Download To Kill A Mockingbird - Virginia Repertory Theatre

News Release
Virginia Repertory Theatre
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Date: August 28, 2013
Susan Davenport
Director of Communications
Virginia Repertory Theatre
[email protected]
804-513-8211
Virginia Rep Opens the Signature Season with
To Kill A Mockingbird
Community Partnerships with Leadership Metro Richmond and
Richmond’s Legal Community to Support Student Matinees
Richmond, VA – Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of Harper Lee’s
classic To Kill A Mockingbird at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, 114 West
Broad Street on Friday, September 27 with a Preview on Thursday, September 26. The
show runs through October 20, 2013. Long recognized as one of the most influential
works of fiction on the criminal justice system, To Kill a Mockingbird and the role of
Atticus Finch have impacted lawyers for decades. In recognition of this legacy, Virginia
Rep will partner with Leadership Metro Richmond and its members from the legal
community to support student matinees for middle and high school students. LMR
members from the legal community will facilitate talkbacks with the cast after student
matinees and three Friday evening performances. The Honorable Cleo E. Powell,
Supreme Court Justice of Virginia, the Honorable Catherine Hammond, Chief Judge of
the Henrico Circuit Court, and Kimberly C. MacLeod from Hunton & Williams are among
those addressing students.
Director, Rusty Wilson who is making his directing debut at Virginia Rep talks about his
vision and the importance of the show. “This story will never be out of date, or out of
fashion, or tired, or irrelevant, because it is a story of the best and the worst of the
human struggle. It is fundamentally a story about right and wrong, and the choices we
must grapple with about how we live our lives. It is a story about a man who chooses
the hard right, rather than the easy wrong, teaching his children by example, not just
words. I love that we have a cast of players who will not only tell the story, but witness it
as well. This is a big part of my approach to this production. I also wanted to tell the
story through the lens of memory, and the traditional spiritual music of the time. The
addition of a live, a cappella choir brings a whole new dimension to the production."
Since moving to Richmond in 2005, Wilson has directed a number of critically acclaimed
productions including Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Who’s Afraid Of
Virginia Woolf?, Eurydice, Mr. Marmalade, at Firehouse Theatre Project and Cadence
Theatre’s, In The Next Room (or the vibrator play). Prior to moving to Richmond, Rusty
spent ten years serving as the Founding Artistic Director for Company of Fools, an
award winning theatre company located in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was awarded
the Idaho Governor’s Award. He currently serves as the Arts Department Chair and
Director of Theatre at St. Christopher’s School.
Virginia Rep is delighted to welcome back Adrian Rieder as Atticus Finch. He was most
recently seen in Virginia Rep’s Hay Fever and Scorched Earth and in Death of a
Salesman at Firehouse Theatre Project. His TV credits include All My Children, Sex in
the City and Law and Order.
Laine Satterfield will play Maudie Atkinson. Recent credits include Gidion’s Knot,
produced by Carol Piersol, In the Next Room, (or the Vibrator Play) for Cadence
Theatre Company, Boston Marriage (Stella di Domani Festival), and The Little Dog
Laughed for Virginia Rep.
The Honorable Roger Gregory, federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for
the Fourth Circuit, will reprise his role as Reverend Sykes. He was in Virginia Rep’s last
production of To Kill a Mockingbird in 2003. Other credits include Jim Bono in
Sycamore Rouge Theatre’s Fences and two films: a documentary, The Turning Point:
Brown v. Board of Education in which he portrayed Thurgood Marshall and an
independent film, Speak Now. Joining him is Gordon Bass who is reprising his role as
Heck Tate from the 2003 production.
Virginia Rep is delighted to introduce Molly Nugent as Scout and Nick Dauley as Jem.
Molly is in the fifth grade at River's Edge Elementary in Glen Allen. CYT credits include
The Little Mermaid (Flounder), Honk (a duckling), Beauty and the Beast (sugarbowl),
and Annie (orphan). Nick Dauley is a freshman at Thomas Dale’s Specialty Center for
the Arts and a member of HATTheatre's HATTBox Players. He was recently seen as
Georgie in HATTheatre’s Over The Tavern. Also new to Virginia Rep is Henry Boyle as
Dill, a rising seventh grader. In 2011, he performed in SPARC’s 30th Anniversary Gala
at the Carpenter Theatre and played Sonny in Firehouse Theatre’s production of Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof.
Set Designer Ron Keller is Head of Design and resident scenic designer for Theatre
VCU. His most recent credits with Virginia Rep include Scorched Earth, Guys and Dolls
(RTCC Award for Best Set Design) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (RTCC Award for
Best Set Design). Lynne M. Hartman, light designer, is also known for her work at
Virginia Rep. Credits include RED, Hay Fever, The Magic Flute, The Sound of Music
(RTCC Award) and Spring Awakening (RTCC nominated).
Elizabeth Weiss Hopper is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre at the School of the Arts,
Virginia Commonwealth University where she served as costume designer for 32 years.
Professionally she has designed costumes for over 250 productions in theatre, dance
and opera including the Company of Fools, Hailey, Idaho; Theatre VCU, Virginia Rep,
The Production Company, University of Richmond, James River Chamber Opera,
Richmond Shakespeare, Cadence Theatre and the Confederation Center of the Arts,
Canada. Virginia Rep credits include Quilters, The Full Monty, The Man Who Came to
Dinner, Hamlet, The Dead, 1940’s Radio Hour, and The Trip to Bountiful.
Student Matinees and Talk on Tap Conversations
Middle and high school matinees will take place on October 3, 4, 10, 17, and 18 at
10:30 a.m. Tickets are $14. Shows include talkback with LMR member from the legal
community and the cast. Talk on Tap conversations will take place after public Friday
evening performances on October 4, 11, and 18.
Ticket Information
Box Office 804-282-2620
www.va-rep.org
Full Price Tickets: $38 - $46
Discounted Group Rates and Rush tickets available.
U-Tix for college and high school students $10. Available by phone or in person
day of show only. Student ID required.
The Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre is equipped with a new state-of the-art
induction loop hearing system that is compatible with all telecoil-equipped
hearing aids and cochlear implants. A handheld receiver and headphone system
is also available free of charge for anyone who is hearing impaired.
Valet parking is available for $8 at during Wednesday matinees and Friday and
Saturday evening performances.
Press Kits Available at http://va-rep.org/press.html
Pass code accessible Hi Res photos available to media.
username = press password = HiRes121
Evening performances at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7:00 p.m. pm on
select Wednesdays
Matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday and select Wednesdays and Saturdays
Direction & Design
Director
Musical Director
Dialect Director
Scenic Designer
Lighting Designer
Costume Designer
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manger
Rusty Wilson
Anthony Smith
Amanda Durst
Ron Keller+
Lynne M. Hartman+
Elizabeth Weiss Hopper
Rick Brandt*
Katie Monfet
Cast List
Jean Louise Finch (Scout)
Jeremy Finch (Jem)
Atticus Finch
Calpurnia
Maudie Atkinson
Stephanie Crawford
Mrs. Dubose
Arthur Radley (Boo)
Charles Baker Harris (Dill)
Heck Tate
Judge Taylor
Reverend Sykes
Mayella Ewell
Bob Ewell
Walter Cunningham
Mr. Gilmer
A.J. Calbert
Molly Nugent
Nick Dauley
Adrian Rieder*
Debbie Gayle Taylor
Laine Satterfield*
Terri Moore
Mollie Ort
Dean Knight
Henry Boyle
Gordon Bass
Frank Creasy
R. Lee Gregory
Suzanne Gray
Ron Reid
Frank Creasy
Ford Flannagan*
Tom Robinson
Choir
Anthony Smith, Jessi Johnson, Keydron Dunn, Stephanie M. Hill, Alana S. Thomas
+Member of USA United Scenic Artists: local 829
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage
managers in the U.S.A.
Full bios can be found at www.va-rep.org.
About Virginia Repertory Theatre
Virginia Repertory Theatre, located in Richmond, VA, combines the talents and
strengths of two nonprofit companies that shared facilities, resources, and management
teams for over a decade. Now the heritages of Barksdale Theatre (founded in 1953)
and Theatre IV (founded in 1975) live on in their new form, as Central Virginia’s leading
professional theater company. Virginia Rep presents national caliber productions of the
great dramas, comedies, and musicals as well as classics, contemporary works, and
world premieres, always seeking to demonstrate the unique power of theater to engage,
enthrall, educate, and inspire. Productions are staged at four distinct venues: the Sara
Belle and Neil November Theatre and Theatre Gym at the downtown Virginia Rep
Center, Virginia Rep’s Children’s Theatre of Virginia located at Willow Lawn, and at
Hanover Tavern, home to Virginia Rep’s Barksdale Season.
Sponsors
Virginia Rep’s Signature Season is sponsored by Altria and by The Shubert Foundation,
The Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Media
sponsorship is provided by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond.com, and
Community Idea Stations.
Leadership Metro Richmond Host Committee
Ralph L. “Bill” Axselle Jr. (Williams Mullen), Susan Holleman Brewer (J. Sargeant
Reynolds Community College), Frank Brown Jr. (Frank O. Brown, Jr. P.C.) , Bennett J.
Fidlow (Schroder Fidlow &Titley, PLC) , The Honorable Catherine Hammond (Henrico
Circuit Court), Gladys Bailey Harris (Gladys Bailey Harris Attorney at law), Kimberly C.
MacLeod (Hunton & Williams, LLP), The Honorable Jennifer McClellan (Virginia House
of Delegates), Chip D. Nunley III (Hunton &Williams LLP), M. Janet Palmer (City of
Richmond), The Honorable Cleo E. Powell (Virginia Supreme Court), E. Ford Stephens
(Christian and Barton), Neil Talegaonkar (ThompsonMcMullan, P.C.) , Janet Singletary
Thomas (Hirschler Fleischer).