Eccentricities of a Nightingale
Transcription
Eccentricities of a Nightingale
The American Century Theater Presents Tennessee Williams’ The Eccentricities of a Nightingale April 4 - 26, 2008 Gunston Theatre II 2700 S. Lang Street Arlington, Virginia A Doppelganger.................................................................................. Mary Millben Reverend Winemiller.............................................................................Mick Tinder Mrs. Winemiller............................................................................... Carol Randolph John Buchanan..............................................................................Michael Sherman Alma Winemiller.........................................................................Vanessa Bradchulis Vernon............................................................................................ Daniel Steinberg Rosemary............................................................................................ Mary Millben Mrs. Buchanan......................................................................... Mary-Anne Sullivan Roger Doremus.....................................................................................Scott Zeigler Mrs. Bassett................................................................................... Anne Paine West Porter.............................................................................................. Daniel Steinberg Traveling Salesman........................................................................ Brandon Ferraro Production Staff Director Steven Scott Mazzola Producer Karen Currie Original Music Mariano Vales Set Designer Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden* Lighting Designer Ayun Fedorcha* Costume Designer Jennifer Tardiff Sound Designer Matt Otto Props Designer Suzanne Maloney Technical Director Steven Cosby Stage Manager Joan A. S. Lada Cast (In order of appearance) Scenic Artist Elizabeth Baldwin The Setting: Glorious Hill, Mississippi, 1915 The Eccentricities of a Nightingale will be presented with one 15-minute intermission The Eccentricities of a Nightingale is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service on behalf of The University of the South, Sewanne, Tennessee. * Member, United Scenic Artists, Local 829 Director...................................................................................Steven Scott Mazzola Composer........................................................................................... Mariano Vales Stage Manager................................................................................. Joan A. S. Lada Producer............................................................................................... Karen Currie Set Designer................................................................ Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden Lighting Designer............................................................................. Ayun Fedorcha Sound Designer......................................................................................... Matt Otto Costume Designer............................................................................ Jennifer Tardiff Props Designer............................................................................. Suzanne Maloney Technical Director............................................................................... Steven Cosby Scenic Artist................................................................................ Elizabeth Baldwin Fight Director.......................................................................................... Steve Lada Costume Assistant........................................................................ Anna St. Germain Board Operator..............................................................................Christine Millette Master Electrician.................................................................... AnnMarie Castrigno Electricians....................................................................... Don Slater, Ted Madison, Nathan Devonshyre, Jude Fitzmorris, John Master Lighting Technician....................................................................... Daniel Steinberg Photographer.......................................................................................... Micah Hutz Program.........................................................................................Michael Sherman Program Logo........................................................ Karen Currie, Michael Sherman ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Supported in part by the Virginia Commission of the Arts and The Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, Cultural Affairs Division Rick Albani, Kathryn Cocroft, Joseph Cronin, Michael Currie, Ellen Dempsey, Lurita Doan, Joseph Henderson, Michael Kahn, Brooke Marshall, Katherine Mielke, Lynn Ritland, Peter Rosenstein, Bill Wisniewski, the cast and crew of Happy Birthday, Wanda June, and all others whose names were not available as this program went to press. PLEASE NOTE: The use of recording equipment and/or the taking of photographs during the performance is strictly prohibited. TACT is funded in part by Arlington County through the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources and the Arlington Commission for the Arts; the Virginia Commission for the Arts; numerous foundations; and many generous donors. Artistic Director’s Notes: The Eccentricities of a Nightingale by Tennessee Williams Walt Whitman kept revising Leaves of Grass until his death. Harry Truman went back years after he published his autobiography and changed that, too. But for a major playwright to do a major rewrite of a hit play after it has conquered Broadway is extremely rare indeed. Even rarer is the rewrite that exceeds the popularity of the original. In fact, it’s never happened. The Eccentricities of a Nightingale is Tennessee Williams’ improvement on Summer and Smoke, one of his best regarded plays, which opened on Broadway in 1947 to mixed reviews. So certain was Williams that his play needed revising that he brought his reworked script to London in the hope that it could be used in the West End production of Summer and Smoke. He found that the play was already too deep in rehearsals…at least, that’s what the producer and director told him. It undoubtedly seemed to be a kinder response than, “Are you nuts?” For no theater company is going to want to make major alterations in a play that has already found favor with critics and the public, no matter how strongly the playwright believes he has made it better…even if the playwright is the great Tennessee Williams. The same fate has befallen Merrily We Roll Along and The Frogs. In Hollywood, some film makers have returned to the scene of their former triumphs and had success with new versions of previous hits. The all-time champion at this may have been Howard Hawks, who rewrote and filmed essentially the same western, “Rio Bravo,” three times, and with the same star, John Wayne. (When Hawks called up Wayne to do the third and final version, “Rio Lobo,” the Duke reportedly asked, “Do I get to be the drunk this time?”) But even in movies, familiarity and reputation are hard to overcome. “Rio Bravo” is regarded as a classic, and still can easily be found playing on various cable channels. Its two “rewrites,” good as they are (well, “El Dorado” is good) have never caught up, and never will. This is almost certainly the fate of The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, whether Tennessee was right about his favorite version of Summer and Smoke, or not. Jack Marshall, Artistic Director The American Century Theater “I think The Eccentricities of a Nightingale is a substantially different play from Summer and Smoke, and I prefer it,” wrote Williams “It is less conventional and melodramatic.” But he had a difficult time persuading anyone to produce the play once Summer and Smoke acquired the reputation of being a major work. Finally, in 1964, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale got its shot, though not in the way Williams would have liked. It was an Off-Broadway production, and occurred at a time when Williams was widely seen as a declining playwright in artistic free-fall. And perhaps he was: Williams never had another Broadway success. Whether Eccentricities is superior to Summer and Smoke is impossible to say. Given a choice, all but the most daring and perverse theater companies (perhaps you can think of one!) will choose to produce the play that has name recognition and a reputation; the playwright’s preference doesn’t pay the bills. William Inge, another major playwright from Williams’ era, never liked the ultimate form of his biggest hit, Picnic, and wrote an alternative version of the play called Summer Brave. He had no more luck than Williams persuading producers to put his improvement on stage. Promising plays and especially musicals that didn’t succeed on Broadway—now that’s another matter entirely. Stephen Sondheim’s cult musical Follies has been significantly revised more than once, though none of the revisions have achieved more success than the original. The Decorating Centers of Potomac Paint * Wallpaper * Fabrics Upholstery * Slipcovers Window Treatments * Color Consultations 3610 King Street Alexandria, VA 22302 703-820-5301 5701 N. Lee Highway Arlington, VA 22207 703-534-4477 THE COMPANY VANESSA BRADCHULIS (Alma Winemiller) is proud to be making her debut with The American Century Theater. She is a graduate of The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and The Actors Repertory Theatre (ART). Vanessa has been seen in Antigone (Antigone); The Real Inspector Hound (Cynthia); Twelfth Night (Olivia); and the world premiere of Thirteen Beers and a Power Bar (Lynette) as a member of ART. Regional credits include The Glass Menagerie (Amanda) and Spoon River Anthology (Pauline/Ensemble). International credits include The Shadow Box (Agnes) and a world tour of The Farley Family Reunion (Arvilla/Ensemble). Vanessa served with distinction as a combat medic in the US Army during which time she was temporarily attached to BRAVO! Army Theatre Touring Company as an actor and medic on two world theatre tours. She is currently pursuing an MFA in film and electronic media at The American University. BRANDON FERRARO (Traveling Salesman) The Jeweler’s Shop (Andrew); Rashomon (The Commoner, Playbill Café); Nutshell (Miles u/s, 2007 Fringe Festival); Oedipus Rex (Oedipus); Proof (Hal); All My Sons (Chris Keller). MARY MILLBEN (Doppelganger/Rosemary) From Oklahoma City, Mary holds a BFA from the A. Max Weitzenhoffer Department of Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma and a minor in Political Science. Credits include: Pirates of Penzance (Kate, Washington Savoyards); Hellzapoppin’ (Lucia Frennetti Calzone, The American Century Theater); Patience (Patience, Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society); The Proverbs (Sheila, Lyric Opera House). Mary was a featured soloist for the White House, Queen Noor, Dr. Maya Angelou, Rudolph Giuliani, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and U.S. Senator John McCain. CAROL RANDOLPH (Mrs. Winemiller) was last seen as another ‘crazy’ mother in Flowers for Algernon with Landless Theatre Co. Other professional credits include The Front Page (Mrs. Grant, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company); Dorothy Meets Alice (Queen of Hearts, Adventure Theatre); and The Women of Lockerbie (Madeline, Maryland Ensemble Theatre) in addition to local film and industrial work. Other productions include The Women (Countess de Lage); Diary of Anne Frank (Mrs. Van Daan); Lend Me a Tenor (Maria); Lady Windermere’s Fan (Duchess of Berwick); and Oliver! (Widow Corney). MICHAEL SHERMAN (John Buchanan) has appeared at The American Century Theater in Moby Dick Rehearsed (1997 and 2005) and Porgy (coroner/ policeman). Other professional roles include The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Pedro de Candia, Washington Shakespeare Company); Suddenly Last Summer/Portrait of a Madonna (George Holly/the doctor, The Keegan Theater). He has also been seen in The Iceman Cometh (Rocky); Art (Yvon); Henry V (Nym/Michael Williams); The Grapes of Wrath (Al Joad); I Hate Hamlet (Andrew Rally) and Blood Brothers (Sammy Johnston). Michael has been the graphic artist for The American Century Theater for the past 3 years. DANIEL STEINBERG (Vernon/Porter) is a recent graduate of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Actors Repertory Theatre where he appeared in Antigone (Teiresias); The Real Inspector Hound (Birdboot); Twelfth Night (Sebastian); and Thirteen Beers and a Power Bar (Reverend Joe). Most recently Daniel was seen in Keegan Theatre’s The Hostage (Gank) and The Wakeness Monster (Troubador) for Charter Theatre’s Children Series. MARY-ANNE SULLIVAN (Mrs. Buchanan) was last seen onstage as Mary Beth in an original one-act Fragile X. She has also appeared in The Glass Menagerie (Amanda); Dracula (Renfield); Moon Over Buffalo (Charlotte Hay); Sylvia (Sylvia); and Veronica’s Room (The Woman). Film credits include leads in two FBI Informant Training Videos, a speaking role as another FBI Agent/Supervisor in the film Homeland with Safe Tree Productions and a bi-lingual (Spanish) speaking role in the Indy film Winter Wheat with Vigilant Cinema Productions. She received her BFA in acting at Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently a teaching artist for Adventure Theater. MICK TINDER (Rev. Winemiller) Pleased to be making his first appearance with The American Century Theater, Mick was seen last year in 1776 (John Adams) and Faith Healer (Teddy) at the Keegan Theatre. Mick has, over several decades, played many roles including Finbar Mack, Nathan Detroit, Deputy Governor Danforth, Jack Mullen, Paul Bratter, Sagot and has served as director, producer and/or stage manager at various other theatres in the Washington area. ANNE PAINE WEST (Mrs. Bassett) Favorite past roles include Marsha Norman’s Third and Oak (Alberta); The Laundromat; Plaza Suite (Norma); Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Mona); The David Dance (June Handly, Trumpet Vine Theatre Company); Gore Vidal’s Visit to a Small Planet (Reba); and The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Beulah Levy). SCOTT ZEIGLER (Roger Doremus) received a BS degree in Theater Performance at Greensboro College. After college he worked as a Barter Player for the Barter Theater. His latest performance was in Nothing Sacred (Victor Sitnikov) with Firebelly Theater. Some of his favorite performances include Mother Courage (Swiss Cheese); The Taming of the Shrew (Pertrucio); and The Odyssey (Odysseus). PRODUCTION STAFF STEVEN SCOTT MAZZOLA (Director) The American Century Theater: Drama Under the Influence: Celebrating Women Playwrights of the Prohibition Era, The Autumn Garden, Tea and Sympathy, A Flag is Born, The Second Man, Picnic, Hotel Universe; Katherine McCann in Return to Me at Playbill Café; Adventure Theatre: The Stinky Cheese Man; The Little Theatre of Alexandria: The Philadelphia Story; The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington: The Wizard of Oz; Imagination Stage: The Village Fable; Madcap Players: Readers Committee, Director, Right is the Hand; The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts: Director, Twelfth Night, Our Lady of Sandwich, North Shore Fish, Tantalus; The Shakespeare Theatre Company: Assistant Director, Love’s Labor’s Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, England, Re-Discovery Series: Director, Escape, The South East Project: Director, Untitled; The Washington Shakespeare Company: Director, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, In the Summerhouse, Assistant Director: Strange Interlude, The Winter’s Tale, Marat/Sade; Cherry Red Productions: Director, I Hate Anton Dudley; The Andrew Keegan Theatre: Director, A Streetcar Named Desire (USA and Ireland productions), Assistant Director: Translations; Source Theatre: Director, The Interrogation Room, Little Hero, Assistant Director: The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told; Autonomy Productions, Director: Scars + Stripes; Selected readings include Boston Marriage and Work Song for The Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, A Form of Hope for Theatre J; The Early Miracle for Charter Theatre, Ghosts of Summer for Ganymede Arts, Lion in the Streets for Theatre Lab and Free Radio America for Theatre Alliance; Actor’s Theatre of Washington, Fred Hill in Pigmaleon; St. Mark’s Players, Trent in Six Degrees of Separation; Teaching: The University of Maryland-University College, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Shakespeare Theatre Company. JOAN A. S. LADA (Stage Manager) is stage managing her first production for The American Century Theater. Previous stage management gigs include A Chorus Line, The Secret Garden, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Hello Dolly, Kiss Me Kate, The Full Monty, Love*Valour* Compassion, Side Show, The Wild Party, The Who’s Tommy, Into the Woods, Footloose and The Philadelphia Story. By day, she works as the accounting manager for Arena Stage. MARIANO VALES (Composer) is an Argentine composer and conductor. Locally, he wrote music for Washington Shakespeare Company’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun, also directed by Steven Mazzola, and is in the process of writing a musical for Gala Theater to open in June of 2009. Mr. Vales is also the Artistic and Music Director of the Camerata Interamericana, a chamber ensemble devoted to showcase the music of the Americas, of the Junior Philharmonic with the DC Youth Orchestra Program, and of the Washington International Chorus, at the Organization of American States. ELIZABETH JENKINS MCFADDEN (Set Designer) is pleased to have the opportunity to design for the first time for The American Century Theater. Elizabeth serves as Resident Scenic Designer for the Washington Savoyards and is the Designer-in-Residence for the theatre department at Montgomery College – Rockville. Recent designs include Pirates of Penzance, Kiss Me Kate, and Merry Widow for the Savoyards; Urinetown, Thoroughly Modern Mille, Ragtime, and Chicago at Montgomery College; Candide and Romeo and Juliet at Catholic University; Your Molotov Kisses, Stripping Don Juan, Blind Date, and Real Women Have Curves at Gala Theatre; New Kid, Snow Angel, The Grid and Capture the Moon at Imagination Stage; and Hothouse for LongAcre Lea Productions. An active designer throughout the DC area since 1989, her design work has been seen often at Round House Theatre, Washington Jewish Theatre, Gallaudet University, Washington Revels, Adventure Theatre, American University, Theatre J, Discovery Theatre, and many others. She is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. AYUN FEDORCHA (Lighting Designer) is delighted to be returning to The American Century Theater, with director Steven Mazzola for their fifth show together. Most recently Ayun designed Steven’s production of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fair(l)y Stoopid Tales at Adventure Theatre. Their other shows include The Autumn Garden (The American Century Theater); The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Washington Shakespeare Company); and A Village Fable (Imagination Stage). She previously has lit MacBird!, It Had to Be You and Dear World for The American Century Theater. Ms. Fedorcha is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. JENNIFER TARDIFF (Costume Designer) Local credits include Constellation Theatre, The Madeira School, Phoenix Theatre DC, Adventure Theatre, The American Century Theater, Imagination Stage, Scena Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company, The Hatchery Festival, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, The Domingo Cafritz Young Artist Program of the Washington National Opera and the Carver Center. Jennifer has a MFA in Costume Design from Penn State and has designed for Penn State, Clarion University Summer Musical Theatre and The Weathervane Playhouse. Currently, she is an Assistant Costume Coordinator for The Washington National Opera. MATT OTTO (Sound Designer) recently designed K of D at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Kafka’s Dick and House of Yes for Washington Shakespeare Company, Five Flights for the Theatre Lab Honors Conservatory Alumni Class of 2007, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the University of Mary Washington, Olney Theatre’s production of Godspell, Adventure Theatre’s Stuart Little; and Ah, Wilderness!, Hellzapoppin’, That Championship Season, and MacBird! for The American Century Theater. Some of Matt’s assistant credits include Ambition Facing West, In On It and Insurrection: Holding History for Theatre Alliance; Current Nobody, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Vigils for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Either Or at Theatre J and The Tempest for The Folger Shakespeare Library. Matt received his degree in Sound Design from Boston University. For more details of Matt’s work please go to www.mattottosound. com. SUZANNE MALONEY (Props Designer) loves her work as a dramaturg and prop designer in the Washington area. Recent projects include serving as dramaturg for Round House Theater’s production of The Director: The Third Act of Elia Kazan and for Last Days of the Killone Players at New Island Theater Project/Keegan. She is the Assistant Dramaturg at Theater of the First Amendment. Her next project is Mariela in the Desert at TFA. CHRISTINE MILLETTE (Board Operator) last worked with The American Century Theater as sound board operator for Drama Under the Influence. Since then she has worked around DC, as a military consultant for Washington Shakespeare Company’s Edward III and Open Circle Theatre’s Songs for a New World, assistant stage manager for Forum Theatre & Dance’s Valparaiso and Callie Kimball’s Nutshell. She recently closed her inaugural DC stage management job with Active Cultures Theater’s Photograph 51. DONORS GROUP THEATER GOERS- $5000+ Arlington Commission for the Arts Virginia Commission for the Arts Bob & Wendy Kenney PROVINCETOWN PLAYERS $2,500 - $4,999 Ann Marie Plubell David & Willa Siegel THEATER GUILDERS $1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Arlington Community Foundation Rebecca & Gene Christy Robert G. DuBois Peri Mahaley Jack & Eleanor Marshall Constance McAdam Robert McElwaine Steve Cohen & Mary McGowan Loren Platzman Sheldon Wallerstein Janet Reingold & Philip Yasinski MERCURY THEATER BACKERS $500 - $999 Ellen Maland & Donald Adams Mr. & Mrs. Alan Branigan Joya B. Cox Francis Cunningham John Dawson Gloria Dugan Allison & Craig Fields Michael Kahn LIVING THEATER LOVERS $250 - $499 John Acton Rick Albani Peter & Cherry Baumbusch Barney Black Marvin & Ellen Cantor Brian Crane Thomas & June Hoya Vivian & Art Kallen Louis Kriser Katherine & Robert Krubsack THE PLAYERS $100 - $249 Deborah Taylor Ashford Steven & Candice Barrigar Tom & Loretta Beaumont Jon Blackman Ron Brandt Boris & Earlene Cherney Sally & Charles Cooper Savtanter Dillon William Kolodrubetz Jacqueline Manger Jim & Marjie Mayer Harriet McGuire Mary Patricia Michel Adam S. Posen & Jennifer A. Sosin William Bunting & Virginia Tarris Geraldine Kuryla Margaret Mulcahy Carl E. Nash Suzy Platt Mr. & Mrs. A. A. Raizen Bill & Connie Scruggs Alan P. Simon Frontis Wiggins Bonnie Williams Annette Zimin Coralie Farlee Timothy Farris Donna Feirtag Tracy Fisher Marian Flynn Sharon Galm Jean Getlein Gabriel Goldberg THE PLAYERS $100 - $249 (cont’d) William C. Hamilton Adriana Hardy Virginia Harris Alan Herman Robert Honeygosky Roger & Katharine Hood Elaine Howell Angela Hughes Sharon Judge Nancy Kassner Alan King Philip & Patricia Larson Mary Ann Lawler Barbara & Wilber Leventer Wesley MacAdam Winnie Macfarlan John B. Marston Judith & David McGarvey Thomas McGovern George & Thene Martin Mernick Doreen Mueller THE FEDERAL THEATER FUNDERS $10 - $99 Harry Bacas Richard & Jean Barton Patricia Chapla Diane Clark Ronald Cogan Walt & Sue Duka Jim & Laura Farrand Renee Fischman Cathleen Garman James & Maria Gentle Lois Goodman Margaret Gough Madi Green Bob Griffin Jack Hahn Sally & Robert Hoffman Marta Hopmann William Kelleher Peter Kellogg Charles Kennedy Robert Kimmins Ronald Lafferty Mark Linton Donn B. Murphy Dennis Nollette Dennis O’Connor Sherman & Anastasia Pratt Mr. & Mrs. Henry Raduazo Morton Rubenstein Charline Rugen Sharon Schoumacher Carole Shifrin Joe & Elizabeth Silversmith Jennie Sinsabaugh Jean V. Smith Pat Spenser Smith James & Patricia Snyder Kathryn Tatko Helen Trilling Jane W. Vanneman George & KayWagner Heathcote W. Wales George Krumbhaar & Lee Zahnow Gudrun Luchsinger Terri Lynch Angus MacInnes Phoebe K. Masson Barbara & Kenneth McLean Anne Meagher Mitch & Marnie Metzman Sam & Lynn Miller Carol Mudrak Carol Parowski Sheila Hess & Suzanne Perry Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Richardson Glory Sabatier Henry Shields Bertha Shostak Robert L. Spatz Bernita Starks Sharman Stephens Peter & Erika Streng Sue Swift Marjorie Townsend Col. William Wright There’s Still Time ... TACT’s 2007-2008 Season continues Stunt Girl A Staged Concert Reading of a New Musical by Tony-Nominated Playwright/Lyricist Peter Kellogg June 27 at 8:00 PM June 29 at 2:30 PM in Gunston Theater I The Titans by Robert McElwaine July 18 - August 16, 2008 in the Gunston II Black Box Theater THE AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER STAFF AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Wendy Kenney Board: Rebecca Christy, Peter Kellogg, Jack Marshall, Steven Scott Mazzola, David Siegel, Peri Mahaley, Ann Marie Plubell, Loren Platzman. Jack Marshall, CEO and Artistic Director Rhonda Hill, Executive Producer Steven Scott Mazzola, Associate Artistic Director Brian Crane, Artistic Associate Ellen Dempsey, Artistic Associate Rip Claassen, Artistic Associate Jason Beagle, Artistic Associate William Aitken, Artistic Associate Ed Bishop, Artistic Associate Tom Fuller, General Counsel Becky Hunger, Director of Operations Jeff Bell, Photographer Robert McElwaine, Resident Playwright Michael Sherman, Graphic Artist & Program Design