SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE Presents
by Mark Harelik
Directed by Simon Levy#
Featuring (in alphabetical order) Leah Harelik ...... Sigi Gradwohl Milton Perry ...... Stuart W. Howard* Ima Perry ...... Kaye Kittrell* Haskell Harelik ...... Adam Lebowitz-Lockard*
The scenes, apart from the Prologue, are various locales in and around Hamilton, a tiny agricultural community in central Texas, from 1909 to 1985.
Originally produced by the Denver Center Theater
THE IMMIGRANT is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc. NYC www.BroadwayPlayPub.com
#Member Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. *Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Season Underwriters Maggi and David Gordon
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited. No food or beverages (other than water) are permitted in the seating areas. Please turn off all electronic devices.
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Welcome home to SMP! I’ve said this before, but it has never had as much resonance for me as it does with this show. The Immigrant is a play I have long wanted to share with our audiences. It is the first play to be produced after having been read in our popular “Off the Page” free reading series (the second will come later this year when we present The Gin Game.) When I was researching this play as a possible offering, I was amazed to find that it hadn’t been professionally produced in Los Angeles in over 30 years. One of my criteria for play selection is to bring to our audiences plays that may have fallen out of the standard repertoire that shouldn’t have. This play was enormously popular when it was first produced in the 80’s. I saw it then and it made a deep impression.
But it may speak to the national conversation about immigration more now than it did when Mark Harelik wrote it. Regardless of what your thoughts are on this issue, this play speaks to the basic human desire to find security and safety for oneself and for loved ones. It speaks to the archetypal story we hold of an immigrant coming to America, struggling to find his or her footing, making a life, raising a family, and becoming an American. It reminds us of our own immigrant story. As the child of immigrants, it certainly resonates for me. I hope it does for you, as well.
I am so excited to be able to work on a project with Simon Levy. Simon is one of the most lauded directors in town. I had the enormous pleasure of being directed by him in a wonderful play at his home theater. The Fountain Theater has long been a leader amongst the intimate theaters in Los Angeles and I’ve looked to them as a model for how I would like SMP to grow. Later in the season I will have another chance to work with Simon when I direct his brilliant adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
Finally, I want to share some enormous good news about SMP. We have been gifted by our Season Underwriters, Maggi and David Gordon, with the deed to our building. They paid off the remaining mortgage and SMP now owns its home. This is all part of a strategy to rethink all aspects of how we go about making the Playhouse function. You may have noticed some changes already, our new website and our Advisory Council relaunch, and more are coming – wait until you hear about the new film series made possible by Carolyn Dasher’s screen donation! - all with the intention of making SMP your home for entertainment, new ideas, and interaction with other patrons.
Welcome Home. Christian Lebano
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director...... Simon Levy Production Stage Manager ...... Jennifer Palumbo Stage Manager ...... Mara Aguilar Producer ...... Christian Lebano Co-Producer ...... Estelle Campbell Scenic & Projection Designer ...... Matthew G. Hill Costume Designer ...... Shon LeBlanc Lighting Designer ...... Derek Jones Original Music & Sound Designer ...... Peter Bayne Properties Designer ...... Terri Roberts Wig Designer ...... Amanda Walter Judaic Consultant ...... Rabbi Daniel Bouskila Dialect Coach ...... Deborah Ross Sullivan Yiddish Consultant ...... Rob Adler Peckerar, Yiddishkayt Technical Director ...... Todd McCraw Set Builder ...... Steven Barr, Trifecta Scenic Scenic Painter ...... Danielle Ferguson Carpenters ...... Sara Haddadin, John Dimitri, Jose Munoz Electricians ...... David Campfield, John Dimitri Program ...... Christian Lebano Lobby and Special Events Curator ...... Diane Siegel Lobby Installation ...... Emily Hopfauf Publicity Photography ...... John Dlugolecki Production Photography ...... Gina Long Poster & Graphic Design ...... Kiff Scholl Publicist ...... Phil Sokoloff
URCHASE A PLAY ASSPORT AND P 5 SMP P SAVE 5 Plays for the price of 4 – $160 (Senior – $144) Passport Tickets are valid for 18 months from date of issue. A $5 surcharge will be added at the box office for certain musicals and “special” events. Passports are valid for the noted Subscriber and may not be used as a multiple user ticket. Purchase one in the lobby TODAY! FROM THE DIRECTOR
I am an Immigrant. And a Jew. And an American. Unlike Haskell, the lead character in our play, I luckily came from an English-speaking country and was only 2 when my mother brought me here. I grew up taking for granted I was like everyone else. After all, I didn’t have an accent, or speak a foreign language, or wear funny clothes, and I looked like most everyone else. Then I got old enough to learn that I was an “outsider,” a “foreigner,” that I wasn’t “a real American,” and that I had to register every year and prove I was a law- abiding “resident.” At the same time my mother taught me to be proud of my Jewish heritage. Unfortunately, I also learned that I had a “big nose,” and, on occasion, that I was a “kike.” Even in liberal San Francisco, at the height of the counter- revolution, there was prejudice.
I felt both inside and outside. I grew up seeing and believing that America is a quilt of cultures. How could you not in a place like San Francisco! Nearly all my friends were either Asian, Latino, Black, or 1st/2nd generation something. We were all “outsiders” of one kind or another. But we also shared something in common: We were part of the American quilt. We grew up eager to assimilate, but also eager to hold on to some of our heritage/culture. Isn’t that what it means to be “American?”
That’s why it baffles me that there are people in our country who have a schizophrenic relationship with the word “immigrant.” On one hand the word symbolizes the idealism of what this country stands for, as embodied in the ideals of the Constitution and the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty and the realities of growing up on the streets of San Francisco; on the other, it is border walls and detention centers and those eager to keep others out. The irony, of course, is that these same people have an “immigrant” somewhere in their family history.
As you journey with Haskell and the other characters in Mark’s beautiful and sensitive play, I hope you will reflect upon your own family tree… because somewhere on one of those branches, unless you’re full- blooded Native American, is an immigrant.
This one is in memory of my mom. Simon Levy CAST
Sigi Gradwohl (Leah) is an Israeli-Swiss- American actress who immigrated to the US when she was five. She is a proud member of Theatre of NOTE. Favorite theater credits include her critically acclaimed role of Daphna in Bad Jews, Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank (WINNER: Best Leading Actress) and Askance (WINNER: Scenie Award). TV: This Is Us, Girl Meets World, Jessie, The Middle, After Lately. Sigi stars as the leading role in the film Spare Parts, which premiered at Outfest and won OutWest Film Fest. She recently co- produced and stars in the pilot Optimistic Realists about a struggling actress / Hebrew school teacher. Sigi also created the award-winning series Bad Nannies, SigNHil, and The Dating Chronicles, and stars in the viral YouTube hit Girls Are Assholes. Sigi is thrilled to be a part of this production and to explore her own roots as an immigrant. www.sigigradwohl.com
Stuart W. Howard* (Milton): Selected Theatre: LA: Friar/Romeo & Juliet (Lovers & Madmen); soliloquies/Glories of Shakespeare (Disney Hall); Bernard/Arcadia (CSU-LA); Tom/Skylight (Fremont Centre); Keller/Miracle Worker (Matrix); George/Virginia Woolf (Hollywood Court); Menelaus/Trojan Women (Getty Centre); Herald/Marat/Sade, Vladimir/Waiting for Godot, Shawn/Playboy of the Western World, Stephen/Otherwise Engaged (PRT); Benedick/Much Ado, Charles II/Libertine, various/Iliad, Iago/Othello, Chalmers/Theft, Alceste/Misanthrope, Friar/Canterbury Tales, Ford/Merry Wives of Windsor (CTL); Napoleon/Back to Methusaleh (LA Rep); Duke/Patience (Antaeus); Sir Robert/Ideal Husband (Met); more. NYC: Off-Broadway: Jeffrey/Hideaway Hilton; OOB: Vindice/Revenger's Tragedy, Charles/Lucky Chance, Laurence/'Sarse, Fairfield/Hyde Park, Man/Man with the Flower in His Mouth (Beacon Project); Cassius/Julius Caesar, Him/Loveliest Afternoon of the Year (ESP); more. Regional: Captain/H.M.S. Pinafore (aboard H.M.S. Rose); Charley/Annie Get Your Gun (Lutcher Theatre); Cootie/Moonchildren, Berowne/Love’s Labour’s Lost (Austin Center Stage), etc. This one's for you, Papa. CAST
Kaye Kittrell* (Ima) studied acting with Wynn Handman in New York, as well as at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She’s performed in over 100 commercials, theatre, film and TV including Cheers, Wings, Becker, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, General Hospital, Gilmore Girls, Alias, and Saturday Night Live. Kaye has written and directed two award-winning short films, Betty’s Treats and Seems Like Yesterday. In 2012, she created the urban garden web show Late Bloomer, “Best Reality Series Winner” at Vancouver Web Fest 2017, with 300 videos on YouTube. Kaye played Clarissa opposite Susan Clark in Triptych at the Matrix Theatre. With Classical Theatre Lab, Kaye played Ustinya in A Family Affair in the park summer production, as well as numerous staged readings including Pinter’s Celebration directed by Christopher Cappiello and Sweet William (Amanda) and Night of the Iguana (Miss Fellowes) directed by Rod Menzies.
Adam Lebowitz-Lockard* (Haskell Harelik) is the proud grandson of immigrants. Most recently, Adam was seen as Adam, Amiens, and Corin, in The Southland Company's production of As You Like It, and in Coin & Ghost's production of Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth as a New Orleans blues man. Los Angeles/Regional credits include: LATC, EST LA, Chance Theater, Troubadour Theater Company, Thin Air Shakespeare in beautiful Jackson, WY, The McCarter Theater, A.R.T., Montgomery Theater, PA, and WTF. NYC credits include: Whitney Museum, Primary Stages, The Flea Theater, Jimmy's No. 43, The Brick, NY Fringe Festival, Soho Playhouse, Smith St. Stage, The PIT, and UCB. TV: The Pine Tar Incident, FOX. MFA: USC. Special thanks to my grand- and great-grandparents, who survived so I could make my way here.
PLAYWRIGHT Mark Harelik Authored and acted in: The Immigrant, The Legacy, and Hank Williams – Lost Highway. As an Actor: Broadway: The Normal Heart, The Light in the Piazza, Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Off-Broadway: Old Money, The House in Town, The Beard of Avon. Film: Battle of the Sexes, Trumbo, 42, For Your Consideration, Election, The Job, Meeting Spencer, Timer, Eulogy, Watching the Detectives, Jurassic Park III, Barbarians at the Gate. Television: Castle Rock, Imposters, Getting On, The Leftovers, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Preacher, Breaking Bad, Lie to Me, Monk, The Big Bang Theory, Pushing Daisies, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Sleeper Cell, Prison Break, Heroes, Medium, Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives, Will and Grace, Seinfeld, Star Trek Voyager.
COMPANY Mara Aguilar (Stage Manager) previously at SMP: A Christmas Story and A Wrinkle in Time. She has worked with Center Stage Opera as Stage Manager for Romeo et Juliette. She has also worked with the Musical Theater Guild on Bonnie and Clyde, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Do I Hear a Waltz among other shows. Other credits include Love Letters with Katherine Ross and Sam Elliot at the Malibu Playhouse.
Peter Bayne (Original Music & Sound Design) Peter is thrilled to make his Sierra Madre Playhouse debut with The Immigrant. Other credits include Center Theatre Group, Pasadena Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Antaeus Theatre Company, A Noise Within, Theatre @Boston Court, The Fountain Theatre (Resident Composer and Designer), Rubicon Theatre Company, The Colony Theatre, The Actors’ Gang, Rogue Machine Theatre, Skylight Theatre Company, Theatre of Note, and The Elephant Theatre Company. Other regional credits include American Repertory Theater, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Portland Playhouse, Shakespeare and Company, and Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Bayne is highly active as a composer in film and television. He is a previous winner of the Ovation Award, LA Drama Critics Circle Award, Stage Raw Theatre Award, LA Weekly Theatre Award, and others. peterbayne.com
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila (Judaic Consultant) is the Director of the Sephardic Educational Center, an international organization dedicated to teaching the history, culture and philosophy of Classic Sephardic Judaism. He holds a BA in History from UCLA and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University in New York. He spent 4 years studying in Israel, including service in the IDF. He writes and lectures frequently on Talmud, Modern Hebrew Literature and contemporary Jewish issues. His previous theatre consulting credits include The Merchant of Venice (Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 2017) and The Chosen (Fountain Theatre, 2018). He is married to Peni, and they are the proud parents of two awesome kids, Shira (musical theatre actress in New York) and Ilan (senior at Shalhevet High School).
Danielle Ferguson (Scenic Artist) is a freelance Scenic Artist living and working in Los Angeles. Some of her previous works include: I Promised Myself to Live Faster (Pig Iron Theatre Co.); Moth (Azuka Theatre); Time is on Our Side (Simpatico Theatre Project); Sideways Stories (The Arden); Elektra (Des Moines Metro Opera); Mrs. Warren and Oscar Wilde: From the Depths (The Lantern Theater Co.) and many others from coast to coast. This is her debut with SMP and she is thrilled to have been a part of this production. To my amazing support system full of family, friends, and my all-star boyfriend, I can’t thank you enough.
Matthew G. Hill (Scenic & Projection Design) From stage to screen to the printed page, Matthew G. Hill is a storyteller by trade and by heart. He believes in the power of stories and hopes to use them to inspire. As a theatre artist, Matt is an award-winning designer and director. He has served as an artist-in-residence at the National Theatre of Croatia, the Getty Villa, and the Annenberg Beach House. Also, he is the associate artistic director of the Rogue Artists Ensemble. Recent career highlights include: co-directing the feature film Burning at Both Ends (starring Carey Elwes, Judd Hirsh, and Greer Grammer), designing Maximus Musicus at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, production design for the feature film No Postage Necessary, and directing Hamlet for Inner Circle Theatre. Previously at SMP: A Wrinkle in Time and Woman In Mind.
Emily Hopfauf (Lobby Installation) is working on her eleventh show with SMP having ASM’ed for A Christmas Story, Wrinkle, Spelling Bee, The Glass Menagerie, Charlotte’s Web, Deathtrap, A Christmas Memory, The Odd Couple and Einstein is a Dummy and been the Wardrobe Mistress/Dresser for Always…Patsy Cline. She has constructed costumes for Color of the Stars at Childsplay Theater. She received a BA in Theater, Film, and Dance with an emphasis in costume design at Humboldt State University. While attending HSU she Stage Managed Fat Pig, Costume Designed the Spring Dance Show and worked on multiple wardrobe and run crews. Emily also is Assistant to the Management Team at SMP. Derek Jones (Lighting Designer) is glad to be back at SMP after designing Bee-luther-hatchee, The Marvelous Wonderettes, A Christmas Story, and Nothing Is the Same. Recently in LA, he has been the lighting designer at Long Beach City College, Los Angeles City College, Pepperdine University, REDCAT, Rockwell Table and Stage, Playwrights' Arena, Mixed eMotion Theatrix, and the Fountain Theatre. Highlights outside of LA include New York Fashion Week, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, the Virginia Opera, The George Washington University, and the Capital Fringe Festival. Derek has an MFA in Lighting Design from Indiana University and a BA in Theatre and a BS in Physics from The George Washington University. He is the lighting design professor at Long Beach City College and Los Angeles City College. www.derekjonesdesignarts.com
Shon LeBlanc (Costume Designer) celebrates 32 years as a designer. He has designed shows for The Fountain, The Colony, 3D Theatricals, Odyssey, Matrix, Theatre 40, El Portal, Open Fist, Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, Ogunquit Playhouse (ME), The Rubicon, Actors Co-Op, and Greenway Court to name a few. His designs were featured in the national company of I Love Lucy, Live on Stage. This year he designed Showboat, at Kentucky Opera and returned to Ash Lawn Opera, designing South Pacific. Shon has taught Costume Design for the Academy of Art in SFO, is a multi-Award winning Designer, with Ovation, Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly and Garland awards and nominations. He is the Managing partner of The Costume House, located in North Hollywood where the costumes for tonight’s show were created. For SMP, he most recently designed A Christmas Story.
Simon Levy (Director) has been the Producing Director of the Fountain Theatre since 1993. The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle honored him with the Milton Katselas Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing. His production of The Chosen is Critic’s Choice in the LA Times and has been extended at the Fountain Theatre. Other recent successes for the Fountain include: Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll, Athol Fugard’s The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, The Normal Heart, Cyrano, among others. He has directed over 80 productions (20 for the Fountain) that have won numerous awards. His stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (Finalist for the PEN Literary Award in Drama) is being produced widely across North America. It is published by Dramatists Play Service, along with his adaptations of Tender is the Night (winner of the PEN Literary Award in Drama) and The Last Tycoon. www.simonlevy.com
Todd McCraw (Technical Director) moved here from NYC where he spent 28 years working in all aspects of theater tech, in nearly every theater in NYC. He is head rigger for Fly-By-Night Dance Theater. He rigs for many other silk acts & trapeze acts & other theatrical productions. Todd spent four years in Big Apple Circus, assisting world-famous horse trainer & performer Katja Schumann. Other horse work: riding horses onstage at Lincoln Center for La Boheme, Aida & Manon Lescaut. Todd brings to LA his production company Sounds Like Art Inc. SLA supports live music, festivals, & corporate events. Regular clients: World Music Institute, Irish Arts Center, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, & Korean Arts. As SMP’s Technical Director, Todd is responsible for all aspects of the technical demands for each show. This is his eighth production at SMP since The Glass Menagerie.
Jennifer Palumbo* (Production Stage Manager) Selected credits: The Mountaintop, Hattiloo Theatre with Halloran Centre at Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN for MLK50, previously at Matrix Theatre (directed by Roger Guenveur Smith). Rogue Machine Theatre: Justin Tanner’s El Niño (Lisa James), Aeschylus’ The Suppliant Women (Michael Arabian - Getty Villa), DAYTONA (Elina de Santos). Open Fist Theatre Ensemble: DeLEARious! (Ron West), The Gary Plays (Guy Zimmerman) Atwater Village Theatre; Mad Forest (Marya Mazor). Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Carl Weathers) Edgemar Centre for the Arts. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble: A Steady Rain (Jeff Perry – also Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA), Anna Christie (Kim Rubinstein), Broadway Bound (Jason Alexander); Day Drinkers, Ivanov, Margo Veil (Bart De Lorenzo); Oedipus Machina (Ron Sossi). Pacific Resident Theatre Julia (Guillermo Cienfuegos), Sacred Fools Theatre Land of the Tigers (Burglars of Hamm).
Terri Roberts (Props Designer) is a resident stage manager at the award-winning Fountain Theatre, where she first met SMP’s Artistic Director Christian Lebano on the long-running drama Opus, directed by Simon Levy. She has worked as a stage manager on 20 shows at the Fountain, where she also maintains their props and costumes inventory and has recently begun doing props design. Fountain props credits include Dream Catcher, Baby Doll, Bakersfield Mist, Freddy (workshop), and their current runaway hit The Chosen, also directed by Simon. Additionally, Terri is a theatre/entertainment writer whose work has appeared in Variety, Performances, Back Stage West, Ross Reports, LA Weekly, LA Parent, The Sondheim Review, ShowMag.com, TheaterMania.com and Examiner.com. Deep gratitude to Simon and Christian. Proudly Pro 99 and a member of Actors’ Equity.
Deborah Ross-Sullivan (Dialect Coach) defines herself as a “voice actress,” one who is heard but not seen. Dialect and accent coaching is a natural fit for someone who lives for sound. The goal of the dialect coach is not only to give actors correct sound changes, but also to understand rhythm and inflection. My job is to give actors reasons to sound the way they do. Deb has coached many dialect/accent productions for SMP and is most happy to be working for them again. Diane Siegel (Lobby & Special Events Curator) has been an educator in public schools, museums, libraries and now the theater. Stories of the pogroms that brought her father-in-law to New York from Russia and her work with a non-profit doing Holocaust-related restoration of Jewish religious properties in Slovakia make the themes of this play personally relevant. This is her 18th lobby design for SMP: Battledrum, 6 Rms Riv Vu, A Walk in the Woods, The Odd Couple, Einstein/Putting it Together, Always…Patsy Cline, A Christmas Memory, Deathtrap, Charlotte’s Web, The Glass Menagerie, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Little House Christmas, Bee-luther-hatchee, Belle of Amherst/Wrinkle in Time, The Marvelous Wonderettes, A Christmas Story, and Nothing is the Same.
Amanda Walter (Wig Designer) Amanda is thrilled to be working with SMP for the first time. her work ranges from stage to screen. Recently on stage, she wig designed The Red Dress at the Odyssey and The Marvelous Wonderettes at Crown City Theatre and costume designed Somewhere in the Middle at Crown City Theatre. On screen, Amanda has worked on several films as a makeup artist including: Adult World (starring: Evan Peters and Emma Roberts), Teacher of the Year (starring Keegan Michael Key), Princess Rap Battles on Youtube, among others. . You can check out Amanda's hair and makeup work at www.amandawaltermakeupartist.com
THE SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE
Artistic Director ...... Christian Lebano Managing Director ...... Estelle Campbell Operations Director ...... Ward Calaway Technical Director ...... Todd McCraw Website Manager ...... Vanessa Silberman Box Office Manager ...... Mary Baville Volunteer Coordinator, Lobby and Special Events Curator ...... Diane Siegel Social Media ...... Jenn Chow, Laura Zenoni Associate Artist - AKT Youth Workshop...... Alison Eliel Kalmus Education Manager (Field Trip Series) ...... Christa Backstrom Off the Page Coordinator ...... Roxanne Barker Accountant ...... Louise Calaway Publicist ...... Philip Sokoloff Graphic Designer ...... Kiff Scholl Administrative Assistant ...... Emily Hopfauf
Organizational Consultant ...... Tim Dang
Board Members ...... David Gordon (President) Louise Calaway, Estelle Campbell, Christian Lebano Joan Riback, Anne Scott-Putney, Vanessa Silberman Advisory Board ...... Susanna Guzman Lynda Jenner, Georgie Kajer, Alison Eliel Kalmus, Liza Kerrigan
The Unexpected Portrait – 626.372.7539 – GinaLong.Smugmug.com The Producers, Cast, and Crew thank the following for their contributions to this production A special thank you to Mark Harelik for his appearance at the May 6 post- show discussion and for his generous contributions to this production And to Ahilan Arulanantham, Director of Advocacy, Luis Nolasco, Advocate, and Andres Kwon, EJW Fellow at the ACLU of SoCal for their panel discussion on Immigration Today on April 29. Alvar Nelson and the Sierra Madre Congregational Church for generously allowing us to use some of their spaces for rehearsals and auditions. Jason Moss, Executive Director and Cantor Judy Sofer of the Jewish Federation of San Gabriel Valley for their advice and counsel. Gabe Engeland, Rebecca Silva-Barrón , and Rosemary Garcia of the City of Sierra Madre for allowing us the use of Hartt House for our Opening Night Reception. Bridget Schinner and the staff at Vromans Bookstore/Hastings Ranch for hosting our April 6th Chili and Challah ( or Matzoh) Klezmer and TexMex Listening Party. The Only Place in Town for providing our delicious coffee. Dave Kalmus and Axiom Printing for his good-humor and patience with all of our last-minute requests. Jan Campos and Delicious Bakery on Reseda Boulevard in Northridge for their donation of Challah for our Chili and Challah event at Vromans. Cami Viand for her help with props. All our SMP volunteers for their assistance with this production.
How to Support the Playhouse Without Writing Us a Check!
You must renew yearly – in September – please do. Sign up your Ralphs’ Rewards Card and up to 4% of your grocery bill will be donated to Sierra Madre Playhouse.
1. Visit Ralphs.com and sign-in or register for a Ralphs’ online account. 2. Click the My Account button and select Account Settings. 3. Scroll to Community Rewards and search for Sierra Madre Playhouse or enter our group number 83942 4. Select us under Organization Name. Click Save! And that’s all there is to it!
The Marquee Circle* The Sierra Madre Playhouse thanks the following members of the Marquee Circle for their generous contributions in support of our work.
Foundations, Grants, & Underwriters Los Angeles County Arts Commission Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation Sierra Madre Civic Club Spero Foundation CIGNA Foundation Ralphs Supermarkets
Season Underwriters David & Maggi Gordon
Angels ($5,000 and higher) Ward & Louise Calaway Joan Riback Estelle Campbell
Producers ($2,500 - $4,999) Sandy Duvall
Backers ($1,000 - $2,499) Cate Caplin Foundation Paul Scranton Carolyn Dasher Vanessa Silberman & Christian Lebano Joseph Widman Anne Scott Putney & Paul Van Dorpe & Astrid Scheil Jill Maglione
Promoters ($500 - $999) Anonymous Carole & Donald Roback John Corry Rodney & Joan Spears Mindy & Jim Halls Patricia Staub Patrick Holland Glenda & Greg Vanni Harvey & Ellen Knell Fdtn. John Lusche
Patrons ($250 - $499) Delna Abernathy Bill & Sharon Ramsey Bechtolt Family Foundation Julie Rosenthal Kathy Calleton Evelyn Shaffer Michael & Maggie Ellis Sierra Madre Civic Club Marlene Enmark In Honor of Gordon Caldwell Janie & Robin Guentert Donald Songster Ursula Hyman Bob & Sue Spears Sheila Lamson John B. Vertrees Jane Park Fred & Neola Zimmerman
Fans ($100 - $249) Anonymous Robert Hardaway Chris Adams Harland Heath Jeanne Adams Michael Hegeman Lawanda Allee Sidney & Milicent Kanazawa Barbara Ansell Peter & Joan Kaplanis Barbara Barbarics Albert Kirk J&P Barron Family Trust Carol & Richard Libby Sue Beall Patricia Locher Don Bergmann Dianne Logan Buccaneer Lounge Nina Losorelli Barbara Burnett Katherene L. Meisch Sheila Callahan & Geoffrey Middlebrook Carol Stasio Frank Moore Russell Cinque, Jr. Irene & Shinji Nakagawa Linda & Chuck Collier Sharon Novell Julia Ann Collins Bill & Judy Opel Todd & Meg Cranston-Cuebas Leslie Jane Park Joan Crow Thomas Pocock Steve & Irma Cunningham Deborah Ponzio Maureen Daniels Kris Poulsen Susan Day Sierra Madre Woman’s Club Martha Denzel Beth Smith Sandra Dickey Annette Sneidmiller Paul & Pauline Fairbanks Robert H. Stevens George & Barbara Garcia Kenneth Masao Takemoto Michael Hamud Christopher Thompson
*The gifts listed above were received between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018.
Your gift is deeply appreciated by all of us here at SMP, to report a misspelling or omission, please contact [email protected].
“Off the Page” Free Reading Series Selected Mondays @ 7pm
April 30 Miss Lulu Bett By Zona Gale Directed by Elina de Santos Pulitzer Prize winner in 1921. In this rarely seen play, Miss Lulu Bett is a spinster of thirty-three who does all the work for her sister’s demanding family. When her brother-in-law’s brother arrives for a visit, the two are accidentally married in a ceremony that is intended as a joke but turns out to be valid. At once sentimental and sharply satirical, this drawing-room comedy about the uncertain emancipation of lonely Miss Lulu makes for a very funny evening, without scanting the feminist underpinning. “Where has Miss Lulu Bett been all our lives?” – The Washington Post
May 21 The American Wife By Stephen Fife and Ralph Pezzullo Imagine you’re Karen Roberts, a 35 year old housewife and all-American girl. You have two young sons and are married to Eduardo – the Spanish husband you met during your junior year abroad. One night you leave to pick up dinner, and when you come back he’s gone. The next morning, he shows up on the front page of the newspaper having been arrested as the suspected leader of a terrorist cell. Your life will never be the same.
“… forceful, physically and psychologically…The final scenes took me by surprise, and I utterly failed to predict the final outcome.” - London Theatre 1
Cori Cable Kidder – SMP’s “Patsy” Back in “Pump Boys and Dinettes”
By Fran Syverson
If you loved Cori Cable Kidder as Patsy Cline, get ready for treat. She’ll be back at SMP in Pump Boys and Dinettes as Prudie Cupp one of two “dinettes.’ Cori will belt out songs you may never have heard, but will love once you have!
Cori is a farm girl—an Arkansas peach farm girl. But from an early age, it was clear that she would be a performer. She sang in the church choir and from age 3, she took tap dancing lessons – a skill she’ll get to use in Pump Boys. By the time she was 15, she began teaching some of the younger girls. She continued her voice training at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas.
Her girlhood didn’t prepare her for the three years she spent in Now York, Cori said. That’s where you find the glamour and lights of Broadway and Off-Broadway, and the chance to express your talents as an actor. But she found the constancy of being with people in New York draining emotionally. As she said: “You go on the street — people; you get on the subway — people; you go home, and to get there — more people!”
A role in a musical here brought her to Los Angeles in June of 2013. Here she doesn’t feel surrounded. “You’re alone in your car,” she said. “You’re alone in your apartment.” She keeps her life and her surroundings simple and she likes it that way.
At SMP in the summer of 2015, Cori was at the center of the biggest hit the Playhouse has ever had - playing and singing the part of Patsy Cline. So popular was the show that it was extended for 8 weeks. “I’d wanted to play Patsy Cline for years,” she said. She loved every minute of it, and especially enjoyed working with Nikki D’Amico as her adoring fan, Louise Seger. One of her goals is to develop a one-woman show about Patsy. Since then, she has been back at the Playhouse in a special, one- woman, sold-out performance of “Cori Cable Kidder – Back Where I Belong.” She is thrilled to be coming back to her “home” where she has developed so many wonderful relationships with our patrons.
This time she’ll be playing Prudie Cupp in the feel-good and rollicking Pump Boys and Dinettes. The show sprang from a true-life story. Jim Wann and Mark Hardwick (two of the original creators of the musical) had a gig at the Cattleman Lounge in New York City. Their music was basically country standards, but on slow nights they tried out a few of Jim’s original songs and they began wearing uniforms like gas station attendants (pump boys?) With the addition of two women dressed like diner waitresses, the “Pump Boys and Dinettes” were ready for their Off-Broadway premiere in 1981. The show went on to be a big hit and transferred to Broadway where it was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk as “Best Musical” in 1982. It hasn’t been performed in the LA area since the Broadway tour over 30 years ago. What a joy it will be to see this fun summer musical—and to welcome Cori Cable Kidder back to SMP! Pump Boys and Dinettes opens June 22 and runs through July 29 – directed by Allison Bibicoff and musical directed by Sean Paxton with a live band on stage. Tickets on sale now at 626.355.4318 or www.SierraMadrePlayhouse.org.
Coming Next…
Pump Boys & Dinettes Book, Lyrics, and Music by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann
Directed by Allison Bibicoff Musical Directed by Sean Paxton June 22 through July 29 Drive a ways outta town, somewhere between Frog Level and Smyrna, North Carolina and you’ll come to a filling station run by L. M. and Jim. Across the blacktop is the Double Cupp Diner, operated by Rhetta and Prudie Cupp. To look at it, you wouldn’t know that this little stop on Highway 57 is where all the action is, but trust us – once the boys get that guitar and bass fiddle revved up, you won’t want to be anywhere else. Pump Boys and Dinettes is a countrified musical packed with highly entertaining toe-tappers such as “Drinkin’ Shoes”, “Farmer Tan” and “The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine!” Featuring Cori Cable Kidder, SMP’s own Patsy Cline, as Prudie!
"Both musically and theatrically, a triumph of ensemble playing. It doesn't merely celebrate the value of friendship and life's simple pleasures, it embodies them…. Totally terrific...It is such fun!" - The New York Times
The Gin Game by Donald L. Colburn
Directed by Christian Lebano September 7 through October 6 Winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize. Weller Martin tries desperately to retain some control over his life despite falling into ill health and becoming a reluctant resident of a nursing home. Fonsia Dorsey serves as the symbol of all gone wrong, and his battles with her, though over a simple game of gin, become not only a conflict with the woman but with divine will itself. Starring Katherine James (Amanda in The Glass Menagerie and Alan Blumenfeld.
"Perfect ... A vibrant study on loneliness, disillusion, and old age, yet fiercely funny." – The Boston Globe
Sierra Madre Playhouse is keen on recruiting new members to its board. If you are interested, please contact David Gordon at [email protected]
BOARD Louise Calaway, Treasurer Louise – and her husband Ward - have been involved with the Playhouse for many years. They are excited by its recent productions (while keeping a close eye on their costs!). She lives in Sierra Madre.
Estelle Campbell, Managing Director Estelle is a former interior designer and an architectural project manager when she joined the board of the Sierra Madre Playhouse in 2010. She been the MD since 2013. She lives in Pasadena in an artist complex she developed from obsolete warehouses.
David Gordon, Interim President David is a former art museum director and consultant who discovered the Playhouse and became an enthusiast. He lives in Sierra Madre.
Christian Lebano, Artistic Director Christian has been AD since 2014 and joined the Board in 2012. He has produced, directed or acted in over 30 shows at the Playhouse. He and his family live in Eagle Rock. He thinks of Sierra Madre as his second home.
Joan Riback Joan has worked with nonprofits all of her career and has been an organization and community development consultant since 2001. She currently coordinates the Rotary Humanitarian Star awards for the Sierra Madre Rotary Club. She lives in Altadena.
Anne Scott-Putney Anne is chief advancement officer at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont. She is a live theatre enthusiast. She lives in Claremont.
Vanessa Silberman Vanessa is senior director of communications and strategic initiatives at The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation. She grew up with a love of performance and live theater. She lives in Sierra Madre.
COUNCIL OF ADVISORS Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna is a celebrated mezzo soprano who has appeared as a principal artist with international orchestras and opera houses since 1985, most recently in the War of the Worlds with the LA Phil. A tv and radio host, she is currently in the inaugural artist roster of “The Company” with Yuval Sharon’s experimental opera theater, The Industry. She is a passionate advocate of arts education. She lives in Sierra Madre.
Lynda Jenner Lynda, a former school teacher, went on to get a degree in television production; her shows won a Peabody, an Emmy and New York Television award. She was Director of Community Programs at the Los Angeles Music Center. Along the way she sang professionally for many years. She now brings the leaders of local arts organizations together for their mutual benefit. She lives in Pasadena.
Georgie Kajer Georgie is an architect with a background and interest in historic restoration, historic preservation issues and regional design. Kajer Architects, based in La Cañada, specializes in residential renovation and new construction. She welcomes the resurgence of the Playhouse. She lives in Pasadena.
Alison Eliel Kalmus Alison left corporate marketing to become an educator. She developed the AKT Youth Academy at SMP in 2000. As a director, producer and performer, she has toured nationally and internationally in theater and opera. A fourth-generation Pasadenan, she has an avid interest in Craftsmen Architecture, especially that of her uncles, the Heineman Bros.
Liza Kerrigan Liza did her architectural studies in the East, graduating from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design with a Master’s in Architecture. In 1998, she started her own residential design firm, Blue Studio. Recently it received the Pasadena Historic Preservation Award for Residential Rehabilitation. She lives in Sierra Madre.
Adam Leibowitz-Lockard, Sigi Gradwohl, Kaye Kittrell, Stuart W. Howard