The Raisin Cycle Program

NORRIS·KWEI-ARMAH

The Raisin Cycle

By Bruce Norris Directed by Derrick Sanders

By Kwame Kwei-Armah Directed by Derrick Sanders

Apr 10–Jun 16

May 8–Jun 16

2012–13 season An Enemy of the People The Completely Fictional— Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe Bus Stop The Mountaintop Mud Blue Sky The Raisin Cycle

Clybourne Park Beneatha’s Place

An Introduction to the World of the Plays Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun premiered on Broadway in 1959. Her play had snuck quietly into the city by way of small investors, out-of-town tryouts, and a leap of faith. Despite uncertain conditions, the play not only altered Hansberry’s life but, as Frank Rich later wrote in the New York Times, “changed American theater forever.” The production secured four Tony nominations, a slew of other awards, a film option from Hollywood, and acclaim as an overnight new classic Lorraine Hansberry

of the canon. Her story of the Youngers of Chicago, deciding whether to risk everything and move into a house in the all-white Clybourne Park neighborhood, staged the specificity of African American life and offered the universality of the American Dream of big hopes amid bigger obstacles, and of the bonds of love and family.

Some 50 years later, actor-author Bruce Norris has achieved his own success by revisiting the very same house that Hansberry first introduced in 1959. In Clybourne Park, Norris returns to the iconic bungalow in Chicago, beginning just prior to the events of Hansberry’s story. We meet Bev and Russ, the white couple selling their house to the Youngers. Also there from Raisin is Karl Lindner, representing the homeowners’ association, fearful that integration will devastate

Bruce Norris

property values and the neighborhood’s integrity. Fast-forwarding decades to the present, in Act Two, the house is once again for sale, this time by African American owners to a white couple. The play has elicited uproarious laughter and powerfully resonant debates on its way to winning every conceivable award, including the Tony and the Pulitzer.

Kwame Kwei-Armah now enters this conversation with his own Beneatha’s Place.

Struck by the potent frankness with which Clybourne Park takes on race and class through the lens of A Raisin in the Sun, Kwei-Armah set out to write his own response. Inspired by Norris’ reimagining of Karl Lindner, Kwei-Armah expands the legacy of Hansberry’ masterpiece as he builds a new story for another figure given us by Hansberry. In Beneatha’s Place, Beneatha Younger—the intellectual

Kwame Kwei-Armah

and restless young woman who, at the end of Raisin, contemplates a move to Nigeria with her suitor—is given a new life and path. We follow the couple to Africa on the eve of Nigerian independence and explore Beneatha’s journey from Nigeria in 1959 to California today, as she wrestles with fundamental questions of community, legacy, and identity.

At the theater early? Want to know more about the play? Please join us on select evenings for ForeWords, a conversation about the play with a member of our staff.

ForeWords will be held pre-show on the same dates as AfterThoughts discussions (Thursday 7 pm shows on April 18, 25 and May 16, 23; Sunday 2 pm matinees on April 21, 28, May 19, and June 2).

For a list of additional programs continuing the conversation of The Raisin Cycle, see Expanding the Cycle on page 28.

Clybourne Park The

By Bruce Norris • Directed by Derrick Sanders Raisin Apr 10–Jun 16, 2013 Cycle Beneatha’s Place

By Kwame Kwei-Armah • Directed by Derrick Sanders

May 8–Jun 16, 2013

Presenting Partner

Season Sponsors

Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation Jane and Larry Droppa Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Phil and Lynn Rauch Jay and Sharon Smith Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

CORPORATE Season SPONSORS

The Cast

Clybourne Park

Beneatha's Place

Jonathan Crombie*

Russ/Dan

Peter Nelson/Gary Jacobs

Kim James Bey*

Jessica Frances Dukes* Charlie Hudson, III* Beth Hylton* Jacob H Knoll* James Ludwig* Jenna Sokolowski*

—

Aunty Fola

Francine/Lena

Beneatha Asagai Younger

Albert/Kevin

Joseph Asagai/Wale Oguns

Jim/Tom/Kenneth

Jack L. Brownlee

Betsy/Lindsey

Mrs. Nelson/Female Student

Bev/Kathy

Shirley Jones/Harriet Banks

Karl/Steve

Daniel Barnes/Mark Bond

Laura Smith* Stage Manager Captain Kate Murphy* Assistant Stage Manager *Member of Actors’ Equity Association

T. Rowe Price Foundation

Associate Season Sponsor

Kathleen Hyle Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

The Artistic Team

Derrick Sanders Director

Jack Magaw Scenic Designer Reggie Ray Costume Designer

Media Partners

Thom Weaver Lighting Designer Elisheba Ittoop Sound Designer Gregory Bazemore Hair & Wig Designer Gavin Witt Production Dramaturg Evamarii Johnson Dialect Consultant Tara Rubin Casting Director Sakina Ansari-Wilson Assistant Director Jeff Kirkman Assistant Director

CENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

The Raisin Cycle is made possible by support from:

The National Endowment for the Arts The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund Edgerton Foundation New America Play Awards The Annie E. Casey Foundation The Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Family Foundation

Clybourne Park SETTING

Location: A bungalow in

Clybourne Park, Chicago.

Time: Act 1: 1959

Act 2: 2009

Clybourne Park was produced on Broadway by Jujamcyn Theatre at The Walter Kerr Theatre, 2012.

Beneatha's Place SETTING

Location: A bungalow in Lagos, Nigeria.

Time: Act 1: Fall, 1959

Act 2: The present

The Raisin Cycle is supported by an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, as well as by The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation.

New play development at CENTERSTAGE is made possible in part by The Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Family Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, and the Nathan and Suzanne Cohen Foundation Fund for Commissioning and Developing New Plays.

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In case of emergency (during performances only) 410.986.4080

HOME: Welcome to The Raisin Cycle

By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg

on a Hot Tin Roof; Buried Child; Desire Under the Elms; Crimes of the Heart; True West; August, Osage County; Caroline, or Change; Moon for the Misbegotten; The Show-Off; Brighton Beach Memoirs; The Odd Couple; Crumbs from the Table of Joy.

HOME is…

Edwina Findley, Amina S. Robinson, Leland Gantt, and Kelly Taffe in Crumbs from the Table of Joy (2005-06)

where the heart is. Where you never can go again; where you always look; on the range. Where you keep your stuff, or park your car. Or, as poet Robert Frost keenly put it, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/They have to take you in.” More than any other, the Home, or the House—in particular, the living room and its ancillary appendages—is the stomping ground of American drama. If Classical playwrights occupy the public square, British comedy flourishes in the drawing room, and French farce revolves around the bedroom, then our dramaturgical home is the hearth.

For every workplace drama like Glengarry Glen Ross or Jitney, or backstage homage like Once in a Lifetime or Trouble in Mind, there are a dozen others that call in sick and stay resolutely home: You Can’t Take It with You, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Philadelphia Story, Holiday, Proof. And while Thornton Wilder might span the universe entire in Our Town and other plays, he puts the entire cosmos right there in the Antrobus’ living room in The Skin of Our Teeth.

Truly, for Americans on stage, our home is our castle. Occasionally, we might get displaced, to a bar or a hotel say; but arguably those become merely substitutes for home, with substitute families to go with them. Consider The Iceman Cometh, Hot L Baltimore, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Time of Your Life. Should we stray too far afield, we spend the play trying to get home again—The Wiz, Into the Woods, The Matchmaker, Fabulation, Eurydice—or longing for one—West Side Story, South Pacific, Of Mice and Men, Intimate Apparel.

In his magisterial cycle of 10 plays spanning the 20th Century, August Wilson time and again sets the historical sweep of the African American experience against the private, personal saga of home. Figuratively, characters fight to belong, to find a place, or to hold on to what they have. More literally, in play after play, the disconnections of slavery’s legacy and the Great Migration shape struggles over house, home, or simple ownership—a piano, a song, some dirt. And it is one house above all, 1839 Wylie, that looms above the rest to unifythe works.

Of course, at the top of any of these lists must sit, unimpeachably, Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 paean to the virtues—and perilous seductions—of both House and Home, A Raisin in the Sun.

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Andrew Weems, Leah Curney, Erik Heger, and Deborah Hedwall in Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? (2008-09) Photos by Richard Anderson.

Try to imagine these lodged somewhere other than the heart of the family home: The Glass Menagerie; Death of a Salesman; The Little Foxes; Long Day’s Journey into Night; House of Blue Leaves; Ah, Wilderness!; A Delicate Balance; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Cat

Unicycle, Bicycle, Motorcycle...Play Cycle?

Theatergoing audiences have encountered play cycles for millennia; with this performance, you join their number. In the annual Festivals of Dionysus in ancient Greece, dramatists competed over sequential days with interrelated sequences of dramas around a narrow, recurring set of stories and characters.

Some of these we know today as the Oedipus cycle, the Iphigenia cycle, or The Oresteia, but there were scores of others now lost or fragmented. West African Wole Soyinka and South African Athol Fugard notably adapted these Greek sources into their own, African, cycles. Classical Japanese theater spawned cycles of Noh plays, interweaving multiple versions and retellings drawn from common literary source material. Medieval Persia (now Iran) developed the Ta’zieh, elaborate and highly ritualized retellings performed over several days, mingling tales of martyrdom with fables and heroic epics.

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Not unlike these, the Passion plays and Mystery cycles offered Medieval audiences competing theatrical sagas drawing on a common and recurring set of Bible stories, sometimes stretching for days. Richard Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle tests the bounds of opera, and the endurance of audiences, with some 25 hours of music over multiple days. American icon Eugene O’Neill set out (albeit unsuccessfully) to craft an 11-play saga of an American family. Most recently, August Wilson famously became a one-man cyclist with his decade-by-decade Decalogue. Now, we are pleased and proud that you have joined us for our own latest entry into this storied theatrical form.

Welcome to The Raisin Cycle.

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Lorraine Hansberry...

Lorraine celebrates her Broadway premiere.

A Baltimorean Remembers Hansberry

was born on May 19, 1930 in Chicago.

Both parents were active in the NAACP; guests at Sunday night dinners included Paul Robeson, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, and Duke Ellington. In 1937, the NAACP persuaded her father to test restrictive housing practices in Chicago by moving his family to the all-white Washington Park area. As soon as they discovered the race of their new neighbors, the surrounding Property Association members took her father to court. Meantime, the family faced mobs of white demonstrators. Hansberry later recalled her mother patrolling the house at night with a pistol. In 1940, Hansberry v. Lee reached the United States Supreme Court, who granted the family the right to occupy the home—on a technicality.

After a short stint at the University of Wisconsin, 19-year-old Lorraine joined a circle of artists and activists in New York’s Greenwich Village, where she began writing for Paul Robeson’s journal, Freedom. There (at a protest) she met, and later married, NYU student Robert Nemiroff. With his moral support—and, after he successfully co-wrote a hit song, with his financial support as well—Hansberry turned to writing full time. Drawing in part on her youthful experience of housing integration and neighborhood politics, she started work on what would become A Raisin in the Sun.

Baltimore doctor Burt D’Lugoff played several key roles in Hansberry’s life. He was best man at her wedding to Robert Nemiroff, with whom he also penned the pop single (“Cindy, Oh Cindy”) that financed Hansberry’s full-time writing. He helped produce the premieres of her major plays. And he was her doctor as she battled the cancer that killed her at 34.

Here, he shares some of those memories:

“The night she read Raisin to us for the first time, I was absolutely floored. I knew she was a writer, a reporter—but I had no idea she had this level of talent. I was flabbergasted... I remember the incredible level of the language: Mama’s speech about measuring the hills and the valleys of a person.

I also loved Beneatha. To me, Beneatha was Lorraine.

And then in rapid succession, Phil said, ‘I’d like to produce it,’ and the project just flew. … I’ve had lots of ventures that were somewhat tentative… but Raisin was just like the flight of an arrow.

I know that Raisin is considered the most successful and a classic, but if you look at, say, Les Blancs, what is fantastic about it is that Lorraine anticipated the end of colonialism in Africa. And that wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen at the time. Not only did she know it was coming, she wrote about the fact that it was going to be terrific, but it wasn’t going to be nirvana….She had enormous prescience—but of course it wasn’t prescience, she just lived life and saw what was happening, while other people didn’t.

I miss being with her. The endless conversation. She would just jump up and say: let’s do this, let’s do that, let’s go down to such and such, let’s go here and listen to something, dance. It was just a lot of fun. …I loved her company. I wish I could’ve had a lot more of it....”

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One night in 1957, Hansberry read a draft of Raisin to her friend Philip Rose and his poker buddy, emerging film star Sidney Poitier.

Perhaps assuming that the play would never reach production, Poitier signed on. But a year and half later, after successful tryouts on the road—with novice Lloyd Richards leading a cast that featured Ruby Dee and the loyal Poitier—Raisin opened on Broadway to instant and lasting acclaim. New Yorker critic Kenneth Tynan joined a chorus of praise when he declared it “a piece of history.” Hansberry became the youngest playwright, and the first African American, to win the prestigious New York Drama Critics Circle Award.

Columbia Pictures soon accepted Hansberry’s draft of a screenplay for a film version of Raisin. While working on what became Les Blancs and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Hansberry underwent two operations for cancer. She died on January 12, 1965, at 34.

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The Raisin Cycle | 3

HOUSE: Clybourne Park

Material compiled by LaRonika Thomas, Dramaturgy Assistant

Housing covenants—the legal obstacle that

Lorraine Hansberry’s family ran into in Chicago—were only one, official, component of a nationwide system of restrictions and restraints that either prohibited, or effectively prevented, African Americans and other minorities (racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, or cultural) from living where they chose. Redlining by banks and other lenders, collusion by real estate agents, and discriminatory sales practices all combined to keep those deemed “undesirable” out of designated neighborhoods.

Until the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act and other legislative protections, Baltimore was among the worst offenders in restricting housing. But Chicago was where Hansberry encountered it, and where she chose to imagine the Youngers confronting similar obstacles.

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“Housing is the one commodity where the race, religion, or national origin of the purchaser determines what he may buy and where he may buy it, regardless of his ability to pay.”

—Lorraine Hansberry

Restrictive Covenants

Two decades later, in the 85 square miles reserved for residential use in Chicago south of North Avenue, fewer than 10 were occupied by blacks, while 38, mainly in middle-class areas surrounding the Black Belt, were encumbered by these paper barriers. Even Al Capone’s mother, Theresa, signed up to guarantee the “respectability” of the family home.

Excerpted from an essay by Arnold R. Hirsch, Chicago Historical Society

Restrictive covenants can limit a variety of options for homeowners, from landscaping to structural modifications to circumstances of sale or rental. Racially restrictive covenants, in particular, are contractual agreements among property owners that prohibit the purchase, lease, or occupation of their premises by a particular group of people, usually African Americans.

Rare in Chicago before the 1920s, their widespread use followed the Great Migration.... The Chicago Real Estate Board campaigned to blanket the city with such covenants and even provided...a standard covenant…. Seen as the peaceful and progressive alternative to the violence that had earlier traumatized the city, restrictive 4|

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covenants, within a year, according to the Hyde Park Herald, stretched “like a marvelous delicately woven chain of armor” from “the northern gates of Hyde Park at 35th and Drexel Boulevard to...all the far-flung white communities of the South Side.”

In the end, Depression-era and wartime housing shortages probably did more to freeze Chicago’s residential patterns than did the covenants. When challenged in 1938 by playwright Lorraine Hansberry’s father, Carl, those covering the Washington Park Subdivision were ruled invalid (Hansberry v. Lee, 1940).

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Urban renewal, community revitalization, gentrification, yuppification.

It goes by many names, and has become familiar in many communities, in many cities. As it was first with covenants, then with white flight and other factors, Chicago has been at the forefront of this latest phenomenon. While not precisely identical to the circumstances in Clybourne Park, the ongoing transformation of what had been, notoriously, a community called “Cabrini” into the newly designated “Near North” exhibits many of the same challenges and opportunities encountered in the fictional Clybourne neighborhood.

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Here Comes the Neighborhood Excerpted from an article by Ian Fullerton, SKYLINE newsletter, 2011

Sharon Wheeler and her family have lived in the neighborhood just east of the high-rises for 15 years. Her sons play in the Seward Park basketball league, and Wheeler has long been involved as a community organizer in Cabrini.

“It’s good that the community is being cleaned up, but it’s also been about seeing some of the residents displaced,” she said.

“Change is hard.”

The challenge that promises to define the next chapter of Cabrini is two-fold: the old rivalries that still linger along the dividing lines of the neighborhood must be dissolved, and relations need to be normalized between Cabrini’s indigenous population and those that have settled there in recent years.

Dubbed the Near North Unity Program, the alderman’s initiative is being facilitated by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, with funding coming from the MacArthur Foundation. In addition to the basketball tournament, the NNUP has recently begun hosting a jazz concert series in Seward Park, a neighborhood clean-up program and baking classes for residents at alocal church.

The NNUP project may be a good start to building a new community, but closing the gap between new and old residents promises to be no day in the park. [One] big obstacle for market-rate residents is the cultural divide. “I think there are a lot of people who are very angry because they are dealing with things that are outside of their cultural norms and they don’t know how to do anything about it,” said Merriwether.

Habits such as congregating on the stoops of buildings can often drive a wedge between neighbors, she said— but these aren’t necessarily things that need to be changed, just understood.

“At the end of the day, if you know who I am then it will matter more to you what I do or don’t do around you,” she said.

The Cabrini neighborhood then and now.

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“They talk about policemen, teachers, and firefighters, but then forget about the rest of us. We need help, too. We all want the best for our children, I tell you.

Yes Lord, even the providers.”

—Nakia, Baltimore day care provider The Raisin Cycle | 5

PLACE AnD RACE:Beneatha’s Place

A ROUGH ROAD TO NATIONHOOD

1841–1963

By Khalid Yaya Long, Dramaturgy Assistant

1841 British naval expedition unsuccessfully attempts to steam up the

Niger River to interdict the slave trade; they turn back decimated by malaria.

1849 Britain appoints a consul to try to control the slave trade based in Lagos.

1851 British forces attack and capture Lagos, installing a new king who agrees to end slavery.

1861 Lagos annexed as a British colony.

Lagos 1879 British trading enterprises on the Niger merge into United African Company, later the Royal Niger.

1900 Britain assumes direct rule of the Niger Delta region.

1900-1914 After various bloody military campaigns, the northern and

southern regions collectively become the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

1914-1922 World War I leaves England and France with

League of Nations mandates to administer the area, drawing the somewhat-arbitrary modern borders.

1922-1951 Divisions among the various geographic and cultural regions increase, along with growing demands for indigenous rule, local political power, and independence.

1951 A new constitution moves Nigeria closer to independence. In the same year the Action Group (AG), a Yoruba-dominated political party, is founded.

1954 Yet another new constitution establishes a federal system of government for Nigeria.

1957

Regional self-government begins in the East and West, a major transfer of power from the British to Nigerians.

1959 Regional self-government begins in the North.

1960 Nigeria declared, by Act of Parliament, independent from the United Kingdom on October 1.

1963 Nigeria becomes a republic, with an indigenous president as head of state.

Newly independent Nigeria welcomes Princess Alexandria to Lagos, 1960.

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Nigeria comprises

many distinct ethnic groups and subcultures, each with its own traditional homeland and its own identity, history, language, and tradition. The most populous of these are the Yoruba, who form one of the largest ethno linguistic groups in sub-Saharan Africa, concentrated above all in Yorubaland in western Nigeria. Before the British came to Nigeria, these groups had organized into villages, emirates, kingdoms, and states; colonial rule generally erased or ignored these distinctions and characteristics. At other times, it exploited or appropriated them—a pattern that continued with the creation of the new nation’s borders, right through independence.

Along the way, colonial rule transformed the political, cultural, and economic landscape. It amalgamated under a superficial administrative union what had previously been hundreds of independent groups; and through the “indirect rule” of client leadership, drastically altered traditional power structures. It created a small class of English-speaking, European-educated Nigerians to hold lower-level positions in the government and in businesses— again supplanting traditional leadership, circumventing longstanding economic and power structures, or creating entirely new and unequal ones based on a foreign set of values and standards. And it set the stage for the exploitation and appropriation of vast oil reserves that continues to this day.

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“In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.”

From The Guardian, Jan 29, 1992, by Toni Morrison (Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author)

Critical White Studies: An Overview

By Khalid Yaya Long, Dramaturgy Assistant

After several decades of race, ethnicity, and multicultural studies on campuses, a new wave of Whiteness Studies has emerged. As described by one of its leading proponents, Professor Gregory Jay, “Whiteness Studies attempts to trace the economic and political history behind the invention of ‘whiteness’” devised as a warrant for systems of power, privilege, and superiority. It offers a lens to understand, and in theory to challenge “the privileges given to so-called ‘whites,’ and to analyze the cultural practices (in art, music, literature, and popular media) that create and perpetuate the fiction of ‘whiteness.’”

As conceived, Critical Whiteness Studies reflects attempts to critique how preferences, or the codes that establish what gets counted as white and what not, have operated “systematically, structurally, and sometimes unconsciously as a dominant force in American—and indeed in global—society and culture.”

Critical White Studies, also known as Critical Whiteness Studies, or simply Whiteness Studies, began as the study of white privilege. Taking into account the cultural, political, economic, and social advantages of white folk, Critical White Studies acknowledges that while race identity is ultimately a social construction, there is a long history of preference, power, and prejudice that developed from assertions of white supremacy. In addition to its more literal application in the context of skin color or shades of lightness, Critical White Studies has also brought into focus questions of identity and privilege with

regards to class, gender, sexuality, and even geography. Most of its advocates promote it as a way to advance civil and social activism through academic study as well as through shifts in broader popular discourse.

Ironically, some of the earliest deliberations on “whiteness” as the prism of privilege were by people of color: African American academics, activists, and artists. Among the primary pacesetters of what has since become Critical White Studies and the domain of white faculty, were W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Frantz Fanon, James Weldon Johnson, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. In individual ways, they advanced the notion that, as a strategy for cultural and physical survival, those of color were often more consciously aware of the social structures of “whiteness.”

It was the 1990s, though, that saw a new burst of scholars and activists embracing Critical White Studies, with an accompanying shift towards majority rather than minority advocates. Disciplines such as history, literary criticism, theater studies, anthropology, sociology, ethnomusicology, gender studies, cultural studies, and communications began to embrace Critical White Studies, to further investigate how “whiteness,” consciously and unconsciously, signified dominance, control, and oppression.

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“Simply put, even when our intentions are good, we cannot possibly know what it is to be in the position of the oppressed in those categories to which we do not belong.” From “Representations of Whiteness in the Black Imagination,” by Tim Wise (Antiracist Activist, Writer, Speaker) The Raisin Cycle | 7

CyCLInG ALOnG: The Raisin Cycle

Proliferations of Property, Privilege, and Place

By Dr. Faedra Chatard Carpenter, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

Despite the fact that many pedagogues and theater historians are quick to label Lorraine Hansberry an “integrationist,” her worldview was far too complex for such facile categorization. Rather, both Hansberry’s literary canon and her political legacy reveal personal ideologies that “almost always vacillate between a black nationalism that she could never really accept and a liberal idealism that she almost always distrusted.”1 Notably, A Raisin in the Sun, her most famous play, also resists easy classification. Yes, the play ends on a note of hope—but it also leaves its audience with a profound sense of the impending, unsettling unknown.

In keeping with the uncertainties inherent in A Raisin in the Sun, the plays belonging to CENTERSTAGE’S The Raisin Cycle pay homage to Hansberry by similarly challenging easy assumptions. Of particular note, The Raisin Cycle troubles our ability to make hasty assessments through its ever-proliferating considerations of property, privilege, and place. In A Raisin in the Sun, for example, these issues are made tangible by the complicated prospect of the Younger family’s move from their tenement apartment to a single-family home in the

all-white Clybourne Park. In dramatizing the Youngers’ hopes and fears, Hansberry’s play powerfully stages historic realities regarding the problematic procurement of American realties.

The challenges faced by the Youngers in A Raisin in the Sun are couched in the fact that the history of home ownership in America is bound to a history of discrimination. In addition to affecting where people lived and the conditions therein, long-standing inequities in housing practices disproportionally informed who could (and who could not) benefit from the privileges and potential profits gained through property ownership. While home appreciation allowed some people to gain home equity, build businesses, or bequeath an inheritance unto their families, others found home ownership to be an impossible dream—or worse, a divesting nightmare.

and materially profound relationship between race, place, and socio-economic status. Endowed with a contemporary perspective, Clybourne Park updates the issues at hand by calling forth current contests over gentrification. Subsequently, the playwright encourages audiences to consider how today’s gentrification projects may obscure the demarcation of racial lines, yet still secure and reinforce the power of a privileged demographic.

With his own entry in this three-play conversation, Kwame Kwei-Armah propels the circulation of these ideas even further—and wider—in Beneatha’s Place.

Kwei-Armah situates his newest play within the

It is here, in the topical terrain of divestment and appreciation, that Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park enters The Raisin Cycle.

Norris imagines the Clybourne community circa 1959 and then flashes forward to that same neighborhood 50 years later, all the while underscoring the still-persistent

1 Call & Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition, Editor: Patricia Liggins Hill

Spin Cycle

By Dr. Harvey Young, Associate Professor, Northwestern University

December, 1958. Rehearsals in Chicago were proving every bit as dramatic as the play itself. Lorraine Hansberry, the extraordinarily gifted first-time playwright, refused to attend. Convinced that her father’s untimely death was caused by the stress resulting from his relentless fight against housing segregation in Chicago, she had no desire to return to her native city. Her director, Lloyd Richards, a promising talent who had been handpicked by the production’s most famous cast member, film actor Sidney Poitier, telephoned every day, provided a report, and suggested revisions, additions, or cuts.

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Richards probably shared the fact that his lead actors Poitier and Claudia McNeil did not get along. They bickered over whose character stood at the center of A Raisin in the Sun. Was it Walter Lee Younger, who dreams of no longer being a chauffeur and starting his own business? Or was it his mother, Lena (Mama) Younger, the recently widowed matriarch, who sacrifices to make a better life for her family? Either way, A Raisin in the Sun is the story of an earnest, and easily relatable, working-class family with a problem: to put it simply, the Youngers’ future neighbors do not want to live next to Black folks.

when white homeowners actively and violently resisted the integration of schools and neighborhoods.

Through Hansberry’s words, the tensions and anxieties around race in the 1950s take on a presence. She grants us the privilege of revisiting the past. She gifts us with opportunities to identify with the Youngers, share their dreams and hopes, feel the pain of their rejection, and celebrate their resolve to move to the Clybourne neighborhood and face whatever resistance lies in wait.

For more than a half-century, Hansberry’s play has granted access to a challenging moment in American history: the period

In recent years, several distinguished playwrights have reimagined the subject matter of A Raisin in the Sun across a series

culture of American academia and the country of Nigeria. The result: a dramatic scenario that is as surprising as it is rich with diasporic links and artful metaphors. In Beneatha’s Place, transcontinental versions of gentrification and colonization exhibit striking parallels, resonating in both familiar and unforeseen ways. In literal terms, the play’s turn towards pre- and post-colonial Nigeria not only reflects the playwright’s own investment in exploring West African culture and politics, but simultaneously pays due tribute to Hansberry’s well-documented Pan-African sensibility. Guided by a mission of conceptual expansion, Kwei-Armah also traces notions of usurpation through a foray into the politics of our educational system. This complementary journey raises provocative questions about the threat of

of new, original plays. This larger “Raisin cycle” asks audiences to consider the legacy of the tensions and anxieties that appear in Hansberry’s play. Fifty or so years later, what was the effect of that hostility and prejudice on young Travis, Walter Lee’s and Ruth’s son? On Beneatha, Walter Lee’s spirited younger sister and Lena’s only daughter? On the Clybourne Park neighborhood itself?

Clybourne Park, winner of the Pulitzer Prize as well as Tony and Olivier awards, most explicitly connects with Hanberry’s play.

Its setting is the very house to which the Youngers are destined. In the play, author Bruce Norris offers a sense not only of why the home is for sale but also why its owners might not be overly concerned with who purchases it. The second act occurs in the present, after the Youngers have moved into the new neighborhood and, subsequently, left (or abandoned) it.

Norris subtly suggests that the neighbors’ initial resistance proved prescient, but also invites a consideration of the issues of race, class, and culture surrounding contemporary gentrification initiatives.

curricular gentrification and ideological colonization, thereby making poetic links between the experiences of West Africans and African Americans, past and present.

In the process of imagining Beneatha’s life after Raisin, Kwei-Armah does something even more striking. He interrogates the very act with which he, Norris, and other, recent “riffing writers” engage. Beneatha’s Place not only ruminates on place, property, and privilege within the parameters of its own storyline, but it also does so in relation to its fellow “Raisin plays.” Kwei-Armah’s literal and figurative explorations of place speak to broader concerns of space-making—of inclusion and exclusion—in everyday life, in academia, and in American Theater.

Playwright-director Robert O’Hara, in Etiquette of Vigilance, sets his play entirely in the present. In his telling, the house is still occupied by a Younger. Travis, the child who sleeps on the couch in Hansberry’s play, is now an embittered, drunken adult.

He, like his father, drives other people for a living. A bus driver rather than a chauffeur, Travis seems less well-off than Walter Lee. Clearly, the stress of spending his childhood living in a hostile neighborhood has taken its toll on the now elderly man.

Travis invests his hopes and dreams in his daughter, Beneatha, who presumably was named after her aunt. Beneatha eventually realizes that her dreams and the deferred aspirations of her father are incompatible.

In Living Green by Gloria Bond Clunie and Neighbors by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the engagement with Hansberry is less direct.

The well-to-do characters in Clunie’s play have moved to the suburbs and now worry that their children have lost their connection to Black culture. They consider whether they should move back to their old neighborhood not only for the sake of their son and daughter but also to rebuild and reinvest in a community that has fallen into disrepair. The Black protagonist in Jacobs-Jenkins’s experimental play lives in the suburbs with his white wife and mixed-race daughter, worrying about his daughter’s associations with the new family that recently has moved in next door. Will their Blackness rub off on her?

After all, we can think of The Dramatic Canon as prime real estate: to attain a place in its annals ensures public validation and cultural capital. A Raisin in the Sun has long been an occupant in this sanctioned community of plays. Accordingly, its noble history and literary decorum continuously inspire the work of others. This, of course, is a signature of the canon: it engenders appreciation and fosters new imaginings.

However, this phenomenon also prompts one to wonder: what does it mean for others to move into the neighborhood by way of Hansberry’s canonical work? And, considering the many proliferations of property, privilege, and place housed in The Raisin Cycle, how can we ensure that we make room for all who seek space?

•

Most recently, Kwame Kwei-Armah has added to this theatrical conversation by imagining the post-Raisin chapters in the life of Beneatha. He envisions her relationship with Joseph Asagai, the intelligent, culturally sensitive, and politically savvy character who represents some of the more compelling attributes of that generation’s independence-minded, post-colonial thinkers. Kwei-Armah asks us to consider the meaning and relevance of Blackness within larger power systems and, globally, across three distinct historical periods: the 1950s and 60s independence movements in Africa, the 1970s Black Power Movement in the United States, and our allegedly “post-racial” present among the groves of academe.

Together, these plays invite us to join a series of compelling conversations and to reflect on the current social and political moment. How has society changed, or not changed, since Hansberry’s play premiered on Broadway in 1959? How are a person’s chances of achieving his or her dreams today affected by skin color, or other circumstances of identity. Through them, we find ourselves still wondering, What happens to a dream deferred?

•

Professor Young is, with Rebecca Ann Rugg, co-editor of the recently published anthology, Reimagining A Raisin in the Sun (Northwestern University Press, 2012).

The Raisin Cycle | 9

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Cast

Jessica Frances Dukes*— Francine/Lena & Beneatha.

CENTERSTAGE: debut.

Regional—Geva Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun (Beneatha), Kim James Bey*—Aunty The Piano Lesson; Chicago’s Fola. CENTERSTAGE: debut.

Off Broadway—Second Stage: The Second City: Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies; Zooman and the Sign (Grace); Woolly Mammoth Theatre: (Company member) Booty Candy (World Premiere), In Actor's Studio: Salt (dir. the Next Room or The Vibrator Play, Full Circle, Loretta Greco); John Houseman Studio: The American Plan (Olivia), Eclipsed (World Premiere), Fever/Dream Can't Go Nowhere With Ya (dir. Harold Scott); (World Premiere), Antebellum, Starving; Cleveland Play House: Trip to Bountiful; Mac Wellman’s Sincerity Forever (Jesus H. Indiana Repertory Theatre: The Piano Lesson; Christ). Regional—Delaware Theatre Ford’s Theatre: Jitney; Round House Theatre: Company: Wake Up Lou Riser; Cleveland Play Trip to Bountiful, Permanent Collection; Studio House: Quilters; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: Having our Say; Repertory Theatre of St. Theatre: Passing Strange, Caroline, or Change; Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre: In The Louis: Having Our Say; McCarter: Random Next Room or The Vibrator Play; Tribute Acts (dirs. Liz Diamond & Walter Dallas); Productions/African Continuum Theatre Co.: Arena Stage: The Cherry Orchard (dir. Lucian Spunk (Helen Hayes nom); Lincoln Theatre: Pintilie), Six Characters in Search of an Author Sanctified (A Gospel Musical); Theater (dir. Liviu Ciulei). Dialect Coach—Woolly Mammoth: The Convert; Arena Stage: Ruined, Alliance: Insurrection: Holding History (Helen My Fair Lady, The Piano Lesson, Born Yesterday, Hayes Ensemble nom), The Bluest Eye (Helen Hayes Ensemble nom); Theatre J: In Darfur; Cuttin' Up; Theatre J: In Darfur; Studio Horizon Theater: The Bluest Eye (Suzi Bass Theatre: Invisible Man, Passing Strange, In the Ensemble nom); Washington Stage Guild: Red and Brown Water. Professional—Chair, Fanny’s First Play. Education/Training—MFA, Department of Theatre Arts, Howard The Catholic University of America.

University; member, Voice and Speech www.jessicafrancesdukes.com Trainers, Certified Fitzmaurice Voicework.

Jonathan Crombie*— Russ/Dan & Peter Nelson/ Gary Jacobs. CENTERSTAGE:

debut. Broadway—The Drowsy Chaperone (also National Tour). Regional— Pittsburgh Public: Freud’s Last Session; Victoria Playhouse: For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again; Red Barn: The Glass Menagerie; McCarter: A Christmas Carol; Tarragon: Oxford Roof Climbers Rebellion, The Dishwashers; Artword: This Could Be Love; Winter Garden/ Fringe/TPM: The Drowsy Chaperone; CanStage: Arcadia, What the Butler Saw; Stratford Festival: Romeo & Juliet, Oedipus Rex, Comedy of Errors, Hamlet; New Vic: Godspell; Flatzbo: Heart Scars. Film/TV—credits include Cottage Country, Empty Room, Jane Show, Slings and Arrows, Power Play, Café Romeo, Mount Royal, Bullies, Anne of Green Gables series. Jonathan is a member of the awardwinning sketch troupe “Skippy’s Rangers” and co-director of the upcoming documentary Waiting for Ishtar.

Charlie Hudson, III*— Albert/Kevin & Joseph Asagai/Wale Oguns.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Off Broadway—Signature Theatre: Hurt Village; Irish Rep: White Woman Street; New Georges: Hillary; Classic Stage: Old Comedy; Ensemble Studio: Bike Wreck; NYSF/Delacorte: Mother Courage.

Regional—Yale Rep: The Piano Lesson; Virginia Stage: Fences; Portland Stage: Master Harold & the Boys; Crossroads Theatre & Vineyard Playhouse: Fly; Williamstown Theatre Festival: Sweet Bird of Youth; Bread Loaf: Romeo & Juliet; Brown/Trinity: TopDog/Underdog, Julius Ceasar; Trinity Rep: A Raisin in the Sun, Richard III, A Christmas Carol, All the King’s Men, Cyrano de Bergerac. Film/TV—Criminal Justice [Pilot] (HBO), Rosa Parks Story (CBS), Unforgettable (CBS), Waterfront (CBS), Newlyweeds (Independent), Lillian (Independent).Education—MFA, Brown University/Trinity Repertory Consortium. The “Charlie Hudson, III Award” was established in his honor at undergraduate alma mater, continued on page 12 >>

The Raisin Cycle | 11

Biog r aphies The Cast [cont]

Alabama State University. Charlie would like to thank God for this opportunity and his loving family for their support.

Beth Hylton*—Bev/Kathy & Shirley Jones/Harriet Banks. CENTERSTAGE: debut.

New York—credits include NYC Fringe Fest, Todo Con Nada, Ground Floor Theatre Lab, among others. Regional—Everyman Theatre: resident company member, August: Osage County (Ivy), Time Stands Still (Sarah), All My Sons (Ann), Filthy Rich (Anne Scott), And a Nightingale Sang (Helen); Maltz Jupiter: The 39 Steps (The Woman); Delaware Theatre Company: Blithe Spirit (Elvira); Weston Playhouse: Death of a Salesman (Miss Forsythe); Public Theatre of Maine: On Golden Pond (Chelsea); Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre: House and Garden (JoAnna), Private Lives (Amanda), An Ideal Husband (Lady Chiltern); Gulfshore Playhouse: A Doll's House (Nora), Life (x) 3 (Sonia), Blithe Spirit (Ruth); Olney Theatre Center: The Savannah Disputation (Melissa), The Heiress (Marian); PlayMakers Rep: Hay Fever (Sorel), The School For Wives (Georgette), Look Homeward, Angel (Laura); The Hipp: Suddenly Last Summer (Catherine), Up (Helen); Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy: Skylight (Kyra); Woolly Mammoth: Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis (Josie); Ford's: The Heavens Are Hung In Black (Mrs Winston), Member of the Wedding (Janice); Kennedy Center: Mister Roberts (Lieutenant Girard). Beth is the co-producer and co-founder of The Actors Salon.

Education—MFA Acting, Professional Actor Training Program/UNC-Chapel Hill. www. bethhylton.com

Jacob H Knoll*—Jim/ Tom/Kenneth & Jack L. Brownlee. CENTERSTAGE: ’Tis

Pity She’s a Whore. New York credits—The Creditors; Hamlet; Henry V; Two Rooms.

Regional—Denver Center Theatre Company; Riverside Theatre; Shakespeare and Company; Warehouse Theatre; Pennsylvania Shakespeare; Rocky Mountain Rep. Education—MFA, Yale School of Drama: 12 |

CENTERSTAGE

The Lonesome West, Cabaret. Film/TV—PBS’ The Electric Company; HBO’s Flight of the Concords. Jacob is a Founding and Artistic Director of the Miscreant Theatre.

James Ludwig*—Karl/ Steve & Daniel Barnes/ Mark Bond. CENTERSTAGE:

debut. Broadway—Spamalot, Little Shop of Horrors. National Tours—101 Dalmatians. New York—York Theatre: Suburb, After the Fair; Playwrights Horizons: The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds her Chameleon Skin; Astor Place Theatre: Blue Man Group “Tubes”; Lamb’s Little Theatre: john & jen; Carnegie Hall: Louisiana Purchase, Ira Gershwin at 100, Very Warm for May. Regional—McCarter: A Christmas Carol, Night Governess; George St. Playhouse: God of Carnage, Ctrl+Alt+Delete; Theatre Aspen: Same Time, Next Year; Chapter Two; Arena Stage: A Man’s a Man; Ford’s Theatre: 1776, Kudzu; Goodspeed Opera House: They All Laughed; Cleveland Play House: The Emancipation of Valet du Chambre, Boy Meets Girl; Guthrie: Babes in Arms; Ramapo Shakespeare Ensemble: Hamlet; Great Lakes: Taming of the Shrew; Colorado Shakespeare Festival: The Rivals.

Film/TV—Lipstick Jungle, Ghost Town, Finky’s Kitchen, The Chappelle Show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, They Came to Cordura, All My Children, One Life to Live. Co-Producer/ Co-Host—The Happy Hour Guys (happyhourguys.com). Proud member of Actor’s Equity. For KB.

Jenna Sokolowski*— Betsy/Lindsey & Mrs. Nelson/Female Student.

CENTERSTAGE: debut.

Regional—Woolly Mammoth: Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play, Civilization, Antebellum, She Stoops to Comedy; The Hub Theatre: John & Beatrice; Olney Theatre: The Sound of Music, Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella; Metro Stage: Savage in Limbo; Everyman Theatre: Pygmalion, Candida; Signature Theatre: [title of show], Urinetown (Helen Hayes Award Recipient, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical); Round House Theatre: Eurydice; Studio Theatre: Grey Gardens, Ivanov, Prometheus Bound; Folger Theatre: Clandestine Marriage; The Shakespeare Theatre: The Rivals. She earned her BFA in Musical Theatre at Syracuse University.

As we near the conclusion of our season, we would like to send out a special thanks to our 50th Anniversary Presenting Sponsor

M&T Bank

and our special 50th Anniversary season partners: T. Rowe Price and the T. Rowe Price Foundation DLA Piper The Rouse Company Foundation Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation Jane and Larry Droppa Terry Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Lynn and Phil Rauch Jay and Sharon Smith Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

and our Associate Sponsors: Kathi Hyle Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen Sylvan/Laureate Foundation

Thank you!

The Raisin Cycle | 13

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Artistic Team Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE

(see page 19)

Bruce Norris—Playwright—is the author of Clybourne Park, which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2012; the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards (London) for Best Play, 2011; and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2011. Other plays include The Infidel (2000), Purple Heart (2002), We All Went Down to Amsterdam (2003), The Pain and the Itch (2004), The Unmentionables (2006), and A Parallelogram (2010), all of which had their premieres at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago. Two new plays, titled The Low Road and Domesticated, respectively, will premiere in 2013 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and at Lincoln Center Theater, New York. His work has also been seen at Playwrights Horizons (New York), Lookingglass Theatre (Chicago), Philadelphia Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Washington, DC), Staatstheater Mainz (Germany), and the Galway Festival (Ireland), among others. He is the recipient of the Steinberg Playwright Award (2009), and The Whiting Foundation Prize for Drama (2006), as well as two Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago) for Best New Work. As an actor he can be seen in the films A Civil Action and The Sixth Sense, and the recent All Good Things. He lives in New York.

Derrick Sanders—Director.

CENTERSTAGE: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

Off Broadway—Signature: King Hedley II. Regional—The Kennedy Center: August Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle: Seven Guitars, King Hedley II; Cincinnati Playhouse: Gee's Bend (Acclaim Awards: Best Director, Outstanding Production); Virginia Stage Co: Fences, Radio Golf; Barebones : Jesus Hopped the A Train; Lincoln Theater: Sanctified; Chicago Children Theatre: Bud, Not Buddy, Jackie and Me (World Premiere); American Theatre Co: Topdog/Underdog; True Colors: Jitney, Stick Fly; Minneapolis Children's Theater : Five Fingers of Funk (World Premiere); Congo Square: Elmina’s Kitchen (Midwest Premiere); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Black Theatre Alliance Awards, Best Production & Direction); Seven Guitars continued on page 17 >>

(Joseph Jefferson Awards, Best Production & Direction), Deep Azure (World Premiere), The House That Jack Built, Ali (Black Theatre Alliance Award); Kuntu Rep: A Cryin’ Shame; ETA Creative Arts Theatre Co.: Why Black Men Play Basketball. Other Professional— Congo Square Founding Artistic Director; Assistant Director: Broadway/Goodman/ Mark Taper/Huntington: Gem Ocean, and Broadway/Goodman: Radio Golf.

Jack Magaw—Scenic Designer.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Regional/Chicago— Milwaukee Rep: A Raisin in the Sun; Alliance Theatre: I Just Stopped by to See the Man; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis: Circle Mirror Transformation; Kansas City Repertory: Pippin; Geva Theatre: Superior Donuts; Cincinnati Playhouse: Gee’s Bend; Northlight Theatre: The Whipping Man; Peninsula Players Theatre: Murder on the Nile, Opus; Writers’ Theatre: The Letters, The Caretaker, Bus Stop; Court Theatre: Jitney; Victory Gardens Theater: In the Next Room. Awards—Seven Joseph Jefferson Award nominations. Upcoming—Northlight Theatre: 4000 Miles; Chicago Opera Theatre: Giovanna d'Arco. Jack lives in Evanston, IL with his wife, director Kimberly Senior, and teaches design at The Theatre School, DePaul University. www.jackmagaw.com

Reggie Ray—Costume Designer.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Broadway— The Cort Theatre: Stick Fly. Off Broadway—Public Theater: Emergen-See; Signature Theatre: King Hedley II; Baruch Performing Arts Center: Actor’s Rap; Faison Firehouse Theatre: Accept/ Except. Tour/International— Monte Carlo: Peugeot: Les StarShow!; Le Place D’Arts, Montreal Canada: Beauty and the Beast; Toronto, Canada/USA: Virtuosity (w/ Vivian Reed); USA: Fabric of a Man (w/ Shemar Moore); Bible Stories; Men Cry in the Dark; Bubbling Brown Sugar (w/ Diahann Carroll). Regional— Arena Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, Children’s Theatre of Minneapolis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Dallas Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre Company, The Goodman, Guthrie, Hartford Stage, The Huntington Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Theatre, St. Louis Black Rep., St. Louis Rep., Signature Theatre (DC), Studio Theatre, True Colors Theatre Company. Awards— 2 Helen Hayes Awards, Kevin Kline, Cincinnati The Raisin Cycle | 15

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies

The Artistic Team [cont] Entertainment Awards. Member— USA Local 829. Howard University DOTA Faculty.

Thom Weaver—Lighting Designer.

CENTERSTAGE: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Off Broadway—credits include York: Teller’s Play Dead, Thrill Me; Theatre Row: Two Rooms; Signature: King Hedley II; 37 ARTS: Frankenstein; DR2: Masked; as well as Lincoln Center Festival, Vital, SPF, NYMF, Lincoln Center Institute. Philadelphia— Arden, Wilma, People’s Light, Walnut, PA Shakes, Theatre Exile, 1812, Azuka, New Paradise Laboratories, Curtis Opera, and Flashpoint Theatre Company, where he is Artistic Director. Regional—Milwaukee Rep, Portland Center Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Virginia Stage, Cal Shakes, Asolo Rep, Theatre J, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Hangar Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Folger, Round House, Williamstown, Spoleto, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Yale Rep. Awards— AUDELCO; 14 Barrymore nominations, winning in 2011 and 2012; and 3 Helen Hayes nominations. Education— Carnegie Mellon and Yale.

Elisheba Ittoop —Sound Designer.

CENTERSTAGE: debut. Regional—The Kennedy Center: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg; American Scrapbook; Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe; Mermaids, Monsters, and the World Painted Purple; Woolly Mammoth: You for Me for You, Mr. Burns; Folger: The Conference of the Birds; Everyman: Private Lives, Shooting Star, Blackbird; Studio: The Big Meal, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, That Face, The Receptionist; Virginia Stage Company: Black Pearl Sings, Radio Golf; Theatre J: Apples from the Desert, Imagining Madoff, The Moscows of Nantucket; National Gallery of Art: Framed!; Eugene O’Neill Theater Center: How We Got On, The Nether, Good Goods, Follow Me to Nellie’s; Chautauqua Theater: Everything is Ours, Muckrakers. Education— North Carolina School of the Arts. www.elishebaittoop.com

Gregory Bazemore —Hair and Wig Designer. CENTERSTAGE: debut. Broadway:

Stick Fly. Off Broadway: King Hedley II. National Tours—Color Purple (1st National), Dreamgirls (1st National). Regional—Arena Stage: Sophisticated Ladies. Film/TV—Veep, House of Cards, Killing Lincoln. Member— Local 798.

Gavin Witt —Production Dramaturg.

(see page 19)

Evamarii A. Johnson—Dialect Consultant. CENTERSTAGE: Gleam.

Regional—Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Eight seasons, credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, She Loves Me, Ruined, Death and the King's Horseman, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Gem of the Ocean, Tracy's Tiger, Intimate Apparel, Bus Stop, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Napoli Milionaria!, A Raisin in the Sun, Force of Nature, Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Dell’Arte International Theatre: Paradise Lost, The Iliad, Peer Gynt: The Liar/ Logneren (in cooperation with Denmark’s Jomfru Ane Teatret); Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Henry V, Cymbeline, She Stoops to Conquer, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King Lear; Philadelphia Theatre Company: The Mountaintop; New Harlem Arts Theatre (NYC): Flying Folktales.

Other professional— Co-author of Page to Stage: Julius Caesar, which won the 1991 Wilbur Schramm Award for Outstanding Instructional Television Series. Teaching— Cal Arts, California State Summer School for the Arts, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Cornell University, Illinois State University, Northwestern University, Semester at Sea (The Institute for Shipboard Education). Member— AEA, SAG, Canadian AEA, VASTA. Education— BFA, Howard University; post-graduate work, New York University; PhD, University of Washington.

Tara Rubin—Casting Director.

CENTERSTAGE: An Enemy of the People, Into the Woods. Broadway— The Heiress, Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson, Ghost, One Man, Two Guvnors (US Casting), Jesus Christ Superstar (US Casting), Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, How to Succeed..; Promises, Promises, A Little Night Music, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Guys and Dolls, The Farnsworth Invention, …Young Frankenstein, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Pirate Queen, Les Misérables, Spamalot, Jersey Boys, …Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Phantom of the Opera, Contact. Off Broadway: Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Old Jews Telling Jokes. Regional: Yale Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse.

The Raisin Cycle | 17

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CENTERSTAGE

Biog r aphies The Staff

Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE,

Center for American Theater. Also a professor of Arts Management at Georgetown University, he has served on the boards and committees of some of the nation’s most prestigious arts organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, American Arts Alliance, League of Resident Theatres, and the Theatre Communications Group. twitter: @sjrcenterstage

an award-winning British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, is in his second season as Artistic Director. At CENTERSTAGE he has directed The Mountaintop, An Enemy of the People, last season’s The Whipping Man (one of City Paper’s Top Ten Productions of 2012) for which he was named Best Director, and Associate Artistic previously Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Director/Director of Hours. He recently directed the World Dramaturgy Gavin Premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s Witt came to CENTERSTAGE Detroit '67 at The Public Theater in New York in 2003 as Resident and the Classical Theater of Harlem. This Dramaturg, having served in summer he will direct the World Premiere of that role previously at several Chicago Naomi Wallace’s The Liquid Plain at Oregon theaters. As a dramaturg, he has worked on Shakespeare Festival. Among his works as well over 60 plays, from classics to new playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and commissions—including play development Let There Be Love—which had their workshops and freelance dramaturgy for American debuts at CENTERSTAGE—as well TCG, The Playwrights Center, The New as A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, and Harmony Project, The Old Globe, Bay Area Seize the Day. His latest play, Beneatha’s Playwrights Festival, CATF, The Kennedy Place, debuts as part of The Raisin Cycle.

Center, and others. A graduate of Yale and Kwame has served on the boards of The the University of Chicago, he was active National Theatre and The Tricycle Theatre, in Chicago theater for more than a decade both in London. He served as Artistic as an actor, director, dramaturg, translator, Director for the World Arts Festival in and teacher, not to mention co-founder of Senegal, a month-long World Festival of greasy joan & co. theater, while serving Black Arts and Culture, which featured more as a regional Vice President of LMDA, the than two thousand artists from 52 countries national association of dramaturgs. He participating in 16 different arts disciplines. has been on the faculty of the University He serves as the Chancellor of the University of Chicago and DePaul University, and of the Arts London, and in 2012 was named locally at Towson University. as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

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Managing Director Stephen Richard,

a leader on the national arts scene for more than 30 years, joined CENTERSTAGE in January 2012. Stephen comes most recently from a position as Vice President, External Relations, for the new National Children’s Museum. Previously, he served 18 years as Executive Director of Arena Stage, where he planned and managed the theater’s $125 million capital campaign for the Mead The Raisin Cycle | 19

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

Pericles (c. 495-429 BCE) Planned gifts offer you creative ways to share your passion for the theater with generations to come. Fifty percent of Americans are living without a will. Their life savings may be spent in ways they never intended.

Make sure that does not happen to you. Live smart. When you name CENTERSTAGE as a beneficiary, you can trust that your money will be spent wisely by a non-profit organization you already know and trust.

Your foresight is our future… and your peace of mind.

Master Your Own Legacy…

Join the Heritage Circle at CENTERSTAGE To learn more about opportunities to include CENTERSTAGE in your estate plans, please contact the Director of Development, Cindi Monahan at 410.986.4020.

20 |

CENTERSTAGE

F Y I Audience Services PARKED IN THE GARAGE? We can help!

The Chesapeake Garage diagonally across from the theater at Monument and Calvert has come under new management this season and we want to make sure you completely understand the options available to you.

How do I Pay? 1. At the ticket machine in the garage lobby, first place the parking receipt you received when entering the garage in the designated slot. The machine will hold that receipt until the next step.

2. Place your "payment" in the designated slot. The payment may be a credit card or cash with exact bills. The machine will then return your original receipt as validated, which you can then use as you exit the garage at the gate.

OR 3. If the lobby is crowded and you are using a credit card, you may go directly to your car and pay with your credit card at the machine at the exit gate as you leave the garage. Please note: these machines will not take cash!

Follow the steps above at the exit gate machine to make your payment.

I have a Pre-Paid Voucher, What do I do?

If you pre-paid for parking with your membership and have your yellow Pre-Paid Vouchers, please bypass the machine in the elevator lobby and proceed directly to your car. Enter the parking receipt you received upon entry to the garage followed immediately by the yellow Pre-Paid Voucher.

Remember that you’ll need your parking ticket to exit whether you’ve pre-paid or are paying at the pay station or at the machine when you exit.

Unfortunately, CENTERSTAGE cannot validate parking, nor are vouchers from previous seasons able to be honored. Pre-paid vouchers are issued by the garage owner/operator and CENTERSTAGE in unable to replace lost or forgotten vouchers.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

On-Stage Smoking When a play requires on-stage smoking, we use tobacco-free herbal imitations and do everything possible to minimize the amount of smoke that drifts into the audience.

If you’re smoke-sensitive, be sure to let our Box Office know.

Pre-Show Dining Visit Sascha’s Express, our pre-performance dinner service located just up the lobby stairs in our Mezzanine Café. Featuring delicious prix fixe dining, service begins two hours before each performance.

Accessibility Programs Wheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance. For patrons who are hearing impaired, we offer assistive listening devices at no charge. An Open Captioned performance is available for one Sunday performance of each Classic Series production for deaf and hearing impaired patrons. Several performances also feature Audio Description, and Braille programs or magnifying glasses are available upon request.

Photography & Recording Prohibited Because of copyright and union regulations, photography or recording of performances— both audio and video—is strictly forbidden.

Be Courteous Please silence your cell phone, pager, or other electronic devices both before the show starts and after intermission. And, while you’re welcome to take beverages with lids to your seat, eating is never allowed inside the theater.

Anything else we can do?

CENTERSTAGE wants every patron to have an enjoyable, stress-free experience. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed: info@centerstage.org.

1415 Aliceanna St. baltimore, MD 21202 410-522-5511 Hours: M-Tu 11:30am-10pm, W-Th 11:30am-11pm, f-Sa 11:30am-midnight, Su 5pm-10pm Happy hour daily from 4-7pm featuring $5 Select Cocktails, $3 Stellas, 1/2 Off Wine and Drafts “Pizzas that have the perfect crust, the ideal char, the bubbles, and the good ingredients to compete with the BEST IN THE U.S.” —John Mariani of Esquire Magazine Developed by Oscar-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri and experienced restaurateurs Sergio and Alessandro Vitale of Baltimore’s Aldo’s, Chazz: A Bronx Original redefines the Italian American culinary experience. Take a trip down Arthur Avenue, the main culinary thoroughfare of the Bronx, this Spring and enjoy a hand-crafted cocktail, a slice of coal-fired pizza, or homemade Italian American specialties reminiscent of the timeless days of the Bronx.

The Raisin Cycle | 21

SEASoN51 Theater for the H eart

Join us for Season 51 by becoming a Member today!

Make your Membership an Occasion with one of these Special Packages — AfterThoughts

Opening Night

Post-show conversations designed to give deeper insight into the play. A chance for feedback and engagement. Selected Thursday evenings and Sunday matinees.

A VIP event to celebrate the opening of a new show. Includes a post-show reception with designers, cast, and staff.

Meet the Actors

Accessible options for our vision and hearing-impaired patrons on selected Sunday performances.

We provide a casual atmosphere to chat with the cast after the show. Ask them your questions and get some autographs!

Selected Friday evenings.

Audio Description and Open Captioning

Night Out

A pre-show happy hour for our LGBTQIA community.

Come socialize with drink specials and music.

Preview Tuesday evening.

Visit the Box Office for more details on how you can save up to 53% off your Season 51 Membership—but prices increase on April 26!

For more on Season 51, see page 34, or go online to www.centerstage.org/2013-14Season.

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CENTERSTAGE

Photos left to right, top to bottom: Preston Street theater; North Avenue theater; N. Calvert Street theater; Robert Sean Leonard; Mary Lane and Brenda Wehle; Jack Fellows and Susannah Hoffman; Myxolydia Tyler and Shawn Hamilton; Pippa Pearthree and Carolyn McCormick; Samuel L. Jackson; Melissa Leo and Dennis Parlato; Michael C. Hall; Christiana Clark and Stephanie Berry; Si Osborne; Jimmy Smits; Kyra Sedgwick; Jefferson Byrd; Tracie Thoms; Dana Steingold; Kevyn Morrow; Lise Bruneau; Jada Pinkett Smith and Bruce A. Young; Pamela Payton Wright; Avery Brooks; Gretchen Hall; Laura Kai Chen and Timothy Sekk.

Photos by Richard Anderson.

As the 50th Anniversary season comes to a close, we would like to thank you for joining us for an incredible year of celebration. Your loyal support as a patron, a subscriber, and a donor has allowed us to reach this important landmark, and it is our hope that you will continue to join us for SeaSON 51 and beyond.

Thanks so much!

If you would like to make a contribution to cENTErSTAGE in honor of the 50th Anniversary, please visit us at centerstage.org/donate.

for the Season 51 lineup see page 34 or visit centerstage.org/2013-14season.

The Raisin Cycle | 23

24 |

CENTERSTAGE

co nversat io n s Season 51 with Kwame and Stephen

“What we wanted to do with next season was send out an energy of love and fun and spirit, of enjoyment and entertainment.”

–Kwame Kwei-Armah

Animal Crackers

Kwame Kwei-Armah • What can we say?

The genius of the Marx Brothers. We saw a production out at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and it was such great fun. We wanted to start the season on a high note with this comedy musical. It was written at the end of the Depression era, in a similar economic environment as we find ourselves in now. It’s zany and fun and makes comments that are so ahead of its time. I think it’s a great, fun way to start off Season 51.

Stephen Richard • Also, I produced it at Arena Stage and it was one of the most successful shows in their 60-year history.

dance of the holy ghosts

KKA • I love the writing of Marcus Gardley.

I think part of my job is to seek out writers who attempt to fill the void of August Wilson. Marcus is one such writer. He’s poetic and he’s meaningful, and I think those in the audience who enjoy Wilson will love the story that Marcus weaves—it is a beautiful, haunting melody.

SR • One of the things that Kwame has committed to doing is bringing major writers to CENTERSTAGE, and Marcus is certainly that. He recently received a Mellon Residency Grant, which is a very competitive grant, and he is a remarkable writer.

A Civil War Christmas

SR • I think Paula’s done a magical job of integrating folk and holiday music of the time into this piece. And, on a personal level, I have been following the evolution of this project for 12 years: I wrote the original commission for Paula, saw a workshop 10 years ago, and now it has arrived. It has been a remarkable journey and it is a wonderful piece of theater.

KKA • Both Stephen and I are convinced that we need to be a little bit competitive around the holidays. We saw A Civil War Christmas and felt that this piece was really intelligent and soulful. I left the theater uplifted, and yet it’s not cheap and Christmasy: it is filled with integrity, but it is also so feel-good that it is hard to resist.

We hope that families come and enjoy this story at that magical time of the year.

Twelfth Night

KKA • In line with our sensibilities of joy, we wanted to do a Shakespeare and felt that Twelfth Night is, as we quote, a “most perfect comedy.” I said when I got here that there is a three-year cycle for me in terms of giving our audiences what they need, what they’re used to, and a little something else—and that we were going to double-down on our commitment to doing more Shakespeare.

SR • It’s also very important to us because we are expanding our student audience.

We’ve had more student matinees this year than we have had in recent years. We’ll be able to do yet more next year with shows like Twelfth Night, so that will be terrific.

The Liquid Plain

SR • Again, Kwame is bringing great writers to CENTERSTAGE, and there is nobody more astonishing than Naomi Wallace.

KKA • This is beautiful, poetic, and a wonderful look at a moment in American history. I can think of no better writer than Naomi to cover the subjects that she covers with such intelligence, grace, and poetry.

She has already won four major awards for this play, and I will be directing it at Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer.

It’s going to be one of those productions that, if I get right, will live with me for a very long time. It is also one of those plays that the most adventurous of our patrons will adore, and those who might be new to theater will go, “Wow, is this what this

medium can do?” It’s certainly on the page; I just have to make that happen on the stage—no pressure!

Stones in His Pockets

KKA • One of the wonderful things about this past season was the smash hit that was The Mountaintop. What really contributed to it was seeing two actors hold the stage and engage us for that length of time. One of the reasons we wanted to do Stones was that, yes, it is great fun, but it’s also a tour de force for two actors who can play this multiplicity of characters and bring the story to life in a magical and theatrical way. Theater is sometimes just about that—seeing great artists at work, stretching your imagination.

SR • There’s so much that is fun about it.

The thing that I like the most is the sense of Hollywood invading this Irish village, and all that that implies—from everyday disruption to cultural imperialism.

Wild with Happy

KKA • If there is a lesson I learned from my first season, it is that part of my job is to go out and find the plays that I think our audience will like. Wild with Happy is one of those plays that we all went out to see and thought, “We want to end the season on an up.” It’s comical, fun, and very emotional: a gay man who takes his mother’s ashes to Disneyland.

And I’m delighted to bring someone of playwright Colman Domingo’s stature to CENTERSTAGE. I’ll also add that I’ve heard many of our gay patrons say that they’ve not seen their story center stage here (pardon the pun). And, although it is not this play’s primary driver, I’m pleased that there will be something on stage to tell all of our audiences that in time everyone’s story will share the spotlight. Wild with Happy is a wonderful way of doing that.

We encourage you to join the conversation!

You can find us on Facebook or Twitter, or just email hjackson@centerstage.org with your questions for Kwame and Stephen. centerstagemd

@centerstage_md The Raisin Cycle | 25

1-800-GOT-JUNK • 180sInnovative Performance Wear • 4 E. Madison Inn • A Utah Snowbird • ABC Box Co./Rebox and Save • About Faces Day Spa & Salon • Abrams Insurance Agency • Absolutely Organized, LLC • Accomac Inn and Events • Accurate Termite & Pest Control • Adventure Theatre MTC • Air Plumbing & Heating Solutions • Alan Walden • Alex Cooper Auctioneers & Gallery of Rugs • Alexander Design Studio • Alexis Mulava, Certified Personal Trainer • Alice Jane • Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse • Allison Barnhill Designs • Ambassador Dining Room • Amtrak • Ann W. Saunders of S.O.S. Simple Organizing Solutions • Annapolis Film Festival • Annapolis Symphony Orchestra • Annie The Musical • Anonymous • Arbonne International-Beata Lorinc • Arena Stage • Arundel Golf Park • Atwater’s • Aunt Erika’s Pet Sitting, Inc • AutoWerke, Inc. • B & H Chimneys • B&E Driving School • Backwater Angler • Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society • Baltimore Chamber Orchestra • Baltimore Choral Arts Society • Baltimore Clayworks • Baltimore Coffee & Tea • Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards • Baltimore Marriott Waterfront • Baltimore Museum of Art • Baltimore Orioles • Baltimore Ravens • Baltimore School for the Arts • Baltimore Streetcar Museum • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra • Baltimore Tai Chi • Barbara Z. Lipman • Barrett’s Grill • Barton Como Accessories • Basignani Winery • Bay Area Shuckers • Bay Imagery • beatrice + the bird • Beauty gps • Becca & Mars • Beck-n-Call • Best Western Kent Narrows Inn • Best Western Premier Eden Resort & Suites • Bethann Wilson Fine Art • Betty Cooke Designer Jewelry at The Store Ltd. • BGE HOME • Bijoux Jewels • Bill Sanders • Black Ankle Vineyards • Blue Crab Bay Co. • Bluestone • Bob Benson • Bolongo Bay Beach Resort • Bond Distributing Co. • Boordy Vineyards • Brassworks Co., Inc. • Brennan + Company Architects • Bryant White Fine Furniture LLC • Buck Valley Ranch LLC • Cambridge Iron & Metal • Camp Bow Wow • Canton Car Wash • Caplan Glass Co. • Captain John Messmore • Carolyn Creations • Carpet Works, Inc • Carroll Tree Service, Inc. • Catonsville Custom Frames • CENTERSTAGE • Chaparral Suites Hotel • Charles Levine Caterers & Events • Charles Nusinov & Sons • Charm City Kids Club • Chef’s Expressions • Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. • Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa • Christopher Schafer Clothier • Chuck Graham, M Ac. • Cinema Sundays at The Charles • City Café • Cohen’s Clothiers • Columbia Festival of the Arts • Communications Electronics • Condor Airlines • Contemporary American Theater Festival • Coppermine Fieldhouse • Cove Haven Resort • CRW Flags • Curiosityville • Damon Lucas Golf Institute at Lake Presidential Golf Club • Danielle Nicole • David Toy • Deborah “Spice” Kleinmann • Dee Herget • Deer Run Golf Club, Ocean City, MD • DLA Piper • Doubledutch Boutique • Doubletree by Hilton Annapolis • Downtown Dog Resort & SpaSwan Harbor Animal Hospital • Dr. Barbara Young • Dr. Dean Kane and The Center for Cosmetic Surgery & Medispa • Dr. George Shepley • Dr. Ira Papel & Dr. Theda Kontis • Dr. Leon Katz • Dr. Sean Berenholtz & Ana Goldseker • Dr. Tom Ritter, Advanced General Dentistry • Dream Flight School • E N Olivier • Earthly Pursuits • Ed Dawson • Eddie Jacobs Ltd. • Eddie’s Market Charles Village • Effie Gereny • Elite Island Resorts • Elk Run Vineyard • Ellen Allen Annapolis • Elliot Feldman & Lily Gardner Feldman • Emporium Collagia • Entertainment Cruises Baltimore • Estate of Gladys Goldstein • Events Etc. • Everyman Theatre • Evilnice Stained Glass • Fabian Couture Group, Intl. • Faidley Seafood-Lexington Market • Fairfield Inn & Suites Boca Raton • Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown/Inner Harbor • Fast Personal Training • Fern Hill • FireFly Farms • Fireline Corp. • Floors Etc. • Four Seasons Guide Service • FOX 45 • Framin’ Place • Frank’s Seafood • Friend of CENTERSTAGE • Full Circle Photo • FX Studios • Gamberdella, Inc. • Garnish Boutique • Gayle Gourmet • Gayle Zola Herskovitz • Geppi’s Entertainment Museum • Gian Marco Menswear • Goetze’s Candy Co., Inc. • Gold Seal Services and Delbert Adams Company • Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP • Gordon Center for Performing Arts • Governor Martin O’Malley • Grauers Fine Fly Tackle • Greg Otto • Gristmill Landscape and Nursery • Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake • Hampton Inn & Suites Austin University/ Capitol • Hampton Inn & Suites Columbia-South • Hampton Inn & Suites National Harbor • Hampton Inn BWI • Hampton Inn Downtown Convention • Hampton Inn Ft. Lauderdale • Harbor East Marina • Heart’s Journey Yoga • Henderson’s Wharf • Hilton Baltimore • Hilton Garden Inn Nashville West End • Historic Inns of Annapolis • Historic Kent Manor Inn • Historic Ships in Baltimore • Hobo the Original • Holland America • HoneyBaked Ham Co & Café • Hopkins Symphony Orchestra • Hotel

THANK YOU

To all donors and bidders for making this year's Baltimore Sun Online Auction for CENTERSTAGE a huge sucess…

Monaco • House of JonLei Atelier • House of Tropicals • Howard Korn Photography • Hudson & Fouquet • Hyatt & Co. • Hyatt Regency Baltimore • Ice World • IndigmaInnovative Flavors of India • Indulgence Salon • Inn at Deep Creek • Inn at The Colonnade - a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel • Irvine Nature Center • Islander Resort &The Florida Keys Conference Center • J Shoes • J. McLaughlin • J.S. Edwards, Ltd. • Janet Pfeffer Quilts • Jean Pool • Joel Cohen • John Henderson • John Waters • Jon Kaplan, Training & Health Coaching • Jones & Jones • Jones Lighting Specialists • Jos. A. Bank • Juniata River Adventures, Inc • Kali’s Court • Katwalk Boutique • Kimberly Fine Portraiture • Kokopelli • KPMG LLP • La Terra • Ladew Topiary Gardens • Lancaster Arts Hotel • Landmark Theatres • Laurel Grove Inn on the South River • Lexington Lady • Liberty Mountain Resort • Lillie Stewart • Linda Seidel Cosmetics • Linden Row Inn • Linens & Lingerie • Linganore Winecellars/Berrywine Plantations • Linwoods • Living Classrooms Foundation • Loane Brothers Inc. • Luna • M&T Bank • Madonna Seafood • Main Street Oriental Rugs • Mallow Crunchies • Mamma Mia! Broadway • Mano Swartz • Margo Landon Therapeutic Massage • Mark Eisendrath • Mars Super Markets, Inc. • Martha Dougherty, Artist • Mary Habicht, Long & Foster Real Estate • Maryland Film Festival • Maryland Glass Block • Maryland Home & Garden Show/Sugarloaf Crafts Festival • Maryland Jockey Club • Maryland Polo Club • Maryland Science Center • Maryland Transit Administration • Mast Tennis Academy • Maxalea, Inc. • Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake • McCormick & Co. • Meadow Mill Athletic Club • Meadowbrook • Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament • Mibs Pell at Village Yoga • Michael Phelps Swim School • Michael Ricigliano • Michaels Miracles --We Clean Out Houses • Michelle Deck Photography • Mid-Atlantic Drum,LLC • Midtown BBQ & Brew • Miles & Stockbridge P.C. • Mindful Nutrition • Misha & Co • Miss Shirley’s Café • Modern Diaper Service • Modern Life Portraits • MOM’s Organic Market • Monkton Bike Rental • Moppin Mommas Inc. • Mount Vernon Institute of Modeling & Etiquette • MPT-MotorWeek with John Davis • Mutiny Pirate Bar & Island Grille • Mutt Magic Training Services • National Photo • Neal’s - The Hair Studio & Day Spa • Nelson Coleman Jewelers • Niermann Weeks • Occasions Caterers • Ocean City Golf Club • Olin Yoder • Olney Theatre Center • Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Towson University • Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning • Partnership Wealth Management • Passport Brands, Inc. • Pastore’s, Inc. • Pat Moran Casting • Patricia Bennett Studio • Pazo • Permanent MakeUp by Gloria Brennan • Personalized Weight Loss • Pet Depot • Peter Minkler • Photo File, LLC • Pico Planet Salsa • Pilates Center at Goucher College • Pinehurst Wine Shoppe • PNC Bank • Polk Audio, Inc. • Pretty Please Nail Polish • Princess Royale Oceanfront Family Resort • Prostatis Financial Advisors Group • Pulse-Lifecasting • Pumpkin Theatre • RA Sushi Bar Restaurant • Radcliffe Jewelers • Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys • Raoul Middleman • Rebecca Weber • Rebounders Gymnastics Centers • Red Zone Adventures • Regi’s American Bistro • Renaissance Harborplace Hotel • Rep Stage, Professional Theatre in Residence at HCC • ReStockIt.com, Division of Acme Paper & Supply Co. • River & Trail Outfitters • Rock Star Jam Camp • Rotunda Cinemas • Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel • Ruth Channing • Ruth Shaw, Inc. • Sally Ann Mickel • Samuel Parker Clothier • Sandra Magsamen • School for Professional and Continuing Studies Maryland Institute College of Art • School of Rock • Schroedl Custom Cleaners Since 1861 • Scott Adam Life Center • SeaDream Yacht Club • Service Photo • Shananigans Toy Shop • Sharon Keys Seal, Coaching Concepts, Inc. • Shea Radiance • Shofer’s Furniture Co. • Shutter Booth Maryland • Signature Catering Inc at Peerce’s Landing • Single Carrot Theatre • Sloane Brown Designs • SMARTBOX Portable Storage • Smyth Jewelers • Soundscape • SparTea • SportCourt/Chesapeake Court Builders, Inc. • SpringHill Suites by Marriott Downtown Baltimore Inner Harbor • SpringHill Suites by Marriott Fairfax, VA • Squeegee Klean, LLC • Stanley Black & Decker • Steve Krulevitz Summer Sports Camps • Steven Scott Gallery • Still Life Gallery Fine Art & Custom Framing • Stoop Storytelling Series LLC • Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center • Strathmore • Stray Boots • Studio 1 Pilates • StudioDNA • SunTrust Bank • Sweet Revolution Caramels • T. Rowe Price Group • Tai Sophia Institute • Tail End Kennels • Tails on Trails • Tarlow Furs Ltd. • Techlab Photo • Terrapin Adventures • The 39 Minute Workout • The B&O Railroad Museum • The Baltimore Blast • The Charles Theatre • The Classic Catering People • The Columbia Orchestra • The Davey Tree Expert Company • The Edwin A. Myerberg Center • The Food Market • The Grille at Peerce’s • The Iron Bridge Wine Company • The Ivy Bookshop • The Jewelry Lady • The Johns Hopkins University Press • The Kings Contrivance • The Maryland Store • The Owl Bar & 13th Floor • The Park School of Baltimore • The Patricia & Arthur Modell Performing Center at the Lyric • The Quinntessential Gentleman • The Red Fox Inn • The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Inner Harbor, Baltimore • The Smile Design Center of Dr. Myron Kellner • The Studio Theatre • The Summit Resort Hotel • The Tint Man • Theater J • Thomson Remodeling • Tio Pepe • Toby’s Dinner Theater of Colulmbia • Tom Gavin’s DJ Delights • Totem Pole Playhouse • Travel Treks • Tremont Suites Hotel & Grand Historic Venue • Trohv Home & Gift • TSG Security • Tuxedo House • Tuxedo Pharmacy • Two Oceans True Foods • U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management • Undersea Outfitters • Union Craft Brewery • Urban Pirates • Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop • Valley Craftsmen, Ltd. • Village Square Café • Vintage Affairs, LLc • Washington Nationals • Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation • WBAL TV • Wegmans Food Market, Hunt Valley • Weinberg Center for the Arts • Welsh Construction Remodeling Co. • West River Cruises • Whole Foods Market, Mt. Washington • Wil Crowther • WJZ-TV • Woodhall Wine Cellars • Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company • Wyndham Baltimore Peabody Court • WYPR, Your Public Radio • Y of Central Maryland • Yucatan Holidays • Zippy Tours • Zoll Studio School of Fine Art • Supported By:

The Baltimore Sun Online AUCTION for Media Partner:

26 |

CENTERSTAGE

S u ppo rt in g the Annual Fund @ CENTERSTAGE January 1, 2012– March 6, 2013

The following list includes gifts of $250 or more—individual, corporate, foundation, and government contributions—made to the CENTERSTAGE Annual Fund between January 1, 2012 and March 6, 2013. Although space limitations make it impossible for us to list everyone who helps fund our artistic, education, and community programs, we are enormously grateful to each person who contributes to CENTERSTAGE.

We couldn’t do it without you!

50 th Anniversary Season Presenting Sponsor

Corporate Sponsors

Media Partners

Season Sponsors

Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation Jane and Larry Droppa Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Phil and Lynn Rauch Jay and Sharon Smith

T. Rowe Price Foundation

Associate Season Sponsors Kathleen Hyle

Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS

The CENTERSTAGE Society represents donors who, with their annual contributions of $2,500 or more, provide special opportunities for our artists and audiences. Society members are actively involved through special events, theater-related travel, and behind-the-scenes conversations with theater artists.

Artists Circle ($25,000+)

The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund

The Miriam and Jay Wurtz Andrus Trust The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards

Penny Bank Ellen and Ed Bernard Stephanie and Ashton Carter The Annie E. Casey Foundation The Charlesmead Foundation James and Janet Clauson Lynn and Tony Deering Edgerton Foundation New American Play Awards

Kathleen Hyle Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Marilyn Meyerhoff Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Judy and Scott Phares Mr. and Mrs. Philip Rauch George Roche The Rouse Company Foundation The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Smith, Jr. Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Ms. Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

Producers Circle ($10,000–$24,999)

Peter and Millicent Bain

The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, Inc. James T. and Francine G. Brady The Bunting Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting The Nathan & Suzanne Cohen Foundation The Helen P. Denit Charitable Trust Ms. Nancy Dorman and Mr. Stanley Mazaroff Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Droppa John Gerdy and E. Follin Smith The Goldsmith Family Foundation The Laverna Hahn Charitable Trust Martha Head J.I. Foundation Mr. and Mrs. E. Robert Kent, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel G. Macfarlane

Dr. and Mrs. Neil D. Goldberg Fredye and Adam Gross Donald and Sybil Hebb Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hill Murray and Joan Kappelman Francie and John Keenan Kwame and Michelle Kwei-Armah The John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc. The Macht Philanthropic Fund Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker John and Susan Nehra Stephen Richard and Mame Hunt The Jim & Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation Dr. Edgar and Betty Sweren, in honor of Kwame Kwei-Armah and his OBE Award Recognition Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thompson Webb Ms. Linda Woolf

Robert and Cheryl Guth The Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation F. Barton Harvey, III and Janet Marie Smith, in honor of Peter Culman The Hecht-Levi Foundation, Inc. Ms. Sherrilyn A. Ifill Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Immelt Jonna and Fred Lazarus Mrs. Diane Markman Maryland Charity Campaign Linda and John McCleary Mr. and Mrs. John L. Messmore Jim and Mary Miller Jeannie Murphy The Israel & Mollie Myers Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Pakula

Mr. and Mrs. J. William Murray

directors Circle

Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire and Mark Cheshire

Mr. Louis B. Thalheimer and Ms. Juliet A. Eurich

Anonymous

Monica and Arnold Sagner

Ms. Katherine L. Vaughns

Playwrights Circle ($5,000–$9,999)

Anonymous Ms. Katharine C. Blakeslee Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Sylvia and Eddie Brown The Cordish Family The Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr. Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Brian and Denise Eakes Fascitelli Family Foundation

($2,500–$4,999)

The Lois and Irving Blum Foundation Drs. Joanna and Harry Brandt Mary Catherine Bunting August and Melissa Chiasera The Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Doggett, III Mr. and Mrs. Michael Falcone Dick and Maria Gamper Ms. Suzan Garabedian The Harry L. Gladding Foundation/ Winnie and Neal Borden

Lainy Lebow Sachs and Leonard Sachs Scott and Mimi Somerville Scot T. Spencer Mr. Michael Styer Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Mariana Thoms Trexler Foundation, Inc. - Jeff Abarbanel and David Goldner Mr. and Mrs. Loren and Judy Western Ted and Mary Jo Wiese Cheryl Hudgins Williams and Alonza Williams Sydney and Ron Wilner Drs. Nadia and Elias Zerhouni

Goldseker Foundation/Ana Goldseker The Raisin Cycle | 27

E xpanding the C yc le

A collection of events, programs, and discussions surrounding themes explored in The Raisin Cycle.

CENTERSTAGE is proud to announce an array of programming to supplement The Raisin Cycle this spring. Both Clybourne Park and Beneatha’s Place raise tough questions and rouse passionate opinions; we hope to provide outlets for both, to enhance and activate your playwatching and to spark meaningful civic discussion. These participatory events will be scheduled throughout the run.

See below for a current listing, and visit us online for the most up-to-date information and latest additions.

Events held at CENTERSTAGE unless otherwise noted.

Night Out

A pre-show happy hour for our LGBTQIA community.

Tuesday, April 16, 6:45 pm, Clybourne Park Special guests Active Minds of Loyola University Maryland.

Tuesday, May 14, 6:45 pm, Beneatha’s Place Special guests Citizens Planning & Housing Association of Baltimore.

ForeWords & AfterThoughts

Riffing

Saturday, April 20 Between matinee and evening performances, join us in The Deering Lobby to enjoy a brief presentation on the legacy of call-and-response work in many media and genres; discussion to follow.

Panel Discussion

Tuesday, April 23, 7 pm @ Howard County Community College Held in Monteabaro Recital Hall of the Borowitz Center at Howard Community College, this panel discussion will review the history and explore the legacy of Columbia, MD, as a planned, integrated community.

Curtain Warmers

Pre-show performances by students from Baltimore School for the Arts in The Deering Lobby.

Friday, April 26, 7 pm Friday, May 10, 7 pm

Leading Women

Pre- and post-show discussions with artistic staff, offering an in-depth look at the world of the plays.

Wednesday, May 8, 6:30 pm A lively pre-show discussion with women in leadership positions in and around Baltimore, in conjunction with our “I Am Beneatha” video series.

Sundays pre-show begins at 1:30 pm

Talk Backs

Thursdays pre-show begins at 6:30 pm Thursday, April 18 Sunday, April 21

Thursday, April 25

Post-show open forum conversations moderated by a member of the CENTERSTAGE staff.

Thursday, May 16

Sunday talk backs will follow the 2 pm matinees.

Thursday, May 23

Sunday, May 12

Sunday, April 28 Sunday, May 19 Sunday, June 2

Meet the Actors

Chat with the cast in a casual atmosphere after the show.

Friday, April 19, Clybourne Park

Friday, May 17, Beneatha’s Place

Thursday, May 9

Playwrights’ Convening

Wednesday, May 15, 6:45 pm OPENING NIGHT for Beneatha’s Place Expanding the African American narrative.

A group of playwrights join us to ask: Who are we tomorrow? Who were we yesterday? Who has the authority to enter the investigation?

Play Readings

Thursday, May 16 — Saturday, May 18 A three-day festival of play readings that carry on the conversation begun by A Raisin in the Sun and continued in The Raisin Cycle.

Post-show Conversation

Saturday, May 18, 4 pm Hosted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this discussion explores current trends and issues in neighborhood revitalization, in Baltimore and beyond.

Post-show Gigs

Grab a drink and join us in The Deering Lobby after the show for a musical performance by a local artist.

Friday, May 24 Friday, May 31 Friday, June 7

Friday, June 14

Behind the Rep

Saturday, June 8, 4 pm Watch as our production crew changes from one set to another, and learn about the process of rotating rep with Production Manager Mike Schleifer.

Sunday, May 26

Thursday, May 30 Thursday, June 6 Sunday, June 9

Thursday, June 13 Sunday, June 16

Expanding the Cycle is supported by the Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County.

Special thanks to Rep Stage and the Horwitz Center at Howard County Community College.

28 |

CENTERSTAGE

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS ASSoCiATeS

($1,000–$2,499) Anonymous Ms. Taunya Banks Donald Bartling Mr. and Mrs. Marc Blum John and Carolyn Boitnott Jan Boyce Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Brown Sandra and Thomas Brushart Maureen and Kevin Byrnes Meredith and Joseph Callanan The Campbell Foundation, Inc. Caplan Family Foundation, Inc. Sally and Jerry Casey John Chester Ann K. Clapp Constantinides Family Foundation Ms. Gwen Davidson The Richard & Rosalee C. Davison Foundation Gene DeJackome and Kim Gingies Albert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie Deering The Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Rosetta and Matt DeVito Mr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia McMillan Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dott Jack and Nancy Dwyer Patricia Yevics-Eisenberg and Stewart Eisenberg Buddy and Sue Emerson, in appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman Frank and Jane Gabor Jose and Ginger Galvez Jonathan and Pamela Genn, in honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone Richard and Sharon Gentile, in honor of the CENTERSTAGE Costume Shop Ms. Sandra Levi Gerstung Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Griswold, IV Annie Groeber, in memory of Dr. John E. Adams Bill and Scootsie Hatter Sandra and Thomas Hess Drs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry Wohl, in honor of Carole Goldberg Len and Betsy Homer The Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation The A. C. and Penney Hubbard Foundation Joseph J. Jaffa Mr. and Mrs. Mark Joseph Francine and Allan Krumholz H.R. LaBar Family Foundation Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Sandy and Mark Laken Dr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Earl & Darielle Linehan/Linehan Family Foundation Ms. Karen Malloy Michelle McKenna-Doyle Joseph and Jane Meyer John and Beverly Michel Tom and Cindi Monahan Ms. Stacey Morrison and Mr. Brian Morales The Honorable Diana and Fred Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Roger F. Nordquist and Joyce Ward Mr. and Mrs. Lee Ogburn Ms. Jo-Ann Mayer Orlinsky Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman Ronald and Carol Reckling Ms. Kathleen C. Ridder, in honor of Peter Culman The James and Gail Riepe Family Foundation Nathan and Michelle Robertson Dr. David A. Robinson The Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation Kurt and Patricia Schmoke Mr. and Mrs. Todd Schubert Gail B. Schulhoff Charles and Leslie Schwabe

(continued)

The Tim and Barbara Schweizer Foundation, Inc. Barbara and Sig Shapiro The Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation The Earle & Annette Shawe Family Foundation Dr. Barbara Shelton Dana and Matthew Slater Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Smelkinson Judith R. and Turner B. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith Mr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce Ulrich Dr. and Mrs. John Strahan Susan and Brian Sullam Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Taylor Sanford and Karen Teplitzky John A. Ulatowski Kathryn and Mark Vaselkiv Carolyn and Robert Wallace Nanny and Jack Warren, in honor of Lynn Deering Janna P. Wehrle Ann Wolfe and Dick Mead John W. Wood Dr. Laurie S. Zabin Mr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in honor of Terry Morgenthaler Ziger/Snead Architects

CoLLeAgueS

($500–$999) Anonymous Ms. Diane Abeloff, in memory of Martin Abeloff The Alsop Family Foundation Mrs. Alexander Armstrong Mr. Robert and Dorothy Bair Mayer and Will Baker, in honor of Terry Morgenthaler Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Amy and Bruce Barnett Charles and Patti Baum Jaye and Dr. Ted Bayless Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Steve and Teri Bennett S. Woods and Cathy L. Bennett Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Blum, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum Cindy Candelori Rose Carpenter Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Christ Barbara Crain and Michael Borowitz Robert and Janice Davis Richard and Lynda Davis The Deering Family Foundation James DeGraffenreidt and Mychelle Farmer The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby Lynne Durbin and John-Francis Mergen Dave and Joyce Edington Patricia Egan and Peter Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc. Donald and Margaret Engvall Sandra and John Ferriter Andrea and Samuel Fine Ms. Nancy Freyman Dr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane Dwyer Mr. and Mrs. Francis X. Gallagher, Jr. Hal and Pat Gilreath Stuart and Linda Grossman Louise A. Hager Terry Halle and Wendy McAllister Lee M. Hendler, in honor of Peter Culman Rebecca Henry and Harry Gruner Betsy and George Hess Mrs. Heidi Hoffman Mr. and Mrs. James Hormuth Ralph and Claire Hruban Mr. Edward Hunt Ms. Harriet F. Iglehart Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Imes Richard Jacobs and Patricia Lasher Ms. Mary Claire Jeske BJ and Candy Jones

Max Jordan Dr. and Mrs. Juan M. Juanteguy Peter and Kay Kaplan Ms. Shirley Kaufman Judith Phair King and Roland King Stewart and Carol Koehler Mr. John Lanasa, in honor of Peter Culman Joseph M. and Judy K. Langmead Mr. Claus Leitherer and Mrs. Irina Fedorova Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Lesser Marilyn Leuthold Dr. and Mrs. John Lion Kenneth and Christine Lobo Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Lynch The Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation, Inc. Ms. Mary L. McGeady Dr. Carole Miller Mr. Jeston I. Miller Stephanie F. Miller, in honor of The Lee S. Miller Jr. Family The Montag Family Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone George and Beth Murnaghan Rex and Lettie Myers Bodil Ottesen Ms. Beth Perlman Mr. and Mrs. James and Mimi Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Bonnie Pitt Dave and Chris Powell Jill Pratt Robert E. and Anne L. Prince Richard and Kay Radmer Mrs. Peggy L. Rice Ms. Jane Rodbell Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rojas Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr. Kevin and Judy Rossiter Mrs. Bette Rothman Mr. Al Russell Sheila and Steve Sachs Ms. Renee C. Samuels Mr. and Mrs. Eugene H. Schreiber The Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin Memorial Foundation Susan Somerville-Hawes, in honor of Encounter Georgia and George Stamas Station North Arts and Entertainment District Sharon and David Tufaro Mr. and Mrs. George and Beth Van Dyke In memory of Sally Wessner Mr. Michael T. Wharton Dr. and Mrs. Frank R. Witter Eric and Pam Young Mr. Norman Youskauskas Mr. Paul Zugates

ADvoCATeS

($250–$499) Anonymous Walter and Rita Abel Mr. and Mrs. Delbert L. Adams Bradley and Lindsay Alger Mr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, II Michael Baker Judge Robert Bell Alfred and Muriel Berkeley Rachel and Steven Bloom, in honor of Beth Falcone Mr. Chad Bolton, in honor of Peter Culman Perry and Aurelia Bolton ChiChi and Peter Bosworth Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryan Mr. David Bundy Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Burnett II Ms. Deborah W. Callard The Jim and Anne Cantler Memorial Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. David Carter Mr. Andrew J. Cary Mr. and Mrs. James Case

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Robert W. Smith, Jr., President Edward C. Bernard, Vice President Juliet Eurich, Vice President Terry H. Morgenthaler, Vice President E. Follin Smith, Treasurer Katherine L. Vaughns, Secretary Penny Bank Katharine C. Blakeslee+ James T. Brady+ C. Sylvia Brown+ Stephanie Carter August J. Chiasera Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire Janet Clauson Lynn Deering Jed Dietz Walter B. Doggett, III Jane W.I. Droppa Brian Eakes Beth W. Falcone C. Richard Gamper, Jr. Suzan Garabedian Carole Goldberg Adam Gross Cheryl O’Donnell Guth Martha Head Kathleen W. Hyle Ted E. Imes Murray M. Kappelman, MD+ John J. Keenan E. Robert Kent, Jr. Joseph M. Langmead+ Jonna Gane Lazarus Kenneth C. Lundeen Michelle McKenna-Doyle Marilyn Meyerhoff+ J. William Murray Hugh Mohler Charles E. Noell Esther Pearlstone+ Judy M. Phares Jill Pratt Philip J. Rauch Harold Rojas Monica Sagner+ Renee C. Samuels Todd Schubert George M. Sherman+ Scott Somerville Scot T. Spencer Michael B. Styer Ronald W. Taylor Donald Thoms J.W. Thompson Webb Ronald M. Wilner Cheryl Hudgins Williams Linda S. Woolf + Trustees Emeriti

The Raisin Cycle | 29

ADvoCATeS continued

Stanton Collins Combined Charity Campaign Combined Federal Campaign David and Sara Cooke Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Crafton Mr. and Mrs. David and Gloria Crockett Ms. Alice M. Dibben Sally Digges and James Arnold Deborah and Philip English Ms. Nicole Epp Mr. Dennis Epps Ms. Rhea Feikin, in memory of Colgate Salsbury Ms. Jeannette E. Festa Bob and Susie Fetter Genine and Josh Fidler, in honor of Ellen and Ed Bernard Dr. and Mrs. Robert P. Fleishman Mr. and Mrs. George Flickinger Joan and David Forester Dr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr. Virginia K. Adams Mark and Patti Gillen Mr. Bruce Goldman Herbert and Harriet Goldman Mr. Howard Gradet Joseph Griffin Thomas and Barbara Guarnieri Mr. David Guy Jane Halpern and James Pettit Ms. Paulette Hammond Ada Hamosh Dr. and Dr. James and Vicki Handa Melanie and Donald Heacock In Memory of Eric R. Head Aaron Heinsman William and Monica Henderson Sue Hess Mr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr. Ms. Irene Hornick Mr. and Mrs. Martin Horowitz Dr. and Mrs. J. Woodford Howard Ms. Sarah Issacs Mr. William Jacob James and Hillary Aidus Jacobs A.H. Janoski, M.D., in honor of Jane Stewart Janoski James M. and Julie B. Johnstone Richard and Judith Katz B. Keller Dr. and Mrs. Myron Kellner Steve and Laurie Kelly, in memory of Rodney Stieff Deborah King-Young and Daniel Young David and Ann Koch Gina Kotowski Drs. Don and Pat Langenberg Mr. Richard M. Lansburgh Mr. and Mrs. William Larson Drs. Ronald and Mary Leach Leadership--Baltimore County Marty Lidston and Jill Leukhardt Cheryl London Terry Lorch and Tom Liebel Scott and Ellen Lutrey Paul and Anne Madden Nancy Magnuson and Jay Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren Mr. Elvis Marks Joan and Terry Marshall Don Martin Eleanor McMillan Mary and Barry Menne Bruce Mentzer Ms. Darlene Miller Minds Eye Cinema James W. and Shirley A. Moore Dr. and Mrs. Clayton Moravec Ms. Cassie Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Mr. and Mrs. William H. Mullin Stephen and Terry Needel In memory of Nelson Neuman Claire D. O'Neill Mr. Thomas Owen

30 |

CENTERSTAGE

The P.R.F.B. Charitable Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum Michael and Phyllis Panopoulos Justine and Ken Parezo George Edward Parrish, Jr. Fred and Grazina Pearson Linda and Gordon Peltz Chris and Deborah Pennington Mr. William Phillips Ron and Pat Pilling Mr. Mike Plaisted and Ms. Maggie Webbert Mr. Rex Rehfeld and Ms. Ellen O'Brien Cyndy Renoff and George Taler Dr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary Anne Facciolo Natasha and Keenan Rice Alison and Arnold Richman Richard and Sheila Riggs Liz Ritter and Larry Koppelman Ida and Jack Roadhouse Mr. and Mrs. Domingo and Karen Rodriguez, in honor of Emma Grace Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Roesler Louis and Luanne Rusk Steven and Lee Sachs Frank and Michelle Sample Ms. Gloria Savadow Dr. Chris Schultz Mr. Steve Schwartzman Clair Zamoiski Segal, in honor of Judy Witt Phares Leslie Shepard Mr. and Mrs. L. Siems Dr. and Mrs. Donald J. Slowinski Rosie and Jim Smith Ms. Jill Stempler Mrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor of Peter Culman Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Robin Stocks Ms. Joann Strickland Mr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail Swanbeck Becky and Andrew Swanston Cindy and Fredrick Thompson Laura and Neil Tucker, in honor of Beth Falcone United Way of Central Maryland Campaign Comprehensive Car Care/Robert Wagner April Duncan Wall Ms. Magda Westerhoust Ms. Camille Wheeler and Mr. William Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Barry and Linda Williams Brian and Paticia Winter Harold and Joan Young Mr. William Zerhouni

SPeCiAL grAnTS & gifTS The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

governMenT grAnTS CENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

CENTERSTAGE’s catalog of Education Programs has been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist.

CENTERSTAGE participates annually in Free Fall Baltimore, a program of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

Baltimore County Executive, County Council, & Commission on Arts and Sciences Carroll County Government

Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government

gifTS in-KinD The Afro American Akbar Restaurant Dean Alexander Art Litho Au Bon Pain The Baltimore Sun Blimpie The Brewer's Art Calvert Wine & Spirits Casa di Pasta Charcoal Grill Cima Model Management The Classic Catering People Chipotle The City Paper Eggspectations Fisherman’s Friend/PEZ Candy, Inc. Gertrude's Restaurant Greg's Bagels GT Pizza Gutierrez Studios Haute Dog The Helmand HoneyBaked Ham Co. Hotel Monaco Iggie's The Jewish Times Marriott Minato Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PC Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon New System Bakery No Worries Cosmetics Oriole's Pizza and Sub Pazo Pizza Boli's Pizza Hut PromoWorks Republic National Distributing Company Roly Poly Romano’s Macaroni Grill Sabatino's Senovva Shugoll Research The Signman Style Magazine Sunlight LLC, in honor of Kacy Armstrong Urbanite A Vintner's Selection Wawa Wegman's Whitmore Print & Imaging WYPR Radio www.thecheckshop.us

MATCHing gifT CoMPAnieS The Abell Foundation, Inc. Bank of America The Annie E. Casey Foundation C. B. Fleet Company, Inc. Constellation Energy The Deering Family Foundation Exxon Corporation GE Foundation IBM Corporation Illinois Tool Works Foundation McCormick & Co. Inc. Morgan Stanley Norfolk Southern Foundation Open Society Institute PepsiCo Foundation PNC Bank Stanley Black & Decker SunTrust Bank T. Rowe Price Group We make every effort to provide accurate acknowledgement of our contributors. We appreciate your patience and assistance in keeping our lists current. To advise us of corrections, please call 410.986.4026.

CORPORATIONS ArTiSTS CirCLe

PLAyWrigHTS CirCLe Anonymous

American Trading & Production Corporation The Baltimore Life Companies Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A. Brown Advisory Environmental Reclamation Company FTI Consulting Howard Bank Lord Baltimore Capital Corporation McGuireWoods LLP PNC Bank The P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Saul Ewing LLP Stifel Nicolaus Venable, LLP Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

DireCTorS CirCLe

Alexander Design Studio T. Rowe Price Foundation

Bay Imagery

ProDuCerS CirCLe

Funk & Bolton, P.A.

E*Trade Financial Corporation Offit | Kurman, Attorneys at Law Pessin Katz Law P.A. Schoenfeld Insurance Associates Stevenson University The Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

ASSoCiATeS

Ayers Saint Gross, Incorporated Chesapeake Plywood, LLC Ernst & young LLP

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Roland Park Place is a unique continuing care retirement community in the heart of northern Baltimore City.

410-243-5700 TDD: 1-800-735-2258

830 West 40th Street Baltimore, MD 21211

www.rolandparkplace.org The Raisin Cycle | 31

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pr e v ie W: 2013-14

seasoN 51 Theater for The H eart Dear Friend, Welcome to Season 51 at CENTERSTAGE. This year, it’s all about the heart.

With a roster of remarkable theater artists and stunning stories, it’s a season of uproarious comedy, breathtaking music, gorgeous poetry, and unexpected adventures.

Each of these plays says something fundamental about what it means to be human, about what it means to feel. To love, to laugh, to think and to ponder, to long for something or someone, to risk an adventure not knowing where you’ll end up. From the sweeping poetry of Marcus Gardley’s dance of the holy ghosts to the quiet triumph of Paula Vogel’s A Civil War Christmas, they are beautifully crafted plays, each with a daring and thoughtful take on matters of the spirit.

Want to join us on this adventure? Membership is the best way to do it. Not only do Members receive the best seats at the best prices, but they also serve as the very foundation that allows this theater to thrive. Won’t you join us?

Warmly,

Don’t miss out!

Kwame Kwei-Armah Artistic Director

34 |

CENTERSTAGE

When you become a Member, you can save up to 53% off the cost of buying show by show—which is like seeing three shows for free.

Plus you receive a variety of other exclusive benefits only available to CENTERSTAGE Members.

Animal Crackers

Book by George S. Kaufman & Morrie Ryskind music & Lyrics by Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby Adapted by Henry Wishcamper original orchestrations by Doug Peck

Stones in His Pockets

Sep 4–Oct 13

The toe-tapping, knee-slapping Marx Brothers classic gets a zany new revival in this gem of American musical comedy.

The society party of the season has landed at the Rittenhouse estate, but the disappearance of a valuable painting threatens to spoil the affair. Thankfully, Captain Spaulding is on the case! Or is he?

Filled with secret identities, love affairs, and stolen art, Animal Crackers proves that the comedy genius of the Marx Brothers is as spot-on as ever.

By Marie Jones

Jan 15–Feb 23

dance of the holy ghosts: a play on memory

When a big Hollywood film crew takes over a small Irish town, the locals line up to earn their “40-quid-aday” as extras—and maybe pursue some dreams of their own. Charlie wants to write a blockbuster screenplay, while Jake would settle for a date with the lovely leading lady. Where they and their neighbors end up ultimately surprises them all. An “uproarious, joyful evening” (New York Daily News) with two actors playing more than a dozen characters, Stones is an acting tour de force both rollicking and poignant.

Oct 9–Nov 17

Twelfth night

By Marcus Gardley

Oscar Clifton is a Blues man living through his memories of the past, until his estranged grandson Marcus pays a visit.

Together, they confront a history of loves, regrets, and missed opportunities. This acclaimed play by Marcus Gardley is a poetic family drama set in the key of Blues—a memory-scape skipping seamlessly across the decades.

A Civil War Christmas

By Paula Vogel

Nov 19–Dec 22 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel spins a musical tale of hope and forgiveness. It’s a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in 1864 and all along the Potomac, from the White House to the battlefields, friends and foes alike find their lives strangely and poetically intertwined. Weaving together carols and period folk songs, this “beautifully stitched tapestry of American lives” (The New York Times) is sure to become a new holiday classic for the entire family.

By William Shakespeare

Mar 5–Apr 6

Revelry, disguises, swashbuckling, and (of course) pining lovers abound in what some call Shakespeare’s most perfect comedy. Twins Viola and Sebastian, separated in a shipwreck and presuming each other dead, wash ashore in the beautiful but mysterious land of Illyria.

A tale of mistaken identity and mismatched ardor unfurls as lords and ladies, servants and masters wind a topsy-turvy path to happiness.

The Liquid Plain

By Naomi Wallace

Apr 16–May 25

In this lyrical and award-winning new drama, two runaway slaves and an amnesic sailor live on the docks of an 18th-century New England seaport. But as identities come to light and truths are revealed, plans for an escape to Africa are put in jeopardy and their lives are forever altered. Kwame Kwei-Armah, after directing the world premiere at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in summer 2013, will stage this sweeping historical saga for Baltimore audiences.

Wild with Happy

By Colman Domingo

May 28–Jun 29

Grief is a funny thing. Gil’s boyfriend has left him, his acting career isn’t exactly taking off, and his mother just passed away.

He’s not taking it all very well. But luckily his boisterous Aunt Glo, a sensitive funeral director, and his outrageous best friend may be exactly what he needs. Colman Domingo’s new comedy, a recent smash hit at New York’s Public Theater, is a wild ride through love, loss, and—just maybe— The Most Magical Place on Earth.

www.centerstage.org

box office 410.332.0033 centerstagemd centerstage_md The Raisin Cycle | 35

Sta ff

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE–Artistic Director Stephen Richard–Managing Director Administration

Associate Managing Director–Del W. Risberg Executive Assistant–Kacy Armstrong The Ellen and Ed Bernard Management Intern– Batya Feldman

Artistic

Associate Artistic Director–Gavin Witt Artistic Producer–Susanna Gellert Artistic Senior Fellow–Kellie Mecleary The Lynn and Tony Deering Artistic Intern– Samantha Godfrey

Audience Relations

Box Office Manager–Mandy Benedix Assistant Manager/Subscriptions Manager– Jerrilyn Keene Assistant Manager–Blane Wyche Full-time Assistants–Lindsey Barr, Alana Kolb, Christopher Lewis Part-Time Assistant–Samrawit Belai, Tiana Bias, Maura Dwyer, Kosoko Jackson, Lisa Kershner, Froilan Mate Bar Manager–Sean Van Cleve House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator– Bertinarea Crampton Assistant House Managers–Cedric Gum, Alec Lawson, Faith Savill Audience Relations Intern–Quincy Price Audio Description–Ralph Welsh & Maryland Arts Access

Audio

Supervisor–Amy Wedel Engineer–Eric Lott The Jane and Larry Droppa Audio Intern– Andrew Graves

Community Programs & Education

Director–Rosiland Cauthen Education Coordinator–Julianne Franz Community Programs & Education Intern– Dustin Morris The James and Janet Clauson Community Programs & Education Intern–Kristina Szilagyi Teaching Artists–The 5th L; Oran Sandel; Jerry Miles, Jr.; CJay Philip; Wambui Richardson; Joan Weber

Costumes

Costumer–David Burdick Tailor–Edward Dawson Craftsperson–William E. Crowther The Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Costumes Intern– Elizabeth Chapman The Judy and Scott Phares Costumes Intern– Anna Tringali

Development

Director–Cindi Monahan Grants Manager–Sean Beattie Annual Fund Manager–Katelyn White Events Coordinator–Brad Norris Development Assistant–Julia Ostroff Assistant–Christopher Lewis Auction Coordinator–Sydney Wilner Auction Assistant–Norma Cohen

The CenterStage Program is published by: Center Stage Associates, Inc. 700 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Editor Heather C. Jackson

Assistant Editor Kiirstn Pagan

Art Direction/Design Bill Geenen Design Amanda Niesslein

36 |

CENTERSTAGE

Dramaturgy

Director–Gavin Witt Dramaturgy Senior Fellow–Kellie Mecleary Apprentices–Izaak Collins, Roisin Dowling, Christine Prevas, Kate Ramsdell, Bennett Remsberg, Matthew Buckley Smith, Amy Smith, Lucy Walker

Finance

Director–Susan Rosebery Business Manager–Kathy Nolan Associate–Carla Moose

Graphics

Art Director–Bill Geenen Graphic Designer–Amanda Niesslein Production Photographer–Richard Anderson Graphics Intern–Michelle Fleming The Stephanie and Ashton Carter Digital Media Intern– Leslie Datsis

Scenery

Technical Director–Tom Rupp Assistant Technical Director–Laura P. Merola Shop Supervisor–Trevor Gohr Carpenters–Joey Bromfield, Mike Kulha, Scott Richardson Scene Shop Intern–Ryan Cole

Scenic Art

Scenic Artist–Stephanie Nimick Intern–Lauren Crabtree

Stage Management

Resident Stage Managers–Captain Kate Murphy, Laura Smith The Peter and Millicent Bain Stage Management Intern–Brent Beavers The Barbara Voss and Charles Noell Stage Management Intern–Lindsay Eberly

Information Technologies

Stage Operations

Lighting

The following individuals and organizations contributed contributed to this production of

Director–Joe Long Systems Administrator–Mark Slaughter Lighting Director–Lesley Boeckman Master Electrician–Lily Bradford Multimedia Coordinator–Stew Ives Staff Electrician–Bevin Miyake The Barbara Capalbo Electrics Intern–Scot Gianelli

Marketing & Communications

Director–Tony Heaphy Public Relations Manager–Heather C. Jackson Marketing Manager–Timmy Metzner Digital Media Associate–Timothy Gelles Marketing Associate–Tia Abner The Jay and Sharon Smith Marketing and Public Relations Fellow–Kiirstn Pagan Media Services–Planit

Operations

Director–Harry DeLair Housekeeping– Kali Keene Custodial Services/MJNJ Cleaning–Glenn Rivers Security Guards–Crown Security

Production Management

Production Manager–Mike Schleifer Assistant Production Manager– Caitlin Powers Company Manager–Sara Grove Production/Stage Management Intern–Ashley Riester The Phil and Lynn Rauch Company Management Intern–Matt Shea

Properties

Manager–Jennifer Stearns Assistant Manager– Nathan Scheifele Artisan–Sam Kuczynski The Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Properties Intern–Kimberly Townsend

Advertising Sales ads@centerstage.org

CONTACT INFORMATION

Box Office Phone 410.332.0033 Box Office Fax 410.727.2522 Administration 410.986.4000 www.centerstage.org info@centerstage.org

Stage Carpenter–Eric Burton

The Raisin Cycle—

Additional Dramaturgy–Faedra Chatard Carpenter Assistant Dramaturgs–Khalid Yaya Long, LaRonika Thomas Assistant Lighting Designer–Joseph Walls Carpenters– Bernard Bender, Mark Eisendrath, Seth Foster, J.R. Fritsch, Mike Steiner Draper–Ginny McKeever Lighting–Cartland Berge, Alison Burris, John Elder, Jake Epp, Aaron Haag, Alexander Keen, Jen Reiser, Jon Rubin, Natahsa Tylea Stitcher–Maggie Masson Additional Legal Services –Arthur F. Fergeson and Ansa Assuncao, LLP CENTERSTAGE operates under an agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

The Director and Choreographer are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. Musicians engaged by CENTERSTAGE perform under the terms of an agreement between CENTERSTAGE and Local 40-543, American Federation of Musicians.

CenterStage is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the national collective bargaining organization of professional regional theaters.

Material in the CENTERSTAGE performance program is made available free of charge for legitimate educational and research purposes only. Selective use has been made of previously published information and images whose inclusion here does not constitute license for any further re-use of any kind. All other material is the property of CENTERSTAGE, and no copies or reproductions of this material should be made for further distribution, other than for educational purposes, without express permission from the authors and CENTERSTAGE.

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At M&T Bank, we know how important it is to support artists of all kinds. To enhance the quality of life in our communities. That’s why we offer both our time and resources, and encourage others to do the same.

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