LEAD SPONSOR:
MEDIA PARTNER:
BY LORRAINE HANSBERRY DIRECTED BY CARL COFIELD
SEPT 9 – OCT 8/2017
170830 Grove TRTC Playbill f.pdf
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8/30/17
3:01 PM
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. Â
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 Title Page 7 Patron Services 9 A Note from the Artistic Director, John Dias 11 Cast of Characters 13 Bios 20 A Note about Hansberry's Notes 23 Leadership Bios 24 WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM Broadcast from Two River Theater 27 Education Spotlight: First Monday Masters & College Audition Boot Camp 29 TYA Spotlight: Skeletons: A Day of the Dead Bedtime Story 31 Coming Soon: The Importance of Being Earnest 33 Restaurant Sponsor: Siam Garden 34 Introducing Two River's Artist Advisory Board 38 Individual Donors 43 Institutional Support 44 Meet our Staff and Volunteers 46 Scene at Two River
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Empowering our community to reach the highest level of health & wellness.
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5/15/17 4:28 PM
Robert M. Rechnitz Executive Producer
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
John Dias Artistic Director Joan H. Rechnitz Associate Producer Michael Hurst Managing Director
By Lorraine Hansberry WITH
Jasmine Batchelor * Brandon J. Dirden * David Joel Rivera
Andrew Binger Willie Dirden * Owen Tabaka
Nat DeWolf * Charlie Hudson III * York Walker *
Crystal A. Dickinson * Brenda Pressley *
SCENIC DESIGNER........................................................... Christopher Swader & Justin Swader COSTUME DESIGNER................................................... Elivia Bovenzi LIGHTING DESIGNER.................................................... Kathy A. Perkins SOUND DESIGNER........................................................... Karin Graybash WIGS DESIGNER................................................................. Valerie Gladstone CASTING..................................................................................... Jack Doulin + Sharky PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER ................... Lloyd Davis, Jr. *
Directed by Carl Cofield OPENING NIGHT: SEPTEMBER 15/2017 JOAN AND ROBERT RECHNITZ THEATER A Raisin in the Sun is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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:
SUPPORTED BY:
MEDIA PARTNER:
SEASON SPONSORS:
The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation
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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
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
A Raisin in the Sun
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.
Audio Description: Wednesday, September 27 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, September 30 at 3PM
INSIDE TWO RIVER EVENTS
The Rainbow Fish
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 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.
Skeletons: A Day of the Dead Bedtime Story Relaxed Performance: Saturday, October 14 at 4PM
The Importance of Being Earnest
Audio Description: Wednesday, November 29 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, December 2 at 3PM 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
Dancing at Lughnasa
Audio Description: Wednesday, May 2 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, May 5 at 3PM
The Young King
Relaxed Performance: Saturday, April 21 at 2PM
Oo-Bla-Dee
Audio Description: Wednesday, June 27 at 1PM Open Caption: Saturday, June 30 at 3PM Access programs made possible through support from New Jersey State Council on the Arts. 7
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A NOTE FROM THE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Photo by Danny Sanchez.
JOHN DIAS
Harlem By Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? [Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?] In 1951 Langston Hughes wrote about the American Dream as it applied—or not—to his African-American brothers and sisters in Harlem. Inspired by his poem, Lorraine Hansberry sat down to write this play about her actual brothers and sister who, with their parents, had the audacity to dream of an America where they could live in a neighborhood of their own choosing. (For a brief history of the actual events—and the policies and practices at play—see the panels our dramaturg, Anika Chapin, has displayed in the lobby.) If, like me, you’re feeling a little duped and made not just a little angry by the slow progress and historical pendulum swings on our national “arc of justice,” you might feel better (or something) to consider, as I finally am—that the “American Dream” isn’t really a dream at all. In fact, it is really just a promise. I don’t mean to minimize it by saying just a promise. If anything, I mean to minimize the notion of its being a dream at all. I’ve always chafed at the anodyne notion of that concept. There’s never been anything dreamy about our national aspiration to prove our founders right: we hold this truth to be self-evident that all men are created equal. When we prove this—if we prove this—it’s the result of struggle and determination and grit and luck and a truthful yet hard confrontation with aspects of ourselves
that aren’t always beautiful or “dreamy.” That every day we must honorably strive and suffer setbacks as we right the wrongs of injustice and the temptations of our own selfishness. To be American is to have made that promise. And a promise is a contract that one human makes with another. And when you make that contract you bind yourself to that other person. And if that bond is true and enduring you’ve created something as profound as a family. A family that expands into a nation. I’m reminded of some lyrics Sarah Schlesinger wrote for The Ballad of Little Jo—another story of our complicated history that upends any “dreamy” notions of where we’re headed. At the end of the story, the townsfolk, assessing the damage they’ve caused, propose a way forward: “Today is the day we make a new beginning…. A promise made, a promise kept, unbroken through the years.” Watching events unfold in places like Charlottesville and hearing the conversations folks are having about the symbols from our past, I hold some hope that we will confront the realities of our shared history and stop pretending we’re pursuing a dream and get to work on the promise, together. So I was excited to read a glowing review of a new book soon to be published by the Oxford University Press in their series: “The Oxford History of the United States.” Apparently, Richard White in his forthcoming The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 makes a go at upending some of the dreamy myths we have about ourselves. Although there’s some encouragement too. If, like me, you’re any kind of “grammar geek” you’ll be interested to learn that Reconstruction was when we threw out the rules of subject-verb agreement and gave up saying (correctly) “The United States are” in order to express ourselves as one single body, one family: “The United States is.” (Frankly, I’ll also never stop wondering how in New Jersey, two rivers can take a singular form. But that’s a puzzle for another day.) For now, let’s lean in and get to know the Youngers, Hansberry’s fictionalized family of her own. And rejoice in the presence of some of our own theatrical family: off-stage husband and wife (Brandon Dirden and Crystal Dickinson) and dad (Willie Dirden) and our Two River sister, Brenda Pressley (In This House and Trouble in Mind). Let’s lean in and think about our promise, together.
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
Ruth Younger .................................................................................Crystal A. Dickinson Travis Younger..............................................................................Owen Tabaka Walter Lee Younger .................................................................Brandon J. Dirden
....................................................................Jasmine Batchelor (INBeneatha ORDER OFYounger SPEAKING) Lena Younger ................................................................................Brenda Pressley Joseph Asagai ..............................................................................Charlie Hudson III George ....................................................................York Ruth YoungerMurchison .................................................................................Crystal A. Dickinson Walker
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Travis ..............................................................................Owen Tabaka KarlYounger Lindner .....................................................................................Nat DeWolf
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Beneatha Younger ....................................................................Jasmine Batchelor
Moving Men ....................................................................................Andrew Binger and David Joel Rivera
Lena Younger ................................................................................Brenda Pressley
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TheTwo scenic, costume, lighting, and soundisdesigners in LORT theatres are represented by Theaters United River Theater Company a member of the League of Resident (LORT), Theatre Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. Communications Group (TCG), the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and ArtPride New Jersey. 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.
renderings and set s See show trailers, costumes The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual photos, posts from t renderings and set sketches, this production recordings Therecordings videotaping of or making of electronicor ordistributing other audio and/or visual on any medium, photos, posts from the rehearsal room, and much mo recordings of this recordings on medium, including theproduction Internet,orisdistributing strictly prohibited, a any violation of the author’s room, and much more! including is strictly prohibited, a violation the author’slaw. For more The conversation is rightsthe andInternet, actionable under United Statesofcopyright The conversation is constant on rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, visit www.samuelfrench.com/whitepaper. Two River’s social mediaTwo sites.River’s social m information, pleaseplease visit www.samuelfrench.com/whitepaper.
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BIOS MEET THE ARTISTS!
Jasmine Batchelor (Beneatha Younger) is originally from the East Coast; born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlanta. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Ohio’s Wright State University, she toured with the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s educational troupe before heading off to continue graduate studies at The Juilliard School of Drama. Jasmine recently starred in the world-premiere adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel Jazz at Baltimore Center Stage. Previous appearances include the Showtime series The Affair and the out-of-thisworld digital series Miss Earth. Andrew Binger (Moving Man), an actor and educator from Bloomfield, NJ, is thrilled to be making his Two River Theater debut. Notable credits include Brian in the world premiere of Love Ya Like a Sis at the Hudson Guild, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird at the Forestburgh Playhouse, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop at Villagers Theatre, and Sam in the world premiere of Down Neck by Pia Wilson. On the film side, Andrew starred as Chris in Conversations Centered Around Black Bodies which was recently selected for the Broadway International Film Festival. Other film credits include Delmar in Z’Lectrik, Jed in Why We Worry and Marcus in Underachievers, all slated for release in 2017. Andrew is a founding member and Company Manager for Yendor Theatre Company, Newark’s premiere theatre company, dedicated to works of social justice. He is also faculty member at the world-renowned Newark Boys Chorus School. Nat DeWolf (Karl Lindner) is thrilled to be making his debut at Two River Theater. New York theater credits include Take Me Out (Broadway and The Public Theater), Antlia Pneumatica and Betty’s Summer Vacation (Playwrights Horizons). Regional theater: ART, Westport Country Playhouse, Huntington Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Pittsburgh Public, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Hartford TheaterWorks, Barrington Stage, Boise Contemporary Theater, Kitchen Theatre. He co-wrote and co-starred in the film Lisa Picard Is Famous. Recent film and television credits include A Most Violent Year, The Preppie Connection, We Are What We Are, Gotham, The Black List, Pan Am, Law & Order: SVU. He is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University. Crystal A. Dickinson (Ruth Younger), a New Jersey native, made her New Jersey debut at Two River Theater in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Broadway: You Can’t Take It With You, Clybourne Park (Theater World Award). Playwrights Horizons: The Call, Clybourne Park; Signature Theatre: Funnyhouse of a Negro, The First Breeze of Summer; Lincoln Center: Broke-ology; Soho Rep: Born Bad; Negro Ensemble Company: Sundown Names and Night-gone Things; Atlantic Theater: Bottom of the World. Regional: Contemporary American Theater Festival, Baltimore Centerstage, 7 Stages, Georgia Shakespeare, Houston Shakespeare, Illinois Shakespeare, Synchronicity. Television: The Good Wife, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. Film: Collateral Beauty, This Is Where I Leave You, I Origins. Education: MFA University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a proud volunteer at the 52nd Street Project.
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Brandon J. Dirden (Walter Lee Younger) has previously appeared at Two River in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Jitney; in the world premiere of Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine; and in Topdog/ Underdog, in which he starred opposite his brother Jason Dirden under the direction of the play’s author, Suzan-Lori Parks. An award-winning actor/director, he made his directing debut here with Wilson’s Seven Guitars. He is best known for portraying Agent Dennis Aderholt in the acclaimed FX series The Americans. A Morehouse College and University of Illinois graduate, he is also known for appearing on Broadway as Martin Luther King Jr. in the successful Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way opposite Bryan Cranston’s Lyndon B. Johnson. Other Broadway credits include August Wilson’s Jitney (2017 Tony Award for Best Revival), Prelude to a Kiss, Enron and Clybourne Park. In 2012 he was awarded an Obie and a Theatre World Award and was nominated for Drama League and Lucille Lortel Awards for his portrayal of Boy Willie in the Signature Theatre Company revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. He has guest starred in TV series such as The Good Wife, The Big C, Blue Bloods, Public Morals, Braindead and Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down on Netflix. Brandon is married to actress Crystal Dickinson and currently lives in West Orange, NJ with their three-year-old son, Chase.
CELEBRATING
49 YEARS
IN BUSINESS
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Willie Dirden (Bobo) is making his Two River debut in this production. He is a veteran of regional theater. His stage credits include Cementville (Kid Cayman), Lilies of the Field (Homer Smith), Waiting for Godot (Pozzo), Of Mice and Men (Crooks), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Cutler), Jitney (Becker), Two Trains Running (West), The Boys Next Door (Lucien), The Fantasticks (The Indian), Twelve Angry Men, A Hatful of Rain, Finian’s Rainbow, and The Manchurian Candidate. Willie’s film credits include Rough Riders, Arlington Road, The Rookie, and The M. C. Hammer Story. Charlie Hudson III (Asagai) is thrilled to be appearing again on the Two River Theater stage, where he was previously seen in Seven Guitars. Charlie was last seen performing in Detroit ’67 at Playmakers Rep. Previous shows include The Mountaintop, Northern Stage; Father Comes Home from the Wars, ART; A Raisin in the Sun, Barrymore Theatre (Broadway); The Raisin Cycle: Clybourne Park & Beneatha’s Place, Baltimore Center Stage; Hurt Village, Signature; Fences, Virginia Stage; The Piano Lesson, Yale Rep; Bike Wreck, EST; White Women Street,
Irish Rep; “Master Harold”…and the boys, Portland Stage; Fly, Crossroads and Vineyard Playhouse; A Raisin in the Sun, Richard III, A Christmas Carol, All the King’s Men, Cyrano de Bergerac, Trinity Rep; Hillary, New Georges; Old Comedy, Classic Stage; Mother Courage, Public Theater/NYSF; Sweet Bird of Youth, Williamstown; Romeo and Juliet, Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble; Julius Caesar, Topdog/Underdog, Brown/Trinity Consortium. TV: The Night Of (HBO), Shades of Blues (NBC), The Good Fight (CBS), Unforgettable (CBS), Forever (ABC), The Rosa Parks Story (CBS), and A Raisin in the Sun “Revisited” (PBS). Film credits include Roxanne Roxanne; Complete Unknown; Newlyweeds; Lillian; and his voice is featured in the McGraw-Hill’s PodClass GRE Vocabulary Study Guide. He is the 2003 KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Best Actor Award winner (Region IV) and is MFA graduate of the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Consortium. Charlie would like to thank God for this opportunity and his loving family for their support. Brenda Pressley (Lena Younger) Broadway: The Lyons; The American Plan; Cats; Dreamgirls (original company). Off-Broadway: The First Breeze of Summer; Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles?; Seven Guitars; Fran’s Bed; Goodwill; Marvin’s Room; And the World Goes ‘Round: The Songs of Kander and Ebb (Outer Critics Circle Award); Blues in the Night. Regional: Intimate Apparel (McCarter), Having Our Say (Long Wharf/Hartford),Trouble In Mind (Two River Theater), Black Odyssey (Denver Center Theatre Company), In This House (Two River Theater), Sundance Theatre Lab 2002, The Old Settler (Freedom Theatre, 2000 Barrymore Award, Best Actress; also world premiere at McCarter Theatre and Long Wharf); Blues for an Alabama Sky (Cincinnati Playhouse, The Old Globe); Jar the Floor (Syracuse Stage); A Raisin in the Sun (Ford’s Theatre); To Be Young, Gifted and Black (The Kennedy Center). Film: Third Street Blackout, Detachment, 16 Blocks, Cradle Will Rock (written and directed by Tim Robbins), Twisted, It Could Happen to You. Television: The Path, Body of Proof, Law & Order, Deadline, Law & Order: SVU, New York Undercover, Daddy’s Girl, Harambee!, Educating Matt Waters, HBO’s Lifestories, Brewster Place (with Oprah Winfrey). David Joel Rivera (Moving Man) has extensive training as an actor, bolstered by coaching in music and dance, and rounded out by numerous certifications in the craft of stage combat. Soon after relocating to New York City, David landed the “swing” position in the award-winning production of The Video Games at the Elektra Theatre. His credits include Hal in David Auburn’s Proof; Father in Six Characters in Search of an Author; Berger in Marvel Theatre’s Hair; and Southern Colorado Rep’s The Music Man as Oliver Hix. Stage combat proficiency won David horse-riding, torch-yielding, and sword-fighting roles at Ohio’s historic Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheater in Tecumseh. He hails from Syracuse, NY and received a B.F.A. in Musical Theater from Fredonia State University. Thanks to Jaclyn and to mom for their help in forging David’s prime philosophy that “nothing is impossible.” Owen Tabaka (Travis Younger) is extremely proud and humbled to be making his acting debut at Two River Theater. Owen lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his family and has been dancing and performing with Strictly Rhythm Dance since the age of three. He is 10 years old, and is the 2015 Petite Mr. World Dance Champion and had the awesome opportunity to tap with Elmo on the HBO series Sesame Street in January. His passions include acting, singing, dancing, soccer, lacrosse and tapping with the Jam Youth Project. Owen would like to first thank God 15
2017-2018 THEATER SERIES A Red Orchid Theatre’s
SIMPATICO
By Sam Shepard | Directed by Dado
EXTENDED! September 8 – October 15, 2017
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN Written and Directed by Randy Johnson
October 10 – 29, 2017
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
By Marie Jones | Directed by Lindsay Posner
January 12 – February 11, 2018 15th Anniversary Production of
CROWNS
Written and Directed by Regina Taylor Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry
March 13 – April 1, 2018
TURNING OFF THE MORNING NEWS A World Premiere
By Christopher Durang | Directed by Emily Mann
May 4 – June 3, 2018
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and his mom, dad, sister Nita, brother AJ, Nanny Grace and all of his friends for their love and support in helping him achieve his dreams. He also thanks director Carl Cofield for allowing him to enjoy this valuable experience. He wishes to thank his manager Jody Prusan, vocal coach Robert Marks, and his agent Nancy Carson without whom none of this would be possible. Owen dedicates his performances to his mom and dad who first instilled in him a love of performing and have stood by his side every single step of the way! York Walker (George Murchison) is thrilled to make his Two River Theater debut with A Raisin in the Sun! Regional: The Mystery of Love and Sex (Mark Taper Forum); One Night in Miami (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Napoli and A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); A Raisin in the Sun (California Shakespeare Theater); Let Bygones Be and Heist! (34th Annual Humana Festival); Dracula, A Christmas Carol and Important People (Actors Theatre of Louisville); As You Like It and Everything Is Ours (Chautauqua Theater Company); Hairspray (Gateway Playhouse). International: The House of Bernarda Alba (Moscow Art Theatre). Training: MFA, American Conservatory Theater. Lorraine Hansberry (Playwright) When Lorraine Hansberry’s (1930-1965) A Raisin in the Sun appeared on Broadway in 1959, the artist became at 29 the youngest American playwright, the fifth woman, and the only African American to date to win the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play of the Year. The play represented a landmark. In its authentic depiction of Black American life, and the vivid demonstration of so gifted a creator, cast, and director, it made it impossible for the American stage to ignore African American creativity and subject matter thereafter. In 1961, the film version won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Hansberry’s screenplay. In 1965, Lorraine Hansberry died of cancer at age 34. As if prescient, in the six years she had between the triumph of her first play and her death, she was extraordinarily prolific. Her second play to be produced on Broadway, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, was in its early run, to mixed reviews, when Hansberry died; the curtain came down on that date. To Be Young, Gifted and Black, an autobiographical portrait in her own words adapted by her former husband and literary executor Robert Nemiroff, was posthumously produced in 1969 and toured across the country. In 1970, Les Blancs, her play about the inevitability of struggle between colonizers and colonized in Africa, and the impending crisis that would surely grow out of it, ran on Broadway to critical acclaim. During her career as a playwright, Hansberry wrote many articles and essays on literary criticism, racism, sexism, homophobia, world peace and other social and political issues. At her death, she left behind file cabinets holding her public and private correspondence, speeches and journals, and various manuscripts in several genres: plays for stage and screen, essays, poetry, and an almost complete novel. Lorraine Hansberry Trust
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Carl Cofield (Director) is a New York-based director and actor. He directed the award-winning world premiere of One Night In Miami (Huffington Post Best of L.A. 2013, NAACP, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and others) for Rogue Machine Theatre and the Denver Center Theatre, for which he received the Los Angeles NAACP Award for Best Director; Henry IV Part 2 for Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Disgraced for Denver Center; The Mountaintop for Cleveland Play House. NYC directing credits include: the 50th anniversary of Dutchman for the Classical Theatre of Harlem/National Black Theatre (AUDELCO nomination Best Director); The Tempest, Macbeth for Classical Theatre of Harlem (AUDELCO nomination for Best Director); The Balcony (The New School); Better Than Yellow for 48 Hours in Harlem; The Seven by Will Power at the Connelly Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for NYU; 1001 for Columbia University. He assisted Molly Smith on the world premiere of Camp David by Lawrence Wright at Arena Stage. He directed a reading of Camp David for President and First Lady Carter at the Carter Center retreat in Vail, Colorado. He also assisted Kent Gash on Langston in Harlem at Urban Stages. As an actor, his work has been seen at Manhattan Theatre Club (Ruined), Berkeley Rep, Alliance, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Intiman, Actors Theater of Louisville, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Milwaukee Rep, Alabama Shakespeare, McCarter, The Acting Company, Studio Theatre and many others. Teaching: New York University and The New School. Education: MFA, Columbia. Carlcofield.com Christopher Swader & Justin Swader (Scenic Designers) Selected NY credits include: The Three Musketeers, Fit for a Queen, Macbeth, The Tempest, Dutchman (Classical Theatre of Harlem), The Boy Who Danced on Air (Abingdon Theatre Company), 3/Fifths (3LD), Campfire (Lincoln Center Education/ Trusty Sidekick Theater Company), Heather Henson’s Crane: On Earth, In Sky. Past collaborations with: Luna Stage, La MaMa, Ars Nova, Park Avenue Armory, Manhattan School of Music, National Black Theatre, The New School for Drama, HERE Arts Center, Shadowland Stages, Fairleigh Dickinson University, The Orchard Project, Emerson String Quartet, SpeakEasy Stage Company, ArtsEmerson, Company One. American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Award nomination. Finalist in the 2017 World Stage Design Exhibition. Upcoming: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Speakeasy Stage Company, Boston), Annie (John W. Engeman Theater). Graduates of Ball State University. www. cjswaderdesign.com Elivia Bovenzi (Costume Designer) most recently designed The Birds at Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires. Also for BSC: peerless and Kunstler, which originally made its OffBroadway debut at 59E59. She also has designed extensively for the NYC-based company, New York Shakespeare Exchange. Her credits at NYSX include Much Ado About Nothing, The Rape of Lucrece (world-premiere adaptation), Hamlet, and Titus Andronicus. She was an assistant costume designer for the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, and for MTC’s The Father and Incognito. Other assistant credits: Plenty (Public Theater); War Paint (Goodman Theatre); Kiss Me, Kate (Hartford Stage); and My Heart Is in the East (La MaMa). MFA: Yale, where her credits include An Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Yale Rep/Berkeley Rep), Cloud Nine and Richard II. www.eliviabovenzi.com
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Kathy A. Perkins (Lighting Designer) is excited to be making her debut at Two River. She has designed both nationally and internationally including Switzerland and South Africa. In New York, she has designed for New Federal Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and in such venues as Carnegie Hall and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Regionally, Kathy has designed for Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf, Alliance Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, St. Louis Black Repertory, American Conservatory Theater, Indiana Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Congo Square, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Writers Theatre and Playmakers Repertory Company. She is the editor/co-editor of six anthologies focusing on African/African Diaspora women. A graduate of Howard University and the Univ. of Michigan, Kathy is Professor of Theatre at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Karin Graybash (Sound Designer) has created numerous sound designs for regional theater and Off-Broadway, including: Hartford Stage, Long Wharf, Berkeley Rep, Dallas Theater Center, Yale Rep, McCarter, Arena Stage, Portland Stage, Folger Theatre, People’s Light, and the Alliance. Her conceptual sound design for Popsicle’s Departure was also produced internationally. Her work has been nominated for the Helen Hayes Awards and she is a recipient of the Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for her sound design of Polk County at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Karin was the original live sound consultant for the multi-media production Freedom Rising at the National Constitution Center. Many of her soundscapes can be heard at The Franklin Institute’s exhibit entitled Your Brain. Karin also holds the position of Sound Supervisor for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Valerie Gladstone (Wigs Designer) is honored to be back at Two River Theater. Her Broadway credit highlights include Mothers and Sons, The Seagull with Kristin Scott Thomas, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Thurgood with Laurence Fishburne. Off-Broadway: stop. reset., The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, First Breeze of Summer at the Signature Theatre; Having Our Say at McCarter Theatre; A Christmas Carol, A Raisin in the Sun/Clybourne Park at Dallas Theater Center. Film and television credit highlights include The Deuce, Maggie’s Plan, Fading Gigolo, The Black List, Madam Secretary, Person of Interest, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Normal Heart, and Black Swan. In her latest venture, she is the artist behind Brooklyn Dollworks, proprietors of art dolls.
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Lloyd Davis, Jr. (Production Stage Manager) Favorite credits include: Broadway: Fela!, Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare on Broadway directed by Estelle Parsons, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Off-Broadway and Regional: Resident Stage Manager for The American Place Theatre for three years, the 40th anniversary production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Collected Stories and Mrs. Klein (all with Uta Hagen), The Waverly Gallery with Eileen Heckart, Edward Albee’s Occupant with Mercedes Ruehl, Sam Shepard’s States of Shock with John Malkovich, Tiny Alice with Richard Thomas, Sweeney Todd with Christine Baranski and Brian Stokes Mitchell, King Lear with Stacy Keach, and Ghosts with Jane Alexander. Tours: Mrs. Klein, Tommy, The Wiz with Stephanie Mills, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the international tours of Undisputed Truth with Mike Tyson and Fela!. Lloyd was recognized by the NYC Board of Education and Pace University’s Promise of Learning for Excellence in Arts Education for his work with the NYC Public School Repertory Company.
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A NOTE ABOUT HANSBERRY’S NOTES By Madeleine George, Playwright in Residence
compiled annually on her birthday from the time that she was 23 until 32, in an exhibit of her letters at the Brooklyn Museum, Twice Militant: Lorraine Hansberry’s Letters to “The Ladder” (2013). The exhibit was primarily concerned with Hansberry’s anonymous letters to “The Ladder,” a subscription-only periodical for lesbians founded in 1956. But the curators also included a number of the playwright’s personal notes and lists, each more frank, funny, and poignant than the last. The lists are sometimes petty, sometimes grandiose, sometimes intentionally silly. Written for an audience of one, they read like spending private time with the writer, over a glass of her favorite Scotch.
For example, in 1960, at age 29, Hansberry’s “I LIKE” column includes: Mahalia Jackson’s music Lorraine Hansberry
I
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...
f we know A Raisin in the Sun, we may think we know Lorraine Hansberry. We know that her play is a masterpiece of structure and characterization so brilliant it became an instant classic when it premiered. We know that the play draws on various parts of the playwright’s autobiography for its milieu, characters, and political drive. And we know that the play has the same gravitas that Hansberry herself embodied: whenever she spoke in public—whether in interviews, as in the moving conversation she held in 1959 with Studs Terkel (http://studsterkel.wfmt.com/blog/tag/lorrainehansberry/), or in speeches, as in this impassioned address on Black revolution and White backlash she gave at a town hall meeting in 1964 (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wqxjc7PULJ8)—her political fierceness was matched by her personal composure. She was a graceful radical: discerning, incisive, and uncompromising.
getting dressed up
But in the privacy of her own notebooks, Lorraine Hansberry was refreshingly ambivalent and searching, honest about her secret personal life and the self-doubt and loneliness that she struggled with for years. I first encountered her lists of Likes and Hates, which she
Speaking
being admired for my looks ... Shakespeare ... that first drink of Scotch and older women Under “I HATE” she lists: Being asked to speak
Too much mail My loneliness
... stupidity ... Racism People who defend it ... Seeing my picture Reading my interviews ...
And now a new, more painful category emerges:
I regret That love is really as elusive as everybody over 30 knows it to be ... My consuming loneliness All the friggin’ hurts in this world
death pain
But she is also “proud”
cramps being hung over
that I am losing some of these fears
and
that I struggle to work hard
Sneaky love affairs
The world only had Lorraine Hansberry for another two and a half years after that. We only got three full-length plays from her. But in her notes to herself Hansberry lives again for us as a deeply passionate, utterly human artist, struggling to reconcile her great artistic and political ambitions with the limitations of her own mind and the world she lived in. For anyone who’s ever tried to make a meaningful piece of art, Lorraine Hansberry’s private expressions of self-doubt, jealousy, love, and fear bring her closer to us. They make her feel like one of us, not the omniscient, flawless mind that it seems like A Raisin in the Sun must have come from.
against many, many things and on my own
Intriguingly, “My homosexuality” makes both lists this year. By 1962, when she’s 32, Hansberry still likes
the first Scotch
of my people
And she “should like”
...
to be utterly, utterly in love
the inside of a lovely woman’s mouth
to work and finish something
... Parts of the lingering memory of a betrayer
Lorraine Hansberry
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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. 23
WBGO JAZZ 88.3FM BROADCAST FROM TWO RIVER THEATER On August 17, Two River audiences were treated to a live interview with director Carl Cofield and A Raisin in the Sun cast members Crystal A. Dickinson (Ruth Younger), Brandon J. Dirden (Walter Lee Younger) and Brenda Pressley (Lena Younger), hosted by WBGO News Director Doug Doyle and recorded for broadcast on WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. To listen to the complete interview, visit www.wbgo.org/journal or www.tworivertheater.org
Left to Right: Carl Cofield, Crystal A. Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, Brenda Pressley, and Doug Doyle. Photos by Carmen Balentine.
The following excerpts are edited and condensed from that conversation, which began with a discussion of the play’s continuing relevance today. CARL COFIELD: The job of art is to hold a mirror up to society and ask big questions—no matter if we are looking at the Greeks, at Shakespeare, or at Lorraine Hansberry. For me, the big questions of this play are, “What price do we pay? How deep is our love and how deep is our trust and what are the bonds that unite us?” CRYSTAL A. DICKINSON: I would add that Lorraine Hansberry considered herself not just a playwright but an activist, and this play is an example of her activism. I think she would say that the question is, “What happens to a dream deferred?” And we’re still asking that question. BRANDON J. DIRDEN: Right. And I think what makes this act of activism particularly relevant today is the brilliance of Lorraine Hansberry to not just comment on a time—the 1950s in America—but to really unearth a deep truth about humanity. The truths that she excavates about race relations 24
in America in this particular play are unfortunately, yes, still timely. But this play is so good that even after—oh, please, God, one day—even after we can say, “Yes, the race relations here in America have so improved that we don’t have to have the same conversations that we’ve been having for the last 400 years,” even after we get to that point, we will still present A Raisin in the Sun because of its complex humanity.
half hours, I defy you not to be changed. There is a magic there that I think only can happen in the theater because of the ritual of coming to the theater. We’re in the same room breathing the same air, exhaling while they’re inhaling, and vice versa. There’s a magic that only can happen in this theater when these actors recite this beautiful, beautiful text.
What I’m finding out every day in rehearsal is how much Lorraine Hansberry loved us. She loves every single character she wrote and she loved us enough to expose our flaws. But she doesn’t leave us there. She never leaves anyone broken, not even you, the audience, as you watch this. She’s going to break you but she’s not going to leave you broken, and there’s so much love for these people and for the people she is asking to watch this journey. She loves you and she wants you to be a better you when you walk out of this theater.
***
CARL COFIELD: To Brandon’s point, I think the theater demands us to be participants, not just casual spectators or observers. So when you come in here and deal with the Youngers for two and a
DOUG DOYLE: Brenda, what is the American dream today and has it changed since these characters wanted it so badly? BRENDA PRESSLEY: I think the American dream has not changed. We want comfort, we want happiness, we want success in being the very best selves that we can be and for that to be true for the people whom we love. That doesn’t change, that’s universal; those kinds of things can be felt in Pakistan, China, across the street, anywhere you go. And that is the beauty of our humanity. That’s the beauty of our being in a world where yes, we have
different religions and ways of dealing with day-to-day life, but pure love and devotion is the same. We have tweets and whatever going on left and right; we distance ourselves a bit from each other now and life’s circumstances, unfortunately. But dreams are as they were a thousand years ago. DOUG DOYLE: Brandon, I’d like your comparison between August Wilson and Lorraine Hansberry. BRANDON J. DIRDEN: In rehearsals recently, I’ve drawn several parallels to August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. The Piano Lesson was written 25 years after A Raisin in the Sun, but it’s not strange that Boy Willie is drawn from the same well as Walter Lee Younger. It’s not far fetched that these two young men are striving to have that piece of Americana: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “Come hell or high water, damn whatever obstacle is in my way, I’m going to take that shot, right?” CRYSTAL A. DICKINSON: I think in both plays, Boy Willie and Walter Lee are asking “Why don’t I deserve it? Am I not American? Do I not have this blood? Do I not have this heritage? Do I not own what this country promises? Why am I not deserving of it? What have I done to put me at a disadvantage?” And they’ve done nothing except be black and that’s just a truth. And I think in order to progress in this country, we have to be real and answer that question truthfully and say, “Yes, we have not afforded you what we
promised you.” And then move forward. Move forward. BRENDA PRESSLEY: As I was preparing to come to rehearsal today, there was footage of Susan Bro, the mother who had to speak of her child who was murdered in Charlottesville, Heather Heyer. She stood at a podium and proclaimed her child as a martyr and with her head held high, she was able to celebrate her child’s purpose and the role that her child will play forevermore in this country’s history. And I thought of Lena Younger. I saw Lena standing there at that podium—a mother who fiercely loved her child. ***
DOUG DOYLE: The character of Karl Lindner is trying to prevent the Younger family from moving into a primarily allwhite neighborhood and offering them money to stay away.
CRYSTAL A. DICKINSON: We just talked about this today. Lorraine Hansberry herself was one of a family in an all-white neighborhood and she tells of how she was beaten up as a young child, how bricks were thrown through her family’s home. And I said, “You know, she endured all of that and then she writes a play where poor Travis has to endure the same thing. Why would she do that?” And then we read the end of the play and what I’ve come up with is that this is a family, very much like what Brenda is saying about this young woman being a martyr, a pioneer; this family is that, and what is going to help them get through that is the love that they have, the strength that they have as a family. And I think that’s what Lorraine Hansberry is trying to say. She’s trying to say that with faith and courage and love, as a country, we can do this, it’s possible. It’s going to be hard. It’s not going to be pretty but it’s possible. DOUG DOYLE: Carl Cofield, what’s the conversation you want to hear audiences have at the end of this production? CARL COFIELD: That this play has touched them in a profound way that starts conversation. I don’t care where the conversation leads, but we start a dialogue. I will say personally in this political climate, I do think the saving grace is that we are having—as Brandon and Crystal and Brenda—said earlier, we’re having tough conversations that need to happen. We have to talk, no matter how painful it is. If there’s a silver lining in all of this, we’re having tough conversations and to me, that is the import of the art.
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TWO NEW PROGRAMS!
EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT:
Two River Theater attracts the highest level of talent—and we are thrilled to announce two new Education programs that will allow us to share that talent with students and lifelong learners. FIRST MONDAY MASTERS Starting in September 2017, Two River will host a new series of master classes called First Monday Masters, led by some of the marvelous artists who are involved in our season. Some master classes will be for high-school students, some for adults, and some will be for mixed ages. All of them will be taught by actors, playwrights, directors, choreographers, and designers— artists eager to further engage with our audiences. All First Monday Masters are on Monday evenings from 6pm-8pm at Two River Theater. Spots are limited. Each master class costs $40; participants can book two classes at a discounted price of $35 per class. The schedule for 2017 is as follows; additional classes will be announced at a later date. September 11 - Musical Theater Dance Workshop with Caleb Teicher – For adults and high school students Caleb Teicher was Assistant Choreographer of Two River’s smash worldpremiere musical, Be More Chill. In this fun and energetic master class, Caleb will teach participants some moves from Be More Chill, as well as elements of various dance styles that span the past century of American musical theater (a bit of tap, body percussion, swing dance, hip hop and more). No prior dance experience is required and people of all abilities are encouraged to participate.
October 2 – Acting Class with Crystal A. Dickinson – For adults and high school students Crystal A. Dickinson will be seen on the Two River stage this season as “Ruth Younger” in A Raisin in the Sun after making her debut here in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. She appeared on Broadway in You Can’t Take It with You and Clybourne Park. Crystal will lead a master class in acting, helping the participants find a personal connection to character and action.
November 6 – Playwriting with Madeleine George – For adults Madeleine George, Two River’s first Playwright-in-Residence, is one of the most ambitious and inventive playwrights working in the contemporary theater. She is a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and her most recent Two River Theater production, Hurricane Diane, was praised in the New York Times as “a puckish and brainy new eco-play.” Madeleine will lead participants through a monologue-writing workshop, exploring three different kinds of monologues and the different ways theatrical characters come to life on stage.
December 4 – Directing with Michael Cumpsty – For adults and high school students Michael Cumpsty is a Tony Award-nominated actor and director who has appeared in 17 Broadway shows and numerous Two River Theater productions, including The Lion in Winter and Present Laughter. He will direct The Importance of Being Earnest in Two River Theater’s 2017/18 Season. Michael’s master class in directing will help participants find a deep engagement with the text they are exploring.
COLLEGE AUDITION BOOT CAMP On Thursday, November 9 and Friday, November 10, schools across the state of New Jersey will be closed to allow teachers and educators opportunities to take part in professional development workshops (NJ Teacher’s Convention). At Two River, we want to give students who are aspiring thespians some unique opportunities as well. This year, we are presenting our first College Audition Boot Camp to help high-school juniors and seniors get ready for college auditions. Over the course of these two days, Two River will offer classes on audition technique, choosing material, monologues, Shakespeare, dance combinations, singing auditions, and much more! Interested students can sign up for one day or both.
For more information, or to reserve a spot for either First Monday Masters or the College Audition Boot Camp, visit the Education tabs at www.tworivertheater.org or call 732.345.1400. 27
S! IS
Be r Pe nad te et rs te
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JAN 17
OCT 12
SUN MARCH 4
MARCH 27, 28, & 29 28
NEW JERSEY STATE ST STA ATE A TE COUNCIL OF THE ARTS www.njartscouncil.org
SUN MARCH 18 • 2PM
APRIL 3 & 4
MARCH 25
SKELETONS: SKELETONS: A DAY A DAY OFOF THE THE DEAD DEAD BEDTIME BEDTIME STORY STORY
THEATER THEATER FOR YOUNG FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES AUDIENCES
This season, This Twoseason, River isTwo delighted River istodelighted partner with to partner Teatrowith SEA,Teatro a leading SEA, a leading bilingual Latino bilingual children’s Latinotheater children’s company theaterthat company currently thatreaches currently more reaches more than 75,000than children 75,000 andchildren young and adults young everyadults year through every year performances, through performances, workshops,workshops, and residencies. and residencies. As part of our As part ongoing of our commitment ongoing commitment to champion tothe champion work ofthe Latino worktheater of Latino artists theater and artists welcome andLatino welcome Latino audiences to audiences our theater, to our thistheater, October this weOctober will present we will eight present performances eight performances of a delightful of acomedy delightful called comedy Skeletons, called which Skeletons, is recommended which is recommended for for audiences ages audiences 7 and ages up, and 7 and willup, be and presented will be in presented English and in English Spanishand Spanish simultaneously. simultaneously. Audiences don’t Audiences have to don’t be Spanish-speaking have to be Spanish-speaking to follow to follow along, and in along, the spirit and inofthe thespirit play’sofbedtime-story the play’s bedtime-story theme, we encourage theme, we encourage all all attendees to attendees wear pajamas to wear to pajamas the performance! to the performance! “What an amazing “What anway amazing to delight way audiences to delight audiences and capture and thecapture true the true essence ofessence this important of this important Latin American Latin holiday.” American holiday.” Parent Parent Skeletons isSkeletons is about a boy,about Jimmy, a boy, whoJimmy, is dealing whowith is dealing the loss with of his thebest loss of his best friend, his Grandfather. friend, his Grandfather. His parentsHis tryparents everything try everything to help Jimmy to help cope, Jimmy cope, but nothingbut works, nothing untilworks, the eveuntil of Day the eve of the of Dead, Day ofwhen the Dead, his Grandfather when his Grandfather comes backcomes to lifeback for just to life onefor night. justGrandpa, one night.being Grandpa, the great beingstoryteller the great storyteller that he is, uses that his he is, skills uses tohis orchestrate skills to orchestrate an adventure an where adventure his cast where of his cast of zany characters zany characters teach Jimmy teach many Jimmy important manylessons, important including lessons,selfincluding selfconfidence,confidence, which allows which him to allows movehim onto without move on hiswithout Grandfather. his Grandfather. OCTOBER 2017 OCTOBER 2017 MON
MON TUE 9
WED TUE 10 9
WED THU 10 11
10AM 4PM
THU FRI 11 12
10AM 4PM
SAT FRI 12 13
10AM 1PM 4PM
SAT 13 14
1PM 4PM
14 15
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1PM 4PM
STUDENT MATINEES STUDENT MATINEES RELAXED PERFORMANCE RELAXED PERFORMANCE DÍA DE LA FAMILIA DÍA DE LA FAMILIA
- Relaxed Performance: - Relaxed Performance: A Relaxed Performance A Relaxed Performance is designedistodesigned provide atowelcoming provide a welcoming and judgement–free and judgement–free theater theater experience experience for people with for people autismwith spectrum autismdisorders spectrumand disorders other sensitivity and other issues sensitivity or special issuesneeds. or special needs. - DÍa de la -Familia: DÍa de la ForFamilia: this performance For this performance complimentary complimentary tickets will tickets be provided will betoprovided local organization to local organization serving Latino serving Latino families in our families area.in our area.
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Tickets are Tickets $20 for are Adults $20 for & $15 Adults for Children & $15 for12 Children and Under 12 and Under A Q&A withAthe Q&A cast with will thefollow cast will every follow performance. every performance.
For more information For more information or ticketsor visit tickets tworivertheater.org visit tworivertheater.org or stop byorthe stop boxbyoffice. the box office.
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Corporate Meetings • Fundraisers Client Appreciation Nights Awards Dinners • Cocktail Parties Showers/Rehearsal Dinners Concerts • Dance Recitals Fashion Shows • Film Screenings Weddings & more! 2013/14 SEASON
HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT AT THE
THE TWO RIVER THEATER LOBBY
To contact our rentals department please email rentals@trtc.org or call 732.345.1400 ext. 1826 30
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
COMING SOON:
“The truth is never pure and rarely simple.” “I can resist everything except temptation.” “Some cause happiness wherever they go; some whenever they go.”
T
here are few writers in history with more wit than Oscar Wilde. So many of his wonderfully clever lines have become famous on their own that it’s almost astonishing to think that they could have all come from the mind of one person. But indeed they did, from the singular Irish writer. And perhaps the only thing better than the great Irish writer’s bon mots are his plays.
Beginning performances in November is Wilde’s masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. One of the greatest comedies of all time, the play is set in the high society of Victorian England. When Jack Worthington reveals to his best friend Algernon that he has been living a double life—in the country he is Jack, a responsible gentleman who worries about his libertine city brother, Ernest, and in Oscar Wilde the city he is Ernest—Algernon reveals a similar ploy he has used to win himself a little freedom from the harsh rules of society. With both men seeking the hand of two ladies (who themselves are practicing some deceptions of their own), and Algernon’s fearsome aunt Lady Bracknell on hand to disapprove of, well, almost everything, meanings get twisted and identities get complicated and farcical shenanigans ensue. The play is hilariously funny, but also serves as an incisive satire of Victorian British society and its obsession with status and propriety. Wilde called his play “a trivial comedy for serious people," and its cutting portrait of a society obsessed with itself still resonates today. Our production will be directed by Two River favorite Michael Cumpsty, who will bring this classic play to vibrant, witty life with a cast of brilliant comedians. Whether Oscar Wilde is new to you or an old favorite, you’ll be sure to love our Earnest.
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Performances of The Importance of Being Earnest begin November 11 and continue through December 3 in the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater. For more information or tickets, visit tworivertheater.org or stop by the box office.
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MEET OUR RESTAURANT PARTNER:
SIAM GARDEN
Conveniently located across the street from our theater in the Galleria, Siam Garden is a fantastic choice for pre or post-show lunch and dinner. Featuring “world renowned Thai cuisine in it’s best, most diverse, and authentic form,” Siam Garden's menu includes a wide selection of traditional Thai appetizers and entrées, a variety of exotic curry dishes, fresh seafood specials with unique sauces and a vegetarian menu. Your food experience is heightened by the beautiful authentic decor made up of hand-picked antiques, woodcarvings, Thai silks and original paintings imported from Thailand.
Authentic Cuisine + Authentic Ambiance = a truly special dining experience Siam Garden has been in business for 17+ years and celebrates success as one of New Jersey's premier Thai food restaurants — and has been a favorite for Two River staff and artists! Hours: Monday - Thursday; 11:30am - 10:00pm, Friday - Saturday; 11:30am - 11:00pm, Sunday; 12:00pm - 10:00pm Last order must be 30 minutes before closing time.
SIAM GARDEN Authentic Thai Cuisine
We proudly support Two River Theater since 2002 ! From Traditional to Exotic...
Enjoy world-renowned Thai cuisine in its most diverse and authentic form
2 Bridge Ave. Red Bank, NJ (the Galleria) 732-224-1233 www.siamgardenrestaurant.com 33 33
INTRODUCING TWO RIVER’S NEW ARTIST ADVISORY BOARD
We are proud of the work that we do here in Red Bank—and we know that our responsibilities extend beyond the work presented on our stages. Both as part of the local community of Red Bank, and as part of a larger artistic community in this country, we aim to create programming that expands our artistic reach and connects with large, diverse groups of both theater-makers and audiences. Achieving our goal of becoming one of the country’s leading theaters is only possible because of the caliber of artists who join with us on our mission to create and produce great American theater. Recently, we asked some of the most significant voices in the American theater to join us as part of an Artist Advisory Board. These great writers, directors, actors and playwrights have all agreed to be part of our family by sharing their advice and counsel, and acting as advocates for Two River in the field nationally.
· Director and teacher May Adrales directed Two River’s productions of The Electric Baby and In This House. Her other recent productions include Qui Nguyen’s awardwinning play Vietgone at Manhattan Theatre Club/South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Seattle Rep.
· Actor Barbara Andres was seen on Two River’s stage two season’s back in I Remember Mama, in which she starred as Mama. A veteran of many of America’s finest regional theaters, she made her Broadway debut in the 1969 musical Jimmy and most recently appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider.
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· Obie Award-winning actor and director Brandon J. Dirden, who is now appearing on our stage in A Raisin in the Sun, made his directing debut here two seasons ago with August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. His first appearance at Two River was as Youngblood in Wilson’s Jitney; he took on the role of Booster in the play’s recent Tony Award winning Broadway debut.
· Joel Grey is a Tony, Oscar, and Golden Globe-winning actor, director and photographer. He made his theatrical debut at the age of nine in the Cleveland Play House production of On Borrowed Time, which he directed at Two River in 2014. He is one of only nine actors to have won both the Tony and Academy Award for the same role—the iconic M.C. in Cabaret.
· Writer and performer Lisa Kron received Tony Awards for her book and lyrics for Fun Home, a musical (composed by Jeanine Tesori) based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel. Her other plays include Well and her own solo performance 2.5 Minute Ride, which she performed at Two River in 2013.
· Obie Award-winning actor and playwright Martin Moran made his Two River debut in 2013 performing his solo plays The Tricky Part and All the Rage in repertory. His Broadway credits include Monty Python’s Spamalot and the musical Titanic. He is currently writing a commissioned play for Two River.
· Brenda Pressley is currently playing Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun; she previously appeared at Two River in Trouble in Mind and In This House. Her Broadway credits include the original company of Dreamgirls, and she recently appeared at McCarter Theatre in Intimate Apparel.
· Most recently seen on the Two River stage in Lives of Reason, Maureen Silliman has appeared here in many notable productions including The Glass Menagerie and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. She appeared on Broadway in Shenandoah, I Remember Mama (with Liv Ullman) and Is There Life After High School?.
· Two-time Obie Award winner Leigh Silverman directed Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane and Ethan Lipton’s No Place to Go at Two River. Her Broadway credits include Lisa Kron’s Well and the musical Violet, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award, which starred Sutton Foster.
· Lighting designer Jennifer Tipton is a two-time Tony Award winner (for The Cherry Orchard and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway) and a recent Tony nominee for A Doll’s House, Part 2. At Two River, she designed lights for our productions of The Ballad of Little Jo, The Lion in Winter and On Borrowed Time.
· Ruben Santiago-Hudson is a Tony Awardwinning actor, playwright and director. He has directed many productions at Two River, including August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Two Trains Running and Jitney, and his own play Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine. He won an Obie Award and critical acclaim for his solo show Lackawanna Blues; the Ruben Santiago-Hudson Fine Arts Learning Center in Lackawanna, New York was named in his honor.
· Tanya Saracho writes frequently for television, including How to Get Away with Murder. Her plays have been featured in five of our Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) festivals, and we launched our Nosotros program under her guidance; she is currently writing a commissioned play for us based on her experiences getting to know Red Bank’s Latino community. 35
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T H AN K YOU TO OU R S P ON S OR S OF THE
W EST WAR D P I ON E E R ( $10,000) Monmouth Medical Center Monmouth University Mary Jane and Richard Kroon Ann and Thomas Unterberg
AM E R I CAN F R ON TI E R SM AN ( $5,000) The Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation Robert and Marilyn Broege Caroline P. Huber Anne Luzzatto and Gordon N. Litwin Liz and Adam Rechnitz Andrew and Linda Safran Torcon, INC. Anne and Sheldon Vogel M I N I N G P R OSP E CTOR ( $2 ,500) Visiting Nurse Association Health Group Gale and Robert Grossman Victoria and William Marraccini Lisa and Quinn McKean David Schwartz Foundation Kathy and Webster Trammell SHAR P SHO OTE R ( $1,000) Circle BMW Kaplan, Gaunt and DeSantis Architects Howard P. Aronson Elizabeth and Robert Barrett Lauren and Augie Carton Gloria and Lennart Nilson Sean O'Connell Patricia and Vernon Ralph Anne Marie Schultz and Brian Schwartz
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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 Ann and Thomas Unterberg The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation THE INNOVATOR CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999) Jane Bergere Marilyn and Bob Broege Phyllis Kinsler Mary Jane and Rick Kroon Helaine and Sid Lerner Anne Luzzatto and Gordon Litwin John Paladino and Emily Rechnitz Victoria and William Marraccini Anne and Sheldon Vogel BENEFACTOR ($5,000-$9,999) Howard P. Aronson Sam Chevalier Robert E. Evanson Ms. Joan Fishman and Dr. Paul Brown Guttenplan Family Foundation Joan and Paul Hamelberg Lanae and Todd Herman Barbara and Jim Hrebek Joanna and Brian Leddin* Linda McKean The Honorable Edward J. McKenna, Jr. JP Nicolaides and The Honorable Ed Zipprich
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Sean O’Connell Susan and Ty Olson Mary Beth and Gerald Radke Liz and Adam Rechnitz Anne Marie Schultz* Sheila Schwartz Elizabeth Tortorella and Ivan Polonsky Kathy and Webster Trammell CHAMPION ($2,500-$4,999) Shirley S. Boll Rose Caiola Juliet Cozzi and Ronald Gumbaz Lynn and Jan Dash Carolyn DeSena The Devon Group Joan Ellis Gale and Dr. Robert B. Grossman Christina Hewitt Maureen and James Hurst* Nancy Karpf and Scott Brady Cathy Larson Beth and Vinnie Mazza* Kathleen and Arthur McConnell Nyire and Gregory Melconian Shirley and Bob Neff Gloria Nilson Fund Allyn and Patrick Quagliano Patricia and Vernon Ralph Linda and Andrew Safran Mary Carol and Ken Stunkel Susan E. Whyman 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 Jennifer and Tristram Collins Elizabeth Mihalyak Columbo Jennifer Colyer and Shemmy Mishaan Melissa and Joseph Del Broccolo III Nancy and Michael Del Priore Gail and John Duffy Linda and Bob Ensor 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 PWM Advisory Group Barry V. Qualls Rev. and Mrs. William C. Riker Monica and John Ryan* June and Morton Seligman Candy and Dr. Sigmund Sattenspiel Caryl and Charles Sills Bruce Sherill and Robert Cordrey Cathy and Gene Weber*
Catherine Weiss and Samuel Huber Cynthia and William Wilby Chryssa Yaccarino, Esq. Joan Zakanych PRODUCER ($500-$999) Jennifer and Joe Anderson Kasandrea Banks Nancy and Ed Butler Barbara and Harold Chafkin Patricia and Dr. E. F. Cheslock Stephanie and Kevin Christiano Judy and Richard Fuller Margean Gladysz 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 Robert L. Morteenson Lauren Nicosia The Craig and Flori Roberts Foundation, Inc. Daryl Roth Lori and Geoff Sadwith Peter A. Schkeeper Maureen Silliman and William Parry Susan Stamler Anita and Robert Stix* Margaret Warters DIRECTOR ($250-$499) Anonymous (2) Meredyth Armitage Roxane Blount Sally Bonello Lena and Vince Bono 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 Debra Lee Iapicco Dr. Barbara Jaye and Dr. William Mitchell Joanne and Verne Kreger 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 William G. Shala Vickie Snoy* Maria and George Staphos Karin and Joe Stein Judith and Joseph Vassallo Wendie and Stephen Weinstein Cheryl Wild Dee and Fred Williamson Sally and Marshall Wright Marjorie and Zeke Zaccaro Barbara and Maurice Zagha
MATCHING GIFTS The following have provided matching gifts to Two River on behalf of their employees. AT&T Matching Gifts (3) BlackRock CR Bard (2) Goldman Sachs Horizon IBM Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts JP Morgan Chase Foundation Morgan Stanley Prudential Financial, Inc. (2) TE Connectivity Verisk Analytics Verizon Wireless *Includes matching gift. TRIBUTES AND MEMORIALS In Honor of Suzanne Allyn’s Mother: Barbara Kenas In Honor of Eileen Bassler: The Honorable William G. Bassler In Honor of John and Gail Duffy: Pamela and Richard O’Sullivan In Honor of Caroline Huber: Catherine Weiss and Samuel Huber In Honor of Mary Jane and Rick Kroon: Susan Stamler In Honor of Edward J. McKenna, Esq.: Lauren Nicosia In Honor of Mrs. Barbara Metcalfe: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gebhardt In Honor of Dorothy Nicosia: Phyllis Kinsler In Memory of Michael Shelle: Maureen Silliman and William Parry
Listing reflects gifts made between May 1, 2016 and August 7, 2017 to the Annual Fund.
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Sutton Foster and the cast of the New Group revival of Sweet Charity.
THE BLANCHE AND IRVING LAURIE FOUNDATION The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation was established in 1983 by New Brunswick philanthropist Irving Laurie. The Foundation supports a variety of projects across broad issue areas. The 2017/18 program of cultural support currently includes the 2017/18 Drew Forum – New Jersey’s most prestigious ongoing speakers series; Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of My Fair Lady; the public television series American Masters and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 55th Annual New York Film Festival. The Foundation was gratified to have been selected as the Outstanding Foundation of 2016 by the New Jersey Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. It is proud to report that the Foundation has provided approximately $80,000,000 in grants to philanthropic endeavors, addressing the Foundation’s interest in the arts, education, health care, and social services.
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Halloween Ball Gavin Creel and Jane Krakowski in the Roundabout Theatre revival of She Loves Me.
Kelli O’Hara and the cast of Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of The King and I.
Coming soon to a theater near you…
10.21.17 The cast of Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The Royale. 41
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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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MEET OUR STAFF & VOLUNTEERS! ARTISTIC John Dias Artistic Director Stephanie Coen Associate Artistic Director Anika Chapin Literary Manager Madeleine George Playwright in Residence Brian Eckert Artistic Assistant ADMINISTRATION Michael Hurst Managing Director 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 Alycia Yerves Multimedia Manager Matt Markowski Marketing Assistant Michele Klinsky Box Office Supervisor Kristina Marinos Box Office Supervisor Evan Kudish Lynn Kroll Brianna Merriman Vernette Spicer 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 44
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 Claro de los Reyes Livv DiMattio Tara Giordano Melissa Hodges Artem Yatsunov Teaching Artists Sara Holdren Adaptor/Director OPERATIONS Zeke Zaccaro Director of Operations 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 Savannah Yost Master Electrician Eric Nickl Lighting Assistant Tiffany Reichel Sound Assistant Lesley Sorenson Costume Shop Supervisor Jill DiGiusppe Draper Maggie Barnett Wardrobe Supervisor Jaclyn Vela Costume Assistant VOLUNTEERS 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 SimmonsBradshaw 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
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SCENE THE WAY BACK HOME ICE CREAM SOCIAL
AT
TWO RIVER
On Sunday June 11th, after the 3PM performance of The Way Back Home, Two River hosted an ice cream social fundraiser. Guests enjoyed face painting, arts & crafts, an Ice Cream Sundae Bar supplied by Crazees Ice Cream, and more! All proceeds benefited Two River’s Education Programs.
7TH ANNUAL CROSSING BORDERS FESTIVAL Two River Theater hosted its 7th annual Crossing Borders Festival from August 2nd - 6th. The Festival kicked off Wednesday night with a neighborhood party in the Two River Lobby. The party included opportunities to meet the artists involved in the Festival, food, and live music performed by David Oquendo and Havava Tres. Crossing Borders is a free five-day celebration of new plays by latino writers.
All photos by Teja Anderson. 46
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW SEASON OF THEATER 2017/18 SUBSCRIBE TO THE REST OF OUR SEASON & SEE 5 SHOWS FOR AS LOW AS $150!
By Oscar Wilde Directed by Michael Cumpsty
By Matt Barbot Directed by Jose Zayas
NOV 11 – DEC 3
JAN 6 – FEB 4
By Thornton Wilder Adapted for the Stage by David Greenspan Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll
By Brian Friel Directed by Jessica Stone
By Regina Taylor Original Music by Diedre L. Murray Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
FEB 17 – MARCH 18
APRIL 14 – MAY 13
JUNE 9 – JULY 1
For more information on this season’s productions, pick up a season brochure in the theater’s lobby. SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW AT THE BOX OFFICE