KNOW
BEFORE YOU GO
BY
Elizabeth Egloff
MICHAEL WILSON
DIRECTED BY
Co-production with Alley Theatre, Hartford
Stage and Huntington Theatre Company
July 13 – August 10
Production Co-Sponsors
Weston Anson & Susan Bailey • Paula Marie Black • Uma & Vinit Bodas • Jeffrey & Kimberly Goldman • Tim & Emily Scott
Ether Dome is funded in part by The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project
BEFORE YOU GO
KNOW
We look forward to seeing you at La Jolla Playhouse at
your upcoming performance of Ether Dome. Below is some
additional information about the production and the venue to
enhance your theater-going experience.
Parking
Parking is free for all subscribers. For all others parking is $2 (subject
to change), Mon-Fri. Upon arrival to campus, please purchase your
parking permit from one of the automated pay stations located next
to the information kiosk. Simply park, note your space number, and
pay $2 at the pay station. Pay stations accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express or cash ($1 and $5), and do not give change. You
will not need to return to your car. Parking is free on the weekends.
Audience Engagement Events
The Playhouse offers unique opportunities for audience members
to delve deeper into the play with these special performance
series options:
Foodie Fridays: Buy a ticket to Ether Dome and enjoy
San Diego’s finest food trucks, plus a complimentary microbrew
tasting from Stone Brewing Company.
- Friday, July 18 starting at 6:00 pm
- Friday, July 25 starting at 6:00 pm
- Friday, August 1 starting at 6:00 pm
Talkback Tuesdays: Participate in a lively discussion with actors
and Playhouse staff members after the performance.
- Tuesday, July 22 following the 7:30 pm performance
- Tuesday, July 29 following the 7:30 pm performance
Discovery Sunday: Explore the themes of the production with
special guest speakers.
- Sunday, August 3 following the 2:00 pm performance
Insider Events: Join Playhouse staff for a special pre-performance
presentation that gives an insider’s view of the play.
- Wednesday, August 6 at 6:30 pm
- Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 pm ACCESS PERFORMANCES
Open Captioned Performance:
- Sunday, July 20 at 2:00 pm
ACCESS Performance: During this performance, La Jolla Playhouse provides American Sign
Language interpretation and audio description.
- Saturday, July 26 at 2:00 pm
Additional ASL Interpreted Performance:
- Friday, August 1 at 8:00 pm. Foodie Friday starts at 6:00pm!
Accessibility
A golf cart is available to assist patrons with accessibility issues to and from the parking lot. Please
notify the Box Office prior to your performance if you are in need of this service; additionally, you
may pull into the five minute parking in front of the theatre, and a friendly La Jolla Playhouse greeter
will assist you.
Dining
La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to announce that James’ Place will be the Theatre District’s new on-site
restaurant, beginning service soon!
Developed by renowned Sushi Master James Holder, the menu will include his signature sushi, as well as
delectable dishes created with Prime and Angus cuts of beef, locally and sustainably harvested seafood,
along with seasonal dishes. A lighter fare menu will also be served at the newly-redesigned sushi/cocktail
bar, featuring craft beer and California wines.
Please contact La Jolla Playhouse Patron Services at (858) 550-1010 for more information.
Until James’ Place opens, we also recommend the following nearby restaurants:
Dolce Pane e Vino
16081 San Dieguito Road
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
dolcepaneevino.com
Pamplemousse Grille
514 Via de la Valle, Suite 100
Solana Beach, CA 92075
pgrille.com
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
& Wine Bar
8970 University Center Lane
San Diego, CA 92122
flemingssteakhouse.com
Rock Bottom Restaurant
& Brewery
8980 Villa La Jolla Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
rockbottom.com
Giuseppe Restaurants
& Fine Catering
700 Prospect Street
San Diego, CA 92037
giuseppecatering.com
Roppongi Restaurant
& Sushi Bar
875 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
roppongiusa.com
MISSION:
La Jolla Playhouse advances theatre as
an art form and as a vital social, moral
and political platform by providing
unfettered creative opportunities
for the leading artists of today and
tomorrow. With our youthful spirit
and eclectic, artist-driven approach,
we will continue to cultivate a local
and national following with an
insatiable appetite for audacious
and diverse work. In the future, San
Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse will be
considered singularly indispensable to
the worldwide theatre landscape, as
we become a permanent safe harbor
for the unsafe and surprising. The day
will come when it will be essential to
enter the La Jolla Playhouse village
in order to get a glimpse of what is
about to happen in American theatre.
La Jolla Playhouse has received
La Jolla Playhouse has received the
the highest rating from Charity
highest rating from Charity Navigator,
Navigator, the nation’s premier
the nation’s premier charity evaluator.
charity evaluator.
P4 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe
CHRISTOPHER
ASHLEY
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
OUR MISSION
A MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
I’m never happier than when there are multiple theatrical events happening simultaneously on the grounds of La Jolla
Playhouse. There is a vitality and warmth that emerges when different sets of actors, writers, directors, designers and,
most importantly, audiences congregate on our theatre campus.
The two shows currently running at the Playhouse, The Orphan of Zhao and Ether Dome, seem on the surface to have
little in common with each other. One has its origins in China more than two millennia ago, the other is a new play written
by a contemporary American playwright; the tone, style and genre of each are a far cry from those of the other.
Yet these two works – in addition to being an example of the eclectic programming we offer – share quite a few
commonalities. Both shows are audacious, painting their stories on an exceptionally large canvas, and both tackle
enormous ideas that resonate deeply in the now. The Orphan of Zhao asks us to contemplate the nature of sacrifice
and loyalty in our own lives, while Ether Dome examines the thorny intersection between the human desire to alleviate
suffering and the very real pain that results from our selfish motivations.
One other thing that both plays share is that they are co-productions with fantastic regional theatres across America.
The Orphan of Zhao started at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco – and was directed by their fearless
Artistic Director, Carey Perloff – while Ether Dome premiered at Houston’s Alley Theatre in 2011, and will continue from
here to stops at Hartford Stage (where director Michael Wilson initially commissioned the work during his tenure as
Artistic Director) and Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company. Theatre is an inherently ephemeral art form, and
co-productions allow deserving works such as these to continue their lives in front of new audiences.
Thanks to this happy collision of shows, I feel like the Playhouse is fostering the exact kinds of conversations that we
aspire to have: engaging, provocative and entertaining. As always, thank you for joining us in these dialogues.
UP NEXT
KINGDOM CITY
SEPTEMBER 4 - OCTOBER 6
A 20th CENTURY CLASSIC
INCITES A 21st CENTURY
SHOWDOWN
When displaced New York director Miriam finds herself in
Kingdom City, Missouri, she reluctantly agrees to direct a
high school production of The Crucible. The play unlocks
the students’ unspoken desires, creating a firestorm in this
small Christian town.
BY Sheri
Wilner
DIRECTED BY Jackson
Gay
LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE presents
Michael S. Rosenberg
Managing Director
Christopher Ashley
Artistic Director
BY
Elizabeth Egloff
Directed BY
Michael Wilson
A Co-Production with
Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage and Huntington Theatre Company
Featuring
Michael Bakkensen*, Gregory Balla, Sam Breen, Ken Cheeseman*, Benjamin Cole,
Kevin Hafso-Koppman, Walker Hare‡, Richmond Hoxie*, Bill Kux*, Linda Libby*, Tom Patterson*,
Amelia Pedlow*, Lee Sellars*, Hannah Tamminen‡, Liba Vaynberg*, William Youmans*
Scenic/projection Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Original Music
Sound Design
Dramaturg
Dialect Coach
Fight Director
Casting
Local Casting
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Associate Producer
Production Manager
James Youmans
David C. Woolard
David Lander
John Gromada
John Gromada & Alex Neumann
Shirley Fishman
Eva Barnes
George Yé
Alaine Alldaffer, CSA
Teresa Sapien
Lori Lundquist*
Marie Jahelka*
Gabriel Greene
Linda S. Cooper
Ether Dome was originally commissioned by Hartford Stage
Alley Theatre Produced the World Premiere of Ether Dome in 2011; Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director; Dean R. Gladden, Managing Director
Ether Dome is Funded in part by The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project
THE CAST
In Hartford, Conn.:
Dr. Horace Wells, dentist.................................................................................... Michael Bakkensen
Elizabeth Wells, his wife.............................................................................................Amelia Pedlow
William Morton, his partner & former student............................................................ Tom Patterson
Mrs. Wadsworth, a patient................................................................................................Linda Libby
Dr. Colton, a pharmacist........................................................................................................Lee Sellars
Young Woman in White.......................................................................................Hannah Tamminen
“Lizzie” Whitman Morton, William’s wife................................................................ Liba Vaynberg
In Boston, Mass.:
Dr. John Collins Warren,...................................................................................................Richmond Hoxie
Founder & Head of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and
Harvard Professor of Anatomy & Surgery
Dr. Charles Jackson, a chemist & Warren’s former student................................. William Youmans
Dr. Henry Bigelow, surgeon........................................................................................... Gregory Balla
Dr. Augustus Gould, former surgeon, now a conchologist......................................Ken Cheeseman
Dr. George Hayward, House surgeon...................................................................................... Bill Kux
Inman, a medical student...................................................................................................Benjamin Cole
George Livingston, a medical student...............................................................................Sam Breen
Tenney, a reporter..............................................................................................................Benjamin Cole
Gilbert Abbot, a patient.......................................................................................................Lee Sellars
Alice Mohan, a patient.............................................................................................Hannah Tamminen
R.H. Eddy, Esq., a lawyer...................................................................................................Benjamin Cole
Phineas Cook, a merchant.....................................................................................................Lee Sellars
Nurse...........................................................................................................................Hannah Tamminen
In Paris, France:
Paul, a dentist............................................................................................................................................Sam Breen
Gustav, nephew to the Emperor of France..........................................................................................Lee Sellars
In New York, New York:
Prostitute...............................................................................................................................Hannah Tamminen
Prostitute’s Maid.............................................................................................................................Linda Libby
Medical Students, Citizens of Hartford and Boston:
Kevin Hafso-Koppman, Walker Hare and the Company
Ether Dome is performed in two acts with a 15-minute intermission.
Associate Director.............................................................Rachel Alderman
Assistant Costume Designer ............................................................. Bich Vu
Assistant Lighting Designer .......................................Rebecca Bonebrake
Scenic Design Assistant......................................................Lily Bartenstein‡
Sound Design Assistant ..........................................Jeffery “Splash” Yang‡
Production Assistant........................................................... Megan Sprowls
Stage Management Assistant......................................... Rachael D. Albert ‡
Directing Intern................................................................... Samantha Blank
Stage Management Intern..................................................... Laura Stenger
Dramaturg Assistants................................Jamie Gillcrist, Jessica Ordon
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Dean Gladden, Ten Eyck Swackhamer and Gregory Boyd at the Alley Theatre • Gary Flores, M.D., Anesthesiology Consultant
In Memorium: John Bunker, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology at Stanford Medical School, Anesthesiology Consultant
Dr. Stephen L. Wheeler, DDS • Dr. Sabine Purps, DDS • Grace Jun, Movement Consultant • Sharp Business Systems
* Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage
Managers in the United States. The theatre operates under an agreement between the
League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association.
This theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres
and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
This theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres
and United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
La Jolla Playhouse is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and a
constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization
for the nonprofit professional theatre.
‡ UC San Diego M.F.A. Candidates in residence at La Jolla Playhouse.
THE COMPANY: ETHER DOME
Michael Bakkensen, Horace Wells
La Jolla Playhouse: Light Up the Sky. Broadway: Noises Off,
Festen and The Man Who Came to Dinner. Off-Broadway:
Rx (Primary Stages); Out of Iceland (Culture Project); The
Secret of Mme. Bonnard’s Bath (Kirk); The Paris Letter
(Roundabout); Tales of Doomed Love (West End); Waxing
West (Lark); Alarms (Here). Regional: Jamie in Long Day’s Journey
into Night (ATL); also Guthrie, Alley, Arena, Mark Taper, Shakespeare
Theater Company, Hartford, Center Stage, ACT, Alliance, Alabama & NJ
Shakespeare, Hangar. Film: Victoriana and Memoria Mortalis. Television:
Unforgettable, Elementary, Deception, The Good Wife, Royal Pains, Law
& Order, Law & Order: CI, Stage on Screen and Mental Issues. Album:
Lionize on iTunes. M.F.A. from UC San Diego.
Gregory Balla, Dr. Bigelow
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Off-Broadway: Blue Man Group
(New York, Boston, Chicago and internationally aboard
Norwegian Epic). Other credits include: Into the Woods,
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lyric Stage Co. of Boston);
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Bad Habit Productions)
and Ragtime (Fiddlehead Theatre Co.). Mr. Balla holds a B.A. in Theatre
Performance from Fordham University.
Sam Breen, Paul/Medical Student
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Regional: Mother Courage
and Her Children (American Repertory Theater); Flesh
Eating Tiger (Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Highways) and
Macbeth (The Antaeus Company). Education: M.F.A. in
Acting from CalArts.
Ken Cheeseman, Dr. Gould
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Off-Broadway: The Master Builder
(BAM); NYSF: Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream; La MaMa E.T.C.: King Lear; Classic Stage Company:
Amphitryon, Scapin and The Cherry Orchard. Regional: The
Misanthrope (Long Wharf); Scapin (Yale Rep); Travels with My
Aunt, The Cherry Orchard (Baltimore Center Stage); Prelude to a Kiss,
All My Sons, Civil War Christmas (Huntington Theatre). Feature film roles
include Shutter Island, Mystic River, Leaves of Grass, Malice and Next
Stop Wonderland. TV guest appearances on Monk, Law & Order and the
upcoming HBO miniseries, Olive Kitteridge. Mr. Cheeseman is a Senior
Artist in Residence at Emerson College.
Benjamin Cole, Medical Student
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Mr. Cole is currently the Artistic
Associate for North Coast Repertory Theatre. San Diego
credits: Faded Glory, Who Am I This Time? (North Coast
Repertory Theatre); The Foreigner (Lamb’s Players Theatre);
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Intrepid Shakespeare);
Punk Rock (ion theatre); Coming Attractions (Moxie Theatre). Regional:
Macbeth (Orlando Shakespeare Theater); Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (Oklahoma
Shakespearean Festival); The Tempest (Illinois Shakespeare Festival).
Education: M.F.A. in Acting from WIU, B.F.A. in Acting/Directing from
CMU, Ireland study abroad from NYU. Benjoelcole.com
Kevin Hafso-Koppman, Medical Student
La Jolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday and Accomplice: San
Diego. Local credits: The Foreigner, The Winslow Boy (Lamb’s
Players Theatre); Zoot Suit (San Diego REP); A Nice Indian
Boy (Old Globe reading); Henry IV Part I, King o’ the Moon,
The Drawer Boy, Becky’s New Car (North Coast Repertory
Theatre); Birds of a Feather, Speech and Debate (Diversionary Theatre);
The Sunshine Boys, Deathtrap (SRT); Doubt, Into the Woods (SDSU
Theatre); The History Boys (Cygnet Theatre). Education: B.A. in Theatre
Arts (SDSU) and British American Drama Academy at Oxford University.
Walker Hare, Medical Student
La Jolla Playhouse: Cornerstone (WoW Festival). London:
You’re Invited (The Old Vic, with the OVNV). Off-Broadway:
All Dolled Up (Acorn Theater); Flanagan’s Wake (SoHo
Playhouse); Much Ado About Nothing (New World Stages).
Readings: Fuente Ovejuna with Daphne Rubin-Vega and One
Arm with Michael Stuhlbarg (LAByrinth); In Ways Both Frivolous and Deep
with Jessica Hecht (59E59 Theater). A number of film, TV and commercials
as well. Education: Circle in the Square, M.F.A. from UC San Diego in 2015.
walkerhare.com
Richmond Hoxie, Dr. Warren
La Jolla Playhouse: Light Up the Sky. Broadway: I’m Not
Rappaport. National Tour: Butley and I’m Not Rappaport.
Off-Broadway: The Film Society, Lenin’s Embalmers, The
Dining Room, Vienna Lusthaus: Revisited, Landscape with
Waitress, Justice, Louis Slotin Sonata, Waiting for Godot and
Angel Street. Regional: The Crucible (Hartford Stage); Amadeus, Twelve
Angry Men, Secret Order (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Travels with My
Aunt (Seattle Rep); Inspecting Carol (Bay Street Theater); Loot, Council
of Thirty (George Street Playhouse); You Never Can Tell (Yale Rep). Film:
J.F.K., Still of the Night, For Love or Money and My Own Love Song. TV:
Boardwalk Empire, China Beach, Law & Order (SVU and CI), Christine
Cromwell, L.A. Law, Cosby, etc.
Bill Kux, Dr. Hayward
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: Gore Vidal’s The
Best Man, The Trip to Bountiful and Ain’t Broadway
Grand. Off-Broadway: Endpapers, Loose Ends, Baby with
the Bathwater, The Philanthropist and Summer of ’42.
National Tour: Death of a Salesman (with Hal Holbrook).
Regional: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Noises Off, Summer and Smoke, A
Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage); Travels with My Aunt (Seattle Rep);
Dimly Perceived Threats to the System (Arena Stage); The Film Society
(Baltimore Center Stage); The Dresser, Sherlock Holmes (Monomoy).
Graduate of the Yale School of Drama.
Linda Libby, Mrs. Wadsworth
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Craig Noel San Diego Critics
Circle Actor of the Year 2013. Regional: Milvotchkee,
Visconsin (Mo’olelo); The Importance of Being Earnest,
Company, Cabaret (Cygnet); Grey Gardens, Body Awareness,
Gypsy, Request Programme (Ion); Exit Interview, The Good
Body, The Women (directed by Anne Bogart), King Lear, Merchant
of Venice, 6 Women with Brain Death (San Diego Rep). Film: Box of
Moonlight. Ms. Libby is a founder of the San Diego Actors Alliance.
lindalibby.wix.com/lindalibby.
THE COMPANY: ETHER DOME
Tom Patterson, William Morton
La Jolla Playhouse: Sideways and Cornerstone (WoW
Festival). New York: Sick (by Greg Ayers, Coyote Rep);
Streamers (440 Studios). Regional: Schooled (New Helvetia);
Bedroom Farce, Murder on the Nile (Barnstormers); Shotgun
(Florida Studio Theatre); Arms and the Man (Electric Theatre
Company); Of Mice and Men (Northern Stage). National Tour: The Color
of Justice (Theatreworks/USA). AEA. Training: M.F.A. from UC San Diego.
He is originally from South Bend, Indiana.
Amelia Pedlow, Elizabeth Wells
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Off-Broadway: The Heir Apparent
(Classic Stage Company); You Never Can Tell (Pearl Theatre
Company). Regional: Hamlet and The Liar (Denver Center);
Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice (The
Shakespeare Theatre); Legacy of Light (Cleveland Playhouse);
The Diary of Anne Frank and The Tempest (Virginia Stage Company); The
Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman and Sick (Chautauqua Theatre
Company). TV: The Good Wife and Blue Bloods. Education: B.F.A. The
Juilliard School.
Lee Sellars, Dr. Colton
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: A Time to Kill, West
Side Story and Talk Radio. New York Theatre: A Small
Melodramatic Story (LAByrinth); The Alchemist (Classic
Stage). Regional: Tales from Hollywood (Guthrie); A Few
Good Men, The Hollow (The Alley); I Am a Man, Black
Starline, All’s Well That Ends Well (Goodman); The Pavilion, Private
Eyes, Gun-Shy (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Eelwax Jesus 3D Pop
Music Show, Flag Day, God of Hell, Rounding Third (CATF); Twelve
Angry Men, The Pillowman, The Subject Was Roses (George Street
Playhouse); Inventing Van Gogh (Pittsburgh City Theatre); Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead (The Arden).
Hannah Tamminen, Young Woman in White
La Jolla Playhouse: Cornerstone (WoW Festival). UC
San Diego acting credits: She Stoops to Conquer, Titus
Andronicus, Drums in the Night, Elizabeth I, The Panda Play
and Casagemas. NY: The Flea, The Barrow Group, Milk
Can Theatre Company, Theater for the New City, among
others. Film: The Birch Grove, The Starlight and Persuasion. TV: Stalked
(Discovery ID). Williamstown Theatre Festival Apprentice 2010. B.A.
Skidmore College. Hannah is entering her final year with the UC San
Diego M.F.A. Acting Program.
Liba Vaynberg, Lizzie Morton
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. New York: Golem of Havana
(La MaMa E.T.C.); Black Milk and Macbeth (CSC); Novaya
Zemlya (HERE); Uncle Vanya (Columbia Stages). Regional:
Camp Monster (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Company
and Cradle Will Rock (Yale). Education: Columbia & Yale.
William Youmans, Dr. Jackson
is extremely grateful to return to his favorite theatre in the
world, La Jolla Playhouse, for his eighth show. Other shows
at LJP: Hands on a Hardbody, Limelight, Dracula, Sweet Bird
of Youth, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard and Shout Up
a Morning. He has worked at lesser theatres, such as those
on Broadway, as well as in the movies and on television, but the credits at
the Playhouse are manifestly his most important. He is also known as the
brother of designer James Youmans.
Elizabeth Egloff, Playwright
has worked with Michael Wilson on several projects, the latest of which
is Ether Dome. Her other plays include The Swan, which has been given
numerous productions across the country and abroad, including during the
Playhouse’s 1992 season. Other works include The Devils (recipient of the
Weissberger Prize and directed by Michael Wilson at the Kennedy Center
in 1996), Wolf-Man, The Lover (her first project with Michael Wilson) and
Phaedra. In television, her screenplay for The Reagans (starring Judy Davis
and James Brolin) was nominated for an Emmy. Future project: Sand, the
story of the 1921 partitioning of Iraq. She is the recipient of numerous
awards, including the Helen Merrill Award, Lila Wallace Foundation Writer’s
Award, Oppenheimer Award and Kesselring Prize. Ms. Egloff is a member
of New Dramatists, Dramatists Guild and a graduate of Yale Drama School.
She is married to set designer James Youmans.
Michael Wilson, Director
directed the Tony Award-winning revival of The Trip to Bountiful (Paula
Marie Black, producer), which opens in September at the Ahmanson
in Los Angeles. His television movie adaptation of the Horton Foote
classic premiered on Lifetime this winter, receiving three Critics Choice
Award nominations, including Best Movie. Also on Broadway, he directed
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Dividing the Estate (Lincoln Center Theatre),
Enchanted April and Old Acquaintance (Roundabout Theater Company).
Off-Broadway, he has directed numerous plays, including the three-part,
nine-hour epic The Orphans’ Home Cycle for which he received the 2010
Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Internationally, he directed
both parts of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America for the Venice Biennale.
He has directed at our nation’s major theatres, including the Alley Theatre
(where Elizabeth Egloff’s Ether Dome premiered in 2011), Huntington
Theatre Company (Christopher Shinn’s Now or Later) and Hartford Stage,
where as Artistic Director from 1998 to 2011 he commissioned, among
others, The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Ether Dome and Quiara Alegría
Hudes’ 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Water by the Spoonful.
James Youmans, Scenic Designer
La Jolla Playhouse: Randy Newman’s Faust. Broadway: West Side Story,
Come Fly Away (Twyla Tharp), Patti LuPone’s Gypsy!, Swinging On a Star. OffBroadway: Gypsy! (City Center Encores), Hedwig and The Angry Inch (original
production scenery and projections), Almost, Maine, Elizabeth Egloff’s The
Swan, Summer of ’42, Zombie Prom, Jeffrey and The Country Club. Regional:
The Guthrie Theater, South Coast Rep, The Old Globe, George Street
Playhouse, Seattle Rep, McCarter Theatre, Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Opera
House and Long Wharf Theatre. Mr. Youmans also works with Clickspring
Design, which creates award winning designs for broadcast television. Among
their many clients are CNN, Fox Sports, MSNBC, The Weather Channel
and others. Awards: Drama Desk Award nomination, Drama-Logue Award,
Independent Reviewers of New England Award, Connecticut Critics Circle
Award nomination, and two Telly Awards for Broadcast Design. He is also
married to the Ether Dome creator Elizabeth Egloff. Among their other
collaborations are their 2 children William and Timur.
David C. Woolard, Costume Designer
Broadway credits include Bronx Bombers, A Time to Kill, First Date,
Lysistrata Jones, West Side Story, Jane Fonda’s clothing for 33 Variations,
Dividing the Estate, The Farnsworth Invention, Old Acquaintances, Ring
of Fire, All Shook Up, 700 Sundays, The Rocky Horror Show (2001 Tony
Award nomination), Voices in the Dark, The Who’s Tommy (1993 Tony
and Olivier Award nominations), Bells Are Ringing, Marlene, Wait Until
Dark, Horton Foote’s The Young Man from Atlanta, Damn Yankees and
A Few Good Men. Other credits include Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(Encores); The Old Friends and Orphans Home Cycle (Signature Theatre;
Drama Desk, Hewes Award); Heir Apparent (CSC); Toxic Avenger (OffBroadway and Alley Theatre); The Donkey Show (A.R.T.); Death and
the Powers (Opera De Monte Carlo); Oscar (Santa Fe Opera) and many
shows at La Jolla Playhouse. He is currently designing Piece of My Heart
at Signature Theatre in NYC.
THE COMPANY: ETHER DOME
David Lander, Lighting Designer
La Jolla Playhouse: The Tallest Tree in the Forest, His Girl Friday,
Glengarry Glen Ross, The Nightingale, 33 Variations, Restoration and I
Am My Own Wife. Broadway: The Heiress with Jessica Chastain and Dan
Stevens, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams (Drama
Desk Award; Tony and Outer Critics nominations), 33 Variations with Jane
Fonda (Tony and Outer Critics nominations), I Am My Own Wife (Drama
Desk and Outer Critics nominations), all directed by Moisés Kaufman;
The Winslow Boy with Roger Rees, The Lyons with Linda Lavin, Master
Class with Tyne Daly, A Man for All Seasons, Dirty Blonde (Drama Desk
nomination) and Golden Child. Off-Broadway: Too Much Sun with Linda
Lavin, Fran’s Bed with Mia Farrow, King Lear with Kevin Kline, Rose with
Olympia Dukakis, Macbeth with Liev Schreiber and Jennifer Ehle, Modern
Orthodox with Molly Ringwald and Jason Biggs, among others. Regional:
Ahmanson Theatre, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre, Kennedy Center,
Mark Taper Forum and the Old Globe, among others.
John Gromada, Sound Designer/Composer
La Jolla Playhouse: A Dram of Drummhicit, Surf Report, Unusual Acts of
Devotion, Sheridan and Marisol/The Swan. Broadway: original scores
for Next Fall, Proof, Dividing the Estate, Prelude to a Kiss, A Bronx Tale,
Old Acquaintance, Heartbreak House, Well, Rabbit Hole, A Streetcar
Named Desire, Twelve Angry Men, Sight Unseen, Retreat from Moscow,
Enchanted April, Summer and Smoke, Holiday and A Few Good Men.
Other NY: The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Clybourne Park, Shipwrecked!...,
Streamers, Small Tragedy, and many others. The Public Theater: The
Singing Forest, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Tartuffe, Skriker, Machinal and
others. Regional: more than 200 productions. TV: The Interrogators.
Awards: Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Obie, Eddy, Drama-Logue, NEA
Opera Music Theatre Fellowship, Connecticut Critics Circle. For more
info and music, visit www.johngromada.com.
Alex Neumann, Sound Designer
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway (assistant/associate): A Raisin in
the Sun, Machinal, Betrayal, The Trip to Bountiful, The Columnist, The
Best Man, Seminar, Driving Miss Daisy and Next Fall. Regional: Bus
Stop, The Atheist (Huntington Theatre Company); Ether Dome (Alley
Theatre); 39 Steps (Olney Theatre Center); The Atheist, It’s Judy’s Show,
The Torchbearers, Knickerbocker, Hapgood (Williamstown Theatre
Festival). Tour: Nollaig, An Irish Christmas. Off-Broadway/
Off-Off Broadway: Daddy, The Atheist, Act Without Words and Kiki
Baby. Educational: Ragtime (SUNY Potsdam); O Beautiful (PTTP).
Education: B.A. in Music from SUNY Potsdam, M.F.A. in Theatrical
Sound Design from Boston University.
Shirley Fishman, Dramaturg
Now in her 12th season at the Playhouse, Ms. Fishman most recently
served as Dramaturg on Chasing the Song, Side Show, Sideways,
Glengarry Glen Ross, An Iliad, Hands on a Hardbody, American Night
and other projects in development. Other shows include Ruined, Surf
Report, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bonnie & Clyde, Creditors,
Herringbone, Unusual Acts of Devotion, the Playhouse’s production
of Xanadu and UC San Diego’s The Revenger’s Tragedy, directed by
Christopher Ashley. At the Joseph Papp Public Theater she dramaturged
such projects as Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, Two Sisters and a Piano
by Nilo Cruz, Tina Landau’s Space, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan by
Athur Miller, among others, and was co-curator of the New Work Now!
annual new play festival. She serves as a Playwright’s Dramaturg for UC
San Diego’s Wagner New Play Festival and has been a Dramaturg at
the Sundance Theatre Lab, Magic Theatre, Native Voices at the Autry
and Playwrights Project, among others. She is an M.F.A. graduate of
Columbia University’s Theatre Theory/Criticism/Dramaturgy program.
Eva Barnes, Dialect Coach
La Jolla Playhouse: Chasing the Song, Sideways, His Girl Friday, A Dram
of Drummhicit, Jersey Boys, Xanadu, Carmen, Restoration, Zhivago, Palm
Beach, The Third Story, The Scottish Play, The Love of Three Oranges,
Tartuffe, The Adoration of the Old Woman, The Model Apartment and
Our Town. Other theatres: Mark Taper, Ahmanson Theatre (Romeo and
Juliet, directed by Sir Peter Hall), Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, D.C.,
McCarter Theatre, Public Theater and San Diego Rep. She also coached
Anna Deavere Smith’s House Arrest and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
(Broadway and PBS film). Film: Big Night. Ms. Barnes is on the Acting
Faculty at UC San Diego. Staged readings of her play, Smoking Men &
Other Activities, are planned in San Diego and Los Angeles this fall.
Alaine Alldaffer, Casting
La Jolla Playhouse: Ruined. As Casting Director for Playwrights Horizons,
credits include: Clybourne Park (also Broadway), Grey Gardens (also
Broadway), Circle Mirror Transformation (Artios Award). Present Laughter
(Artios Award) with Victor Garber (Huntington Theatre and Roundabout
NYC). TV credits include: Knights of Prosperity aka Let’s Rob Mick Jagger
for ABC. Assoc. credits include ED (NBC) and Monk (USA). Theatres
include Berkeley Rep and A.C.T. in San Francisco, The Arena in D.C.
and The Alley Theatre in Houston. Festivals include Williamstown and
Humana. Lisa Donadio is the Associate Casting Director.
Lori Lundquist, Production Stage Manager
La Jolla Playhouse: Debut. Broadway: Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Fosse
and Holiday. National Tours: Fosse, Spelling Bee, Will Roger’s Follies.
Off-Broadway: Theater for a New Audience, Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, as well as productions at Roundabout Theatre Company,
New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater/
NYSF in Central Park, Second Stage/The Minetta Lane. Over 30
productions at other regional theaters including: Hartford Stage, The
Ordway, Long Wharf Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, The Alley
Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre and American Repertory Theater.
Opera: New York City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Indianapolis Opera.
Education: Bemidji Stage University. Ms. Lundquist is proud to be a
member of AEA.
Marie Jahelka, Assistant Stage Manager
La Jolla Playhouse: The Tall Girls. Regional: Somewhere, The Last
Romance, The Whipping Man, Romeo y Julieta, Back Back Back, Opus,
The American Plan, In This Corner, Oscar and The Pink Lady, How the
Grinch Stole Christmas!, 2006 Shakespeare Festival, Hayfever (The
Old Globe Theatre); Spring Awakening, Company, Shakespeare’s R&J,
Assassins, Mistakes Were Made, Parade, Cabaret, Love Song (Cygnet
Theatre); Mixtape (Lamb’s Players Theatre); The Amish Project (Mo`olelo
Performing Arts Company); The Humbug Holiday Spectacular (North
Coast Repertory Theatre). Education: B.A. in Theatre Arts from University
of San Diego.
Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre is a nationally recognized theatre company based in
Houston and one of the few American companies with a commitment to
resident artists. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and
Managing Director Dean R. Gladden, the Alley creates a wide-ranging
repertoire and innovative productions of classics, neglected modern
plays and new plays. The Alley has brought its productions to Broadway,
Off-Broadway, London and major European festivals. As a recipient of
the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Alley has
premiered plays and created recent collaborations with Edward Albee,
Rajiv Joseph, Kenneth Lin, Eve Ensler, Horton Foote and Robert Wilson.
THE COMPANY: ETHER DOME
Hartford Stage
Launching its 51st season this fall, Hartford Stage is one of the nation’s
leading resident theatres, known for producing innovative revivals of
classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 70 world
and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education
program, which reaches 21,000 students annually. Hartford Stage has
earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including a Tony
Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and four 2014 Tony Awards
for the world premiere of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,
including Best Musical and Best Director for Artistic Director Darko
Tresnjak. The world premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the
Spoonful won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Huntington Theatre Company
Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Huntington
Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading professional
theatre and one of the region’s premiere cultural assets since its founding
in 1982. Under the direction of Artistic Director Peter DuBois and
Managing Director Michael Maso and in residence at Boston University,
the Huntington cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art
form. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington
produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current
to create award-winning productions, supports local writers through its
playwright-in-residency and Huntington Playwriting Fellows program,
and runs nationally renowned education and community programs
that serve 33,000 young people and underserved audiences each year.
huntingtontheatre.org.
LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE LEADERSHIP
Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director
has served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director since
October, 2007. During his tenure, he has helmed the
Playhouse’s productions of Chasing the Song, His Girl Friday,
Glengarry Glen Ross, A Dram of Drummhicit, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Restoration and the acclaimed musicals Xanadu
and Memphis, which won four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical.
He also spearheaded the Playhouse’s Without Walls (WoW) series, the DNA
New Work Series and the Resident Theatre program. Prior to joining the
Playhouse, he directed the Broadway productions of Xanadu (Drama Desk
nomination), All Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk
and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), as well as the Kennedy Center
Sondheim Celebration productions of Sweeney Todd and Merrily We
Roll Along. Other New York credits include: Blown Sideways Through Life,
Jeffrey (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,
Valhalla, Regrets Only, Wonder of the World, Communicating Doors, Bunny
Bunny, The Night Hank Williams Died, Fires in the Mirror (Lucille Lortel
Award), among others. Mr. Ashley also directed the feature film Jeffrey and
the American Playhouse production of Blown Sideways Through Life for
PBS. Mr. Ashley is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama
League Director Fellowship and an NEA/TCG Director Fellowship.
Debby Buchholz, General Manager
has served as general manager of La Jolla Playhouse since
2002. She is a member of the Executive Committee and
of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). In 2009, she
received a San Diego Women Who Mean Business Award
from The San Diego Business Journal. Previously she served
as Counsel to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and
the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. She was a faculty
member of the Smithsonian Institution’s program on Legal Problems
of Museum Administration. Prior to the Kennedy Center, she served as
a corporate attorney in New York City and Washington, D.C. She is a
graduate of UC San Diego and Harvard Law School. Ms. Buchholz and
her husband, noted author and White House economic policy advisor
Todd Buchholz, live in Solana Beach and are the proud parents of
Victoria, Katherine and Alexia.
Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director
has served as Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse since
April, 2009. During his five years at the Playhouse, he has
worked in partnership with Artistic Director Christopher
Ashley to produce 16 world premieres, 10 Playhouse
commissions and the hit musicals Yoshimi Battles the
Pink Robots, Hands on a Hardbody and Little Miss Sunshine. He was
also instrumental in bringing the Page To Stage workshop of John
Leguizamo’s Diary of a Madman to the Playhouse, which transferred
to Broadway. Additionally, he fostered the growth of the Playhouse’s
award-winning Performance Outreach Program (POP) tour, achieving the
most performances at local schools in Playhouse history. Previously, Mr.
Rosenberg was Co-Founder and Executive Director of Drama Dept., a
New York non-profit theatre company, where he produced new works
by the likes of Douglas Carter Beane, Warren Leight, Isaac Mizrahi,
Paul Rudnick and David and Amy Sedaris. He has been a part of the
producing teams for the Broadway productions of Grey Gardens and
American Buffalo and the national tour of Little House on the Prairie. He
serves on the boards of La Jolla Country Day School and the Theatre
Communications Group.
Des McAnuff, Director Emeritus
served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director from 1983
through 1994, and from 2001 through April, 2007. Under
his leadership, the Playhouse garnered more than 300
awards, including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional
Theatre. Playhouse to Broadway credits: Jersey Boys (four
Tony Awards), Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (Tony Award), How to Succeed
in Business Without Really Trying (five Tony nominations), director and
co-author with Pete Townshend on The Who’s Tommy (Tony and Olivier
Awards for Best Director) and Big River (seven Tony Awards), among
others. Film credits: Quills, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The
Iron Giant (9 Animation Society awards) and Cousin Bette. Recipient of
the Drama League’s 2006 Julia Hansen Award, Mr. McAnuff served as
Artistic Director at Canada’s Stratford Festival from 2007 through 2012. He
recently directed the hit productions of Sideways, Yoshimi Battles the Pink
Robots and Jesus Christ Superstar at the Playhouse.