Download - Huntington Theatre Company

Eugene Lee in
August Wilson’s
How I Learned
What I Learned
Performance Calendars p.2
Huntington News p.3
Disgraced
p.4
Milk Like Sugar p.8
August Wilson’s How I
Learned what I Learned p.12
Can You Forgive Her? p.16
I Was Most Alive With You p.20
In Development p.24
Education
p.26
SPRING 2016
josh lamkin
SPOTLIGHT
GREAT THEATRE — PRODUCED BY YOU
PERFORMANCE CALENDARS: January – JUNE 2016
DISGRACED
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(~) Audio-Described
(•)Post-Show Conversations
( * ) Press Opening Night
(s) Student Matinee
(d) Actors Forum
(b) Boston Globe post-show event
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15
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(c) Community Membership
Reception
( ₱ ) VIP Opening Night
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MARCH - APRIL 2016
2PM
( )35 Below Wrap Party
(h)Humanities Forum
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SOUTH END / CALDERWOOD PAVILION AT THE BCA
MARCH - APRIL 2016
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
617 266 0800
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CAN YOU FORGIVE HER?
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AVENUE OF THE ARTS / BU THEATRE
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JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016
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MILK LIKE SUGAR
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MAY - JUNE 2016
I Was Most Alive With You is a new play created by a hearing artist featuring
both Deaf/deaf and hearing actors and characters. It is being told in both
ASL and English, and will be accessible to members of the Deaf and
ASL communities at every performance.
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
BU
TH
UP EAT
DA RE
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paul marrotta
Dear Friends,
As you likely have heard, the Huntington Theatre Company and Boston University decided in
October to dissolve our 33-year partnership, and BU put the BU Theatre complex on Huntington
Avenue up for sale. BU plans to consolidate their theatre arts program on the Charles River
campus, and the Huntington needs a fully renovated theatre in which to present its large-scale
productions as well as expanded function space for our patrons.
The Huntington is ready to partner with any buyer of the BU Theatre complex selected by BU
in order to remain at our Huntington Avenue location, our home for the past 33 years. We are
prepared to fully renovate the theatre, to continue to produce ambitious, large-scale works, and to expand our services
to the community. Our Board of Trustees is prepared to undertake a capital campaign to fund the significant investment
which will be needed to convert the current theatre into a first-rate, modern venue, similar to the campaign we
undertook to finance the Calderwood Pavilion in 2004.
Rest assured that we will continue to produce world class theatre at the BU Theatre and the Calderwood Pavilion for the
remainder of our 2015-2016 season, and that we are currently finalizing a full season of programming for our 2016-2017
season — in both the BU Theatre and the Calderwood Pavilion — that will be just as adventurous and exciting as ever.
We are very grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support we have received from many of you, as well as from
community leaders and the Boston theatre community. Despite the challenges we face, the past few months have been
a terrific reinforcement for us of how important our work is to so many people, and in making Greater Boston a better
place for all.
Thank you for your ongoing support. I send my very best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, and arts-filled 2016.
Warmest regards,
Michael Maso
Managing Director
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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“A 90-minute masterpiece!”
DI
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AYA
— HARTFORD COURANT
DA
by
“A compelling production of the acclaimed new play
that should be at the top of anyone’s theatregoing list.”
High-powered New York
lawyer Amir has climbed
the corporate ladder while
distancing himself from
his Muslim roots. When he
and his wife Emily host a
dinner party, what starts
as a friendly conversation
escalates, shattering their
views on race, religion, and
each other.
“This provocative Pulitzer Prize winner is a vitally topical
look at modern Muslim American identity. Long Wharf
Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein brings
depth and precision to this timely new play.”
– ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER DuBOIS
Playwright Ayad Akhtar
Director Gordon Edelstein
AKHTAR’S AMERICA
Fifteen years ago the World Trade Center was attacked in New York
City, changing America forever. Even though we are now a decade
and a half removed, hate crimes against Muslims are still five times
more likely to happen today than before 9/11. According to a recent
Gallup poll, 60% of Muslim Americans believe that most Americans
are prejudiced towards Muslims. Islamophobia has increased in the
United States, even though 60% of Americans have never personally
known a Muslim person. The relationship between Islam and America
is a complicated, yet intimately linked connection.
Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced tells the story
of Amir, a successful lawyer with Pakistani roots, living in New York
City. The play explores Amir’s Muslim identity and its relationship
to the American Dream, asking the question: How can these two
worlds exist simultaneously? Like Amir, Akhtar’s life was influenced
by the September 11 attacks; “Post-9/11, folks who looked like me
became very visible,” says Akhtar in an interview with The Guardian.
“Life changed. I and a lot of people like me felt differently after that.
Like Amir, the fact of being Muslim, whether religious or cultural,
became a significant fact that could not be avoided.”
Raised by Pakistani immigrant physicians, Akhtar received an
education from Brown and later Columbia University. His parents
influenced his perception on religion; Akhtar stated his father was
“a militant atheist,” while his mother was an “American individualist
spiritually, with an Islamic cast.” Akhtar’s experience influenced
the premise of his book American Dervish (2012) inspired by
his personal life growing up in the Midwest and the complex
relationship between identity and religion. Akhtar crossed the
bridge between novel writing and theatre with his play Disgraced.
“I started to understand that for me art was no longer about
self-expression but about creative engagement with the world,”
explains Ahktar about his transition into theatre. “Even if it’s a very
uncomfortable experience, the audience must experience some
pleasure — or, if not pleasure, they must be rapt. If I can do that
effectively, I can trust audiences to decide how they feel about this,
that, or the other.”
Akhtar paints a picture of the complex world of post-9/11 United
States, and while the play is set a decade later, sentiments still
run high with the characters as they question ethnicity and social
standing, and ultimately, attempt to define justice. “I can’t be a
spokesman for anything other than my own concerns. I have to be
free to wrestle with my own preoccupations, and if I’m bringing any
political awareness to that process, that mitigates my freedom,”
Akhtar explains about his play. Disgraced allows the audience to
observe the raw discomfort of Amir’s experiences as he attempts
to understand his own identity. Amir’s self-doubt coupled with his
Muslim upbringing slowly tear the character apart as he desperately
attempts to maintain the life he has led.
Disgraced is notably the most produced play in the United States
during this theatrical season. Akhtar’s portrait of Amir has become
a point of contention for many in the Muslim community: “I get a
bum rap from a lot of folks in my particular community for ‘airing
dirty laundry,’ as it were,” Akhtar explains about his play, noting
that Disgraced is not the definitive portrait of Muslim Americans.
“The great thing about being an artist is you don’t have to find any
answers.”
– Phaedra Scott
LEARN MORE ONLINE Watch an interview with playwright Ayad Akhtar on “CBS Sunday Morning” and learn more about his life as a playwright,
screen writer, and novelist at huntingtontheatre.org.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
5
AYAD AKHTAR ON DISGRACED
TO WATCH AYAD AKHTAR SPEAK ABOUT HIS WORK IS TO WITNESS A FAST, NUANCED, AND UNSTOPPABLE INTELLECT.
BELOW WE’VE CULLED SOME OF THE MOST SALIENT THINGS Akhtar HAS HAD TO SAY ABOUT DISGRACED.
“I believe that American history and psyche are deeply,
deeply fueled by the tension between these two things:
the Enlightenment rejection of religion and the profound
search for oblivion in the rapture or passion for God. So
I think my play is an expression of a deeply American
dynamic. One of the things that people find so surprising
about it is that they think, ‘I am going to watch something
about the Muslims by the guy with the Muslim name.’ But
at some point they realize, ‘I am watching a play about my
own family or my own experience.’”
“The play begins with a Western consciousness
representing a Muslim subject. The play ends with the
Muslim subject observing the fruits of that representation.
In between the two points lies a journey, and that journey
has to do with the ways in which we Muslims are still
beholden on an ontological level to the ways in which the
West is seeing us.”
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“The play is about how we talk about Islam, how we
frame Islam, what meaning we find in it, and how those
conversations are actually not just theoretical
conversations.”
“One of the things that’s problematic to a lot of people is
that some readings of the play seem to undermine other
readings. And so the question becomes, well, what is the
reading of this play? My contention is that your reading of
this play tells you a lot about yourself. And I’m reminded
about that wonderful thing that Rainer Werner Fassbinder,
the New Wave German filmmaker, once said, about how
he wished to create a revolution not on the screen but in
the audience.”
Curtain Calls
“I do believe
personally that
the Muslim world
has got to fully
account for the
image the West
has of it and move
on. To the extent
we continue to try
to define ourselves
by saying, ‘We are
not what you say
about us,’ we’re
still allowing the
West to have the
defining position
in the discourse.”
NAME Shirine Babb
ROLE Jory
HOMETOWN I’m a
native New Yorker.
How are you alike
or different from
your character? I find that I’m similar
to Jory in the sense that I’m driven and
ambitious with a desire to be successful,
and we both came from humble
beginnings.
What has the audience response
to your character been like? Well,
by the time Jory comes on and scene
three gets rolling, I think my presence
gives the audience the permission to laugh
and breathe a little easier... She is in a way
the comic relief with nuances of truth.
NAME Rajesh Bose
ROLE Amir
HOMETOWN I consider
both Pittsburgh, PA
and Boston, MA my
hometowns.
What has the audience response
to your character been like? Like
the play, it has been varied and complex. I
do hope people walk away understanding
Amir’s deep pain and appreciating his
humanity, despite his flaws.
Why do you think Disgraced is
the most produced play in America
this season? The play artfully pushes
buttons in a time of unprecedented fear,
violence, and ignorance towards Muslims
and those perceived to be Muslim by the
dominant culture.
– AYAD AKHTAR
NAME Benim Foster
ROLE Isaac
HOMETOWN NYC
for the past 20 years.
Born and raised in Long
Island and then teen
years in South Florida. t. charles erickson
Shirine Babb, Rajesh Bose, Nicole Lowrance,
and Benim Foster in Disgraced (2016)
What has the audience response
to your character been like?
I think they have fun with Isaac. He’s a fun
guy. He tends to make some smart, snarky
comments which shakes things up. He’s a
little bit of an antagonist. It’s juicy. Why do you think Disgraced is
the most produced play in America
this season? Disgraced opens up
a discussion. One that needs to be
discussed. It’s a sociopolitical, timeless
play that ultimately is a play about
relationships. To steal one of Isaac’s lines
regarding art...Disgraced is “important
and new and needs to be seen widely!”
NAME Mohit Gautam
ROLE Abe
HOMETOWN Stony
Brook, NY What is your
favorite moment in
the play? I really enjoy Amir’s speech
towards the end of scene three in which
he confronts everyone in their discussion
of Islam and the effect of aftershock of the
questions that follow. Why do you think Disgraced is the
most produced play in America this
season? It’s a perfectly written, easy to
produce, thought-provoking, emotionally
broadening play. This play sticks with you
for a very long time, and it requires the
audience to be involved.
NAME Nicole Lowrance
ROLE Emily
HOMETOWN Austin, TX
How are you alike
or different from
your character?
I feel a kindred spirit in Emily as a seeker.
An artist that is searching/exploring new
ideas and identities in search of a pathway
to live in what she believes to be a more
authentic and pure way.
What is your favorite moment in
the play? I love it when Amir, Emily, Issac,
and Jory finally all take their seats at the
dining table. The construct of having a
dinner party, all trying to mind manners, and
the intense topics of conversation that hit
a tipping point at that part of the play? It
takes a good drama and then sets it on fire.
SEE PAGE 2
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
AND EVENT LISTINGS
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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Annie and her teenage
friends want the same things:
the hottest new phones,
cute boys, designer bags.
But when they enter into a
pregnancy pact, she wonders
if there might be a different
path and a brighter future.
Huntington Playwriting Fellow
Kirsten Greenidge (Luck of
the Irish) finds raw humor
and gritty poetry in this
provocative, ripped-from-theheadlines new play.
“Milk Like Sugar
balances street with sweet,
to entertaining & illuminating
effect. A MUST SEE!”
– LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Huntington Playwriting Fellow Kirsten Greenidge
has a knack for telling stories that resonate with local
audiences; her play Luck of the Irish provoked a major
civic discussion about the legacy of segregation in our
city that spilled over into newspapers and radio shows.
Milk Like Sugar is a riveting look into the lives of three
teenage girls sure to start its own rich conversation.”
– ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER DuBOIS
Playwright Kirsten Greenidge
Director M. Bevin O’Gara
THE STORY OF MILK LIKE SUGARi
Before rehearsals began, Boston playwright
Kirsten Greenidge and director M. Bevin O’Gara
shared their thoughts and ideas about their
upcoming production of Milk Like Sugar.
The play follows 16 year-old Annie’s journey
of deciding whether or not to join her friends
in a pregnancy pact, and in this conversation,
the artists explore the play’s questions of
belonging, opportunity, and community.
M. BEVIN O’GARA (DIRECTOR): One of the things that you and I
talked about, back when we first started is the idea of “Where does
knowledge come from?” Can you talk a little bit about that story
and where the play came from?
KIRSTEN GREENIDGE (PLAYWRIGHT): I was a student teacher,
and I took this class with a teacher who was talking about teaching
in different schools with students from different socio-economic
backgrounds. He asked a group of kids from underserved
communities where knowledge comes from. They said, “It comes
from your teacher.” It comes from outside of you. You get it from
someone else, so it all depends on who your teacher is. Then he
asked students from what we call a middle-class community where
knowledge comes from. Those students said, “You have to work hard
for it. It comes from hard work and you have to acquire it. That’s
where it comes from.” Then he asked students from a privileged
community, a private school, where knowledge comes from, and
they said, “It comes from within you.” That blew my mind. I was 21,
and at that time I wanted to be a teacher. It changed my entire world
and how I think about things. It was heartbreaking and amazing, and
it made me think about the stories I wanted to tell.
MBO: I understand the psychology of how this happens. I’m 33 years
old, and I still think that a baby is going to change my life for the
good. These girls [in the play] are half my age, and it hasn’t shifted
all that much. Maybe it’s sort of how nature protects itself; it gets
women to lie to themselves that getting pregnant is this easy thing
that fixes all of your problems, and they’re just completely wrapped
up in the idea of having a child, as opposed to raising a child. It’s
the same way that women become wrapped up in the wedding as
opposed to the marriage.
continued, next page
LEARN MORE ONLINE Listen to Kirsten Greenidge talk about writing stories about African American characters in the Boston area on WBUR’s “Radio
Boston” and read about what inspired her play Milk Like Sugar at huntingtontheatre.org.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
9
t. charles erickson
Shalita Grant and Francesca Choy-Kee in Luck of the Irish (2012)
KG: There’s this whole industry that’s designed for this. Websites like
The Knot, The Nest, and Pinterest and even ones that are supposed to
be benign — like Etsy — they are designed for this certain life that you
want to aspire to and lead. It’s just a few clicks away, and you can have
this thing. For these girls, this thing is attainable, because it’s just a few
actions away. You get this guy to do these things with you, and you
can have this life that you want, and all the things that didn’t go right
for you with your mother or your father, you can correct and make
good. So you can have a do-over, and it could be easy. It’s attainable.
MBO: What you’re doing so beautifully in this play is that it’s bigger
than just the child. The line that rings to me, and I remember from the
first time I read this; the refrain of “I deserve them. I deserve it.” It’s
because media and culture teaches us that we deserve these things.
A better life. More love. The newest phone.
KG: Because from early on, many of us equate our worth with those
things. If you don’t have them, then what are you worth? And even
when they don’t seem as material, for any of these girls, when that
self-worth does not come from within, when it always comes from
without, when you don’t get those things, you don’t have anything
holding you up.
MBO: I’m just thinking through each of the young girls we meet in
the play: ultimately Annie wants the baby because she wants her
own family, she wants love; Keera wants Yatzee, wants that family,
that warmth, that love; even T wants that love from this man. It’s not
necessarily material things that are driving them; it’s really this desire
for love, that is driving it all, right? Beneath it all, they are saying,
“I deserve the respect, I deserve the love, I deserve to be a part of
something.”
KG: Yes, and they’re not wrong, which is sad.
MBO: This was originally a ten-minute play, right? The first scene
when Annie is at the tattoo parlor?
KG: It was a ten-minute play, in the tattoo parlor. It was all about
whether Annie was going to get the tattoo and her making that
decision — and they talk about the [pregnancy] pact and whether
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“The line that rings to me,
and I remember from the first
time I read this; the refrain of
“I deserve them. I deserve it.”
It’s because media and culture
teaches us that we deserve
these things. A better life. More
love. The newest phone.”
– M. Bevin O’Gara
“Yes, and they’re not wrong,
which is sad.”
– Kirsten Greenidge
or not they were going to make the pact. I wanted to make sure
that she had different ways of seeing the world — because that’s
really difficult for someone like Annie, to be smart, but not to be a
“chosen kid” in this community. I don’t think it’s as easy as saying,
“slip through the cracks” because that implies that that child wasn’t
identified as having some sort of gift or talent; there are so many
kids that do have them, but don’t get to use their gift.
MBO: One thing you’ve mentioned is how has this play changed
from five years ago. What’s different about telling this story now?
How has hope changed? How has our idea of hope changed? It
does seem to mean something different now, than it did then.
THE GLOUCESTER
PREGNANCY PACT:
INSPIRATION FOR THE PLAY
t. charles erickson
Marianna Bassham, Nikkole Salter, Victor Williams,
and McCaleb Burnett in Luck of the Irish (2012)
KG: When we did this with an all African American cast, someone
said, “the teenage pregnancy rate has gone down, so what do you
say about that?” So I said, “It’s not about young black teenage
pregnancies. It’s about young women and their choices, and that
they feel empowered to make choices that they feel are right for
them. It’s not about whether or not teenage pregnancy rates are
up or down.”
MBO: When we first started talking about this play as a staff, I
was always very conscious about what the work we’re doing is
saying to our audiences. What do we want our audiences leaving
thinking? My biggest fear when we started talking about this play
is what Kirsten addresses, that “this is a black problem.” That was
something that was very scary to me, and was not something we
wanted our audience thinking. I’m really interested about having
that conversation, and that conversation about women’s choices
through a lens that is very diverse. I am hoping the choices that
have been made in terms of casting will allow that to happen. I
want it to feel real, I want it to feel human, like this is something
that could be happening down the street. I feel like I see these girls
on the subway, I see them at the Old Navy in South Bay, and I hope
that by seeing this play people will pass those people in the street
in a slightly different way. I love to think of our audience riding the
orange line home that night and considering what their options are
in a way that they haven’t before.
In 2008, teenage pregnancy rates spiked among the students
of Gloucester High School, and rumors swirled of a “pregnancy
pact” between the students. The case quickly made national
headlines. According to an article in Marie Claire, by May 2008,
school nurse Kim Daly had given out 150 pregnancy tests; 17 of
them were positive, four times as many as the year before. The
article recounted how many students returned multiple times for
pregnancy tests after their first one was negative. Some of the
girls were excited about positive results, or reacted to dashed
hopes if the test was negative. Yet as the media whirlwind grew,
several young women came forward to say that the story of
the pact had been made up and that the many overlapping
pregnancies were not collectively planned.
In the coverage of Gloucester, reporters emphasized the
depressed economy of the town and speculated how economic
stress may have led to increased pregnancy rates. The initial
coverage inspired playwright Kirsten Greenidge to start thinking
about the dynamics of teen pregnancy and the interplay of
opportunity and choice in young women’s lives. “Even if it wasn’t
true, it begged the question why was the teenage pregnancy rate
there so high?,” she recalls.
Greenidge decided to explore the scenario through a fictional
lens. “I chose to take it away from Gloucester,” Greenidge says
“so the question [for audiences] wouldn’t be ‘Did they, or didn’t
they? Is this Gloucester or isn’t it?’” Greenidge drew inspiration
instead from students she was in conversation with at the time.
“I taught public speaking,” Greenidge recalls, “So the pieces that
these young women were writing were about themselves, about
the choices they had made to go to college while their friends
that they had gone high school with were making different
choices. Their friends were getting pregnant, having a second
child, partying a lot, or didn’t have jobs. Those students were
trying to make sense of ‘I’m here, but a lot of people around me
aren’t doing so well.’”
– TONASIA JONES
SEE PAGE 2
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR AND EVENT LISTINGS
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In this solo show, the late
Pulitzer Prize-winning
playwright August Wilson
shares stories about his
first few jobs, a stint in jail,
his lifelong friends, and his
encounters with racism,
music, and love as a young
poet in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
Directed by Todd Kreidler and
featuring Eugene Lee, both
longtime Wilson collaborators,
this theatrical memoir charts
one man’s journey of selfdiscovery through adversity,
and what it means to be a
black artist in America.
Braille
“Complex & surprisingly funny,
a memoir of the playwright’s life,
laced with the voice of
the poet he always was.”
– PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
“Many of August Wilson’s closest
collaborators have talked about the
Huntington — a theatre involved in the
premiere productions of eight of his plays
— as a place they feel his spirit as an artist.
His brilliant theatrical memoir gives us all a
chance to experience August’s intelligence,
humor, and incredible insight again.”
– ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER DuBOIS
Director Todd Kreidler and Playwright August Wilson
Actor Eugene Lee
THE AMERICAN LEGACY OF AUGUST WILSON
“When I sit down to write, I am sitting in the same chair that Ibsen
sat in, that Brecht, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller sat in. I
am confronted with the same problems of how to get a character
on stage, how to shape the scenes to get maximum impact,” said
playwright August Wilson in an interview about his writing process.
Wilson has become an iconic member of the American cannon of
theatre, from Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in 1986 to Ma Rainey’s
Black Bottom in 2012. Wilson’s Century Cycle, a ten-play anthology
of Black America through 100 years of history has become a part of
the Huntington’s repertoire.
Holding a legacy is never easy; “My ancestors have been in America
since the early 17th century. And for the first 244 years we never
had a problem finding a job,” Wilson’s opening words of the play
echo truthfully. Wilson acts as a guide for audiences as he unpacks
centuries of American history through his life as a young poet in the
Hill District, experiences that would ultimately shape the plays within
his Century Cycle. He asks the questions, “what is my identity? How
can my identity forge my path to the future?” In an era controlled
by the media and hashtag social justice movements, How I Learned
What I Learned serves as a reminder of the lessons we learn through
life that can only be taught by human interaction. What is the legacy
that we are able to leave behind?
The impact of Wilson’s work has made a lasting mark on American
theatre, and opened doors to conversations about the black
experience in the United States. Wilson was attracted to the theatre
and its potential to reach audiences, no matter the class or race. How I
Learned What I Learned is no exception; “I was, and remain, fascinated
by the idea of an audience as a community of people who gather
willingly to bear witness,” Wilson states. “A novelist writes a novel
and people read it. But reading is a solitary act. While it may elicit a
varied and personal response, the communal nature of the audience
is like having 500 people read your novel and respond to it at the
same time. I find that thrilling.” How I Learned What I Learned is an allencompassing look at the man behind the revered Century Cycle.
Wilson’s works are often politicized, but Wilson himself wrote plays
with a purely creative intention: “I don’t write particularly to effect
social change. I believe writing can do that, but that’s not why I
write. I work as an artist. All art is political in the sense that it serves
someone’s politics.” Wilson’s work is honest and truthful on levels
that stretch beyond race and class. His work encompasses a variety
of themes, including love, honor, and duty, themes that universally
weave in and out of our daily lives.
The characters August Wilson created, from Troy in Fences to Boy
Willie and Lymon in The Piano Lesson, offer valuable and important
roles to the American theatre tradition. Wilson believed that through
art, “we are going to become an American culture” that shares
similar themes and ideologies that separate American art from any
other type of art in the world. Wilson believed that, through theatre,
a collected mythology could be created that would ultimately unite
us; “You create the work to add to the artistic storehouse of the
world, to exalt and celebrate a common humanity.”
Wilson died in 2005, leaving behind his groundbreaking Century
Cycle. How I Learned What I Learned is Wilson’s last theatrical work
created with long-time collaborator and friend, Todd Kreidler. From
navigating self-worth, to questioning inheritance, and grappling with
a shared history, Wilson’s plays reach across generations and races.
How I Learned What I Learned is a snapshot into the life of one of the
most influential playwrights of the 20th century, and a reminder of
the universal bonds that tie us together.
– Phaedra Scott
SEE PAGE 2
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR AND EVENT LISTINGS
LEARN MORE ONLINE Read more about Todd Kreidler’s relationship with August Wilson and watch PBS’ “American Masters” on August Wilson at
huntingtontheatre.org.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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John Earl Jelks, Phylicia
Rashad, and LisaGay Hamilton
in Gem of the Ocean
gerry goodstein
t. charles erickson
1900s
2004 - 2005
1910s
1986 - 1987
Angela Bassett and
Delroy Lindo in Joe Turner’s
Come and Gone
“I have a long and valued relationship with the Huntington. They have contributed enormously to
my development as a playwright, and I guard that relationship jealously.” – August Wilson (in 2004)
AUGUST WILSON AT
THE HUNTINGTON
AUGUST WILSON HAD A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HUNTINGTON, AS EIGHT OF HIS PLAYS WERE PRODUCED
HERE BEFORE THEY WENT ON TO NEW YORK (7 TO BROADWAY, AND ONE OFF BROADWAY). OUR AUDIENCES AND STAFF
ALIKE HAVE WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF ENCOUNTERS WITH MR. WILSON, AND HE FELT A SPECIAL CONNECTION WITH
THE THEATRE AS WELL. WITH HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED, THE HUNTINGTON WILL HAVE PRODUCED ALL OF
WILSON’S WORKS FOR THE STAGE — ALL 10 PLAYS IN HIS CENTURY CYCLE AND HIS THEATRICAL MEMOIR.
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
1960s
1990 - 1991
Chuck Patterson, Al White,
and Jonathan Earl Peck
in Two Trains Running
1970s
1998 - 1999
t. charles erickson
John Beasley
in Fences
richard feldman
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eric antoniou
1950s
2009 - 2010
Russell Hornsby
and Michole Briana
White in Jitney
1930s
1987 - 1988
Charles S. Dutton
and Rocky Carroll in
The Piano Lesson
1940s
1995 - 1996
joan marcus
Yvette Freeman and
Corey Allen in Ma
Rainey’s Black Bottom
mark morelli
t. charles erickson
1920s
2011 - 2012
Keith David and
Viola Davis in
Seven Guitars
1900s: In Gem of the Ocean (2004-2005 season), Aunt Ester, 285
1960s: In Two Trains Running (1990-1991 season), Memphis Lee’s lunch
years old, redeems and cleanses the souls passing through her door.
counter faces destruction, while Sterling Johnson tries to put his life
back together after serving time. There are two trains running every
day: which one will get you where you’re going?
1910s: In Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1986-1987 season), at Seth
and Bertha Holly’s boardinghouse, a variety of characters look for
people and families they’ve lost.
1920s: In Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2011-2012 season) Ma Rainey
visits a recording studio to lay down new tracks of old favorites
when racial tensions explode.
1930s: In The Piano Lesson (1987-1988 season), Boy Willie wants to
sell the family piano and buy the land their ancestors worked as
slaves. His sister Bernice refuses because it is carved with their
entire family history.
1940s: Floyd Barton just needs a bus ticket to Chicago so he can
cut some records in Seven Guitars (1995-1996 season). Short of
options, he turns to theft and meets an untimely end.
1950s: Thwarted baseball player Troy Maxson works as a garbage
man in Fences (2009-2010 season). His stubbornness, envy, and
fear cause him to sabotage his son’s burgeoning athletic career.
1990s
2006 - 2007
1980s: King and Mister, children of characters from Seven Guitars, sell stolen
refrigerators in King Hedley II (1999-2000 season). Revelations about
King’s past and Aunt Ester’s death make King’s future unbearably bleak.
1990s: In Radio Golf (2006-2007 season) the last play of the Century
Cycle and of Wilson’s life, Aunt Ester’s house hangs in the balance
when developer Harmond Wilks slates it for destruction.
Two years before his death in 2005, August Wilson wrote and
performed an unpublished one-man play entitled How I Learned What
I Learned about his days as a struggling young writer in Pittsburgh’s
Hill District and how the neighborhood and its people inspired his
amazing cycle of plays about the African American experience.
Hassan El-Amin and James
A. Williams in Radio Golf
josh lamkin
Tony Todd and
Ella Joyce in
King Hedley II
drivers — jitneys — who serve the Hill District of Pittsburgh where
most cabs refuse to go.
eric antoniou
t. charles erickson
1980s
1999 - 2000
1970s: Jitney (1998-1999 season) chronicles unlicensed black cab
Eugene Lee in
How I Learned
What I Learned
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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It’s Halloween night, and
Miranda is desperate for
a way out. She’s up to her
neck in debt, she might be
falling for the man who pays
her bills, and now her date
has threatened to kill her. A
charismatic stranger offers
shelter and a drink; where will
the night take them? With
her trademark dark humor,
two-time Pulitzer finalist
Gina Gionfriddo presents
complicated characters
wrestling with love, money,
and their past in this sharp
contemporary comedy.
“What is exciting about
Gionfriddo’s writing is the
multiplicity of ideas
it engages.”
– THE NEW YORK TIMES
“I think Gina Gionfriddo is one of the most
exciting playwrights in America today and her new
comedy is a sensational piece of writing that crackles
with ideas. Boston audiences embraced her Becky
Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn, and I look forward
to collaborating with her once again.”
– ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER DuBOIS
Playwright Gina Gionfriddo
Director Peter DuBois
LIFE-AND-DEATH COMEDY
Miranda is young, beautiful, and reckless. Up to her neck in debt,
she has been living large by playing two lovers off one another —
until, on Halloween night, one of them threatens to kill her. A
charismatic, grieving stranger, Graham, lets her hide out at his
house — but when he offers her a drink, where will the night take
them? In her newest play Can You Forgive Her?, Gina Gionfriddo
crafts a surprising comedy where behind every laugh lurks an
awareness of the characters’ penchant for self-destruction.
The life-and-death stakes of the play has its roots in a true crime
story that Gionfriddo read. “I became fixated on a crime that was
a murder-suicide,” Gionfriddo says. “A couple had gone on a date
in which the woman had publicly treated the man badly, maybe
humiliated him, and the night ended with him killing her, then
himself. I kept thinking, ‘Oh, I want to know more about this case,’
and I really couldn’t find out any more than the basic outline. I
decided to noodle around with a fictional story to explore why I
was so obsessed with it.”
The tense events at its heart inspired the play’s structure; its swift
90-minute plot follows one booze-fueled night at a Delaware beach
house. “When I started, I was ruminating on a murder, so in my
mind, I was writing my Long Day’s Journey Into a Destructive Night,”
Gionfriddo says. However, as she began writing, the dialogue took
on her trademark mixture of stinging insight and laugh-out-loud
revelation. “As I got into it, my voice is my voice,” Gionfriddo says.
“The people coping in this situation are coping comically. The way
they talk is black comedy; it’s almost as bleak as I imagined. But as
in earlier plays, characters are spinning their situations comically
and lightly to keep things from going under.” Yet underneath the
comic desperation, the specter of a man walking the streets with a
knife remains. “I never want to lose the threat entirely,” she says.
Miranda’s stalker is echoed by intangible demons that follow her
new friend Graham and his girlfriend Tanya. Graham has recently
inherited his mother’s beach house — and with it, boxes of her
unpublished attempts at writing, from drafts of harlequin romances
to comedic essays. Can he dump her life’s work out with the trash
that week? Is his duty as a son complicated by the huge payday he
will reap by selling the house? His girlfriend Tanya is a bartender,
who is trying to use the advice of a financial guru to pull herself
and her daughter out of the crippling debt created by her former
relationship with a drug addict.
For each character, a lack of financial freedom has become a
boundary around their choices. “I’m looking at the panic that sets
in at a certain age, if one, particularly a woman, is seeing that
financial security is nowhere to be found,” Gionfriddo says. “What
can be done? Is it too late to try for a different career? Is there a
man around who could provide it?” As Gionfriddo riffs on student
debt and income inequality, the play strikes a balance between
character-driven drama and larger social contexts, a feature in all
of the playwright’s work. The New York Times called Gionfriddo’s
previous play Rapture, Blister, Burn “intensely smart, immensely
funny,” commenting that “what’s exciting about her writing is
the multiplicity of the ideas it engages.” Gionfriddo’s acclaim has
grown from her eagerness to explore questions about American life
through psychologically complex, deeply flawed characters.
Like all Gionfriddo’s plays, Can You Forgive Her? also has an
evocative, unusual title. Rapture, Blister, Burn was taken from a
Courtney Love lyric; Can You Forgive Her? shares its name with a
19th century Anthony Trollope novel. “The novel is about women
weighing their options in terms of the men who are out there,”
Gionfriddo says. “There are the men who have money versus the
men who are charming. The title in that case refers to whether it is
‘unforgivable’ for these women to expect more out of life.” While
the moral crimes are more modern for the characters in Gionfriddo’s
Can You Forgive Her?, each of them also want more. “Financial
security, love, recognition,” Gionfriddo points out. “They each have
an urgent appetite for something they don’t have.”
– Charles Haugland
LEARN MORE ONLINE Read The New York Times op-ed piece by Gina Gionfriddo and listen to a Playwright Horizons podcast interview with the
playwright at huntingtontheatre.org.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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t. charles erickson
Kate Shindle, Nancy E. Carroll, and Shannon Esperin in Rapture, Blister, Burn (2013)
THE FINANCIAL
A studio audience sits in
anticipation waiting for the next
guest on “The Oprah Winfrey
Show.” She arrives, in a cheetah
print power-suit, gaudy expensive
jewelry, and immaculately styled
hair. It’s none other than self-made
financial adviser Suze Orman.
The show “Suze Orman’s Healing
Advice” takes the private financial
Suze Orman
situations of audience members
and publicly shames their financial
decisions. Audiences are captivated by Orman’s commonsense
financial advice, and are drawn to feeling emotionally fulfilled by
financial planning.
A single mother of 3 whose home is in foreclosure bravely
volunteers to ask Suze advice. Suze’s words of wisdom echo through
the studio: “You are going to take every penny you make and you are
going to spend it on [the children],” begins Orman. “You are not going
to deny one thing for them, you’re going to put money away for their
college education while you will not have any money in retirement,”
she says with a smile. “You won’t have an emergency fund, so if you
want to help your children, I am asking you to put the financial oxygen
mask on your face first, before theirs. Can you see this as a blessing?”
Orman speaks, her gaze locked on the single mother.
The studio audience claps, some cheer, Oprah wipes the
tears from her eyes. “Wow, I want to cry…,” says Oprah.
“I just felt a healing take place there.”
18
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
Can You Forgive Her? features two women with different
ideas about how to get out of debt. Miranda, a young woman
racked with student debt, chooses to use men as a way towards
financial security. Single mother Tanya is attracted to the allure
of a financial guru, this time with fictional self-made adviser
Marcy Snyder.
Many celebrity financial advisers’ audience base is primarily
women who do not have financial planning skills. In the book
Pound Foolish, author Helaine Olen comments on Orman’s
financial advice style: “her formula appeals to people whose eyes
would normally glaze over when financial concepts are discussed,
not those already in the know. This is personal finance as selfaffirmation.” Orman claims to shorten the gender gap between
men, women, and financial security claiming that, “Women fake
orgasms, men fake finances.” Her frank delivery of self-made
financial advice is what draws her readers into attending speaking
engagements (where she asks for $80,000 an appearance) or
purchasing one of her many books.
Orman is not the only financial guru under scrutiny; similar
advisers such as Dave Bach and Jean Chatzky both use their
commonsense advice to make a profit off of struggling Americans.
Dave Bach has made appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
for his book series Finish Rich. Bach is known for his revolutionary
“latte factor,” promising viewers that if they invest the money spend
on Starbucks lattes, they could save enough for an emergency
fund. Simple, right? Olen disputes the ideology, saying, “It didn’t
work mathematically. It didn’t work in terms of what we were
actually spending our money on. The latte factor was the financial
equivalent of Miller beer — it tasted great, but was less filling.”
TIMELINE OF A
WORLD PREMIERE
t. charles erickson
Seth Fisher and Keira Naughton in Becky Shaw (2010)
the Huntington is committed to developing
and producing new american plays. Bringing a
new play to the stage is a multi-year, multi-step
process involving many complex decisions. Every
process is idiosyncratic, and the timeline below
represents a composite snapshot of how a play
becomes a production.
1 - 2 years prior to first performance
The Huntington commits to a new play.
9 - 12 months • The Huntington has the first reading
GOSPEL
of a new play. This reading is primarily in service to the
playwright and director, but it is also an essential tool for the
play development, production, marketing, and development
teams here at the Huntington. This is the first time the people
responsible for creating, mounting, and financing the show hear
the play together.
Jean Chatzky holds a similar philosophy, claiming that there was
no difference between the average person and Mark Zuckerburg,
despite Zuckerburg’s privileged upbringing and the fact that when
her book was published in 2008, the unemployment rate was at
15%. Chatzky, in turn, profited through her own line of products
including the Jean Chatzky Cash Tracker and the Jean Chatzky
Monthly Budget Kit, as well leather planners, totes, and laptop
bags, ranging from $40-$80.
What these three financial gurus have in common is their ability
to profit off of their financial advice through books, apps,
appearances, and merchandise. “There’s something not quite
right about someone whose riches came from our woes, lecturing
the rest of us on our inability to manage our funds,” comments
Helaine Olen in her book. How can these three advisors profit off
of commonsense non-specific advice when the reality of many
Americans’ financial situations is highly situational and individual?
What causes people, specifically women, to seek out financial
self-help books? How is it that financial advisers like Suze Orman,
Dave Bach, and Jean Chatzky are able to profit from those seeking
financial help and stability?
Are these books dangerous tools for destruction, or actually
empowering lessons on financial independence? While these
advisers are controversial, they fill what has become a necessary
void in contemporary debt culture. In Can You Forgive Her?,
both women follow their instincts, creating a gospel of their
opinions on financial stability.
– Phaedra Scott
SEE PAGE 2
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR AND EVENT LISTINGS
8 - 9 months • The Huntington usually hosts a week-long
workshop for all new plays. This provides the playwright with
the opportunity to work with actors and a director as a team,
and allows the playwright to look at the play as a whole. The
playwright listens and collaborates during rehearsal hours, and
edits during the night to have new pages ready for the next day. 6 - 8 months • The Huntington works with the playwright
and the director to find the team of designers who will work to
bring the world of the play to life. It’s a crucial step because the
wrong design can hamstring a production. 2 - 6 months • The playwright submits a rehearsal draft
to the Huntington and the Huntington’s casting office sets out
with the director and playwright to find the right actors through
auditions in Boston and New York.
1 - 2 months • Rehearsals begin where the director and
actors delve into the world of the play. The rehearsal process
most often begins with time around the table reading and
discussing the plot, the characters, and the themes of the play so
that the actors can begin building their performances. Rewrites
happen throughout the rehearsal process and usually into the
first week of previews. Can You Forgive Her? was developed on a similar
timeline. Readings and a workshop were hosted by Center Theatre
Group, who originally commissioned the play. – TONASIA JONES
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
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“Craig Lucas [has an]
enduringly original
sensibility.”
I Was Most Alive With You is a new play created by a hearing artist featuring
both Deaf/deaf and hearing actors and characters. It is being told in both
ASL and English, and will be accessible to members of the Deaf and
ASL communities at every performance.
At Thanksgiving dinner,
Knox shares that he is
grateful for three things
he thought were a curse:
being Deaf, being gay, and
being an alcoholic. After
a terrible accident and
what feels like the trials
of Job, he and his family’s
resilience is put to the test.
Written both in English and
American Sign Language,
Craig Lucas’ funny,
ambitious, and beautiful
new play pulses with the
exhilaration and ache of
human connection.
“Craig Lucas’ latest work is a gorgeous play about what it means
to believe in other people and to choose life even in dark moments.
His complex characters, searching for meaning and connection, will move
and inspire our audiences. Craig is one of the master playwrights writing
today, and this newest play bursts with emotion and intelligence.”
– ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER DuBOIS
Playwright and Director Craig Lucas
CHOOSING WISDOM:
CRAIG LUCAS ON THE BOOK OF JOB
In 2009, playwright Craig Lucas confronted a dark moment in his
life, and he began to read, looking for insight. “My attention was
drawn to Erik Erikson’s writings on old age,” Lucas says. “His dictum
is that, in old age, one has a choice between despair and wisdom.”
As Lucas continued, an idea for a play formed: “Then I read the Book
of Job — and a lot of other reading in philosophy and history — and
it occurred to me that there was a way to deal with the questions
that the Greeks talk about. What happens when human beings are
confronted with what fate hands them? The Greeks would say, where
man’s plans and the Gods’ cross, man always pays.”
Lucas knew intuitively that exploring wisdom and faith necessitated
a reliance on comedy and humor. “Drama is built on really bad things
happening to people,” Lucas says. “If you’re at enough distance, it’s
comical. If you come a little closer to the characters, then it’s drama.
But then if you insert yourself wholly into it as an artist, into the
characters’ flaws, then it becomes tragedy. I was actually interested
in bringing all three together — tragedy, drama, and comedy — in
one play.”
As the underlying themes of the play were forming in Lucas’ mind,
he coincidentally saw the New York production of Nina Raine’s
Tribes and became interested in working with actor Russell Harvard.
(Harvard, who is Deaf, is also known for roles in the first season of
“Fargo” and the film There Will Be Blood.) Lucas had incorporated
ASL into one of his earlier plays, Reckless; he was excited by the
possibility of further exploration. “There is an enormously inviting
theatrical possibility to play with two languages on stage, one of
which is visual,” Lucas says. “Frankly, that’s fun and interesting —
so I met up with Russell, and told him I wanted to write a play for
him.” With the actor in mind, the framework of the story began to
take shape. Lucas recalls thinking at the time, “What if I created a
character who has, through great struggle, discovered his strength
through teaching American Sign Language? What would it mean for
that person to not be able to do that anymore?”
The character Lucas created is called Knox — Deaf, sober, an ASL
teacher — and as the play begins, Knox has gathered with family
and friends for Thanksgiving dinner. To that dinner, he brings a guy
who has been living with him, Farhad. Farhad is a heavy drug user
and, for a long time, homeless. Knox is smitten with Farhad and
sees a glimmer of possibility in him. But after a tragedy that night,
Knox’s family doesn’t know how to bring him back from the edge of
despair. Can they save him? Can Farhad? Can some higher power?
In developing the story, Knox’s overlapping identities were critical
to Lucas. “There’s a confluence between being Deaf, being gay, and
being an alcoholic,” Lucas says. “They are three things which the
larger society might view as limitations, if not disabilities, and three
things which the play’s protagonist views as gifts. The difference
between those two views — disability or gift — is the embodiment of
the wisdom vs. despair choice.” At the same time, Lucas was keen to
avoid depicting ‘perfect’ or ‘idealized’ characters. “There are quite a
few communities dramatized in the story,” Lucas says. “Each of these
groups has particular ways of speaking about experience when likemembers are alone with one another, and ways they wish to see their
demographic represented to the larger world. The play seeks to avoid
handling the discrepancies between these two things with kid gloves.”
For the production at the Huntington, Lucas will also direct, finding
the balance between the anguish at the story’s core and the
incredible humor that lives on its surface. For the characters, and in
turn for the audience, comedy unlocks the wisdom that lives inside
the tragedies that befall us and underpins our grasping for faith. As
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, original author of the “Serenity Prayer,”
writes, “Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith; and laughter is the
beginning of prayer. To meet the disappointments and frustrations of
life, the irrationalities and contingencies, with laughter, is a high form
of wisdom.”
– Charles Haugland
LEARN MORE ONLINE Learn more about Craig Lucas’ perspective on modern gay life in new plays in a New York Times article and read an interview
between Craig Lucas and Boston actress Karen MacDonald at huntingtontheatre.org.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
21
THE LANGUAGE
OF I WAS MOST
ALIVE WITH YOU
I was most alive with you is presented in two distinct languages, English and American Sign Language, each with
their own grammar, style, and strengths. For this play, the process has included three workshops over the course
of two years; the playwright and director Craig Lucas has worked in tandem with the Director of Artistic Sign
Language, Sabrina Dennison, to develop ways of thinking about how the two languages could co-exist onstage.
Before rehearsals began, Dennison and her assistant John McGinty discussed their work on the play.
What does a Director of Artistic Sign Language do?
Sabrina Dennison (Director of Artistic Sign Language): To have
this job, obviously, you need to be Deaf, fluent in American Sign
Language (ASL), and it’s highly recommended to have some
theatre background. The Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL)
has multiple tasks [combining] script analysis, training actors and
interpreters, translation, public relations, and working in rehearsal.
John McGinty (Assistant Director of Artistic Sign Language): It also
gives extra “deaf eyes” to the production to understand if certain
things would work for the Deaf/hard-of-hearing audience. We would
also support the director’s vision and allow that to be more effective
for the audience who happens to be Deaf/hard-of-hearing. Not only
that, we would give some suggestions on how the hearing audience
will experience the play.
What does it mean for a person to identify as Deaf versus deaf?
SD: A person who identifies themselves as deaf with a lowercase ‘d’
refers to the audiological aspect of not hearing sounds; Deaf with an
uppercase ‘D’ refers to Deaf people who share the same language
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(ASL) and culture. These are people who, in the words of Carol
Padden and Tom Humphries,“have access to the knowledge,
beliefs, and practice that make up the culture of Deaf people.” I’m
definitely a “D.”
JM: Sometimes “the small d” deaf do not associate with other
members of the deaf community and may not have the access to
the knowledge to the culture of Deaf people. But, it does not apply
to ALL people who are small “d.” Before assuming, it is better to
ask the person what they prefer to be called. However, I do not
believe in labeling them.
How has language and culture shaped the identities of the
characters — both hearing and Deaf/deaf?
SD: “In the play,” as in real life, Deaf or deaf people reflect who
they are by how they are brought up, their beliefs, how they
communicate: oral, sim-com communication, Sign “English,” and
ASL will inform each of the characters. Also, for hearing people,
same as in real life, [their] relationship with Deaf/deaf family
members [reflects how they have been] educated or misinformed
[regarding] stereotypes about deafness. [How a person
communicates] depends on the writer/director’s image of their
identity.
JM: For instance, I went to Clarke School for the Deaf in
Northampton, MA from 1998-2002. I did not become fluent in ASL
[until] when I was in college. So, with that being said, I am a late
bloomer when it comes to finding my Deaf identity. This applies in
the play as well because you will see and discover how people will
embrace identity and communication with one another.
What would you like audience members to know before seeing
the play? (Are there different answers for that question for
audience members who are hearing versus those who are Deaf?)
SD: [In] ASL, [I will] preview [the play for] the audience to give
them “name signs ” of the characters, brief background of who the
characters are, places, and a summary of the story. As a member of
the Deaf community, sometimes I will share and give a heads-up to
the Deaf audience members about sensitive issues, if any, in
the play.
JM: Be open minded and have an open heart with this play. We
want to ensure that we will provide an experience for BOTH
audiences. In that case, for hearing audiences, to experience what
is like to be part of the Deaf world. Also, I want everyone in the
theatre to know that you all are the same, no less or more. This may
not be a Deaf play. But, it is a play that happens to have different
topics about [being] gay, Deafness, and drugs.
What is your vision for the production?
SD: My job as a DASL is to make this play as clear as possible,
giving as much access to the Deaf audience. My vision of this play
is to try and create something that allows the hearing and Deaf
community to see and hear together.
JM: I will say that my perspective on the play is that it is a stunning
story. I can see many layers and struggles that Knox has. It has
NOTHING to do with his deafness. As well with Farhad’s story
too. But, I can see that Knox is going through something just like
anyone else in the world would. My vision is that we want to tell
the audience Knox and Farhad’s story in the most accessible and
authentic way. We will make sure that all the actors/interpreters/
settings/projections will bring out the clarity and ease for the
audience. We will need to figure out how to balance reality and
artistry.
DANE LAFFREY ON
ACCESSIBLE DESIGN
Theatrical designer Dane Laffrey is having an accessibility
moment. Earlier this year, he designed sets and costumes for
Deaf West Theatre’s Broadway revival of Spring Awakening.
Presently he’s in the early stages of conceiving a set design for
the Huntington’s production of Craig Lucas’ I Was Most Alive
With You, a play that utilizes both American Sign Language
(ASL) and spoken English. Speaking about designing with a Deaf
audience in mind, Laffrey noted, “We needed a design that had a
simplicity to it so that you could zero in on a person signing. You
can’t have anything that’s too visually chaotic.”
Last October, Lucas and Laffrey met to comb through the script
and discuss what the set should look like and how it should
function. In the production, rather than the traditional ASL
translation performed by two actors on the periphery of the
stage, the translators will be incorporated into the world of the
play. Laffrey explained, “The person doing the ASL becomes
part of the character’s articulation in the particular moment.
Characters are associated with two actors at once — one
speaking and one translating — and that tells you something
about the style of the show and then ultimately the style of the
set.” He continued: “The images in my head are blank, simple,
actor-driven. It’s more presentational not mimicking architecture.
The set is not a machine that happens around the actors; the
actors change the space. Craig and I talked about what it means
for that to be effortful and exploring that effort in context of the
Book of Job. I’m thinking about a space where the agency of the
actors and characters are in question.”
For his part, Lucas noted, “I think it asks a lot of Dane because
the subject matter is tough — the world of things that do not
yield to our desires. Because the play is about tough things, I am
hoping that the design will stress clarity, difficulty, and beauty.”
– Lisa Timmel
SD: I would like to see the Deaf patrons leave with good feelings
with the passion to discuss the play — whether or not they agree or
like the play — with a positive attitude. I hope the hearing patrons
will have knowledge that Deaf/deaf characters in the play will not
reflect every Deaf person.
JM: I want them to spark a conversation about the play. That’s what
theatre is all about!
kevin parry
SEE PAGE 2
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR AND EVENT LISTINGS
Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
23
NEAL BALKOWITSCH
& DONALD NELSON:
Huntington Trustee Neal Balkowitsch and his husband Donald Nelson
are founding members of the Huntington Legacy Society and cochairs of the 2016 Spotlight Spectacular fundraising gala. Balkowitsch
is co-founder of MAX Ultimate Food, one of Boston’s premier catering
and event firms, and Nelson is master stylist at the award-winning
Mizu Salon in Back Bay. In addition to their support of the Huntington,
Neal and Donald support the Perkins School for the Blind, the
Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Provincetown Art
Association and Museum. They live in Boston’s South End.
Growing up in his native Minneapolis, Neal Balkowitsch thrived on
that city’s booming arts and culture scene. “Minneapolis has a lot
of great cultural offerings. We went to theatre all the time, starting
when I was a kid,” remembers Balkowitsch. In 1989, Boston’s
unparalleled arts environment was an important factor in his career
decision to move east to run Pine Brook Country Club in Weston.
“When I thought about relocating, I wanted to move to a city with
really strong arts. Boston was a perfect fit.”
Donald Nelson grew up in Braintree and remembers that there
really was no quality regional theatre when he was young. After
paul marotta
A SHARED COMMITMENT
TO THE HUNTINGTON
Managing Director Michael Maso, Donald Nelson, and Neal Balkowitsch
moving to the “big city” and co-founding Nelson Randall Salon in
Brookline, which he owned for more than 20 years, Nelson began
attending and supporting local theatre in Boston.
Around the time that Balkowitsch and business partner Dan
Mathieu co-founded MAX Ultimate Food in 2001, he and Nelson
began attending their first Huntington productions at the BU
Theatre. They were smitten. “I’m always in awe of the high level of
craftsmanship in the sets and costumes,” says Nelson. “Sometimes
I’m fascinated by a particularly well executed detail, like a piece
of molding or other detail. I want to go backstage and help them
build! Of course, I really admire what the actors do — you can tell
how much time and care they put into preparation and rehearsal.”
“We were totally captivated by the substantial nature of the plays
and the professional quality of the productions,” Balkowitsch
recalls. “And think of musicals like Candide and A Little Night
Music. But we ultimately found a home at the Huntington because
of the connections we made. Now when we go to theatre it’s like
seeing family.”
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY’S
2016 SPOTLIGHT SPECTACULAR GALA
Monday, April 25, 2016, 6pm
Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts
Honoring Carol G. Deane with the Wimberly Award
Event Co-Chairs: Jill Roberts, Neal Balkowitsch, and Donald Nelson
Proceeds support the Huntington’s programs including our award-winning youth, education, and community
initiatives. Exciting entertainment and additional honoree to be announced. More information to follow.
To get involved or learn more: Catherine Halpin, 617 273 1503 or [email protected]
24
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
“We’ve been attending the Huntington for more than 15 years,
and I still remember how welcome we were made to feel by the
Huntington from the start,” says Nelson.
During one visit to the Huntington, Balkowitsch and Nelson spied
an architectural model that turned out to be an early mock-up
of the Calderwood Pavilion. Learning that there would be an
exciting new theatre venue just blocks from their Clarendon
Street home got them even more deeply involved. “That’s when
we began to get more of a sense of what Huntington was as
a civic institution,” Balkowitsch remembers. “I thought, ‘this is
going to be so good for our neighborhood.’ And it has been.
When you think about it, you realize that the Huntington is
so much more than just the shows. The pace of activity in the
Pavilion — performances, social gatherings and activities, plus
all the surrounding restaurants that have since moved in – that
has really ramped up the quality of life here. Plus the education
programs, with student matinees that give Boston kids a chance
to explore new ideas and perspectives in ways that only the
theatre can. We all know that when kids are exposed to exciting
experiences it opens their eyes to the world.”
“We’re such strong supporters of the Huntington’s long-term plans
to continue on its path of service to the community,” emphasizes
Balkowitsch. “The Huntington really provides a sense of vitality
in our neighborhood and on Huntington Avenue. This a time of
growth and opportunity for the institution, and we’re excited each
time we see the Huntington reinforce its leadership role in the city.”
“And,” quipped Nelson, “as Legacy Society members, we’re
connected to the Huntington forever!”
• One director supported by visionary designers,
artists, and our incredible production team of 68
• 17 extraordinary cast members, 10 of them from
Boston, and 8 of them also understudying one or
more roles
• Over 92 gorgeous period costumes custom-made
for the actors by 27 amazing pattern makers, drapers,
tailors, and stitchers in our costume shop
• Well over 275 hours of highly skilled labor to
construct each exquisite evening gown
• 26 full-size trees onstage, constructed by our
ingenious shop carpenters of carved foam around
steel spines, covered in muslin, and painted by our
talented scenic artists to resemble birch trees
• An orchestra made up of 15 gifted local musicians
• The largest hat ever constructed at the Huntington,
the outrageous poppy-adorned hat Desiree Armfeldt
wears in “The Glamorous Life” — fondly referred to in
the costume shop as “Big Poppy”
…and hundreds of generous supporters like you!
THANK YOU!
Please consider continuing your impact by making a
gift at huntingtontheatre.org/donate.
t. charles erickson
SAV
E
APR TH
.25 E D
, 20 AT
16 E!
If you are interested in learning more about the Legacy Society,
please contact Senior Director of External Relations David Dalena
at 617 273 1547 or [email protected].
IT TOOK A LOT TO MAKE
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC !
The cast of A Little Night Music (2015)
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
25
T
david marshall
he Huntington-Codman
partnership objectives are
(1) to use the study of theatre
as a catalyst for improved
performance in academic
areas, particularly literacy,
and in the development of
social capital through
improved group dynamics,
and (2) to help students
develop an understanding
of and appreciation for the
theatre by studying and
attending Huntington
performances, observing
behind-the-scenes activities
of the theatre, and
participating in hands-on
work in theatre arts.
Latanya Simpson, Oliver Hernandez, and the cast of Julius Caesar
THE HUNTINGTON-CODMAN
PARTNERSHIP TURNS 15!
In September 2001, Dorchester’s first charter high school opened its doors for the
first time. Codman Academy Charter Public School, founded by Meg Campbell, is an
Expeditionary Learning School, and from the beginning the Huntington’s Education
Department has been a proud partner. Now in its 15th year, Codman Academy will
expand to a full K-12 school in the 2016-2017 academic year. In celebration, we take a
look back at the first 15 years of the Huntington-Codman partnership.
School-Year Partnership
Linking directly to the humanities, and sharing learning targets in each grade, students
in 9th and 10th grade originally spent 2 Fridays a month at the Huntington working on
poetry (as part of the school’s participation in Poetry Out Loud), Shakespeare, August
Wilson monologues, and ensemble-building games and activities, including vocal and
physical warm-ups. The year culminated with a showcase in the spring, with each grade
presenting scenes and monologues in a free performance for the community.
This core piece of the partnership has evolved over the years to meet the demands of
larger class sizes and the growth of the school. As Codman will become a full K-12 school
in the 2016-2017 school year, the Huntington’s work will continue in the upper school, with
potential opportunity for future connection to students in the lower and middle schools.
In our 15th year, students in 9th and 10th grade are now with the Huntington every
Friday from 9am-12pm. This more frequent, ½ day structure ensures our teaching artists
maintain class sizes that are manageable, while also allowing Codman the time it needs to
meet each week in the afternoons.
Summer Theatre Institute
26
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
k. zabarsky
Shamara Rhodes in The Taming of the Shrew.
In the 2005-2006 school year, upperclassmen voiced frustration and sadness over losing
the connection to the Huntington beyond 10th grade. As a response to this demand from
the students, and coinciding with Boston’s push to provide more activities for students
in the summer months, the Huntington Codman Summer Theatre Institute was born.
JOIN US!
The Huntington’s Education Department
cordially invites you to the following free
performances and events:
August Wilson
Monologue Competition:
Boston Regional Finals:
Monday, February 1, 7pm
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Poetry Out Loud Semi-Finals:
Boston, Cape Cod, Framingham,
and Springfield, Saturday, March 5
and Sunday, March 6.
Each year, the senior class graduates from one of our stages. The class of
2015 graduated on our set of after all the terrible things I do last June.
Students from all grades can now choose to spend five weeks in the summer working on a
90-minute play. Plays that have been offered in previous summers include The Comedy of
Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You Like
It, Julius Caesar, and A Tribute to August Wilson which was a showcase performance of
scenes and monologues from all ten of the plays in the Century Cycle, presented in
the summer of 2011 to celebrate the Huntington’s 30th Anniversary (which was also the
year we completed Wilson’s Century Cycle on stage with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
The Summer Theatre Institute celebrated its 10th summer this past year with a production
of Macbeth.
Students are each paid a stipend for participating, and are able to take the skills they
learned during their work in 9th and 10th grade and apply it to a full character arc in a
script. The Summer Theatre Institute allows students to experience the full process of a
play, from auditions, to the first table reading of the script, through to performances and
strike (removing and storing the set, costumes, and props of the play).
For specific locations and times,
visit huntingtontheatre.org/poetry.
Poetry Out Loud State Finals:
Sunday, March 13, 9:30am
Old South Meeting House, Boston
15th Annual Codman
Spring Showcase:
Friday, May 13, 7pm
BU Theatre
Not Waiting on the
World to Change
Student Performance:
Monday, May 31, 7pm
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Learn more about these programs at
huntingtontheatre.org/education.
Saturday Classes
While many students would jump at the chance to participate in the Summer Theatre
Institute, there were still many Codman students who felt there should be more
opportunity for connection to the Huntington during the school year. As a result, the
Huntington-Codman partnership was expanded to include a Saturday class available for
upperclassmen. Codman students have electives, homework support, and other classes
on Saturdays throughout the entire school year, so it seemed a natural fit to offer a
theatre arts class as well.
Huntington Director of Education Donna Glick works with 10-15 upperclassmen on
Shakespeare monologues and sonnets, laying a foundation for any student interested
in participating in the summer program, and/or interested in pursuing a degree in
theatre in college.
Other Connections
Director of Education
Donna Glick at the student
matinee performance of
A Little Night Music
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
nile hawver
Over the past 15 years, our partnership with Codman Academy has created a strong
bond not only with the students, but also among the staff at both institutions. In addition
to classroom teaching, the Huntington’s Education Department provides support for
projects such as the D-Tour (a walking tour of Dorchester led by Codman students),
one-on-one coaching for Senior Talks and college auditions, performances by Codman
students at Huntington board meetings, and support for a multitude of presentations
and performances throughout each year.
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upcoming events
Stage & Screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
Stage & Screen is a collaboration between the Coolidge Corner Theatre and
the Huntington and explores the depictions of shared themes in Huntington
productions and acclaimed films. Our spring lineup includes:
THE NAMESAKE
special EVENTS
Join us for post-show talkbacks featuring
guests from The Boston Globe.
MONDAY, JANUARY 11 AT 7PM
Based on the bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa
Lahiri, The Namesake is the story of the Ganguli family, whose move from
Calcutta to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to acclimate to a new
world without forgetting the old. Join us for a conversation after the film
with actor Rajesh Bose from the Huntington’s production of Disgraced.
Disgraced
KILLER OF SHEEP
august wilson’s
How I Learned What I Learned
Monday, MARCH 14 at 7PM
Killer of Sheep examines the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the
mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing
detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.
Join us for a conversation after the film with a special guest from the
Huntington’s production of How I Learned What I Learned.
Tickets are $12 ($9 for Huntington Subscribers) and may be purchased online at
coolidge.org or at the Coolidge box office, located at 290 Harvard Street, Brookline.
Sunday, January 24
Following the 2pm performance
Featuring Metro columnist Yvonne Abraham
Milk Like Sugar
Sunday, February 7
Following the 2pm performance
Featuring reporter Kathy McCabe
Saturday, March 19
Following the 2pm performance
Featuring columnist Adrian Walker
Can You Forgive Her?
Friday, April 1
Following the 8pm performance
Featuring “Love Letters”
columnist Meredith Goldstein
I Was Most Alive with You
Saturday, June 11
Following the 2pm performance