ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE WORLD CLASS THEATRE • MADE IN SARASOTA
WORLD
PREMIERE MAY 1–24 PREVIEWS
APRIL 28, 29, 30
Luck Be A Lady THE ICONIC MUSIC OF
FRANK LOESSER
Conceived & Directed by GORDON GREENBERG 2014-2015 SEASON
ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS
MANAGING DIRECTOR LINDA DIGABRIELE
PROUDLY PRESENTS
Luck Be A Lady
The Iconic Music of Frank Loesser Music and Lyrics by FRANK LOESSER Conceived & Directed by GORDON GREENBERG Choreography
DENIS JONES
Orchestrations & Arrangements
Music Direction/Additional Arrangements
NEIL DOUGLAS REILLY
SINAI TABAK
Scenic Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
WILSON CHIN
ANDREA LAUER
PAUL MILLER
KEVIN KENNEDY
Hair/Wig & Make-up Design
Production Stage Manager
MICHELLE HART
KELLY A. BORGIA*
LAURYN E. SASSO
Assistant Stage Manager
Associate Choreographer
New York Casting
TARA RUBIN CASTING, ERIC WOODALL, CSA
NIA SCIARRETTA*
Dramaturg
JOYCE CHITTICK
Stage Management Apprentice
Music Production Apprentice
Choreography Apprentice
Literary Apprentice
Student Lighting Assistant
BRIANNE STEWART
THOMAS JAMES DURANTE
GABRIELLA GUINTA
NICOLE D. CUNNINGHAM
TIANA ALDERSON
CAST
in order of appearance
LOUISE PITRE*................................................................................................Woman ERIK ALTEMUS*.........................................................................................Young Man MARY MICHAEL PATTERSON*...............................................................Young Woman STEPHANIE UMOH*................................................................................Other Woman JAMES DAVID LARSON*.............................................................................Other Man W. JOSEPH MATHESON*......................................................................................Man
BAND
in alphabetical order
TERI BOOTH...........................................................................................Woodwinds 1 JOHN COOLEY..............................................................................................Trombone TOM ELLISON.........................................................................................Woodwinds 2 THOMAS E. SUTA.......................................................................................Percussion BILL SWARTZBAUGH...........................................................................................Bass SINAI TABAK.....................................................................Conductor/Piano/Accordian *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Directors are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; Designers are members of the United Scenic Artists Local USA-829; Backstage and Scene Shop Crew are members of IATSE Local 412. The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. CO-PRODUCERS
Anonymous • Ed and June LeBell Alley • Tommye Barie, CPA, Partner, Mauldin & Jenkins • Betty-Jean and David Bavar • Susan and Jim Buck Don and Jo Ann Burhart • Nate and Annie Esformes • Scott and Candy Greer • Ruth Kreindler • Diana Lager • John Lucas Robert and Sharon Reitsch • Jules and Sheila Rose • Gail and Burton Sack • Mildred F. Stein SPONSORED BY
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Luck Be A Lady will be performed without an intermission.
MUSICAL NUMBERS HEART & SOUL (Woman, Young Woman, Other Woman)….…....…......……Music by Hoagy Carmichael and Lyrics by Frank Loesser LET’S GET LOST (Woman)………………………….........................…...Music by Jimmy McHugh and Lyrics by Frank Loesser MY TIME OF DAY (Man)……………………………................................………………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser I HEAR MUSIC (Young Man)…………….…...............................………….….Music By Burton Lane and Lyrics by Frank Loesser HAPPY TO KEEP HIS DINNER WARM (Young Woman)……......................……………………..Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser JINGLE, JANGLE, JINGLE (I GOT SPURS) (Other Woman, Other Man, Young Man).........................................Music by Joseph J. Lilley and Lyrics by Frank Loesser LUCK BE A LADY (Man)…………..............................……….…………………………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser I LIKE EV’RYBODY (Young Man)…………………......................….………………………..Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser TRAVELIN’ LIGHT (Other Man)………………………...........................…………………….Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser HOW’DJA LIKE TO LOVE ME (Young Man, Young Woman)……...........…………..Music by Burton Lane and Lyrics by Frank Loesser IF I WERE A BELL (Woman)…………………...............................…………………………..Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser LUCK BE A LADY REPRISE (Man)...…………...............................………………………..Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE (Woman, Young Woman)………………………........……………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser STANDING ON THE CORNER (Man, Young Man, Other Man)…………….................…………….Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser ONCE IN LOVE WITH AMY (Young Man, Young Woman)…………………...........……………....Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA (Other Woman, Other Man)……….....................................…...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser LUCK BE A LADY REPRISE (Man, Young Man)……………………….....................………….Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE (Woman)…………………………………............................…...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser OOH! MY FEET!/ TRAVELIN’ LIGHT REPRISE (Other Woman, Young Man)….........................….Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser I DON’T WANT TO WALK WITHOUT YOU (Young Woman)……….....................…Music by Jule Styne and Lyrics by Frank Loesser NEVER WILL I MARRY (Young Man)………………………….......................………………..Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser JOEY, JOEY, JOEY (All)……………........................................................................……….Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser BIG D (Other Woman, Other Man)…………………………...............................………………Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser ANYWHERE I WANDER/MY TIME OF DAY (Man)…..…………............................………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser LOESSER TRIO (Woman, Young Woman, Other Woman)………..................……………………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser I BELIEVE IN YOU (Young Man, Man)……………………………..................………………...Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR’S EVE (Woman, Man)......................................................Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser FINALE (All)……………...........................................……………...Music by Hoagy Carmichael and Lyrics by Frank Loesser/ Music by Burton Lane and Lyrics by Frank Loesser I HEAR MUSIC REPRISE (All)……………….………......................……...Music by Burton Lane and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE SOCIETY MEMBERS FOR YOUR SPECIAL SUPPORT OF LUCK BE A LADY ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE SOCIETY LEADERSHIP CIRCLE ($25,000+) Maurice Richards and Jack Kesler, in honor of Dorothy I. McLachlan* • Lee and Bob* Peterson Alice and Norman Tulchin • Charles O. Wood, III and Miriam M. Wood Foundation SOCIETY MEMBERS Peggy and Ken Abt • Bob and Beverly Bartner • David and Betty-Jean Bavar • Doug Bradbury • Susan and Jim Buck • Arlan Clayton and Dale Horwitz Margot and Warren Coville • Carole Crosby, Ruby E. and Carole Crosby Family Foundation • Herman and Sharon Frankel • Larry and Debbie Haspel Nona Macdonald Heaslip • The Huisking Foundation, Charlie Huisking • Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Kushen • Nancy Markle • Flori Roberts • Mary Ann Robinson Alan Rose • Richard and Gail Rubin • Cynthia Schumacher • Stephen V. Wilberding and Teri A Hansen • Judy Zuckerberg and George Kole *in memoriam
LUCK BE A LADY ASOLOREP.ORG
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An Interview with Director
Gordon Greenberg What initially drew you to Frank Loesser’s work? Was there a particular song – or show – that inspired you to create Luck Be A Lady? I directed the new West End bound revival of Guys and Dolls at the Chichester Festival Theatre in the UK last summer, and I spent a good deal of time researching the creation of the show, why Frank Loesser was drawn to that material and what inspired him in his work. There are a number of great books that explore his life and work, but the most fascinating source of information and anecdotes was his lovely widow, Jo Sullivan Loesser. She provided a fascinating window into his early morning writing sessions (“My Time of Day”), his passion for show business and parties (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”), and his indomitable spirit (“I Believe In You”). The more I learned about him, the more I wanted to get to know all of his music. This show was the perfect way to do that.
What was the most challenging aspect of creating this show? Loesser was incredibly prolific. The first challenge was how to choose which of the hundreds of wonderful songs to include. His career spanned decades, from World War II to Hollywood to Broadway and back again, so there is a wide variety of material. If he’d only written a couple of good songs, it would have been much easier! But no such luck. The man was a genius.
The show doesn’t follow a “traditional” narrative structure. What was your process for creating the arc of the piece and how did you utilize Loesser’s music to give definition to individual characters? The next major challenge was how to make the songs we chose I love the puzzle of creating a new show out of existing pieces. It’s like a Rubik’s Cube. You keep adjusting until all the colors match up. Although this show doesn’t follow a strict narrative, it does have an arc. Thanks to the richness and specificity of Loesser’s lyrics, distinct characters and actions started to emerge as we played with ideas for the show – song order, context, juxtaposition. It’s amazing how differently a song registers when sung in an unexpected way. The title song, for instance, was written for Guys and Dolls’ inveterate gambler Sky Masterson summoning the gods of fortune to his side for a dice game in which the ultimate prize was the woman he loved. In our show, though, it becomes a prayer for various characters in search of connection – a lonely widow, a washed up singer, a solitary war veteran, etc. I find it’s much easier to rewrite than to write, so I start with what I call a “spew version” – my gut ideas that I try not to edit. I stick it in a drawer for a few days, and then I look at it again. That’s when I generally start ripping it apart, as if someone else wrote it. I love that feeling. Once I’ve done that a few times, I circulate it amongst the creative team and wait for the comments to flow. This is the same basic approach I would take to a wholly new work, but here it was primarily about establishing character and arc through music. I arrived at the idea of a magical setting in an abandoned ballroom, a place where one man returns to revisit his life through music, where all of the characters from his life swirl around him and ultimately intersect. The heart of the show became about how these people seek and find connections through music.
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connect and add up to a larger idea. Loesser’s theatre songs were written so truthfully in the voices of his characters that they gave us great tent poles for narrative and character defining moments. But that specificity can also be limiting. We had to use them judiciously – and make them resonate in new ways. The pop songs were easier to bend, but they are often more general and do not offer as much to grab on to dramatically. When properly placed, though, they can be quite powerful. The nostalgia they evoke is very effective, too, as a perfume haze over the past. I personally enjoy that perfume, but it’s easy to get lost in it (witness any Tennessee Williams heroine). Interestingly, that’s an idea that I found moving, as I assembled this show – how do we distinguish our recollection of an experience from the experience itself?
Asolo Rep is in the third year of its American Character Project, and this season the focus is on the themes of money, power, and sex. How and why does Luck Be A Lady speak to the themes of this project, and how/why is it distinctly American? Frank Loesser is one of the kings of the American musical theatre. His heyday is known as the golden era of musical theatre – and, in fact, a golden era for America itself. After World War II, the country experienced unprecedented growth and prosperity, thanks to steep profits from war-related industries and initiatives like the GI Bill. His work reflected that uniquely American sense of optimism, growing out of adversity. Like America’s journey from Depression to war to prosperity, Loesser’s characters move beyond their given circumstances to protect the possibility of a happy ending. Frank Loesser’s showman exterior contained a passionate, yearning and very human soul. Sound familiar? The same could be said of his music.
Frank Loesser was born in New York City in 1910 into a highly musical family – his father Henry taught piano and his older half-brother Arthur was considered a musical prodigy – and it was clear early on that he was a natural talent himself. Somewhat rebellious in his youth, he refused formal musical instruction but was innately gifted enough that by his teens he was able to play by ear almost any song he’d ever heard. A prankster and mild troublemaker, he was expelled from both high school and the City College of New York, but after his father’s sudden death in 1926 he took on partial responsibility for supporting his family, holding a variety of short term jobs. After a few years of working at such disparate trades as restaurant reviewer, classified ad salesman, process server, political cartoonist, and newspaper editor, he decided he wanted to return to his early affinity for music, working as a writer with several Tin Pan Alley publishers in the early 1930s. From these humble beginnings, he went on to have a career as a songwriter that spanned more than 35 years, during which he won numerous awards including two Tonys, one Grammy, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also penned dozens of popular songs that are still hits today.
t A k c a B A L o ok
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Pop Songs “In 1939, Frank made his composing debut with the music (and lyrics) for the title song of the paramount film, Seventeen. War intervened and Loesser was assigned to Special Services, providing lyrics for camp shows with such composers as Harold Rome and Alex North. Later, suddenly finding himself without a collaborator, Frank resumed his composing career with the wartime hit, ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.’ He told Jule Styne: ‘You boys showed me how it goes’.” – www.frankloesser.com
“Nobody ever expected that he would become this extraordinary man who would go on to write both music and lyrics, win a Pulitzer Prize and change the face of American music theater and American popular song...It's an amazing story, and simply his work is as good as it gets. He won two Tony Awards, got four Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’. [He wrote] over 700 songs, and it put him in the rarefied air of those who wrote both words and music of which there are a handful — Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Hugh Martin, [and] Noel Coward. But it's amazing that he had this journey and achieved a musical success that few people can only dream of.” – Michael Feinstein, singer/pianist
“‘Two Sleepy People’ was written one dawn at Hoagy Carmichael’s house. The Carmichaels had been entertaining the Loessers and Hoagy and my father had been trying unsuccessfully all evening to come up with a new song. Finally, around three in the morning, the exhausted foursome decided to call it a night. At the door my mother said, ‘Look at us: four sleepy people.’ My father and Hoagy looked at each other, said, ‘That’s it!’ and went back into the house.” – Susan Loesser, daughter
LUCK BE A LADY ASOLOREP.ORG
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THE MOST HAPPY FELLA
GUYS AND DOLLS
“Mr. Loesser has now come about as close to opera as the rules of Broadway permit. He has told everything of vital importance in terms of dramatic music.”
“Sinatra is so connected with the persona of the Guys and Dolls characters even though he had great conflicts with Frank Loesser personally. But he was a huge fan of Frank Loesser’s works, so much so that when he started his own record label, Reprise Records, he recorded four musical shows in their entirety as part of the Reprise repertoire in musical theater.”
–Brooks Atkinson, New York Times theatre critic
“Our idea was that I was going to write the book and he was going to write the score. But after working for a week, I realized that this wasn’t going to be feasible, because I just couldn’t live his kind of life. We were very good friends, but we were quite different. I couldn’t stand those parties that went way on into the night, with all those characters, all trying to be ‘on’ all the time. And Frank’s work hours were a little bit strange. So after a week, I said to him, ‘I’m not going to do this.’ He was quite stricken. He said, ‘What will I do? Who will I get?’ And I said, ‘Don’t get anybody. Do it yourself’.” –Loesser’s friend Samuel Taylor on his potential collaboration on The Most Happy Fella
–Michael Feinstein
“The show springs from Damon Runyon stories. It recaptures what he knew about Broadway, that its wickedness is tinhorn, but its gallantry is as pure and young as Little Eva.” –William Hawkins, New York World-Telegram drama critic
e, ss ls o F ol ob d D B – an s uy G g din
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING “It is possible that Frank Loesser’s score lacks any outstanding hit song, but it is invariably gay, charming and tuneful, and it has the enormous virtue of fitting in perfectly with the spirit and style of the book’s satire. In his lyrics, Mr. Loesser is characteristically bright and ingenious, and in the right mood. It is this fitting together of all of the parts, from the brisk imaginative dance numbers to the excellent settings, that is the distinguishing feature of ‘How [To Succeed in Business...],’ and it gives such a comforting feeling of all being well.” –Richard Watts Jr. of The New York Post, on the opening night of the original production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
All dramaturgical information in this playbill written, compiled, and edited by Lauryn E. Sasso and Nicole D. Cunningham. LUCK BE A LADY ASOLOREP.ORG
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From Costume Designer
Andrea Lauer “I heard a podcast with Jo Sullivan, Loesser's widow, who was speaking about his work. She said something that became a key to my design: ‘Frank always said you needed words first. You have to know the words, to live the song.’ I put away my research and studied his prose instead, letting the words form images. I found that once I had done that, I knew just what I was looking for. I combined these ideas with the vision that Gordon wanted to create, and the characters magically emerged.”
Young Woman Young Man
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Other Man
From Scenic Designer
Wilson Chin “Designing the set for Luck Be A Lady was particularly interesting because there is no script or concretely discernable narrative. There are no traditional earmarks of setting a scene, like a distinct time and place. But there is a collection of characters and interrelationships and, above all, the music catalogue of Frank Loesser. Listening to his wide range of songs, a world emerges. An era from the not-too-distant past comes into focus, marked with joy and melancholy and love and loss. The director and I have worked through many iterations of a design, refining the balance between these opposing emotions. What we’ve come up with is a world that is both vintage and contemporary – bright and shiny, but decayed and crumbling. The set is evocative of many locations: a 1950s nightclub, a dilapidated theatre, the celestial heavens above. In conjunction with lights and costumes, we created a world that can seem faded and distant, but can come alive with color and light. In doing so, we hope to honor the music and legacy of Frank Loesser.”
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WHO’S WHO IN THE CREATIVE TEAM KELLY A. BORGIA* SEVENTH SEASON (Production Stage Manager) Asolo Rep favorites include: Our Betters; Both Your Houses; South Pacific; Other Desert Cities; The Grapes of Wrath; 1776; The Heidi Chronicles; The Game’s Afoot; Noah Racey’s Pulse; My Fair Lady; Yentl; Hamlet, Prince of Cuba; Bonnie & Clyde; Las Meninas; The Life of Galileo; The Perfume Shop. Regional theatre credits include: 1776 (American Conservatory Theater); All in the Timing; Red; The Whipping Man; Boeing, Boeing; Deathtrap; Superior Donuts; Noises Off!; The Pavilion (Dorset Theatre Festival); Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Once on this Island; Betrayal (Hangar Theatre); Beauty and the Beast; The Full Monty (Northern Stage); The Miser; Picnic; am Sunday; Speed-the-Plow (CenterStage, Baltimore). Off-Broadway: Hurricane: A New Musical (2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival), Cato (The Flea Theatre), and My Heart in a Suitcase (Arts Power Touring Theatre). Special thanks and all my love to, Travis, Zoe, and my extraordinary family. WILSON CHIN FIRST SEASON (Scenic Designer) designs for new plays and musicals include Geoffrey Naufft’s Next Fall (Broadway), Sharyn Rothstein’s By The Water (Manhattan Theatre Club), Samuel Hunter’s A Great Wilderness (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Terrence McNally’s Mothers and Sons (Bucks County), Andrew Lippa’s I Am Harvey Milk (Avery Fisher), Nick Blaemire’s A Little More Alive (Kansas City Rep), Conor McPherson’s The Birds (Guthrie Theatre), Meghan Kennedy’s Too Much, Too Much, Too Many (Roundabout), Rolin Jones’ The Jammer (Atlantic Theatre), Carly Mensch’s Len, Asleep in Vinyl (Second Stage), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Dark Matters (Rattlestick Theatre), Peter Nachtrieb’s Boom (Ars Nova). His work in opera includes Lucia di Lammermoor (Lyric Opera of Chicago) and Eine Florentinische Tragodie/Gianni Schicchi (Canadian Opera, Dora Award winner). Wilson graduated from the Yale School of Drama. www.wilsonchin.com JOYCE CHITTICK FIRST SEASON (Associate Choreographer) recently served as Associate Choreographer for Paint Your Wagon at NY's City Center Encores! and Holiday Inn at Goodspeed Musicals. She has choreographed for television, film, national tours and regional theater. As a performer, she originated roles in the productions of Anything Goes, Pajama Game, Sweet Charity, Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Cabaret on Broadway and the original Las Vegas company of Jersey Boys. Joyce and her one-year-old daughter are thrilled to be in sunny Sarasota, Florida. GORDON GREENBERG FOURTH SEASON (Conceiver & Director) Asolo Rep: Yentl, Working, Barnum. Other recent work: Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (co-author & director, Goodspeed, Universal Stage Productions); Guys & Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre, U.K., U.S. National Tour); Working (Drama Desk Award, Off-Broadway, Broadway in Chicago, Old Globe); Jacques Brel … (Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award nominations); Johnny Baseball (Williamstown); Scramble Band (Co-Writer, Disney Channel original movie); Rags (Roundabout, workshop); Single Girls Guide (Dallas Theatre Center); Band Geeks! (Goodspeed Musicals); Pirates! (Paper Mill, Huntington, Goodspeed Musicals); The Baker's Wife (Paper Mill, Goodspeed Musicals); Happy Days (National Tour); Peter Pan (National Tour). Upcoming: Secret of My Success (Universal); Tangled (Disney); Single Girls Guide (Fifth Avenue). Gordon is the director of new musical development for the acclaimed New Group in New York. Education: Stanford University, NYU Film School, Lincoln Center Directors Lab. MICHELLE HART TWELFTH SEASON (Hair/Wig & Make-up Designer) is a licensed cosmetologist and certified professional make-up artist. Hart designs for Asolo Rep and FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Other credits: Sarasota Ballet, Florida Studio Theatre, West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, Banyan Theatre, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Venice Theatre, Dorset Theatre, Barrington Stage, and Open Stage Theatre (where she won the Award for Best Hair). She has also done hair and make-up for Joan Rivers, Doris Roberts, Martin Short, Jane Russell, Arlene Dahl, Soledad Villamil and Jane Pauley. 10
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Music video “Second Chance” by Shinedown, “Reverse Cowgirl” by T-Pain, short film “Grief Splattered Canvas” and feature film, “Paradise, FL. Her work has also been exhibited at SCF Fine Art Gallery in 2009 & 2013. DENIS JONES FIRST SEASON (Choreographer) Recent credits include Paint Your Wagon (NY City Center Encores!), Honeymoon in Vegas (Broadway), Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn (Goodspeed Opera House), Piece of My Heart (Signature Theatre), Forum (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Disaster! (St. Luke’s), and Damn Yankees (Paper Mill Playhouse, 5th Ave). Denis is the recipient of two Carbonell Awards for his work at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Upcoming projects include The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Park) and Moonshine: That HeeHaw Musical (Dallas Theater Center). KEVIN KENNEDY EIGHTH SEASON (Sound Designer) credits include Noah Racey’s Pulse, 1776, Deathtrap, and Bonnie & Clyde (preBroadway) at Asolo Repertory Theatre; This Wonderful Life at Asolo Rep, Cleveland Play House, Syracuse Stage, Laguna Playhouse, and North Coast Rep; The Colored Museum at Huntington Theater Company; Nilo Cruz’s Hurricane for the RIAF and Arca Images/ MDCA; Tales of the City, 1776, and A Little Night Music at the American Conservatory Theater; The Rocky Horror Show at The Old Globe; Mamma Mia!, Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Flashdance tours; and Production Engineer/ Assistant Designer for Sister Act, Bonnie & Clyde, and Kinky Boots (2013 Sound Design Tony Award) on Broadway; Kennedy has also toured as the sound engineer with The Alan Parsons Live Project. ANDREA LAUER FIRST SEASON (Costume Designer) is excited to be making her debut at Asolo Rep. Recent credits include Broadway's Bring It On; American Idiot (Broadway and touring productions); Brooklynite; What It’s All About; Murder for Two; STREB: FORCES; and the London Cultural Olympics, in addition to several other theatrical, dance, and opera productions in New York City and internationally. Also working as a stylist for various artists, commercials, and publications, her work can be seen in Rolling Stone, Vogue, Interview, OUT magazine, the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, red carpet events, and music videos. FRANK LOESSER (Music & Lyrics) One of America's great composer/ lyricists, Frank Loesser began his songwriting career during the Depression as a lyricist, contributing songs to Broadway revues and nightclub acts. His work with composer Irving Actman in the 1936 revue The Illustrator's Show led to a songwriting contract in Hollywood, where he spent the next 11 years working with such composers as Burton Lane, Jule Styne, Arthur Schwartz, and Hoagy Carmichael. Some of his film songs from that period include "Two Sleepy People," "Jingle Jangle Jingle" and "I Don't Want To Walk Without You.” His Hollywood work after the war included the hit songs "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year," "A Slow Boat To China," and the 1949 Oscar-winning song "Baby, It's Cold Outside." In 1948 Loesser was approached to write music and lyrics to George Abbott's libretto for the new musical Where's Charley? This led to Loesser's next show, the hugely influential and successful Guys and Dolls in 1950. In 1956 Loesser wrote the libretto, music and lyrics for his next show, The Most Happy Fella. In 1960 he provided the score and was co-librettist for Greenwillow. In 1961, Loesser wrote the score for the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. NEIL DOUGLAS REILLY FIRST SEASON (Orchestrator & Arranger) recently contributed orchestrations for Little Dancer at the Kennedy Center. New York credits include: Clinton (Orchestrations), Rocky (Orchestration Associate), Stars of David (Orchestrations), Ahrens & Flaherty: Nice Fighting You (Orchestrations/Co-Producer of Album), and Journey On, a NY Pops Concert in honor of Ahrens & Flaherty (music supervisor, orchestrations). Neil was the arranger for both of Josh Franklin’s albums, and is the composer of Loch Lomond with Maggie Herskowitz and Gods and Kings with Austin Ruffer. Neil has written orchestrations for performances by Norm Lewis, Lea
WHO’S WHO IN THE CREATIVE TEAM Salonga, David Hyde Pierce, Stephanie J. Block, Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Boyd Gaines, Tiler Peck, Jason Danieley, Marin Mazzie, Bobby Steggert, Annaleigh Ashford, Mary Testa, Liz Callaway, and many more. Thanks to Jack, Ross, and Taylor. neildouglasreilly.com PAUL MILLER FOURTH SEASON (Lighting Designer) Previously at Asolo Rep: The Matchmaker; Both Your Houses; Philadelphia, Here I Come!; The Grapes of Wrath; 1776; The Heidi Chronicles; Yentl. Broadway: The upcoming Amazing Grace; The Illusionists; Legally Blond; Freshly Squeezed; Laughing Room Only. Encores: Irma La Duce; Of Thee I Sing; Music in the Air; Lost in the Stars; Where’s Charley? Off-Broadway: Vanities - the Musical; Waiting for Godot; Addicted; and Balancing Act. Regional Theatres: Stratford Shakespeare, Idaho Shakespeare, Chicago Shakespeare, American Conservatory Theater, Cleveland Play House, Pasadena Playhouse, Goodspeed Musicals, among others. International: South Africa, China, Italy, U.K., Australia, Vienna. National Tours: Elf; Shrek; Story Time Live; Wizard of Oz; Legally Blonde; Sweeney Todd; Hairspray; The Producers; Nunsense; Scooby Doo; The Sound of Music. Television: Camelot (Live from Lincoln Center), Comedy Central. Paul has been the Lighting Director for New Year’s Eve Celebration in Times Square for the past 15 years.
TARA RUBIN CASTING Tara Rubin, CSA Eric Woodall, CSA Merri Sugarman, CSA Kaitlin Shaw, CSA Lindsay Levine, CSA Scott Anderson Elizabeth Auwaerter
TARA RUBIN CASTING/ERIC WOODALL, CSA & LINDSAY LEVINE, CSA (Casting) Asolo Rep: Hero: The Musical. Selected Broadway: Doctor Zhivago; It Shoulda Been You; Gigi; Bullets Over Broadway; Aladdin; Mothers and Sons; Les Misérables; Big Fish; A Time to Kill; The Heiress; One Man, Two Guvnors (US Casting); Ghost; 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; 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 Old Globe. LAURYN E. SASSO NINTH SEASON (Dramaturg) received her BA in Theatre Studies from Wellesley College and her MFA in Dramaturgy from UMass Amherst. She has also studied with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA and the National Theater Institute at the O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. Previously, she has worked at Perishable Theatre in Providence, R.I. and with the SPF Summer Play Festival in NYC. During her tenure at Asolo Rep, she has served as dramaturg for the theatre’s mainstage productions and education tours. Last season she also co-adapted Romeo & Juliet with director Dmitry Troyanovsky. She moderates the discussion series Inside Asolo Rep and is in her second season as Festival Curator for Asolo Rep’s Unplugged Festival of New Work. NIA SCIARRETTA* THIRD SEASON (Assistant Stage Manager) Previous Asolo Rep credits include assistant stage manager for South Pacific and for Hero: The Musical, intern assistant stage manager for My Fair Lady, and tour manager for Hamlet Redux. Previous off-Broadway credits include The Wayside Motor Inn at the Signature Theatre. Regionally, Nia has also worked with Penguin Rep (The Faubulous Lipitones), the Hangar Theatre (Gypsy; The Trip to Bountiful; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The 39 Steps), and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth) She is an Ithaca College graduate. SINAI TABAK FIRST SEASON (Music Director/Additional Arrangements) is thrilled to be working on his first show at Asolo Rep. He recently music directed Dallas Theater Center’s acclaimed production of Les Misérables, and has worked on regional productions of The Rocky Horror Show (Bucks County Playhouse), Johnny Baseball (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Family Album (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), as well as Justin Guarini’s Lovesick (Bucks County Playhouse). Off-Broadway, Sinai music directed Stars of David (DR2 Theater), and has worked on workshops of The Total Bent (Public Theater), American Psycho, and Murder at the Gates. Thanks to his amazing family and Brianne for their constant support.
Louise Pitre. Photo by John Revisky. LUCK BE A LADY ASOLOREP.ORG
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WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST ERIK ALTEMUS* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Young Man) is thrilled to be making his Asolo Rep debut. He made his Broadway debut as an original company member in Diane Paulus' Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin where he created the role of Lewis and understudied the title character. He was also seen in the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks as Matt (The Boy) and most recently as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show at The Bucks County Playhouse. His film credits include Brandon in HBO's The Miraculous Year (Directed by Kathryn Bigelow), Newman in The Neman Shower (American Film Institute) and various commercials. www.erikaltemus.com
JAMES DAVID LARSON* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Other Man) is thrilled to be making his Asolo Rep debut. In New York, he was recently seen in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Into the Woods, and Off Broadway’s Atomic. His national tour credits include lead roles in Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Buddy Holly Story, and Bunnicula. He recently starred in a national Burlington Coat Factory commercial, as well as the short films, Endless Us and You Are Here. “Thanks to my beautiful Emma, Gordon Greenberg, Chris Nichols, Eric Woodall, and Asolo Rep for welcoming me!” www.JamesDavidLarson.com
W. JOSEPH MATHESON* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Man) is proud to make his Asolo Rep debut alongside his wife, Louise. His Canadian and US theatre credits include Larry (Company), von Trapp (Sound of Music), Callahan (Legally Blonde), The Proprietor (Assassins), Homère (The Flood Thereafter), Conklin (Ragtime), Doolittle (My Fair Lady), Rooster (Annie), Charlemagne (Pippin), and both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals. Most recently he created the role of Paulo in Paulo and Daphne. His TV and film credits include Orphan Black, Sworn to Silence, The State Within, and Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy.
MARY MICHAEL PATTERSON* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Young Woman) is happy to be making her Asolo Rep debut. She was most recently seen starring on Broadway as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Other credits include the Broadway revival of Anything Goes, Liesl in The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall), Marianne Dashwood in the world premiere of Sense and Sensibility: The Musical (Denver Center), Judy Haynes in White Christmas (Syracuse Stage), and Kathy Seldon in Singin’ in the Rain (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Music Theatre of Wichita). Go Blue! www. marymichaelpatterson.com
LOUISE PITRE* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Woman) is making her debut at Asolo Rep. She is best known for her starring role in the Broadway production of Mamma Mia! for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Other recent roles include Mama Rose in Gypsy (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) and Mame in Mame (Goodspeed Musicals). In Toronto she recently starred as Joanne in Company, Toad in A Year with Frog and Toad, Ma/Mayor in Toxic Avenger, Fantine in Les Misérables (Toronto, Montreal, Paris), Piaf in Piaf, and Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers, among others. She has five recordings and is heard on cast recordings of Les Misérables (Paris production) and Kristina (Carnegie Hall). www.louisepitre.com STEPHANIE UMOH* GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Other Woman) is excited to be making her Asolo Rep debut. She starred in the Broadway revival of Ragtime (Sarah) and Off Broadway in Falling for Eve (Eve). Other NYC credits include Tin Pan Alley Rag (Freddie/Treemonisha), Clyde ‘n Bonnie: A Folktale (Mona), and many more. Notable regional credits include The Color Purple (Nettie); The Music Man in concert (Marian); Pal Joey (Linda); Johnny Baseball (Daisy); Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary); Caroline, or Change (Emmie); A Christmas Carol (Lily/Belle); Aida (Aida); and more. Film/TV: The NY 22, Big Words. She was awarded the 2009-2010 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut. *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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WHO’S WHO IN THE BAND TERI BOOTH EIGHTH SEASON (Woodwinds 1) is happy to be back here at Asolo Repertory Theatre after playing in South Pacific earlier this season. She has recorded background/scene change music for straight shows as well as played in the pit for other Asolo Rep Productions such as Show Boat, Barnum, Backwards in High Heels, 1776, and Noah Racey’s Pulse. JOHN COOLEY FIRST SEASON (Trombone) John holds Bachelors/ Masters degrees in Music/Education from SUNY, Fredonia and Ithaca College respectively. He was a successful high school band director in Binghamton, N.Y. and principal trombonist in the Binghamton Symphony/Pops Orchestras for many years. He has performed in many stage shows and also with Tony Bennett and the Woody Herman Orchestra, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Clark Terry and The Midtown Men among many others.
THOMAS E. SUTA EIGHTH SEASON (Percussion) BM, MM The New England Conservatory of Music; Timpanist with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Show work: Asolo Rep, Tampa Bay Performing Arts, Sarasota Players, Manatee Players, Florida Studio Theatre. Commissioned to compose The Eye of Ra for the Sarasota Youth Opera. Faculty State College of Florida since 1985. BILL SWARTZBAUGH FIRST SEASON (Bass) is a veteran of many Broadway musicals such as Wicked, Cinderella, and Guys and Dolls. He returns to Asolo after having performed South Pacific last fall. A member of several orchestral ensembles, Bill is also an adjunct professor in the Contemporary Music department at the University of Tampa.
TOM ELLISON FIRST SEASON (Woodwinds 2) is happy to be making his Asolo Rep debut. Tom has performed with the likes of Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Doc Severinsen, Woody Herman, the Thundering Herd, and many other top-name artists. Tom performs regionally with the Naples Jazz Orchestra, in the pit for Smokey Joe’s Café, The World Goes ‘Round, and Hairspray at the Florida Studio Theatre, as well as performances with the Sarasota Orchestra and the Naples Philharmonic.
Cast of Luck Be A Lady. Photo by John Revisky.
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discover. discuss. delight.
GET “THE SCOOP” Arrive one hour prior to curtain to get “The Scoop,” when a member of the Luck Be A Lady cast will share the ideas and inspirations that contributed to the performance you are about to experience. (Opening Night, May 1, is excluded.)
TUESDAY TALKBACKS Join us for an intimate post-show discussion with featured actors or guests following every Tuesday performance of Luck Be A Lady. APRIL 28 MAY 5, 12 & 19
MEET THE ACTORS Immediately following select Sunday matinee performances, audiences are invited to ask questions and learn more from members of the Luck Be A Lady cast. MAY 10 (Following the 2pm matinee)
Kaleidoscope: Heart and Soul Monday, May 18 at 6pm Mertz Theatre Asolo Rep partners with area schools and service organizations for our award-winning performing arts program for people with disabilities – one of Asolo Rep’s longest-running outreach programs. Don’t miss this collaborative, celebratory performance where participants share their work with the community on the Mertz stage. Kaleidoscope features artists from Bayshore High School, Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities, Easter Seals Southwest Florida, and Oak Park School. They and their teaching artists have taken inspiration from this season’s production of Luck Be A Lady, and created their own original theatre pieces through music, movement and storytelling.
Free event | Reservations are recommended Tickets are available through the Asolo Rep Box Office: 941-351-8000 or asolorep.org For more information about Kaleidoscope, please contact Education@asolo.org SPONSORED BY Carol and Morton Siegler • Bank of America Client Foundation, Virginia White Clark Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee Eluned and Edward Russell Charitable Foundation • Jerome and Mildred Paddock Foundation • Fine Arts Society of Sarasota 14
LUCK BE A LADY ASOLOREP.ORG
It takes more than luck... ...to produce the world-class theatre you love. It takes engagement from the extraordinary ladies and gentlemen who are entertained and inspired by the hundreds of performances Asolo Rep brings to our community. That engagement also makes it possible to introduce over 15,000 students from Miami to Tallahassee to live theatre. Your engagement matters! Become a contributor today or renew your gift so that you, this community, and the audiences of tomorrow can continue to enjoy entertaining productions, inspiring story-telling, and engaging theatre. Contact Scott Guinn at scott_guinn@asolo.org or 941.351.9010, ext. 4707 to discuss how you can get involved!
Thanks to The Donors Who Have Contributed to The Matching Challenge for The Endowment, We Are Now 79% Towards Our Goal! ( New gifts pledged or received between September 15, 2014–April 15, 2015.)
Peggy and Ken Abt
Perry and Rose M. Harten Trust
David and Betty-Jean Bavar
Anne E. Jones
Terry and Jim Chandler
Dr. Hal Ott
Carole Crosby, Ruby E. and Carole Crosby Family Foundation
John and Elenor Maxheim
Christine Collard Devereaux
Maurice Richards and Jack Kesler
State of Florida Cultural Endowment Fund
Ulla Searing Estate
See pages 34–35 of the Season Program Book to learn more about Asolo Rep’s Endowment.
A special thank you to all those donors who participated in Ted and Jean Weiller’s Spring 2014 Endowment Matching Challenge In recognition of Mary Lou Winnick’s presidency, Ted and Jean Weiller pledged an endowment matching gift of $100,000 to inspire other members in the community to make outright gifts to Asolo Rep’s Endowment, especially during this time when eligible donations are being matched by two anonymous donors. Participants in the challenge included Warren and Margot Coville, Ed and Mary Lou Winnick, Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless, Bob and Pat Baer, Susan and Jim Buck. We would not be where we are today without the incredible support of all those donors who have contributed to the Endowment! Thank you Ted and Jean for being leaders for Asolo Rep and for championing the importance of a strong endowment!
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS 14-15 SEASON SUPPORTERS MAJOR SEASON SUPPORTERS
Margie and Chuck Barancik • Bob and Beverly Bartner • David and Betty-Jean Bavar • Doug Bradbury • Warren and Margot Coville Carole Crosby, Ruby E. and Carole Crosby Family Foundation • Christine and John Currie • Nona Macdonald Heaslip The Huisking Foundation, Charlie Huisking • Stanley Kane, in honor of Janet* Kane • Carolyn Keystone and Jim Meekison • Harry Leopold Foundation Lee Peterson • Maurice Richards and Jack Kesler • Mary Ann Robinson • Alice and Norman Tulchin • Edie Winston, in loving memory of Herb Winston Charles O. Wood, III and Miriam M. Wood Foundation • Judy Zuckerberg and George Kole
*in memoriam THANK YOU TO OUR 14-15 MAJOR SEASON SPONSORS VIRGINIA B. TOULMIN FOUNDATION
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Magnificent musicals, compelling dramas, contemporary hits and laugh-out-loud comedies—Asolo Rep’s 57th season is one you won’t want to miss. As we move into the fourth year of our groundbreaking American Character Project, we invite you to join us as a Subscriber and participate in a season-long exchange of ideas about what it is to be an American in the world today.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
WEST SIDE STORY
JOSEPHINE
Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins Book by Arthur Laurents Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed and Choreographed by Joey McKneely
MAY 6-29 • Previews begin April 27
NOVEMBER 13–DECEMBER 27 • Previews begin November 10
MARCH 11-APRIL 17 • Previews begin March 9
By Todd Kreidler Based on the screenplay by William Rose Directed by Frank Galati
WORLD PREMIERE
Book by Ellen Weston and Mark Hampton Music by Stephen Dorff • Lyrics by John Bettis Based on a story by Ken Waissman Directed and Choreographed by Joey McKneely
ALL THE WAY
ADDITIONAL 2015–2016 PRODUCTIONS:
By Robert Schenkkan Directed by Emily Sophia Knapp Based on the original production directed by Bill Rauch
DISGRACED
JANUARY 8–APRIL 9 • Previews begin January 5
LIVING ON LOVE
IN THE HISTORIC ASOLO THEATER APRIL 1-24 • Previews begin March 30
JANUARY 15–FEBRUARY 25 • Previews begin January 13
The Pulitzer Prize winning play by By Ayad Akhtar Directed by Michael Donald Edwards
By Joe DiPietro Based on the play Peccadillo by Garson Kanin Directed by Peter Amster
SUMMER MUSICAL
AH, WILDERNESS!
June 3-26 • Preview June 2
To be announced very soon.
JANUARY 22–APRIL 10 • Previews begin January 20
By Eugene O’Neill Directed by Greg Leaming
SUBSCRIBE TODAY BY CALLING 941-351-8000 or 800-361-8388 LEARN MORE AT ASOLOREP.ORG