HISTORIC ARCADE theatre • fort myers river district ROBERT CACIOPPO, producing artistic director PRESENTS by neil simon SPONSORED BY Dr. Alexander M. Eaton & Dr. Hussein Wafapoor of the RETINA HEALTH CENTER and Florida Weekly STARRING VIKI BOYLE* • DAVID BREITBARTH* • MARK CHAMBERS* • MICHELLE DAMATO* BRAD DePLANCHE* • DAVID S. HOWARD* • CARRIE LUND* • JACKIE SCHRAM PETER THOMASSON* • JULIANNE AVOLIO DIRECTED BY ROBERT CACIOPPO** SET DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER COSTUME DESIGNER JIM HUNTER*** DAVID M. UPTON*** ROBERTA MALCOLM SOUND DESIGNER STAGE MANAGER ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER KATE SMITH AMY MASSARI* JASON PARRISH* RUMORS is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, Inc. 2011-12 GRAND SEASON SPONSORS The Fred & Jean Allegretti Foundation • Bruce & Janet Bunch • Cheryl & David Copham Gholi & Georgia Darehshori • John & Marjorie Madden • Arthur Zupko This entire season sponsored in part by in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Florida Repertory Theatre is a fully professional non-profit LOA/LORT Theatre company on contract with the Actors’ Equity Association that proudly employs members of the national theatrical labor unions. *Member of Actors’ Equity Association. **Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. ***Member of United Scenic Artists. CAST LIST (In Order of Appearance) Chris Gorman.............................................................................MICHELLE DAMATO* Ken Gorman.................................................................................BRAD DePLANCHE* Claire Ganz............................................................................................CARRIE LUND* Lenny Ganz................................................................................DAVID BREITBARTH* Ernie Cusack.................................................................................DAVID S. HOWARD* Cookie Cusack...........................................................................................VIKI BOYLE* Glenn Cooper............................................................................PETER THOMASSON* Cassie Cooper................................................................................JACKIE SCHRAM* Officer Welch...............................................................................MARK CHAMBERS* Officer Pudney.............................................................................JULIANNE AVOLIO* TIME & PLACE Present Day • Sneden’s Landing, New York There will be a 15-minute intermission. The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. ABOUT THE playwright NEIL SIMON (Playwright) began his career in television and established himself as America’s leading writer of comedy by creating a succession of Broadway hits beginning with Come Blow Your Horn. During the 1966-67 season, Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Sweet Charity, and The Star Spangled Girl were all running simultaneously; in the 1970-71 season, Broadway theatergoers had their choice of Plaza Suite, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Promises, Promises. Next Came Little Me, The Gingerbread Lady, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, The Good Doctor, God’s Favorite, They’re Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Fools, a revival of Little Me, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues (Tony Award) a new version of The Odd Couple starring Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno as the title duo, Broadway Bound, Rumors, Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize), Jake’s Women and London Suite. Mr. Simon has also written for the screen: the adaptations of Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, California Suite, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Chapter Two, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, the TV motion picture of Broadway Bound and Lost in Yonkers. Other screenplays he has written include After the Fox, The Out-of-Towners, The Heartbreak Kid, Murder by Death, The Goodbye Girl, The Cheap Detective, Seems Like Old Times, Only When I Laugh, Max Dugan Returns, and The Marrying Man. *The Actors & Stage Manager employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. CREATIVE TEAM VIKI BOYLE* (Cookie April, The Rainmaker, Scapino, Breaking Legs, Cusack) is a 30 year A Funny Thing…Forum, Rounding Third, King o’ veteran of New York and the Moon and August: Osage County. Mark has regional theatre, film, and appeared in productions at Actors Theatre of TV and is delighted to be Louisville, Portland Center Stage, American back with this talented Stage Company, Charleston Stage Company, company at Florida Rep. City Theatre, 42nd Street Moon, Greenbriar Off-Broadway credits Valley Theatre, Hippodrome Theatre, and include her own works Seaside Music Theatre. Mark can be seen in The Whole Truth (Manhattan Class Company), the recent films Baby Jane? and I Want to Get winner of the Samuel French Short Play Series, Married, and can be heard on the CD Veil of and Term Limit for which she recently won the Tears by the Swiss group MGY. Mark was the top prizes for both acting and writing. She has Florida Theatre Conference 2006 honoree for received two Carbonell Awards for The Little distinguished career in professional theatre. Foxes and Don’t Dress For Dinner at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton. Her TV credits include MICHELLE DAMATO* over 150 commercials, where her work has (Chris Gorman) is been recognized with the CLIO award. She and returning for her sixth writing partner Doug Kampsen publish NYC show with Florida Trivia Tours, a series of self-guided walking Rep. Audiences will tours of New York City. Viki was recently a remember her from her contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire! roles in Sylvia, Rabbit You’ll have to tune in to find out how she did! Hole, Almost, Maine, A Funny Thing…Forum, and DAVID BREITBARTH* Dancing at Lughnasa. She is a graduate of Circle (Lenny Ganz) is thrilled in the Square Theatre School in NYC, and came to be making his Florida to Florida by way of Louisville, KY, where she Rep debut. Over 65 was a company member with Stage One for productions in 15 four years. Some of her favorite roles include years at Asolo Rep in Oliver Twist off-Broadway at the Promenade Sarasota where he’s Theatre and the voice of Shawna in MTV’s a company member, Daria: Is It College Yet? Michelle is a proud including: 12 Angry member of Actors’ Equity. Men, world premieres of Jason Wells’ Men of Tortuga and Perfect Mendacity, The Winter’s BRAD DePLANCHE* Tale, A Few Good Men, Pride and Prejudice, (Ken Gorman) is thrilled Laughing Stock, Rounding Third, Art, Peter Pan, to be back at Florida The Front Page, The Immigrant, Hobson’s Choice, Rep, where last season Nicholas Nickleby. Broadway/ national tour: he appeared in The 39 Spring Awakening. Off-Broadway: Short Change, Steps. Recent work: both Perfect Crime, Fluorescent Hunger, This Hard Dromios in The Comedy Life. Film & Television: Frasier, Taken!, Law & of Errors (Shakespeare Order, Fame. For the Banyan Theater (founding Santa Cruz), The 39 member): Betrayal, Sight Unseen, Don Juan Steps (Actor’s Playhouse in Miami & Orlando in Hell, Otherwise Engaged. David is married Shakespeare Theater), Porthos in The Three to the actress Kate Hampton. They live in Musketeers (People’s Light and Theatre Sarasota with Koufax, their dog. Company) and Pseudolus in A Funny Thing… Forum (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). MARK CHAMBERS* Off-Off Broadway: China; The Whole Enchilada (Officer Welch) made ( NY Fringe), Gameshow! (Dodger Theatricals) his Florida Repertory Cloud Nine (Classic Stage Company) and debut as man # 5 in Armchair in Hell (Theatre at St. Clements). Sherlock Holmes and the Regional Theatre: Actors Theatre of Louisville West End Horror. He has (5 Seasons), American Conservatory Theater, appeared in Enchanted South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Utah creative team Shakespearean Festival, Cape Playhouse, companies in her hometown of Erie, PA & Florida Studio Theatre, Hangar Theatre, New York City, performed in regional theatres B Street Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare in NY, VT and NC, as well as the Three River Company. Upcoming, here at the Rep: It’s a Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh Playhouse and Wonderful Life and The Mystery of Irma Vep. American Ibsen Theatre. In 1987, the Sanibel- Brad hails from Michigan and holds an MFA Captiva Chamber of Commerce awarded her from the American Conservatory Theatre. the Distinguished Citizen Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. She and DAVID S. HOWARD* husband Robert Cacioppo enjoy empty nesting (Ernie Cusack) holds with Matt at UCF and Julia and FSU. an M.F.A. from Brandeis University and worked JACKIE SCHRAM there as guest artist and (Cassie Gooper) is the acting teacher from 1967 happiest to be back at to 1975. He became Florida Rep! Previously a resident member of at the Rep: You Can’t the Asolo Rotating Repertory in 1976 and Take It With You (Essie) appeared there for 18 seasons during a 33 year and Boeing Boeing span. Florida Rep roles include Prof. Morrie (Stewardess Understudy). Schwartz in Tuesdays With Morrie, Mr. Green in She also performed with the Educational Visiting Mr. Green, Grandfather in Indian Blood, Outreach Company in the 2009-2010 Season. Ralph Bellini in The Last Romance, Martin Jackie studied at The University of Tampa and Vanderhof in You