Dear Liar by Jerome Kilty Based on the Correspondence of Bernard Shaw and Mrs
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Dear Liar by Jerome Kilty Based on the correspondence of Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell June 3, 8, 11 , 12 Performed by De ANN MEARS and DAKIN MATTHEWS 8:00p.m. Kennedy Theatre Directed by .... ... ...... .. .. ... .... ..... .. James Edmondson June 6 Lighting by ................. ... ............ .. .. .. Joseph Appelt 2:00p.m. Kennedy Theatre De Ann Mear's costumes courtesy of Burry Frederick, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego. ACT I Covers the period 1899 to 1914 ACT II From 1914 to 1939 There will be a twelve-minute intermission. DON'T MISS ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST! The American Conservatory Theatre presents Another Part of the Forest by Lillian Hellman on June 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 13 at 8 p.m. and on June 5, 12 and 13 at 2 p.m. An encore to last season's standing-room-only performances of The Little Foxes, Hellman's second play about the ruthless Hubbard clan takes Regina, Ben, Oscar and the other characters from Foxes back in time twenty years to 1880 when their parents are still alive, revealing the roots of their greed and fascinating nastiness. Tickets for this compelling drama laced with sardonic laughter are available at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office and all HITS locations (no service charge). Call 948-7655 for details. PROGRAM NOTES The great Irish pl aywright George Bernard Shaw once remarked that "a man should have one woman to prevent him from thinking about women in general." Most of his life, Shaw did confine his thoughts to one woman, or, if you count the wife to whom he was also devoted, two women. The "other woman" in Shaw's heart and mind was Stella Campbell, better known to audiences in Britain and America, where she was a leading stage actress, as Mrs. Patrick Campbell. In 1899, Mrs. Pat and Shaw began a correspondence that lasted over 40 years. Comprising hundreds of pages, the letters recall Mrs. Pat's performance as Eliza Doolittle in the original production of Pygmalion, the years during which Shaw ranted at the idiocy of a world at war, and the post-war years when Mrs. Pat found herself a star of the past. Jerome Kilty's Dear Liar captures these two divine Victorian egotists as they passionately lock horn s in epistolary combat. Premiering in Berlin in 1959, the play was brought to Broadway the following year in a production starring Kathari ne Cornell and Brian Ahearne and directed by the playwright. Mr. Kilty also directed his play for the American Conservatory Theatre's first San Francisco season in 1967. Over the years, Dear Liar has been performed around the world and in every European language including Flemish, Dutch, Welsh, Gaelic and Finnish. Dear Liar brings to life two ardent lovers and writers of letters, in in addition to providing an enchanted evening with Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Pat. The play brings to our attention a time when writing letters was the conventional means by wh ich people communicated over long distances. Even better than photography which reminds us of the past only by showing how it looked, letters allow our memories to speak, giving voice to those in whose handwritings we are addressed. DeAN N MEARS, a charter member of the American Conservatory Theatre, returned last season to playing the leading role in Tom Stoppard's Night and Day, Cassandra in The Trojan War Will Not Take Place, and Olga in The Three Sisters. She toured to Hawaii in 1979 in the leading role in A Month in the Country. Her New York credits include Abelard and Heloise, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dear Liar and A.C.T.'s Tiny Alice. She co-starred with Julie Harris in the National Company of And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little. A guest artist at leading American regional theatres, Miss Mears starred with Michael Landon in the television movie, "The Loneliest Runner." DAKIN MATTHEWS is in his second season at the American Conservatory Theatre and has been seen in The Three Sisters, as well as this summer's Hawaii productions of Another Part of the Forest. He was a founding member of John Houseman's Acting Company and a teacher in the Juilliard Drama Division. He also was artistic director of the California Actors Theatre in the South Bay. Mr. Matthews has been a leading actor with the Berkeley Stage Company, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, the Marin Shakespeare Festival, the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival and the San Diego Shakespeare Festival. He has been a frequent guest artist in Bay Area colleges and universities and is associate professor of English and Drama at California State University in Hayward. JAMES EDMONDSON (Director) is a guest director with the American Conservatory Theatre this season. He made his debut with the acclaimed productions of The Browning Version and Black Comedy. This past season, he directed Henry IV, Part One at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. His previous credits include the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. As an actor, he has appeared with the Oregon Shakespearean Festival in Death of a Saleman, Richard Ill, Of Mice and Men, The Merchant of Venice, and The Time of Your Life. FRIENDS OF TH E AMERICAN Mrs. Frank A. McKinley Monty Scharbow CONSERVATORY TH EATR E May Anne Megan Robert J. Sherwood H.L. Miller. Jr. Karen Shimane The contributions of th e following individuals and Eleanor A. Miyake Fred Shockey corporati ons make possible the outstanding Evelyn S. Miyake C.R. Short theatre you are seeing presented by the American Sharon Miyashita Richard Smart Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco. Laura Nakagawa John S. Spangler Special thanks go to the University of Hawaii Lee T. Nakamura Oliver Statler Margaret Naluai Betty I. Suenaga Foundation, lnterArts Hawaii , and the Glenn M. Nutt Mr. & Mrs. E. Takahashi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Harold H. Oshiro Andre S. Tatibouet We gratefully acknowledge all donations received Mr. & Mrs. R. Bryan Owen Jeffery M. Taylor by the time of this printing and thank all contributors T.C. & V. Owens Beatrice Tesch not herein noted because of printing deadlines. David P. Penhallow Ca th ie Jordan Tharp Mr. & Mrs. K. L. Peterson Rene Tillich Joan J. Pollio Sharman Torkildson Granville Abbott Arthur C. Hallan Zena Polly Mavis Tracy Marcell W. Ach Mr. & Mrs. W.H. Hamblin Patricia Reile Ellen M. Underwood Nancy K. Akamine Mrs. J.J. Harding John Reinecke Theodore R. Weber Peggy S. Akita Janet K. Hayes Dr. & Mrs. Kent A. Reinker Miss V. Westgate Mr. & Mrs. Igor All an Mark A. Hazlett M. Rice Alfred E. White Larry Anderson Lani Hearn Mrs. R.W. Ri pple Mrs. P.M. Whitney Robert J. Armbruster Mr. & Mrs. Arthur J.K. Hee Mr. & Mrs. G.A. Roberts Sara N. Wilkinson Marian B. Bahrenburg Beve rly Heener Rohr Development S.E. Woolley Laurence Biller Stanley C. Heywook Mildred S. Rohter Frances M. Yamaki Dorothy S. Billingsley Robert M. Hemings, Jr. Jean Rolles Charlene H. Yatsushiro Patricia H. Binkley Edward A. Holmstrom Caryn Roscoe Lynne Yoshimura Dr. Roger B. Brault Margaret Holton J.W. Russell Fred Yost Robert Brilliande Bernard L. Horman Ella Sathcart Mrs. Reynolds Burkland Dr. Helmuth Hormann Robert F. Burns Mrs. James E. Howard Mrs. Russell Cades John S. Howe, Jr. A.C.T . HAWAII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Lu ci lle 0 . Caple Mr. & Mrs. Gilman Hu Communications-Pacific, Inc.; Lowell Greer; Dr. AI Carr Joanne M. lmada Hawaii Performing Arts Company; Hawaii State Bertha V. Chappell Harvey lwamura Theatre Council; HITS Tickets: Bruce Alexander, Mrs. Madeline B. Childs Patricia A. Jacobs Box Office Manager; Honolulu Advertiser; Sam Chung Dora Jacroux Honolulu Community Theatre; Honolulu Publishing Joan Clarke Martin E. Jansson Company; Honolulu Star·Bulletin; lnterArts Hawaii: B.E. Coleman Oscar Jasper Marian Kerr, Executive Director; Carl Hefner, Diane and Dennis Condray Donald D. Johnson M. Gay Conklin Leona Jona Assistant Director; Nancy Jakus; Kennedy Theatre: Dorothy D. Craven Deborah S. Jones Glenn Cannon, Takeo Miji; National Endowment R.D. Crocket1 Elissa Josephsohn for the Arts; Pacific Bindery; State Foundation on Michael W. Dabney Alice K. Kea Culture and the Arts: Sarah Ri chards, Executive Joseph M. Dacey Mrs. Robert Kim Director; Tongg Publishing Co., Ltd; University Alicia Davies Donna Kishi of Hawaii Foundation: Don Mair, Director Orrel Davis Sumiye Konoshima of Development; The Westin llikai: Thomas Dr. Harold H. Deabler Susan W. Kowen Gurtner, General Manager; KHON; and K·59 De Lone Krishna Kumar Helen L. DeZwarte Bennett M.K. Lau STAFF FOR THE AMERICAN CONSERVATORY Phoebe Ellett Mr. & Mrs. H.W. Lawrence THEATRE HAWAII RESIDENCY Barbara Engle 0 . Max Lehman Cdr. Jack L. Erickson Mary M. Lillie William Ball, General Director Barbara Farwell Sandy Long James B. McKenzie, Exe cutive Producer Thomas J. Ferguson David S. Lyman Benjamin Moore, General Manager Marion Francis Mrs. Boyd MacNaughton J.W. Frierson Esther Marks James Haire, Production Stage Manager Mrs. Kikue Fujita Eleanore Terry Mason Karen Van Zandt, Stage Manager Donna Fukuroku T.P. Mastin Ed Raymond, Master Carpenter Dr. Robert E. Gibson Margo H. Masuda Marion Glober Melvyn S. Masuda Daniel Michalske, Ma ster Electrician Ronald Goo Laura K. Matsuda Donald Long·Hurst, Wardrobe Supervisor Arien B. Grabbe Y.K. Mau Richard Echols, Wigmaster RAdm & Mrs. E. A. Grantham Di ane Saari McCall Dorothy E. Guenther Christopher E. McEwen Elissa Josephsohn, A. C. T. Hawaii Representative R.W. Gushman Graeme Mcintosh Pat Guy Marion McKay Mahalo to Vintage Australian Wine for opening night. INTERARTS COUNCIL Cecily F. Johnston Orvis Auditorium J. Russell & Charlotte Cades Harvey & Betsy Lee Denise Miyahana, Publicity Director Ann a Chung Helen Noh Lee Ruth Oh, Publicity Assistant George & Joanna Fan Ellen Masaki Leeward Community College Theatre James & Page Foster Alwyn & Helene Morisako Donald J.