p l ayw se ON STAGE AND OFF
October 9 through november 8, 2015
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
2013
P HIL A DELPHIA THEATR E COMPANY at the
PH IL A D E L P H I A TH E ATR E CO M PANY at the
Sara Garonzik
Priscilla M. Luce
Executive Producing Director
Executive Managing Director
By
Ayad Akhtar featuring
anthony mustafa adair
ben graney
monette magrath
aimÉ donna kelly
Pej Vahdat
Set Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
jason simms
mark mariani
thom weaver
christopher colucci
Fight Choreographer
Production Stage Manager
Director of Production
john bellomo
tom helmer
roy backes
Casting
PTC Casting
PTC Dramaturg
Laura Schutzel
Amy dugas brown
carrie chapter
Directed by
mary b. robinson Disgraced was developed in part at the New Writers New Plays residency at Vineyard Arts Project (Ashley Melone, Founder and Artistic Director.) New York Premiere Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City, 2012. Original Broadway Production produced by The Araca Group, Lincoln Center Theater, Jennifer Evans, Amanda Watkins, Richard Winkler, Rodger Hess, Stephanie P. Mcclelland, Tulchin/Bartner Productions, Jessica Genick, Jonathan Reinis, Carl Levin/Ashley De Simone/TNTDynaMite Productions, Alden Bergson/Rachel Weinstein, Greenleaf Productions, Darren Deverna/Jere Harris, and The Shubert Organization, The David Merrick Arts Foundation. Disgraced had its world premiere in January 2012 at American Theater Company, Chicago, Illinois (PJ Paparelli, Artistic Director).
This production has been generously supported by:
Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater
Season Sponsor
Sara Garonzik
Priscilla M. Luce
Executive Managing Director Executive Producing Director and the
Board of Directors of Philadelphia Theatre Company express deepest thanks to Suzanne Roberts, The Roberts Family, & The Community Leaders whose extraordinarily generous support is allowing our company to continue producing great theatre in our beautiful home, The Suzanne Roberts Theatre, now and forever.
from the executive producing director Dear Friends, Although last season marked our 40th Anniversary, the coming one offers even more opportunities for Philadelphia Theatre Company to celebrate! With tremendous support and leadership from Suzanne Roberts, the Roberts family, and key members of our community, PTC was able to acquire our beautiful resident home in which you sit tonight. On behalf of everyone who worked diligently to build this important venue and to keep its lights blazing with vibrant, new, American theatre these last eight years, we offer our thanks. Our home is now permanent, and we are privileged to share it with our community and, in so doing, honor Suzanne Roberts’ legacy of generosity and love for theatre. This exciting news also provides a perfect backdrop against which to showcase the work of five dynamic playwrights - some master craftsmen, others rising stars - whose combined work forms the uniquely American perspective which has long been at the heart of our mission. Ayad Akhtar, author of the stunning Pulitzer Prize-Winner, Disgraced, has his finger firmly placed on our nation’s racing pulse, and it is not surprising that his emotionally-charged story of cultural assimilation and the price it extracts now ranks as the most produced play in our country today. We are pleased to partner with the invaluable Intercultural Journeys to help us frame the issues Akhtar raises in this conversation-provoking work. Our season continues with Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, a dazzling and delirious version of the popular Baskerville story that celebrates all that is magical about theatre. In January, we team up with Off-Broadway’s Primary Stages to present the East Coast premiere of Exit Strategy, an electrifying new play by Ike Holter about the power struggles around an urban high school targeted for closure. Spring warms up with Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason, a smart and sexy story about two writers whose growing romantic entanglement takes them (and us) to the opposing brinks of desire and mistrust. And we conclude with the fantastical Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath, who is arguably one of the most original and celebrated playwrights at work today. The season also brings added surprises from two of our most brilliant performers. On December 14th, we are honored to present a new evening from Tony Award-Winning actor and master clown, Bill Irwin, which represents his lifelong passion for the work of Samuel Beckett. On February 8th, the extraordinary Anna Deavere Smith will perform a preview of her new play about the school-to-prison pipeline. And Theatre Masters is back! The provocative interview series we launched last season returns with actress/director Kathleen Turner and Philadelphia’s own stage and screen star, David Morse. There are dozens of ways to become involved in Philadelphia Theatre Company, and we hope that, in a year of new beginnings, Disgraced will be your first step along a path to discovering all that is compelling and entertaining about our work, our programs, and our home.
Sara Garonzik
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY at the
PRESENTS
A tribute to Samuel Beckett Written & performed by Bill Irwin
Join us on December 14th for a special,
one night only
engagement!
&
Exclusive Discounts
for
Priority Seating
SUBSCRIBERS!
from the executive Managing director Dear Friends, With PTC’s future in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre assured thanks to the extraordinary commitment of Suzanne Roberts, the Roberts family and other most generous donors, we pause to ask “what’s next for PTC?” You probably already know that PTC has been implementing a strategic plan with the guidance of Michael Kaiser, Chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, President Emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the country’s foremost performing arts consultant. What does all of that mean for PTC? Quite simply, it means we are making very good progress on our path toward longterm operational and financial sustainability. Over the last year, we achieved a number of important milestones: ending the 2015 fiscal year with a healthy surplus, rigorously controlling expenses while delivering a five-play season of exceptional quality, and earning four Barrymore nominations. We also added three highly experienced senior staff directors in development, marketing, and finance. We know that maintaining artistic and operational excellence going forward will require careful planning and execution, an unwavering commitment to the highest standards, and outstanding teamwork. Our plans call for a break-even budget in 2016. In order to meet that goal, we must continually increase PTC’s revenue streams, including both contributions and ticket sales. This is where YOU come in. We invite you to help PTC take its next important steps by seeing all of our 2016 productions and bringing your friends, by subscribing if you haven’t already (our House Managers will be delighted to speak to you after the show), by participating in our panel discussions and other special events, and by supporting PTC with your gifts. We aim to keep ticket prices as low as possible and to make theatre accessible for everyone. Ticket income, therefore, can never cover all the costs incurred in bringing you great theatre. Making a gift to PTC is the best way to demonstrate your pride in being part of the PTC family as well as to provide the critical operating funds that PTC needs to offer superb artistic programming season after season. Please use the envelope included here in this program to make your gift to PTC, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have made a real difference. Thank you so much for your support. The PTC Board of Directors and staff are enthusiastically leading the next phase of PTC’s ongoing evolution as Philadelphia’s premier regional theatre company. We are thrilled to have you along for this exciting journey. And now, enjoy Disgraced! Priscilla M. Luce
cast Amir ..................................................................................................................................... pej vahdat* emily .................................................................................................................. monette magrath* abe ........................................................................................................ anthony MUSTAFA adair* isaac .................................................................................................................................. ben graney* jory ..................................................................................................................... aimÉ Donna kelly* * Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association
DISGRACED runs WITHOUT intermission SETTING An apartment on New York’s Upper East Side
TIME Scenes 1 & 2: Late summer of 2011 Scene 3: Fall of 2011 Scene 4: Spring of 2012
The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. All electronic devices such as beepers, cell phones, and watch alarms must be turned off prior to the performance.
THE ACTORS AND STAGE MANAGERS EMPLOYED IN THIS PRODUCTION ARE MEMBERS OF ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, THE UNION OF PROFESSIONAL ACTORS AND STAGE MANAGERS IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE SCENIC, COSTUME, LIGHTING AND SOUND DESIGNERS IN LORT THEATERS ARE REPRESENTED BY UNITED SCENIC ARTISTS LOCAL USA-829, IATSE. PRODUCTION EMPLOYEES ARE REPRESENTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE EMPLOYEES, MOVING PICTURE TECHNICIANS, ARTISTS AND ALLIED CRAFTS OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND CANADA, LOCAL 8. PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE LEAGUE OF REGIONAL THEATRES (LORT), A CONSTITUENT MEMBER OF THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC. (TCG), A MEMBER OF THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CULTURAL ALLIANCE (GPCA), THEATRE ALLIANCE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA (TAGP), THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. ONE OPEN CAPTION PERFORMANCE IS PROVIDED FOR EVERY PRODUCTION TO OUR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PATRONS. ONE AUDIO DESCRIPTION PERFORMANCE IS PROVIDED FOR OUR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PATRONS. LARGE PRINT, AND AUDIO CASSETTE PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Support for Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Accent on Accessibility Program Comes From: Independence Foundation Louis N. Cassett Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
PEP Events
Our FREE Patron Enrichment Programing (PEP) gives the audience an opportunity to see behind-the-scenes of each production and to discover more about the themes and issues suggested by each production.
Meet-the-Artists (MTA) 10/15 and 10/29, post-show Stay with us right after the show for a talkback and audience Q&A with the cast of Disgraced.
Backstage Tour 10/24, post-matinee Join a member of PTC’s staff for a post-matinee backstage tour of the set. Learn how the set was conceived and built, and how the crew runs the show!
AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS IN CONTEXT (APIC)
10/25, post-matinee
In collaboration with Intercultural Journeys, playwright Ayad Akhtar will be interviewed onstage by Dr. Fariha Khan, Associate Director of Asian American Studies at UPenn.
SPECIAL TOPICS
10/20, post-show
Join us for our panel discussion, “The Seen and Unseen Universe: Defining the Soul at the Junction of Faith and Identity,” in collaboration with Intercultural Journeys. Moderator Fariha Khan will lead a conversation with a panel that includes musician Hanna Khoury, Rabbi Yosef Goldman from Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel and The Very Rev. Judith Sullivan from the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia.
for a listing of all of our pep events
for the season, visit:
PhilaTheatreCo.org/pep
who’s who Anthony Mustafa Adair (Abe) is honored to be making his PTC debut! He most recently co-directed Me First: An Autobiographical Comedy about Dying by Jason Rosenberg (Cursed Church Arts Collective) with Emma Arrick in the 2015 Philly FringeArts festival. A Colorado native, he moved to Philadelphia in 2010 to pursue a B.F.A. in acting from the University of the Arts. He is the son of an Afghan refugee and a white American, so he is incredibly proud to be sharing this story with you. Endless thanks and love to Momma, Scott, and Ian.
Aimé Donna Kelly (Jory): Off Broadway: Witch in Macbeth (Epic Theatre Ensemble). Regional: Lady Macduff/Weird Sister in Macbeth (Arden Theatre Company); Petrushka in Moon Man Walk (Oribiter 3); Noxolo in The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, Black Woman in We are Proud to Present…(InterAct Theatre Company); This is the week that is (1812 Productions); Cleopatra in unsex me Here (Theatre 4the People); Sharon in We are Bandits (Applied Mechanics); Georgia in The Exonerated (Delaware Theatre Company). Training: BFA University of the Arts. Barrymore nominated for Best Actress. This is Aimé’s PhiladelBen Graney (Isaac) Broadway: War Horse (Lin- phia Theatre Company debut, and she is so coln Center Theater); The excited to work with this fabulous team. Heidi Chronicles. Off-BroadMonette Magrath (Emily) way: When the Rain Stops Broadway: All the Way with Falling (Lincoln Center TheBryan Cranston. Regional: ater); Game Play, The Netflix Plays (Ars Nova). Stick Fly (East Coast PreNYC: From The Miraculous (writer, director, and miere-McCarterkTheatre performer; developed at Studio Tisch; sumCenter); Book of Days (Aremer residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm); Paper Dolls (Sundance Theater Lab); The Spring na Stage); Silent Sky (World Premiere-South Fling: Anniversary (F*It Club, IRT Theater); Bare Coast Rep); The Night is a Child (World PreNaked Drama (Aporia, Cherry Pit); Obama miere-Milwaukee Rep); The Great Gatsby and Drama (Creative Destruction, The Tank); An Enchanted April (Arizona Theatre Company); Irish Brew (Studio Tisch). Regional: The Heidi Enchanted April (The Cleveland Play House); Chronicles, Postcards from Earth (Guthrie); Be a Under My Skin (World Premiere); Mauritius, PriGood Little Widow (Old Globe); Twelfth Night, vate Lives, Enchanted April, The Constant Wife, Youth Ink! (McCarter); The Cherry Orchard, As You Like It and Les Liaisons Dangereuses Twelfth Night (Chautauqua); Brand:NEW Fes- (Pasadena Playhouse); The Ice-Breaker (Rolltival (Hartford Stage). Film/TV: Canto, Ama at ing World Premiere) and The Laramie Project Sea, Unscripted, the History Channel. Writing: (Laguna Playhouse); Desire Under the Elms (A The Kosher Cucina (webseries; co-creator, co- Noise Within); All My Sons (McCoy/Rigby Ent.). writer, and actor); The Baby Gospel (2011 Na- Television: Weeds (recurring), Redhanded (retional Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist curring) and The Young and the Restless. Film: at O’Neill Theater Center). Teaching: Artists Miss Dial, Jake’s Closet, Looking for Mr. Miyagi, Financial Support Group, co-founder and The Other Sister. BFA: NYU, Tisch School of the educator, www.artistsfinancial.org. Train- Arts. ing: M.F.A. NYU Grad Acting; B.A. CSU Long Pej Vahdat (Amir) Off Beach. Proud member of The Actors Center Broadway: Blood and Gifts Workshop Company. www.bengraney.com. (Lincoln Center). Regional: Indian Ink (American Conservatory Theater), What
who’s who We Won’t Say (Elephant Theatre), Merchant of Venice (Elephant Theatre). Film: Magnum Opus (Lead), A Girl Who Walks Home Alone At Night (Supporting). TV: Bones, Shameless, House, Arrested Development, Satisfaction, Zoe Ever After, Harry’s Law, Mysteries Of Laura, Perception, Dallas, Lie To Me, Grey’s Anatomy. Ayad Akhtar (Playwright) was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of American Dervish, published in 25 languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His play Disgraced played at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater in 2012 and premiered at the Bush Theater in London in May 2013. Disgraced won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His play The Invisible Hand was nominated for the ATCA/Steinberg Award, and won Best New Work 2013 from the St. Louis Theater Critics Circle. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He has received commissions from Lincoln Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities with degrees in Theater and Film Directing. Mary B. Robinson (Director) returns to PTC where she has directed Outside Mullingar, 4,000 Miles , At Home at the Zoo, Third, Dinner with Friends, This is Our Youth, Molly Sweeney, and Three Viewings. Her work is also known to Philadelphia audiences from her five years as Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Drama Guild, where she directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, A Moon for the Misbegotten, A Normal Life, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Of Mice and Men (Barrymore Award) among others. In New York, she directed Women on Fire at the Cherry Lane with Judith Ivey and String Fever at Ensemble Studio Theatre with Cynthia Nixon. She was nominated for the Drama Desk Award in 1986 for her production of Lanford Wilson’s Lemon Sky at Second Stage, and she was the first recipient of the Alan Schneider Award in 1987. She has worked most recently
at Shakespeare on the Sound, Westport Country Playhouse, Arena Stage in Washington D.C., Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City. She teaches at Brooklyn College, and her book Directing Plays, Directing People: A Collaborative Art was recently published by Smith and Kraus. Jason Simms (Set Designer) Philadelphia productions include Outside Mullingar, 4000 Miles, and Venus in Fur (Philadelphia Theatre Co.), Ragtime, Lost in Yonkers, Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Bristol Riverside Theatre), and Dear Elizabeth (People’s Light and Theatre). Other regional design credits include: The Whale (Denver Center), The Whipping Man (George St. Playhouse), The Loudest Man On Earth (TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley), Clybourne Park (Chautauqua Theatre Co.), Dutch Masters (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Be a Good Little Widow (The Old Globe, San Diego), A Thousand Clowns (Two River Theatre Co.) and many others. Designs for opera include Down in the Valley, The Old Maid and the Thief, and A Hand of Bridge (all directed by Edward Berkeley at The Juilliard School), and an upcoming production of L’enfant et les sortilèges (also at The Juilliard School, directed by Jeanne Slater). New York venues include: The Public, The Cherry Lane, 2nd Stage Uptown, The Pearl Theatre Co., Ensemble Studio Theatre, Soho Playhouse, and others. Simms received an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts. He received the 2012 USITT/Live Design Rising Star Award and currently has two Barrymore nominations. Mark Mariani (Costume Designer) Most recently: Private Lives, Noel and Gertie (Walnut Street Theatre). The Mystery Of Irma Vep (Baystreet Theater, NY). Private Lives (Lantern Theater Company). Freud’s Last Session (The Broad Theater, LA). Off-Broadway: Freud’s Last Session (Marjorie Dean Theater, New World Stages). Regional: All Night Strut (Gem Theater), See Rock City and Other Destinations (Barrington Stage Company), Ambassador Satch (United Arab Emirates). Thank You, Roy Backes and Bridget Cook!
who’s who Thom Weaver (Lighting Designer) For PTC: 4,000 Miles, Venus in Fur. Philadelphia: Wilma, Arden, People’s Light, EgoPo, Lantern, Walnut, Headlong, DTC, InterAct, Azuka, Curtis Opera, New Paradise, Theatre Exile, 1812, PSF, and Flashpoint Theatre Company where he is Artistic Director. Other credits: Chicago Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Shakespeare Theatre, Cal Shakes, Children’s Theatre Company, George St, Roundhouse, CenterStage, Folger, Cincinnati Playhouse, Hangar, Cleveland Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown, Signature, Lincoln Center Festival, Spoleto, Pittsburgh Public, and Yale Rep, among others. 3 Barrymores (21 nominations), 3 Helen Hayes nominations, and 2 AUDELCO Awards. Education: Carnegie Mellon and Yale. Christopher Colucci (Sound Designer) is a Philadelphia-based sound designer, composer, and guitarist. Current projects include: Metamorphoses (Arden Theatre) and The Glass
Menagerie (Gulfshore Playhouse). Christopher has received 6 Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Original Music and Sound Design as well as an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts in 2012. This is Christopher’s second production with PTC (Outside Mullingar, 2014). Thanks to Mary, Dan Little, Bridget, and the rest of the PTC community. For more sounds please visit http://soundcloud.com/cmsound and http://www.youtube.com/user/cmsound. John Bellomo (Fight Choreographer) is excited to be returning to Philadelphia Theatre Company where he directed the violence for At Home at the Zoo and Take Me Out. John is a Philadelphia-based director, fight director, actor, and teacher. He is the former Artistic Director of The Maryland Shakespeare Festival, current Co-Artistic Director for Ombelico Mask Ensemble, and Assistant Professor at West Chester University. His fight choreography has earned him 6 Barrymore nominations
who’s who on top of receiving a Barrymore Award in 2010 for Outstanding Choreography/Movement. He has taught Stage Combat at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Teatro in Polvere in Milan, Accademia Internazionale dello Spettacolo in Calabria Italy, as well as at several universities and schools in the U.S., including West Chester University, Rowan University, Arcadia University, and Temple University. He received an M.F.A. in Directing from Temple University, a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of the Arts, and is a graduate of The International School for the Comic Actor in Reggio Emilia. Tom Helmer (Production Stage Manager) is grateful for the opportunity to stage manage his 1st production at PTC. Tom is a 25-year member of Actors’ Equity Association, working as an actor and stage manager throughout his theatrical career. He has stage managed over 75 productions, including 6 seasons at Interact Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Tom has worked in various theatres, including Weston Playhouse Theatre Company (VT), Delaware Theatre Company, Oldcastle Theatre Company (VT), and Actors Shakespeare Project (Boston). His acting credits include John Adams in 1776 at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre (VA), Louis Howe/Bert Healy in Annie at Walnut Street Theatre, and Howie Newsome/Sam Craig in Our Town and Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at Delaware Theatre Company. Tom is a former National Councillor of AEA and continues his work as Liaison Chair of the Philadelphia AEA Liaison Committee. Roy W. Backes (Director of Production) is a top honors graduate of Point Park University’s BFA Conservatory Theater Program in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He began his career as Prop Master for the late, great Fred Rogers on the landmark PBS show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Mr. Backes has spent over three decades in the professional theater, working as a Production Stage Manager, Production Manager, and General Manager, both on and Off-Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country, including Pittsburgh
Public Theater, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Roundabout Theatre Company, Freedom Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bay Street Theatre, Hartmann Theater, Prince Music Theater, Wilma Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, and many more. Roy is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and The Production Managers Forum. Roy thanks his wife, Lisbeth, and son, Oliver, for their love and undying support. Accept grace. Tara Rubin Casting (Tara Rubin CSA, Laura Schutzel CSA, Eric Woodall CSA, Merri Sugarman CSA, Kaitlin Shaw CSA, Lindsay Levine CSA, Claire Burke, Emma Atherton) (CASTING) Selected Broadway: School of Rock (upcoming), Dr Zhivago, It Shoulda Been You, Gigi, Bullets Over Broadway, Aladdin, Les Misérables, Big Fish, The Heiress, Ghost, One Man, Two Guvnors (US Casting), Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, How to Succeed.., Promises, Promises, A Little Night Music, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Guys and Dolls, Young Frankenstein, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Pirate Queen, Spamalot, Jersey Boys, …Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, The Phantom of the Opera, Contact. Off-Broadway: Here Lies Love, Old Jews Telling Jokes, Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Regional: Yale Repertory, Kennedy Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe. Carrie Chapter (Literary Manager/Dramaturg) is a graduate of Washington College and Villanova University. Her workshop and production credits include the National Music Theatre Conference and the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center, PlayPenn New Play Development, Geva Theatre Center, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, and Inis Nua Theatre Company. Ms. Chapter has provided workshop dramaturgy for Broadway’s The Book of Mormon. She is also an instructor at Temple University. Ms. Chapter is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA).
who’s who Sara Garonzik (Executive Producing Director) has led Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC ) since 1982. Now celebrating its 41st Season, PTC is a nationally-respected theatre and the only one in its region with a mission dedicated to producing and developing new American plays and musicals. She has introduced more than 140 world and regional premieres, including new work by Terrence McNally, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Christopher Durang, Tracey Scott Wilson, John Henry Redwood, Naomi Wallace, Jeffrey Hatcher, Bruce Graham and others. These productions have garnered 59 Barrymore Awards and 189 nominations. In 2007, PTC opened the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, a universally-designed, fully-accessible, stateof-the-art facility on the Avenue of the Arts. PTC now serves a diverse audience of more than 60,000, including thousands of Philadelphia public high school students through its award-winning Drama Contact program, established in 2004. PTC has won two awards from the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia—one for Arts Management Excellence (1997) and the other for its partnership with developer Carl Dranoff in creating the Suzanne Roberts Theatre/Symphony House development (2008.) In 1991, Sara was named to PTC ’s Board of Directors. She has also served as President of the Board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund (2009-12) and was a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Council. Other previous board service includes Artreach and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (GPCA). She currently sits on the Advisory Boards of both the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia and PlayPenn, a new play development organization. In addition to board service, she has reviewed grant proposals on a number of theater panels for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio State Arts Councils as well as for the Knight Foundation Arts Challenge in Philadelphia, the TCG Fox Foundation Actor Fellowships, the McKnight Foundation Advancement Awards for Playwriting, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Susan
Smith Blackburn Prize. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Women and was named one of Business Philadelphia’s and Philadelphia Magazine’s “People to Watch.” In 2010, she became a Distinguished Daughter in the Court of Honor at Philadelphia High School for Girls. Other honors include the President’s Award from Philadelphia Young Playwrights, the Achievement Award from the American Association of University Women - an honor she proudly shared with Dawn Staley and Terry D’Alessandro - and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Arts Pioneer Award. She has lived and worked in Center City Philadelphia since graduating from Temple University. Priscilla M. Luce (Executive Managing Director) has a broad background that covers virtually all aspects of non-profit management, positioning, philanthropy, and volunteerism. She served for 11 years as Vice President of a national, non-profit, fundraising and management consulting firm, guiding the boards of trustees and staff of more than 50 schools, colleges, museums, performing arts vicinities, hospitals, and other organizations in raising annual, capital endowment and deferred gifts for their institutions. Previously, she held public relations positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Mount Holyoke College, and she spent the majority of her long career in corporate communications with TRW Inc., a Fortune 100 company based in Cleveland, OH. She served as Vice President of Corporate Communications, leading TRW’s media relations, employee communications, marketing communications, and contributions programs, also serving as Executive Director of the TRW Foundation. She has been listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who of American Women. She is an expert in crisis management, strategic planning, marketing communications, and issue communications. Luce has been volunteer President and Executive Director of The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in Philadelphia since 2000. She is Executive Producer of a documentary film, Mr. Philadelphia – The Story of Albert M. Greenfield,
who’s who which aired on WHYY in Philadelphia. Luce has consulted with non-profit organizations as well as companies in the manufacturing and real estate sectors. Her work has included strategic and operational planning, fundraising feasibility analysis and planning, constituency development, organizational positioning, and marketing communications. Luce is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
with a degree in English, and attended executive marketing programs at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, the London Business School, and the J. L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She currently serves as Treasurer of the Philadelphia Regional Arts Consortium and is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia.
General information Box Office Hours: During Productions Monday - Sunday: 12:00 pm to showtime Between Productions Monday – Friday: 10:30 am to 5:30 pm Saturday & Sunday: Closed Assisted Listening Devices: State-of-the-Art assisted listening headsets that use an infrared signal to wirelessly deliver all dialogue, music, and sound from the show at a personally adjustable volume are available for free at every PTC performance through the House Manager or concessionaire. Photography The use of photographic or recording devices is strictly prohibited. Please note: The audience may be photographed by PTC staff for archival and publicity purposes. If you prefer that your likeness not appear in PTC materials, please notify the House Manager. Group Ticketing & Events Carol Flannery, Sales Director, 215.985.0420 x104 Student Matinees, In-School Workshops, and Summer Camp Will Dennis, Manager of Education & Community Programs, 215.985.1400 x122 Facility Rentals Danielle Commini, Venue Services Manager, 215.985.0420 x105, or
dcommini@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org Volunteer Opportunities Danielle Commini, Venue Services Manager, 215.985.0420 x105, or dcommini@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org Advertising Opportunities Carol Flannery, Sales Director, 215.985.0420 x104 Parking and Public Transportation The theatre is easily accessible by the Walnut/Locust and Lombard/South SEPTA, Broad Street Subway stations, 15th/16th PATCO station, Route “C” bus, or taxi. On-site parking is available at the LAZ lot, as well as at nearby garages along Broad Street. PTC Subscribers can pick up $2-off parking vouchers for the Interpark at the Box Office. Rest Rooms, Elevator, Water Fountains LADIES’ & MEN’S ROOMS are located on the orchestra level of the theatre. All rest rooms are ADA compliant. The ELEVATOR is located to the left of the concession stand which may be used to reach the mezzanine level. WATER FOUNTAINS are located outside the restrooms. Lost & Found If you have lost or found an item, please see the Box Office or House Manager. PTC is not responsible for loss or theft of personal belongings.
writing as global engagement:
ayad akhtar This interview originally appeared on the TCG Circle blog and was later published in the book, Innovation in Five Acts: Strategies for Theatre and Performance, edited by Caridad Svich. CARIDAD SVICH: You are not only a playwright, but also an actor, novelist and screenwriter. How do you, if at all, find yourself negotiating these related yet distinct creative identities? AYAD AKHTAR: I think of myself as a dramatic storyteller, irrespective of the form. I think it’s how my mind works, how I process the world, experience. Seeing things in movement, in a particular kind of movement native to the dramatic form: Movement through reversal to points of recognition. I think I’ve always been
this way. Interested in opposition, in the movement between poles of possibility, in what changes when this kind of movement happens. CARIDAD SVICH: Are they ever in conflict? For example, might an idea for a novel suddenly become a play when you would rather it would be a novel? AYAD AKHTAR: Each idea seems to have some natural inclination. Some require more interiority, others less. Sometimes an idea seems to call for a kind of being-with
the characters that can only happen when actors incarnate people, and allow for the sort of corporeal possibilities that arise, the fierce devotion — even love — that a portrayal can occasion. Other times, the imagination of the reader is best allowed to make what it will without this sort of concreteness. So far, there hasn’t really been a conflict for me. CARIDAD SVICH: Do you approach each form of writing – prose, drama, screenplay – differently? If so, how? In regard to innovation – the huge, encompassing topic of this salon – how do you seek the new? Push yourself and challenge yourself as an artist – via form and/or content, or both? AYAD AKHTAR: Inventiveness to me has to do with meeting the audience in a place of aliveness. Formal innovation can be the portal to that, but often formal innovation can actually be an impediment to the kind of directness I seek. I do think that having an awareness of the history of a form is important, but if you find yourself — as an artist — in dialogue with that history more than with the audience, then you might find yourself sacrificing something at the level of aliveness. Creative engagement with the world means not only engagement with the tradition, but with the world we are living in now. Brecht is kind of a paradigmatic figure for me in that regard, an artist who sought to speak to the world in which he was living, even if it meant that the work might not speak quite as powerfully to posterity as it did to those in his own time. I suspect someone like Beckett stands at something of the other extreme. CARIDAD SVICH: When I work with younger writers, often the topic of whether to write a “universal” story invariably comes up. Sometimes there is this fear of being too “local,” or too “culturally specific” because there is a misguided assumption
that locality in writing, might, in turn, potentially alienate an audience. Of course, we know that theatre, to choose one medium for this conversation’s purposes, is about transformation. I don’t live in Shakespeare’s Illyria or Mantua or Tennessee Williams’ New Orleans or August Wilson’s Pittsburgh, but when I witness the work, I enter the space metaphorically. All to say, have you ever wrestled as a writer with this very question of universality? And how have you gone through and past it conceptually and in practical terms in your works? AYAD AKHTAR: Absolutely. It has been the central crossing of my writing career. I had a very formative experience in high school with a literature teacher who introduced me to writing. She had a passion for the great European modernist tradition, notably the writers of the French Existentialists and the Central European writers like Musil, Mann, Rilke and Kafka. I read so much of that stuff in my late teens, I mean tons and tons of it. And I carried around a kind of assumption for years — without even realizing it — that writing in a universal way meant to me writing in a way that was specific to a particular tradition. Of course, that tradition — however wonderful — had very little to do with the specifics of my experience as a young Muslim-American in the Midwest. And so for the longest time, I had this feeling that I couldn’t write about my own life. Or if I did, it would have to be in some veiled or elliptical way, with identity somehow erased or at the margins, pressing in. I wrote like that for ten years, and it didn’t amount to much. It just didn’t have life. I was trying too hard to be something I wasn’t. Sometime in my early thirties, I realized what I was doing. And I realized that it wasn’t just an issue in my writing, but in my psychic make-up. On some level, I was running from who I was. Once I started to realize this, everything changed. And not just on the level of content, but form as well. I had
resisted the familiarity of movie narrative structure, of the immediacy of movies. After all, that was what I grew up on, film and TV. So as I started to write more about what was familiar to me, I began to gravitate more and more to telling stories in film-inspired form, whether I was writing a play or a novel or a movie. Something I now see very clearly — and which writing teachers are always saying, but which I just had to figure out for myself — is that the concretely-felt particular is the best portal to the universal. It took me a very long time to understand just how true this is. CARIDAD SVICH: Your play, The Invisible Hand, premiered at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in 2012 under Seth Gordon’s direction. The play centers on the plight of an investment banker being held for ransom in Pakistan by Islamic militants, and the complex and thorny relationship that develops between the kidnapped banker and his captor. While the play is structured, in part, along the familiar designs of a thriller, it actually becomes, as the 75 minutes of its run time play on, a lesson of sorts on international finance and an ambiguous morality play. In Disgraced, the posh dinner party – the rich who might and do behave badly – a trope audiences recognize quite well – turns into a fiery debate and exploration of radical Islam and terrorism – and matters of faith and identity. Might you speak to both plays and their dialectical structures?
AYAD AKHTAR: I am interested in engaging audiences as profoundly as I can. Which means engaging not only their emotions, but to engage them on the level of intellectual imagination, and also to meet them in the matters that have to do with their own lives. In Disgraced, I wanted to engage the audience’s desire to be in that room, with a group of sexy people on the Upper East Side, living the life, talking about ideas. I wanted them to feel as I sometimes did when watching the Woody Allen films I loved so much in college: Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah & Her Sisters. I wanted to be one of those people. And this meant I invested so much more deeply in those stories. With The Invisible Hand, there is a different kind of audience implication at work. The play is about finance, about the stock market, and I am fully aware that so much of the audience is personally invested in these matters. On a daily basis. Indeed, after the play was over, audience members would sometimes seek me out to ask me what stock tips I had, whether I thought they should sell Apple, etc. It meant that the play was making them think about their own 401k(s), about their personal finances, etc. Some of this was by design, an awareness on my part that writing this play a certain way meant it would draw viewers in more deeply. Audience engagement, that’s what it’s always about for me.
CARIDAD SVICH: [...] Did conversations arise with your respective artistic/creative teams about the politics of representation? AYAD AKHTAR: There were lots of discussions around this with Disgraced. At the end of the day, though, while these discussions were helpful in getting actors to understand more clearly what the play was about, these discussions were not necessarily creative in nature. More than anything, the discussions were about making everyone just a little more comfortable with something that wasn’t very comfortable at all. It’s a difficult play, and there isn’t a simple discourse that can sit neatly atop it. In many ways, Disgraced is about the limits of discourse when it comes to race and identity, and so the trouble is never resolved. That’s not always an easy place to leave an audience as an actor. CARIDAD SVICH: Prejudices audiences may have walking in? AYAD AKHTAR: Again, there were discussions about this, but they were not of material importance to the creative work. […]I don’t think of art as an alternate universe that is intended to correct the dissonances of the world we are living in. If anything, art — as I see it — should thrust us more deeply, more humanly, more completely into those very dissonances. As such, Disgraced is resolutely not a corrective, not a public relations gesture intended, say, to humanize Muslims or some such for an audience that might be riddled with prejudices. Another way of saying it: Dialogue with the audience in the form of a simple dialectic intended to oppose their prejudices is perhaps an admirable goal, but I don’t see it as an artistic one. CARIDAD SVICH: Prejudices and/or discomforts actors may have in playing the flawed natures of your characters – par-
ticularly Amir Kapoor in Disgraced? AYAD AKHTAR: As I’ve addressed this to some degree above, let me just comment on the matter of flawed characters. I see drama as the result of our flawed natures, as an inquiry into those flawed natures. Our flawed natures are the entire subject of drama. Without flawed characters, there are no stories. No life in the work, no sense of recognition or reality in the work, no vitality, and above all, no audience engagement. As you can tell, I feel pretty strongly about this! CARIDAD SVICH: You majored in theater at Brown University and then studied acting with Grotowski abroad for a year. How did training with Grotowski shape you as not only an actor but as a writer? How has it affected your process of art-making? AYAD AKHTAR: Working with Grotowski was the single most formative experience of my early adulthood. But it wasn’t the “Grotowski form” that so affected me. His aesthetic was deeply informed by his Eastern European sensibility and had very little resonance for me artistically. It was his example. The singularity of his uncompromising vision, the way in which he had so fully shaped his life to his calling. He had a peerless intellect, a wide-ranging understanding not only of the theater, but of the human, and all of this was married to a staggering capacity to sit in the questions, not reaching for answers. Keats called this capacity “negative capability.” G had it in spades, and being exposed to it fundamentally affected not only what it meant to me to be an artist, but affected my understanding of what was possible as an artist. CARIDAD SVICH: Many of the contributors to this blog series have stressed the difficulties of making work that is or may be classified as “innovative” within the
larger scope of an industry that may place its market values elsewhere. How sometimes, oftentimes, the very question of value – what is granted value culturally vis a vis box office returns and so forth – can confuse the issue itself of innovation, and indeed – and this is the term I prefer – the making of visionary work. How do you see the role of the market and the role of the cultural work we do as artists as in or out of sync? And in what ways do you think action-able steps can be taken towards a more sustainable arts culture within the wider culture of society and politics? AYAD AKHTAR: I have a particular point of view on this matter that is, perhaps, unusual. I spent a bunch of years making a living writing screenplays, and I learned a lot from it. I learned from the traditional forms. I learned from the demand of making the work engaging page to page. I learned from the pressures of the audience, the market, the producer. In film, if you can’t make a scene work, you get fired. And “making a scene work” is not something that you define. Others are defining it for you. Of course, that orientation has its dangers, but it bears noting that there can be much to learn from approaching work this way as well. I have sometimes felt that in the American theater, the writer is accorded too much authority. It doesn’t always foster an environment where engaging the audience is as important as it should be. CARIDAD SVICH: Some of my colleagues feel that perhaps, after some time in US theatre where work being made looked inward – toward domestic concerns and so forth – that theatre-makers are starting to look outward again – to make work with a global lean/perspective, to position their making and thinking about work outside of narrow definitions of identity, nationhood, and such. What responsibilities do you think we have as artists to keeping the
global and local in dialogue, dialectical or not, in our art-making? And how can we educate our audiences to think beyond the “kitchen sink?” AYAD AKHTAR: Again, to me it isn’t really a question of responsibility. Other than the responsibility to do good work. That’s what is going to get people thinking and feeling. I think the danger with the narrower frame, the proverbial kitchen sink, is that it does seem to foster an idea of art as a kind of expression of what we already know. Art as self-expression, as it were. I like to think of art in a different light, as a process of engagement, a creative involvement with the world. Pushing beyond the known is part of that process, I believe. Copyright © 2015 by Theatre Communications Group. Used by permission of Theatre Communications Group.
MEET AYAD AKHTAR American Playwrights in Context Join us for an
on-stage interview
with the playwright of the 2013 Pulitzer PrizeWinner, Disgraced, in collaboration with Intercultural Journeys.
OCTOBER 25, 2015 Visit PhilaTheatreCo.org/PEP for more information.
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ANNUAL FUND 2015-2016 Philadelphia Theatre Company is deeply grateful for the support it receives from the many generous individuals, corporations, foundations and government partners who contribute to the Annual Fund. For more information about PTC’s artists, productions, and programs, please call the Development Office at 215-985-1400 ext. 117. This list acknowledges donors as of September 21, 2015. The Artists Circle Where great theatre and great theatre friends meet Executive Producers Circle ($25,000+) David & Nancy Colman Julia & Eugene Ericksen Sally Lyn Katz Victor Keen and Jeanne Ruddy Mr. and Mrs. H.F. Lenfest Daniel M. Ritt Suzanne F. Roberts Marcia & Ronald Rubin Harriet & Larry Weiss Alan & Janet Widra June & Steve Wolfson Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Producers Circle ($10,000 - $24,999) Marilyn & Robert Birnhak Tracy & Rick Burke Alice L. George David & Linda Glickstein Glenn Gundersen and Susan Manix The Estate of Kenneth S. Kaiserman Tom Kirdahy Monika Krug Dale Penneys Levy and Richard Levy Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott Directors Circle ($5,000-$9,999) Anonymous Dr. Dorothy J. del Bueno Jane & Joe Goldblum John & Meredith Hanamirian Susan & James Meyer Jerry & Cookie Riesenbach Elliot Schwartz James T. Smith & Debra Klebanoff Laura & Richard Steel Shel & Karen Thompson
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PTC Performers Impresarios ($500-$999) Charlotte & Dirk Ave Lynn & Don Haskin Marc & Susan Howard Bruce McKittrick and Wendy E. Wilson Paul Nutaitis and Robert Clark Chris & Cecelia Ross Patricia Saddier Neal & Sheila Schneider Mr. Leon C. Sunstein Jr. STAR PERFORMERS ($250-$499) Mr. and Mrs. Bennett Aaron Dr. Ronald Abraham Barbara Abrahams Dr. Victor & Arlene Adlin Ms. Tamica Allen Drs. Alice Hausman and Jesse Berlin Ms. Beverly M. Dotter Andrea & Alexander Ehrlich Mark Garvin Kenneth L. George Edwin & Judy Gerber Ron & Marcia Goldstein Paul D. Green Fred Hamilton and Jill Porter Fred & Beth Jacoby Mr. Geoffrey Kahn Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kleinman George F. Koch, Jr. & Santo A. DiDonato Jim & Nina Korsh Dr. Joseph Lex Ms. Maryanne Lyons David S. Miller Mary Jo Reilly Eric & Robin Settle James L. Smith Robert Taglieri and Timothy Moir Tom & Jackie Zemaitis
Ensemble Performers ($100-$249) Anonomous (7) Alan Aarons Dr. Christina Ager Ms. Janet M. Andereck Robert & Betty Anderson Ann Auerbach Mrs. Liesel Baker Dr. William F. Barr Rochelle & Herbert Bass Robert & Sandy Clay Bauer Mr. and Mrs. Leonard A. Bernstein Esq. Ann & Tom Blackburn Mr. Alvin Brothers David & Ann Brownlee Ms. Sarah Carmalt Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Carozza John & Teresa Cavenagh Scott & Nelly Childress Saul & Sandra Clair Matt & Barbara Cohen Mr. and Ms. Stephen D. Cohen Darlene & John Cooke Rosalie Coombs James D. Crawford and Judith Dean Dr. and Ms. John A. DeFlaminis Mr. and Mrs. Anthony C. Demarco Ellen Dooneief Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Dorsey Dr. & Mrs. William Douglass Susan J. Ellis Herbert Ershkowitz Sandy & Len Feldman Mr. and Mrs. H. Robert Fiebach Mr. Arthur Fields Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Fine Mary Flournoy Philip Frank & Clifford Eyler David Furniss Ms. Phyllis Furst & Mr. Bill Davol Marjorie & Sidney Gable Bernardo C. Garcia, PhD Emilia DeMarco & James F. Giblin Dave & Sandy Gift Dr. and Ms. Alex Glijansky Joan Gmitter Sarita & Morris Gocial Dr. and Mrs. Allan Gold Mr. Milton Goldberg Toni Alperin Goldberg Judy & Joel Golden Mr. and Ms. Richard P. Goldman
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Ms. Susan Muller Mr. James R. Murray Jr. Kenneth and Susan Myers Stuart & Carol Ockman David Pierson and Pamela Trimingham Ronald E. Powers Barbara Z. Presseisen Avery Rome and Jeff Price Mr. and Mrs. F. Jerome Purcell Mr. Donal Quiring Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Rassas Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rathmill Robert & Wanda M. Rauch Lorraine & Marvin Riesenbach George & Zara Roberts Cintra Rodgers Dulcie Romm Tony & Barbara Rooklin Joan & Joel Rosenbloom Sally & Edwin Rosenthol Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Rossio Bernard & Harriet Rothman Dan & Barbara Rottenberg Mr. and Ms. Harvey Rubin Lisette & Jerry Ruderman Arlene D. Schaller Carl & Mary Ellen Schneider Dr. and Mrs. Daniel B. Schneider Kate & Stanley Schreiner Dr. Louis & Linda Schwartz Mr. and Mrs. David Scott Marilyn & Jerome Segal Bubbles Seidenberg Dr. Larry and Bonnie Seidman Antoinette F. Seymour Keith Shively and Thomas Williams Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shulman Morton Simon and Claudia Pine-Simon Mr. Israel Skolnick Peter & Susan Soraruf Judith Spiller Debbie & Gary Stahl Mr. and Ms. Paul Stark Lucille B. Stein Bette Steinberg Ethan and Patricia Stenger Robert Stern Mr. and Ms. Jim Sumerson Nina E. Tafel Dr. and Mrs. John Taylor Mr. Paul Tierney Tom & Joan Tropp Mr. and Mrs. Norman A. Trudel
John R. Urofsky Norman Walker and Christine Shamborsky Linda & Alan Warshaw Thomas E. Watkins Dr. Charlotte C. & Carroll Weinberg Eileen Weinberg Mr. and Mrs. David Weinstein Mr. Peter Wellhofer Mr. and Mrs. Harold B. Wells Jr. Ms. Carolyn L. Whitaker Sherry Shamansky and Wallace Wing Ms. Anne Woodworth Gordon Yasinow Roger & Lillian Youman Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Zutz
Gifts in Memory of
Shep Goldberg From Toni Alperin Goldberg
Donald Stanley Wilf and in Honor of Dr. Peter Arger from Elaine W. Baer and Gloria A. Moskowitz
Michael Coleman
Donald Stanley Wilf From Dr. Peter Arger
Sonia Triester
Ginny From Mark Garvin
Elijah Dornstreich’s Birthday
Kenneth S. Kaiserman From Susan Balder
Harriet and Larry Wiess
Gifts in honor of From Leonard and Ellan Bernstein
From Dr. Charlotte C. & Carroll Weinberg
From Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott From Herbert and Sissie Lipton
Patsy Brandt From Dale and David Brandt
A legacy of theatre The aspirations of Philadelphia Theatre Company have always been fueled by the generosity of theatre enthusiasts from the region. The Visionary Society, named after the theatre’s founders, was formed to pay tribute to the special group of visionary supporters who have remembered Philadelphia Theatre Company in their wills or in other gift plans. When you join the Society you help ensure that PTC’s rich tradition of artistic excellence will be preserved for generations to come. If you have included us in your estate plans, we hope you will let us know. Or, if you are interested in learning how simple it is to do so, please call our office: Gina Range | Director of Institutional Advancement 215-985-1400, x115 | grange@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
Corporate Partners Let Philadelphia Theatre Company put your business in the spotlight. For more information about corporate memberships, sponsorships and in-kind support, please call 215.985.1400 x117 season Sponsors Center City Film and Video Corporate Sponsors ($25,000+) Lincoln Financial Foundation PECO LG Arts Marketing CRW Graphics Corporate partners ($5,000 - $9,999) Dranoff Properties, Inc. Republic Bank Sage Financial Group Corporate members ($3,000 - $4,999) Samuel T. Freeman & Company Shamrock Clean Spring Garden Construction Company Wells Fargo Foundation Corporate gifts Aribella Events The Bourse Merchants Association Carl Alan Floral Designs Mr. Nicola Cinalli Cupersmith, Wilensky, Steiger, Stempler & Company, LLP DoubleTree by Hilton, Philadelphia Center City Electronic Ink Firstrust Bank Masque Sound O’Donnell & Naccarato, Inc. Philadelphia Event Planners The Safegard Group Inc. Valley Green Bank
Matching Gifts Alliance Bernstein Bank of New York Mellon GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Matching Gifts Program Merck Partnership for Giving Lincoln Financial Foundation Matching Gift Program UBS Employee Giving Program FOUNDATION SUPPORT Ann B. Ritt Charitable Foundation The Civic Foundation, Inc. The Charlotte Cushman Foundation Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation Dramatists Guild Fund Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation The Hamilton Family Foundation The Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation Independence Foundation Knights Arts Challenge of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Arts-Education Fund Laura Pels International Foundation for Theatre The Lida Foundation Lomax Family Foundation The Miller-Worley Foundation Performing Arts Foundation, Inc. Fund for Children of The Philadelphia Foundation The Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts Foundation The Caroline J. Sanders Trust The Victory Foundation Archie D. & Bertha H. Walker Foundation June and Steve Wolfson Family Foundation The William Penn Foundation The Wyncote Foundation
Government SUPPORT Philadelphia Theatre Company receives State arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a State agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Philadelphia Theatre Company is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Philadelphia Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
This list acknowledges donors as of 9/21/15 PTC strives for accuracy in its donor listings. If there is a misprint or your name has been inadvertently omitted, please call 215.985.1400 x117
A special thanks to Sally Katz and David Price for their generous donation for the lobby improvements in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
Contact the development office: 215.985.0420 x117
Major GiftS Philadelphia Theatre Company is grateful to the following major donors for their foresight in helping us in achieving a bright future. It is because of their commitment, goodwill and continued generosity that PTC has grown to become one of the finest theatres in the region. Thank you!
$1,000,000+
$20,000 to $49,999
Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts
Tracy and Rick Burke Alice L. George Estate of Ellis K. Ginsberg Patricia Imbesi Sally Lyn Katz Monika Krug Dale Penneys Levy & Richard Levy Susan & James Meyer Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott Ann B. Ritt Charitable Foundation Ronald and Marcia Rubin Bryna and Andrew Scott James T. Smith and Debra Klebanoff June and Steve Wolfson Family Foundation
$100,000 to $999,999 Dr. Peter H. Arger* David and Nancy Colman Julia & Eugene Ericksen The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The Kaiserman Family Kaiserman Company, Inc. Victor Keen and Jeanne Ruddy H.F. and Marguerite Lenfest The Miller Worley Foundation Daniel M. Ritt William Penn Foundation $50,000 to $99,999 Dorothy J. del Bueno Sue Perel Rosefsky** Harriet & Larry Weiss Alan and Janet Widra
*The Peter Arger and Donald Wilf New Play Fund ** Kenneth S. Kaiserman Fund for Artistic Excellence This list acknowledges major gifts from 1/01/10 through 9/21/15
MEET AYAD AKHTAR American Playwrights in Context
Join us for an on-stage interview with the playwright of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-Winner, Disgraced, in collaboration with Intercultural Journeys.
OCTOBER 25, 2015
Visit PhilaTheatreCo.org/PEP for more information.
Capital Campaign Contributors 2004-2009
Philadelphia Theatre Company applauds these major donors for their generous support of the campaign to help bring Philadelphia Theatre Company and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre to the Avenue of the Arts.
LEAD DONORS
Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts
The Arcadia Foundation
Diane and Douglas A. Roberts
Marilyn and J. Robert Birnhak
Sue Perel Rosefsky
City of Philadelphia
Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Anita and Terry Steen
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The Kaiserman Family
Shel and Karen Thompson U.S. Airways Community Foundation
THE CORNERSTONE SOCIETY PATRONS Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Tracy and Rick Burke Citibank Michael M. Coleman David and Nancy Colman Dorothy J. del Bueno
Harriet and Larry Weiss
Roberta and Carl Dranoff
Alan and Janet Widra
Ernst & Young
Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts
THE CORNERSTONE SOCIETY BENEFACTORS
Donna and Barry Feinberg
Weight Watchers of Philadelphia, Inc.
Ken and Edna Adelberg
Independence Foundation Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest
June and Steve Wolfson The William Penn Foundation
THE FOUNDERS CLUB
Valla Amsterdam Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Beneficia Foundation
Debbie and Bob Fleischman Matt and Marie Garfield Teresa Gavigan and Larry Besnoff Hamilton Family Foundation Independence Blue Cross
Blank Rome LLP
Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation
The Comcast Family
Connelly Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Maher
Cozen O’Connor
Will and Lucille Daniel
The Dietrich Foundation
Sir David Bruce Duncan and Lady Deana Pitcairn Duncan
Richard and Alice Norman Mandel
Catherine Roberts Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton
Linda and David Glickstein Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Family Foundation Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust A at the recommendation of Carole Haas Gravagno Mr. and Mrs. Jon Harmelin KieranTimberlake Associates Monika Krug Richard and Dale Levy Kim and Rob Roberts The Fulcrum Foundation Lincoln Financial Foundation Susan and James Meyer
Frank and Barbara Osinki
Samuel S. Fels Fund
PNC
Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2 at the recommendation of Leonard C. Haas
Don and Lynne Rosenblit
Sally Lyn Katz
Neal and Sheila Schneider
The Lida Foundation
Shire Pharmaceuticals
Jerry and Cookie Riesenbach
James T. Smith and Debra I. Klebanoff
Carol Saline and Paul Rathblott Bryna and Andrew Scott
Kenneth M. Rutherford
Laura and Richard Steel
Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr.
Tracey B. Weiss and William I. Goldberg
Leslie MIller and Richard Worley
Special thanks to our many other donors.
ANTIGONE BY Sophocles
TRANSLATED BY Marianne McDonald
DIRECTED BY Theodoros Terzopoulos
October 7 - November 8, 2015
“Feted the world over, [Terzopoulos] has created a theatre that seems very much his own.” – The Guardian
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Production moved on to NY or other regional theater.
the Suzanne Roberts Theatre
(2007 - Present) 2014 - 15 DETROIT by Lisa D’Amour OUTSIDE MULLINGAR by John Patrick Shanley MOTHERS AND SONS by Terrence McNally l brownsville song (b-side for tray) by Kimber Lee MURDER FOR TWO Book & Lyrics by Kellen Blair, Book & Music by Joe Kinosian 2013 - 14 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog NERDS Book & Lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, Music by Hal Goldberg nl TRIBES by Nina Raine Vanya and sonia and masha and spike by Christopher Durang Colin quinn unconstitutional 2012 - 13 mvSTARS OF DAVID book by Charles Busch adapted from book by Abigail Pogrebin, Various composers THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall SEMINAR by Theresa Rebeck l VENUS IN FUR by David Ives LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I WORE A collection of stories by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman 2011 - 12 red by John Logan The Scottsboro boys music and Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb book by David Thompson nthe outgoing tide by Bruce Graham reasons to by pretty by Neil LaBute 2010 - 11 the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee book by Rachel Sheinkin music and lyrics by William Finn RACE by David Mamet LET ME DOWN EASY by Anna Deavere Smith mvBella: the color of love by Theresa Tova and Mary Kerr RUINED by Lynn Nottage Colin Quinn: Long Story short
2009 - 10 Humor Abuse by Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt The Light in the Piazza by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel mvGolden Age by Terrence McNally mvRed Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins by Margaret Engel & Allison Engel Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson Chicago’s the second city 50th anniversary tour 2008 - 09 mvUnusual Acts of Devotion by Terrence McNally 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother by Kate Moira Ryan & Judy Gold Resurrection by Daniel Beaty At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee Grey Gardens book by Doug Wright, Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie vthe city of nutterly love co production with Chicago’s The Second City 2007 - 08 vBeing Alive music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and directed by Billy Porter M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Third by Wendy Wasserstein vThe Happiness Lecture by Bill Irwin plays & Players theater (1982 - 2007) 2006 - 07 nMurderers by Jeffrey Hatcher The Frog Bride by David Gonzalez mvNerds://A Musical Software Satire by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner, music by Hal Goldberg lIn The Continuum by Danai Gurira & Nikkole Salter Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton 2005 - 06 vmAdrift in Macao book & lyrics by Christopher Durang, music by Melnick Ben Franklin: Unplugged by Josh Kornbluth in collaboration with David Dower After Ashley by Gina Gionfriddo Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage vmSome Men by Terrence McNally 2004 - 05 Trumbo by Christopher Trumbo with Bill Irwin The Story by Tracey Scott Wilson Elegies: A Song Cycle by William Finn Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg
2003 - 04 Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks Nickel and Dimed by Joan Holden vAccording to Goldman by Bruce Graham The Goat Or, Who Is Sylvia? by Edward Albee 2002 - 03 Fully Committed by Becky Mode King Hedley II by August Wilson The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown vmA Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher 2001 - 02 Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies nThe Infidel by Bruce Norris The Play About the Baby by Edward Albee Barbra’s Wedding by Daniel Stern 2000 - 01 mCompleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher vmNo Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs by John Henry Redwood This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theater Project 1999 - 00 lDinah Was: The Dinah Washington Musical by Oliver Goldstick vWhite People by J.T. Rogers Wit by Margaret Edson Side Man by Warren Leight 1998 - 99 How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel vmLives of the Saints by David Ives Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moisés Kaufman The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh 1997 - 98 Full Gallop by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson Minutes from the Blue Route by Tom Donaghy A Question of Mercy by David Rabe nmBirdy by William Wharton, adapted by Naomi Wallace 1996 - 97 vmBunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel lSylvia by A.R. Gurney Seven Guitars by August Wilson 1995 - 96 Three Viewings by Jeffrey Hatcher I Am A Man by Oyamo
Philadelphia Theatre Company Productions Broken Glass by Arthur Miller Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally 1994 - 95 All in the Timing by David Ives Keely and Du by Jane Martin The Woods by David Mamet vmMaster Class by Terrence McNally 1993 - 94 Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies The World Goes ‘Round by John Kander and Fred Ebb n“2” by Romulus Linney Night Sky by Susan Yankowitz 1992 - 93 Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lucas Mountain by Douglas Scott with Len Cariou vTiny Tim is Dead by Barbara Lebow Lips Together, Teeth Apart by Terrence McNally 1991 - 92 National Anthems by Dennis McIntyre Miss Evers’ Boys by David Feldshuh nLady-Like by Laura Shamas vmNagasaki Dust by W. Colin McKay 1990 - 91 Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet The Cocktail Hour by A.R. Gurney with Celeste Holm nPill Hill by Samuel Kelley 1989 The Middle of Nowhere songs by Randy Newman and Tracy Friedman 1988 - 89 Elaine’s Daughter by Mayo Simon The Voice of the Prairie by John Olive Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet Hannah Senesh by Lori Wilner and David Schechter adapt: of Senesh diaries Avner the Eccentric with Avner Eisenberg 1987 - 88 vlStauf by Eric Saltzman and Michael Sahl co-produced with the American Music Theater Festival Orphans by Lyle Kessler nSouthern Exposure: Sister and Miss Lexie by Eudora Welty, adapt. by Brenda Curran; and From The Mississippi Delta by Endesha Ida Mae Holland vmHospitality by Allan Havis Out! by Lawrence Kelly First fully-mounted production
1986 - 87 Williams & Walker by Vincent D. Smith vlCitizen Tom Paine by Howard Fast with Richard Thomas, co-produced with The Kennedy Center Days and Nights Within by Ellen McLaughlin As Is by William M. Hoffman 1985 - 86 Painting Churches by Tina Howe lSplit Second by Dennis McIntyre. Co-produced with Freedom Theatre. Original commissioned from Grover Washington, Jr. Great American Sideshow: One Acts by Romulus Linney, Alan Zweibel and Robert Pine Extremities by William Mastrosimone 1984 - 85 Terra Nova by Ted Tally Geniuses by Jonathan Reynolds To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday by Michael Brady Fool for Love by Sam Shepard 1983 - 84 Getting Out by Marsha Norman True West by Sam Shepard Strange Snow by Steve Metcalfe Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson 1982 - 83 Wings by Arthur Kopit Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon by James McLure Final Passages by Robert Schenkkan Dylan Thomas by Jack Aranson with Jack Aranson 1981 - 82 When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder by Mark Medoff The Vietnamization of New Jersey by Christopher Durang Nuts by Tom Topor various theatres (1975 - 1981) 1980 - 81 The Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson Alice Through The Looking Glass company developed by Lewis Carroll Hooters by Ted Tally Jesse and the Bandit Queen by David Freeman Getting Out by Marsha Norman 1979 - 80 Streamers by David Rabe vThe Insanity of Mary Girard by Lainie Robertson
The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill vDementia 80 by Don Steele 1979 Ashes by David Rudkin vThe Exhibition by Thomas Gibbons vSome of My Best Friends are Women by Don Steele and Edward Earle 1978 The Seagull by Anton Chekhov The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie by Albert Innaurato vThe Persecution of Eugene Waterman by Louis Lippa vThe Final Concert Tour of Mickey Colossus by Peter Mattaliano A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare vCenter City Soap by Dorothy Louise 1976 - 77 vThe Lion and the Lamb by Joseph Orazi vFuture Tense by John Sevcik vThe Keeper by Karolyn Nelke 27 Wagons Full of Cotton by Tennessee Williams vMars by Clay Goss She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (Theatre in the Court) Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (Theatre in the Court) 1976 vMarlowe by John Yinger Rain by W. Somerset Maugham, adapted by Colton and Randolph vThe Crossing/As I Lay Dying A Victim of Spring by David Rabe & Leslie Lee vThe Three Daughters of M. Dupont by E. Brieux, translation by Pauline Jones Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (NewMarket)
1975 The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice Sargeant Musgrave’s Dance by John Arden vBetween Now and Then by Leslie Lee
about our THEATRE The Suzanne Roberts Theatre, designed by Kieran Timberlake Associates, is owned and operated by Philadelphia Theatre Company and is the Company’s first permanent home. PTC is proud that the creation and development of its home, in partnership with Symphony House Developer, Carl Dranoff, has become a model for civic redevelopment - one that capitalizes on the ability of the arts to reinvigorate districts for residential and commercial revival. The space is contemporary, elegant, and urbane, and features a 160’ double-height glass facade on the Avenue of the Arts. The interior is defined by a uniquely warm and sculptural, 365-seat main stage auditorium with a proscenium arch of interlocking leather tiles, a spacious and contemporary mezzanine, and a planned 100seat, flexible second stage for new play development, intimate performances, and educational programming. Our stage house significantly enhances our ability to respond to the most imaginative visions of our creative teams with its spacious wings, soaring fly gallery, and trapped stage. The Theatre offers a full range of public amenities with an on-site box office, an ample amount of public rest rooms, a concession stand, and multiple lobbies designed for patron comfort and engagement with the City, visible through large expanses of glass. The grand staircase leads from the main floor to the double-height mezzanine lobby. The Theatre’s contemporary, universal design makes it one of the country’s most accessible performing arts venues and supports one of PTC’s core values to ensure that our artistry is accessible to everyone in our community.
about suzanne Roberts Philadelphia Theatre Company is honored to name its home after Suzanne Roberts--actress, playwright, director, educator, producer, and philanthropist. For more than 40 years, Suzanne has been a leading champion of the Philadelphia theater community. An actress by training, Suzanne has engaged as an artist in meaningful public service with projects as diverse as performing in dramas to inspire the purchase of war bonds during World War II to national appearances in plays discouraging racism and alcoholism. Demonstrating the breadth of her artistry, Suzanne has performed on many stages throughout our region in plays from Shakespeare to A.R. Gurney. She has also performed in a variety of media including radio and television and is well known to audiences as the creator and host of the Emmy Award-Winning Seeking Solutions with Suzanne. One of Suzanne’s lifelong passions has been using theater to improve the lives of young people. Through the Suzanne Roberts Cultural Development Fund, she has supported the outreach work of theater and dance companies in sharing their creativity with school children and young adults. Portrait of Suzanne Roberts by Alan Kole. Photo of Mainstage of Suzanne Roberts Theatre, home of Philadelphia Theatre Company, by Mark Garvin
2015/16 board of directors E. Gerald Riesenbach, Esq., Chairman Elliot Schwartz, President Julia Ericksen, Ph.D., Executive Vice President David L. Colman, AIA, Vice President Glenn Gundersen, Vice President Victor F. Keen, Vice President John M. Hanamirian, Treasurer Brigitte F. Daniel, Secretary
Sara Garonzik Teresa Gavigan Sally Lyn Katz Monika Krug Dale Penneys Levy Priscilla M. Luce Stephen J. McConnell James M. Meyer, CFA Donald Rosenblit, Chairman Emeritus
Carol Saline James T. Smith, Esq. Harriet Weiss Alan Widra
Members Emeritus Joanne Harmelin Sheldon L. Thompson Bettyruth Walter, Ph.D. Tracey Weiss, Ph.D.
former board presidents Kenneth Kaiserman* Robert Greenfield* Thomas M.S. Wheelock Lewis C. Ross Carole Phillips* John Friedman
Donald Rosenblit William F. O’Donnell Monika Krug Cheryl Green Bernard A. Weidenaar Sheldon L. Thompson
E. Gerald Riesenbach, Esq. Michael M. Coleman Priscilla M. Luce
*deceased
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY STAFF LEADERSHIP Executive Producing Director Sara Garonzik Executive Managing Director Priscilla M. Luce
House Managers Aaron Bell, Ben Coppolla, Arlen Hancock, Randi Hickey, Jarrett McCreary, Jennifer MacMillan, Jack Tamburri, Sara Totora
artistic/ programming staff Literary Manager & Dramaturg Carrie Chapter Director of Education Maureen Sweeney Manager of Education and Community Programs Will Dennis Interim Education Coordinator Joshua Campbell Teaching Artists Madison Auch, Christina Binder, Raven Buck, Mandy Katz, Jarrett McCreary, Ah-Keisha McCants, Lee Minora, Griffin Stanton-Ameisen, Danielle Rodino, Michael Rodriguez, Michael T. Williams
Production staff Director of Production Roy W. Backes Production General Manager Bridget A. Cook Production/Operations Manager Matthew F. Lewandowski II Assistant Stage Manager Annie Halliday Assistant Lighting Designer Amanda Jensen Carpentry/Rigging Supervisor Paul Hewitt Production Electrician Terry Smith Sound Supervisor Daniel A. Little Prop Master Melissa A. Cristaldi Little Lighting Supervisor Alyssandra Docherty Utility Stagehand Jay Wojnarowski Wardrobe Supervisor Maxine Johnson Lighting Programmer Uel Bergey Custodians Marvin Smith, Dorene Hobbs
administrative staff Manager of Board & Administrative Services Sharon Kling Director of Institutional Advancement Gina Range Development Manager Jessica Pasquariello Development Associate Kait Finegan Prospect Research Assistant Laini Clunes Business Manager Caroline Gu Business Associate Chinda Sam Director of Marketing Tom Thompson Sales Director Carol Flannery Graphic Designer & Marketing Coordinator Christina Mastrull Audience Services Manager Kristen Norine Venue Services Manager Danielle Commini Publicist Deborah Fleischman Audience Services Coordinator Alexander Rioh Audience Services Supervisor Lesley Berkowitz Audience Services Associates Hannah Sandler, Jane Sorensen, Erin Washburn
run crew Lighting Board Operator Alyssandra Docherty Sound Board Operator Daniel A. Little Deck Crew Jacob Lyon Goddard, Jay Wojnarowski Wardrobe Maxine Johnson, Janet Connors, Danielle Joh Special thanks 12th Street Gym Enterprise Rent-a-Car; Melanie Hazzard, Prospect Park, PA Branch Manager Scenery Built by: Upstage Right Productions
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2015/16 SEASON The McCarter Theatre/ Arena Stage production of
KEN LUDWIG’S
BASKERVILLE:
East Coast Premiere!
EXIT STRATEGY by Ike Holter
JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 28
SEX WITH STRANGERS by Laura Eason
APRIL 8 - MAY 8
A SHERLOCK East Coast Premiere! HOLMES MYSTERY HILLARY AND CLINTON
NOVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 27
by Lucas Hnath
MAY 27 - JUNE 26
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