That`s Me

SETTING:
The McCandless Cabin, Lake Belle Revwe, Mississippi, 1967 and 2007; The Dreamland Café.
ACT I
“That’s Me” ............................................................................... The Shape
“That’s Who I Am” ..............................................................................Anna
“So Goddamn Smart” ............................................... Andy, Jack and Jenna
“Wrong Wrong Wrong About Me”..............................................The Shape
“Brotherly Love” ................................................................Drake and Frank
“How Many Days” ..........................................................Joe and Ensemble
“Home Again” ...................................Jenna, Andy, Jack, Dan and Ensemble
“What’s Going On Here” .............................................................Monique
“My Name Is Joe” ................................................Young Joe and Ensemble
“Tear This Cabin Down” ........................................................Full Company
INTERMISSION
ACT II
“Lounging Around in Heaven” ....................................................The Shape
“Tear This Cabin Down” (Reprise) ......................Dan, Jenna, Andy and Jack
“And Your Days Are Gone” ...................... Andy, Jack, Jenna and Ensemble
“On Belle Reve Time” .............................................Monique and Ensemble
“Jukin’” ..................................................... Jenna, Andy, Jack and Ensemble
“Put Me in the Ground” .................Jack, Andy, Frank, Drake and Ensemble
“What Kind of Man Am I” ................................................Joe and Ensemble
“Away From This World” .............................................Jenna and Ensemble
“A Rose for Poor Anna” ........................................................................Anna
“Truth” ................................................................................... Full Company
Synopsis
This extraordinary collaboration, 13 years in the making, is a haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and
revenge, performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band, comprised of members of John
Mellencamp’s band. The staging of Ghost Brothers is an amalgam of different styles – both old fashioned, resembling an old-style radio show, and yet, modern and unique in its interactive use of storytelling, music and singing
to move the macabre Ghost Brothers story forward.
A malevolent Shape circles the stage, singing about heaven and hell. Joe McCandless lingers in the Dreamland café, remembering the events of his life. Joe is urged to action by the friendly bartender. In 2007, he goes
to his family cabin in Darkland County, Mississippi, where his brothers died in 1967, to tell his own sons Frank
and Drake his tale of brotherly love gone sour. Frank and Drake’s relationship is also under strain. Drake stayed
home after high school to play in a local band while working as a mechanic. Frank, a college boy, is about to get
rich after selling the paperback rights to his novel. Anna, Frank’s girlfriend, used to be with Drake. Monique, the
boys’ mother, tries to find a way for them all to get along. With his sons at each other’s throats, Joe’s story will
save or destroy the McCandless family.
CREDITS
Susan V. Booth (Director) • Laura Stanczyk (Casting Director) • Steven Cohen (Set & Lighting Director) • Liza Gennaro (Choreographer)
CAST
BRUCE GREENWOOD (Joe McCandless)
Bruce Greenwood has had successful career
in both film and television. He most recently
reprised his role as Captain Christopher
Pike in the blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness. Last
year he starred in the Oscar nominated drama Flight.
Previously he starred in the ABC Horror/Drama series
The River. His other credits include his dual role in
the biopic of Bob Dylan I’m Not There. He is well
known for his outstanding portrayal of President John
F. Kennedy negotiating the Cuban Missile Crisis and
its fallout in the riveting drama Thirteen Days. In
2005, he starred opposite Philip Seymour as Truman
Capote’s partner, writer Jack Dunphy, in Capote.
EMILY SKINNER (Monique McCandless)
Broadway: Side Show (Tony nomination,
Drama League award), Jekyll & Hyde, The
Full Monty, James Joyce’s The Dead (with
Christopher Walken), Dinner at Eight (Outer Critics
Circle nomination), Billy Elliot. Off-Broadway: Jerry
Springer the Opera (with Harvey Keitel) at Carnegie
Hall, five productions New York City Center’s Encore’s
Series: leading roles at Manhattan Theater Club, WPA
Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theatre
Company, Paramount Theatre at Madison Square
Garden. Regional: numerous productions at The
Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Alliance Theatre,
Ford’s Theatre, Hangar Theatre, St. Louis MUNY,
Long Wharf, The Old Globe, Goodspeed, various
symphony orchestras internationally.
PETER ALBRINK (Jack McCandless)
a native of Louisville, KY., attended
Carnegie Mellon University’s School
of Drama before moving to New
York City. Regional: A Streetcar Named Desire
(dir. David Cromer); After Robert Hutchens
(dir.
Sheryl
Kaller);
Sam
Hunter’s When
You’re Here; and the workshop of The Blue
Deep (dir. Bob Balaban, feat. Blythe Danner)
New York: These Seven Sicknesses (EPBB);
Dust (The Incubator). Peter is a founding member of
both the Shelby Company and Exit, Pursued by a Bear.
ZAC BALLARD (Young Joe) Broadway
Credits: A Christmas Story The Musical!
(Randy), Regional Credits: Sacramento
Music Circus Annie Get Your Gun (Little
Jake), Oliver! (Fagin’s Gang), Other NY: MMU
Rags (David Hershkowitz). Feature Film: Lullaby
(Nicholas). Love & Appreciation to Jesus for His
many blessings, Mom, Dad, sister Makenna, Agent
Nancy Carson.
KYLIE BROWN (Anna Wicklow) returns
to the stage after having previously
appeared in the Alliance Theatre production
of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Other
Atlanta credits include Spring Awakening (Wendla).
As a vocalist Kylie has performed with Serenbe
Playhouse and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
in Oklahoma!, Kid’s Holiday Concerts and the
rededication of Centennial Park with Ray Charles.
KATE FERBER (Jenna Farrell) is the
recipient
of
the ASCAP Foundation
Desmond Child Anthem Award, and has a
forthcoming EP to be released in 2014. With
her one-woman original show, One Child Born: The
Music of Laura Nyro, Kate has toured the North East
and celebrates the legacy of Nyro and her music. Kate
is honored of be performing with the cast of Ghost
Brothers! www.kateferber.com
GWEN HUGHES (Ensemble/US Monique
McCandless) Voted Atlanta’s “Favorite
Jazz Artist,” Gwen is known primarily as a
recording & concert artist, with (6) releases
on Fairfield Records. She leads multiple bands,
nationally and overseas. Phillip DePoy featured
chanteuse “Gwen” in the novel, Dancing Made Easy
(Dell). Past acting credits: Louise, Always, Patsy Cline
(14th Street Playhouse); Marina Oswald, The Widows
(Theatrical Outfit), Mama Alley, Faked Out (Travel
Channel).
JOE
JUNG
(Newt Hoggenbeck/
Ensemble) Broadway: Bloody Bloody
Andrew Jackson. NY Theater: Language
of Angels, Shel’s Shorts, OUR BAR.
Regional Theater: Ghost Brothers..., Assassins,
Red Noses, Language of Angels. Artistic Director
of Project:Theater. Joe has released two solo albums,
builds cigar box guitars, and performs with his jug
band, The Salt Cracker Crazies.
LUCAS KAVNER (Frank McCandless) is
a writer and performer from Brooklyn, NY.
He has performed in many shows around the
country and he originated the role of Frank
in Ghost Brothers at the Alliance Theatre last year. His
writing and comedy videos have been viewed millions
of times online in places like the Huffington Post, New
York Times, Vanity Fair and McSweeney’s. It’s great to
be back in the Ghost Saddle.
JAKE LA BOTZ (The Shape) After
dropping out of school at 15, Jake hit the
road, frequenting punk rock shows, hobo
camps, and libraries. He found employment
as a roofer, boilermaker, graphite factory worker, and
obituary writer. Along the way, he learned how to
play guitar. He played on the streets and in the juke
joints of New Orleans, Chicago, and the Mississippi
Delta, finding kinship with pre-war era bluesmen. Jake
has toured extensively, supporting Ray Charles, Etta
James, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Jr. Wells, Taj Mahal and
a host of other greats. Jake has performed his original
songs in several films, including Steve Buscemi’s
Animal Factory, Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo, and
Walter Salles’ On the Road.
ROB LAWHON (Ensemble) Rob is
an actor and musician from Atlanta,
Georgia. Extra special thanks go to my
wife Kirsten for making it possible for
me to go along for this ride, and to my son Gibson,
who I love more than anything else in the whole,
wide world.
JESSE LENAT (Zydeco Cowboy /
Ensemble) New York: SAM (Watermill
Center), As U Like It, Fucking A, Jump
(Public Theater), Map of Virtue (13p),
Floyd Collins (Playwrights Horizons,), Tooth of
Crime: Second Dance (Signature Theatre), Once
Around The Sun (Zipper), RENT (NYTW), Hey Jack
Kerouac (PS 122). International: Wings of Desire,
actor/composer (A.R.T/Toneelgroep Amsterdam).
TV: Elementary, Law & Order(s), HACK, Once and
Again. Concerts: Farm Aid 2007, Farm Aid 2008,
Farm Aid 2013. Albums: Floyd Collins (Nonesuch),
Occupy This Album (razor&tie), Jesse will be releasing
his 4th self released album in October entitled Cactus
Farmer.
ERIC MOORE (Dan Coker) is an Atlanta,
GA, native. He is an accomplished vocalist
and actor, with credits including: Jesus
Christ Superstar (Alliance Theatre); Big
River (Theatrical Outfit); Godspell (Theatrical Outfit);
Man of La Mancha (Alabama Shakespeare Festival /
Montgomery, AL); To Kill a Mockingbird (ASF / AL);
Mahalia, a Gospel Musical (Theatrical Outfit); Ain’t
Misbehavin’ (Theatrical Outfit & Atlanta Lyric); Five
Guys Named Moe and Hometown Holidays (Aurora
Theatre) and A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theater &
ASF / Montgomery, AL).
TRAVIS SMITH (Andy McCandless) is
an award winning actor based out of Atlanta,
Georgia. Appearing in dozens of theatrical
productions over the last 13 years, he was
most recently nominated for a Suzi Bass Award for
his portrayal of Andy in the Alliance Theatre’s world
premiere of Ghost Brothers. Film credits include
The Good Lie, Ring of Fire and Shotgun Stories.
On television, Travis is a recurring guest star as
quarterback Rex Evans on USA network’s Necessary
Roughness. Also an accomplished singer/songwriter,
he has toured the US and Australia. Travis was trained
at North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Drama.
JOE TIPPETT (Drake McCandless) NY:
Ashville (Rattlestick), Happy Birthday
(TACT), A Thick Description Of Harry
Smith (Page 73), Fish Eye (Colt Coeur),
Seven Minutes in Heaven (Colt Coeur), The Young Left
(Cherry Lane). Regional: Picnic (Triad), Three Sisters
(WTF), The Corn Is Green (WTF), Romeo &Juliet
(WTF).
-------------------------BAND----------------------ANDY YORK (Music Supervision &
Arrangements, Band Leader, Guitarist)
Guitarist Andy York began his musical
career in 1987 when he joined Jason &
The Scorchers. Since then he has played, sang and
recorded with numerous bands and singer/songwriters
such as Ian Hunter, Nils Lofgren, Marshall Crenshaw,
WIllie Nile, Robert Plant, Donovan Leitch and, most
notably, John Mellencamp, for whom he has been
the lead guitarist since 1994. York recently produced
Ian Hunter’s new CD, Shrunken Heads. He lives in
Connecticut.
DANE CLARK (Percussion) Born and
raised and still living in Anderson, Indiana.
Drummer for John Mellencamp for over 17
years. Producer, arranger and co-writer on
recent album projects for 60’s legends Donovan and
Moby Grape. Drumstick slinger on recordings with
Steve Earle, John Prine, Carrie Newcomer, Ian Hunter
and The Bob and Tom show. Currently mixing album
project number 5 in Nashville. Looking forward to
pummeling all with tribal intensity during this Ghost
Brothers Extravaganza!
TROYE KINNETT (Keyboards &
Harmonica) As keyboardist for John
Mellencamp since 2006, Troye has
performed at the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame Induction Ceremony, Radio City Music
Hall, Farm Aid, The Today Show and The Late
Show With David Letterman. He also has performed
with Broadway Across America and regional theatre
in Indianapolis: Peter Pan, Will Rogers Follies,
Cats, Annie, Mame, Happy Days and Footloose.
Special thanks to his family, Barbie and Sam.
JON E. GEE (Upright Bass) Jon E.
Gee has been the Bass Player in the John
Mellencamp Band since 1999. Before
joining the Mellencamp Band, Gee
performed and toured with The Motor City Madman
Ted Nugent, Road Master, and performed with Rare
Earth. When Jon E. Gee is not touring or recording,
you can find him teaching, coaching and consulting
with artist of all ages at his music lesson studio, Jon E.
Gee’s Music Room.
--------------TOUR PERSONNEL----------------Stewart Bennett.................Front of House Engineer
Sandy Cook.....Wardrobe & Assistant Tour Manager
Nate Cromwell..............................Lighting Director
Scott Davis..................................................Backline
Stephen Fissel.........AEG Live Production Manager
Dwayne “Buzzy” Gibson..........Lighting Technician
Bob Quandt........................................Tour Manager
Jimmy Robison..............................Stage Technician
Andrew Sharp...............AEG Live Tour Accountant
Mark Vanderwall...........Monitors & Stage Manager
www.GhostBrothersofDarklandCounty.com