Show Pages

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Edd Miller
Produced by Tom Stuckey
Performance dates:
June 3 - 25, 2016
Run time: 2h 15m

Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month's paycheck covers last month’s bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who's made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out. With his signature humorous glow, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America.

To download the production postcard for Good People to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

David Lindsay-Abaire is an award-winning author best known for his Broadway play, Rabbit Hole, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and for the book and lyrics of Shrek, the Musical. His plays often are filled with outlandish characters doing crazy, wacky things that envelop the stage with joyous lunacy. In Good People and Rabbit Hole, however, he pursues a more traditional form of storytelling; both plays offer finely detailed portraits of real people with real lives confronting real problems. The laughs are still there, but the humor derives naturally from the interactions of his characters rather than outrageous onstage antics. LindsayAbaire’s first commercial success in New York came in 1999 with an off-Broadway production of Fuddy Meers. His success as a playwright attracted attention of movie producers, and in 2010, he adapted Rabbit Hole, a Tony nominee for best play, for a movie produced by and starring Nicole Kidman. Other screenwriting credits include the DramaWorks Animation movie, Rise of the Guardians, and the 2013 movie, Oz the Great and Powerful. Lindsay-Abaire was raised in South Boston by parents who held blue-collar jobs; his mother worked in a factory and his father sold fruit from the back of a truck. When he was 11, he received a scholarship to the prestigious Milton Academy, and that was his ticket out of South Boston. His education continued at Sarah Lawrence College and then the Julliard School, where he studied playwriting under Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang. Rabbit Hole and another of his plays, Wonder of the World, were popular with Colonial Players audiences during the 2008-09 season, with Rabbit Hole receiving one of five best play nominations in the annual Washington Area Theatre Community Honors competition. 

About the Director

Edd Miller is grateful to The Colonial Players for giving him the opportunity to show off, in many capacities, for over 50 years. As an actor he has performed in The Last of The Red Hot Lovers, Othello, Moon For The Misbegotten, and Over My Dead Body, to name just a few. You may have seen his set designs for The Diviners; Blithe Spirit; In The Next Room, or the Vibrator Play; Chapter Two; Coyote on a Fence; Two Rooms; Moon Over Buffalo; Going To St. Ives; and others. He has directed The Apple Tree, Carnival, Plaza Suite, Going To St. Ives, Two Rooms, The Diviners, 6 Rms Riv Vu, I Never Sang For My Father, On Golden Pond, Relatively Speaking, Coyote on a Fence, and more. Edd has also lent his talents to many other venues as both actor or director. He credits theater in general and CP in particular for bringing him friends, chosen family, and his late wife, Dolores. He feels he has two homes in Annapolis-one for sleep and one for showing off. Edd's work has earned CP a Ruby Griffith Award, a One Act Play Award (state and regional festivals), a few Washington Area Theatre Community Honors awards, and numerous nominations.

Director's Notes

To live in poverty is to exist in a war zone. Not necessarily with bullets and bombs, but with situational choices of conscience. While internal debates about what is right and the compromises one makes cut across all levels of our society, those debates can be particularly difficult for people living on the edge. I have been taught right from wrong. I try to live up to my family's mores and expectations, to follow my religion's teachings. I behave in a socially acceptable manner and associate with others of likemindedness. I want to be a good person. I have a job, sometimes two at a time – whatever I can get with my less-than high-school education. I am blessed with a child and sometimes a place to live. My pay check just does not go far enough. We are often hungry. I wish I could afford food; sometimes I can't. There is no money. I must eat and feed my child. Can I steal a loaf of bread and maybe some peanut butter? Is it ever acceptable to steal? How do I get some cash so I won't have to face the same thing next week. I know prostitution is wrong and dangerous, but it pays more than my job. I could sell drugs; dealers make a lot of money. Could I do that? Should I? I have a job, but is it better to stand in traffic and beg? Will my pride and self esteem allow me to do that? If so, do I take my child to stand with me? Just seeing her might help. But is it right or fair? The rent is due, and I have to do it. I have to. Pride be damned! Am I still a good person? I think so. I hope people understand. On the battlefield, facing the enemy, to go against conscience for God and country is a necessity for survival. In the USA, “Good People” face these battles of conscience every day; every day they fight the battle against poverty and live in their own personal purgatory. I hope tonight’s performance will give you some insight into their world and help create some empathy in yours.

– EDD MILLER

The Cast

Bernadette Arvidson (Dottie) - Bernadette has performed on many a stage over the years, and she is pleased to be adding a new venue with her first performance at Colonial Players. Some of Bernie's favorite roles include Belinda in Noises Off, Rita in Educating Rita, and Juanita in Sordid Lives, for which Bernadette received a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Bernie credits the entire cast and crew for such a wonderful show and such a spectacularly wonderful time! And to Director Edd Miller: “The pleasure has been all mine!” As ever, Bernadette thanks God for all the good in her life. She dedicates her performance to her brother Michael.

Ben Carr (Mike) - Ben is excited to be back performing at Colonial Players. Some of his previous roles at CP include Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman, Michael Wells in Two Rooms, Tom Donahue in These Shining Lives, Donnie Rowan in Rocket Man, Jonesy in Side Man and Hertel Daggett in Dog Logic. He has also performed at Dignity Players in Stones in His Pocket. He would like to thank Edd and the rest of the cast for making this such a wonderful experience.

Karen Lambert (Jean) - A veteran of the stage, Karen’s performance in Good People is her second Colonial Players production with director Edd Miller at the helm. Previously, she portrayed Luella Bennett in The Diviners under his direction. You may have also seen her as Mrs. Modesto in Mrs. California and Myra Arundel in Hay Fever, among other CP productions. Favorite roles include LaVonda Dupree in Sordid Lives, various characters in Almost, Maine, and the staged reading of 8 at Dignity Players. Additional stage credits include performances with children’s theater, summer stock, and of original works, including historical characters. When not onstage, Karen works as an advertising account executive, writer, and marketing consultant. In her spare time you may find her hunting fossils and shark teeth near her home in North Beach, while helping to raise her two canine companion rescues. Special thanks to director Edd Miller for his vision and guidance, and to an outstanding cast and crew.

Shirley Panek (Margaret) - Shirley is excited to be a part of this wonderful show and amazingly talented cast. Last seen in Colonial Players' Rocket Man (Louise), Shirley took time off to plan, produce, and stage manage a wedding to her real-life leading man, Jeff Mocho, whom she met playing opposite him in The Unexpected Guest on The Colonial Players stage. Shirley has spent more time backstage than onstage recently: lighting designer for A Few Good Men, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Communicating Doors, Trying, Moonlight and Magnolias, and Chapter Two (2012 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors nominee); and stage manager for Venus in Fur, Bat Boy, and 1776. But performing onstage is still her favorite, and this show is no exception. Some favorite roles include Laura Warwick in The Unexpected Guest, Kaye in Dog Logic, and Ofc. Randy Osteen in Superior Donuts at Colonial Players. Thank you to Edd for his vision, patience, and gentle guidance in bringing Margie out of me, to the cast for all the fun and laughter through rehearsals, and to Herb and crew for all your hard work. Love to Drew, Emma, and Jeff. Thanks for all your love and support.

Glen Pearson (Stevie) - This is Glen’s debut with Colonial Players. He is very grateful to be given this wonderful opportunity. He comes from a family of performers. His mother, apart from being a professional clown, was an actress at Totem Pole Playhouse. Glen started performing with his family at a young age. The theater bug bit him in middle school when he played Huck Finn. In college he was seen as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and he received an Irene Ryan nomination for his role as Silvestre in Scapin. Recently, Glen has turned his attention to television and film. Appearances include House of Cards, Turn, Veep, Legends and Lies, Nero Bloom, Where the River Goes, The Sultan and the Saint, Macbeth, and Distance. Glen would like to thank Tiffany for her support and kindness. She is the one who told him about the auditions for Good People. To his sister and West Street friends, a hearty thank you. “It has been such a pleasure to work with a cast of dedicated people. Thank you to Edd Miller for inviting me to join the journey.” When Glen is not acting he can be found making people laugh while juggling in downtown Annapolis.

Ashley Spooner (Kate) - Ashley is delighted to make her Colonial Players debut in Good People. This production marks her return to the stage since her 2006 role as Sittah in Nathan the Wise with the Wake Forest University Mainstage Theater. Ashley is grateful to her family and friends for their encouragement and would like to thank the cast and creative team for making her reentry into theater a wonderful experience. 

The Production Staff

Lois Banscher (Properties Designer) Lois joins the Edd Miller team for Good People, a play centered around the livelihoods and culture of folks living in South Boston and ritzy Chestnut Hill, MA. Lois became involved with Colonial Players in 2009 working on The Curious Savage. Recent production prop challenges for Lois – in our productions of Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them; A Few Good Men; 1776; and Bat Boy – were searching for items such as AK- 47 weapons, 25 Blue Willow coffee cups, a horsehair whip, and now, clay-pot rabbits. Lois was nominated for a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors award for 1776 (2013) and Mrs. California (2010) with prop partner Grace Baumgardner. Other credits include The Diviners; Going to St. Ives; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Sunlight; The Spitfire Grill; Little Women; Lettice and Lovage; Taking Steps; and Coyote on a Fence. Lois thanks her family and friends, who are often called upon to search for props, and the CP crew for sharing their ideas and designs. Lois always says: “If you can’t have fun at what you do, then don’t do it.” So, let’s play BINGO!!

Nick Beschen (Assistant Director) This is Nick’s second time as an assistant director. He’s been on the stage often, most recently as Dr. Watson in Sherlock’s Last Case. Nick’s had the pleasure of being directed by Edd Miller and sharing the stage with him as well. He’s gotten a kick out of working with Edd and this very talented cast and crew. Enjoy this show. It is full of...Good People!

Herb Elkin (Stage Manager) A regular presence behind the scenes in a variety of roles, Herb has stage-managed 16 productions at CP, including four nominations and one WATCH award for outstanding play. His most recent stagemanaging credits are Side Man (2015), Rocket Man (2014), Coyote on a Fence (2014), Trying (2013), and Going to St. Ives (2012). Among his most memorable experiences are flying a gorilla across the stage during Over My Dead Body (2009) and completely changing the stage during intermission from dreary London to dazzling Italy for Enchanted April (2008). Prior to becoming active behind the scenes, he appeared on the stage in several CP and other area productions until his resident critic (Bay Weekly's Jane Elkin) recommended redirecting his talents elsewhere. Herb is CP's Vice President and works by day as Deputy Director for IT/Finance at the Naval Academy.

Frank Florentine (Lighting Designer) Frank’s background stretches over a wide array of lighting projects from ballet to museums to special events to show caves. He retired as the lighting designer of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum on December 31, 2009, after 25 years in that position. Frank has also designed the lighting for three show caves in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Montana. Additionally, Frank has designed lighting for numerous museums throughout the United States. Frank worked in professional theater as a production manager, stage manager, and associate lighting designer. He traveled nationally and internationally with several ballet companies, including a 65,000- mile tour with the late Rudolf Nureyev. He has designed lighting for several productions at The Colonial Players. Frank won the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) award for best lighting design of a musical for his design for last season’s Ernest In Love and for 2014’s production of Bat Boy. He was nominated for his lighting designs for Morning’s at Seven and Coyote on a Fence. Other credits at CP include 1776, Sunshine, and Chapter Two, which was a WATCH nominee for lighting design in 2012. Frank is a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, Lighting Certified by the National Council of Qualified Lighting Professionals, and a member of United Scenic Arts 829 – Lighting Design.

Theresa Riffle (Sound Designer) Theresa previously served as sound designer for Coyote on a Fence (winner of a best sound design award from the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors), A Few Good Men, Sherlock’s Last Case, and, most recently, Morning’s at Seven. As an actor, she was last seen on the CP stage as Sara Mueller in Watch on the Rhine. You also may have seen her at CP as Anna Hauptmann in Hauptmann, Evelyn in Kindertransport, or Phoebe in Romantic Comedy. Theresa is the Secretary on the CP Board of Directors. She is excited to be working with this fabulous production staff, cast, and crew and would like to thank Edd for asking her to be part of this wonderful production. As always, she sends a big thank you to Jem and Josh for their boundless love and support.

Dianne Andrew Smith (Costume Designer) Dianne arrived at CP to try out for Godspell and never left. She has performed in shows, worked on shows, and, most recently, designed the costumes for Morning’s At Seven, which earned her a nomination for a Washington Area Community Theatre Honors award for best costume design. Once again she is using her BFA in Design from Maryland Institute of Art. After all these years, she still says it’s “For the Love of It”. Many thanks to her "Theater Family”!

Tom Stuckey (Producer) Tom enjoyed having the opportunity to work on Good People with two of his best friends – Director Edd Miller and Costume Designer Dianne Smith. Tom was producer earlier this season for Morning’s at Seven and produced Rocket Man, the first show of the 2014-15 season. He was also stage manager for the 24th production of A Christmas Carol in December 2014. Tom has been involved with Colonial Players since 1969, when he appeared in the ensemble for Carousel, and has been involved with dozens of productions onstage and offstage. He currently edits programs for each show and is involved in other activities such as painting sets, hanging lights, ushering, and helping send out subscription notices and season tickets. He has served in four board positions, including president and production director. Tom thanks the cast and the staff for working so hard to bring to life the good people of Boston.

Written by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon
Directed by Lois Evans
Produced by Charlotte Robinson & Mary Beth Yablonski
Performance dates: April 8 – May 8, 2016
Run time: 2h 15m

This enchanting classic of children's literature is reimagined in brilliant musical style by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of 'Night Mother. Orphaned in India, 11 year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and his invalid son Colin. The estate's many wonders include a magic garden which beckons the children with haunting melodies and the "Dreamers", spirits from Mary's past who guide her through her new life, dramatizing The Secret Garden's compelling tale of forgiveness and renewal.

To download the production postcard for The Secret Garden to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

Marsha Norman is a leading American playwright and the winner of both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. She received the Tony as well as a Drama Desk Award for best book of a musical for the 1992 Broadway production of The Secret Garden . She also won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for her 1983 play ‘night Mother. Her book for The Color Purple was a Tony nominee for best book of a musical, and she won a Peabody Award for her writing on the HBO television series, In Treatment. A native Kentuckian, Norman was a reporter for the Louisville Times newspaper, and her first play, Getting Out, was produced at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and then Off-Broadway in 1979. The success of Getting Out caused her to move to New York City, where she quickly gained notice in the theater world for ‘night Mother. She has numerous writing credits for the stage, screen, and television, and her lines have been delivered by a host of accomplished actors such as Sissy Spacek, Anne Bancroft, Carol Burnett, James Earl Jones, Tyne Daley, and Sally Field. She is the co-director with Christopher Durang of the playwrights program at The Juilliard School and is a former vice president of the Dramatists Guild of America. Norman has Grammy and Emmy nominations and has received numerous grants and awards, including 18 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities. 

About the Composer

Lucy Simon is the daughter of Richard Simon, co-founder of book publisher Simon & Schuster, and is part of a musical family. Her younger sister is the popular recording star, Carly; older sister, Joanna, is an opera singer. Lucy Simon began her professional career at the age of 16 singing folk and folk-rock music with Carly while performing as half of The Simon Sisters duo. In the mid-70's, after a number of years away from recording, she released two albums of mostly original compositions. Carly Simon and James Taylor provided backup vocals on half of the songs from her second album. Simon and her husband, David Levine, won Grammy Awards in the Best Recording for Children category in 1981 and 1983. Simon made her Broadway debut as the composer of The Secret Garden , gaining Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Original Score. She also composed the music for Doctor Zhivago and for Mama and Her Boys.

About the Director

Lois Evans has worked extensively as an actress and a director in Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, where she received her graduate degree in Theatre from Catholic University. She acted for four seasons with the University of Wisconsin’s Professional Summer Stock Company, where her favorite time in theater as an actress was in Noises Off. Just too much fun! She performed one season as Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, a role she reprised at The Colonial Players and The Surry Opera Company in Maine. This season at Colonial Players she appeared as Cora Swanson in Morning’s at Seven, for which she was nominated for a WATCH award. Several seasons ago she directed True West for The Bay Theatre Company and Crimes of the Heart and Collected Stories for Dignity Players. At The Colonial Players she directed Enter the Guardsman, which won The Ruby Griffith award for Best Community Theatre Production in the Washington area, as did her earlier production of A Little Night Music. Lois taught for many years in the English Department at USNA, where she directed for the Masqueraders, the academy’s drama group, as well as directing the big old wonderful musicals for the music department: Pajama Game, Oklahoma, Damn Yankees, and Into the Woods to name a few. Lois works as a potter, a fiber artisan, and a flamework bead maker, all of which she loves to share with her grandchildren and husband, Bart. In November she will be teaching a Creative Nonfiction class at The John C. Campbell Folk Art School right outside Ashville, North Carolina. Go on line and read about the school; you’ll love it!

About the Music Director

This is Wendy Baird's first time music directing with Colonial Players. She has been performing on the musical theater stage, in the studio, and with big bands and orchestras for more than 30 years. She’s performed at CP most recently as Meredith in Bat Boy, the Musical and Marmee in Little Women, the Musical. Also at CP: the Actress in Enter the Guardsman (Ruby Griffith Award, 2007), Sara Jane Moore in Assassins, Germaine in Picasso at the Lapine Agile, Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers, Jacques Brel…, and Is there Life After High School?. Other favorite roles include Diana in Next to Normal at Red Branch Theatre Co., where she played the adult woman in Spring Awakening last year. Dignity Players’ productions include Vanishing Point (Aimee Semple McPherson), Triumph of Love (Corinne), and The Vagina Monologues. Other favorite roles in the MD/DC area include: Rona in Spelling Bee at ASGT, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, the Witch in Into the Woods, Nola/P. Burke in Weird Romance, and Ilona in She Loves Me. By day, Wendy is president of Insight180, a brand consulting and design firm in Ellicott City.

About the Choreographer

Carol Cohen is delighted to have been asked to stage and choreograph musical numbers for The Secret Garden . She saw the original Broadway production on a Colonial Players trip to NYC with the Stan Morrow group and fell in love with the magic of the play. Carol has a background in ballet, modern dance, and tap. She was the principal movement director for Kaleidoscope for 20 years. Carol was last seen as Ida Bolton in Colonial Players' November production of Morning's at Seven. Thank you, Lois, for your guidance and believing I could help you with your vision.

Director's Notes

“WIn Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic The Secret Garden , ten-year-old Colin Craven exclaims and proclaims with excitement, joy, and hope for the future that he intends to make great scientific discoveries and that these discoveries “will be about Magic.” He goes on to say to his eleven year-old cousin, Mary Lennox: Magic is a great thing and scarcely anyone knows anything about it except a few people in old books – and Mary, a little, because she was born in India, where there are Fakirs. I believe Dickon knows some Magic, but perhaps he doesn’t know he knows it. He charms animals and people. I’m sure there is Magic in everything only we have not sense to get hold of it and make it do things for us! He ends with: “Magic, Magic is in me!” All this from an invalid boy who has “never seen the sun rise.” In our musical production of The Secret Garden , we introduce you to the children who have the Magical ability to transcend pain and loss and embrace the future with grace and hope, bringing with them the adults who have been stunted and deluded by their pain and loss. Colin’s message and, I believe, Burnett’s message to us is to embrace the Magic within us and the Magic in Nature around us. In our production we only hint of time and place. We use one piece of furniture throughout, trying to suggest with use of lights, texture, shapes, and movement the subtle changes that take place. Perhaps this may take you into the world of the Magic of The Secret Garden .”

– LOIS EVANS

The Cast

Greg Anderson (Lieutenant Peter Wright) - Greg feels blessed to be in this show, working with this terrific cast and crew and once again singing and dancing with daughter Kaitlin. A few months back, you might remember Greg as that strange husband, David Crampton, in that wonderful play, Morning’s At Seven … he certainly remembers you laughing! Greg’s favorite roles at CP include the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol as well as Shuffles, the Green Grocer, in Ernest in Love. His all-time favorite roles elsewhere include Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt; Fred Gailey (U.S. stage premiere); Leon Tolchinsky; Dr. Nikolai Zubritsky; Bob Cratchit; Teddy Roosevelt Brewster; Andrew Makepeace Ladd III; The Tin Woodman; G.W. Nethercott; Ken Gorman; Hysterium; Miles Gloriosus; President Art Hockstader; Billy Carewe; and especially Santa in The Elves Who Saved Christmas, written and produced by daughter Tiffany Shannon. Greg thanks Suzanne for her love and support, and appreciates Lois and Wendy extending this opportunity. Keep wondering, but keep smiling!!”

Aubrey Baden III (Fakir) - Aubrey is thrilled to be performing in his tenth production with Colonial Players. An English teacher at Broadneck High School, Aubrey has been active in community theater for more than 35 years, performing in venues such as Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Dignity Players, Merely Players, The Chesapeake Music Hall, and, most recently, 2nd Star Productions in The Music Man. Favorite roles at Colonial include Walter E. Parsons in Inspecting Carol (his first Colonial show), Jacob Marley in one of the productions of A Christmas Carol, and the guard in Frozen. Aubrey thanks Lois, Carol, and Wendy for letting him perform with a tremendously talented and dedicated cast. He also thanks his family and friends for always supporting his theatrical pursuits.

Erin Branigan (Betsy/Mrs. Winthrop) - Erin is excited to be making her Colonial Players debut in The Secret Garden . Other recent performances include Dogfight, Triumph of Love, A Year With Frog and Toad, and Avenue Q (Red Branch Theatre Company); Ragtime and Urinetown (HCC Arts Collective); and Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night (Maryland Shakespeare Company). When she's not on stage, Erin can most often be found writing and editing. Thank you for supporting the performing arts!”

Danny Brooks (Ben Weatherstaff) - Danny is appearing in his 21st CP production and his 80th overall. His favorite CP roles include Chater (Arcadia), Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), Niels Bohr (Copenhagen), and Bardolph (Lettice and Lovage). Some of his favorites elsewhere include Felix (The Odd Couple), Saunders (Lend Me a Tenor), Whiteside (The Man Who Came to Dinner), and Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird). Thanks to Lois and Wendy for giving me this opportunity! 

Kevin Cleaver (Dr. Neville Craven) - The Secret Garden marks Kevin’s third production with The Colonial Players. Previously, he appeared in Jekyll and Hyde (Lord Savage) and A Christmas Carol 2010 (Ghost of Christmas Present). Recent local appearances have been with 2nd Star Productions (The Music Man-Quartet), ASGT (The Addams Family Caveman-ancestor), and Theatre at AACC (The Phantom of the Opera-Andre). Kevin is a member of the Red Branch Theatre Company in Columbia, where he also performed the role of Horton in Seussical, the Musical. He recently completed a personal CD project, “In a City of Strangers”; check it out at CDbaby.com or on iTunes. When not performing, Kevin works in the Neonatal ICU at AAMC.

Samuel Edward Ellis (Dickon) - Sam is an eighth grade homeschooled student from Millersville. Theater credits: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Tiny Tim, Young Scrooge, Turkey Boy), 2014 Gala; Signature Theatre: Crossing, In Concert; The Talent Machine: Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Camp Rock (Nate), Once On This Island (Agwe), Lil’ Abner (Scragg), Bring It On, The Talent Machine holiday shows; Children’s Theatre of Annapolis: Bugsy Malone (Dandy Dan), The Little Mermaid (Sebastian), A Tribute to Roald Dahl. Along with other on-camera credits, Sam stars in the short film, Cowlick, due to hit film festivals in 2016. In the fall of 2016, Sam will begin his high school journey in the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program of Anne Arundel County, majoring in theater. In his spare time, he loves playing piano and performing magic tricks. Sam is very excited to be in his first production with Colonial Players!

Lindsay Espinosa (Lily Craven) - Lindsay is excited to be making her debut with Colonial Players. She recently returned to Annapolis after receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Baldwin Wallace College and Colorado State University. During her last year at CSU, she was an apprentice artist with Opera Fort Collins and was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s competition. Other roles include: Adina (Elixir of Love, Donizetti), Laurie (The Tender Land, Copland), and Young Heidi (Follies, Sondheim) at OFC; Celie (Signor Deluso, Pasatieri), Nella (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini), La Fée (Cendrillon, Massenet), and Gabriel (The Creation, Haydn) at CSU; Zerlina (Don Giovanni, Mozart), Gontran (Une Education Manqée, Chabrier), Musetta (La Bohème, Puccini), at BWC. She has auditioned for many young artist programs this year and is awaiting responses from the Miami Music Festival, Classical Singer Competition, and the Annual Vocal Competition with Annapolis Opera. 

Kaitlin Fish (Claire Holmes/Dance Captain) - Kaitlin is thrilled to be returning to the Colonial Players stage and once again sharing it with her father, Greg Anderson. She was most recently seen playing Ethel Toffelmier in The Music Man with 2nd Star Productions and Fred’s Wife in A Christmas Carol with Colonial Players. Kaitlin would like to give a huge thank you to Lois, Wendy, Carol, and the rest of the production staff for this amazing opportunity to be part of such a beautiful show. She'd also like to thank the wonderful cast members, who have felt like family from the first rehearsal. She can't imagine "dying of cholera with style" or playing the death scarf game with a better group of people!

Kyle Gonzalez (Lieutenant Shaw) - Kyle is elated to be back at Colonial Players for his second production since moving to Annapolis from Colorado in 2013. He portrayed Corporal Hammaker in A Few Good Men at CP and Bill Lawlor in ASGT'S 42nd Street. Kyle sends a shout out to his phenomenal students and the Severna Park High School faculty. He would like to thank his incredibly supportive family and his husband, Christian: “Tesoro, gracias por aguantar la locura y el estúpidez que triago. Te quiero tanto.”

Ella Green (Martha) - Ella is a junior at Severn School in Severna Park. She regularly performs in shows at the Children's Theatre of Annapolis, including the roles of Kate (Legally Blonde), Fairy Godmother (Shrek the Musical), Winifred Banks (Mary Poppins), and many more. Ella is also frequently in productions with Severn School's Water Street Players. She has been seen as Chastity in Anything Goes, The Witch in Big Fish, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Duchess in Nice Work If You Can Get It. Ella has been dancing since she was a young girl and now studies dance at Creative Force Dance Center. Ella also studies voice at The Peabody Institute Prep School with Carol Cavey-Miles. “I would like to thank my mom, dad, brother, and friends for always supporting me in doing what I love. And a huge thanks to the artistic staff. It has been such an amazing learning experience for me and I couldn't be happier!”

Madi Heinemann (Mary Lennox) - Madi is excited to make her debut with The Colonial Players. She was last seen as Jane Banks in Mary Poppins with Children's Playhouse of Maryland. Although Madi's favorite place is on stage, you can also find her participating in choir, Girl Scouts, student council, altar serving, and playing at home. She would like to thank Ms. Lois for pushing her to bring out Mary Lennox; Ms. Wendy for helping her with all the tough music and driving her to/from rehearsals; Ms. Nancy for helping perfect her British accent; Ms. Carol for her choreography, especially the Hindu speaking chants; Ms. Fran and Ms. Paige for making her look like Mary; and the wonderful cast and crew for their hard work and commitment to making the show great! Finally, she would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support.

Cory Jones (Major Holmes) - Cory is grateful for the opportunity to make his Colonial Players debut in this wonderfully exciting show! Selected recent roles include Mr. McGregor in Red Branch Theatre Company's world premiere of Peter Rabbit: A New Musical, Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad (also at Red Branch), and Father in Howard Community College Arts Collective's production of Ragtime. He's grateful to friends and family for all their support, and the wonderful creative team for bringing this show to life!

Heather McMunigal (Rose Lennox) - Heather is delighted to make her Colonial Players debut in The Secret Garden . Heather grew up performing in musical theater from a young age and received her Bachelor of Arts in Music (voice) from Penn State University. Heather remains an active singer and has worked for nonprofit arts organizations for several years. Heather now helps to “Save the Bay” working for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and lives not far from the theater in downtown Annapolis. Many thanks to the cast and creative team for making this experience a wonderful reentry into musical theater.

Kaelynn Miller (Alice) - Kaelynn is delighted to be back on the CP stage! This is her seventh season with CP, and she has volunteered both on the stage and off in a variety of roles, from actress to go-button pusher to steampunk wig maker to Looney Tunes sound effect specialist to smushed-banana cleaner. Kaelynn currently serves as Treasurer on Colonial Players’ Board of Directors. To pay her pesky bills, she works in the music industry as a customer service representative for an instrumental accessory distributor, where some days she actually gets to use her bachelor’s degree in Music. If you are watching this performance on May 6, 7, or 8, please note that the role of Alice will be played by Kaelynn Bedsworth – because only Kaelynn would be marrying a man who is so supportive and patient that he was totally fine with her being in a show literally ON their wedding day. Wes Bedsworth, I love you!

Reid Murphy (Colin Craven) - Reid is thrilled to make his debut at Colonial Players. Reid is an 11-year-old fifth-grader who works hard and plays hard. He enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends, but mostly loves being on stage. Most recently seen in Holiday Magic with The Talent Machine, Reid has also performed in Peter Pan and Camp Rock with The Talent Machine and in Haphazardly Ever After, Bugsy Malone Jr., and The Canterville Ghost with Children's Theatre of Annapolis. Reid would like to thank the cast and wonderful team of directors and producers for all of their guidance and support.

Justin T. Ritchie (Archibald Craven) - Justin is excited to be making his Colonial Players debut in The Secret Garden . Though it has been more than 10 years since his last time on a musical theater stage, he feels like he’s home! Justin has appeared on the stages of DC area theaters including Signature Theatre, The Keegan Theatre and the Actor’s Theatre of Washington. In his time away from the theater, Justin has been a busy cabaret performer with shows in DC, New York, Chicago, and Fort Lauderdale. His one-man show, On My Way Here, was nominated for a WAMA award. Justin also won the 2013 MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) award for the show, Tonight, New York City. In June 2014, Justin released his first recording, Feels Like Home. “To Lois and Wendy – heartfelt thanks for casting me in this beautiful show with such a stunning cast. To Jason – all my love.” www.justinthomasritchie.com

Cristina Shunk (Mrs. Medlock) - Cristina performed most recently at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (ensemble), Into The Woods (Jack's Mother), Swing, Xanadu (Euterpe) and Anything Goes. She's also appeared in various productions with The Pasadena Theater Company and Red Branch Theatre. Cristina is excited to make her debut appearance with The Colonial Players. The cast and crew for this show have been wonderful. Most importantly, she'd like to thank her family for putting up with her occasional theatrical endeavors. "Performing is food for the soul, and The Secret Garden has given me a feast."

Kory Twit (Captain Albert Lennox) - Kory is happy to be part of this great cast for his debut with Colonial Players. He was most recently seen as Lamar in Godspell with Silhouette Stages. Kory is particularly happy to be part of this show because since childhood he has loved The Secret Garden , a story of children being transformed through stubbornness into love and changing the adults around them. As an uncle and elementary school ESOL teacher, he is happy to say that he has been forever changed by “his” kids. Kory wants to thank family and friends for love and encouragement and his Lord Jesus for the joy in the journey. Soli Deo gloria.

The Production Staff

Jean Carroll Christie (Costume Coordinator) Since 1969, Jeannie has been involved in many different aspects of theater at Colonial Players and elsewhere in the community. Of all the different aspects of the theater, costuming and lighting have been her favorites: for costuming, from A Christmas Carol to Over My Dead Body to Enchanted April to Enter the Guardsman to Stones in His Pockets to The 39 Steps; and, for lighting, The Runner Stumbles to A Christmas Carol to Dancing at Lughnasa to Death of a Salesman. Using lights and fabric is the same as painting on canvas to Jeannie. Presently, she is serving on the CP Board as the Production Director.

Julien C. Jacques (Sound Designer, Effects) No stranger to Colonial Players, Julien has been involved with Colonial over the last 10 years in areas ranging from directing The Veritas Machine in 2000, to filming projections for Bat Boy in 2014 and Annie in 2013 to, this year, consulting on Venus in Fur. He has run lights and sound for many theater companies in the area, including Bay Theatre, Summer Garden Theatre, and Dignity Players, where he had the pleasure of designing sound and projections on several plays, most recently The 39 Steps. Outside of the theater Julien is a producer, director and director of photography for film, working on an assortment of projects such as Anthem in 2012 with Make Your Mark Media, which had a national broadcast on PBS, and Patterson & Bonaparte, a documentary currently in production.

Nancy Krebs (Dialect/Vocal Coach) Nancy is very happy to be working with The Colonial Players on this wonderful production. She is currently the Resident Vocal/Dialect coach for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company, where credits include: Three Sisters, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, As You Like It, Poe, Tale of Two Cities, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Our Town, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Merry Wives of Windsor, and Macbeth. Other credits include – Studio Theatre: Constellations, Animal (World premiere), The Habit of Art, (American Premiere) The Enda Walsh Festival: The Walworth Farce and The New Electric Ballroom; Rep Stage: I Am My Own Wife, A Young Lady of Property, Boeing Boeing, Home, Yellowman, The Temperamentals, Or, Barrymore, and Two by Barrie; Olney Theatre Center: Guys & Dolls, Hay Fever, Once on This Island, Angel Street, Witness for the Prosecution, Charlie’s Aunt, Blithe Spirit, Carousel, Lend Me a Tenor; Everyman Theatre: The Crucible, Red Herring, My Children! My Africa!, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Watch on the Rhine, Cripple of Inishmaan, Candida, Betrayal, Sight Unseen, Turn of the Screw, I Am My Own Wife, Our Town (choral composer/arranger); Bay Theatre Company: Master Harold… and the Boys, The Norman Conquests: Table Manners. Nancy teaches voice in the Theatre Department of the Baltimore School for the Arts, operates her own studio (The Voiceworks), and is a singer/songwriter and musician. She has been a professional actor since 1975 and belongs to AFTRA, SAG, AEA and VASTA.

Eric Lund (Lighting Designer) The Secret Garden  is Eric’s fourth show working on lighting design this season. He designed lighting for our most recent show, Boeing Boeing, was nominated for a WATCH Award for best lighting for his work on Side Man in October, and teamed up with Alex Brady on the design for Venus in Fur in January. Eric has worked extensively at Colonial Players and other theaters in the Annapolis area, including Dignity Players, where he appeared in several productions and also served as lighting designer. He appeared on the CP stage in productions of Rebecca, The Clearing, and various years of A Christmas Carol. He played Andrew at Bowie Playhouse in Someone to Watch Over Me, winner of the Ruby Griffith award, and Eugene in Broadway Bound for Vagabond Players. Production credits at CP include directing Voice of the Prairie and the 1993 and 2000 productions of A Christmas Carol; lighting design for Frozen, Kid Purple, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (also set design), Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and Angel Street; and set design for CP’s The Lion in Winter. He thanks his husband, Mickey, for … well … basically everything.

Andy McLendon (Stage Manager) The Secret Garden  is another “for the love it” project for Andy, who enjoys working with this amazingly creative and talented cast and staff. Andy was stage manager earlier this season for Morning’s at Seven. Associated with Colonial Players since the 1970's, her task of choice has been that of stage manager. Memorable productions at CP include Closer Than Ever, The Robber Bridegroom, Prelude to a Kiss, They're Playing Our Song, Enter the Guardsman, Cabaret, Blood Brothers, and A Christmas Carol.

Laurie Nolan (Set Designer) Laurie has been working on sets at Colonial Players off and on since the late 1970’s. She particularly enjoys the more “arty,” or less literal, design concepts: These Shining Lives, Copenhagen, the shape of things, Enter the Guardsman, Road to Mecca. She also loved working on sets for Dignity Players, especially Almost Maine, Art, and Stones in His Pockets. Lois’s concept for this show was particularly intriguing, as the lights, set, and costumes had to help tell the story with very little furniture. This has been an amazing and fun challenge. By day, Laurie owns Art Things in West Annapolis a shop founded by her mother, Lydia, 50 years ago this year. Lydia was a huge fan of this theater!.

Charlotte Robinson (Co-Producer) Charlotte has worked behind the scenes with Colonial Players for more than 25 years. She is happy to be working on The Secret Garden again after doing props for CP's 1996 non-musical version directed by Barry Christie. She was co-producer for Trying with Mary Beth Yablonski three years ago and worked on props for Side Man earlier this season. Charlotte also conducted a CP workshop last year on stage managing with Andy McLendon. She has worked on other CP shows such as A Christmas Carol, The Spitfire Grill, and Cinderella Waltz. Thanks to everyone who worked together to stage this beautiful show!”

Constance Robinson (Properties Designer) In the past, Connie has volunteered as marketing assistant, graphic designer, and box office assistant for The Colonial Players and is on the current Marketing Committee. She collected props for Collected Stories at Dignity Players theater. For The Colonial Players, Connie was properties designer for: In The Next Room, Or The Vibrator Play (received a WATCH nomination), Annie, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Rocket Man, A Christmas Carol, Watch on the Rhine, Sherlock's Last Case (received two WATCH nominations), and Boeing Boeing and also assisted with set decorating. Connie thanks her husband, John, for his help with picking up or modifying props. She thanks her family and friends for loaning personal belongings for set props and for their enthusiastic support.

Mary Beth Yablonski (Co-Producer) Mary Beth has been active with Colonial Players for 32 years. She served on the Board of Directors as treasurer and has been involved in many productions as stage manager, production manager, and collector of props. Mary Beth ushers and works annually on the CP subscription committee. She sings with the Annapolis Chorale, and recently retired from the Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is a volunteer at Baltimore Washington Hospital.

Written by Paul Osborn
Directed by Rick Wade
Produced by Tom Stuckey
Performance dates:
February 19 - March 12, 2016
Run time: 2h 30m

This 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancees, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent "layovers". He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time. "This latest edition of a play named for an aircraft soars right out of its time zone and into some unpolluted stratosphere of classic physical comedy. Propelled by the same gusty spirit that animated Commedia dell'Arte and the silent films of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd, [this] may be earthy, but it's seldom earthbound." - The New York Times

To download the production postcard for Boeing Boeing to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

Marc Camoletti was born a French citizen in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1923, but lived most of his life in Paris. His grandfather was a famous architect in Geneva, designing the city’s concert hall and a museum of art and history. Camoletti was trained as an artist and didn’t write his first play, La Bonne Anna, until he was 35. It was a huge hit in Paris, running for 1,300 performances. He wrote more than 400 plays, Boeing Boeing being his signature hit. The English adaptation by Beverly Cross (later revised by Francis Evans) ran for more than 2,000 performances in London. A Broadway version did not catch on with New York audiences and closed after a short run in 1965. Boeing Boeing achieved greater success the second time around on Broadway in 2008 when it had a successful run and won the Tony Award for best revival of a play. Most of Carmoletti’s plays were comedies dealing with themes of sex, relationships, and secrets. His work is often characterized as “boulevard theatre,” a genre characterized by middlebrow sex comedies and named for Paris’ Boulevard du Temple, location of many theaters. 

About the Director

Scott Nichols is back in the director’s chair at Colonial Players after having directed Rocket Man last season. Previously, during CP’s one-act festivals, he directed Queen of the Northern Monkeys and Hamlet, Act VI, which went on to be performed at the Maryland Community Theatre Festival. Scott has also been seen onstage at Colonial Players performing as Sheriff Reynolds in Bat Boy, Wigs in Enter the Guardsman, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, Olf in Incorruptible, Birdy in Terra Nova, and various roles in Under Milkwood. He was also in Dignity Players’ productions of Gross Indecency: the Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and the two-person Stones in His Pockets. Other favorite roles include Linus in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Little Mary Sunshine in Chicago (both at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre), Phillip in The Lion in Winter, Don in Butterflies Are Free, and various roles in Jacques Brel. Scott would especially like to thank Jason for always providing love, patience, and understanding.

Director's Notes

“What a joy to get the chance to work on this funny and fun show! Like many, I often go to the theater to see a poignant or profound drama filled with introspective characters and social commentary. And then there are plays like this! This is a high-energy, mistaken identity, doorsslamming, girl-kissing romp of classic French farce. I was fortunate that, many years ago, one of the first shows I did at Colonial Players was Ken Ludwig’s wonderful Lend Me a Tenor, and from then and there I was hooked on farce! I’m so glad this play, written by French playwright Marc Camoletti and first performed in 1962, was dusted off and rebooted in 2007. Still set in the stylish and swinging early sixties, the revived script wisely kept the sexy and turned the sexist premise on its ear. The three “air hostesses,” who live by the adage “Vive la difference!,” understand the gender games of their time and deftly play them to their advantage. They work in the cabin, but they certainly show no fear in taking the controls when needed. Add into the mix two young schemers who inevitably lose control of the situation plus a sarcastic French maid who is just as quick in doling out philosophy as she is with a snarky quip, and you’ve got the fluffiest of soufflés possible. So please sit back, make sure your tray table is in the locked position, buckle up, and enjoy your flight!….”

– SCOTT NICHOLS

The Cast

Brandon Bentley (Bernard) - Brandon is very excited to have his biggest role yet as Bernard in Boeing Boeing! He made both his Colonial Players and general stage acting debut in 2014 with This or That, a festival of short plays, starring in both Sure Thing and Tough Cookies. The latter participated in state and regional one-act play contests. Last season he portrayed Sam Weinberg in Colonial Players' production of A Few Good Men, a WATCH award nominee for best play. Aside from acting onstage, Brandon also wrote/directed/ co-starred in the 2012 short horror film The Crossing (also featuring Boeing Boeing’s own costume designer, Christina McAlpine, in a primary role), and hosted the YouTube movie review series Someone Has To Review It! Brandon gives a big round of thanks to his parents, who have supported his love for the arts since he was little, as well as the Colonial Players family who have made him feel at home from the beginning!”

Rebecca Gift (Gretchen) - Rebecca is thrilled to be performing in her first show with Colonial Players. Graduating from Frostburg State University last May, she has performed in a number of theaters in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Most recently, she was seen in Catch Me if You Can with ASGT in Annapolis and is a part of the team at Everyman Theater in Baltimore. She would like to thank all of those involved with this production for being so lovely to work with.

Colin Hood (Robert) - Colin is excited about his first appearance at Colonial Players, but you may have seen him at one of Annapolis Summer Garden Theater’s productions over the years (Spamalot, Catch Me if You Can, Avenue Q). Colin would like to thank his friends and family for supporting his passions and for always having his back. “Sit back and enjoy the flight!”

Debra Kidwell (Gloria) - Debra is happy to make her debut appearance at Colonial Players in this fun and kooky show! Debra loves all things song-and-dance and most recently appeared in the musical Catch Me If You Can with Annapolis Summer Garden Theater (2015). Debra thanks her family for their love, and her friends for their support and inspiration. Enjoy the show! 

CeCe McGee-Newbrough (Berthe) - CeCe is very excited to be doing another show at Colonial Players. She was last seen as Fanny in Watch on the Rhine. Some of her favorites include Annie with Summer Garden Theatre, Death and the Maiden with Dignity Players, and Silvia, Born Yesterday, House of Blue Leaves, Dancing at Lughnasa, and The Clearing at Colonial Players. In addition to raising her beautiful daughter, Ellie, CeCe works part-time for Hugh Blocker, CPA. She would like to extend her love and thanks to her fellow cast members, her family, and her cats....Tater, Tots, and Tangles!!

Sarah Wade (Gabriella) - Sarah is very pleased to be part of the cast of Boeing Boeing, having most recently been seen onstage as Cecily Cardew in Ernest in Love. Other roles at Colonial Players include twins Isabelle and Sabine in the Ruby Griffith Award-winning production of The Liar, Catherine in These Shining Lives, Star-to-Be in Annie, Jessica in Communicating Doors, and Kitty in Taking Steps, as well as many years of A Christmas Carol, most recently as the Charwoman. She also appeared in Dignity Players’ production of Collected Stories as Lisa Morrison. "Thank you to Eric for letting me indulge in one more show before the wedding, to Lois and Carol and they know why, and, of course, to family and friends for understanding that as usual: ‘I can't, I have rehearsal.’"

The Production Staff

Tim Brown (Co-Producer, Assistant Stage Manager) As a long-time subscriber, Tim has always wanted to become more involved backstage with his favorite theater. His recent retirement has given him the time to do just that. Starting his volunteer activities last year as an usher, he helped hang lights and operate the tech booth for Morning’s at Seven. Now he is delighted to be learning the role of Producer under Joan. Tim says he is honored to be working with so many talented people who are involved just for the love of theater and who are just fun to be around.

Dave Carter (Assistant Director, Stage Manager) Dave is excited to be involved in his third season with Colonial Players after directing a play in the 2014 July One-Act Festival. He appeared in Communicating Doors and These Shining Lives. He was most recently was seen as Commander Walter Stone in A Few Good Men as well as understudy for Watch on the Rhine. Dave feels quite honored to have been asked to be assistant director on such a wonderful show as Boeing Boeing. He jumps at the chance to be a part of farce theater, his favorite genre, especially when he can work with such a great set of actors as well as crew. Dave especially wants to thank his family and friends for all their support and understanding as he has come back to his passion and is often having to say over the past couple of years…. Sorry, I can’t, I have rehearsal.

Ben Cornwell (Sound Manager) Ben returns as sound designer after performing the same role in our previous show, Venus in Fur. He is happy to be working on his 15th season at Colonial Players. His first show was Of Mice and Men in the 2000- 01 season as a sound tech, and he has done a multitude of shows since. He was nominated for a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors award for his sound design in 2010's Frozen and 2014's Superior Donuts, both with Colonial Players. He is excited to be working with such a brilliant director, cast, and crew.

Eric Lund (Lighting Designer) Boeing Boeing is Eric’s third show as a lighting designer this season. He is a nominee for a WATCH Award for best lighting for his work on Side Man in October and teamed up with Alex Brady on the design for Venus in Fur. Eric has worked extensively at Colonial Players and other theaters in the Annapolis area, including Dignity Players, where he appeared in several productions and also served as lighting designer. He appeared on the CP stage in productions of Rebecca, The Clearing, and various years of A Christmas Carol. He played Andrew at Bowie Playhouse in Someone to Watch Over Me, winner of the Ruby Griffith award, and Eugene in Broadway Bound for Vagabond Players. Production credits at CP include directing Voice of the Prairie and the 1993 and 2000 productions of A Christmas Carol; lighting design for Frozen, Kid Purple, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (also set design), Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and Angel Street; and set design for CP’s The Lion in Winter. He thanks his husband, Mickey, for … well … basically everything.

Christina McAlpine (Costume Designer) Christina is glad to be back in the saddle designing costumes for Colonial Players! She has volunteered here and there with CP after moving to Maryland in 2008. She most recently helped lend a sewing hand on A Few Good Men. Past costume design credits at CP include: Dead Man’s Cell Phone and The Curious Savage. She appeared on the CP stage in Wrong Package in the 2010 short play festival. Christina holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of West Florida and has been designing and sewing costumes for almost nine years. During the day, she enjoys working with animals in Catonsville, and at night designing and managing her Etsy shop (PrettyBluEyesVintage). “Special thanks to my patient and supportive significant other, Yanick, my friends and family, and especially my mom, who’s always encouraged and supported my artistic endeavors.”

Constance Robinson (Properties Designer) In the past, Connie has volunteered as marketing assistant, graphic designer, and box office assistant for The Colonial Players and is on the current Marketing Committee. Connie was properties designer for Collected Stories at Dignity Players. For CP, she collected props for: In The Next Room, Or The Vibrator Play (for which she received a WATCH nomination); Annie; Dead Man's Cell Phone; Rocket Man; A Christmas Carol; Watch on the Rhine; and Sherlock's Last Case. She has also assisted with set decoration. Connie thanks her husband, John, for his help by picking up or modifying props. She also thanks her family and friends for loaning some of their belongings as set pieces or props.

Joan Townsend (Co-Producer) Joan has been active in regional theaters since moving to Maryland. In addition to acting (her favorite roles are Ethel P. Savage in The Curious Savage and Lady Thiang in The King and I), she has directed, stage managed, run lights, and designed sound. Her other theatrical adventures included hosting Capital City Profiles, a television interview show on public service access. She is an organization consultant to local governments, churches, and not-for-profit organizations.”Thanks to Rolph for his great support of my hobby!”

Alan Zemla (Set Designer) the resident set designer and scenic artist for The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre in Baltimore, Alan has designed, built, and painted sets for more than two dozen shows in-the-round since 2012. His favorite designs include Hello, Dolly!; Bus Stop; Fiddler on the Roof; Into the Woods; Romeo and Juliet; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; God of Carnage; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; and the U.S. premiere of A Sensation Novel. He is particularly excited to be working in a new space with new people and new challenges (six doors!). His goal is to someday actually design a set that is not in-the-round and has a proscenium. When not painting faux mahogany or marble, Alan spends his days working as a mechanical engineer for TA Engineering in Catonsville, MD. Thanks to Scott Nichols for inviting me to work in this awesome space.

Written by David Ives
Directed by Jim Gallagher
Produced by Jason Vaughan
Performance dates:
January 8 – 23, 2016
Run time: 90m

In David Ives’ cerebral and sexy comedy, Thomas Novachek is a beleaguered playwright/director who is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale Venus In Furs . Into his empty audition room walks an equally desperate actress—oddly enough, named Vanda. As Vanda and Thomas read the lines of the play-within-a-play, Thomas becomes increasingly aware that Vanda is more than an auditioning actress with an incredible talent. But who is she? Might she actually be Venus herself come to enlighten Thomas — or perhaps punish him?

Venus In Fur opened in New York to immediate and intense critical acclaim, garnering a 2010 Tony® Award nomination for Best Play.

To download the production postcard for Venus In Fur to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading. A PDF of the production playbill is also available in the same location

About the Playwright

David Ives is a contemporary American author with almost 50 plays to his credit. He is best known for his short comedic plays and for longer plays that are adaptations of earlier literary works. Ives wrote his first play at age 9 or 10; he determined he wanted to be a playwright at age 17 when he saw a production of Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1971, he moved to New York City and began his writing career. He had some success in the 1980s with productions of several of his short plays at theaters around town, but his career didn’t take off until 1993 when he combined six of those short plays into an evening of theater titled All in the Timing, a surprise hit that ran for 606 performances. Ives has found success using French and German books as sources for his plays. “I like drawing on something pre-existing because plot is hard for me,” he said in a 2013 interview with Playbill. “If somebody else can hand me the lineaments of a story and I can proceed from there, so much the better as far as I’m concerned.” An 1870 German novel, Venus In Furs, was the inspiration for Venus In Fur. (Ives dropped the “s” from furs for his play title.) A 17th century French farce was the basis for The Liar, a favorite with CP audiences last season and winner of the 2014 Ruby Griffith Award for best all around production by Washington-area community theaters. (You can see the impressive Ruby Griffith trophy in the display case at the foot of the stairs in the lobby.). 

About the Director

Jim Gallagher's last directing gig was Becky’s New Car at Bay Theatre Company. The last show he directed at Colonial Players was Frozen in 2010. Other shows directed at CP: Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1999), Lost in Yonkers (1996), Rebel Armies Deep Into Chad (1993), and The Nightingale and Not the Lark (One Act 1991). He also co-directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1998) and Anything Goes (1997) for Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. CP audiences saw him on the stage earlier this season in Sherlock’s Last Case. Other CP shows include Rabbit Hole, Hogan’s Goat, Cabaret, Prelude to a Kiss, The Boys Next Door, Anne of the Thousand Days, All My Sons, and The Elephant Man. He also appeared in Twelfth Night at The Shakespeare Theatre; Doubt, Blue Orange, Art, and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde at Dignity Players; Copenhagen, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Cripple of Inishmaan for Theatre Hopkins. He studied at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and in Washington, DC at the The Shakespeare Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Source Theatre.

Director's Notes

In Venus In Fur , the character Vanda says: “In our society, a woman’s only power is through men... I want to see what Woman will be when she ceases to be men’s slave. When she has the same rights as he, when she’s his equal in education and his partner in work. When she becomes herself. An individual.” To which Thomas responds: “Women’s rights... yadda yadda.” A modern man like Thomas (whose fiancé is a high-powered business woman) might think that the fight for woman’s rights is irrelevant. Yet at a time when a woman CEO is still viewed as an exception to the norm, Thomas’ smug response is myopic and suggests an obliviousness to his own privilege. Not only is Thomas’ worldview seldom challenged, but as a writer, his views are celebrated and disseminated. In Venus In Fur this paradigm is called into question. Vanda is an out-of-work actress who questions the power structure and challenges the “normal” order. Throughout the play, the actress attempts to turn the tables on the playwright/director, challenging his art, his views – his identity as a man. The conflict escalates, power shifts back and forth between Thomas and Vanda, and this game of cat-and-mouse culminates in a dramatically decisive conclusion. The play Venus In Fur , written by David Ives in 2011, uses a 19th-century novel of the same name as a main source. Written by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch in 1870, the novel is a story of sexual domination and submission. In fact the term ‘masochism’ is derived from the author’s name. Despite its connection to the novel, however, the play is not about sexual bondage. The playwright uses the familiar director/ actress relationship to examine themes of dominance and submission; and in so doing, he is able to address larger issues concerning social power dynamics between men and women. Bondage becomes a metaphor for power vs. powerlessness. The play references Titian’s painting Venus with Mirror. In art, literature, and theater, men have created the persona of Venus, assigning her an identity and providing her voice. Men have controlled Venus’ “brand” since the beginning. Female identity is intrinsically linked to the male gaze: a man painted Venus with Mirror, a man wrote the novel Venus In Furs , and man wrote the play Venus In Fur ; and lest you think that this phenomenon is a thing of the past, a man directed tonight’s performance. Even a work of art that criticizes the male power structure is controlled by men! Venus In Fur is a funny, mysterious, quasi-erotic drama that questions gender roles and power. Looking deeper through its many layers, Venus In Fur is also a cautionary parable about the dangers of ignoring what is right in front of you. So WILL a woman finally take control of her own identity? We shall see...!

– JIM GALLAGHER

The Cast

Jeff Mocho (Thomas) - Jeff is excited to return to Colonial Players and have the opportunity to work with Jim and Natalie in such an intense show. The torture of rehearsal has been exquisite. Previously at Colonial Players, he appeared as the judge and understudy for Lt. Kaffe in A Few Good Men, as Reece in Communicating Doors, and Michael Starkwedder in The Unexpected Guest, when he met and fell in love with leading lady Shirley Panek. Thanks to Shirley, Drew, and Emma for being your fantastic selves and for welcoming me into the family. Lots of love to Mom and Dad, who are coming all the way from Albuquerque to see the show.

Natalie Nankervis (Vanda) - Natalie Nankervis is thrilled to return for her third show at Colonial Players. You may have seen her as Alice in last season’s production of Ernest in Love. She spent this past summer in New York studying the Meisner acting technique at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her favorite roles include Widow Corney in Oliver! and Ginette in Almost, Maine. The role of Vanda has given her the opportunity to explore her range as an actor, and she feels honored to bring this magnificent character to life. She’d like to thank Jim for taking a chance on a passionate young actress who simply adores this play. She’d also like to thank her parents — Mrs. R, Mr. M, and Julian — for their constant support. Hail, Aphrodite!

The Production Staff

Mary Butcher (Floor Designer, Floor and Set Painting) This is Mary’s second show at Colonial Players since she moved here in August. She finds it’s always fun and exciting to make a space look like a dirty, gnarly warehouse and was thrilled to have that opportunity with this show, thanks to Rico’s kickass design. Thanks to everyone at CP who has already made her feel like part of the CP family. She is looking forward to many more repaints of the stage with future shows.

Ben Cornwell (Sound Designer) Ben is happy to be working on his 15th season at Colonial Players. His first show was Of Mice and Men in the 2000-01 season as a sound tech, and he has done a multitude of shows since. He has been nominated twice for a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors award for his sound design in 2010’s Frozen and 2014’s Superior Donuts, both with Colonial Players. He is excited to be working with such a brilliant director, cast, and crew.

JoAnn Gidos and Mike Gidos (Properties Designers, Set Decoration) JoAnn and her husband and assistant, Mike, are supporting their second consecutive production at Colonial Players after having designed props for Morning’s at Seven. Recently they also supported Brigadoon at Compass Rose Theater and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Severn School. Over the years they have worked on many productions at Bay Theatre, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, and other companies in the Annapolis area. While JoAnn represents the artistic side of the effort, Mike does the research, searching out and locating often hard-to-find props. In addition, Mike often is the go-to guy for weapons and special effects. Among their favorites are Candide, Assassins, Trying, Shipwrecked!, Moonlight and Magnolias, and The Price.

Eric Lund (Lighting Designer) Eric is fresh off designing lights for the Colonial Players production of Side Man. Over the years, he did lighting design for Kid Purple, Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and Angel Street and designed lighting and sets for Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Lion in Winter. He appeared on stage in productions of Rebecca, The Clearing, various years of A Christmas Carol, and Broadway Bound. He directed A Voice of the Prairie and A Christmas Carol for CP and The Vagina Monologues for Dignity Players. In the film world, he helped produce the documentary film Anthem for MYMMedia, which aired nationally on PBS, and is helping to produce their next project, Patterson & Bonaparte. He would like to thank Mickey, his husband of 23 amazing years, for his endless support.

Kaelynn Miller (Costume Designer) Kaelynn returns to the world of costume design after spending about two years working in other production areas. She has been involved with many shows over the last seven seasons, both on the stage and off, in a variety of roles from actress to orphan wrangler to go-button pusher to floor painter to last minute button sewer to Looney Tunes sound effect specialist to smushed-banana cleaner. Previous costume design credits at CP include Shipwrecked! (2014 WATCH award nominee for costume design), Company, and Inventing Van Gogh. At CP, Kaelynn serves as Treasurer and Membership Chair. She pays her bills by working as a customer service representative in the music industry, which actually sort of relates to her Bachelor’s degree in Music and Vocal Performance. Love to Wes.

Shirley Panek (Stage Manager) After performing as Louise in last year’s Rocket Man at Colonial Players, Shirley took some time off to plan and produce a wedding with her real-life leading man, Jeff Mocho. She now steps backstage as stage manager for this provocative show. Previous production credits at Colonial Players include stage managing 1776 and Bat Boy and designing lights for Communicating Doors, Chapter Two (2012 WATCH lighting award conominee), Moonlight and Magnolias, Trying, and A Few Good Men. Shirley would like to thank Jim for his dedication and trusting her with his amazing cast, Jason for his organization skills and attention to detail, and the rest of the production staff for all their hard work. Break a leg, Natalie! Try not to break Jeff. Love to Jeff, Drew, and Emma.

Ricardo Seijo (Set Designer) Ricardo was born in Puerto Rico, where he began his career in set design staging elaborate Star Wars action scenes using LEGOs, sleeping bags, laundry detergent powder, and dominoes. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in architecture and now spends much of his waking life designing schools with Grimm + Parker Architects. He is a founding member of 4 Point Design Collective, with which he collaborated on the sets for August: Osage County and The Full Monty for The Keegan Theater in Washington, DC. He is new to The Colonial Players, but is looking forward to new opportunities for camaraderie with the talented and dedicated group he’s found here. He’d like to thank the Venus team for this opportunity, the red chair for keeping quiet, and Mander for the morning bedspread laughs.

Jason Vaughan (Producer) Jason is delighted to be working again with Colonial Players, this time as producer of Venus in Fur. In past years, he’s worked “behind the curtain” as a one-act play director, assistant director, and playwright. He has previously appeared on the stage in performances with Colonial, Dignity Players of Annapolis, and Spotlighters Theater of Baltimore. Jason also serves on Colonial’s longrange planning and nominations committees and is busily working on the lobby display for CP’s next show, Boeing Boeing. Jason thanks Scott for all his patience and support.

Written by Paul Osborn
Directed by Rick Wade
Produced by Tom Stuckey
Performance dates:
November 20 - December 13, 2015
Run time: 2h 30m

Aaronetta and Ida Gibbs have lived next door to each other most of their lives and along with Esther, all of the Gibb sisters are an open book to each. Husbands not included. Into the fray comes Myrtle Brown, perpetually engaged to Ida's son Homer. But Homer can't seem to pop the question. Taking matters into her own hands, Myrtle finally gets a proposal by compelling Homer to fly the nest. Sort of. "An absolute charmer... Four sisters, Chekhov would have smiled. So will you, and laugh out loud, too.”

To download the production postcard for Morning's at Seven to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

Paul Osborn was a playwright and screenwriter who grew up in Kalamazoo, MI, in the early 1900s. He often based his characters on the family members and neighbors who were part of his childhood. His first Broadway play, Hotbed, produced in 1928, featured a rigidly self-righteous college administrator based loosely on Osborn’s father, a Baptist minister who was also the inspiration for the character David in Morning's at Seven. Osborn had several other plays produced on Broadway, including A Bell for Adano and The World of Suzie Wong, both of which were made into movies. Other screenwriting credits included well-known movies such as East of Eden, The Yearling, Sayonara, and South Pacific. When he received a Tony Award for best revival of a play for Morning's at Seven  in 1980, he noted that even though his plays had been produced for 51 years, he had never won or even seen a Tony. Osborn died eight years later at the age of 86. 

About the Director

Morning's at Seven is the 26th production Rick Wade has directed for Colonial Players since becoming a member in the late 1960s. They include last spring’s Ernest In Love, Amadeus, Our Town, Driving Miss Daisy, The Trip To Bountiful, She Loves Me, Inherit The Wind, and Hello Dolly! He also has directed for the Annapolis Opera, Summer Garden Theatre, Anne Arundel Community College, Bay Theatre, and Compass Rose Theater. He wrote the adaptation and lyrics for a musical version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with music by Dick Gessner, which has been produced by Colonial Players almost annually for more than 30 years. More than a dozen of his plays and musicals have been produced in community and professional theaters. The Anne Arundel Arts Council presented its Annie Award for achievement in the performing arts to him in 2008. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Arnold and are the parents of a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Sarah, who is also an active performer and member of CP.

Director's Notes

“What makes this gently colored, sharply etched family portrait so engaging is its understanding that laughter and tears, as responses to everyday life, are as close and connected as Siamese twins.” That quote is from New York Times Drama Critic Ben Brantley’s review of the 2002 Broadway revival of Paul Osborn’s 1939 comedy, Morning's at Seven. I’ve long admired this play for its humor, humanity, and close-to-the-bone reality.

Yes, the characters seem a bit eccentric. But don’t we all have family members who are, well, just a bit eccentric? When I saw another revival, in the 1980s, I felt as though Osborn must have met my own aunts and uncles from Indiana … after all he was born in that state. But no, the playwright created a family with all the sweet and sour moments and memories with which we can all identify.

The Gibbs sisters and their families, who will let you into their lives today, remind us that the people we love the most are the ones who can drive us crazy one minute, laugh with us the next, and, yes, break our hearts at another. It is, after all, why we have and need families around us to ease us through life. Don’t be surprised if you nod and smile at Esty, Cora, Arry or at Carl and Ida and Homer, thinking: “They’re just like someone in my family….”

– RICK WADE

The Cast

Greg Anderson (David Crampton) - Greg is excited to be back in CP’s “360” theater, having appeared most recently as the Green Grocer in Ernest in Love. Favorite roles include: Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol (CP 2014); Bobby Dwayne in The Hallelujah Girls; Fred Gailey in the U.S. stage premiere of Miracle on 34th Street; Leon in Fools and Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace at Prince George’s Little Theatre; Andrew Ladd III in Love Letters (Oaklands); G.W. in Sordid Lives and Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz at Bowie Community Theatre; Hysterium and Miles Gloriosus in two versions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Muses Rage); and Santa in The Elves Who Saved Christmas, written by daughter Tiffany Shannon for Children’s Theatre of Annapolis. Greg thanks Suzanne for her love and support and appreciates being given the opportunity to work with Rick and this talented cast and crew! “Keep smiling!”

Carol Cohen (Ida Bolton) - Carol has appeared on numerous stages both in Baltimore and Annapolis: The Chesapeake Music Hall, Dignity Players, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Vagabond Players, Fells Point Corner Theatre, Spotlighters, and, of course, Colonial Players. Her most recent roles were Ruth Steiner in Collected Stories and Queenie in Bell, Book and Candle. Some others are Golda in Fiddler on the Roof, Mother Superior in Nunsense 1 and 2, Momma Morton in Chicago, the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Kate in Broadway Bound, and Karen in Jake’s Women. She is the wife of the famous chiropractor, Jay; the mother of the equally famous Adam, Beth, Neil, Jennifer, and Ted; and grandmother to Madeleine, Jack, William, and Jed. “This play is a blessing! In 1982, I had the good fortune to meet my non-biological sisters Sharie, Lois, and Dianne. We have been more than friends since we first met. Now I have the honor to share the stage with them. I thank them for their friendship and support and thank Rick for casting us in this beautiful play.

Michael N. Dunlop (Theodore Swanson) - Michael is very happy and excited to return to Colonial Players as Thor in this production of Morning’s at Seven. Previously, Michael has been on stage at Colonial Players in Something’s Afoot, Sly Fox, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Trying. He appeared in the cast of A Christmas Carol in 1987 and 1988 and as Scrooge in 2014. He was recently seen in the Compass Rose Theater’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Prince George’s Little Theatre’s productions of Deathtrap and Don’t Dress for Dinner. He also has been active with Bowie Community Theatre in Daddy’s Girl, Dearly Departed, and Dearly Beloved, among other roles over the years. Michael has been a SAG AFTRA member since 1988 and has acted in film, television, and commercial video productions in the Baltimore/Washington market, with a recent role in Veep on HBO. He is the owner and operator of Dove Video Productions in Annapolis. This company supports producers with a variety of video services.

Lois Evans (Cora Swanson) - This is the first appearance for Lois on the stage at CP since Dancing at Lughnasa. It has been a joy and an honor to share the stage with her dear theater “sisters” Dianne, Sharie, and Carol and to be directed by Rick, with whom she worked in The Dresser and Bell, Book and Candle. Lois has worked extensively as an actress and director in Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, where she received her graduate degree in theater from Catholic University. She acted for four seasons at the University of Wisconsin’s Professional Summer Stock Company, performing one season as Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, a role she reprised at Colonial Players and The Surry Opera Company in Maine. She has directed for Bay Theatre and Dignity Players. At CP, she directed, among others, Enter the Guardsman and A Little Night Music, both of which were honored with the Ruby Griffith award for Best Community Theatre Production in the Washington area. Lois taught for many years in the English Department at the USNA and directed many of the wonderful old musicals for the Music Department. In December, she will be performing at The Brice House in a three-person reading of A Christmas Carol and will direct the spring musical, The Secret Garden, at CP. Lois works as a potter and textile artisan, which she loves to share with her grandchildren and husband, Bart. She will be teaching a class in creative writing at The John C. Campbell Folk Art School outside of Ashville, NC. Go online and read about this place. You’ll love it!

Dianne Hood (Aaronetta Gibbs) - Dianne first walked in the doors of this theater in 1976 and is very grateful to have been able to perform here numerous times since then. Her most recent role at Colonial Players was as Miss Prism in last spring’s Ernest in Love, playing opposite her wonderful husband, Duncan. Other favorite roles here include: Moon over Buffalo (Charlotte Hay); The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (Lee Green); Blood Brothers (Mrs. Lyons); Angel Street (Bella Manningham); and Dancing at Lughnasa (Agnes). Favorite non- CP roles include: Enchanted April (Lotty Wilton), Tred Avon Players; the one-woman show Kitchen Sink (Francine), Church Hill Theatre; the one-woman show The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion), Strand Theatre in Baltimore; The Laramie Project (various roles), Dignity Players; and 52 PickUp (Woman), Standing O Productions. Dianne is incredibly happy to be sharing this stage with three women she has considered “sisters” for more than 30 years: Carol Cohen, Lois Evans, and Sharie Valerio. As always, Dianne sends love to Duncan (Carl Bolton) and their three children and three grandchildren!

Duncan Hood (Carl Bolton) - Duncan is so glad to be doing this play, and even more so to be doing it with his wife, Dianne at their home theater, Colonial Players. Duncan was last seen as Dr. Chausable in CP’s Ernest in Love. Over the last 20 years, he has performed as Clown 1 in 39 Steps, George in Moon over Buffalo, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Emcee in Cabaret, Flint in Something’s Afoot, Man in 52 PickUp, The Playwright in Enter the Guardsman, VanSweiten in Amadeus, Jethro Crouch in Sly Fox, Michael in Dancing at Lughnasa, The Narrator in Blood Brothers, Inspector Rough in Angel Street, Hysterium twice and Psuedolus once in three productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Major General in two productions of Pirates of Penzance, Pap in Big River, Porter and Ross in Macbeth, and Dr. Kalmar in Studio Theater’s production of A New Brain. Voiceover credits include national and regional commercials, book, and industrial projects. Video game credits include three characters in Star Trek, Next Generation and five characters in Fallout 3 by Bethesda Softworks. Film credits include the radio announcer in the Clint Eastwood film J Edgar, and the man at the wake in That Night. Duncan has been an international sailing instructor and trainer for the American Sailing Association for 28 years and holds a 100 Ton USCG Master’s License.

Sherri Millan (Myrtle Brown) - Morning's at Seven is Sherri’s second production with Colonial Players. Last season, she played Effie in Ernest in Love. Sherri was born in Baltimore and moved to Annapolis at a young age. Her interests include music, painting, tinkering in the garden, feeding the birds, and reading a good book. In addition to acting, Sherri is busy with her position on the Board of Trustees for Spoutwood Farm Center in Glen Rock, PA, a wonderful non-profit organization that focuses on responsible stewardship of the planet by raising the level of awareness of our environmental impact on the planet while taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint. Sherri would like to thank everyone in attendance for supporting local performing arts groups and all of the folks involved in this production, who have made it especially enjoyable. Much love and appreciation also go out to her family for all the kindness and encouragement, and to Rick Wade, without whom she never would have found her way to the theater stage.

Sharie Lacey Valerio (Esther Crampton) - Sharie’s parents, Selden and Helen Lacey, were among the earliest and most active members of Colonial Players both onstage and backstage. Sharie received an MFA in Theatre from Catholic University, where she acted in leading roles on the Hartke and Olney stages. Sharie was active in Colonial Players as an actress, director, and teacher as her family was growing. During that time she was directed by Rick Wade as Irma in Irma La Douce. Also her productions of Butterflies Are Free and Baby won the Ruby Griffith award. Her last performance at CP was Agnes in the musical, I Do! I Do!. In 2003 Sharie received the Annie Award in Performing Arts for her work at Colonial Players, Maryland Hall, and other local theaters. With partners Mame Warren and Beth Whaley, she gathered local oral histories that resulted in her scripts and productions of The Annapolis I Remember, Annapolis Celebrations and others. Remember Inc. continues to collect and share these stories. Sharie retired in 2014 from Severn School, where she taught acting and directed over 30 productions. She is surprised at having taken the ”fork in the road” leading to this play and these wonderful partners. It is delightful to be with the Gibbs sisters onstage as we have called ourselves “sisters” offstage for many years and many theater experiences. Sharie is so grateful for the support of friends and her family always.

Paul Valleau (Homer Bolton) - Paul is thrilled to be a member of the Morning's at Seven cast and sends thanks to the entire cast and team. “Your depth of experience and enthusiasm have helped me grow tremendously. To my lovely, gorgeous, and hilarious wife, thank you for all your support and love. I am the happiest man with you in my heart. My mom has been a driving inspiration my whole life. Thank you for allowing me to find my way with your love.” Previous roles include Robert in Don’t Dress for Dinner and Leo Bloom in The Producers, both performed at The Des Moines Playhouse, Des Moines, IA. At Colonial Players, he portrayed Leo in In the Next Room and Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men.

The Production Staff

Frank A. Florentine (Lighting Designer) Frank’s background stretches over a wide array of lighting projects from ballet to museums to special events to show caves. He retired as the lighting designer of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum on Dec. 31, 2009 after 25 years in that position. Frank designed the lighting for last season’s Ernest in Love. Two seasons ago, he won the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors award for best lighting design of a musical for Bat Boy and was nominated for a second lighting award for Coyote on a Fence. Other credits at CP include 1776, Sunshine, and Chapter Two, which was a WATCH nominee for lighting design in 2012. Frank designed the lighting for three show caves over the past ten years in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Montana. He resides in the Annapolis area and has designed lighting for a sailboat in the Eastport Yacht Club’s annual Christmas Parade of Lights for the last 22 years. Most recently, he designed the lighting for the 9/11 Memorial of Anne Arundel County. Frank worked in professional theater as a production manager, stage manager, and associate lighting designer. He traveled nationally and internationally with several ballet companies, including a 65,000-mile tour with the late Rudolf Nureyev. Frank is a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society and is Lighting Certified by the National Council of Qualified Lighting Professionals.

JoAnn Gidos (Properties Designer) JoAnn has been a properties designer and/or set decorator for productions at Colonial Players and several other local theaters for close to 25 years. She is particularly pleased to be collaborating again with Rick Wade. During the current theater season, she has supported A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Severn School and Brigadoon at Compass Rose Theater. She will be working on Venus in Fur, CP’s January production. Looking back over the years and many productions, JoAnn remembers with fondness her efforts on Shipwrecked!, Trying, Blood Brothers, Sweeney Todd, Harvey, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Moonlight and Magnolias. She would like to acknowledge the many people who have helped her over those many years, especially Charlotte Robinson and Mike, her husband of over 50 years, who has been her driver, gofer, researcher, constructive critic, and much more.

Marguerite Jahns (Assistant Director) This is Marguerite’s first time as an assistant director for CP. In the past, she held two positions on the CP Board as Human Relations Director from 2010 through 2012 and Marketing Director for 2015. Her past involvement with CP plays include stage crew for Enchanted April, Over My Dead Body, Coyote on a Fence, and Dead Man’s Cell Phone. She also was a lighting/sound technician for Rocket Man. Outside of Colonial Players, she works for the United States Naval Academy in the Information Technology Department. She would like to thank Rick Wade for the opportunity to assist with directing the play and feels honored to be working with such a talented cast and crew! She would also like to thank Jane and Herb Elkin for introducing her to CP in 2007.

Andy McLendon (Stage Manager) “Morning's at Seven is definitely a ‘for the love of it’ project. Thanks to all those involved for making this such an incredible experience.” Andy has been associated with Colonial Players since the 1970s, usually wearing the stage manager’s hat. Memorable productions at CP include Closer Than Ever, Robber Bridegroom, Prelude to a Kiss, They’re Playing Our Song, Enter the Guardsman, Cabaret, Blood Brothers, and A Christmas Carol.

David Pindell (Set Designer) David is excited to be working on his second set design at Colonial Players after last season’s Watch on the Rhine. He would like thank the set carpenters for all of their hard work, knowledge, and patience. Also, David is very thankful for the guidance and direction from seasoned CP members. Currently, David works as an architectural designer in Annapolis.

Theresa Riffle (Sound Designer) Theresa previously served as sound designer for Coyote on a Fence (WATCH Award winner), A Few Good Men, and, most recently, Sherlock’s Last Case. As an actor, she was last seen on the CP stage as Sara Mueller in Watch on the Rhine. You also may have seen her at CP as Anna Hauptmann in Hauptmann, Evelyn in Kindertransport, or Phoebe in Romantic Comedy. Theresa is the Secretary on the CP Board of Directors and the co-chair of the CP Archives Project Team. She is excited to be working with this fabulous production staff, cast, and crew and would like to thank Rick for asking her to be part of this wonderful production. As always, she sends a big thank you to Jem and Josh for their boundless love and support.

Dianne Andrew Smith (Costume Designer) Dianne returns as costume designer after having created Victorian-era costumes for more than two dozen members of the cast of last year’s production of A Christmas Carol. She has been a member of The Colonial Players “family” for many years. She made her first stage appearance at Players in Godspell, then Carnival, Tricks, and several summers in Cabaret for Kids. Dianne graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in design. Her first professional job was to design and create her roommate’s bridal gown and the bridesmaids’ dresses. She was the costume designer for three years for Severna Park High School’s Rock ‘n Roll Revival shows.

Tom Stuckey (Producer) Tom returns to Colonial Players after producing Rocket Man, the first show of the 2014–15 season. He was also stage manager for the 24th production of A Christmas Carol a year ago. Tom has been involved with Colonial Players since 1969, when he appeared in the ensemble for Carousel, and has been involved with dozens of productions onstage and offstage. He currently handles newspaper publicity and edits programs, along with other duties such as painting sets, hanging lights, ushering, and serving on committees. He has served in four board positions, including president and production director.

Written by Warren Leight
Directed by Jim Reiter
Produced by Wes Bedsworth
Performance dates:
October 16 - 31, 2015
Run time: 2 hours

Like Ishmael in Moby Dick and Tom of The Glass Menagerie, the narrator of Side Man, while telling the story of his parents from the time they met to the present, reveals a whole world of linging and loss during that voyage. The play moves back through the 70s to the 50s and 60s, returning at the end to 1985. It tracks the stories of the studio and side musicians who made their living playing in touring and recording gigs with headliners, at a time when rock and roll was moving into the popular music scene and edging these jazz and big band players out of work and the chance to play. Full of fascinating characters, this Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award winner is an elegy for a lost love and a lost world, beautifully told in a memory play.

To download the production postcard for Side Man to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

Warren Leight is a playwright, screenwriter, film director, and television producer. He is best known for his work as executive producer of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Side Man won the 1999 Tony Award for best play as well as a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. Leight also received Drama Desk nominations for best play for Side Man and a 2006 off-Broadway work, No Foreigners Beyond This Point. Side Man is based on Leight’s upbringing as the son of a jazz trumpeter who played with musicians such as Claude Thornhill, Woody Herman, and Buddy Rich. Leight has said his play is autobiographical in broad strokes but is a work of fiction in hundreds of details. In a 2001 interview with backstage.com, Leight said writing the play helped him resolve issues stemming from his difficult boyhood. “By voicing what's been buried, you are able to let it go and move on," he said. 

About the Director

Jim Reiter first performed with Colonial Players as Boolie in 1995’s Driving Miss Daisy. Other CP roles include the Dead Guy in last year’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Ben Hecht in Moonlight and Magnolias, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Dale in Dog Logic, Mr. Maraczek in She Loves Me!, and Robert in Proof. Jim received the 2008 Outstanding Featured Actor Award from the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors for his multiple-character performance in CP’s Hauptmann. He recently appeared in Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s The Addams Family, and last year directed The 39 Steps at Dignity Players, where he appeared in Sordid Lives, The Crucible, and The Shadowbox. Elsewhere he appeared in the Annapolis Chorale’s Once upon a Mattress, Theater 11’s A Storyteller’s Season, Annapolis Shakespeare’s Pride and Prejudice, and Bay Theatre’s Becky’s New Car. At Bowie’s 2nd Star Productions, Jim directed 1776, The Music Man, Once upon a Mattress, and How to Succeed in Business. In real life he is married to Darice, his Play Consultant of Life; is the proud father of Joey, Kelly Dawn, and Katie Rose; and loves to play very, very, very percussive jazz with grandkids Caleb, 3, and Chloe, 1.

Director's Notes

“What we play is life.” Louis Armstrong

Webster’s defines jazz as “American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre.” Hmmm. Let’s check out the key words here: Propulsive … rhythm … ensemble … improvisation … distortion. Kinda sounds like life, doesn’t it? (Propulsive) … Life drives us, like a song with a backbeat, until … (rhythm) … we bounce along to the sound of our own drummer, only to … (ensemble) … become part of a family, where we sometimes fit in yet sometimes sing louder than the others, because we … (improvisation) … have to be ourselves, do what drives us, makes us feel, which leads us to … (distortion) … twist the truth, live a life in our heads that’s not what the real world sees, or needs, so we can justify doing that which drives us. Whew. Life is jazz. Rules, expectations must be followed. Until they aren’t. Then, after a lifetime of lonely practice, the stretching of those expectations becomes a riff, an improv, a deliberate distortion that doesn‘t offend, but rather extends … helping us see not what is, but what can be. In ourselves and in others. Or as Armstrong also said, “We all do 'do, re, mi,' but you’ve got to find the other notes yourself.” Each character in our story is driven by the propulsion, rhythm, ensemble, improvisation, and distortion of life and of jazz. Each is drawn from the memories of Warren Leight, a producer of TV’s Law & Order, whose 1999 play won the Tony Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He grew up as Clifford, our narrator, watching his family slide into decline just as jazz slid into rock ‘n roll. Leight’s Dad indeed was a successful side man whose life didn’t extend beyond his music, leading to his wife’s breakdown over her inability to drag him into the real world. And the friends … talk about improv … fellow players who treated life like a cheap motel: drop in when you need a place to stay, but as soon as the next gig pops up, check out.

It has been a joy to watch this cast bring these sad, funny, real characters to life, each with an affection for the music that drives them.

– JIM REITER

The Cast

Ben Carr (Jonesy) - Ben is excited to be back performing at Colonial Players. Some of his previous roles at CP include Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman, Michael Wells in Two Rooms, Tom Donahue in These Shining Lives, Donnie Rowan in Rocket Man, and Hertel Daggett in Dog Logic. He has also performed at Standing O Productions in Retreat From Moscow and Tracers and at Dignity Players in Stones in His Pocket. He would like to thank Jim and the rest of the cast for making this such a wonderful experience.

Rick Estberg (Ziggy) - Rick is really “shuper pleashed” to be back with CP again! This is his fourth show at Colonial Players, where he recently appeared in 1776 (Charles Thomson), Annie (Bert Healy and Harold Ickes), and Superior Donuts (Max Tarasov). He has also done lots of work with the Pasadena Theatre Company, where his favorite roles include King Pellinore in Camelot, Lazar Wolf in Fiddler on the Roof, Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life, and most all the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. Special thanks to his forgiving wife, Lucie, for overhearing lots of salty language as Rick practiced his lines at home, as well as his constant lisping around the house, which he sometimes forgets to "turn off."

Richard Koster (Al) - Rich returns to the Colonial Players’ stage for the first time since 2008, when he appeared in Enchanted April. He is delighted to play Al, although Romeo was never a sobriquet used in any sentence with his name in it. Rich would like to thank the cast for the privilege of working with six true acting “side people” and Jim for convincing him it was time to come back to the theatre from the limping wounded.

Mary MacLeod (Terry Glimmer) - Mary is glad to have the opportunity to be on stage with some of her talented theater friends as well as to learn to better appreciate jazz under the direction of Jim Reiter. She has acted in many theater productions in the Washington/Annapolis area over the years, but some of her more recent favorite roles include Sister Aloysius in Dignity Players’ production of Doubt, and, at Colonial Players, Lady Boyle in Superior Donuts, Lettice Douffet in Lettice and Lovage, Nancy Shirley in Frozen, and Marjorie Taub in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. As always, she thanks her husband, Alan, and her daughter, Carter, for all their patience and support.

Timothy Sayles (Gene Glimmer) - Since first stepping onto the Colonial Players stage in 2010, Tim has performed in six plays and two musicals at CP. Regulars may remember him as the Romanian bad guy in last year's Watch on the Rhine or as Daddy Warbucks in the musical Annie in 2013. He has also performed at other local theaters and last year earned a WATCH nomination for best cameo in a musical for the part of Rudolph in 2nd Star Productions' much-decorated run of the musical Hello Dolly! A magazine writer and editor by profession, Tim is now marketing director for The Colonial Players, having won election to that post in June in a landslide victory over No Suitable Candidate.

Ali Vellon (Patsy) - Ali is tickled pink to be back at Colonial Players. You might have seen her as Gillian in Bell, Book and Candle and as Belle in A Christmas Carol, both at CP. Ali has performed locally at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Dignity Players, Theatre 11, and Standing O Productions. Ali holds a music education degree from the University of New Mexico and is trained operatically in voice. After graduation, Ali moved to New York City to pursue a professional career in theater. She continued to train privately and scored numerous Broadway auditions and tours including Hairspray, Wicked, and The Rocky Horror Show. In NYC, she met her future husband and co-star. The rest is history, folks!! She would like to thank Jim for giving her this opportunity and everyone in the wonderful cast and crew. She would like to dedicate her performance to her Loews family, especially to Tracey: “Thank you for your continued patience and guidance.” She would also like to thank her family (“Love you, Mama and Daddy”) and her wonderful husband. “Love you baby!!!” Enjoy!!.

Jason Vellon (Clifford Glimmer) - Jason is so excited to be back performing at Colonial Players and to be part of such an incredible production. You might have seen Jason most recently in Bell, Book and Candle in the role of Shep on this stage. Past credits here include Fred in A Christmas Carol, Goat in The Robber Bridegroom, and chorus in Cabaret. Jason has also performed with Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Chesapeake Music Hall, Dignity Players, Moonlight Troupers, Theater 11, and Signature Theater. Jason was trained primarily in New York City, his home town, where he attended the American Music Dramatic Academy. He has done commercials, film and print work, and has worked with Discovery ID in a few of their true crime series. Jason would like to thank Jim for giving him this great opportunity and Herb for keeping us all on track. He would also like to share his appreciation for this cast; all of you are wonderful. Last, but not least, he would like to dedicate his performance to his family and friends, especially Mikey. “I will always save a seat for you.” Finally, to my Ali girl, to which everything is dedicated, this is for you. On with the show!!!

The Production Staff

Wes Bedsworth (Producer) Wes has been involved with over 45 different productions at Colonial Players since he joined in 2007. He won the 2010 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) award for outstanding sound design for Earth and Sky and has been nominated for sound design for Hauptmann, Kindertransport, The Diviners, 1776, and Bat Boy. Wes serves as Operations Director on the CP Board, Technical Director on the Production Team, and as one of the CP Webmasters. By day, Wes works for Cardinal Engineering in DC supporting the United States Navy. Love to Mom, Dad, Susan, Abby, and his fiancée Kaelynn.

Herb Elkin (Stage Manager) Herb’s most recent CP stage managing credits include Rocket Man (2014), Coyote on a Fence (2014), Trying (2013), Going to St. Ives (2012), The Diviners (2011), Dog Logic (2010), The Lion in Winter (2010), Over My Dead Body (2009), Two Rooms (2009), and Enchanted April (2008). Prior to becoming active behind the scenes, he appeared onstage in several CP and other area productions. Herb serves as CP's Vice President and works at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Eric Lund (Lighting Designer) Eric returns as a CP lighting designer three years after creating the lighting for Bell, Book and Candle. He has worked extensively at Colonial Players and other theaters in the Annapolis area, including Dignity Players, where he appeared in several productions and also served as lighting designer. He appeared on the CP stage in productions of Rebecca, The Clearing, and various years of A Christmas Carol. He played Andrew at Bowie Playhouse in Someone to Watch Over Me, winner of the Ruby Griffith award, and Eugene in Broadway Bound for Vagabond Players. Production credits at CP include directing Voice of the Prairie and the 1993 and 2000 productions of A Christmas Carol; lighting design for Frozen, Kid Purple, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (also set design), Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and Angel Street; and set design for CP’s The Lion in Winter. He thanks his husband, Mickey, for … well … basically everything.

Charlotte Robinson (Properties Designer) Charlotte has worked behind the scenes and on committees with Colonial Players for 25 plus years. Recent shows include Trying, A Christmas Carol, Spitfire Grill, and Cinderella Waltz. Many patrons may recognize her as one of the Closing Night Ushers. On occasion she branched out and worked with Dignity Players (Sordid Lives), Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre (Evita), and Chesapeake Arts Center (Amelia’s Journey). Charlotte thanks the patrons who make the hard work worthwhile, her CP mentors, and especially all the dedicated, hard-working people who have put together this wonderful production of Side Man!

Carol Youmans (Set Designer, Decorator) Carol has been an active member of Colonial Players for over 30 years, starting as a set painter and learning how to design lights, sets and sound, working toward directing. Since 1985, she has directed many shows at Colonial Players, including favorites such as In the Next Room, Dog Logic, Macbeth, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With Jim Gallagher she directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream at ASGT. She has served many times on the CP Board of Directors, most recently as Artistic Director, but previously as President, Vice President, Marketing, House, and Box Office Manager..

Sarah Wade (Sound Designer) Sarah is very pleased to return to the booth as sound designer after last season's Watch on the Rhine. She also costumed Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, last season and appeared as Cecily Cardew in Ernest in Love, as Isabelle/Sabine in the Ruby Griffith Award-winning The Liar, and as The Charwoman in A Christmas Carol. Other favorite roles were Catherine Donahue in These Shining Lives at Colonial Players and Lisa Morrison at Dignity Players. “Thanks to Jim for the opportunity, and Eric, as always.”

Written by Charles Marowitz
Directed by Beth Terranova
Produced by Barbara Marder
Performance dates:
September 4 – 26, 2015
Run time: 2h 30m

The play centers on a death threat against Sherlock Holmes by the supposed son of his late nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Oddly enough, however, Holmes is warned of the plot by Moriarty's daughter, to whom Holmes (who turns out to be quite a ladies' man) is strongly attracted. In sorting all this out the play mixes humor and suspense in equal amounts, leading to a stunning final twist that will surely catch audiences by complete and breath-stopping surprise!

To download the production postcard for Sherlock's Last Case  to share with your friends, visit the Downloads page of our website and look under the Production Postcard heading.

About the Playwright

Charles Marowitz was an American playwright, theater director, and critic who was best known for his theatrical endeavors in England. In London, he was artistic director of the Open Space Theatre, where Sherlock’s Last Case was born. Marowitz had been mulling an idea for a new play about Sherlock Holmes when a cancellation left a hole in the Open Space Theatre’s 1974 season. He set to work writing and, in just 14 days, completed a 90-minute script in time for an opening on July 24. He expanded it to a full-length play when approached by a Broadway producer about bringing it to the U.S. It opened on Broadway on Aug. 20, 1987 after a tryout in Washington at the Kennedy Center. 

About the Director

A fan of police and legal procedurals, Beth Terranova was intrigued with the idea of using her directorial skills to solve Sherlock's Last Case in her 37th venture with Colonial Players. For CP, Beth previously directed 1776, She Loves Me!, One Act Festival favorites Star Crossed and Fin and Euba, and the highly acclaimed courtroom drama Hauptmann, for which she received the 2008 Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH) award for outstanding director. Other favorite directing jobs include The Diary of Anne Frank (Dignity Players), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre), A House Full of Fish (Playwrights’ Workshop, Cocoa Beach, FL), and Take Five (Phoenix Youth Theater, Melbourne, FL). Beth has numerous other credits at CP. She most recently produced the iconic military legal drama, A Few Good Men, which earned a WATCH nomination for best play. In addition to producer, stage manager, and set designer credits, she is often sought as a costume designer and earned WATCH nominations for her costume designs for Cinderella Waltz and Going to St. Ives. On stage, Beth was most recently seen at CP as Aunt March in Little Women and as Ellen in Two Rooms, which earned her a WATCH nomination for featured actress. Beth also serves on a number of CP committees and currently produces CP’s “News and Cues” newsletter. In all, Beth has pursued her interest in theater on stage, backstage, and behind the scenes for over 40 years in four states and two countries. By day, Beth is a program analyst for the Navy’s Enterprise Business Solutions Program, where her left brain gets a workout. To balance that, she is thankful for the right brain exercises that theater provides. Then, of course, there is a show like Sherlock's Last Case , which affords ample opportunity for both sides of the brain. After this, Beth’s brain is taking a well deserved rest.

Director's Notes

OI love detective fiction, especially with a good plot twist. Taking on a show that is both an example and a send-up of one of the greatest literary detectives of all time seemed like an intriguing challenge last March… But for much of the summer, the biggest mystery to me was how I got talked into directing a show with production challenges galore at a time of year when (plot twist!) pretty much everyone took off for vacation and my promised “all summer in the theater” got whittled down by three special projects and one emergency repair. What is not a mystery is how we managed to put on a show despite all. Nothing frustrates me more than to hear the well-meant “encouragement”: “Oh it will come together – it always does.” Shows do not just “come together.” Shows happen because a handful of crazy, dedicated volunteers work like mad at what they signed on to do, then pick up the slack and close the gaps to make it all happen. Sherlock and I owe thanks to a bunch of these volunteers: to my hard-working cast who put up with…a lot; to a great staff and design team Barbara, Brady, Carrie, Connie, Danny, Eric, John, and Theresa; also to Bernhard, Mary and Tom G who showed up kinda out of nowhere just when I really needed the help; and to all those other folks you’ll see listed as “Production Staff” who helped us get the show from page to stage. And special thanks to Scott, who went above and beyond to hold things – and me! – together. Sherlock family: I raise my glass of Chateauneufdu-Pape 1798 to you all!

– BETH TERRANOVA

The Cast

Nick Beschen (Dr. Watson) - Nick has worked with Colonial Players since 1990, and he says: “With each show I get to meet new people and work with old friends. I worked with Jim Gallagher 17 years ago in Cabaret and Morey Norkin 25 years ago in Catch Me If You Can. That’s what is so wonderful about theater, it’s like family, only better!” This will be Nick's third production with Beth Terranova, and he sends a HUGE thank you to Beth and Scott for their tremendous support and encouragement!!! When not on stage, Nick runs a home improvement business in Annapolis. Nick would like to thank his beloved Leigh for all her love and support, and he sincerely hopes you enjoy the show!!

Jim Gallagher (Sherlock Holmes) - Jim has been acting at Colonial Players since 1989. His first performance was as Dr. Treves in The Elephant Man, and his most recent performance was as Howie in Rabbit Hole in 2008. Other CP productions include Hogan’s Goat (2000), The Zoo Story (1999 Regional Award Winner), Cabaret (1998), Prelude to a Kiss (1993), The Boys Next Door (1992), Anne of the Thousand Days (1991), and All My Sons (1990). Other acting credits include Death Trap, Betrayal, Oleanna, and The Foursome at the Bay Theatre Company; Art, Doubt, Blue/ Orange, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and The Laramie Project at Dignity Players; Pericles, A Streetcar Named Desire, Copenhagen, and The Cripple of Inishmaan for Theatre Hopkins; and Twelfth Night at The Shakespeare Theatre. Jim also directed Colonial Player’s productions of Frozen (2010), Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1999), Lost in Yonkers (1996), and Rebel Armies Deep Into Chad (1993). He will be directing Venus in Fur for CP in January 2016. Jim trained at The Shakespeare Theatre and Studio Theatre in D.C., and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He is thrilled to be performing in a light-hearted play that the entire family can see!

Erin Leigh Hill (Liza Moriarty) - Erin is happy to be back on the Colonial stage in Sherlock's Last Case . She was last seen as Lt. Commander Jo Galloway in A Few Good Men. Erin has enjoyed performing on the CP stage for the past five years. Previous credits include Alais (Lion in Winter), Babs (Mrs. California), and Mrs. Daldry (In the Next Room). She also starred in and was nominated for a WATCH award for her performance as Sara in Earth and Sky. Erin extends a heartfelt thanks to a great cast and crew, especially her good friend and mentor, Beth Terranova. Erin's favorite role to date is simply "mommy" to her beautiful little girl, Teagan. Everything she does is and always will be to make her smile.

Aiden Jacobs (Holmes Look-Alike) - Aiden, a recent transplant from "the mother country," is excited to be making his Annapolis debut with Colonial Players and thanks his girlfriend, Irene, for urging him to audition.

Casey Lee (Damion Moriarty) - A military brat, Casey has had the opportunity to perform on stages in three countries. Currently a staff member at the National Cryptologic Museum at Fort George G. Meade, MD, Casey could not resist the opportunity to match wits with (arguably) the greatest crime solver of all time! Casey enjoys the theater classes and productions at Montgomery College, where he is a part time student. Favorite roles include Federigo in Servant of Two Masters and Inspector Doppler in Sleuth.

Morey Norkin (Inspector Lestrade) - Morey is excited to return to Colonial Players’ stage. Morey’s last performance here was in 2010 as Marley’s Ghost in A Christmas Carol. He most recently (2012) appeared as Yvan in the Bowie Community Theater production of Art. Prior to that, Morey made frequent on-stage appearances in Annapolis from the late ‘70s to the mid-90s at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre and Annapolis Theater Project as well as Colonial Players. Favorite roles/shows have included The Foreigner (Ellard), The Odd Couple (Felix), Oliver! (Fagin), Can-Can (Boris), Wenceslaus Square (Vince), The Ghost Writer (Shakespeare), The Dining Room (ensemble), Anything Goes (Sir Evelyn), and Catch Me If You Can (Inspector Levine). Morey previously served as vice president of Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. Morey is a technical writer and works as a proposal manager for AT&T. He enjoys his semi-retirement from the stage spending time with his wife, Yukiko, and their cat, Hotaru.

Lisa KB Rath (Mrs. Hudson) - Lisa enjoys languages, so she is delighted to add a Scottish brogue to her bag of tricks. She earned a BFA degree in Theatre Performance from Denison University and has performed for Maryland Hall Story Theatre, Take One Video, and voiceover series work for Lippincott and McGraw-Hill. Past performances at Colonial Players include The Curious Savage and Improvisation or The Shepherd's Chameleon. With Dignity Players, Lisa performed in the premiere of Bloodlines. Her company, At Your Service Annapolis, provides concierge services to help individuals, visitors, and companies. Lisa's fine art photography has been accepted into juried competitions and galleries and is currently on display in Arterie Fine Art Gallery (Naperville, IL) and The Honey Hive (Edgewater, MD). Her photography sites are LisaRath.com and Facebook: Lisa Rath Photography. Special thanks to her personal cheerleading team: her husband, Roger Rath, and her children, Taylor, Emma, Connor, and Hayley Gilbert.

The Production Staff

Alex Brady (Lighting Designer) Alex has been designing lighting in Annapolis and Baltimore since 2002. Over the last 15 years, he has worked with such diverse companies as Everyman Theatre, Colonial Players, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, the AACC Dance Company, and many high schools and colleges. His recent lighting design credits include The Liar and These Shining Lives at Colonial Players, Oliver! at St. Mary's High School, Lord of the Flies at Severn School, and Spring Migration 2015 with the AACC Dance Company. Alex is a proud alumnus of the Graduate Institute of St. John's College and also teaches for the Humanities Department at Anne Arundel Community College. In his spare time, he enjoys studying and fighting with several medieval and colonial weapons systems, including the longsword, the sword and buckler, and the dueling saber.

Carrie Brady (Costume Designer) Carrie is working with Colonial Players for the first time. Previously, she has costumed for Spirited Productions and the Moonlight Troupers, covering shows such as The Appeal, Twelfth Night, and Ragtime. From time to time, Carrie enjoys helping out at her alma mater, St. Mary's High School Drama Club, with set construction and costumes. She would like to thank everyone who has helped out so much with this show.

Danny Brooks (Stage Manager) Danny usually appears on stage, but he is no stranger to stage managing. He has acted and stage managed at CP for Beth and is happy to be working with her again. Thanks to her, the cast and crew, and everyone else who has worked to make this show a success.

Mary Butcher (Floor Designer/Floor and Scenic Painting) Mary comes to us from Charlottesville, VA, where she spent five years working with nonprofit volunteer theaters designing, building, and painting sets. She has an undergraduate degree in Architecture and a Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. She's looking forward to becoming part of the Colonial Players family!

BettyAnn Leesberg-Lane (Dialect Coach) BettyAnn serves as dialect coach for many professional theaters in the Baltimore/DC area. She last worked with The Colonial Players on The Unexpected Guest. She will be dialect coaching for Studio Theatre's production of Chimerica going up soon. BettyAnn was dialect coach for HBO's The Wire as well as Howard Stern. In her coaching business, Talking Well Consulting, LLC, BettyAnn works kinesiologically with internationals to clarify their speech but keep their ethnicity. BettyAnn retired as Associate Chair of the Drama Department of Catholic University of America. She is one of the earliest members and former president of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, an international organization for speech professionals.

Barbara Marder (Producer) Barbara has been associated with Colonial Players for more than 25 years. She has served on the board as Education/ Special Projects Director, as a play director, and on a variety of committees, including Play Selection and Promising Playwrights Play Selection. Last season, she served as producer for The Liar, winner of the 2015 Ruby Griffith Award for best all-around production. Other projects in recent years have involved play consultant for several! short plays, producer for These Shining Lives, and director of Taking Steps. Barbara retired as chairman of Performing Arts at Anne Arundel Community College, where she directed a large variety of plays and musicals over a 35- year career. Additionally, she has served as an adjudicator for the American College Theatre Festival for many years, as a board member of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and for several years as a theater panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council. Currently she is again reviewing theater companies for the Maryland State Arts Council and enjoys working part time as a standard patient/role player for local medical schools.

Theresa Riffle (Sound Designer) After serving as sound designer for Coyote on a Fence (WATCH Award winner) and as assistant director and sound designer for A Few Good Men, Theresa is excited to be working with this fabulous production staff, cast, crew, and dear friends. As an actor, she was last seen on the CP stage as Sara Mueller in Watch on the Rhine. You also may have seen her at CP as Anna Hauptmann in Hauptmann, Evelyn in Kindertransport, or Phoebe in Romantic Comedy. Theresa is the Secretary on the CP Board of Directors and the co-chair of the CP Archives Project Team. She would like to thank Beth for asking her to be part of this fantastic production, and, as always, she sends a big thank you to Jem and Josh for their boundless love and support.

Constance Robinson (Properties Designer) In past years, Connie has volunteered as marketing assistant and graphic designer for Colonial Players in addition to manning the phone at the box office. She is a new volunteer for the current Marketing Committee. Connie was properties designer for Collected Stories at Dignity Players. At Colonial Players, she enjoyed collecting props for In The Next Room, Or The Vibrator Play (for which she received a WATCH nomination), Annie, Rocket Man, A Christmas Carol, and Watch on the Rhine. She also was set decorator and properties designer for Dead Man's Cell Phone. Connie thanks her husband, John, for his prop modifications and support. She also thanks her son, Michael, for transporting the very heavy vintage barber chair from Leesburg, VA for this show.