THE GREAT SOCIETY 2017/18 SEASON COMING IN 2018 TO ARENA STAGE Part of the Women’s American Masterpiece Voices Theater Festival SOVEREIGNTY AUGUST WILSON’S NOW PLAYING THROUGH FEBRUARY 18 TWO TRAINS Epic Political Thrill Ride RUNNING THE GREAT SOCIETY MARCH 30 — APRIL 29 NOW PLAYING THROUGH MARCH 11 World-Premiere Musical Inspirational True Story SNOW CHILD HOLD THESE TRUTHS APRIL 13 — MAY 20 FEBRUARY 23 — APRIL 8 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 202-488-3300 ARENASTAGE.ORG THE GREAT SOCIETY TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 Artistically Speaking 5 From the Executive Director 6 Molly Smith’s 20th Anniversary Season 9 Dramaturg’s Note 11 Title Page 13 Time / Cast List 15 Bios — Cast 19 Bios — Creative Team 21 For this Production 23 Arena Stage Leadership ARENA STAGE 1101 Sixth Street SW Washington, DC 20024-2461 24 Board of Trustees / Theatre Forward ADMINISTRATION 202-554-9066 SALES OFFICE 202-488-3300 TTY 202-484-0247 25 Full Circle Society arenastage.org 26 Thank You — The Annual Fund © 2018 Arena Stage. All editorial and advertising material is fully protected and must not 29 Thank You — Institutional Donors be reproduced in any manner without written permission. 30 Theater Staff The Great Society Program Book Published February 2, 2018 Cover Illustration by Richard Davies Tom Program Book Staff Amy Horan, Associate Director of Marketing Shawn Helm, Graphic Designer 2017/18 SEASON 3 ARTISTICALLY SPEAKING Historians often argue whether history is cyclical or linear. The Great Society makes an argument for both sides of this dispute. Taking place during the most tumultuous days in Lyndon Baines Johnson’s (LBJ) second term, this play depicts the president fighting wars both at home and abroad as he faces opposition to his domestic programs and the role of the United States in the Vietnam War. In 2018, 50 years later, we are again returning to discussions of the value of these domestic programs. Some representatives have suggested that their legislative plans for the new year include gutting programs like Medicare and Medicaid, two of the Johnson administration’s most celebrated accomplishments. America’s role in foreign affairs is in question and the threat of additional warfare keeps our country on edge. We are at a critical turning point and this is a time when all our voices need to be heard. Speak up, speak out and use your first amendment rights to exercise free speech. In some ways, The Great Society proves that we have made strides as a republic. Despite the struggles dramatized in both this play and its predecessor All the Way, Johnson was able to pass many important bills into law. Major legislative accomplishments of his administration included The Civil Rights Acts, Voting Rights Act, Clean Air Act, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. While these laws have helped the country progress in insurmountable ways, will they endure? 2017 saw a blatant disregard for our environment as regulations and agreements put into place to protect our natural landscape were scrapped, including the reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments. Even before the current administration came to power, a 2013 Supreme Court decision struck down one of the key elements of the Voting Rights Act. The 5-4 decision determined that states no longer needed federal approval before changing voting rights laws. This decision resulted in nine states drastically changing their election laws, the impact of which many believe will be felt primarily by minority communities. How can we continue to build upon our country’s history to ensure that the legislative choices we make propel us toward a more mindful, unified nation? I can think of no better artists to help us contemplate these very questions than the team assembled for this production. I am pleased to welcome back playwright Robert Schenkkan, director Kyle Donnelly and leading actor Jack Willis (LBJ) to anchor this show alongside many returning actors from the 2016 production of All the Way. I can’t wait for you to see how they tackle the next chapter of this electrifying story. Where else but in Washington D.C. can you see stories of our American history resonate with a new fervor due to the work of individuals mere miles away from where we sit right now? This is the most exciting time in my life to be making theater and I’m thrilled you’ve chosen Arena to experience it. Many thanks, Molly Smith, Artistic Director 4 2017/18 SEASON FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In 1965, President Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act into law, creating the National Endowment for the Arts. Upon signing, he remarked, “It is in the neighborhoods of each community that a nation’s art is born… The arts and the humanities belong to the people, for it is, after all, the people who create them.” A similar sentiment was shared by our founder, Zelda Fichandler, who fifteen years prior to that in 1950, established Arena Stage with the belief that there should be a professional theater outside of New York City. One of the core values of our mission statement is to “strive to instill in the public a life-long love and participation in the theater arts.” Today at Arena Stage, we build upon the work of President Johnson and Zelda Fichandler to create an appreciation and commitment to the arts in our community. This season, we’re proud to have nearly 14,000 subscribers who make a commitment to attend multiple Arena Stage productions throughout our season. Nearly half of those subscribers are full-season subscribers, attending all 8 (or as many as 10!) productions in Arena’s season. Considering when we first opened, and advancements in technology since then, we unfortunately have no documented way to confirm how long some of our patrons have been coming to Arena. What we do have is assurance from numerous patrons who share with us that they have been attending for 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years. This November, I received a letter from a subscriber who has been coming to Arena since its opening at the Hippodrome 68 years ago. Talk about life-long participation! We see a similar level of commitment and love for the theater through our volunteer usher program. We have a fantastic team of over 1,400 hardworking ushers who, together, volunteer over 60,000 hours per season to ensure that our audiences have a smooth and satisfying theatergoing experience. We actively work to instill a love for theater in the next generation through Camp Arena Stage, the D.C. Ticket Partnership, Voices of Now and Moving Stories. This past summer, we welcomed over 3,000 students from preschool to age 18 and watched them grow as artists and individuals. We are laying the groundwork so that they view the arts as an avenue for expression, empathy, and enjoyment throughout their lives. We strive to build a robust artistic community through enduring relationships with D.C. based actors, musicians, and stage managers. This season, we’ve employed 67 local artists, and 570 since moving into the Mead Center in 2010. Theater is always about community. It is our hope that the community at large will see Arena Stage as a place where they can experience the best theater that Washington, D.C. has to offer, both now and for years to come. Thank you for continuing your life-long commitment to the arts, or perhaps just the beginning of what I’m certain will be a fruitful and extended relationship! Thanks for reading, Edgar Dobie, Executive Director [email protected] 2017/18 SEASON 5 MOLLY SMITH’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON THE AMERICAN MUSICAL AT ARENA STAGE The musical is America at our best — optimistic, vibrant and bursting with life. This robust art form is in the bones of American culture. It is unpretentious, full-bodied, forward-looking. WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE Over the past 20 years, Molly's musicals have Molly noted in her program note, “This is the delighted critics and audiences alike, all while story of community. I can’t think of any story digging deeper — interrogating racism in more powerful to tell than a story like this one. South Pacific, examining loyalty and betrayal Whether you live in Arlington or SW Washington, in Camelot and reflecting on the cultural when individuals come together as a community, divide in Oklahoma!. extraordinary change can happen. These stories are about a search for something larger and the courage it takes to make change.” Photo of Tina Fabrique (right) and members of the ensemble by Scott Suchman. 1998 2002 / 03 2007 / 08 season season SOUTH PACIFIC Five years after becoming Artistic Director, Molly Smith took a personal and professional leap by tackling Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece South Pacific — her first musical. The risk paid off and Molly's “robustly entertaining” (The Washington Post) production changed the artistic landscape of Arena Stage. Photo of Kate Baldwin and members of the ensemble by Scott Suchman. 6 2017/18 SEASON MOLLY SMITH’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON Molly’s 20th Anniversary articles are joyously sponsored by Andrew R. Ammerman. MY FAIR LADY “My Fair Lady is a potent story about class — and the rigid social structures which confine us. In a world increasingly blown apart by the dynamics of the very rich and the very poor, this musical hits the sweet spot of our contemporary awareness of class. Until the last ten years, most Americans believed there was no separation of class. Now, with the Occupy movement and the Great Recession, the curtain has been raised.” Molly shared in her program note.