The Brightest Thing in the World, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2022

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A NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Welcome to Yale Repertory Theatre!

I am delighted you are here for the world premiere of The Brightest Thing in the World by Leah Nanako Winkler, a playwright hailed as “a distinctive new voice” by The New York Times, and the recipient of numerous accolades including the Steinberg Playwright Award, Peabody Award, and the Yale Drama Series Prize. It is also a pleasure to welcome back director Margot Bordelon, whose work since the 2015 production of peerless at Yale Rep has been seen at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, and the Atlantic Theater Company, among others in New York City and nationally.

Leah delivered the first draft of The Brightest Thing in the World in early March 2020, just before COVID-19 sent us all home for what many of us assumed would be a matter of weeks. Commissioned by Yale Rep with support from Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre, this is the first play to reach our stage that was substantially developed during the pandemic.

Beginning in the most delicious romantic comedy fashion, The Brightest Thing in the World slowly reveals itself to be much more. The play finds love and light in unexpected places and celebrates our inherently messy and beautiful humanity. Leah, Margot, and their gifted company of actors and artistic collaborators, working with extraordinary grace, humor, and honesty, have created a portrait of three women whose lives are impacted by the disease of addiction.

Our season continues in 2023 beginning March 10: MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro will make his Yale Rep debut with Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles, which unleashes the power of Euripides’ ancient tale through the story of an undocumented Mexican family caught in the grip of the American immigration system. Running through April 1, the play will be directed by Laurie Woolery, whose previous productions in New Haven include Manahatta and El Huracán at Yale Rep and Dream Hou$e at Long Wharf.

And April 28–May 20, we will present the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson, a Tony Award nominee this past year for the Broadway musical Paradise Square. Yale Rep previously presented the world premiere of her play Good Goods in 2012. Her new play, a poignant, transporting, and quietly subversive story of justice, legacy, and forgiveness, will be staged by Resident Director Tamilla Woodard.

In the meantime, as always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts about The Brightest Thing in the World or any of your experiences at Yale Rep. My email address is james.bundy@yale.edu.

I look forward to seeing you back at Yale Rep in the spring!

Sincerely,

James Bundy Artistic Director

NOVEMBER 25–DECEMBER 17, 2022

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE

James Bundy, Artistic Director | Florie Seery, Managing Director

PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

The Brightest Thing in the World

By Leah Nanako Winkler

Directed by Margot Bordelon

Scenic Designer

Cat Raynor

Costume Designer

Travis Chinick

Lighting Designer

Graham Zellers

Sound Designer

Emily Duncan Wilson

Wig Designer

Matthew Armentrout

Production Dramaturgs

Amy Boratko and Lily Haje

Technical Director

Nate Angrick

Vocal Coach

Grace Zandarski

Fight and Intimacy Director

Michael Rossmy

Casting Director

Tara Rubin C.S.A.

Stage Manager

Andrew Petrick

The Brightest Thing in the World was commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre. Development and production support are provided by Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre.

Yale Repertory Theatre thanks our 2022–23 season funders:

Season Sponsor: The Study at Yale

The Brightest Thing in the World

Cast in alphabetical order:

Steph ........................................................................................... Michele Selene Ang

Della ............................................................................................................... Megan Hill

Lane ................................................................................................ Katherine Romans

Setting

Time: 2016–2019

Place: Lexington, Kentucky

The Brightest Thing in the World is performed without an intermission.

Content Advisory

The Brightest Thing in the World includes content related to and depictions of the disease of addiction and recovery. The play contains profanity, sexual situations, and sexual innuendo.

Understudies

in alphabetical order:

Della ......................................................................................................... Rebecca Kent

Lane ................................................................................................ Maggie McCaffery

Steph ....................................................................................................... Olivia Oguma

Assistant Stage Manager .................................................................Charlie Lovejoy

The Beautiful Thing a

An interview with playwright Leah Nanako Winkler and

Leah Nanako Winkler’s The Brightest Thing in the World is Yale Repertory Theatre’s first world premiere play since 2019. The play was commissioned and developed by Yale, with the resources of its robust new-play development program, the Binger Center for New Theatre. Over the past four years, and throughout a global pandemic, Leah has been able to continue writing the piece and begin a rich collaboration with director Margot Bordelon. The production dramaturgs Lily Haje and Amy Boratko sat down with Leah and Margot to talk about bringing this story to life.

Amy Boratko: Leah, you were commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre in 2018 to write a play. What was the impulse behind writing this particular story?

Leah Nanako Winkler: I wanted to offer a different lens into people struggling with the disease of addiction, in a way that we haven’t seen before. This desire stemmed from a very personal and emotional place, in addition to knowing some very funny, bright, regular people who suffered, or are suffering from, substance abuse disorder. All of them

were, or are, nothing like the typical awards-bait portrayals of “addicts” we have all seen in film, tv, and theater. Going into writing the commission, I had a blueprint in mind to create a group of characters that the audience could hopefully see themselves in. I also knew I wanted to write a play with elements of comedy and knew the type of bakery like the one that ended up in the play would be involved somehow. Another thing I was sure of is that I wanted to go back physically to Kentucky and interview people (some of whom I knew and some I didn’t know) who have been affected by this war. This commission allowed me the time and resources to do that. And though this is a completely original and fictional play authentic to me as a writer—the volume of people who wanted to talk to me, the stories they told, and the insights they gave me quickly affirmed that something has been missing when we tell stories about the disease of addiction.

Lily Haje: The Brightest Thing in the World, like your plays Kentucky and God Said This, is set in Lexington,

bout a New Play:

and director Margot Bordelon

Kentucky, one of the places you grew up. Why did you choose to set the story of this play in Lexington?

LNW: I think that it’s become a misconception that I set all my plays in Lexington, Kentucky, because those are mostly the ones that have been produced in New York. I’ve actually written a dozen full-length plays, and only three of them, including this one, are set there. The Brightest Thing in the World is specifically set where it is because I always start writing plays from a personal and/or emotional place. I grew up in Lexington, by way of Japan, and started noticing about a decade or so ago that a lot of people from my hometown were affected by the opioid epidemic. I even remember those pills casually going around in my high school.

There’s also obviously a big divide between blue states and red states, and I think that the theater industry and audiences on the coasts specifically have a tendency to make work that fetishizes places like Kentucky to feel smart. I think people with substance abuse disorders are fetishized in a similar way. I’m honestly sick of watching millionaire movie stars make themselves their version of ugly and poor to play southern or midwestern people who struggle with the disease of addiction. It seems like smug cosplay, and I’m allergic to smug. I like to create underestimated characters who subvert and

exceed expectations—creating a threesome of smart Kentucky women who are more complex, funny, interesting, mainstream, whipsmart than expected seemed like a good fit to hopefully create more understanding and common ground.

AB: Margot, Leah began writing this play, in response to so much of what she was observing and experiencing, in 2018, and much of the development of the play has happened since the Covid-19 pandemic. Can you both talk about if and how the pandemic affected this particular play, in both the writing and making the entire production?

Margot Bordelon: If Covid hadn’t happened, this play could be taking place from 2019 to 2022, in the “present day.” It’s the effect that the pandemic has had on the world that has suddenly made this a contemporary period piece. It’s just

become such a milestone for our society that we couldn’t do a piece set “now” that progresses through time and not address that happening. But even with that specificity, Leah’s play has contemporary universality in how it still resonates today.

LNW: Addiction is often referred to as a disease of isolation. Being in recovery during a period of intense added isolation in 2020, when many treatment centers were closed to or limiting in-person visits, is an element that this play’s world doesn’t have. So the shift felt natural. I think that that play is a different play than The Brightest Thing in the World. An important one. I hope someone writes it.

LH: While this play confronts difficult and serious material, it also has a lot of comedy. How do you weave together darkness and humor?

MB: I came into directing working on comedy. I had always felt more compelled to direct comedy than tragedy or drama, but now I like to find the balance of both. To me, so much of comedy is rhythm. It’s music. Leah writes the music so clearly, or at least it’s in a way that I think that I can hear it.

LNW: Even though my plays deal with big issues, they all tend to be comedies or at least have a lot of comedic elements. That’s because I think we are often the most hilarious as human beings—even if it’s just in

retrospect—when we are the most serious and desperate. The play is never punching down, but rather, finding absurdity in the darkness. Humor is a coping mechanism and a tool for comfort, and I wanted the audience to feel comfortable being introduced to these characters. It’s important to note that the script isn’t designed to make audiences laugh at anyone in the play, but to laugh because they see themselves, their mistakes, their potential choices in the characters. This play’s humor isn’t judgmental.

LH: Is there a particular approach you take to working on new plays?

MB: My way in is always text. I had a really emotional response to my first read of The Brightest Thing in the World, and I have never forgotten that feeling. I want a playwright to feel really listened to, to trust that I am reading their play deeply. This is the first time this story’s being told. It’s important to me that the playwright is in agreement with the choices I make with the actors or with the design. It’s a lateral relationship in birthing it together with the playwright.

LNW: That’s so interesting, because that’s where we balance each other out. I’m a firm believer in, “don’t think, just put it out there,” for my early drafts. Then my favorite part of the process is peeling back the text. And you’re so rigorous about observing every word that your process teaches me things about my

own play. It reminds me of how great collaboration can be and how we are working toward the same thing.

AB: Given that this is the world premiere of Leah’s play, and that the elements of the production are coming together for the first time, what do you hope audiences will bring to the final part of this process?

LNW: During the time when there was no in-person theater, I felt very empty, like a part of myself was missing, and I felt that both as an audience member and a playwright. We come to the theater for some sort of catharsis, whether that’s to laugh or to feel validated, or even to feel angry and devastated. New plays are very alive, and their audiences are the first people to bring it alive.

MB: I always say to actors that the audience is like their final scene partner. You begin with a play—it’s

a blueprint for performance. The actors embody that play, but it’s not until we have the audience attend that it becomes a full event. What’s so beautiful about new plays is they examine the moment that we live in right now; unlike a revival, a new play is tackling the big questions that are immediate to that writer. So, I hope audiences will come with a spirit of engagement and listening.

LNW: Live theater, unlike TV or movies available to us as finished products, changes night-to-night depending on the audience. I want audiences to come in ready to have whatever reactions that they’re inspired to have because I don’t know what my play is actually doing to people until I see and hear them in the theater. I want them to know that they’re the last piece of the puzzle to bring this specific play, on that specific night, into completion.

The Brightest Thing in the World begins in 2016 at a fictional in coffee and artisanal treats. Here’s a peek in the kitchen

—Lily Haje and Amy Boratko,

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

1-800-662-4357 samhsa.gov

café in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, that specializes kitchen where the delicious baking action happens.

Production Dramaturgs

CAST

Steph: Michele Selene Ang* is a Chinese American actor, writer, and filmmaker with Indonesian roots. She was born in Surabaya, raised in San Francisco, educated in New York, and is currently based in Los Angeles. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater performance from Fordham University, and she was chosen as a 2012 YoungArts winner and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Her work can be found on Netflix’s hit drama 13 Reasons Why and CBS’s Elementary. She is thrilled to make her Yale Rep debut in this beautiful new play. You can check her out at michelesang.com!

Della: Megan Hill* is delighted to be making her Yale Rep debut and to be in collaboration again with both Leah and Margot. Megan is a Brooklyn-based actor and writer. As an actor, she specializes in new work and has originated roles in the world premieres of Open and Cut (both by Crystal Skillman), Amy Staats’s Eddie And Dave, Mara Nelson Greenberg’s Do You Feel Anger?, Leah Nanako Winkler’s Kentucky, and Rob Askins’ Hand To God, to name a few. As a writer, she has been published in Ms. Magazine and CultureBot; she co-wrote the play Lonesome Winter with Joshua Conkel; and her play The Last Class: A

Jazzercize Play has had acclaimed runs in New York, DC, and Seattle. In 2019, Megan was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of David Lee Roth in Eddie And Dave and was also named one of the Best Comedic Performances of the Year by The New York Times. B.F.A. in acting and original works, Cornish College of the Arts; M.F.A. in acting: ART/ MXAT IATT at Harvard. For more info visit: meganhill.net or follow on Instagram: @meganhillwhat

Lane: Katherine Romans* is excited to be making her Yale Rep debut. Most recently, she played Reality Winner in the international tour of Is This a Room after understudying the role on Broadway. Other theater includes Men on Boats (ACT) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Livermore Shakespeare). Television: The Gilded Age (HBO). Katherine is a graduate of the M.F.A. program at ACT. katherineromans.com

UNDERSTUDIES

Understudy for Della: Rebecca Kent is a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama, where she was seen in Ghosts, Affinity, She Kills Monsters, and Love’s Labor’s Lost.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Understudy for Lane: Maggie McCaffery is a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama, where she was seen in Affinity, The Cherry Orchard, and She Kills Monsters. She received her B.F.A. from Boston University.

Understudy for Steph: Olivia Oguma* won a CT Critics Circle Award for BFE at Long Wharf Theatre. Broadway: Mamma Mia!, A Christmas Carol, Les Misérables. Off-Broadway: Letters of Suresh (Second Stage), Addressless (Rattlestick), Hello From… (Playwrights Realm), Luce (LCT3), Emotional Creature (Signature), BFE (Playwrights Horizons), The Dispute (NAATCO). Regional: LaJolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, Portland Center Stage, Philadelphia Theater Co. Film/Television: This is Where I Leave You, Strangers with Candy, Like Father, Instinct, FBI, Odd Mom Out, Younger, Law & Order, The Good Wife, The Big C, Great News, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Thanks to Mom, Oliver, Luigi from Lima and EJ (the best reader!). @olioguma

CREATIVE TEAM

Technical Director: Nate Angrick is in his fourth year of the technical design and production program at David Geffen School of Drama, where his credits include She Kills Monsters and Affinity. He also previously served as assistant technical director for The Plot at Yale Rep. He received his B.F.A. in technical theater and design from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He worked as technical director of Payomet Performing Arts Center in Massachusetts and was a carpenter at The Juilliard School before coming to Yale.

Wig Designer: Matthew Armentrout previously worked at Yale Rep on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Today Is My Birthday, and Manahatta. Broadway: Birthday Candles, Paradise Square, Flying Over Sunset, and Bernhardt/ Hamlet. Off Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along (Roundabout), Othello (Shakespeare in the Park). Regional: Bliss (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Jitney (National Tour), Paradise Square (Berkeley Repertory Theatre).

Production Dramaturg: Amy Boratko is the Senior Artistic Producer at Yale Rep and has previously served as dramaturg on the Yale Rep productions of The Plot, Girls, Cadillac Crew, Good Faith, Field Guide, Mary Jane, Imogen Says Nothing, peerless, Indecent, War, The

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Creative Team

Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Dear Elizabeth, The Realistic Joneses, Good Goods, Belleville, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Compulsion, Notes from Underground, and Eurydice, among others. Other credits include dramaturging new play workshops at New Dramatists, the Acting Company, and Voice and Vision’s ENVISION Retreat. She is a lecturer at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. B.A., Rice University; M.F.A., David Geffen School of Drama.

Director:

Margot Bordelon is a New Yorkbased director who specializes in new work. Yale Rep: peerless by Jiehae Park. Off-Broadway and New York: peerless (Primary Stages); …what the end will be (Roundabout Theatre Company); Do You Feel Anger?

(Vineyard Theatre); Eddie and Dave (Atlantic Theater Company); Plot Points in Our Sexual Development (LCT3); Something Clean, Too Heavy for Your Pocket (Roundabout Underground); The Pen (Premieres NYC); A Delicate Ship (Playwrights Realm); Still (Juilliard); Wilder Gone (Clubbed Thumb); The Last Class: A Jazzercize Play (DODO). Margot has directed productions regionally at ACT Seattle, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alliance Theatre, American Theater Company, Denver Center, Marin Theater Company, and Steppenwolf. She has developed work at Ars Nova, Berkeley Rep, Cherry Lane, The Lark, Ma-Yi, MTC, New Dramatists, NYTW, P73, Playwrights Horizons, Portland

Center Stage, Primary Stages, The Public, PWC, Rattlestick, the Wilma, and Woolly Mammoth. B.F.A., Cornish College of the Arts; M.F.A., David Geffen School of Drama.

Costume Designer: Travis Chinick (he/him/his) is thrilled to be a part of this team. He is in his final year at the David Geffen School of Drama and works as a freelance designer and painter across the country. His credits at the Geffen School include Bodas de sangre/ Blood Wedding and Love’s Labor’s Lost. Other design highlights include Cinderella (Trollwood Performing Arts), A Dog Story (Seaglass Theatrical), Mysterio! Magic Rocks the Night! (RWS Entertainment Group), That Bachelorette Show (Davenport Theatrical), The Mnemonist of Duchess County (Attic Theatre Company), Strictly Dishonorable (Attic Theatre Company), Les Misérables (Assistant Designer, 2014 Broadway Revival), and others. Travis has also worked at the Metropolitan Opera, The Jim Henson Company, and RWS Entertainment Group. His work can be seen at tchinick.com.

Production Dramaturg: Lily Haje is a theater maker and fourth-year M.F.A. candidate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism at David Geffen School of Drama, where her credits include Romeo and Juliet directed by Leyla Levi and Swimmers directed by Jackson Gay. Other recent dramaturgical work

includes There is a Thing at the End of the Loop written by Dylan Guerra and #4 written by Abigail C. Onwunali at Yale Cabaret. She is the cocurator of Love Songs, a multimedia art and performance project, also at Yale Cabaret, and a former managing editor of Theater magazine. Previously, she worked in producing and production management with companies including Music-Theatre Group, Woodshed Collective, and Iron Bloom Creative Production. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University in theater and study of religion.

Assistant Stage Manager: Charlie Lovejoy* is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama. Off-Broadway and NYC: Kimberly Akimbo (Atlantic Theater Company), The Seagull (Elevator Repair Service). Chicago: The Santaland Diaries, Incendiary, graveyard shift (Goodman Theatre); Miracle: A Musical 108 Years in the Making (Royal George Theater); La Ronde (American Theater Company); Corduroy, Fantastic Mr. Fox (Emerald City Theatre); Hooded, Two Mile Hollow, American Hero (First Floor Theater); You on the Moors Now (The Hypocrites). Academic:

BURNBABYBURN: an american dream (Yale Cabaret); Romeo and Juliet, Bodas de sangre (David Geffen School of Drama). B.A., University of Chicago.

Stage Manager: Andrew Petrick* is a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama, where his credits include Manning and Measure for Measure, both directed by Alex Keegan, and In His Hands, or the gay christian play, directed by Maeli Goren. Other stage management credits include The Blacker the Berry, directed by Stew, and Harmless, directed by Dan Hurlin (Sarah Lawrence College); Pride and Prejudice, directed by Christopher Edwards, and Cry It Out, directed by Marc Masterson (Dorset Theatre Festival); Jack and the Beanstalk, directed by Julie Atlas Muz (Abrons Art Center); and When We Were Young and Unafraid, directed by Spencer Knoll (Downstage Theatre Company). B.A., Sarah Lawrence College.

Scenic Designer: Cat Raynor is a set and production designer for stage and film, and a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate in set design at David Geffen School of Drama. Recent design credits include Affinity, Twelfth Night (David Geffen School of Drama); Iris & Maggie, A Doll’s House, Love Songs (Yale Cabaret); You Don’t Have to Do Anything (IRT Theater), and short films MAJOR directed by Christopher Betts and Good Taste directed by Seonjae Kim. Cat previously worked in the art department of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She is a Yale Cabaret Advisory Board member for the

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Creative Team

2022–2023 season Yale Cabaret 55: Parachute. Cat holds a B.A. in fine art from Kenyon College. More of her work can be seen at catraynor.com!

Fight and Intimacy Director: Michael Rossmy is a Resident Fight and Intimacy Director for Yale Rep, a lecturer in acting at David Geffen School of Drama, and the Stage Combat and Intimacy Advisor for Yale College. Broadway credits include A Tale of Two Cities, Cymbeline, and Superior Donuts Regional theater credits include The Public Theater, Westport Country Playhouse, Goodspeed Musicals, Paper Mill Playhouse, Asolo Rep, The Old Globe, TheaterWorks (Hartford), Princeton University, The Acting Company, Soho Rep, the Geffen Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Carnegie Mellon University, and others. He was nominated for a 2017 Drama Desk Award for his work on Troilus and Cressida for The Public Theater’s production in Central Park. Currently Michael’s work can also be seen in the world premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks’s Sally & Tom directed by Steve H. Broadnax III and Jiehae Park’s peerless directed by Margot Bordelon.

Sound Designer: Emily Duncan Wilson returns to Yale Rep, where she was the sound designer for The Plot, associate sound designer for The 1491’s Between Two Knees, and was the assistant sound designer/engineer for El Huracán. Her other credits include Hamlet, YELL,

Trouble in Mind, blues for miss lucille (David Geffen School of Drama); Let’s Go To The Moon, bodyssey, Truck II (Yale Cabaret); Dracula, The Winter’s Tale (Interlochen Arts Academy); and Twin Size Beds (The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival). Emily is the producer for Classical Sprouts, a classical music podcast for kids by Interlochen Public Radio. She holds a B.A. in music from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and an M.F.A. in sound design from David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Her M.F.A. thesis, This Nostalgic Earth, explored emotional connections to the natural world through sound and music. emilyduncanwilson.com

Casting Director:

Tara Rubin, C.S.A. has been casting at Yale Rep since 2004. Selected Broadway/National Tours: KPOP, Mr. Saturday Night, Six, Ain’t Too Proud, King Kong, The Band’s Visit, Prince of Broadway, Indecent, Bandstand, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hansen, A Bronx Tale, Cats, Falsettos, School of Rock, Les Misérables, The Heiress, The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Spamalot, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys. Off-

Broadway: Gloria: A Life, Smokey Joe’s Café, Jersey Boys, Here Lies Love.

Regional: Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Bucks County Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse. Film: Billy Crystal’s Here Today. tararubincasting.com

Playwright:

Leah Nanako Winkler is a Japanese American playwright from Kamakura, Japan, and Lexington, Kentucky. Her plays include Kentucky (Page 73/ Ensemble Studio Theater), God Said This (Primary Stages/Humana Festival of New American Plays), Death for Sydney Black (terraNova Collective), Two Mile Hollow (simultaneous world premiere: First Floor Theater, Artist’s at Play, Theater Mu/Mixed Blood, Ferocious Lotus), Hot Asian Doctor Husband (Theater Mu), and NevadaTan (Audible), and more. Accolades include the Yale Drama Series Prize, Peabody Award, the Francesca Primus Prize, the Mark O’Donnell Prize, the Jerome New York Fellowship, and most recently a Steinberg Playwright Award. TV: Ramy, New Amsterdam, Love Life. She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater, Ma Yi Lab, East West Players Writers Group. She serves on the board of Page 73. MFA: Brooklyn College.

Vocal Coach:

Grace Zandarski is Associate Chair of the Acting program and Head of Voice and Text at David Geffen School of Drama, where she has taught Voice since 2002. She has coached numerous productions at Yale Rep and the Geffen School including An Enemy of the People, Hamlet, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Between Two Knees. New York coaching credits include Mike

Nichols’s productions of Death of a Salesman and Betrayal (Broadway), The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide… (The Public Theater), and Homebody/ Kabul (BAM). She was named Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework in 1998. Grace is CoArtistic Director of The Actors Center Workshop Company, a company member of Pantheatre (Paris), SAGAFTRA, AEA, and VASTA. Acting credits include McCarter Theatre, OSF Ashland,, Wilma Theatre, and ACT. Directing credits include the Peer Gynt Project and Chekhov Shorts.

M.F.A., American Conservatory Theater; B.A., Princeton University.

Lighting Designer:

Graham Zellers is a fourth-year lighting design student at David Geffen School of Drama, where his credits include Affinity, Bodas de sangre/Blood Wedding, and Hamlet, as well as We are Proud to Present..., and There’s a Thing at the End of the Loop at Yale Cabaret. Other previous positions held include Lighting Director at Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, FL and Lighting Supervisor at Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, NY.

Graham received his B.A. in theater design and technology from Ball State University. Other work can be found at zellersdesign.com

The Brightest Thing in the World

Artistic

Assistant Director: Karen Eskenazi

Assistant Scenic Designer:

Patti Panyakaew

Assistant Costume Designer: Micah Ohno

Assistant Lighting Designers: Ankit Pandey

Yichen Zhou

Associate Sound Designer: Joe Krempetz

Assistant Sound Designer and Engineer:

Minjae Kim

Casting Associate:

Frankie Ramirez

Production

Associate Production Manager:

Twaha Abdul Majeed

Associate Technical Directors: Nicolas Benavides

Alex Theisen

Assistant Properties Supervisor:

Bennet Goldberg

Production Electrician:

Luanne Jubsee

Technical Designer: Ben Clark

Light Board Programmer

Jasmine Moore

Run Crew:

Fanny Abib-Rozenberg

Jacob Basri

Josie Cooper

Mariah Copeland

Hannah Louise Jones

Saida Joshua-Smith

M.L. Roberts

Administration

Associate Managing Director: Sarah Scafidi

Management Assistants:

Fanny Abib-Rozenberg

Jeremy Landes

Roman Sanchez

Maya Louise Shed

Company Manager:

Annabel Guevara

Assistant Company Managers:

Sarah Machiko Haber

Ramona Li

Mikayla Stanley

House Managers:

Ramona Li

Jason Gray

Special Thanks

Arel Studios, Beth Blickers, Jacquie Katz, Kevin Lin, Cara Masline, Ryan Murphy, Rita Natale and the folks at CCAR, Theodore Nicholas, Anna O’Donoghue, Sarah Snider, Ethan Stern, Grace Parker, Portland Center Stage, Mikey Rohrer, Susan Soon He Stanton, Krista Williams

And the playwright also thanks everyone she interviewed for this project (you know who you are) and every actor and creative person who helped in the development of this play.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE STAFF

Artistic Director:

James Bundy

Managing Director:

Florie Seery

Associate Artistic Director, Director of New Play Programs:

Jennifer Kiger

General Manager:

Carla L. Jackson

ARTISTIC

Resident Artists

Playwright in Residence:

Tarell Alvin McCraney

Resident Directors:

Lileana Blain-Cruz

Liz Diamond

Tamilla Woodard

Dramaturgy Advisor:

Amy Boratko

Resident Dramaturg:

Catherine Sheehy

Set Design Advisor:

Riccardo Hernández

Resident Set Designer:

Michael Yeargan

Costume Design Advisors:

Oana Botez

Ilona Somogyi

Resident Costume Designer:

Toni-Leslie James

Lighting Design Advisors:

Alan C. Edwards

Stephen Strawbridge

Sound Design Advisor:

Mikaal Sulaiman

Voice and Text Advisor:

Grace Zandarski

Resident Fight and Intimacy Directors:

Kelsey Rainwater

Michael Rossmy

Stage Management Advisor:

Narda E. Alcorn

Associate Artists:

52nd Street Project

Kama Ginkas

Mark Lamos

MTYZ Theatre/Moscow

New Generation Theatre

Bill Rauch

Sarah Ruhl

Henrietta Yanovskaya

Artistic Management

Production Stage Manager: James Mountcastle

Senior Artistic Producer:

Amy Boratko

Artistic Associate:

Kay Perdue Meadows

Artistic Fellow:

Jisun Kim

Casting: Tara Rubin, C.S.A.

Merri Sugarman, C.S.A.

Claire Burke, C.S.A.

Peter Van Dam, C.S.A.

Felicia Rudolph, C.S.A.

Xavier Rubiano, C.S.A.

Kevin Metzger-Timson, C.S.A.

Spencer Gualdoni

Olivia Paige West

Frankie Ramirez

Senior Administrative Assistant to the Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director:

Josie Brown

Senior Administrative Assistant for Directing, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Playwriting, and Stage Management: Laurie Coppola

Senior Administrative Assistant for Design: Kate Begley Baker

Senior Administrative Assistant for the Acting Program:

Krista DeVellis

Arts Librarian: Tess Colwell

PRODUCTION

Production Management

Director of Production:

Shaminda Amarakoon

Production Manager:

Jonathan Reed

Production Manager for Studio Projects and Special Events:

C. Nikki Mills

Senior Administrative Assistant to Production and Theater Safety:

Grace O’Brien

Scenery

Technical Director for Yale Rep:

Neil Mulligan

Technical Directors for David Geffen School of Drama:

Latiana “LT” Gourzong

Matt Welander

Electro Mechanical Laboratory Supervisor: Eric Lin

Scene Shop Supervisor: Eric Sparks

Senior Lead Carpenter: Matt Gaffney

Lead Carpenters: Ryan Gardner

Kat McCarthey

Sharon Reinhart

Libby JollyStone

Carpenters: Rose Bochansky

Doug Kester

Joel Morain

Painting

Paint Shop Supervisor:

Ru-Jun Wang

Scenic Artists: Lia Akkerhuis

Nathan Jasunas

Scenic Painting Intern: Marcus Fort

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE STAFF

Properties

Properties Supervisor:

Jennifer McClure

Properties Craftsperson: David P. Schrader

Properties Associate:

Zach Faber

Properties Stock Manager: Mark Dionne

Properties Intern:

Bennet Goldberg

Costumes

Costume Shop Manager: Christine Szczepanski

Senior Drapers:

Clarissa Wylie Youngberg

Mary Zihal

Senior First Hands:

Deborah Bloch

Patricia Van Horn

Costume Project Coordinator:

Linda Kelley-Dodd

Costume Stock Manager: Jamie Farkas

Additional Costume Staff:

Judianne Wallace

Electrics

Lighting Supervisor:

Donald W. Titus

Senior House Electricians:

Jennifer Carlson

Linda-Cristal Young

Electricians:

Alary Sutherland

Racheal Daigneault

Eitan Acks

Electrics Intern:

Jasmine Moore

Sound Sound Supervisor:

Mike Backhaus

Lead Sound Engineer:

Stephanie Smith

Sound Interns:

Saida Joshua-Smith

Zoey Lin

Projections

Acting Projection Supervisor: Eric Lin

Projection Engineer: Mike Paddock

Projection Intern: Erin Sims

Stage Operations

Stage Carpenter: Janet Cunningham

Lead Wardrobe Supervisor: Elizabeth Bolster

Lead Properties Runner: William Ordynowicz

Lead Light Board Programmer

David Willmore

FOH Mix Engineer:

Abe Joyner-Meyers

ADMINISTRATION

General Management

Associate Managing Directors:

Sarah Scafidi

Matthew Sonnenfeld

Senior Administrative Assistant to the Managing Director and General Manager:

Emalie Mayo

Management Assistants: Andrew Aaron Valdez

Fanny Abib-Rozenberg

Jeremy Landes

Company Manager:

Annabel Guevara

Assistant Company Managers:

Sarah Machiko Haber

Ramona Li

Mikayla Stanley

Development and Alumni Affairs

Director of Development and Alumni Affairs:

Deborah S. Berman

Senior Associate Director of Institutional Giving:

Janice Muirhead

Senior Associate Director of Operations for Development and Alumni Affairs:

Susan C. Clark

Associate Director of Development Communications and Alumni Affairs:

Casey Grambo

Senior Administrative Assistant to Development and Alumni Affairs:

Jennifer E. Alzona

Development Associate:

Delaney Kelley

Development Assistant:

Mikayla Stanley

Finance, Human Resources, and Digital Technology

Finance Consultants:

Regina Bejnerowicz

Katherine D. Burgueño

Denise Zaczek

Director of Human Resources:

Trinh DiNoto

Director, Yale Tessitura Consortium, and Web Technology:

Janna J. Ellis

Manager, Business Operations:

Martha Boateng

Digital Communications Associate:

George Tinari

Interim Business Office Analyst: Win Knowles

Business Office Specialists:

Aditya Agarwal

Moriah Clarke

Andrea Valcourt

Digital Technology Associates:

Edison Dule

Garry Heyward

Senior Administrative Assistant to Business Office, Digital and Web Technology, Operations, and Tessitura:

Shainn Reaves

Database Application Consultants:

Ben Silvert

Erich Bolton

Bo Du

Marketing, Communications, and Audience Services

Director of Marketing:

Daniel Cress

Director of Communications:

Steven Padla

Senior Associate Director of Marketing and Communications:

Caitlin Griffin

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications:

Jacob Santos

Senior Administrative Assistant for Marketing and Communications:

Mishelle Raza

Publications Manager:

Marguerite Elliott

Publications Assistant:

Patrick Ball

Marketing Assistant:

Maya Louise Shed

Production Photographer:

Joan Marcus

Art and Design:

Paul Evan Jeffrey/ Passage Design

Videographer:

David Kane

Director of Audience Services:

Laura Kirk

Assistant Director of Audience Services:

Shane Quinn

Subscriptions Coordinator:

Tracy Baldini

Audience Services Associate:

Molly Leona

Customer Service and Safety Officers

Ralph Black, Jr.

Kevin Delaney

Ed Jooss

John Marquez—on leave

Box Office Assistants:

Sydney Raine Garick

Jordan Graf

Lucy Harvey

Aaron Magloire

Kenneth Murray

a.k. payne

Dominic Sullivan

Jessica Wang

Ushers:

Tracy Bennett

Danielys Batista

Maura Bozeman

Denny Burke

Regina Carson

Amalia Crevani

Gerson Espinoza Campos

Nina Gaither

Madi Garfinkle

Lydia Gompper

Elli Herzog

Şeyma Kaya

Spencer Knoll

Di’Jhon McCoy

Justin Meadows

Keenan Miller

Bonnie Moeller

William Romain

Jana Ross

Joe Webb

Larsson Youngberg

Theater Safety and Occupational Health

Director of Theater Safety and Occupational Health/ COVID Compliance Manager:

Anna Glover

COVID Compliance Coordinator:

Amy Stern

Associate Safety Advisor:

Megan Birdsong

Operations

Director of Facility

Operations:

Nadir Balan

Operations Associate:

Brandon Fuller

Operations Assistant:

Kelvin Essilfie

Arts and Graduate Studies

Superintendents:

Jennifer Draughn

Francisco Eduardo Pimentel

Custodial Team Leaders:

Andrew Mastriano

Sherry Stanley

Facility Stewards:

Ronald Douglas

Marcia Riley

Custodians:

Rodney Heard

Andrew Martino

James Hansberry

Sybil Bell

Jerome Sonia

Willia Grant

Melloney Lucas

Tylon Frost

The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designers in LORT are represented by United Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.

Yale Repertory Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The Brightest Thing in the World, November 25–December 17, 2022, Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut.

ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES AND TEAM

December 10 at 2PM

Audio Description

Pre-show description begins at 1:45PM

A live narration of the play’s action, sets, and costumes for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

December 10 at 8PM

American Sign Language (ASL)

An ASL-interpreted performance for patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss.

December 17 at 2PM

Open Captioning

A digital display of the play’s dialogue as it’s spoken for patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss.

Available at the concierge desk in the theater lobby:

Open Captioner: David Chu/c2inc (caption coalition) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit consultant and the leading provider of professional Live Performance Captioning (sm) for theatrical and cultural presentations. c2 members hold the distinction of being the very first to caption live theater (the Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ), the first to debut on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and have introduced open captioning in prestigious theaters across the country and in London. Captioning in theater has gained momentum and acceptance by theatergoers since its debut in 1996. It addresses the needs of a far larger audience of hard of hearing and deaf people, which includes those who do not use sign language, are late deafened, not self-identified with hearing loss, and those who simply might have missed a punch line.

Audio Describer:

Marydell Merrill is an audio describer for Yale Rep and Hartford Stage and the Artistic Director of Hamden High School’s Mainstage Ensemble. She has participated in Yale Rep’s WILL POWER!; the Connecticut Association for Physical Fitness, Health, Recreation, and Dance; as a Master Teaching Artist for Breakdancing Shakespeare at Hartford Stage; and several regional and national educational theater festivals and conferences.

For more about Yale Rep’s accessibility services, please contact Laura Kirk, Director of Audience Services: 203.432.1522

laura.kirk@yale.edu

Marydell is a national theater performance adjudicator and a member of the national screening team of exemplary high school theatrical productions for the Educational Theatre Association. She is the former State Director of Connecticut Thespians and an Educational Theatre Association affiliate. Awards: Northeast Educational Theatre Festival Hall of Fame, 2014; Inspirational Theatre Educator Award from the International Thespian Society,

YOUTH PROGRAMS

2014; Connecticut Theatre Educator of the Year from the Connecticut Chapter of the International Thespian Society, 2017. Her work with middle school students was featured in the fall 2014 issue of Teaching Theatre published by the Educational Theatre Association. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and has performed with several companies including Long Wharf Theatre and Connecticut Free Shakespeare.

ASL Interpreters:

Lucy Annett is a queer, BIPOC, San Diego-based ASL interpreter with over 20 years of experience. She has interpreted for multiple shows including Wild Swans (American Repertory Theater), Candide (Huntington Theatre Company), Snow in Midsummer (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and Cabaret (Cygnet Theatre, San Diego). She has interpreted under the direction of ASL consultants including Sarah Hafer, Kelly Kim, and Mikey Krajnak. She is thrilled and grateful to make her debut at Yale Rep. Many thanks to her loved ones, particularly her kiddo for their incredible support.

Katrina Clark (she/her/they) has interpreted for performances of Titus Andronicus (Faction of Fools) and Gilgamesh (Constellation Theatre) featuring Deaf artists, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Men in a Boat (Synetic Theater), and A Guide to Dancing Naked (Capital Fringe), as well as a myriad of post-show discussions and other audience interactions. She was Voice Director for Julius Caesar at Gallaudet University, providing English voiceover access for Shakespearean ASL, and a curriculum builder and cofacilitator for Maryland Theatre Interpreter Training to bolster capacity and equity for performance interpreting teams of DASLs and interpreters.

WILL POWER! is Yale Rep’s annual educational initiative, designed to bring middle and high school students to see live theater. Since our 2003–04 season, WILL POWER! has served more than 20,000 Connecticut students and educators. In 2022–23, we will offer programming centered on Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles to New Haven Public Schools students and educators. The program has included early school-time matinees, free or heavily subsidized tickets, study guides, and post-performance discussions with actors and members of the creative teams. WILL POWER! is committed to giving teachers curricular support through free workshops and professional development about the content and themes of the plays.

THE DWIGHT/EDGEWOOD PROJECT (D/EP)

is a community engagement program of Yale Rep and David Geffen School of Drama for middle school-aged students from Barnard Environmental Science and Technology Magnet School, a K-8 school located on the edge of the Dwight and Edgewood neighborhoods in New Haven. The students are paired with mentors from the Geffen School to write their own plays. The month-long program begins in late May, culminating in fully produced plays performed by the Yale mentors and presented for the New Haven community in late June.

Yale Rep’s youth programs are supported in part by: NewAlliance Foundation

As part of Yale Rep’s commitment to our community, we provide two significant youth programs.

DAVID GEFFEN SCHOOL OF DRAMA BOARD OF ADVISORS

John B. Beinecke YC ’69, Chair

Jeremy Smith ’76, Vice Chair

Nina Adams MS ’69, NUR ’77

Rudy Aragon LAW ’79

Amy Aquino ’86

John Badham ’63, YC ’61

Pun Bandhu ’01

Sonja Berggren Special Research Fellow ’13

Frances Black ’09

Carmine Boccuzzi YC ’90, LAW ’94

Lynne Bolton

Clare Brinkley

Sterling B. Brinkley, Jr. YC ’74

Kate Burton ’82

James Chen ’08

Lois Chiles

Patricia Clarkson ’85

Edgar M. Cullman III ’02, YC ’97

Michael David ’68

Michael Diamond ’90

Polly Draper ’80, YC ’77

Charles S. (Roc) Dutton ’83

Sasha Emerson ’84

Lily Fan YC ’01, LAW ’04

Terry Fitzpatrick ’83

Marc Flanagan ’70

Anita Pamintuan Fusco YC ’90

David Marshall Grant ’78

David Alan Grier ’81

Sally Horchow YC ’92

Ellen Iseman YC ’76

David G. Johnson YC ’78

Rolin Jones ’04

Sarah Long ’92, YC ’85

Cathy MacNeil-Hollinger ’86

Brian Mann ’79

Drew McCoy

David Milch YC ’66

Jennifer Harrison Newman ’11

Carol Ostrow ’80

Tracy Chutorian Semler YC ’86

Tony Shalhoub ’80

Michael Sheehan ’76

Anna Deavere Smith HON ’14

Andrew Tisdale

Edward Trach ’58

Esme Usdan YC ’77

Courtney B. Vance ’86

Donald R. Ware YC ’71

Shana C. Waterman YC ’94, LAW ’00

Henry Winkler ’70

Amanda Wallace Woods ’03

you to the generous contributors to David Geffen School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre

LEADERSHIP SOCIETY ($50,000+)

Anonymous

John B. Beinecke

Sonja Berggren and Patrick Seaver

Estate of James T. Brown*

Lois Chiles

The Roy Cockrum Foundation

Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development

Estate of Nicholas Diggs*

Estate of Richard Diggs*

Anita Pamintuan Fusco and Dino Fusco

David Geffen Foundation

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

David G. Johnson

Victoria B. Mars

Richard Ostreicher

Estate of June M. Rosenblatt

The Shubert Foundation

Jeremy Smith

Stephen Timbers

Nesrin and Andrew Tisdale

Edward Trach

Esme Usdan

GUARANTORS

($25,000–$49,999)

James and Deborah Burrows Foundation

Sarah Long

Neil Mazzella

National Endowment for the Arts

Talia Shire Schwartzman

Estate of Eugene Shewmaker*

The Sir Peter Shaffer

Charitable Foundation

Donald R. Ware

Estate of William Swan*

BENEFACTORS

($10,000–$24,999)

Nina Adams and Moreson Kaplan

Americana Arts Foundation

Rudy Aragon

Carmine Boccuzzi and Bernard Lumpkin

Lynne and Roger Bolton

Burry Fredrik Foundation

Wendy Davies

Michael Diamond

Educational Foundation of America

In honor of Neville and Dorothy Etwaroo

Mabel Burchard Fischer Grant Foundation

Lucille Lortel Foundation

Cathy MacNeil-Hollinger and Mark Hollinger

Tracy Chutorian Semler

Michael and Riki Sheehan

Estate of Merrill L. Sindler*

Carol L. Sirot

Trust for Mutual Understanding

PATRONS

($5,000–$9,999)

Foster Bam

Pun Bandhu

Richard C. Beacham

Santino Blumetti

James Bundy and Anne Tofflemire

Ian Calderon

Janet Ciriello

CT Humanities

Michael S. David

Scott Delman

Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation

Terry Fitzpatrick

Barbara and Richard Franke*

Howard Gilman Foundation

The Jesse & Dorothy Hartman Foundation

Brian Tyree Henry

Sally Horchow

Ellen Iseman in memory of Marjorie

Frankenthaler Iseman

Rolin Jones

Rocco Landesman

Tien-Tsung Ma

Brian Mann

Tarell Alvin McCraney

Roz and Jerry Meyer

David and Leni Moore

Family Foundation

James Munson *deceased

Thank

Jason Najjoum

NewAlliance Foundation

Carol Ostrow

Bill and Sharon Reynolds

PRODUCER’S CIRCLE ($2,500–$4,999)

Anonymous

Frances Black

JANA Foundation

Ann Judd and Bennett Pudlin

Fred Gorelick and Cheryl MacLachlan

George Lindsay, Jr.

Abby Roth and R. Lee Stump

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE ($1,000–$2,499)

Donna Alexander

Anonymous

Debby Applegate and Bruce Tulgan

Amy Aquino and Drew McCoy

Paula Armbruster

Mamoudou N. Athie

Richard and Alice Baxter

John Lee Beatty

Kate Burton

Anne and Guido Calabresi

James Chen

Audrey Conrad

Brett Dalton

Elwood and Catherine Davis

Ramon Delgado

Anne S. Erbe

ERJ Fund

Melanie Ginter

Marc Flanagan

Rob Greenberg

Jane Head

Amy Herzog

Suzanne Jackson

Elizabeth Kaiden

Elizabeth Katz and Reed Hundt

Helen Kauder and Barry Nalebuff

Fran Kumin

The Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation

Kenneth Lewis

Neil Mulligan

Jim and Eileen Mydosh

Barbara and William Nordhaus

Amy Povich

Kathy and George Priest

Pam and Jeff Rank

Lance Reddick

Dr. Michael Rigsby and Prof. Richard Lalli

Elaine Ring

Douglas and Terri Robinson

Russ Rosensweig

Ben and Laraine Sammler

Slotznick Family Fund, a charitable fund of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities

Shepard and Marlene Stone

Matthew Suttor

John Thomas III

Courtney B. Vance

Carol M. Waaser

Clifford L. Warner

Shana C. Waterman

Carolyn Seely Wiener

Steven Waxler

PARTNERS ($500–$999)

Actors’ Equity Foundation

Shaminda Amarakoon

Ashley Bishop

John Bourdeaux

Joy Carlin

Joan Channick and Ruth Hein Schmitt*

Sarah Bartlo Chaplin

Sean Cullen

Bob and Priscilla Dannies

Rick Davis

Robert Dealy

Aziz Dehkan and Barbara Moss

Kelvin Dinkins, Jr. and Alexis Rodda

Sasha Emerson

Peter Entin

Jon Farley

Glen R. Fasman

Randy Fullerton

Tony Foreman

Geballe Family

Peter Gerwe

LT Gourzong

William J. Grambo

Eduardo Groisman

Regina Guggenheim

William B. Halbert

Andy Hamingson

Judy Hansen

Carl Holvick

Peter Hunt

Pam Jordan

Roger Kenvin

Blair Kohan

Eric Lin

Harvey Kliman and Sandra Stein

Nancy F. Lyon

Virginia (Wendy) Riggs Lyons in memory of Robert W. Lyons

John McAndrew

Susie Medak and Greg Murphy

Jonathan Miller

Janice Muirhead

Janet Oetinger

Arthur Oliner

F. Richard Pappas

Louise Perkins and Jeff Glans

Point Harbor Fund of the Maine Community Foundation

Alec Purves

Howard Rogut

Florie Seery

Anna Deavere Smith

Matthew Specter and Marjan Mashhadi

Dr. and Mrs. Dennis D. Spencer

James Steerman

Kenneth J. Stein

David Sword

Matthew Tanico

Sylvia Van Sinderen and James Sinclair

Paul Walsh

Vera Wells

Ray Werner

Walton Wilson

Steven Wolff

Amanda Wallace Woods

Yaro Yarashevich

Albert Zuckerman

INVESTORS ($250–$499)

Bruce Ackerman and Susan Rose-Ackerman

Narda Alcorn

Alexander Bagnall

Georg’Ann Bona

Susan Brady and Mark Loeffler

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Buckholz

David Budries

Jonathan Busky

Sarah Cain

Lawrence Casey

Paul Cleary

William Connor

Daniel Cooperman and Mariel Harris

Robert Cotnoir

Claire A. Criscuolo

John W. Cunningham

William Curran

F. Mitchell Dana

Laura Davis and David Soper

Dennis Dorn

Dr. Marc Eisenberg

Richard and Barbara Feldman

Joel Fontaine

David Freeman

Eric Gershman and Katie Liberman

Lindy Lee Gold

Linda Greenhouse

Emmy Grinwis

Michael Gross

Barbara Hauptman

Jennifer Hershey

Dale and Stephen Hoffman

Casey Grambo

James Guerry Hood

Chuck Hughes

David Henry Hwang

Joanna and Lee A. Jacobus

Bruce Katzman

Edward Kaye

Alan Kibbe

Amir Kishon

Mitchell Kurtz

Maryanne Lavan and Larry Harris

Bona Lee

Irene Lewis

Jennifer Lindstrom

Jerry Lodynsky

Charles H. Long

Mary Lloyd

Adam Man

Peter Marshall

Edwin Martin

Thomas G. Masse and James M. Perlotto, MD

Deborah McGraw

David Muse

Regina and Thomas Neville

Adam O’Byrne

Edward and Frances O’Neill

Bruce Payne and Jack Thomas

Dw Phineas Perkins

Jeffrey Powell and Adalgisa Caccone

Jon and Sarah Reed

Ted Robb

Brian Robinson

Thank you to the generous contributors to David Geffen School

Steve Robman

Erin Rocha

Constanza Romero

Nan Ross

Jean and Ron Rozett

Sarah Ruhl

Robert Sandberg

Suzanne Sato

Robin Sauerteig

Kenneth Schlesinger

Kathleen McElfresh Scott

Paul Selfa

William Skipper

Kenneth Stein

Howard Steinman

Susan Stevens

Wilma and Williams Summers

Bernard Sundstedt

Richard B. Trousdell

George C. White

Guy and Judith Yale

FRIENDS ($100–$249)

Theresa Aldamlouji

Michael Albano

Jeffrey Alexander

Michael Annand

Anonymous

William Armstrong

Clayton Austin

Warren Bass

Michael Baumgarten

Richard Beals

Karen BedrosianRichardson

Ned Blackhawk

Mark Bly

Amy Brewer and David Sacco

Arvin Brown

Donald and Mary Brown

Oscar Brownstein

Stephen Bundy

Katherine and Chava

Burgueño

Richard Butler

Susan Byck

Barbara Bzdyra

David Calica

Kathryn A. Calnan

Juliana Canfield

H. Lloyd Carbaugh

Vincent Cardinal

Sami Joan Casler

Gus Christiansen

King-Fai Chung

Nicholas Cimmino

Cynthia Clair

Aaron Copp

Jane Cox

Douglas and Roseline

Crowley

Anne Danenberg

Timothy Davidson

Cathy Davies-Harmon

Mr. and Mrs. Paul

DeCoster

Penney Detchon

Connie and Peter Dickinson

Derek DiGregorio

Melinda DiVicino

Megan and Leon Doyon

Samuel Duncan

John Duran

Terry Dwyer

Ann D’Zmura

Laura Eckelman

William Eckerd

Phoebe and Kem Edwards

Fran Egler

Robert Einienkel

Nancy Reeder El Bouhali

Janann Eldredge

Donald Engelman

Dirk Epperson

David Epstein

Dustin Eshenroder

Frank and Ellen Estes

Femi Euba

Connie Evans

Jerry Evans

John D. Ezell

Ann Farris

Paul and Susan Birke Fiedler

Terry S. Flagg

Keith Fowler

Adam Frank

Walter M. Frankenberger III

Richard Fuhrman

Gerald E. Gaab

Stephen Gefroh

Carol Gibson-Prugh

Lorraine Golan

Lindy Lee Gold

Betty and Joshua Goldberg

Carol Goldberg

Robert Goldsby

Naomi Grabel

Hannah Grannemann

Steve Grecco

Bigelow Green

David Hale

Stephanie Halene

Amanda Haley

Marion Hampton

Alexander Hammond

Ann Hanley

Scott Hansen

John Harnagel

Charlene Harrington

Babo Harrison

Brian Hastert

James Hazen

Al Heartley

Beth Heller

Robert Heller

Ann Hellerman

Steve Hendrickson

Chris Henry

Brian Herrera

Jeffrey Herrmann

Caite Hevner

Elizabeth Holloway

Nicholas Hormann

Susan Horrowitz

Bruce Horton

Kathleen Houle

Kevin Hourigan

John Howland

Evelyn Huffman

Charles Hughes

Derek Hunt

Peter H. Hunt

John Huntington

John W. Jacobsen

Chris Jaehnig

Eliot and Lois Jameson

Elizabeth Johnson

Jonathan Kalb

Carol Kaplan

Edward Lapine

Jay B. Keene

Samuel Kelley

Roger Kenvin

Peter Kim

William Kleb

Dr. Lawrence Klein

Deborah Kochevar

Steve Koernig

Bonnie Kramm

Brenda and Justin Kreuzer

David Kriebs

Joan Kron

Mitchell Kurtz

Ojin Kwon

Marie Landry and Peter Aronson

Robert Langdon

James and Cynthia Lawler

Clare Leinweber

Martha Lidji Lazar

Drew Lichtenberg

Elizabeth Lewis

Fred Lindauer

Benjamin Lloyd

Thornton Lockwood

Jerry Lodynsky

Robert Hamilton Long II

Everett Lunning

Andi Lyons

Wendy MacLeod

Marvin March

Edwin Martin

Maria Matasar-Padilla

Amy McCauley

Margaret and Robert McCaw

Robert McDonald

Deborah McGraw

Bill McGuire

Patricia McMahon

Donald Michaelis

Kathryn Milano

George Miller

Jane Ann Miller

Lawrence Mirkin

Jennifer Moeller

Richard Mone

Beth Morrison

Jay Mullen

Kevin Muzin

Tina Navarro

Kaye Neale

Netalia Neparidze

Jennifer Harrison Newman

Kate Newman

Ruth Hunt Newman

Jane Nowosadko

Mark Novom

Deb and Ron Nudel

Adam O’Byrne

Eileen O’Connor

Richard Olson

Alex Organ

Kendric T. Packer

Steven Padla

Michael Parrella

Jeffrey Park

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Parry

Amanda Peiffer

Ruth Perlman

William Peters

Joel Polis

Lisa Porter

Michael Posnick

Gladys Powers

Robert Provenza

William Purves

Norman Redlich

Ralph Redpath

Gail Reen

Barbara Reid

Oakton Reynolds

Lisa Richardson

Elizabeth Riedemann

Joan Robbins

Nathan Roberts

Peter S. Roberts

Lori Robishaw

Chantal Rodriguez

Kevin Rogers

Stu Rohrer

of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre

Robert Rooy

Melissa Rose

Joseph Ross

Donald Rossler

Rebecca Rugg

Janet Ruppert

John Barry Ryan

Dr. Robert and Marcia

Safirstein

Steven Saklad

Robert Sandberg

Donald Sanders

Cynthia Santos-DeCure

Adam Saunders

Peggy Sasso

Joel Schechter

Anne Schenck

Kenneth Schlesinger

Georg Schreiber

Jennifer Schwartz

Patrick Seeley

Ellen Seltzer

Subrata K. Sen

Paul Serenbetz

Sandra Shaner

Morris Sheehan

Lorraine Siggins

William and Elizabeth Sledge

Gilbert and Ruth Small

E. Gray Smith, Jr.

George Smith

Helena L. Sokoloff

Suzanne Solensky and Jay Rozgonyi

Charles Steckler

Louise Stein

John Stevens

Mark Stevens

Michael Strickland

Mark Sullivan

Thomas Sullivan

Erik Sunderman

Jane Suttell

Douglas Taylor

Jane Savitt Tennen

Muriel Test

David F. Toser

Russell L. Treyz

Deb Trout

Carrie Van Hallgren

Adin Walker

Jaylene Wallace

Erik Walstad

Brad Ward

Joan Waricha

Peter White

Robert Wildman

Annick Winokur and Peter Gilbert

June Yearwood

EMPLOYER

MATCHING GIFTS

Aetna Foundation

Ameriprise Financial

Chevron Corporation

Covidien

General Electric Corporation

IBM

Mobil Foundation, Inc.

Pfizer

Procter & Gamble

The Prospect Hill Foundation

Gifts to the For Humanity campaign and David Geffen School of Drama New Facility Fund

Anonymous (3)

Nina Adams and Moreson Kaplan

Amy Aquino and Drew McCoy

Rudy Aragon

John Badham

Pun Bandhu

Frances and Ed Barlow

John B. Beinecke

Sonja Berggren and Patrick Seaver

Carmine Boccuzzi and Bernard Lumpkin

James Bundy and Anne Tofflemire

Lois Chiles

Michael David and Lauren Mitchell

Scott Delman

Michael Diamond and Amy Miller

Estate of Nicholas Diggs*

Estate of Richard Diggs*

Lily Fan

Terry Fitzpatrick

Anita Pamintuan Fusco and Dino Fusco

David Marshall Grant Gilder Foundation

Lane Heard and

Margaret Bauer

Cheryl Henson

Ellen Iseman

David G. Johnson

Rolin Jones

Jane Kaczmarek

Cathy MacNeil-Hollinger and Mark Hollinger

Brian Mann

Jennifer Harrison Newman

Julie Turaj and Rob Pohly

Tracy Chutorian Semler

Michael and Riki

Sheehan

Frances Black and

Matthew Strauss

Andrew and Nesrin

Tisdale

Ed Trach

Esme Usdan

Shana C. Waterman

Amanda Wallace

Woods and Eric Wasserstrom

The Prospect Hill Foundation

Jeremy Smith

Courtney B. Vance

Donald and Susan Ware

Henry Winkler

*deceased

These lists includes current pledges, gifts, and grants received from July 1, 2021, through November 15, 2022.

COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS

MAKE A GIFT! When you make a gift to Yale Rep’s Annual Fund, you support the creative work on our stage and our education programs in Greater New Haven. For more information, or to make a donation, please call Susan Clark, 203.432.1559. You can also give online at yalerep.org/support.