The Colonial Players, Inc. - Tiny Beautiful Show

CP 24 TINY Marquee transparent

Based on the Book by Cheryl Strayed
Adapted for the Stage by Nia Vardalos

Co-Conceived by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Nia Vardalos
Directed by Rikki Howie Lacewell
Performance Dates: September 6 - 28, 2024
Run time: 1h 30m
(no intermission)

Based on the bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, Tiny Beautiful Things personifies the questions and answers that “Sugar” was publishing online from 2010-2012. When the struggling writer was asked to take over the unpaid, anonymous position of advice columnist, Strayed used empathy and her personal experiences to help those seeking guidance for obstacles both large and small.

Tiny Beautiful Things is a play about reaching when you’re stuck, healing when you’re broken, and finding the courage to take on the questions that have no answers.

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

About the Director

Rikki is delighted to be directing at The Colonial Players for the first time with such an amazing show. Recent credits include Memphis (LTA), Dreamgirls (2nd Star Productions), African Mean Girls: School Girls Play (NextStop Theater), The Mountaintop (Greenbelt Arts Center), and The Color Purple (St Mark's Players.) As a Theatrical Diversity Consultant with her own company — confidencetheatrics.com — she is excited to continue her work of showing diverse works in new ways in the DMV. Next up for Rikki are Sweeney Todd, DOT, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, Chicken & Biscuits and Clyde's, among others. Rikki would like to thank her husband, "family," and friends for supporting her theatrical endeavors. To the cast and crew... Thank you for this Tiny Beautiful Show!

Director's Notes

In our production of Tiny Beautiful Things, we set out to strip away the anonymity that often veils advice columns, breathing life into both the seekers and the giver of wisdom. Our remarkable cast has risen to this challenge with extraordinary empathy and skill. I've opted for a minimalist staging to spotlight our actors and the power of their words. This choice allows the raw emotion and vulnerability in their performances to truly shine. Our Sugar, in particular, delivers a tour de force performance, deftly navigating the delicate balance between strength and vulnerability as she's constantly surrounded by those seeking her guidance.One aspect I particularly love is how we've captured the inescapable nature of advice-giving in our modern world. Much like our own experiences on social media, Sugar finds herself constantly approached, mirroring how we often thoughtlessly dispense advice online without considering its impact. You may notice moments where our talented actors seem to speak directly to you or tap into a shared human experience. These instances are intentional, designed to foster a deeper connection between you and the stories unfolding on stage. Throughout the show, our exceptional ensemble brings to life the overarching theme of compassion. They beautifully illustrate how the acts of seeking and offering advice are, at their core, profound expressions of human connection and empathy.It's our hope that this production serves as a poignant reminder: behind every anonymous cry for help or word of advice, there's a real person with genuine emotions and experiences. Our incredible cast has poured their hearts into making these characters feel authentic and relatable. We aspire not just to entertain you, but to inspire greater empathy and understanding in your daily interactions, both online and off. The dedication and talent of our cast have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, and I couldn't be more proud of their work. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Enjoy this Tiny Beautiful show!

— RIKKI HOWIE LACEWELL

The Cast

Kat Binney (Letter Writer) - Kat is excited to return to The Colonial Players! Previous credits include Elizabeth Sandry (Grapes of Wrath, Rockville Little Theatre), Martha Dobie (The Children's Hour, Greenbelt Arts Center), and Meg (Crimes of the Heart, The Colonial Players). Kat is grateful for her wonderfully supportive family and friends, and wants to thank the entire team behind Tiny Beautiful Things for their hard work and dedication.

Daniel Liebner (Letter Writer) - Dan is excited to return to the stage after a 10-year hiatus. Discovering his passion for acting a few years after college, Dan joined the theater program at Raritan Valley Community College, where he participated in several plays. He then studied at HB Studio in New York City, spending a year immersed in acting and improv classes. Grateful for the opportunity to be part of Tiny Beautiful Things, Dan is thrilled to once again share his love for storytelling and the stage with the audience.

Pamela Northrup (Sugar) - Pamela is thrilled to make her debut on The Colonial Players stage. Most recently, she was seen as one of the Sweethearts in Dreamgirls (2nd Star), Mary Flynn in Merrily We Roll Along (GAC), Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense (Salem Players), and Mother Miriam Ruth in Agnes of God (Maryland Theatre Collective). Other notable past roles include Myrna in the East Coast premiere of Quadrille (GAC), and Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret (Silhouette Stages). She is honored to be a part of this incredible, talented, welcoming cast, and to be working with Rikki for the 13th time. "All my love to my beloved Kale Pajamas, and as always, Zoe - you’re forever my favorite production."

Macrae "Mac" Smith (Letter Writer) - Mac is a mildly overconfident, loveable goofball. As a former “theatre kid” he is absolutely thrilled to get back in his element and make his debut on stage as an adult! In his free time, you can find him singing, lifting weights, working on home improvements, cooking spicy meats, and playing every kind of computer or tabletop game known to man. Macrae is extremely thankful for the support provided by his wonderful friends and sister.

Aparna Sri (Letter Writer) - Aparna is excited to return to The Colonial Players and kick off its new season! She is thankful to work with the trailblazer director, Rikki, and this wonderful, intimate cast. She was most recently seen in Baltimore's 20th Annual 10-minute Play Festival with Rapid Lemon Productions, as Siobhan in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with CP, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth with The Rude Mechanicals, Sandra in The Play That Goes Wrong with The Laurel Mill Playhouse (LMP), Elizabeth Darcy in Miss Bennet - Christmas at Pemberley with The Montgomery Playhouse, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream adaptation with The Rude Mechanicals, Heather Clark in Gideon's Knot with LMP, Mrs. Alfieri in A View from the Bridge with Upstage Artists, and Kay Strange in Towards Zero with LMP. She draws enormous strength from her incredibly loving husband, who manages the circus of bipeds at home to enable her to share her love for storytelling through performance.

Vanessa Van Note (Letter Writer) - Vanessa is thrilled to appear in her second show with The Colonial Players. She held an ensemble role in the musical The Baker's Wife, but has since traveled from her beloved French village of Concorde to appear in Tiny Beautiful Things as a Letter Writer - or rather as a cast of writers, all with their own story to tell. She hopes the audience enjoys the assortment of characters they will be introduced to throughout the show: some kooky... some fun-loving... some in need of a hug; but all ready to lay themselves bare to you, the audience. Despite the chaos and the messiness that life can bring, never forget to remind yourself that you are deserving of all the tiny beautiful things.

The Production Staff

Jim Adams (Sound Designer) - Jim re-discovered an affinity for sound design during the Covid shutdown, while he took a break from treading the boards, where he's usually seen at local theaters. He's worked with Rikki for more than 25 years (?!?) when they met in a production of Godspell late in the last century. More recently, he ran sound and foley for her in Confidence Theatrics' Radio Shows during the Covid years, and designed and ran sound for her in The Mountaintop (multiple WATCH nominations, including sound design) at GAC. Most recently, playgoers may have seen him as Joe Josephson in Merrily We Roll Along, and Monty in Fiveplay, both at GAC, and earlier this summer as the Adult Man, being positively horrible to many teenagers in Spring Awakening at MTC. Love to the Kale Pajamas contingent.

Richard Atha-Nicholls (Producer / Set Co-Designer / Projections) - Richard is usually found in the tech booth at CP designing sound/projections or designing and programming the stream camera cuts. His sound design has garnered multiple WATCH nominations. Richard has appeared on area stages and in his spare time helps run Discworld™ conventions. He recently directed The Colonial Players’ production of The Book of Will in 2023 and produced the The Baker’s Wife last season. He’d like to thank all those who spend countless hours creating amazing theatre. He’d especially like to thank Amy, who takes care of the circus in his absence. Love to C, A, P, K, I & J. Always in my heart, O.

Carrie Brady (Costume Designer / Set Co-Designer) - Carrie has been an active volunteer with CP since 2015; most of her work here has been in costume design, beginning with Sherlock’s Last Case in 2015 and covering Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Silent Sky, The White Rose, and many others. For several years, Carrie has also been doing set design and construction for her alma mater, St. Mary’s High School, where she and her crew recently created worlds for Beauty and the Beast, The Pirates of Penzance, The Crucible, and many before those. Somewhere in between, she has found time for her first theater love, acting. Carrie appeared as Elmire in last season’s Tartuffe, as Lucy Gale in Shiloh Rules, and even as a last minute substitute for Rev. Hale in The Crucible at St. Mary’s High School. A librarian for a living and an artist for life, Carrie is grateful to have the creative opportunities and challenges of theater with a great community like this.

Sophia Menconi (Stage Manager) - Sophia is thrilled to be working with CP for the first time! PROFESSIONAL THEATRE: Rorschach Theatre Company (Human Museum), Pipeline Playwrights (Wednesdays in Mississippi), Monumental Theatre Company (American Psycho - ASM) and Flying V (Monstress - ASM). COMMUNITY THEATRE: Dominion Stage (King Hedley II), Silver Spring Stage (She Kills Monsters - ASM, Ada and the Engine - ASM, Intimate Apparel - ASM). UPCOMING: Nu Sass Productions (A Bright Room Called Day). Sophia is a freelance stage manager, director, and theatre scholar based in Washington, DC. She received her BA in Theatre from Denison University and her MA in New Play Development from the Playwright's Lab at Hollins University. She would like to thank Sam, her family, and her cats Victor Hugo and Flannery O'Connor.

Roy Peterson (Props Designer) - Roy is thrilled to be working on another show with Rikki. Carrie Shade has been a wonderful partner in crime as they have found lots of amazing things to be both properties as well as some set decorations. “Hugs to the amazing talent working on this show and thanks to my husband Billy for all his love and support as I continue my life long love of theatre and the visual arts.”

Robin Schwartz (Play Consultant) - Robin is proud to have supported the team during this incredible production. After graduating from Goucher College with a BA in Theatre, she directed and produced plays at Red Branch Theatre Company and Drama Learning Center. In CP’s prior seasons, Robin directed Crimes of the Heart (Ruby Griffith Award Winner for Best Achievement in a Play) and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Favorite credits include Dawn in The Universal Language (Outstanding Performance from the MD Community Theatre Festival), Thea Elvsted in Hedda Gabler, Ruth Hoch in Book of Days, and Joan Dellamond in The Babylon Line. "Special thanks to my husband, Daniel, for supporting me tirelessly and unconditionally, to my sons Jacob and Henry for being Mommy's cheerleaders & to family and friends for their loving encouragement. And a wholehearted BRAVO to Rikki for her spectacular direction of TBT!”

Carrie Shade (Props Designer) - Carrie is thrilled to be part of the production team for Tiny Beautiful Things! At CP, she recently designed props for The Baker’s Wife, Wit, Ravenscroft, and The Book of Will. She is also a relatively new member of the CP Board and has served on the Play Selection Committee for the last few seasons. Previous props design experience includes many college productions at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also dabbled in acting, directing, and producing. Special thanks to Roy Peterson for being an amazing co-props designer and to everyone at CP for their generous support and teamwork!

Rick Swink (Lighting Designer) - Rick has been designing lighting for 25 years, primarily with Damascus Theatre Company where he also serves as technical director. He recently designed for ASGT and this is his second design for CP. He’s twice been nominated by WATCH for his lighting designs. Rick and his wife, Elli, moved to the Annapolis area five years ago. He is an avid cyclist, and enjoys being 'Papaw' to granddaughter Blake.