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Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 120 Exchange Street (207) 773-3150 PortTIX Portland, ME 04101 20 Myrtle Street Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800
e-mail: info@portlandovations.org
TTY:(207) 842-0812 Order online at: www.PortlandOvations.org www.PortTIX.com
Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 25A Forest Avenue (207) 774-1043 25A Forest Avenue Portland, ME 04101 Portland, ME 04101 Fax: (207) 774-0576 (207) 774-0465
e-mail: boxoffice@portlandstage.org Order online at: www.portlandstage.org
Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 85 Exchange Street (207) 773-6128 PortTIX 4th Floor 20 Myrtle Street Portland, ME 04101 Fax: (207) 773-6089 Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800
e-mail: psobox@portlandsymphony.org
TTY:(207) 842-0812 Order online at: www.PortlandSymphony.org www.PortTIX.com
Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 20 Myrtle Street 212 Canco Road PortTIX Portland, ME 04101 Portland, ME 04101 20 Myrtle Street (207) 808-5400 Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800
Information: www.portlandevents.com
TTY:(207) 842-0812 www.PortTIX.com
A cooperative effort by Portland Ovations, Portland Stage, Portland Symphony Orchestra and Merrill Auditorium Concert Events.
The program book for Northern New England’s premier arts and entertainment organizations.
Portland Presents wishes to thank our advertisers for the 2024-25 season.
Visit our website at www.portlandpresents.org for direct links to our advertiser’s websites.
Acadia Insurance
Atlantic AV
Atlantic Design Center
Bach Virtuosi Festival
Baker Newman Noyes
Bath Savings
Browne Trading Company
Casco Bay EyeCare
Chilton Furniture
Coffee by Design
Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes
cPort Credit Union
Cross Insurance
Cuddledown
Davis Landscape Co., Inc
Drummond Woodsum
Eyecare Medical Group
Fermatix
Gnome Landscapes, Design, Masonry & Maintenance
Greencare Landscape Management
Greenhut Galleries & Cove Street Arts.
Hammond Lumber Company
HeadInvest
Holbrook at Piper Shores
Home Instead
Hopkinson & Abbondanza, P.A.
Kennebec Company
LandVest Inc.
LeBlanc & Young
Lincoln Theater
M & T Bank and Wilmington Trust
Maine Historical Society
Maine Periodontics
Malone Commercial Brokers
Marden’s Surplus & Salvage
Market Basket
Martin’s Point Health Care
Marvin Design Gallery by Eldredge Lumber
North Yarmouth Academy
Northern Light Mercy Hospital
Norway Savings Bank
OceanView at Falmouth
Perkins Thompson
Pierce Furniture
Portland Museum of Art
Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care
R.M. Davis, Inc.
Reger Dasco Properties
Renaissance Voices
Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery
Rowe Westbrook
Sentry Hill at York Harbor
Ted Carter Inspired Landscapes
The Bennett Law Firm, P.A.
The Cedars
The Docent’s Collection
The Hill Arts
Thornton Academy
Thos. Moser
Town & Shore Real Estate
Veterinary and Rehabilitation Center of Cape Elizabeth
Vitalius Real Estate Group
Waynflete
Woodhull
Wright Ryan Homes
If you or your business would like to advertise with Portland Presents, please contact any of the above organizations or check out our website at www.portlandpresents.org.
ON STAGE • APRIL 2 - MAY 4, 2025
Portland Stage is committed to cultivating our region’s playwrights while introducing our audience to the creative process. We inspire, nurture, and launch plays that will delight audiences for decades to come by incubating new work.
Since its debut in 1990, the Little Festival of the Unexpected (LFU) has established a tradition of nurturing artists, invigorating audiences, and exploring new voices, visions, and forms of theater. Past LFU scripts include Almost, Maine (LFU 2003) and Papermaker (LFU 2014).
Actor, Tony nominee and playwright, John Cariani, whose Almost, Maine is one of the most produced plays by high schools and colleges, will return to Portland Stage this season with a new Made in Maine production, Not Quite Almost.
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF MAKING THEATER IN MAINE
INSPIRING LITERACY, CULTURAL AWARENESS, COLLABORATION, & CREATIVITY
Education is central to Portland Stage’s mission. Vital education programs are offered in schools for students from pre-K through high school, and to children ages 4-18 through classes in our Susie Konkel Theater for Kids storefront space.
Top Feature: Students participating in Portland Stage Design Camp, 2024 summer camp.
Above: A student acting in Shakespeare Teen Company’s performance of Hamlet.
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF MAKING THEATER IN MAINE
HANDCRAFTED THEATER MADE IN MAINE
With a season of six Mainstage shows, Portland Stage brings a wide range of performances to Maine. Every Mainstage show is handcrafted in our historic building in the Portland Arts District. Throughout one season, Portland Stage creates over 200 live performances and serves 50,000 people from around the state and beyond.
Photos from the 2023 production of Saint Dad by Monica
Top Feature: Emily Upton, Liam Craig*, Moira Driscoll*, Pilar Witherspoon*, & Jenny Woodward
Above: Moira Driscoll* & Jenny Woodward
Side: Patrick O’Brien* (* Member of AEA). Photos by James A. Hadley
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF MAKING
Welcome to Merrill Auditorium, Portland’s Premier Performing Arts Venue
Home to Prime Tenants - Portland Symphony Orchestra, Portland Ovations and The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ.
Each year we host a variety of concerts, dance performances, children’s programming, comedy shows, corporate meetings and non-profit events with over 150,000 patrons in attendance annually!
Thank you for being a guest at our theater, please enjoy the show!
Merrill Auditorium is managed by the City of Portland Public Assembly Facilities Division Andrew J Downs, Director
Wednesday September 18th @ 7:30 pm
Elite Entertainment & Parachute Concerts presents THE PIANO GUYS
Thursday September 26th @ 7:30 pm - REG Presents KILLER QUEEN
Thursday October 3rd @ 7:00 pm - WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIVE
Tuesday October 22nd @ 8:00 pm - STEPHEN SANCHEZ
Friday October 25th @ 7:00 pm
The Kotzschmar Organ presents THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
Saturday October 26th @ 10:00 am
The Kotzschmar Organ presents SPOOKTACULAR SONGS & STORYTIME
Saturday October 26th @ 6:30 pm
The Kotzschmar Organ presents AN EVENING WITH OLIVIER LATRY
Sunday November 17th @ 2:30 pm
The Kotzschmar Organ presents GRAND OPERA MEETS THE MIGHTY KOTZSCHMAR
November 29th thru December 8th Maine State Ballet’s NUTCRACKER
Tuesday December 17th @ 7:00 pm Portland Ballet presents VICTORIAN NUTCRACKER
Monday December 23rd @ 7:00 pm
The Kotzschmar Organ presents CHRISTMAS WITH KENNERLEY
Saturday March 1 @ 7:00 pm
Outback presents SAL VULCANO EVERYTHING’S FINE TOUR
Wednesday March 19 @ 7:30 pm
Outback presents NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON - ASTRONOMY BIZARRE
Saturday March 22nd @ 7:00 pm
The Kotzschmar Organ presents BACH BIRTHDAY BASH
For more information about these and all our performances or to purchase tickets please visit PortTix.com or Call 207-842-0800
PortTix is the Official Box Office for Merrill Auditorium. Please make sure when purchasing tickets, you are buying from PortTix.
BATH SAVINGS TRUST COMPANY IS A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF BATH SAVINGS INSTITUTION. INVESTMENT PRODUCTS ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FDIC, ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OBLIGATIONS OF THE BANK, AND ARE NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK. INVESTMENT PRODUCTS ARE SUBJECT TO INVESTMENT RISK, INCLUDING THE POSSIBLE LOSS OF PRINCIPAL. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT AN INDICATION OF FUTURE RESULTS.
Your life. Your voice. Your care.
A t Holbrook, we provide the life your loved one wants with the care they need. Here, you’ll find a community setting that focuses on the individual— a place to call home filled with compassion and care. We call it PersonFirst ®
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Call Monday–Friday, 8 am–8 pm. 1-855-207-0882 (TTY: 711) MartinsPoint.org/Stage
Benefits vary by plan. Plans offered in ME & NH. You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium. Martin’s Point Generations Advantage is a health plan with a Medicare contract offering HMO, HMO-POS, and Local PPO products. Enrollment in a Martin’s Point Generations Advantage plan depends on contract renewal. Martin’s Point Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Y0044_2024_300_M Accepted: 6/22/2024
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FRIDAY & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 & 19, 2024 • 8 PM, 1 PM & 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 & 21, 2024 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
THE CHER SHOW
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12 & 13, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, MARCH 12 & 13, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, MARCH 26 & 27, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
AIN’T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS
TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 & 28, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024 • 7 PM
WESTBROOK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025 • 8 PM
STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND
CONTRA-TIEMPO: joyUS justUS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
COMPLEXIONS
CONTEMPORARY BALLET
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2025 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
COAST TO COAST: AN EVENING OF HIP-HOP ARABIC POETRY & MAQAM MUSIC
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, APRIL 16 & 17, 2025 • 7 PM ONE LONGFELLOW SQUARE, PORTLAND
PORTTIX IS OUR TRUSTED TICKET SELLER
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 7 PM STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND
MARYNA KRUT, BANDURA
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2025 • 7 PM FIRST PARISH CHURCH, PORTLAND
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 • 7 PM AURA, PORTLAND THE
COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2025 • 7 PM MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
THE NIGHTINGALE’S SONATA
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024 • 2 PM
MAINE JEWISH MUSEUM, PORTLAND
ESPRESSIVO! PIANO QUARTET
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025 • 2 PM
HANNAFORD HALL, USM CAMPUS, PORTLAND
CONRAD TAO PIANO
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2025 • 2 PM
HANNAFORD HALL, USM CAMPUS, PORTLAND
CIRQUE KALABANTÉ: AFRIQUE EN CIRQUE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024 • 7 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
SUGAR SKULL! A DÍA DE MUERTOS MUSICAL ADVENTURE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2024 • 10 AM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD LIVE!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2024 • 11 AM
WESTBROOK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2025 • 3 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
FRAGGLE ROCK: BACK TO THE ROCK LIVE!
SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2025 • 1 & 4:30 PM
MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND
Membership gives you greater access to live performance and exclusive Member benefits including disounts and early ticket access.
Ovations Offstage connects audiences with artists by bringing experiences directly to the community. Programming includes pre-performance lectures before each chamber music concert, masterclasses and public workshops with visiting artists, community conversations, post-performance Q&A’s, film screenings, the popular Drag Storytime series and more.
CELEBRATING 94 YEARS OF PERFORMING ARTS
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President
Vice
Jonathan
Ylvisaker Tardiff
Peter S. Plumb
McKenzie Blanchard, Director of Learning & Community
Liz Kane, Director of Artistic Operations
Allison Page, Director of Marketing & Communication
Leah Robertson, Director of Development
Jennie Ryan, Director of Finance
Marketing Manager
Donor Relations & Database Manager
Goodman, Music Librarian
Executive Assistant & Office Manager Sarah A.
Graphic Designer
Richardson, Annual Fund Manager
Schraeder, Grant Writer
Liz Shapiro, Production Manager Alyson Spencer-Reed, Finance Coordinator
Webster, Orchestra Personnel Manager
Zichella, Major Gifts Officer
BEETHOVEN’S 9 TH
SUNDAY, SEPETEMBER 22, 2024 | 2:30 PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 | 7:00 PM
ROARING ’20S:
Rhapsody in Blue
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024 | 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2024 | 2:30 PM
YO-YO MA with the Portland Symphony Orchestra
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024 | 7:00 PM
VOCTAVE:
The Corner of Broadway & Main Street
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2025 | 7:00 PM
CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR: A Tribute to the Beatles
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2025 | 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025 | 2:30 PM
MOZART MEETS KLEZMER
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024 | 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2024 | 2:30 PM
MENDELSSOHN & STRAUSS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2024 | 2:30 PM
MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS with Cirque de la Symphonie
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2024–
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2024
LA BOHÈME in collaboration with Opera Maine
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025 | 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2025 | 2:30 PM
BEETHOVEN LIVES UPSTAIRS
Classical Kids LIVE!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2025 | 2:30 PM
TUESDAY CLASSICAL | SUNDAY CLASSICAL POPS! | MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS DISCOVERY CONCERTS FOR FAMILIES
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2025 | 2:30 PM
FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO HEAR THEM:
Side-by-side with Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra
SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2025 | 2:30 PM
CARMINA BURANA
SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2025 | 2:30 PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025 | 7:00 PM
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE IN CONCERT
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 225 | 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2025 | 1:00 PM
SLEEPING BEAUTY with Portland Ballet
SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2025 | 2:30 PM
CLASSIC ROMANCE with Portland Ballet and Portland Stage
TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2025 | 7:00 PM
DVOŘÁK’S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2025 | 7:00 PM
McCullough mixes a gold metallic ink with additives to create a specific viscosity.
McCullough mixes a gold metallic ink with additives to create a specific viscosity.
McCullough and Brown discuss the design while setting up the printing station.
McCullough and Brown discuss the design while setting up the printing station.
Silkscreen printing involves pushing ink through a mesh screen onto paper or another surface. Each color in the design requires a separate screen, with layers of ink applied sequentially to create the final image.
Silkscreen printing involves pushing ink through a mesh screen onto paper or another surface. Each color in the design requires a separate screen, with layers of ink applied sequentially to create the final image.
ON SALE NOW. Posters may be purchased online or at PSO performances. All proceeds benefit PSO education and artistic programs. For more information about how to own a piece of PSO history visit: `PORTLANDSYMPHONY.ORG
ON SALE NOW. Posters may be purchased online or at PSO performances. All proceeds benefit PSO education and artistic programs. For more information about how to own a piece of PSO history visit: `PORTLANDSYMPHONY.ORG
Last year we asked local artists to help create a design for the PSO’s 100 th season expressing the celebratory spirit of the Symphony. The final design came from emerging artist Lydia Jane Brown, a native Mainer who has lived in the Portland area since 2008 when she moved from Aroostook County to study art at USM.
Last year we asked local artists to help create a design for the PSO’s 100 th season expressing the celebratory spirit of the Symphony. The final design came from emerging artist Lydia Jane Brown, a native Mainer who has lived in the Portland area since 2008 when she moved from Aroostook County to study art at USM.
“ The starting concept was a dynamic overlapping image of a conductor with arms spread wide as a gentle explosion of instruments bursts above their head and around them, melding together while simultaneously growing out from the center. It’s meant to feel celebratory, like a fireworks display.”
“ The starting concept was a dynamic overlapping image of a conductor with arms spread wide as a gentle explosion of instruments bursts above their head and around them, melding together while simultaneously growing out from the center. It’s meant to feel celebratory, like a fireworks display.”
-Brown
-Brown
Printmaker and PSO Graphic Designer Sarah McCullough collaborated with Brown to create a four-color screenprint commemorating the PSO’s 100th Anniversary season. This limited-edition silkscreen poster will be signed by the printmaker, artist, Music Director, and possibly a special guest. It is printed with water-based inks on 100% cotton, archival Stonehenge paper.
Printmaker and PSO Graphic Designer Sarah McCullough collaborated with Brown to create a four-color screenprint commemorating the PSO’s 100th Anniversary season.
This limited-edition silkscreen poster will be signed by the printmaker, artist, Music Director, and possibly a special guest. It is printed with water-based inks on 100% cotton, archival Stonehenge paper.
9/3/24 5:17 PM
5:17 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
2:00 PM (Preview) & 7:00 PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15
11:00 AM (Family-Friendly) & 3:00 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20
2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21
2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22
1:00 PM & 5:00 PM
Sponsors: Media Sponsor:
This beloved Maine holiday classic brings a delightful combination of nostalgic traditions and unexpected surprises.
Experience perennial favorites like the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah and “Sleigh Ride” (performed in a distinctly unique PSO fashion— and yes, pun intended for those in the know), new traditions like “The Maine Christmas Song,“ and specially chosen brand-new selections heard for the first time each year.
“THIS PERFORMANCE IS ALWAYS A WIN! JOYFUL AND INCLUSIVE WHAT WE ALL NEED!” –Veroneau B.
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INDEPENDENT LIVING AT THE ATRIUM is luxurious and carefree, focused on wellness and personal growth, and filled with culture, activities, and friends. From farm-to-table dining to the saltwater pool, we give you the time to truly enjoy all Portland, Maine offers.
Schedule your personal visit today!
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At Waynflete, curious young learners discover the joy of building rovers and rockets from recyclables while older students work with NASA scientists to identify and name real asteroids in Astrophysics class.
Students need hands-on learning opportunities— personalized to their passions— to reach their true potential. If you miss seeing that spark, visit waynflete.org to see how our challenging curriculum can change the trajectory of your child’s life.
“Join
We want to share our 51st season with YOU!
With new Made in Maine productions, classics revisited, sharpwitted dramas, charming comedies, and murder mysteries, this season holds a range of shows we hope will delight and inspire you.
Each play in this season is about uncovering unexpected truths and finding the strength to face problems head on. From a senator standing up for what’s right, to discovering secrets in a recipe box or on the golf course. From confronting an angel or your wife, to sharing your deepest thoughts as shooting stars fill the night sky, each play this season brings a mystery and a different approach to finding a better solution.
Join us at Portland Stage!
Anita Stewart, Artistic Director
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER
Portland Stage is committed to creating great art, passionate about using the theater to educate, and dedicated to enriching our community. WE:
• Engage, connect, inform: Through intimate, personal exchanges that can only happen in a live theater, we foster a shared empathy and sense of belonging.
• Build community: We create productions from the ground up, combining local talent with artists from away: Enriching both through lasting relationships and deeper understanding of each other and the world.
• Evolve to stay relevant: We innovate, cultivate, and incubate new ideas on our stages, in our classrooms, and with community partners.
Ellen Alderman
Tony San Antonio
Samantha Bowen
Sarah Campbell
Susan Carter
Peter H. Clough
Scott Cowger
Margaret Groban
Amanda Hannan
Edith Iyer-Hernandez
John F. Leonard IV
Theresa McCarthy
Alisa Conroy Morton
Sara A. Murphy
Todd Nicholson
Carole Ann Palmer
Cathy Stankard
Robin Talbot
Courtney Thorpe
Nelson A. Toner
Daniel Tucker
Anne Wade
Wendy Winer
Meg Villarreal
(*Member AEA).
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER
LEADERSHIP
Artistic Director ............................................................................... Anita Stewart
Managing Director ...........................................................................Martin Lodish
Associate Production Manager • Sound Supervisor ...............Seth Asa Sengel
Associate Technical Director ........................................................ Jacob Coombs
Company Manager.................................................................... Jennifer London
Costume Shop Manager................................................................. Susan Thomas
Literary Manager ..................................................................... Todd Brian Backus
Production Manager • Lighting Supervisor ...............................Mary Lana Rice
Props Coordinator ...................................................................................Elliot Nye
Stage Managers .......................................................Myles C. Hatch & Meg Lydon
Technical Director ................................................................................Ted Gallant
ADMINISTRATION
Apprentice Coordinators ................................ Jennifer London & Julianne Shea
Audience Services Manager ............................................................Donald Smith
Box Office Assistant Manager .................................................... Renee Myhaver
Business Manager ..........................................................................Paul Ainsworth
Development Associate ............................................................... Lindsey Higgins
Development Director .....................................................................Covey Crolius
Education Administrator ................................................................ Julianne Shea
Education Assistant ........................................................Stacey Salotto-Cristobol
Education Director................................................................ Michael Dix Thomas
Front of House Associates .................................. Beka Bryer & Cassie Edincott
Grant Coordinator ................................................................................. Allison Fry
Graphic Designer •Marketing Associate................................ Aressa Goodrich
Group Sales Coordinator ...............................................................Myles C. Hatch
House Manager .......................................................................... Adam Thibodeau
Marketing Assistant....................................................................... Savannah Irish
Marketing & Communications Director ...................................... Erin Elizabeth
APPRENTICES
Company Management..................................................................... Casey Pitts
Costumes ........................................................... Renata Cortes, Jessica Podemski
Directing & Dramaturgy............................ Kimmarie McCrann, Larsen Nichols, ............................................................................................. Micki Demby Kleinman
Education ............................................................Charlie Bowen, Sadie Goldstein
Electrics ..................................................................................................Sierra Riley
Props ............................................................................................ Grainne Sheehan
Stage Management ..................................Kevin Commander, Charlotte Teplitz
Subscribers are the Backbone of Our Organization Providing ongoing support for the theater both within our community as well as financially.
Seated Subscription
A full 6-show seated subscription, same days and seats throughout the season, plus the ability to exchange tickets if your plans change.
Choose the best plan for you!
1 Misplaced or forgotten tickets can be easily reprinted at the Box Office on the day of the show.
2 Per-ticket price is lower than average single ticket prices and you only pay a one-time handling fee for each subscription package in your purchase.
3 Get access to reservations, exchanges, and additional tickets before shows go on sale to the general public.
4 The first exchange for each show is at no extra charge for a performance of the same price (i.e., evening to evening).
Because each contribution is an investment in the arts. Tax-deductible contributions keep Portland Stage a living, breathing, thriving theater, and ultimately ensure the fulfillment of our mission and the enrichment of our community. The generosity of individual donors, corporations, and foundations enables us to surround the work on our Mainstage with Education Programs, New Work Development Initiatives, and Community Engagement Events that deepen and broaden the impact of the shows themselves.
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF CREATING
The classes and camps at Portland Stage produce a safe environment for young people to find a higher sense of play, stretch their imaginations, and gain valuable social skills.
Serving children pre-K to grade 12 year round in our theater, the community, and schools.
Theater for Kids is made possible by the support & vision of Susie Konkel.
SATURDAYS AT 10:30AM OCT. 19 - NOV. 23 • AGES 4 - 10
for Kids is made possible by the support & vision of Susie Konkel.
Join us for a book club discussion of the plays in our 50th season at the Portland Public Library. Portland Stage Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus will lead discussions alongside assistant directors, dramaturgs, and special guests. Scripts are available at the Main Branch Reference Desk at the Portland Public Library and take place in the Rines Auditorium at the following dates and times.
Angels in America, Part 2: Perestroika.... Saturday, October 12th • 1:30 - 2:30pm Murder on the Links.................................... Saturday, January 18th • 1:30 - 2:30pm
Madelines .................................................. Saturday, February 22nd • 1:30 - 2:30pm Not Quite Almost...........................................Saturday, March 22nd • 1:30 - 2:30pm Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf........................... Saturday, May 3rd • 1:30 - 2:30pm
Join us after the fith Sunday Matinee of each production for a discussion with Artistic Director Anita Stewart, as well as artists and scholars related to the production. These discussions are always free and open to the public, and attendees can join even if they didn’t attend the matinee itself. Check in with the Box Office for runtimes and try to arrive at Portland Stage about five minutes before curtain to join the audience after bows.
after the second Sunday Matinee of each production for a discussion with the cast of each show, moderated by Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus. These discussions are always free and open to the public, and attendees can join even if they didn’t attend the matinee itself. Check in with the Box Office for runtimes and try to arrive at Portland Stage about five minutes before curtain to join the audience after bows.
Created by the Portland Stage Literary Department, these extensive guides present a broad spectrum of information and perspectives on each play in our Mainstage season.
Read more on our website Portlandstage.org
For more information about who we are and what we do, and to buy tickets, click on the qr code to our brand-new website: www.RenaissanceVoices.net
Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 143 State St, Portland, ME
Saturday, December 14, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 15, 2:00 pm
Music by Thomas Weelkes, Juan Esquivel, Sergei Rachmaninov, Sally Herman, & more
Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 143 State St, Portland, ME
Sunday, May 18, 2:00 pm
director’s cut – Music Director Harold Stover picks favorites from 30 years of Renaissance Voices concerts
To address safety concerns, WH Demmons updated our HVAC system to utilize bipolar ionization technology to deactivate harmful substances like bacteria, mold, allergens, and viruses.
CELEBRATING 51 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER
OCT. 23 - NOV. 10
“ Here’s to finding a better way forward one day at a time.”
“The Great Question before us is: Are we doomed? The Great Question before us is: Will the past release us? The Great Question before us is: Can we change? In time?...” —Tony Kushner, Perestroika
Tony Kushner’s Perestroika, the second half of Angels in America, is a play that speaks to the chaos in the world that surrounds us today. Starting with the pleas of the oldest living Bolshevik, who warns us not to tear down the established order until we have created a clear set of working rules, Kushner takes us on a journey that feels as “of the moment” in 2024 as it did when the play was first presented in the early 1990s.
In Perestroika, the characters have already left their established “world orders.” Louis has left his partner, Prior, who is sick with AIDS. Joe, a Mormon, Republican lawyer, has left his wife, Harper. Joe’s mother Hannah has left her Salt Lake home to restore order to the chaos that is happening in Manhattan. And Prior’s world has been upended by the sudden arrival of an angel.
As these individuals collide, we see their humanity shine through their loss and confusion, allowing them to make an odd sort of peace with those whose ideologies clash against their own. A Black gay nurse helps the racist Roy Cohn in his dying moments, a Mormon mother befriends a homosexual man whose partner is sleeping with her son, and a lover who has been spurned becomes friends with the person that hurt them to the core.
We see that the search is not just for where your center is, or what you believe in. The search is for how you connect with the whole.
As we step through our world today, there are times when we need to stand our ground; times when we need to assert our moral framework. But even as we make our case, we also need to listen— even to those we see as standing on the other side of the abyss. For they are human as well. If we can achieve this, Kushner seems to say, we may, someday, find the true Millennium.
Here’s to finding a better way forward one day at a time. Millennium (noun): 1) a period of 1,000 years; (2) a period of great happiness or human perfection.
Anita Stewart, Artistic Director
Written by Tony Kushner
This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
*Members of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
New York City, 1986. and Sound Designers in LORT are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.
**The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, ***The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society is the theatrical union that unites, empowers, & protects professional Stage Directors and Choreographers throughout the United States.
The video and/or audio recording of this live production by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.
Prior ............................................... Robbie Harrison
Louis.............................................. Nate Stephenson
Belize.................................. Ashanti Dwight Williams
Joseph ............................................... Joseph Bearor
Harper .......................................... Michela Micalizio
Hannah............................................... Denise Poirier
Roy .......................................................... Paul Haley
The Angel ............................................. Casey Turner
Co-Director ................................................... Keith Powell Beyland
Co-Director ................................................................ Peter Brown
Scenic Designer ..................................................... Anita Stewart**
Costume Designer ................................................... Emily White**
Lighting Designer ............................... SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal**
Sound Designer..................................................... Seth Asa Sengel
Stage Manager ............................................................ Meg Lydon*
Fight Choreographer ....................................... Michael Dix Thomas
Intimacy Director ........................................................ Hollie Pryor
Dialect Coach ............................................................. Bess Welden
Asst. Director & Dramaturg ...................................... Larsen Nichols
Production Assistant. ........................................... Charlotte Teplitz
Lighting and Sound Opzerator ...................................... Sierra Riley
Wardrobe..Jessica Podemski, Kimmarie McCrann & Sadie Goldstein
Deck Crew.................................................. Micki Demby Kleinman
Deck Crew Swing................................................. Gráinne Sheehan
Wardrobe Swing ...................................................... Renata Cortés
Lighting and Sound Swing ....................................... Larsen Nichols
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC. broadwayplaypublishing.com
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika premiered in November 1992 in a production by the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Oskar Eustis and Tony Taccone.
Special Thanks: Adam Thibodeau and Wig styling by Bryan Spaulding.
Born in New York City in 1956, and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Tony Kushner is best known for his two-part epic, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. His other plays include A Bright Room Called Day; Slavs!; Hydrotaphia; Homebody/ Kabul; and Caroline, or Change, the musical for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori. Kushner has translated and adapted Pierre Corneille’s The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky’s The Dybbuk, Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan and Mother Courage and Her Children, and the Englishlanguage libretto for the children’s opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’ film of Angels in America and Steven Spielberg’s Munich. In 2012 he wrote the screenplay for Spielberg’s movie Lincoln. His books include But the Giraffe: A Curtain Raising and Brundibár: The Libretto, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive JewishAmerican Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon. His recent work includes a collection of one-act plays entitled Tiny Kushner, and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Arts Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a PEN/ Laura Pels Award, a Spirit of Justice Award from the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a Cultural Achievement Award from The National Foundation for Jewish Culture, a Chicago Tribune Literary Prize for lifetime achievement, and the 2012 National Medal of Arts, among many others. In September 2008, Tony Kushner became the first recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, the largest theater award in the US. He is the subject of a documentary film, Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner, made by the Oscar-winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.
Keith Powell Beyland recently directed the critically-acclaimed DRC productions of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (PSC - co-directed), Grounded, The Moors (co-directedTheatrical Highlight of 2022 - Portland Phoenix), Lungs, The Flick, Cock (the cockfight play) (co-directed - Theatrical Highlight of 2018 - Portland Phoenix), Venus in Fur (codirected - Theatrical Highlight of 2017 - Portland Phoenix), The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Theatrical Highlight of 2015 - Portland Phoenix), Equivocation (co-directed, Theatrical Highlight of 2014 - Portland Phoenix), My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Theatrical Highlight of 2014 - Portland Phoenix), A Bright New Boise (co-production with Fenix Theatre, Theatrical Highlight of 2013 - Portland Phoenix), Topdog/Underdog (Best Production - 2013 PEER Award, Theatrical Highlight of 2012 - Portland Phoenix), [title of show], Tigers Be Still, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Life During Wartime and Blue/Orange. He spent the last two decades working on and off Broadway with respected organizations like Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre Company (NY), The New Group, Berkshire Theatre Festival and Irondale Ensemble Project. Keith studied with Athol Fugard, John Patrick Shanley, Paula Vogel, Maria Irene Fornes, Anne Hamburger, Carey Perloff and Venable Herndon, among others. He holds a degree with Honors from the Dramatic Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a Stroke Survivor.
PETER BROWN, CO-DIRECTOR
Peter Brown is honored to be co-directing again with his friend Keith (after having directed so successfully together on Venus in Fur and Equivocation), and to be working again with Portland Stage, where he served as Production Manager 1999–2009. Peter is a Portlandbased actor, director, and theater educator, who has appeared in Dramatic Repertory Company’s productions of Fabuloso, Equivocation, Swimming in the Shallows, and Life During Wartime. Peter is the Artistic Director of Fenix Theatre Company that produces Shakespeare in Deering Oaks Park, and is the creator of Fenix’s annual holiday production, 12th Night: A Holiday Musical, which infuses Twelfth Night with over two dozen holiday songs. Peter is the Director of the Portland High School Shakespeare Company (since 2002), and former Associate Artistic Director of Mad Horse Theatre Company. MHTC credits include acting in The Normal Heart, The Pillowman, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and directing The History Boys and Six Degrees of Separation. Peter’s proudest role is that of Dad to his sons Crosby and Lexton. A million thanks to his husband R.J., whose love, support, and dedication to their family makes it all possible.
AFTERSCHOOL REHEARSALS
Apr 15- May 9 | Tue, Wed, Thur
*No rehearsals Apr 22-24
PERFORMANCES
May 30/31 (Rain date June 1) at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center
Cost: $450 financial aid available
Students come together as an ensemble to create a fully-staged production of Shakespeare‘s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Participants take on a variety of roles including acting, costume design, marketing, and more!
Edited for Clarity by Larsen Nichols
Larsen Nichols (LN): So this is a pretty unique production due to it being the sequel to Millennium Approaches. Have either of you ever worked on a sequel before? If so, can you speak a little to those experiences, or if not, can you talk about what has been surprising you?
Keith Powell Beyland (KPB): I think of Perestroika more as a continuation of Millennium Approaches than as a sequel per se, although they opened six months apart. I have never worked on a play thatwas written in two parts, and in this case since the action in Part 2 takes place immediately after Part 1 with no time gap, I feel that the end of Part 1 is like the intermission, and then we return to find out how the story ends.
Peter Brown (PB): It’s interesting in this age of “90-minutes plays with no intermission” that in recent history there have been successful productions of plays that happen in multiple parts: The Inheritance, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Wolf Hall, The Coast of Utopia (Parts 1, 2 & 3). They are huge commitments, both in terms of producing them and the demands on the audience, but the pay-off of experiencing them is pretty incredible. Angels in America is the first I’ve been blessed to work on.
LN: What’s it like doing another production with the same cast and creative team?
KPB: Awesome! It feels like we picked up right where we left off in May, and the rehearsal process has been that much smoother since we all already know how good the collaboration was the first time around!
PB: It’s been amazing. Because Millennium was so well-received (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped and told how proud I must be—I am!), there is a great sense of confidence this time around. Plus, the cast has already had this amazing bonding experience. We’ve already already worked on the set. The production team has already established a vocabulary. So many benefits.
LN: What do you find most challenging about Part 2?
KPB: The same thing I found challenging with Part 1—making sure we are holding the audience’s interest and keeping them on the edge of their seats during a 3+ hour production!
PB: Perestroika presents a directing challenge that we didn’t have to deal with in Millennium. In Millennium, the Angel appears briefly for the last moment of the play. In Perestroika, the Angel is onstage for whole scenes and physically interacting with other characters. As theatrically spectacular as it was to fly the Angel in for the end of Part 1, a character suspended at the back wall can be limiting.
Robbie Harrison (Prior) is buckled up for the return to Tony Kushner’s “Gay Fantasia” after making his debut on the mainstage in May for Part I: Millenium Approaches. Robbie celebrates partnership and celebrates community; he is thankful to Peter Brown and Keith Powell Beyland for the opportunity to take part in this angelic Dramatic Repertory Company production presented by Portland Stage. During the “summer break” between Parts I and II, Robbie returned to The Theater at Monmouth to perform in repertory for their 55th season, including in the role of Cosmé McMoon, the pianist who accompanied the notorious opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins, in the play Souvenir by Stephen Temperley. Robbie is a graduate of Bowdoin College where he majored in Spanish and Gay & Lesbian Studies. Robbie is the Education Director of Acorn Productions, and, outside of the theater, he teaches Spanish to kids and adults. robbieharrisonactor.com.
Nate Stephenson (Louis) (he/him) is a Portland-based stage, screen, and voice actor. A 2018 graduate of Bates College’s Theater Department, Nate began working in Boston before relocating to Portland in 2021. He has since appeared in productions with Lanes Coven Theater Company in Gloucester, MA (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Servant of Two Masters), and in Maine with DRC (Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches), Good Theatre (One Man, Two Guvnors), Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble (The Sand Princess), Acorn Productions (Maine Playwrights Festival 2023), Mad Horse Theatre Company (Quills), Fenix Theatre Company (Twelfth Night, The Tempest), and Dramatic Repertory Company (The Moors). Recent film credits include Hulu’s Wild Crimes (Season 2), Damnationland 2022 (Tick!), and Damnationland 2023 (Sweet Meats). He is excited to return to Portland Stage to complete the epic arc of Kushner’s seminal piece of American drama. Instagram: @natetheprettygood. Web: www. natestephenson.com
Ashanti Dwight Williams (Belize) has recently performed as Belize and Mr. Lies in Angels in America Part 1, at Portland Stage, Richard Lionheart in Lion in Winter for the Portland Shakespeare Company and as Lloyd Boateng in One Man, Two Guvnors for Good Theater. He is a graduate from the University of Hartford with a BFA in Drama and Circle In The Square Theater School in NYC. “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” - Alan Langdon
Joseph Bearor (Joseph) is thrilled to be returning to Portland Stage alongside the rest of this tremendous cast to present the second part of Dramatic Repertory Company’s production of Angels in America. Joe, originally from Bangor, Maine, is a Portland local and a proud member of its theatrical community. A lifetime ago, he spent some time in Los Angeles, where he starred in the miniseries Marvel’s
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Double Agent and the John Lennon biopic Rubber Soul, which premiered at 2014’s SXSW Film Festival. Since returning to Maine, he has joined the ranks of company members at Mad Horse Theatre in South Portland, where he’s performed in productions like Radiant Vermin, Straight White Men, Spring Awakening, and Six Degrees of Separation. Other notable productions include Good Theater’s Shear Madness and Nureyev’s Eyes, American Irish Repertory Ensemble’s Outside Mullingar, and Dramatic Repertory Company’s Venus in Fur. He would like to dedicate this performance to his wife, Colleen, who has stepped up, again and again and again, this past year, over the course of these two massive productions. Their fathomless love and sturdy support has made this incredible opportunity possible.
Michela Micalizio (Harper) is honored to be back on stage with DRC, with an incredible cast in the show of a lifetime. Some credits include The Mother with DRC, Comedy of Errors with Fenix Theater Company, and Pony in the Portland Theatere Festival. She often designs and builds puppets for the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine, and has acted in a few shows at Maddy’s Theatre. She has a BFA in Acting from Boston University, and has also trained at the Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, as well as the Celebration Barn in South Paris, ME. Instagram: @micalizzio. Email: michela.micalizio@gmail.com
Denise Poirier (Hannah) grew up in Maine and has been a performer for over 30 years. She’s thrilled to be working on Angels in America with DRC. Much of her professional life has been spent on stage in such plays as Lifespan of a Fact, Pack of Lies, The Other Place, The Little Dog Laughed, Rabbit Hole, Good People (Good Theater); King Lear and Blithe Spirit (The Theater at Monmouth); Frozen (the drama, Essential Theatre Co./NYC); Death Wings (Dramatic Rep/Theater Project); Carolyn Gage’s solo piece Lace Curtain Irish (EstroGenius Festival/ NYC) and Lighting Martha (PortFringe); The Laramie Project and Measure for Measure (Garson Theatre Co, Santa Fe); to name a few. Voice work includes the title role of the animated Aeon Flux for MTV, Merrick in HBO’s Spawn, Starstruck and Vault of Horror with Pocket Universe Productions. She’s recorded audiobooks with Audible in NJ. She lived in LA (West Coast version) for a lot of years where her TV career began with guest-starring roles on Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Frasier, and 3rd Rock from the Sun. A life in art is a very good life indeed. It’s great to be home in Maine and working with some of the best people in the world.
Paul Haley (Roy) appeared in the Portland Stage Company production of Dancing at Lughnasa. This is his first show with DRC, and he is privileged to be included in this important collaboration on an important play— of enduring gravity and renewed relevance—with an outstanding team. He has performed with American Irish Repertory Ensemble, Theater at Monmouth, Mad Horse Theatre Company, Camden Shakespeare Festival, Acorn Productions & Shakespeare Ensemble, Fenix Theatre, and Good Theater. He also has directed for Maine Playwrights Festival and Good Theater.
Casey Turner (The Angel) is a Maine native and has been a part of thecreative industry since she was a teenager. She received a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern Maine. In addition to the stage,Casey has explored film, trapeze, voice over, TedX, as well as producing commercials, audio dramas and Emmy-winning documentaries. Select theater credits include: Portland Stage Company (Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods), Theater at Monmouth (The Agitators, Crumbs From the Table of Joy), Fenix Theatre Company (Twelfth Night, Three Sisters, Much Ado About Nothing), Mad Horse Theatre Company (Stupid F***ing Bird), Dramatic Repertory Company (Angels in America Part 1, Grounded, The Flick, Venus in Fur, My Name is Rachel Corrie), Good Theater (Crimes of the Heart, Significant Other, Homer Bound), SPACE Gallery (Killer Joe).
Created by the Portland Stage Literary Department,
broad
extensive
of
and perspectives on each play in our Mainstage season. Available for free online, or to purchase in the Lobby or Box Office!
By Alex Oleksy, edited and updated by Larsen Nichols
Following the New York premiere of his play A Bright Room Called Day, playwright Tony Kushner received communication from up-and coming theater titan Oskar Eustis, requesting a reading of the play at Eureka Theatre in San Francisco. Afterwards, the two developed a tumultuous but fruitful creative relationship, and both were eager to make their mark on the leftleaning theater scene of the West Coast. After being denied the rights to Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, Eustis encouraged Kushner to utilize a commission by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to create a work for Eureka. The playwright initially set out to write a work placing the AIDS crisis within the context of Mormonism and the American identity, with “five gay men and an angel.” What followed became Angels in America, one of the defining dramas of the 20th century.
In many ways, Part One of Angels in America, Millennium Approaches, serves as a kind of prologue for Perestroika, setting up the events that take place in Part Two. In New York City in late 1985, Prior informs his long-term boyfriend Louis that he has HIV. At the same time, Joe, a Mormon lawyer who lives in Brooklyn, is offered a job in Washington, DC, by the infamous Roy Cohn. Joe asks his valium-addicted wife, Harper, if she’d like to move to DC, but she’s not keen on the idea. Prior and Harper meet one another in a shared hallucination/ dream and he tells her that her husband is gay. Harper confronts Joe about his homosexuality and Roy Cohn gets word from his doctor that he has HIV. As Prior’s disease worsens, he begins to hear a voice that just might be an angel. Louis walks out on Prior and strikes up a friendship with Joe. Late at night, Joe calls his mother, Hannah, to tell her he’s a homosexual. She sells her home and boards the next flight to New York, while Harper slips further into her delusions. Prior’s friend Belize, a nurse, comforts Prior in Louis’ absence. Roy Cohn is visited by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg as his condition worsens. Louis asks a beleaguered Belize to pass a message along to Prior. In the final moments, an Angel crashes through Prior’s ceiling to declare, “Greetings Prophet! The Great Work Begins: The Messenger has arrived!” And thus Millennium Approaches concludes, and Perestroika begins.
Though Millennium Approaches and Perestroika are two parts of the same story, Tony Kushner describes the two as very different plays, each with their own character: “Millennium is a play about security and certainty being blown apart, while Perestroika is about danger and possibility following the explosion. The events in Perestroika proceed from the wreckage made by the angel’s traumatic entry at the end of Millennium. A membrane has broken; there is disarray and debris.” As we near the 35th anniversary of Kushner’s masterpiece and finish bringing Angels in America to Portland Stage, it’s clear that the impact of this fantasia cannot be overstated. In the midst of a pandemic, an election, and a wave of troubling anti-LGBTQ+ laws throughout the United States, the work’s investigation of American identity is as visceral and necessary as ever. The work is a call, as Hilton Als described in The New Yorker, for “queer men…to rise up and to take their place, not only in the Heaven that awaits them but in the Hell we’ve made through ignorance, fear, and willfulness.”
Read more in the Portland Stage PlayNotes Available for free online, or to purchase in the Lobby or Box Office!
By Micki Demby Kleinmann
When AIDS was first observed in 1981, it was reported that five young, previously healthy, homosexual men in Los Angeles were severely ill with a rare lung infection. It was unclear what was going on, what these symptoms were indicative of, or the tragedy that would unfold. Over the course of the decade and beyond, AIDS and its terror and destruction rapidly spread throughout the US. While some thought that this disease was a “gay cancer,” scientists came to understand it was an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that was transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, breastmilk, semen, and vaginal fluids. As a result, the populations that were most affected were gay and bisexual men, intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs, people who received blood transfusions, and infants who breastfed. AIDS is the result of HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, which destroys helper T-cells, necessary for a healthy immune system. Without helper T-cells it becomes much more difficult to combat illness, which leaves one susceptible and at risk to many diseases.
The fight against AIDS has been long and multifaceted: fighting the stigma of having AIDS, fighting the surrounding homophobia, and most importantly the actual medical fight of trying to combat the deadly virus. The manner in which the medical community has dealt with this issue and has tried to cure, contain, and even search for a way to vaccinate against this disease, in hopes of healing those who are afflicted, has evolved over time.
The first drug used to combat HIV was azidothymidine (AZT). AZT works by suppressing the reproduction of HIV in the body. The greater the quantity of HIV present in the body, the more havoc can be wreaked on the immune system. AZT was initially helpful in mitigating the reproduction of HIV, although with some extreme physical side effects, and more importantly, limited long-term effectiveness. If patients missed a dose, the medication would rapidly stop being effective, and the virus would be able to mutate to “outsmart” the medication. As research on treatment continued, it became clear that taking more than one drug at a time increased success rates. Taking two or three drugs with different biochemical objectives increased efficacy by 90% because it prevented the virus from becoming drug resistant. This allows HIV replication to slow down and transmission to stop. The scientific understanding is that “undetectable=untransmittable,” meaning that if the viral load is undetectable within the bloodstream, the virus is not able to be transmitted from one person to another. It has been almost 45 years since AIDS was discovered, and scientific experiments are still being conducted, in hopes of preventing AIDS transmission, and better managing AIDS that people already have.
Read more in the Portland Stage PlayNotes Available for free online, or to purchase in the Lobby or Box Office!
We are creating theater on land that has been cared for by the Wabanaki. We honor their community and invite you to go to the Wabanaki Reach website to learn more about the Wabanaki culture, as well as about restorative justice and truth-telling that is necessary for healing.
We encourage you to learn more about the peoples who cared for the land that you now reside on whether you’re from here in Portland or are visiting from away. For more information about the Wabanaki Confederacy, visit mainewabanakireach.org, and to find out whose land you are on, visit native-land.ca.
We also want to acknowledge that the history of Maine is deeply connected to the institution of slavery in the United States, and that residents of Maine participated in both slavery and the transatlantic slave trade even after slavery was outlawed in the District of Maine. While it may be easy to think of Maine and more specifically Portland as a very White place, we recognize that this is simply not the case and we are working to dismantle these harmful ideas. We encourage our audiences to visit the Abyssinian Meeting House (learn more at abyssinianmeetinghouse.org) or the Eastern Cemetery here in Portland, and to explore scholarship on the subject, like Lives of Consequence by Patricia Q. Wall, to learn more about this oft-neglected part of Maine’s history.
We recognize that the American Theater has also exploited, misrepresented, and excluded communities of Latine, Asian, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern descent for centuries. Portland Stage is recommitting to telling authentic stories from diverse backgrounds that all of our audiences can experience and enjoy.
Anita Stewart (Scenic Designer)** has worked as a set and costume designer at leading theaters across the country, including the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, Canadian Opera Company, Minnesota Opera, A.R.T., Steppenwolf, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Long Wharf Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Boise Contemporary Theater, New Jersey Shakespeare, and Portland Stage. Anita’s desire to play a meaningful role as an artist in a specific community brought her to Portland Stage as Artistic Director, a company for which she had previously done significant freelance design. Anita holds an MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama.
Emily White (Costume Designer)** is a Brooklyn-based costume designer and artist, originally from northern Minnesota. Recent/ upcoming work includes Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); I’m Sorry for your Trouble, a new play by Aniello Fontano; Gusher, a devised dance piece with Blaze Ferrer; A Simulacrum (associate costume design/Atlantic Theater Company); Black No More (associate costume design/The New Group); Mac Wellman’s Bad Penny (The Flea); The Cake and The Clean House (Portland Stage Company); and Songs for a New World with Bari Robinson. She has an MFA in Theater Design from NYU. Member: USA 829 emilyelizabethwhite.com
SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal (Lighting Designer) ** (he/him/his) is a father, husband, educator, and storyteller designing lighting and digital media for Theater, Opera, Dance, Concerts, and Live Events for the past 19 years. He has had the privilege to work on projects with many companies, including Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program (Providence, RI), Portland Stage Company (Portland, ME), Umbrella Stage Company (Concord, MA), Ogunquit Playhouse (Ogunquit, ME), Maine State Music Theatre (Brunswick, ME), Remote Theatre Project (Brooklyn, NY), Opera Maine (Portland, ME), Opera Colorado (Denver, CO), Palm Beach Opera (Palm Beach, FL), Tulsa Opera (Tulsa, OK), Boston Conservatory at Berklee (Boston, MA), Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO), Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts (Warsaw, IN), and Theater at Monmouth (Monmouth, ME). He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a focus on Lighting and Projection Design and is the Assistant Professor of (**Member of USA)
Lighting Design for the Department of Theater at the University of Southern Maine, where he brings his knowledge and experience to help shape the next generation of theatre professionals, focusing on developing complete storytelling and creating a more equitable industry. www.seif.design
Seth Asa Sengel (Sound Designer) has spent decades making theatre with creative souls all over our United States. He is glad to be home in Maine, and at Portland Stage, where he has collaborated on dozens of wonderful productions. A few favorites include Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches, Buyer and Cellar, The Snow Queen, Wittenberg, and I Am My Own Wife. Please be kind to others, and to yourself, and tell people you love them. Much Love to Mary Lana.
Meg Lydon* (Stage Manager) is SO grateful to be able to continue telling this epic story with this wonderful group of humans! Outside of Portland Stage, recent work has been at The Theater at Monmouth, Fenix Theatre Company, Dramatic Repertory Company, and Bowdoin College. She also loves to spend summers at Chester Theatre Company in the Berkshires. Meg is a proud member of AEA and is forever grateful to Darren. Many thanks to the cast and the entire production team – here’s to a great show!
(*Member of AEA)
SUPPORTING AIR PURIFICATION AND AIR QUALITY A very special thank-you to W.H. Demmons for supporting our public safety!
The HVAC system installed by W.H. Demmons utilizes bipolar ionization technology, which releases charged atoms that attach to and deactivate harmful substances like bacteria, mold, allergens, and viruses by pulling the hydrogen atom away, causing the harmful substances to die. Testing of the building’s system for effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus by two different independent laboratories, Analytical Lab Group and Innovative Bioanalysis, revealed that the level of the virus would be cut by 90% within 60 minutes.
Maine’s most experienced dry cleaner, Pratt Abbott has been keeping Portland Stage performers looking sharp for over a decade. Pratt Abbott offers 100% eco-friendly dry cleaning, wash and fold laundry service, wedding garment care, and more. Thanks to the long standing support of Pratt Abbott, Portland Stage is able to bring Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika to life on our Mainstage.
Our corporate partners help us to enrich our community while positioning their companies as cultural leaders. Want to learn more about how a corporate partnership can benefit both your business and the theater you love? Contact Covey Crolius, Development Director, at 207.774.1043 x109.
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika by Tony Kushner is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Generous support also provided by Maine Theater Fund/Maine Community Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Fisher Charitable Foundation, and the Shubert Foundation.
Executive Producer ($50,000+)
Edwin F. Gamble Bequest
Susie Konkel
The Shubert Foundation
Anna Marie & John E. Thron Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
Producer ($25,000 - $49,999)
The Brooks Family Foundation
The East Point Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
Executive Director
($15,000 - $24,999)
Jane G. Briggs
The Finance Authority of Maine
The Libra Foundation
The Moser Family Foundation
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Onion Foundation
Sam L. Cohen Foundation
Managing Director
($10,000 - $14,999)
Anonymous
George & Cheryl Higgins
Migis Hotel Group
Wright-Ryan Home
Director ($5,000 - $9,999)
Anonymous
Alice Abbott
Nancy J. Aldrich
Bernstein Shur
The Bickford Pond Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
The Francis Hollis Brain Foundation Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
The Fisher Charitable Foundation
Ed & Jan Gerry
The Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Candice Thornton Lee
L.L.Bean
The Maine Arts Commission
The Maine Theater Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
Moriah Moser & Dan Morgenstern, MD
Leonard & Nancy Nemon
Carole Ann Palmer
The Parsons Family Foundation
The Performing Arts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation
Pine State Elevator Company
Kenneth Spirer & Joan Leitzer
W. H. Demmons, Inc.
Production Manager
($2,500 - $4,999)
Anonymous
Mauria Brough & Bryon Winn
Margaret E. Burnham
Charitable Trust
Patricia A. Clark
Kris & Ken Conant
Diversified Communications
Austin & Eileen Farrar
Ron & Donna Forest
David & Lynn Jourdan
Anne Wade & Gil Hagan
Susanna Weld & Peter Milliken
Ashley Wernher-Collins & Scott Collins
Backer ($1,000 - $2,499)
Anonymous
John & Judy Adelman
Dan & Joan Amory
The Apple Lane Foundation
Tenney & Newell Augur
Mary G. Barthelman
Gunard Erik Bergman
Susan & James Carter
Tim Cloudman & Lori Garon
Debra L. Coyman
Beth De Tine
Helen Dickey & David G. Fitz
Gary E. Duford & Thomas L. Hinkle
Elizabeth Ehrenfeld
Karen & Fred Farber
Lissa Hunter & Kirby Pilcher
Stephen & Carolyn Jenks
Douglas & Cheryl Jones
Nancy Kaye
Cornelia Kittredge
Kathleen Leslie
Lauri Lewin
Maine Community College
Daniel Marra & Barbara Leonard
Theresa McCarthy
Irv Meeker
Tom & Marti Meyers
Marta Morse
Harry & Anne Pringle
Hilary Rapkin & William Stiles
John Ryan & Jenny Scheu
Maxine Sclar & Robert J. Yamartino
The Simmons Foundation
Scott Simons Architects
Karen Sumner
Daniel Tucker
Gretchen Wetzel & Cindy Halliday
Peregrine Whittlesey
Sue Yandell
Investor ($500 - $999)
A Friend
Anonymous (2)
Elizabeth Astor
The Babbling Brook Fund
Sally & Ron Bancroft
Peter Bennett
Don & Diane Bessey
Tracey Burton & Ken Moller
John Cariani & John Lloyd
Nancy Crowell
Barbara & Gil Dichter
Mabel Gerquest
James Gertmenian & Susan King
Margaret Groban & Larry Fischman
Richard Hanks & Virginia Mackey
Karen Herold & Mark Isaacson
Charles Johnson & Jean Appleby
Lisa Jung
Brigitte & Hal Kingsbury
Marilyn Lalumiere & Ed Reed
Harvey & Pamela Lodish
Martin Lodish & Kristin Schardt
Mark Love & Marcia Taylor
Emily & Dick MacKenzie
Jerry & Liz Mansfield
Rob McAfee
William A. McCue
Stewart Newell
Todd & Gloria Nicholson
Darrell Pardy & Carolyn Hughes
Dean & John Paterson
Sara & Michael Perfetti
Richard & Carolyn Peterson
The Phillips-Green Foundation
Dixon & Susan Myer Riley
Stephen Ryan & James Bishop
Rick & Celeste Shinay
Andre & Daniela Skalina
Hugh & Mary Smith
Cathy Stankard & Gregg Palmer
Darwin & Kathleen Stanley
Anita Stewart & Ron Botting
Eric & Wendy Suehrstedt
Kari & Bob Suva
Courtney Thorpe
Nina & Robert Trowbridge
The Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation
Cheslye & John Ventimiglia
Brit & Yasmin Vitalius
Natalie West & Robert Sellin
Supporter ($250 - $499)
Anonymous (2)
Ellen Alderman & William Harwood
Joseph & Mary Louise Bates
Jane V. & John F. Berry
Ben & Judy Bertram
Chris & Stephanie Bowe
Betty Bricker-Small & David Small
Malcolm Burson & Eleanor Goldberg
Gregory & Mary Caron
Pamela Cleghorn
Peter H. Clough
Andrew & Judith Coburn
Jacqueline Cohen
Scott Cowger
Mary C. Doughty
Jim Downs & Sarah Bowie
John & Julia Fay
Averil & Rol Fessenden
Pat Finnigan
Richard & Lynn Gammon
Terry & Mandy Garmey
Leslie Gibbons
Peggy & Tom Gilbert
Bernard & Phyllis Givertz
Lisa Hangoc
Roslyn & Steve Hershfield
Mary Hoven
Woody Howard & Gib Twitchell
Robin Ishmael
Herbert & Kathleen Janick
Bud & Wendy Kellett
Dennis & Sandra King
David & Linda Kirstein
Richard & Nancy Lemieux
Christine Linnehan
William & Paige Mangum
John & June McClean
Nate Meyer
Alice Moisen
Rick & Debby Molander
Wendy Moore
Jeremy Moser & Laura Kittle
Richard & Sandra Neiman
Michael & Lucretia Nelson
Larry Nicks
Erin & Jon Nitschke
Catherine O’Connor & John Kelly
Janet O’Toole
Rebecca Oreskes & Brad Ray
Richard & Carole Palmer
James & Judith Parkhill
Ralph T. Perry & Mary
Louise Seldenfleur
Jeff Peterson
Charlene & Jerry Petruccelli
Hugh & Norma Phelps
Malcolm & Patti Poole
Carole A. Pope
Nancy & Frank Read
Steven Samuels
Megan & Tony San Antonio
Paul & Penelope Sarvis
Bonnie Nelson Schwartz
Curtis & Nina Scribner
Ellen Seidman
Orrin & Linda Shane
David & Kathleen Stuchiner
Robin Talbot
Deborah & Hall Thompson
Gay Tucker
Lorraine & Ralph Twombly
Louise Valati
Nancy R. Wade
William Walker
Anonymous (3)
Alice M. Abbott
Christenia Alden-Kinne
Nancy Ansheles
Robert & Linda Ayotte
Ann Babbitt
Peter & Lyn Ballou
Judy & Jack Bauman
Michael & Connie Beck
Tiffanie Bentley
Nancy Berges
Thomas & Marjorie Berman
Philip Blampied
Bruce Bouchard
Samantha Bowen
John E. Brandt
Emily Breitner
Dan & Dale Bryant
Maryellen Carew
Robin & William Carter
Paul & Stephanie Castle
Jennifer Caven
Susan & James Cook
Ann K. Corbey & Stephen H. Painter
Dick & Margaret Curran
Richard & Judy Curtis
Rob & Christine Dalzell
Jerry & Gretchen Davis
Brenda Delahanty
Tom DeMarco
Linda J. Docherty
Mary Doherty
Bruce Donath
Richard Doucette
Pamela Doughty
Moira Driscoll & David Pence
Mary Lou Dyer
Katherine Dyhrberg
John Edwards
David Ellenstein
Barbara & Mark Engel
Dr. & Mrs. David Flavin
David H. Fluharty & Linda
R. Hjortland
Jean Foy
John Funk & Deborah Chase
Susan Garfield & Lynda Mullen
George & Martha Gilmore
Linda & Schuyler Grant
Elizabeth Guffey
Ann Havener & Richard Estabrook
Stephen & Debra Honey
Woody Howard & Gib Twitchell
Elizabeth & Christopher Hunt
Al & Pauline Huntley
Tom & Laurie Hyndman
Mary Iyer
Edith Iyer-Hernandez
Jack & Kenneth Jackowitz
William Jenks
Sandra Jensen & Samuel Broaddus
Anita B. Jones
Patrick & Valerie Kelly
Judith & Daniel Kennedy
Lily King
David Kling & Kathryn Sanders
Paul M. Knight
Ken & Jean Kriedberg
Neil & Cathy Lamb
Denise LaRue & Bob Furman
Calien Lewis & Martha Mickles
Andres Llorente
Benjamin Lund
John & Jane Lunt
David & Jeanne Mason
Jackie Mathews
Mary Beth Mathews
Anne McBride
Heidi McDonald
Sheila McGarr
Mary Anne McLean
Sarah Meacham
Marianna & Pete Mickelson
Bruce Moore & Jan Chapman
Kenneth & Mary Nelson
Victoria Nolan & Clark Crolius
David & Caro Nutty
Jackie Oliveri
David & Jacqueline Orsmond
Elizabeth Owens & Douglass Flaherty
John & Denise Palmer
James & Diane Paterson
Heather Payson
The Poole Group of Companies
Hope Putnam
Ted Rand & Sarah Campbell
Lenore Rapkin
Francis Robbins & Nirupama
Aggarwal
Jacqueline Robinov
Michael & Naida Rodman
Larry & Robin Rubinstein
Donald J. & Sue Rudalevige
Helen Ryder
Gwen & James Sartoris
Elena Schmidt
Mike & Pam Schwotzer
Robert Scribner & Claire Julian
Peggy Shapiro
Linda Shary & Jeffrey Logan
Nancy Shaw & John Gilmour
Robert Slater
Mary Snell & Irwin Novak
Alan & Jonell Solander
Peter & Lynn Soucy
Alice Spencer
Patricia Stevens
Bud & Susan Stiker
Jacqueline Stowell
The Frank C. & Carrie C. Strasburger Fund
Kristin G. Sweeney
David Terrio
Adam Thibodeau
Marielynn Towers
Mary Turner
Benjamin & Christine Twining
Patricia Vantuyl
Peter & Elizabeth Ventre
Deen Weinstein
Susan & Fancis Whitten
Heidi Wierman
David Wilcock
David & Elise Wilson
James & Jennifer Wolak
Rick & Janet Wolf
Laura Young
Bill & Patty Zimmerman
Steven Samuels in memory of Alan Samuels and Louis Berlin
Bonnie Nelson Schwartz in honor of Martin Lodish
Ann Shenassa in honor of Monica Wood
Kathleen Silvia in honor of Bud & Cheryl Higgins
