Theatre Palisades by Charles Busch
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Theatre Palisades PRESENTS by Charles Busch Directed by RIa Parody Erlich Producers Martha Hunter & Pat Perkins Set Design Sherman Wayne & William Pitcher Lighting Design Sound Design Sherman Wayne Susan Stangl Costume Design Stage Manager Sherry Coon Josh Harper Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Originally produced by Manhattan Theatre Club on February 8, 2000. Subsequently produced on Broadway by Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynn Meadow, Artistic Director, Barry Grove, Executive Producer, Carol Shorenstein Hays, Daryl Roth, Stuart Thompson and Douglas S. Cramer, opening on November 2, 2000. A Reputation for Results The Edlen Team Hire us to buy or sell and we will donate to eatre Palisades •Nearly 1,300 homes bought and sold •$2 billion in property sold •Celebrating 30 years as the Palisades’ leading agent •Top 1% of all agents in United States 310.230.7373 [email protected] CalBRE#00902158 Cast of Characters (in order of appearance) Mohammed . .Bradley Orok Marjorie . .Lauren Leitner Ira . .Phil Bartolf Frieda . .Lois Bostwick Lee . .Kim Kensington Setting: Manhattan Time: Y2K (Year 2000) ACT I Scene 1: Late morning. Scene 2: A few hours later. Scene 3: A week later. Scene 4: Several days later. Evening. ACT II Scene 1: Two days later. Early evening. Scene 2: The following evening Scene 3: A few days later. Afternoon. There will be one 15-minute intermission Celebrating 12 Years! From my family to yours, THANK YOU for your continued support. Ramis Sadrieh, MBA • Personal Technology Consultant Chamber President 2009-2010 • PAPA President 2011, 2012 TechTechnologynology forfor YouYou!!® Solutions from Us! Dependable, Quality Service • In Home or Office Consulting • Sales • Installation • Maintenance (310) 597-5984 www.technologyforyou.com MAC and PC Hardware/Software Installation, Repair and Training Setup Wireless/Wired Networks and Home-Theater Systems Authorized Dealer of and Computers and Electronics Configure Smartphones, Tablets, and Other Gadgets Production Staff Director . .Ria Parody Erlich Producers . .Martha Hunter, Pat Perkins Stage Manager . .Josh Harper Set Design . .Sherman Wayne, William Pitcher Lighting Design . .Sherman Wayne Sound Design . .Susan Stangl Costume Design . .Sherry Coon Poster Design . .Joanne Reich Properties . .Maria O’Connor Scenic Artist . .Joanne Reich Lighting & Sound Operators . .Andrew Frew, Sherry Coon, Clayton Collins, Dylan Port Set Construction & Painting . .William Pitcher, Rich Little, Sherman Wayne, Nona Hale, Pat Perkins, Josh Harper, Ria Erlich, Zeno Auditions . .Sherry Coon, Shirley Churgin, Josh Harper, Nona Hale Pre-Production . .Sherry Coon Publicity . .Pam Sommer, Ria Parody Erlich Marketing . .Brett Chapin Photography . .Joy Daunis Program Design . .Manfred Hofer Program Facilitator . .Nona Hale Program Advertising . .Eva Holberg Mailing . .Sigrid Hofer, Arnold Hofer Poster Distribution . .Phil Azelton, Eva Holberg, Pam Sommer Box Office Manager . .Diane Grant Feltham House Managers . .Sigrid & Arnold Hofer, Eva Holberg, Sherry Coon, Sylvia Grieb, Gisela Moriarty, Naomi Nedelman, Elaine Noll, Pat Perkins, Pam Sommer Opening Night Reception . .Maria O’Connor, Pat Perkins, Valerie Ruel Special Thanks: Richard Little, Bee Campbell, Bill Minderhout, Yvonne Robertson, Palisades Playwrights Festival Committee Feeling Overwhelmed? Let me help! Turn this . into this! • Home Organizing • Office Organizing • Garage Organizing • Paper Management • Moving Assistance • Personal Assistant • Senior Downsizing • ADD & Hoarding GET ORGANIZED FOR LIFE Nancy Drobnis, MBA Professional Organizer 310.963.3909 [email protected] • www.thelaorganizer.com Director’s Notes The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife is playwright Charles Busch’s first foray into mainstream comedy after penning several campy spoofs including Psycho Beach Party and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, in which he appeared as various female characters. In fact, Allergist’s Wife is based on a one-man show Busch performed, playing an Upper West Side housewife searching for the meaning of life. The play offers large helpings of Woody Allen, Norman Lear, and Neil Simon. However, Busch also was intrigued by the notion of putting many of the people he had known while growing up Jewish in the Manhattan sub- urbs into “a rather cryptic [Edward] Albee or [Harold] Pinter play.” In addition, Busch clearly was inspired by German author Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, about the Buddha’s quest for self-realization and spiritual peace, furthering his desire to use “a mysterious story line with very un-mysterious characters.” As Lynne Meadows, director of the original production said, Allergist’s Wife is “about getting lost somewhere in the mid- dle of life and finding one’s way.” So, I invite you to take this offbeat, hilarious, occasionally outrageous journey with us. Who knows? It might just awaken the Buddha inside you. Special thanks to an exceptionally talented cast who made my job more fun than any director has the right to expect; to co-producers Martha and Pat, who made my life easier; and to stage manager Josh, who was both my right- and left-hand man. Couldn’t have done it without you. And, as always, thanks to Shel, my ever-supportive partner on my per- sonal journey to self-fulfillment. I love you! — Ria Parody Erlich OUR NEXT PRODUCTION: PICNIC By William Inge Directed by Sherman Wayne JANUARY 13 – FEBRUARY 19, 2017 Auditions Saturday, November 12 & Tuesday, November 15 Please see www.theatrepalisades.org for details SERVING DINNER NIGHTLY 4:30-10 Sun.-Thurs. 4:30-11 Fri.-Sat. Sunday Brunch 11-3 Early Bird Menu Special Menu Complete Dinners 4:30-7 Mon.-Fri. 170 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica Canyon 310.230.0402 GOLDENBULL.US PALISADES PLUMBING INCORPORATED — State Lic.#385995 HONESTY INTEGRITY PROFESSIONAL WORKMANSHIP Repair Work • Alterations • Sprinkler Systems Appliance Installation • Re-piping Specialists Storm Drain, Sewer, All-Drain Cleaning Certified Seismic (Earthquake) Valves Installed 16626 Marquez Ave., Pacific Palisades (310) 454-5548 Members of the Cast Phil Bartolf (Ira Taub) is the proud grandfather of Harper (4) and Graham (1), and now Dusty Rose Levine, born Sep- tember 21. This is his eighth appearance on our stage. Favorite roles include The Diary of Anne Frank (Otto Frank), The Tem- pest (Prospero), Rumors (Lenny), Moonlight and Magnolias (David O. Selznick), 12 Angry Men (Juror 8). T/P Awards: Fea- tured Actor in Rumors, Lead Actor in 12 Angry Men and Lead Actor in Anne Frank. Love to my wife of 23 years, Patsy! Lois Bostwick (Frieda Tuchman) received training at North- western University and the Jean Shelton Acting School. She has appeared in a variety of productions including favorites Lysistrata, The Music Man, Picnic, Ah Wilderness!, Morning’s at 7 and Fifth of July. At the Morgan-Wixson Theater Lois received a Best Actress award for her role in Shadow Box. Her most recent roles were in Social Security and The Foreigner at the Morgan and Rabbit Hole with the Kentwood Players. Dear Theatre-Goers, Thank you for shopping in the Palisades. Enjoy the show! 15330 Antioch St. • (310) 459-7963 palisadeschamber.com Special Moments Exquisite Lingerie (310) 454-8199 873 Via de la Paz Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 LAW OFFICES OF LAW R E N C E H. DAMM Attorney at Law Certified Public Accountant 15200 Sunset Blvd., Ste. 209 Tel.: 459-5784 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Fax: 459-1606 ••EstatePlanning,Wills,Trusts,Probate•• ••Income,Estate&GiftTaxMatters•• ServingPacificPalisadesfromthislocationsince1986 15321 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 P: 800.899.6107 F: 310.454.6941 310.454.8027 www.palisadesflowers.com Kim Kensington (Lee Green) is thrilled to make her Theatre Palisades debut. Previous roles include lots of ingénues, char- acters with British accents, and her favorite, the dog Sylvia. In commercials she tends to get wet (a surfer with her dog for Milk-Bone and a synchronized swimmer for Vicks Cough & Cold). Fortunately, she remained dry in six episodes of Untold Stories of the ER, the film The Prankster and, usually, as a psychologist for adults with ADHD. Lauren Leitner (Marjorie Taub) is ecstatic and honored to be part of this intimate cast of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. Her last appearance on the Pierson Playhouse stage was in South Pacific. A native of Los Angeles, Lauren moved to New Orleans for about seven years but missed the L.A. theatre scene. Past projects include The Recreation of Man and Woman, a play she wrote and performed. She thanks our director for her trust and collaboration. Bradley Orok (Mohammed) is a native Californian and thrilled to be a part of Theatre Palisades for the first time. He has been seen in the television series True Nightmares and independent films such as Behavior and Spellbind. His recent theatre credits include Under Fire: Stories of Combat Veter- ans, Key Exchange and Footloose, The Musical. Bradley enjoys playing guitar and traveling. He has a B.A. in psychology from UC Riverside with a minor in theatre. About the Playwright Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which ran five years and is one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway and won Mr. Busch the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award and received a Tony nomina- tion for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Perform- ance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. Mr. Busch made his directorial debut with the film A Very Serious Person, which pre- miered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won an honorable mention. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch. Palisades Symphony Directed by Joel B.