IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE A HolidAy SpeciAl in Song And on Screen REFLECTIONSA PERFORMANCE OFON SCREEN MOLLY BLOOM IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE CHARLOTTE MOORE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | CIARÁN O’REILLY, PRODUCING DIRECTOR MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS A HOLIDAY SPECIAL IN SONG AND ON SCREEN SONGS BY BOOK BY HUGH MARTIN & HUGH WHEELER RALPH BLANE BASED ON THE KENSINGTON STORIES BY SALLY BENSON AND THE MGM MOTION PICTURE MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS ADAPTED & DIRECTED BY CHARLOTTE MOORE MUSIC DIRECTION BY ORCHESTRATIONS BY JOHN BELL JOSH CLAYTON PRODUCED BY CIARÁN O’REILLY WITH SHEREEN AHMED, WILLIAM BELLAMY, RUFUS COLLINS, KERRY CONTE, MELISSA ERRICO, ALI EWOLDT, KATHY FITZGERALD, IAN HOLCOMB, AUSTYN JOHNSON, JAY AUBREY JONES, KYLIE KUIOKA, ASHLEY ROBINSON, AND MAX VON ESSEN edited by scenic design sound design, mix & music lighting design costume consultant MERIDITH CHARLIE M. FLORIAN MICHAEL TRACY SOMMERS CORCORAN STAAB GOTTLIEB CHRISTENSEN production manager production coordinator press representatives general manager BRANDON PAMELA MATT ROSS LISA CHENEY BRUSOSKI PUBLIC RELATIONS FANE SONGS BY MARTIN AND BLANE PUBLISHED BY EMI FEIST CATALOG, INC. PRODUCED FOR THE BROADWAY STAGE BY BRICKHILL-BURKE PRODUCTIONS, CHRISTOPHER SEABROOKE AND EPI PRODUCTS THIS PRODUCTION IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS, THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, AND OTHER PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AND CORPORATIONS, AND WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE MANY GENEROUS MEMBERS OF IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE’S PATRON’S CIRCLE. CAST Esther Smith Shereen Ahmed Lon Smith William Bellamy MEET ME IN Alonzo Smith Rufus Collins Lucille Ballard Kerry Conte Anna Smith Melissa Errico Rose Smith Ali Ewoldt ST. LOUIS Katie Kathy Fitzgerald A HOLIDAY SPECIAL IN SONG AND ON SCREEN Warren Sheffield Ian Holcomb Agnes Austyn Johnson Grandpa Jay Aubrey Jones Tootie Kylie Kuioka Postman, Trolley Man, Richard Ashley Robinson John Truitt Max Von Essen TIME & PLACE St. Louis, Missouri, 1903-1904 Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes, including a 10 minute intermission. SPECIAL THANKS Irish Rep would like to thank Patrick McEnroe, Jim Morgan, the Howard Gilman Foundation and Theatre Development Fund for their support of the season. Irish Rep would also like to thank Steinway & Co. Piano Company. Made possible in part by Debby and Rocco Landesman. Meet Me in St. Louis is produced under the 2020 SAG -AFTRA New Media Agreement. RUNNING ORDER ACT 1 Overture Orchestra and Chorus Meet Me in St. Louis Smith Family The Boy Next Door Esther Reprise: Meet Me in St. Louis Smith Family You’ll Hear a Bell Mrs. Smith Drunk Song Tootie and Agnes Over the Banister John and Esther The Trolley Song Esther and Chorus ACT 2 Entr'acte Orchestra A Touch of the Irish Katie, Esther, and Rose Reprise: The Boy Next Door John and Esther Reprise: You’ll Hear a Bell Mrs. Smith Wasn't It Fun? Mr. and Mrs. Smith Christmas Waltz Orchestra Auld Lang Syne Orchestra The First Noel Orchestra Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Esther Reprise: Meet Me in St. Louis Full Company ORCHESTRA Piano/Conductor John Bell Woodwinds Jeremy Clayton Percussion Joshua Mark Samuels Harp Karen Lindquist Violin Suzy Perelman Cello Melanie Mason Bass John Convertino Music Assistant Adam Beskind WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST SHEREEN AHMED (Esther Aristocrats and The Quare Land. Off- Smith) Shereen Ahmed is Broadway: Road to Damascus, The currently starring as Eliza Seagull, Orson’s Shadow, House and Doolittle in the first nation- Garden. Regional: Lifespan of a Fact al tour of My Fair Lady. (Hartford Theater Works,) My Fair Lady Broadway: Lincoln Center and Gypsy (Sharon Playhouse) Venus in Theater’s revival of My Fair Lady (OBC) Fur (Goodman), Seminar (Philadelphia understudying Eliza Doolittle. TV credits Theatre Co.) Michael Von Seibenburg include New Amsterdam (NBC). She Melts Through the Floorboards holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology (Humana), The Old Masters (Long & Anthropology with a concentration in Wharf), The Autumn Garden and Criminal Justice from Towson University. Dissonance (Williamstown), The Real She has been recognized as one of the Thing and Sherlock’s Last Case ’40 Under 40’ people of influence in the (Huntington), In This Corner (Old Globe), US by the Arab American Foundation. Dinner with Friends, Hedda Gabler, Indian Ink, The Ruling Class, Macbeth. WILLIAM BELLAMY (Lon Film: After the Wedding, The Geezer, Smith) Off-Broadway: On a Wanted, Joshua, Milia. Television: “The Clear Day You Can See Deuce,” “Madam Secretary” Forever (Hubert, Dir. by “Elementary,” “Mysteries of Laura,” Charlotte Moore), Finian's “Forever,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” “Law Rainbow (Dir. by Charlotte & Order.” Rufus studied acting at the Moore), The Emperor Jones (Dance Cpt, Central School of Speech and Drama in Dir. by Ciaran O’Rielly) 2017 Outer London. Critics Circle award recipient for Best Revival of a Play. Pace University Musical KERRY CONTE (Lucille Theatre Class of 2016. Proud member of Ballard) Kerry is so happy AEA. IG: @W__illy @SeeOurTruths to be back home at Irish “Reformative is Performative” Rep after appearing in Meet Me in St Louis (as RUFUS COLLINS (Alonzo Lucille in 2006), Ernest in Smith) Broadway: The Love, The Irish…and How They Got That Royal Family, To Be or Not Way, A Child’s Christmas in Wales. To Be, A Day in the Death of National Tour: White Christmas (Betty), Joe Egg, An Ideal Husband, Mary Poppins (Winifred Banks/us Mary), The Homecoming. San Francisco: Roman Holiday, Off- Previously at Irish Rep: The Dead 1904, Broadway: Encores!, York Theatre, 92nd WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST St Y. Regional: Theatre by the Sea, North recorded.” Nominated for a Tony for her Shore, MT Wichita, Wichita Symphony, appearance in Michel Legrand’s only City Springs Theatre, Muny, New London Broadway musical, Amour, she was Barn. A thousand thanks to Charlotte, asked to write the eulogy to Legrand in Ciarn, John Bell, and everyone at Irish The New York Times in 2019; while, that Rep. Love to Ma and brother Joe. Always fall, Ghostlight Records reissued an for Dad. kerryconte.com expanded version of her symphonic album, which Legrand arranged and MELISSA ERRICO (Anna conducted, as Legrand Affair Deluxe Smith) “The Maria Callas Edition. She is currently working on her of American musical first book, a memoir tentatively titled theater,” as Opera News Terminal Ingenue. has called her, referencing both her silken voice and ALI EWOLDT (Rose Smith) dramatic, expressive intensity, Melissa Ali Ewoldt has appeared as Errico’s career is characterized by a Christine Daaé in The dazzling range of passions as actress, Phantom of the Opera on singer, and author. She is thrilled to Broadway, Cosette in Les return to Irish Rep where she has starred Miserables (Broadway, in numerous productions including her National Tour), The King and I (Broadway, Drama Desk Award-nominated Tour, Lyric Opera of Chicago), Maria in performances in The Importance of West Side Story (National Tour, Being Earnest and Candida, and playing International Tour, PCLO, The Muny, Sharon in the musical Finian’s Rainbow MTWichita) and Luisa in The Fantasticks twice (the second time she chronicled in (Off-Broadway). Regionally, she has an essay for The New York Times). Most played Philia in A Funny Thing Happened recently she starred as Daisy Gamble in on the Way to the Forum (The Muny), Irish Rep’s acclaimed production of On A Fan/Mrs. Bonds in A Christmas Carol Clear Day You Can See Forever (which (McCarter Theatre), Martha Jefferson in she also explored in an essay for The 1776 (The Muny) and Sarah Brown in New York Times in a pioneering piece on Guys and Dolls (Sacramento Music the sexual gender stereotypes in Circus). Ali’s concert/symphony work American musicals). Also known for her includes: Feinstein's/54 Below, Alice starring roles on Broadway, her recent Tully Hall, The Town Hall, Canyon Ranch, tribute album, Sondheim Sublime, was NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, American called by The Wall Street Journal “The Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony, best all-Sondheim album ever Kaohsiung Symphony and The Boston WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST Pops with Maestro Keith Lockhart. Her IAN HOLCOMB (Warren TV/Film credits include "The Michael J. Sheffield) Off-Broadway : Fox Show," "Yield," and the short films London Assurance, It’s A "Mia" and "The Cactus." Ali has a BA in Wonderful Life, Ernest In psychology from Yale University and is a Love (Irish Repertory proud Filipina-American. @aliewoldt Theatre), Murder In The First (The Directors Company), The KATHY FITZGERALD (Katie) Broken Heart, Macbeth (Theatre For A Broadway: Charlie and the New Audience), Transport (Irish Arts Chocolate Factory (as Mrs. Center), EightyThree Down (Under St Gloop); The original Marks) Regional: Stupid F#*@ing Bird company of The Producers (Syracuse Stage/Portland Center (as Shirley Markowitz) Stage) The Great Gatsby (Virginia starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Stage), A Midsummer Night’s Dream Kathy Fitzgerald Broderick, winning 1 / 1 the most Tonys in (Geva Theater), Dial ‘M’ For Murder Broadway history. Swinging on a Star (Dorset Theatre Festival), A Midsummer (Drama Desk Nom. Best Featured Night’s Dream (Guthrie Theater) Dying Actress) 9 to 5 (as Roz; Outer Critics City (Bottling Company) Ghosts Nom.) with Allison Janney. Kathy has (Commonweal Theatre.) Television/ also performed over two thousand Web : “CoExisting,”“#ThatThingFromB performances of Wicked on Broadway efore,” “BOKtv,” Onion News Network and the National tour as Madame Workshops: Look Upon Our Lowliness Morrible (Broadway World Award.) Off- (New York Theatre Workshop), Broadway; Damn Yankees (as Doris) Measured (The Public Theatre), This Encores with Sean Hayes. Disaster at Bitter Earth (TOSOS) We Are Continuous Triad; Donnybrook at Irish Rep. Regionally (Playwrights Center) Training: Kathy has worked at The Muny, McCarter, University of MN/Guthrie Theater BFA and the Goodspeed Opera House.TV/ Actor Training Program.