2021 — 2022 SEASON
Douglas Aibel Artistic Director
Sarah Stern Artistic Director
Suzanne Appel Managing Director
Present
Lessons in Survival: 1971 Co-conceived by
Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Tyler Thomas, Reggie D. White Created with
The Commissary Based on Nikki Giovanni’s interview with James Baldwin for WNET’s television series SOUL!
with
Carl Clemons-Hopkins Scenic Design You-Shin Chen
and
Costume Design Mika Eubanks
Sound Design Lee Kinney
Lighting Design Amith Chandrashaker
Video and Projections Design Josiah Davis
Original Music Daniel Kluger Production Stage Manager Rachel A. Zucker
Crystal Dickinson
Casting Matthew Glasner, CSA Director of Production Adrian White
Press Representative Shane Marshall Brown and Nina M. Ward, The Press Room
Production Supervisor Dylan Marie Parent
General Management DR Theatrical Management
Directed by
Tyler Thomas Lessons in Survival: 1971 is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; as well as Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation. We thank Bobby & Vicki Freeman and Fiona & Eric Rudin of Vineyard Theatre’s Artistic Directors’ Circle for their leadership support of Lessons in Survival: 1971 Leadership support for Vineyard Theatre comes in part from the Howard and Katherine Aibel Foundation; the Howard Gilman Foundation; the John and Robyn Horn Foundation; the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation; the Miranda Family Fund; the Richenthal Foundation; the Ted Snowdon Foundation; the Tournesol Project; Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of the Tides Foundation; and the Shubert Foundation.
From the Vineyard Theatre Artistic Directors Dear friends, Welcome to The Vineyard, and to the world premiere of Lessons in Survival: 1971, conceived by Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Tyler Thomas, Reggie D. White, created with The Commissary, and directed by Tyler Thomas (the Vineyard’s Susan Stroman Award Director-in-Residence.) How this project came to be is a story best told by the artists who have created it. We’ll add to their words below only to say what an honor it is to work with them, to learn from and with them. The vision for this project was seeded in urgency and nurtured in collaboration. It has been an incredible journey that continues with you being here, listening, and carrying the conversation forward.
+ Sarah Stern and Douglas Aibel Artistic Directors
From the Conceivers Two years ago, faced with the unimaginable uncertainty of the COVID lockdown of March 2020, we did the only thing we knew how to do: we gathered. We had to do it digitally, but we knew that we couldn’t survive this moment alone. Spread out across the country, we opened up our cellphones and laptops, hoping to find comfort, sanity, or some combination of the two, in the faces of our friends and collaborators. We started small. We decided to meet weekly on Wednesdays. We began by reading plays. It felt good to remember what we used to do when we were allowed to gather in dark rooms, dress up in costumes, and imagine for a living. Then, in the immortal and atonal words of Stephen Sondheim, on May 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, “something just broke”. The murder of George Floyd, over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill, left us all feeling angry. Hopeless. Empty. Even though our group had grown, no one had the words to help us move through the seemingly impenetrable membrane of collective grief and powerlessness we were all thrust into. Another injustice in a line of one too many. Names we knew, like Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, and Sandra Bland, and names we didn’t yet know, like Crystal Mason. So we turned to the words of our elders and our ancestors.
Kyle Beltran initially brought the video of Nikki Giovanni interviewing James Baldwin to our Wednesday gathering and we were all left speechless. By its timeliness, by the ferocity of their discourse, but most importantly by their ability to have a difficult, rigorous conversation without sacrificing their intellect or their respect for one another. We knew, almost immediately, that there was also something inherently theatrical about the conversation we wanted to dive into. We hypothesized that the best way into this work was just to listen. To let these titans of thought literally speak through us. At its heart, acting is all about listening, so we felt equipped to do just that. We listened and repeated what we would hear as we heard it. We traveled back in time at the speed of thought. It sounds simple enough, but the first time we experimented with this technique, it felt more like a seance. Even with the technical hiccups of Zoom and the difficulty of trying to line up as many as five actors at a time playing the same clip across multiple devices with varying internet speeds (Tyler created a ‘countdown system’), we were able to summon the wisdom of the ages directly into a moment when we all needed to feel tethered to something bigger than ourselves and the moment we found ourselves in. Over that summer, we conjured the wisdom of Nikki and James, Dr. Angela, Eartha, Fred, Bobby, Dr. Maya, Bayard, Toni, Richard, and so many others. We laughed, we cried, we shouted into the chat window, we sat stunned. They allowed us to hold each other. They were with us all along, but somehow this brought them to us in a way we never could have imagined. Sarah Stern came to one of those early Wednesday gatherings and told us there was something here. Something that could resonate far beyond this group of unemployed, displaced, hurting artists. Something that could help. Something that could heal. And so Lessons In Survival was born. It was an incredible feat to create that digital series in the fall of 2020 and what an unimaginable joy to bring that original conversation to the stage in 2022 with the earthshattering talents of Crystal Dickinson and Carl Clemons-Hopkins. Though we’re not where we were in 1971 when this iconic conversation was taped, nor where we were in 2020 when this piece first revealed itself to us, we still find ourselves in need of the survival lessons Nikki and James left us with over 50 years ago:
Listen. To hear, not to respond. We need each other. To love is a tremendous responsibility. It’s the only one to take. There isn’t any other. Thank you so much for joining us. Marin, Peter, Reggie, Tyler, and The Commissary
Cast
(in alphabetical order)
James Baldwin......................................................... CARL CLEMONS-HOPKINS Nikki Giovanni ................................................................. CRYSTAL DICKINSON
Lessons in Survival: 1971 will be performed without an intermission. Herbal cigarettes, haze, and strobe effects will be used throughout the performance.
Who’s Who CARL CLEMONS-HOPKINS they/he (James Baldwin) Vineyard Theatre debut! OffBroadway: For The Last Time (world premiere). Theater credits include: Time is On Our Side (Simpatico Theatre- world premiere), The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Steppenwolf), Hamilton (Chicago, First Nat’l), Richard III (People’s Light), TopDog/Underdog (Philadelphia Fringe Festival), Passing Strange (11th Hour Theatre Co.) Macbeth (Arden Theatre) Dreamgirls, The Color Purple (Milwaukee Rep), Pericles (GA Shakespeare Co.) Film & Television credits include: Candyman, “The Chi,” “Chicago Med,” “Hacks” (Emmy Award nominee, Best Supporting Actor). www.carlclemonshopkins.com
CRYSTAL DICKINSON (Nikki Giovanni) is an Actor, Educator, and New Jersey Native. Her Broadway credits include the Tony Award-winning play, Clybourne Park, for which she received a Theater World Award, and the Tony nominated play, You Can’t Take It With You, alongside James Earl Jones and Rose Byrne. She has also performed Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, The Signature Theater, Theater for a New Audience, and most recently Cullud Wattah at The Public Theater. She has worked with Thomas Kail, Micheal Grief, Scott Ellis, Bryan Cranston, Wendell Pierce, Pam Mackinnon, Lila Neugebauer, Leigh Silverman, and Kenny Leon. Film and Television credits include: “I Origins,” “This Is Where I Leave You,” “The Good Wife,” “New Amsterdam,” a recurring roles on Showtime’s “The Chi” and ABC’s “For Life.” Crystal also has an illustrious career teaching acting and coaching at Juilliard, Stella Adler Studio, Spelman College, NYU, Princeton, Pace University, and both of her Alumni schools, University of Illinois and Seton Hall University. A proud MFA graduate of The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, she also studied at the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art and is an elite member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.
Who’s Who THE COMMISSARY is a grassroots, multi-generational theater collective whose primary work centers on new investigations of historical, found, and verbatim texts as a means of exploring radical listening and embracing difficult conversations on the path to collective liberation. In addition to the Lessons In Survival digital anthology series developed with and produced by Vineyard Theatre (A New York Times Top 10 Theatre Pick for 2020), The Commissary also presented (in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and New Neighborhood) the trial transcript of Crystal Mason’s hearing in hopes of amplifying her continued search for justice. The collective came into being in the summer of 2020 and meets regularly to explore material and new work. TYLER THOMAS (Director) is a director, choreographer, and current Susan Stroman Award recipient. She has developed and staged work with Vineyard Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights, Playwrights Center, Northern Stage, New Ohio Theatre, NYMF, The Flea, NYU Tisch, UCLA, Columbia University, and Lincoln Center Education. She is a 2050 Fellow with New York Theater Workshop, Foeller Fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival, member of the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab and has been a Visiting Artist at the Athens Conservatoire in Greece, and Guest Artist at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. Tyler is currently the Resident Director of The Commissary. YOU-SHIN CHEN she/her (Scenic Design) You-Shin Chen is a USA-based Taiwanese scenic designer for live performance and film. Her design for Eclipsed (Lewis Center for the Arts) is featured in the USA exhibition at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial. She is the recipient of the 2019 Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award at The Lilly Awards, as well as a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Scenic Design in 2020. Some of her favorite credits include Wolf Play (Soho Rep); Mlima’s Tale (St. Louis Rep); Troy Anthony’s The Revival: It Is Our Duty (The Shed, NYC); Walden (TheaterWorks Hartford); 7 Minutes (Waterwell); SKiNFoLK (the Bushwick Starr & National Black Theatre); UGLY & The KILL ONE Race & Wednesday (Raja Feather Kelly & the feath3r theory); Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (ArsNova). She is currently teaching at Muhlenberg College. Member of USA829. www. youshinchen.com MIKA EUBANKS she/her (Costume Design) currently residing in New York, but hailing from Maryland, received her MFA in Costume Design at Yale School of Drama where she has designed Death of Yazdgerd and Tent Revival. Other work includes Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., In the Red and Brown Water (Yale Cabaret); Feeding Beatrice (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Harry and the Thief (Strand Theater); Fires In The Mirror (Baltimore Center Stage/Long wharf Theatre); King Lear starring Andre De Shields (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival); and Seize The King (Classical Theater of Harlem). In awards she earned the Leo Lerman Graduate Fellowship in 2019, the Jada Pinkett Smith Applied Arts Award in 2015, and holds a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. In Spring 2019 she designed Twelfth Night at the Yale Repertory Theatre, for which she received the Connecticut Critic Circle Award for outstanding costume design. mikaeubanks.com AMITH CHANDRASHAKER he/him (Lighting Design) Theater: The Public, Second Stage, TFANA, Playwrights Horizons, Signature Theater, Williamstown, Ars Nova, Soho Rep, Berkeley Rep, The Atlantic, and many others. Opera: Houston Grand Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Colorado, The Atlanta Opera. Dance: Alexander Ekman, Liz Gerring, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Rennie Harris, Aalto Ballettt Theatre Essen, Staatstheater Nürnberg, The National Dance Company of Wales, and The Royal New Zealand Ballet. Recipient of the Drama Desk and Henry Hewes awards.
Who’s Who LEE KINNEY (Sound Design) is a sound and music artist working in theatre, film and events. Broadway: Is This A Room. Off-Broadway: Help (The Shed); Exception to the Rule (Roundabout); Prayer For The French Republic, Morning Sun (MTC); Selling Kabul (Playwrights Horizons); Is This A Room (Vineyard); “Daddy” A Melodrama (New Group/ Vineyard); Thom Pain (Signature); Sunday (Atlantic); Gnit (Theatre for a New Audience). Other projects include work with Google, Virgin Voyages, Swing Left, The Dance Cartel and The Ghostlight Project. Awarded Outer Critics Circle Honors for Outstanding Sound Design, nominated for Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk Award, and Henry Hewes Design Award. thanks to kris. @thisisleekinney JOSIAH DAVIS he/him (Video & Projections Design) is a multi-disciplinary artist: a director, choreographer, designer, and actor. His work intersects expressive movement, live music, emerging technology, and ritual to breathe new life to physical storytelling; asking, is it possible to create space for people to be in sync when we are pulled apart by invisible systems? He is a NYTW 2050 fellow, National Black Theatre Soul Directing Resident, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow, and Associate Artistic Director of On The Verge Theatre Festival in Santa Barbara. Currently: Omar Offendum’s Little Syria (BAM), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (TheatreWorksUSA), Mary Gets Hers (Playwrights Realm), Associate Director - Mr. Saturday Night (Brodway). BA: UCLA MFA: Brown University/Trinity. www.josiahdavis.net DANIEL KLUGER (Original Music) Broadway: Oklahoma!, (new arrangements & orchestrations), The Sound Inside, Seawall / A Life, revival of Marvin’s Room, world premiere of Significant Other. Off Broadway: premieres of Judgment Day, I Was Most Alive With You, Animal, The Village Bike, Man From Nebraska, Tribes, and Women or Nothing. Film Scores: A Chrismas Carol (2021), The Courtroom (2021), Duolo (2017), Health to the King (2020), Hello Again (2017, Orchestrations). Scores for Audio: Vapor Trail (2022), The Miranda Obsession (2022), The Guilty (2021). In 2021 Kluger launched the music label Archie & Fox Records. www.danielkluger.com MATTHEW GLASNER (Casting, CSA) Film/TV (Casting Director): Safe (Short) (Cannes 2021), Dying to Play (fka Braid) (TriBeCa 2019), Milkwater. Film/TV (Casting Associate): Armageddon Time (upcoming), White Noise (upcoming), The Staircase, The French Dispatch, Old, The Many Saints of Newark, Little Women. Many thanks to Doug, Sarah and The Vineyard for inviting me into their artistic home. Love to Mom, Rachel, Dad and countless friends/mentors for your never-ending support. RACHEL A. ZUCKER she/they (Production Stage Manager) Broadway: SIX, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, The Prom, True West, Pretty Woman, Farinelli and the King, Indecent. Select Off-Broadway: The Shed: HELP; The Public Theater: Tiny Beautiful Things, Twelfth Night, Plenty, Southern Comfort, Grounded; Shakespeare in the Park: Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Troilus and Cressida, Cymbeline; New York City Center: Working: A Musical, Roadshow; New York Theater Workshop: Lazarus; Signature Theatre Company: Curse of the Starving Class. Various Readings & Workshops in NYC. Regional: Studio Theatre (Washington, DC), Roundhouse Theatre (Bethesda, MD). MFA: Stage Management, Columbia University. Love to Cary, Mom & Dad, Hannah, Joan, Family & Friends. Thanks to Maria, Jason, Brian, Tyler, and the rest of the LIS/VT Team! #BlackLivesMatter JOAN WYATT (Assistant Stage Manager) A Canadian-born, New York-based stage manager and event professional, she works primarily in the development of new
Who’s Who musicals. Select theatrical credits include A Christmas Carol (Broadway), Holiday Inn (Broadway and Paper Mill Playhouse), Coal Country (The Public Theater), SEMBLANCE (New York Theatre Workshop), Afterglow (Off-Broadway), A Crossing (BSC), Side Show (WPPAC) and Sleep No More (Punchdrunk). Many thanks to Rachel and Maria. DYLAN MARIE PARENT she/her (Production Supervisor) is incredibly grateful to be part of the Vineyard for this production. As a stage manager and company manager, Dylan has worked with Houses on the Moon Theatre Company on De Novo, gUN COUNTRY, The Santa Closet, AMPLIFY Gala 2021 and 2022, and SuperHero. Dylan is also the line producer for the second season of Houses’ podcast. As part of the Hal Luftig Company, Dylan was part of the producing team for David Byrne’s American Utopia, Plaza Suite, Kinky Boots, and Children of a Lesser God on Broadway and Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish) and Scotland, PA Off-Broadway. Dylan also produced the first season of Broadway Biz! on the Broadway Podcast Network. Thank you to Adrian for teaching and trusting me! DR THEATRICAL MANAGEMENT (General Management) founded by Daryl Roth and Adam Hess, is led by Grant A. Rice and Kyle Provost. It provides management services to commercial and not-for-profit productions in New York and their interests across the country. Current/upcoming: The Kite Runner (Broadway), Between the Lines (OffBroadway), Cambodian Rock Band (national tour), Personality (regional). drtheatrical.com VINEYARD THEATRE is an Off-Broadway theatre company dedicated to nurturing the voices of daring artists and developing and producing work that pushes the boundaries of what theatre can be and do. One of the country’s preeminent centers for the creation of new plays and musicals, our work seeks to challenge and inspire all of us to see ourselves and our world from different perspectives. The Vineyard’s productions of Tina Satter’s Is This A Room, named “Best Theater of 2019 and 2021” by The New York Times, Time Out and New York Magazine and winner of the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience; and Lucas Hnath’s Dana H., chosen as The New York Times and Time Out “Best Theatre of 2020 and 2021” and winner of the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show, played on Broadway in repertory at the Lyceum Theatre this fall. Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, which premiered at The Vineyard 25 years ago, opened on Broadway this spring reuniting original cast members Mary-Louise Parker, David Morse, and Johanna Day with director Mark Brokaw. Notable Vineyard Theatre premieres include Ngozi Anyanwu’s Good Grief; Jeremy O. Harris’ “Daddy”; Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s Do You Feel Anger?; David Cale’s Harry Clarke (2018 Drama Desk, Obie, Lucille Lortel Awards); Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s Indecent (two 2017 Tony Awards); two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, Paula Vogel’s How I Learned To Drive and Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women; Branden JacobsJenkins’ Gloria; Nicky Silver’s The Lyons; Marx, Lopez and Whitty’s Avenue Q (Tony Award, Best Musical); Kander, Ebb, and Thompson’s The Scottsboro Boys; Bell and Bowen’s [title of show]; Polly Pen’s Goblin Market; Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Wig Out!; Jenny Schwartz’ God’s Ear; Will Eno’s Middletown; Becky Mode’s Fully Committed; Colman Domingo’s Dot, and many more. During the pandemic shutdown, The Vineyard produced Bill Irwin’s The Busking Project outdoors and seven digital programs, including the eight-episode series, Lessons in Survival, which was named “Best Theater of 2020” by The New York Times.
Who’s Who The Vineyard’s Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, Susan Stroman Directing Award, and Colman Domingo Award provide residencies to early-career artists and our education programs serve over 700 NYC public high school students annually and culminate in presenting Developing Artists’ REBEL VERSES Youth Arts Festival. Works developed and premiered at our home in Union Square have gone on to be seen around the world and The Vineyard is proud to be the recipient of special Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards for artistic excellence. The Vineyard’s 2021-2022 Artists-in-Residence include The Commissary, Ryan Haddad, Michael R. Jackson, Tyler Thomas, Reggie D. White. Vineyard Theatre’s leadership includes Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern and Managing Director Suzanne Appel.
Special Thanks Megan Dettmer, Keith Adams, David Bonilla, Kyle Beltran, Brian Bogin, and all Members of the Commissary. Vineyard Theatre and The Commissary would like to express a very special thanks to writer, producer and filmmaker Melissa Hazlip, who has been a vital ally and a fierce champion of this project.
Throughout the run of Lessons in Survival: 1971, a member of The Commissary will lead a conversation after the show — plus other special events. Join us!
THURSDAY, JUNE 2 TUESDAY, JUNE 7
FRIDAY, JUNE 3 BLACK COMMUNITY NIGHT
TUESDAY, JUNE 14
FRIDAY, JUNE 10
VINTNER NIGHT
TUESDAY, JUNE 21
WITH SPECIAL GUEST, MELISSA HAIZLIP
THURSDAY, JUNE 23
JUNETEENTH
TUESDAY, JUNE 28
THURSDAY, JUNE 16 SUNDAY, JUNE 19 MONDAY, JUNE 27 THE COMMISSARY NIGHT
SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO
JAMES BALDWIN AND NIKKI GIOVANNI: A
SOUL DIALOGUE
By Melissa Haizlip From 1968 to 1973, SOUL!, America’s first “Black Tonight Show,” changed the landscape of television. The brainchild of pioneering producer and host Ellis Haizlip, SOUL! offered an unapologetic, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics — voices that had few other options for national exposure, at a time when television neither accurately reflected nor positively portrayed a full spectrum of society. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. A quiet and queer revolutionary, Ellis Haizlip was determined to elevate the perception of African American culture, ensuring the revolution would be televised. Haizlip was curating the culture, the fluidity of Black thought and identity. One such curation was a remarkable encounter between two of America’s foremost Black literary icons. Honoring different generations, Ellis Haizlip invited two of his closest friends, James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni, to a dialogue on being Black in America. Baldwin was 46 at the time, living in the French Riviera in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, escaping the stifling racial bigotry of America. Giovanni, at 28, was Haizlip’s muse; a frequent collaborator and guest host of SOUL!, eager to meet her idol. Baldwin refused to return to the United States, so Haizlip decided they would all “meet half-way.” Haizlip flew his team to London, England, where the conversation was taped on November 4, 1971. The high-water mark of the PBS series, the two-part special aired on WNET Channel Thirteen on December 15 and December 22, 1971. Prescience. Intellectual communion. Disagreement. This conversation centers freedom and the changing roles of Black women and men for today’s society, through the lens of social justice, Black love, and Black futures. It illuminates, with unflinching realness, the intersectionality of what it means to be human, to be empowered, and to be seen. Over half a century later, this dialogue – first celebrated on SOUL! and lovingly unearthed in the documentary Mr. SOUL! – is newly reimagined with astonishing resonance, in this live staging by the Vineyard Theatre.
MELISSA HAIZLIP is a Peabody Award-nominated filmmaker. She produced, wrote and directed the documentary Mr. SOUL!, about SOUL! and the life and work of her uncle, Ellis Haizlip, now streaming on HBO Max.
Staff for Lessons in Survival: 1971 DR Theatrical Management, General Management Grant A. Rice, Adam Hess, Annie Schroeder Adrian White, Director of Production Dylan Marie Parent, Production Supervisor Rachel A. Zucker, Production Stage Manager David Bonilla, Megan Dettmer, Associate Production Managers Kara Michelin, Noa Berman, Production Management Assistants Maria DiVittorio, Production Assistant Sarah Bhalla, Production Management Intern Joan Wyatt, Assistant Stage Manager Jason Weixelman, Assistant Stage Manager & Sub Production Stage Manager Maria DiVittorio, Production Assistant & Sub Production Stage Manager Brian Bogin, Assistant Stage Manager & Sub Production Stage Manager Kaila Hill, Sub Production Assistant Kenji Kono, Company Manager / COVID Compliance Officer Amaal Saifudeen, Assistant Director Jason Aguirre, Dramaturg Nina Pan, Assistant Scenic Designer Attilio A. Rigotti, Assistant Video & Projections Design Allison Esannason, Assistant Costume Designer Evan Cook, Carsen Joenk, Assistant Sound Designers Mel Henry, Second Audio Heather Reynolds, Assistant Lighting Designer Matt Carlin, Props Supervisor Keith Adams, Technical Director Josiah Stewart, Assistant Technical Director Jake Miller, Miranda Michael, Deck Carpenters Alex Strassberg, Production Intern Antonia Howard, Sam Llanes, Props Artisans Gylanni Carrington, Regina Rizzo, Wardrobe Supervisors Evan Cook, Audio Engineer Clara Riso, Adam Rose, Lighting and Video Operators Desi McCoy-Fischer, Production Lighting Supervisor Rebecca McCoy-Fischer, Assistant Lighting Supervisor DeAnna Howard, Adam Rose, Lighting Programmers Ryan Hall, Audio/Video Project Manager Anja Powell, Production Video Lighting and Special Effects provided by Production Resource Group Audio Equipment provided by Five Ohm Productions Audio and Video Labor provided by Five Ohm Productions Scenic Elements provided by JAG FABrications, Inc Key Art Design by NB Studio Digital Advertising and Marketing Support by AKA The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
WARNING: The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside this theatre, without written permission of the management, is prohibited by law. Violators may be punished by ejection and violations may render the offender liable for money damages. FIRE NOTICE: The exit indicated by a red light and sign nearest to the seat you occupy is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency please do not run — WALK TO THAT EXIT. Lighting matches or smoking in prohibited areas during the performances and intermissions violates a city ordinance and is punishable by law.
VINEYARD THEATRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ken Greiner, Chair Annette Stover, Vice Chair Kathleen Chalfant, President Mark Lerner, Vice President & Secretary John Barrie, Treasurer Douglas Aibel Suzanne Appel John Barrie John Coles Brandon Victor Dixon Colman Domingo Kathryn Erbe Bobby Freeman Christopher Gould, On Sabattical Nancy Heller Sally Horchow Judy Kuhn Cody Lassen Carl Levin Sue Marks Jaimie Mayer Joe Morton Steve Ralbovsky David Schwartz Anne-Cecilie Engell Speyer Sarah Stern Barbara Zinn Krieger, Founder & Chair Emeritus
Jill S. Gabbe, Chair Emeritus Gretchen Shugart, Chair Emeritus
VINEYARD THEATRE COUNCIL George Alexander Sergia Cruz Sophie von Haselberg Craig Manzino Meredith Marks Kate Mulgrew Kate Robards Tommy Thompson
VINEYARD THEATRE STAFF Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director Sarah Stern, Artistic Director Suzanne Appel, Managing Director Jesse Cameron Alick, Associate Artistic Director Dennis Hruska, Director of Business Affairs Adrian White, Director of Production Natalie Graves Tucker, Director of Marketing Emily Reeder, Director of Development Penn Genthner, Director of Institutional Advancement Miriam Weiner, Literary Manager Glenn Davis, Artistic Associate Marshall Foltz, Digital Marketing Manager Sophia Cordeiro, Audience Services Manager Onastasia Ebright, Senior Development Fellow Jason Aguirre, Artistic Producing Fellow Kenji Kono, Company Manager Dylan Parent, Production Supervisor Marcade Deshields, Janitor Ryan J. Haddad, Paula Vogel Award Playwright-in-Residence Reggie D. White, Colman Domingo Award Artist-in-Residence Tyler Thomas, Susan Stroman Award Director-in-Residence The Commissary, Michael R. Jackson, Lightning Rod Special, Artists-in-Residence Eisa Davis, Roth-Vogel Commission Paul Levine and María Zurita Ontiveros, Literary Interns María Zurita Ontiveros, Special Events Assistant Natalya Ribovich, Marketing and Development Intern Jessica Seley, Francisco Morandi Zerpa, Audience Services Staff David S. Berlin, Esq., Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams, LLP, Counsel Nancy Heller, Peck & Heller, Counsel Debevoise & Plimpton, Counsel Schall & Ashenfarb, Accountant Shane Marshall Brown and Nina Ward, The Press Room Press Representatives Adam Hess, Grant A. Rice, Annie Schroeder, Emily Currie, DR Theatrical Management, General Management Carol Rosegg, Production Photographer
Vineyard Theatre Supporters The generosity of our institutional and individual supporters makes Vineyard Theatre’s work possible. Space constraints prevent us from listing The Vineyard’s donors of under $250, whose contributions are very much appreciated. For any corrections to this list, which is current through May 23, 2022, please call (212) 353-3366 x122.
Government Support New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Council on the Arts National Endowment for the Arts
The Made in NY Women’s Film, TV & Theatre Fund by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts
Foundation and Corporate Support $50,000+ Blavatnik Family Foundation The Howard Gilman Foundation
$10,000 - $49,999 Atlantic Records The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation The Broadway Exchange Consolidated Edison The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
The John & Robyn Horn Foundation The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation The Howard & Katherine Aibel Foundation The Hyde & Watson Foundation The Jerome Foundation The Jerome Robbins Foundation The Joelson Foundation The Lucille Lortel Foundation The Lupin Foundation
The Shubert Foundation The Tournesol Project
The Milo W. Bekins Foundation The Miranda Family Fund The Nathan Cummings Foundation The Richenthal Foundation The Ted Snowdon Foundation The Tiger Baron Foundation Venturous Theatre Fund, a fund of the Tides Foundation
$5,000 - $9,999 The Axe-Houghton Foundation Benevity Fund BWF Foundation
Falconwood Foundation GE Foundation The Marta Heflin Foundation
The Michael Tuch Foundation Signature Bank The Victor Herbert Foundation
$1,000 - $4,999 Actors Equity Foundation Broadway Licensing
The Charles E. Culpeper Envoie Projects Foundation The Jim Henson Foundation The Dorsey & Whitney Foundation The John Golden Fund
Individual Support $10,000+
Anonymous Jonathan Aibel Josef and Mary Anne Allen Liz Armstrong Miriam Weiner and Gregg Bellows Kathleen and Henry Chalfant John and Laura Coles Annette Stover and Richard Feiner
$5,000 - $9,999
Anonymous David desJardins and Nancy Blachman Jaimie deRoy
Mark Lerner and Steven Frank Bobby and Vicki Freeman Rachel and Ben Geballe Christopher W.D. Gould Scott Greenberg Ken and Rande Greiner Joanne Guerrerio Nancy Heller and Holly Gewandter
Sally Horchow Carl Levin Sue Marks Jaimie Mayer Corinne Nevinny Steve Ralbovsky Daryl Roth Fiona and Eric Rudin
Courtney Nichols Gould Mark Krueger Susan Laubach Ronny and Julie Mintz
Gwyn Osnos Dan Katz and Julia Rao Benjamin Waisbren
Bruce Greenberg Iliana Guibert Jordan Harrison Sally Huxley Robin Jones Craig and Stacey Manzino Jill Hunter Matichak Jeff and Joanne Miller Virginia and Timothy Millhiser John Morning Juliet Moser Joseph Obermayer Lisa Orberg
John Orberg Carole Pesner Richard and Rosemarie Petrocelli Jayne Baron Sherman Marc Stern Marie and Jeff Taylor Paula Vogel Rick Dean and Koren Volk Kenneth and Rita Warner Julian Yap Randi Zuckerberg
Adam Hess Stephen Hirsh Susan Holmes Lawrence and Cathy Hruska Michael Hughes Nancy Jackman Una Jackman Dr. Timothy Jones Gregory Juedes John Kander Adele Karig Sharon Karmazin Jordan Katz Judith Krupp Judy Kuhn Cody Lassen Patty Laxton Carolyn Ruby and William Maiese Mitchel May Dessie Moynihan, in honor of Elizabeth McCann
Nelle Nugent, in honor of Elizabeth I. McCann Sam Rudy, in honor of Liz McCann Doug McGrath Laura and Henry McVey Carolyn Schiff and Noah Millman Molly K. Heines and Thomas J. Moloney Gerry Ohrstrom F. Richard Pappas Jim and Susie Perakis David Perry Thomas Polise David Porter Sarah Powers Eva Price Lawrence Quirk Burt and Adrienne Rosen R. Lee Stump and Abby Roth Joshua Schecter Steve Shane Andrew Siegel
$2,500 - $4,999 Paul Baker Deborah Barrera Nancy Shor and Charles Binder Allison Blinken Lauren Dupuis Suzan and Fred Ehrman Max Ember Renee and Sy Flug Megan Foley Aari Ludvigsen and Barbara Gaines Bruce and Alice Geismar Michael Giovanniello Daniel Ray and Ellen Gould
$1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Dorothy Devlin Alpert and Steve Alpert Salman Al-Rashid Helen-Jean Arthur Debbi Baum Susan Bernfield Leslie Bhutani Eduardo Braniff Lou Tharp and James Bumgardner Catherine Caplan Judy Cox Stuart Freedman and Carla Craig Robert Donnalley Kathryn Erbe Anna May and Tim Feige Russel and Hazel Fershleiser Dennis Furbush Melissa Gibbs Mark Greenwald Katherine Hall Anna and Tony Hass
Individual Support $500 - $999
Christine Amorossi Annie Armstrong Margot Astrachan Matthew Blank Sean Cashin Jane Chesnutt Adam Cohen Ben Dookchitra Rick Feldman Peggy Flaum Andrew Gillespie Robyn Goodman John and Donald Harris
Linzell Harris Stephen Hirsh Barbara Janowitz Cathy King Christina Kirk Lauren Lese Wendy and Paul Lewison Marci Lowman Maria Mackey Carolyn Ruby and William Maise Mel Marvin Stuart Sucherman and Betsy Miller Cindy Parker
Susan Popper Valerie Porter Daniel Posener Jennie and Jeremy Redburn Grant A. Rice Bernard Schleifer Bernie Schleifer Ronald and Merle Schwartz Derrick Steele Suzy Tobin Barry Weiner Stephen Wells Burton Zwick
Elihu and Harriet Inselbuch Zeljko Ivanek Ken Jenkins Ken Jenkins George Kaczmarskyj Terri Klausner Judith Krupp Gina Maria Leonetti Liz Lesnick Francine Levine Jonathan Lewis Karen Lewis Jennifer Lindstrom Perrianne Lurie Jane Macan Erica Mann Bob and Jean Markley Timothy Mason Kathleen Maurer
Shaun McClay Matthew McCue Edward O’Dea Elizabeth Anne Payne Sybille Pearson Drew Peterson Jennie and Jeremy Redburn Arnold and Arden Rothstein Sharon Salzberg Stephanie D’Abruzzo Shemin David Shields Valerie Smith Jeffrey and Jody Steinman Beth Topf Victoria Traube Joan O’Meara Winant Vick and Andrew Wittenstein Paul Young
$250 - $499 Kim Adler Jonathan Aibel Wendy Aibel-Weiss George Alexander Marianne Reilly Appel Ramin Bahrani Susan Bellows Vivian Cardamone Alma Cuervo Katherine Deimel Richard and Jennie DeScherer Sarah Dusseault Yvonne Snyder Elliman Lois Smith and Rolando Garcia Johnson Garrett Kate Jennings Grant Clark Hargrove Kevin Harty Katharine Houghton
Musical Theatre Fund Seed Donors $100,000+ John Kander
$10,000+
Kevin and Lynnette McCollum
$5,000+ Anonymous Kathleen and Henry Chalfant Ken and Rande Greiner Chip and Lana Seelig Annette Stover and Richard Feiner
$2,500+
Liz Armstrong John and Laura Coles Barrett Foa
$1,000+ The BWF Foundation Darren and Karen DeVerna Marsha Gordon and Javier Garcia Isaac Robert Hurwitz Jennifer Melin Miller and David Miller Never Stop Learning Richard and Rose Petrocelli Steve Ralbovsky Miriam Weiner
$250+ Anonymous Suzanne Appel Lani and Manny Azenberg Scott Carroll and Frank Bua Mark Fowler and Jessica Kaplan Pete Ganbarg Nancy Heller and Holly Gewandter Robert Lazo Gillian Lusins Jaimie Mayer Susan Popper and Rocky Greenberg Daniel M. Posener Eva Price Chris Sarandon and Joanna Gleason Catherine Schreiber
Our Good Neighbor Program is dedicated to providing low-cost or free tickets to students, artists, and any New Yorker for whom cost may be a barrier to seeing our productions. Donations to the Good Neighbor Program support a number of initiatives that provide thousands of accessible tickets to New Yorkers each season. With the help of donors like you, we are able to push the boundaries not only of what theatre can be and do, but who has access to it.
SCAN HERE OR VISIT VINEYARDTHEATRE.ORG/DONATE AND GIVE TODAY
Our 40th Anniversary Season (2022-2023) kicks off in Fall 2022 with Sandra, written by David Cale (Harry Clarke), music by Matthew Dean Marsh and directed by Leigh Silverman. The full season will include two additional main stage productions, which will be announced at a later date. Season pass prices will go up when our full season is announced, so get in now!
UP NEXT | FALL 2022 SANDRA
By David Cale Music by Matthew Dean Marsh Directed by Leigh Silverman In this new one-woman thriller, Sandra seeks to get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of her closest friend, a young pianist and composer, who went on a trip to Mexico and never returned. Her search for clues leads her into both a highly charged love affair, and increasingly dangerous territory. Sandra reunites playwright David Cale and director Leigh Silverman after their awardwinning collaboration on Harry Clarke (2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show), and features an original piano score by Matthew Dean Marsh.
SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL THE LEVELS OF OUR 40TH ANNIVERSAY SEASON PASSES
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