033101 Roa Insert.Indd

ABOUT CENTER REPERTORY COMPANY

2010) and an Arty Award for Intimate Apparel (Solano and performed in NY, LA, and at festivals in India and

College Theatre, 2008) In addition to her design Morocco. In his career as a performer he has also danced work, Rebecca teaches costume and theatre classes with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, portrayed the at Solano Community College and has worked at The villainous Pierre LeChance on “The Guiding Light”, and Utah Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the played guitar and harmonica in many rock, blues, and Park and The University of Michigan. Rebecca was the country western bands at all the notable dives in NYC. costume shop manager for The Solano College Theatre

Center REP is the resident, professional theatre company of the Lesher Center for the Arts. Our season consists of six productions a year – a variety of musicals, dramas and comedies, both classic and contemporary, that continually strive to reach new levels of artistic excellence and professional standards.

CENTER REPERTORY COMPANY

Michael Butler, Artistic Director

presents

Scott Denison, Managing Director

SCOTT DENISON (Managing Director) has been

a

Association from 2005 to 2014. She holds a BA in Theatre with an emphasis in technical theatre from The University of California, Santa Cruz (1991) and a MFA in costume design from the University of Michigan (1995).

leader in the arts for 40 years for Walnut Creek and the surrounding communities. For the last 24 years he has been the General Manager of the Lesher Center and oversees over 850 public events each year. He

Our mission is to celebrate the power of the human imagination by producing emotionally engaging, intellectually involving, and visually astonishing live theatre, and through Outreach and Education programs, to enrich and advance the cultural life of the communities we serve.

KURT LANDISMAN (Lighting Designer)

Local coordinates performing arts activities with over 85

audiences will be familiar with his work through past producers and producing organizations. He is also

productions designed for Center REP including 'art', the Managing Director of Center REPertory Company Born Yesterday, Anything Goes, Mirandolina, Deathtrap, producing 6 professional productions each season; and Life Could Be a Dream, Ella, the Musical, Sweet Charity, is the director and co-founder of Fantasy Forum Actors The 39 Steps, Old Wicked Songs and Xanadu. His Ensemble, an adult family performing arts company

designs have been seen throughout the Bay Area at which presents programs for the young and Young at many theaters including San Francisco Opera, ACT, Heart. Scott directed CCMT’s hits The Music Man, Les Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, Theatreworks, California Misérables, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Rodgers and Shakespeare Festival, The Magic Theatre, and Marin Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Hairspray, and for the past Theatre Company. Locally his work has garnered 16 Bay 16 seasons Center REP’s A Christmas Carol. Denison Area Critics Circle Awards, 5 LA Dramalogue Awards and has directed over 150 productions including REP’s The 5 Shellie Awards. Nationally, his work has been seen at Lady with All the Answers starring Kerri Shawn. In 1979 many regional opera & ballet companies, including the he created the Shellie Awards, which annually honors Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, Virginia Opera, outstanding performing arts achievement in Contra Tulsa Opera, and Ballet Arizona. His designs have also Costa county. In 2007 he created the Chevron Family been presented oﬀ-Broadway, represented at Circle Theatre Festival bringing adult nationally acclaimed Rep, and the Douglas Fairbanks Theatres. Other designs performances together for one day performing to over internationally include world premieres of plays by Sam 7,000 guests of all ages.

What does it mean to be a producing theatre? We hire

the ﬁnest professional directors, actors and designers to create our productions at Center REP. These are not touring productions – they’re conceived and developed here, the sets and costumes are built in our shops, and the actors rehearse in our rehearsal hall. Whether the production is a Bay Area premiere or a Shakespearean classic, each is devised to be a one of a kind, artistic creation that will be a unique theatre experience for our audience.

What does it mean to be a professional theatre? It

means that all our artists and artisans are career theatrepractitioners. The actors in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association; our directors and designers are members of professional unions. All do theatre because it is their profession and their passion.

Book by Chris D'Arienzo

Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp

We are very proud to have the opportunity to produce professional theatre for our community in the beautiful theatres here at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Thank you for your support!

Scenic Designer

Costume Designer

Rebecca Ann Valentino

Stage Manager
Lighting Designer

Kurt Landisman

Wig Designers

Bethany Deal & Judy Disbrow

Shepard in Japan, and Singapore, as well as the San Francisco Opera in Shanghai, China, and the Moscow

John Iacovelli

Sound Designer

Some More Sound

OUR SPONSORS

Circus in Tokyo, Japan.

Chevron (Season Sponsor) has been the leading corporate sponsor of Center REP and the Lesher Center for the Arts for the past nine years. In fact, Chevron has been

Center REPertory Company

Managing Director - Scott Denison Artistic Director - Michael Butler

SOME MORE SOUND (Sound Designer) Co-designers Keir

Moorhead, Yuri Sumnicht, and Brendan West make up Some More Sound, and have been providing their sound design services to youth and regional theatre groups as well as high school and college theater departments in the Bay Area for close to ten years. Past productions include STARS 2000’s RENT and West Side Story, Berkeley YMTC’s Ragtime, CCMT's Shellie Award-winning Les Miserables, and DTC’s Shellie Award-winning Singin' In The Rain. More information about their work, and past and future productions can be found at www.somemoresound.com. They are thrilled to be working on their ﬁrst production with Center REP.

Michael Friedlander*

a

partner of the LCA since the beginning, providing

funding for capital improvements, event sponsorships and more. Chevron generously supports every Center REP show throughout the season, and is the primary sponsor for events including the Chevron Family Theatre Festival in July. Chevron has proven itself not just as a generous supporter, but also a valued friend of the arts.

Production Services

Production Services
Coordinator

Toni Kilcoyne

Technical Staﬀ

John Iarla Steve Pino Michael Arlen Chris Currie Kieren McEntee Garrick Schuster Stephen Spleiss Josh Stouﬀer

Audience Services

Audience Svcs Coordinator

Courtney Egg

Ticket Oﬃce Staﬀ

Jeremiah Vierling
Rami Kim Robert Nolan Vaughn Edward Kiersten Jones Alyssa Montany Riley Spring

Production

Production Manager

Jeﬀ Collister

Technical

Technical Director

Joshua Lipps

Master Electrician

Del Medoﬀ

Carpenters

Sean Bryan Gabriel Johnson Caleb Salmon

Assistant
Stage Manager

Joe Coe

Assistant Choreographer

Kevin Gruwell

Production Assistant

Phillip Davis

Audio Assistants

Lyle Barrere John DiGiorgio

Follow Spot Operators

Kira Daugherty Ethan Williams

Deck Crew

Cast

Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA) (Season

Partner) is both the primary fundraising organization of the Lesher Center for the Arts (LCA) and the City of Walnut Creek’s appointed curator for the LCA’s audience outreach. DRAA’s role in the community is all about building partnerships with the focused goal of enhancing artistic quality at the LCA and providing opportunities for everyone to enjoy the arts. Through partnerships with the LCA and its producers, individual donors, corporate and foundation sponsors and the City of Walnut Creek, DRAA plays a vital role in advancing the arts for the betterment of the community. Please visit us online at www.draa.org.

Tielle Baker
Justin Travis Buchs* Nikita Burshteyn Lucas Coleman*
Jesse Cortez

Ariel Daly

Tyce Green*

Jacob Judd
Tiiu Eva Rebane* Erica Richardson Will Springhorn Jr.*
Elise Youssef*
Michael Doppe* Mark Duncanson Yuliya Eydelnant Tracy Freeman

MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER* (Stage Manager) Selected

Credits include: The First Noel (Apollo Theater), Saturday

Night Fever (Ogunquit Playhouse), Curious George And the Golden Meatball (TWUSA), Tail! Spin! (DRTM), Hello

Dolly (Big League Productions), Romeo n Juliet (Classical

Theatre of Harlem), The Unavoidable Dissappearance of Tom Durnin (RoundAbout Theatre), Blood Brothers

Elizabeth Curtis

Lesher Foundation (Foundation Sponsor) Since 1994, the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $40 million and reaching citizens in all parts of Contra Costa County. True to the original wishes of Dean and Margaret Lesher, the Foundation continues to build on the strengths of the community by supporting organizations and programs that provide help and support to people in need; enhance and enrich the lives of all citizens; and promote a healthy and exciting future for the community. Established in 1989, the Foundation received its principal assets from Dean Lesher’s estate in 1993 and 1995. In 1997, an additional endowment from Dean Lesher’s estate followed the death of Margaret Lesher. A significant and final bequest from Mr. Lesher’s estate was received in 2003. As a family foundation, support for the Contra Costa community will be carried on by the next generation of family members. Grant-making decisions are based on the vision of Dean and Margaret Lesher who felt quality education, diverse art programs, and healthy children and families are the building blocks of a strong and vibrant community. The Leshers defined the “spirit of giving” as “investing in the community and its people.” By providing financial support and direction in these critical areas, the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation is investing every day, every week and every year in the health and well-being of this county that Dean and Margaret so loved.

(APAC), Lovers (TACT),

&

Lost in Yonkers (TACT).

Directed by Dyan McBride
Music Directed by Kevin Roland Choreographed by Staci Arriaga

The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.
"Rock of Ages" is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

Numerous events for the Actors Fund, Vineyard Theatre, and Dramatists Guild, as well as aTACT adjunct company member. Michael would like to thank his friends and family for supporting him in such a rewarding career.

MICHAEL BUTLER (Artistic Director) This is Michael’s

tenth season as Artistic Director of Center REP, where his directing credits include Anything Goes, Clybourne

Park, Real Housewives of Walnut Creek, and To Kill a

Mockingbird, as well as the Shellie and BATCC Award-

winning productions of Around the World in 80 Days, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Enchanted April, and Witness

For The Prosecution. His directing work has also been seen at San Jose Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Laguna Playhouse, ACT in Seattle, Marin Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, San Jose Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and The Juilliard School, of which he is a graduate. As an actor, Michael has worked on Broadway and off, in regional theatres, film and television, as well as REP’s productions of Mirandolina!, The Mousetrap, Noises Off and Rumors. He is a published songwriter and the co-writer and composer of numerous music-theatre pieces, which he has directed

Shannon Taylor Sarah Walker

Usher Coordinator

Pat Mitchell
Grant Strain Chris Totah Matthew Wright

Costumes

Marketing

Marketing Associate

Ariel Brewer
Bethany Deal Kat Pruyn

Margaret Lesher Theatre May 20 - June 25, 2016 Lesher Center for the Arts

Education

Leandra Watson

Dressers

Education Directors

Jeﬀ Draper Kerri Shawn

Casting

Casting Director

Jennifer Perry

Properties

Alea R. Gonzales Rebecca Moﬃt

Administration

Asst. to Managing
Director

Gail Pfeifer

Program

Linda Nomura

Season Sponsor

Season Partner

Foundation Sponsor

Props Master

Roger Anderson

Member of Actors’Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
The Scenic and Lighting Designers are members of United Scenic Artists Union
Center REP is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), The National Organization for the American Theatre

CAST (in order of appearance)

NIKITA BURSHTEYN (Drew Boley) is

honored and thrilled to be making his debut at Center REPertory Company with this Regional premiere of pure Rock. Most recently seen in the role

of Angelo in The Boys From Syracuse at

42nd St. Moon, his other recent credits include: Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre), Fector in Dogﬁght (San Francisco Playhouse), TBA Award- 42nd St. Moon, San Jose Stage, Ray of Light Theatre, winning performance of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar Paciﬁc Coast Repertory Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, New (Stage 1 Theatre), TBA and SFBATCC Award-nominated Conservatory Theatre Center, and Solano College Theatre. performance of Tony in West Side Story (Broadway By The Bay), and Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can (Woodminster Summer Musicals). Most recent media credits includes "The Age of Adaline" starring Harrison Ford and Blake Lively. Nikita would like to thank his vocal teacher, Matthew Liebowitz, who makes the impossible happen. Special shoutout to the incredible directing crew for their hard work, Liz, Danila, Grandma, and his amazing parents for all their endless love and support. nikitaburshteyn.com

MICHAEL DOPPE* (Joey Primo) is

honored to be a part of the ROA team. He is an actor, writer, director, musician, and graduate of the SCT “Actor Training Program”. And has been seen working at Foothill Music Theatre, Center Rep, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Town Hall Theatre, "OMG I Love That Show" Productions, Missouri Street Theatre,

TYCE GREEN* (Franz Klinemann)

Follow @Tyce on Twitter/Instagram. Oﬀ-Broadway: Kissless. National tour/ regional: Spring Awakening (Moritz),

Hands on a Hardbody (Chris), Ragtime

(Younger Brother), Bloody Bloody

Andrew Jackson (John C. Calhoun), The Sound of Music

(Rolf), Forbidden Broadway (Various), and backup vocalist for recording artists Linda Eder and Constantine Maroulis. Film: “Horrible Turn” (Prequel to Dr. Horrible w/ Neil Patrick Harris). Tyce is the new lead singer for GrammyAward winning composer Jim Steinman and the Total Eclipse World Tour. Album on iTunes in August. www. tycegreen.com.

WILL SPRINGHORN JR.* (Dennis

Dupree) is excited to return to Center REP, after playing Harry Brock in Born Yesterday. Favorite roles include Kent

in Reasons to be Pretty and Frederick

Wentworth in the world premiere of Persuasion (San Jose Stage Company), Will in AFTRA and AEA. Represented by Boom Models and Coronado (SF Playhouse) and Edmund in King Lear (San Talent. Bang your head. Francisco Shakespeare Festival) Other Bay Area credits TheatreWorks, Paciﬁc Repertory Theatre, SF Playhouse, KEVIN ROLAND (Music Director) Rock of Ages marks 42nd Street Moon, The Magic, Berkeley Rep, Theatre Kevin's debut at Center REP. Most recently, Kevin was Rhino and San Jose Stage Company, where he is an the MD/Conductor for CCMT's productions of Gypsy and Artistic Associate. Will teaches Theatre at Diablo Valley The Music Man, and was also on keys for their production College and Notre Dame de Namur University and is of The Full Monty. A professional pianist, Music Director, a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. MFA and conductor, Kevin has music directed and played Mountview Theatre School, London - BA University of for over 200 productions across the country including
"Springsteen and I." Theatre Awards/Nominations include Theatre Bay Area, BATCC, Shellie, Elly, Arty, Dean Goodman, Broadway World and Irene Ryan/Kennedy Center. She is currently a Professor of Theatre Arts at Solano Community College and Education Director for 42nd St. Moon. MFA-UC Davis (Acting). Member-SAG/

Lonny Barnett ..........................................................Jacob Judd Drew Boley..................................................... Nikita Burshteyn Dennis Dupree ........................................Will Springhorn Jr.* Sherrie Christian ................................................ Elise Youssef* Father/Mayor/Ja'Keith Gill....................... Mark Duncanson Mother/Justice Charlier............................. Erica Richardson Hertz Klinemann............................................ Tiiu Ea Rebane* Franz Klinemann................................................... Tyce Green* Regina Koontz ................................................ Elizabeth Curtis Stacee Jaxx...................................................... Lucas Coleman* Joey Primo ......................................................Michael Doppe* Waitress #1................................................................Tielle Baker Reporter (Constance Sack)........................... Tracy Freeman Candi.........................................................................Jesse Cortez Producer ................................................... Justin Travis Buchs*

Full resumé at http://michaeldoppe.wix.com/actor. "Doppe" is a proud member of Actors Equity.

MARK DUNCANSON (Father/Mayor/

Ja'Keith Gill) is very excited to make his

Center REP debut in Rock of Ages. Mark has most recently been seen on stage in Crocodile Junction (Bay Area Children’s

JACOB JUDD (Lonny Barnett) is

delirious with pride to make his Center REP debut as Lonny in Rock of Ages! His most recent credits include The

Who's Tommy, Godspell (TBA Award

Nomination), and the award winning

Minnesota, Twin Cities. www.willspringhornjr.com

Broadway, Oﬀ-Broadway, and Regional Productions

which include Wicked, Avenue Q, Book of Mormon, The Addams Family, Motown, Legally Blonde, and Next

to Normal. He has also played keyboard for touring

productions of If/Then, Wicked, Annie, Rent, The Addams

Family, and Motown. Locally, Kevin is the Resident MD for the Bay Area Children's Theatre and has also directed and played at CCMT, Woodminster, CCCT, SF Playhouse,

CLUB KIDS, PROTESTERS, STRIPPERS, ETC. Tielle Baker, Justin Travis Buchs*, Jesse Cortez,
Ariel Daly, Michael Doppe*,

ELISE YOUSSEF* (Sherrie Christian)

is thrilled to be back at Center REP this season! She has recently relocated to the Bay Area after four years in New York City. Her most recent roles were Luciana in Boys from Syracuse and The

Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooge in Love both at 42nd Paciﬁca Spindrift Players, Berkeley Playhouse, and Street Moon. She was also seen as Alice Beineke in The Berkeley Rep. Kevin has performed as guest pianist at Addams Family at San Jose Stage Company, and Mom in the White House, accompanied such Broadway stars Max Understood, a world-premiere musical that débuted as Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, and

at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco. She also starred as Sutton Foster and was most recently the Associate Music

Miss Dorothy in Prism Theatrics production of Thoroughly Director for the 1st National Broadway Tour of Motown

Modern Millie in Fort Worth, Texas! She is graduate of CAP21’s 2 Year Professional Musical Theater program in NYC. She also received her B.A. at UC Santa STACI ARRIAGA (Choreographer) is so excited to be Cruz in Theater Arts. She has performed extensively in working on this totally awesome show with such a the Bay Area with several companies including 42nd totally rad team! Staci has been teaching dance for 26