2021 Weston Playbill

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEASON 85

WELCOME TO WESTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SEASON SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 WALKER FARM MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 WESTON PLAYHOUSE AT WALKER FARM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 SPECIAL EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 LAND AFFIRMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 ESSENTIAL WORKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 VOLUNTEERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 SHOWS & DETAILS (Actors & Creative Team Bios, Staff, Sponsors) An Iliad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Seussical TM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Ring of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 The Mountaintop (to come) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDUCATION & OUTREACH PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 BOARD & STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 GENERAL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 ENCORE SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 NEW WORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 ADVERTISER INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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WESTON 2021

SEASON 85

Dear Friends,

It brings me great joy to welcome you all back to Weston. It has been more than a year since our last live performance and we are thrilled to be with you today. When we closed our doors in March 2020, we knew that we would return — this wonderful theatre has withstood fire, flood, war, and now a pandemic that kept us all apart for one very long year.

I recently spoke with an actor who was a member of the company during the 1962 fire that destroyed the original Weston Playhouse building. He recounted the story of how a tent went up the very next day and the show went on, under a canopy very much like the one we are sitting under together today. We performed under a tent for our 25th anniversary, just as we do in this our 85th anniversary season. Then as now, the show must go on with creativity, tenacity, and an abiding connection to our community. I am thrilled to be sharing our second outdoor season with you. Welcome to Weston, and enjoy the show!

Susanna Gellert Executive Artistic Director

SUSANNA GELLERT (Director, Executive Artistic Director) is a director, producer, and teacher. Prior to joining Weston in July 2018, she was Associate Producer and Director of the Studio at New York’s acclaimed Theatre for a New Audience. There she produced shows such as Shakespeare’s Pericles directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, the world premiere of Adrienne Kennedy’s He Brought Her Heart Back In A Box directed by Evan Yionoulis, and award winning productions of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin Of Our Teeth and An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Susanna was Artistic Producer and Resident Director at Center Stage in Baltimore where she developed the theater’s ground breaking Third Space Initiative and produced My America , a nation-wide project which commissioned monologues by Christopher Durang, Neil LaBute, Lynn Nottage, and others. Directing credits in New York and Baltimore include Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine , and world premieres of Mud Blue Sky by Marisa Wegrzyn, The Lacy Project by Alena Smith, and Open the Dark Door by David Nugent. Susanna teaches in the MFA Directing program at The New School. She holds degrees from Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago.

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WESTON 2021

SEASON 85

JULY 14 - AUGUST 6 AN ILIAD By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare

Music by Stephen Flaherty Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Book by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty Co-Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, & Eric Idle Based on the Works of Dr. Seuss JULY 22 - AUGUST 7 SEUSSICAL TM

Based on Homer’s The Iliad , translated by Robert Fagles

Gripping. Daring. Epic.

Colorful. Playful. Beloved.

AUGUST 12 - SEPT 5 RING OF FIRE THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH Created by Richard Maltby, Jr. Conceived by William Meade Adapted from the Broadway Production by Richard Maltby, Jr. & Jason Edwards

SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 23 THE MOUNTAINTOP By Katori Hall

Justice. Hope. A Dream.

Electrifying. Country. Cash.

TICKETS: westonplayhouse.org • 802.824.5288

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WESTON HISTORY

SEASON 85

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

A former church renovated for the town dramatic club by Weston-born architect Raymond Austin, the Weston Playhouse attracted the attention of director Harlan Grant, who launched the theatre's first theatre season in the summer of 1937. Owned by the Weston Community Association and rented by the theatre company during the summer season, the Playhouse was supported by its community through three war-torn summers in the 1940s, a fire that destroyed the original Greek revival building in 1962, and flooding which challenged its replacement a decade later and again in 2011. In 1988, directors Malcolm Ewen, Tim Fort, and Steve Stettler took the reins, rededicating the theatre to its community and reorganizing it as a not-for-profit Equity company. "Weston" is now an award-winning regional theatre nationally known for its multi-stage summer festival and its year-round Education and New Works programs.

1962 - Despite the tragic fire, the company raised a tent, and the season continued the very next night. 2021 - With guidance from the state and industry organizations, the company raised a tent to produce outdoor performances fifteen months after the onset of the pandemic.

WESTON HISTORY - continued

In September 2017, the theatre opened a new venue, Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm. This modern, year-round center for the arts complements Weston's summer programming on its flagship Playhouse stage. It allows the organization to expand its role as an incubator for the arts, and foster connections with its cherished community. In 2018, after 30 years, the trio of Founding Directors (Ewen, Fort, and Stettler) handed the reins to new Executive Artistic Director Susanna Gellert, an artist from New York with deep ties to Vermont, to lead Weston into the future. In 2020, the international COVID-19 pandemic brought live performance to a halt across the country. Weston responded with an exciting "reimagined" season of original digital works with performances reaching over 40,000 patrons across the globe and earned a New York Times Critics' Pick for the creation of One Room . This year we celebrate our 85th anniversary season with a return to live performance. We welcome the community back, not to our historical Playhouse building or to the intimacy of a show at Walker Farm, but to sit beneath the canopy of an outdoor tent, just as this community did following the Playhouse fire in 1962.

1962 - Harlan Grant welcomes patrons back to the tented performance after the fire. 2021 - Susanna Gellert welcomes patrons back to the tented performance after the pandemic.

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WALKER FARM

Treat yourself and your guests to a magical experience unlike any other: Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm . This theatre is for YOU.

Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm is a state-of-the-art, flexible creative space available to rent for a variety of uses. Warm, elegant, and spacious with generous natural light throughout the common and backstage areas (including the central auditorium with blackout shade fitted windows), Walker Farm can accommodate consumers of nearly every type. From Broadway producers incubating new work and production companies seeking a sound stage, to conference holders and lecturers, community members needing a meeting space or couples seeking a wedding venue, Walker Farm is a unique and stunning rental facility ready to help you create great work or just celebrate life. Centered in a quintessentially picturesque Vermont town, “away from it all” yet only a few hours from Boston and New York, our sophisticated and cost-efficient venue is ready to welcome your next great adventure.

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LAND AFFIRMATION

The Weston Playhouse acknowledges that we do our work on the traditional land of the Abenaki People, who stewarded the earth long before European colonizers arrived in North America. We commit to policies and practices of cultural equity to benefit current and future generations.

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ESSENTIAL WORKERS

THANK YOU to all the essential workers for your selfless dedication to helping our communities. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude for providing essential services throughout this difficult time.

Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm was transformed into a vaccination site to support the mountain communities of southern Vermont. (Pictured) Jamie Higgins, R.N. was one of the many fabulous medical professionals who made the Walker Farm COVID-19 vaccine clinic possible. Photo by Nathaniel Vilandre.

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WESTON 2021 VOLUNTEERS

Many thanks to the members of Weston’s extended family who contribute to our success by donating time and energy as ushers, welcome bag assemblers, and more. You are there when needed most! With sincere gratitude, the Weston staff.

Rebecca Ainsworth Faith Alberti Nancy & Les Allen Christine & Franz Berg Nancy Bladyka Howard Brosseau David & Marjorie Carey Anne Cherico Gay Church Jim Corven & Monique Szechenyi Katy Crane Elizabeth Currie Anne D’Olivo Lorraine & Jerry Farmer Carol Fay

Kim Lewis Jane MacKugler Angela Macri Patricia Pranger Kim Prins

Christina Pujdak Susan Martinetti Marguerite & Callie Mason Karen McGee Edel Moore Pat Moore & Penny Trick Sara Niklas Christine Quinn Judith Reynolds Diana & Sal Ricitelli Rhonda Rivers Magnolia Robinson Kathy & Karl Ross Maria Nitzsche Paula Pelkey Jeffrey & Wilda Pelton Janice Ryan Lew & Gail Sorenson Bonne & Stephen Stearns Dana Thompson George & Linda Thomson David Trask

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Karen Utiger Janet Warren Lisa Watson Susan Weiss Mimi Wright

John & Caroline Ann Jopling Lisha Klaiber & Fred Marin

Shirley Knowlton Rhonda Lathrop

For more information about volunteering, contact Jenna Jordan, Marketing & Patron Services Manager at jjordan@westonplayhouse.org

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Weston Playhouse Theatre Company presents

by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare Based on Homer’s The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles

Sound Designer SHARATH PATEL

Scenic Designer LEX LIANG

Costume Designer KATHLEEN GELDARD

Lighting Designer MARK BARTON

Music Director YAN LI

Production Stage Manager TINA SHACKLEFORD*

Composer JENNY GIERING

Directed by MEREDITH M C DONOUGH

Sponsored by

AN ILIAD was originally developed as part of the New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspects Program, Off-Broadway premiere produced by New York Theatre Workshop (Jim Nicola, Artistic Director; William Russo, Managing Director) in 2012. AN ILIAD was originally produced by Seattle Repertory Theatre (Jerry Manning, Producing Artistic Director; Benjamin Moore, Managing Director). It was subsequently produced by McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Shields, Managing Director; Mara Isaacs, Producing Director). AN ILIAD was developed in part with the assistance of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. AN ILIAD is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

CAST

The Poet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Bonanno *

The Muses

Yan Li Nadia Belaouchi

Gracee Street Alexander Tan Cole Thompson Timmy Thompson

Emma Diner Sage Jepson Daelynn Jorif

An Iliad is performed without an intermission

STAFF

A1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tanner Elker A2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Radziszewski Wardrobe Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melina Hernandez Production Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maura Wetzel

SPECIAL THANKS

Sponsored in part by the Frederick Lowe Foundation for Musical Theatre and the Ewen-Fort-Stettler Fund for the American Theatre

Special Thanks to: Castleton University Mack Molding Dr. Edward Mulholland

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers

PLAYWRIGHT BIOS

LISA PETERSON is a theatre director who wrote and adapted AN ILIAD with actor Denis O’Hare, for which they won 2012 Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards. Her other adaptations include THE WAVES, adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf, with composer David Bucknam (Drama Desk nominations), the upcoming THE GOOD BOOK with Denis O’Hare, and INSURANCE MEN with composer Todd Almond. She was Resident Director at the Mark Taper Forum for ten years, and Associate Director at La Jolla Playhouse for three years before that. Her directing credits include the world premieres of Tony Kushner’s SLAVS!, Donald Margulies’ COLLECTED STORIES and THE MODEL APARTMENT, Naomi Wallace’ TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK, Janusz Glowacki’s THE FOURTH SISTER, John Belluso’s THE POOR ITCH, Beth Henley’s RIDICULOUS FRAUD, Jose Rivera’s SUENO, Marlane Meyer’s THE CHEMISTRY OF CHANGE, and many others. She has worked at theatres around the country including New York Theater Workshop, The Public, Playwrights Horizons, The Vineyard, Primary Stages, Manhattan Theatre Club, MCC, Guthrie Theater, Seattle Rep, Berkeley Rep, Actors Theater of Louisville, Arena Stage, Yale Rep, and the McCarter Theater. Lisa won an Obie in 1991 for Caryl Churchill’s LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE at NYTW, and Dramalogue, Drama Desk, and Calloway Award nominations for many other productions. She was the recipient of a TCG/NEA Career Development grant, and regularly develops new plays with the Sundance Theater Lab, New Dramatists, The Playwrights’ Center, and the O’Neill Theater Center. She is a graduate of Yale College, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theater, and the executive board of SDC. DENIS O’HARE is an actor and writer who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Mr. O’Hare attended Northwestern University where he studied poetry for two years under Alan Shapiro, Mary Kinzie, and Reginald Gibbons. He ultimately received a B.S. in the theatre department and pursued an acting career in Chicago while maintaining a literary salon called the “Ansuz.” In 1992, Mr. O’Hare moved to New York to continue his acting career where he appeared in numerous productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway all the while exploring creative writing in the form of plays and screenplays. He has written three screenplays, numerous poems, and one other play. Mr. O’Hare and Ms. Petersen began collaborating on AN ILIAD in 2006 and honed the project through multiple workshops with New York Theatre Workshop at Vassar and Dartmouth and with the Sundance Lab Institute. Denis is married to Hugo Redwood, an interior designer, with whom he has a son.

ANY TAPING, FILMING, RECORDING, OR BROADCAST OF THIS PLAY IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

ACTORS

DAVID BONANNO (The Poet) WPTC highlights over the past 34 years: Fun Home, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Music Man, Stones in His Pockets, The Full Monty, Of Mice And Men, Death Of A Salesman, Floyd Collins - and writing and directing countless Cabarets. Broadway: The Light In The Piazza. Chicago: Ragtime, Lend Me A Tenor. National Tour: I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Regionally: The Goodman, Indiana Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Delaware Theatre Company, Shaker Bridge, Northern Stage. davidbonanno.com

NADIA BELAOUCHI ( Muse) is a born and raised Texan currently living in NYC!! She recently graduated from the CAP21/Molloy College BFA program! Favorite credits include West Side Story (Anybodys), Urinetown (Tiny Tom; directed by Parker Esse), A Chorus Line (Tricia/Swing; directed by Luis Villabon), and Experience Marianas, a new musical by Rob Rokicki . For some fun ukulele videos check out @nadiabelaouchi on Instagram! For more info: nadiabelaouchi.com.

EMMA DINER (Muse) is so excited to be joining the Weston Playhouse family this summer! She’s a rising senior at Pace University in NYC. She has worked on different film projects with companies like Netflix and Apple TV, as well as theatrical productions with New York City Center and Asolo Rep. She was most recently seen in Season 2 of Apple TV’s Dickinson . “Much love to Mom, Dad, Nate, and Gram.”

SAGE JEPSON (Muse) is delighted to join Weston’s company this summer! From Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Sage is a senior at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Select credits: Nice Work if you Can Get It (Weathervane Theatre), Shrek (BroadwayWorld Best Production), Heathers, West Side Story, and Big Fish . He writes music under “Lavender Boy” on Spotify/Apple Music. Sage is an advocate for experimental works, inclusivity, and accessibility for artists of all abilities. sagejepson.com

DAELYNN JORIF (Muse) is beyond excited to be returning to the Weston Playhouse for her second season. She is a senior at the University of Michigan. Favorite credits include A New Brain, Oklahoma!, and Rent . During down time, Daelynn is probably with her cats or traveling. She’d like to thank her family at the Playhouse, as well as her incredibly supportive parents, for making this wonderful summer possible! Enjoy the show! Insta: @daelynnjorif

ACTORS - continued

GRACEE STREET (Muse) grew up in Austin, Texas, and will be a senior at Baldwin Wallace University this fall receiving her B.M. in Musical Theatre.Graceeperformed in BW’s performance of Cabaret as Fritzie and in BW’s virtual production of Spring Awakening as Anna. She’s looking forward to the fall semester of her senior year studying abroad in Denmark at The Danish National School of Performing Arts in Fredericia.

ALEXANDER TAN (Muse) (he/they) is ecstatic to be returning to the Playhouse for a second summer as a Young Company member. A Singaporean native, Alexander is a recent graduate from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Regionally, they have appeared at the Peregrine Theatre Ensemble and The Speakeasy Stage Company. When not performing, Alexander enjoys spending time with people they love, engulfing sushi, and hydrating. tanalexander.com

COLE THOMPSON (Muse) is beyond excited to be spending his first summer at Weston. A native of Detroit, Cole graduated from University of Michigan’s B.F.A. Musical Theatre program this spring. Credits include Hello, Dolly! (Barnaby Tucker) and most recently, Godspell (Light of the World). After the past year, Cole could not be happier to help bring live theatre back to audiences in Vermont. He would like to thank his family, friends, and the faculty at the University of Michigan’s School of Music Theatre and Dance.

TIMMYTHOMPSON ( Muse) is a rising junior Musical Theatre major at the University of Michigan. Some of Timmy’s favorite theatrical credits at U-M include Micheal McElroy’s Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Soliloquies & Soul, William Shakespeare’s As You Like It , and the MT department’s bi-annual Color Cabaret (2020). Timmy also enjoys writing, and his student produced short film, Only Have Eyes For You , will be available online in the spring of 2022!

CREATIVE TEAM

MEREDITH M C DONOUGH (Director) Weston: Always…Patsy Cline. She was the associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville for seven seasons where favorite directing includes Angels in America, Peter and the Starcatcher, and The Last Five Years , and the premieres of Marginal Loss, Dot, brownsville song (b-side for trey), and Airness . Regional highlights: The Lily’s Revenge with Taylor Mac (Magic Theatre), Noises Off (Guthrie), Fair Use (Steppenwolf), Eurydice (Williamstown). Education: Northwestern; MFA, UCSD.

JENNY GIERING (Composer) ’s current projects include Alice Bliss (2019 New Musical Award Winner) commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, and What We Leave Behind (co-written with Sean Barry) for which she received a 2021 Barrington Stage Spark Grant. She has written numerous incidental scores including music for Silent Sky and Peter Pan & Wendy (both by Lauren Gunderson), Gertrude and Claudius by Mark Saint- Germain and many others.

YAN LI (Music Director/Muse) is excited to be back at Weston for his second season. He is a composer/lyricist, music director, writer, and educator. Recent music direction includes Promenade (NYU), Anna Karenina: a riff (Notch Theatre), Marguerite (APAC), and The Fantasticks (Weston). His shows include Made In China (NY Times Critics’ Pick), Sweet Nothings, and Bethune: The Musical. Yan is an alum of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU Tisch.

LEX LIANG (Scenic Designer) NYC/Off-Broadway: 50+ produc- tions. Regional: Actors Theatre Louisville, Alliance, Asolo, Barrington, Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, Geva, Guthrie, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage… Lex runs LDC Design Associates, an experiential event design and production company in NYC. Clients include NY Fashion Week, Operation Smile, The Tony Awards, BCBG …. Member, USA-829. LexLiang.com

KATHLEEN GELDARD (Costume Designer) Weston: Always… Patsy Cline . Recent regional credits: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Misery (Cincinnati Playhouse); Billy Elliot (Signature); Macbeth (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Curious Incident… and Humana Festivals 2015-2018 (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Other regional: Arena Stage, Portland Center Stage, Huntington Theatre, Baltimore CenterStage, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Florida Studio Theatre, La Jolla, Berkeley Rep, Arena, Kennedy Center, Round House, Imagination Stage, and Folger Theatre. Artistic associate for Signature Theatre.

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MARK BARTON (Lighting Designer) Recent: The Headlands (LCT3), Soft Power (The Public), The Thin Place (Playwrights Horizons). Other Off–Broadway includes Signature, Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons, TFANA, NYTW, The Public and multiple productions with Elevator Repair Service. Other New York: Encores! Off-Center, BAM, Juilliard Opera. Regional: A.R.T., Guthrie, LA Center Theatre Group, Denver Center, La Jolla, Yale Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf, Huntington, Berkeley Rep. Obie Award for Sustained Excellence.

SHARATH PATEL (Sound Designer) is an Oregon-based designer who works nationally and internationally focusing on experimental, commercial, academic, political, and socially conscious theatre. He is a member of USA829 as well as the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association. Sharath is also an Arts Envoy for the U.S. Department of State, a National Respondent for Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and a Resident Artist at Artists Rep. MFA in Sound Design: Yale School of Drama. sharathpatel.com

TINA SHACKLEFORD (Production Stage Manager) is happy to return to Weston, where she last stage-managed Dael Orlandersmith’s Forever. Her regional credits include productions with organizations across the country, focusing on new work, musicals, and some opera. Tina teaches Stage Management at Carnegie Mellon University. For USITT, she is Management Commissioner and founding member of the EDI initiative. Tina holds an MFA from UC-San Diego and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.

MAURA WETZEL (Production Assistant) (she/her) is excited to be back for her second season in Weston! Maura has a BFA from UNC School of the Arts, where she served as Student Body President. Most recently, she completed a one-year fellowship at The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. Maura’s experience outside of traditional performance work includes non-profit company structuring, arts education & administration, and higher education administration.

JEREMY YADDAW (Music Coordinator) is a drummer, percussionist, and orchestrator based in New York City. He is principal percussionist for The American Pops Orchestra, and plays with Randy Rainbow, Lauren Marcus, The Four Phantoms, and originated the drum book for The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical . Weston credits: Pregnancy Pact, 42nd Street, Peter & The Starcatcher, Mamma Mia, Fun Home, Always... Patsy Cline.

Weston Playhouse Theatre Company presents

Music by STEPHEN FLAHERTY Lyrics by LYNN AHRENS Book by LYNN AHRENS & STEPHEN FLAHERTY

Co-Conceived by LYNN AHRENS, STEPHEN FLAHERTY, & ERIC IDLE Based on the Works of DR. SEUSS

Scenic Designer DAN DALY

Costume Designer LILY PRENTICE

Stage Manager MAURA WETZEL

Music Director JOHN COYNE

Choreographer FELICITY STIVERSON

Directed by ALLISON BENKO

SEUSSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES premiered at The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO; Jeff Church, artistic director.

SEUSSICAL-THEATRE YOUNG AUDIENCES is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Sponsored by

CAST

(in order of appearance) Cat in the Hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nadia Belaouchi JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cole Thompson Horton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sage Jepson Gertrude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emma Diner Mayzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexander Tan Sour Kangaroo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daelynn Jorif Mayor & Wickersham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gracee Street Mayor’s Husband & Wickersham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Timmy Thompson

Musician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Coyne

STAFF

Tour Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Megan Ciszek & Emily Kennebeck Wardrobe Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melina Hernandez Production Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tanner Elker

SPECIAL THANKS

Sponsored in part by The Holly Schloerb Endowment Fund, Charles R. Wood Foundation, and Community Bank N.A.

PLAYWRIGHT BIOS

MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (MTI) is is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide. MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior™ shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students. LYNN AHRENS won Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards and received two Grammy nominations for Broadway's Ragtime . For Twentieth Century Fox's animated feature film Anastasia , she was nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. She and longtime collaborator Stephen Flaherty received the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2015 they were inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Broadway: Anastasia ; Once On This Island (Olivier Award, Best Musical; Tony nominations, Best Book and Score); Seussical (Grammy nomination); My Favorite Year; Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life ; Rocky ; Madison Square Garden's A Christmas Carol ; Ragtime (2010 Broadway revival). Off-Broadway and regional: Lincoln Center Theater's Dessa Rose , The Glorious Ones (both Drama Desk-nominated), and A Man of No Importance (Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Musical); Lucky Stiff ; Little Dancer (Kennedy Center world premiere). Film and television credits include A "Christmas Carol" (NBC-TV); Camp (IFC Films); "Schoolhouse Rock" (ABC-TV) and others (Emmy Award and four Emmy nominations). She is a Council member of the Dramatists Guild of America, a co-founder of the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program, and a Lilly Award winner for Lyrics. ahrensandflaherty.com

PLAYWRIGHT BIOS - continued

STEPHEN FLAHERTY is the composer of the Broadway musicals Ragtime (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC Awards, two Grammy nominations), Seussical (Grammy, Drama Desk nominations), Once on This Island (Tony nomination, Olivier Award, Best Musical), and Rocky. Additional Broadway includes Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (original songs) and Neil Simon's Proposals (incidental music). Stephen has also written four musicals at Lincoln Center Theatre: The Glorious Ones (OCC, Drama Desk nominations), Dessa Rose (OCC, Drama Desk nominations), A Man of No Importance (OCC, Best Musical, Drama Desk nomination), and My Favorite Year . Other theatre includes In Your Arms (Old Globe), Little Dancer (Kennedy Center), Lucky Stiff (Playwrights Horizons), and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein (Chicago's Jefferson Award, Best New Musical.) Film includes Anastasia (two Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations), the documentary After The Storm , and Lucky Stiff . Mr. Flaherty's concert music has premiered at the Hollywood Bowl, Boston's Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, the GuggenheimMuseum, and Symphony Space. This year celebrates Stephen's 32-year collaboration with lyricist-librettist Lynn Ahrens. Stephen and Lynn are members of the Dramatists Guild Council and co- founders of the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program. In 2015 they were inducted into the Theater Hall Of Fame. Upcoming: the stage adaptation of Anastasia. ahrensandflaherty.com. ERIC IDLE has multi-hyphenated his way through life assiduously avoiding a proper job, from a writer and actor in the legendary "Monty Python" TV series and movies, to the creator and director of "The Rutles," the pre-fab four, whose legend will last a lunchtime. He has appeared on stage in drag singing rude songs at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl as well as performing in two highly successful tours, Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python (2000) and The Greedy Bastard Tour (2003), for which he journeyed 15,000 miles across North America in a bus. HIS GREEDY BASTARD DIARY of that tour is published by Harper Collins. His play PASS THE BUTLER ran for five months in London's West End; he has written two novels, HELLO SAILOR and THE ROAD TO MARS; a children's book, THE QUITE REMARKABLE ADVENTURES OF THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT; and a bedside companion, THE RUTLAND DIRTY WEEKEND BOOK for Lyrics. ahrensandflaherty.com

ANY VIDEO AND/OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

ACTORS

NADIA BELAOUCHI ( Cat in the Hat) is a born and raised Texan currently living in NYC!! She recently graduated from the CAP21/Molloy College BFA program! Favorite credits include West Side Story (Anybodys), Urinetown (Tiny Tom; directed by Parker Esse), A Chorus Line (Tricia/Swing; directed by Luis Villabon), and Experience Marianas, a new musical by Rob Rokicki . For some fun ukulele videos check out @nadiabelaouchi on Instagram! For more info: nadiabelaouchi.com.

EMMA DINER (Gertrude) is so excited to be joining the Weston Playhouse family this summer! She’s a rising senior at Pace University in NYC. She has worked on different film projects with companies like Netflix and Apple TV, as well as theatrical productions with New York City Center and Asolo Rep. She was most recently seen in Season 2 of Apple TV’s Dickinson . “Much love to Mom, Dad, Nate, and Gram.”

SAGE JEPSON (Horton) is delighted to join Weston’s company this summer! From Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Sage is a senior at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Select credits: Nice Work if you Can Get It (Weathervane Theatre), Shrek (BroadwayWorld Best Production), Heathers, West Side Story, and Big Fish . He writes music under “Lavender Boy” on Spotify/Apple Music. Sage is an advocate for experimental works, inclusivity, and accessibility for artists of all abilities. sagejepson.com

DAELYNN JORIF (Sour Kangaroo) is beyond excited to be returning to the Weston Playhouse for her second season. She is a senior at the University of Michigan. Favorite credits include A New Brain, Oklahoma!, and Rent . During down time, Daelynn is probably with her cats or traveling. She’d like to thank her family at the Playhouse, as well as her incredibly supportive parents, for making this wonderful summer possible! Enjoy the show! Insta: @daelynnjorif

ACTORS - continued

GRACEE STREET (Mayor & Wickersham) grew up in Austin, Texas, and will be a senior at Baldwin Wallace University this fall receiving her B.M. in Musical Theatre. Gracee performed in BW’s performance of Cabaret as Fritzie and in BW’s virtual production of Spring Awakening as Anna. She’s looking forward to the fall semester of her senior year studying abroad in Denmark at The Danish National School of Performing Arts in Fredericia.

ALEXANDER TAN (Mayzie) (he/they) is ecstatic to be returning to the Playhouse for a second summer as a Young Company member. A Singaporean native, Alexander is a recent graduate from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Regionally, they have appeared at the Peregrine Theatre Ensemble and The Speakeasy Stage Company. When not performing, Alexander enjoys spending time with people they love, engulfing sushi, and hydrating. tanalexander.com

COLE THOMPSON (JoJo) is beyond excited to be spending his first summer at Weston. A native of Detroit, Cole graduated from University of Michigan’s B.F.A. Musical Theatre program this spring. Credits include Hello, Dolly! (Barnaby Tucker) and most recently, Godspell (Light of the World). After the past year, Cole could not be happier to help bring live theatre back to audiences in Vermont. He would like to thank his family, friends, and the faculty at the University of Michigan’s School of Music Theatre and Dance.

TIMMY THOMPSON ( Mayor's Husband & Wickersham) is a rising junior Musical Theatre major at the University of Michigan. Some of Timmy’s favorite theatrical credits at U-M include Micheal McElroy’s Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Soliloquies & Soul, William Shakespeare’s As You Like It , and the MT department’s bi-annual Color Cabaret (2020). Timmy also enjoys writing, and his student produced short film, Only Have Eyes For You , will be available online in the spring of 2022!

CREATIVE TEAM

ALLISON BENKO ( Director) is thrilled to return to Weston after twice serving as teaching artist for the theatre’s Young Playwrights Program and contributing “The Before” to Weston’s series of Postcard Plays in 2020. Director: A Doll’s House: A New Opera , The End of Mermaids , What Happened That Night , Single Rider , Rebels v. Tories , Every Christmas Story Ever Told , The Arthur Miller Centennial , and others. Assistant Director: Oslo (Lincoln Center, Tony Award). allisonbenko.com.

JOHN COYNE (Music Director) is a musical theatre song- writer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. Off Broadway: Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet (Original Music). John recently arranged and orchestrated an EP of reimagined Golden Age standards with Ben Crawford ( Phantom of the Opera ). He is currently at work on a musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway . John is happy to be back for his second season at Weston! johncoynejohncoyne.com

FELICITY STIVERSON (Choreographer) Weston chore- ography credits include West Side Stor y, The Fantasticks , The Phantom Tollbooth , Really Rosie , and Tenderly . Other choreography: Music City Christmas (Nashville Symphony), Turandot (New Orleans Opera), Nunsense (Harbor Lights Theater), Grease (Kent State), The Barber of Seville (Opera San Antonio). Performing credits include the musical Hot Feet on Broadway, national/international tours of Candide , West Side Story , Grease , and Steel Pier , and numerous regional opera and theatre productions. Felicitystiverson.com

DAN DALY (Scenic Designer) has held positions at the Hangar Theatre, Corkscrew Festival, and Winnipesaukee Playhouse. Dan has designed at the Under the Radar Festival at The Public, at Brookfield Place with Third Rail Project’s site-specific work Oasis , at RuPaul’s Drag Con where he designed the booth for Monét X Change , and at the Barn Arts Collective where he built an inflatable theatre. MFA: Carnegie Mellon University. dandalydesign.com

CREATIVE TEAM - continued

LILY PRENTICE (Costume Designer) is a costume and character designer with a special interest in devised work and arts education. Selected credits include work with Beau Jest Moving Theater, Phoenix Theater Co, 52nd Street Project, Urban Arias, Ars Nova AntFest, Columbia Stages, collaborations with Company SBB at LaMama, Strangemen & Co. at the O'Neill, and ongoing endeavors with the North Pacific Gyre Theater. MFA from NYU Tisch.

MAURA WETZEL (Stage Manager) (she/her) is excited to be back for her second season in Weston! Maura has a BFA from UNC School of the Arts, where she served as Student Body President. Most recently, she completed a one-year fellowship at The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. Maura’s experience outside of traditional performance work includes non-profit company structuring, arts education & administration, and higher education administration.

Weston Playhouse Theatre Company presents

RING OF FIRE

Created by RICHARD MALTBY, JR. Conceived by WILLIAM MEADE Adapted from the Broadway Production by Richard Maltby, Jr. & Jason Edwards Orchestrations by

Steven Bishop & Jeff Lisenby Additional arrangements by David Abbinanti

RING OF FIRE was originally produced on Broadway by William Meade, CTM Productions, Bob Cuillo, GFour Productions, and James B. Freydberg

Scenic & Lighting Designer SCOTT ZIELINSKI

Costume Designer AMANDA GLADU

Sound Designer JOANNA LYNNE STAUB

Casting Director MARY BAYNARD

Stage Manager DANIELLE ZANDRI*

Music Director MICHAEL HICKS*

Choreographer FELICITY STIVERSON

Directed by SUSANNA GELLERT