WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY MILO CRAMER
DIRECTED BY MORGAN GREEN
FEB 5 - MAR 2, 2025
Artistic Director
JUSTIN LUCERO
Managing Director
ELISA SPENCER-KAPLAN
SCHOOL PICTURES
Written & Performed by MILO
Directed by
Scenic & Costume Designer
JEAN KIM
CRAMER*
MORGAN GREEN
Props Designer & Supervisor
MADELAINE FOSTER
Lighting Designer MARCUS DILLIARD^
Director of Production & Operations ALLEN WEEKS
Technical Director BETHANY REINFELD
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Developed and Produced by The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia:
Yury Urnov, James Ijames, Morgan Green, Co-Artistic Directors
Leigh Goldenberg, Managing Director
Playwrights Horizons, Inc, New York City, produced the NY Premiere of “School Pictures” in 2023
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Associate Technical Director
Associate Production & Company Manager &
Stage Management Swing
Lighting Supervisor, Light Board Operator & Assistant Lighting Designer
Audio Engineer
Audio Consultant
Costume Supervisor & Wardrobe Technician
Lead Carpenter
Scenic Charge
Carpenters
Scenic Artists
Electricians
Shelby Reddig*
Ajah Williams
Eric Charlton
Christian Erben
Andrew Norfolk
Corinne Steffens
Nicholas Tranby
Amber Brown
Whitley Cobb
Sara Herman
Kris Schmidt, Carl Swanson
Katie Cornish, Abbey Ortiz, Erika Soukup
Lane Bode, Andy Glischinski, Evelyn Kelly
Kate Peters, Austin Schoenfelder, Jacqulin Stauder, Carl Swanson, Sabrina Wertman, Tristan Wilkes
Stage Management Swing
Lighting & Audio Swing
Joelle Coutu*
Richard Graham
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
^Member of the United Scenic Artists, a national union that represents designers and scenic painters for the American theater
RUN TIME: 75 minutes with no intermission
Any audio or video capture of the performance is strictly prohibited
A NOTE FROM MILO CRAMER
In the 1 hour a tutor spends with a kid, while mom and dad drink wine or work late or eavesdrop in the next room, while paying a prohibitive amount for this tutoring service, in a desperate attempt to buy something that cannot be bought (a happy future for their child) -
and while the teenaged student can’t focus because they’re busy wrestling with their unspeakable depression, their friendlessness, their hair, their shame, their video game addiction, their crush -
and while their looming homework assignment is either asinine (conjugate 100 verbs) or overwhelming (what is Virginia Woolf trying to say?) (describe the causes and consequences of the Civil War) -
- in those 60 minutes, what’s at stake is: the student’s grade, the tutor’s job, the family’s happiness - BUT ALSO - the life-or-death of the humanities, the plausibility-or-myth of meritocracy, our ability-or-inability to genuinely connect with each other across age and within the gig economy, education-as-enrichment (precious) vs education-as-ladder (reductive), family as-corporation vs family-ashug, our hope or despair about future generations, and the enduring mystery of love, love which you cannot help but feel for even the most awkward or obnoxious or eerily perfect child.
I’m trying to say that becoming a tutor, for me, amounted to a kind of crisis of faith in the liberal arts, a religion I inherited from my mother. Like: what are we teaching, to who, and why? These questions and feelings, percolating over 5 years, lead to SCHOOL PICTURES. Thank you so much for watching.
MUSIC BY JEANINE TESORI
BOOK & LYRICS BY LISA KRON
BASED ON THE GRAPHIC NOVEL BY ALISON BECHDEL
DIRECTED BY ADDIE GORLIN-HAN
MUSIC DIRECTION BY JASON HANSEN
CHOREOGRAPHY BY KATIE ROSE MCLAUGHLIN
A NOTE FROM JUSTIN LUCERO
The timing of this production has been surreal. In the span of just a few days—literally within hours of our dress rehearsals—several events converged in surprising ways.
First, an episode of This American Life investigated the when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else, circling back to a profile Ira Glass did of writer-performer Milo Cramer and School Pictures . (And not only did the segment reflect on Milo’s work, but it also plugged our production of it. What are the odds?)
Then, in announcing the Special Citation Obie Award for Milo (he/they) and director Morgan Green, the American Theatre Wing said: “A playwright picked up a ukulele, composed, and performed a poignant recitative about their experience tutoring children. Intriguing, uproarious, and heartbreaking vignettes of their students’ educational and personal hurdles were sung with incisive dramatic flair, complemented by a startling riff on educational inequities in New York City. The event was shaped by pitch-perfect direction that imbued lightning-flash clarity to each vignette, unifying the whole in a cohesive and sublime production.” In his acceptance speech, Milo said, “The show’s about students and teachers, so I want to thank all of my students and all of my teachers,” and Morgan added, “The show’s about how we can thrive despite the unfair systems we create for ourselves.”
And then, scrolling through my news feed, I read such headlines as “White House preparing executive order to abolish the Education Department” and “Trump administration drafting executive order to initiate Department of Education’s elimination.”
When we chose to program School Pictures a year ago, we were drawn to a work that felt both deeply moving and movingly genre-pushing. But never could I have imagined how powerfully timely the piece would feel in this moment. It makes me even prouder that you’re here to experience this modern masterwork. What was already moving and shocking now feels even more poignant, and its heartfelt, soothing quality, too, feels exactly right for the moment.
So, how is it “movingly genre-pushing”? Well, once you’ve experienced it, I’m sure you’ll understand. But for a company that does “theater musically,” whose mission is to expand the boundaries of music theater, I knew that my very first season of programming needed to include something that didn’t fit neatly into the traditional musical theater mold. Or, ideally, blew the mold right open.
One detail from the Obie description that I keep coming back to is the choice of the word “recitative.” As an opera director, I immediately think of recitativo, a style used in opera where a singer delivers lines in the rhythm of ordinary speech, not repeating phrases as a formal song would. In other words, it’s sung speech, much different than a traditional musical composition. Milo himself in his bio for this playbill refers to School Pictures as an opera. When I first experienced it, I, too, found the music difficult to categorize. (At one point, I even test drove the label “postmodern Gregorian chant”—but this piece truly defies categorization. And yet, it feels so categorically right for Latté Da.)
So, is School Pictures a musical? An opera? Or something else entirely? I find myself asking even bigger questions: What is singing? What is a song? Do these characters need to be characters? The writer is the
A NOTE FROM JUSTIN LUCERO
performer, presenting his own work. Is he a character, too? What if someone else were performing it? A piece like this, which challenges us to ask questions related to its specific content but also challenges us to ask questions about the very nature of theater. This is precisely the kind of work I personally seek out and champion.
I am immensely grateful to Elissa Adams for recommending this piece as part of our list of “expansive” works of music theater to consider. And to Milo and Morgan for accepting our invitation to create a new production for us—and for you. Most of all, I want to thank you for being here, for expecting boldness from us, for being open to new experiences, and for embracing this work with us.
As Morgan said in her Obie acceptance speech: “I see making theater as a compulsion… we make it, whether or not anybody comes to see it or likes it at all.” Thank you for coming. And thank you, in advance, for liking it.
Justin Lucero Artistic Director
MORE FROM MILO CRAMER
I had a speech impediment as a child and couldn’t pronounce half the alphabet. “T,” “Th,” and “S” were daunting; “R” and “K” were impossible. Girl came out guwuwuhll - humiliating - cookie was something like dwudwy.
I was often taken out of class and brought to the padded blue room at the end of the hall, where well-meaning ladies pointed at incomprehensible diagrams of the human throat. To make an R sound, they said: “form a U-shape with your tongue at the back of the roof of your mouth and release forward as you exhale.” What? I was 6. They thought that something was wrong with me; I learned that something was wrong with me; nothing was wrong with me.
If you asked me, then, as a frustrated and friendless kid, struggling to communicate with anyone beyond my parents, who understood me only via magic osmosis, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said I wanted to be an agduh ow a poweh - an actor or a poet. I craved a facility with language that I really, really didn’t have. In a bittersweet twist, though, my mom tells me the day I first pronounced cookie “correctly” was like the saddest day in the world. I was maybe 10 and I had finally assimilated, but it cost something - something special was lost.
You can’t help but think about all that when you unexpectedly become a (kind of) teacher: what are we teaching? What are we scrubbing out? What’s “correct”? Who decides? How am I a “teacher” when something is obviously (still) wrong with me? Am I passing it down?
The thing that got me talking, ultimately, was not diagrams or exercises, but my siblings Max and Phoebe, who played with me and everything. Max taught me how to open packets of cafeteria silverware (he found me tugging desperately at the baggie) by poking the fork prongs through the plastic (so simple! so brilliant); Phoebe taught me how to dance. During the pandemic, Max and Phoebe listened to 900 midnight drafts of SCHOOL PICTURES; it wouldn’t exist without them.
MORE FROM MILO CRAMER
You think about all that while teaching, too: what cannot be taught? What can only be modeled? What can only be cultivated? Via magic osmosis? Via community? Who is secretly struggling to open silverware and doesn’t want anyone to know and can’t concentrate on anything else?
In American school systems today, the thing we’re modeling and cultivating is a vicious, sycophantic obsession with status and a brutal, even deadly cruelty to those without it. This is not news, it’s obvious, and I am not above it. I personally have profited off our baroquely segregated education systems and all I can offer as salve or penance in return is SCHOOL PICTURES - a goofy handful of simple songs I can barely sing. I don’t have kids because I’m too whimsical and broke, but gee I’d sure like to, and if I did I’d want them to be in spaces where they could work through speech impediments - and all the other horrors - with curiosity and love. Not sure how we get there when we relentlessly tell our children and each other, in ten thousand ways both insidious and explicit, in business and in academia and even in the arts: BE NORMAL, WIN, OR ELSE.
Being “an actor or a poet,” turns out, is tricky. Do you know how many vocal cords there are? The phrase “vocal cords,” for me, always conjured an image of 100 fragile angel hairs, arrayed in a complex harp down our narrow necks. How did they all fit? I was afraid if I sang the way I wanted to, i.e. cRaZiLy, I would “rip” one. A few workshops of this show were cut short because I was having intense anxiety and losing my voice, my dumb voice I’ve worked so hard to have, and our intrepid director Morgan brought on our emergency singing teacher Michael and suddenly I was back in the padded blue room at the end of the hall. Practicing sounds. I cried, actually cried, when Michael taught us that there aren’t 100 vocal cords: there are 2. And they’re not vertical and they don’t get plucked like a harp, they’re horizontal and they flutter like a butterfly in a flute. Think of it - all our sounds - just 2 little chords! Enough to write a punk song.
Milo Cramer in School Pictures at The Wilma. Photo by Johanna Austin.
Theater Latté Da is in our 27th season of presenting original and reimagined musical theater.
Theater Latté Da is the leading nonprofit professional theater in the Twin Cities that exclusively produces musical theater. Since our inception, TLD has presented 96 Mainstage productions, including 17 world premieres and 16 area premieres. Each has garnered critical acclaim and earned its artists and TLD a host of awards, including: seven IVEY Awards for overall excellence, National Endowment for the Arts, the Gabriel Award for Broadcast Excellence, the American Theater Wing National Theater Company Award, and the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.
Our Mission
Theater Latté Da creates new and impactful connections between story, music, artist, and audience—exploring and expanding the art of musical theater.
Our Values
We believe in work that is bold, inclusive and collaborative; we act with integrity and gratitude.
BOLD We make bold choices in support of our mission and vision, both on and off stage. By illuminating the unseen, giving voice to the unheard, and empathizing with the unknown, we open eyes, ears and hearts.
INCLUSIVE We believe in creating an environment where a diverse group of voices are welcomed to fully participate. We are inspired and strengthened through equitable partnerships. We actively work to make musical theater accessible to everyone.
COLLABORATIVE We believe musical theater to be the most collaborative of art forms, incorporating music, drama, poetry, dance and design. We are inspired and strengthened through inclusive partnerships with artists, organizations and our diverse community, and embody a collaborative spirit in all we do.
INTEGRITY We hold ourselves to the highest standards of artistic and fiscal integrity. We are committed to honesty, equality and transparency in all aspects of our administration and art.
GRATITUDE We are grateful for our artists, audiences, donors, board and staff. We recognize that each individual plays an important role in this organization’s success, and we actively seek out opportunities to acknowledge each person’s contribution.
Our Commitment to IDEA
Theater Latté Da is committed to recognizing, addressing, and opposing racism and discrimination in our work, art, community, and industry. We affirm our resolve to actively create an anti-racist arts organization demonstrating our commitment through action. We believe in the power and impact of equitable, inclusive environments and value the lived experiences of our collaborators. We will hold each other accountable to honor this commitment, in the rehearsal room, the office, the theater and the board room.
Our Land & People Acknowledgement
The Ritz Theater sits on the ancestral homelands of many First Nations Tribes, including most recently the Dakota, and the Anishinabe People. We gratefully, and humbly acknowledge the Native Peoples on whose Ancestral Homelands we gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native Communities who make their home here today.
Scan the QR code to learn more about Theater Latté Da’s commitment to IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access).
AN INTERVIEW WITH MILO CRAMER
Tell me the “origin story” of School Pictures . How did you come to write it?
Playwrights Horizons (one of the most prominent and important theater companies in New York City) commissioned me. And I found it crippling. I felt like, if I write something and they do it, I’ll have a career and if I write something and they don’t do it, I won’t have a career. So, I became incapable of writing because it was too much pressure. And writing songs was a way to trick my brain. I’d always written songs in secret, but I’d been told that I can’t sing, so it’s been a kind of personal, idiosyncratic thing that, when I was under pressure, was freeing.
And then I became a tutor and I had such imposter syndrome, because I really didn’t know what I was doing. So, I was having all of these experiences and writing songs became a way to process them. Then, I showed them to my friend, (School Pictures director) Morgan, and we started to try to figure out what they should be. We weren’t sure. It took a long time, actually, to arrive at the kind of simple theatricality of the show.
We started doing research and we talked to an education journalist from The New York Times. She was very busy and impatient when we reached her on the phone and we asked, “So what is the deal here with the schools and these tests?” And she basically unloaded and said to us, in one breath, what became the lecture–the “Big Reveal” section - in the show. After talking to her, we felt like we were on to something bigger than just my experiences.
Did you always plan to be the person who performed School Pictures?
The representation in the show is very careful. I tried to write some scenes between kids and teachers, but then, it was like, are there kid actors? Playwriting is a big responsibility. You’re putting words in people’s mouths and there’s often a creepy or puppeteering quality to that that can be problematic when writers are writing from positionalities that are not their own. So, I really wanted to ground myself in this show–especially because some of the topics are so weighty–in who I am. The fact that it’s just me is not a narcissistic impulse, it’s actually just the best way I could find to answer the question: “What is the gesture I could make that would be healing in this world?”
Do you retain any relationships with any of the students you talk about in School Pictures?
Well, the stories are very “collaged.” So, I had a lot of students I tutored and these portraits are really an eclectic assemblage of a bunch of students.
Being a teacher is such an intimate thing. There’s a way in which, fundamentally, you can’t help another person. But, you sure want to. It’s emotionally complicated. Like, I’m here to teach you how to use a comma, but what to do with all of the circumstances that affect your life?
Playwright Milo Cramer, in 2018, around the time he was working as a tutor. And trying to write a play about it.
Milo Cramer performing in School Pictures. Photo from The New York Times.
THE TEST THAT CHANGED THEIR LIVES
By Amy Zerba and Gabrielle Guz
Sept. 4, 2018
The New York Times
The SHSAT, a grueling one-day exam, is considered a golden ticket into one of New York City’s eight prestigious schools, if you score high enough. But the test is not perfect and has been the subject of public debate over its role in school segregation.
The experience of taking the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test — the sole means of getting into eight elite public schools in New York City — is one that students aren’t likely to forget. For some, it meant months or years of demanding test prep courses and practice drills. For others, it meant just showing up on the day of the exam — because, well, everyone else was taking it.
We asked readers to share their experience with the exam and if they would change the admission process, which has been criticized for not being representative of the overall student population in the city’s school system. The schools, like Stuyvesant High School and the Bronx High School of Science, have a low number of black and Hispanic students and an overrepresentation of white and Asian students.
What we learned from the more than 700 responses we received was that the experiences and memories were as varied as the backgrounds of the students who took the test. However, there was one consistent theme — regardless of one’s score: Students took the test for the opportunity for a brighter future.
With regard to changing the admissions process, the answers were split. Most readers did acknowledge there was a diversity problem at the schools, but few offered ways to solve it. As a new school year begins on Wednesday, we offer a selection of past stories and opinions about what should happen in the future.
‘A
Competitive Drive’
I took the Specialized High School exam in 2004 and ultimately gained admission to the Bronx High School of Science.
Like many Asians, I went to a prep school that my parents paid $1,600 for a summer session. For that summer, I wanted to be practically anywhere else but that classroom.
Eventually over the first and second week of taking prep courses, something happened; people took mock exams and compared scores, sparing a competitive drive even though there were no prizes to be had at the end. That’s an attitude that carried forward into my time at Bronx Science; that no matter how lazy my initial inclination may be, there was a social pressure to succeed, that at times felt like a need to succeed.
Having parents and teachers who want you to succeed is highly important, but having peers who are driven to succeed is what really set the experience apart. I personally believe that drive needs to be instilled early, and that may be part of why student screening has trickled down from high school to middle school.
Hao
Diep, 26, Woodside, Queens
Photo by An Rong Xu for The New York Times.
‘More ‘Levers to Pull’ to Prepare for Test’
I’m African-American. My parents met at Bronx High School of Science and my older brother went to Stuyvesant, so I’m not sure that I ever really anticipated not going to one of the specialized high schools. It’s been almost 30 years since I took the test and can’t quite remember the test itself, but I came from a pretty academically strong junior high school.
My time at Brooklyn Tech (Class of ’95) created lifelong friendships, reinforced my hunger for learning and exposed me to a great degree of diversity. What changed?
While it is likely true that preparatory programs existed in the early ’90s, I don’t recall this being a huge focal area. I don’t remember seeing the same number of for-fee programs or study guides available. Perhaps that ultimately made for more balanced competition, with everyone approaching the test more equally prepared.
Today, there are more levers to pull to prepare for the test, and everyone isn’t equally aware of, or able to access, these same preparatory tools. Gone are the days of young impressionable eighth grade kids just waking up on a Saturday morning and walking into a big intimidating building to take the same test with limited or no preparation. That combined with varying degrees of middle school quality have certainly influenced the changes that we see today.
Nyota Wright, 40, Crown Heights, Brooklyn
‘There Isn’t Enough Outreach’
When the test day came, I panicked and almost didn’t take the test. Despite all my prep, I felt like I wasn’t ready. My father physically had to put me in the car and I remember not being able to breathe well. I walked in with a male cousin of mine, who was the same age, and I sat behind him. I remember this because we were the only brown kids in a room full of white and Asian middle schoolers. I had initially put Bronx Science as my top choice and a few moments before the test was over, switched it out with Stuyvesant. Months later, I was stunned when I was accepted to Stuyvesant.
I was one of the few kids of Caribbean descent in Stuyvesant and I knew plenty of people who deserved to be there but didn’t test well or didn’t even know about the test.
The fact that my mother didn’t want me to go because she genuinely didn’t know what the specialized high school test was or what a specialized high school was, is indicative of the larger problem at hand— that there isn’t enough outreach done in these communities that they want to pull “diverse” students from, and that the public and elementary schools serving these communities are underfunded and woefully under-prepare students for high school, much less a specialized one.
Shannon Cornelius, 24, Bellerose, Queens
Photo by An Rong Xu for The New York Times.
Photo by An Rong Xu for The New York Times.
‘Exam Shouldn’t Determine a Student’s Potential’
I am a Haitian-American student and I came from a predominantly black middle school that offered SHSAT prep. However, it was not very good. We simply did questions from the book that specialized high schools provided. I also studied on my own for the exam, but clearly this was not enough. When I got my score back, I received a 472 when the cut off was 480, I believe. I was devastated.
I was a student who got a 95+ average almost every semester and I was considered one of the “smart” kids in my school. But I was not able to get into my dream school, Brooklyn Technical High School, because of this one exam.
I didn’t feel that this one score reflected my work ethic nor did it reflect the types of grades that I would receive in high school.
When I entered high school, another predominantly black institution, I graduated as the valedictorian with a 98 average, an advanced Regents diploma, and four AP classes. But I believe, I could have done better if I had the opportunity to go to Brooklyn Tech where there were more opportunities to take college-level courses because my school lacked in this area.
Although I am happy with where I am now — I’m a second-year college student with a 4.0 G.P.A. on my way to becoming a physician in a seven-year B.S./M.D. program — it is still disappointing that there are students of color who are not able to reach their full potential because of a single exam, or a single score. There are many factors that make a great and successful student, and the SHSAT is not one of them.
— Rose Gedeon, 20, Flatlands, Brooklyn
Photo by An Rong Xu for The New York Times.
BIOGRAPHIES
MILO CRAMER (WRITER & PERFORMER) Milo Cramer is a writer and performer. School Pictures, their one-person opera about the broken New York City school system, premiered at The Wilma in Philadelphia and Playwrights Horizons in New York, where it was featured on NPR’s This American Life (“best theater of 2023... absolutely wonderful” - New York Magazine). Other works include Cute Activist at the Bushwick Starr (“a brilliant match of material and theater… a fable for our times” - NYT), and Business Ideas at The Alliance Theater in Atlanta (winner of the 2024 Kendeda Award). With New Saloon Theater Company, Milo spent 5 years devising and touring Minor Character: Six Translations Of Uncle Vanya At The Same Time, a kaleidoscopic riff on Chekhov’s greatest hit, ultimately seen at The Public Theater’s Under The Radar Festival (“delightful… a spring-green forum on youth’s discontents” - The Village Voice). Milo is a MacDowell Fellow, a recent graduate of Naomi Iizuka’s MFA playwriting program at UC San Diego, a grateful middle child, and an Aries. Milo is writing a musical about three old-fashioned sailors who are trying hard to have a Meaningful Life in their last 24 hours onshore before they’re shipped to die in an offstage war, but the Big Problem is these sailors Never Do Anything Right because they’re Just Too Silly.
MORGAN GREEN (DIRECTOR)
Morgan Green is a director of plays, films, and dinnertime. She is currently a Co-Artistic Director at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia where she recently premiered HILMA by Kate Scelsa and Robert M. Johanson, Eternal Life Part 1 by Nathan Alan Davis, School Pictures by Milo Cramer and the Pulitzer Prize winning Fat Ham by James Ijames (digital version). She was a co-founder of the award-winning theater company, New Saloon, best known for Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time (The Invisible Dog, The Public Theater, Sharon Playhouse). Other credits include: Staff Meal by Abe Koogler (Playwrights Horizons), The Music Man (The Sharon Playhouse), The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (Marin Theatre Company), and Cute Activist by Milo Cramer (The Bushwick Starr). Her short film One More Time With Feeling premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in London October 2023. Morgan has developed new work at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Bric, Baryshnikov Art Center, Mabou Mines, and Mercury Store. She is a New Georges Affiliated Artist and proud member of SDC. MorganClaireGreen.com
SHELBY REDDIG (PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: The Color Purple, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, Falsettos, Next to Normal, We Shall Someday, Hello, Dolly!, Merrily We Roll Along, Jelly’s Last Jam, La Bohème, Puttin’ on the Ritz. THEATER: Children’s Theatre Company: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Snow White, The Hobbit, Corduroy; Geva Theatre: The Color Purple; MN Opera: Albert Herring; Mixed Blood Theatre: Prescient Harbingers, The Mermaid Hour: Remixed; Perseverance Theater: A Christmas Carol; Jungle Theater: Fly By Night: The Musical; Stages Theatre: Charlotte’s Web. TRAINING: BA in Theater and English from St. Olaf College.
AJAH WILLIAMS (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, NEXT Festival 2024, The Color Purple, We Shall Someday, NEXT Festival 2023. THEATER: Artistry (Stage Manager): Rent; Geva Theatre: The Color Purple; Lyric Arts (Stage Manager): The Last Five Years,The SpongeBob Musical; Stages Theatre Company (Stage Manager): The Day You Begin, Once on This Island Jr., Maybe; Theater Mu (Stage Manager):
New Eyes Festival 2023; Ten Thousand Things: Iphigenia at Aulis; Yellow Tree Theatre: In the Next Room, Sherwood. TRAINING: B.A. in Theatre, Hamline University.
JEAN KIM (SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGNER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Jean is excited to make her debut at Theater Latté Da this year. Trained as an Illustrator at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and as a Set Designer at Yale School of Drama (YSD), she is always eager to explore her caliber in the realm of tales. Her upcoming shows include; Clyde’s at St. Louis Rep, The Importance of Being Earnest at Portland Center Stage and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare Theater Company. To check out her designs and illustration work, please visit www.jeankimstudio.com.
MARCUS DILLIARD (LIGHTING DESIGNER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, A Little Night Music, Assassins, Man of La Mancha, Peter and the Starcatcher, C., All is Calm, Our Town, Cabaret, Steerage Song, Aida, Song of Extinction, Violet, The Full Monty, Old Wicked Songs, Susannah. THEATER: Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, The Jungle Theater, Penumbra Theater, The Moving Company, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Children’s Theatre Company, Ordway Music Theater. AWARDS: Sage Award, Ivey Award, McKnight Foundation Theater Artist Fellowship. TRAINING: M.F.A. in Lighting Design from Boston University.
MADELAINE FOSTER (PROPS DESIGNER/SUPERVISOR) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA. THEATER: Peninsula Players: I Oughta Be In Pictures, The Angel Next Door, Million Dollar Quartet, Mary’s Wedding, The Stranger; Indiana Repertory Theatre (Assistant Prop Supervisor and Carpenter): Little Shop of Horrors, The Folks at Home, Fannie, A Christmas Carol, Frankenstein, Clue, Shakespeare’s Will, Oedipus, Flyin’ West, Sense and Sensibility, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, The Reclamation of Madison Hemings, Fahrenheit 451, The Book Club Play, The House That Jack Built, Mrs. Harrison, Cyrano, No. 6, Tuesdays with Morrie, This Wonderful Life, Murder on the Orient Express, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, Morning After Grace, And So We Walked, The Little Choo-Choo That Thinks She Can; Theater at Monmouth: The Story of My Life, An Iliad, Richard II, The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It TRAINING: B.A. in Theatre, William & Mary.
CORINNE STEFFENS (AUDIO ENGINEER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Corinne currently works all across the Twin Cities as a freelancer in all things theater tech, with an emphasis on sound and musical theater. Credits include: Theater Latté Da: School Pictures, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA, Johnny Skeeky, The Color Purple, Christmas At The Local, Falsettos, Hello, Dolly!, Jelly’s Last Jam; US National Tour: All is Calm, Emojiland the Musical; Guthrie Theater: Little Shop of Horrors, Into The Woods, Vietgone; Lyric Arts: The Rainmaker, Peter And The Starcatcher. Corinne is also the Tech Director for the MN Fringe Festival.
NICHOLAS TRANBY (AUDIO CONSULTANT) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA, Johnny Skeeky, The Color Purple, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, Falsettos, Next to Normal, Hello, Dolly!, Merrily We Roll Along, Twelve Angry Men, Jelly’s
BIOGRAPHIES
Last Jam, La Bohème, All is Calm, Once, Chicago, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Candide, A Little Night Music, Man of la Mancha, Peter and the Starcatcher, Ragtime, Gypsy, Assassins, Five Points. THEATER: Sound, Video and Lighting Associate at Children’s Theatre Company for 4 years including Shrek the Musical, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland and Robin Hood; Head Audio Engineer for international tours of The Wedding Singer and Wizard of Oz; Other venues have included Guthrie Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. TRAINING: The College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati.
BETHANY REINFELD (TECHNICAL DIRECTOR) describes Technical Direction as “Building worlds for characters to come to life in”. She has done 30 plus productions and 5 NEXT Festivals with Latté Da. She holds a M.F.A in Theater and Drama with a specialization in Technical Direction from UWMadison. She also has a B.F.A. in Design Tech with an emphasis in Technical Direction and Scenic Design from UMD. She has worked with Mixed Blood Theatre, Normandale Community College, Yellow Tree Theatre, Jungle Theater and Sesame Street Live/VEE Corporation to list a few.
ANDREW NORFOLK (LIGHTING SUPERVISOR/ LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR & ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA, Johnny Skeeky, The Color Purple, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, Falsettos, Next to Normal, We Shall Someday, Hello, Dolly!. OPERA: The Santa Fe Opera: Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, M. Butterfly. LIGHTING DESIGN: Lyric Arts: The Pavilion, 9 to 5 - The Musical; UMD Theatre: MAXA - The Maddest Woman In The World, The Little Prince; Stage 2 Theatre Company: Firebringer, The Spoon River Project, The Trail to Oregon. TRAINING: B.F.A. in Theatre, Lighting Design Emphasis, University of Minnesota - Duluth.
AMBER BROWN (COSTUME SUPERVISOT & WARDROBE TECHNICIAN) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Johnny Skeeky, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, Falsettos, Next to Normal, We Shall Someday, Hello, Dolly!, Merrily We Roll Along, Twelve Angry Men, Jelly’s Last Jam, La Bohème, All is Calm. THEATER: Mixed Blood Theatre: Interstate, Autonomy, CorazÓn Eterno, Agnes Under the Bigtop; Old Log Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong; Pillsbury House Theatre: Great Divide III: She Persists, West of Central, Great Divide II: Plays on the Politics of Truth, Almost Equal To, The Great Divide: Plays for a Broken Nation; Park Square Theatre: Aubergine; Gremlin Theatre: Journey’s End; Bucket Brigade: Life Goes On; Full Circle Theater: Under This Roof; Loudmouth Collective: Testament of Mary; 7th House Theater: Rhinoceros; Macalester College: Letters Home, Distracted, 12 Ophelias, Accidental Death of an Anarchist
SARA HERMAN (SCENIC CHARGE) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA, Johnny Skeeky, The Color Purple, Stones in His Pockets, Christmas at the Local, Falsettos, Next to Normal, We Shall Someday, Hello, Dolly!, Merrily We Roll Along, Twelve Angry Men, La bohème, Jelly’s Last Jam, Chicago, Peter and the Starcatcher. THEATER: Minnesota Opera: Dinner At 8; Mill City Opera: Così fan tutte; Jungle Theater: Fly By Night; Circus Juventas: Twisted, Hugge, Steam, Nordrsaga, Alice in Wonderland, 1001 Nights. TRAINING: B.A. University of MN Morris, Colbalt Studios.
JOELLE COUTU (STAGE MANAGEMENT SWING) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Stage Manager: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Scotland, PA, Johnny Skeeky, NEXT Festival 2023 & 2024, Stage Manager Swing: Next to Normal, Christmas at The Local, Stones in His Pockets, The Color Purple. THEATER: Lyric Opera of the North: Cavalleria Rusticana; Skylark Opera Company: Three Decembers, Eugene Onegin, Amahl and the Night Visitors; Illusion Theater: We Take Care of Our Own, Present; History Theatre: Runestone! A Rock Musical, Not in Our Neighborhood; Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company: Pirates of Penzance. TRAINING: B.A in Theater and Television Design, Valparaiso University.
CHRISTIAN ERBEN (STAGE MANAGEMENT SWING) (SHE/HER) THEATER LATTÉ DA: Heaven Can Wait - Workshop (Stage Manager); Scotland, PA (Stage Management Swing); NEXT Festival 2024 (Production Manager). THEATER: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts: Beauty & the Beast (Covid Safety Manager & Company Management Assistant); Artistry MN: The Sound of Music (Assistant Stage Manager); Theater Mu: Again - A New Musical (Assistant Stage Manager); Lyric Arts: A Taste Of Things To Come (Stage Manager), The Servant of Two Masters (Assistant Stage Manager); Lakeshore Players: She Loves Me (Stage Manager).
UPCOMING: Lakeshore Players: Anything Goes (Stage Manager). TRAINING: B.A. in Theatre, Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. christianerben.com
THEATER LATTÉ DA DONORS
Theater Latté Da is one of only a few theaters in the country dedicated solely to producing and presenting new and adventurous musical theater that speaks to contemporary audiences and advances the art of musical theater. We truly could not do this without the generosity of our many individual and institutional donors. Thank you for your commitment to our 24/25 season.
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
Theater Latté Da’s mission is to create new and impactful connections among story, music, artist, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater. We are guided by our values that our work be bold, inclusive and collaborative, and strive to act with integrity and gratitude both on and off the stage. By illuminating the unseen, giving voice to the unheard, and empathizing with the unknown, Theater Latté Da strives to open eyes, ears, and hearts.
Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to Theater Latté Da today and join us in bringing great musical theater to life.
Learn more about support opportunities at latteda.org/ways-to-give or email Director of Development Sara Huelle sarahuelle@latteda.org for more information.
Grand Finale ($25,000 and above)
C. Curtis Dunnavan Fund
Dr. Tom Knabel and Kent Allin
Kathy and Allen Lenzmeier
The Morfitt Family Charitable Fund
Rita and Ben* Olk
Margaret V.B. Wurtele
James B. Linsmmayer Foundation
The Nara Fund
Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation Inc.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The Carlson Family Foundation
Curtain Call
($10,000–$24,999)
Carol and Kim Culp
David Feroe and Linda Svitak
Joyce G. Gordon*
Penny Meier
Jennifer Melin Miller and David Miller
Lisa Meyer and Sam W. Grabarski Sr.
Dr. Deanna Oliveira
James R. Olson
Cara Sjodin and Scott Stensrud
John Sullivan
Fremajane Wolfson
Alex Wright
The Thomas and Julianne Youngren Foundation
Eleven O’Clock Number
($5,000–$9,999)
Nancy Albrecht
Albrecht Family Foundation
John Arechar
Les Bendtsen and Rick Buchholz
Ray DeSpiegler and Michael Birch
Stephen Bubul and Lee Lewis
Jane and Ogden* Confer
Fran and Barb Davis
Keith and Betsy Ford
The Dean Greenberg Family Fund
Nicole Hanover
Lisa and Dan Hoene
Dennis and Nora Hunchar
Show Stopper
($1,500–$4,999)
Anonymous (2)
Elissa Adams and Michael Margulies
Theresa Alewine
Annette Atkins
John Bale
E. Thomas Binger and Rebecca Rand Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Jeffrey D. Bores and Michael Hawkins
Allan Bradley and Derrill Pankow
Jimmy Burnett
Marguerite Cowles
Edward and Kathryn Craig
Tanner Curl and Emily Dussault
Julie A. Darst Charitable Giving Account
David and Margaret Dines
Carol M. Downie and Gregory J. Thomas
Joe and Lois Duffy
Meghan and Sean Elliott
Steve Euller and Nancy Roehr
John Fishpaw and Kim Krohn
Ron Frey and Steven Thompson
Andrew and Tina Grzeskowiak
Diane Harder and Thomas Eckstein
Jay Harkness and Jean Storlie
Jean and Jim Hartman
Kate Haugen
Margie and Tom Hebig
*In remembrance
Nancy Jones
Katherine Murphy
Curt D. Nelson
Jennifer and Jay Novak
Gary Reetz
Colleen C. Ryan and Tom Merz
Ann and Pat Ryan
Linda and Steven Sandvig
Bonnie Scott
Lorri Steffen and Paul Zenner
The LTC Janis Verruso Charitable Fund
Patricia Zalaznik
Sandy and John Hey
Bill Jones
Judy and Frank Jossi
Deirdre and Wes Kramer
Christine Larsen and Scott Peterson
David and Sheila Lein
Mac and Mary Lewis
Carol Lichterman
David and Susan Lima
Peggy and Dave Lucas
Pat and Sara Mack
Margery Martin and Dan Feidt*
Kristin and Jim Matejcek
James Lockhart and Janie Mayeron
Bridget and Sam Morehead
Tom and Conchy Morgan
Nicholas Naumann and Joe Chadwick
Dr. Katherine J. Nevins
Judy Nobles
Glyn Northington and Stan Kolden
Sandra Overland
Steve Passeri
John Polta and Anne Tuthill Polta
Prospect Creek Foundation of Bruce and Martha Atwater
Maria and David Reamer
Daniel and Emily Shapiro
Ted and Mary Jo Shen
Rolf* and Janet Skjei
Russell Kaplan and Elisa Spencer-Kaplan
Neil Neumann and Sandy Spidel Neumann
Jon and Kristine Stevens
Brian and Carrie Svendahl
Michael and Terri Uline
Dianne Van Tasell and Steven Eggimann
Ka Vang
Erin and Mark Vannelli
Bill Venne and Douglas Kline
Paula Vesely
Gregory L. Vilmo
Ruth and David Waterbury
Entr’acte
($500 - $1,499)
Anonymous (2)
Addicks Hoch Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Robert Allen and Timothy Anderson
Grant Amadio
Stuart Appelbaum and Jean King
Ward and Kathleen Armstrong
Marcia Aubineau
Michael Bahr and Morrie Hartman
Richard Beens
Patricia Benson and Phil Strait
Dr. Ethan Berke
David and Janet Berry
Marjolijn Bielders-Vries
David Bjork and Jeff Bengtson
Chris Boppre
Susan S. Boren and Steve King
William and Rita Bourne
Mary Brady
Judith and Arnie Brier
Barbara Brin and John Beal
Dawn Brintnell and Andrew Wattenhofer
Lucinda Brown
Scott Cabalka
Virginia and Stuart Campbell
Jane Carlstrom
Cynthia Case and John Foley
Cynthia Chapman
Carol Chomsky and Steve Liss
Tom Clausen and Chris Ulrich
John Cook and Carolyn Burnett
Tiffany Cooper-Allen and Torrie Allen
Gretchen and David Crary
Peggy Crosby and David Pederson
Ingrid and Chris Culp
Loretta Dakin
John and Linda Darcy McCormick
Meredith Dayton Olson
Mary Lou and Thomas* Detwiler
JaNelle Dexheimer
Russell Doby
Tom and Carol Watzke Windfelt
Betsy Weiner
Marjorie and Irving Weiser
Frank and Frances Wilkinson
Kevin Winge and Kevin Shores
Dick and Diane* Wright
Adam Yust
Peter Zenner
Jeanne and Jeff Zlonis
Gerald Dove
Nathan Dungan and Susan Hawks
Meghan and Sean Elliott
Sharon Engel
Paula Engelking and JW Peck
Doris Engibous
John J. Erickson
Lucas Erickson Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Nancy Evert
Linnea Fahnestock
Becky and Damon Farber
David Ferris
Dennis and Joyce Findley
Barbara Frame
Matt Fulton
Elaine Gaston and Mark Scannell
Mary Beidler Gearen
Lisa Gehrig
Janice Gepner and Eric Newman
Christa and Chris Getchell
Brian Gilligan and Steve Pospisil
Bob and Becky Glesne
Renee Goodell
John and Joanne Gordon
Clifford and Karen Greene
Kathy Gremillion
Thomas and Mary Gross
Joan Growe
Peggy Hall and Lee Barry
Richard Hamer
Kath Hammerseng and Mo Kennedy
Christie Hammes
Richard Hamson
Phillip Handy
Roxanne Hart and Scott Nelson
The Hedman Connelly Fund
Joanne and Allen Hinderaker
Martha P. Hoffman
Nanette Hoover
Richard Ihrig and Colleen Cooper
*In remembrance
Bernadette and Jeffrey Janisch
Sandi and Jim Jensen
Mike Jereczek and Jan Sigmund
Denise Johnson and Karl Erickson
Jeraldin and Steven Johnson
Steve and Debra Johnson
Steve Johnson and Susan Iverson
Ed and Martha Karels
Kurt and Gina Kastel
Miriam and Erwin Kelen
Cyndi and Greg Klaus
James Kunz
Greg Kvam and Pat Johnson
Arline Lansangan Datu
Marcia C. Leatham
Andrew Leshovsky and Louis Berg-Arnold
Meg Lewis and David Sebberson
Jeff Lin and Sarah Bronson
Mary Lincoln and Mark Schneider
David A. MacNaughton and Gayle R. Zoffer
Katherine Majkrzak
Duayne and Dianne Malewicki
Susan L. Maples
Keith Martinsen
Paul and Julie Mattson
Drew Mattson
Kevin Mayo
Gretchen Alberts Mellies
Douglas and Cindy Merrigan
Cynthia Meyer
Tyler and Emily Michaels King
Lisa Michaux
David Miller
Sonny and Amy Miller
Jodi and Mike Mooney
Richard Moore, Jr.
Peter and Karla Myers
Dirk and Laura Nelson
Amy and Mike Newton
Nicholson Family Foundation, Pondie and Mark Taylor
Carol Nietz
Karle and Diane Nolte
Ann and David O’Fallon
Ben Olk III and Kris Berggren
Philip Oxman and Harvey Zuckman
Mary Ann Palmer
Jaime Pedraza and Stephen Gronewold
Daniel Peterson and Mark Nelson
Karlyn Peterson and Gavin Wilkinson
Shannon Pierce and Rachael Kroog
Patti Pinkerton
Patricia Ploetz
Nancy and James Proman
Quiring Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Fred Quirsfeld and Linda Campbell
*In remembrance
Pat and Gene Radecki
Megan Reardon
John Seeger Reay and Karen Hanson
Sadie Reiners
Jonathan Riehle and Angela M. Bohmann
Barbara Roen
Kenneth and Beth Roering
Robert Rosenbaum and Maggie Gilbert
Tom and Molly Rothstein Family
Peggy and Bill Roush
Susan and John Ryan
Kenneth and Kathy Sabota
Mary and Peter Sandberg
Mark Sateren
Noel Schenker
Paul Schumann
The Schwantes Family Singers
Judy Schwartau
Miriam Seim
Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard Fund of Central Minnesota Community Foundation
Kathryn Sherwood
Steven and Karen Sonnenberg
Roxanne and Bill Soth
Ann and Eldon Spencer
Lynne Stanley
Anne Steinfeldt
Cheryl Stever
Toya Stewart Downey
Marcia and John Stout
Dana and Stephen Strand
MJ Sullivan
Kari Groth Swan
Ron and Margaret Tabar
Lezlie and Louis Taylor
Jean Taylor
Marlo and William Turcotte
Libby and John Utter
Daniel Vogel
Jeanne Voigt
Michael Wagner
David C. Warner
Margaret Weber
Corliss Weeks
Dorene and Alan Wernke
Sue and Jim Westerman
Jim and Martha Williams
Gayle Woodbury
Peter and Sue Wyckoff
Ann Wynia
Jodi and Jim Young
Jane Zilch
Abby Zimmer and Sean O’Brien
Nancy Zingale and Bill Flanigan
Anonymous (5)
Tom and Cindy Adamson
Albrecht Family Foundation
Dan Avchen and David Johnson
Kurt Bachmayer and Lisa Dalke
Paul and Mary Bacigalupi
Mary Bahneman
Daniel Barnes and Elaine Wilson
Daniel Baseman and Raymond J. Ottman
Judy Bearman and Ken Kaffine
Timothy Beekman
Joan Berg
Tim and Beth Beutell
Chris Bewell
Cheryl Brown
Julie Bubul
Sheryl and Mike Burkhardt
Kathryn and Winston Cahill
Angela and Neil Christy
Patricia Contag
Kenneth and Gwen Crabb
Kathryn and Larry Decker
Virginia and John Dell
Dennis and David Delude-Nafus
Nicole Demario
Holly Denis
Sunny Didier
Dennis and Nickie Dillon
Sandy Doll and Ron Christenson
Kate Donaldson
Tina Edstam
Marsha Eisenberg
Larry Espel and Cyndi Hasselbusch
Chris Estee
John J. Feigal
Dr. Patricia Ferrieri
Brad and Kathy Fisher
Sarah Fjelstul
Kim Ford
Ron and Barb Fraboni Family Fund
Heather and Bill Froehlich
David Gardner and Ronda Willsher
Erin George
Donna H. Gies and Richard Hamer
Robin Gillette
Jerry Girton
Barbara Golden
Karen and John Gray
Dolores Gutierrez
Mark and Mary Jo Hallberg
Dr. Jo-Ida C. Hansen
Dr. Shannon Harris
Robb Heckmann
John and Diane Herman
Hugh Huston
Diane and Paul Jacobson
Mark and Jeanne Jacobson
Donald and Pamela Jakes
Bonita Janda
Suzanne Jebe
Paul Amann and Cory Johnson
Scott and Julie Kammer
Jeremiah and Pamela Kearney
Dr. Thomas Kelly
Matt Kiser and Chris Nichol
Dodie and John Kostishack
Kathleen Kraemer
John and Nanciann Kruse
Pat Laulainen
Susan Law
Judy and Steve Lewis
Kathleen S. Lindblad
Dennis Louie
Beth and Mike MacDonald
Ruth B. Markowitz
Kimberly McDevitt
Peg McKee and Dean Adams
Kathleen McLaughlin and Daryl Skobba
Lisa McLean
Laura Migliorino
David and Leni Moore Family Foundation
Bonnie Mulligan and Charlie Greenman
Katie Nelsen
Marcia and Russ Palma
Sandra, Andrew, and Rick Penning
Tina Ham Peterson and Ric Peterson
Pike Willett Family Fund
David Pote and Linda Tapsak
Nick and Judy Priadka
Anne Pudas
Debra and Lawrence Que
John and Elizabeth Quinn
Bonnie Reiland
Tom Renshaw
Marilyn and Jim Rosenbaum
James Roth
Peter Rothstein and Omar Guevara Soto
Sue Salmela and Paul Burnett
Carol B. Schirmers
Betsy Schmiesing
Gale Sharpe
Tonia and Mike Shupien
Pamela Sjodin
Rosemary Soltis
Lisa Stevens and Jeffrey Hatcher
Michele Stowers
Sulasalmi Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
Craig and Janet Swan
Julie A. Sweitzer
Rabindra Tambyraja, MD
Tammy Taylor
Jennifer, Daniel, Raina, and Zoey Tenenbaum
John and Jennifer Urbanski
Katherine and Martijn van de Ruijtenbeek
Jennifer Van Wyk
Tammi Veale
Lynn and Chuck Wallin
Lisa Weisman
Daniel Weninger
Elisabeth Wierum
Honor and Memorial Gifts
In honor of Sandy Hey
Mary Freeman
In honor of Lane 3 at Latté Da’s Local
Legends Bowling Classic
Reece Gray
In honor of Fremajane Wolfson
The Dean Greenberg Family Fund
In honor of Bridget Morehead
Medtronic
Christie Morehead and Alan Zimmerman
In honor of Peter Rothstein
Tom and Molly Rothstein Family
In honor of Cara Sjodin
The Schwantes Family Singers
In honor of Timothy Thomas
Cheryl Thomas
In honor of Bernadette and Jeffrey Janisch
Andrea Tichy and Dan Muck
In honor of Just Tischleder
Ka Vang
Legacy Circle
Travis Wilson
Missy and Kent Wilson
Sally Wingert and Tim Danz
Jan Withiam
Jeanette Woessner
Donna and Mike Wolsted
Carol A Woodbury
David Young and Edward Williams, Jr.
In honor of Jean Hartman
Kevin Winge and Kevin Shores
In memory of Patricia Faunce
Pamela and Frederick Lott
In memory of Jean Elizabeth Ryan Rothstein, Peter Rothstein’s mother
Gretchen Albert Mellies
In memory of Mary Dew
David Miller
In memory of Dorris Rose
Jesseli Moen
Carol Peterson
In memory of Gay and Carl Prosek
Charlene Washburn
On behalf of Steven Bergerson Anonymous
On behalf of Elizabeth Hobbs Anonymous
We gratefully recognize the following individuals who have chosen to include Theater Latté Da in their estate plans. These estate gifts will sustain our artistic excellence and fiscal health for years to come:
Mary Anne Ebert and Paul Stembler
Stephen Fischer
Joyce G. Gordon*
Dr. Jo-Ida C. Hansen
John Hemann
Dr. Tom Knabel and Kent Allin
Carol Lichterman
Patti Pinkerton
Bill Venne and Douglas Kline
Kevin Winge and Kevin Shores
Jane Zilch
If you have included Theater Latté Da in your estate plans but are not listed here, or if you would like to learn more about legacy giving to Theater Latté Da, please contact Development Director Sara Huelle at sarahuelle@latteda.org.
*In remembrance
Theater Latté Da was envisioned by Co-Founder Peter Rothstein as a home for the future of the American musical. Latté Da has lived this vision since our beginning, with 15 of our 26 mainstage seasons including world premieres.
Theater Latté Da is embarking on an ambitious milestone: supporting the development of 25 new musicals or plays with music by 2025. Through NEXT 25x25, we will invest in the future of the great American Musical and its playwrights, composers, and lyricists through world premieres, the annual NEXT Festival, our NEXT Up development program, and NEXT Generation commissions.
To make a gift in support of NEXT 25x25, please contact sarahuelle@latteda.org
NEXT 25x25 Supporters
Anonymous
Elissa Adams and Michael Margulies
Mark Addink
Joelle Allen
Barry and Cynthia Alper
Cynthia Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Joe Andrews and Scott Benson
Angelica Family Charitable Fund
Constance Archea
Marcia Aubineau
Michael Austin
Maria Bales
Franny Barry
Cheryl Bates
Leah Battin
Jane Bauman
Joe and Elizabeth Bayer
Les Bendtsen and Rick Buchholz
Ruth Ann and Jim Benson
Katie Berg
Chris Bewell
Bonnie Birnbaum
Paul and Marcia Bjerke
David Bjork and Jeff Bengtson
Marjie Blevins
Jean Borgerding
Joan and David Bowlin
Steven Boyer
Carol and Richard Brozic
Stephen Bubul and Lee Lewis
Helen Burke
Colleen Byrne
Amy Carlson
Nancy L. Carroll
Daniel Castle
Patricia Clarke
Tiffany Cooper-Allen and Torrie Allen
Theodore Cornwell
Marguerite Cowles
Don and Nancy Creighton
Elisa Cross
Teri Cuddy
Joanne and Frederick Czeswik
Randall Davidson
Lisa Denninger
Amy Dillahunt
Elizabeth Docherty
Cecelia Dodge
Peter Donohue
Natalia Dreizin
Dan Dressen
Mary Duffy
Dorothy Dunn
Kevin Ekue
David Feroe and Linda Svitak
Sara and Karl Fiegenschuh
Donald and Rosalyn Fineran
John Fishpaw and Kim Krohn
Matt Fulton
Gerald and Jeanne Furst
Sue Gillman and Linda Ireland
Bob and Becky Glesne
Harry Greenberg
Peggy Hall and Lee Barry
Jay Harkness and Jean Storlie
Kathy and Michael Harrington
Roxanne Hart and Scott Nelson
Jean and Jim Hartman
Phebe Haugen
David Haugland
Jelan and James Heidelberg
Brett and Maia Hendel
Madeleine Henry
Susan Hitchner
Elizabeth Hobbs
Jill Hogan
Margaret and Mark Hottinger
Jay and Beth Jackson
Sandy Jacobsen and Dean Hedstrom
Diane and Paul Jacobson
Mary Jaeb
Suzanne Jebe
Rhonda Jenkins
Denise Johnson and Karl Erickson
Jeraldin and Steven Johnson
Nancy Jones
Judy and Frank Jossi
Ann Juergens and Jay Weiner
Mary M. and James R. Kaster
Michael Kearney
Madeleine Kerr
Becky Kleager and David Rusterholz
Leslie Koepke
Mary Jean Korsmo
Paul Kovacovic
Sara Ellen Kuether
John Kulstad and Lisa Mayotte
Deb Lauer
Sally Leighninger
Judith O’Keefe Lester
John and Anne Levin
Kathryn Lien
Charles and Linda Lincoln
Anna and David Linder
Brenda and Ted Litman
Laura Kelly Lovdahl
Kathleen Lowry
Jim Macknick and John Pemberton
Jennifer Marshall and Matthew Haines
Kristin and Jim Matejcek
Drew Mattson
Anne McLarnen
Penny Meier
Jennifer Melin Miller and David Miller
Alli Mertins
James Miner
Kristin Monson
Jean Montgomery
Jodi and Mike Mooney
Warren and Daniel Mosier
Richard Murray
Joan Naymark
Randy and Joy Nelson
Sarah Nelson
Dolores Noah
Andrea Nordick-Stone
Glyn Northington and Stan Kolden
Samantha O’Connor
Lynn and Ben Oehler
Gary Oftedahl
Carol and Keith Ottoson
Sandra Overland
Bonnie Palmquist
Joann Parker
Suzanne Perrry
Karlyn Peterson and Gavin Wilkinson
Pike Willett Family Fund
Susan B Plimpton
Barbara Pogoler
Dionette and Tom Polacek
Debra and Lawrence Que
Margaret Rasmussen
John Seeger Reay and Karen Hanson
Carolyn Roby
Leeann Rock
Barbara Roen
April Rog
Martha Rosen
John Ross
James Roth
Barb Ruble
Deborah Ruf
Anne Russell
Marjorie Schaffer
Helen Schlosser
Suzanna Schneider
Robert Schuette
Paul K. Schulte
Paul Schumann
Steven R. Schwagel
Nicole Sexe
Amy Showers-Stone and Alexander Stone
Lisa Sinclair
Rolf* and Janet Skjei
Linnea Sodergren
Sally Sonday-Gaines
Corporate Matching Gifts
Ameriprise Financial
Crowe Consulting
The Dorsey & Whitney Foundation
General Mills
Intel Foundation
Medtronic
Microsoft
UnitedHealth Group
US Bank
Voya Financial
Wells Fargo
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan and Russell Kaplan
Chuck Spitzack
Lisa Stevens and Jeffrey Hatcher
Katie Stites
Donna Stoering
Cherie Stofer
Nathan Stohlmann
Nicole Stretar
John Sullivan
Sandra Swami
Tobi Tanzer
Teresa and Mike Tennis
Penny and Thomas Tesarek
Bob and Carol Thomas
Ruby Thomasson
Stephani Tikalsky
Jerome Tiller
Elizabeth Tisel
Duane Tvenge
John and Jennifer Urbanski
Lynn and Chuck Wallin
Betty Wass
Gregory Weyandt
Elisabeth Wierum
Amy Willette
Lori-Anne and Eva Williams
Winnie Williams
Fae and Roy Wilson
Kevin Winge and Kevin Shores
Fremajane Wolfson
Wymond Wong
Mary Wrobel
Henry Young Jr.
In-Kind Supporters
Cornerstone Copy Center
Stagetime Productions
Listings reflect donations made between between February 1, 2024 to February 1, 2025. Please accept our apologies for any errors or omissions.
*In remembrance
Board of Directors
Glyn Northington, Chair
Les Bendtsen, Secretary
Bridget Morehead, Treasurer
Theresa Alewine
Tiffany Cooper-Allen
John Arechar
Marcia Aubineau
Ethan Berke
Stephen Bubul
Jimmy Burnett
Tanner Curl
Carol Chomsky
Toya Stewart Downey
Keith Ford
Judy Jossi
Tom Knabel
Jeff Lin
Justin Lucero, ex-officio
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, ex-officio
Lezlie Taylor
Fremajane Wolfson
Adam Yust
Justin Lucero Artistic Director
Elissa Adams Associate Artistic Director & Director of New Work
Allen Weeks Director of Production & Operations
Production
Amber Brown Costume Supervisor
Eric Charlton Associate Technical Director
Whitley Cobb Carpenter
Christian Erben Associate Production & Company Manager
Sara Herman Scenic Charge
Ash Kaun Costume Shop Assistant
Andrew Norfolk Lighting Supervisor
Shelby Reddig Production Stage Manager
Bethany Reinfeld Technical Director
Accounting Chris Hagen
Legal Counsel
Michael Sinder
Co-Founders
Peter Rothstein
Denise Prosek
Staff
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan Managing Director
Sara Huelle Director of Development
Marketing & Guest Services
Connor Berkompas Box Office Associate
Naomi Brecht Box Office Manager
Morgan Gray
Marketing Associate
Tre’ Miller Front-Of-House Associate
Allison Nahr Box Office Associate
Madeline Schulz House Manager
Jeremiah Stich Guest Services Manager
Kathleen Sullivan Concessions Lead
Connor Berkompas, Casey Haeg, Jennica Kruse, Janet Lewis and Courtney Rust Concessionaires
Development
Gillian Constable
Development Associate & Access Coordinator
THINGS TO KNOW
RESTROOMS
We have fully remodeled our lobby restrooms to make them All Gender restrooms. Each contains five fully private stalls with ADA accessible facilities.
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessible Seating: Accessible seating is available at the Ritz Theater in Row E, Sidebar P, and Sidebar Q. All other seating requires stairs for access.
Courtesy Wheelchairs: Courtesy wheelchairs are available for use for patrons who may have mobility challenges. Please see our House Manager or Box Office Manager for use.
Bariatric Chairs: Bariatric chairs are available at the Ritz Theater in Sidebars P and Q.
ASL Interpreted Performances: We offer ASL-interpreted performances for every production during our season. These performances are usually offered the second Thursday in each production.
Audio Described Performances: Professional audio describers provide narration of on-stage action, costumes, and scenery during the performance. Listening devices are available for patrons to use during the AD scheduled performances.
Open Caption Performances: We offer open captioning for select weekend performances. Captions of the text are displayed on a screen near the stage, more easily read from our sidebar seats. Check the performance calendar for the open captioning dates or call the Box Office at 612.339.3003 for details.
Assistive Listening Devices: We offer assistive listening devices for all performances. Please stop at the Box Office to check one out for use during the performance.
Braille Programs: Please see an usher or our Guest Services Manager to request a braille program for any performance.
Large Print Programs: Large print programs are available upon request. Please see the Box Office or request a copy from an usher.
AUDIENCE INFO & POLICIES
COVID-19 Policy: As of the start of this season at the Ritz Theater, we are no longer requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result. Masks are welcome but optional, EXCEPT for select Sunday matinee performances when they are required. This policy is subject to change.
Photos & Video: Photos of the set are allowed before or after the show and during intermission, but not when artists are onstage. Video or audio recording of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Phones: The ringing of cellular phones or texting is highly disruptive during a performance. These devices should be turned off during the performance.
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Nubia Monks as Celie in The Color Purple. Photo by Dan Norman.
