Bloom by Andrew morton
March 31 - April 9
Fridays & Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm
4530 Colorado Ave., Sheffield Village, OH www.MetroParks.cc/Theatre
Coming Soon! LORAIN COUNTY METRO PARKS’ FRENCH CREEK THEATRE PRESENTS:
PARADE
BOOK BY ALFRED UHRY | MUSIC AND LYRICS BY JASON ROBERT BROWN CO-CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED ON BROADWAY BY HAROLD PRINCE BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF THE TRIAL AND LYNCHING OF LEO FRANK
MAY 5 - 21
FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS AT 7:30 PM AND SUNDAYS AT 3 PM TICKETS: $10 - $18 | (440) 949-5200 OR WWW.METROPARKS.CC
French Creek
Theatre
French Creek Nature and Arts Center
Cultural Arts Manager / Site Manager....................................Rick Fortney Ranger Supervisor / Park Manager....................................... Brian Holmes Senior Naturalist................................................................................. Aimee Potonic Naturalist................................................................................................Rachel Mazzola Cultural Arts Programmer..............................................................Brian McNally Front Desk Box Office Staff............................Camille Olsen, Chris Bizub, Patrick Hanlon FCNAC Building and Grounds Crew............................................Tim Barrett, Thomas Bourque, David Davis
Lorain County Metro Parks
Director.....................................................................................................................James Ziemnik Assistant Director..........................................................................................Jennifer Bracken Operations Supervisor............................................................................................Paul Hruby Chief Naturalist...............................................................................................Grant Thompson Public Information Officer...........................................................................Vanessa Klesta Web Developer and Graphic Artist.....................................................Nicholas Baker
Lorain County Metro Parks Board of Park Commissioners
Chairman ................................................................................................... Ms. Cookie McLoda Board Member..............................................................................................Mr. Joseph Hribar Board Member.............................................................................................. Mr. Fred Alspach
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French Creek
Theatre
2016-2017 season Pijor Hall
E w i n g T h e at r e
Bloom
Parade
Following a violent incident at school, a 15-year-old boy is assigned to work with his social worker’s father, an urban gardener coping with the loss of his wife. Over the course of one summer, a budding friendship empowers them to grow beyond their troubled pasts.
1913. Marietta, Georgia. A teenage girl is found murdered in the factory where she works. The town wants justice at any cost, and all eyes turn to her supervisor, a Brooklyn Jew who has never fit in with their southern way of life.
Mar 31 - Apr 9
By Andrew Morton
E w i n g T h e at r e
Pure Imagination Presented by The Musical Theater Project
June 25
Here’s a show that will appeal to the entire family, from the very young to the very young-at-heart. timeless tunes from Disney and Sesame Street will be sure to have kids, their parents and even their grandparents up on their feet for this interactive performance. Featuring Ursula Cataan, Jodi Maile Kirk, Nancy Maier and Shane Patrick O’Neill
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May 5 - 21
Book by Alfred Uhry Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown Co-Conceived and Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince Based on the true story of the trial and lynching of Leo Frank
E w i n g T h e at r e
Our Town July 14 - 23
Ushering in a new era of modern theatre, Thornton Wilder wrote of a people frozen in the earliest years of the 20th century. Decades later audiences continue to be moved by their simple yet universal struggles, dreams, loves and triumphs. By Thornton Wilder
E w i n g T h e at r e
Willy Wonka Aug 11 - 20
The world’s most famous chocolatier reemerges after years in hiding, and five lucky children win a once-in-alifetime trip through his factory. Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley Adapted for the Stage by Leslie Bricusse & Timothy Allen McDonald Based on the book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
–– PLEASE NOTE ––
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited
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Visit Us! 38790 Chester Road Avon Ohio 44011 440.934.WINE (9463) www.thewoodnwine.com
Proud supporter of French Creek Theatre! Pg. 6
French Creek
Theatre
Bloom By Andrew Morton
Artistic Director // Rick Fortney Director // Skip Corris Stage Manager // Jim Saulino Lighting Designer // Michael S. Martinek Sound Designer // Stan Kozak Board Op // Jordan Demich-Bogner Run Crew // Megan Lilly Set Construction // Tim Barrett Set Construction // Garett Taketa Set Construction // David Davis
Produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.
Welcome to French Creek Theatre Welcome! Thank you for joining us. Bloom not only connects with the season, but more importantly tackles an important need within our society. The need for patience, listening, and love.. Social Work is victorious when you have someone like Michelle on your team.! There are a lot of Michelle’s out there in the field, hats off to each and everyone! Over the course of one summer, a budding friendship empowers Bobby and Daniel to grow beyond their troubled pasts. May each of us this summer find another that we can encourage and mentor. Andrew Morton’s Bloom continues through April 9.
Rick Fortney Artistic Director, Lorain County Metro Parks
Our season continues with Jason Robert Brown’s Parade opening in Ewing Theatre May 5th continuing through the 21st. Grief, ambition and tragedy come together for a beautiful and stirring musical that challenges our own prejudices. Due to content this musical is intended for high school and adult. Anyone younger, parents, please study the content beforehand. This summer we will have two productions, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town opens July 14th and Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley’s Willy Wonka opens August 11th! Thank you for coming to the show and I hope to see you at some of our upcoming productions..
Rick Fortney Artistic Director
Acknowledgements Thank You
French Creek Theatre would like to give special thanks to the following people for their help on this production: • Leonard Goff, David Corris, Evie Morris (Eve&Stephen), Kevin Breen • Vegetables and Jams courtesy of Shipula Farm • Mark Brennan – vocal and guitar on Rob Cosma’s Gathering of Flowers • David Corris – vocal and guitar on Inch by Inch • Brittany Ozanich – Sign painting • Leonard Goff - voiceover work
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Play Synopsis Setting The action of the play takes place in Bobby Graham’s backyard, a local restaurant, and the rooftop of an abandoned grocery store in a Midwestern rustbelt city not unlike our own. In memory of Rob Cosma, whose song, “Gathering of Flowers,” was performed by co-writer, Mark Brennan, before the show.
-Ray & Linda Cosma, Jr.
A Note from the director I’m proud to work on Bloom with an ensemble that is both gifted and nurturing. Bloom is about growth, not only of plants and vegetables, but the growth we experience as human beings interacting with others. Such interaction, especially with people we might not usually come into contact, can change the world. As the Pete Seeger song goes, “Inch by inch; row by row…”
Skip Corris Director
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Cast Michelle..........................................................................Kristina Rivera Bobby....................................................................................Ray Cosma, Jr. Daniel......................................................................Tobin Grendzynski Lisa............................................................................................Linda Cosma Ashely....................................................................................Haily Simeral
Production Team Artistic Director..........................................................Rick Fortney Director....................................................................................Skip Corris Stage Manager...................................................................Jim Saulino Lighting Designer........................................Michael S. Martinek Sound Designer..................................................................Stan Kozak Board Op.....................................................Jordan Demich-Bogner Run Crew................................................................................Megan Lilly set construction...........................................................Tim Barrett set construction.....................................................Garett Taketa set construction.............................................................David Davis
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Cast and Crew Bios
CAST K r is t i n a Rivera (Michelle) is thrilled to be a part of the cast of Bloom. The magic of theater is an instant connection between the players and the audience; sharing a story and having the chance to experience a part of life, whether like or unlike personal experience is a deep and moving encounter. And many times, incredibly fun! Many thanks to the audience here with us tonight. Past theater credits include: Geneva (Dearly Beloved), Wanda Gavin (Priceless Productions and Moushey Mysteries Murder in 3-D), Marta (Company), Catherine (Orphans). Directing credits: Carrie: The Musical, The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays, Uh Oh Here Comes Christmas. Here’s to a great run! T o bi n Grendzynski (Daniel) is excited to be part of the cast of Bloom. Tobin lives in North Ridgeville and is a freshman in North Ridgeville High School where he runs cross country and track. Tobin is also a
tenor in concert choir and loves to sing. He started acting in 2014 at the Olde Towne Hall Theater in Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin. He started with French Creek two years ago in the play The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (The Big Bad Pig). Tobin would like to thank his family for all the support that they have given him, and Skip for believing in him. Raymond E. Cosma, Jr. (Bobby) retired from the world of transportation in 2011, and since has been fortunate to perform at Clague Playhouse, Lorain County Community College, Olmsted Performing Arts, Sandstone Summer Theatre, Olde Towne Hall Theatre, and North Point Ballet (Grandfather/Narrator, NOT as a dancer!). Raymond knows a lot less about gardening than Bobby does, but he does labor in his wife’s gardens, the garden at St. Vincent de Paul Church, and at Shipula Farms on Lake Road in Elyria Township. Linda Cosma (Lisa) was born a Garner, and is a loving gardener, specializing in blending herbs, vegetables and flowers in her gardens. She is delighted to be in Bloom as her first production at French Creek Theatre. She has previously performed at
Cast and Crew Bios Lorain County Community College in four different roles in American Enterprise, as Norma Henshaw in The Diviners, Mother in Another Lonely Midnight in the Life of the Tortured Poet, and as Molly and Old Woman in Masterpiece. Additionally, she was a Chaperone in Carrie at Sandstone Summer Theatre. Happy Spring and Happy Planting, everyone!!! Haily Simeral (Ashley) is currently a senior at Mentor High School, and is very excited to be graduating this coming May. This is her first show at French Creek. After graduation she plans to attend the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in July, and then head to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.
Production team Skip Corris (Director) can’t seem to get away from directing plays about growing things. Last spring at the Lorain Palace, Skip directed Kim Ceja’s Blooms of Steel: The Musical, which in its non-musical
form originated here at French Creek. He also directed LCCC’s production of American Enterprise, and most recently, Olde Towne Hall’s production of Camping With Henry and Tom, in addition to dozens of plays in Ohio, New Jersey, and New York. A founding member of NYC’s acclaimed Apple Corps Theatre Company, where he directed a well-received production of Eugene O’Neill’s Sea Plays, Skip also saw the production there of his play The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde featuring Orson Bean in the title role. He is a past recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Playwriting Fellowship. A prolific actor, Skip performed in the Cleveland premiere of Nikkole Salter’s Lines in the Dust at Cleveland Public Theatre, and is currently participating in Road To Freedom, French Creek’s exploration of the Underground Railroad. Skip spent two winters on beautiful Sanibel Island portraying Sigmund Freud and Thomas Edison in Freud’s Last Session and Camping with Henry and Tom. James Saulino (Stage Manager) is originally from Youngstown, OH, and has lived in Nashville, TN; Milwaukee, WI; and Salem, OH. When he was young James studied dance with his sister, and put on plays with his two brothers. James was influenced by his parents’ love of musicals as well as their record collection. At Youngstown State University, he completed several degrees in Education Pg. 13
Cast and Crew Bios with minors in English and Social Studies. James studies the clarinet, saxophone and guitar, and worked for 13 years as a private disc jockey. Now retired, James has lived in Lorain since 2012. This is his first venture as stage manager, having appeared this past fall in Jekyll & Hyde here at French Creek. Michael S. Martinek (Lighting Designer) is currently the technology coordinator and a teacher at Saint Peter School in Lorain, and has been involved in Northeast Ohio performing arts for over seven years. He has conducted various choral and instrumental ensembles; provided theatrical, technical, box office, and event oversight; and served in various behind the scenes roles of House Manager, Stage Manager, Sound Designer, Lighting Designer, Projection Designer, Set Designer, Technical Director, and Event Consultant to vast number of productions at Saint Ignatius High School’s Breen Center for the Performing Arts, Notre Dame College, and Mercury Theatre Company. He is extremely excited to return for his twelfth show at French Creek Theatre and would personally like to thank the cast for their wonderful talent, hard work, and enthusiasm; and the production staff for all their wonderful direction, dedication, and leadership in this production.
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Stan Kozak (Sound Designer) Stan Kozak, currently in his twentyseventh season at Great Lakes Theater, has more than 50 design credits including Bat Boy: The Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Comedy of Errors, Amadeus, You Can’t Take It With You, Private Lives, Into the Woods and the Tom Hanks’ benefit performances. His work in 1979 and 1981 with Geraldine Fitzgerald on Streetsongs at GLTF led to the original cast album. Mr. Kozak was the resident sound designer for four seasons at the Porthouse Theatre Company, including productions of Driving Miss Daisy, Niteclub Confidential and a Nightingale Sang. His collaborations with Victoria Bussert at Baldwin-Wallace College include productions of Chess, Hair, Company, Cabaret, West Side Story, Tommy in Concert, Parade, the Ohio premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, and one of the first nonprofessional productions of Phantom of the Opera. For Cain Park, his design credits include Secret Garden, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Bat Boy, Tick, tick…Boom, Nine, The Wiz, Harold and Maude and Pippin. Mr. Kozak has also designed sound for Wit and Last Five Years for the Dobama Theater, Iolanthe and Sweeney Todd for the Cleveland Opera, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Forbidden Broadway SVU for the Hanna Theatre and A Shayna Maidel, Brooklyn Boy and Pangs of the Messiah for the JCC. He has served as sound designer for the
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Cast and Crew Bios All-City Musical for the Cleveland school system for eight seasons. He also had the good fortune to have worked with Bebe Neuwirth in her concert performance for the Ideastream Gala in 2005. He was honored to be among the first group of LORT sound designers to achieve recognition in USA 829.
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The Morning Journal Lorain, OH | www.MorningJournal.com
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Coming Soon! LORAIN COUNTY METRO PARKS & THE MUSICAL THEATER PROJECT PRESENT:
PURE
IMAGINATION PRESENTED BY:
FEATURING URSULA CATAAN, JODI MAILE KIRK, NANCY MAIER AND SHANE PATRICK O’NEILL
JUNE 25 SUNDAY AT 3 PM
TICKETS: $10 - $18 | (440) 949-5200 OR WWW.METROPARKS.CC
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