2017 | 2018 Season

Unforgettable characters. Extraordinary stories. Since 1947. A Christmas Story, 2014 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2014

Honoring our 70 year history as San Luis Obispo Little Theatre while building our future as San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre, a professional, nonprofit, regional theatre.

Repertory (re-pə(r)-ˌtȯr-ē) 1. a company that performs different plays in the course of a season 2. a theatre in which such a company performs 3. the production and presentation of plays by a repertory company

Bye Bye Birdie, 2016 The Drowsy Chaperone, 2016 A New Name for Live Theatre

This organization was created in the summer of 1947 by a small group of people who wanted to “put on a show.” These 10-15 theatre-lovers, swept up in the last wave of the larger Little Theatre movement across the country, recognized the need for an organized drama troupe in San Luis Obispo. Late in 1947, they decided on the name San Luis Obispo Little Theatre and began rehearsal for their first production – Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit – which opened at the San Luis Obispo High School Auditorium in early 1948.

Since that first show, the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre has produced a full season of plays each year, every year, in 27 different locations around the county.

We have had an incredible history as a nonprofit community theatre: 70 years, over 900 plays, hundreds of board members, thousands of volunteers. Now it is time for us to officially become the premier live theatre in San Luis Obispo, and continue the growth we have experienced for the last 5, the last 30, the last 70 years. It is time for us to become the only nonprofit, professional, regional theatre in San Luis Obispo County.

Welcome to the San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre.

This natural evolution to a professional theatre accurately reflects our mission and our current place in the local and national arts scene. Nothing enhances and energizes a city like having a successful, professional, nationally- recognized regional theatre in its downtown core. We look forward to bringing professional live theatre to the Central Coast and to becoming an important part of the national theatre conversation.

We are so proud of our history, and thrilled about the future.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Kevin Harris Managing Artistic Director

(805) 786-2440 3 Our Sponsors

Please join us in thanking these generous sponsors for playing a starring role in the inaugural season of the San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre!

Vanguard Sponsor

Season Sponsors

Better Business Financial

4 slorep.org 2017 | 2018 Season At-A-Glance

The All Night Strut! Aug 25–Sep 17, 2017

6 Mainstage Rabbit Hole Oct 6–22, 2017 Season Shows Rounding Third Nov 3–19, 2017 Season subscribers get the BEST seats The 39 Steps Mar 30–Apr 15, 2018 at the BEST price all year long! Lost in Yonkers May 4–20, 2018

Annie Jun 8–Jul 1, 2018

The Producers Feb 16–Mar 11, 2018 Blockbuster

Gala Musical Gala Martini Night Feb 23, 2018

Special A Christmas Story Dec 2–23, 2017 Holiday Show

Into the Woods, Jr. Jul 21–Aug 6, 2017 2 ACT Children

& Family Shows A Little Princess Jan 12–28, 2018

Taking Sides Aug 11–12, 2017

6 Ubu’s Other Circle Mirror Transformation Sep 22–23, 2017 Shoe Staged New Jerusalem Feb 2–3, 2018 Readings

Save 20% when The Other Place Mar 16–17, 2018 you buy all six shows! Life X 3 Apr 20–21, 2018

The How and the Why May 25–26, 2018

For tickets, visit slorep.org or call (805) 786-2440

(805) 786-2440 5 The Jungle Book, 2016

After-School Classes Theatre Camps

Classes are offered according to age Our ever-popular camps end with a fun range and vary in content. performance for family and friends!

Fall Session Sep 4–Oct 12, 2017 Summer Camp: Acting Out Ages 5–13 Winter Session Oct 30–Dec 14, 2017 Jun 19–23, 2017 Jun 26–30, 2017 Spring Session Mar 12–Apr 26, 2018

Summer Camp: Broadway Ages 8–18 Staged Reading Jul 24–28, 2017

Staged readings provide a forum for Dancing Through the Decades Ages 8–18 advanced students to take on challeng- Jul 31–Aug 4, 2017 ing works in the intimate atmosphere of readers’ theatre. Spring Break Camp Ages 8–13 Sponsored by Apr 2–6, 2018 Mar 23–24, 2018 Joan Gellert-Sargen

Production Classes

From auditions to strike, our students Sign up for year-round fun! experience being part of a full-length Register at slorep.org or production on the Repertory stage. call (805) 781-3889 x14 Participation is by audition. ACT’s ACT offers payment plans 2017–2018 productions include Into the and generous scholarships Woods, Jr. and A Little Princess.

ACT Season Sponsors ACT Scholarship Support Additional ACT Support

Ann Robinson The Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust Janssen Youth & Youth Sports Fund

6 slorep.org Rated G (All Ages) academy of creative theatre sHow

Adapted for Young Performers

July 21–August 6, 2017 Thu, Fri, Sat @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

Be careful what you wish for as Stephen Sondheim’s and Book by James Lapine’s cockeyed fairytale comes to life in this James Lapine young performers’ adaptation of their groundbreaking, Music & Lyrics by Tony Award-winning musical. Featuring all of your Stephan Sondheim favorite characters – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (and his beanstalk) and the Witch – this rich retelling Based on classic fairy tales of classic Brothers Grimm fables is the perfect summer musical for your whole family! Show Sponsors “Into the woods, the path is straight, you know it well, Carol & Ron Burkhart but who can tell…” —Stephen Sondheim Rosh Wright

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com (805) 786-2440 7 Check out our NEW Wednesday Subscribe Today and Thursday night shows!

Were you left outside standing in line for one of our sold out shows this year? Subscribe now to our six-show Mainstage Season for as little as $25 per show and you’ll never hear the words SOLD OUT again!

$189 $169 Premium Seating Premium Senior Seating

$169 $149 Preferred Seating Preferred Senior Seating

Join the family at SLO REP and we’ll take good care of you!

1 Best Seats – Season ticket holders get first dibs on great seats for ALL performances.

2 Best Price – Save up to $35 off individual show prices when you subscribe to all six shows!

3 Unlimited Exchanges – Can’t make a show? No problem. Subscribers can exchange their tickets at any time, at no extra charge.

4 Priority Seating for The Producers – Season subscribers will receive priority seating through July 11th for our blockbuster Gala Musical The Producers!

“Love of the theatre shines in every production.” —Facebook Review

8 slorep.org Rated G (For Ages 12+) season Subscription show

Conceived and Originally Musical Arrangements by Additional Directed & Choreographed Tom Fitt, Gil Lieb, and Orchestrations by by Fran Charnas Dick Schermesser Corey Allen

August 25–September 17, 2017 Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

Join us as we kick off the season with a live band and a Show Sponsors multi-talented cast in a classy, sassy musical revue of the Maryellen & 1930s and ‘40s! From the funky jive of Harlem, to the Michael Simkins romance of the Stage Door Canteen, The All Night Strut! Catherine & struts its stuff with jazz, blues, bebop and American Richard Luckett songbook standards such as Minnie The Moocher, In Show Director, The Mood, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, I’ll Be Seeing You, It Don’t Choreographer and Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing and As Time Musical Director Sponsors Goes By. This international hit has delighted audiences Marty Claus & old and young with sublime music, sheer energy and a Chip Visci story that moves through time and place to highlight a slice of yesteryear and capture a beloved American era. Live Band Sponsor Marcia Scott “Surprisingly poignant and always polished… audiences of all ages will comfortably slip ‘into the mood.’” —Oregon Herald and News

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize

October 6–22, 2017 Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

By Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could David Lindsay-Abaire want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously Show Sponsors apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet search for Ann Robinson comfort in the darkest of places and for a path that will Matthew & Joy Cottle lead them back into the light of day.

“A transcendent and deeply affecting new play, which shifts perfectly from hilarity to grief.” —Entertainment Weekly Show Director Sponsors Tom Ammon & Gary Lawson

10 slorep.org Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Rated pg-13 season Subscription show

November 3–19, 2017 Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

The tumultuous journey of two very different Little By League coaches is chronicled in this hilarious and Richard Dresser heartfelt two-man show. From their first tentative meeting, through exhilarating victories, heartbreaking Show Sponsors defeats, interminable rain-outs and finally the climactic championship game, the two men battle over how to lead the team while sharing the ups and downs of fatherhood.

“Rounding Third introduces us to two coaches — one Show Director Sponsors a veteran, the other a new recruit. Their clash of styles Pam & Mitch Nichter and wills drives this funny, acerbic and touching play through the bumpy terrain of fatherhood and baseball.” —Playbill

Produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois (805) 786-2440 11 holiday show Rated g (All Ages)

A Play in Two December 2–23, 2017 Acts written by Philip Grecian Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

Based on the Warner Celebrate the holidays with SLO Rep! Sold out for the past Bros. Motion Picture by Jean Shepherd, three years and back by popular demand, A Christmas Leigh Brown & Story is a fun, festive holiday treat! Join Ralphie Parker Bob Clark on his quest for a genuine Red Ryder BB gun and make And on the book this funny, heartwarming, nostalgic bit of Americana “In God We Trust, All part of your family’s annual holiday celebration. Others Pay Cash” by Jean Shepherd “Classics bloom quickly in modern times...you don’t have to have grown up with 9-year-old Ralphie Parker Show Sponsors and his ache for an air rifle under the tree to think of A Christmas Story as a Christmas must.” —Orlando Sentinel

Show Director Sponsors Linda Ozawa Olds & Jeff Olds Kate Hines & Bryce Engstrom

12 slorep.org Produced by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois Rated g (All Ages) academy of creative theatre show

A Little Princess Adapted for Young Performers

January 12–28, 2018 Thu, Fri, Sat @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

Young Sara Crewe would rather stay with her dear father Adapted by June in India than leave for Miss Minchin’s boarding school Walker Rogers from Sara Crewe by in grim, bustling London, but her father insists she Frances Hodgson receive an English education. Using her books and her Burnett imagination, she is able to quickly win friends and make the best of things. But when her fate takes a disastrous Show Sponsors turn, will her vibrant inner life be enough to sustain her Barbara-Jo Osborne through tragedy and hardship? In this heartfelt, faithful Wilda Rosene adaptation of the beloved novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, one girl’s goodwill and courage show what being a princess truly means.

“It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.” –Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess

Produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois (805) 786-2440 13 gala musical Rated pg-13

Book by Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan Mel Brooks

Original direction & choreography by By special arrangement with Susan Stroman StudioCanal

Winner of 12 Tony Awards

Show Sponsors February 16–March 11, 2018 Candice & Ken Craig Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm Christine & Bob Williams Max Bialystock, the onetime king of Broadway producers hungry to strike it rich, and Leo Bloom, an accountant, discover that they could get richer by producing a flop than a hit. They start by finding the worst show, worst Show Director Sponsors director and worst actors. When their new production, Gregg & Robert Wolff Springtime for Hitler, turns out to be a smash success, the result is hilarious, musical chaos! Musical Director Sponsor Arlene Sackman “A gift from the show-biz Gods!” Choreographer Sponsor —Time magazine Shelia Patterson

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). 14 slorep.org All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com Raise your glasses high for a special Gala Martini Night Gala Martini Night and for one-night only, enjoy dinner and a show at SLO Sponsors REP! Join us to celebrate Bialystock and Bloom’s The Gina Kirk Producers with generous pre-show hors d’oeuvres, Karen S. Kolba martinis and fine wine from Wedell Cellars. Media Sponsors

The Producers Gala Martini Night Gala Wine Sponsor February 23, 2018 Friday @ 5:30 pm

(805) 786-2440 15 Season Subscription Show Rated pg

Alfred Hitchcock’s

March 30–April 15, 2018 Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

By Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add Patrick Barlow a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a & John Buchan fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! Packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany Show Sponsors characters (played by a cast of four), an on-stage plane Phyllis & Robert Frank crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old- Bruce Stuart & fashioned romance! Bob Lahr

Show Director Sponsors “Theatre at its finest!… Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock’s film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands.” —The New York Times Christine & Bob Williams

16 slorep.org Presented through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Rated PG Season Subscription Show

Winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

May 4-20, 2018 Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm

This award-winning memory play by America’s great By comic playwright is set in Yonkers in 1942. Ne’er-do-well Neil Simon Eddie deposits his two young sons on his stern mother’s doorstep when he takes to the road as a salesman. The Show Sponsors boys are left to contend with Grandma Kurnitz, their The Bostrom Family, sweet Aunt Bella (and her secret romance) and with their In Memory of Bob Bostrom Uncle Louie, a small-time hoodlum, in a strange new world called Yonkers. Show Director Sponsors MOATS LASER “Laughter and tears have come together in a new & SKIN CARE emotional truth. There are moments in this play when Michael W. Moats, MD you experience a new kind of laughter for Simon, a silent laughter that doesn’t explode into a yuk but implodes straight into your heart.” —Newsweek

Presented through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. (805) 786-2440 17 Season Subscription Show Rated g

Based on “Little Orphan Annie”® By Permission of Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Book by June 8–July 1, 2018 Thomas Meehan Wed–Sun @ 7 pm / Sat & Sun @ 2 pm Music by Charles Strouse Leapin’ Lizards! The world’s best-loved musical will be Lyrics by Martin Charnin the fabulous finale for the inaugural season of SLO REP! Based on the comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie was the Original Broadway Production Directed winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. by Martin Charnin The beloved book and score features some of the greatest musical theatre hits ever written, including Easy Show Sponsors Street, It’s a Hard Knock Life, I Don’t Need Anything But Carol Kiessig You and the eternal anthem of optimism: Tomorrow! Sharynn & Jerry Chirpich “As lovable as ever, Annie is a musical gift!” Show Director Sponsor —Boston Herald Dianne N. Long

Musical Director Sponsor

Choreographer Sponsor Kathy Coull

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). 18 slorep.org All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com How To Order Tickets

Order online after July 12 Call the box office slorep.org (805) 786-2440

Online Phone

Mail your order form to: Wed–Fri and Show Sat, 3–6 pm New subscribers who submit their orders early will be seated in the order in SLO REPwhich they are received before online sales begin.SLO REP PO Box 122 888 Morro Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Mail Walk-In

JUN 9–JUL 11, 2017 JUL 12, 2017 AUG 2, 2017 Priority seating for renewing Season tickets Individual Mainstage subscribers and donors available online shows on sale

13 13 6 6 Mainstage Ubu’s Other Shoe 12 12 Season Shows Staged Readings $149–$189 $72 Season Subscription 11 11 Season Subscription $15 Individual Shows 10 10 11 12 Individual Mainstage Shows / Holiday Show 9 9 10 11 9 10 8 8 Stage Left Premium Preferred Discounted Student 8 9 7 7 $32–$38 $30–$35 $25–$27 $20 (with ID) 6 6 7 8 The Producers Gala Musical 5 5 $50 Premium $45 Preferred $40 Discounted 6 7 Stage Right Stage 4 4 5 6 The Producers Gala Martini Night 3 3 $100 Premium $100 Preferred $85 Discounted 4 5

2 2 3 4 ACT Shows 1 1 $17–$25 2 3 E F 1 2 Exit Center 1 4 A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 G H 3 B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Technical 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 C Booth

1 Box Directors D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

A $5 surcharge will be added to all ticket orders. An additional $3 surcharge will be added to season ticket orders for postage and handling. (805) 786-2440 19 $72 14th Season All 6 Shows

“…a hidden gem—in fact, a jewel box of gems… a series of plays that are as unusual as the series title.” – Marvin Sosna, in the Tribune

Taking Sides New Jerusalem By Ronald Harwood By David Ives August 11–12, 2017 February 2–3, 2018

“Harwood’s fierce moral debate is set in “Theocracy versus universalist science, a the American zone of occupied Berlin Reformation-era prequel to the Scopes trial, in 1946. The play acts as a powerful Inherit the Wind with a chilling extra touch metaphor for the present and all those post- of proto-Nazism…Comic imagery renders authoritarian societies busy ransacking their the ideas tangible without coarsening them… pasts.” – The Guardian we learn enough to sense both the urgent bigness of Ives’ subject and the power with which he’s captured it.” – Village voice Circle Mirror Transformation By Annie Baker The Other Place September 22–23, 2017 By Sharr White March 16–17, 2018 “The kind of unheralded gem that sends people into the streets babbling and “Sudden flares of uncontrolled feeling appear bright-eyed with the desire to spread the like lightning flashes from a sky that was clear word.“ – NY Times just moments before…Gradually our faith in this seemingly most reliable of narrators is undermined by deftly disclosed pieces of information.” – NY Times

20 slorep.org The Arsonists, 2015

Orlando, 2015 Dead Man’s Cell Phone, 2017 Danielle Dutro Mc N amara Photography Danielle Dutro

Fri @ 7 pm, Sat @ 2 & 7 pm for all shows Friday shows feature an Audience Talk-Back with the Cast and Director

Life X 3 About Ubu’s Other Shoe By Yasmina Reza Translated by Christopher Hampton Our staged reading series is named after the April 20–21, 2018 infamous trilogy of plays written by Alfred Jarry that were banned from the stage after riots “Minimally, millennially chic…swift, erupted on opening night. Ubu’s Other Shoe sharply phrased, poised and awash with pays homage to the spirit of Jarry and to all uncertainty.” – Observer artists who strive to explore the fringes of their art. This exciting series offers actors, directors “[An] extraordinary play…The writing is brisk, brittle, funny and lethally and audience members an opportunity accurate.” –Sunday times to experience incredible plays that do not necessarily fit into our regular season. Thank you for taking this journey with us. The How and the Why By Sarah Treem May 25–26, 2018 Michael Siebrass Artistic Director “A moving portrait of a woman meeting with equanimity an unexpected, often painful series of questions about the choices she made in the past.” – NY Times Ubu’s Other Shoe Season Sponsor Gina Kirk

(805) 786-2440 21 Become a SLO REP Founding Donor

With a rich, 70 year history of live theatre behind us and an exciting future as the only nonprofit, professional, regional theatre in San Luis Obispo County ahead of us, SLO REP is ready to launch its inaugural season! Your generous support has fueled the incredible growth that has brought us to this exciting moment in our history, and now you can get in on the “ground floor” of something truly wonderful in downtown San Luis Obispo. Your donations make the difference. Help make our very first season as OSL REP a resounding success!

Five ways to support SLO Repertory Theatre:

1 Join us as an Annual Fund Donor. Your gift supports professional live theatre and vibrant educational programs right here in SLO. You can donate online, by mail, by phone or in person. Or join our monthly giving program and we’ll automatically charge your credit or debit card each month. It’s hassle-free, and you can cancel at any time.

2 Donate your RMD Tax-Free to Charity in 2016. If you’re 70 ½ or older, a donation to SLO REP can count as your required minimum distribution from your IRA, and save you money on taxes!

3 Host an Actor or Director in your Home. It’s a great way to get to know some very interesting artists, AND provide valuable support for the theatre. Please call (805) 781-3889, ext. 10 for details.

4 Join our Legacy Society. Designate a gift to SLO REP in your will or estate plans to support the future of live theatre in our community for years to come. Your pledge of support gives you special benefits and recognition today! Talk to your financial advisor and call us at (805) 781-3889, ext. 15 for more information.

5 Volunteer. Join our dedicated corps of hospitality and backstage volunteers to help keep SLO REP going strong all year long!

Our Town, 2017 22 slorep.org Donor Benefits

Stage Manager ($100+) Executive Producer ($2,500+) • Subscription to the “Spotlight” Producer benefits plus: newsletter • 6 additional complimentary tickets • Your name, or business, listed in • Special signed photo or playbill from every playbill your sponsored show or the show of your choice (by request) Star ($250+) Stage Manager benefits plus: Angel ($5,000+) • 2 “bring-a-friend” complimentary Executive Producer benefits plus: tickets • Special custom benefits designed just for you Director ($500+) Stage Manager benefits plus: Emerald ($10,000+) • 4 “bring-a-friend” complimentary Benefits at this level receive special tickets recognition and will be customized for each individual donor. Call us! Producer ($1,000+) Stage Manager benefits plus: • 6 “bring-a-friend” complimentary More information is available at tickets slorep.org or give us a call at (805) 781-3889, ext. 15. • Priority seating and concierge ticketing assistance from SLO REP staff *San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre is a nonprofit • An invitation to the Annual Donor 501(c)3 charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law. Federal Tax ID# Reception & Season Preview 95-2556678

2018 Donor Reception & Season Preview Sunday, March 18, 2018

Make your donation of $1,000 or more to receive an invitation to the annual Donor Reception and Season Preview Party held every spring. Honored guests will enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres, hosted by our Board and staff, and get the first look at our next season of shows.