Board of “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” Directors -Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut 2017-2018 Paul Crewes Rachel Fine Artistic Director Managing Director Michael Nemeroff BOARD CHAIRMAN Dear present David C. Bohnett CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Lauren Leichtman EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR Friends, MEDIA PROJECT Vicki Reynolds THE HOUSE IS BLACK VICE CHAIR On behalf of everyone at The Wallis, thank you for joining us this month. February offers a robust CONCEIVED, PRODUCED AND PERFORMED BY Arnold Rosenstein slate of programming that traverses a rich and diverse landscape of limitless imagination. VICE CHAIR & ASSISTANT TREASURER Sussan Deyhim Richard Rosenzweig While February at The Wallis celebrates African-American History Month, The Wallis is always VICE CHAIR committed to African-American artists. Earlier this season we hosted the hit production of Jonathan Victor CO-DIRECTED BY CO-COMPOSED BY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER TREASURER Turn Me Loose starring Joe Morton as comic and activist Dick Gregory, which we followed with a panel discussion on Social Activism & The Arts on December 11. Last month, we presented Ronald D. Rosen Robert Egan and Richard Horowitz and Nina Ansary SECRETARY Los Angeles’ own Lula Washington Dance Theatre in three separate programs over the Martin Sussan Deyhim Sussan Deyhim Susan Strauss Luther King, Jr. weekend. We’ll also be producing a much-anticipated revival of Sheldon Epps’ ASSISTANT SECRETARY Tony and Olivier-nominated musical Blues in the Night in the intimate Lovelace Studio Theater beginning in April. DRAMATURGE LIGHTING DESIGN PROJECTION DESIGN Arnon Adar Robert Egan Anne Militello Jason H. Thompson Debbie Allen I am also delighted to announce that our Spring Celebration on May 7, 2018 will honor the Wallis Annenberg lives and work of two pioneering African-American artists: Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad. Jacqueline Avant The two honorees—and sisters—have inspired millions with their talent, energy, creativity ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND COSTUMES MUSIC PERFORMERS John Bendheim and passion. We hope you will join us to celebrate their many pioneering accomplishments, MOVEMENT ADVISOR Kitty Youngs Richard Horowitz (Ney) Steve Cochran ongoing creative achievements and mentorship activities, as well as raise critical funds for Madeleine Dahm Hagai Izraeli (Flumpet) Sharon Davis The Wallis’ artistic and educational programs. Steve Ghysels MeraLee Goldman This month we’re also incredibly proud to produce the world premiere of Tom Dugan’s Jackie MEN CINEMATOGRAPHY TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Bruce Goldsmith Unveiled, an intimate and provocative look at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis starring Saffron Max Oken (#1) Jefferson Miller, Snehal Patel Erika Sellin Carol Goldsmith Burrows from “Mozart in the Jungle.” Iranian-American artist Sussan Deyhim’s The House is Dorian Ovalle (#2) and Siamak Nasiri Ziba Halle Hammond Black Media Project is a stunning—and timely—celebration of the work of Iranian feminist icon Cinny Kennard Forough Farrokhzad. Kris Levine LIVE SOUND PROJECTION ENGINEER PROGRAMMING AND Gail Lopes Our ongoing partnership with The ASCAP Foundation yields our third annual Musical Theatre TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Nigel Lythgoe OBE Flash Feruccio Sean Fluster Workshop, as well as an evening with Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz hosting up-and- Andrew Silagy Mark Louchheim coming musical theater writers. Showtune aficionados will also want to catch Broadway @ The Linda May Wallis with Patti LuPone and Seth Rudetsky. We are thrilled to present the Berlin Philharmonic Daphna Nazarian Wind Quintet with MacArthur “Genius” pianist Stephen Hough in a very special concert of TRANSLATORS FILM AND VISUAL DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGN (SUPPORT MATERIAL) Kenneth Salkin Mozart, Barber and more - including an original work by Hough. Amin Banani, Ahmad Karimi Hakkak AND DIRECTION Bruce Schulman Kourosh Beigpour and Farzaneh Milani Sussan Deyhim Marc Selwyn The UK’s Kneehigh Theatre returns to The Wallis for their third engagement (after Brief Ron Simms Encounter in ‘14 and 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips in ‘17) with The Flying Lovers of Stephanie Vahn PLUS EXCERPTS FROM Vitebsk, about the romance between Russian-French artist Marc Chagall and his wife Bella. Regina Weingarten Last, but certainly not least, Kneehigh founder David Mynne brings his family-friendly adaptation Forough Farrokhzad’s award-winning Documentary Kheneh Siah Ast (The House is Black) Luanne Wells of the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations - in which he plays all of the characters! Produced by Ebrahim Golestan; and Nasser Saffarian’s documentary on Farrokhzad’s life (The Mirror of the Soul). FOUNDING CHAIRMAN Bram Goldsmith* Thanks again for joining us at The Wallis for a month of limitless imagination. FEBRUARY 1-3, 2018 FOUNDING PRESIDENT Bram Goldsmith Theater Paul Selwyn All the best, CHAIRMAN EMERITUS Running time: 1 hour and 50 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission Jerry Magnin PRESIDENT EMERITUS This project is sponsored by the prominent Iranian cultural foundation The Farhang Foundation. This program was Richard Rosenzweig created as part of CAP UCLA’s Artists-in-Residence Program. Additional funding was provided by The Andrew W. LIFETIME TRUSTEE Les Bider Mellon Foundation and Susan and Leonard Nimoy in support of CAP UCLA’s Artists Fellowship Program. And through Max Salter a fellowship residency at The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/Rauschenberg Residency. Michael Nemeroff Paul Crewes Rachel Fine * in memoriam Board Chairman Artistic Director Managing Director This program is dedicated to the memory of Anousheh Razi. P2 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE About the Program About the Artists Artist Statement FOROUGH FARROKHZAD was no doubt the music and theater traditions as well as in classical children. In 2009 she performed in a sold-out concert godmother of Iranian modern poetry and film and a ballet. Her music remains true to the spirit of her at the UN General Assembly organized by Pakistan’s radical feminist whose horizon truly transcended ancient heritage while pointing to the future with a biggest rock musician and activist, Salman Ahmad to For me, the most inspiring aspect of this project is the feminism to reach a universal humanistic outcry, very personal and poetic dramatic sensibility. In raise funds for displaced children in Pakistan with opportunity to introduce the great work and sensibility of which is relevant to this day both inside and outside 1980, she moved to New York, embarking on a other participants such as Jeff Skol, Bobby Sager and of Iran. Her nuanced polyphonic poetry takes us multifaceted career encompassing music, theatre, Gavin Rossdale. Deyhim’s Photo and video an Iranian female icon to the international community. through a shockingly wide spectrum of ideas and dance, media and film. She created/starred in installation “Dawn of the Cold Season” is currently visions. She is Iran’s Sylvia Plath; she attended school groundbreaking media operas at La Mama in the showing at The Wallis. Her upcoming projects Many Iranian intellectuals consider Forough a cultural until the ninth grade, then was taught painting and ‘80s including Azax/ Attra and The Ghost of Ibn include: an album of the soundtrack for The House is Sabah Black Media Project godmother of modernist literature in Iran, but she died sewing at a girl’s school for the manual arts. At age . Sussan’s wide-ranging collaborations with in collaboration with Richard The House is Black is Sussan 16 she was married to Parviz Shapour, an acclaimed leading artists from across the spectrum of Horowitz. And La Belle et La Bete an album of Deyhim’s media-film-performance so young (at the age of 32) that I also think of her as our satirist. Farrokhzad continued her education and contemporary art include Ornette Coleman, Bobby international cover songs in collaboration with her project, inspired by the works of cultural daughter. A rebel with a cause. Forough spoke moved with her husband to Ahvaz. A year later, she McFerrin, Peter Gabriel, Bill Laswell, Richard legendary jazz trio, Mitch Forman, John Leftwich and Forough Farrokhzad, one of Iran’s with awe-inspiring rawness and maturity. She was an bore her only child, a son named Kamyar. Within two Horowitz, Rufus Wainwright, Marius De Vries, Micky Steve Hass. Hart, Jerry Garcia,The Blue Man Group and with most influential feminist poets and existentialist, feminist provocateur. She was Iran’s Simone years, in 1954, Farrokhzad and her husband filmmakers of the 20th Century. This divorced; Parviz won custody of the child. She moved prominent female visual artists Shirin Neshat, COLLABORATORS project seeks to shed light on the de Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Maya Deren and Patti Smith all back to Tehran to write poetry and published her first Sophie Calle and Lita Albuquerque. Her composition ROBERT EGAN importance of progressive Iranian rolled into one. Her work has given me the inspiration to volume, entitled The Captive, in 1955. Farrokhzad, a Windfall/Beshno Az Ney was used by U2 throughout (Co-Director) has been an award- contemporary arts through the vision continue my own artistic journey during my 30 years in female divorcée writing controversial poetry with a the U.S. and Europe. “U2s360 tour” in one of the winning producer, director and dramaturge in the of two of Iran’s most avant-garde strong feminine voice, became the focus of much largest-scale rock tours to this day. Sussan has American theatre for over 25 years. He has developed exile from Iran. Her poetry