The American Century Theaterpresents

The American Century TheaterPresents

by Kurt VonnegutMarch 7 - 29, 2008

Gunston Theatre II2700 S. Lang StreetArlington, Virginia

Sound DesignerJake Null

Lighting DesignerAnnMarie Castrigno

Set Designer & Properties

Trena Weiss–Null

Producer &Costumer

Rip Claassen

Stage ManagerMaggie Clifton

DirectorEllen Dempsey

Happy Birthday, Wanda June is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

There will be one 15 minute intermission.

Happy Birthday, Wanda June

The Setting:Heaven, The Ryan apartment, other locales

1970

Supported in part by the Virgina Commission of the Arts andThe Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and

Community Services, Cultural Affairs Division

PLEASE NOTE:The use of recording equipment and/or the taking of photographs

during the performance is strictly prohibited.

Cast (In order of appearance)

Penelope Ryan....................................................................................Looseleaf Harper.....................................................................................Paul Ryan................................................................Dr. Norbert Woodly................................................................................Herb Shuttle.......................................................................................Harold Ryan......................................................................................Wanda June.........................................................................................Siegfried von Koningswald...................................................................Mildred...................................................................................

Production StaffProducer...............................................................................................Director.............................................................................................Stage Manager..................................................................................Set Designer..................................................................................Lighting Designer....................................................................Sound Designer..........................................................................................Costumer..............................................................................................Properties......................................................................................Board Operator....................................................................................Wardrobe........................................................................Set Construction.......................................................

Photographer......................................................................................Program........................................................................................Program Logo...............................................................................

Kari GinsburgJoe Cronin

Andrew Newman, Adin WalkerBrian Crane

Brian RazzinoWilliam Aitken

Rachel WeberBill Gordon

Deborah Rinn Critzer

Rip ClaassenEllen DempseyMaggie Clifton

Trena Weiss–NullAnnMarie Castrigno

Jake NullRip Claassen

Trena Weiss–NullBryn Deacon

Izzy Angel, William AngelMichael Null, Jonathan Stricts

Caroline Cecot, Kristen KiselewichIan Armstrong

Michael ShermanMichael Sherman

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSAhmed Niazi, Lou George, Don Barton, Steven Scott Mazzola, Backstage, Inc., The Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources,

Cultural Affairs Division, and all others whose names were not available as this program went to press.

TACT is funded in part by Arlington County through the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources and the Arlington Commission for the Arts; the Virginia Commission for the Arts;

numerous foundations; and many generous donors.

Artistic Director’s Notes: Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970) by Kurt VonnegutWith Kurt Vonnegut’s Happy Birthday, Wanda June, we once again enter the odd realm of plays authored by novelists. Almost no American writers have shown themselves to be equally skilled on the printed page and on the stage; only one has a legitimate claim to being equally successful in both mediums. (I’ll reveal that exceptional novelist/playwright later.) The rule works both ways, for the novels penned by great playwrights have seldom reached the soaring heights of their scripts. Have you read The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (Tennessee Williams)? Focus (Arthur Miller)? Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (William Inge)?

Probably not.

Why is this true? One reason may be the motivations that drive an author from one form to the other. High among them are boredom, depression and ego. In Vonnegut’s case, it was apparently all three: “I felt after I finished Slaughterhouse Five that I didn’t have to write at all anymore if I didn’t want to,’’ he wrote in his memoirs, entitled Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons. “It was the end of some sort of career.’’ After he saw his novel’s film adaptation, which he liked very much, Vonnegut became enamored of the idea of seeing his characters in the flesh, referring to the characters in novels as “spooks.” “It’s plays from now on,’’ he announced. Luckily for the many fans of his novels, the newspaper strike that helped close Wanda June and the abundant aggravations of professional theater soon had him writing books again.

As a novice playwright, Vonnegut didn’t feel any pressure to obey the requirements of the “well-made play,” and charted his own theatrical territory. In this his closest equivalent was William Saroyan, one of the most successful of the breed, who also created plays (including the Nobel Prize-winning The Time of your Life) that broke more rules than they followed. Vonnegut shared other traits with Saroyan. Both were humorists at heart, though Vonnegut lacked Saroyan’s creamy sentimental center. Both excelled at creating memorably quirky characters that could verge on being cartoons yet still be capable of delivering an emotional jolt.

And both were masters of language. This is not necessarily a virtue for a playwright. Stage plays communicate in many ways, novels in only one; language without a strong sense of how the other elements of a stage production create an emotional response from the audience will lead to an over-written and over-long bore-fest. Fortunately for Vonnegut, language was not his only tool, just his sharpest. Jack Kroll, reviewing Happy Birthday, Wanda June’s original production for Newsweek, wrote that Vonnegut’s

mastery of wordplay “shows up” the non-novelist playwrights. “Vonnegut’s dialogue is not only fast and funny, with a palpable taste and crackle, but it also means something,” he wrote.

But Happy Birthday, Wanda June, Vonnegut’s first play, turned out to be his most successful by far. This also mirrored Saroyan’s pattern as a dramatist: the more plays he wrote, the less successful they were. Perhaps there is a brief period for a novelist when working in a new medium sparks the creation of fresh and unconventional plays that succeed because of their authors’ lack of playwriting savvy, rather than in spite of it. Or perhaps it is just that novelists tend to put their best ideas onto the page rather than the stage. (This principle seems to hold in the other direction as well, when established playwrights produce novels. For example, Thornton Wilder, whose plays included such classics as The Matchmaker, The Skin of Our Teeth, and Our Town, published his most successful novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, at the very beginning of his career.)

Whatever the reason, it is nearly impossible to be equally successful writing plays and novels. With Happy Birthday, Wanda June, however, Kurt Vonnegut proved that he belongs with Saroyan, Wilder, and Gore Vidal in the elite group of American writers who did both extremely well…at least once.

The notable exception? It is Ira Levin, who died last year. He wrote four acclaimed and best-selling novels: A Kiss Before Dying, The Boys From Brazil, The Stepford Wives, and, of course, Rosemary’s Baby. He also wrote a musical and eight plays that played on Broadway, and four of them were big hits: No Time for Sergeants, Critic’s Choice, Veronica’s Room, and the Tony-nominated Deathtrap—which The American Century Theater will be producing in the 2008-2009 season. Jack Marshall, Artistic Director

THE COMPANYWILLIAM AITKEN (Harold Ryan) The Rorschach Theatre Company: Sir Walter Raleigh in Kit Marlowe. The American Century Theater: Ned Crossman in The Autumn Garden, Ishmael/Actor in Orson Welles’s Moby Dick Rehearsed, Herb Lee in Tea and Sympathy, McCarthy/Society Gentleman in The Time Of Your Life, Phil Foley in Paradise Lost, and Mannion in Mister Roberts. Washington Shakespeare Company as Diego in The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Old Jew in Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy and Dr. Joe Cardin in The Children’s Hour. Arena Stage as Robert (u/s) in Proof. The Keegan Theatre as Juror Ten in Twelve Angry Men, Pedro in Man of La Mancha, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and IRA Officer in The Hostage. He also directed and designed the set for American Century Theater’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under The Elms.

BRIAN CRANE (Dr. Norbert Woodly) is making his fifth appearance with The American Century Theater (TACT). Previous appearances with TACT include: the Producer in Hellzapoppin’, the Egg of Head in MacBird!, Harris in Tea and Sympathy and Felix/Williams in Paradise Lost. Other area roles include Clotaldo in Life’s a Dream at Journeymen Theatre, Man (u/s) in The Long Christmas Ride Home and Teddy Lloyd/Gordon Lowther (u/s) in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at Studio Theatre; and Ralph (u/s) in Frozen at Studio Theatre Secondstage. He has been seen at Washington Shakespeare Company as Lepidus in Caligula, Lodowick in Edward III, and DeNizza/Manco in The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

DEBORAH RINN CRITZER (Mildred) was most recently seen as an Audience Hellion in TACT’s Hellzapoppin’, Constance Tuckerman in The Autumn Garden (TACT), Mrs. Hoadley in Natural Theatricals’ production of Herakles and in “An Evening with Dave Brubeck” at Constitution Hall. Other credits include Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel/Chava/Tzeitel), Pajama Game (Gladys), Brigadoon, Camelot, State Fair, Oklahoma, musical reviews Curtain Up and Rhythm of the Night at The Timbers Dinner Theater under the musical direction of Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa, Ismene in Sophocles’ Antigone and Chorus in Euripides’ Electra. Training: The George Washington University, The Theatre School, and The Shakespeare Theatre Company.

JOE CRONIN (Looseleaf Harper) has appeared with many companies in New York and throughout the Washington area, including Arena Stage, Theater J, the National Players, Olney Theater, Rep Stage, Interact Theater, Everyman Theater, Washington Shakespeare Company, Washington Stage Guild, Keegan Theater and Spooky Action Theater. He has frequently performed with The American Century Theater, playing MacBird in

MacBird!, Gus in Paradise Lost and Nick in The Time of Your Life, and other roles in Moby Dick Rehearsed, Machinal, The Robber Bridegroom, The Seven Year Itch and Dear World. Joe has an MFA in acting from the Catholic University of America.

KARI GINSBURG (Penelope Ryan) Previous TACT credits include: Ah, Wilderness! (Muriel McComber), Stage Door (Olga) and The Crucible (Mary Warren). Other regional productions include: Spooky Action, Spring 2008: The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Bette); Trumpet Vine: As Bees in Honey Drown (Alexa Vere de Vere); Fallen Angels: Girlfriends (Sally); Rep Stage: Arcadia (Chloe); Heritage: Equus (Jill Mason); Syracuse Stage: Eight Reindeer Monologues (Vixen) and Hidden in this Picture (Robert); The Center Company, Round House, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Adventure Theater, Venus Theatre, eight seasons with The Washington Opera. Various television, film, radio and print credits include: g14 productions, UPN20, WILL Interactive, AAAS, Caryatid Films, Prudential, The Washington Warthogs, Homicide. Kari is an Equity Membership Candidate.

BILL GORDON (Siegfried Von Koningswald) was last seen as “The Cabbie,” and heard as Lt. Buchevski, in TACT’s production of Cops. He is a founding member and former president of the Firehouse Theatre Project in Richmond, Virginia, where his favorite roles include Russell Boam in The Big Slam, Dean Swift in Nebraska, Bob in Women of Manhattan, the interrogator in Tone Clusters, and Roland Reynolds in the world premiere of The Persistence of Memory. Other roles include Jack Worthing in the Importance of Being Earnest and Poprischin in Diary of a Madman with Richmond’s Experiential Theatre Company; and Uncle Peck in How I Learned to Drive with ShenanArts in Staunton, Virginia. Bill is also a former staff member of the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton.

ANDREW NEWMAN (Paul Ryan), 12, is making his professional stage debut in Happy Birthday, Wanda June. At age 9, Andrew appeared in Mame as Peter. He’s also had some modeling gigs in Hong Kong and played a mass murder’s son in an HBO movie. Andrew is training to become a professional actor.

BRIAN RAZZINO (Herb Shuttle) was most recently seen as Barberson in TACT’s production of Cops. Prior to that he appeared in The Philadelphia Story (Stephen Mazzola, Dir.) where he played Dexter Haven and in Edward III at the Washington Shakespeare Company. Brian completed a year-long intensive training program with the Theatre Lab’s Honors Conservatory to study acting in 2007. At the conservatory, he performed in Othello in one

of his favorite roles as Iago on the Lab’s main stage. He also co-directed and acted in the one act play Penguin Blues at The Theatre Lab. In addition to these endeavors, Brian completed shooting the feature length Sci-Fi Film The Photon Effect this last Spring (Spring, 2008 release), in which he plays the principal villain, Dr. Robert Chase. He will be seen early this summer in WSC’s production of The Romans in Britain directed by John Vreeke. ADIN WALKER (Paul Ryan), 14, is an eighth grader at the Field School in Washington. REGIONAL: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Peter Cratchit); Washington Ballet: The Nutcracker; California Shakespeare Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth (Macduff’s son); American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco: A Christmas Carol (Tiny Tim). TELEVISION: Homicide: Life on the Street (“Abducted”). LOCAL: Act Two Performing Arts: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Jekyll & Hyde, Cats (Mistoffelees), 42nd Street (Abner Dillon/featured dancer); Ballibay Camp for the Performing Arts: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Snoopy). TRAINING: Dance—Washington Ballet, D.C. Dance Collective; Acting—Young Conservatory of American Conservatory Theatre, Act Two Performing Arts.

RACHEL WEBER (Wanda June) is 15 years old and attends Dominion High School. Her credits include: A Christmas Carol, Ford’s Theatre; Les Miserables, The Theatre Lab; Red vs. The Wolf, Elden Street Players; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Dominion Stage; Monster in the Closet, The Children’s Theatre; Beauty and the Beast, The Children’s Theatre; Fiddler on the Roof, Herndon Boosters.

PRODUCTION STAFFELLEN DEMPSEY (Director) Directing: MacBird!, It Had To Be You (TACT), Twelve Angry Men and Unquiet Hearts (Keegan Theatre), Sweet Charity, The Antigone in Warsaw. Assistant Director: That Championship Season, Paradise Lost and Moby Dick Rehearsed. Stage Management credits include Pump Boys and Dinettes, Hamlet, On The Verge, Violet, and A Streetcar Named Desire (US and Ireland). Last seen “on stage” in TACT’s production of Hellzapoppin’.

RIP CLAASSEN (Producer & Costumer) is a staff member of the Theatre Department at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, teaching Improvisational Theatre, Theatre criticism, and running the extra curricular activities. He has served as the dramaturge in residence at Backstage Inc. for 16 years. He has guest taught at Bowie State university (costuming), The Fairfax County Public Schools Institute for the arts (Improvisational Theatre and Comedy),

The Maryland State High School Theatre Festival, and The Actors Center. He is an Artistic Associate with The American Century Theater. Rip has directed for Natural Theatricals, HITS (which he co-founded), The Lincoln Park Players, Duke Ellington, and is the Artistic Director and founder of Teens and Theatre Company. He attended NCDA (National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts) back in its humble beginnings as the Theatre School.

ANNMARIE CASTRIGNO (Lighting Design) TACT: Cops, The Emperor Jones. Nominations and awards for Outstanding Lighting Design: Murder Room (LTA, 2000), Misery (LTA, 2001), Master Class (LTA, 2002), Kiss Me Kate (TAP, 2003), Evita (Vienna, 2004), The Weir (ESP, 2005) and Fiddler on the Roof (TAP, 2006). AnnMarie holds both community and professional credits in lighting and electrics at many DC metro area theaters, including Toby’s Dinner Theater in both Columbia and Baltimore, MD.

MAGGIE CLIFTON (Stage Manager) is a recent transplant from North Carolina. Some of Maggie’s favorite past projects include: Stage and Tour Manager for Burning Coal Theatre Company’s production of Travesties at the Piccolo Spoletto Festival, as well as Costume Design for Bat Boy, The Musical (UNC-G), Lipstick Traces and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Burning Coal). This is her first production with The American Century Theater, and she is thrilled with the opportunity to work with this great ensemble cast. When she is not indulging in her love for theatre, Maggie spends her free time spinning straw into gold.

JAKE NULL (Sound Designer) has musical directed 12 theatrical productions and has run sound on countless more. He has designed sound for 3 previous shows and owns and operates his own music business Europa Studios. He has produced 5 albums and is the musical director for Always In Christ, a Christian music group. This is his first show with TACT and looks forward to many more in the future.

TRENA WEISS-NULL (Set and Prop Designer and Construction) most recently designed and built the set for TACT’s production, Cops, and wrote and directed Racing Through Aesop in an educational setting. She works as a director, designer, and Theatre teacher in professional, community, and educational venues and has a Bachelor’s degree in Acting-Directing, and Master’s degrees in both Theatre and Education. She has recently designed and built sets for Godspell, Haracles, and Grease and is a member of the Theatre History Initiative through the Shakespeare Theatre and NEH.

DONORS

GROUP THEATER GOERS- $5000+ Arlington Commission for the Arts Virginia Commission for the Arts

PROVINCETOWN PLAYERS $2,500 - $4,999 Ann Marie Plubell

THEATER GUILDERS $1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Arlington Community Foundation Rebecca & Gene Christy Robert G. DuBois Peri Mahaley Jack & Eleanor Marshall Constance McAdam

MERCURY THEATER BACKERS $500 - $999 Ellen Maland & Donald Adams Mr. & Mrs. Alan Branigan Joya B. Cox Francis Cunningham John Dawson Gloria Dugan Allison & Craig Fields LIVING THEATER LOVERS $250 - $499 John Acton Rick Albani Peter & Cherry Baumbusch Barney Black Marvin & Ellen Cantor Brian Crane Suzanne Thouvenelle & Dennis Deloria Thomas & June Hoya Vivian & Art Kallen Louis Kriser Katherine & Robert Krubsack

THE PLAYERS $100 - $249 Deborah Taylor Ashford Steven & Candice Barrigar Tom & Loretta Beaumont Jon Blackman Ron Brandt Boris & Earlene Cherney Sally & Charles Cooper Savtanter Dillon

Robert McElwaine Steve Cohen & Mary McGowan Loren Platzman Willa & David Siegel Sheldon Wallerstein Janet Reingold & Philip Yasinski

Bob & Wendy Kenney

Michael Kahn William Kolodrubetz Jacqueline Manger Jim & Marjie Mayer Harriet McGuire Mary Patricia Michel William Bunting & Virginia Tarris

Geraldine Kuryla Margaret Mulcahy Carl E. Nash Suzy Platt Mr. & Mrs. A.A. Raizen Bill & Connie Scruggs Alan P. Simon Adam S. Posen & Jennifer A. Sosin Frontis Wiggins Bonnie Williams Annette Zimin

Coralie Farlee Timothy Farris Donna Feirtag Tracy Fisher Marian Flynn Sharon Galm Jean Getlein Gabriel Goldberg

THE PLAYERS $100 - $249 (cont’d) William C. Hamilton Adriana Hardy Virginia Harris Alan Herman Robert Honeygosky Roger & Katharine Hood Elaine Howell Angela Hughes Sharon Judge Nancy Kassner Alan King Philip & Patricia l;arson Mary Ann Lawler Barbara & Wilber Leventer Constance & Wesley MacAdam Winnie Macfarlan Judith & David McGarvey Thomas McGovern George & Thene Martin Mernick Doreen Mueller Donn B. Murphy

THE FEDERAL THEATER FUNDERS $10 - $99 Harry Bacas Richard & Jean Barton Patricia Chapla Ronald Cogan Walt & Sue Duka Jim & Laura Farrand Renee Fischman Cathleen Garman James & Maria Gentle Lois Goodman Margaret Gough Madi Green Bob Griffin Jack Hahn Sally & Robert Hoffman Marta Hopmann William Kelleher Peter Kellogg Charles Kennedy Robert L. Kimmins Ronald Lafferty Mark Linton

Dennis Nollette Dennis O’Connor Sherman & Anastasia Pratt Mr. & Mrs. Henry Raduazo Morton Rubenstein Charline Rugen Sharon Schoumacher Bill & Connie Scruggs Carole Shifrin Joe & Elizabeth Silversmith Jennie Sinsabaugh Jean V. Smith James & Patricia Snyder Pat Spenser Smith Kathryn Tatko Helen Trilling Jane W. Vanneman George & KayWagner Heathcote W. Wales George Krumbhaar & Lee Zahnow

Gudrun Luchsinger Terri Lynch Angus MacInnes Phoebe K. Masson Barbara & Kenneth McLean Anne Meagher Mitch & Marnie Metzman Sam & Lynn Miller Carol Mudrak Carol Parowski Sheila Hess & Suzanne Perry Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Richardson Glory Sabatier Henry Shields Bertha Shostak Robert L. Spatz Bernita Starks Sharman Stephens Peter & Erika Streng Sue Swift Marjorie Townsend Col. William Wright

There’s Still Time ...TACT’s 2007-2008 Season continues

Eccentricities of a Nightingaleby Tennessee WilliamsApril 4 - 26, 2008

Stunt GirlA Staged Concert Reading of a New Musical

by Tony-Nominated Playwright/Lyricist Peter KelloggJune 26 - 29, 2008

The Titansby Robert McElwaine

July 18 - August 16, 2008

THE AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER STAFF AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jack Marshall, CEO and Artistic DirectorRhonda Hill, Executive ProducerSteven Scott Mazzola, Associate Artistic DirectorBrian Crane, Artistic AssociateEllen Dempsey, Artistic AssociateRip Claassen, Artistic AssociateJason Beagle, Artistic AssociateBill Aitken, Artistic AssociateVirginia Tarris, Director of DevelopmentEd Bishop, Artistic Associate Tom Fuller, General CounselBecky Hunger, Director of OperationsJeff Bell, PhotographerRobert McElwaine, Resident PlaywrightMichael Sherman, Graphic Artist / Program Design

Chair: Wendy KenneyBoard: Rebecca Christy, Peter Kellogg, Jack Marshall,

Steven Scott Mazzola, David Siegel, Peri Mahaley, Ann-Marie Plubell, Loren Platzman.