2010-2011

2010-2011

SEASON

STAFF
Artistic Director – Ron Peluso
Associate Artistic Director – Suzy Messerole
Production Manager – Janet L. Hall
Master Electrician – Matt Earley
Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Assistant Technical Director – Gunther Gullickson
Artistic Associates – Jan Puffer, Bob Beverage, Michelle Hutchison, Sue Scott, Richard D. Thompson
Managing Director, Kathleen Hansen
Interim Managing Director – Karen Mueller
Director of Development – Barbe Marshall
Box Office & Development Associate – Doug Tiede
Institutional Development Consultant – Betsy Husting
Financial Consultant – Megan Tarnow
IT Consultant – Kurt Buller
Audience Development Director – Chari Hall
Group Sales Manager – Jill Vaughn
Front of House Staff – Beth Cashman, Nic Delcambre, Anne Hammel, Marj Hammer, David Hopkins-Hile, Judi Larson, Kevin Martin, Megan O’Brien
Interns – Bailey Anderson, Melissa Schmitz
ASL Interpreters – Susan Nelson, Bernadette Halverson
Audio Describer – Rick Jacobson
Marketing Director – Rachel Flynn
Graphic Designer – Matthew Foster
Photographer – Scott Pakudaitis

Dudley: Rigged for Laughter! (World Premiere)
Subtitle: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave New Workshop
October 2-24, 2010
By Caleb McEwen, Dane Stauffer & John Sweeney

This play looks back on the extraordinary life of Twin Cities entertainment icon Dudley Riggs, whose many theatrical and comedic productions were the genesis points for hundreds of careers in the performing arts.

Cast
Dudley Riggs – Joseph Scrimshaw
Ensemble – Shanan Custer
Ensemble – Paul de Cordova
Ensemble – Matt Erkel
Ensemble – Michelle Hutchison

Joseph Scrimshaw

Artistic Team
Directors – Caleb McEwen & Ron Peluso
Composer & Music Director – Peter Guertin
Scenic Designer – Justin Hooper
Costume Designer – Lynn Farrington
Lighting Designer – Michael Burgoyne
Property Designer – Gunther Gullickson
Stage Manager – Janet L. Hall
Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Master Electrician – Matt Earley
Deck Manager – True Saenz

Composer, music & lyrics to “Oh, Herman” – Dan Sullivan

The Christmas Schooner
November 20-December 19, 2010
By John Reeger
Music & Lyrics by Julie Shannon

This play tells the story of holiday-minded people who sailed the dangerous winter waters of the Great Lakes from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with a cargo of Christmas trees for populations further south. It is a story that celebrates the things we hold dear, reflecting the triumphant nature of the American immigrant experience and the strength that we can find within our friends and families. The time is 1881-1887; the place is the upper peninsula of Michigan, Lake Michigan and Chicago.

Cast
Captain Peter Stossel – William Gilness
Alma Stossel – Patty Nieman
Grandpa Stossel – Fred Wagner
Young Karl Stossel – Ethan Davenport, Ryan Hoffa
Teenage Karl Stossel – Joshua Hinck
Steve – Dan Hopman
Martha – Megan Kelly Hubbell
Enid – Karen Weber
Oskar – Carl Schoenborn
Rudy – Zach Spicer
Hans – Eric Knutson
Mary Claire – Anna Evans, Megan Fischer
Understudies – McKinley Aitchinson, Nic Delcambre

Ryan Hoffa

Artistic Team
Directors – Ron Peluso & Jan Puffer
Choreographer – Jan Puffer
Music Director – Andrew Fleser
Scene Design – Erik E. Paulson
Lighting Designer – Pamela Kildahl
Properties Design – Gunther Gullickson
Costume Designer – Kathy Kohl
Stage Manager – Janet L. Hall
Assistant Stage Manager – Elizabeth R. McNally
Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Master Electrician/Board Operator – Matthew Earley

Musical Numbers
ACT I
We All Have Songs – Company
That’s American – Alma, Gus & young Karl
The Mummers Are Here – Steve, Oskar, Rudy & Peter
The Blessings Of The Branch – Company
The Letter – Peter, Martha & Company
Another Season on the Water – Company
When I Look At You – Peter
What Is It About The Water? – Company
The Christmas Schooner – Company

ACT II
Song Of The Hungry Peasants – Company
Winterfest Polka – Oskar, Rudy & Company
Loving Sons – Alma & Karl
The Strudel Waltz – Peter & Alma
Another Season On The Water (reprise) – Company
Hardwater Sailors – Teenage Karl & Company
The Storm – Instrumental
Questions – Alma
When I Look at You (reprise) – Gustav & Alma
What is it About the Water? (reprise) – Company
The Blessings of the Branch (reprise) – Alma & Mary Claire
Finale – Company

This show was produced in association with MBG Productions, Inc.

Adrift on the Mississippi (World Premiere)
February 10-27, 2011
By Brian A. Grandison

This is a remarkable story about a group of slaves who secretly built a raft, put it in the Mississippi River and poled it upriver at night until they reached Minnesota and freedom. The time is 1862. The place is somewhere between Missouri and Freedom.

Cast
Reverend Robert Hickman – Gavin Lawrence
Lt. Halleck – Shawn Patrick Boyd
Thomas – Joe Nathan Thomas
Aramenta – Anna Wakefield
Gus – David Roberts
Fielding – Adam Western
Adeline – Indira Addington
Virginia – Yolande Bruce
The Man – Shane Birtzer
Jenks – A.J. Longabaugh
Serena – Sanyu Lubogo
Samuel – Kalif Troy
Captain – Alan Holasek
Chorus – Andrew Eckhardt, Brittany Pitts, Amanda Reinhart, Danessa Snustad, Mina Souvannasoth

Gavin Lawrence

Artistic Team
Director – James A. Williams
Scenic Designer – James Seemann
Costume Designer – Kay M. Robinson
Lighting Designer – Michael Wangen
Movement Coach – Patricia Brown
Fight Choreographer – Heidi Hunter-Batz
Video Production – Bruce Frederickson
Stage Manager – Elizabeth R. McNally
Assistant Stage Manager/Production Manager – Janet L. Hall
Technical Director – Zach Humes
Master Electrician/Board Operator – Matthew Earley
Sound Board Operator – Anna Fink

This project was supported in part by an award from the
National Endowment for the Arts

This production was performed in the E.M. Pearson Theatre at
Concordia University, St. Paul

A Tale of Twin Cities (World Premiere)
March 12-April 3, 2011
Written by Kevin Kling
Composer/Arranger Simone Perrin

In repertory with American as Curry Pie (March 17-April 10, 2011)

This show is an unusual and humorous reminiscence about the unique rivalry between our two cities, from name changes to their development as the milling and commerce centers of the Midwest. Mr. Kling and Ms. Perrin share stories about the individual and collective adventures and misadventures of both towns.

Cast
Performed by Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin

Kevin Kling, Simone Perrin

Artistic Team
Director – Suzy Messerole
Composer/Arranger – Simone Perrin
Scenic Designer – Nayna Ramey
Lighting Designer – Wu Chen Khoo
Sound Designer – Kathleen Horowitz
Properties Designer – Gunther Gullickson
Tap Consultant – Joe Chvala
Stage Manager – Matt Dawson
Assistant Stage Manager – Sarah Howell
Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Master Electrician/Sound Board Operator – Matthew Earley

American as Curry Pie (World Premiere)
March 17-April 3, 2011
By Aamera Siddiqui

In repertory with A Tale of Twin Cities (March 12-April 3, 2011)

The playwright’s family came to America when she was six. Her life was a balancing act between her Indian heritage and her American surroundings. Each day, her world consisted of one country inside her family home and another country outside those four walls. Told with honesty and humor, this play is one woman’s story about immigration, assimilation and discovering what it means to be an American.

Cast
Performed by Aamera Siddiqui

Artistic Team
Directors – Meena Natarajan & Suzy Messerole
Scenic Designer – Nayna Ramey
Lighting Designer – Wu Chen Knoo
Sound Designer – Katharine Horowitz
Properties Designer – Gunther Gullickson
Stage Manager – Janet L. Hall
Directing Intern – Melissa Schmitz
Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Master Electrician – Matthew Earley
Sound Board Operator – David Hopkins-Hile

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story
April 30-May 29, 2011
Written by Alan Janes
Original London production directed by Rob Bettinson

This musical story depicts the remarkable development of Buddy Holly from a West Texas singer-songwriter to an internationally acclaimed recording artist and pop star, all in the course of about three years. The action of the play takes place in Lubbock, Texas, Clovis, New Mexico, New York City and Clear Lake, Iowa between January 1956 and February 1959.

Cast
Buddy Holly – Nicholas Freeman
Joe, bassist for the Crickets – Josh Bourdon
Jerry, drummer for The Crickets – Zach Spicer
Hipockets Duncan/Norman Petty/Emcee (Bob Hale) – Charles Fraser
Vi Petty/Ensemble – Laurie Flanigan
Maria Elena/Ensemble – Nora Montanez
Candy/Ensemble – Lynnea Monique Doublette
Denzel/Ensemble – Munyaradzi Tirivepi
The 4th Cricket – Brandon Petron
Band Leader/Keyboards – Nic Delcambre
J.P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”)/Ensemble – Scott Jorgenson
Ritchie Valens/Ensemble – Allen Malicsi
Ensemble – Shana Berg, John Ensrud, Michal Sinak, Josh Sorheim
Apollo Dancers – Breanne Jackson, Sanyu Lubogo, Nadege Quevi, Jordan Ukura
Dancers – Della Amari Brown, Shane Larson, Sanyu Lubogo, Dominic Running, Ryan Spencer, Camille Trocke-Fowler, Jordan Ukura, Lindsey Walla

Nicholas Freeman

Artistic Team
Co-Director – Ron Peluso
Musical Director – Gary Rue
Co-Director and Choreographer – Jan Puffer
Assistant Musical Director – Andrew Fleser
Scenic Designer & Technical Director – Justin Hooper
Lighting Designer – Chris Johnson
Costume Designer – Lynn Farrington
Assistant Costume Designer – Susan Fick
Sound Designer – Matthew Earley
Video Designer – Mike Pledl
Property Designer & Assistant Technical Director – Gunther Gullickson
Light Board Operator – Mike Lubke
Video Board Operator – Sarah Howell
Stage Manager – Janet Hall
Assistant Stage Manager – Diane Foss
Musical Technical Director – John Kent
Assistant to the Light Designer – True Saenz

Musical Numbers
Prologue – Lynnea Monique Doublette

Act I
Rose of Texas – Hayriders
Ready Teddy – Buddy & The Crickets
Frigo Jingle – The Garyettes
That’ll Be The Day – Buddy & The Crickets
Ollie Vee – Buddy & The Crickets
Everyday – Buddy & The Crickets & Vi Petty
Good Times – Candy & Denzel
Party – Candy
True Love – Candy
Not Fade Away – Buddy & The Crickets
Peggy Sue – Buddy & The Crickets
Words of Love – Buddy & The Crickets
Oh, Boy – Buddy & The Crickets

Act II
True Love Ways – Buddy
The Star Spangled Banner – Mary Lou Sokoloff
Why Do Fools Fall In Love – Jack Daws & The Snowbirds
Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper
Maybe Baby – Buddy & Company
Heartbeat – Buddy
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens & Company
Raining In My Heart – Buddy
Rave On – Buddy & Company
Johnny B. Goode – Company

This show was co-produced with McNally Smith College of Music