August Wilson's Radio Golf Playbill 2021

AUGUST WILSON’S DIRECTED BY OBIE AWARD WINNER

BRANDON J. DIRDEN N OV E M B E R 6 - 2 1

SEASON SPONSOR:

Photo by and of the August Wilson House.

WELCOME BACK!

JAN 15 – FEB 6 / 2022

MARCH 12 – APRIL 10 / 2022

By Anton Chekhov Translated by Madeleine George Directed by Sara Holdren

By Tony Meneses Directed by Annie Tippe

A new translation of Chekhov’s classic play about big souls trapped in tiny boxes.

WE'VE MISSED YOU AND HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE REST OF OUR UPCOMING SHOWS THIS SEASON!

T H E

A fresh and nuanced look at the complexity and intimacy of male friendship.

MAY 6 – 15 / 2022

JUNE 4 – 26 / 2022

By William Shakespeare Adapted and Directed by Rakesh Palisetty

Book by Stuart Ross Lyrics by Ira Gasman, Stuart Ross, & Debra Barsha Music by Debra Barsha Directed by Stephen Brackett

Shakespeare in 75 minutes, performed and supported backstage by high school students.

A musical celebrating artist and activist Keith Haring.

SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE BOX OFFICE OR ONLINE AT TWORIVERTHEATER.ORG 2

ABOUT US

LEADERSHIP

JOHN DIAS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MICHAEL HURST MANAGING DIRECTOR ROBERT M. RECHNITZ JOAN H. RECHNITZ FOUNDERS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES HON. EDWARD J. MCKENNA, JR PRESIDENT MARILYN BROEGE VICE PRESIDENT MARY JANE KROON SECRETARY GEOFFREY SADWITH TREASURER DR. ANN BAGCHI MICHAEL BLAND AMANDA BUTTERBAUGH CAROLYN CUSHMAN DESENA DR. WALTER GREASON SAMUEL G. HUBER LAUREN NICOSIA ADAM RECHNITZ JOAN H. RECHNITZ ANNE MARIE SCHULTZ MAUREEN SILLIMAN MARY CAROL STUNKEL RICHARD B. WORLEY

EMERITUS TRUSTEE KATHRYNE SINGLETON

Two River Theater produces a theatrical season that includes American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we also offer 40+ events that reflect our diverse community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Staying true to our founding principles, we bring a fresh eye to American and world classics, and we have commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill

by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run). Two River serves thousands of students and community members through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools, and throughout our region. Each season, we host numerous artist residencies, workshops and readings, and present an annual Cabaret of New Songs for the Musical Theater in association with NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program. Two River’s three-story Center for New Work, Education and Design is now open. Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst. tworivertheater.org

4 Land Acknowledgment 5 Title Page 7 Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) 9 Patron Services 11 A Note from Artistic Director, John Dias 13 Cast of Characters 15 Get SET for the return of Radio Golf!

17 Bios 24 August Wilson's Changing Hill 29 Leadership Bios 30 Production Spotlight: Costume Designer Karen Perry 32 Two River Theater is a Home for Playwrights 35 Local Spotlight: T. Thomas Fortune Foundation and Cultural Center 37 Institutional Support 38 Individual Donors 41 Meet Our Staff 43 Scene at Two River: Joe Iconis and Family Benefit Concert

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

THE LAND UPON WHICH WE GATHER IS PART OF THE TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE LENNI-LENAPE, CALLED “LENAPEHOKING.”

Each season since 1994, Two River Theater has welcomed tens of thousands of audience members from Monmouth County and beyond. In the midst of our continued growth towards being an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization, we need to recognize that the land upon where our theater stands is not ours. Two River wishes to acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land where we proudly present our work and continue to be a vital cultural resource for our community.

The land acknowledgement below was generously provided by the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation for New Jersey-based organizations like Two River Theater who seek to honor these people and territory.

The Lenape People lived in harmony with one another upon this territory for thousands of years. During the colonial era and early federal period, many were removed west and north, but some also remain among the continuing historical tribal communities of the region: The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation; the Ramapough Lenape Nation; and the Powhatan Renape Nation, The Nanticoke of Millsboro Delaware, and the Lenape of Cheswold Delaware.

We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing relationship with their territory. In our acknowledgment of the continued presence of Lenape people in their homeland, we affirm the aspiration of the great Lenape Chief Tamanend, that there be harmony between the indigenous people of this land and the descendants of the immigrants to this land, “as long as the rivers and creeks flow, and the sun, moon, and stars shine.”

To learn more about the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, please visit: nlltribe.com/about-us/

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AUGUST WILSON’S

RADIO GOLF

John Dias Artistic Director Michael Hurst Managing Director Robert M. Rechnitz Joan H. Rechnitz Founders

With Toccarra Cash* Carl Hendrick Louis*

Wayne DeHart* Robbie Williams

Nathan James*

SCENIC DESIGNER........................................................................................Edward E. Haynes Jr. COSTUME DESIGNER................................................................................Karen Perry LIGHTING DESIGNER.................................................................................Driscoll Otto SOUND DESIGNER........................................................................................Kay Richardson HAIR & WIG DESIGNER.............................................................................Erin Hicks CASTING..................................................................................................................Heidi Griffiths & Kate Murray PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER.................................................Megan Smith*

Directed by Brandon J. Dirden

OPENING NIGHT: NOV 12/2021 JOAN AND ROBERT RECHNITZ THEATER August Wilson’s Radio Golf is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals Company.

Originally Produced on Broadway by Jujamcyn Theaters Margo Lion, Jeffrey Richards/Jerry Frankel, Tamara Tunie/Wendell Pierce, Fran Kirmser, Bunting Management Group, Georgia Frontiere/Open Pictures, Lauren Doll/Steven Greil & The AW Group, Wonder City, Inc./Townsend Teague in association with Jack Viertel and Gordon Davidson First produced in New Haven, CT in April 2005 by Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director)

SEASON SPONSOR:

RESTAURANT PARTNER:

SEASON SUPPORTERS:

Two River Theater is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

* Members of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

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HackensackMeridianHealth.org

CONGRATULATIONS Hackensack Meridian Health and Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center are proud to support Two River Theater.

■■■

We are excited to see you all back on the stage

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COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (EDI) Two River believes the essence of theater is democratic: it invites us to encounter, consider and perhaps adopt other points of view, if only for a brief time in a darkened theater.

WE ASPIRE TO BUILD AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH ARTISTS, AUDIENCES, EMPLOYEES, AND BOARD MEMBERS FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCES TOGETHER FORM AN INSTITUTION THAT IS EQUITABLE, DIVERSE, AND INCLUSIVE. We acknowledge that the pandemic affected everyone differently, and Black, Indigenous, Mixed, and People of Color (BIMPOC) communities were disproportionately impacted

by COVID-19. This, along with the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the urgent calls for systemic changes to the theater industry from the We See You White American Theater coalition, propelled Two River Theater to formally pledge to become an anti-racist and anti-oppressive organization. As a result, our EDI work has become more centered in the ethos, structure, and substance of Two River Theater.

TWO RIVER IS COMMITTED TO FEATURING WORK WRITTEN AND/OR PERFORMED BY ARTISTS REPRESENTING ALL BACKGROUNDS, ABILITIES, AGES, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER EVERY SEASON. While our commitment to diversity may be reflected in most of our productions and programs, we acknowledge that our actions internally and externally have at times been inconsistent and missed the mark. We know this must change – not incrementally and sporadically, but intentionally and fundamentally WHAT WE ARE DOING: EDI Committee In 2020, we reestablished our EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (EDI) COMMITTEE to create an ecosystem for transformative change within our organization and with our relationship to the constituents and communities we serve. The Committee acts on behalf of the Theater to identify, manage, and provide oversight on EDI initiatives and processes while ensuring alignment with the Theater’s core values. In addition, the Committee helps assess the effectiveness of activities, creates accountability for results and promotes company-wide inclusion and communication on progress.

Comprised of up to 12 staff members from various departments, the Committee meets regularly and also plans for full-staff monthly meetings focusing on EDI themes as they relate to our work and the current times.

Staff Workshop In December 2020, the committee engaged consulting firm Equity Quotient to lead our entire organization in a twoday Virtual Dismantling Racism Learning Lab. Through this workshop, we identified the immediate action items on which we could focus our energies as well as broader institutional initiatives.

Committee Branches In order to move this work forward we have established additional committee branches to focus on three distinct areas: Communications, Representation, and Workplace Practices.

With the three branches helping to guide our work, Two River created a system to engage the entire staff in EDI work through a constellation of task forces. Groups have been set up to alleviate hierarchical structures of power within the theater and allow for the elevation of all voices across the organization. Participation is mandatory. In addition, we have encouraged and supported staff to create several affinity groups including accessibility, caregivers, Black, Indigenous, Mixed, and People of Color (BIMPOC), production, and LGBTQIA+.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WORK IS ONGOING AND EVOLVING IN REAL TIME. As such, this is a living document which will continually be evaluated and revised as we progress and learn. We will share our evolution with you all throughout the season.

To learn more about Two River Theater’s commitment and continued progress in our EDI work, please visit: tworivertheater.org/#edi For any questions related to our EDI work, please email: EDI@trtc.org Thank you, Two River Theater Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee Kate Cordaro, Director of Education John Dias, Artistic Director Michael Hurst, Managing Director Lauren Kurinskas, Director of Production Anderson Molina, Production Management Assistant Denyse Reed, Director of Development Gilda Rogers, Community Relations Lesley Sorenson, Costume Shop Supervisor Hannah Walker, Institutional Marketing Manager Angela White, Front of House Manager Matthew Yee, Box Officer

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PATRON SERVICES Thank you for joining us at this performance.

Two River Theater is dedicated to making your experience the best that it can possibly be. Please note the following offerings and requests to better enhance your time at the theater: BEFORE PLAY Informative pre-show talks for all subscription series performances. For the 21/22 Season Before Play will either happen virtually, through a video sent in your preshow email OR take place 45 minutes prior to curtain at the theater.

POST-PLAY DISCUSSIONS Post-play discussions are scheduled following select performances of every subscription series production. During these discussions, audiences are invited to share their questions and responses to the work on stage with members of the cast and staff of the theater. Post-play discussion dates for the current season can be found on our website.

INSIDE TWO RIVER EVENTS A series of mostly FREE arts and humanities events specially curated for each of our productions. Events include film screenings, book club, poetry readings, crafting nights, lectures, social events with our artists and more! To make sure you are the first to hear about these events sign up for our email list, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and stay tuned to our website!

BOX OFFICE

CONCESSIONS & BAR New this Season! Now Serving: Beer, Wine and Cocktails in addition to coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks. All food and drink must be enjoyed in designated areas of the lobby. Only water will be permitted into the theater during performances.

COURTESY Please limit food and drink, taking photographs and cell phone usage in our lobby or outside the theater. Late seating will occur at the discretion of Management.

VIRTUAL TOUR & ACCESS Two River Theater is committed to making theater accessible to all. If you would like to view our space in detail, in advance of your visit, a virtual tour is available on our website, tworivertheater.org/accessibility.

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A NOTE FROM THE

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

JOHN DIAS Photo by Danny Sanchez.

Dear Friends, OK, remind me. How do we do this?

I begin with “welcome.” Or maybe “welcome back.”

You take a collective deep breath in—through the protective filter of your N95—and look around at your fellow travelers with a mix of apprehension and promise. You exhale. The house lights dim and envelop us all in a new darkness as the music starts and the glow of something familiar warms the stage in front of you.

But, then what? Do we simply pick up where we left off? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think so.

You see, I was sitting in this empty theater the other day—a week before starting up—as I have often done over these past nineteen months. In the before times, I watched this show, RADIO GOLF, every night before we shut it down at which point it sat, as if in amber, in my heart and mind—and in this room, its set intact, with a ghost light for protection—while the world moved on. I have anticipated this moment, the moment of your return and wondered if you’d feel as I do, that is, a bit like Rip van Winkle. Remember him? The Catskills farmer who got drunk and slept through the entire American Revolution. The rube who wakes, and in his ignorance reminds the rest of us how profoundly everything has changed. Turns out he’s a trope—a literary figure from medieval Europe, ancient Greece and the Mughal Empire; he’s been Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Hindu; in China, Japan, and throughout Africa. It seems we’ve always needed this character to stand in for—and avert—our tendency to seek comfort and incorporate change as we slip back into our old ways. The point of Rip van Winkle is not that he slept for so long, but that now he is awake.

I think about the RADIO GOLF that has sat in amber in my mind. And, I see the one in front of us now. Almost nothing is different (except the fabulous new performance of Toccarra Cash!) and yet everything has changed.

So, this—this familiar way of being together, this live exchange, all these accustomed ways of being—this has been asleep in extended quarantine. But leaving that sleep, we have been made more awake than ever. And, to be clear, I don’t mean “woke.”

I do mean “awake.” I’m sorry that the word “woke” has gotten so fraught with politics; perhaps we can reclaim its intentions with our own “awake.”

And, awake we now must remain. This is our opportunity to stumble out of our slumber, come together and truly see each other. To allow what once was our ignorance to live in the light of knowledge. I wonder what you will see—in your awakened state here—in this RADIO GOLF and in the rest of the shows this season.

John

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PRACTICE & GIVE

CAST OF CHARACTERS MAME WILKS........................................................................................... Toccarra Cash HARMOND WILKS................................................................................. Carl Hendrick Louis ROOSEVELT HICKS.............................................................................. Robbie Williams STERLING JOHNSON......................................................................... Nathan James ELDER JOSEPH BARLOW................................................................ Wayne DeHart

SETTING The Hill District. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1997. The office of Bedford Hill Redevelopment, Inc., in a storefront on Centre Avenue.

August Wilson's Radio Golf will be performed with one intermission.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Assistant to the Director: Emma Y. Lai Associate Wig Designer: Cici Campbell

OPEN YOUR HEART

(IN ORDER OF SPEAKING)

West Side’s Non Profit Yoga Studio 93 Shrewsbury Avenue, Suite 6 Red Bank, NJ | 732.859.6749 OpenHeartYogaNJ.org

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SPECIAL THANKS Amber Graves, Michael Gentile, Linda Trulby, Jessica Jones, entire staff and residents of The Atrium The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings on any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author's rights and actionable under United States Copyright Law. For more information, please visit: https://shop.samuelfrench.com/content/files/pdf/piracy-whitepaper.pdf “Blue Skies” Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin This selection is used by special arrangement with Rodgers & Hammerstein, on behalf of the Estate of Irving Berlin, www.irvingberlin.com. All Rights Reserved.

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UNITED

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The Designers at this Theatre are Represented by

United Scenic Artists • Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE

Two River Theater Company is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and ArtPride New Jersey.

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GET SET FOR THE RETURN OF AUGUST WILSON’S RADIO GOLF!

SCENIC DESIGNER: ED HAYNES

The artists and production team of August Wilson’s Radio Golf pose for a photo after final dress rehearsal on February 28/2020.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

August Wilson’s Radio Golf starts performances on February 29/2020 and officially opens on March 6. The critically acclaimed production is forced to shut down on March 12 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This is a press photo from the 2020 run featuring Carl Hendrick Louis and Wayne DeHart. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The set of August Wilson’s Radio Golf turns one (Birthdate: February 25/ 2020)! Members of the production team: Fiona Malone, Duane Noch, Christian Dilks, Colleen Dolan, and Jackie Deniz Young celebrate the longest set to ever stay up at Two River Theater with a small gathering and individually packaged cakes.

August Wilson’s Radio Golf Returns! On October 20/2021 rehearsals begin again! Director Brandon J. Dirden snaps a selfie with cast members Toccarra Cash, Wayne DeHart, Carl Hendrick Louis, Nathan James and Robbie Williams, Production Assistant Adrian Griffey and Artistic Assistant Emma Y. Lai! 15

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BIOS

MEET THE ARTISTS! TOCCARRA CASH (she/ her/hers) (MAME WILKS) Two River Theater Debut!

Broadway: The Play That Goes Wrong. Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure (The Public), Napoli, Brooklyn (Roundabout Theatre), Brothers from the Bottom (The Billie Holiday Theatre, with Wendell Pierce) Playing with Fire (Negro Ensemble Company/Strindberg Rep). Off-West End (London): Half Me, Half You. Regional (select): Huntington Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Alliance Theatre, True Colors Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

She was also recently seen last summer in Moliere in the Park’s hit virtual production of Tartuffe (with Raul Esparza & Samira Wiley) in the role of Elmire. Film: First Match, Here After, Grace’s Keeper, Rosy, ATL. TV: Station 19 (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS), Royal Pains (USA), Younger (TV Land). She also just completed filming as a Series Regular on the Freeform pilot Everything’s Trash, starring Phoebe Robinson. Awards: AUDELCO - Best Supporting Actress for Brothers from the Bottom, IRNE - Best Supporting Actress for Skeleton Crew (Huntington Theatre Company), Princess Grace Award – Theatre Award. Education: Proud alumna of Spelman College (BA), University of MissouriKansas City (MFA). IG, Twitter & FB: @toccarracash.

WAYNE DEHART (he/ him/his) (ELDER JOSEPH BARLOW) was born in Jonesville, S.C.; his parents’ divorce brought him to Houston, T.X., where he currently resides. He began his theatre journey with J.B. by Archibald MacLeish.

DeHart joined Houston’s Ensemble Theatre in 1981 and has been a mainstay at that theater for 38 years, garnering several Best Actor and Best

Supporting Actor awards. DeHart has completed eight of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle (having to regretfully forego his role in Gem of the Ocean to appear in a film). DeHart’s film credits include Jason’s Lyric, I Come in Peace, and Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored. He recently completed work on films Bayou Caviar with Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tales From the Hood 2, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Tropical Cop Tales, and Hap & Leonard. DeHart is the primary re-enactment performer at The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston, T.X. where he has performed The Life of A Buffalo Soldier since 2001. He is a proud father of My Love T-ATA, a three-time grandfather, and a six-time great-grandfather.

About his upcoming role as Elder Joseph Barlow, DeHart said, “I was so excited when Mr. Dirden reached out to me. I wanted to dig up my script and start right away. I am truly grateful and appreciative to Two River Theater for giving me this ‘bucket list’ opportunity.”

CARL HENDRICK LOUIS (he/ him/his) (HARMOND WILKS) Broadway: 1984, The Cherry Orchard (Roundabout Theatre Company), Off-Broadway: The Emperor Jones (Irish Repertory Theatre), The Tempest (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout Theatre Company), The King’s Whore (Walkerspace), In Fields Where They Lay (Hudson Guild Theatre), Marat/ Sade (Classical Theatre of Harlem). Regional: Mlima’s Tale (Westport Country Playhouse), Sunset Baby (Kitchen Theatre Company). Film: Fan Girl, Unknown Soldier.

Television: Mindhunter. Education: New York University’s Graduate Acting Program and Fordham University’s Theatre Program.

NATHAN JAMES (he/ him/his) (STERLING JOHNSON) Nathan is a proud native of Pittsburgh where began his acting career with Kuntu Repertory Theater. He received a BA in Africana Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MFA in Acting from Penn State University. His one-man play, Growing Pains, has been produced at The August Wilson Center for African American Culture, The United Solo Theater 17

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Festival (Theatre Row NYC), and various theaters and festivals around the United States. Nathan is one of seven playwrights of The New Black Fest’s HANDS UP: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments (Seven ten-minute plays following the shooting of Mike Brown). Hands Up was featured in American Theatre Magazine, and Nathan’s play, Superiority Fantasy, was chosen as BBC radio’s Play of the Week. In the spring of 2014, he won 1st place at Amateur Night at the Apollo with an original poem. Film/TV credits: Standing Up, Falling Down (Tilted Windmill Productions), Madam Secretary (CBS), Shades of Blue (NBC), Quantico (ABC), The Wire (HBO), Deception (ABC), Blindspot (NBC), Vinyl (HBO), Person of Interest (CBS), The Interestings (Amazon), Blue Bloods (CBS), The Path (Hulu), Pain Within (Sundance Film Festival), Service to Man (STARZ).

Off-Broadway: Travisville (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Playing with Fire (Gene Frankel Theatre), Black Angels Over Tuskegee (St. Luke’s Theatre). NYC: Maid’s Door (Billy Holiday Theatre), Armed (The Amoralists Theater), Growing Pains (Billy Holiday Theatre). Regional: Radio Golf (Two River Theater), Feeding Beatrice (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Julius Caesar (Pennsylvania Centre Stage), Work Song (Pittsburgh City Theatre). www.officialnathanjames.com ROBBIE WILLIAMS (he/him/ his) (ROOSEVELT HICKS) is thrilled to be returning to Two River Theater. The Indianapolis native is an NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program Alum and can be seen on shows such as Orange Is the New Black and CSI: NY. Robbie is grateful to be working with the talented cast and crew of Radio Golf.

AUGUST WILSON (April 27, 1945-October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African-Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s

Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street The August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

BRANDON J. DIRDEN (Director) made his directing debut at Two River Theater with August Wilson’s Seven Guitars and most recently directed King Hedley II here.

He has appeared at Two River in A Raisin in the Sun; August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Jitney; the world premiere of Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine; and Topdog/Underdog, in which he starred opposite his brother Jason Dirden under the direction of the play’s author, Suzan-Lori Parks. An award-winning actor/director, he is perhaps best known for portraying Agent Dennis Aderholt in the acclaimed FX series The Americans. ​A Morehouse College and University of Illinois graduate, he is also known for appearing on Broadway as Martin Luther King Jr. in the successful Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way opposite Bryan Cranston’s Lyndon B. Johnson. Other Broadway credits include August Wilson’s Jitney (2017 Tony Award for Best Revival), Prelude to a Kiss, Enron and Clybourne Park. In 2012 he was awarded an Obie and a Theatre World Award and was nominated for Drama League and Lucille Lortel Awards for his portrayal of Boy Willie in the Signature Theatre Company revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Look for his Broadway return 19

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this fall in the highly-anticipated Broadway premiere of Dominique Morriseau’s Skeleton Crew. Brandon is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union for professional actors and stage managers, and he is a frequent volunteer at The 52ndStreet Project (52project. org). Brandon is married to actress Crystal Dickinson and currently lives in West Orange, NJ with their son, Chase.

EDWARD E. HAYNES JR. (Scenic Designer) is excited to be designing his first show for Two River Theater.

Regional credits include: Mark Taper Forum, Ebony Repertory Theatre, South Coast Rep, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, East West Players, Pasadena Playhouse, Hollywood Bowl, Marin Theatre Co., TheatreWorks, Muny Opera, Intiman Theatre, Trinity Rep, Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, and many he can no longer remember. Television credits include: MTV’s Spring Break 2012 & 2011, Hip Hop Harry, The Tony Rock Project, and Culture Clash. Ed is the father of twins, Denis and Wesly, and husband to director Elizabeth Bell-Haynes.

KAREN PERRY (Costume Designer) previously designed August Wilson’s King Hedley II, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Jitney, Two Trains Running and Seven Guitars at Two River, as well as Love in Hate Nation, Oo-BlaDee, Lives of Reason, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, Guadalupe in the Guest Room, Third and Trouble in Mind. Her most recent credits include Lackawanna Blues on Broadway, My Lord, What a Night (Ford’s Theatre), The Garden (La Jolla Playhouse), runboyrun & In Old Age (New York Theatre Workshop), Mothers (Playwrights Realm), Jazz (MTC), Lackawanna Blues with Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Mark Taper Forum), Fun Home (Baltimore Center Stage), Steel Magnolias, Hair, Dreamgirls (DTC), Oklahoma! (Houston Ballet at TUTS) and Cinderella Ballet (Eglevsky Ballet Company). Other credits include Danai Gurira’s Familiar (Woolly Mammoth, Guthrie, Seattle Rep), Cabin in the Sky (Encores!), Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky (Pasadena Playhouse), John Grisham’s A Time to Kill, dir. Ethan McSweeny (Arena), Crowns, stop.reset, Trinity River Trilogy by Regina Taylor (Goodman, STC, DTC/Arena), The Trip to Bountiful, Walter Mosley’s The Fall of Heaven, dir. Marion McClinton (Cincinnati Playhouse), The Brother/Sister Plays by Tarell McCraney, dirs. Tina Landau and Robert O’Hara (The Public/McCarter), Having Our Say by Emily Mann (McCarter) and Resurrection by Daniel Beaty (Arena). She has designed every play in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle except Fences. Film/TV credits include: Gregory Hines Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Brother from Another Planet by director John Sayles.

DRISCOLL OTTO (Lighting Designer) Previously designed Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine and Seven Guitars at Two River. This summer, Driscoll designed the lighting for Turandot at a quarry in Austria for Oper im Steinbruch.

Recently he designed Lighting and Projections for Houston Grand Opera’s Marian’s Song, lighting for The Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Purists directed

by Billy Porter, projection design for Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s The Flying Dutchman, lighting and projections for Iolanta at Chicago Opera Theatre. Mr. Otto’s design work is seen frequently in NYC, regional theatre, and opera. Other credits include The Huntington Theatre Company, Utah Opera, The Old Globe, Opera Omaha, Opera Philadelphia, Dallas Theater Center, Drury Lane Theatre, The Dallas Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Trinity Repertory Company, Hangar Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, Lyric Opera Kansas City, and productions of Legally Blonde and Rock of Ages for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Highlights to his resume include projection design for Santa Fe Opera’s production of The Golden Cockerel and The Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Donna Del Lago. Upcoming projects include The Life reimagined and directed by Billy Porter for New York City Center’s Encores!, Paul Moravec, and Mark Campbell’s new oratorio Sanctuary Road. He received his MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His work can be seen at www.DriscollOtto.com KAY RICHARDSON (Sound Designer) is a two-time Suzi Bass nominated Sound Designer and Audio Engineer. Radio Golf marks Kay’s return to the Two River family. Regional Theater designs include: The Hound of the Baskervilles at Alpine Theatre Project in Whitefish, MT; King Hedley II at Two River; Eclipsed at Synchronicity Theatre, Thurgood at Theatrical Outfit; Between Riverside and Crazy, Smart People, Fetch Clay Make Man and Gut Bucket Blues at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta, GA. Additional design work includes: A Man of No Importance, Spring Awakening, The Colored Museum, A Song for Coretta, and Seven Guitars. Kay has toured in all 50 of the United States and in over 45 countries mixing live sound for musicals and concerts. Currently, she is the Sound Supervisor at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts in Princeton, NJ. ERIN HICKS (Wigs Designer) grew up in Harlem, NY. She began styling hair as an assistant on The Winter’s Tale at the New York Shakespeare Festival, starring Alfre Woodard, Mandy Patinkin, and Diane Venora. Over the last 20 years she has worked on various Broadway, film and TV shows.

This is Erin’s fifth show at Two River, following Guadalupe in the Guest Room and August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and King Hedley II. 21

CONNECT WITH US STAY CURRENT WITH TWO RIVER! See show trailers, costumes renderings and set sketches, photos, posts from the rehearsal room, and much more!

The conversation is constant on Two River’s social media sites.

22

HEIDI GRIFFITHS (Casting) has worked for more than 25 years at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in NYC, where she has cast over 200 productions Off-Broadway and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, including Shakespeare, new plays, and musicals. On Broadway: The Girl From The North Country; The Inheritance; The Iceman Cometh; Sweat; Shuffle Along; The Crucible, Eclipsed; A Delicate Balance; A Raisin in the Sun; Lucky Guy; Chinglish; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; The Merchant of Venice; Hair; Passing Strange; Caroline, or Change; Take Me Out (Tony Award, Best Play 2003); Topdog/Underdog (Pulitzer Prize, 2002); The Wild Party; Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk; On the Town; and The Tempest. She also cast the films The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, MURDER and murder, Saving Face and Ladybird. Radio Golf is her 12th collaboration with Two River Theater.

KATE MURRAY (Casting) Two River Theater: Theo, King Hedley II, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Women of Padilla, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Seven Guitars, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, and The School for Wives. Broadway (as Casting Associate): The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, A Delicate Balance, A Raisin in the Sun, Lucky Guy (Casting Assistant). Additional casting credits include work with Arena Stage, Center Theater Group, The Cherry Lane, Bedlam, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, LAByrinth, New Georges, TheaterWorks Hartford, and The Studio Theatre. Kate is a Casting Director at The Public Theater.

MEGAN SMITH (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be reunited with the Radio Golf Company and Two River Theater staff. Previously, Ms. Smith stage managed The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Dancing at Lughnasa at Two River Theater. In 2019, Ms. Smith helped David Greenspan remount TRT’s production of The Bridge of San Luis Rey at Miami New Drama.

Select NY credits include: Off-Broadway: Usual Girls, Ordinary Days (Roundabout Theatre Company), Fetch Clay, Make Man and Red Dog Howls (New York Theatre Workshop), The Scottsboro Boys (The Vineyard Theatre), Book of Days (Signature Theatre). Regional credits include: Miami New Drama, Westport Country Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, New York Stage and Film, Bard SummerScape, and The Guthrie Theater.

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23

AUGUST WILSON’S CHANGING HILL

NOTES FROM THE DRAMATURG

By Former Literary Manager, Taylor Barfield

Nine of August Wilson’s ten American Century Cycle plays take place in his native Hill District. Only Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is set outside the confines of this 1.4 square mile Pittsburgh neighborhood. Like many writers, Wilson wrote what he knew. He was born and raised in the Hill. It’s where he bought his first typewriter and began writing poetry. It’s where he sat on stoops and in barbershops, listening to the stories and vocal cadences of the people around him. He once said in an interview, “when I left my mother’s house, I went out into the world, into that community, to learn what it meant to be a man, to learn whatever it is that the community had to teach me. And it was there I met lifelong friends who taught me and raised me.”

His Cycle allowed Wilson to capture the voices of the community that raised him while also indirectly exploring the evolution of the Hill over the course of the 20th century. In writing one play for each decade, Wilson was able to exhibit the extensive changes that occurred in Pittsburgh as a result of the Great Migration, the fight for equal rights, the economic decline of the neighborhood, and the gentrification projects that are at the heart of Radio Golf.

Century Cycle in Chronological Order 1904: Gem of the Ocean 1911: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 1927: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 1936: The Piano Lesson 1948: Seven Guitars 1957: Fences 1969: Two Trains Running 1977: Jitney 1985: King Hedley II 1997: Radio Golf

Century Cycle by World Premiere Year 1982: Jitney 1984: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 1985: Fences 1986: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 1987: The Piano Lesson 1990: Two Trains Running 1995: Seven Guitars 1999: King Hedley II 2003: Gem of the Ocean 2005: Radio Golf

Although Wilson wrote specifically about Pittsburgh, his stories are emblematic of changes that happened across the country during the 20th century in places like Detroit, San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis and Chicago.

Like many of these cities, Wilson’s Pittsburgh was greatly affected by The Great Migration. During the century’s first four decades, black people fled north looking to escape the segregation, disenfranchisement, and violence prevalent in the south. Many also sought opportunities in these bustling industry towns.

Hill District in the early 20th century 24

August Wilson

Wilson’s plays that focus on these decades—Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and The Piano Lesson—all feature characters adjusting to the city after beginning their lives in the predominantly rural, Reconstruction south.

According to census data, Pittsburgh’s black population grew 93% (from 28,472 to 54,943) between 1910 and 1930. The city saw the population increase another 83% (from 54,943 to 100,692) between 1930 and 1970. Discriminatory housing practices led to two-thirds of Pittsburgh’s growing black community living in one of three areas—Homewood Brushton, East Liberty, or the Hill District. That’s about 3 square miles for over 50,000 people in 1930. To put that into perspective, that’s about the same amount of land as Red Bank and Keyport, which only have a combined 19,000 residents.

The stark population increase in these three neighborhoods led to mass conversion of single-family homes into multi-family dwellings. Furthermore, since black tenants had a difficult time finding homes elsewhere, landlords in these areas had little to no pressure to renovate or perform basic maintenance on these homes. As the social scientist, Joe T. Darden wrote about Pittsburgh in his 1973 book, Afro-Americans in Pittsburgh: The Residential Segregation of a People, “lower-quality housing for blacks than for whites has become a rule, and blacks have been forced to pay higher rents than whites for housing of the same quality or equal rents for lower quality housing.”

Herron Avenue ca. 1941

Despite these living conditions, Homewood Brushton, East Liberty, and the Hill District teemed with life in the early half of the century. Wilson notes in an interview, “at one time it was a very thriving community, albeit a depressed community. But still there were shops all along the avenue.” The Hill, in particular, developed a vibrant entertainment district that turned the area into a cultural hub for music, especially jazz and blues. Black entrepreneurs established a number of nightspots including nightclubs, bars, and gambling dens.

This concentration of entertainment spots along Wylie Avenue, Fullerton Street, and Centre Avenue provided ready venues for both famous national acts and upstart local artists to perform.

The Crawford Grill, a jazz club in the 1940s. (photo: Charles “Teenie” Harris)

continued on page 27 25

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(continued from page 25) The relative prosperity of the early 20th century did not last, however. Following World War II, the federal government committed to upgrading housing across the nation, and a large swath of the Hill District was targeted for urban renewal projects. In an article from 1943, George E. Evans, a member of the City Council wrote,

Urban Renewal Projects in the mid-20th century

“The Hill District of Pittsburgh is probably one of the most outstanding examples in Pittsburgh of neighborhood deterioration...There are 7,000 separate property owners; more than 10,000 dwelling units and in all more than 10,000 buildings. Approximately 90 percent of the buildings in the area are sub-standard and have long outlived their usefulness, and so there would be no social loss if they were all destroyed.”

Led by Evans and other politicians, The Pittsburgh Renewal Council was formed in 1950 to facilitate the demolition of large chunks of the city to make room for parks, offices, and other buildings. The Council purchased buildings in the Hill District and other areas, forcing residents to move elsewhere, oftentimes overcrowding already overcrowded black neighborhoods. Instead of immediately tearing down these old buildings, however, the city left many to rot for years, sometimes decades. Most of the public projects that the city promised never materialized and the ones that did caused further harm to the community. For example, the city began construction on the Civic Arena in the summer of 1956 by demolishing around thirteen thousand structures.

Fifteen hundred families (more than eight thousand residents) were displaced.

The redevelopment severed the Hill District from surrounding neighborhoods, devastating the Hill’s local businesses. And although the construction of the Civic Arena created jobs for residents in the short term, once the project was finished, those jobs also disappeared. The once lively Hill District would soon become the home of vacant buildings and deteriorating futures.

Civic Arena Under Construction ca. 1960

The Pittsburgh Renewal Council looms over Wilson’s plays focused on the later half of the century such as Two Trains Running, Jitney, and King Hedley II. In those plays, audiences witness characters full of life, love, and wisdom, experiencing their businesses, livelihoods, and community spaces assailed in the name of urban renewal. When George Evans wrote that “there would be no social loss” if these spaces were destroyed, he wantonly dismissed the rich life that August Wilson captures in his plays. These streets were once home to neighborhood kids playing the Dozens on the block, beauty parlors smelling of freshly pressed hair, soul food restaurants that would make folks weep, jazz clubs blaring bebop and big band till four in the morning. From the 60s to the 90s, Pittsburgh lost the gambling joints, the numbers runners, the barbershops, Boys Playing Stickball in 1951 (photo: Samuel Howze) the gossip, the shit-talkers, the hop-on-a-crate philosophers, the militants, the pacifists, the free lunch programs, the shamans. It lost the corner stores where owners would give you a loaf of bread on Wednesday even if you didn’t have the money till Friday. It lost the community spaces where a young August Wilson listened to the old folks telling stories and an adult August Wilson watched disappear while he was writing his Cycle in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

Phylicia Rashad as Aunt Ester in Wilson's Gem of the Ocean.

At the center of Radio Golf is the question of what to do with the wreckage of the once thriving Hill District. In 1997, Harmond Wilks and Roosevelt Hicks are partners in a redevelopment project that would tear down a sizable section of the Hill to make way for high-rise condominiums and retail giants such as Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, and Starbucks. Right in the middle of Harmond and Roosevelt’s development site, however, is 1839 Wylie Avenue, a house that was once inhabited by Aunt Ester. In Wilson’s Century Cycle, Aunt Ester served as the spiritual guide to Hill District residents until she died during the events of King Hedley II in 1985 at the age of 366. Aunt Ester was born in 1619, or when the first Africans were brought to this country during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. With the memory of Africa, the middle passage, and black experience in the United States, Aunt Ester appears in Two Trains Running and Gem of the Ocean to guide characters to a better understanding of themselves and what they have to do to move forward in their lives.

Like other spaces in the Hill District that once contained incredible life during the 20th century, Aunt Ester’s house stands on the precipice of destruction in service of a gentrification project that will exclude many of Pittsburgh’s black community. While Harmond and Roosevelt see the demolition of 1839 Wylie Avenue and other remnants of the Hill as a small price to pay for progress, other characters emerge to reveal the real spiritual costs of leveling a community. n 27

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LEADERSHIP BIOS John Dias assumed his position as Artistic Director of Two River Theater in 2010 after working as a producer and dramaturg in New York for 20 years. In partnership with Managing Director Michael Hurst he has brought new acclaim and vitality to the 26-year old theater, which recently opened a three-story Center for New Work, Education and Design. Dias launched Two River’s first literary department and commissioning program; during his tenure Two River has produced 14 world premieres (including Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George, which enjoyed an Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway run, and Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, the theater’s first Broadway production) and developed numerous other plays and musicals.

He has spearheaded new initiatives for the theater including the Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) summer festival of plays and music by Latinx artists; an annual musical theater cabaret in partnership with New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program; and the popular education program A Little Shakespeare, which introduces the works of Shakespeare to hundreds of young people each year. Under his leadership, Two River serves thousands of students and community members each season through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools, and throughout Monmouth County. He is the co-author and was the director of Two River’s musical The Ballad of Little Jo, which he wrote with composer Mike Reid and lyricist Sarah Schlesinger. Throughout his career, John has been a leading advocate for bold new American plays and stimulating productions of the classics, including the Broadway productions of Lisa Kron’s Well and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. For 12 seasons, he worked in a variety of capacities at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, and he co-founded Affinity Company Theater and The Playwrights Realm. He has been a Tony Award nominator, a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous other organizations, and he has taught at New York University and Yale University. John currently teaches in the graduate school at Columbia University. He received his BA from George Washington University and his MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Michael Hurst has been the Managing Director of Two River Theater since 2011. Under his joint leadership with Artistic Director John Dias, Two River has experienced ambitious growth and enjoyed new recognition in the national theater community, and has opened a three-story Center for New Work, Education and Design in 2019. Two River has embarked on two Strategic Plans; produced 14 world premieres (including Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George, which enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway, and Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, the theater’s first Broadway production); developed numerous other new plays and musicals; and launched the Inside Two River audience-engagement program, which reaches more than 5,000 patrons annually.

Prior experience includes 16 years at The Public Theater, including four years as General Manager and six as Managing Director. Michael was responsible for all financial aspects of the productions at The Public Theater and Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. During his tenure at The Public, he oversaw the Broadway transfers of many productions, including Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Take Me Out, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play; and Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change. Michael was also part of all strategic planning including the opening of Joe’s Pub, now considered one of the country’s best small venues for music and performance. Prior to coming to Two River, Michael was Chief Operating Officer of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which presents the New York Film Festival. At the Film Society, he oversaw the building of a new three-theater, $40-million facility that opened in June 2011. Michael served as Vice President for The Off-Broadway League and was a member of The Broadway League for 14 years. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and currently serves on the Board of Trustees as Vice Chairman for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and on the Advisory Board for the Indie Street Film Festival.

Robert M. Rechnitz founded Two River Theater in 1994 and served as the theater’s Executive Producer until his death in 2019. In 2015/16, Two River premiered his play (written with Kenneth Stunkel), Lives of Reason. An educator, writer, and director, he was one of New Jersey’s most esteemed theater leaders. He earned his PhD from the University of Colorado and was a Professor of American Literature at Monmouth University for 35 years, contributing scholarly articles and short stories to various academic journals. As Two River’s Executive Producer, he oversaw the theater’s move from Monmouth University in West Long Branch to the Algonquin Arts in Manasquan. While the company was in residence in Manasquan, he planned for and oversaw the building of Two River’s state-of-the-art, two-theater complex in Red Bank as its permanent home.

He directed the opening production in the new building, the classic American comedy You Can’t Take It with You, in 2005. Among the other notable productions he has directed at Two River are Curse of the Starving Class (for which he received a nomination for Best Director of a Comedy from The Star-Ledger), True West, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, Thieves’ Carnival, Uncle Vanya, American Buffalo, Barefoot in the Park and The Belle of Amherst. Bob was an active member of a number of organizations benefiting our Monmouth County, including serving as a Board member for several local non-profits. He was the recipient of numerous awards, honors, commendations, and accolades.

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PRODUCTION SPOTLIGHT

Karen Perry

AN INTERVIEW WITH

KAREN PERRY Costume designer Karen Perry has a career stretching back over 40 years. Since 2012, she has designed twelve shows at Two River Theater. Radio Golf is lucky number 13. She spoke with former Artistic Assistant Kamilah Bush about her career, her relationship with August Wilson and his work, and this production of Radio Golf.

KAMILAH BUSH: You’ve been so blessed to be designing for so long. What keeps you doing this every day?

KAREN PERRY: Well I like what I do. You have to like it because if you don’t, you need to be doing something else.

Some jobs are harder than others. Some actors are harder than others. Some directors are harder than others. Some plays are harder than others, but I’m not afraid of a challenge. There are not a lot of plays that I want to do repeat performances of.

Once I’ve done them and had the experience of being in what I consider an optimum production where the integrity, quality, and understanding [of the play] are delivered crystal clear to an audience, then I’m usually done. This is my third or fourth Radio Golf. So, I will not do Radio Golf ever again. I said yes because John [Dias] and Stephanie [Coen] asked me and I knew it was Brandon [Dirden] and I do not like to say no to any of those three, if I can.

K.B.: Radio Golf is August’s [Wilson] last play—both chronologically in the American Century Cycle and it is the last play he wrote in his lifetime. It’s the culmination of his life’s work. You’ve designed 8 of his 10 plays—

Mann and Carey Perloff worked it out so that it could go from Broadway to the regional theater world quickly. August asked Ruben [Santiago-Hudson] to direct it. It was my introduction to seeing and designing Gem of the Ocean. August and Ruben spoke every day when we were at The McCarter rehearsing.

I remember the day that he died. We just stopped. We just stopped everything. Rehearsal was over.

Radio Golf was still in process. I saw it and thought “this is an odd button.” After Gem, I felt he didn’t have to write nothing else. He could have stopped there. For me, that is his perfect play. It took me designing Radio Golf twice before I really understood. Also, having my birth home, Harlem, moving through a huge gentrification, before my very eyes was heartbreaking and astounding. While I was designing these other two Radio Golfs, I realized what it really felt like living through it. We’re still having that happen. For anybody who feels that their history is not important and that the future is all that there is, I believe that they are doomed to repeat the wrongs of the past by not looking back and observing the lessons. That’s what Radio Golf is for me. Oh Kam, you ask me questions and I go through history.

K.B.: But isn’t that what August wants? He was asking us in his August brilliance to stop and look back. I think that’s the gift that he left us was, “You need to stop and look back at the things…”

K.P.: “Look what the New World has wrought.” Like Lorraine Hansberry has Walter say “It’s always been about money, Mama.” ” That part of Raisin in the Sun always resonates in my head when I’m watching Radio Golf. It’s like there’s Lorraine.

There she is.

K.P.: I’ve designed 9. I’ve designed every August show except Fences and I’m kind of okay with that. If I don’t design all 10, I’ll be alright. I’m at that point in my life where I’ve got to like what I’m doing. I’ve got to like who I’m doing it with. I’ve got to care about all of it, or I’m just going to say no. I can stay home.

I really, really like my home a lot.

K.B.: Do you think that there’s something special about Radio Golf, knowing that it’s the last one?

K.P.: It’s hard for a lot of people. I remember when August was trying to finish it and he got really, really sick to the point where he was denying treatment to finish [the play]. Gem of the Ocean was on Broadway and it closed early. Emily 30

The Company of Love In Hate Nation with costumes by Karen Perry.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Radio Golf costume sketches

K.B.: I think that in this play we see a different kind of character. We see men and women of means, wealthier people, when so many of his other characters were working class folk.

K.P.: They was “The Folk” K.B.: Does that change the way you design? What does that do to your design when we’re still in August’s world—we’re still at Aunt Ester’s house, we’re still on The Hill— but we’ve got these other folk that we have not met yet?

K.P.: They are different. They are the children and the grandchildren of the other “Folk” that we met. They are the dream that they wanted for them. That’s who they are.

That’s the dilemma. They literally don’t know from whom they came and how they got to be the kid that got to wear a Brooks Brothers suit, who has a wife that’s probably one of the 100 Black Women of the Blah, Blah, Blah. They kind of know it—they’ve heard the stories of their grandparents at Thanksgiving—but they didn’t know. And then you get those “Folk” saying, “Hey wake up. Cousin! Cousin! We are still related. We don’t play much golf. We don’t play much tennis.”

It’s very interesting when all of these characters meet in a scene. It’s like, “I went to school with you” and “I know you because I used to be you.”

K.B.: We’ve been talking a lot about history and this play is set in what I like to call “recent history.” Is that a different kind of challenge when designing a show that’s not present day but recent enough history that people who are working on it or are coming to see it can look back and see something they know to be true?

K.P.: The tricky thing about recent history, which I also encountered doing Love in Hate Nation when we moved to the 80s, is it becomes everybody’s mind’s eye or memory of where they were then. If you were a little kid, you’re trying to remember what you were wearing when you were a little kid, or what your mom and dad wore. There are these images of what things looked like that sometimes link up and sometimes don’t, which is why I have to do homework and dramaturgical work so that we can see what people actually looked like in the 90s. And the 90s was a period where kind of everything went. Some of the leftovers of the 80s bled over into the 90s for a long time. Younger people were wearing the Cross Colours and the FUBU and there was still the big shoulders. Then the silhouette got a little bit narrower and more conservative. You can see it if you watched The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. You could see the difference between what Hillary and Aunt Viv were wearing and what Fresh and Jazzy and the girls they were dating were wearing. The same with Phylicia [Rashad] in The Cosby Show. All four of her daughters had different styles. They were four completely different styles. Sandra did not look like Denise, who did not look like Vanessa, who did not look like little Rudy, or their friends, or Claire. If you were watching Friends, then you got the Rachel haircut. If you were watching Seinfeld, you got that whole thing. It’s that kind of a challenge. Everything kind of went so you just have to figure out who this person is. What is his background? What does he symbolize? I’m just excited to see what Brandon [Dirden] and this cast, what their energy brings to the play. They’re so smart. I’ve enjoyed meeting with each of them individually and talking to each one of them about their lives and their places in what I call the “New World Order,” 2020. n 31

TWO RIVER THEATER IS A HOME FOR PLAYWRIGHTS The Company of August Wilson's Jitney, 2012. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George

Radio Golf comes tenth in the chronology of great American dramas August Wilson wrote that comprise his American Century Cycle, one play for each decade of the Twentieth Century. And it’s the sixth production of a Wilson play here at Two River, one of the few theaters in America closing in on completing the full cycle of Wilson masterpieces on its stages.

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To bring a playwright home like this, over and over again, to light the candle for them in the window of a theater and let them know that they’re welcome, is an act of the deepest respect for both the writer and the audience they’re reaching out to.

Making space for that peculiar conversation between writer and theatergoer to happen across the footlights, not just one-and-done but slowly over time, is to honor the unique collaboration that playwright and audience create together when all the moving parts of theatrical production—and the stars—align.

For audiences, staying in conversation with one playwright over time allows dramatic work to weave its way into our inner lives. Those of us who love plays know that the same play may find us at different points

in our lives and mean very different things to us. We might be big Thornton Wilder fans in our youth, reject him as trite in young adulthood, only to come back to him with new eyes in middle age. Shakespeare, Brecht, August Wilson—they all have similarly long catalogues that reward our sustained attention.

And for us living playwrights, knowing that a theater wants to be a home to us, wants to bring the same audiences back into conversation with our work again and again, can be a springboard for us to take risks, dig deep, and give ourselves the room to try big things, in the seasoned hope that our words might land on eager ears. Among the playwrights who call this theater home is Tony Meneses, whose upcoming The Hombres will mark his third world premiere here at Two River. Notably, I think, both Tony and I have found ourselves writing not just for the audience here in Monmouth County but about it, trying to actively close the distance between ourselves and the people we’re in deep conversation with here in Red Bank.

Nowadays, this kind of sustained relationship between writer and audience is vanishingly rare. The American regional theater system as it currently stands functions largely on a New York-centric trickle-down model, whereby new plays premiere off-Broadway and then, once they’ve been vetted by the New York critics, get sent out to the regions to try to spark conversation with different audiences.

Two River is holding space for the writers it loves and cultivating them here, for its own devoted audiences.

Whether that means moving Matt Barbot’s El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom from the Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) festival to the Marion, or

Gabriel Diego Hernández and Bradley Tejeda in El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom by Matt Barbot.

Photo by Richard Termine.

The Company of The Women of Padilla by Tony Meneses. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

re-commissioning playwrights who have already had one world premiere here, this theater wants its playwrights to grow here and thrive here. (And, incidentally, it’s sending new plays and musicals from the region to New York City, in the case of Be More Chill and my own play Hurricane Diane, and no doubt many more shows in the future.)

I’ve been a playwright-in-residence here at Two River since 2016, but my relationship with the theater began in 2011, with the premiere of my play Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander England. Knowing that this theater and these audiences are among the most courageous, rigorous, curious, and committed in the country, and that the doors are open for me and my next leap of theatrical faith, has emboldened and strengthened me, and rekindled my hope about what theater can do. n

Mia Barron in Hurricane Diane by Madeleine George.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Will Roland and George Salazar in Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

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T. THOMAS FORTUNE FOUNDATION AND CULTURAL CENTER

Gilda Rogers (center) with Foundation and Community members at the Cultural Center's ribbon cutting.

As the battle between historical preservation and community development plays out on Two River Theater’s Rechnitz Theater stage in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, that battle has seen triumphant real-life resolution in the preservation of the home of T. Thomas Fortune – now the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center – located at 94 Drs. James Parker Blvd.

T. Thomas Fortune was born into slavery in Florida, in October 1856. The most influential African-American journalist of the late 19th and early 20th century, he was a deeply connected intellectual and businessman, and an essential cultivating force in what would become the Civil Rights Movement. Fortune moved to his Red Bank home—which he dubbed Maple Hall—in 1901. The house was designated in 1976 as a National Historic Landmark, one of only two National Historic Landmarks (NHL) of African-American heritage in the state.

Despite its clear historical significance, after decades of private ownership and a slow slide into disrepair, the home was slated for demolition. Struck by the importance of Fortune’s legacy, Brookdale Community College professor, journalist, activist, and Two River Theater community relations manager, Gilda Rogers, began to rally interest in Fortune and his home in 2008. Along with a group of concerned citizens, she formed the T. Thomas Fortune Project Committee in 2012, and through their efforts and the

essential aid of building developer, Roger Mumford, the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation was established in 2017 and the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center opened to the public in 2019.

“His home represents the energy of AfricanAmerican culture during that time,” Rogers says. “This was a community of accomplished black professionals who lived in Red Bank: inventors, activists, businesspeople, newspaper owners and journalists. They held recitals, owned homes, and invested in their community. They were the intelligentsia, who had risen above their circumstances, many of them having been born into slavery.”

“The home represents the lineage of AfricanAmerican history: a race of people who were striving to rise above the shackles of oppression, and had really set the tone for what that meant.”

Rogers sees the home as a physical and spiritual marker of the families that used to make up that community, a way to speak to the history of that African-American culture in Red Bank so that it will not be forgotten.

“That’s what historical preservation should be about: making connections, understanding the value of them,” Rogers says. “Things change. Nothing stays the same. But in that change, how do you still access and retain what was important and valuable to that community?”

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

“The Cultural Center wants to be a touchstone. It has a foundation in AfricanAmerican culture, but it wants to celebrate all cultures that make up Red Bank, and recognize their importance.”

Programming for the Cultural Center salutes Red Bank’s African-American history while also celebrating all that is current in Red Bank’s cultural landscape. Exhibits and lectures have included a celebration of Count Basie, Juneteenth celebrations, Tiny Porch concert series, book clubs and book signings, explorations of Monmouth County’s interconnected African-American and Native American histories, and more. In 2021 the Cultural Center partnered with Two River’s Costume Shop for The Fabric of Our Lives: A Cultural Textile Experience, a historic presentation of African traditional cloth and dying techniques. The exhibit also was a celebration of the quilting tradition that runs deep in African American culture, featuring quilts by Storytellers In Cloth and a video of fabric artist, Bisa Butler. In early 2022, you can see the character of T. Thomas Fortune portrayed in the upcoming HBO series The Gilded Age, with Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune.

For more information about the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation and Cultural Center, programming and ways to get involved visit www.tthomasfortuneculturalcenter.org.

T. Thomas Fortune House

For more information about the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation and Cultural Center, programming and ways to get involved visit tthomasfortuneculturalcenter.org.

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INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

THE VISIONARY CIRCLE $25,000+

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Bank of America Private Bank operates through Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. © 2019 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. | ARYR43TP

SHUTTERED VENUES OPERATORS GRANT

INNOVATOR CIRCLE $10,000-$24,999 The Philip & Tammy Murphy Foundation

BENEFACTOR $5,000 - $9,999 THE HILARIA AND ALEC BALDWIN FOUNDATION

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation

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INDIVIDUAL

DONORS THANK YOU to the following generous individuals who made contributions to our Annual Fund, Events, and Capital Campaigns.

DIRECTOR ($10,000+)

Anonymous (2) Marilyn & Bob Broege Elizabeth Columbo Cynthia Bajorek & Robert E. Evanson Samuel G. Huber & Catherine Weiss Phyllis Kinsler The Kroon Foundation Joanna & Brian Leddin Helaine & Sidney Lerner Anne Luzzatto Mary Beth & Gerald Radke Dr. Joan Rechnitz Emily J. Rechnitz Anne Marie Schultz The Leslie Miller & Richard Worley Foundation

PRODUCER ($5,000-$9,999)

The Carton Family Carolyn Cushman DeSena John Dias Guttenplan Family Foundation Barbara & Jim Hrebek The Barbara Levy and Joseph Hollander Fund Susan & James Hurst Joe Iconis Nancy Karpf Cathy Larson The Honorable Edward J. McKenna Cathy & Tom Sivo Dr. Susan Whyman

DESIGNER ($2,500-$4,999)

Heather Burke & Colin Day Juliet Cozzi & Ronald Gumbaz Margean V. Gladysz Thomas K. Hessman Christina Hewitt Eileen & Timothy Hogan Maureen & James Hurst* Melissa & Paul Hurst Beth & Vincent Mazza* Stephen & Shanda McManus Lauren Nicosia The Gloria Nilson Fund Sean O’Connell 38

Allyn & Patrick Quagliano Patricia & Vernon Ralph William Bruce Sherrill & Robert Cordrey Chryssa Yaccarino Charitable Trust, in loving memory of Robert Rechnitz

ACTOR ($1,000-$2,499)

Anonymous (2) Barbara & Andy Andres Marilyn Baldi Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Barrett Lois P. Broder Jane Bergere Peter Bruguiere Nancy & Edward Butler John Cleary Mary Kay Crockett Lynn & Jan Dash Mr. and Mrs. Robert Henry Ben Huber Michael Hurst Jean Jaslovsky & Vincent Gifford Virginia Kamin Robin & John Klein Roberta Krantz Wendy & Gerald Marks Albert Shemmy Mishaan & Jennifer Colyer Monmouth Civic Chorus Brian & Aida Murphy Michele Naples & Ken Glossbrenner Shirley & Robert C. Neff Ivan Polonsky & Liz Tortorella Sandy Riddle Daryl Roth Monica & John Ryan Geoffrey Sadwith June & Mort Seligman William Shlala Maureen Silliman & William Parry Caryl Sills Rita & Arthur Steinman Barry V. Qualls KerryAnne Wolfe Joan Zakanych

CHORUS ($500-$999)

Anonymous (4) Dylan Barlett Brookdale Community College

Annette Bukovinsky Amanda Butterbaugh Jill & John Caddell Thomas Carroll Isabella & John Chiappinelli Liz DeBeer & Ted Wardell Willie Dirden The Electron Stash Fund Ellis-Pringle Family Fund Dr. Karen Faherty Dr. Harold Farin Carlo Fiorletta Therese Fitzgerald Judy & Richard Fuller David Greenspan Gale & Dr. Robert B. Grossman Darlene Grzegorski Lanae & Todd Herman Coralie & John Hoffman Charles Hood & Marianne Zychal Charitable Fund Cindi Howard Giovanna Kanu Christine Kleinatland & Mark Koehler Angela Kluwin & James Noll Theresa & Charles Mattina Paula & Larry Metz Connie Murray New Jersey Theatre Alliance Katherine & Coulter Richardson Louis Rodriguez Michael Rubin Sheila & Richard Sachs Margaret & Matt Shafai Deborah Shields & Robert Feldman Terry Stein Dr. & Mrs. Steve Swartz Joseph Vassallo The Gavin Warren & Samantha Lee Fund Cynthia Wilby Wilder Family Charitable Fund Marjorie & Zeke Zaccaro The Zager Family Fund

UNDERSTUDY ($250-$499)

Anonymous (2) Amy Antman Lucy & Irwyn Applebaum Dr. Ann Bagchi Barbara Benson Don & Ellen Byck

Edgar Byham Joseph Calabro Linda & Samuel Chororos Sandra & Alfred Conhagen Joan Cruz Elizabeth & John Devlin Alba DiBello Donald O’Donnell Rusty Eidman Hicks Daniel Ford Robert Gannon Craig Garcia Jeffrey Greczek Eve Hershkowitz Robert Kelley Jerry Kootman Lakehouse Music Academy Natali Lori G. Love Brian MacGeorge Alan Mallach Renee R. Maxwell Douglas McGuirk Daphne & Steve Mishkin Tanya Moore & Richard Stokes Shane Mullery Barbara Nevius Olivia Negrón Rosemarie & Dennis Owens Karen C. Pajak Karen Perry Elizabeth Riegelman Margaret Riker Bettie Rogers Erica Rosenblum Barbara Sager Carole Schoening David Schrader The Sickles Family Kathryne & Richard Singleton Deborah Shields & Robert Feldman Alex & Thomas Skove George Smuga Anita & Robert Stix Andrienne & Frederick Straus Elena Tomkovich Trinity Technologies Worldwide Technologies, LLC Penny & Lawrence Turtel Charitable Fund Ronald P. Verdicchio Allison Walker Marian Wattenbarger Barbara Zagha *Includes Matching Gift

MATCHING GIFTS

The following have provided matching gifts to Two River on behalf of their employees.

Apple Black Rock Matching Gift Program The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey

Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts Prudential Financial, Inc. Verisk Analytics

TRIBUTES AND MEMORIALS Stephanie Adams In memory of Jane Adams Anonymous In honor of Ma Rainey Esther Barcun In honor of Brandon Dirden Marie Bauso In honor of Velia and Philip Bauso Robin Blair In memory of Howard Aronson Candice Chirgotis In honor of John Dias Al and Sandra Conhagen In honor of Todd Herman’s Birthday Kathleen Donohue In honor of All Teachers Harold Farin In memory of Bonnie Farin Geoff Gaunt Celebrating Ned and Laraine Gaunt Lauren Golden In memory of James R. Golden Ben Huber In memory of Caroline Huber Alexander Ingham In memory of Nadine Lawson Ginny Kamin In memory of Madeline McWhinney Dale Ginny Kamin In memory of Enrique Marcatili Ginny Kamin In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. James Wilson’s daughter Fiona Giovanna Kanu In memory of Stephanie Kanu and Johneva Harper Mary Jo and Paul Kenny In memory of Caroline Huber Mary Jo and Paul Kenny In memory of Howard Aronson Terry Kowsaluk In honor of Lauren Golden Veronica A. Lake In honor of Maureen and Patricia’s lasting friendship Bruce and Sandra Lefkon In memory of Ed Borrone Eric Levin In memory of Mel Levin Judith Luger In honor of Max’s 20th Birthday Holly Lyttle In memory of Edith Stacy Ackerman

Catherine Mandel In honor of John Dias and Michael Cumpsty Mary Kim McGuirk In honor of Alma Malabanan-McGrath Paula and Larry Metz In memory of Edith Stacy Ackerman Marlene and George Milner In honor of Barbara Andres Shane Mullery In memory of Stuart Pistol Michael Murphy In honor of Felicia Grant The Philip and Tammy Murphy Family Foundation In memory of Caroline Huber Dr. Joan Rechnitz In honor of John Dias Dr. Joan Rechnitz In honor of Michael Hurst Dr. Joan Rechnitz In memory of Howard Aronson Dr. Joan Rechnitz In memory of Dr. Harold Chafkin Dr. Joan Rechnitz In memory of Caroline Huber Dr. Joan Rechnitz In memory of Sidney Lerner Sandy Riddle In memory of Matt Smith Georgiana Ryan In memory of John Ryan Mr. and Mrs. William Schanck In memory of Edith Stacy Ackerman Alex and Thomas Skove In honor of Todd Herman’s Birthday Tamar Small In honor of Jesse Greif Elizabeth and Joel Sobo In memory of Caroline Huber Lynn Spector In memory of Mrs. Edith Stacy Ackerman and Dr. Ackerman Rita and Arthur Steinman In memory of Samuel and Bernice Steinman Jacqueline and Barbara Sturdivant In memory of Rev. Gilbert A. Caldwell Suzanne Uber In memory of Patricia Sutter Therese Marie Wagner Photography In memory of Matt Smith Joyce Wingerter In memory of Caroline Huber Chryssa Yaccarino Charitable Trust In loving memory of Robert Rechnitz Joan Zakanych In memory of Caroline Huber Listing reflects gifts made between October 1, 2020-October 1, 2021

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STAFF

Two River Theater Staff in Studio A. Photo by Danny Sanchez

ARTISTIC Dennis Chambers Literary Manager Madeleine George Playwright in Residence Emma Y. Lai Artistic Assistant ADMINISTRATION Annabel Guevara Interim General Management Assistant Margaret Shafai Director of Finance Karen Pierce Staff Accountant AUDIENCE SERVICES, PR & MARKETING Courtney Schroeder Director of Marketing Jenna Castano Associate Director of Marketing Jessica Damrow Sherman Interim Associate Director of Marketing Hannah Walker Institutional Marketing Manager Heather Thompson Digital Marketing Manager Michele Klinsky Box Office Manager

Maria Del Mar Cortés Box Office Supervisor Lynn Kroll Box Officer/Access Coordinator Connor Belle Samantha Grady Samantha Truglio Auslin Williams Matt Yee Box Officers Angela White House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Sondra Weimar Food and Beverage Manager Deisy Aguilar Carmen Balentine Briana Butler Patricia Chapponi Bobby DiGenova Thomas Dougherty Doreen Fromage Emma Harken Catherine Hill Melissa Javorek John Knodel Frank Mendoza Janet Pepsin Daniel Pino Gabby Scerbo Bailie Stypa Francesca Trerotola Nicholas Trerotola Front of House Staff

DEVELOPMENT Denyse Reed, Director of Development Angela Kluwin Associate Director of Development Rachel Holder Institutional Giving Manager Katie Benson Special Events Manager Thomas Dougherty Events Assistant EDUCATION Kate Cordaro Director of Education Maria Paduano Interim Education Assistant Amanda Butterbaugh Dionna Pridgeon Elliot Roth Dr. Gretna Wilkinson Teaching Artists Rakesh Palisetty Adaptor/Director for A Little Shakespeare FACILITIES Julia Alvidrez Director of Facilities William Hinton

Wayne Van Sant Maintenance Supervisors Vinnie Gillick Lamar Hicks Building Maintenance PRODUCTION Lauren Kurinskas Director of Production Anderson Molina Production Management Assistant Miranda Williams Company Management Assistant Jacqueline Deniz Young Technical Director Colleen Dolan Scenic Charge Duane Noch Master Carpenter Christian Dilks Staff Carpenter Nicole McCauley Scene Shop Assistant Marlène Whitney Properties Supervisor Cole Trumble Properties Assistant Lesley Sorenson Costume Shop Supervisor Jill DiGiuseppe Draper

Maggie Barnett Wardrobe Supervisor Mya Figueroa Costume/Wardrobe Assistant Olga “Sue” Patino Lighting Supervisor Kayl Williams Lighting Assistant Dan Montano Sound Supervisor Paige Laboskey Sound Assistant Adrian Griffey Production Assistant SPECIAL SERVICES Suzanne Anan Graphic Design Gilda Rogers Community Relations Social Sidekick Press & Publicity T. Charles Erickson Production Photography Michael Boylan Director, Cinematographer Andrew Provence, Esq. Litwin & Provence, LLC Legal Counsel WithumSmith + Brown Auditors

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JOE ICONIS AND FAMILY BENEFIT CONCERT

On Saturday, October 2nd we hosted our first in-person fundraising event in two years with a concert performance from Joe Iconis and Family. The evening began with a cocktail party on the plaza for our sponsors and VIP ticket holders, followed by the concert in the Rechnitz Theater for nearly 200 guests, and ended with a beautiful sit-down dinner in the lobby, with food provided by Et Al Catering.

The proceeds from this event benefited Two River’s multiple programs to develop exciting new work that expands the canon of world theater through the development of new plays and musicals, artists residencies, retreats, readings, workshops and collaborations.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS! Life in Hate Nation Joan Rechnitz Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center Revolution Song Cathy and Tom Sivo Teenage Delinquent Marilyn and Robert Broege Elizabeth Columbo

Solitary Elizabeth and Robert L. Barrett, Jr. Jane Bergère Janice P. Haggerty Tom Hessman Samuel G. Huber and Catherine Weiss Robin and John Klein The Honorable Edward J. McKenna, Jr. Sean O’Connell Patricia and Vernon Ralph

Photos by LC Photography

Anne Marie Schultz June and Mort Seligman Susan E Whyman Underwriters Elizabeth Columbo Robert Evanson Nancy Karpf Mary Jane and Richard Kroon

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