The Saratoga Civic Theatre 13777 Fruitvale Ave
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West VaDeyLight Opera Presents Cole Porter's . ME. Directedby ROGER SPIECHER Music & Choral Direction by: Choreographed by: PHIL GARAY JILL EBENHAHN ._001>), liE";"'" ",",,00 b)'. .\IOUXmlRY A CElE "" GENE PINCUS PRODUCTION Bookby Music&LjTicsby: Sam & BellaSpewack ColePorter Performing at The Saratoga Civic Theatre 13777 fruitvale Ave. Saratoga Reservations: (408) 268-3777 Tired of eating in the same old places? Why not try a drive-in? With its exceptiona14-wheel drive traction and suspension system, a Range Rover can take you to settings any 5 star restaurant would envy. Why not visit us soon? And test drive one of the world's most elegant dining cars. San Jose British Motors 4040 STEVENS CREEK BLVD SAN JOSE CA 95129 408/246-7600 West Valley Light Opera Presents Cole Porter's Book by Music & Lyrics hY' Sam & BeUaSpewack Cole Porter Starring ... CATHERINE SHELDON as Kate/Lilli Vanessi and ROBERT GREEN as Petruchio/Fred Graham with LESLIE LANE VICTORIA GRAHAM ROBERT SEDGWICK DAVID LAPHAM JACK FLEMING Featuring RICK FRANK & R. KEITH ALLAUN as The GANGSTERS West Valley Box Office c/o Jean Hutchins saratoga Civic Theater 1411 Redmond Road 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga San Jose, CA 95120 741-9508 1 hour before curtain (408) 268-3777 or 358-1896 PLEASE NOTE: By order of the City Council and the Fire Marshall, smoking, refreshments and recording or taking photographs during performances are not permitted. CAST OF CHARACTERS (In Order of Appearance) Fred Graham/Petruchio Robert Edward Green Harry Trevor/Baptista Jack Fleming Lois Lane/Bianca Leslie Lane Ralph John Huff Lilli Vanessi/Katherine Catherine Sheldon Paul David Michael Lapham Bill Calhoun/Lucentio Robert Sedgwick First Gangster Rick Frank Second Gangster R. Keith Allaun Harrison Howell Bob Mills Gremio Paul Pesek Hortensio :......................... Fritz Allmon ,... Haberdasher Fritz Allmon Ensemble: Fritz Allmon, Diane Broyles, Seri K. Hartshorn, John Huff, David Michael Lapham, Gail Lonzo, Karen Lynne, Marlene Nylander, Paul Pesek, Natasha K. Rezhenkov, Mollie Marie Story, Phyllis M. Tubbs-Prazma, Tiffany Wells, Marjorie Widmer Dancing Ensemble: Fritz Allmon, Victoria Graham, Leslie Lane, Karen Lynne, Paul Pesek, Bob Sedgwick Featuring: Seri Hartshorn, Mollie Marie Story, Tiffany Wells ORCHESTRA STRINGS Lynda Bloomquist Gretchen Spitzer PERCUSSION: Elly Weiser Nancy Welchly Andrew Salsbury Dori Shier PIANO: WOODWINDS: Ken Getz Roberta Howe Marty McHan AUDITION PIANISTS Arlene Jacobs Frank Schader Steven Holmes REHEARSAL PIANISTS Clarence Savage Ken Getz Jordan Selburn Tamara Anderson Kathy Bateman Lindy Barnes Cathie Howard BRASS: Joanna Miller Bill Hunsicker Wanda Saxton Jim Jaffe SYNOPSIS OF SCENES Time & Place: The action of the play takes place in the Ford Theater, Baltimore. It is an extremely hot evening in 1949. The troupe is opening an out of town tryout of a new musical production of "The Taming Of The Shrew". ACT I Overture Orchestra SCENE 1: Backstage Before The Show Overture, "Another Op'nin', Another Show" Hattie & Chorus SCENE 2: Backstage "Why Can't You Behave" Lois & Bill SCENE 3: Dressing Rooms of Fred and Lilli "Wunderbar" Lilli & Fred "So In Love Am I" Lilli SCENE 4: Before the Curtain "We Open In Venice" Katherine, Petruchio, Bianca, Lucentio & Chorus SCENE 5: Street Scene, Padua "Tom, Dick or Harry" Bianca, Lucentio, Hortensio & Gremio "Rose Dance" 'Gazelles', Lucentio "I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua" Petruchio & Men "I Hate Men" Katherine "Were Thine That Special Face" . .. .. .. .. Petruchio SCENE 6: Backstage SCENE 7: Dressing Rooms of Fred & Lilli SCENE 8: Before The Curtain "I Sing Of Love" Bianca, Lucentio, Chorus SCENE 9: Street Scene, Padua "Tarantella" Dancing Ensemble Finale, "Kiss Me, Kate" Katherine, Petruchio, Principals, Chorus INTERMISSION ACT II Entr'acte Orchestra SCENE 1: Backstage 'Too Damn Hot" Paul, Hattie & Chorus SCENE 2: Before The Curtain SCENE 3: Petruchio's House "Where Is The Life That Late I Led" Petruchio SCENE 4: Backstage "Always True To You" Lois SCENE 5: Dressing Rooms of Fred & Lilli SCENE 6: Backstage "Bianca" Bill & Girls "So In Love Am l" (Reprise) Fred SCENE 7: Before The Curtain "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" Gangsters SCENE 8: Street Scene, Padua "Women Are So Simple" Katherine Finale, "So Kiss Me, Kate" Full Company CATHERINE SHELDON - Lillie Vanessi/Katherine A native-born New Yorker, actually a Brooklynite, WVLO welcomes our newest leading lady, Catherine, to our stage. Having started performing while in grade school, Catherine has been in multitudes of shows. She took a ten year break, going to graduate school and embarking on her career. She is very proud of her family, her dad, a retired minister, and her mom, a retired music teacher and choir director. Her mom is also a violinist, and her step-dad, a trumpet player, still playing in bands and orchestras. Catherine's husband, Joel LeClair, whiles away his time when she is at rehearsal and performing, by training their Norwegian Elkhound and fixing up their house, "which has great potential". Catherine has worked locally with Sunnyvale Community Players, Foothill College and Palo Alto Players. Catherine loves working again with the many friends she made in other shows and working with the new folks, too. In the real world, Catherine manages Market Research and Strategic Planning for Inmac in Santa Clara. ROBERT GREEN - Fred/Petruchio A newcomer to the world of musical theater, Robert is making his debut in "Kiss Me, Kate". Hailing from Santa Barbara, Bob has made his home in the bay area, where he earned his BA in music at San Jose State. He also has a teaching crudential and taught English and Special Education classes before turning his hobby of collecting comic books into a business. Bob can be found at local comic book trade shows and conventions and plans to open his own shop next spring. A romantic at heart, Bob married wife Andrea on Valentine's Day a few years ago. A chorus member of the San Francisco Symphony for three years, he has also played the jailer in San Jose Opera's Tosca. In his spare time, Bob works with a bible study group helping with a family homeless shelter. We would like to thank Bob's voice teacher, Catherine Edgerton, for suggesting that he audition for this show. LESLIE LANE - Lois Lane/Bianca Although the name is almost the same, Leslie assures us that Lois Lane is no relation. A native of Central California, with a BA in Theatre from Long Beach State University, lively Leslie has been in Silicon Valley for five years now. She started her on- stage career in the "hot theater town" of Bakersfield over twenty shows ago. Leslie's favorite roles were Luce in "Boys From Syracuse", Martha in "Company", Louisa in "The Fantasticks", Nicky in "Sweet Charity" and a memorable Adelaide in "Guys And Dolls", these last two for WVLO. We sincerely hope Leslie adds Lois/Bianca to her list of favorites. Always a pleasure to work with, Leslie has this to say about working with us: "First I was a natural brunette, then a dizzy blond ...now a randy redhead. What next, bald?" We hope not. Let's see if we can find her a role as a raven haired beauty ... VICTORIA GRAHAM - Hattie We welcome this perky young lady to her first production with WVLO. Although Victoria has been performing for only five years, she is wasting no time in sharing her versatility and talents with local audiences. "Kiss Me, Kate" is Victoria's fourteenth show. Other productions include "Once Upon A Mattress", "Christmas Carol", "West Side Story", "Pirates of Penzance", "Anything Goes", and "Broadway" for West Valley College. "Jacques Brei Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris" and "Life Is A Dream" for City Lights, "Sweeney Todd" and "The Decline And Fall Of The Entire World Through The Eyes Of Cole Porter" for Foothill College, and "Sweeney Todd" for San Jose Civic Light Opera, where she was nominated for the esteemed Ginny award. Victoria studied music at CSU, Fresno, and is continuing her studies with drama at Foothill College and voice with one of our favorites, Joan Stubbe. DAVID LAPHAM - Paul A newcomer to the West Valley Light Opera stage, we welcome David to this production. David was born in Portland, Oregon. He has been in Northern California for 22 years. When not performing, David manages a retreat facility in Pescadero. He started in theater at Foothill College as recently as 1988, taking music and drama classes there. In this short period of time, he performed with Theatreworks' Summer Festival in Palo Alto. David would like to play Paul in "Carnival" and Jesse in "Jesse and the Bandit Queen". When asked what's next, David replied, ''I'm finally taking a dance class, so maybe there's hope." We hope he won't forget us when his flying feet become famous. ~, BOB SEDGWICK - Bill Calhoun/Lucentio A native of Washington, D.C., Bob has lived in the Bay Area for the past twelve years. In 1979, after seeing several performances at this theatre, he thought he would give show business a try and garnered a part in our production of •• "Oklahoma". Since then, Bob played Hortensio in our 1981 production of "Kiss Me, Kate", and two of his favorite roles, Motel, in "Fiddler On The Roof", in 1984, for Saratoga Drama Group, and Matt in "The Fantasticks" for the North Valley Players, as well as other roles in "Hello Dolly" and "Follies" for Saratoga Drama Group, and "Music Man" for CAST. Bob attended Purdue University, and after teaching business law for five years at De Anza College, he began his law practice, specializing in family law. Aside from performing in local musical productions, Bob teaches ballroom dancing. He said that he "enjoys performing whether it's in court, or on stage".