Ivoryton Playhouse
Written By JAMES HINDMAN & RAY RODERICK
Featuring
CORY CANDELET
EMMA FLYNN
BRIAN MICHAEL HENRY*
ADRIANNE HICK*
COREY SCHEYS
Stage Management
JAMES JOSEPH CLARK*
Scenic Design
GLENN BASSETT
Lighting Design
MARCUS ABBOTT
Costume Design
Elizabeth A. Saylor
Sound Design
Tate R. Burmeister
Music Director
Jill brunelle
Directed By
BRIAN FEEHAN
2021 Season Sponsors
Living Legends
Moguls
Stars
Cast
(in alphabetical order)
Vocalist
CORY CANDELET
Vocalist
EMMA FLYNN
Vocalist
BRIAN MICHAEL HENRY*
Vocalist
ADRIANNE HICK*
Vocalist
COREY SCHEYS
Dance Captain - Adrianne Hick*
Songs
Act I
- "Waiting For The Man With The Bag"
- “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
- "All Those Christmas Clichés ”
- "Silver Bells”
- "The Christmas Party/I’d Like To Hitch A Ride With Santa Claus”
- "The Happy New Year Blues”
- "Reindeer Boogie/Jingle Bells”
- "This Will Be The Best Christmas Ever!"
- "Santa Fantasy”
- “Surabaya Santa”
- "’Santa Claus is Back in Town”
Act II
- “Entr’acte”
- "The Twelve Steps of Christmas"
- “Christmas Party Medley”
- "Little Girl Blue”
- "An Old-Fashioned Sleigh Ride”
- "Waiting For The Man With The Bag (reprise)”
- "Sacred Trio”
- "The Greatest Gift”
- "O Holy Night"
- "Waiting For The Man With The Bag (reprise)”
There will be no intermission during this production.
Videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
Hearing Assisted Devices available at the Box Office
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Ivoryton Playhouse, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
“Actors’ Equity Association (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an International organization of performing arts unions. www.actorsequity.org
Playhouse Staff
Jacqueline Hubbard
Executive/Artistic Director
Todd underwood
Associate Artistic Director
Krista May
Managing Director
Diane Miezejeski
Office Manager
Susan McCann
Box Office Manager
Steve Phelan
Theatre Operations Manager
COVID Safety Officer
Kyle R. Kleinschmidt
Admin/Box Office Assistant
Ray Smith
Site and Technical Manager
Holly Price
Production Manager
Kevin DeChello
Technical Director
Jen Fedus
Assistant Technical Director
Elizabeth A. Saylor
Resident Costume and Wig Designer and Wardrobe Maintenance
Kyle R. Kleinschmidt, Steve Phelan,
Nate Russo
Box Office
Bryan McManamy
Master Electrician
Rachel Smith
Scenic Painter
Tommy mehrtens
Carpenter
Jonathan Steele
Photographer
David Bradley, Jacob Graham
Sound Operators
Overabove
Strategic Branding and Marketing Partner
Marquee Digital
Digital Playbill Development
Friends of the
Ivoryton Playhouse
Ushers
Barry Felson, Kim Galvin,
Kaye Griffin, Louise Shaw
House Managers
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint-filing-cust. html or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request a form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.
Board of Trustees
Officers
President
Al Jaffe
Vice President
Bonnie Stone
Treasurer
Norman Needleman
Secretary
Susan Origlia
Board Members
Suzy burke
carly callahan
robert dryfoos
joseph ettore
ralph guardiano
bill jacaruso
thomas johnston
paula merrick
toni robinson
Artistic/Executive Director
Jacqueline hubbard
The Ivoryton Playhouse Board of Trustees is deeply grateful to each and every one of you who support the Playhouse through donations, sponsorships and ticket purchases.
You make everything possible. Thank you.
The History of Ivoryton Playhouse
Photo by Brian J. Wilson
The building that is now the Ivoryton Playhouse was built in 1911 as a recreation hall for the employees of the Comstock-Cheney factory. In all likelihood, thebuilding would have been demolished but for its chance encounter with a remarkable man named Milton Stiefel. After a long career in theatre, Stiefel discovered the unused recreation hall, knew it would be perfect for a resident stock company and set about drafting contracts, and putting a cast together. “Broken Dishes” had just closed in New York and Stiefel opened with it during the week of June 17, 1930. Thus the Ivoryton Playhouse became the first summer theater in Connecticut.
The theater gained in prestige and invitations to work there were highly prized. Established actors like Henry Hull and Norma Terris signed on to perform. Newcomers like Katharine Hepburn and Cliff Robertson, both on their way to Hollywood stardom, came along to help the Ivoryton legend. Ivoryton’s fame as one of Americas leading summer theatres continued to grow until the outbreak of WWII when the theater went dark, mainly because gasoline rationing made it difficult for audiences to travel. Stiefel reopened the playhouse after the war and resuming a parade of stars that included, among others, Marlon Brando, Art Carney, Talullah Bankhead, Betty Grable, Groucho Marx, and Gloria Vanderbilt. Stiefel continued at Ivoryton until 1973, when he sold the theater. In 1979, the non-profit Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation was organized and the property purchased for $115,000.
During the Foundation’s early years (1979-1986), four different producers put the Playhouse summer season back on the road. In 1987, The River Rep came to Ivoryton and they spent 18 years re-establishing the Playhouse as one of the leading summer theatres in the nation.
In 1999, Jacqueline Hubbard was hired as the Artistic Executive Director. Under her leadership, the Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation has completed a total renovation of the building, including new shingles, a new heating and air-conditioning system with Covid compliant updates to the filters and duct work , new seats and state-of-the-art theatrical sound and lighting systems as well. Since 2006, the Ivoryton Playhouse has operated year round as a professional, AEA theatre and has seen its membership and its audiences grow every year. Today, the Ivoryton Playhouse still stands as the heart of this community, a cultural gem on the Connecticut Shoreline.
The Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation is a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of owning, restoring and operating the 100 year old Playhouse, and maintaining its cultural, educational, entertainment and service value to the community at large. The Foundation is committed to providing exceptional theatre experiences of high professional quality to enrich, enlighten, educate and entertain the diverse audience in the Shoreline region and beyond. Strong educational and training programs are central parts of our commitment to the local and national artistic communities.
NOTICE
Pursuant to an agreement with the State of Connecticut Historical Commission consumated as the result of a grant, the Playhouse will be open to the public for viewing of its exterior and interior between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm of a day set by appointment or specifically, August 21, 2021 and October 9, 2021.
Please Join Our Ovation Society
Stand at the back of the theatre after a show one night and see how deeply people of all ages are moved by the performance they just shared. Help us to continue offering the highest quality theatre for decades to come by including the Ivoryton Playhouse in your will.
Whether you leave a simple bequest in your will or designate the Playhouse as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or a 401(k), every gift means the world to us! In addition to leaving a lasting legacy, your family will receive important tax advantages and you will receive exciting philanthropic benefits in your lifetime.
Members of our Ovation Society will receive invitations to exclusive special events and be recognized in a permanent way at the Playhouse.
Please consider including the Ivoryton Playhouse in your estate plan. All gifts welcome!
For more information about our Ovation Society, please contact our Artistic Director, Jacqui Hubbard at 860.767.9520.
Ovation Society
Caryl Anderson
Anonymous*
Anne and Jan Bishop*
Ed and Suzy Burke*
David A. Carey*
Helen and Bill Chatman*
Donald Y. Church and Anthony E. Schillaci*
Verena and David Harfst*
Harvey Hoberman
Jacqueline Hubbard and Norman Needleman*
Sally and George Mayer
Paula Merrick*
Noah Rice
Dr. David M. and Liana Snyderman*
Peter Walker*
*Founding Members fo the Ovation Society
Planned Gifts
Producers Circle
Executive Producer
$10,000 and above
John and Jen Bauman
Robert and Theresa Dryfoos
Ralph Guardiano
Jacqueline Hubbard and Norman Needleman
Joanne and Michael Masin
Sally and George Mayer
Toni Robinson and Michael Plouf
John Visgilio
Living Legends
$5,000 - $9,999
Carly and Matthew Callahan
Jane Cullen
Frank and Carolyn Dranginis
Rob and Judith Hamilton
David and Verena Harfst
Al and Kathleen Jaffe
Tom and Sherry Johnston
The Kitchings Family
Ken and Paula Munson
Chris and Jamie Shane
Tom and Bonnie Stone
Jean T. Walker
The Zachem Family
Patron
$2,500 - $4,999
Alison and Stephen Brinkmann
Sherry and Herb Clark
Ms. Margaret J. Coe
Charles and Catherine Hill
Rosalind and Richard Hinman
Frank and Diane Kelly
RADM and Mrs. John B. Padgett, III
Sandy and Andrea Seidman
Brant and Mauriane Smith
Benefactor
$1,500 - $2,499
Suzy and Ed Burke
Philip and Clio Coles
Sean and Erin Conlan
Nancy Fischbach and Martin Wolman
Julia Francis and Victor Vroom
Constance Holmes
Emily (Red) Kaufman
Patricia Miller
Ken and Paula Munson
Chuck and Diane Ramsey
Peter and Sher Walton Scranton
Gregory and Elizabeth Smith
Star
$1,000 - $1,499
Robert Bartholomew
Anne and Jan Bishop
Richard and Barbara Booth
William and Mary Ellen Bridges
William and Helen Chatman
Susan and Thomas Childs
Mrs. Susan K. Childs and Mr. Thomas S. Childs, Jr.
Philip Darney and Uta Landy
Ann Field
Elizabeth Haigis
Constance Hanarhan
The Hernandez-Underwood Family
William and Bo Jacaruso
Jeffrey Alan Johnson
Kathryn Johnson and Thomas Scanlon
Robert Kaufman and Joann Chapel
Pamela and Gary Knowles
John and JoAnna Koster
Susan Malan and Robert Ward
Mather & Pitts Insurance
Bruce and Renee McIntyre
Paula Merrick
Max Miezejeski
Marnie Murdoch
Michael and Beverley Ricci
Paul Serenbetz
Doris Simoneau
Jennifer Tate
Patti Anne Vassia
Burton Warner
Thomas and Betsy Whidden
Jon and Beth Winikur
Victoria Winterer
(as of February 14, 2020)
Meet the Cast
Cory Candelet
Cory Candelet is so excited to be back at the playhouse doing this whacky show with some of his favorite people after such a crazy year! He is a graduate of AMDA (NYC) and grew up in Mystic, CT. Some of his favorite credits include: Shrek (Lord Farquaad), The Fantasticks (The Mute), Grease, (Eugene), and Peter and The Starcatcher (Peter). He would love to send lots of thanks and love to the entire cast and crew especially Brian, Jim, and Jill for their friendship, hard work, and commitment! Lots of love to Brianna, my family, and of course, the best floof @fourthefloof for all their support.
Emma Flynn
Emma Flynn is so excited to be joining the cast for her Ivoryton debut! Emma is a New York City based performer who graduated from the Hartt School of Music where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre. She then went on perform at various theaters across the east coast. Some of her favorite past roles include Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors and Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. She wants to thank Ivoryton for giving her such a warm welcome and wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season!
Brian Michael Henry*
Brian Michael Henry* is thrilled to be back at the Ivoryton Playhouse where he was last seen as Stewpot in South Pacific. Selected stage credits include Jerry Lee Lewis; Million Dollar Quartet (Majestic, Hippodrome, Beef & Boards, NCL), Ragtime (Eagle Theater, Bristol Riverside), Camelot (Sierra Repertory Theatre), Forever Plaid (Majestic Theater), South Pacific (Westchester Broadway, Ivoryton), and many more! Brian has recently released his debut album of original music, Remote Work, which can be found anywhere you stream music (including Spotify and iTunes). He is a graduate of Penn State (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM). Love to Mom and Dad!
Adrianne Hick*
Adrianne Hick is a native New Yorker who is thrilled to be spending the holidays back in Ivoryton! She has just completed a run as Alice in Bright Star at Riverside Center and was recently seen at American Stage in Fun Home (Adult Alison) for which she won the Tampa Bay Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical and at Asolo Rep in The Sound of Music (Sister Margaretta, Elsa U/S). Other credits include the B’Way National Tour of Les Miserables, (Fantine U/S/Factory Girl); International Tour of Jekyll & Hyde (Lady Beaconsfield/Guinevere); South Pacific, Nellie (Ivoryton Playhouse & The Wick Theatre); Burt & Me, Sally (Ivoryton Playhouse); Company, April (Lyric Stage Co.); Bright Star, Alice, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Billie, Joseph… Narrator, (Surflight Theatre): Through the Invisible Door (MTL); productions at The Fireside, Hampton Theatre Co., The Bickford, and in NYC in The Laramie Project and others. Proud member of AEA!
Corey Scheys
Corey Scheys is a New York based actor. Broadway National Tours: Annie 30th Anniversary Tour (Star To Be), The Drowsy Chaperone (Drowsy/Kitty/Trix/Tottendale u/s) New York: How Deep is the Ocean? with Tony Danza (NYMF) Select Regional: Mamma Mia (Rosie), Ragtime (Emma Goldman), Urinetown (Pennywise), Forum (Domina), Grease (Rizzo), Beauty & the Beast (Babette), Rocky Horror (Magenta). Thanks for all the love and support along my journey.
Creative Team
Brian Feehan
Brian Feehan is thrilled to be back at the Ivoryton Playhouse! Previous directing work here includes “TENDERLY, “BURT & ME” and the award-winning production of “THE FANTASTICKS”. His work has been seen in New York, at regional theaters across the country, as well as internationally. He was nominated for a Wilde Award for Best Professional Production in Michigan for his direction of “THE 39 STEPS, nominated for Best Choreography by the Philadelphia Critics Circle for his production of “JACQUES BREL” at the Walnut Street Theatre,” and won the Audience Favorite Award for his production of “NUNSENSE” at The Dorset Theatre Festival. He received the Best Director Award for his production of “THE LION IN WINTER” also at the Dorset; the Founder’s Award for Best Direction in New York City for the Oppy Award winning “CARRIN BEGINNING” and he was the 2011 recipient for Best Overall Production and Best Choreography for “CABARET”. For five years he was the Artistic Director of the Riverside Stage Company in Manhattan. He was Associate Director with multiple Emmy and Drama Desk Award winner Patricia Birch on the new musical “ORPHAN TRAIN”. He attended the prestigious Goodman School of Drama as well as the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and was one of thirty recruited by the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, where he learned directly from Sir Ian McKellan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and the late Alan Rickman. He has directed and taught seminars at Yale and Fordham Universities, and was a Guest Lecturer and Director at Myongji University in South Korea. As a writer, Brian was invited to attend the Iowa Writer’s Conference. He has multiple published short stories and several published plays
Jill Brunelle
Jill Brunelle is a Vocal Coach, Music Director and Pianist. Newly appointed Faculty and Music Director, UConn Opera Theater. Adjunct Faculty, SCSU: You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Songs For a New World, Pippin, The Addams Family, Violet. David Geffen School of Drama: “Fun Home,” Passion,” “The Apple Tree,” “Trouble in Tahiti,” “The Medium.” Ivoryton Playhouse: “The Fantasticks.” Yale Opera Chorus Master:“Florencia en el Amazonas,” “Eugene Onegin,” “Hänsel und Gretel,” “Die Zauberflöte,” "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Le Nozze Di Figaro" and "La Bohème." Upcoming projects include: “Giancarlo Menotti Triple Bill” at UConn, “The Last Five Years” for Brief Cameo Productions, “Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party” at The Hartt School. Ms. Brunelle has served as faculty/staff at Yale University, Boston University, New England Conservatory, Tufts University, Hartt School of Music, Connecticut Opera, and Opera Boston. As a collaborative pianist Ms. Brunelle is highly sought after as a recital partner, performing internationally as well as at Carnegie Hall and Jordan Hall, and has performed world premieres at numerous festivals, including the celebrated Bang on a Can festival in New York City.
Glenn Bassett
Glenn has been working as a set designer and props master for thirteen years. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design where he studied Interior Design, The Hartt School where he studied Musical Theatre and The Hartford Art School where I studied Fine Arts. He has been involved in theatre his whole life, performed: Off-Broadway, in Regional Theaters, toured the USA and around the world. In addition to being a set designer, He is also a director, a lyricist and librettist and an equity stage manager.
Marcus Abbott
Marcus Abbott has been designing theatre, music and film productions since the late 70's and has designed at the Ivoryton Playhouse since 1998. He is the founding designer of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Kansas City, Missouri, founding designer of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis and the founding designer of the Westerly Shakespeare in the Park. Marcus is currently the resident production designer and manager for the national theatrical productions of the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction and Executive Producer and Scenic designer for all Supreme Council film projects. Most importantly, the Ivoryton Playhouse has come to life again. Welcome Back Ivoryton Patrons!!!
Tate R. Burmeister
Tate has worked as a designer and theatre artist throughout Connecticut, Minnesota, California, and New York. In Connecticut, she has designed for Ivoryton Playhouse, Seven Angels Theatre, Hartford Stage Education Department, Oddfellows Playhouse, Playhouse on Park, Albano Ballet, and others, as well as various local schools. It is so wonderful to be back in the theater sharing my life’s passion again.
Elizabeth A. Saylor
Elizabeth A. Saylor has over 25 years of experience as a wig, makeup, and costume designer. Her work includes stage, opera, film and media productions. She has worked on Broadway showcases, off-Broadway productions, costumed staged readings, and film projects that have screened at Sundance and Telluride. Her theater costume credits include Ivoryton Playhouse (The Porch on Windy Hill, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Memphis, Chicago, Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, I Hate Musicals, The Fantastiks, Love Quest, Grease); Manhattan College (Legally Blonde, Rumors, Little Women, Dining Room); Oddfellows Playhouse (Oliver, Three Penny Opera, William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead), New Paradigm Theater, and Madison Lyric Stage Company. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University. Visit her website at www.wigmubyecipollina.com to view photos and reels, and for further contact info.
James Joseph Clark*
James Joseph Clark is thrilled to be spending another season at the Ivoryton Playhouse, having previously served as Stage Manager for Having Our Say, Murder for Two, Woody Sez, Shear Madness, Godspell, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Burt & Me, Once, The Fantasticks, I Hate Musicals: The Musical, Biloxi Blues, Man of La Mancha, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Little Shop of Horrors, The Last Romance, Stand By Your Man, Comedy is Hard!, I Ought To Be In Pictures, Shout!, and Home for the Holidays, as well Assistant Director for Coney Island Christmas, and Producer/Director for the Songs From The Elephant’s Trunk concert Series. Other recent credits include directing Ragtime: In Concert with Brief Cameo Productions, and productions and outreach programs for Long Wharf Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Yale Opera, Foote Summer Theater, Synapse Theatre Ensemble, Roebling and Driggs Productions, NY Fringe Festival, The New York Financial Writers’ Association’s annual Financial Follies, New Haven Theater Company, Act II Theater, Grassroots Theater Company, Sacred Heart Academy, New Haven Ballet, Fairfield University, and the Chancel Opera Company. Proud member of Actors’ Equity!
Marquee Digital
Marquee Digital is a New York-based tech startup innovating the theatre industry with ground-breaking digital program solutions. The Marquee is a theatrical program for the 21st century, employing contactless, eco-friendly, and ADA-compliant technology to create an interactive and highly intuitive experience for audience members.
Pre-Show Dinner or
Post-Show Cocktail?
Don’t let the evening end when the curtain comes down. With The Marquee Local, you can find the perfect place for a pre-show snack, an evening meal, or a post-show cocktail. Enjoy exclusive deals from our local partners as you catch up, discuss the show, and create memories to last a lifetime.
Check out the favorite local spots and gain access to these exclusive deals.
Pub | 8 Summit Street, Ivoryton
Good food, good friends, good spirits and great burgers!. Recently refurbished casual pub food directly next door to the Ivoryton Playhouse. An Ivoryton tradition! Present your show ticket and receive 10% off your lunch or dinner.
Enjoy a pre-show dinner or post-show cocktail with some of these neighborhood favorites.
Restaurant downstairs - Taproom upstairs | 107 Main Street, Ivoryton
Southern inspired coastal cuisine to the shoreline area. A dedication to fresh, made from scratch, authentic dishes created from years of travel, living and cooking in the south.
An Experience | 30 Main Street, Centerbook
Modern American cuisine that draws inspiration from the land, sea and deep heritage of the Connecticut River Valley, alongside a legion of international flavors. Current theme: A Study of Thailand.
Country Inn | 46 Main Street, Ivoryton
Dinner at The Copper available for in house or to go. Restaurant features snug, distinctive dining rooms and summer outdoor dining, complemented by an award-winning wine cellar.
Restaurant and Bar | 124 Westbrook Road, Essex
Menu has a vast variety of items, sure to please all friends and family. Large, open dining spaces with a downstairs dining room, outside patio (with fire pits and heaters) or an industrial-themed bar upstairs.
Restaurant and Bar | 158 Main Street, Deep River
Our mission at Red House is to offer creative dishes as well as modern classics utilizing quality ingredients. We take pride in carefully preparing our menu items. Our goal is to provide an enjoyable experience in a casual and inviting atmosphere. We appreciate your support and are glad to be an active part of our community. – Team Red House.
While You Wait
With the help of our friends at Theatrely.com, Marquee Digital has you covered with exclusive content while you wait for the curtain to rise.
AND… SCENE! They Nearly Tore the Balcony Down!
And...Scene! is Juan A. Ramirez's weekly column with hot takes, musings, and all that jazz.
__________
The 18th column! On the 18th day! And now that the column is a legal, consenting adult, it has made the decision to go bi-weekly (not a phase).
To celebrate the occasion, Broadway reopened on Tuesday and I was on the ground, at the Ambassador Theatre, to see my beloved Chicago. Turns out the left mezzanine was more the place to be, given the absolute commotion going on towards the end of the musical’s iconic “Hot Honey Rag.”
There I was, waiting to see if Ana Villafañe would do the number’s final cartwheel (she didn’t), when my friend turned me towards the back of the house, where a whole bunch of yelling and moving around was happening. As much as I love syncopation in musical theatre, this was a bit much.
Leave it to theatre Twitter, recently just so, so hyperactive—do y’all have jobs?— to fill in the blanks my mind couldn’t while busy hearing Velma talk about “what a wonderful country this is.”
This account is pieced together from several, ahem, unnamed sources who privately slid into my DMs. Some were there, some had friends there, some had access to the Ambassador’s show reports, and virtually all aligned. So this might come closest to the Gwen’s Honest Truth as we’re ever going to get about the fateful events of September 14.
A woman in the back row would apparently not stay quiet throughout the entire show, and the woman in front of her kept shooting back dirty looks. (Second-to-last-row woman: I see you, I hear you.) If we all remember the plot correctly, the first act ends with a declaration of “unrelenting determination and unmitigated ego.” Well, Back Row Betty gets on her phone during intermission to tell her friend how pissed she is that she can’t sing along to the score (tea, honestly) and how her fellow audience members weren’t taking kindly to her responding to spoken lines (!).
Lights dimmed again and, by the time the last number drew its standing ovations, Second-to-Last Sally turned around and said something about her lack of theatrical etiquette. Sally underestimated her opponent’s bravado, because Betty yanked her hair as proof of receipt. Both women inspired by the show’s message of female rivalry, this escalated into an all-out fight. Per my most detailed source, “slaps are slapped, punches are thrown, gum is spat in someone’s hair, and a ‘STOP TOUCHING ME, B****’ is shouted across the mezz. The Usual.”
(“For the record, I am told they kept their masks on the whole time, so I don't know how the gum got involved, but "gum in hair" was mentioned.”)
Because people are, understandably, trying to learn the show’s moral lesson, a good chunk of the left mezzanine became involved. Some shushed, some stared, Sally’s friend intervened and also got hit. The classic “Guards! Guards!” was yelled out and an usher escorted Betty and her friend out, but not before she threatened to stab Sally, and shouted some expletives I’d rather not write.
Honestly, work.
My favorite part of the thread of replies that inevitably came from my initial Tweet is the innocent shock people expressed at bad behavior in a Broadway audience. Folks, I will one day tell you about the time a 10-year-old me was nearly beat up by a large Italian man for accidentally kicking his seat during a performance of Hairspray. Or the time a much older, ostensibly wiser me almost brawled during The Cher Show because someone wouldn’t stop talking during “Dark Lady” (one of her best songs!).
Theatre is back and bringing the best out of us! See y’all on the aisles.
Follow Juan A. at @itsNumberJuan.
AND...SCENE! As If We Never Said Goodbye
__________
According to so many accounts, September 11, 2001 started with a gorgeous morning. In the third episode of Spike Lee’s documentary series “NYC Epicenters 9/11→ 2021½,” there's a montage of interviews with New Yorkers who all emphatically express this point. The phrase “It was a beautiful day” is repeated so many times that the words lose their meaning. This supercut culminates in a man stating, “And of course, 9/11 was one of the most beautiful days God had ever created. It was just clear.” There was no way anyone could have predicted the panic and carnage that would follow.
For me, September 10, 2021 in Washington, D.C. seemed like the kind of day that these New Yorkers were talking about. The sticky humidity that defines summers around the Chesapeake Bay had finally simmered down. Walking outside felt like a treat, not a burden. A few clouds strolled through the sky as the sun beamed down, pristine and gentle.
So when I stepped onto the National Mall, my first time visiting a tourist-heavy destination since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I felt a mixture of relief and fear. Looking at the view from the Lincoln Memorial, I could see the Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, and Capitol Building: America’s symbols of establishment endurance. Everything seemed to be easing back into some kind of normalcy. Tourists, masked and unmasked, took selfies. College running groups huddled together. And hundreds of people laid out folding chairs and picnic blankets to watch a concert version of the Broadway musical Come From Away, which was being performed that evening in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Audiences couldn’t have asked for better weather; it was a perfect day. But within the day’s beauty was a low hum of sadness, the remnants of another perfect day twenty years ago that nobody in America could enjoy.
Gathering at the Lincoln Memorial this past Friday, despite the isolation and tragedy that have shaped the past two years, perfectly matched the triumphant but cautious mood of Come From Away. The show follows an unexpected effect of the attacks of September 11, 2001—the day in which terrorists hijacked four planes and destroyed New York City’s Twin Towers and Washington D.C.’s Pentagon Building. One of the dizzying questions faced by the world that day was where to land all of the planes still in flight on that fateful morning. The answer, for 38 passenger jets, was the small Canadian town of Gander, Newfoundland. The town was equipped with an international airport that, in the 20th century, would refuel planes on its island shores after long journeys across the Atlantic. Over the course of a few hours, Gander’s population of around 10,000 people was suddenly accommodating 6,579 passengers and crew members.
Even in a state of emergency, the residents of Gander banded together to welcome their new arrivals, called “Come From Aways” or “plane people.” Newfoundlanders converted their town’s churches, schools, and community centers into makeshift places of refuge. Despite differences in language, race, and nationality, the residents of Gander and the plane people slowly integrated over five days into a blended community. Everyone was terrified about the way the world had changed instantaneously, while also grateful for the chance to feel connected to something greater than themselves. By the time planes were able to leave on September 16, life-long relationships had been forged by people who would have never met if not for the tragedy.
Gander being the setting for a hit Broadway musical might seem just as nonsensical as a friendship being born on one of the saddest days in American history. But when married writing/composing duo Irene Sankoff and David Hein traveled to Gander on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the storytelling abilities of both the Newfoundlanders and Come From Aways compelled them to translate the story onto the stage. Come From Away offers audiences a unique blend of dramaturgies. The show functions with the documentary theatre techniques seen in a work like “The Laramie Project,” using direct address to the audience, direct quotes compiled by interviews, and actors switching between multiple characters. But Sankoff and Hein weave in their folk-rock score, inspired equally by showtunes as by Irish-Canadian music.
Since 2011, Come From Away has had a rich production history across North America. The musical was staged at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse (2015), Seattle Repertory Theatre (2015), Washington D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre (2016), returned to Gander for two sold-out performances, and arrived on Broadway in 2017. In 2018, the show was nominated for seven Tony Awards, with Christopher Ashley winning the award for Best Direction. Before the pandemic, a North American tour, as well as West End and Australian productions, were running.
Then came March of 2020, when once again the world halted, but instead of any communal gathering everyone was forced into isolation. After nearly two years of social distancing and remote/digital theater projects, vaccinations and mask-mandates have made the return of live in-person theater possible despite the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
The return of live theater presented an obstacle but also an opportunity for Ford’s Theatre director Paul R. Tetreault, who wanted to create an experience that would be unique for Washington D.C. audiences. Part of the reason why Come From Away had a pre-Broadway run at Ford’s Theatre was because of D.C.’s close connection to 9/11, so reviving the show for one day in the city seemed like a perfect plan.
“I thought, ‘What would separate us from everyone else trying to open at the same time?’” Tetreault told me in an interview I had with the production’s creative team by the Reflecting Pool. “And I say, ‘What if we try to present [Come From Away] here, and offer it free for everyone?’ We never thought about charging anyone. We always thought we’d do it free on the Mall, and offer it as our gift to the community.”
Having the concert version of Come From Away be free to anyone who passes by it transforms the show from a cloistered theatrical experience into a piece of public art, mirroring the monuments that surrounded the stage. Conversations about accessibility within the theatre industry have been given a spotlight by the pandemic. In the 2020-21 season, many regional theaters adapted to filming staged readings or performances that, through streaming, could have much larger and more diverse audiences than could have ever come to see shows in one theater. The wild success of a filmed stage-version of Hamilton that premiered on Disney+ in the summer of 2020 has also proved that filmed shows can help, not hamper, a show’s ticket sales.
While Come From Away was originally set to be adapted into a film, director Christopher Ashley instead reunited the original Broadway cast and recorded their performances at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in May of 2021. The filmed stage show premiered on Apple TV+ the same day as the Lincoln Memorial concert. Come From Away has probably never had a bigger audience than on September 10, 2021.
These steps for accessibility were important to Sue Frost and Randy Adams, founding partners at Junkyard Productions and leading producers on Come From Away.
“I don’t think [the film is] going to cannibalize the stage show, I think it will make people more excited about the opportunity to see it,” Frost told me. “But if they can’t, if they’re not able to, if they don’t live in an area where there’s a tour or the show itself, how great it is we’re able to share this story with as many people as possible.”
When Come From Away premiered on Broadway in 2017, critics and audiences alike praised its themes of multiculturalism, acceptance across identities, and hospitality towards immigrants—all of which seemed in opposition to then President Trump’s multiple travel bans and demeaning rhetoric towards other countries. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show has only seemed more timely in a country increasingly divided on political issues, where communities and even families are torn apart. The parallels, and differences, between 2001 and 2021 were on the minds of the creative team as they assembled the concert production and the film.
“I was walking to rehearsal one day, and Times Square was completely empty,” director Christopher Ashley told me. “And I felt like, ‘When was the last time I’ve seen it like this?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, it was 9/11 when everything shut down.’ I do think that they’re not the same moment, but they’re two of the most traumatic events in my lifetime in America. I think both of the paths out of it are going to be the opposite of selfishness. It’s going to be how much we can draw together.”
The concert version of Come From Away was a surreal sight to behold. I’m not sure I’ve experienced that level of enthusiasm for a theatrical performance, with such an enormous scale and spectacle, outside of a Taylor Swift stadium tour—and Taylor didn’t necessarily have the gravity of 9/11 and the nation’s aching consciousness on her mind.
At the start of the concert, Paul R. Tetreault thanked everyone for coming and acknowledged the real-life “plane people'' in the audience: Nick and Diane Marson, two strangers at the start of 9/11 who fell in love with each other in Gander, and Kevin Tuerff, an advertiser and founder of Pay It Forward 9/11. Up next was Kirsten Hillman, American Ambassador of Canada to the United States. She noted the special relationship between the two countries, stating that “an embrace [can be] as important as food and water,” and described the show as “an anthem of ordinary people”—an apt phrase for a musical proud not about specific patriotic views, but about shared humanity. Finally, veteran D.C. actor Craig Wallace invoked the tragic legacy of Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre along with 9/11, but highlighted the resilience of creating theater despite fear.
“We’re all fellow passengers in life, helping each other along the way,” he noted.
As the insistent, thrumming melody of the opening number, “Welcome to the Rock,” began, Come From Away’s exuberance melded with the solemnity of the event. The cast performed on a medium-sized stage in front of the orchestra, which played everything from the violin to the banjo to the delightfully percussive ugly stick. Two jumbo-trons on each side of the performers captured all of the cast’s movements for the audience that gathered on each side of the reflecting pool, and also had ASL interpreters translating the singing as well. The feeling of a raucous music festival juxtaposed with the stoic Abraham Lincoln statue was delightful. The concert paid tribute to D.C.’s austere architecture while also revising the city’s self-seriousness, creating a jubilant atmosphere more reflecting North America’s small-town charm.
Due to the concert style, the talented ensemble of twelve actors (assembled from the Broadway and tour casts) didn’t completely re-create the intricate choreography of the stage show. Most of the time the cast stood in a line, singing into their microphones “Seasons of Love” style. While I missed some of the inventive stage pictures that were on full display on the Apple TV+ film, it’s a testament to the actors that they were able to successfully convey distinct changes of character, place, and tone through only the timbre of their voices.
Come From Away strangely reaches its fullest potential when the show lets the characters have fun. When we watch the perverse enjoyment characters get from partying or letting loose while the world feels like it’s falling apart, we also feel that surprising joy. I loved when the audiences whooped at the mere entrance of Nick and Diane onstage, or when actors broke out of his line to hype the audience up, and especially when Julie Reiber, portraying Captain Beverly Bass, belted out “Me and the Sky” with a Kelly Clarkson-like verve that got the audience hollering.
Of course, Come From Away works because of its tonal balance between sincere joy and deep sorrow. Watching the show at the very same place where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech brought out reverberations in Come From Away that I couldn’t have predicted. I found myself unsettled by the show’s representations of the darker sides of humanity, which couldn’t be smoothed out by a joke and a drink. Throughout the performance, planes soared past the Lincoln Memorial on the way to Ronald Reagan Airport. They were stark reminders that while things may go back to normal, some things never look quite the same.
In between watching the show, I also watched the audience around me. Our laughter bounced upwards, our faces reflected downwards, the crowd cheered behind us. I was immersed in the hunger to be a part of something. To really connect. The show seemed to be urging me that communal gathering is one way of easing the pain of all the unbearable things we’re expected to live through right now.
It’s interesting that Come From Away is streaming on Apple TV+, the same streaming service where the Sundance smash-hit film CODA and the Emmy juggernaut Ted Lasso also reside. They’re a pop culture trilogy tailor-made for the Biden presidency: all trace collisions between rural communities and urban ones, where compromises are crucial to the plot, climactic moments are built around songs, and kindness is king. All have been wildly popular, uplifted as calls for humanity in an apocalyptic era. While I would also hope we might change the institutions that led to this chaos, I can’t deny that watching these stories brings me closer to my friends and family.
The idea of empathy was something that the creative team behind Come From Away hoped audiences might learn from the people of Gander.
“The people of Gander… they don’t understand what the big hoo-rah is,” Randy Adams told me. “They said, ‘We just took care of people. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?’ I feel like that’s the country we live in, and maybe this show will help remind people that’s what we’re supposed to do, take care of each other.”
Capturing that sense of care before it’s forgotten was also an important element of continuing to stage Come From Away for the creative team. 9/11 was my first day of pre-school. The only dim memories I have of that day come in flashes: fighter jets ripping through the sky, my parents refusing to let me watch the news. The creative team felt that the show speaks to a particular moment in American history that is increasingly relevant, especially for the people who don’t have first-hand memories of the day.
“That attack affected every single American, whether you knew someone who perished on that day or not, and I think that’s really important,” Paul R. Tetreault told me. “We’re learning and living it now, as you see what’s happening in Afghanistan, that’s directly related to 9/11.”
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The finale of Come From Away was rapturous. All of us stood on our feet, cheering for the unlikely companionship that could be found in the face of unimaginable odds. It seemed like, at times, the audience itself was its own form of unlikely companionship as well.
As I walked out of the venue, I noticed two competing memorials on the horizon. First was the Lincoln Memorial, lit up in all of its reverent glory. The temple-like structure harkens back to antiquity, feeling sacred but also prophetic: this structure was built to outlast the people who created it, to live on for generations and rising oceans and centuries I’ll never get to see. And then there was a solitary beam of light, shooting up from the Pentagon endlessly upward in the sky. As a memorial, it’s distinctly modern and abstract: a glowing, fluorescent haze with no faces, no structure, no bodies. It evokes the countless memories that were lost, the pain we will never know. The Pentagon shines this light for a few days, and then suddenly, it’s gone.
The beauty of Come From Away as a memorial is how the show takes the best elements of the Lincoln Memorial and the Pentagon’s light, and blends them together. Like the Lincoln Memorial, we’re reminded that the people of Gander and the Come From Aways were real people who found a way to not just survive, but thrive in unimaginable circumstances. Like the Pentagon’s light, the show is fluid enough to allow any of us to imagine ourselves in that situation, to channel their resilience for ourselves. Together, Come From Away becomes the best kind of memorial, just like the time spent by the plane people in Gander. Your physical presence in the space might be short, but your memory of that encounter will last a lifetime.
"Come From Away" is now streaming on Apple TV Plus and returns to Broadway on September 21, 2021.
THE MUSEUM OF BROADWAY is Headed to Time Square Next Summer
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Theatre fans rejoice! The first-ever permanent museum dedicated to the history and legacy of Broadway musicals, plays, and theatres will open next summer at 145 West 45th Street, next to the Lyceum Theatre.
From producer Julie Boardman and Diane Nicolette, The Museum of Broadway will offer guests a unique look at the rich history of Broadway, a sneak peek behind-the-scenes, and a chance to personally engage with the “Game-Changing” shows that redefined Broadway forever.
“In the theatre we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. We are thrilled to create a museum honoring Broadway’s extraordinary history, the trailblazers who pushed the art form forward and celebrate its bright future,” said Julie Boardman. “We’re delighted to be working closely with members of the theatre community to build an authentic experience that visitors of all ages will enjoy.”
The Museum of Broadway has teamed up with internationally renowned artists, designers, and theatre historians to create an interactive, multi-floor experience that highlights groundbreaking moments throughout Broadway’s illustrious history.
“For people all over the world, Broadway is synonymous with NYC. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, a die-hard fan or just a casual theatre lover, The Museum of Broadway aims to offer a bit of education, plenty of appreciation and a whole lot of fun for everyone, young and old and everywhere in between,” said Diane Nicoletti.
The Museum of Broadway is founded in collaboration with Playbill, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Billy Rose Theatre Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Concord Theatricals, Goodspeed Musicals and additional partners to be announced soon.
Tickets are expected to go on sale later this year. For more information, and to visit the online store which is now open, visit here.
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