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THORNTON WILDER'S ENDURING CLASSIC OUR TOWN TO BE PRESENTED BY THE SHARON PLAYHOUSE SEPT. 15-24
The Performance Marks the 85th Anniversary of When Play Debuted and Won the Pulitzer Prize
Thornton Wilder was one of the great writers of the 20th century. Not only did he win the Pulitzer Prize for Our Town (1938) and for his play The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), he also received the coveted prize for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Ray (1927). He remains the only writer to win the Pulitzer in both drama and fiction.
The popularity of Our Town has not dimmed for over eight decades because of the timeless human truths that are dealt with: life, love and death. There is always a new audience that discovers the fictional small New Hampshire town of Grover's Corner at the turn of the century, where this beloved play is set on a stage with minimal scenery and props.
It could be that those of us who live in New England feel closer to the play and the citizens of Grover's Corners. We recognize the characters because Our Town is every town, and the parallels are inescapable. We feel the passage of time more acutely as we experience the four seasons, and we are aware of the value of living our individual lives against a background of history, space and eternity.
Those of us who have seen Our Town before, maybe numerous times, will once again recognize George Gibbs and Emily Webb. The stage narrator tells us it is their lives that we follow. It is through them that we realize that when it comes to personal moments and milestone events, there is little change in the human experience, and we are all drawn together across the centuries.
There are many poetic passages and memorable quotes in Our Town. Here are a few:
“Every child born into the world is nature's attempt to make a perfect human being.” (Stage Manager)
“Oh earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it –every, every minute?” (Emily Webb Gibbs)
“We all know that something is eternal. And it ain't houses, and it ain't names and it ain't earth, and it ain't even the stars...everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings.” (Stage Manager)
When Our Town debuted in 1938, N.Y. Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson called it “one of the finest achievements of the current stage.”
Decades later author Edward Albee called it “the greatest American play ever written.”
As recently as 2021, Howard Sherman wrote in an article for Britain's The Guardian newspaper: “It's a testament to this seeming war horse from an earlier era that it still calls to theatre artists today....”It may sound fulsome but I'm prepared to take a leap and suggest that Our Town is very likely on its way to being America's first Shakespearean play. I'm not speaking of its language or scale, but rather the likelihood that it's going to remain in the international repertoire for more than a hundred years and beyond.”
Here are comments from Andrus Nichols, award-winning actress and director of Our Town for the Sharon Playhouse:
· Our Town has not been performed at The Sharon Playhouse since 1963. It is a play that we all read in high school, and think that we know, but we promise it will surprise you. It is a play that we are often assigned to read too young to truly appreciate its scope, subtlety weight and humor. Playwright, screenwriter, academic and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Donald Margulies, called it “possibly THE great American play."
· Jane Kaczmarek will lead the cast in the role of The Stage Manager (you may know her as the mother from Malcolm in the Middle, a role for which she was nominated for seven Primetime Emmys, three Golden Globes, and multiple SAG awards. Jane has been a resident of Sharon for 40 years. Our Town is Jane’s favorite play.
· One of the few great things that happened during the pandemic is that a fair number of really excellent professional actors relocated up here from the City. It is a huge pleasure to be welcoming them onto our stage and into our community. It’s unusual for a Main Stage production at Sharon Playhouse, but 100% of the Our Town cast lives right here in this region.
· We have a fabulous and large cast that spans multiple generations -- our youngest member is 11, our oldest is 88.
Here are some select bios:
JANE KACZMAREK (Stage Manager) is a multi-Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominated actress best known as Lois for seven seasons on Malcolm in the Middle. Her television career began on The Paper Chase and Hill Street Blues after graduating from U.W. Madison and Yale School of Drama. She will co-star this fall on Apple TV’s The Changeling. Jane has performed on Broadway and off and at regional theaters across the country including Long Day’s Journey Into Night with Alfred Molina at the Geffen Theatre in LA, and a joint production of Our Town with Deaf West at the 2023 Tony Award winning Pasadena Playhouse. Her Foundation Clothes Off Our Back, raised over three million dollars auctioning celebrity finery for charity. She has traveled to India and Africa visiting the hospitals and children they help. Since moving here 30 years ago, Jane has longed for a production of Our Town in Sharon. Many thanks to The Sharon Playhouse for making this dream come true.
SAMANTHA STEINMETZ (Emily Webb) is absolutely thrilled to be making her Sharon Playhouse debut! Off-Broadway: Sense and Sensibility, The Seagull, Hamlet, Saint Joan (Bedlam), 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (Abingdon Theatre Company), The Remarkable Rooming House (La MaMa). Regional: Emma (world premiere, Guthrie Theater), Murder on the Orient Express (world premiere, McCarter Theatre Center and Hartford Stage), Pride and Prejudice (Syracuse Stage). Television: Chicago P.D., Mindhunter, Manifest, The Deuce, When They See Us, FBI: Most Wanted, Blue Bloods, Law and Order: SVU.
DAWN STERN (Mrs. Webb) is a New York City-based AEA/SAG-AFTRA actor, teaching artist, and COO of the non-profit DE-CRUIT. Dawn built a seventeen-year television acting career including: a series regular on Viper, 413 Hope Street, Starhunter and Nobody; a recurring role on the Young and the Restless and notable guest star appearances including: Star Trek: Enterprise, Ally McBeal, Profiler, Beverly Hills 90210, My Wife & Kids, and True Blood. Her film credits include: The Fugitive and Original Gangstas. Most recently she played Cleopatra for Prague Shakespeare company. Dawn is excited to make her Sharon Playhouse debut!
ERIC BRYANT (George Gibbs) is also thrilled to make his debut at Sharon Playhouse with Our Town. His resume includes: New York: Angels in America (Signature Theatre), Cut Throat (Abingdon), The Pillow Book (59E59), Even Maybe Tammy (The Flea), Billy Witch (APAC) Regional: The 39 Steps (Shadowland Stages), Kate Hamill's Emma (Playmakers Rep), Doubt, The Understudy, The Invisible Hand (Connecticut Critics' Circle Award-Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play), Room Service (all at Westport Country Playhouse), Almost Maine (CT Critics' Circle Award-Outstanding Ensemble, Theaterworks Hartford), Bachelorette (Studio Theatre, DC), The Mousetrap (Walnut St), Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch (NY Stage and Film) TV: The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Mr. Robot, The Following, Deception. Education: BA UNC-Chapel Hill, MFA Yale School of Drama
ANDRUS NICHOLS (Director) Selected Credits: Off Broadway: Terra Firma, (Shana Cooper, dir), The Saintliness of Margery Kempe (The Duke, Austin Pendleton, dir.), Sense & Sensibility (Bedlam; Drama League nomination, Best Revival; Off Broadway Alliance Award winner), Hamlet, Saint Joan (Bedlam; Lucille Lortel nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress; Off Broadway Alliance Award, Best Revival, OBIE award winner), Other New York: The Seagull, What You Will, and Twelfth Night (all with Bedlam); They Promised Her the Moon, The Libertine. Regional: A Lesson from Aloes (Hartford Stage, Darko Tresnjak, dir.), Ivo Van Hove’s A View From The Bridge (The Kennedy Center/The Ahmanson (CTG)/The Goodman; Jeff Award nomination, Outstanding Performer); Hamlet, Saint Joan (Bedlam/Olney Theater Center/Central Square Theater; Helen Hayes and Elliot Norton nominations, Outstanding Lead Actress; IRNE Award, Outstanding Visiting Performer); Hamlet (title role), Iphigenia and Other Daughters (We Players/Alcatraz Island); others. Film: Zoo, Down East, Wash Song (New Orleans Film Festival Grand Jury Finalist), and South Mountain (SXSW Grand Jury Award Finalist). TV: Rise, The Blacklist. The Equalizer, FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order: SVU, Wu-Tang: An American Saga and others.
Q&A WITH RICH CONLEY: THE INVISIBLE MAN FOR 34 YEARS
Rich Conley spent four years in a U.S. Navy band playing clarinet and saxophone. He is seen here on the USS Yosemite out of Newport, RI.
Q: Let’s start simply. What do you do at the Sharon Playhouse?
A: Not many people know what I do. I’ve been the invisible man for 34 years. I'm a musician (flute, clarinet, saxophone and oboe) and orchestra contractor. My job is to perform, to hire all the musicians, and to be the liaison between the theater and the musicians.
Here’s a current example: We had Liz (Elizabeth Ward Land) coming in to do the Spotlight Gala, and she needed a guitar player, a drummer and a bass player, who hopefully would be able to double on the cello. That's my job -- to go out and find musicians the performers need. I remember when we were doing Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. We needed a pedal steel player. Now, if I'm in Nashville, you've got a million pedal steel players, but in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut??? I put word out and sure enough, there is a guy living right here in Sharon!! It's wacky stuff like that.
Q: How did you get started, both in your career and at The Playhouse?
A: I was a high school band director in Pine Plains. In 1989 they were doing an August production of Music Man at The Playhouse. At the 11th hour, they realized they didn't hire any musicians. Next thing I know, Sarah [Combs, Vice President of the Board of Directors at The Sharon Playhouse and now Rich’s wife] whom I had worked with before at the high school, contacts me in a panic. She said, "Could you get me musicians?" I go, "Well, I mean it's a little late." But somehow, I managed,
Q: Tell us a bit more about the tent and the early days of The Playhouse when it was known as TriArts.
A: Of all the stuff that I've ever done with what is now The Sharon Playhouse, the jobs I liked best were the ones in the tent. The tent was magical. We did pre-shows before the show. When we did Annie Get Your Gun, we did a whole rodeo pre-show where the lead came galloping in on a horse. We had balloons set up with little electrodes behind them and he would shoot the balloons out with his gun.
When we did Barnum, our pre-show had all these booths beckoning attendees just like a regular circus. One booth was labeled “MAN EATING CHICKEN INSIDE.” You'd go in and there was a man, eating some chicken.
I just loved the tent. Smustkunks would come through at night. It was like “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” We had no money, we started with nothing, and we pulled it off.
But back to hiring orchestras – it’s more complicated than just finding someone who can play a particular instrument. You must find “show players.” You can be a top musician and not know the fine points of playing a show. There was a learning curve for me too, as you might guess, because prior to this I had never done show work. But when Sarah introduced me to this, it was exciting. I thought, "Well, give it a shot.”
Q: How do you interact with the rest of The Playhouse staff?
A. I rarely deal with actors. The Music Director deals with the actors. Sometimes, when we're playing on stage, we interact. But most of the time we're backstage where we're invisible. Playing shows has advantages. There’s a routine. We know when we come in, how long we will be here. And no lugging equipment around to clubs.
My work is with the Managing Director Rod Christensen and the Artistic Director, Carl Andress. Carl might say to me, "Here's the show we're going to do." Then, I'll contact the Music Director, and ask, "Hey, what instrumentation do you want on this?" I will find them and then I'll deal with Rod about how and what the musicians get paid.
Here’s another current example. On Something Rotten, Phil Reno conducted the show when it ran on Broadway. Phil's an old friend of Sarah's from college, so I was able to call Phil and say, "I've got to scale this orchestra down, Phil, how do I do it?" Phil told me what musicians to hire.
Q: How do you learn about new talent in the area?
A: Well, that's interesting. I try to hire younger players, because I'm not getting any younger. On Something Rotten, I had two younger players, a drummer in his 20s and the second keyboard player in his 30s. But my experience has been that, in general, the kids haven't been trained to do show work. So, it's hard.
I keep looking around for these young players to get them in here and get them involved. The thing is, I don't hire anyone I haven't worked with or who doesn't come to me from someone that assures me that this person can play. It’s always a challenge. And we have too much at stake to screw up.
Q: So, what does that next generation look like? How do you get the younger kids to take more ownership?
A: I'll find them. I have some young guys that have come in. I will say to them, "I need this." Or "I need that. Do you have a friend – somebody good -- we can bring in?" But I also have a core group of people that have been with me for years. I really trust them -- they can walk in and do a read and it goes down the way it's supposed to go down. So while I transition people in – and I would not transition a lot of people in at one time. I would bring somebody in, try them, then me and my group get together and say, “Okay, this person can work."
Q: Outside of the tent, what has been your favorite production?
A: We did a tribute to Jonathan Tunick. I had to hire 35 pieces for that event. We never had 35 pieces on that stage. And I got great players! It was during the pandemic and Broadway was still pretty much shut down. So, I was able to approach Broadway musicians who lived in the area.
You see, I'm generally reluctant to call those folks. If they're doing Broadway work, even if they're between shows and I hire them in February -- suddenly they get a Broadway gig. And “Bye-bye Rich!” I've been burned a few times with having that happen. But on the Tunick show, Broadway wasn't running, so I was able to bring in really hot players. That was a lot of fun. Plus, I hired my core group along with them -- because these people can play!! So, the evening was extraordinary.
Q: What's been one of the most difficult ones?
A: The most difficult ones are when I look at the orchestration and it calls for 35 pieces and Management tells me they can only afford 8! How do I make it sound like something? How do we scale it down? What do we hire? Can we make it work? Sometimes you can find a scaled-down orchestration and sometimes it’s wonderful. Two years ago, we did Guys and Dolls, and the scaled-down orchestration was great. But we've had other ones that weren't so great.
Q: When you're not finding musicians and playing, what else are you doing at the Playhouse?
A: Well, I'm on the Building and Grounds Committee. Sarah is Chair of that Committee and I drive her crazy with opinions she doesn’t ask for.
But the other thing that is helpful is that Sarah and I have been through every Artistic Director, every Managing Director, every Music Director. So, we have an insight and a history that nobody else has. There are people here who can talk about the last 5 years or the last 10 years of what they knew. We can talk about almost the last 35 years! We know everything. We've seen the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Q: So, my final question. Even in the bad times, the stressful times, what keeps you coming back?
A: This is a large part of who we are. We've been here for so long that the future of this place is really important to us. When I'm not here anymore, I want to know that this place will go on.
I think right now we have a really good Management Team. I think we're moving in the right direction. I feel like I'm comfortable with where it's going. Of course, I’ve been involved so long I'm always thinking about, okay, who's going to replace me when I leave? I’m confident it's going to be one of these young people.
Interview with Wendy Prause, Business Manager, Sharon Playhouse
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was Born in Niagara Falls, New York. After Graduating from Alfred State College in 1990, I moved to Dutchess County where I was married and had my daughters. About 11 years ago, we moved into my husband’s family home here in Sharon. Our children are the fifth generation of Prauses to live in the house.
Q: Please give us some highlights of your career up to the Playhouse.
A: I came to the playhouse in 2014 to take the place of Audrey Brooks who had been the bookkeeper for many years. Once I settled in, I continually took over more than just bookkeeping, including facilities management, box office, data management and whatever else needed doing. My position here has changed titles many times over the years; the Sharon Playhouse Management has decided that Business Manager seems to sum up what I do.
Q: What was it that made you decide to join the team at the Sharon Playhouse?
A: Initially, I was hired to fix the errors made by some replacements trying to do Audrey’s job. Then, the Managing Director at the time asked me to come on staff full time and assume all of Audrey’s job responsibilities (and then some!).
Q. What have been some of the most interesting things you’ve done or seen at the Sharon Playhouse?
A: It’s probably the time that the power failed in the middle of the Patsy Kline Show and we used cell phone lights to light up the stage so the show could continue. That’s show biz!
Q: How would you describe what you do?
I am pretty much the central hub for Board members, customers, actors and other staff at the playhouse. Usually, I am the first person you see when you enter the playhouse or hear when you call the office. Also, all payroll, accounts payables and accounts receivables land on my desk. Essentially, I am the secretary for everything at the playhouse.
Q: What are you looking forward to the Sharon Playhouse doing?
A: I am really looking forward to the Linda Ronstadt Spotlight Event.
LIFESPAN OF A FACT: A PLAY FOR OUR TIMES
Lifespan of a Fact is a critically acclaimed 2018 Broadway play by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, based on a book (which was based on a true story) by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal. The play starred Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale.
The fast-paced story explodes with blistering comedy and timely relevance. Facts become blurry when they’re twisted into fiction in the high-stakes world of publishing. Emily Penrose, the demanding editor-in-chief of a high-end magazine, hires a determined millennial fact-checker named Jim Fingal to work on a groundbreaking essay written by the famous author John D’Agata. The deadline is tight, the essay is dense, and everyone must make a good faith effort in telling the story honestly. But the overly eager Jim takes his fact-checking way too far, creating the ultimate showdown of fact versus fiction.
Jim Fingal (Daniel Radcliffe) has a small job: to fact check articles for one of the best magazines in the country. His boss (Cherry Jones) has given him a big assignment: apply his skill to a groundbreaking piece by legendary author John D’Agata (Bobby Cannavale). But Jim Fingal has a huge problem: D’Agata fabricated/embellished some or most of his article. What starts professionally quickly becomes profane as one question rises to the surface: What happens when truth and factual accuracy come head-to-head with artistic and creative license?
Critics had this to say about Lifespan of a Fact:
“…terrifically funny dialogue…once the writer and the fact-checker get into a lively debate on the ethics of factual truth vs. the beauty of literary dishonesty, it’s time to really sit up and listen…Their deadly serious but oh-so-funny ethical dispute is brilliantly argued…the debate at the heart of this play transcends comedy and demands serious attention.” —Variety.
“…buoyantly literate…wholly resonant questions [are] wrestled with in this briskly entertaining play…you’ll find yourself happy to have your preconceptions disturbed and assumptions unsettled.” —Washington Post.
“[It] moves with the ticking-clock urgency the situation demands yet finds appropriate moments to breathe and let us ruminate on the personal, professional and moral issues at stake…[an] ingenious adaptation of the sui generis book of the same name…” —Hollywood Reporter.
The Sharon Playhouse is proud to present this groundbreaking play under the helm of Marcia Milgrom Dodge, known to the theater community as MMD. Dodge is a Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire-nominated director/choreographer for her stirring and lovingly staged Broadway revival of Ragtime. With a career spanning over 40 years, Dodge has become a sought-after stage director and choreographer working in the full range of artistic environments.
Her cast is equally impressive:
Reynaldo Piniella (plays Jim Fingal) hails from Brooklyn and was seen on Broadway in Trouble in Mind (Roundabout) and Thoughts of a Colored Man (Golden Theatre). He received the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship from Theatre Communications Group, the Thomas Barbour award for Playwriting, and numerous other accolades for his artistic work.
Jennifer Van Dyck (plays Emily Penrose) is an actor, narrator and voice-over artist based in New York City. Her recent projects include: Sarah Schulman's The Lady Hamlet at Provincetown Theatre; Dracula directed by David Auburn at Berkshire Theatre Group; Kay Oyegun's new pilot for ABC, directed by Kevin Hooks, Insight: world premiere of Sister Sorry by Alec Wilkinson, directed by Joe Calarco at Barrington Stage Company; Charles Busch's The Confession of Lily Dare at Primary Stages directed by our own Artistic Director Carl Andress (Outer Circle Critics Award); and Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie at the Guthrie directed by Joseph Haj.
Jonathan Walker (plays John D’Agata) is known for his movie appearances in George Clooney’s Michael Clayton (2007), Man on a Ledge (2012), Daredevil (2015) and Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015). He is married to co-star Jennifer Van Dyke.
In addition, Sharon Playhouse is excited to preset this production in concert with The Lakeville Journal and The Salisbury Forum, which will host a program on truth in media.
You won’t want to miss this exciting and extremely timely production of the Sharon Playhouse’s final show of the 2023 season.\
Lifespan of a Fact plays in the Bobbie Olsen Theater from September 29 – October 15.
ENCORE CORNER
We’re thrilled with the positive feedback about our first two shows this season, Something Rotten! and Oliver! and we expect to see more and more staff and crew heading to Sharon to be in our remaining shows, Our Town and The Lifespan of a Fact. We provide lodging as close to the theater as possible and can use your help with some donations to make our staff feel at home.
Aren't you pleased when you can recycle anything in your house or garage towards a good cause? We can currently use-
*Old dressers or chests approximately 36” wide,
*Towel sets, or towels of all sizes that you don't like or need for housing actors and crew,
*Office supplies such as packs of printing paper, pads, pens & pencils, pen and pencil holders, pencil sharpeners, paper clips of all kinds, manila folders, etc.,
*Any used car that you would like to donate – a great tax benefit!
Think of us when you want to get rid of home items and office supplies you no longer need and then call Wendy, our Business Manager at 860-364-7469 X100 or write to her at Business@sharonplayhouse.org. You can make arrangements to drop off stuff at our offices or we can schedule a pick-up at your place.
Remember – The Sharon Playhouse is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) arts organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We will provide you with an acknowledgement of your gift for tax purposes along with the statement that no goods or services were provided to you in exchange.
Thank you in advance!