Next Up At Theater J...
THE OF N MOS May AN COW 11–J TU S une CKE A World Premiere Comedy 12 T by the Helen Hayes Award Nominated author of The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall
By Sam Forman Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Featuring James Flanagan, Michael Glenn, Heather Haney, Bob Rogerson, Susan Rome and Amal Saade
(800) 494-TIXS • theaterj.org • 16th & Q Streets NW (Dupont Circle Metro)
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March 23–April 24, 2011
From the Artistic Director Let us contemplate the ways in which scientific discovery is so very much like the breakthrough achieved on the best of new plays. Both come only after endless research and development involving countless hours behind an instrument, devising outlines and calculations while laboring to intuit a functional structure; an architecture capable of holding an undulating, living thing within its confines. Scientific theory is animated by hypothesis; a quest to deduce; just as plays are triggered by a question to be challenged; meanings to be teased out through the unfolding of action. The work is sent out “on the road” to be tested, shared at conferences and small professional gatherings. Mistakes are noted, models scrapped and retooled, ideas borrowed, inspiration snatched and operations recalibrated so as to arrive at a perfect crystallization; the realization of a form that completes itself and reveals its promise by taking a hitherto unexpected form, but once realized, a form that feels inevitable, predestined to be the thing it has become. This wonderful discovery, this triumphant new vessel of wisdom, competes in rarefied company for a prize; for recognition; in some cases, forcing out other would-be contenders for more ultimate prizes, as soon history comes to remember only the star creators at the center, and generally not the contributors who helped make the revelation possible. History is so frequently written by the victors, the award winners, the fortunate few who snag the raves and live long enough to bask in the glow. Still the Nobel laureate, like the Pulitzer winner, knows those to whom he (or she) is indebted. The journey to map the contours of DNA that is told in this whip-smart play took its own patient journey through the turnstiles of the American theatrical development circuit. After countless drafts and indefatigable refining, Anna Ziegler is bringing this play home, coming full circle to the city of its inception with a work that has been pulled apart, challenged and rethought, only to be embraced anew, always advancing and evolving. Part of the journey in this play’s finding its final form has been a training of focus on that which kept Rosalind Franklin from realizing what seemed hers to achieve; on the threshold of discovery, on the doorstep of recognition, ahead in the race, only to stumble near the finish. Our playwright has questioned the meaning of race-running in this wisp of a time-frame we call a life. And she’s found functionality for her chorus of history-tellers, adding definition for the properties of its dyads—which is to say, its different pairings—in this play about partnerships, collaboration and its discontents; or “Combustible Couplets,” our season’s theme. Anna Ziegler has been a determined pursuant of her subject, and we’re so grateful to her artistic partners on this endeavor who kept her from running this marathon alone. We salute the many institutional collaborators along the way, from Active Cultures across the border in Maryland, to the Cape Cod Theatre Project, the Epic Theatre Ensemble, and finally to Ensemble Studio Theatre and their partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation who helped to make this DC production a reality. There’s something deeply fulfilling for us—something deeply affirming—in participating in this national collaboration of artistic development and helping our lead researcher articulate this particular human tragedy and simultaneous historical triumph. Quite the breakthrough indeed. -Ari Roth 2
Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater/Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts
March 23–April 24, 2011
PHOTOGRAPH 51 By Anna Ziegler Directed by Daniella Topol
Cast
Maurice Wilkins Clinton Brandhagen* James Watson James Flanagan* Don Caspar Tim Getman* Francis Crick Michael Glenn* Rosalind Franklin Elizabeth Rich* Ray Gosling Alexander Strain* Understudy Maurice Wilkins Will Gartshore*
Artistic & Production Team Scenic Designer Giorgos Tsappas Lighting Designer Daniel Covey** Costume Designer Ivania Stack Stage Manager Roy A. Gross* Sound Designer/Original Music Veronika Vorel** Properties HannaH J. Crowell Dialect Coach Tonya Beckman Ross Scenic Artist Luciana Stecconi Assistant Stage Managers Jen Bevan, Jay Chiang Assistant Sound Designer Stephanie P. Freed *Member of Actors’ Equity Association Assistant Director Jessica Karp ** Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 Lighting Operator Aaron Waxman
Theater J Extends Special Thanks To Dr. Martin Kessel The National Institutes of Health
Dennis Goldman Roz & Donald Cohen
Photograph 51 was originally commissioned and produced by Active Cultures, the vernacular theatre of Maryland (Mary Resing, Director). Opening Night Sunday, February 10, 2008. This play is the winner of the 2008 STAGE International Script Competition and was developed, in part, through the University of California, Santa Barbara’s STAGE Project by the Professional Artists Lab (Nancy Kawalek, Director) and the California NanoSystems Institute.
Developed and produced by The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. This production is funded in part through the EST/Sloan Project Mainstage Initiative.
William Carden, Artistic Director Paul Alexander Slee, Executive Director
Doron Weber, Vice President, Programs
Patrons are requested to turn off pagers, cellular phones and signal watches, and to refrain from taking photographs, text messaging, or making a recording of any aspect of this performance.
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Theater J’s Angels This select group has provided generous support for
Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes Lisa Fuentes & Thomas Cohen Marion & Larry Lewin Elaine Reuben
PHOTOGRAPH 51
Joan Wessel Rosa D. Wiener Irene & Alan Wurtzel Ellen & Bernard Young
The Arlene and Robert Kogod New Play Development Program Arlene & Robert Kogod
Theater J’s Passports Educational Program The Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
The Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre was founded on the belief that extraordinary support yields extraordinary work. We are a dynamic and expanding family of member artists committed to the discovery and nurturing of new voices and the continued support and growth of artists throughout their creative lives. Through our unique collaborative process we develop and produce original, provocative and authentic new plays that engage and challenge our audience and audiences across the country. Founded in 1972 by Curt Dempster, the theatre’s membership has grown from a core of 20 artists to a flourishing community of over 500 theatre artists of the highest caliber. Among them are winners of accolades and higher awards including Pulitzer Prizes, Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, and Obies. EST is a lifelong artistic home for our member playwrights, directors, actors, designers, technical personnel and administrators. Each year EST, produces over 300 projects including workshops, staged readings and fully produced mainstage productions. Over the past four decades we have developed more than 6,000 full-length plays, which have been produced at more than 360 theatres across the United States. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Founded in 1934, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Doron Weber, Vice-President, Programs) is a philanthropic, non-profit institution that awards grants in science and technology and economic competitiveness. Sloan’s program in public understanding of science and technology aims to enhance people’s lives through a keener understanding of our increasingly scientific and technological world. The program also strives to convey some of the challenges and rewards of the scientific and technological enterprise, and of the lives of the men and women who undertake it. The EST/Sloan Project Celebrating its thirteenth anniversary, the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project (Graeme Gillis, Program Director; Linsay Firman, Associate Director) is designed to stimulate artists to create credible and compelling new theatrical works exploring the worlds of science and technology, and to challenge existing stereotypes of scientists and engineers in popular culture. Each season the EST/Sloan Project commissions and develops new works, and presents the results, at various levels from first readings to fully mounted productions, in the FIRST LIGHT Festival. Since its inception in 1998, the EST/Sloan Project has commissioned, developed and produced more than 200 playwrights, choreographers, composers and theatre companies.
Theater J Council Marion Ein Lewin Co-Chair Paul Mason Co-Chair Lois Fingerhut Vice-Chair Carolyn Kaplan Vice-Chair Mara Bralove Treasurer Ellen Malasky Secretary
Natalie Abrams Patty Abramson Michele G. Berman Deborah Carliner Mimi Conway Myrna Fawcett Ann Gilbert Cheryl Gorelick Yoav Lurie Jack Moskowitz Elaine Reuben Evelyn Sandground
Washington DCJCC Leadership 4
President Mindy Strelitz Chief Executive Officer Arna Meyer Mickelson Chief Operating Officer Margaret Hahn Stern
Mita Schaffer Hank Schlosberg Andy Shallal Patti Sowalsky Stephen Stern Manny Strauss Barbara Tempchin Trish Vradenburg Joan Wessel Rosa Wiener Irene Wurtzel Bernard Young Margot Zimmerman
Chief Financial Officer Judith Ianuale Chief Development Officer Mark Spira Chief Programming Officer Joshua Ford
From the Playwright This play is a work of fiction, though it is based on the story of the race to discover the double helix in England in the years between 1951 and 1953. I am greatly indebted to The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox, The Double Helix by James Watson, and The Third Man of the Double Helix by Maurice Wilkins—all of which I highly recommend, and served as entertaining and invaluable research aides. That said, please note that I have altered timelines, facts and events, and recreated characters for dramatic purposes. This play was written with the generous assistance of the following organizations and individuals: William Carden, Graeme Gillis, Linsay Firman and The Ensemble Studio Theatre, Doron Weber and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Mary Resing and Active Cultures Theatre, Lynne Meadow, Jerry Patch and Annie MacRae of The Manhattan Theatre Club, Andy Polk and The Cape Cod Theatre Project, Aria Alpert, Simon Levy and The Fountain Theatre, Evan Cabnet, The Rattlestick Theatre, Zak Berkman and Epic Theatre Company, Ari Roth, Shirley Serotsky and the amazing staff at Theater J. A special thanks to the heroic and brilliant Daniella Topol, whose sage guidance in matters of dramaturgy and life has greatly aided both me and my plays time and time again. A final thanks to the incredibly inspiring Rosalind Franklin, whose life lends itself to drama in part because it ended so tragically—would that this had not been the case.
-Anna Ziegler
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About Rosalind Franklin
Adapted from The Rosalind Franklin Papers at the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health
You look at science…as some sort of demoralizing invention of man, something apart from real life, and which must be cautiously guarded and kept separate from everyday existence. But science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation for life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience and experiment. - Rosalind Franklin Rosalind’s life before PHOTOGRAPH 51 Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born in London on July 25, 1920, the second of five children in a prominent Anglo-Jewish family. Rosalind attended the prestigious St. Paul’s School for Girls. She excelled in math and science, and showed facility for languages. Franklin family vacations often included walking and hiking tours; Rosalind remained an avid hiker as an adult. “All her life,” Rosalind Franklin’s mother noted, “Rosalind knew exactly where she was going, and at sixteen, she took science for her subject.” In 1938 she entered Newnham College, one of two women’s colleges at Cambridge University, where she majored in physical chemistry. Her undergraduate years were partly shaped by WWII; Structure B, Photo 51, taken by Rosalind E. Franklin and R.G. Gosling. May 2, 1952 many instructors, especially in the sciences, had been pulled into war work. In one letter, Franklin noted,“Practically the whole of the Cavendish [laboratory] have disappeared.” Franklin received her BA in 1941, and in 1942 she had to decide whether to be drafted for more traditional war work or pursue a Ph.D-oriented research job in a field relevant to wartime needs. She chose the latter, and began work with the recently-organized British Coal Utilization Research Association (BCURA) that summer. For the next four years, Franklin worked to illuminate the micro-structures of various coals and carbons. Her work at BCURA yielded a doctoral thesis— she received her Ph.D from Cambridge in 1945—and five scientific papers. After the war, Rosalind got a position in Jacques Mering’s lab at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimique de l’Etat in Paris. There she learned how to analyze carbons using X-ray crystallography (also called X-ray diffraction analysis). This work earned her an international reputation among coal chemists. She enjoyed the collegial professional culture of the Laboratoire Central, and formed many lifelong friendships there. Though happy in France, in 1949 Franklin began seeking a position in England. In 1950 she was awarded a Fellowship to work in John T. Randall’s Biophysics Unit at King’s College, London. Randall had originally planned to have Franklin build up a crystallography section and analyze proteins. At the suggestion of the assistant lab chief, Maurice Wilkins, however, Randall asked Franklin to investigate DNA instead. Wilkins had begun doing X-ray diffraction work on some unusually good DNA samples. He expected that he and Franklin would work together, but Randall’s communication to Franklin did not convey this; it said that she and graduate student Raymond Gosling would do the DNA work. Her subsequent relations with Wilkins suffered from this misunderstanding. It is here that we pick up with Franklin’s life in the play, Photograph 51. 6
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About Rosalind Franklin (continued) Rosalind’s life after PHOTOGRAPH 51 Rosalind’s story in Anna Ziegler’s play begins to wind down in April 1953 after Watson and Crick’s announcement in Nature about the structure of DNA. By that time, Franklin had arranged to transfer to J.D. Bernal’s crystallography laboratory at Birkbeck College, also in London, where she turned her attention to the structure of plant viruses, particularly the tobacco mosaic virus. There, Franklin made meticulous X-ray diffraction photos of the viruses. Her expertise in virus structures was recognized by the Royal Institution in 1956, with a request to construct large-scale models of viruses for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. In the fall of 1956, Franklin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For the next 18 months she underwent treatment; she had several periods of remission, during which she continued working in her lab. She died in London on April 16, 1958. Throughout her 16-year career, Franklin published steadily: nineteen articles on coals and carbons, five on DNA, and twenty-one on viruses. During her last few years, she received numerous invitations to speak at conferences all over the world. Franklin’s scientific achievements, both in coal chemistry and virus structure research are considerable. Her peers in those fields acknowledged this during her life and after her death. But it is her role in the discovery of DNA structure that has garnered the most public attention. Crick, Watson and Wilkins shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their work on the structure of DNA, but no one gave Franklin credit for her contributions at that time. Ironically, Franklin’s work on DNA may have remained a mere footnote had Watson not caricatured her in his 1968 memoir, The Double Helix, presenting Franklin as “Rosy,”—bad-tempered and arrogant— and jealously guarding her data from colleagues. His book proved popular, even though many featured in the story protested Watson’s treatment of Franklin. In 1975, Anne Sayre published a biography further revealing Rosalind’s role in the discovery. Numerous articles and documentaries have highlighted her part in “the race for the double helix,” often casting her as a feminist martyr—cheated of a Nobel Prize by misogynist colleagues and her early Winners of 1962 Nobel Prizes: death. However, as her second biographer, Professor Maurice H. Wilkins (Medicine); Dr. Max Perutz Brenda Maddox, has noted, this too is cari- (Chemistry); Dr. Francis Crick (Medicine); author John cature, and unfairly obscures both a bril- Steinbeck (literature); Prof. James D. Watson (Medicine); and Dr. John Kendrew (Chemistry). liant scientific career and Franklin herself.
More information Websites:
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KR/ http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/dna/people/franklin.html The 2011 Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival: Portraits of Home is supported in part by an http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp/Phase2/Franklin,
[email protected] award from the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from The Jewish Federation of Greater http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp/articles/franklin/piper.html Washington to support Israel Programming through the Arts. This engagement of The Cameri Theatre is a DC Performing Arts Presenters Initiative project, made possible through funding by the Mid Atlantic Books: Arts Foundation withDark support the by DCBrenda Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The Cameri TheRosalind Franklin: The Ladyfrom of DNA Maddox, atre’s Residency is also supported theRevolution Fisher Family Foundation Visiting ArtistJudson Endowment Fund. The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers ofbythe in Biology by Horace Freeland Rosalind Franklin and DNA by Anne Sayre The Path to the Double Helix by Robert Olby The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James D. Watson Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne Theater J thanks Jacqueline Lawton, for providing additional research for this production.
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Who’s Who in PHOTOGRAPH 51
Don Caspar
Don Caspar is an American academic who has made significant scientific contributions in structural biology, X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction, and protein plasticity. He has served as a Professor of Biology at the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. “[Near her death, Rosalind] was still optimistic and confident that things were going to get better…Up until the end, she was still working away.” -Don Caspar
Maurice Wilkins was born in New Zealand in 1916. He was raised in Birmingham, UK and attended St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he studied physics. During WWII he applied his expertise on phosphorescence to the development of improved radar screens, and then moved on to work on the separation of radioactive isotopes for use in nuclear bombs. This took him to the Manhattan Project where he stayed until the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This experience nearly drove him to give up science for art (which was another of his pursuits) but instead he moved into biophysics. His autobiography, The Third Man of the Double Helix was published in 2003. “We had a very stressful aspect, which did not help the joint work in our Maurice Wilkins laboratory.” - Maurice Wilkins, on his relationship with Franklin James Watson graduated from the University of Chicago in 1947, at age 19. He received a degree in Zoology and a Fellowship for graduate study at Indiana University, where he received his Ph.D in Zoology. In 1951, he attended a lecture in Naples given by Wilkins, and first saw the X-ray diffraction pattern of crystalline DNA, which inspired him to change the direction of his research, toward the structural chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins. In 1962, he was one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA. He then went on to work at Harvard University’s Biological Laboratories and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. In 1994 he became President of the Human Genome Project, and later served as its Chancellor James Watson until resigning in 2007. “Rosy had evidence for a new three-dimensional form of DNA…Maurice went into the adjacent room to pick up a print of the new form they called the “B” structure. The instant I saw the picture my mouth fell open and my pulse began to race.”- James Watson Raymond Gosling pioneered X-ray diffraction research at King’s College, collaborating closely with Wilkins in analyzing samples of DNA. Following the discovery of DNA, Gosling remained at King’s, where he completed his thesis in 1954. After lecturing in physics abroad, he returned to the UK in 1967 and became a lecturer at Guy’s Hospital Medical School, and Professor in Physics Applied to Medicine. “She didn’t suffer fools gladly, she was very intelligent, and she desperately wanted to get on with this work. She was so convinced that it was there like a ripe plum to be plucked from the tree.”- Raymond Gosling
Ray Gosling
Francis Crick became James Watson’s partner in 1951, when the two began collaborating at the Cavendish Lab, working to uncover the structure of DNA. Crick brought to the project his knowledge of X-ray diffraction, while Watson brought knowledge of phage and bacterial genetics. Following the discovery of the double helix, Crick worked on finding the relationship between DNA and genetic coding. In 1976, Crick began studying the brain and consciousness. His book The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul described his ideas. Francis Crick died in 2004 at the age of 88.
Francis Crick 8
“The major credit I think Jim (Watson) and I deserve ... is for selecting the right problem and sticking to it.” - Francis Crick
Additional Programming for PHOTOGRAPH 51 Theater J is dedicated to taking its dialogues beyond the stage, offering an array of innovative public discussion forums which explore the theatrical, psychological and social elements of our art. Discussions take place weekly, following Sunday matinees and other selected evenings. All topics, panelists and dates are subject to change. For additional discussions, names of panelists, and updates, please visit theaterj.org and click “beyond the stage”
Thursday, March 31 at 9:00 pm: A conversation with Francis Collins, Director of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wednesday, April 6 at 9:00 pm: A Conversation with Kindra Crick, Visual Artist and granddaughter of Francis Crick (see Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery below) Thursday, April 7 at 9:00 pm: A Conversation with the cast of Photograph 51 Sunday, April 10 at 4:30 pm: Women Scientists: Breaking Through the SiO2 silica + sodium carbonate Na2CO3 + CaCo3 Ceiling Sunday, April 17 at 4:30 pm: DNA in the 21st Centery: A Look at Genetic Testing, in Partnership with Genetic Alliance Sunday, April 24 at 4:30 pm: The Path Less Taken: Gender Equity in the Teaching of Science, Math and Technology
Upcoming Readings: The Emma Goldman Project Two Plays by Jessica Litwak • Directed by Dorothy Neuman Sunday, April 3, 5:00 pm: Love, Anarchy and Other Affairs
Written and performed by the author, as Emma Goldman. Tickets free.
Monday, April 4, 7:30 pm: The Snake and the Falcon Tickets $10.
A play about J. Edgar Hoover and Emma Goldman, set during the “Red Scare” in 1919.
The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, Washington DCJCC What Was There To Be Seen an exhibition featuring Carolyn Bernstein’s Yew Tree Project and Kindra Crick’s Paradigm Shifts: Bonds and Binds January 26–April 24, 2011 What Was There to Be Seen is an exhibition that focuses on the complexity of science and human biology as seen through the eyes of artists. The works shown come from Carolyn Bernstein and Kindra Crick, granddaughter of Francis Crick, who contributed to the discovery of DNA. Each featured artist uses different techniques while employing scientific and medical imagery to convey emotions, experiences, fantasies and fears. Bernstein’s Yew Tree Project is a powerful installation that focuses on the development of the cancer drug Taxol, the complex network of the drug industry and the “diseased” bodies and symptoms of cancer patients. Paradigm Shifts: Bonds and Binds explores the idea of how we perceive the world around us. Crick uses scientific and anatomical drawings as playful metaphors for human emotions.
Currently on display
Guided Gallery Tours will accompany these select performances of Photograph 51: Wednesday, March 30, before the evening performance Wednesday, April 6, following the matinee and before the evening performances Thursday, April 21, before the evening performance The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery and the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts are supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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About the Artists Clinton Brandhagen (Maurice Wilkins) has appeared in Master Class, Mister Roberts, Shear Madness, Color Me Dark and A Light in the Storm at The Kennedy Center; All My Sons, Shipwrecked!, Two Rooms, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Cherry Orchard, Doubt, A Parable, and A Nightingale Sang at Everyman Theatre; Love and Whiskey at Charter Theatre; School for Scandal and The Comedy of Errors at Folger Theatre; Stunning at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Christmas Carol, 1941 and Anna Christie at Arena Stage; The Picture of Dorian Gray and Orson’s Shadow at Round House Theatre; Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas at Ford’s Theatre; Democracy, The Foreigner and Anna Karenina at Olney Theatre Center; An Experiment with an Air Pump and Piaf at Potomac Theatre Project; Romeo and Juliet at The Shakespeare Theatre; Macbett and Love’s Labour’s Lost at Washington Shakespeare Company and Dr. Faustus, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, Richard II, Much Ado about Nothing and The Knight of the Burning Pestle at American Shakespeare Center. Clinton is a member of Everyman Theatre’s Resident Acting Company. James Flanagan (James Watson) is honored to be performing at Theater J for the first time. Credits include House of Gold at Wolly Mammoth; dark play or stories for boys at Forum Theatre; The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at Studio Theatre 2nd Stage; columbinus at Round House Theatre; Hamlet, Kimberly Akimbo, and Arcadia at Rep Stage; and other productions with Quotidian Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Maryland Shakespeare Festival, VSA arts, The Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences, Longacre Lea Productions, Taffety Punk’s Bootleg Shakespeare, Hub Theatre Company, and New York Theatre Workshop. Later this spring, he’ll return to Theater J for the world premiere of Sam Forman’s The Moscows of Nantucket, while also appearing in his first award winning independent feature film, Absentia (written and directed by amazing older sibilng, Mike Flanagan; screening info at absentiamovie.com). James earned his bachelor’s degree from Towson University and is a company member at Hub Theatre in Reston, VA. Special thanks to everyone at Theater J, the Flanagan family, and Grace. Tim Getman (Don Caspar) is thrilled to be returning to Theater J where he last appeared in Shylock. He has also been seen in the original production of The Chosen, The Last Seder, and Passing the Love of Women. Tim has worked at numerous theaters in the area including Arena Stage (Death of a Salesman, View from the Bridge, Christmas Carol: 1941, The Misanthrope, and Streetcar Named Desire) ; Folger Theatre (Midsummer’ Night’s Dream, Elizabeth the Queen); Olney Theatre Center (Night Must Fall, An Enemy of the People, Somewhere in the Pacific); Rep Stage (A Lie of the MInd, In the Heart of America); Signature Theatre (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, In the Absence of Spring); Woolly Mammoth (Gruesome Playground Injuries, The Distance from Here, Savage in Limbo, The Unmentionables) and Everyman Theatre (Two Rooms, All My Sons, Exonerated). He holds a BA from Macalester College and Trinity College, Dublin and is a recipient of a Mary Goldwater award. Michael Glenn (Francis Crick) recently appeared in Constellation Theatre Company’s On the Razzle. Michael has been a DC based actor for over a decade, appearing in dozens of productions in many area theaters. Some favorites include Cat’s Cradle, The Hothouse, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Helen Hayes Nomination), Dumb Waiter, and Dogg’s Hamlet/Cahoot’s Macbeth with Longacre Lea; Henry VIII, Arcadia, and Twelfth Night at the Folger Shakespeare Library; Clybourne Park at Woolly Mammoth; A Flea in Her Ear with Constellation Theatre Company; The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Fallen From Proust at Signature Theatre; O’Flaherty V.C., Man of Destiny, A Skull in Connemara, The Underpants, and Major Barbara (Helen Hayes Nomination) with Washington Stage Guild; Blood Knot (Mary Goldwater Award) and As You Like It with ACTCo. Michael can be seen next in Theater J’s The Moscows of Nantucket and in Woolly Mammoth’s summer remount of Clybourne Park. 10
About the Artists (continued) Elizabeth Rich (Rosalind Franklin) is delighted to be back at Theater J where she appeared in Hannah and Martin (Helen Hayes Nomination). Based in NYC, she has appeared Off-Off Broadway in The Common Swallow at The Bleeker St Theatre and Couldn’t Say at The Abingdon (MITF Nomination and Talkin Broadway Citation). Regionally, Elizabeth has appeared in The Pillowman, Cherry Orchard, and Tale of Two Cities at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Dollhouse at The Goodman, The Scene at The Alley, Enemies, A Love Story at the Wilma, Cradle of Man at Florida Stage and Rx at Chautauqua. Some of her previous Chicago credits include Hannah and Martin at Timeline Theatre Co. (Jeff Award and After Dark Award); Writers Theatre (Our Town and The Duchess of Malfi); Famous Door (Cider House Rules, Early and Often, Ghetto); Irish Rep (Bailegangaire); About Face (Seven Moves, Xena); Greasy Joan (The Lady from the Sea); and Strawdog (Our Country’s Good, Measure for Measure, HurlyBurly). Television credits include “Law and Order,” “Law and Order SVU” and “Missing/Reward.” Alexander Strain (Ray Gosling) has performed at Theater J in New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza (2011 Helen Hayes Nomination), The Rise and fall of Annie Hall, Honey Brown Eyes and Pangs of the Messiah (Helen Hayes nomination - Supporting Actor) and The Seagull on 16th Street as Theater J’s first Artist in Residence. Other performances include Scorched and Angels in America (Forum Theatre); In the Heart of America, Bach at Leipzig (Rep Stage), My Name is Asher Lev, Lord of the Flies (Round House Theatre), Caligula, Medea (Washington Shakespeare Company), The Monument, Gross Indecency (Theater Alliance), The School for Scandal (Everyman Theatre), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (LongAcre Lea Productions, Helen Hayes nomination - Ensemble). He has directed Marisol and One Flea Spare (Forum Theatre), Life’s A Dream (Journeymen Theater Ensemble), Peace (Washington Shakespeare Company—World Premiere). He is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Will Gartshore (Understudy, Maurice Wilkins) returns to Theater J following performances in The Sunshine Boys and David In Shadow and Light. DC credits include Show Boat, Merrily We Roll Along, My Fair Lady, Assassins, Sex Habits of American Women, Urinetown, Pacific Overtures, Elegies, Allegro, Twentieth Century, Grand Hotel, Side Show and Floyd Collins (Signature); Passion (Kennedy Center); The Velvet Sky (Woolly Mammoth); Orson’s Shadow, A Year with Frog and Toad (Round House); Monster (Olney); Privates on Parade and A New Brain (Studio). Will has performed on Broadway in Parade, Off-Broadway in The Last Session and Ziegfield Follies of 1936, and regionally in Elegies (PTC); Myths + Hymns (Prince); 3hree (Ahmanson, Prince) and Fanny Hill (Goodspeed). Will has two Helen Hayes awards and eight nominations for Best Actor. Daniella Topol (Director) recent productions include the world premieres of Sheila Callaghan’s Lascivious Something (Women’s Project/Cherry Lane, NY), Willy Holtzman’s The Morini Strand, (City Theatre, PA), and Janet Allard and Niko Tsakalakos’ Pool Boy (Barrington Stage, MA). Upcoming world premiere productions include: Rajiv’s Joseph’s Monster at the Door (Alley Theatre, Houston, TX – May 2011), and Adriana Sevahn’s Nights Over Erzinga (Golden Thread Productions in partnership with the Lark and Silk Road Theatre Project, San Francisco, CA - September 2011). Committed to developing programs that support new writers and new voices, Daniella has served as the New Works Program Director for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and the Artistic Program Director of the Lark Play Development Center. Originally from the suburbs of Washington, DC, Daniella is a JDS alumna who received a BFA in Directing and a Masters of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon and now lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Joe Slott. Anna Ziegler (Playwright) Plays include Photograph 51 (previously produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Fountain Theatre and Active Cultures), Dov and Ali (Playwrights Realm @ The Cherry Lane; Chester Theater; Theatre 503, London), Life Science (Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep), Variations on a Theme (New Play Workshop at Chautauqua Theater Company, directed by Ethan McSweeny; 2010 TheatreWorks’ New Work Festival), The Minotaur (McCarter Theatre’s Lab Festival 2010), An Incident (2010 New Play Workshop at Chautauqua Theater Company), BFF (W.E.T., 2007), and Novel (SPF, 2007). Ziegler’s plays have also been developed by The Manhattan Theatre Club, Rattlestick Theatre, The Sundance Theatre Lab, The Old Vic New Voices program, Primary Stages, The Lark, The Cape Cod Theatre Project, The Geva Theatre Center, 11
About the Artists (continued)
Soho Rep, The Flea, The Playwright’s Center PlayLabs Festival, Ars Nova, Clubbed Thumb, The New Harmony Project, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Icicle Creek Theatre Festival, Catalyst Theater, Rorschach Theatre, and The Berkshire Playwrights Lab. She holds commissions from the Sloan Foundation, New Georges and the Virginia Stage Company, and is the winner of the 2010 Douglas T. Ward Playwriting Prize, awarded by Tisch, which is given to an alumnus of the dramatic writing program in celebration of her/his work. Ziegler’s work has been published in New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2007, Best Ten-Minute Plays 2010, Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors: The Best of 2004 and New American Short Plays 2005. BFF, Life Science and Photograph 51 are published or forthcoming from Dramatists Play Service. Daniel Covey (Lighting Designer) gleefully returns for this fun production of Photograph 51 starring most of his favorite actors. Previously he designed Theater J’s productions of Mikveh, In Darfur, The Seagull on 16th Street, Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears (with Theodore Bikel), Hannah & Martin, and Passing The Love of Women. His Off-Broadway credits include taking productions of Sholom Aleichem to the The National Yiddish Theatre/Folksbiene, Beyond Glory to Roundabout Theatre, and columbinus to The New York Theatre Workshop. Though Dan lives and mainly works locally, his work has been seen at regional theaters around the country. He is a member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829. Dan received Portland, Oregon’s Drammy Award for work at Portland Center Stage’s production of Sometimes A Great Notion. In 2001 he received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for his work on The Tempest at Folger Theatre. Please visit dancovey.com. HannaH J. Crowell (Properties) has most recently designed props for The Four of Us, Zero Hour and The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall at Theater J and was the scenic and props designer for In Darfur. She primarily works as a scene designer in the Washington, DC area. Her local scene design credits include Locomotion at Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences; Touch at No Rules Theatre Co.; Forever Plaid and Ain’t Misbehavin at Olney Theatre Center; Spot’s Birthday Party, Holes, and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie at Adventure Theatre; Receptionist at Studio 2ndStage and Separated At Birth at Dog&Pony DC. HannaH will be returning to Theater J for The Moscows of Nantucket. Other upcoming projects include If You Give a Cat a Cupcake at Adventure Theatre and The Glass Menagerie at Georgetown University. HannaH received her degree from North Carolina School of the Arts. Roy A. Gross (Stage Manager) is happy to return to Theater J, having been the Production Stage Manager for New Jerusalem and Something You Did. Roy has worked as a producer, production manager and stage manager in the DC metro area for 10 years. A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, he serves as a member of the DC/Baltimore AEA Liaison Committee and the regional campaign coordinator for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Roy had the privilege of bringing Tribute Productions’ Beyond Glory to US Military Personnel around the world as part of Operation Homecoming. Roy holds a BA from James Madison University and is the recipient of a US Army Southern European Task Force Scroll of Appreciation, a US Army 282nd Base Support Battalion Scroll of Appreciation, and a League of Washington Theatres Offstage Honor Award. Currently, Roy is the Executive Director of Artists’ Bloc, an organization that presents the developing performing art work of over 40 creating artists each year. Ivania Stack (Costume Designer) is delighted to be designing for Theater J again (The Odd Couple, The Four of Us, In Darfur). Other design credits include: Full Circle and Boom for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Adding Machine: A Musical at Studio Theatre; F***ing A for Studio Theatre 2ndStage; Angels in America at Forum Theatre (co-design); Lucido and True History of Coca Cola in Mexico at Gala Hispanic Theatre; 1001 and Lord of the Flies for Rorschach Theatre Company; Five Flights and Gretty Good Time for Theatre Alliance, Heroes for MetroStage; Three Sisters for Constellation Theatre; Mother Courage and Her Children for dog & pony dc; and Way Out West for the Berkshire Theatre Festival. She received her MFA in Design from the University of Maryland. Giorgos Tsappas (Scenic Designer) is very happy to be designing for Theater J for the first time. Other theater set credits include Our Town, Waiting for God and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, for The National Theatre of Cyprus; Quantanamo, John Epperson in rep. (As I Lay Lipsynching and Show trash) for The Studio Theatre; Passing strange, Fucking A, Jerry Springer the opera, Reefer Madness, Dog Sees God, Terrorism, Tommy, Polaroid stories, Nocturne, This Is Our Youth, Wonderland Alice, A Clockwork Orange, The Velocity of Gary, The Wild Party, Kerouac, Hair, Mad Forest, Silence Cunning Exile, Capote at Yaddo and 2-2 Tango; for The Studio Theatre 2ndStage; Lucido and Blood Wedding for the GALA Hispanic Theatre; Macbeth, Medea, The Maids, Macbett and Entertaining Mr. Sloane for WSC; The Resistible Rise 12
About the Artists (continued) of Arturo Ui, Cloud 9, Turcaret and Woyzeck, for Catalyst theater company; Harlem Rose: A Love Song to Langston Hughes for Metrostage and Porcelain for Tsunami theatre Company. Giorgos was a part of the delegation representing Cyprus to Prague Quadrennial 2007 as a part of the new generation of Cypriot Stage designers.He earned a Masters of Architecture degree from North Carolina State University. Veronika Vorel (Sound Designer/Original Music) has designed The Odd Couple, Something You Did and Mikveh at Theater J; Full Circle, Eclipsed and Fever/Dream at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Black Pearl Sings! at Ford’s Theatre; The Way of the World at the Shakespeare Theatre Company; Alice at Round House Theatre; Arcadia and Henry IV Part One at Folger Theatre and The Bread of Winter at Theatre Alliance. Regionally, she designed Anything Goes at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre; Boleros For the Disenchanted at the Yale Repertory Theatre and Peer Gynt and Titus Andronicus at the Yale School of Drama. She was a member of the Sound Design Staff for West Side Story on Broadway and at the National Theatre. Ms. Vorel received her training at the Prague Conservatory of Music, California Institute of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama. She garnered three Helen Hayes Award nominations for her work in the 2009 season. Ari Roth (Artistic Director) is enjoying his 14th season as Artistic Director at Theater J where, together with a dedicated staff, he has produced 97 full productions, including 33 English language world premieres, and many more workshop presentations. Also a playwright, Mr. Roth has seen his work produced across the country, as well as at Theater J, where productions include Goodnight Irene, Life In Refusal, Love & Yearning in the Not-for-Profits, Oh, The Innocents, and a repertory production of Born Guilty, originally commissioned and produced by Arena Stage, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky, together with its sequel, The Wolf in Peter (recently presented as The Born Guilty Cycle by the Epic Theatre Ensemble). His plays have been nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Production, and two Charles A. MacArthur Awards. He is a 1998 and 2003 recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts playwriting grant, three-time winner of the Helen Eisner Award, two-time winner of the Avery Hopwood Award, fourtime recipient of commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and recipient of the Mertyl Wreath Award from Hadassah. He was recently named one of The Forward 50, a recognition from The Forward newspaper honoring fifty nationally prominent “men and women who are leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.” He has taught for the University of Michigan for 15 years, currently for their “Michigan in DC” program, as well as for Brandeis, NYU and Carnegie Mellon Universities. Sarah Rayer (Managing Director) is thrilled to be the newest member of the Theater J team. She comes to Theater J with an MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a decade of work in prominent New York Theaters including Playwrights Horizons and The Public Theater. At the Public, she served as assistant to the Artistic Producer, Rosemarie Tichler and Administrative Director of The Shakespeare Lab. Prior to her work in producing, Sarah worked for four years in casting on projects such as “Law & Order,” The Lion King, and many of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park (Initiatives and readings). She’s worked as an Associate Producer for Eve Ensler’s V-Day (a social awareness and engagement initiative of The Vagina Monologues) at Madison Square Garden; Sarah also Associate Produced for “A Net of Souls: A Borrowed Light - Voices from Women in Prison.” In addition to her theater work, Ms. Rayer has a consulting company: S. Rayer Associates.
Theater J Staff
Artistic Director Ari Roth Managing Director Sarah Rayer Associate Producer Delia Taylor Director of Marketing & Communications Grace Overbeke Director of Community Outreach & New Media Becky Peters Director of Literary & Public Programs Shirley Serotsky Director of Patron Services Tara Brady Development Associate Gavi Young Casting Director Naomi Robin Technical Director and Master Carpenter Thomas Howley MCCA Operations Director Daniel Risner Construction Crew Ellen Houseknecht Load-in Crew Ian Millholland, Kevin Laughon, Cathryn Salisbury-Valerien, Meaghan Toohey and Jason Krznarich Front of House Raha Behnam, Bonnie Berger, Elizabeth Heir, JauNelle Hugee and Hadiya Rice For a full list of Theater J staff bios, visit theaterj.org and click on “About Us” 13
Friends Of Theater J Theater J is, at its core, a playwrights’ theater and as such, we have named our giving levels in honor of Jewish playwrights and two of their director/producers. We gratefully acknowledge our current donors who have supported us for the 2010–2011 season to date. We ask our many long-time supporters and new friends of the theater to join them in underwriting this exciting season. (This list is current as of February 25, 2011.) Executive Producing Show Sponsor ($25,000 and above) The Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington National Endowment for the Arts The Shubert Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The EST/Sloan Project Wendy Wasserstein Grand Angel ($15,000 - $24,999) Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg Patti & Jerry Sowalsky The George Wasserman Family Foundation Harold Clurman Champion Angel ($10,000 - $14,999) Carolyn & Warren Kaplan The Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation Trish & George Vradenburg Irene & Alan Wurtzel Ellen & Bernard Young
Al Munzer & Joel Wind Diane & Arnold Polinger Loretta Rosenthal The Abe & Kathryn Selsky Foundation Joan Wessel Arthur Miller Mentor ($1,500 - $2,999) Susan & Dixon Butler Ann & Frank Gilbert Debbie J. Goldman Mimi Conway & Dennis Houlihan Lisa Fuentes & Thomas Cohen Sandra & Arnold Leibowitz Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Marjan & Andy Shallal Margot & Paul Zimmerman David Mamet Muse ($1,000 - $1,499) Elizabeth Berry Mara Bralove & Ari Fisher The Center for Cultural Judaism, Inc. Myrna Fawcett Marjory Goldman Laine & Norton Katz Amy & Kenneth Krupsky Melanie Franco Nussdorf & Lawrence Nussdorf Rhea Schwartz & Paul Wolff Victor Shargai Betsy Karmin & Manny Strauss Rona & Allan Mendelsohn Janet Solinger
Anne & Richard Solomon Marsha E. Swiss & Dr. Ronald M. Costell Barbara & Stanley Tempchin Annie & Sami Totah Francine Zorn Trachtenberg & Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Betty L. Ustun Beverly Walcoff Julie & David Zalkind Sholom Asch Admirer ($350 - $499) Shoshana & Peter Grove Barbara Harris Iris & Michael Lav Michael Lewis Yoav Lurie Linda Segal Sandra & Dale Stein
Paddy Chayefsky Champion ($175 - $349) Anonymous (2) Paul S. Berger Elaine & Richard Binder Ronald Bleeker Goldie Blumenstyk Tony Kushner Collaborating Angel Susan & Steven Bralove ($7,500 - $9,999) Mady Chalk Esthy & James Adler Rosalind & Donald Cohen Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes Miriam J. Cutler & Paul Saldit The Max & Victoria Dreyfus Peter & Shelly Dreifuss Foundation Barbara & Samuel Dyer Marion & Larry Lewin Neil Simon Stage Benefactor Eva Feglova & Lawrence Somer Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins ($500 - $999) Susan & Michael Friedman Joseph Papp Producing Angel Babs & Rabbi A.N. Abramowitz Marjory Goldman ($5,000 - $7,499) Carolyn Small Alper Patricia & Stephen Goldman Patty Abramson & Les Silverman Richard Belle Paula Seigle Goldman Anne & Ronald Abramson Michele & Alan Berman Linda & Jack Golodner Joan & Peter Andrews Richard I. Bloch Ellen & Barney Goodman Michele & Allan Berman Steven des Jardins Martha Winter Gross & Robert Tracy Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Daniel Edelman Ritalou Harris Louie & Ralph Dweck Marlin & David Feldman Lois & Richard England Edith & Arthur Hessel Ina Ginsburg Lois & Michael Fingerhut Faye & Aaron Hillman Frances E. Goldman Dr. Kenneth & Cheryl Gorelick Fund Marvin Kalb Kovler Foundation-Judy & Peter Kovler Gayle & David Greene Joy Lerner & Stephen Kelin Tamara & Harry Handelsman Zena & Paul Mason Aviva Kempner Carol & Robert Hausman Judith Morris & Marvin Weissberg William Kreisberg Ira Hillman & Jeremy Barber Faye & Jack Moskowitz Neal Krucoff Linda & Steven Hirsch The Omega Foundation Dianne & Herbert Lerner Lauren & Glen Howard Elaine Reuben Arthur Le Van Margaret Hahn Stern & Stephen Stern Estelle & Dr. Irving Jacobs Tina Martin & Mita Schaffer Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen Natalie Wexler & James Feldman In Memory of MJ Bear Joy Midman Rosa D. Wiener Elizabeth Karmin & Emanuel Strauss Dianne Modell & Robert Hoffman Judy & Leo Zickler Ellen & Gary Malasky Sue Morss David Marlin Tena Nauheim & David Harrison Lillian Hellman Supporting Angel Donald Myers Vivian L. Pollock ($3,000 - $4,999) Undine & Carl Nash The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Toby Port & Jeffrey Ahl Trudy & Gary Peterson Ammerman & Andrew Ammerman Barbara Rappaport Toby Port & Jeffrey Ahl Natalie & Paul Abrams Erica & Douglas Rosenthal Steven M. Rosenberg & Stewart C. Low III Loretta Rosenthal The DC Commission on the Arts and Deborah & Michael Salzberg Humanities Leona & Jerrold Schecter
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Friends Of Theater J (continued) Lois & Basil Schiff Ms. Terry Schubach Sylvia Shenk & Yori Aharoni Beverly & Harlan Sherwat Lynnette Spira Mindy Strelitz & Andrew Cornblatt Deborah Tannen & Michael Macovski Susan Tannenbaum & David Osterhout Betty & Semih Ustin Stephanie & Fernando Van Reigersberg Gitta Fajerstein Walchirk Diane Abelman Wattenberg Marjorie & Allan Weingold T. Michael Wight Deborah Yaffe Debbie & Steven Young Ben Hecht Booster ($75 - $174) Susan & Alan Apter Anonymous Huguette Auerswald Deborah Berkowitz & Geoffrey Garin Sharon Bernier Edith Bralove Dr. Lloyd Brodsky Karen & John Burgess
Susan & Marshall Bykofsky Wallace Chandler Esther Coopersmith Lois & Michael Fingerhut Marcia Goldberg Helen Darling & Brad Gray Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb & Ms. Minna Scherlinder Morse Leona & Donald Drazin Dr. & Mrs. Burton Epstein Stuart Fischer Anne & Al Fishman Kit Gage & Steven Metalitz Renee Gier Morton Goren Judith & Albert Grollman Jack Hahn Morton Halperin Carol & Robert Hausman Peggy Heller Evelyn Hirsch Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen Rosalyn & Gary Jonas Betty-Chia Karro & Henry Gassner Helene & Allan Kahan Dana & Ray Koch Adrienne Kohn & Garry Grossman Beth Kramer Martin Krubit Michael Lewis Bill Levenson
Faiga G. Levine Mary & Edward Levy Hannah & Tim Lipman Susan & Donald Lubick Rosalie Lurie Madeline & Gerald Malovany Noreen Marcus & Jay Sushelsky Thomas Merrick Jolynne Miller Nancy & Richard Millstein Caroline & Michael Mindel Mona & Leonard Mitnick Tena Nauheim & David Harrison Nonna Noto Susan & James Pitterman Deborah Prigal Lauren & Sam Racoosin Joan & Ludwig Rudel Froma & Jerome Sandler Anne & Barry Schenof Michelle Sender Margaret Sohn & Harvey Cohen Richard Solloway Mindy Strelitz & Andrew Cornblatt Helen & Jonathan Sunshine Virginia & James Vitarello Mindy & Sheldon Weisel Sandra Weiswasser
Theater J Benefit Supporters A big thank you to all our supporters who made our February 28, 2011 Benefit such a success.
BIKEL & BROCHU
Dr. Kenneth and Cheryl Gorelick Fund Carolyn & Warren Kaplan Melanie & Lawrence Nussdorf Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins Victor Shargai Trish & George Vradenburg Ellen & Bernard Young
BURNS & ALLEN
Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes Amy & Kenneth Krupsky
ABBOT & COSTELLO
Anonymous Babs & Rabbi A.N. Abramowitz Patty Abramson & Les Silverman Carolyn Small Alper Richard Belle Paul S. Berger Joan & Alan Berman Michele & Allan Berman Elaine & Richard Binder Richard I. Bloch Mara Bralove & Ari Fisher Susan & Dixon Butler Miriam J. Cutler & Paul Saldit Daniel Edelman Myrna Fawcett Eva Feglova & Lawrence Somer Lois & Micheal Fingerhut
Ann & Frank Gilbert Frances E. Goldman Marjory Goldman Paula Seigle Goldman Martha Winter Gross & Robert Tracy Tamara & Harry Handelsman Ritalou Harris Carol & Robert Hausman Lauren & Glen Howard Estelle & Dr. Irving Jacobs Elizabeth Karmin & Emanuel Strauss Aviva Kempner William Kreisberg Joy Lerner and Stephen Kelin Marion & Larry Lewin Michael Lewis Arthur Le Van Ellen & Gary Malasky David Marlin Joy Midman Alfred Munzer & Joel Wind Donald Myers Carl & Undine Nash Vivian L. Pollock Toby Port & Jeffrey Ahl Elaine Reuben Loretta Rosenthal Deborah & Michael Salzberg Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg Rhea Schwartz & Paul Wolff Patti & Jerry Sowalsky
Marsha E. Swiss & Dr. Ronald M. Costell Annie & Sami Totah Francine Zorn Trachtenberg & Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Betty L. Ustun Diane Abelman Wattenberg Joan Wessel Rosa D. Wiener Margot & Paul Zimmerman
LAUREL & HARDY
Anonymous Huguette Auerswald Ronald Bleeker Susan & Steven Bralove Mimi Conway & Dennis Houlihan Meredith Deborah Dr. & Mrs. Burton Epstein Marlin & David Feldman Susan & Michael Friedman Marcia Goldberg Stephen & Patricia Goldman Linda & Jack Golodner Michael Gottesman Ellen & Barney Goodman Gayle & David Greene Shoshana & Peter Grove Barbara Harris Peggy Heller Edith & Arthur Hessel Evelyn Hirsch
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Theater J Benefit Supporters (continued) Marvin Kalb Adrienne Kohn & Garry Grossman Bill Levenson Dianne Modell & Robert Hoffman Tena Nauheim & David Harrison Nonna Noto Deborah Prigal Leona & Jerrold Schecter Lois & Basil Schiff Linda Segal Michelle Sender Sylvia Shenk & Yori Aharoni Richard Solloway Lynnette Spira Sandra & Dale Stein Mindy Strelitz & Andrew Cornblatt Deborah Tannen & Michael Macovski Susan Tannenbaum & David Osterhout Stephanie & Fernando Van Reigersberg
Sandra Weiswasser Adam Winkleman Deborah Yaffe
FRIENDS OF THEATER J Robert & Harriet Basseches Deborah Berkowitz & Geoffrey Garin Edith Bralove Susan & Marshall Bykofsky Miriam & M. Michael Cramer Judith & Albert Grollman Jack Hahn Nancy Korman Mary & Edward Levy Susan & Donald Lubick Thomas Merrick Jolynne Miller
Washington DCJCC Donors The Washington DCJCC wishes to thank all those who made contributions to the 16th Street J to help support our programs during the 2010 fiscal year (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). Your support has been invaluable in allowing us to create and sustain programs of excellence throughout the year. $100,000 + Ann Loeb Bronfman The Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington $50,000 - $99,999 The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation DC Office on Aging Melanie Franco Nussdorf & Lawrence Nussdorf Howard & Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation ServeDC - The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism David Bruce Smith United Jewish Endowment Fund
Alexander Greenbaum Martha Winter Gross & Robert Tracy Carolyn & Warren Kaplan Barbara & Jack Kay Arlene & Robert Kogod Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg Schoenbaum Family Foundation George Wasserman Family Foundation, Inc.
$10,000 - $14,999 Patty Abramson & Les Silverman Esthy & Jim Adler Michele & Allan Berman Susie & Kenton Campbell Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes Debra Lerner Cohen & Edward Cohen Lois & Richard England Family Foundation $25,000 - $49,999 Rena & Michael Gordon Jamie & Joseph A. Baldinger Susy & Thomas Kahn Diane & Norman Bernstein Judy & Peter Kovler DC Commission on the Thelma & Melvin Lenkin Arts & Humanities Marion & Larry Lewin Louie & Ralph Dweck Faye & Jack Moskowitz Brenda Gruss & Daniel Hirsch Diane & Arnold Polinger Tamara & Harry Handelsman Deborah & Michael Salzberg Stuart Kurlander Rhea Schwartz & Paul Wolff National Endowment for the Arts The Abe & Kathryn The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Selsky Foundation Robert H Smith* Family Foundation Francine Zorn Trachtenberg & Patti & Jerry Sowalsky Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Trish & George Vradenburg Natalie Wexler & James Feldman $15,000 - $24,999 Carolyn & William Wolfe Lisa & Josh Bernstein Irene & Alan Wurtzel Ryna, Melvin, Marcella & Neil Cohen Judy & Leo Zickler Ginny & Irwin Edlavitch Susan & Michael Gelman
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$5,000 - $9,999 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences American Jewish World Service The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman & Andrew Ammerman Melinda Bieber & Norman Pozez Max N. Berry Ann & Donald Brown Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Sara Cohen & Norman Rich Rose & Robert Cohen CrossCurrents Foundation The Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. Embassy of Israel Lois & Richard England Federal Emergency Management Agency Marilyn & Michael Glosserman Cheryl Gorelick Deborah Harmon & Robert Seder G. Scott Hong Humanities Council of Washington,DC William Kreisberg Jacqueline & Marc Leland Joy Lerner & Stephen Kelin Elyse & Jeffrey Linowes Linda Lipsett & Jules Bernstein MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger Linda & Sid Moskowitz Kathy & Thomas Raffa Renay & William Regardie Elaine Reuben Rae Ringel & Amos Hochstein Beth Rubenstein & Evan Markiewicz Lynn & John Sachs
Washington DCJCC Donors (continued) Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins Emily Schoenbaum Tina & Albert Small Jr. Barbara & Michael Smilow Mindy Strelitz & Andrew Cornblatt Lori & Les Ulanow Joan Wessel Rosa D. Wiener Ellen & Bernard Young Rory & Shelton Zuckerman $2,500 - $4,999 Anonymous Rabbi & Babs Abramowitz Natalie & Paul Abrams Amy & Stephen Altman Larry Axelrod Joan & Alan Berman Elizabeth Berry Rita & David Brickman Nicholas Chocas Cyna & Paul Cohen Margery Doppelt & Larry Rothman Exxon Mobil Corporation Myrna Fawcett Lois & Michael Fingerhut Joanne Fungaroli Marsha Gentner & Joe Berman Debra Goldberg & Seth Waxman The Aaron & Cecile Goldman Foundation Roberta Hantgan Horning Brothers Corporation Betsy Karmin & Manny Strauss Connie & Jay Krupin Barbara Kurshan Susan & Samuel Lehrman Sandra & Arnold Leibowitz Edward Lenkin Geoffrey Mackler Zena & Paul J. Mason Alfred Munzer & Joel Wind PNC Bank
Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen JCC Association Sally Kaplan Laine & Norton Katz Aviva Kempner Ceceile Klein Linda Klein Bette & William Kramer Lisa Landmeier & Hugo Roell Sandra & Stephen Lachter Dianne & Herbert Lerner The Samuel Levy Family Foundation Steven Lockshin Steven Lustig Ellen & Gary Malasky Peter Mancoll Cathryn & Scot McCulloch Rona & Allan Mendelsohn Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Lindsay & Aaron Miller Patrice & Herbert Miller Shirlee Ornstein Glenna & David Osnos Peggy Parsons Ruth & Stephen Pollak Toby Port Ravsak: The Jewish Community Day School Hillary & Jonathan Reinis Carol Risher Paula & Bruce Robinson Joan & Barry Rosenthal Chaya & Walter Roth Jane Nathan Rothschild Sharon Russ & David Rubin Victor Shargai Michael Singer Ann Sislen Richard Solloway Jane & Daniel Solomon Margaret Hahn Stern & Stephen Stern Marsha E. Swiss & Ronald M. Costell Embassy of Switzerland Tabard Corporation
Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation of Greater Washington Rita & David Trachtenberg United Way of the National Capital Area Marion & Michael Usher Lise Van Susteren & Jonathan Kempner Cynthia Wolloch & Joseph Reid Margot & Paul Zimmerman Due to space limitations, only donors of $1,000 or more are listed. The Washington DCJCC would like to thank all of our many donors for the important impact they have on our work. * of blessed memory
Parking at the Washington DCJCC
COLONIAL PARKING 1616 P Street between 16th & 17th Streets, just 2 blocks away!
DCJCC THEATER J
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Q Street WASHINGTON
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WASHINGTON DCJCC PARKING LOT Limited parking available.
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About Theater J Hailed by The New York Times as “The Premier Theater for Premieres,” and nominated for almost fifty Helen Hayes awards, Theater J has emerged as one of the most distinctive, progressive and respected Jewish theaters on the national and international scene. A program of the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, the theater works in collaboration with other components of the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts: the Washington Jewish Film Festival, the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, and the Literary, Music and Dance Department. Theater J produces thought-provoking, publicly engaged, personal, passionate and entertaining plays and musicals that celebrate the distinctive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural legacy. Acclaimed as one of the nation’s premiere playwrights’ theaters, Theater J presents cutting edge contemporary work alongside spirited revivals and is a nurturing home for the development and production of new work by major writers and emerging artists exploring many of the pressing moral and political issues of our time. Dedicated above all to a pursuit of artistic excellence, Theater J takes its dialogues beyond the stage, offering an array of innovative public discussion forums and outreach programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social elements of our art. We frequently partner with those of other faiths and communities, stressing the importance of interchange among a great variety of people wishing to take part in frank, humane conversations about conflict and culture. Performing in the 240-seat Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, Theater J works with some of the world’s most distinguished authors for the stage. It has produced world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Thomas Keneally, Robert Brustein, Joyce Carol Oates and Ariel Dorfman, with many debuts from emerging writers like Stefanie Zadravec and Sam Forman. The late Wendy Wasserstein’s play Third, which began at Theater J, received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center Theatre, while Neena Beber received an OBIE for her New York production of Jump/Cut. Theater J’s diverse body of work features thematically linked festivals including its ongoing “Voices From a Changing Middle East” series. In 2009 Theater J received a special citation in The Washington Post recognizing Theater J’s Israel-related programming. With hit productions ranging from Talley’s Folly and The Disputation to Pangs of the Messiah, The Price, Honey Brown Eyes (Winner of the 2009 Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play), Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears, The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, Zero Hour (for which Jim Brochu won the 2010 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a non-resident production) In Darfur, Mikveh and New Jerusalem (2011 Helen Hayes Award Nominees), it’s no surprise that Washingtonian Magazine notes, “Theater J productions keep going from strength to strength.” Winner of the 2008 Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, Theater J offers a number of additional programs including Artistic Director’s Roundtables, Peace Cafés, Tea at 2 (a monthly reading series) and the Passports Educational Program. Theater J has garnered support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and The Shubert Foundation. Theater J is a member of the Cultural Alliance, the League of Washington Theatres, TCG and the Association for Jewish Theatre. Photos by Stan Barouh Washington DCJCC 1529 Sixteenth Street NW Washington, DC 20036 Info: (202) 777-3210 or
[email protected] theaterj.org
Erika Rose in In Darfur Lise Bruneau in Mikveh Alexander Strain and Michael Tolaydo in New Jerusalem Sarah Marshall in Mikveh
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