A note from the Cab
The production process on a Cabaret show goes by so quickly. But sometimes we are blessed with a bit of extra time, like we were with The Hedgehog’s Dilemma. Cooper proposed an adaptation of Harry Davis’ piece that would center a queer love story. We had just started production in December, as the news of the omicron variant caused COVID cases to rise. It became clear to us that the originally planned January launch of our Spring season was going to be unlikely. The decision to delay not only gave us all some much-needed rest, but also more time to build the world of the play together. And then, so suddenly, I blinked, and we were in the final day of tech putting it all together. Cooper and Lucas bring such a beautiful intimacy and connection to this piece. Cooper’s writing, and play development support from dramaturg Nick, have made this adaptation soar. Add in beautiful designs from the entire production team and it all fell into place. This story will make you feel vulnerable, beautiful, messy, and, most importantly, seen – whether you are a part of the queer community or not. - Sarah Ashley Cain, Artistic Director
A note from the show team The thing is, whether you like it or not, when you come down to it, in the end: bodies are fucking weird. They’re weird! There’s no way around it. And the trouble is, we’re always trying to convince ourselves they’re not. We have a neat, tidy little story we tell about how we’re little, and then we grow, and then we hit puberty, and finally we’re “grown up” and it’s all good and we’ve figured out our place and everything is fine. Nature, of course, has other ideas. Things keep growing, bulging, deflating, tightening, creaking, cracking, and generally making themselves known. Life is change, and not only in body: our knowledge of ourselves changes, our expression changes. Gender, we realize, is a myth; stasis is death, growth is life, and change is weird and wonderful and queer. Along the road, we get to have an awful lot of fun with these complicated bodies and permeable selves. Sometimes that fun even happens in company—and if one body can be weird all alone, there’s no limit to the delightful, unexpected, perplexing, and transcendent things two (or more) bodies can get up to together. It can feel incredibly close to explore these things with someone— and it is. But closeness can be confining, or painful. There’s always the risk of getting hurt. That’s what makes them hard, these bodies: they tell us so much and also so little. They’re soft, and easily wounded, and prone to disappointing. But they’ve also given us the opportunity—gently or passionately, wisely or not—to reach out and touch. - Nicholas Orvis, dramaturg Many organizations, including A Place to Nourish your Health (APNH) and Yale’s Safer Sex initiative, provide great resources on sexual health, STIs, and HIV. For more details, please visit The Hedgehog’s Dilemma’s show page: https://www.yalecabaret.org/cab-7
The Hedgehog’s Dilemma Written by Harry Davis
Adapted by Cooper Bruhns CREATIVE TEAM Co-Directors Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Associate Sound Designer Dramaturg Producer Technical Director Stage Manager Intimacy Coordinator
Cooper Bruhns* and Lucas Iverson* Charles T. Meier* Mateja Fajt* David De Carolis* Joe Krempetz Mike Winch* Nicholas Orvis Jacob Santos* Sky Pang* Brandon Lovejoy Kelsey Rainwater
CAST Matty (they/them) Cooper Bruhns* Arthur (he/him) Lucas Iverson* Special Thanks: Joe Chiang, Safwon Farmer, Luanne Jubsee, Bryn Scharenberg, Hyejin Son, and YAO. Content Transparency: Strong language, depictions of sexual activity, physical violence, and alcohol use, conversations about sex work, sexual assault, and STI’s/HIV. *Yale Cabaret Debut
- xx
Mission
Land Acknowledgement
Yale Cabaret is a beautiful experiment of artistry and process. With every season and iteration, we build a home for David Geffen School of Drama at Yale students to imagine, create, and share their stories alongside our many communities.
The state of Connecticut and Yale University occupy the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, Quinnipiac, and other Algonquian speaking peoples. We honor and respect their continued relationship with and stewardship of this land, and we acknowledge that Yale University, Yale Cabaret, and those affiliated have benefited from the oppression of these Nations.
Values Build Community Community is central to our work at the Cab. We seek to build intentional and nourishing relationships with each other and the communities of Yale, greater New Haven, and beyond. Keep Experimenting The Cab is the place for students to disrupt their process, take risks, and explore within and beyond their disciplines. Make a mess, try again, re-invent, and grow with us. Welcome All We aspire to create a more inclusive and welcoming theater across our many diverse identities and backgrounds. You are invited to show up as your full self at the Cab.
Labor Acknowledgement Yale University does not exist independently from the centuries of forced labor and economic extraction of enslaved people, primarily of African descent, on which this country was built. We are indebted to their labor and their unwilling sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the ongoing violence inflicted on Black and brown people and the resulting impact and generational trauma still felt today.
Leadership Team Artistic Director Sarah Ashley Cain
Co-Managing Director Natalie King
Associate Artistic Director Abigail C. Onwunali
Co-Managing Director A.J. Roy
Production Manager Mia Sara Haiman
Collaborators Graphic Designer Mikayla Johnson
Cabaret Assistant Annabel Guevara
Website Designer Laura Copenhaver
Videographer Andre Griffith
Artistic Associates Community Engagement Kayodè Soyemi
Lighting Riva Fairhall
Scenic Marcelo Martínez García
Costumes Kitty Cassetti
New Work Danielle Stagger
Sound Bryn Scharenberg
Directing James Fleming
Performance Cooper Bruhns Isuri Wijesundara
Stage Management Brandon Lovejoy
Dramaturgy Nicholas Orvis
Technical Direction Cam Camden
Projections Hannah Tran
Inclusivity Jacob Santos
Board of Directors Matthew Suttor, Chair Benjamin Benne Samanta Yunuen Cubias Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
Reed Northrup Linda Stone Linda-Cristal Young
Our Supporters In 1968, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale students established a basement performance venue in the former home of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at 217 Park Street. Envisioned as an alternative outlet for drama school students’ creativity and experimentation, Yale Cabaret became a forum for our expanded New Haven communities, whom we invite to gather around food, drink, conversation, fellowship, and artistry. Since its founding, the Cabaret has remained in continuous operation, including pivoting to virtual performance during the 2020/21 season. The Cab has produced hundreds of plays, old and new, alongside musicals and musical revues, comedy shows, dance, performance art, and genre-defying performance. Our supporters have made this storied history happen. With their partnership, we continue this tradition into 2022 and beyond.
Partners ($1,000-$2,499) Santino Blumetti Ann Judd & Bennett Pudlin Matthew Suttor R. Lee Stump & Abigail Roth Clifford Lee Warner Show Sponsors ($500-$999) Nina R. Adams & Dr. Moreson Kaplan Joan Channick & Ruth Hein Schmitt Latiana “LT” Gourzong Andrew D. Hamingson & Sarah A. McLellan Bill & Sharon Reynolds Paul Walsh Grace Zandarski Enthusiasts ($250-$499) Audrey Conrad Pamela Jordan Jim & Eileen Mydosh Florie Seery James Sinclair & Sylvia Van Sinderen
Supporters ($100-$249) Shaminda Amarakoon Anne Danenberg Cornelia Evans Jerry & Donna Lodynsky Bonnie L. Kramm Edwin Martin Advocates ($50-$99) Katherine & Chava Burgueño Donna K. Doherty Mercedes Eugenia Matthew Sonnenfeld Rosalie Stemer Jessica Wolf
Thank You To Our Sponsors!
$8 crafted drinks during late night happy hour!
What’s Next I And You By Lauren Gunderson Starring and proposed by Lauren Marut and Jordi Bertrán Ramírez February 24-26 The Cabaret is being taken over by an entire team of Yale College students to present I and You! One afternoon, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline’s door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound due to illness, Caroline hasn’t been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together.
Soft Apples By Doug Robinson Directed by Gabrielle Hoyt March 10-12 One week. Seven performances. $1 million. Ambitious, but your favorite theatre has one thing going for it: you. In Soft Apples, you take on the role of a patron of the arts, generously supporting the best of causes. After all, this is theatre! No dream is too big. No ask is too ambitious. No sacrifice is too costly…right?
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