Curious George: The Golden Meatball

Curious George

The Golden Meatball Music by John Kavanaugh | Book & Lyrics by Jeremy Desmon Based on the books by Margret and H.A. Rey and the Play Owned by Universal Stage Productions

September 23 - October 2

Fridays & Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm

4530 Colorado Ave., Sheffield Village, OH www.MetroParks.cc

Coming Soon!

LORAIN COUNTY METRO PARKS’ FRENCH CREEK THEATRE PRESENTS:

JEKYLL & HYDE CONCEIVED FOR THE STAGE BY FRANK WILDHORN & STEVE CUDEN BOOK AND LYRICS BY LESLIE BRICUSSE | MUSIC BY FRANK WILDHORN BASED ON THE STORY BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

OCTOBER 14 - 30

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 Cultural Arts Programmer..............................................................Brian McNally Front Desk Staff.......................................................Camille Olsen, Chris Bizub 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. Fred Alspach Board Member..............................................................................................Mr. Joseph Hribar

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French Creek

Theatre

2016-2017 season E w i n g T h e at r e

Jekyll & Hyde Oct 14 - 30

Victorian London’s elite are the epitome of pomp and circumstance: sneering sentiment and meticulous manners form the fragile facade of high society until one murderous monster with a taste for bourgeois blood peels back the curtain on their sordid private lives.

Conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn & Steve Cuden Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse Music by Frank Wildhorn Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson

E w i n g T h e at r e

Pijor Hall

All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten Nov 11 - 20

A school play. The skies over Los Angeles. The rubble of World War II. Life lessons arise from the most unpredictable places.

Based on the books by Robert Fulghum Conceived and Adapted by Ernest Zulia Music by David Caldwell

E w i n g T h e at r e

White Christmas

Death of a Salesman

Back by popular demand! Two exarmy men, one pair of sultry singers and an unseasonably warm Vermont winter add up to the perfect holiday musical.

A man struggles to earn a living wage after decades on the job. His grown children struggle to make careers for themselves. When hard work reaps little success, their family begins to doubt each other.

Dec 2 - 18

Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin Based upon the Paramount Pictures Film written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank Book by David Ives and Paul Blake

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Jan 13 - 29

By Arthur Miller

Pijor Hall

E w i n g T h e at r e

The Velveteen Rabbit

Joseph and the amazingtechnicolor dreamcoat

Feb 10 - 19

The tale of a child’s beloved toy yearning to be real graces the stage with all the magic and heart of Margery Williams’ original classic.

Adapted by Scott Davidson

Mar 3 - 19

Scorned by his brothers, sold into slavery and jailed for a crime he didn’t commit – how on earth is Joseph going to become the second most powerful man in Egypt?

Lyrics by Tim Rice // Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

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

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

Willy Wonka

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.

The world’s most famous chocolatier reemerges after years in hiding, and five lucky children win a once-in-alifetime trip through his factory.

July 14 - 16

By Thornton Wilder

Aug 11 - 13

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

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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!

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French Creek

Theatre

Curious George The Golden Meatball

Music by John Kavanaugh

Book & Lyrics by Jeremy Desmon

Based on the Books by Margret and H.A. Rey and the play owned by universal stage productions Director // Dr. Ted Williams Music Director // Jake Briggs Scenic Designer & Technical Director // Daniel Temelkoff Lighting Designer // Michael Martinek Sound Designer // Stan Kozak Costume Designer // Justin Bilewicz Stage Manager // Charlene Hartley Scenic Painter // Dayni Mahar Original Production of “Curious George Live!: The Golden Meatball” was produced by VEE Corporation in association with Universal Stage Productions and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

The character Curious George, including without limitation the character’s name and any variations, translations or local versions thereof and the character’s likenesses, are registered trademarks of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Copyright © 2014 by Universal Studios. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and used under license. “Curious George: The Golden Meatball” created by special arrangement with Universal Stage Productions and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Curious George: The Golden Meatball TYA Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

–– PLEASE NOTE ––

The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited

Welcome to French Creek Theatre Welcome to the 2016-2017 French Creek Theatre Season!

I hope you had time to visit our Curious George Book Nook and Curious George Photo Booth, both located in the front lobby! Both will be available, as well as concessions and pictures with the cast following each performance.

If you have yet to pick up the new season brochure they are available at the Box Rick Fortney Office.

Our next show for the entire Cultural Arts Manager, family plays November 11-20, All I Really Lorain County Metro Parks to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The play from the best-selling books features stories alternately moving and hilarious, and urges each of us to rediscover the meaning in life’s teachable moments.

We thank you for joining us as we celebrate Curious George’s 75th Birthday!!! We hope to see you throughout the theatre season.

Enjoy the show!

Rick Fortney Cultural Arts Manager

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Scenes/Songs Scene 1 - N. Avenue • Curious George Theme Song • Special Delivery Scene 2 - Pisghetti’s Ristorante Kitchen • A Dash of Joy Scene 3 - Street in front of Pisghetti’s Ristorante • Who’s Got Time?

• Special Delivery Reprise #1 • The Golden Meatball Scene 4 - N. Avenue • Special Delivery Reprise #2 • Curious George Goes to Rome / Curious George Theme Song Reprise #1 Scene 5 - A Busy Piazza in Rome • That’s How You Know You’re in Rome • Go Monkey, Go Scene 6 - Transition / In Front of the Golden Meatball Competition • A Buddy Like You Scene 7 - The Golden Meatball Contest • Keep Your Eye on the Ball • Curious George Theme Song Reprise #2 • Go Monkey, Go Reprise Pg. 9

A Note from the director With Curious George and the Golden Meatball I make my directorial debut with the Metro Parks’ theatre program. I must say I am impressed with and grateful for the support I’ve had from the administration and technical staff; their thorough professionalism made my job much easier. I especially want to thank our music director, Jake Briggs and the stage manager, Charlene Hartley for their efforts and commitment to making this production as good as it can be as well as a great experience for the actors.

I have found working with the actors to be a delightful experience. These young people know so much as a result of their participation in workshops and productions offered here by the Metro Parks. Like most actors they are wonderfully engaging individuals that can express themselves well. They follow direction and know that theater is hard work. They have learned that through hard work the fun of acting is discovered. I hope they’ve learned a few more techniques to add to their growth as performers as a result of working on this show and I look forward to seeing them in future productions. I would be very happy to work with them again.

Dr. Ted S. Williams Director

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Cast Curious George...............................................................Ella HAnley The Man in the Yellow Hat.......................Luciano DiFranco Chef Pisghetti/repairman......................Tobin Grendzynski Netti/Chef O’Malley/Painter................................Kiley Check Doorman/chef/tourist.......................................Alena Aguayo Phinneas T. Lightspeed/painter/ chef/delivery man/announcer..............Carter Sindelar Delivery man/painter/ contest stage manager........................................Tommy Bilczo Frankie Sidecar/painter/ chef/delivery man..................................................Connor fields

Production Team Director..................................................................Dr. Ted S. Williams Music Director...................................................................Jake Briggs Scenic & Technical Director....................Daniel Temelkoff Lighting Designer........................................Michael S. Martinek Sound Designer..................................................................Stan Kozak Costume Designer..................................................Justin Bilewicz Stage Manager..................................................Charlene Hartley Scenic Painter..................................................................Dayni Mahar

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Actor/Actress Bios

CAST Ella Hanley (Curious George) is 10 years old and in Sixth Grade at Troy Intermediate in Avon Lake.

This is her first speaking role (if monkey sounds count). Ella has been a member of Cleveland’s The Singing Angels for five years and also tours with the group. She plays the violin and is a flyer in cheer at Infinity Athletics.

L u c i a n o D i F r a n c o (The Man in the Yellow Hat) is a sophomore at Avon High School.

You might have seen him in Bye Bye Birdie as Mr. McAfee or in The Three Little Wolves & the Big Bad Pig as the Rhino. Luciano loves musicals, and is very excited to be in another production here at French Creek Theatre. He would like to thank his wonderful friends and family for being supportive of his theater passion. Luciano would also like to thank Doge. Enjoy the show, and break legs, cast mates.

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T o b i n G r e n dz y n s k i (Chef Pisghetti) is excited to be joining the cast.

Tobin lives in North Ridgeville, and is a freshman at North Ridgeville High School where he runs cross country and track. He started acting in 2014 at the Olde Towne Hall Theater. He started with French Creek last year in the play The Three Little Wolves & the Big Bad Pig as the Big Bad Pig. Tobin would like to thank his family for all the support that they have given him, and directors for believing in him.

Kiley Check (Netti) is a 15 year old student at Avon High School, and is so excited to be playing Netti. Her favorite credits include Kim MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, Gingy/Sugar Plum Fairy in Shrek, and Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical. She wants to thank her director and her cast mates for this wonderful opportunity!

Actor/Actress Bios Alena Aguayo (Doorman) is 14 years old and a freshman at Amherst Steele High School.

This is her 11th production. She was last seen as Ursula in Bye Bye Birdie. She’d like to thank Ted and the rest of the cast for a great experience.

C a r t e r S i n d e l a r (Phinneas T. Lightspeed) is happy to return to French Creek.

Previous theatre credits include playing the role of Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story at the Cleveland Play House, performing in Cleveland Opera Theater’s production of La Boheme, playing the title role in Oliver!, Hillbilly Holiday and Mr. Toad’s Mad Adventures at the Beck Center for the Arts, as well as Johnny in Really Rosie at TrueNorth.

Tommy Bilczo (Deliveryman) is happy to be returning to the stage at French Creek.

Tommy has most recently been seen last spring at the Beck Center

as Young Josh, in Big the Musical, and last winter as Gavroche in MAD* Factory’s Les Miserables School Edition. Tommy has been in productions with TrueNorth Cultural Arts at French Creek, most notably as Rory Wolf in The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, and as Randy in A Christmas Story the Musical. He is a fifth grade student at Brookside Intermediate School. When he’s not onstage, Tommy likes to hang out with his friends. He would like to thank his family and friends for their support, and his amazing vocal music teachers Amber and Nina for all their time and encouragement.

Enjoy the show!

Connor Fields (Frankie Sidecar) is 14 years old and attends Brookside High School. He has appeared in several shows here at French Creek including Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie. He would like to thank you for coming out tonight! He would love to thank his amazing mom for all she does for him and how encouraging she is to him.

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Actor/Actress Bios

Production Team Jake Briggs (Musical Director) grew up in Wooster, OH. After studying piano and reading music with Shirley Topovski from second grade to about fourth grade, Jake quit music for sports, and then picked it up again sophomore year after being given Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at his mother’s church. He studied with Jessica Berry, a ceramic artist and trumpeter who taught him scales, technique, and more textural passages of Debussy. Later he began studying Bach and Chopin with Judy Nihlen, who prepared him for his scholarship auditions, which allowed him to attend the College of Wooster with many scholarships and awards. There he studied with Jack Gallagher, Brian Dykstra, and Jeffrey Lindberg. Everyone should consider him a resource of information on music, art, and food they can access at any time for any reason whatsoever. Please google “Jake Briggs” to see his YouTube videos and larger recording projects.

Jake is currently an instructor at Music Therapy Enrichment Center in Westlake, OH and the choir director and organist at Independence Presbyterian Church.

Charlene Hartley (Stage Manager) has been spotted working at French Creek in productions of The Pajama Game, The Glass Menagerie, The Giver

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and Seussical. She has worked on productions in various backstage positions in Ohio and Michigan, including a season with Interlochen Arts Academy. Her favorite past shows include Charlotte’s Web (Director), The Secret Garden (Light Board Op), Coppelia (Production Manager), Our Country’s Good (ASM), and The Hobbit (Producer).

She would like to acknowledge her husband and children for their support of her love of theatre.

Michael S. Martinek (Lighting Designer) is currently the technology coordinator and a teacher at Saint Peter School in Lorain has been involved in Northeast Ohio performing arts for over six 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 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 eighth show at French Creek, 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.

Actor/Actress Bios Dr. Ted S. Williams (Director) is a life-long resident of Lorain. He is retired after 35 years of vocal music teaching - mostly in the Vermilion schools where he directed all choirs 5th through 12th grade, served as drama advisor and directed the school musical. Ted became involved in community theater in 1987 with Lorain Community Music Theater and since then he has been nearly continuously involved in LCMT, primarily as Vocal Director but sometimes as Director (Annie, Into the Woods), and sometimes as an actor – favorite roles include Moonface Martin (Anything Goes), Nathan Detroit (Guys and Dolls), Horace Vandergelder (Hello Dolly) and Wilbur Turnblad (Hairspray).

Ted serves on the LCMT board as well. Ted also directs the Chancel Choir at the United Church of Christ, Congregational in Vermilion and the Oberlin-based community chorus, Choral Spectrum. Ted wishes to thank his wife, Betsy for her support of his involvement in theater and music.

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 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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Actor/Actress Bios Daniel Temelkoff (Scenic Designer/Technical Director) is returning for his fourth show on the French Creek stage having previously worked on South Pacific (Technical Director) and Next to Normal (Assistant Projection Director). While relatively new to the technical side of theater (and having fun with it), Daniel prefers acting and had been seen in The Wooden Nickelodeon’s The Gyntish Self (Loki, The Mutant Princess, John, Shadow), Negative Space Gallery’s FAIDS (Bill), and Youngstown State University’s productions of Medea (Jason), Reasons to be Pretty (Kent), The Crucible (Reverend Paris), Leading Ladies (Doctor Myers), The Cripple of Inishmaan (Doctor McMurrey), and As You Like It (Sir Oliver Martext).

Daniel has also appears on film in Made in Cleveland and Investigation Discovery’s Homicide Hunter.

D. Justin Bilewicz, III (Costume Designer) Justin is graduate of Ashland University and works as a freelance Costume Designer for the local area. In addition to designing costumes, Justin is the production manager for Sandstone Summer Theatre in Amherst, Ohio, the Drama Director for Clearview High School and the Palace Youth Theatre’s Director in Lorain, Ohio.

Some of Justin’s favorite costume credits include Carrie, The Musical (Sandstone Summer Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire (Mamaí Theatre Company),

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Jesus Christ Superstar (TrueNorth Cultural Arts Center), Antigone (Clearview High School), Mothers and Sons (Beck Center for the Arts), and Waiting for Lefty (Case Western Reserve University). Justin is the French Creek resident costume designer and the Ashland University Costume Shop Supervisor. Most recently, Justin designed Legally Blonde for Sandstone Summer Theatre, Directed Beauty and the Beast for The Lorain Palace Youth Theatre, and costumed the True North children’s theatre production of Bye Bye Birdie and Clague Playhouse’s production of What I Did Last Summer.

Universal Stage Productions is the live theatre division of the world-famous motion picture studio. Universal’s record-breaking musical phenomenon Wicked will celebrate its twelfth smash-hit year on Broadway this Fall. With its current national tour and multiple international productions, Wicked has been seen by more than 42 million people worldwide, making it one of the most successful theatrical ventures of all time.

In 2008, Universal’s critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Billy Elliot opened on Broadway and went on to win ten Tony Awards® including Best Musical.

It will soon celebrate its tenth year on London’s West End. Recently, Universal produced the Tony-

Actor/Actress Bios nominated Broadway production of Bring It On: The Musical and the acclaimed revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, winner of the 2012 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical. Additional credits include the blockbuster revival of Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino and the star-studded Broadway production of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. Upcoming projects include a national tour of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn and a musical adaptation of Universal Pictures’ October Sky set to premiere in Chicago in August of 2015.

Jeremy Desmon (Book & Lyrics) is an award-winning musical theatre bookwriter whose stories have played to audiences around the world. The Girl in the Frame, seen in over a dozen productions, earned him the prestigious Edward Kleban Prize as America’s most promising musical theatre bookwriter. Pump Up the Volume, his adaptation of the 1990 film, has been developed at Goodspeed Musicals and The Human Race Theatre. He is also know for the high-school jukebox musical, Cyrano de BurgerShack, the wildly imaginative comedy, I See London, I See France: The Underwear Musical, and the topical Virtually Me, recently on tour with Theatreworks USA. In addition, Jeremy has written “family theatrical” touring arena shows for some of the world’s most

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recognizable characters, including Disney Live’s Mickey’s Music Festival!, Universal’s Curious George Live!, and Sesame Workshop’s Elmo Rocks!

He’s written multiple editions of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus and recently completed new adaptations of Disney’s Tangled and Pixar’s Brave for Disney On Ice’s worldwide tour.

John Kavanaugh (Original Music) is currently serving as songwriter/ musical director for Disney’s brand new princess, Sofia the First. He took home the Daytime Emmy Award® for “Outstanding Song: Main Title” for Sofia the First. His music can also be heard in several animated features – Disney’s hit Winnie the Pooh Movie, Springtime with Roo, and the Nickelodeon musical , Globe Hunters, and Around the World in 80 Days Adventure which includes the song “Be Where You Are” featuring Chaka Kahn. With lyricist Marcy Heisler, John wrote “Joseph’s Lullaby” especially for Michael Crawford, featured on Crawford’s album On Eagle’s Wings for Atlantic Records. He wrote music and lyrics to the theme for the 2003 Special Olympics, “You’re The Dream” recorded by the Walt Disney Records star Myra, and has written songs for the award winning television show Sesame Street.

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