Welcome to Laguna Playhouse!
Thank you for joining us.
Though Molière wrote his classic comedy Tartuffe in the mid1600’s, it still rings as funny, true, and relevant today as it ever has. Our extraordinary team of theatre artists is breathing new life into this great play with this brilliantly reimagined version – and we are so glad you’re here to experience it with us.
From the ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DAVID ELLENSTEIN
We also hope that you’ll return for more exciting theatre to come including the thrilling mystery, Holmes & Watson (May 29 – June 16), and the legendary musical, Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot (July 24 – August 11).
We are also excited to look ahead to our newly announced 2024-2025 season, which begins with one of our most requested comedies, Don’t Dress For Dinner (September 4 – 22) followed by the American classic, Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge (October 30 – November 17). You can learn more about these shows and the rest of the season inside this program.
The best way to see all of the shows next season is to join our growing subscriber family. Subscribers get the best prices, exclusive benefits like discounts on additional tickets, exchange privileges, and first access to the best seats.
On behalf of everyone at Laguna Playhouse, we appreciate your attendance and support as we continue to do our best to create great theatre experiences for our community.
Warmest regards,
David Ellenstein Artistic Director
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CO-CHAIR
Lisa Hale
TREASURER
Harley Bassman
CO-CHAIR
Jared K. Mathis
SECRETARY
Jeff Winston
GOVERNANCE & NOMINATIONS
Justin Myers
Heather Anne Chalmers
Torin J. Cunningham, MD
James Hale
Joe Hanauer
Dr. Gary Jenkins
Barbara MacGillivray
Emeritus Trustees
Glenn E. Gray
Otis Healy
Ilona Martin
Melinda Masson
Jim Mellor
Artistic Director
David Ellenstein
Heidi Miller
Xiaohong Rose
Ryan Smith
Jordy Spiegel
Richard Thomas
Managing Director
Bill Kerlin
written by MOLIÈRE presents starring SHANTÉ DELOACH*, ROGELIO DOUGLAS III*, BO FOXWORTH*, KATIE KAREL*, MELANIE LORA*, KATE ROSE REYNOLDS, ROSINA REYNOLDS*,
TARTUFFE
translated into English verse by RICHARD WILBUR
directed by RICHARD BAIRD
BRUCE TURK*, JARED VAN HEEL*, CHRISTOPHER M. WILLIAMS*
scenic designer
MARTY BURNETT
sound designer/composer
IAN SCOT
costume designer
ELISA
BENZONI
co-properties designers
MATT FITZGERALD
TESSIA IADICICCO
production stage manager
VERNON WILLET*
* Denotes a member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
lighting designer
MATT NOVOTNY
hair/wig designer
PETER HERMAN
Tartuffe (Wilbur) is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc, New York.
NOTES TO THE AUDIENCE: Please be considerate to the performers and your fellow audience members by turningoffanydevicethatcouldemitlightand/orsound.Thephotographicorsoundrecordingofanyperformance or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside the theatre, without written permission of the management, is prohibited by law. THE VIDEOTAPING OR OTHER VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED
OPENING NIGHT
APRIL 21, 2024
• MOULTON THEATRE, LAGUNA BEACH
A NOTE ON TARTUFFE FROM DIRECTOR RICHARD BAIRD
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was born in 1622 in Paris, the son of the Royal Upholsterer (a respected if unusual title). Instead of following in his father’s line as the next upholsterer to the King, young Poquelin ran off to join the theatre. To save his family from this embarrassment, he took the nom de plume of an infamous libertine, Molière.
While he had yearned to be a great tragedian, he found that the audience was disposed to laugh at him. Ever the shrewd producer, Molière adjusted to comedy, finding his voice in writing great satiric comedies that focused on human weaknesses: jealousy, misanthropy, miserliness and in Tartuffe’s case: hypocrisy.
The play was originally titled Tartuffe, The Hypocrite. (The word hypocrite found its way to the English language circa 1200 with the meaning “the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness.”)
Tartuffe shocked the religious circles of Paris by presenting a charlatan in priest’s clothes. After the very first reading of Tartuffe in 1664, the church and jealous rivals called for the immediate banning of Tartuffe. Molière’s response? He added two more acts, new characters and further proof of Tartuffe’s villainy to convince King Louis XIV that the play was not in fact anti-religious, but anti-hypocrite.
Still, it wasn’t until 1669 (5 years later), after many rewrites and supplications to the King, that Tartuffe was finally allowed to be performed for the public for twenty-five performances starring Molière himself as Orgon, the patriarch of the family, gulled by Tartuffe. And to ward off detractors, Tartuffe was presented under the new title, Tartuffe, The Imposter.
It was a massive hit.
We really have Richard Wilbur to thank for the success of Molière in the Englishspeaking world today. Before his hysterical and buoyant translations premiered, the English-speaking world had not yet embraced Molière. Now, Wilbur’s translations have inspired hundreds of other English translations.
2022 celebrated the 400th anniversary of Molière’s birth, and his plays continue to delight audiences and hold the mirror up to our human foibles. And through that reflection, he invites us to laugh, and laugh and laugh.
THE COMPANY
Mariane ....................................................................................................................................... Shanté DeLoach*
Damis...........................................................................................................................................Rogelio Douglas III*
Orgon ..................................................................................................................................................... Bo Foxworth*
Dorine........................................................................................................................................................ Katie Karel*
Elmire..................................................................................................................................................... Melanie Lora*
Flipote/Police Officer/Laurent ..............................................................................................Kate Rose Reynolds
Madame Pernelle .......................................................................................................................... Rosina Reynolds*
Tartuffe .......................................................................................................................................................Bruce Turk*
Valere/M. Loyal ................................................................................................................................Jared Van Heel*
Cleante ..............................................................................................................................Christopher M. Williams*
SHANTÉ DELOACH
BRUCE TURK
* Denotes a member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
There will be a 15 minute intermission.
WHO’S WHO
SHANTÉ DELOACH (Mariane) Shanté DeLoach (she/her) is delighted to be making her Laguna Playhouse debut! By way of Tucson, Arizona, she is a graduate of AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and now splits her time between Los Angeles and Atlanta. She is the Administrative Director of Eleventh Story Productions, a company focused on producing diverse and enigmatic stories, and she is 1/2 of 6 Feet Forever, a podcast that delves into unsolved crimes and mysterious happenings in communities of color around the globe. Most recent credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Mountaintop, the film “Honk for Jesus, Save your Soul,” and “Triggered,” a film she acted in and produced that is currently making its festival rounds. Love to my family and friends, to Ebb and Erika for helping with my audition, and to YOU for supporting live theatre! Enjoy the show.
ROGELIO DOUGLAS III (Damis) is humbled to be making his debut appearance at Laguna Playhouse! RD3 is a Black/Afro-Latino multi-hyphenate artist: actor, spoken-word poet, educator. Born and raised in Brooklyn; now resides in LA. Earned his M.F.A. in Acting from UCLA TFT. Theater credits include: The Talented Tenth (Robey Theatre), The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse), Picnic (Odyssey Theatre), Measure for Measure, Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare by the Sea) and more. Onscreen credits include: “They Listen” (Blumhouse Prods.), “Space Lightning,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Bull,” and dubbing English for “Rhythm + Flow France”. Proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. | @RogelioDouglas3
BO FOXWORTH (Orgon) With Laguna Playhouse: Bright Ideas and The Verdi Girls. Bo is a proud member of the Antaeus Theatre Company in LA and could be seen in numerous productions including: Cloud 9 (LADCC and Stage Raw Best Actor Winner), and The Crucible (Ovation nomination). Other theatres include South Coast Rep, The Pasadena Playhouse, I.C.T., The Fountain Theatre, Shakespeare Orange County, The Skylight Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company, La Mirada, The Geffen, Disney Hall, LATheatreWorks, Boston Court Pasadena, The Hollywood Bowl and A Noise Within (2 Ovation nominations). New York and Regional theaters include: The Lucile Lortel, The Century Theater, The Pearl Theater, The Shakespeare Theater D.C., Vienna’s English Theater, The Long Wharf, Baltimore Center Stage, Playmakers Rep, The Old Globe, The Yale Rep and many others. He has numerous film and television credits including “Modern Family,” “VEEP” and the HBO movie “All The Way”. He is a graduate of UCLA and Yale School of Drama. Follow Bo on IG @bofoxworth.
KATIE KAREL (Dorine) is so happy to be making her Laguna Playhouse debut with Tartuffe. Off Broadway: Lucky Duck, National Tour: Menopause the Musical 2, with North Coast Rep: Tartuffe, Pippin, The Remarkable Mr. Holmes, Always...Patsy Cline, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Sherlock Holmes & The Great Nome Gold Rush, Selected Regional: Skylight, Indecent, The Humans, Chesapeake, You Can’t Take It with You, Valhalla, Heathers, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Into the Woods, The Addams Family, Sunday in The Park With George, Sweeney Todd, 1776, In Trousers, a few Hairsprays and a couple more Patsy Clines. Her thanks to everyone at Laguna Playhouse, and to the cast and creative team. Love to Gary. Karel is passionate about her mentorship with LLS, Imerman Angels, and Friend for Life Cancer Support Network as a survivor. Connect with Katie at www.katiekarel.com.
MELANIE LORA (Elmire) is thrilled to be back at the Laguna Playhouse where she last performed many years ago in Many Happy Returns directed by Andy Barnicle. North Coast Rep: The Homecoming, Into the Breeches! LA/SoCal credits include The Hothouse (Antaeus Theatre Co), Of Good Stock (world premiere), Elemeno Pea, Misalliance, and Collected Stories (South Coast Rep), Dinner with Friends, and Boeing Boeing (La Mirada Theatre), The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder (Theatre@Boston Court) as well as productions at the Actors’ Gang, Ahmanson Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, The Odyssey Theatre and many others. Film/TV: “Show Me Yours,” “Fishhead,” “I am I,” “The United States of Leland,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Numbers,” “Gilmore Girls” and others. Lots and lots of tv commercials and voiceover work. Mom to four incredible humans; wife to one. More at melanielora.com @missmelanielora
KATE ROSE REYNOLDS (Flipote/Police Officer/Laurent) is a San Diego-based multi-hyphenate theatre maker and the Director of Operations for Loud Fridge Theatre Group. Select acting credits include: New York: Mario Fratti’s The Academy (Theatre for the New City); Regional: The Humans (San Diego Rep); Iron (Roustabouts, SD Critic’s Circle Award for Featured Performance); Cardboard Piano (Diversionary); Witchland (Backyard Renaissance); Twelfth Night, Hamlet (Perspective); Amy and the Orphans, Silent Sky, Mary’s Wedding, Private Lives, What the Butler Saw (Bristol Valley). TV and Film include: “Soul to Keep,” “Radiant,” “Celebrity Ghost Stories,” “A Hollywood Love Story.” Graduate of Yale University.
ROSINA REYNOLDS (Madame Pernelle) Selected regional credits include: Here There Are Blueberries (La Jolla Playhouse); Sea of Tranquility, Romeo and Juliet, Trojan Women (Old Globe Theatre); 33 Variations (Theatreworks); Love In American Times (San Jose Rep); Steel Magnolias (La Mirada Theatre). San Diego Theatre favorites include: Iron (Roustabouts Theatre); Angels in America, Hayfever, The Vortex, The Glass Menagerie, Arcadia, Little Foxes, Copenhagen (Cygnet Theatre); Golda’s Balcony (New Village Arts); Uncanny Valley, Doubt (San Diego Rep); Wit (North Coast Repertory Theatre); Lettuce & Lovage (Lambs Players Theatre); Long Days Journey Into Night (Renaissance Theatre Company). Director of over 30 productions. Founding Artistic director of Chequamegon Children’s Theatre now in its 37th year.
BRUCE TURK (Tartuffe) recently appeared at North Coast Rep as Henry Jekyll. Broadway and Off Broadway credits include the title role in Julie Taymor’s production of The Green Bird and numerous appearances with Theatre For A New Audience. San Diego audiences have seen him in fifteen productions of Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theatre (Craig Noel Award). Also, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, American Conservatory Theatre, Portland Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, Seattle Repertory, McCarter Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Denver Center, Geva, Cincinnati Playhouse, Goodman, the Shakespeare Theaters in DC, New Jersey and Santa Cruz, and many more. He has been a resident member of Tadashi Suzuki’s Acting Company in Japan, Resident Artist at Hartford Stage, and recipient of the TCG/Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. Graduate of Northwestern University.
JARED VAN HEEL (Valere/M. Loyal) is thrilled to be making his Laguna Playhouse debut. Audiences in the region may have seen him previously in Tartuffe at North Coast Repertory Theatre or one of eight productions of Shakespeare at The Old Globe. He has toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. Off-Broadway credits include Hamlet and The Awesome 80s Prom. Select Regional credits include The Liar, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Cmplt Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) (Texas Shakespeare Festival); The Trip to Bountiful, Frankenstein Unplugged, Betty’s Summer Vacation, Cyclone, and Breach (Montana Repertory Theatre); Antony & Cleopatra (Harlequin Productions), American Midget (Trembling Stage), Twelfth Night (MadCap Productions), and others.
CHRISTOPHER M. WILLIAMS (Cleante) is an actor, director, producer, stage manager, teacher and fight choreographer. Select acting credits include: Off Broadway: Rothschild and Sons (The York). Regional: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dancing Lessons, The Outsider, How the Other Half Loves, Holmes and Watson, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Tempest, Lend Me a Tenor, Don’t Dress for Dinner (North Coast Rep); A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Drawer Boy (AZ Theatre Co); Noises Off!, Comedy of Errors (Phoenix Theatre); Noises Off! (Idaho Shakes); Angels in America: Part 1 & 2, Lobby Hero (Actors Theatre); Beau Jest, Jest a Second (AZ Jewish Theatre); Hamlet, A Funny Thing...Forum, Oliver!, Julius Caesar, Othello, Henry V, (SW Shakespeare). On screen credits include: “Terriers,” “The Incredible Adventures of JoJo,” “Island of Lost Girls.” He also played Jacob and was a producer of the WWII feature film, “Walking with the Enemy,” starring Ben Kingsley and Jonas Armstrong.
RICHARD BAIRD (Director) is an award-winning director, actor and producer. He is the founding Artistic Director of New Fortune Theatre Company, where he directed the West Coast Premiere of Public Enemy and a revival of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party and co-directed Henry V and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Directing credits include — North Coast Repertory Theatre: Of Mice and Men, A Walk in the Woods, Amadeus and Dancing Lessons. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: The Changeling (Black Swan Series); Backyard Renaissance: The October Night of Johnny Zero; An Experiment with an Airpump; Intrepid Theatre: Much Ado about Nothing; Diversionary Theatre: Edward II; Southwest Shakespeare Company: As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale. Shakespeare Sedona/Poor Players: Richard II. Poor Players Theatre: Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Coriolanus, Measure for Measure (three times), Taming of the Shrew, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Henry IV, Part One. In memory of Sean McKinley.
MOLIÈRE (Author) was the leading French comic actor, stage director, and dramatic theoretician of the seventeenth century. Although he proceeded to study law and was awarded his law degree in 1642, he turned away from both the legal profession and his father’s business. Instead, in 1643, he incorporated an acting troupe, The Illustrious Theatre, in collaboration with the Béjart family. It was at roughly the same time that he acquired the pseudonym Molière. With this company, Molière played an unsuccessful season in Paris and went bankrupt, then left to tour the provinces. During these twelve years he polished his skills as actor, director, administrator, and playwright. In 1658 the troupe returned to Paris and played before Louis XIV. The king’s brother became Molière’s patron; later Molière and his colleagues were appointed official providers of
entertainment to the Sun King himself. In the following twenty-four years, starting with The Precious Maidens Ridiculed (1659), which established him as the most popular comic playwright of the day, and ending with The Imaginary Invalid (1673), Molière advanced from being a gifted adapter of Italian-derived sketches and a showman who put on extravaganzas to a writer whose best plays had the lasting impact of tragedies. Unwittingly, he made many enemies. The clergy mistakenly believed that certain of his plays were attacks on the church. Other playwrights resented his continual experiments with comic forms (as in The School for Wives) and with verse (as in Amphitryon). Molière’s principal short plays (in one or two acts) include: The Jealous Husband (1645?), The Flying Doctor (1648?), Sganarelle (1660), The Rehearsal at Versailles (1663), and The Forced Marriage (1664). The longer plays (in three or five acts) include: The School for Husbands (1661),The School for Wives (1662), Tartuffe (1664), Don Juan (1665), The Misanthrope (1666), The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666), Amphitryon (1668), The Miser (1668), George Dandin (1668), The Bourgeois Gentleman (1670), Scapin (1671), The Learned Ladies (1672), and The Imaginary Invalid (1673).
RICHARD WILBUR (Translation) was born in New York City and received his B.A. from Amherst College and an M.A. from Harvard. He has taught on the faculties of Harvard, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Smith. Mr. Wilbur’s publications include six volumes of poetry and two collections of his selected verse, a volume of his collection verse, translations of Molière’s four most outstanding verse plays, the musical Candide, for which he supplied most of the lyrics, a collection of his prose, and two books for children. His highly praised verse translations of Molière’s plays The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, The School for Wives, and The Learned Ladies have all been performed in New York and are frequently presented by resident theatre companies throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain, including productions at Stratford, Ontario, and the National Theatre in London. He has also completed verse translations of two of Racine’s great tragedies, Andromache and Phaedra. Among Mr. Wilbur’s awards are two Pulitzer Prizes, a National Book Award, Edna St. Vincent Millay Award, Bollingen Award, Ford Foundation Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Prix de Rome Fellowship. He has served as both Chancellor and President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1987 he was named the second Poet Laureate of the United States, succeeding Robert Penn Warren.
MARTY BURNETT (Scenic Designer) Resident Designer at North Coast Rep since 1992. Scenic designed over 250 productions at the theatre. Resident Designer at Coronado Playhouse 1981-84 and Fiesta Dinner Theater 1984-87. Co-owner Props and Drops 1987-91, Designing for Union Plaza, Hacienda and Sahara Hotels and Casinos, Las Vegas; Harrah’s, South Lake Tahoe and Claridge Hotel, Atlantic City; Drury Lane Theater, Chicago. At Laguna Playhouse designed Chapatti, Alexandros, and transfer designed Murder on the Links from North Coast Rep. Marty has a B.A. from Creighton University, Omaha, NE.
ELISA BENZONI (Costume Designer) is thrilled to be working again with the Laguna Playhouse. Her work was previously seen in A Shayna Maidel, The Angel Next Door, Murder on the Links and Chapatti. Elisa has also worked on over a hundred productions across Southern California with theatres such as The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Diversionary Theatre and New Village Arts. Elisa is also the Resident Costume Designer at North Coast Repertory Theatre. Elisa holds a costume design M.F.A. from UCSD where she is currently an adjunct professor.
MATT NOVOTNY (Lighting Designer) is pleased to be bringing this show to Laguna Playhouse after previously designing it for North Coast Rep, where he has designed over 100 shows over the past 18 years. This is Matthew’s 5th show at Laguna, having previously designed Chapatti, Murder on the Links, 2 Pianos 4 Hands, and The Angel Next Door. Matthew is currently the Lighting Designer in Residence for North Coast and San Diego Junior Theatre, and frequently designs for Palomar College, CSUSM, Pacific Ridge School, Ovation Theatre Company, along with several others. Matthew currently works for Thermo Fisher Scientific, was well as teaching Theatre Design at Cal State San Marcos. Matthew holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre from San Diego State and a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Boston University. Matthew is married to his beautiful wife Amanda, with five AMAZING children: Ragan, Harper, Heston, Maddex, and Harrison.
IAN SCOT (Sound Designer/Composer) is a composer and sound designer specializing in the development of new works and installations. His music and designs have been heard at Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theatre, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Yale University Art Gallery, Actors Shakespeare Project, Dorset Theatre Festival, Ars Nova, Heartbeat Opera, Yale Repertory Theatre, Space Wing. In addition to his artistic endeavors, Ian has made an extensive career as an A1 for productions with Audible Theatre, The New
Group, Signature Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Rattlestick Theatre, Tuacahn Amphitheater, Classic Stage Company, Theatre for the New City, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and others. Ian received his MFA in Sound Design from Yale School of Drama.
MATT FITZGERALD (Co-Properties Designer) is the Production Manager at North Coast Rep since 2022. Previous credits include: Projection Design (Intimate Apparel), Sound Design (Blues in the Night) and Assistant Stage Manager (The Cherry Orchard). Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State.
TESSIA IADICICCO (Co-Properties Designer) found a passion for theatre while attending Palomar College. It was there that her journey began, and she has since worked in various roles all around North County. She has worked with Moonlight Amphitheater over the last 2 years where she got her start in Prop work. Now, she has teamed up with the North Coast Rep and Laguna Playhouse design teams to bring you Tartuffe!
PETER HERMAN (Hair/Wig Designer) is honored to be part of the creative team for Tartuffe. He has designed wigs for past co-productions of A Shayna Maidel, The Angel Next Door, and Murder on the Links. Peter has designed wigs for many theatres across southern California as well as some design works for theme parks, television and film. Peter currently teaches wig and makeup design at San Diego State.
VERNON WILLET (Production Stage Manager) has had the privilege of working with the Laguna Playhouse for many years. Vernon’s work encompasses many of the Southern California Theatres: North Coast Repertory Theatre, McCoy/Rigby Entertainment, Musical Theatre West, 3D Theatricals, the Rubicon Theatre, San Diego Musical Theatre, Theatre Aspen, Maltz Jupiter Theatre and a myriad of others. He shares his life with director/choreographer/champion ballroom dancer Cate Caplin. Actors’ Equity Association member since 1983.
DAVID ELLENSTEIN (Artistic Director) Born into a theatrical family, David has been working in professional theatre for the better part of five decades - from San Diego to Portland, Maine and from Miami to Anchorage, Alaska - and most places in between. Now, he serves as the Artistic Director for both Laguna Playhouse and North Coast Rep. At Laguna Playhouse, credits include directing The Angel Next Door, Chapatti, Alexandros and playing “Einstein” in Picasso at The Lapin Agile. Other directorial credits include The Chosen at Paper Mill Playhouse; Halpern and Johnson and Sonia Flew at Coconut Grove Playhouse; The Glass Menagerie, Rocket City and Honky Tonk Angels at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; His Royal Hipness at 59E59 in NYC; and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Renaissance Theatre. As Artistic Director at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach since 2003, over 60 directorial credits including Way Down River, The Tempest, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Outsider and The Homecoming. David’s career includes acting credits of playing the title roles in Hamlet at LA Theatre Center and LA Rep; Richard III at California Shakespeare Festival; Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Moonlight Stage; Jonathan in Sight Unseen, Max in Laughter on the 23rd Floor and Matt in Talley’s Folly at North Coast Rep as well as over three dozen film and television episodes.
BILL KERLIN (Managing Director) Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, Mr. Kerlin brings over 30 years of finance, marketing, and sales experience to the Laguna Playhouse, including 12 years as Managing Director for North Coast Repertory Theatre and 16 seasons as the Director of Administration at the legendary Coconut Grove Playhouse, in Miami. During the time that Bill served at Coconut Grove, it was the largest professional not-for-profit producing theatre in the State of Florida. Mr. Kerlin graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Miami in 1984. While he completed his Master of Science from Florida International University, he concurrently taught classes at Miami-Dade College. He was also the Chief Financial Officer for Professionals’ Retirement Strategy, a national insurance and retirement planning service firm in Irvine, CA. He has also served as a Board Member for Camposition, a performing arts company whose mission was to push the boundary between contemporary performance and activism through live performance, interactive outreach programs, and professional development trainings.
A TRULY THRILLING MYSTERY FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS.
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We at Laguna Playhouse acknowledge that we are on the unceded ancestral lands of the Tongva people. We recognize the enduring presence of the Tongva and are committed to showing respect to the past, present and future caretakers of this land.
WE SALUTE OUR LIFETIME SUPPORTERS
Heartfelt thanks from your Laguna Playhouse DISTINGUISHED BENEFACTORS
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Laguna Playhouse gratefully acknowledges our many donors, within the last year, February 1, 2023 – April 1, 2024 included here at Advocates and above.
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Jim & Judy Bergman
Graham & Eva Branton
Steven Brittan
Ivan Calderon
Caplin Foundation, ^Ruth & Mortimer Caplin
Steve Chapman
Ed Colson III
GM (Jim) & Nora Cunningham
Robert Daily & Veronica Gray
Robert & Julie Davey
Alison Davis
Gregg & Mary DeNicola
Azeem Dhalla
Maura Doyle
William Doyle
Michael & Sherie Dunbar
Paul & Donna Eckles
Michael & Sherie Dunbar
Elizabeth & Doug Frost
Margaret Gates
Alison & Bill Gregg
Pramila Gupta
Daniel E. Haspert, MD & Gerard
V. Curtin, Jr.
Mark & Jan Hilbert
Ara & Sandra Hovanesian
Larry Hunter
Lois Jacobs
Steve & Judi Johnson
Jorgensen Family Charitable Gift Fund
Lucetta J. Kallis
Lisa & Vahe Karamardian
Dennis & Joanne Keith
Bill Kerlin
Hiroaki Kinoshita
Jenny Klein
Art & Terry Kostka
Robert Krause
Lee Kucera
Jarrett & Tommye Kuske
Paul & June Lange
Jessica Langer
Kathy Leclair
Lori Livacich
John Livingston
Terry McDonald & Toni
McDonald^
Robert & Pat Mclaughlin
Jim Mears^
Susan Mears
Patrick & Tiare Meegan
Joan Moe
William Kasper & Leslie Anne
Mogul
Carol Nilsen
John Caren Nootbaar
Frank & Arlene O’Donnell
Kevin & Nella O’Grady
Richard & Lauren Packard
Madeleine Peterson
Johni Pittenger
Therese Poitevin
Mike & Michelle Polini
Paul & Jorja Puma
Michelle Reinglass
Fritz Reynolds
Schlinger Family Foundation
Susan Schrepper^
Ronald & Sindi Schwartz
Morris & Stephany Skenderian
Alison Smith
Nancy Smith
Ronald & June Stein
Anonymous
Diane Stovall
Scott Swenson
Leslie Sykes
Virginia Templeton
Richard & Monica Thompson
Belle Tuckerman
Dena Van Slyke
Jean Vivrette
Robert & Mary Ward
Virginia Wetterau
Bob Whalen
Bob & Kirsten Whalen
Doug & Karen Wilson
ADVOCATE’S CIRCLE
Actors’ Equity Foundation, Inc.
Alex Alessandrini
Jerry Allman
Terry & Diana Beeman
Gary & Nancy Beverage
Suzanne Boras
Bayard Bosserman
Laurie Bowers
Vanessa Brand
Brien Amspoker & Ellen Breitman
Steven Brenneis
Wayne Clark
Robert & Ann Coffee
Cathliene Cole
Ed Crook Family
Azeem & Zeena Dallah
Joseph Davis
Paula Davis
Paul J. Dukesherer
Ellen Dupuy
The Eberhardt Family
David Ellenstein
Paul Feuerborn
Fidelity Investments
Nancy Fries
Jennifer Furst
Jerrold Gonce
Jeff & Holly Hahn
Warren & Tina Haines
Clayton Hale
Terry Hanna
Michael & Janet Hards
Thomas Hylton
Jaime Jacobs-Rossfeld
James & Stephanie Johnson
J. Stanley & Mary W. Johnson
Family Foundation
Ken & Janis Kaplan
Zee King
Spencer L. Knapp & Carolyn
Knapp
Tom Knego
James & Patricia Kollenda
Kim & Mark Krouse
Amy Larson & Jake Smith
Shelley Lundborg
Greg & Patricia Lundeen
David M Gray
Duane & Kathleen Mauzey
Alissa McCanta
Karen Mcculley
Tricia Nichols
Rey O’Day
Phyllis Parkhurst
Dori Patterson
Amy Peninger & Jim Pisa
Cherri Penne-Myers
Teri Penniston
Playhouse Women
Keith Polakoff
Paul & Lucinda Prewitt
Hilary Davis & Sandy Ratner
Win Rhodes
Juan & Veltria Roman
Clay Stevens
The Covington
Cornelia Thomsen
Jerald & Patricia Waldman
Lee Warden
Christopher Whitesell
Vernon Willet
Robert & Janet Zaugg
^ gift in memory of
