e presents
Oscar Wilde’s
e
SCENE LIST Act I ~ The Terrace at Hunstanton Chase. Act II ~ The Drawing-room at Hunstanton Chase, after Dinner. Act III ~ The Drawing-room at Hunstanton Chase, later that evening. Act IV ~ Sitting-room in Mrs. Arbuthnot's House, the following morning. * There will be a fifteen minute intermission between Acts 2 and 3. The first half runs approximately 50 minutes; the second approximately 45 minutes.
ABOUT THE PLAY Oscar Wilde's best known play is certainly The Importance of Being Earnest. It exemplifies the witty dialogue and humorous characters for which Wilde is famous. In A Woman of No Importance we are treated to similar characters and dialogue, but with a dramatic and serious underlying storyline. The farcical Earnest borders on absurdity, while A Woman offers the actors the opportunity to portray mostly realistic, believable characters, with transgressions and flaws and idiosyncracies, in very realistic situations, who also speak some of the most humorous and clever lines Wilde ever penned.
Oscar Wilde
Of all of Wilde's fictional characters, Wilde identified most closely with the main male character in this play, Lord Illingworth. He is a cynical, pleasure-loving, superficial typical Victorian "dandy." When speaking with Herbert Tree, the actor who would portray Illingworth, Wilde advised him: "You must forget that you ever played Hamlet; you must forget that you ever played Falstaff... Indeed, I think you had better forget that you ever acted at all!" When the actor questioned Wilde, he replied, "Because this witty aristocrat whom you wish to assume in my play is quite unlike anyone who has ever been seen on stage before. I will go further: he is like no one who has existed before... Indeed, if you can bear the truth, Herbert, he is myself!"
A Woman of No Importance opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 19 April 1893. The opening night performance was a huge success, with the audience rising to their feet at the final curtain. Although performed less often than his other plays, this play addresses some very powerful themes relevant today: the emptiness of prestige, the danger in being judgmental, the necessity of forgiveness, and the transformative nature of love.
presents
Oscar Wilde’s
featuring
Stephanie Kobil Lori Barrage Aaron P. Zimmerman Bob Meals Abby Gumpper
Stefan Lingenfelter Elizabeth A. Smith Kevin Lukacs Sarah McAllister Brianna Herr
Karen Justi Megan Flannery Greg Crawford Mark McConnell
Directed by Kenneth Smith Stage Manager Jim Lilley
Scenic Artists Aaron Henley Kenneth Smith
Costumes Hair and Makeup Leslie Clements Stephanie Fogle Tammy Whitmire
CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE Lady Caroline Pontefract ................................................. Lori Barrage Hester Worsley ..........................................................Sarah McAllister Sir John Pontefract............................................. Aaron P. Zimmerman Lady Hunstanton......................................................... Stephanie Kobil Francis, a Footman.................................................... Mark McConnell Gerald Arbuthnot ............................................................Kevin Lukacs Mrs. Allonby ....................................................................... Karen Justi Mrs. Stutfield .............................................................. Megan Flannery Mr. Kelvil ..................................................................... Greg Crawford Lord Illingworth .................................................... Stefan Lingenfelter Alice, the Maid ............................................................ Abby Gumpper Mrs. Rachel Arbuthnot .......................................... Elizabeth A. Smith The Archdeacon Daubeny .................................................. Bob Meals Maid ................................................................................. Brianna Herr Understudy for the role of Lady Caroline ..................... Kara Whitmire
CREW Director ......................................................................... Kenneth Smith Stage Manager ......................................................................Jim Lilley Set Design and Construction ............... Aaron Henley, Kenneth Smith Costumes ..................................... Leslie Clements, Tammy Whitmire Hair and Makeup ........................................................ Stephanie Fogle Lighting ......................................................................... Aaron Henley Stage Crew ............................................... Troy Whitmire, Noah Lilley Box Office ............................................ Whitney Jenkins, Chris Lilley Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help with this production.
WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST LORI BARRAGE (Lady Caroline) returns to the hobnob stage after portaying The Ghost of Christmas Present for two consecutive years in A Christmas Carol. Lori was recently nominated as Best Actress of the 2013 Pittsburgh New Works Festival where she appeared in the festival’s award winning Best Production Moon Over Gomorrah. LESLIE CLEMENTS (Costume Designer) This is Leslie’s second time designing costumes for hobnob theatre, the first with the 2013 production of A Christmas Carol. Leslie started volunteering at the Players Guild Theatre in Canton when she fell in love with theatre. For the past ten years, she has been participating in theatre all over northeast Ohio and now Pennsylvania. Some of her favorite shows include Annie, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Winnie the Poo, Rent and The Elephant Man. Leslie is now doing freelance design work in Butler, PA. GREG CRAWFORD (Mr. Kelvil) Greg recently participated in hobnob’s first Staged Reading of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. He is active in the Butler theater scene having acted with the Butler Little Theatre and Asylum Entertainment. MEGAN FLANNERY (Mrs. Stutfield) is elated to be making her hobnob debut! But, she is no stranger to the stage, having appeared in past productions at Butler Little Theatre, Musical Theatre Guild, New Castle Playhouse, and with Asylum Entertainment. Some of her favorite roles include Gwen Landis in Fifth of July, Rizzo in Grease, and Cecily Pigeon in The Odd Couple. During the day, Megan is a nanny for a wonderful family in Gibsonia. She enjoys a good shopping spree, and an extremely large serving of frozen yogurt. STEPHANIE FOGLE (Hair/Makeup) is excited to be doing hair and makeup for another hobnob production. Her previous shows include hobnob's The Tempest and A Christmas Carol. She is a graduate of Oakbridge Academy of the Arts with a degree in Visual Design. She would
like to thank Kenny and Liz for the opportunity to be a part of their incredible theatre and the entire cast and crew for making this an enjoyable, memorable production! ABBY GUMPPER (Alice, the Maid) Abby Gumpper is a sophomore theatre major at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. Her previous hobnob theatre productions include Martha Cratchit in A Christmas Carol and Iris The Tempest. Other recent roles were Susan in Stage Door, a philosopher in Godspell, and a towns person in Emma. Abby is also a member of student council. When she isn’t on stage you can find her reading a good book or spending time with her friends. BRIANNA HERR (Maid) Brianna Herr is a freshman at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School majoring in theater. Brianna has been dancing for 10 years; she is currently a competition dancer for Butler Dance Center. Previously Brianna has appeared as a featured dancer/ensemble member in MTG’s production of Children of Eden and Laura in Sing Hosanna’s The Reluctant Dragon. This is Brianna's first show with Hobnob. KAREN JUSTI (Mrs. Allonby) is thrilled to return to the stage for a third time with the Hobnob Theatre Company, and is especially pleased to be a part of bringing this witty production of A Woman of No Importance to life for you tonight. Having been away from the stage for far too many years, she is so excited to have the opportunity to portray the haughty and "tantalizing" Mrs. Allonby. In everyday life, you will find her as a wife, a mom to 2 pre-teen girls and 2 growing boys, and a school nurse, which permit her to keep her flair for the dramatics alive and well, often times at the dismay of those who must endure her daily antics. She is ever grateful to Ken and Liz for being willing to foster her talents as a part of their well crafted stage productions. STEPHANIE KOBIL (Lady Hunstanton) Stephanie, a pediatric dentist, is thrilled to be a part of another hobnob theatre production. She was most recently seen on the Butler Little
WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST Theater stage in It's A Wonderful Life - Live Radio Show and A Year With Frog And Toad. For the past 13 years she has been in many local productions with Sing Hosanna! including Shrek, Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, as well as a variety of comedy dinner theater shows. JIM LILLEY (Stage Manager) has stagemanaged all of hobnob's performances since the inaugural show, A Christmas Carol in 2012. He is excited to continue assisting the production from behind the scenes. By day, Jim is the Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. STEFAN LINGENFELTER (Lord Illingworth). This is Stefan's second production with hobnob theatre co, the first as Prospero in The Tempest. He has performed in several productions in the area since moving to Butler five years ago from New York City where he had lived for 20 years. Favorite local roles include George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life A Live Radio Play, Howie in Rabbit Hole at the Butler Little Theatre. Billy Flynn in Chicago with Asylum Entertainment, Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd for MTG, Chris Keller in All My Sons at the New Castle Playhouse. He teaches Acting at The Butler Center for the Performing Arts. KEVIN LUKACS (Gerald Arbuthnot) Kevin just recently finished a critically acclaimed run as Dr. Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles at the Butler Little Theatre. Along with acting in several amateur short films, Kevin is having two of his plays produced at Slippery Rock University's Brave New Plays festival, which is pretty cool. He's also working on a children's book with artist Marcia Furman. He couldn't do anything without help from the Renaissance men, Ernest Hemingway, Humphrey Bogart, and of course his dad. SARAH MCALLISTER (Hester Worsley) Sarah is a senior at Butler High School. She is excited to be performing in her second production with the hobnob theatre company. Sarah has also performed with Sing Hosanna!,
Summer Dramatics, the Butler High All School Musical, and Junior High After School Drama. Sarah also enjoys singing and playing the cello. MARK MCCONNELL (Francis, a Footman) is excited to be in his first Hobnob Theatre Production. A New Castle native, he was last seen on stage as The Ghost of Christmas Past in the New Castle Playhouse's Christmas Carol Musical. Some of his favorite roles include Lefou in Beauty and the Beast, Jason in Rabbit Hole, Mark in Rent, Jed in Fifth of July, and Patsy in Spamalot. He would like to especially thank his friends and family for their amazing support. BOB MEALS (Archdeacon Daubeny), a Butler native, has been involved in local theater in one capacity or another for nearly 45 years. He recently portrayed Jacob Marley in hobnob’s 2013 production of A Christmas Carol, and played Stefano in The Tempest. He most recently produced The Psychic at the Butler Little Theatre where he also directed Christmas Belles in 2011. ELIZABETH A. SMITH (Rachel Arbuthnot) is excited to return to the stage after having directed hobnob's last two performances of hobnob’s A Christmas Carol. She lives with her husband (Kenny) and their three boys on a small farm in Butler County. Favorite past roles include Lysistrata in Sophocles' Lysistrata and Sophie in Peter Shaffer's White Liars. She is honored to be performing with such a talented cast in A Woman of No Importance. KENNETH SMITH (Director) returns to the director’s chair after having directed hobnob’s performance of The Tempest. He has recently played the part of Lamplighter in hobnob’s A Christmas Carol. He is very much pleased to be working with such a talented group of actors. AARON P. ZIMMERMAN (Sir John) is a 2004 graduate of Clarion University with a BFA in theatre. Recently he played the role of Bob Cratchit in hobnob’s 2013 production of A Christmas Carol. He is very active with many local community theatres and was an extra in a Christian sitcom and 6 motion pictures.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS Our productions are not possible without the generous contributions of our supporters. www.hobnobtheatre.com/donate
David and Diane Laughlin Wayne and Amanda Smith members of Team hobnob James Seamans Stephanie Kobil Christine Osman
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a comedy by Ray Cooney May 9-11, 13-17, 2014
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