The Elephant Man

THE ELEPHANT MAN

The Elephant Man

By Bernard Pomerance

May 4 - 20

Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm

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

Coming Soon!

LORAIN COUNTY METRO PARKS’ FRENCH CREEK THEATRE PRESENTS:

LIONEL BART’S

OLIVER! BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY LIONEL BART

DIRECTED BY MARYANN NAGEL & GREG VIOLAND MUSICAL DIRECTION BY JESS STEWART

JULY 13 - 29

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 Senior Naturalist................................................................................. Aimee Potonic Naturalist II.............................................................................................Rachel Mazzola Cultural Arts Programmer..............................................................Brian McNally Front Desk Staff.............Camille Olsen, Chris Bizub, Robert Scott Taylor 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. Kenneth Lieux

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French Creek

Theatre

2017-2018 season E w i n g T h e at r e

E w i n g T h e at r e

Bonnie & Clyde

Annie

The Great Depression. As the country’s corporations, banks and institutions crumble, suffering Americans crave a reckoning. Two upstart criminals emerge from the dust of poverty to become folk heroes for their brazen, lawless and deadly deeds.

Billionaire Oliver Warbucks is a man who thinks he has everything. Elevenyear-old Annie is an orphan with nothing. When the unlikely pair meet, together they find the thing that was missing in each other.

Oct 13 - 29, 2017

Book by Ivan Menchell Lyrics by Don Black | Music by Frank Wildhorn

P i j o r T h e at r e

Dec 1 - 17, 2017

Book by Thomas Meehan Music by Charles Strouse | Lyrics by Martin Charnin Based on Little Orphan Annie by permission of The Media Tribune Services, Inc.

E w i n g T h e at r e

I’m Not Rappaport

Children of Eden

From a bench in Central Park, Nat & Midge, two feisty octogenarians, refuse to disappear into the diminishing twilight of their lives.

While Nat’s daughter imperils his independence with the threat of nursing homes, Midge fights the yuppie forces trying to push him out of his job. Using the wiles and wisdom that only come with age, they make their final stand in this sidesplitting and thoughtful Tony-award winner.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve live in a state of perfection with their Father.

But when they eat from the Tree of Knowledge, their disobedience sets off a powerful chain of events spanning generations, and leaves the far reaches of their bloodline searching for the way back to Eden.

Feb 2 - 18, 2018

By Herb Gardner

Mar 9 - 25, 2018

Book by John Caird Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Based on a concept by Charles Lisanby Orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin and Martin Erskine

P i j o r T h e at r e

E w i n g T h e at r e

The Elephant Man

Oliver!

In 1886, a horrifically deformed sideshow attraction named John Merrick is taken in by a young English surgeon named Frederick Treves.

As Treves endeavors to civilize him by introducing him to London’s elite, Merrick dreams of being like other men. But when manners and propriety leave Merrick dissatisfied, Treves begins to question his own altruistic pursuits.

Sold from the only life he’s ever known in a toilsome workhouse to be an apprentice coffin-follower for a jocund undertaker, the orphaned and hapless Oliver escapes to find someplace he truly belongs. Taken in by a band of young pickpockets, Oliver thinks he’s finally found a family until a robbery gone sour incurs the wrath of their menacing leader.

May 4 - 20, 2018

July 13 - 29, 2018

Book, Music and Lyrics by Lionel Bart

By Bernard Pomerance

L a k e v i e w Pa r k , Lo r a i n

Romeo & Juliet

Aug 17 - 19 (Shows at 7pm) One of the greatest tragedies of all time, Shakespeare’s tale of passion and calamity is performed outdoors as Lorain County Metro Parks is transformed into “fair Verona, where we lay our scene…”

By William Shakespeare

Shakespeare in the Park!

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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

The Elephant Man

by Bernard Pomerance

Director // Ismael Lara Stage Manager // Julie Billinghurst Tech Director/Set Designer // Derek Green Lighting Designer // Rob Peck Sound Designer // Stan Kozak Props Master/Crew // Sarah Rounds Costume Designer // Jill Kenderes Costume Designer // Katie Atkinson Tech Apprentice // Olivya DeLuca Artistic Director // Rick Fortney Program Director // Brian McNally

“Elephant Man, The” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

–– PLEASE NOTE ––

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

Welcome to French Creek Theatre Welcome to the French Creek Theatre!

Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man is a Tony Award winning play based on the true story of John Merrick. We selected this show not only for its literature content, but also for its reminder in encouraging history never to repeat itself.

How mankind could prejudge a person for his or her own appearance, mock... scorn...abuse...be beaten and hounded for one’s terrible disfigurement...there is Rick Fortney no excuse. The Elephant Man climbed Cultural Arts Manager, from a carnival sideshow act, to artist, Lorain County Metro Parks intellectual and celebrity in 19th century London. In the end, a testimony of goodwill and second chances.

I would like to thank our Production Team, Staff and Actors for all of their dedication of time and talent to this production. We welcome director Ismael Lara to our team of directors. He, and the entire team, has been a joy to work with. Three actors are gracing our French Creek stage for the first time...Willis McNeal, Rose Gabriele and Jeff Caja...welcome!

This summer I hope you can join us in July for Lionel Bart’s Musical, Oliver! and in August, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet will take place at Lakeview Park amidst the backdrop of the Lakeview Fountain, sunset, and Lake Erie … our version of Shakespeare in the Park. Romeo and Juliet is free (no ticket required)...we only remind you to bring a blanket and chair, and be ready to be moved as we experience Shakespeare’s finest!

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Please stop by the Box Office and pick-up next season’s flier. We are currently selling 2018-2019 season tickets, 33% discount...now is the time!

Thank you for joining us for The Elephant Man and for your continued support not only here at French Creek but throughout northeast Ohio as we celebrate the arts.

Boom ... Boom ... Boom ...

No ... No ... No ...

It has been a very great pleasure to meet your acquaintance.

And I built it with one hand!

Pure heart.

Rick Fortney Cultural Arts Manager

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Scene Breakdown Scene 1: HE WILL HAVE 100 GUINEA FEES BEFORE HE’S FORTY Scene 2: ART IS AS NOTHING TO NATURE Scene 3: WHO HAS SEEN THE LIKE OF THIS? Scene 4: THIS INDECENCY MAY NOT CONTINUE Scene 5: POLICE SIDE WITH IMBECILE AGAINST THE CROWD Scene 6: EVEN ON THE NIGER AND CEYLON, NOT THIS Scene 7: THE ENGLISH PUBLIC WILL PAY FOR HIM TO BE LIKE US Scene 8: MERCY AND JUSTICE ELUDE OUR MINDS AND ACTIONS Scene 9: MOST IMPORTANT ARE WOMEN Scene 10: WHEN THE ILLUSION ENDS HE MUST KILL HIMSELF Scene 11: HE DOES IT WITH JUST ONE HAND Scene 12: WHO DOES HE REMIND YOU OF? Scene 13: ANXIETIES OF THE SWAMP Scene 14: ART IS PERMITTED BUT NATURE FORBIDDEN Scene 15: INGRATITUDE Scene 16: NO RELIABLE GENERAL ANESTHETIC HAS APPEARED YET Scene 17: CRUELTY IS AS NOTHING TO KINDNESS Scene 18: WE ARE DEALING WITH AN EPIDEMIC Scene 19: THEY CANNOT MAKE OUT WHAT HE IS SAYING Scene 20: THE WEIGHT OF DREAMS Scene 21: FINAL REPORT TO THE INVESTORS // The END //

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Cast Max Elinsky..........................................................Treves/Policeman Willis McNeal..............................................................................Merrick Rose Gabriele..............................................Mrs. Kendal/Pinhead Bob Kenderes........................................Carr Gomm/Conductor Suzanne Kramer.....................Sandwich/Pinhead/Princess Spencer Riley.........................Pinhead Manager/Policeman/ Porter/Lord John Jeff Caja..............................................................Ross/Bishop/Snork

Production Team Ismael Lara..................................................................................Director Julie Billinghurst ................................................Stage Manager Derek Green ................................Tech Director/Set Designer Rob Peck...................................................................Lighting Designer Stan Kozak .................................................................Sound Designer Sarah Rounds ...............................................Props Master/Crew Jill Kenderes .....................................................Costume Designer Katie Atkinson ..................................................Costume Designer Olyvya DeLuca ........................................................Tech Apprentice Rick Fortney .........................................................Artistic Director Brian McNally ...................................................Program Director

A Note from the director Normality is an illusion that we’ve created in order to feel safe.

Our vulnerability is disguised by being normal. We do what others do because we think it is right. We follow this trend in order to blend in. However, blending in becomes incredibly difficult once our physical being is taken into account. The shapes of our bodies. The color of our skin. We cannot hide that. We cannot pretend to blend in.

The Elephant Man is about a human who suffered because he did not blend in. His community ostracized him. In my eyes, he was a victim of appropriation. At the root though, Merrick is a spirit whose naturalness and unquestionableness offered vulnerability and truth to those in close proximity. In an attempt to increase punctuality of this production, I have chosen to cast a man of color in the role of Merrick. This emphasizes a narrative in which I’m interested in exploring: As a person of color, there is no way to blend in – there is an immediate categorizing and judgment that takes place when someone looks at you. People of color have always faced ostracism, appropriation, and being robbed of their nature. My hope is that when we experience this play, we are able to see a true reflection of ourselves and our unclean actions towards those who are systematically oppressed.

I’m curious to see what happens when the illusion of normality ends. When we realize as a society we’ve been destroying what nature has given us in order to be normal. When do we learn from this? When do we stop fighting to be like others? When will we accept that being normal is only an illusion? When this happens, “it will be an imitation of grace flying up and up from the mud.”

Enjoy!

Ismael Lara Director

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Actor/Actress Bios

CAST Jeff Caja (Ross/ Bishop/Snork) was called “off the bench” to take on his first role at French Creek.

He is no stranger to playing multiple characters – he portrayed five different roles in A Christmas Carol at Workshop Players Theatre in Amherst where he’s been seen most often lately.

Favorite roles include Chet Pazinski (Over the Tavern), Deputy File (The Rainmaker), and Robert Dumond (Don’t Dress for Dinner). He has also appeared onstage at Olde Town Hall Theatre, Huntington Playhouse and Elyria Summer Theatre back in the day. He is a grateful for this chance to perform in this wonderful space.

Max Elinsky ( T r e v e s / Policeman) is returning to the stage after a six year hiatus from the theatre.

Thanks to Rick Fortney, Max got his first supporting role at French Creek playing Jackie O’Shea in Daddy Allen: The Story of the Easter Seals. His last performance was also here, playing Pg. 14 Sheriff Bell in Big River.

He also appeared in Road to Freedom as Jabez Burrell in 2012. Max had felt a calling to leave Cleveland for LA with nothing but a backpack and a few dollars. Instead of acting, he found himself looking out at the Pacific Ocean with nothing but a Bible and a sleeping bag. John Piper says it best: “I need to crawl and claw through my selfish, prideful, broken heart to the bottom believing there is blood down there. Not hell. Blood, Jesus’ blood, and it’s only at the bottom.” Now Max is back with a message: God will call you to something beyond your capability, and He will deliver you. Max also got married in 2015 to his onscreen sweetheart, Alexandra Russo, and together they have a oneyear-old daughter named Maxine Rhyann. Thank you for supporting local theatre.

Rose Gabriele (Mrs. Kendal/ Pinhead) is thrilled to return to French Creek Theatre, where she was most recently seen on the LCMP trail in Road to Freedom.

Other credits include Mary in The Whale at None Too Fragile, Marta Dunhill in Thumbs at Hudson Players, Abby in Ripcord at Stow Players, Susan in The Senator Wore Pantyhose at Western Reserve Playhouse, Daisy Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner at Weathervane, Fiona in How the Other Half Loves at Coach

Actor/Actress Bios House, and Diana in Lend Me A Tenor at Strongsville Community Theatre.

She appears as a patient actor at the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University, performs in murder mysteries all around the area, and has toured professionally for a children’s theatre company. For ten years, she worked as an Emmy Award-winning radio and television journalist in Northeast Ohio. Rose owns her own communications business, and works with a national firm to teach public speaking skills at many Fortune 500 companies. Hugs to family and friends for their support!

Bob Kenderes ( G o m m / Conductor) is pleased to return to French Creek after last appearing in White Christmas, the Musical. He is a proud cast member of Cleveland’s awardwinning Take-a-Hike Program, as well as the tour guide for its new University Circle tour. He also works as a Ticketing Concierge at Playhouse Square, and a volunteer Concierge Ambassador for Destination Cleveland.

Suzanne Kramer (Sandwich/ Pinhead/Princess) is delighted to be a part of her second production French Creek. Earlier this season she played the role of Clara Gelber in I’m Not Rappaport, which marked

her return to the stage after a 20 year intermission.

Suzanne is originally from Central Ohio, where she began her stage career with Licking County Players as a child in productions such as Oliver! and The Wizard of Oz. Her background is as an actress, dancer and choreographer, and she worked with Granville Players and Weathervane Playhouse before relocating to Northeast Ohio to start a family. Suzanne is an Intervention Specialist with Olmsted Falls City Schools, and is a Certified Trauma Practitioner of Education. As a special educator, the story of The Elephant Man holds special significance for her. Suzanne lives in Avon with her husband and daughter.

Willis McNeal (Merrick) is proud to be in his first show at French Creek Theatre. His last performance was under the direction of Ismael in The Anthony Sowell Story. Willis started acting, writing and directing short skits for prison inmates at the Richmond Correctional Institution.

After a long hiatus from the lime light, Pg. 15

Actor/Actress Bios Willis is back to take on his biggest challenge in The Elephant Man. A big thank you to everyone who has helped him along the way. It takes a village.

S p e n c e r Riley (Pinhead M a n a g e r / Policeman/ Porter/Lord John) is excited to be participating in his first straight play since college!

He has been in many productions at French Creek, most recently Bonnie and Clyde, Annie, and Children of Eden. He will next grace the French Creek stage in July, playing the role of Noah Claypole in Oliver! Past roles include the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, Shahryar in The Arabian Nights, Peter in At Home at the Zoo, Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, to name but a few. Spencer is a 2014 graduate of Marietta College with a BFA in Theater. He would like to thank his family for their love and support, Ismael and Julie for their dedication and encouragement, and his cast mates for blowing me away with their talent! Enjoy the show!

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Production Team: Ismael Lara (Director) Ismael is a graduate of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, where he received a BA in Theatre with an emphasis in Directing and Education. Ismael’s directing credits include: The Mint Play at Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT), The Story of Mr. Not So Well at Playwrights Local, World Premiere of The Family Claxon at CPT (AD), World Premiere of Oreo Carrot Danger at FaultLine Theatre Company - San Francisco (AD), The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, World Premiere of The Mountain King, Texas Premiere of Adam Syzmkowic’s Clown Bar, Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play, Waiting For Godot, The Heidi Chronicles and an all female Julius Caesar. Next Up: Workshop Production of And All The Dead Lie Down by Harrison David Rivers (Convergence-Continuum).

Katie Simón Atkinson (CoCostumer) is excited to be working her first French Creek show! She just finished costuming Broadview Heights Spotlights’ Theatre for Young Audiences production of James & the Giant Peach and Blank Canvas Theatre’s first Factory Series production of the year (The Way I Danced with You), both with her incredible co-costumer Jill. Their work can also be seen in Spotlights’ Dividing the Estate, running now until May 13th. In addition to costuming,

Actor/Actress Bios Katie usually spends a great deal of time onstage (she was last seen as Corie in Cassidy’s Barefoot in the Park), along with teaching Shakespeare at Cassidy Theatre.

Thanks especially to Jill, and love to Joe and John.

J u l i e Billinghurst (Stage Manager) is excited to be stage managing her first straight play at French Creek Theatre.

She has been the SM for the musicals at FCT for the past three seasons. Other theatre credits include TrueNorth, Lorain Community Music Theatre and Lorain County Children’s Pioneer Theatre. By day, she is the librarian at St. Peter School in Lorain where she is thrilled to share her love of reading with the students.

Congratulations to the cast for creating a beautiful piece of theatre.

Special thanks to the production team for sharing their creativity and passion in order to create such an incredible environment for us to live in for a while. Enjoy the show!

Derek Green (Scenic Designer, Tech Director) is pleased to return to French Creek for this production.

Most recently, Derek served as the Scenic Designer for the FCT production of Children of Eden, I’m Not Rappaport and Bonnie & Clyde.

Other design credits include Willy Wonka, Our Town, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (French Creek Theatre); The Tempest, Richard II (Cleveland Shakespeare Festival); South Pacific, The Curious Savage, Joseph...Dreamcoat, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Here Come the Brides (NDCL). Derek currently works on the Education staff at Cleveland Play House.

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 Pg. 17

Actor/Actress Bios 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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Sarah Rounds (Props Master/ Crew) is so excited to be back working on her fourth production here at French Creek! She is a recent graduate of Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Recording Arts. She is an Avon High School alumni where she was hugely involved in the drama club and was inducted into the Thespian Society. She enjoyed being on stage as much as working off stage in running crew and as head of the makeup/hair crew. In her free time, Sarah likes to sing, teach herself new instruments, hang out with friends and family, play with her dog, and work on her sound design skills.

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Coming Soon!

LORAIN COUNTY METRO PARKS’ FRENCH CREEK THEATRE PRESENTS:

ROMEO & JULIET

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

DIRECTED BY BRIAN MCNALLY

AUGUST 17 - 19

FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY AT 7:00 PM FREE SHOW! | (440) 949-5200 OR WWW.METROPARKS.CC

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