By Michael Frayn Directed by Timothy Near

Center REPertory Company of Walnut Creek
Michael Butler, Artistic Director
Scott Denison, Managing Director
presents
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Timothy Near
Michael Butler*
Sharon Lockwood*
Brittany Ogle
Jennifer Erdmann*
Gabriel Marin*
Mark Anderson Phillips*
Richard Farrell*
Kendra Lee Oberhauser
Kevin Rolston*
Scenic Designer
John Iacovelli
Sound Designer
Jeff Mockus
Wig Designer
Judy Disbrow
Lighting Designer
Kurt Landisman
Costume Designer
Victoria Hall
Dialect Coach
Cynthia Bassham
Fight Director
Richard Lane
Props Artisan
Seren Helday
Stage Manager
Patricia A. Mason*
Choreographer
Jennifer Perry
Margaret Lesher Theatre
April 1 - May 1, 2010
Lesher Center for the Arts
Season
Sponsor
Season Partner
Season Media Sponsor
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
The Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer and Sound Designer are members of United Scenic Artists Union
The Director of this production is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
Center REP is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), The National Organization for the American Theatre
CAST (In order of appearance)
Dotty Otley........................ Sharon Lockwood*
Lloyd Dallas ............................ Michael Butler*
Garry Lejeune ...........................Gabriel Marin*
Brooke Ashton............................. Brittany Ogle
Poppy Norton-Taylor.... Kendra Lee Oberhauser
Frederick Fellowes...... Mark Anderson Phillips*
Belinda Blair.......................Jennifer Erdmann*
Tim Allgood.............................. Kevin Rolston*
Selsdon Mowbray.....................Richard Farrell*
TIME & SETTINGS
Time:
late 1970s
Setting
Act I
The living room of the Brent’s country home.
Wednesday afternoon.
(Grand Theatre, Weston-super-Mare.)
Monday, January 14th.)
Act II
The living room of the Brent’s country home.
Wednesday afternoon.
(Theatre Royal, Ashton-under-Lyne.
Wednesday matinee, February 13th.)
Act III
The living room of the Brents’ country home.
Wednesday afternoon.
(Municipal Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees.
Saturday, April 6.)
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Michael Butler* (Lloyd
Dallas) is the artistic
director of Center REP and
very pleased to return to the
REP stage, having previously
played Paravicini in The
Mousetrap, also directed
by Timothy Near. As an actor, Michael has
performed on Broadway and off, in film,
television, books on tape, and in regional
theatres around the country.
Highlights
include the Broadway productions of Two
Shakespearean Actors and Macbeth, leading
roles at The Public Theatre, the Roundabout,
the Guthrie, Arena Stage, and Long Wharf,
tours of Russia, Europe and Australia with
The Acting Company, and 6 productions at
San Jose Rep under the direction of Timothy
Near. He also played the title role in the
PBS production of David Gordon’s Punch
and Judy Get Divorced, the guitar-wielding
performance artist in the Merchant Ivory film,
Slaves of New York, and was the villainous
Pierre LeChance on The Guiding Light.
Jennifer Erdmann* aaaaa
(Belinda Blair) is delighted
to be making her Center REP
debut. She has performed
with companies throughout
the Bay Area, including San
Jose
Rep,
TheatreWorks,
Marin Shakespeare Company, American Musical
Theatre of San Jose, San Francisco Shakespeare
Festival, California Conservatory Theatre,
Woman’s Will, The Willows Theatre, Stanford
Summer Theater, and the Pear Avenue Theatre.
Regional credits include Nunsense Jamboree at
Meadow Brook Theatre; The Miracle Worker
at Sierra Rep; and Pride and Prejudice at
Arizona Theatre Company, San Jose Rep, and
the Alliance Theatre.
Jennifer also works
frequently in independent film, commercials,
and industrials. She holds a BA from Cornell
University.
Richard Farrell* (Selsdon
Mowbray) is delighted to
be a part of Center REP’s
production of Noises Off!.
In the Bay Area he has
performed with Shakespeare
Santa Cruz and in The San
Francisco
Opera’s
recent
production of Porgy and Bess. He has appeared
on stages throughout the country including
Seattle Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse,
The Alliance Theatre Company, GEVA Theatre
Company, Arizona Theatre Company and offBroadway with The Pearl Theatre Company.
Richard was a company member with the
Alabama Shakespeare Festival for five seasons
where he was an associate artist and a company
member of The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
for twelve seasons. He recently played Dr.
Watson in the premier production of Holmes and
Watson: A Musical Mystery for the Milwaukee
Repertory Theatre.
Sharon Lockwood* aa
(Dotty Otley) has lived
and worked in the Bay Area
for over 30 years. During
that time she has performed
at California Shakespeare
Theatre (most recently as
Malvolio in Twelfth Night), San Jose Rep, Marin
Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, for
many years as a member of the San Francisco
Mime Troupe, and extensively at ACT. Recent
productions there include ‘Tis Pity She’s A
Whore, The Philistines, Hedda Gabler, and A
Christmas Carol (2005-2009). Ms. Lockwood
has had a longtime association with Berkeley
Repertory Theatre performing in among
others: The Alchemist, Volpone, The Triumph
of Love, Pentecost, Caucasian Chalk Circle and
three premieres with comic Geoff Hoyle. She
originated the role of the 200 year-old woman
in The La Jolla Playhouse/Berkeley Rep coproduction of Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell (San
Diego Critics Circle Award) directed by Tony
Taccone. Ms. Lockwood appeared as Barbara at
Los Angeles’ Mark Taper in the world premiere
production of Nickel and Dimed directed by
Bartlett Sher. Regional credits include Seattle
Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Alley
Theatre (Houston), Milwaukee Rep, Missouri
Rep and Long Wharf. Film and TV appearances
include Mrs. Doubtfire, Midnight Caller, and The
Long Road Home.
Gabriel
Marin*
(Garry
Lejeune) is excited to return
to Center REP where he has
previously appeared in A
Number and Tuesdays with
Morrie. Recent credits include
The Creature (Victor) with
Black Box Theatre, Jack Goes Boating (Clyde) and
The Devil’s Disciple (Richard) at Aurora Theatre
Company, Landscape of the Body (Durwood,
Raulito) and Bug (Peter) at the SF Playhouse, A
Streetcar Named Desire (Mitch)at Marin Theatre
Company, and Dead Mother (Daniel) for Thick
Description/The Jewish Theatre. Locally he has
appeared at A.C.T., Aurora Theatre Company, A
Traveling Jewish Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights
Foundation, Center REP, Central Works, Marin
Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, PlayGround,
San Francisco Playhouse, Thick Description,
Word for Word and Z Space Studio. Marin has
performed on NBC, CBS, PBS and the BBC.
Kendra Lee Oberhauser
(Poppy
Norton-Taylor)
was last seen at Center
REP in The Women. She
most recently performed
in Blastosphere! By Aaron
Loeb and Geetha Reddy at CentralWorks, See
How We Are by Jon Tracy at Impact Theatre
and a staged reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s
trilogy The Norman Conquests at Shotgun
Players. Other credits include: Six Degrees
of Separation, First Person Shooter (SF
Playhouse);
Loveplay
(TheatreFIRST);
Chemical Imbalance (Precarious Theatre);
Force of Nature (Playhouse West).
Brittany
Ogle
(Brooke
Ashton) is thrilled and
honored to be making her
Center REP Debut. She was
most recently seen as Ulla
in Foothill Music Theater’s
The
Producers!
Select
Credits include: American Musical Theater
of San Jose; Hot Box Dancer/Sarah Brown
Understudy in Guys and Dolls, Velma in
West Side Story with American Idol’s Diana
DeGarmo and Bebe in A Chorus Line directed
by original Broadway cast member Kay Cole,
The Willows Theater; Brooke in Noises Off
and Holly in The Wedding Singer, Broadway
by the Bay; Rapunzel in Into the Woods,
Marquee Productions; Ariel in Disney’s World
Premiere Musical When You Wish, and Evelyn
Nesbit in Ragtime, Tri Valley Rep; Eva Peron
in Evita - Best Actress Award. Brittany is a
Theater Artists Institute Graduate, recipient
of AMT’s Ginny Award and AMT’s Mim Babin
Scholarship. Thanks to Jenny, Michael, and
Timothy for this wonderful opportunity. Love
to Mom and Noel for their constant support.
Mark Anderson Phillips*
(Frederick Fellowes) last
appeared with Center REP
as Sir Wilfred in Witness
for the Prosecution. Other
REP appearances include, A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,
The Mousetrap, Around the
World in 80 Days, and How the Other Half
Loves. Most recently he appeared in The Weir
(Jim) at San Jose Rep, in Miss Julie (Jean)
at the Aurora Theatre Company, and last
summer in Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance
Party at the New York International Fringe
Festival. His work at other theaters includes
roles with Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks,
SF Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre,
Arizona Theatre Company, Word for Word,
California Shakespeare Theater, American
Conservatory Theater, and Marin Theatre
Company. Mr. Phillips’ credits also include
television (Nash Bridges), and video (This is
Macbeth and This is Hamlet).
Kevin Rolston* aaaaa
(Tim Allgood) was last
seen at Center REP as Father
Flynn in Doubt. Recently he
appeared in What The Butler
Saw and the world premiere
of Sunlight both at Marin
Theatre Co, as well as the
independent short film How To Get Nowhere
Fast. He has been in three world premieres at
Magic Theatre, including Rebecca Gilman’s The
Crowd You’re In With, two tours with the San
Francisco Mime Troupe and productions with
Word for Word, foolsFury, PCPA Theaterfest,
the San Francisco Playhouse and American
Conservatory Theater. Kevin was a company
member at the Shakespeare Theatre of New
Jersey from 2000 to 2003. Mainstage STNJ
credits: The Glass Menagerie, Enrico IV,
Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy
of Errors, and Twelfth Night.
Kevin is the
Lead Writer for OutLook Theater Project.
CREATIVE TEAM
Michael
Frayn
aaa
(Playwright)
was
born
in London on September
8, 1933. After two years
National
Service,
during
which he learned Russian, he
read Philosophy at Emmanuel
College,
Cambridge.
He
then worked as a reporter and columnist for
The Guardian and The Observer, publishing
several novels including The Tin Men (1965),
winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, and
The Russian Interpreter (1966), which won
the Hawthornden Prize. More recent novels
include A Landing on the Sun (1991), which
won the Sunday Express Book of the Year and
Headlong (1999), shortlisted for the Booker
Prize for Fiction. His latest novel, Spies (2002),
won the 2002 Whitbread Novel Award. His
plays include Alphabetical Order (1975), Clouds
(1976), Donkeys’ Years (1977), Make or Break
(1980), Noises Off (1982), Benefactors (1984),
Copenhagen (1998), winner of the 2000 Tony
Award for Best Play, and Democracy (2003).
His latest play for the Royal National Theatre
is Afterlife (2008). He has also translated a
number of works from Russian, including plays
by Chekhov and Tolstoy. His films for television
include First and Last (1989), for which he
won an Emmy, and an adaptation of his 1991
novel A Landing on the Sun. He also wrote the
screenplay for the film Clockwise (1986), a
comedy starring John Cleese.
Timothy Near (Director)
is delighted to return to
Center REP to direct on the
charming
Lesher
Stage,
having previously directed
The Mousetrap and Doubt.
She recently concluded 22
years as Artistic Director of
San Jose Repertory Theatre during which time
she produced over 132 plays, many of which
were world premiers, contributed significant
leadership to the design and building of a new
theatre facility and led the company to be among
the most respected and artistically adventurous
resident theatres in the country. In the spring
of 2009 she left her SJ Rep position to resume
her career as a free lance director. Near has
directed at numerous theatres throughout the
U.S., including California Shakespeare Theatre,
Arizona Theatre Co., The Guthrie, Berkeley
Rep, Alliance Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, L.A.’s
Tiffany Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Ford’s
Theatre in DC, New York Shakespeare Festival,
Union Square Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St.
Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse, Center Rep, The
Intiman, A Contemporary Theatre, Portland
Center Stage and Opera San Jose. Near is also
an actress and the recipient of an Obie Award
for her performance in Still Life by Emily Mann.
She is the recipient many BATCC awards, a
Shellie award, Hollywood DramaLogue awards
and the Woman of Achievement Award in the
Arts given by the SJ Mercury News/Women’s
Fund and The Janet Gray Hayes Award for
Women in Leadership.
John Iacovelli (Scenic Designer) received
a 2001 Emmy Award for the A&E broadcast
of the Broadway production of Peter Pan. He
designed Laughter on the 23rd Floor for Center
REP and won the Bay Area Drama Critics Award
for his set for the ACT production of A Streetcar
Named Desire. For TV: Lincoln Heights, The
Book of Daniel, Ed, Resurrection Blvd, Babylon
5 and for Ashley Judd’s first film Ruby in
Paradise. He has designed over 300 plays and
musicals at most major theatres across the
US. He has an MFA in Scenic design and Art
Direction from NYU. He is currently Professor in
Scenic Design for The Department of Theatre &
Dance at The University of California at Davis,
and is a Visiting Professor at The Shanghai
Drama Academy. He dedicates his work to the
memory of Dr. Francisco Estrada Valle. Visit
John’s website at www.iacovelli.com
Kurt Landisman (Lighting Designer)
Local audiences will be familiar with his work
through past productions designed for Center
REP including All Shook Up, Cabaret, Ain’t
Misbehavin’, Musical of Musicals (The Musical!),
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Mousetrap,
How the Other Half Loves, Around the World in 80
Days, and Fugitive Kind. His designs have been
seen throughout the Bay Area at many theaters
including San Francisco Opera, ACT, Berkeley
Rep, San Jose Rep, Theatreworks, California
Shakespeare Festival, The Magic Theatre, and
Marin Theatre Company. Locally his work has
garnered 16 Bay Area Critics Circle Awards and
5 LA Dramalogue Awards. Nationally, his work
has been seen at many regional opera & ballet
companies, including the Los Angeles Opera,
Minnesota Opera, Virginia Opera, Tulsa Opera,
and Ballet Arizona. His designs have also been
presented off-Broadway, represented at Circle
Rep, and the Douglas Fairbanks Theatres.
Other designs internationally include world
premieres of plays by Sam Shepard in Japan,
and Singapore, as well as the San Francisco
Opera in Shanghai, China, and the Moscow
Circus in Tokyo, Japan.
Victoria Hall (Costume Designer) is pleased
to return to Center REP for Noises Off. She just
recently designed Witness for the Prosecution,
directed by Artistic Director Michael Butler and
Cabaret (Shellie Award) directed by Mindy
Cooper. Victoria has a diverse background in
design including industrial design, interior
design, scenic and costume design. Costuming
has been her focus for the last five years here
and abroad. Her work in London includes,
The Long Hard Goodbye- film, Olympia at the
Baron’s Court Theatre, S.N.U.B.- feature filmAngry Badger Pictures, Striklem, The National
Film and Television School, British Society of
Cinemotographers BSC Test Shoot, Viv Skillset
Screen Academy, Midsummer Murders for
Virgin Media and she assisted at the Holland
Park Opera productions of Lakme and La
Traviata. Recent work in the bay area includes
the A Seagull in the Hamptons for Shotgun
Players, the ReOrient Festival for Golden
Thread Productions, Abe Lincoln’s Big Gay
Dance Party for SF Playhouse and the NYFringe
Festival, among other shows for Crowded Fire
Theatre Co. The Magic Theatre, and Theatre
Artaud.
Jeff Mockus (Sound Designer) Previously
for Center REP: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Cabaret,
Musical Of Musicals: The Musical,
Hank
Williams: Lost Highway, Nixon’s Nixon, Around
The World In 80 Days, and The Marriage Of
Figaro.
Mr. Mockus has also collaborated
with CCMT on Oliver!, Fiddler On The Roof,
Cinderella, Urinetown the Musical, Guys And
Dolls, and Disney’s Beauty And The Beast. His
recent work includes A Christmas Story and
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
at San Jose Rep, Private Lives, Pericles, An
Ideal Husband, and Uncle Vanya at Cal Shakes,
Shipwrecked! at Shakespeare Santa Cruz,
The Woman In Black, The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare Abridged, and Tuesdays
With Morrie at Utah Shakespearean Festival, as
well as the world premieres of War Music for
American Conservatory Theatre, Tracy’s Tiger
for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Lend Me
A Tenor: The Musical for Utah Shakespearean
Festival.
Judy Disbrow (Wig Designer) and her
company Theatrical Hairgoods have provided
wigs for theatrical productions
for over
30 years. She has worked with companies
throughout the United States including Diablo
Theatre Company, CCMT, La Jolla Playhouse,
Arkansas Repertory Theatre, San Francisco
Opera, Portland Opera, Florida Grand Opera,
as well as many others.
Richard Lane (Fight Director)
recently
choreographed the surprise ending in Witness
for the Prosecution for Center REP and spent
several summers teaching Stage Combat with
Young REP. He is currently choreographing
the fights for Equivocation at Marin Theatre
Company.
As the resident fight director
for TheatreWorks in Mountain View, he
has choreographed numerous productions
including 20th Century, Charley’s Aunt, Pacific
Overtures (2001), Equus, As You Like It, and
Romeo and Juliet (1998 - Bay Area Theater
Critics Circle Award). He has directed fights for
Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory Theater,
San Francisco Opera, Smuin Ballet, and Marin
Shakespeare Festival (Dean Goodman Choice
Award, 2005) among others. He is a Certified
Fight Director with the Society of American
Fight Directors and author of Swashbuckling:
The Art of Stage Combat and Theatrical
Swordplay, Limelight Editions, 1999 and In
Search of The Woman Warrior, Element Books,
1998. Richard is also the Controller for The
Magic Theatre (SF).
Cynthia Bassham (Dialect Coach)
is
pleased to be returning to Center REP where
she previously coached How the Other Half
Loves.
Other productions and theatres
include Pride and Prejudice and Well (Oregon
Shakespeare Festival), Ridiculous Fraud,
Hamlet and The Real Thing (South Coast
Repertory), Blue Shade (Transversal Theatre
Company), Stones in His Pockets (Sixth Street
Playhouse), Escape from Happiness, Book of
Tink, The Bacchae, West Side Story, Measure
for Measure, Uncle Vanya, Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Anything Goes, Urinetown, Fetes de la
Nuit, Sunday in the Park with George, Music
Man, The Marriage of Miss Hollywood and King
Neptune, Under Milk Wood, Our Town, Kiss
Me Kate, Nine, and The Seagull (University of
California, Irvine). Cynthia currently teaches
with UCI and Seydways Acting Studio. She
received her MFA from American Conservatory
Theater and is a proud member of VASTA
(Voice and Speech Trainers Association).
Seren Helday (Props Artisan) is excited to
be working on her second show with Center
REP. She is the resident props artisan for Marin
Theatre Company. She has also done props
for California Shakespeare Festival and San
Francisco Playhouse. She spent one year as
Master Carpenter at New Conservatory Theatre
Center in San Francisco, building some 30
shows for their season. She was also Technical
Director of the Live Theatre Workshop in
Tucson, Arizona in addition to working as a
designer, performer, and manager.
Patricia A. Mason (Stage Manager) is
delighted to be returning to Center REP and
the Lesher Center for the Arts. Patti was last
with Center REP stage managing All Shook Up!
She is based in New York City and was most
recently Stage Manager for Run for Your Wife
at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport,
NY. Patti has had the good fortune to be on
stage management teams around regional
theatres such as Hartford Stage Company
in Hartford, CT; Walnut Street Theatre in
Philadelphia, PA; and Gateway Playhouse in
Bellport, NY. Her favorite past shows include
Homeward Bound, a new play produced by
Greenlight Productions in New York City; The
Wedding Singer at Gateway Playhouse; I am
My Own Wife and Chick, The Great Osram at
Hartford Stage Company; and Godspell at The
Walnut Street Theatre.
Joe Coe (Assistant Stage Manager) This is
Joe’s second season with Center REP and he
couldn’t be happier to be a part of such an
amazing team of professionals and friends!
Joe has had the pleasure of working with such
companies as Berkeley Repertory Theatre,
American Conservatory Theatre, Summer
Repertory Theatre, Suicide Kings touring
production of In Spite of Everything, Boston
Conservatory, SpeakEasy Stage Company, and
Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. Joe would like to
thank all of his colleagues here at the LCA for
a great season and for making it such a joy to
work here!
Jennifer
Perry
(Choreographer)
Choreography credits include:
Cinderella
(Shellie Award Winner), Disney’s Beauty and
the Beast (Shellie Nominee), Annie, Sound
of Music, Titanic, Joseph and the Amazing...,
Music Man, and Wizard of Oz, along with
countless original pieces. Directing credits
include: Oklahoma!, 42nd Street, and Guys
and Dolls for CCMT and Red Hot and Cole for
Role Players Ensemble. Jennifer is a proud
member of Fantasy Forum Actor’s Ensemble
and is thrilled to be going into her 15th year
of teaching for Center REP’s Young REP Acting
Training Program, where she serves as codirector of the Musical Theatre Program. By
day Jennifer teaches ballet at Lareen Fender’s
The Ballet School in Walnut Creek where she
is the Director of the School and The Ballet
Joyeux.
Michael Butler (Artistic Director) is in his
fourth season as Artistic Director of Center
REP, where he directed Around the World
in 80 Days, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The
Marriage of Figaro, How the Other Half Loves,
Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Nixon’s Nixon,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Enchanted April,
Witness For The Prosecution, and A Number.
His directing work has also been seen at San
Jose Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Seattle Rep,
Laguna Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company,
Aurora Theatre Company, San Jose Stage,
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and The Juilliard
School, of which he is a graduate. As an actor,
Michael has worked on Broadway and off, in
regional theatres, film and television. He is
a published songwriter and the co-writer and
composer of numerous music-theatre pieces,
which he has directed and performed in NY, LA,
and at festivals in India and Morocco. In his
career as a performer he has also danced with
the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, portrayed
the villainous Pierre LeChance on The Guiding
Light, and played guitar and harmonica in
many rock, blues, and country western bands
at all the notable dives in NYC.
Scott Denison (Managing Director) has
been the General Manager for the Lesher
Center for the Arts since it opened 19 years
ago and has worked for the Arts in this area
for 36 years. Scott has directed over 150
productions, including The Wizard of Oz , the
musical hit Cinderella and Disney’s Beauty and
the Beast and for the past 13 seasons Center
REP’s A Christmas Carol as well as all Fantasy
Forum productions since 1972. Scott has also
designed lights for over 250 productions,
including the national touring production
of Sylvia. In 1979 he created the Shellie
Awards, which annually honors outstanding
performing arts achievement in Contra Costa
County. Under Denison’s guidance the Lesher
Center for the Arts presents over 900 public
events each year. He coordinates performing
arts activities with over 85 producers and
producing organizations. Scott created the
Chevron Family Theatre Festival which hosted
over 7,000 guests last year. He is also the
Managing Director of the Center REPertory
Company producing professional productions
each season; and is the director and cofounder of Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, an
adult family performing arts company which
presents programs for the young and young
at heart.
OUR SPONSORS
ABOUT CENTER REPERTORY COMPANY
Chevron (Season Sponsor) has been the
leading corporate sponsor of Center REP
and the Lesher Center for the Arts for the
past eight years. In fact, Chevron has been
a partner of the LCA since the beginning,
providing funding for capital improvements,
event sponsorships and more. Chevron
generously supports every Center REP show
throughout the season, and is the primary
sponsor for events including the Chevron
Family Theatre Festival in July. Chevron
has proven itself not just as a generous
supporter, but also a valued friend of the arts.
Center REP is the resident, professional
theatre company of the Lesher Center for the
Arts. Our season consists of six productions
a year – a variety of musicals, dramas and
comedies, both classic and contemporary, that
continually strive to reach new levels of artistic
excellence and professional standards.
Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA)
(Season Partner) is both the primary
fundraising organization of the Lesher
Center for the Arts (LCA) and the City of
Walnut Creek’s appointed curator for the
LCA’s audience outreach. DRAA’s role in the
community is all about building partnerships
with the focused goal of enhancing artistic
quality at the LCA and providing opportunities
for everyone to enjoy the arts. Through
partnerships with the LCA and its producers,
individual donors, corporate and foundation
sponsors and the City of Walnut Creek,
DRAA plays a vital role in advancing the
arts for the betterment of the community.
Please visit us online at www.draa.org.
Contra Costa Times (Season Media Sponsor)
In the East Bay, the largest newspaper
of the Bay Area News Group is the Contra
Costa Times and its sister editions, the West
County Times, Valley Times, San Ramon
Valley Times and East County Times. The
Times, was judged the best newspaper in its
circulation category in the state five times in
a six-year period by the California Newspaper
Publishers Association. In 2005, it won the
prestigious national Freedom of Information
Award from Associated Press Managing
Editors. And, in 2007, it was honored by the
California Newspaper Publishers Association
for its leadership on public records.
CITY COUNCIL
Susan McNulty Rainey, Mayor
Kish Rajan
Cindy Silva
Robert Simmons
Gary Skrel
ARTS COMMISSION
CITY MANAGER
Fritz Brunner, Chair
Gary Pokorny
Vice
Chair Suzanne Masella
DIRECTOR
Carol Fowler
Arts, Recreation and Community
Reginald Marshall
Services
Jacquelyn Smith
Barry Gordon
Center REP would like to thank:
“The Committee”
for guest artist hospitality
THANK YOU TO OUR
OPENING NIGHT DINNER SPONSORS:
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Oi-C Bowl
ADDITIONAL THANKS TO:
Massimo’s Ristorante
Walnut Creek Baking Company
Waters Moving and Storage
Associated Services-Alta Water
Selix Formal Wear of Pleasant Hill
Shannon and Mike Demers
Hyatt Summerfield Suites
Chuck Eisler
Our mission is to celebrate the power of the
human imagination by producing emotionally
engaging, intellectually involving, and visually
astonishing live theatre, and through Outreach
and Education programs, to enrich and
advance the cultural life of the communities
we serve.
What does it mean to be a producing
theatre? We hire the finest professional
directors, actors and designers to create our
productions at Center REP. These are not
touring productions – they’re conceived and
developed here, the sets and costumes are
built in our shops, and the actors rehearse in
our rehearsal hall. Whether the production
is a Bay Area premiere or a Shakespearean
classic, each is devised to be a one of a kind,
artistic creation that will be a unique theatre
experience for our audience.
What does it mean to be a professional
theatre? It means that all our artists and
artisans are career theatre-practitioners.
Many of the actors in this production are
members of Actors’ Equity Association; many
of our directors and designers are members of
professional unions. All do theatre because it
is their profession and their passion.
We are very proud to have the opportunity
to produce professional theatre for our
community in the beautiful Margaret Lesher
Theatre here at the Lesher Center for the
Arts. Thank you for your support!
Center REPertory Company
Managing Director - Scott Denison
Artistic Director - Michael Butler
Production
Production Manager
Jeff Collister
Technical
Technical Director
Joshua Lipps
Costumes
Costume Manager
Melissa Anne Davis
Assistant Costumers
Michael A. Berg
Amy Nielson
Erin O’Donoghue
Marketing
Marketing Director
Gabe Marin
Marketing Assistant
Casi Maggio
Assistant Stage Manager
Joe Coe
Deck Manager
Alex Logemann
Master Electrician
Tirzah Tyler
Carpenters
Brandon Davis
Stewart Munson
Daniel Neely
Cameron Swartzell
Production Assistants
Mat Severns
Sofia Dertimanis
Mike Lyons
Casting
Casting Director
Jennifer Perry
Production Services
Production Svcs Coordinator
Toni Kilcoyne
Technical Staff
Doug Alvey
John Earls
Nicole Iannaccone
Mitch Kell
Iain McKay
Steve Pino
Garrick Schuster
Josh Stouffer
Audience Servuces
Audience Svcs Coordinator
Courtney Egg
Ticket Office Staff
Rebecca O’ Connor
Caitlin Downing
Elizabeth Fazzio
Kiersten Jones
Karla Kopfhammer
Sarah Leahy
Hillary Pearsall
Education
Education Directors
Jeff Draper
Kerri Shawn
Administration
Asst. to the Managing Director
Gail Pfeifer
Usher Coordinator
Jody Cook
Program
Linda Nomura