THE FLEA THEATER NIEGEL SMITH, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR CAROL OSTROW, PRODUCING DIRECTOR PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE FRE BY TAYLOR MAC DIRECTED BY NIEGEL SMITH FEATURING THE BATS RYAN CHITTAPHONG, GEORGIA KATE COHEN, JON EDWARD COOK, ADAM COY, JOSEPH DALFONSO, NATE DECOOK, URE EGBUHO, JOAN MARIE, ALEX J. MORENO, MARCUS JONES, DRITA KABASHI, MATTHEW MACCA, CESAR MUNOZ, YVONNE JESSICA PRUITT, SARAH ALICE SHULL, LAMBERT TAMIN JIAN JUNG SCENIC DESIGNER MACHINE DAZZLE COSTUME DESIGNER XAVIER PIERCE LIGHTING DESIGNER MATT RAY COMPOSER, MUSIC DIRECTOR & SOUND DESIGNER SARAH EAST JOHNSON CHOREOGRAPHER ADAM J. THOMPSON VIDEO DESIGNER KRISTAN SEEMEL AssOCIATE DIRECTOR SOOA KIM AssOCIATE VIDEO DESIGNER REBECCA APARCIO & SARAH JANE SCHOSTACK AssISTANT DIRECTORS CORI WILLIAMS AssISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER & PROPERTIES DESIGNER HALEY GORDON PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER CAST Hero............................................Ryan Chittaphong / Lambert Tamin Frankie Fre ..................................... Joseph Dalfonso / Alex J. Moreno Taylor Fre..................................Drita Kabashi / Yvonne Jessica Pruitt Maggie Fre..............................Geogia Kate Cohen / Sarah Alice Shull Bobby Fre (Frankie Fre U/S) ...........................................Nate DeCook Bobby Fre (Hero U/S) .....................................................Cesar Munoz Billy Fre ................................................Jon Edward Cook / Adam Coy Franny Fre ...................................................Ure Egbuho / Joan Marie Brody Fre ..........................................Matthew Macca / Marcus Jones SPECIAL THANKS Elissa Adams, Jocelyn Clarke, Jude Clarke, Eric Ehn, Andy Grotelueschen, Philip Himberg, Matthew Kittredge,Morgan Jenness, Steven Dean Moore, Lisa Peterson, Patt Scarlett, Thomas Shean, Joe Silovsky, Tony Torn, The Children’s Theater Company, New Dramatists, The Map Grant, Sundance Theater Lab THE FLEA THEATER The Fre THE FLEA THEATER ABOUT THE PLAY In the land of two bridges The Fre, a rambunctious group of fun loving anti-intellectuals spend their days cavorting in the mud. Into their midst descends Hero, a dandy aesthete, who longs to cut the bridge and finally escape the mud pit. But first he must convince the leader Frankie Fre and the other fatuous inhabitants that there is a better life outside of the swamp. In this queer love story, audiences will literally and figuratively jump into the mud with the Fre to hash out the current cultural divide. 3 This program is supported, in part, by public funds 2 from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. CREATIVE TEAM Playwright.........................................................................................Taylor Mac Director..........................................................................................Niegel Smith Scenic Designer...................................................................................Jian Jung Costume Designer......................................................................Machine Dazzle Lighting Designer..........................................................................Xavier Pierce Composer, Music Director & Sound Designer........................................Matt Ray Choreographer.....................................................................Sarah East Johnson Video Designer.......................................................................Adam J. Thompson Associate Director.......................................................................Kristan Seemel Associate Video Designer.....................................................................SooA Kim Associate Lighting Designer & Programmer......................................Ryan Stofa Assistant Directors.............................Rebecca Aparicio & Sarah Jane Schostack Assistant Scenic Designer & Properties Designer ...........................Cori Williams Properties Assistant........................................................................Lucy Cooper Assistant Costume Designer.......................................................Adrienne Smith The Fre Costume Assistant .......................................................................Irene Delgado Assistant Lighting Designer.......................................................Aaliyah Stewart Assistant Sound Designer........................................................Germán Martínez Production Stage Manager ............................................................Haley Gordon Assistant Stage Manager ...............................................................Gwen Sewell Production Assistant Intern ....................................................Khadija Bangoura Promotional Makeup Artist ..................................................Anastasia Durasova Promotional Photographer ........................................................Joseph Huffman THE FLEA THEATER Additional Technical Staff.............................Madeline Burrow, Juan Coronado, Keenan Hurley, Kaiya Kirk, Sarah Murphy, Taelen Robertson and Skye Urbano FLEA STAFF Artistic Director ............................................................................Niegel Smith Producing Director ........................................................................Carol Ostrow Director of Production & Facilities .......................................Karl Franklin Allen Associate Producer ................................................................. Martin Meccouri Company Manager & Producing Associate ....................................Emilie Pass Development Manager .............................................................Charlie Madison 33 Audience Development Associate ............................Aurie Ceylon Satterthwaite General Management Associate ..............................................Shannon Buhler Marketing Associate ....................................................................Jamie Brewer Company Dramaturg ...................................................................Drayton Hiers Technical Directors ..................................... Michael Hernandez & Dan Hoskins Costume Shop & Wardrobe Manager ........................................Adrienne Smith Box Office Coordinator ..............................................................Austin Sanders Business Manager...........................................................................Erica Laird Director of Music Programming ...................................................... Jason Cady Directors of Dance Programming .........................Jeffrey Kazin & David Parker Graphic Designer ......................................................................Eleanor Philips Videographer ...... ......................................................................Crystal Arnette Photographer...........................................................................Hunter Canning Attorney ...........................................................Carol M. Kaplan/Loeb and Loeb Development Consultant ..........................................................Melissa Sandor Theater, Technical & Production Consultant ................................Kyle Chepulis Press Representative .......................................................Ron Lasko/Spin Cycle Interns ...........................................................Graeme Cohen & Sabrina Konick CAST The Fre RYAN CHITTAPHONG (Hero) has performed across the world including such countries as Finland, Russia, Latvia, and Honduras. This is Ryan’s third year as a Bat with The Flea Theater (last seen in The Fez), and has also performed with Berkshire Theatre Festival, HERE Arts Center, The New Ohio Theatre, Nashville Rep, Harold Clurman Lab, The Grand Ole Opry, among others. Ryan THE FLEA THEATER THE FLEA THEATER frequently performs with Ten Bones Theatre in the smash hit improv comedy show Entirely From Memory, is an Academy Member of Upright Citizens Brigade and performs on the Improv House Team “Friend of a Friend” at The Armory. In addition to serving as Director of Marketing for the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Ryan is a proud company member of the Story Pirates and co-owner of Glamsmash Productions. Instagram: @ryanchittaphong LAMBERT TAMIN (Hero) Credits include Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, Theater at St. Clement’s, Theater for the New City, The Episcopal Actor’s Guild, Luna Stage, The Theater Project, the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, and, most recently, as Third Man in Mac 43 Wellman’s Bad Penny (The Flea). TV: “Pandora’s Box: Unleashing Evil”, “Mysteries at the Museum”, and “Sloppy”. Film: On the Hook, N.ot W.ithout A.lonzo, I Want More I Want Less, The Ballad of Bobby Carr, On The Floor, Vignettes and Paranoia. Lambert is a graduate of the two-year conservatory program at William Esper Studio. He is thrilled to be a part of this World Premiere and would like to thank Taylor Mac, Niegel and the entire Fre team and Flea staff for making it such an amazing experience. Many thanks also to his friends and family for their support. JOSEPH DALFONSO (Frankie Fre) is thrilled to be a part of this production. Favorite credits: The Glass Menagerie (Sierra Repertory Theatre), Kill Hamlet (Signature Theatre), Hamlet (Compass Rose Theatre), Oedipus but Better (Modern Shakespeare Company). Joseph is also a Producer of SERIALS at the Flea. Training: Freeman Studio, BFA Stonehill College. CLA Proud. Endless gratitude to his family for their love and support. For Bruce. ALEX J. MORENO (Frankie Fre) TV: Jessica