DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE
Jim Schneider
Artistic Director
presents
Bob Douglas
Managing Director
“OH, COWARD!”
A Musical Comedy Revue
Words and Music by NOEL COWARD
Devised by RODERICK COOK
Directed & Choreographed by CAMERON TURNER
Musical Direction by GERALD H. BAILEY
Production Stage Manager
Scenic Designer
Costume Designer
Technical Director
Lighting Designer
Property Design
MELANIE KULAS
ERIC LUCHEN
PATTI ROEDER*
ADDISON O’DONNELL
AARON LORENZ
JIM SCHNEIDER*
August 26 – September18, 2016
At Chicago’s Athenaeum Theatre
DIAMOND SPONSOR
JOYCE SAXON*
SEASON SPONSOR
LOIS B. SIEGEL
PRODUCTION SPONSORS:
PRODUCTION SPONSORS: JOANN FORMANEK, SUSAN FERRARO, JAMES AND SUSAN
HANNIGAN, JERRI JENNIFER SMART, RICHARD & JANE NYSTROM, RALPH ALBERTO,
RON WESLOW, ANONYMOUS,
Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres
The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means are strictly prohibited.
Oh, Coward! utilizes e-cigarettes.
*Denotes Dead Writers Theatre Collective Member
Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). www.MTIShows.com
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
Oh, Coward!
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D E A D W R I T E R S T H E AT R E C O L L E C T I V E
MISSION STATEMENT
The tales and dramas of the past illuminate universal truths that are as pertinent today as
they were when they were created. Dead Writers Theatre Collective’s mission is to bring
these great stories and their messages to life on today’s stage; we keep that magic alive.
The greatest works in the Western Canon are produced with exquisite aesthetics and
production values topped with outstanding acting.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Founded in 2011, Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 theatre
company dedicated to keeping the visions and voices of classic playwrights alive both
on today’s stage as well as in our hearts. We are the only theatre in Chicago that focuses on
the writer’s voice, and do not impose contemporary needs or inventive interpretations on that
voice. We offer audiences a chance to truly understand the context that created great artists
and their great works.
Our plays are presented as they were originally -- as the authors and audiences of that
period would have seen them. These are not museum pieces but vibrant, compelling
and living theatre. Their actual historical setting gives insight into the author’s mind.
We believe that for contemporary artists and audiences to understand the writer, and
therefore the work, they need to see that aesthetic, almost as another voice or character
on stage. From our first play, The Vortex in 2012, Dead Writers has been committed to
this “Masterpiece Theater” aesthetic, and to reviving classic acting technique. Hedy Weiss
of the Chicago Sun Times wrote: “Every element of design (style is of the essence here)
has a Broadway or opera house splendor.” In 2014, Michael Roberts of Showbiz Chicago
remarked: “Emma is masterfully directed…it oozes and drips authenticity at every
gorgeous turn with the action taking place on a set that will certainly be the talk of the
theatre town for weeks and months to come.” Amy Muncie of Chicago Splash says: “How
ironic that the Company is called ‘Dead Writers’ when their forte is making writers comes
alive!”
Writers from our past are our heritage and our humanity. By keeping their work alive
as they created it, we pass their lessons on to future generations. Truly seeing what
was before helps us learn to not repeat history’s mistakes. The Company is proud to be
keepers of the flame of traditionally realized classic theatre.
O U R P R O D U C T I O N H I S TO R Y
2012 - Noel Coward’s The Vortex
2013 - Adam Pasen’s Tea with Edie & Fitz (Professional World Premiere)
2013 - Brenda Kilianski’s Loos Ends, A Hollywood Memoir on the lives of Anita Loos and
Paulette Goddard (World Premiere Staged Reading) in a Chamber Production
2013 - Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan in a Chamber Production
2014 - Jane Austen’s Emma
2014 - Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth in a Chamber Production
2014 - Pierre Cartlet de Chamblain de Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance in a
Chamber Production
2015 - Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan
2015 - Sir David Hare’s The Judas Kiss in a Chamber Production
2015 - David Grimm’s The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (adapted from Moliere) in a
Chamber Production
2016 - Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
2016 - Noel Coward’s Oh, Coward!
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
T H E C O M PA N Y
Michael Pacas, Ian Rigg and Joanna Riopelle*
Betsy Taylor Pennington (Understudy)
Musical Director............................................................................................................. Gerald H. Bailey
Grand Piano by Alden’s Piano
There will be a fifteen-minute intermission between Act One and Act Two
MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT I
Medley
“Something To Do With Spring”
“Bright Young People”
“Poor Little Rich Girl”
“Zigeuner”
“Let’s Say Goodbye”
“This Is A Changing World”
“We Were Dancing”
“Dance Little Lady”
“A Room With A View”
“Sail Away”
“The End of the News”
“The Stately Homes of England”
“London Pride”
“Family Album”
“The Music Hall” medley
“Chase Me, Charlie”
“Saturday Night at the Rose and Crown”
“The Island of Bolamazoo”
“What Ho! Mrs. Brisket”
“Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?”
“Men About Town”
“If Love Were All”
“Why Do The Wrong People Travel?”
“Mrs. Worthington”
ACT II
“Mad Dogs and Englishmen”
“A Marvelous Party”
“You Were There”
“I Am No Good At Love”
“Sex Talk”
“A Question of Lighting”
“Mad About the Boy”
“Nina”
“In A Bar On The Piccola Marina”
“World Weary”
Finale-Medley
“Where Are The Songs We Sang?”
“Someday I’ll Find You”
“If Love Were All”
“Play, Orchestra, Play”
Oh, Coward!
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D E A D W R I T E R S : O U R H E R I TAG E A N D O U R H U M A N I T Y
Why is it important to have a theatre devoted only to the works and biographies of dead
writers?
I grew up in the golden age of Masterpiece Theatre where I was transported into different
periods of history and, through it, was introduced to Oscar Wilde in the magnificent
Masterpiece Theatre production of Lillie, first presented in 1977. I was dazzled by the
beauty of the production values and inspired to learn more about this strange man
with a wonderful wit. Although I had been attending the theatre since the age of five,
Masterpiece Theatre was the impetus propelling me to study classic literature and writers
and, in turn, has deepened my understanding of history.
Dead writers make up our humanity and our heritage, having masterfully written stories
of the past with universal resonances still felt today, immune to time. Great writers
capture our hearts and imaginations and possess knowledge about human nature that
transcends time, race and place, binding all of humanity.
Dead Writers Theatre Collective was founded in 2011 with a strong mission to keep
our dead writers alive through live theatre by providing rich, visually breath-taking
and highly detailed productions about them, their worlds and their work in its original
context, with the hope that it will ignite excitement and lead more of our youth to pick
up a book or see a play.
We are the only theatre company in Chicago with a primary focus of producing plays
about dead writers. We combine historical accuracy, story-telling and highly researched
and authentic aesthetics to take you in to the world of the writer.
Please continue to support the fine arts as they are dying a slow death with many opera,
ballet and theatre companies closing throughout the country. If we lose our fine arts we
lose our souls.
Jim Schneider
Artistic Director
Dead Writers Theatre Collective
Visit DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE’S web site at
deadwriters.net
For videos, photographs of past productions
and meet members of the Collective!
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
BIOGR APHIES
MICHAEL PACAS
recently appeared in
Oak Park Festival
Theatre’s Pygmalion.
Last year he appeared
in Step Up Productions’
Barefoot in the Park; Oak
Park Festival’s To Kill a
Mockingbird and Mercury Theatre Chicago’s
The Christmas Schooner. Since migrating
from Louisiana nearly thirty years ago, he
has collaborated with other local theaters
including Porchlight, The Hypocrites, Irish
Rep, Stage Left, City Lit, Bailiwick, Griffin
and BackStage. Michael is Mr. Leather
64TEN Chicago 2015, and competed in the
International Mr. Leather contest. Visit
(http://michaelpacas.wix.com/michaelpacas)
IAN RIGG is elated to
work with the Dead
Writers Theatre
Collective. His
professional credits
include My Way with
Brightside Theater, and
7 productions with
Towle Theater, such as Adrift In Macao,
From Up Here, Play Dates, The Burnt Part
Boys, Perfect Wedding, and most recently
the U.S. premiere of The House of Mirrors &
Hearts. Ian’s other loves are writing,
photography, drawing, improv, oboe,
accordion, menswear, apple pie à la mode,
and shooting and editing films, like his
moving picture The Disappearing Act,
available to watch on YouTube. He’d like to
thank his fantastic family, friends, and
phenomenal production team for their
unwavering support, and you for coming
to see the show! JOANNA RIOPELLE* is
delighted to be a part
of the Dead Writers
production of Oh,
Coward! with such a
talented team of artists.
Previous Dead Writers’
productions include
Phyllis Crystal in The Learned Ladies of Park
Avenue, Mrs. Erlynne in Lady Windermere’s
Fan, Judy Trenor in House of Mirth, Paulette
Goddard in Loos Ends and Florence in The
Vortex. Other Chicago credits include Both
Your Houses (Remy Bumppo Theatre),
House of Blue Leaves (Buffalo Theatre
Ensemble), California Suite (Black Elephant
Theatre), Richard III (Chicago Shakespeare
Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Chase Park
Theatre), Fifth of July (Infamous
Commonwealth Theatre), Antigone and All’s
Well That Ends Well (Muse of Fire), and Mrs.
Magi (Light Opera Works). Joanna’s
professional singing engagements include
Davenports, Noble Fool Theatre, Hot
House, Skylight Opera Theatre and Chicago
Chamber Opera, among others. A heartfelt
thanks to Jim and Bob for the wonderful
roles they have offered me and their
extraordinary efforts in building this
wonderful Company!
BETSY PENNINGTON
TAYLOR*
(UNDERSTUDY) has a
BA from Stanford
University and trained
at Mountview Academy
of Dramatic Arts,
London. West End
Credits include: Isabel in Pirates of
Penzance, Peep Bo in The Mikado and Fleta
in Iolanthe (all at the Gielgud Theatre).
Other London credits include Jordan
in Gatsby, Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the
Rain, Woman 4 in Listen to my Heart, Annie
Ross in Twisted (one-woman show) and
Alaura/Carla in City of Angels. Tours include:
Lulu/Betty Blast in Footloose (European
tour), My Fair Lady (Cyprus and Singapore),
Kate in Pirates of Penzance (US/Canadian
tour), Peep Bo in The Mikado (US tour) and
Barbara Cassidy in Over the Rainbow: the
Story of Eva Cassidy(UK/Netherlands tour).
Chicago credits include: Clara in The
Vortex and Aunt Sylvia in The Learned
Ladies of Park Avenue (both with Dead
Writers Theatre Collective), and her
one-woman show, Luigi’s Ladies (Den
Oh, Coward!
5
BIOGR APHIES
c o n t.
Theatre and Collaboraction Theatre). TV
credits include: My Hero (BBC) and Let’s Roll!
The Story of Flight 93(Granada).
CAMERON TURNER
(DIRECTOR &
CHOREOGRAPHER)
Cameron is thrilled to
be diving into his Dead
Writers debut with OH,
COWARD! Previous
credits include
Tomorrow Morning (Kokandy Productions),
35MM: A Musical Exhibition (Circle Theatre),
Boy from Oz (Jeff Nominated for Best
Choreography - Pride Film & Plays) and
Young Frankenstein and Spamalot (Timber
Lake Playhouse). Cameron has also
performed at the American Theatre
Company, Theo Ubique, Light Opera Works
and Emerald City Theatre. Many thanks to
Jim and Bob for the opportunity, Brenda
for her continuous support and
encouragement and his assistant/artistic
soulmate, Liz for everything she does.
Enjoy the show!
GERALD H. BAILEY
(MUSICAL DIRECTOR) is
thrilled to be a part of
this production with
this wonderful cast and
crew getting to play
the songs of the
master, Noel Coward. In
addition to his work on this show, Mr.
Bailey was the original musical director for
Something’s Afoot with the Peninsula
Players in Door County, and at The Chateau
Louise Resort Dinner Theatre. Other
musical director credits include The 51st
Ward (Theatre Building Chicago), Belle
Barth: If I Embarrass You, Tell Your Friends
(Theo Ubique Theatre Co.), The Enchanted
Island (The Peripatetic Task Force), and
Meshuggah–Nuns! (Chicago Jewish
Theatre).
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
LIZ BOLLAR
(ASSISTANT
CHOREOGRAPHER) Liz
is thrilled to be working
on the other side of the
table with Dead Writers
Theatre Collective! She
has been working on
the stage in the Chicago area since
graduating with a BFA in musical theatre
from the Chicago College of Performing
Arts in 2012. You may have caught her in:
35MM (Circle Theatre), The Boy from Oz
(Pride F&P), Hair (American Theatre
Company), Les Miserables (Little Theater on
the Square) and children’s shows with
Emerald City and Lifeline Theatre. Many
thanks to Dead Writers, her artistic soul
mate and, of course, the Master for the
chance to work on this beautiful piece!
AARON LORENZ (LIGHTING DESIGNER)
is excited to return to Dead Writers after
designing this season’s The Importance of
Being Earnest. Other recent credits include
boom (Honest Theatre), The Lilliput Troupe
(Off-Broadway), My Fair Lady (Light Opera
Works; assistant designer), Company, and
Arcadia (Writers Theatre, Programmer).
ERIC LUCHEN (SCENIC DESIGNER) is
thrilled to be working with Dead Writers
Theatre Collective again. Previously
he designed The Importance of Being
Earnest for Dead Writers. Other recent
credits include: The Stinky Cheese Man
and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Emporia
State University) The Drawer Boy, Good
People, Red (Redtwist Theatre), Educating
Rita (Citadel Theatre), Not Now Darling,
Spamalot (Brightside Theatre), Once Upon A
Symphony (Chicago Symphony Orchestra).
Upcoming productions: The Heiress (Dead
Writers Theatre Collective); Elemeno Pea
(Citadel Theatre). You can see more of his
work at www.ericluchen.com.
BIOGR APHIES
c o n t.
MELANIE KULAS
(PRODUCTION STAGE
MANAGER) is thrilled to
be working with Dead
Writers Theatre
Collective on this
production. In Chicago,
Melanie has worked as
a stage manager with AstonRep (Les
Liaisons Dangereuses), PFP (Design for
Living), and Strawdog (In a Word) and in
NYC with JACK and In the Basement
Theatre Co. on original works. She also
works every spring on the University of
Wisconsin Varsity Band Sprint Concert in
Madison, WI. Melanie would like to thank
her friends and family, especially her
partner, Joe, for all of their support in her
ever-changing schedule and many, many
late nights.
MATTHEW
BONACCORSO*
(ASSISTANT STAGE
MANAGER) is thrilled
to be a part of Oh,
Coward! production
team and is honored to
be surrounded by such
an incredibly talented cast and crew. He
served as Assistant Stage Management for
other Dead Writers’ productions of: The
Vortex, Tea with Edie and Fitz, Lady
Windermere’s Fan, and The Importance of
Being Earnest and Stage Manager for the
Chamber Series productions of: Loos Ends,
Lady Windermere’s Fan, The House of Mirth,
and The Judas Kiss. Matthew is, in addition
to being a Collective Member, the
Company Manager of Route 66 Theatre. Oh, Coward!
7
BIOGR APHIES
c o n t.
COURTNEY JONES
(ASSISTANT STAGE
MANAGER) after being
a part of three shows
with Dead Writers
(Judas Kiss, The Learned
Ladies of Park Avenue
and The Importance of
Being Earnest), is back for the fourth time as
Assistant Stage Manager for Oh, Coward!.
Courtney has a B.A. in theatre from Lincoln
College, in Lincoln Illinois. She also has the
Greek letters from the theater group Alpha
Psi Omega. Courtney, 26, began interning
with Dead Writers in the summer of 2015,
and is back to help put yet another show
together.
ADDISON O’DONNELL (TECHNICAL
DIRECTOR) is a freelance technical director
and writer in the Chicago area. This is
his first time working with Dead Writers
Theatre Collective. His other recent work
has included the Metropolis Performing
Arts Center, The Viaduct Theatre, and The
Filament Theatre.
PATTI ROEDER* (COSTUME DESIGNER)
a proud Dead Writers Theatre Collective
member, was last seen on the DWTC stage
as Miss Prism in The Importance of Being
Earnest and as Edith Wharton in Adam
Pasen’s award winning Tea With Edie and
Fitz. She most recently costumed DWTC’s
productions of Emma, Lady Windemere’s
Fan and received raves for her costumes
for The Importance of Being Earnest. Patti
has performed and designed on numerous
Chicago area stages. She was nominated
for Joseph Jefferson Citations for her
performance as Penelope Budd in City Lit’s
production of Oh, Boy! and for her costume
design for Pendulum Theatre’s production
of Abundance. Love always to John and all
the lovely Roeders, with a special welcome
to Martin John.
LEE COOLIDGE MOORE (SCENIC CHARGE)
is a graduate of Hofstra University. So far in
2016, you may have seen her work at Dead
Writers’ production of The Importance of
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
being Earnest, at Lookingglass Theatre,
Piccolo Theatre, Citadel Theatre and Griffin
Theatre. You can view some of her work
on her website leemoorescenic.com. She
would like to thank Beep and her family. KENDRA KINGSBURY (DIALECT COACH)
is delighted to be back working with
Dead Writers Theatre Collective! As a
teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Kendra
has explored & studied voice, dialects
& movement all over the world. Recent
Chicago coaching credits include: The
Women of Lockerbie (Aston Rep), Dreams
of the Penny Gods (Halcyon Theatre),
Design for Living (Pride Films & Plays).
Special thanks to my darling husband
and family for being supportive & always
continuing to encourage me to follow my
dreams.
JIM SCHNEIDER*
(ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/
DIRECTOR) Together
with Managing Director
Bob Douglas, Jim
co-founded the Dead
Writers Theatre
Collective in 2011 and has directed both
the Chamber Series and this year’s highly
successful main stage production of The
Importance of Being Earnest, the 2015 main
stage production of Oscar Wilde’s Lady
Windermere’s Fan; the 2014 main stage
production of Jane Austen’s Emma; the
award winning professional world
premiere production of Adam Pasen’s Tea
with Edie & Fitz; and the inaugural
production of Noel Coward’s The Vortex.
For other Chicago theatres he directed Jeff
Recommended productions of The Women,
The Philadelphia Story, the Tennessee
William’s classic drama, Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof and the critically acclaimed
production of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. In
2007 his production of An Ideal Husband
received unanimous praise by all of the
critics, played to sold out houses for
8-weeks and was selected by Chicago
BIOGR APHIES
c o n t.
Tribune critic Kerri Reid as one of the best 5
productions for 2007 and by Hedy Weiss of
the Sun Times as one of the best 10 for the
season. Jim’s 2005 production of Noel
Coward’s Design forLiving was selected by
Sun Time’s theatre critic Hedy Weiss as one
of the best top 10-productions in Chicago
for 2005. In all, Jim’s productions have
garnered a total of 5 Jeff
Recommendations, 11 Jeff Nominations,
and won 2, both for Best Costume Design.
His production of Noel Coward’s Design for
Living won an After Dark Award for Best
Costume Design. His production of The
Philadelphia Story won 3 Broadway World
Awards for Best Actor, Actress and Revival
of a classic and his recent production of Tea
with Edie & Fitz won for Best New Play of
2013. Other Chicago directing credits
include the 1996 Chicago premiere of the
three Edward Albee’s beach-themed
one-acts under the banner of Sand in 1995
at the Theatre Building, (with the assistance
of Mr. Albee), and the professional world
premiere of Neil Labute’s second work, the
dark comedy, Lepers (later to become the
movie, Your Friends and Neighbors).
Originally from Houston, Texas Jim
founded Horizon’s Showcase Theatre
where he premiered Horton Foote’s
Courtship with the assistance of Mr. Foote,
produced and directed The Zoo Story and
The American Dream (with the assistance of
Mr. Albee. A graduate of the University of
Houston with a M.F.A. in directing Jim
studied with playwriting legend Edward
Albee and the late, Tony Award winning,
Eugene O’Neill authority and the founder
of Circle-in-the- Square Theatre in New
York, director Jose Quintero. Special thanks
to Bob Douglas for going on this adventure
with me and the generosity and friendship
of Joyce Saxon, Lois Siegel and our
steadfast Board of Directors.
BOB DOUGLAS*
(MANAGING DIRECTOR)
began in New York City
as an actor/model
appearing on As the
World Turns, One Life to
Live, The Secret Storm,
Search for Tomorrow, The Guiding Light and
The Patty Duke Show. For the Vermont Arts
Festival production of Stravinsky’s Histoire
du Soldat, he played the Soldier starring
with Sir Anton Dolin as the Devil and
Marina Svetlova as the Princess. Modeling
took him to Europe and Japan for over a
decade and he appeared in fashion
magazines, catalogs, countless TV
commercials and on designer runways
throughout the world. After a two-decade
career he returned to the USA and became
an executive recruiter opening a retained
practice for hospitals and physician-groups
which enjoyed a 15-year run. He has served
as board member of the National
Association of Executive Recruiters and
Evanston’s Light Opera Works, where he
appeared in Bitter Sweet, Oklahoma! Gigi,
My Fair Lady, and Chamber Opera Chicago’s
productions of The Sound of Music and
again in Persuasion. In 2011, along with Jim
Schneider, Bob co-founded Dead Writers
Theatre Collective and has produced The
Vortex, Loos Ends, Tea with Edie and Fitz,
Lady Windermere’s Fan (a Chamber
Production), Emma, The House of Mirth, and
last season’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, The
Judas Kiss and The Learned Ladies of Park
Avenue and this year’s The Importance of
Bering Earnest and Oh, Coward! Thank you
to Joyce Saxon for always being there to
help the Company out in so many ways
and our many Friends, Sponsors and Board
of Directors who have made this
production possible through consistent
friendship, support and generosity!
Oh, Coward!
9
ARTISTIC TEA M
Director................................................................................................................................Cameron Turner
Musical Director................................................................................................................ Gerald H. Bailey
Assistant Director........................................................................................................................... Liz Bollar
Costume Designer.................................................................................................................Patti Roeder*
Properties Designer........................................................................................................... Jim Schneider*
Set Designer.................................................................................................................................Eric Luchen
Technical Director......................................................................................................Addison O’Donnell
Scenic Charge............................................................................................................Lee Coolidge Moore
Lighting Designer...................................................................................................................Aaron Lorenz
Master Electrician...................................................................................................................Megan Wines
PRODUCTION TEA M
Producers.................................................................................................Jim Schneider*Bob Douglas*
Production Stage Manager............................................................................................... Melanie Kulas
Assistant Stage Managers.............................................Matthew Bonaccorso*, Courtney Jones
Vocal/Dialect Coach....................................................................................................Kendra Kingsbury
Grants Manager............................................................................................... TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson
Insurance Coordinator............................................................................................................ Bonny Mack
MasterCarpenter............................................................................................................... Zachary Nordin
Accountant...................................................................................................................Ralph Alberto, CPA
Bookkeeper............................................................................ Mike Wright, Technical Bookkeeping
Systems............................................................................................................Keith Cooper, Cooperweb
House Managers................................................... Beverly Coscarelli*, TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson
Technical Support, Moving & Transportation.......................... Michael Stultz, Bread & Roses
Ushers............................................................................................................................................... The Saints
M ARKETING TEA M
Printing.......................................................................................................Brian Schauer,D&B Graphics
Poster Design...................................................................................................................Graham Emmons
Production Videography............................................................................. Rick Lenser, VideoLenser
Marketing Photography....................................................................................................... Emma Meyer
Distribution.................................................................................................... Direction Tour Marketing
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S
Board of Directors
Bob Douglas*, President
James Hannigan* Vice President
Susan Ferraro, DVM, Secretary
Beverley Coscarelli*, Treasurer
Susan Hannigan
Rebecca Cameron, PhD
JoAnn Formanek
Brenda Kilianski*
Ruth Ann Koesun
Advisory Council
Joanna Riopelle*
Joyce Ruth Saxon*
Jim Schneider*
Ronald W. Weslow
Jeanne Lewin
Bridget McDonough
Sharyne Tu
TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson
Chicago’s Oldest, Continuously Operating, Off-Loop Theatre
FOU N DE D 1911
2936 N. Southport Ave. Chicago Il, 60657
Box-Office 773-935-6875 | WWW.ATHENAEUMTHEATRE.ORG
Oh, Coward!
11
N O E L C OWA R D B I O G R A P H Y
December 16, 1899 - Noel Coward was born in Teddingham, Middlesex, a suburb of
London, the second of three sons of a rather impoverished piano salesman and daughter
of a Royal Navy Captain. Although he had little formal schooling, he began to appear in
amateur concerts by age seven. His ambitious mother sent him to a dance academy in
London. His first professional engagement was in January, 1911, as Prince Mussel in the
children’s play, The Goldfish.
1914 - When Coward was fourteen, he became the protégé and
probably the lover of Philip Streatfeild, a society painter who
introduced him to Mrs. Astley Cooper and her high society friends.
When, Streatfeild died from tuberculosis in 1915, Coward continued
to visit Mrs. Cooper’s estate, Hambleton Hall. It was here that he first
acquired his taste for high life: “I am determined to travel through
life first class,” he once said.
1918 - Coward continued to perform during most of the First World
War. During this time, he gained his first experience in comedy.
After he was conscripted into the Artists Rifles and then discharged
for a tubercular tendency, he wrote The Rat Trap. He also met Lorn McNaughtan who
continued to serve as his private secretary until she died more than forty years later.
1920 - At age 20, Coward starred in his own play, the light comedy, I’ll Leave It to You.
Notices for the London production were mixed, but encouraging.
1921 - Coward made his first trip to America, hoping to meet
and interest producers. Although he had little luck, he loved the
smartness and pace of Broadway shows and used it in his first
success as a playwright with The Young Idea.
1924 - Coward achieved his first great critical and financial
success as a playwright with The Vortex (produced by Dead Writers
Theatre Collective in 2012). He also met Jack Wilson, an American
stockbroker, who became his business manager and lover.
Wilson used his position to steal from Coward, but the playwright
accepted his lover’s larceny along with his heavy drinking.
1925 - The success of The Vortex in both London and America caused a great demand for
new Coward plays. He had four shows running in the West End. His frantic pace caught
up with him, however. He collapsed on stage in 1926 but took little time out for recovery.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION - By the beginning of the Depression, Coward was one of the
world’s highest-earning writers. His success continued with a succession of popular hits.
The film adaptation of his historical extravaganza Cavalcade won the 1933 Academy
Award for best picture. Between 1929 and 1936 Coward recorded many of his bestknown songs for His Master’s Voice (HMV), now reissued on CD.
WWII - With the outbreak of the Second World War, Coward abandoned the theatre to
and run the British propaganda office in Paris and work for British intelligence. His task
12
Dead Writers Theatre Collective
N O E L C OWA R D B I O G R A P H Y
c o n t.
was to use his celebrity to convince Americans to help Britain. In 1942 George VI wished
to award Coward a knighthood for his efforts, but was dissuaded by Winston Churchill
due to the public view of Coward’s flamboyant lifestyle.
Coward then began entertaining British troops. He toured, acted and sang indefatigably
in Europe, Africa, Asia and America. He wrote and recorded war-themed popular songs,
including “London Pride” and “Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans”.
During this time, Coward also wrote, composed, directed and starred in the naval film
drama In Which We Serve. The film was popular on both sides of the Atlantic, and he was
awarded an honorary certificate of merit at the 1943 Academy Awards ceremony.
Coward’s most enduring work from the war years, the hugely successful black comedy
Blithe Spirit, broke box-office records in London. It was also produced on Broadway where
it ran for 650 performances.
Problems arose when Coward commented
in his Middle East Diary that he was “less
impressed by some of the mournful little
Brooklyn boys lying there in tears amid the
alien corn with nothing worse than a bullet
wound in the leg or a fractured arm.“ After
protests from both The New York Times and
The Washington Post, the Foreign Office urged
Coward not to visit the United States. He did
not return to America again during the war.
POST WAR -- Coward’s post-war work failed to match the popularity of his pre-war hits.
Despite his disappointments, Coward maintained a high public profile. His performance
in his cabaret act, honed during his wartime tours, was a supreme success in London and
Las Vegas.
1950’s – 1960’s - During this time, Coward continued to write,
act and direct for the stage. He met with much popular success
but faced what he called “critical disdain.”
However, he won new popularity in several notable films
including Around the World in 80 Days. He turned down the role
of Humbert in Lolita, saying, “At my time of life the film story
would be logical if the 12-year-old heroine was a sweet little old
lady.”
1966 - Coward’s final stage success came with Suite in Three
Keys, a trilogy he wrote as his swan song as a stage actor: “I
would like to act once more before I fold my bedraggled wings,”
he said. In one of the three plays, A Song at Twilight, Coward abandoned his customary
reticence on the subject and played an explicitly homosexual character.
Oh, Coward!
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N O E L C OWA R D B I O G R A P H Y
c o n t.
“Dad’s Renaissance” - In the mid-1960s and early 1970s
successful productions of his 1920s and 1930s plays, and
new revues celebrating his music, including Oh, Coward! off
Broadway and Cowardly Custard in London, revived Coward’s
popularity and critical reputation.
He dubbed this comeback “Dad’s Renaissance” and it included
revival productions of many of his most popular shows.
Time wrote that ”in the 60s... his best work, with its inspired
inconsequentiality, seemed to exert not only a period charm but charm, period.“
Coward was knighted in 1969 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
He received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement. In 1972, he was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Sussex.
March 26, 1973 - Coward died from heart failure at his home, Firefly Estate, in Jamaica.
On 28 March 1984 a memorial stone was unveiled by the Queen Mother
in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. Thanked by Coward’s partner, Graham Payn, for
attending, the Queen Mother replied, “I came because he was my friend.”
WO R K S O F N O E L C OWA R D
Plays, Musicals and Operettas
1917 -- Ida Collaborates
1918 -- Women and Whisky, The Rat Trap
1919 -- I’ll Leave It to You
1921 -- Sirocco
1922 -- The Young Idea, The Better Half, The Queen Was In The Parlour,
Mild Oats
1923 – Weatherwise, Fallen Angels, The Vortex
1924 -- Hay Fever, Easy Virtue
1926 -- This Was a Man, The Marquise
1927 -- Home Chat
1928 -- Bitter-Sweet
1929 -- Private Lives
1930 -- Post-Mortem, Some Other Private Lives, Cavalcade
1932 -- Design for Living
1933 -- Conversation Piece
1934 -- Point Valaine
1935 -- Tonight at 8.30 parts I, II & III
1937 -- Operette
1939 -- Present Laughter, This Happy Breed
1941 -- Blithe Spirit
1946 -- Pacific 1860, Peace In Our Time
1949 – Ace of Clubs
1951 -- Island Fling, Relative Values , Quadrille
1953 -- After the Ball
1954 -- Nude with Violin
1956 -- Volcano
1958 -- Look after Lulu
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
WO R K S O F N O E L C OWA R D
c o n t.
1959 -- London Morning, Waiting In The Wings
1961 -- Sail Away – 1961
1965 -- Suite In Three Keys (In the USA Noël Coward In Two Keys)
1966 -- Star Quality
Revues
1923 -- London Calling
1924 -- On With The Dance
1927 -- This Year of Grace!
1932 -- Words and Music, Set to Music
1945 -- Sigh No More
Revues to which Coward contributed
1918 -- Tails Up!
1922 -- The Co-optimists
1924 -- Charlot’s Revue, Yoiks!
1927 -- Whitebirds
1931 -- Charles B. Cochran’s 1931 Revue, The Third Little Show
1939 -- All Clear
1940 -- Up and Doing
1951 -- The Lyric Revue
1952 -- The Globe Revue
FA M O U S N O E L C OWA R D Q U O T E S
To several generations, actor, playwright, songwriter,
and filmmaker, Noël Coward (1899-1973) was the very
personification of wit, glamour, and elegance.
“It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by
honesty and how few by deceit.”
“Work is much more fun than fun.”
“Strange how potent cheap music is.”
“Never trust a man with short legs – his brain’s too near his
bottom.” (Coward was over 6’ tall.)
“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”
“Television is for appearing on – not for looking at.”
“Work hard, do the best you can, don’t ever lose faith in yourself and take no notice of
what other people say about you.”
“Am reading more of Oscar Wilde. What a tiresome, affected sod.”
“ He must have been an incredibly good shot” (When told an acquaintance he found to
Oh, Coward!
15
FA M O U S N O E L C OWA R D Q U O T E S
c o n t.
be stupid had blown his brains out.)
“You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don’t bump into the furniture and if you
must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday.”
“He’s completely unspoiled by failure.”
“Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in
your head. The one and only thing that counts is: Do you have staying power?”
“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
“People are wrong when they say opera is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be.
That is what’s wrong with it.”
“I have always been very fond of drama critics…I think it is so frightfully clever of them to
go night after night to the theatre and know so little about it.”
“The theatre is a wonderful place, a house of strange enchantment, a temple of illusion.
What it most emphatically is not and never will be is a scruffy, ill-lit, fumed-oak drill hall
serving as a temporary soap box for political propaganda.”
“I am determined to travel through life first class.”
If you must have motivation, think of your paycheck on Friday. Noel Coward
I’ll go through life either first class or third, but never in second
Let’s drink to the spirit of gallantry and courage that made a strange Heaven out of
unbelievable Hell, and let’s drink to the hope that one day this country of ours, which we
love so much, will find dignity and greatness and peace again.
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
I don’t believe in astrology. The only stars I can blame for my failures are those that walk
about the stage.
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
HONORS / MEMORIALS - RECOGNIZE SOMEONE SPECIAL
Dead Writers’ Honor/Memorial Giving Program offers you a way to honor your friends
and family by making a tribute or memorial gift to Dead Writers. Your generous contribution supports the artistic endeavors produced on our stages and helps fund our vital
programs.
Contributions made to Dead Writers Honor/Memorial Giving Program can be used to
honor any important occasion, including birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. It is also
a very special way to remember those who are no longer with us.
Honorees will receive a beautiful card notifying them of your thoughtful gift. Any contributor will be listed in our programs and our website for one full year.
Contact Bob Douglas at 773.750.9730.
Memorial gifts honor the memory of a friend or loved one. Honor gifts provide an
opportunity to celebrate milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays, graduation or
weddings. Below are the commemorative gifts made between July 31, 2015 and August
1, 2016.
In Memory of Elsie Katherine Sphatt
JoAnn Formanek
Sandra D. Ochs
Jim Schneider
Robert Douglas Sphatt
In Memory of Bonnie DuBois Hilton
Jim Schneider
Bob Douglas
Edward Wavak
Darla Goudeau
In Memory of
Christa Jean Formanek
& Christine Broom
JoAnn and George Formanek
In Memory of Isabella Geraghty
Alain & Diana Monier
Sean Alan Monier
In Memory of
Eberhard & Lieselotte Schwerdtner
Bob Douglas
T H A N K YO U S
Joyce Saxon*
The Dead Writers Theatre Collective Board
of Directors
The Clare, Kyle Exline, Executive Director;
Lori Griffin, Director, Life Enrichment
The Athenaeum Theatre, Allan Chambers,
Executive Director, Jeff DeLong,
Marketing Director, Beth Bullock, Box
Office Manager and Team
1900 N. Austin Warehouses, Peter Arenson,
Owner and Team
Joanna Riopelle*
Bev Coscarelli*
The Saints
The Dead Writers Theatre Board of
Directors
Mary Anne Bowman*
Patti Roeder*
Noah Sullivan
Michael Stults, Bread and Roses
Remy Bumppo Theatre
Barbara Brodsky
Light Opera Works, Bridget McDonough,
Executive Director and Team
Dan Pontarelli, Pontarelli Companies
Winston & Strawn LLP
Katie Beaks
Willie Wilson
Oh, Coward!
17
DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE
HONORS
JOYCE RUTH SAXON*
Diamond Guarantor,
Member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective,
Season Sponsor, Board Member and Patroness
Joyce Ruth Saxon is a pioneer for women, one whose professional
career shattered the glass ceiling at the executive level in the
advertising industry. Joyce Saxon served as the first female senior
vice president at J. Walter Thompson (JWT) one of the largest and
oldest advertising agencies in the U.S. In her 25-year tenure with
JWT, she placed $51 million each year in broadcast advertising
and identified TV networks throughout the US for syndicated
news programs, one of which won the coveted Peabody Award for
Excellence in Journalism.
Joyce also worked in the culinary arts industry as Personnel Director
for Culinary Enterprises and staffed the U.S. Senior Open, Ravinia
Park Concerts, and the Kentucky Derby. She is co-founder of
Chicago Gourmets. Joyce’s influence and capabilities have greatly
impacted the cultural landscape of the City of Chicago. Joyce serves
on the City Club of Chicago’s Board of Governors and was Executive
Director of the Old Town Chamber of Commerce and Manager of
the Wells Street Art Fair. Her involvement with TV, radio and cable
continues as Treasurer-for-Life of the Broadcast Advertising Club
of Chicago. Joyce is a docent of Loyola Museum of Art (LUMA), has
served as a Chicago Art Institute Sustaining Fellow and a Newberry
Library President’s Fellow. After attending a performance of Dead
Writers’ initial offering of Noel Coward’s The Vortex, Saxon promptly
announced herself and said: “What may I do to help?” and soon
became a member of the Collective and the Board. She is a graduate
of Mundelein College.
Joyce has lived by her mantra: “Life has been good to me and I must be
good back to it.” Thank you, Joyce!
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective
GIFTS
The Society of Friends of Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a select group of concerned
supporters who make tax-deductible gifts in support of the Company. Of these financial gifts
99% are seen on the stage because at this date we do not pay administrative salaries. The
following Friends have made contribution from June 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016. We salute
you! To become a member of the Society of Friends, please call 773.750.9730.
FOUNDATION &
$500 – $999
Gail Schoenbeck
CORPORATE
Bev Coscarelli
William and Lorian
UNDERWRITERS
Mr. and Mrs. Michael
Schwaber
Bank of America
Hagedorn
Ron and Gena Settle
Bridgeview Bank
Dennis and Dee Lynne
Isolde Stiller
John R. Halligan Charitable
Bridget McDonough
Joseph Streeto
Fund
Kevin McGirr
Michael Sullivan and
The Grill on the Alley
Sara Minton
Associates
Property Tax Control
Senka Tadich-Gagich
RCPA & Associates
$250 – $499
David Wojtowicz, DDS
Richard and Margaret
Cathy Hertzberg
Romano Charitable Trust
Susan Gohl
To $99
The Saints, Volunteers for
Barry Gross
Lynne Denise Bergero
the Performing Arts
James Harger and Mark
David Buzenberg
Barbara & Barre Seid
Johnson
James & Margaret Carlson
Foundation
Alain and Diana Monier
Robert Cramer
Michael Pacas and Timothy
Major George Dempsey
$40,000+
Cagney
(Ret)
Joyce Saxon
Marilyn Perno
Harmon Dow
Robert D. Sphatt Ruth France
$10,000 - $24,999
Ed Wavak
Adele Friedman and Stu
Lois Siegel
Kisilinsky
$100 - $249
Dale Glanzman
$5,000 – $9,999
Marlena Ascher
Richard Groh
Anonymous
Andrea Bauer
Michael and Laura Kibler
James and Susan Hannigan Marcia Flick
Jane Lippow
Darla D. Goudeau
Linda Lucht
$2,500 – $4,999
Howard Greenberg
Marjorie P McIntyre
Susan Ferraro
Therese Gutfreund
Bridget Regan
Sandra D. Ochs
Eileen Howard-Weinberg William & Lorian Schwaber
Jerri Jennifer Smart
Diana Hunt King
Lynn Stutzriem
Jim Egeberg
Kathleen Sullivan
$1,000 – $2,499
Ed Jamieson
Sharyne Tu
JoAnn Formanek
Amy Muncie and Peter
Satich Udpa
Gwen Grogan & Cindy
Kachergis
Vince and Irene Vitullo
Gaver
Gwen Nodiff
Bernard & Averill Leviton
Marilyn Parsons
Bridget McDonough
Liza Pilch
Richard and Jane Nystrom
Joan Riley and Jim
Richard Rinehart
Goodridge
Noah Sullivan
Rosemarie Roseth
Ronald D. Weslow
Robert Rubenstein
Oh, Coward!
19
DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE
Jim Schneider
Artistic Director
Bob Douglas
Managing Director
COMING IN 2017
The Original Broadway Play by Ruth and Augustus Goetz
“The Heiress”
Winner of 4-Academy Awards
and based on the Henry James Novel
“Washington Square”
Directed by Jim Schneider*
Production Stage Manager SHANNON DESMOND
Scenic Designer ERIC LUCHEN Costume Designer PATTI ROEDER*
Technical Director ADDISON O’DONNELL
Lighting Designer AARON LORENZ
Property Design JIM SCHNEIDER*
A plain, young, naive woman falls in love with a
handsome young man despite the objections of
her emotionally abusive father who suspects the
man of being a fortune hunter.
*Denotes Member of Dead Writers Theatre Collective
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Dead Writers Theatre Collective