LEAD SPONSOR:
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ABOUT US LEADERSHIP
Robert M. Rechnitz Executive Producer John Dias Artistic Director Joan H. Rechnitz Associate Producer Michael Hurst Managing Director
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Todd Herman President Anne Luzzatto Vice President Robert Butters Treasurer Susan Olson Secretary Stephen Becker Marilyn Broege Amanda Butterbaugh Carolyn Cushman DeSena Kathleen Ellis Gale Grossman Caroline Huber Mary Jane Kroon Hon. Edward J. McKenna, Jr. 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 William Marracini Kathryne Singleton Emeritus Board Members
Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, develops and produces great American theater. Through 10 theatrical productions each year (including world premieres, musicals, classics and theater for young audiences) and 50+ annual events happening around Monmouth County, we produce exceptional theater and cultivate engaged audiences. Two River celebrates and honors our core values of Artistic Excellence; Education and Community Engagement; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Operational Excellence.
Founded by Joan and Robert Rechnitz in 1994, Two River is recognized in the national theater community for its newplay commissioning program, which creates a pipeline for developing work that contributes to the vitality and future of the American theater. Each season, the theater hosts numerous artist residencies, workshops and readings, and presents an annual Cabaret of New Songs for the Musical Theater in association with NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program. The Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) festival and Nosotros program foster a closer relationship between the theater and Latino artists and audiences. Two River cultivates a new generation of theatergoers through innovative arts education programs that introduce young people to the theater and create opportunities for them to engage with renowned theater artists. For more information, visit tworivertheater.org or call 732.345.1400.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 Title Page 7 Patron Services 9 A Note from the Artistic Director, John Dias 11 Cast of Characters 12 Bios 18 Earnest and Earnestness: Oscar Wilde and Victorian Society 21 Leadership Bios 23 Education Spotlight: Relaxed Performances 24 A Conversation between Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George and Michael Cumpsty 27 Two River Welcomes New Board Members 28 A Theater Lover's Guide to London 30 Restaurant Sponsor: Danny’s Steakhouse & Sushi 31 Coming Soon: El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom 32 Ensure Your Legacy at Two River with Planned Giving 33 TYA Spotlight: The Rainbow Fish & The Young King 35 What Your Donation Gives 36 Individual Donors 38 Halloween Ball Recap 41 Institutional Support 43 Meet our Staff and Volunteers 46 Scene at Two River
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Robert M. Rechnitz Executive Producer John Dias Artistic Director Joan H. Rechnitz Associate Producer Michael Hurst Managing Director
By Oscar Wilde WITH
Randy Danson Chris Kipiniak Federico Rodriguez
Rosa Gilmore Sam Lilja Henry Vick
Mahira Kakkar Bob Mackasek Liesel Allen Yeager
SCENIC DESIGNER........................................................... Charlie Corcoran COSTUME DESIGNER................................................... Jess Goldstein LIGHTING DESIGNER.................................................... Yuki Nakase SOUND DESIGNER........................................................... Elisheba Ittoop WIGS DESIGNER................................................................. Leah J. Loukas CASTING..................................................................................... Heidi Griffiths & Kate Murray PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER ................... Rick Steiger
Directed by Michael Cumpsty OPENING NIGHT: NOVEMBER 17/2017 JOAN AND ROBERT RECHNITZ THEATER
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.
LEAD SPONSOR:
PRODUCTION SPONSOR:
SEASON SPONSORS:
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monmouth.edu
Monmouth University proudly supports Two River Theater
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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.
POST-PLAY DISCUSSIONS Post-play discussions are scheduled following three performances of every 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.
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!
BOX OFFICE
ACCESS Two River Theater is committed to making its facilities and performances accessible for all patrons through: Barrier Free Access Assistive Listening Devices Large Print Programs *Open Captioning *Audio Description *American Sign Language Interpretation *Relaxed Performances *Available at select performances only.
2017/18 SEASON ACCESS DATES
The Importance of Being Earnest
Audio Description: Wednesday, November 29 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, December 2 at 3PM
The Rainbow Fish
Relaxed Performance: Saturday, December 16 at 4PM
El CoquĂ Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom Relaxed Performance: Saturday, January 27 at 3PM Audio Description: Wednesday, January 31 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, February 3 at 3PM
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Audio Description: Wednesday, March 14 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, March 17 at 3PM
A Little Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors Relaxed Performance: Saturday, March 10 at 2PM
Box Office Hours: Monday through Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday from 12-5pm and starting one hour prior to all performances.
Dancing at Lughnasa
CONCESSIONS
The Young King
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.
Oo-Bla-Dee
Audio Description: Wednesday, May 2 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, May 5 at 3PM Relaxed Performance: Saturday, April 21 at 2PM Audio Description: Wednesday, June 27 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, June 30 at 3PM
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.
Access programs made possible through support from New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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TWO RIVER THEATER
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A NOTE FROM THE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Photo by Danny Sanchez.
JOHN DIAS
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth” —Oscar Wilde in 1891 essay “The Critic as Artist”
H
ave any of you been fascinated—as I have been—by what’s going on in our national discourse? I mean the way that language itself has become such a huge part of how we’re talking about how we’re talking to each other. I was stunned by the editorial that Frank Bruni wrote recently in the New York Times about the way Sarah Huckabee Sanders, our White House press secretary, communicates in her daily briefings. How she uses—and maybe misuses—our language. Bruni wrote on November 3rd: “For some 20 minutes every afternoon, down is up, paralysis is progress, enmity is harmony, stupid is smart, villain is victim, disgrace is honor, plutocracy is populism and Hillary Clinton colluded with the Russians if anyone would summon the nerve to investigate her (because, you know, that never, ever happens). I watch and listen with sheer awe.” I do too. I’m sort of impressed, when I’m not infuriated. And I sometimes giggle, when I’m not screaming. Sanders appears to me to be quite canny and aware of the great flexibility of language and the almost magical spell—when employed by a good speaker—it can cast on an audience. The way a thing is said is just as important as the what.
Scholars of language—philologists and etymologists—think that our English word “grammar,” which refers to the systems we’ve created to structure language into ideas, comes to us from the same root that led to the Scottish word “glamour.” Before the word “glamour” evolved in English to its current, more common meaning as an illusory and exciting attractiveness, it referred—in much the same way as the word “grammar” does—to the uses of language and learning. Because language and learning were seen to be inseparable from magic and the occult, glamour came to refer to the usage of language to cast a spell on the hearer. The British still use the word glamour to describe being cast in a spell. You might argue that Hollywood does too. I love this notion that language— in essence—is a kind of spell or enchantment. If you think about language that way you just might listen differently to—and be more careful about—the effects it has, as you use it and others use it on you. Just watching the members of the press corps gasp for breath as Sarah Sanders says, well, just about anything reminds me of how we gasp and giggle at well, just about everything that Lady Bracknell says in The Importance of Being Earnest. We feel both horror and delight when witnessing this expert employment of language—its flexibility and the kind of doubleness of meaning that both masks truth and somehow reveals it. Apologies to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins,
but “she put a spell on you!.” Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” or the more recent doozy “false facts,” which I’ve heard referred to by a few surrogates of the Trump administration, are marvelous (if obvious) examples of that same doubleness. The Greeks, in their obsession for commanding and codifying all the powerful and magical ways that language powers rhetoric, coined a word for such paradoxical phrases: oxymoron. The dictionary tells us it’s a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect. It’s not quite the same but those oxymorons remind me of Wilde’s wonderfully invented “bunburyist.” Bunbury is a kind of “false fact” that Algernon (or any of us, if we choose to) can successfully employ to selfcontradictory effect. We can do things to people with language alone if we know how to exploit its magical powers. Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night says it best: “A sentence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit. How quickly the wrong side may be turned outward.” In other words: to a witty speaker, a sentence is as easily turned inside out as a (flexible) leather glove. You’ve been warned. Enjoy!
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CAST OF CHARACTERS (IN ORDER OF SPEAKING)
Algernon Moncrieff................................ Sam Lilja Lane...................................................................... Henry Vick John Worthing, J.P.................................. Federico Rodriguez Lady Bracknell............................................ Randy Danson Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax.................... Rosa Gilmore Miss Prism....................................................... Mahira Kakkar Cecily Cardew............................................. Liesel Allen Yeager Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D............... Chris Kipiniak Merriman.......................................................... Bob Mackasek
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THE SCENES OF THE PLAY ACT 1 Algernon Moncrieff’s flat on Half-Moon Street, W. ACT II The garden at the Manor House, Woolton
A mutual company founded in 1845
ACT III Drawing-room at the Manor House, Woolton
PRODUCTION CREDITS Assistant to the Director: Brian Eckert Assistant Lighting Designer: Peter W. Mitchell Assistant Wig Designer: Dana Maria Ferger Rehearsal Production Assistant: Stephanie Schoppe The Actors and Stage Manager employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. Two River Theater Company is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and ArtPride New Jersey.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings on any medium, including the Internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit www.samuelfrench.com/whitepaper.
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12/17/17 • 4:00pm Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank
The sounds of the season deck the halls with Artistic Director Ryan Brandau's stirring suite of popular holiday favorites, interspersed with the music of J.S. Bach and selections from Handel's beloved Messiah. Featuring the New Jersey Youth Chorus with artistic director, Patricia Joyce.
To Order Tickets:
monmouthcivicchorus.org 732.933.9333
The Designers at this Theatre are Represented by
United Scenic Artists • Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
This Program is made possible in part by Monmouth Arts through funding from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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BIOS MEET THE ARTISTS!
Randy Danson (Lady Bracknell) was most recently seen in New York City in the Signature Theatre production of Suzan-Lori Parks’s play Venus. Prior to that, she performed in Sam Hunter’s play Lewiston at Long Wharf Theatre. Some roles over the years have included Paulina in The Winter’s Tale, Shen Teh/ Shui Ta in The Good Person of Szechuan (Helen Hayes Award winner), Vivian in Wit (Barrymore Award winner), Madame Morrible in Wicked (National Tour and Broadway), Clytemnestra in The Oresteia, Arkadina in The Seagull, ensemble in Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information and, more recently, the rapacious demon, Tumacho, in the cowboy musical of the same name. She has made guest appearances in some episodic television programs such as Law & Order and Power. She played Mary, Lazarus’s sister, in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. She was given an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance in 1992.
Rosa Gilmore (Gwendolen Fairfax) Theater credits: Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew (The Public, dir. Phyllida Lloyd), This Is How It Ends (59E59), Robin Hood, Three Sisters, The Coming World (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Sehnsucht (Jack Theater). TV/Film: The Handmaid’s Tale, Elementary, Going Places, Modern Love. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting.
Mahira Kakkar (Miss Prism) is a theater, film and TV actress. Her stage credits include the premiere of Monsoon Wedding with Mira Nair, Clive with Ethan Hawke, Ms. Witherspoon with Christopher Durang, Jesus in India with Lloyd Suh, When January Feels Like Summer and Five Mile Lake. Her TV work includes The Blacklist, Law & Order: CI, Odd Mom Out, Blue Bloods, The Big C and Louie. Her film work includes the award-winning Hank and Asha, Hechki, Bite Me, Oil and Vinegar. She has worked extensively in regional theater. Upcoming: The Winter’s Tale (TFANA). Training: Juilliard, Harold Guskin and Ted Sluberski. Proud member of EST, Hero Theatre, and The Actors Center.
Chris Kipiniak (Rev. Canon Chasuble) Broadway: Metamorphoses (dir. Mary Zimmerman), Macbeth (with Alan Cumming). Off-Broadway: Kit Marlowe (Public Theater), Charles Winn Speaks... (Living Image Arts), The Undeniable Sound of Right Now (Rattlestick and Women’s Project). Regional: Hudson Stage Company, Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, Huntington, Lookingglass, Mark Taper Forum, Goodman and others. Film/TV/Web: Love Life (also writer); Deal Travis In; Mr. Robot; web series Real Actors Read…. Writing: Radiotopia podcast, The Truth; Comics: Nightcrawler, Amazing Fantasy and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man for Marvel comics, Behemoth from MonkeyBrain comics. Plays: Save the World (Roundtable Ensemble), Iiiinsaaaaaaaane!, Change the Be, Stalled (Horse Trade Theater Group). Chris is also an audiobook narrator with over 75 titles on Audible.com.
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Sam Lilja (Algernon Moncrieff) is a New Yorkbased actor and dialect coach. His stage roles include Acolyte (59E59), Clarkston (Dallas Theater Center), The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC). Film: Lincoln in the Bardo, The Drowning, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Love. TV: Billions, Almost There. Dialect coaching can be seen in the upcoming films UFO and Nasty Women. Training: The Juilliard School. Proud member of The 52nd Street Project. samlilja.com.
Bob Mackasek (Merriman) made his debut at Two River Theater last year with August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Bob has been seen in regional theater and amateur productions including Bill Sr. in Clever Little Lies, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Jean Shepard in A Christmas Story: The Musical, Joe Keller in All My Sons, George Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross, Uncle Charlie in August: Osage County, and numerous appearances at the annual Princeton Music Festival. Bob has been playing and singing in piano bars for more than 50 years.
Federico Rodriguez (John Worthing) appeared as Freddy in Pygmalion, directed by the late Nicholas Martin at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Other recent theater credits include Hope and Gravity (Pittsburgh City Theatre), The Record (The Public Theater), A Four-Letter Word (Classic Stage Company), and The Hotel Colors (The Bushwick Starr). TV/Film: Recurring role on the upcoming season of The Path (Hulu), Bull (CBS), Madam Secretary (CBS). BA: Brown University.
Henry Vick (Lane) is very excited to make his Two River debut. Recent credits include Simon Dawes Becomes a Planet, Important Hats of the 20th Century (MTC), The Mnemonist of Dutchess County (Attic Theater Company), The Imaginary Invalid (with Peter Dinklage) (Bard SummerScape), When the Rain Stops Falling (LCT). TV: Nightcap (Pop TV), Deadbeat (Hulu), Are We There Yet? (TBS). Other appearances for Delta Airlines (with Alf), The Late Show with David Letterman. Henry is from West Virginia via Kansas City, MO. (Go Royals.) HenryVick.com
Liesel Allen Yeager (Cecily Cardew) is pleased to be making her Two River debut! Liesel grew up in Virginia, where she played Lady Bracknell in a high school production of Earnest and fell in love with the play. She now lives in New York, and sometimes Los Angeles. Favorite credits include Broadway: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Tony, Best Play). Off-Broadway: Plenty (The Public), Teenage Dick (The Public), Too Much Too Soon (Lesser America), The Sporting life (Studio 42). Regional: Vicuña (Ojai Playwrights Conference), Amadeus (South Coast Rep), Teenage Dick (O’Neill Theater Center), Cock (Studio Theatre), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Center Theatre Group). Film: A Picture of You. TV: Daredevil, The Good Wife, Rizzoli & Isles, How to Make it in America. Liesel is a proud graduate of The Juilliard School and would like to thank her family for always supporting her artistic endeavors. This one’s for you, Papa! 13
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2 Bridge Ave. Red Bank, NJ (the Galleria) 732-224-1233 www.siamgardenrestaurant.com Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane. While studying at Oxford, he was fascinated by the aesthetic movement and eventually became a proponent for “L’art pour l’art (“Art for Art’s Sake”), and wrote the award-winning poem Ravenna. Upon graduating in 1879, he moved to London to review art, write poetry and lecture in the UK, the United States and Canada. In 1884, Wilde married Constance Lloyd and, in the course of their turbulent marriage, had two sons. His first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891 and has been adapted for the stage. Wilde’s first successful theatrical endeavor, Lady Windermere’s Fan, opened in 1892. He went on to create the wonderfully popular comedies A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and the classic The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Not long afterward, Wilde was publicly accused of homosexuality and arrested for gross indecency. During his time in prison he wrote De Profundis, a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to his lover Bosie. Three years after his release in 1897, he died of cerebral meningitis in a rundown Paris hotel. Known for his philosophical wit and irreverent charm, Wilde is famously quoted as saying, “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” Michael Cumpsty (Director) directed Wendy Wasserstein’s Third at Two River Theater. As an actor at TRT Michael has been seen in The Lion in Winter, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Absurd Person Singular, Present Laughter, and Much Ado About Nothing. On Broadway he has appeared in Machinal, The Winslow Boy, End of the Rainbow (Tony nomination), Sunday in the Park with George, The Constant Wife, Democracy, Enchanted April, 42nd Street, Copenhagen, Electra, 1776, Racing Demon, The Heiress, Translations, Timon of Athens (Bayfield Award), La Bête, and Artist Descending a Staircase. His Off-Broadway credits include Hamlet (Obie Award), Richard II, and Richard III (all for Classic Stage Company); Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, Cymbeline, and The Winter’s Tale (all for the New York Shakespeare Festival); The Body of an American, The Art of Success and Man and Superman. His TV credits include playing series regular Frank Kittredge on L.A. Law, and he has played recurring roles on Star Trek: Voyager, Nurse Jackie, and Boardwalk Empire. His film credits include Eat Pray Love, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Starting Out in the Evening, The Ex, Flags of Our Fathers, The Visitor, The Ice Storm, Fatal Instinct, State of Grace, Downtown Express, and Burning Blue. Michael teaches privately, has been a guest teacher in the graduate acting programs at both NYU and Columbia Universities, and taught for many years at the New York Shakespeare Festival. His other directing credits include Shakespeare’s Richard lll and Richard ll, W.H. Auden’s For the Time Being, and The Bespoke Overcoat by Wolf Mankowitz.
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Charlie Corcoran (Scenic Designer) previously designed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Lives of Reason and Absurd Person Singular at Two River Theater. Off-Broadway: Billy and Ray (Vineyard Theatre), The Emperor Jones (Hewes Design Award nomination), The Quare Land (Origin’s First Irish Award), Port Authority, The Weir, The Freedom of the City, The Banished Children of Eve, Sive, Prisoner of the Crown, Defender of the Faith, The Field (Irish Rep), Craving for Travel (Peter J. Sharp Theatre), Smash (Juilliard), The Last Smoker in America (Westside Theatre), A Perfect Future (Cherry Lane), The Late Christopher Bean (TACT), Sophistry, The Black Monk, The Bully Pulpit (Beckett Theatre), Exits and Entrances (Primary Stages). Regional: A Comedy of Tenors (Cleveland Play House and McCarter Theatre), Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Goodman Theatre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Bucks County Playhouse), The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro (McCarter Theatre), The Night Watcher, Without Walls (Center Theatre Group), Fallen Angels (NJ Shakespeare Theatre). Opera: Fidelio (Santa Fe Opera), The Bartered Bride, Cosi Fan Tutte (co-production Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard), Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro (2015) (Juilliard), The Magic Flute (Music Academy of the West). TV: Believe (NBC), Madam Secretary (CBS), Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon). Jess Goldstein (Costume Designer) previously designed The Ballad of Little Jo at Two River Theater. New York credits include Jersey Boys, Disney’s Newsies, On the Town, The Rivals (2005 Tony Award), The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino (Tony nomination), Plenty with Rachel Weisz, Henry IV with Kevin Kline (Tony nomination), Proof, Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Take Me Out, Tintypes, The Most Happy Fella, Buried Child, How I Learned to Drive, Stuff Happens, Dinner with Friends and The Mineola Twins (Lortel and Hewes Awards). His opera designs include Il Trittico for the Metropolitan Opera, Dead Man Walking for New York City Opera, and Two Women and Heart of a Soldier, two recent world premieres, for San Francisco Opera. Jess has also designed for film and television, most notably A Walk on the Moon directed by Tony Goldwyn, The Substance of Fire with Sarah Jessica Parker and Talking With and Far East for PBS’ Great Performances. He is the 2015 recipient of the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he has been a Professor in the design department since 1990. www.jess-goldstein.com Yuki Nakase (Lighting Designer) previously designed Tony Meneses’ The Women of Padilla at Two River Theater. Recent design credits include Anne Washburn’s Apparition (SBU), Un Yamada’s Kaya (Japan), Chanel Haute Couture Presentations FW 17/18 (Venue57). Next: Octavia at Todd Theatre on the University of Rochester’s River Campus. Recent associate design credits include Mira Nair’s new musical Monsoon Wedding (Berkeley Rep), Steve Martin’s new play Meteor Shower (Old Globe/Long Wharf), NYFW SS 2018 for Tory Burch (Cooper Hewitt), COACH 1941 (Basketball City). B.A. in Dance: JWCPE, M.F.A. in Lighting Design: NYU. She was born in Tokyo, grew up in Kyoto, Japan and currently lives north of NYC in the woods. For more information, visit http://yukinakase.com Elisheba Ittoop (Sound Designer) Her designs and original music have been heard at The Kennedy Center, The Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, National Gallery of Art, Soho Rep, Women’s Project, Triad 16
Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, Trinity Rep, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Okeechobee Music Festival, and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Elisheba was a resident sound designer at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center for the 2010 and 2011 National Playwrights Conferences, recipient of the Kenan Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and winner of the 2008 USITT Rising Star Award. Education: NYU, North Carolina School of the Arts. www.elishebaittoop.com Leah J. Loukas (Wig Designer) Broadway: The Great Comet of 1812, Sweat, Oh, Hello!, The Heidi Chronicles, On the Town, A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, American Idiot, Irena’s Vow. The Public Theater: Plenty, Barbecue, Fortress of Solitude, Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Into the Woods. Regional work: Dallas Theater Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse. She made her Two River debut last season with The Ballad of Little Jo. Heidi Griffiths (Casting) has worked for more than 25 years at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in NYC, where she has cast over 200 productions Off-Broadway and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, including Shakespeare, new plays, and musicals. On Broadway: Sweat; Shuffle Along; The Crucible, Eclipsed; A Delicate Balance; A Raisin in the Sun; Lucky Guy; Chinglish; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; The Merchant of Venice; Hair; Passing Strange; Caroline, or Change; Take Me Out (Tony Award, Best Play 2003); Topdog/ Underdog (Pulitzer Prize, 2002); The Wild Party; Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk; On the Town; and The Tempest. She also cast the films The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, MURDER and murder, Saving Face and Ladybird. The Importance of Being Earnest is her ninth collaboration with Two River Theater. Kate Murray (Casting) Two River Theater: The Women of Padilla, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Seven Guitars, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, and The School for Wives. Broadway (as Casting Associate): The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, A Delicate Balance, A Raisin in the Sun, Lucky Guy (Casting Assistant). Additional casting credits include work with The Cherry Lane, Bedlam, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, LAByrinth, New Georges, TheaterWorks Hartford, The Studio Theatre, Throughline Artists, and UglyRhino Productions. Film: Across the Sea, My First Kiss and the People Involved. Kate is a Casting Director at The Public Theater. Rick Steiger (Production Stage Manager) Two River: On Borrowed Time, Lisa Kron’s 2.5 Minute Ride. Broadway: An American in Paris; James Lapine’s Act One; War Horse; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; The Royal Family; 13: A New Musical; Rock ’N’ Roll; Frost/Nixon; Spring Awakening; The Woman In White; Caroline, or Change; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch: At Liberty; Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party; Epic Proportions; The Civil War; Titanic; Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk. Off-Broadway: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mother Courage and Her Children, This Is How It Goes, Radiant Baby. Regional: WARHOLCAPOTE (A.R.T.). Production Supervisor for the North American Tour & West End productions of An American in Paris.
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17
EARNEST AND OSCAR WILDE AND LIFE “ IS FAR TOO IMPORTANT A THING EVER TO TALK SERIOUSLY ABOUT.
”
–Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
Oscar Wilde
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EARNESTNESS : VICTORIAN SOCIETY T
here is no one quite like Oscar Wilde. Possessed of one of the greatest wits in history, Wilde wrote some of the funniest comedies of all time. And yet, under his clever bon mots and comical characters, there lurks a sharp and cutting commentary on British Victorian society. Wilde was, after all, a satirist par excellence, using jokes to hold a mirror up to the very society who sat laughing at his plays. In 1895, when The Importance of Being Earnest opened in London, there was much to mock about British society. England, always a culture that was obsessed with class and heritage, became even more so. The qualifications for being accepted into high society were lengthy and strict, and if one was deemed acceptable, there were still a vast number of rules, traditions, and matters of etiquette that one had to adhere to in order to maintain one’s proper reputation. Several books on manners were published, covering everything from personal hygiene (a bath every day was important, but with no more than a quart of water—and preferably rainwater) to visiting hours (no earlier than 3pm—earlier indicated “ill taste”) to proper greetings (never “hello, old fellow,” which indicated ill breeding) to the proper attire when being presented at court (knee breeches and buckled shoes for the men, feathers in the hair and a train of exactly three yards for women). At the same time that the culture was creating (and presumably following) these rules, there was another craze sweeping Victorian society. This was a movement towards being “earnest,” which consisted of two different facets: moral and intellectual. According to Walter E. Houghton, the author of a Victorian guide to life called The Victorian Frame of Mind, “to be earnest morally is to recognize that human existence is not a short interval between birth and death…but a spiritual pilgrimage from here to eternity in which he is called upon to struggle with all his power against the forces of evil….” As for the life of the mind, “to be earnest intellectually is to have or to seek to have genuine beliefs about the most fundamental questions in life.”
kind of hypocrisy that was ripe for a clever skewering. He wrote a play whose characters are obsessed with being earnest (and thus obsessed with literally being Earnest, a clever bit of wordplay that often gets missed today when we’re not aware of the Victorian trend), yet who behave hilariously underhandedly to maintain this front. With the character Lady Bracknell, he wrote a fearsome society doyenne who approves or denies her relatives’ suitors based on an exacting list of qualifications - including the size of their fortunes - yet she herself entered her marriage penniless. He wrote versions of what he saw around him: a society that claimed to be devoted to purity and truth, but which was full of pettiness and hypocrisy behind the facade. But he did it in such a charming, hilarious manner that his play was wildly popular, even (and especially) among those it mocked.
A
s both an insider and an outsider in London society, Wilde himself was in the perfect position to capture and mock society’s foibles. Educated at Oxford and a welcome party guest due to his wit, he traveled in high social circles and saw firsthand the behavior of the social elite. And yet he wasn’t himself English (he was Irish), nor of aristocratic blood, so he wasn’t truly of the society he traveled in. Although it is a source of almost farcical comedy in the play, Jack’s creation of a literal double life in order to maintain a respectable social façade while also living for his own pleasure had a darker resonance with Wilde’s own story. Although married to a wealthy Englishwoman and the father of two sons, Wilde had many secret affairs with men. He knew well the potential cost of being truly yourself in society, and saw the hypocrisy inherent in the idea that a society that claimed to value “earnest” authenticity would only punish those whose authenticity didn’t suit their standards. n
This emphasis on living a moral, genuine life, while simultaneously demanding that the most superficial, often ridiculous rules were followed, clearly struck Wilde as the
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LEADERSHIP BIOS JOHN DIAS (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) assumed his position as Artistic Director of Two River Theater in August 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 vitality to the 24-yearold Red Bank theater, including producing subscription shows on two stages for the first time; launching the theater’s first literary department and commissioning program for new plays; presenting annual events such as a musical theater cabaret in collaboration with New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and the Crossing Borders festival of Latino plays; and developing numerous arts-education initiatives for young people including A Little Shakespeare, an annual production of one of Shakespeare’s plays performed by high-school students. 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, including Associate Producer and Associate Artistic Director. Previously, John was dramaturg at Hartford Stage Company. He also co-founded and led Affinity Company Theater, a production company dedicated to bringing daring new works from around the world to New York, and The Playwrights Realm, an off-Broadway company that produces new plays by emerging artists. 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 (MANAGING DIRECTOR) has been the Managing Director of Two River Theater since 2011. During his tenure, Two River has embarked on a new Strategic Plan; began producing subscription shows on two stages for the first time; and launched the theater’s first commissioning program for original plays, as well as numerous new community and education programs. Under his joint leadership with Artistic Director John Dias, Two River has experienced ambitious growth and enjoyed new recognition in the national theater community. Prior experience includes 16 years at The Public Theater, including four years as General Manager and six as Managing Director, overseeing budgets that ranged from $16 to $20 million. 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, and he managed the organizational growth necessary to support the facility. 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 for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and on the Advisory Board for the Indie Street Film Festival.
ROBERT M. RECHNITZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) 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-the-art, 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, and Barefoot in the Park. Bob is an active member of a number of organizations benefiting our Monmouth Country, including serving as a Board member for several local non-profits. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors, commendations, and accolades. 21
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RELAXED PERFORMANCES Education Assistant, Amanda Espinosa (far right) with young theater goers.
W
EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT:
Last season, Two River was proud to introduce new initiatives designed to support young people on the autism spectrum and welcome them to the theater. After launching with one sensory-friendly performance last year, we are delighted this season to expand and offer five performances designed to reach audiences of varying ages with sensitivity issues or special needs.
e often hear that our local families want more opportunities to bring their children with autism to the theater. However, for many, the traditional rules of the theater (keeping quiet, staying in seats) propose real barriers. We hope the introduction of relaxed performances will help to break down some of these barriers and result in more parents and children feeling welcome, safe and excited to attend our productions.
In addition to offering relaxed performances for all of our Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) productions, a few of our relaxed performances can be enjoyed by older teenagers and adults on the spectrum. Theater is for everyone, at any age, and we are thrilled to offer so many choices to our patrons. Adjustments are made for relaxed performances, including keeping house lights on at low levels, and sound at comfortable levels, especially for startling or loud sounds. Patrons are free to talk, move around, or leave their seats during performances, and iPads and other electronic devices used for therapeutic purposes are allowed in the theater. This year, our expanded offerings also include calm rooms, fidget and squeeze toys, online materials (including a social narrative/character guide for each show), and gluten-free food and healthy drinks at concessions. Two River staff and volunteers with autism training provide assistance at all relaxed performances. Volunteers include members of a student-led organization called Waves of Equality, which—with the support of the students’ schools—is working to provide equal opportunities for individuals with any disabilities to be part of our community. We are grateful to Waves of Equality and other organizations we work with, including Atlantis Healthcare Group, Oasis, RallyCaps, and SPUR (Special People United to Ride). We look forward to continuing to build relationships with other community partners. To get involved, please contact Amanda Espinoza, Education Assistant, at AEspinoza@TRTC.org. We want everyone to feel welcome at Two River Theater. Relax and enjoy the show! The schedule for relaxed performances still to come this season includes the following: The Rainbow Fish (best for ages 3 and up) / December 16, 2017 at 4pm El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (best for ages 13 and up) / January 27, 2018 at 3pm A Little Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors (best for ages 9 and up) / March 10, 2018 at 2pm The Young King (best for ages 8 and up) / April 21, 2018 at 4pm For tickets or more information, patrons should call 732.345.1400 or visit tworivertheater.org 23
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN PLAYWRIGHT-IN-RESIDENCE
MADELEINE GEORGE AND MICHAEL CUMPSTY MA DELE I N E :
Let’s start with the play. Do you have a history with it?
M IC H A E L : I do—I did it when I was in graduate school. I played Algernon, and it was one of the funnest experiences I ever had on stage. It was just hilarious. And I loved it. M A DE LE IN E : How did it come to pass that you’re directing it here at Two River? M IC H A E L : I’ve talked to John a lot over the years about how much I love the play. And he was looking for something delightful for the audience—something to cheer us all up. And since I love it so much, it seems like a good opportunity for me to come back and direct it.
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M A D ELEINE : As an actor, when you start to approach directing a play, do you feel like you can imagine yourself in every role? Or do you take a different approach? M IC HA EL : I don’t imagine myself in every role, but I did, for the first few times I read the play in anticipation of directing it, get very stuck inside Algernon, because that was my original point of entry. But I find I don’t get inside the other characters particularly. I watch them from the outside, in my imagination, and I think that’s probably a better way to direct, because I can make valuable suggestions about what each character is doing and/or needs. Whereas if I’m too far inside of it, I think I would be tempted just to say to the actors, “Do it like this,” you know, and perform it for them. (chuckles) M A D ELEINE : This play is such an exercise in virtuosity. The subtitle is “A trivial comedy for serious people,” and it’s famous for being not serious. Do you find that to be true? Or is there any sort of undiscovered seriousness that you found in it? M IC HA EL : I read a very exhaustive and fascinating biography of Oscar Wilde. And, what I found remarkable was that the difficulties that he faced—which led to his trial, and his conviction, and his being in prison for two years of hard labor—were already in full swing when he wrote this play. And so the lack of gravity, the apparent lack of gravity, must be complexly deliberate. It’s not just a silly play, it’s a play that deliberately removes the gravitas so that you can believe in a world that’s frothy, and has happy endings, and is populated with brilliant, charismatic, attractive people… who don’t go to jail for being brilliant. M A D ELEINE: Wow. That’s maybe the saddest thing I’ve ever heard about a farce. M IC HA EL : It’s just astounding. One thing I discovered that I had never heard before is that the Marquess of Queensbury, who was the father of Wilde’s lover Alfred Douglas, had an elder son who worked in the government and committed suicide. And there were rumors he killed himself because he was in a gay relationship with a politician, and it was just too dangerous. So the Marquess had already lost one son to what he considered this awful vice, which—sort of—begins to explain why he was so vicious in going after Wilde. And the other thing is that, apparently, during this time earnest was a word for being gay.
I’ve been wondering, what, essentially, did it mean or feel like to be gay at that time? Wilde must’ve been so aware of the yearning, and the projecting of a sort of perfectionism onto the objects of desire. You see it in the play in the way that people just fall in love with each other instantly, or they have fallen in love with people they’ve never met. And too, there’s a wish fulfillment of being completely abandoned by your parents, and yet being magically turned into the perfect gentleman. All of this seems to me to be very much in line with what the emotional mechanism must have been for the oppressed gay people of that time. When you’re under pressure, as he must’ve been, and you’re feeling this awful weight bearing down on you because of your desires, this portrait of projection, and fantasy, and yearning, and magical gratification…it makes a lot of sense. M A DE LE IN E : So, as you’re working to bring the play onto its feet, is that manifest as a sort of negative space around the production? Or is it present at all in your planning for how it will be realized? M IC H A E L : I think the best way to realize it is to be unapologetic about the fact that the gravity isn’t there. It’s not a trivial play, but it’s a play that has deliberately removed what is harsh and uncomfortable in the world. So I don’t think it needs to be pointed at or justified in any way. It should feel like it is trivial entertainment. M A DE LE IN E : That’s all so interesting. You now have a long-term relationship with Two River Theater. I’m curious about what that’s like for you, having been an actor who has worked all over the world. M IC H A E L : It’s wonderful. I was fortunate enough to work so many different jobs in New York; I felt like my home was the New York theater—which is delusional in a way, because that is such an enormous umbrella and I was such a small part of it. But I had a relationship with CSC when Brian Kulick was running it; I did three Shakespeare plays in three consecutive years. So that began to feel like a home, and it was very satisfying. But it was only three productions, and only one a year. Since John and I have been in Red Bank, I feel that this theater has slowly adopted me. I have no official function, but I do feel like I’m an extended part of the organization. And one of the loveliest things about it is getting to know the people for whom the theater is important enough that they keep coming back. n
M A D ELEINE : Right. It was like a code word. M IC HA EL : Obviously the play doesn’t overtly have anything to do with homosexuality. But
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TWO RIVER WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS W e are pleased to announce that four new members have joined our Board of Trustees by unanimous vote. “We are delighted to welcome these four valued members of Two River’s community to our Board of Trustees,” says Managing Director Michael Hurst. “Their stewardship and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to expand our programming and cultivate increased support of our work.”
n STEPHEN E. BECKER is Managing Director,
Portfolio Manager for Goldman Sachs. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Davidson College in North Carolina. He is a resident of Fair Haven, New Jersey.
Geoffrey Sadwith
n KATHLEEN T. ELLIS is Executive Vice President,
Policy & Strategic Development for New Jersey Resources. She earned a B.A in Economics from SUNY Binghamton and is an alumna of Harvard Business School’s Advancement Management Program. She currently serves on the Boards of Hackensack Meridian Health; New Jersey Future; PAM’s List- NJ; Interfaith Neighbors, Inc.; and New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance Advisory Committee at Rutgers’ Bloustein School. She is a resident of Belmar, New Jersey.
Stephen E. Becker
n GEOFFREY SADWITH is a Commerical Real
Estate Developer with Sadwith Industries Co. He earned a B.A. from Trinity College. He currently serves on the Board of CPC Behavioral Healthcare. He has previously served on the Boards of United Way of Monmouth County, 180 Turning Lives Around, Monmouth Ocean Development Council, and the National Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers. He is a resident of Ocean, New Jersey.
Maureen Silliman
Kathleen T. Ellis
n MAUREEN SILLIMAN is an actor whose credits
include roles on Broadway in Shenandoah, Is There Life After High School?, and I Remember Mama and Off-Broadway in Blue Window, Reckless, and Three Postcards. She has performed at regional theaters across the country, including Two River Theater’s productions of The Glass Menagerie, Uncle Vanya, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Our Town and, most recently, Lives of Reason. She is a resident of New York City.
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A THE ATER LOVER’S GUIDE TO LONDON
Court ney an d
Schro e
der
N
While you’re on that side of the river you must also get to The Globe. American actor Sam Wanamaker is the sole reason the place exists. At first glance it seems a remarkable example of historic reproduction but it’s so much more than a museum installation. Attending a show there—“hearing a play” as the Elizabethans would have said—feels as vital and urgent and rowdy, I imagine, as it did for Shakespeare himself.
OK. So I assume I don’t have to tell you to, at some point in your life, get to London landmarks like the National Gallery, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert, The Churchill War Rooms or places like the Tower and Kensington Palace and Harrods, etc.
Also on the south side of the Thames is the Menier Chocolate Factory, a relatively small powerhouse of a theater. They’re actually housed in an 1870s chocolate factory and the experience of seeing The Globe Theatre a show there should always include a meal at their fine restaurant. They’re essentially a swanky dinner theater that does wideranging work but are best known for their exceptionally good revivals of late-20th century American musicals.
By John Dias
ot long ago, our very own Director of Marketing, Courtney Perez—now Schroeder—got married and she and her new husband Ricky honeymooned in Spain. To no one’s surprise, Courtney did some extreme planning; she researched and built an itinerary of all the coolest, high- and low-cultured, off-the-beaten path adventures for her and Ricky to enjoy (and eat and drink). So when, months later, they decided to take a short holiday in London, I was surprised when she asked me for my recommendations. But, loving London as I do, I was happy to oblige. The folks in the Marketing Department thought you—our Earnest audience—might appreciate this too. There’s no focus on Oscar Wilde here (although that would be a fun trip), but, naturally, lots of theater.
But, if you’ve never seen the National Theatre, you should do nothing else before you get there. It’s the holy grail of theaters. It’s what Lincoln Center and The Public only ever dream of being. It’s like the fairground midway for theater geeks. The complex is
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Ricky
impressive, although its Brutalist architecture is an acquired taste. See any show there. Their wide-ranging, inventive, audience engagement program is top-notch. Hanging at the bars and restaurants on the campus makes you feel like an insider. An experience you should definitely have.
You should also check out the Donmar Warehouse. I’m crazy about this theater. It’s also relatively small and unassuming but packs a dramatic wallop. Sam Mendes transformed it in the early ‘90s into what is, for me, a perfect kind of theater. It strikes me—now that I think of it—as the Two River Theater of London: they produce really fresh and intelligent revivals of great classics and
intimate, relevant new work for a sophisticated and loyal audience. It’s just outside the heart of Covent Garden, in a once gritty, now much too chic for my taste (and wallet) little warren of streets. I would see anything that’s playing there. I love the Almeida Theatre. It’s in Islington, which is a neighborhood I also love. I lived there for a year back in the ‘80s when it was cheap and I worked at an awesome pub which used to have a little theater upstairs. The pub is still one of the greatest in London, and is at the end of a narrow market street which has quirky antiques—also worth checking out. The pub is called The Camden Head. And the market is The Camden Passage. One of my favorite London restaurants is there on Upper Street. It’s named for its chef, Ottolenghi, a sexy, gay, Israeli celebrity chef and cookbook author. The food has a middle-eastern flair and is awesome. I’m basically a puritan when it comes to dessert (or pudding, as the Brits call it) but even I save room at Ottolenghi and it’s right across from the Almeida. I love the London markets too. There seems to be a renewed interest in this old neighborhood mainstay. Borough Market is close to The Globe/The National. Brixton has a great market too. Exmouth Market is in Islington and has some fun shopping opportunities and many fantastic restaurants; one I especially like is called Moro, where I’ve often run into fancy London theater folks. But Spitalfields is where I’d go if I had to choose just one. There’s been a market there since the early 1600s and it’s still fairly gritty and a great way to see the new hipsters in old East London—sort of like Williamsburg in Brooklyn. And like much of Brooklyn, East London used to be a solidly working class neighborhood and also very Jewish. Hipsters have a way of changing things—and not always for the better—even as they seem to want to celebrate that which is authentic. Don’t get me started on hipsters…. Still, there’s a restaurant there called Taberna do Mercado which is AWESOME and has the same chef as Chiltern Firehouse (which is in Marylebone and AMAZING but expensive and hard to get into). I think, Taberna is still relatively cheap and easy enough to snag a table. Speaking of Marylebone: That’s where there’s a wonderful hotel that I’d recommend for you. It’s called the Mandeville. I know it because it’s Joel Grey’s favorite place to stay. It’s sort of arty-chic but unpretentious too. Marylebone gets overlooked by tourists, I think, but there’s much to recommend it—it’s quite close to Oxford Street but there are quiet little places to get lost on the way up to Regent’s Park. Be sure to get lost on little Moxon Street and run into La Fromagerie which is, as the name suggests, a cheese shop. But so much more. (Although the cheese is surely enough….) Do NOT miss the Wallace Collection. It’s right up the road from the hotel. It’s an art museum housed in an historic townhouse and has the feel, like the Frick in NYC or the Gardiner in Boston, of visiting a superrich relation who has EXQUISITE taste in art. Fragonard’s “The Swing” is dizzyingly silly but so, so beautiful. The endless collection of weapons and armor provide a nice contrast to it's wild theatricality. n
otel
deville H
The Man
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Great Specials! • $7 House Martinis every Wednesday • Thursday Sushi Night: Two Traditional Rolls for $15 or Three for $22. Served with choice of: Miso Soup, Edamame or Seaweed Salad. • “Mad Men” Lunch Menu: $15; includes a glass of wine or beer, soup or salad, and an entrée. Monday - Friday from 12-4pm.
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OUR RECOMMENDATION If you are dining with a party of 6 or more, call ahead to make a reservation. Danny’s can pull in quite the pre-show crowd! Plus: a popular haunt of our artists and celebrity guests, Danny’s is also a great spot to people watch—you never know who you might spot seated in the dining room corner or around the bar.
EL COQUÍ ESPECTACULAR AND THE BOTTLE OF DOOM:
COMING SOON
A SUPERHERO PLAY
I
n Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a masked figure has been spotted: the Puerto Rican superhero, El Coquí Espectacular (a Puerto Rican superhero who gets his power from a vejigante carnival mask, and his name from a tree frog). In reality, it is comic book artist Alex, who has been secretly dressing up as his favorite creation. As Alex learns that fighting crime (and making costumes) is harder than it looks, he is followed by a young woman, an ambitious photographer who has been photographing him and putting the photos online. She tries to convince him that he can be a symbol of something real and good in their largely Latino (but rapidly gentrifying) neighborhood. Meanwhile, Alex’s responsible older brother Joe is encouraging Alex to join him at his advertising agency, where he has a job writing copy that targets Latino consumers. Will Alex be able to defeat the forces of his own self-doubt and be an inspiration for his community? Will El Coquí use his powers for good? Beginning in January 2018, Two River will present the world premiere of El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom, a smart, funny, and moving new play written by Matt Barbot and directed by Jose Zayas. With El Coquí (which was first introduced to Red Bank audiences in our 2016 Crossing Borders festival of new Latino plays), a thrilling new voice in playwriting explodes onto the scene, exploring what it means to be American with his own unique blend of comic books, superheroes, and Puerto Rican folktales.
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Don’t miss El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom: A Superhero Play in our intimate Marion Huber Theater. Performances begin January 6 and continue through February 4. For more information or tickets, visit tworivertheater.org or stop by the box office. LEAD SPONSOR:
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You can help ensure a bright future for Two River Theater by including the theater in your estate plans. Please consider making a gift from your IRA, life insurance plan, trust, or with a bequest. With your continued support, we will remain one of the leading regional theaters in the country and will continue to provide outstanding productions for generations to come.
show this ad for $5.00 off any purchase of $35.00 or more.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Anderson, Director of Development, at 732.345.1400 x 1820 or janderson@trtc.org.
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195 & 226 west front street Corner of West Front Street & Bridge Avenue
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732.842.4336
Clockwise from left to right: Crystal A. Dickinson, Owen Tabaka, Brenda Pressley in A Raisin in the Sun. Photo by T. Charles Erickson
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THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES SPOTLIGHT T H E B E LOV E D I L LU S T R AT E D B O O K F O R C H I L D R E N C O M E S TO T H E S TAG E !
BASED ON THE BOOK BY MARCUS PFISTER PRODUCED BY MERMAID THEATRE OF NOVA SCOTIA R E C H N I T Z T H E AT E R
BASED ON THE SHORT STORY BY OSCAR WILDE ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY NICKI BLOOM PRODUCED BY SLINGSBY THEATRE, AUSTRALIA M A R I O N H U B E R T H E AT E R
DEC 15-18/2017 With his silver scales and heart of gold, The Rainbow Fish will enchant even the youngest children in this adaptation of the award-winning book about a beautiful fish who learns to share his most prized possession. Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia brings The Rainbow Fish to life with enchanting puppetry in this world-premiere production. The Rainbow Fish is recommended for audiences age 3 and up. Everyone is reading The Rainbow Fish! Two River Theater hosts the One Book, One Community kickoff party on Saturday, November 18, with events hosted at libraries across Monmouth Country through December! For a full list of events, visit tworivertheater.org.
LEAD SPONSOR:
LOVE OSCAR WILDE? DON’T MISS THE YOUNG KING!
PRODUCTION SPONSOR:
APRIL 20-22/2018 The entire kingdom is invited to the coronation of the Young King! Once the Lost Prince, he has been restored from his rustic woodland life to his rightful place on the throne. The Young King is very, very excited to celebrate with you all, and to receive your beautiful, expensive coronation gift. You didn’t forget to bring it, did you? Stay with the Young King through the night before his coronation, as he learns that the beautiful things that he yearns for come at a higher price than he realized. Slingsby Theatre presents this enchanting, moving, and immersive adaptation of the short story by Oscar Wilde. The Young King is recommended for audiences ages 8 and up.
TICKETS FOR BOTH PRODUCTIONS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR $2 5 PER SHOW. 33
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Your gift—every gift— makes a difference Developing and producing a production requires patience, hard work, and financial resources. Gifts to Two River support our current productions and invest in the future of American theater. Help us continue to bring outstanding productions to New Jersey and beyond.
$5,000 labor and materials to
$3,800 Underwrites 256 tickets
construct the brick wall
$1,000 for all the wig rentals
for students and teachers in No Seats Empty
$250 for the breakfast
items served onstage
$500
to reupholster the couch
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MAKE A DONATION TODAY! IN PERSON at the Box Office MAIL your gift to Two River ONLINE at tworivertheater.org/support CALL US at 732.345.1400x1805
From Left to Right: Brenda Pressley, Crystal A. Dickinson, and Jasmine Batchelor in A Raisin in the Sun. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.
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INDIVIDUAL
DONORS
THANK YOU to the following generous individuals who made contributions to the theater! VISIONARY CIRCLE ($25,000+) Anonymous Caroline P. Huber The Estate of Victoria J. Mastrobuono Joan and Robert Rechnitz The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation THE INNOVATOR CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999) Jane Bergere Marilyn and Bob Broege Diane and Robert Butters Phyllis Kinsler Mary Jane and Rick Kroon Helaine and Sid Lerner Anne Luzzatto and Gordon Litwin Susan and Ty Olson John Paladino and Emily Rechnitz Victoria and William Marraccini Anne and Sheldon Vogel BENEFACTOR ($5,000-$9,999) Howard P. Aronson Lisa and Stephen Becker Sam Chevalier Carolyn and Neil DeSena Robert E. Evanson Ms. Joan Fishman and Dr. Paul Brown Gale and Dr. Robert B. Grossman Guttenplan Family Foundation Joan and Paul Hamelberg Lanae and Todd Herman Barbara and Jim Hrebek Nancy Karpf and Scott Brady Joanna and Brian Leddin*
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Linda McKean The Honorable Edward J. McKenna, Jr. Shirley and Bob Neff JP Nicolaides and The Honorable Ed Zipprich Sean O’Connell Mary Beth and Gerald Radke Liz and Adam Rechnitz Anne Marie Schultz* Elizabeth Tortorella and Ivan Polonsky Susan E. Whyman CHAMPION ($2,500-$4,999) Shirley S. Boll Rose Caiola Juliet Cozzi and Ronald Gumbaz Lynn and Jan Dash Melissa and Joseph Del Broccolo III* The Devon Group Joan Ellis The Gravina Family Foundation, Inc Christina Hewitt Maureen and James Hurst* Cathy Larson Beth and Vinnie Mazza* Kathleen and Arthur McConnell Nyire and Gregory Melconian Gloria Nilson Fund Allyn and Patrick Quagliano Patricia and Vernon Ralph Linda and Andrew Safran Kathy and Webster Trammell Cynthia and William Wilby Meta and Ralph Wyndrum
PATRON ($1,000-$2,499) Jutta and George Aguilar Barbara and Andy Andres Marie and Robert Arbour Pat and Andre Archambault Betsy and Robert Barrett The Honorable William G. Bassler Lois Broder Dennice and Ray Carey Barbara and Tom Carroll Tamara Casriel Patricia and Dr. E.F. Cheslock Jennifer and Tristram Collins Elizabeth Mihalyak Columbo Jennifer Colyer and Shemmy Mishaan Nancy and Michael Del Priore Gail and John Duffy Linda and Bob Ensor Judy and Richard Fuller Lorraine and Bob Henry Michael Hurst Paul and Melissa Hurst Jean Jaslovsky and Vincent Gifford Grace and Peter Kalac Ginny Kamin Sheila C. Labrecque Edward Madden The Wendy and Jerry Marks Foundation Aida and Brian Murphy Herbert Paul Jean Pokress Barry V. Qualls Rev. and Mrs. William C. Riker Monica and John Ryan* Lori and Geoff Sadwith June and Morton Seligman Candy and Dr. Sigmund Sattenspiel Caryl and Charles Sills Bruce Sherill and Robert Cordrey
The Warters Family Fund Cathy and Gene Weber* Catherine Weiss and Samuel Huber Chryssa Yaccarino, Esq. Joan Zakanych PRODUCER ($500-$999) Jennifer and Joe Anderson Kasandrea Banks Roxane Blount Nancy and Ed Butler Barbara and Harold Chafkin Stephanie and Kevin Christiano Margean Gladysz Valerie Gordon-Johnson Barbara and Dr. Alan Haratz Eve R. Hershkowitz Gail Klein and Marc L. Harrison Patricia and William Jaeger Drs. Sheela and Suresh Jain Natalia Y. Kachala Giovanna Kanu Judith Laufer Bob MacKasek Kim Mason Robert L. Morteenson Lauren Nicosia The Craig and Flori Roberts Foundation, Inc. Daryl Roth Peter A. Schkeeper William G. Shlala Maureen Silliman and William Parry Susan Stamler Anita and Robert Stix* Gail and Stuart Van Winkle Dee and Fred Williamson DIRECTOR ($250-$499) Anonymous (3) Meredyth Armitage Barbara Boas and Stephen Hect Dr. Janice Breen Amanda Butterbaugh and Michael Mulheren Dr. Joseph Calabro Lucy Campanella
Marjorie and Peter Cavalier Isabella and John Chiappanelli Susan and Alan Coen Roberta and Harvey Cohen Robert Connolly Karen and Joseph D'Amore Barbara and Jonathan File Barbara G. Fleischman Susan and Roy Gelber Thomas K. Hessman Kathleen A. Horgan Dr. Barbara Jaye and Dr. William Mitchell May Louie and Walter Graczyk Claudette Lupton Alan Mallach Lorraine and Robert McGirr Diane Mensanko Jennifer and Thomas Mullins Karen C. Pajak Marion and Michael Portnoy Karen and David Rajala Ginger and Joel Richman Penney Riegelman Toni Rinella and Brian Compton Ann Roseman and Stan Lumish Barbara Sager Peggy Sansone Linda M. Schottland Maria and George Staphos Karin and Joe Stein Judith and Joseph Vassallo Cheryl Wild Marjorie and Zeke Zaccaro Barbara and Maurice Zagha MATCHING GIFTS The following have provided matching gifts to Two River on behalf of their employees. BlackRock CR Bard IBM Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts (2) Prudential Financial, Inc. TE Connectivity Verisk Analytics Verizon Wireless *Includes matching gift.
Tributes and Memorials In memory of Suzanne Allyn’s Mother: Barbara Kenas In Honor of Howard P. Aronson: Caroline Huber In Memory of Eileen Bassler: The Honorable William G. Bassler In Honor of Judith and Rich Fuller: Nancy and Jim Hoffman In Honor of Caroline Huber: Howard Aronson Jacqueline and David Carboy Dennice and Raymond Carey Diane Dey Joan Ellis Samuel Huber and Catherine Weiss Ginny Kamin Linda McKean Ann McKee Marilyn I. Pearlman Joan Zakanych In Honor of Michele Klinsky: Debra L. Lemeshow In Honor of Mary Jane and Rick Kroon: Susan Stamler In Honor of Edward J. McKenna, Esq.: Lauren Nicosia In Memory of Dorothy Nicosia: Phyllis Kinsler In Honor of Emily J. Patek: Katherine & Thomas Esposito In Honor of Michael Stelle: Maureen Silliman and William Parry In Memory of Fred Traphagen: Debra Lenden
Listing reflects gifts made between July 1, 2016 and October 20, 2017 to the Annual Fund.
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On October 21, 2017 we welcomed a band of brave party-goers to the second annual Halloween Ball, a ghoulish gala fundraiser and spooky smash. The lobby and theater were transformed into a haunted Carnival (or CarnEVIL), with skeletal acrobats, sinister clowns, and a big-top tent dance floor. In addition to a fun party, the Halloween Ball also helped Two River in one of its most important missions: raising funds to benefit the theater’s education programming. Two River Theater is proud to inspire creativity and curiosity in thousands of young people each year, with the help of our supporters. Thank you to all our event sponsors and guests for supporting this year’s Halloween Ball. We’ll see you in October 2018… if you dare!
Photos by Teja Anderson. Décor photos by Lisa Campbell. 38
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Fabre-Montmayou Patagonia Malbec 2015
The Patagonia cuveé from Hervé Fabre is sourced from one of the most extreme environments in the world. Its ancient vines are rooted in sandy desert high above the Rio Negro, where temperatures can swing 45 degrees in either direction, not an easy place to grow grapes. This is a big boy that can dance! If you like big, juicy red wine, this has to be your house red! $15 a bottle / $162 a case
Domaine de la Citadelle - Le Châtaignier 2016
Citadelle's rosé, La Châtaignier, is terrific, fresh, fruity and perfectly bone-dry. It goes with just about everything...spring asparagus, juicy burgers, roasted poultry or fresh goat cheeses, you name it, it works. $17 a bottle /$204 a case
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INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
THE VISIONARY CIRCLE $25,000+
THE STONE FOUNDATION
INNOVATOR CIRCLE $10,000-$24,999 The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust
BENEFACTOR $5,000 - $9,999
COMMUNITY PARTNERS DAVID SCHWARTZ FOUNDATION
The Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation
IN-KIND SUPPORT
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The Oyster Point Hotel
invites you to join us to preview an array of local wedding professionals
Saturday February 3, 2018 From 2-5pm
Please R.S.V.P. (732) 784-4028 To register for the event please visit: www.theoysterpointhotel.com/save-date 42
MEET OUR STAFF & VOLUNTEERS! ARTISTIC Stephanie Coen Associate Artistic Director Anika Chapin Literary Manager Madeleine George Playwright in Residence 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 Rocca Associate Director of Marketing Hannah Walker Institutional Marketing Manager Michele Klinsky Box Office Manager Lauren Mancuso Box Office Supervisor Kristina Marinos Box Office Supervisor/ Student Matinee Coordinator Lynn Kroll Box Officer/Group Sales Coordinator Vernette Spicer Box Officer/Access Coordinator Evan Kudish Brianna Merriman Samantha Truglio Matt Yee Box Officers Angela White House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Carmen Balentine Doreen Fromage Melissa Javorek Julie Mullen Donna Stiles Francesca Trerotola Assistant House Managers Briana Butler Colette Dante Thomas Dougherty Matt Markowski Daniel Pino Kayla Santry
Gabby Scerbo John Knodel Front of House Staff DEVELOPMENT Jennifer Anderson Director of Development Katie Benson Events Associate Ellen Hahn Institutional Development Associate Lauren Milne Development Associate EDUCATION Kate Cordaro Director of Education Amanda Espinoza Education Assistant Amanda Butterbaugh Claro de los Reyes Livv DiMattio Tara Giordano Melissa Hodges Artem Yatsunov Teaching Artists Sara Holdren Adaptor/Director OPERATIONS Zeke Zaccaro Director of Operations Vinnie Gillick Lamar Hicks William Hinton Donnie Quarles Wayne Van Saint Building Maintenance PRODUCTION Lauren Kurinskas Director of Production Will Cruttenden Associate Production Manager Margaux Greenhouse Production Management Assistant Mackenzie Cole Company Management Assistant Matt Balfour Colt Luedtke Production Assistants Frank Meyer Technical Director Fiona Malone Assistant Technical Director Duane Noch Master Carpenter Christian Dilks Staff Carpenter
David Slice Shop Assistant Colleen Dolan Scenic Charge Jeena Yoon Properties Supervisor Victoria Schilling Assistant Properties Supervisor Katherine Browne Props Assistant Dan Montano Sound Supervisor Sue Patino Lighting Supervisor Eric Nickl Lighting Assistant Tiffany Reichel Sound Assistant Lesley Sorenson Costume Shop Supervisor Jill DiGiusppe Draper Maggie Barnett Wardrobe Supervisor Jaclyn Vela Costume Assistant 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 Pennant Collective, Production Video Trailers and Commercials Gordon N. Litwin, Esq., Litwin & Provence, LLC Legal Counsel WithumSmith + Brown Auditors VOLUNTEER GUILD Arthur Aaron Ronnie Aaron Suzanne Allyn Marlene Abelon Debbie Adamchak Juanita Agee Irwin Altschiller Maddy Altschiller Karen Anderson Cecelia Ambrosio Ellen Balthazar Gale Baran Myriam Barthole Paddy Barber
Carl Battaglia Ellen Battaglia Joyce Becker Herb Bein Diane Bein Carmen Benimeli Barbara Berg Joan Blake Kathy Boushie Charles Blake Helena Blyskun Marti Bookstein Mercedes Brand Barbara Brodzinski Arlene Brown Robert Buchbinder April Bunn Carmen Cancel-Seaman Judith Carluccio Kathleen Castore Barbara Chasser Dora Chu Bob Connolly Roslyn Cooper Lynda Crawford Nancy Daley Elizabeth De Carvalho Diane DeLoche Florence Diller Eleanor Falcichio Ellen Falvo June Farkouh Steve Faustina Arleen Faustina Bonnie Foerst George Foerst Robyn Flipse Judy Fuller Prudence Frechette Janet Garcia Nancy Gargan Sidney Gelbein Pat George Bill Gerdes Lara Gomez Jim Graf Margaret Graf Marilyn Griffin Constance Gryczka Helene HelgesenMonserrate Roland Monserrate Nona Hammer Kathleen Hari Cynthia Hellman Greg Held Jeri Held Robert Hespe Karen Hespe Karen Heyer Marion Holinaty Caroline Huber Cecilia Jelic Shirley Johnson Bonnie Johnson
Thomas Johnson Virginia Kamin Barry Kaplan Dee Kaplan Karen Kelly Barbara Kenas Beverly Keyes Karen Kirkwood Valerie Kilpatrick Phyllis Kinsler Dottie Kirschenbaum Eleanor Kitzhoffer Mavis Kolb Diane Kragh Diane Kuriloff Harriet Kuropatwa Betti Lane Mary Anne Lapiana Margaret Lelivelt Donna Lizotte Bob Levine Carol Levine Barbara Lipton Kathy Lloyd Diane Lopresti Frank Lopresti Brittany Lovely Donna Lovely Gay Lowden Sharon Lucas Iris MacNeil Mary Mahoney Joanne Mallon Robert Mallon Janis Marano Pamela Marhan Libby Markowitz Mary Mason Susan Mazur Vinnie Mazza Joan McCue Eileen McDermott Jo McKeon-Hutton Bill McMurray Mary Melosh Evelyn Mendelsohn Anne Messinger Dorothy Michels Carol Migliore Bernard Miller Carol Miller Susan Minehardt Linda Monti Marilynne Morley Gloria Moro Susan Moss Michele Mullin Judith Mugrace Leslie Nicholson Kathy Nielsen Eileen Nolan Maureen O’Connor Leach Olivia Olson Linda Pacotti Dolores Palonetti
Katherine Parisi Terri Pinto Marilyn Pennell Art Perri Pat Perri Tracy Peternich Claire Planchere Terri Pontecorvo Philomena Porcello Lois Priest Marion Quinn Mark Rabinow Judy Rector Fran Reinhold Susan Richman Ruth Rosencrown Carl Rosencrown Lori Sadwith Gil Saltzman Marcia Saltzman Gail Sanderson Evelyn Schneider Connie Schulman Phyllis Searby Jeffrey Shepard Deb Sieron Robin Siegel Judy Simmons-Bradshaw George Smith Arlene Smelson Arthur Steinman Cathy Stelzner Howie Stelzner Linda Stewart Carol Stewart Mary Carol Stunkel Denise Sobotka Martin Sulkes Rose Sullivan Lorraine Stone Leila Sulkes Michele Susalis Eunice Taylor Steve Tepperman David Tolleth Deborah Tolleth Lauren Tolleth Chris Wallace Patricia Walter Mollie Warar Deborah Wasserman Marvin Wasserman Marty Weinstein Marla Weinstein Joy Weinstein Gregory White Nina Willey Kirk Willey Joyce Wingerter Barbara Withers Mary Ellen Wirin Zina Wolin Martin Wolin Joan Zakanych Laura Zakanych 43
S! IS M ’T N O D
JAN 17
SUN MARCH 4
SUN MARCH 18 • 2PM
MARCH 27, 28, & 29
APRIL 3 & 4
A CHRISTMAS CAROL By CHARLES
DICKENS
DECEMBER 5 – 31
Adapted by DAVID
THOMPSON Directed by ADAM IMMERWAHR
MARCH 25
The Hot Sardines
Thursday, December 14 – 7:30pm
Handel’s Messiah
Members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Xian Zhang, conductor
Friday, December 15 – 7:30pm (Richardson Auditorium)
Holiday Cabaret:
Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley Broadway Bound
Saturday, December 16 – 8pm
Bach’s Brandenburgs
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Monday, December 18 – 7:30pm (Richardson Auditorium)
Liam McKernan and Greg Wood in A Christmas Carol 2016, photo by T. Charles Erickson
mccarter.org | 609.258.2787 | 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540 A Christmas Carol is sponsored by
Signature Series sponsored by Music Series sponsored by The
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Edward T. Cone Foundation
Made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.
T GH I G NRER N NI TE E OP CA
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SCENE
AT
TWO RIVER
RAISIN THE ROOF BLOCK PARTY
To kick-off our 2017/18 Season and celebrate our first production, A Raisin in the Sun, Two River hosted a ‘Raisin the Roof’ block party on Thursday, August 31st. Over 200 guests danced to live music from Gary Wright Roots & Blues, enjoyed barbeque from M+J Texas BBQ, along with additional food donations provided by Restaurant Sponsor Siam Garden, JBJ Soul Kitchen, Shapiro's Delicatessen, and a group of community cooks. Our guests also got the opportunity to mix and mingle with our cast of fabulous artists!
Photos by Lisa Campbell.
DAY OF HOPE COMMUNITY WALK On the morning of Thursday, September 21st, Two River was proud to be the start location for The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation and the JBJ Soul Kitchen’s Day of Hope Community Walk. The walk recognized members of the Red Bank community who offer support and hope to the residents of the town. Over 300 supporters from various non-profit organizations were represented. A ceremony was held on Two River’s plaza where Mayor Menna and the Red Bank Borough Council officially proclaimed September 21st as a “Day of Hope” for the Red Bank community. The walk culminated with a final celebration of the Day with light refreshments at JBJ Soul Kitchen.
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TWO RIVER THEATER IS YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR HOLIDAY GIFT BUYING. VISIT THE BOX OFFICE TODAY!