PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Salt Lake City – Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Utah premiere of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Clybourne Park, February 15 through March 2, 2013.
Clybourne Park is a fascinating, insightful, and often terrifically funny look at the way we talk about—or avoid talking about—race in America. When a white couple wants to buy a home in the gentrifying, all-black neighborhood of Clybourne Park, Chicago, they unknowingly reenact the same tense drama, fraught with miscommunications and barely suppressed hostility that occurred fifty years earlier in the same house.
The play takes Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark drama A Raisin in the Sun as its jumping-off point; the house being sold in Clybourne Park is the same house purchased by Lena Younger inA Raisin in the Sun. The ensemble cast consists of AEA members CELESTE CIULLA, TARAH FLANAGAN, KASEY MAHAFFY, DAVID MANIS, BRIAN NORMOYLE, HOWARD W. OVERSHOWN and ERIKA ROSE.
CELESTE CIULLA plays Bev in act one and Kathy in act two. Ciulla’s New York credits include over a dozen shows at The Pearl Theatre, her favorite being The Phantom Lady; regional credits include eleven shows at San Diego’s Old Globe, most recently, the world premiere of Duncan Sheik’s Whisper House; several plays at Cincinnati Playhouse, most recently, Over the Tavern, as well as many other shows in many other theatres around the country. She is an audio book narrator and returns to PTC after Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
TARAH FLANAGAN plays Betsy in act one and Lindsey in act two. Flanagan’s recent credits include Emma in The Language Archive and Annie in The 13th of Paris at the Public Theatre of Maine, Poppy in Noises Off at the Fulton Theatre, Joan in St. Joan and Adriana in Comedy of Errors at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. She is a company member at the Great River Shakespeare Festival where she has appeared as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Ariel in The Tempest. She was last seen at PTC as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
KASEY MAHAFFY plays Jim in act one and Tom in act two. Mahaffy has performed on regional stages across the country, including the Arena Stage in You, Nero; South Coast Repertory inCrimes of the Heart, You, Nero, An Italian Straw Hat and Taking Steps; the Ensemble Theater inThe Violet Hour; Berkshire Theater Festival’s The Miracle Worker and Assassins – among many others. In addition to playing Father James on American Horror Story: Asylum, other TV/film credits include CSI, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Castle, Bones, ER, Medium and Ocean’s 13. He returns to PTC after appearing in Metamorphoses in 2005.
DAVID MANIS plays Russ in act one and Dan in act two. Manis’ Broadway credits include Lincoln Center’s recent award-winning War Horse, Henry IV with Kevin Kline, Exit the King with Geoffrey Rush, Abe Lincoln in Illinois with Sam Waterston, The Rivals, and the U.S. premieres of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and The Coast of Utopia. Off-Broadway work includes Our Town and Shakespeare In The Park. He has appeared at regional theatres across the U.S. and on television in Frasier, Boston Public, King of Queens, Monk and as a telekinetic weatherman onThe X-Files. This is his PTC debut.
BRIAN NORMOYLE plays Karl in act one and Steve in act two. Normoyle lives in Los Angeles where he recently performed with the L.A. Philharmonic, created the role of Joachim in the American premiere of Trio, and starred as Alex in The Little Dog Laughed opposite Greg Louganis. Some regional theatre credits include four seasons with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, several productions with the Shakespeare Festival of Ft. Worth, and the International Classical Acting Company. This is his PTC debut.
HOWARD W. OVERSHOWN plays Albert in act one and Kevin in act two. Overshown’s New York credits include Richard III-Brooklyn Academy of Music, Free Man of Color-Lincoln Center (US), Orlando-CSC, Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Yellowman-MTC, Blue-Roundabout, Beauty on the Vine-Epic Theatre Company, Never the Sinner-John Houseman Theatre.
ERIKA ROSE plays Francine in act one and Lena in act two. Rose’s many regional credits include Gem of the Ocean at Hangar Theatre; Ruined at Philadelphia Theater Company; In Darfur at Theater J; Pretty Fire at The African Continuum Theater; The Bluest Eye at Theater Alliance; Lenny & Lou and The Mineola Twins at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company; The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing at The Shakespeare Theatre; The Book Club Play and Pippin at Round House Theatre; Barrio Grrrl!, Knuffle Bunny and The Brand New Kid at The Kennedy Center. This is her PTC debut.
Guest artist TIMOTHY DOUGLAS directs the production. Douglas’ credits include off-Broadway’s Bronte: A Portrait of Charlotte and a premiere translation of Ibsen’s Rosmersholm. Other credits include the world premiere of August Wilson’s Radio Golf for Yale Repertory Theatre; Topdog/Underdog for Marin Theatre Company; the acclaimed, Caribbean-inspired Much Ado About Nothing for Folger Theatre; Permanent Collection for Round House Theatre. He was recently named an associate artist at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and served for three seasons as associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Douglas is a graduate of the acting program at Yale School of Drama. This is his PTC debut.
Scenic design is by PTC resident artist GEORGE MAXWELL. Some of Maxwell’s PTC designs include A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Next to Normal, Rent, Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, Les Misérables, The Importance of Being Earnest, West Side Story, Proof, Peter Pan and Miss Saigon. He has designed the sets for Utah Opera Company’s The Coronation of Poppea andThe Ballad of Baby Doe, productions for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and 21 productions for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Maxwell is a member of United Scenic Artists.
CAROL WELLS-DAY designs costumes for this production. Wells-Day is one of PTC’s resident costume designers and the costume shop supervisor. Her recent designs for PTC include A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Next to Normal, Sunset Boulevard, Dracula, Is He Dead?, Dial ‘M’ for Murder and The Light in the Piazza, among dozens of others. She was assistant designer forInherit the Wind at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C., and worked for the Utah Shakespeare Festival for 13 years as a costume shop supervisor and designer.
Lighting design is by guest artist LES DICKERT. Dickert has worked with numerous major international dance venues, including Edinburgh International Festival; Sadler’s Wells; The Royal Ballets of Denmark, Flanders, England and Holland; Bayerisches Staatsballet; Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Lenden; National Ballet of Canada; Australian Ballet; Milan La Scala Ballet; Teatro Argentina; and the Izmir Dance Festival. In the United States, he has designed for Boston, Tulsa, Portland, Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Westchester and Miami City Ballets; Jacob’s Pillow; Kennedy Center; Brooklyn Academy of Music; among many others. As past resident designer of the White Oak Dance Project, he collaborated with artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Lucinda Childs, Mark Morris, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, and Steve Paxton. Mr. Dickert has designed for a number of regional theaters across the U.S. This is his PTC debut.
Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH. Sound design is by PTC resident designer MATTHEW TIBBS.
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Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah’s only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.
MEDIA PHOTO SHOOT: There will be a media photo shoot on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 E., SLC. Please contact Heather Nowlin at 801-581-7222 or heather.nowlin@ptc.utah.edu to RSVP.
PHOTOS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD: High-resolution color photos of this production will be available for media use on the PTC website beginning Wednesday, February 6, 2013 after 3:00 p.m. Go directly to http://www.pioneertheatre.org/press-room/media-photos/
TV CAMERA FILMING: Filming a short segment of the production during Preview or Opening Night for press use can be arranged. Call 801-581-7222.
INTERVIEWS: Interviews with the cast and artistic staff are available. Call 801-581-7222.
PRESS TOURS: Tours of the set for the press are available. Call 801-581-6270.
CAST:
Celeste Ciulla*…………………………………………………..Bev/Kathy
Tarah Flanagan*………………………………………………..Betsy/Lindsey
Kasey Mahaffey*……………………………………………….Jim/Tom/Kenneth
David Manis*…………………………………………………….Russ/Dan
Brian Normoyle*………………………………………………..Karl/Steve
Howard W. Overshown*……………………………………..Albert/Kevin
Erika Rose*………………………………………………………Francine/Lena
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Director…………………………………………………………….Timothy Douglas
Set Designer……………………………………………………..George Maxwell
Costume Designer……………………………………………..Carol Wells-Day
Lighting Designer……………………………………………….Les Dickert
Sound Designer…………………………………………………Matthew Tibbs
Hair and Makeup Designer………………………………….Amanda French
Dramaturg…………………………………………………………Sydney Cheek-O’Donnell
Associate Dramaturg………………………………………….Martine Kei Green-Rogers
Production Stage Manager………………………………….Jeffrey Stewart Williams*
Stage Manager………………………………………………….Mary P. Costello*
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association.