About "Third"

Director Richard Seer talks about the play.

Coming Home for "Third"

Third Director Rick Seer and Actor Maureen Anderman talk about coming "home" for Third:

'25 Questions for a Jewish Mother' Opens - Video

Judy Gold brought a new perspective to the South End last night in her opening performance at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. I saw the show with a friend of mine and we had a great time. The show is funny, and touching, and speaks to what makes a family these days. Leave it to Mom to reach right down and find the essence of what is really important.

Here's a new video clip for you.



Judith and the Moms are here through New Years Eve

Speak True: The Huntington and Codman Academy help students find their role

I recently connected with an extended family member via Facebook, and found out that she works with The Unity Project. Life is full of amazing connections. I love what the project is doing - especially how their programs use the Arts in their education and leadership programming. She asked me for a few Huntington links and I decided to send her some that related to our Education and Community Outreach programming. I did some looking around and discovered these fantastic videos from Dorchester's Codman Academy. Were proud of our connection with Codman, and we're proud of these amazing kids. Take a look at these videos. I think you'll understand why.

Speak True: Part 1


Speak True: Part 2


This year's annual Shakespeare Monologue Competition is 2PM, Thursday Dec 20th, 2007, at the Calderwood Pavilion

Third Cast and Artistic Team

Here's the full cast and artistic team listing for THIRD

CAST

Maureen Anderman (Laurie Jameson) previously appeared with the Huntington as Nat in “Rabbit Hole” and Sara Goode in “The Sisters Rosensweig” (for which she received a nomination from the Independent Reviewers of New England). Her Broadway credits include understudy for Vanessa Redgrave in “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Edward Albee’s “The Lady From Dubuque” (Tony nomination) and Michael Weller’s “Moonchildren” (Theatre World Award), and Off Broadway she appeared in Sara Ruhl’s “Passion Play,” A.R. Gurney’s “Later Life” and many more. Anderman has numerous regional theater, film, and television credits.

Graham Hamilton (Woodson Bull III) appeared Off Broadway in “The Two Noble Kinsmen” for the Public Theater/NYSF. His regional theater credits include “Hamlet” (South Coast Repertory), “Two Gentleman of Verona” (Shakespeare Festival/L.A.), and numerous productions at The Old Globe in San Diego. Hamilton’s film and television projects include “Untitled Paul Currie Project,” “How I Got Lost,” “Cold Case,” “Lincoln Heights,” and “Guiding Light.” Hamilton received his B.F.A. from The Juilliard School.

Halley Feiffer (Emily) has Off Broadway credits including Jenny Lyn Bader’s “None of the Above,” Eric Bogosian’s “subUrbia,” and Jules Feiffer’s “Feiffer’s People,” and more. Her regional credits include “Knock, Knock!” at the Vineyard Playhouse and “Jules’ Blues” at the Schoolhouse Theatre. On television and in film Feiffer has been seen in “Law & Order,” “You Can Count on Me,” “The Squid and the Whale,” and “Margot at the Wedding.” Also a playwright, Feiffer graduated last May from Wesleyan University.

Jonathan McMurtry (Jack Jameson) is a multiple award-winning actor who has appeared in more than 200 productions at The Old Globe since 1961 and starred in plays at most of the country’s major regional theatres. He has performed in all the major works by Shakespeare (“Macbeth,” “Henry IV,” “Henry V,” “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello,” and “King Lear”), and classics by Chekhov (“The Seagull” and “Uncle Vanya”), Beckett (“Waiting for Godot”), Inge (“Bus Stop”), Mamet (“American Buffalo”), and many more. On film McMurtry has starred with Sharon Stone, Reese Witherspoon, Sidney Poitier, and Lee Marvin, and has been seen on many television shows.

Robin Pearson Rose (Nancy Gordon) is associate artist of San Diego’s The Old Globe theatre. She was on Broadway in “Julia,” “Holiday,” “The Visit,” and others, was seen Off Broadway in “Nellie” and “Summer and Smoke” (Roundabout Theatre Company), and appeared in regional productions of “You Can’t Take it With You” (Laguna Playhouse), “All My Sons” (Old Globe; San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award, Best Actress), “Measure for Measure” (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and “Bourgeois Gentleman” (Yale Repertory Theatre). Rose’s film appearances include “Something’s Gotta Give,” “What Women Want,” and “Fearless.”

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM

Wendy Wasserstein is the celebrated author of “The Heidi Chronicles” for which she received the Pulitzer Prize, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, as well as the Tony Award for Best Play (the first time the Award had been won by a women writing solo). Her other plays include “An American Daughter,” “Uncommon Women and Others,” “Isn’t It Romantic?”, and “The Sisters Rosensweig,” which the Huntington staged in 2005 to critical and popular acclaim. Her last play, “Third,” premiered in New York in 2005. Wasserstein’s career was cut short when she died in January 2006 at the age of 55, right after the premiere of “Third.” The lights of Broadway were dimmed in her honor, and in 2007 she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Richard Seer (Director) is a Boston University graduate who appeared—as an actor—in two productions during the Huntington’s 1982-1983 inaugural season, “Translations” and “The Taming of the Shrew.” An award-winning actor and director for more than 35 years, Seer performed on Broadway in the hit play “Da,” for which he won the 1978 Theatre World Award. He also has appeared Off Broadway, and on film and television. He has directed or acted in more than 60 regional theatre productions in the U.S. and Great Britain. In 1985, Seer received B.U.’s Kahn Award for directing; he became associate artistic director of the American Festival Theater in 1988.

The “Third” creative team also includes Ralph Funicello (Scenic Designer), Robert Morgan (Costume Designer), Matthew Richards (Lighting Designer), and Bruce Ellman (Sound Designer). Stephen M. Kaus is Production Stage Manager, Eileen Ryan Kelly is Stage Manager.

Huntington names new Artistic Director

The news is out.

Variety posted the well founded rumors yesterday and the Globe followed suit this morning with the publication of some preliminary information that we had given them in advance of today's planned announcements. Not that we can really blame them for stealing our thunder. I've been itching for this all to be done and public so I can talk about it too!

The News? We have a new Artistic Director to plan our next season and take over this summer after Nicky heads off to his new job at Williamstown. His name is Peter DuBois and you can read all about it here.

David Wimberly, the Chairman of our Board, came by the Theatre this morning to give staff the news in person. It was great to hear from him about the search, which has been going on for the last six months or so, how energized the search committee was by the process, and how strong the field of candidates were. Michael Maso then told us a little bit more about Peter, and talked about the work that we will need to do in order to facilitate the transition and plan a new season. As if producing a musical this spring isn't enough!

Notices to the full board, subscribers, and stakeholders have gone out in letters and email.

We've got a press office to give you the full works, so I will let them have at that. I will say that I had the pleasure of spending several hours with each of the finalists and am extremely grateful that the board gave the staff the opportunity to not only meet the final candidates, but to give the search committee our input. I am looking forward to collaborating with Peter and am excited about the energy he brings to his work. I expect great things and an even stronger Huntington in the years to come.

Now it's off to our first rehearsal Meet and Greet for Third. It's never dull around here, is it...

Comin' together

Here's the news and lots of it. I'll try to be brief:

Streamers final performances are this weekend - with a closing performance at two o'clock this Sunday afternoon. For more Streamers info including articles, reviews and video, visit here or read more from the blog here.

BU School of Theatre has both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and The Weavers up and running. The former is in Studio 210 through Dec 8th, the latter at the Wimberly through Dec. 16th.

Rehearsals for Third begin next Tuesday. We're looking forward to it and to having Maureen Anderman back in Boston. TheatreMania.com carries the casting news. Scenery construction is well underway. Our machine shop has been particularly busy as we gear up to try a new (really really quiet) method of moving scenery around on stage. This photo shows an example of their metal work. More on the physical production later.

Judy Gold was in town earlier this week to psych us up for her upcoming appearance in 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (starts Dec. 18 at the Calderwood Pavilion). We did brunch. She's tall, she's queer, she's Jewish, she's a (loud) Mother, and she is damn FUNNY! We're looking forward to it. Here's a short I found on You Tube - she talks about working with the crew backstage. Contains adult language.



I'm glad that we are not responsible for providing a stage manager and/or hair and makeup help.

We had a meet and greet yesterday with our four new Huntington Playwriting Fellows. I have to wait until next week to drop names, but it was great to meet them.

I've got new video for Shakespeare's Actresses and Ennio to share later as well.

Rehearsals for Shining City begin soon at the Goodman in Chicago. They'll pack it up and move it to Boston soon after they complete their run there. Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls directs.

We have a prelim design meeting set up for She Loves Me next week. Yay. The entire artistic and production teams will be getting together for a few hours to brainstorm.

Our annual Holiday party is coming up. I'm looking forward the all staff meeting - with only eating, drinking and chatting on the agenda! Glad to say that we're getting one last shot at some darn good southern food served up at our favorite neighborhood bistro thanks to a certain Huntington overseer! We have the best board in Boston. No doubts.

We'll soon be sending of some new costumes for The 39 Steps to NY for the understudies. Rehearsals begin soon with previews starting January 4th at the Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre. BU students Rosie Garner and Kevin Bigger are heading to the city to reprise their respective roles as Production Assistant and Assistant to the Director. Congrats!

Our education department decided they don't have enough going on with all of our great programming for teens. We are now offering classes for adults! Check it out here.

Oh yeah, and one more item: Another $25 ticket sale!!! Happy Holidays all!

Hand in Pocket

Ah - live theatre...

This performance report was forwarded from a local college theatre production:

Note from recent stage manager's report:

2.) A crew member got both hands stuck in his jacket pockets 15 minutes prior to curtain. Stage management was able to quickly help him free his hands. He was able to perform his crew duties without a problem.


When asked if this was a joke, the Stage Manager's response was:

"Sadly no, it really happened. It was our light board op too so he really needed his hands."

Betting on Brendan

True story. I had a phone message this morning. The caller had a bet going - she and her companion had seen Brendan and they disagreed about what that textured brown wall upstage was meant to represent.

I've seen it called a cobblestone road in a couple of reviews. She thought it was dirt, her companion thought it represented Brendan's brain. Yep, that's right, his brain. It was where Brendan's Mom came from, after all. A dinner at B&G Oysters was on the line. I was charged with settling the debt.

The designer prints labeled it "Dirt" wall. I think it was meant to be a visual representation of the Brendan's homeland, the old sod, so to speak. A brain though? Maybe - and why not...

I've always been amazed how differently people can interpret the same thing. What did you think it represented? Who won the bet? And should I get a dinner at B&G too?

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Streamers - Video Clips

One more video for you. This one compiles some of the others and includes new performance clips.



The reviews have now hit - take a look in the sidebar (Recent Theatre News) to see what the media and blogs are saying. You can also click to read the Variety and Boston Metro reviews.

"Streamers" - Audience Reaction

How would you describe Streamers?

What surprised you?

What are you going to tell your friends?


click below to add your comments.

Shea at BPT, Noone at BUR

BU Today has a video feature about Comp, a new play written by Huntington Playwriting Fellow John Shea. The show runs through this weekend at Boston Playwrights Theatre.
Click here to watch the feature.

HPF Ronan Noone appeared on WBUR today. Click here to listen in, requires RealPlayer. Ronan's portion of the item starts about ten minutes in.

Streamers: Fight Direction - Rick Sordelet

Take four young guys - add race, sex, class and war - and you are sure to end up with physical violence.

The fights in Streamers are intense, bloody, and shocking. I'm not one to suspend my disbelief easily but it took a lot of effort to stay in my seat the first time we ran them full tilt onstage this week. OK - so I really didn't manage all that well. I hate blood. I left the room twice. I really hate blood. Once I tried to get over it by donating - I passed out in the waiting room. Duh. ANYWAY...

Stage fights and combat are very complex things, intricately choreographed and intensely rehearsed. They are run every day, before every show.

To be safe you need an expert called a fight director. Period. Stop. Get my point?

If you want them to be safe - AND look thrilling, AND serve the action of the play and the vision of the director, AND feel very real, then you need Rick Sordelet. We've been lucky enough here at the Huntington to work with Rick for MANY years now. He has some film credits, dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway credits, and I'll bet HUNDREDS of regional credits for fight direction. That's Rick in the photo - showing off his Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence at the Lucille Lortel awards this past May.

This post started with a simple Google search: Rick Sordelet fight.

The things you take for granted! I had no idea. If you don't have all day try these two links. First - a Talkin' Broadway interview from 2000 when Rick was working on the Scarlet Pimpernel (he had just finished filming Hamlet with Campbell Scott). Second - see Rick talk about his work in a video filmed during rehearsals for Broadway's Lestat.

Thanks Rick!

PS> Don't worry - none of the blood you'll see on stage actually comes from the actors. Some of it comes from Hershey's chocolate - and that, my friends, is a story for another post.

Alexander Dodge: 'Brendan' et al

'Brendan' 2007-2008

The Hub Review, by blogger and arts critic Thomas Garvey, wrote yesterday to request some photos of work by 'Brendan' Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge. He published a very nice post last night, "Here's to Alexander Dodge", before I was able to look through my files and get back to him.

Sorry Tom, and thanks.

Alexander's body of work here at the Huntington is broad - having done at least one show a season here since 2001. Brendan is a great example. We love the challenges his design brings. Here, in no particular order, are some further examples of his fine work here in Boston.

'Present Laughter' 2006-2007

'The Rivals' 2005-2006

'Butley' 2003-2004 Boston
2006-2007 Broadway

'Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme' 2001-2002

'A Month in the Country' 2002-2003

'Hedda Gabler' 2000 - 2001
2001 Broadway

'Heartbreak House' 2002 - 2003

'Heartbreak House' 2002 - 2003

'Love's Labour's Lost' 2005 -2006

'Love's Labour's Lost' 2005 -2006

Most off these photos are by T. Charles Erickson

In Box - Playwriting News

Hello Blog Readers,

I wanted to take a few minutes to update you on the state of the Huntington’s exciting new play programming. This season marks the fifth anniversary of the Breaking Ground Festival of new play readings (this year it’s scheduled for April 3-6, so mark your calendars), as well as the fifth year of the Huntington Playwriting Fellows (HPF) program.

Here’s a stunning statistic: by the end of this season, the Huntington will have presented or produced FIVE plays by Huntington Playwriting Fellows, and EIGHT plays that have debuted in the Breaking Ground Festival (there is some overlap in these numbers). Why is this important? One of the unfortunate truths of the American theatre is that many worthy plays become entangled in endless cycles of development – that is, numerous script-in-hand readings or workshop productions at theatres that are interested in the material, but not interested enough to produce it. The play gets vetted for months or years, but never finds its home, and so, never gets a full professional production. All the while, the playwright has to fend off the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen trend, whereby at each reading or workshop production, there are people with excellent advice on how the writer might refine the work, but there are also plenty of people with opinions on how the writer might “fix” the play. There are, of course, no guarantees that once “fixed,” the play will get a production, so playwrights have to become ever-vigilant in sorting out the very good and helpful suggestions from the dross. It can be exhausting.

There are many many excellent development programs in this country, but there are also suspect ones (like those described above). When I created the Breaking Ground Festival and the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program in the 2003-2004 season, the goal was to find ways to execute good and helpful programming, to make our resources available to writers in a useful way, and to be aware of the ways in which we might avoid poorly executed new play development. Five years on, I feel confident in saying that statistics prove us out: we have put our producing mettle where our rhetoric is. It’s not just the playwright who benefits from this effort, it’s the audience as well. Those who were lucky enough to see the first Breaking Ground Festival in 2004 caught the very first public showing of Melinda Lopez’s Sonia Flew; it premiered at the brand new Calderwood Pavilion mere months later, and since then has had an active production life all over the country. If you attended Breaking Ground in 2006, you might have seen the debut of Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius, which went on to premiere at the Calderwood that fall, and just this October it opened on Broadway. Consider this: where else does one have the chance to see the progression of a newly conceived and executed piece of art, from its inception through its premiere? How often do you have the chance to be present at the birth of a young playwright’s career? We aim to give you just this kind of opportunity.

All this is to say: there are a lot of great plays by Huntington Playwriting Fellows in Boston this season! At this very moment, there are THREE: Brendan by Ronan Noone at the Huntington, Comp by John Shea at Boston Playwrights Theatre, and The Bluest Eye by Lydia Diamond at Company One – all play until the weekend of Nov 17-18. Later this season, catch Rebekah Maggor’s one-woman cabaret Shakespeare’s Actresses in America (which, she emphatically states, “is not like school”), and Sinan Ünel’s heartbreakingly immediate The Cry of The Reed – both will be mounted by the Huntington at the Calderwood Pavilion.

Furthermore, we are about to officially announce the members of the newest class of Huntington Playwriting Fellows, some of whom also have productions scheduled for this season around Boston. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on this blog as soon as the news goes public.

Your support of new plays is so important to us; thanks for being there for us, and for our writers. We can’t wait to bring you even more exciting new works by playwrights from near and far. Stay tuned!

-- Ilana Brownstein, Literary Manager

Sometimes you feel like a nut

Sometimes tech rehearsals can feel REEAAALLLLLY long.

Today's silliness is brought to your courtesy of the Williamstown Theatre Festival's lighting department (or BU West as it's better known around these parts).

Boston's 'Brendan' on WGBH

Ronan Noone and Justin Waldman recently chatted with WGBH's Callie Crossley about Brendan on Greater Boston with Emily Rooney.

Here's the direct link to the segment:
Brendan's writer and director on Greater Boston.
Requires Quicktime

Thanks to WGBH for the interview - I had mistakenly identified the interviewer in the previous version of this post and they were kind enough to call me to correct the error.

Streamers Boston - Video

I was wondering why there had been SO much chatter and excitement over the last 18 months about this play coming to the Huntington. I wonder no more. I know. I've seen it.

You'll have to wait until Friday, Nov. 9th for performances to begin in order to find out for yourself.

Meanwhile - we managed to get a lot of good video from our interviews last week. Here are four more clips for your viewing pleasure.

Brendan: The Sights and Sound of Boston

It's nice when I can get Terry Byrne to do my blogging for me and provide you with a little behind the scenes info. She interviewed Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge and Sound Designer Fitz Patton a few weeks back for these articles that ran in today's Globe. Thanks Terry!

The city of Boston plays a big part in 'Brendan'

Aural Fixation

Both designers spent a good deal of time wandering around our fair city and it really shows in the design.

The cast and crew are playing to nice big houses down at the Wimberly. I visited them yesterday afternoon to let them know that they were doing such great work that we were adding an additional performance! The show will now close on Sunday, November 18th, 2007. You've got about two weeks left to catch it.

Streamers Boston - Ticket Sale

Just tripped across this sweet discount on our main site - ALL tickets for Streamers Previews (November 9 through November 13) are now on sale for $25 each. Check it out!

If you are ages 21-35, tickets to Huntington shows are ALWAYS available for just $25.
See the sidebar for more info.

We started tech today - so I am taking advantage of the time in the theatre (ten hours today) to catch up on my blogging. The boys and the barracks are looking sharp and we are moving pretty quickly. It's a relatively easy show for us - not too many moving parts. We've got the full design team in house now, today will be mostly about sound and lights, and a little bit of re-staging that normally happens when a show gets on stage.

Streamers - Video Greetings

We had a few cameras up in the rehearsal hall last week to get you a peek behind the scenes in rehearsal. The video is currently being edited - though I was provided these teasers to string you along. Hint - I saved the best for last.


Brad Fleischer (Billy) made his Broadway debut in “Coram Boy” this year. Previously, he appeared in “Pig Farm” at South Coast Repertory Theatre and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He has appeared in the film “The Good Shepherd,” and the television shows “Prison Break,” “The Unit,” and “Law & Order.” He holds an M.F.A. in acting from UC-San Diego.


Ato Essandoh (Carlyle) was last seen in “Measure for Measure” at Manhattan Theatre Source and in George C. Wolfe’s production of “Mother Courage and Her Children” at the Public Theater with Meryl Streep. He appeared in New York productions of “The Three Sisters,” Ronan Noone’s “The Blowin of Baile Gall,” and had major roles in the films “Garden State,” and “Blood Diamond” with Leo DiCaprio.


John Sharian (Rooney) graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England. He will be seen in the 2008 film “Staten Island” with Ethan Hawke and has appeared in numerous films and television shows including “Waz,” “Romasanta,” “Love, Actually,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Lost in Space.”

Boston talks "Brendan" at the Calderwood Pavilion

Audiences at the Huntington Theatre Company production of Brendan talk to us about their experience!


Video by Laura Haughey & Paul Lyzon of CDIA

Note the appearance of HPF Lydia Diamond - who snuck in unrecognized by our audience wranglers.

Tell us what in the play moved you - or how you liked the video. Click the comments link below.

I attended last night's opening and managed to squeeze myself into the very full house. I sat near Boston theatre notables Jeff Poulos, Tony McLean, Jill Pearson, and Naheem Garcia. Their guffaws and gasps, sighs and hoots, were all nearly as much fun to experience as the performance itself. Watching an audience lose themselves completely in a performance is my best and favorite paycheck. I have to fess up to tuning in and adding a sob and sniffle to the mix. The post show festivities were also very well attended and everyone was having a great time. And I still managed to make it home by the fourth inning.

The reviews hit today and it's great to see that our press also had a genuinely enjoyable experience. Today's reports were also full of notices that Nicholas Martin may accept the Artistic Director position at Williamstown Theatre Festival starting with this summer's season. Nicky sent a nice note to staff and board members yesterday giving us a heads up. He is a busy , busy man and yet is still keeping me running with advance planning on She Loves Me well underway. Anyone have a decent dance studio in the neighborhood that we might use for a few weeks in April/May?

Brendan - Dress Rehearsal Photos

JMK came through with a few pics tonight after all.... enjoy!

Dashiell Eaves as the title character in “Brendan”

Brendan (Dashiell Eaves) gets a lecture on friendship and loyalty from bartender Josh (Tommy Schrider) as his mother (Nancy E. Carroll) looks on.

Brendan (Dashiell Eaves) confronts his ever-present mother (Nancy E. Carroll) in the Huntington’s world premiere production of “Brendan” by Ronan Noone, running thru Nov. 17 at the Calderwood Pavilion. All Photos: T. Charles Erickson.

I've seen the production about 5 times now - but not since last Saturday, our second performance, when the company turned out a stellar performance. They have since been making good use of our preview period to fine tune the play. When you have a month of rehearsal, four designers, and lots of well meaning supporters around, there are a lot of ideas and suggestions to be considered. Now it's just Justin, Ronan, and the cast working together for a few hours a day to whittle that pile of ideas down to those that best support the play. I am looking forward to next Wednesday, our official Opening/Press Night, when I'll go back to see what they have accomplished without us!

Brendan??

Our Public Relations Director clearly has not yet recovered from the demands of yesterday's Streamers photo shoot. I asked him today for some production shots from Brendan. This luckycharmish illustration is what showed up in my email instead.


What the heck. I'll post anything... but where's the Pot o' Gold? Would you settle for a bit of dramaturgy? Click on the photo and see what you find.

Streamers Boston

Our cast, which started rehearsals in Boston yesterday, took a few moments today for a photo.


Here are the young cast members playing the five recruits in Boston's Huntington Theatre Company revival of "Streamers," by David Rabe and directed by Scott Ellis. Left to right, they are: Ato Essandoh (Carlyle), Hale Appleman (Richie), J.D. Williams (Roger), Charlie Hewson (Martin), and Brad Fleischer (Billy).

Streamers Cast and Creative Team Announced

THE CAST in alphabetical order:

Hale Appleman (Richie) is a student at Carnegie Mellon University, where he is pursuing a degree in acting. Featured in two independent films (2007’s “Teeth” and 2006’s “Beautiful Ohio” with William Hurt, directed by Chad Lowe), Appleman appeared in two Chautauqua Theater Company productions, “The Art of Coarse Acting” and “100 Saints You Should Know.”

M. Zach Bubolo is a 2006 Boston College graduate with numerous local theatre credits including “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Beauty and the Beast” with The Reagle Players, “Richard III” at the Vokes Theatre and “Urinetown” with the Newton Country Players.

Larry Clarke (Cokes) – Clarke’s professional debut was in "A Map of the World" at Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE theatre, where he also appeared in “Hamlet” with Boyd Gaines, and other productions. He starred on Broadway in “The Full Monty” and has numerous TV credits. Clarke had the lead role in the premiere of David Rabe's "The Dog Problem” at Long Wharf Theatre.

John Diket (PFC) is a Boston University theatre student making his debut with the Huntington.

Ato Essandoh (Carlyle) was last seen in “Measure for Measure” at Manhattan Theatre Source and in George C. Wolfe’s production of “Mother Courage and Her Children” at the Public Theater with Meryl Streep. He appeared in New York productions of “The Three Sisters,” Ronan Noone’s “The Blowin of Baile Gall,” and had major roles in the films “Garden State,” and “Blood Diamond” with Leo DiCaprio.

Brad Fleischer (Billy) made his Broadway debut in “Coram Boy” this year. Previously, he appeared in “Pig Farm” at South Coast Repertory Theatre and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He has appeared in the film “The Good Shepherd,” and the television shows “Prison Break,” “The Unit,” and “Law & Order.” He holds an M.F.A. in acting from UC-San Diego.

Charlie Hewson (Martin), a Princeton University graduate who won the coveted Faculty Prize, will be seen in the upcoming films “Camp Hope,” “The Understudy” and “Made for Each Other” in 2008. He appeared in the 2007 film “The Nanny Diaries.” For New York’s Old Kent Road Theatre collective, he starred in “Children of Truffaut” and had the title role in “The Bad Bruise of Billy MacBean.”

Augustus Kelley (PFC Hinson) lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, and has appeared in the films “Late Summer” (2001) and “Night Deposit” (1999). His local theatre credits include SpeakEasy Stage Company’s “Porcelain,” “Bug” and “Matter Familias” at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and more.

Cobey Mandarino (M.P. Lieutenant) has several regional theatre credits, and his Off Broadway credits include “The Red Box” (Square Peg Theatre), “Singin' Inside the Hurricane” (American Theatre of Actors), and “Dotted Line” (Trilogy Theatre). His films include “Pennyweight,” a winner at the Nashville and Atlanta Film Festivals, and “Michael and Me.”

John Sharian (Rooney) graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England. He will be seen in the 2008 film “Staten Island” with Ethan Hawke and has appeared in numerous films and television shows including “Waz,” “Romasanta,” “Love, Actually,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Lost in Space.”

J.D. Williams (Roger) has had lead roles in four feature films, including “Thugz 4 Life,” “Nite Tales,” “Mr. Smith Gets a Hustler,” and “Popcorn Shrimp.” He was featured with Chris Rock in the film “Pootie Tang,” and as a regular on the television series “Kill Point” (Spike TV), “The Wire” and “Oz” (both HBO), and more.

Playwright David Rabe is the Tony Award-winning author of “In the Boom Boom Room” and “Hurlyburly,” and the screenplays for “The Firm,” “Casualties of War,” and “I’m Dancing As Fast as I Can.” After graduating from college, Rabe began work on a graduate degree in theatre at Villanova University, but dropped out and was drafted into the Army. He spent the next year on a tour of duty in Vietnam, which profoundly affected his subsequent career as a writer. Although assigned to a hospital group and not directly engaged in combat, Rabe was disturbed by the sacrifice of young Americans in what seemed to many to be a pointless war. After returning to the U.S. he reentered Villanova and finished his degree in 1968. He began writing about his Vietnam experiences—first as a journalist for the New Haven Register, then as a playwright.

Director Scott Ellis has received nine Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations and is the winner of a Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Director of a Musical for 1991’s “And the World Goes ’Round” and “A Little Night Music.” He helmed the recent Broadway production “Curtains” with David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk, the Broadway and national touring productions of “Twelve Angry Men,” and the acclaimed New York productions of “1776,” “Steel Pier,” the Tony Award-winning “The Little Dog Laughed,” and many more. He also has helmed episodes of the television series "30 Rock" (Emmy Nomination), “The Closer,” and "Frasier." Ellis is Associate Artistic Director of New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company.

ARTISTIC and PRODUCTION TEAM The “Streamers” set designer is Neil Patel. Costume design is by Tom Broecker. Jeff Croiter is lighting designer. Sound is designed by John Gromada. Fight director is Rick Sordelet. Stephen M. Kaus is Production Stage Manager; Katie Ailinger is Assistant Stage Manager.

this news can also be found on TheaterMania and Playbill.

39 Steps Boston - last chance

Our new friends from The Roundabout have been a few times in the last week, and we're expecting a few more visits. The production will move to their American Airlines Theatre for a nice three month run on Broadway sometime around New Year's. We look forward to working with you!

We've been working once a week or so with our understudies and they have been doing a fabulous job. The challenge has been that there is only one understudy for the two clowns. That makes sense for performance, but it's a little tough for rehearsals where the other half of the team is the same guy! Luckily the stage crew have been stepping into the act and helping out. I hear that many of them have stepped in and performed a role during the rehearsals to help out . Sounds like fun! I hear Ryan, Pat and Christine have all taken star turns. Wish I had video on that...

We're going to miss this gang, but we're also looking forward to Streamers which began rehearsals today. Maybe we'll all take a field trip to NY in January or February and see how our The 39 Steps friends are doing on Broadway.

Here's one more glimpse of The 39 Steps brought to you courtesy of the Boston Phoenix. I like how they assembled our b roll - see for yourself below.




One last reminder: I was talking to Jim Torres at SpeakEasy Stage tonight while writing this post here in the Calderwood Pavilion lobby. He mentioned, in addition to The 39 Steps, their production of Zanna, Don't! also closes on Sunday with an additional performance. Both shows can be purchased at BostonTheatreScene.com

Inbox: Tuesday

More news from Ilana on the Huntington Playwriting Fellows:

Hello All,

It's already a busy month for updates, and it's only the second week of October!

I wanted to let you know about a few exciting programs on NPR. LA Theatre Works is theatre company that records plays for radio broadcast, often with all-star casts. Here in Boston, we only get broadcasts once a month on WGBH, and it's difficult to track down the schedule for what they're going to air. Luckily, KPCC (Southern California Public Radio) airs programs from LA Theatre Works every week and online, and they now have a podcast you can subscribe to. So, why am I telling you this?

On October 20, LA Theatre Works/KPCC will begin broadcasting their production of Melinda Lopez's "Sonia Flew," which was recorded in the spring, starring Hector Elizando (photo on right) and Elizabeth Pena. You can get the podcast by subscribing here:http://www.scpr.org/programs/latw/podcast.php

Or you can listen online using RealAudio, between Oct 20 and Oct 26, here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/latw/

Shows are usually only available for a week, even via iTunes, so if you want to hear it, it's wise to subscribe and download in order to save it for later.

In mid-November, LA Theatre Works will record their production of Lydia Diamond's "Stick Fly," starring Dule Hill and Justine Bateman. They haven't set a broadcast date yet, but I expect it will be a few months. When I find out, I will let everyone know. http://www.latw.org/live/detail.aspx?title=Stick%20Fly
Image courtesy of mccarter.org

But wait, there's more!
If you haven't caught it already, some Huntington faves have been making appearances on WBUR's Weekend Edition Sunday for the last several months. Will LeBow, John Kuntz, and Melinda Lopez are cast members of "11 Central Ave," a weekly radio comic strip. (Don't ask me what a radio comic strip is, I haven't really figured that out yet. But it's nice to hear these folks on the air every week!) Here's the website: http://www.11centralave.org/Home.html
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Best to all,
Ilana

Brendan: Cast and Creative Team

BRENDAN CAST

Nancy E. Carroll and Dashiell Eaves

The cast of “Brendan” includes new-to-Boston actors and returning faces from previous Huntington productions. In alphabetical order:

• Nancy E. Carroll (Woman) is an Eliot Norton Award-winning actress who has appeared at the Huntington as Miss Erickson in “Present Laughter,” the Strega in “The Rose Tattoo,” and Mrs. Martin in “Dead End”;

• Ciaran Crawford (Steveo) appeared in two Ronan Noone plays in New York and was seen in the Breaking Ground Festival reading of “Smiler Becoming Yank”;

• Dashiell Eaves (Brendan) was in the Huntington’s “Observe the Sons of Ulster,” and appeared on Broadway in “Coram Boy,” “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” “James Joyce’s The Dead,” “The Sound of Music,” and “1776”;

• Natalie Gold (Rose), a TV regular, was seen on Broadway in “Festen” (understudy) and Off Broadway in productions of “Howard Katz,” “Twelfth Night,” and “Unfold Me”;

• Kelly McAndrew (Maria et al) appeared in the recent Broadway production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” She’s worked Off Broadway and in regional theatres;

• Kathleen McElfresh (Daisy, et al) graduated from Yale Drama School, appeared Off Broadway in “The Frugal Repast,” and has several regional credits, including Dallas Theatre Center’s “Pride & Prejudice”;

• Cliff Odle (Fred) understudied two August Wilson productions for the Huntington including “King Hedley II,” during which he performed seven shows;

• Tommy Schrider (Josh) previously appeared as Costard in the Huntington’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” His Off Broadway credits include “Acts of Mercy”; and

• Bradley Thoennes (Bum) was seen in “King of the Jews” at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and in New Repertory Theatre’s “The Pillowman.”

CREATIVE TEAM

Director Justin Waldman is the Huntington’s Artistic Associate and the producing artistic director of Next Stages, which he founded. He recently directed Ronan Noone’s “The Atheist” starring Campbell Scott for the Huntington. Other Huntington credits include assistant director of “Present Laughter,” “Persephone,” “The Cherry Orchard,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” “Sonia Flew,” and “The Rose Tattoo,” and director of readings “Alexandros,” “The Cry of the Reed,” “Mauritius,” “Persephone,” “Two Days at Home, Three Days in Prison,” and “Stabbing.”

Waldman’s other recent directing credits include productions at the Boston University College of Fine Arts, and the Summer Play Festival in New York.

The “Brendan” creative design team includes Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge ("Present Laughter", "Love's Labour's Lost", "The Rivals", "Butley"), Costume Designer Mariann Verheyen ("Present Laughter", "Love's Labour's Lost), Lighting Designer Jeff Croiter ("Kiki and Herb", "Trumbo", "A Month in the Country"), and Sound Designer Fitz Patton. Eileen Ryan Kelly is Production Stage Manager, Kelly Beaulieu is Stage Manager.

Click here for more bio info!

In Box - Writers Update

Ilana Brownstein sent this update to the company last Friday. It's news worth sharing!

HPF= Huntington Playwriting Fellows, BPT=Boston Playwrights' Theatre:

It's time for an update on some of the Huntington's favorite writers.

Lydia Diamond has been busy of late, with a production of "Stick Fly" at the McCarter (playing through Oct 14), starring Radio Golf alum Michole Briana White. Variety dubbed it a "well-cut jewel of a play," and noted that "Diamond displays a rare gift for narrative flow and character development." As if that weren't enough to keep her busy, she's been promoted to a full time teaching position in the BU School of Theatre, *and* has enrolled in the first ever class of MFA playwriting candidates through the BU/BPT collaboration.

John Shea's play "Comp" will go up at BPT this November. John has been working on the script diligently as part of the HPF program, and fellow HPF Kate Snodgrass was so taken with it, she's programmed it at her theatre. It opens on Nov 3, and I'll be serving as guest dramaturg.

Melinda Lopez continues to be swept up in a whirlwind of theatrical activity. Her play "Gary," which she began in her HPF days, received a workshop production at the Steppenwolf in August. It was terrific, and she's now refining the script. It will get another outing at the Lark Play Development Center in NY, as part of their annual Playwrights Week - "Gary" will show on Oct 4 at 1p. Furthermore, "Gary" will go into production at BPT in the spring; it will be directed by Huntington alum Bevin O'Gara, and I'll serve as guest dramaturg. Melinda's play "Alexandros," which was featured in last season's Breaking Ground Festival, will premiere at Laguna Playhouse in the spring.

As you already know, Ronan Noone, Sinan Unel, and Rebekah Maggor are being kept busy by us this season with productions at the Calderwood.

John Kuntz is walking the balance beam between his writing and acting endeavors. His play Jump/Rope (which, fyi, was first produced by Justin Waldman's company Next Stages, several years ago) got its New York debut this past summer, and starred both John and local favorite Bill Mootos. You can catch Johnny in January at the ART in a production of "Copenhagen," also starring Will Lebow and Karen MacDonald. What a cast!

Kate Snodgrass is, as you can discern from the previous few paragraphs, quite busy fostering the work of her fellow HPFs John Shea and Melinda Lopez. Her own play, "Parallelogram" (from last season's Breaking Ground), is still in development.

Our next class of Playwriting Fellows will be announced soon, and I guarantee that it's going to be an excellent group. Commissions are coming along as well, and you can expect to hear more from the Artistic Department on that front sometime later this fall. As for commissions from the last round, we're expecting delivery of scripts quite soon from Mat Smart, Danny Goldstein/Michael Friedman, Mark Bennett, and Naomi Iizuka (a co-commission with Yale Rep). Keep your eyes peeled for at least one or two of those to turn up in Breaking Ground this year.

Finally, I'd like to direct your attention to two staggering statistics: by the end of this season, the Huntington will have produced or presented 5 plays by Playwriting Fellows, and 8 plays that have come through the Breaking Ground Festival. Not to mention that we can celebrate "Mauritius" as the first play to go through our development process and progress to Broadway. There aren't many other theatres in this country with that kind of total track record, so it's definitely something we as a whole company can be proud of.

Happy Friday!
-Ilana

Noone-athon: buh bye Atheist, hullo Brendan

Here's wishing The Atheist folks a fond farewell. Though it feels like months ago, it closed just last Sunday. It was a great run with many people enjoying Campbell's performance and the work of our fine Design team and crew. Did I mentioned that three of our four designers were from the BU Theatre program?

There were also a few special guests in the house: South Enders got a glimpse of both Steve Martin and Terrance McNally last Saturday. BostonNOW got the details.

Our work with playwright Ronan Noone, however, continues. We begin technical rehearsals for Brendan in the Wimberly Theatre tomorrow. I'm sitting in the theatre now watching Lighting Designer Jeff Croiter and crew focus the lights, photo below.



There is a final run through of the show up in Deane rehearsal hall in a little while which I will watch with Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge and Sound Designer Fitz Patton. Then home I go to get some laundry done. I'll add some links between loads.

Inbox - Tuesday

Had a few nice surprises in my mailbox today:

BU Today published a video feature with Campbell Scott, Justin Waldman and Ronan Noone. Visit BU Today and take a look.

Huntington favorite Jerry Kissel (Persephone, The Cherry Orchard, Sisters Rosenswieg) recorded a radio spot for us... it's especially worth a listen if you know Jerry. Take a look under the videos in the side bar for the radio ad.

Browse Us - Huntington Theatre Company

It's practically October around here - and things feel like it. We are about as busy as we ever get. Today was a good day though; after two days rest I managed to clear several of the piles from my desk and catch up on a little correspondence. The 39 Steps and The Atheist (now in it's final week) are currently enjoying tremendously successful runs. Brendan is settling into a very productive rehearsal with reports that over half the play was blocked in the first week. The set for Streamers is sitting backstage awaiting some final coats of paint, and in a few weeks we will begin to go to town on Third. We're looking well beyond January too...

We have had tens of thousands of new visitors on our websites (www.huntingtontheatre.org, www.bostontheatrescene.com, blog.huntingtontheatre.org) in the last few weeks. If you are one of those folks popping back in for a second visit I recommend you explore a little deeper and find out what it is that makes the Huntington a special place (I like to think so anyway).

Here on the blog all of the navigation is on the right hand side tool bar: I've got shows currently in production up top, and each of these links will take you to content specific to each show. These are followed by some insider tips, more Huntington links, a search function (need to find something or someone in particular?), blog archives, a selection of recent theatre news and reviews that I have collected for you, followed by Huntington contact info.

More than anything, I would love to hear from YOU. You can comment about nearly anything you like by clicking on the "Join the Conversation" link following each post.

On huntingtontheatre.org your gonna find tons of info about each show, and even more about the Huntington and our programs. We've got a new webmaster and the site is looking better every day with lots of updates and more content than ever before. We are also working on making it easier and faster for you to buy tickets online. How does "select your own seat" sound?? It sounds really great to me... no more taking chances on a seating location, you get to pick the seats you want! That's coming sometime this fall if all goes well.

Over on BTS you will find EVERYTHING that is going on with our partner companies, including Boston University and the Resident Theatre Companies at the Boston Center for the Arts. There is just no excuse for sitting at home in front of the DVR when there is such a variety of exciting theatre right at your finger tips.

Click it and take a scroll with us... and then tell us about what you found!