Beth Reidy Lorri Reines Jill Reminick Susan Richman Carl & Ruth Rosencrown Mirta San Martin Lori Sadwith Gil Saltzman Marcia Saltzman Gail Sanderson Evelyn Schneider Lorelle Shea Connie Schulman Matt Sivo Phyllis Searby Shirley Sexton Deb Sieron Judy SimmonsBradshaw Jeffrey Shepard Arlene Smelson George Smith Arthur Steinman Linda Stewart Carol Stewart Cathy & Howie Stelzner Rose Sullivan Denise Sobotka Mary Carol Stunkel Martin Sulkes Leila Sulkes Michele Susalis Dan Tagatac Eunice Taylor Steve Tepperman David Tolleth Deborah Tolleth Lauren Tolleth Rachel Treglia Marie Trezza Magdalena Tanchak Chris Wallace Patricia Walter Shirley Warren Marvin Wasserman Deborah Wasserman Gregory White Joy Weinstein Nina Willey Kirk Willey Joyce Wingerter Barbara Withers Rosemarie Wilkinson Marty Weinstein Mary Ellen Wirin Zina Wolin Martin Wolin Marion Wright Joan Zakanych Laura Zakanych
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SCENE CROSSING BORDERS (CRUZANDO FRONTERAS)
AT TWO RIVER (AND BEYOND!)
Two River held our 9th Annual Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) festival from August 1-4! The festival was a celebration of Latinx theater and music that brought more than 900 people together to share in the power of art and community. We are proud that, for the first time, all readings and events were moved to our larger Rechnitz Theater to accommodate audience demand.
POETRY NIGHT In anticipation of our play and inspired by Cyrano’s declarations of love, Two River invited community members to join us for a Poetry Night held at Johnny Jazz Park on September 10th. The evening featured 18 individuals who read love poems from throughout the centuries. The readers were made up of members of Two River’s Little Shakespeare and Summer Intensives programs, TRT Ambassadors, and leaders from community organizations: Brookdale Community College, Monmouth University, Red Bank Library, Red Bank Parks & Recreation, and T. Thomas Fortune Foundation. The evening was led by Two River’s Literary Manager, Taylor Barfield and was in partnership with Red Bank Parks & Recreation.
All photos by Yurik L. Lozano. 46
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