L R O W e h t N U O R A AARROOUUNN tthhee WWOORRLL S Y A 0 8 n i iinn 8800 AAYYSS November 2017 About TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Volume 49, No. 4 Welcome to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and our 48th season of award-winning theatre! Led by Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Managing Director Phil Santora, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents a wide range of productions and programming throughout the region. Founded in 1970, we continue to celebrate the human spirit and the diversity of our community, presenting contemporary plays and musicals, revitalizing Paul Heppner Publisher great works of the past, championing arts education, and nurturing new works for the American theatre. TheatreWorks has produced 66 world premieres Susan Peterson and over 160 US and regional premieres. In the 2017/18 season, we add the Design & Production Director world premieres of The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga and Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler, The Prince of Egypt and four more regional premieres to our résumé. Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst Production Artists and Graphic Design TheatreWorks’ 2016/17 season included the world premiere of Confederates, as well as regional premieres of The Life of the Party, Calligraphy, and Hershey Mike Hathaway Felder, Beethoven, which broke all our box office records, becoming the high- Sales Director est-grossing show in TheatreWorks’ history. In the course of the year, shows Amelia Heppner, Marilyn Kallins, that debuted here were produced at theatres around the world. Terri Reed San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives With an annual operating budget of $8 million, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley produces eight mainstage productions at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto Brieanna Bright, Joey Chapman, Ann Manning and the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, and a special add-on Seattle Area Account Executives holiday production at the Lohman Theatre on the campus of Foothill College in Los Altos. Seventeen years ago, we launched the New Works Initiative, Carol Yip Sales Coordinator dedicating ourselves to the development of new plays and musicals. The Initiative has since supported over 160 new works through retreats, workshops, staged readings, developmental productions, and the annual New Works Festival, inspiring The Mercury News to call us “a premiere breeding ground for new musicals, which has put the company on the national map.“ TheatreWorks Silicon Valley believes in making theatre accessible to the entire Silicon Valley community. Our Education Department reaches on average 25,000 students from 70 schools in 7 counties annually. It sponsors outreach Paul Heppner programs that include the Children’s Healing Project at Lucile Packard President Young Playwrights Project Children’s Hospital, the , specially-priced student Mike Hathaway matinees, extensive school tours, post-show discussions, theatre camps, and Vice President programs for youth. Genay Genereux For more information on our 2017/18 season, New Works Festival, and Accounting & Office Manager Education programs, please visit theatreworks.org or call 650.463.1960. Sara Keats Marketing Manager AFFILIATIONS—TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Ciara Caya operates under agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors Customer Service Representative & and stage managers in the United States. TheatreWorks is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Administrative Assistant Group, Inc., the national organization for the nonprofit professional theatre. TheatreWorks is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, a national service organization for musical theatre. In addition, TheatreWorks is a member of Theatre Bay Area, the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, and the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce. TheatreWorks’ 2017/18 Season is presented in cooperation with the City of Mountain View and the City of Palo Alto, Community Services Department, Division of Arts and Sciences. Corporate Office th The director is a member of the Society 425 North 85 Street Seattle, WA 98103 of Stage Directors and Choreographers, p 206.443.0445 f 206.443.1246 Inc., an independent national labor union. The costume, lighting, and sound designers [email protected] are members of United Scenic Artists. This 800.308.2898 x105 season is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. www.encoremediagroup.com TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a proud home company of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Garden Court is the official J. Lohr is the official wine hotel of TheatreWorks. of TheatreWorks. Encore Arts Programs is published monthly by Encore Media The Mercury News is TheatreWorks’ Group to serve musical and theatrical events in the Puget 2017/18 Season Media Sponsor. Hengehold Trucks is the official trucking provider of TheatreWorks. Sound and San Francisco Bay Areas. All rights reserved. ©2017 Encore Media Group. Reproduction FRONT COVER PHOTO BY KEVIN BERNE without written permission is prohibited. 2 THEATREWORKS EAP full-page template.indd 1 11/7/17 3:55 PM In this Issue From the Board Chair 2 About TheatreWorks This is the special time of year when we present a show that has wide appeal to families. The holiday season is family time—and a great Silicon Valley opportunity to introduce young people to the joys of theatre. Bringing children and young adults to the theatre can have a life-long impact. Give the Gift of TheatreWorks Fiorello 6 It did for me when I saw the Tony Award musical as a young- ster. It presented a compelling story of how Fiorello H. La Guardia TWSV Theatre Camps 9 cleaned up corruption in New York City in the early 1900s by helping close down Tammany Hall’s corrupt political machine. The story and 10 Director’s Notes the music have stuck with me ever since and the experience kindled my lifelong enjoy- ment of live theatre. Perhaps you are already here with family. If not, and you enjoy Around the World in 80 Days as much as I do, I hope you will return with your children or grandchildren in tow. In addition to a delightful entertainment experience, they just might get hooked on theatre or develop a new interest in the arts. There is ample evidence that a well- rounded education, including the arts, is important to the growth of successful citizens of the future. Many of our schools do a great job beginning this exposure, but TheatreWorks adds immensely to their efforts to engage our kids. Since this is the Season of Giving, you might also consider giving one of TheatreWorks’ Holiday Gift Packages to friends or family. They are available in either a three- or four- play package at a price well below the cost of single tickets. And the second half of our season is a great one: Hershey Felder returns, this time with his powerful musical tribute Our Great Tchaikovsky; he’s followed by the timely political drama Skeleton Crew, about labor relations in an American auto plant; next is the breathtaking musical Jules Verne The Bridges of Madison County, a story of love found and lost; and finally comes Finks, based on the 1950s Red Scare and its impact on the lives of America’s artists and 11 Our Journey with Jules Verne actors. Our Holiday Package makes a thoughtful, exciting gift, and I hope you will take advan tage of this chance to share an irresistible invitation to a life-long love of theatre. 15 TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents Mike Kahn AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS How It Was Possible to Trot 16 BOARD OF TRUSTEES the Globe in the 1800s Mike Kahn, Chair Jayne Booker Charlotte Jacobs Nancy Ginsburg Stern 17 Who’s Who Cabell Chinnis Roy Johnson Debra Summers Bill Coughran Derry Kabcenell Lynn Szekely-Goode Season of Giving Sarah Donaldson Michael Kahn Ewart Thomas 25 Peggy Woodward Forbes Julie Kaufman Tzipor Ulman Matt Fuller Robert Kelley Kristina Vetter 26 Contributors Ciro Giammona Ellice Papp Holly Ward Anne Hambly Phil Santora Lisa Webster 29 TWSV Staff Judy Heyboer Loren Saxe Jane Weston Larry Horton Barbara Shapiro Gayla Lorthridge Wood 30 TWSV General Information BOARD EMERITUS Nancy Meyer, Founder • William F. Adler • Edward T. Anderson, MD • Doug Barry • Lauren Berman • Chuck Bernstein • Sharon Anthony Bower • Michael Braun • Polly W. Bredt • Bruce C. Cozadd Continue the conversation online! • Jeff Crowe • Peggy Dalal • Yogen Dalal • Jenny Dearborn • Susan Fairbrook • Michael R. Flicker • Peggy Woodford Forbes • Dan Garber • Doug Garland • Aaron Gershenberg • Marcia Goldman • Emeri Handler • Susan M. Huch • Perry A. Irvine • Nancy Lee Jalonen • Lisa Jones • Gina Jorasch • Roberta R. Katz • Tom Kelley • Robin Kennedy • Michael Kwatinetz • Dick Maltzman • Suzanne Martin • Patti McClung • Don McDougall • Bruce McLeod • Cynthia S. Miller • Leslie Murphy- Chutorian • Eileen Nelson • Karen Nierenberg • Carrie Perzow • Carey Pickus • Margot Mailliard @TheatreWorksSV Rawlins • John Reis • Eddie Reynolds • Sandi Risser • Lynn Wilson Roberts • Ray A. Rothrock • Adam #AroundTheWorldTWSV Samuels • Denise Stanford • Rosina Lo Sun • James Sweeney • Cathie Thermond • Helaina Titus • Robert J. Van der Leest, MD • Mark Vershel • Ronni Watson • Elissa Wellikson 4 THEATREWORKS In this Issue From the Board Chair 2 About TheatreWorks This is the special time of year when we present a show that has wide appeal to families. The holiday season is family time—and a great Silicon Valley opportunity to introduce young people to the joys of theatre. Bringing children and young adults to the theatre can have a life-long impact. Give the Gift of TheatreWorks Fiorello 6 It did for me when I saw the Tony Award musical as a young- ster. It presented a compelling story of how Fiorello H. La Guardia TWSV Theatre Camps 9 cleaned up corruption in New York City in the early 1900s by helping close down Tammany Hall’s corrupt political machine. The story and 10 Director’s Notes the music have stuck with me ever since and the experience kindled my lifelong enjoy- ment of live theatre.