oh, coward!

DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE Jim Schneider Artistic Director

presents

Bob Douglas Managing Director

“OH, COWARD!” A Musical Comedy Revue Words and Music by NOEL COWARD Devised by RODERICK COOK Directed & Choreographed by CAMERON TURNER Musical Direction by GERALD H. BAILEY

Production Stage Manager Scenic Designer Costume Designer Technical Director Lighting Designer Property Design

MELANIE KULAS ERIC LUCHEN PATTI ROEDER* ADDISON O’DONNELL AARON LORENZ JIM SCHNEIDER*

August 26 – September18, 2016 At Chicago’s Athenaeum Theatre DIAMOND SPONSOR JOYCE SAXON* SEASON SPONSOR LOIS B. SIEGEL PRODUCTION SPONSORS: PRODUCTION SPONSORS: JOANN FORMANEK, SUSAN FERRARO, JAMES AND SUSAN HANNIGAN, JERRI JENNIFER SMART, RICHARD & JANE NYSTROM, RALPH ALBERTO, RON WESLOW, ANONYMOUS, Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means are strictly prohibited. Oh, Coward! utilizes e-cigarettes. *Denotes Dead Writers Theatre Collective Member Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). www.MTIShows.com The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited. Oh, Coward!

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D E A D W R I T E R S T H E AT R E C O L L E C T I V E MISSION STATEMENT The tales and dramas of the past illuminate universal truths that are as pertinent today as they were when they were created. Dead Writers Theatre Collective’s mission is to bring these great stories and their messages to life on today’s stage; we keep that magic alive. The greatest works in the Western Canon are produced with exquisite aesthetics and production values topped with outstanding acting. ABOUT THE COMPANY Founded in 2011, Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 theatre company dedicated to keeping the visions and voices of classic playwrights alive both on today’s stage as well as in our hearts.  We are the only theatre in Chicago that focuses on the writer’s voice, and do not impose contemporary needs or inventive interpretations on that voice.  We offer audiences a chance to truly understand the context that created great artists and their great works. Our plays are presented as they were originally -- as the authors and audiences of that period would have seen them. These are not museum pieces but vibrant, compelling and living theatre. Their actual historical setting gives insight into the author’s mind. We believe that for contemporary artists and audiences to understand the writer, and therefore the work, they need to see that aesthetic, almost as another voice or character on stage. From our first play, The Vortex in 2012, Dead Writers has been committed to this “Masterpiece Theater” aesthetic, and to reviving classic acting technique. Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun Times wrote: “Every element of design (style is of the essence here) has a Broadway or opera house splendor.” In 2014, Michael Roberts of Showbiz Chicago remarked: “Emma is masterfully directed…it oozes and drips authenticity at every gorgeous turn with the action taking place on a set that will certainly be the talk of the theatre town for weeks and months to come.”  Amy Muncie of Chicago Splash says: “How ironic that the Company is called ‘Dead Writers’ when their forte is making writers comes alive!” Writers from our past are our heritage and our humanity. By keeping their work alive as they created it, we pass their lessons on to future generations. Truly seeing what was before helps us learn to not repeat history’s mistakes. The Company is proud to be keepers of the flame of traditionally realized classic theatre. O U R P R O D U C T I O N H I S TO R Y 2012 - Noel Coward’s The Vortex 2013 - Adam Pasen’s Tea with Edie & Fitz (Professional World Premiere) 2013 - Brenda Kilianski’s Loos Ends, A Hollywood Memoir on the lives of Anita Loos and Paulette Goddard (World Premiere Staged Reading) in a Chamber Production 2013 - Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan in a Chamber Production 2014 - Jane Austen’s Emma 2014 - Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth in a Chamber Production 2014 - Pierre Cartlet de Chamblain de Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance in a Chamber Production 2015 - Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan 2015 - Sir David Hare’s The Judas Kiss in a Chamber Production 2015 - David Grimm’s The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (adapted from Moliere) in a Chamber Production 2016 - Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest 2016 - Noel Coward’s Oh, Coward! 2

Dead Writers Theatre Collective

T H E C O M PA N Y Michael Pacas, Ian Rigg and Joanna Riopelle* Betsy Taylor Pennington (Understudy) Musical Director............................................................................................................. Gerald H. Bailey Grand Piano by Alden’s Piano There will be a fifteen-minute intermission between Act One and Act Two MUSICAL NUMBERS ACT I Medley “Something To Do With Spring” “Bright Young People” “Poor Little Rich Girl” “Zigeuner” “Let’s Say Goodbye” “This Is A Changing World” “We Were Dancing” “Dance Little Lady” “A Room With A View” “Sail Away” “The End of the News” “The Stately Homes of England” “London Pride” “Family Album” “The Music Hall” medley “Chase Me, Charlie” “Saturday Night at the Rose and Crown” “The Island of Bolamazoo” “What Ho! Mrs. Brisket” “Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?” “Men About Town” “If Love Were All” “Why Do The Wrong People Travel?” “Mrs. Worthington”

ACT II “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” “A Marvelous Party” “You Were There” “I Am No Good At Love” “Sex Talk” “A Question of Lighting” “Mad About the Boy” “Nina” “In A Bar On The Piccola Marina” “World Weary” Finale-Medley “Where Are The Songs We Sang?” “Someday I’ll Find You” “If Love Were All” “Play, Orchestra, Play”

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D E A D W R I T E R S : O U R H E R I TAG E A N D O U R H U M A N I T Y Why is it important to have a theatre devoted only to the works and biographies of dead writers? I grew up in the golden age of Masterpiece Theatre where I was transported into different periods of history and, through it, was introduced to Oscar Wilde in the magnificent Masterpiece Theatre production of Lillie, first presented in 1977. I was dazzled by the beauty of the production values and inspired to learn more about this strange man with a wonderful wit. Although I had been attending the theatre since the age of five, Masterpiece Theatre was the impetus propelling me to study classic literature and writers and, in turn, has deepened my understanding of history. Dead writers make up our humanity and our heritage, having masterfully written stories of the past with universal resonances still felt today, immune to time. Great writers capture our hearts and imaginations and possess knowledge about human nature that transcends time, race and place, binding all of humanity. Dead Writers Theatre Collective was founded in 2011 with a strong mission to keep our dead writers alive through live theatre by providing rich, visually breath-taking and highly detailed productions about them, their worlds and their work in its original context, with the hope that it will ignite excitement and lead more of our youth to pick up a book or see a play. We are the only theatre company in Chicago with a primary focus of producing plays about dead writers. We combine historical accuracy, story-telling and highly researched and authentic aesthetics to take you in to the world of the writer. Please continue to support the fine arts as they are dying a slow death with many opera, ballet and theatre companies closing throughout the country. If we lose our fine arts we lose our souls. Jim Schneider Artistic Director Dead Writers Theatre Collective

Visit DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE’S web site at

deadwriters.net For videos, photographs of past productions and meet members of the Collective! 4

Dead Writers Theatre Collective

BIOGR APHIES MICHAEL PACAS recently appeared in Oak Park Festival Theatre’s Pygmalion. Last year he appeared in Step Up Productions’ Barefoot in the Park; Oak Park Festival’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Mercury Theatre Chicago’s The Christmas Schooner. Since migrating from Louisiana nearly thirty years ago, he has collaborated with other local theaters including Porchlight, The Hypocrites, Irish Rep, Stage Left, City Lit, Bailiwick, Griffin and BackStage. Michael is Mr. Leather 64TEN Chicago 2015, and competed in the International Mr. Leather contest. Visit (http://michaelpacas.wix.com/michaelpacas) IAN RIGG is elated to work with the Dead Writers Theatre Collective. His professional credits include My Way with Brightside Theater, and 7 productions with Towle Theater, such as Adrift In Macao, From Up Here, Play Dates, The Burnt Part Boys, Perfect Wedding, and most recently the U.S. premiere of The House of Mirrors & Hearts. Ian’s other loves are writing, photography, drawing, improv, oboe, accordion, menswear, apple pie à la mode, and shooting and editing films, like his moving picture The Disappearing Act, available to watch on YouTube. He’d like to thank his fantastic family, friends, and phenomenal production team for their unwavering support, and you for coming to see the show! JOANNA RIOPELLE* is delighted to be a part of the Dead Writers production of Oh, Coward! with such a talented team of artists. Previous Dead Writers’ productions include

Phyllis Crystal in The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, Mrs. Erlynne in Lady Windermere’s Fan, Judy Trenor in House of Mirth, Paulette Goddard in Loos Ends and Florence in The Vortex. Other Chicago credits include Both Your Houses (Remy Bumppo Theatre), House of Blue Leaves (Buffalo Theatre Ensemble), California Suite (Black Elephant Theatre), Richard III (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Chase Park Theatre), Fifth of July (Infamous Commonwealth Theatre), Antigone and All’s Well That Ends Well (Muse of Fire), and Mrs. Magi (Light Opera Works). Joanna’s professional singing engagements include Davenports, Noble Fool Theatre, Hot House, Skylight Opera Theatre and Chicago Chamber Opera, among others. A heartfelt thanks to Jim and Bob for the wonderful roles they have offered me and their extraordinary efforts in building this wonderful Company! BETSY PENNINGTON TAYLOR* (UNDERSTUDY) has a BA from Stanford University and trained at Mountview Academy of Dramatic Arts, London. West End Credits include: Isabel in Pirates of Penzance, Peep Bo in The Mikado and Fleta in Iolanthe (all at the Gielgud Theatre). Other London credits include Jordan in Gatsby, Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain, Woman 4 in Listen to my Heart, Annie Ross in Twisted (one-woman show) and Alaura/Carla in City of Angels. Tours include: Lulu/Betty Blast in Footloose (European tour), My Fair Lady (Cyprus and Singapore), Kate in Pirates of Penzance (US/Canadian tour), Peep Bo in The Mikado (US tour) and Barbara Cassidy in Over the Rainbow: the Story of Eva Cassidy(UK/Netherlands tour). Chicago credits include: Clara in The Vortex and Aunt Sylvia in The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (both with Dead Writers Theatre Collective), and her one-woman show, Luigi’s Ladies (Den Oh, Coward!

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Theatre and Collaboraction Theatre). TV credits include: My Hero (BBC) and Let’s Roll! The Story of Flight 93(Granada). CAMERON TURNER (DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER) Cameron is thrilled to be diving into his Dead Writers debut with OH, COWARD! Previous credits include Tomorrow Morning (Kokandy Productions), 35MM: A Musical Exhibition (Circle Theatre), Boy from Oz (Jeff Nominated for Best Choreography - Pride Film & Plays) and Young Frankenstein and Spamalot (Timber Lake Playhouse). Cameron has also performed at the American Theatre Company, Theo Ubique, Light Opera Works and Emerald City Theatre. Many thanks to Jim and Bob for the opportunity, Brenda for her continuous support and encouragement and his assistant/artistic soulmate, Liz for everything she does. Enjoy the show! GERALD H. BAILEY (MUSICAL DIRECTOR) is thrilled to be a part of this production with this wonderful cast and crew getting to play the songs of the master, Noel Coward. In addition to his work on this show, Mr. Bailey was the original musical director for Something’s Afoot with the Peninsula Players in Door County, and at The Chateau Louise Resort Dinner Theatre. Other musical director credits include The 51st Ward (Theatre Building Chicago), Belle Barth: If I Embarrass You, Tell Your Friends (Theo Ubique Theatre Co.), The Enchanted Island (The Peripatetic Task Force), and Meshuggah–Nuns! (Chicago Jewish Theatre).

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LIZ BOLLAR (ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER) Liz is thrilled to be working on the other side of the table with Dead Writers Theatre Collective! She has been working on the stage in the Chicago area since graduating with a BFA in musical theatre from the Chicago College of Performing Arts in 2012. You may have caught her in: 35MM (Circle Theatre), The Boy from Oz (Pride F&P), Hair (American Theatre Company), Les Miserables (Little Theater on the Square) and children’s shows with Emerald City and Lifeline Theatre. Many thanks to Dead Writers, her artistic soul mate and, of course, the Master for the chance to work on this beautiful piece! AARON LORENZ (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is excited to return to Dead Writers after designing this season’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Other recent credits include boom (Honest Theatre), The Lilliput Troupe (Off-Broadway), My Fair Lady (Light Opera Works; assistant designer), Company, and Arcadia (Writers Theatre, Programmer). ERIC LUCHEN (SCENIC DESIGNER) is thrilled to be working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective again. Previously he designed The Importance of Being Earnest for Dead Writers. Other recent credits include: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Emporia State University) The Drawer Boy, Good People, Red  (Redtwist Theatre), Educating Rita (Citadel Theatre), Not Now Darling, Spamalot (Brightside Theatre), Once Upon A Symphony (Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Upcoming productions: The Heiress (Dead Writers Theatre Collective); Elemeno Pea (Citadel Theatre). You can see more of his work at www.ericluchen.com.

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MELANIE KULAS (PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER) is thrilled to be working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective on this production. In Chicago, Melanie has worked as a stage manager with AstonRep (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), PFP (Design for Living), and Strawdog (In a Word) and in NYC with JACK and In the Basement Theatre Co. on original works. She also works every spring on the University of Wisconsin Varsity Band Sprint Concert in Madison, WI. Melanie would like to thank her friends and family, especially her partner, Joe, for all of their support in her ever-changing schedule and many, many late nights.

MATTHEW BONACCORSO* (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) is thrilled to be a part of Oh, Coward! production team and is honored to be surrounded by such an incredibly talented cast and crew. He served as Assistant Stage Management for other Dead Writers’ productions of: The Vortex, Tea with Edie and Fitz, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and The Importance of Being Earnest and Stage Manager for the Chamber Series productions of: Loos Ends, Lady Windermere’s Fan, The House of Mirth, and The Judas Kiss. Matthew is, in addition to being a Collective Member, the Company Manager of Route 66 Theatre. 

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COURTNEY JONES (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) after being a part of three shows with Dead Writers (Judas Kiss, The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue and The Importance of Being Earnest), is back for the fourth time as Assistant Stage Manager for Oh, Coward!. Courtney has a B.A. in theatre from Lincoln College, in Lincoln Illinois. She also has the Greek letters from the theater group Alpha Psi Omega. Courtney, 26, began interning with Dead Writers in the summer of 2015, and is back to help put yet another show together. ADDISON O’DONNELL (TECHNICAL DIRECTOR) is a freelance technical director and writer in the Chicago area. This is his first time working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective. His other recent work has included the Metropolis Performing Arts Center, The Viaduct Theatre, and The Filament Theatre. PATTI ROEDER* (COSTUME DESIGNER) a proud Dead Writers Theatre Collective member, was last seen on the DWTC stage as Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest and as Edith Wharton in Adam Pasen’s award winning Tea With Edie and Fitz. She most recently costumed DWTC’s productions of Emma, Lady Windemere’s Fan and received raves for her costumes for The Importance of Being Earnest. Patti has performed and designed on numerous Chicago area stages. She was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Citations for her performance as Penelope Budd in City Lit’s production of Oh, Boy! and for her costume design for Pendulum Theatre’s production of Abundance. Love always to John and all the lovely Roeders, with a special welcome to Martin John. LEE COOLIDGE MOORE (SCENIC CHARGE) is a graduate of Hofstra University. So far in 2016, you may have seen her work at Dead Writers’ production of The Importance of 8

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being Earnest, at Lookingglass Theatre, Piccolo Theatre, Citadel Theatre and Griffin Theatre. You can view some of her work on her website leemoorescenic.com. She would like to thank Beep and her family.  KENDRA KINGSBURY (DIALECT COACH) is delighted to be back working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective! As a teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Kendra has explored & studied voice, dialects & movement all over the world. Recent Chicago coaching credits include: The Women of Lockerbie (Aston Rep), Dreams of the Penny Gods (Halcyon Theatre), Design for Living (Pride Films & Plays). Special thanks to my darling husband and family for being supportive & always continuing to encourage me to follow my dreams. JIM SCHNEIDER* (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/ DIRECTOR) Together with Managing Director Bob Douglas, Jim co-founded the Dead Writers Theatre Collective in 2011 and has directed both the Chamber Series and this year’s highly successful main stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest,  the 2015 main stage production of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan; the 2014 main stage production of Jane Austen’s Emma; the award winning professional world premiere production of Adam Pasen’s Tea with Edie & Fitz; and the inaugural production of Noel Coward’s The Vortex. For other Chicago theatres he directed Jeff Recommended productions of The Women, The Philadelphia Story, the Tennessee William’s classic drama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the critically acclaimed production of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. In 2007 his production of An Ideal Husband received unanimous praise by all of the critics, played to sold out houses for 8-weeks and was selected by Chicago

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Tribune critic Kerri Reid as one of the best 5 productions for 2007 and by Hedy Weiss of the Sun Times as one of the best 10 for the season. Jim’s 2005 production of Noel Coward’s Design forLiving was selected by Sun Time’s theatre critic Hedy Weiss as one of the best top 10-productions in Chicago for 2005. In all, Jim’s productions have garnered a total of 5 Jeff Recommendations, 11 Jeff Nominations, and won 2, both for Best Costume Design. His production of Noel Coward’s Design for Living won an After Dark Award for Best Costume Design. His production of The Philadelphia Story won 3 Broadway World Awards for Best Actor, Actress and Revival of a classic and his recent production of Tea with Edie & Fitz won for Best New Play of 2013. Other Chicago directing credits include the 1996 Chicago premiere of the three Edward Albee’s beach-themed one-acts under the banner of Sand in 1995 at the Theatre Building, (with the assistance of Mr. Albee), and the professional world premiere of Neil Labute’s second work, the dark comedy, Lepers (later to become the movie, Your Friends and Neighbors). Originally from Houston, Texas Jim founded Horizon’s Showcase Theatre where he premiered Horton Foote’s Courtship with the assistance of Mr. Foote, produced and directed The Zoo Story and The American Dream (with the assistance of Mr. Albee. A graduate of the University of Houston with a M.F.A. in directing Jim studied with playwriting legend Edward Albee and the late, Tony Award winning, Eugene O’Neill authority and the founder of Circle-in-the- Square Theatre in New York, director Jose Quintero. Special thanks to Bob Douglas for going on this adventure with me and the generosity and friendship of Joyce Saxon, Lois Siegel and our steadfast Board of Directors.

BOB DOUGLAS* (MANAGING DIRECTOR) began in New York City as an actor/model appearing on As the World Turns, One Life to Live, The Secret Storm, Search for Tomorrow, The Guiding Light and The Patty Duke Show. For the Vermont Arts Festival production of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat, he played the Soldier starring with Sir Anton Dolin as the Devil and Marina Svetlova as the Princess. Modeling took him to Europe and Japan for over a decade and he appeared in fashion magazines, catalogs, countless TV commercials and on designer runways throughout the world. After a two-decade career he returned to the USA and became an executive recruiter opening a retained practice for hospitals and physician-groups which enjoyed a 15-year run. He has served as board member of the National Association of Executive Recruiters and Evanston’s Light Opera Works, where he appeared in Bitter Sweet, Oklahoma! Gigi, My Fair Lady, and Chamber Opera Chicago’s productions of The Sound of Music and again in Persuasion. In 2011, along with Jim Schneider, Bob co-founded Dead Writers Theatre Collective and has produced The Vortex, Loos Ends, Tea with Edie and Fitz, Lady Windermere’s Fan (a Chamber Production), Emma, The House of Mirth, and last season’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Judas Kiss and The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue and this year’s The Importance of Bering Earnest and Oh, Coward!  Thank you to Joyce Saxon for always being there to help the Company out in so many ways and  our many Friends, Sponsors and Board of Directors who have made this production possible through consistent friendship, support and generosity!

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ARTISTIC TEA M Director................................................................................................................................Cameron Turner Musical Director................................................................................................................ Gerald H. Bailey Assistant Director........................................................................................................................... Liz Bollar Costume Designer.................................................................................................................Patti Roeder* Properties Designer........................................................................................................... Jim Schneider* Set Designer.................................................................................................................................Eric Luchen Technical Director......................................................................................................Addison O’Donnell Scenic Charge............................................................................................................Lee Coolidge Moore Lighting Designer...................................................................................................................Aaron Lorenz Master Electrician...................................................................................................................Megan Wines

PRODUCTION TEA M Producers.................................................................................................Jim Schneider*Bob Douglas* Production Stage Manager............................................................................................... Melanie Kulas Assistant Stage Managers.............................................Matthew Bonaccorso*, Courtney Jones Vocal/Dialect Coach....................................................................................................Kendra Kingsbury Grants Manager............................................................................................... TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson Insurance Coordinator............................................................................................................ Bonny Mack MasterCarpenter............................................................................................................... Zachary Nordin Accountant...................................................................................................................Ralph Alberto, CPA Bookkeeper............................................................................ Mike Wright, Technical Bookkeeping Systems............................................................................................................Keith Cooper, Cooperweb House Managers................................................... Beverly Coscarelli*, TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson Technical Support, Moving & Transportation.......................... Michael Stultz, Bread & Roses Ushers............................................................................................................................................... The Saints

M ARKETING TEA M Printing.......................................................................................................Brian Schauer,D&B Graphics Poster Design...................................................................................................................Graham Emmons Production Videography............................................................................. Rick Lenser, VideoLenser Marketing Photography....................................................................................................... Emma Meyer Distribution.................................................................................................... Direction Tour Marketing

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Dead Writers Theatre Collective

B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S Board of Directors Bob Douglas*, President James Hannigan* Vice President Susan Ferraro, DVM, Secretary Beverley Coscarelli*, Treasurer Susan Hannigan Rebecca Cameron, PhD JoAnn Formanek Brenda Kilianski* Ruth Ann Koesun

Advisory Council

Joanna Riopelle* Joyce Ruth Saxon* Jim Schneider* Ronald W. Weslow

Jeanne Lewin Bridget McDonough Sharyne Tu TuDuyen (Willie) Wilson

Chicago’s Oldest, Continuously Operating, Off-Loop Theatre

FOU N DE D 1911

2936 N. Southport Ave. Chicago Il, 60657 Box-Office 773-935-6875 | WWW.ATHENAEUMTHEATRE.ORG Oh, Coward!

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N O E L C OWA R D B I O G R A P H Y December 16, 1899 - Noel Coward was born in Teddingham, Middlesex, a suburb of London, the second of three sons of a rather impoverished piano salesman and daughter of a Royal Navy Captain. Although he had little formal schooling, he began to appear in amateur concerts by age seven. His ambitious mother sent him to a dance academy in London. His first professional engagement was in January, 1911, as Prince Mussel in the children’s play, The Goldfish. 1914 - When Coward was fourteen, he became the protégé and probably the lover of Philip Streatfeild, a society painter who introduced him to Mrs. Astley Cooper and her high society friends. When, Streatfeild died from tuberculosis in 1915, Coward continued to visit Mrs. Cooper’s estate, Hambleton Hall. It was here that he first acquired his taste for high life: “I am determined to travel through life first class,” he once said. 1918 - Coward continued to perform during most of the First World War. During this time, he gained his first experience in comedy. After he was conscripted into the Artists Rifles and then discharged for a tubercular tendency, he wrote The Rat Trap. He also met Lorn McNaughtan who continued to serve as his private secretary until she died more than forty years later. 1920 - At age 20, Coward starred in his own play, the light comedy, I’ll Leave It to You. Notices for the London production were mixed, but encouraging. 1921 - Coward made his first trip to America, hoping to meet and interest producers. Although he had little luck, he loved the smartness and pace of Broadway shows and used it in his first success as a playwright with The Young Idea. 1924 - Coward achieved his first great critical and financial success as a playwright with The Vortex (produced by Dead Writers Theatre Collective in 2012). He also met Jack Wilson, an American stockbroker, who became his business manager and lover. Wilson used his position to steal from Coward, but the playwright accepted his lover’s larceny along with his heavy drinking. 1925 - The success of The Vortex in both London and America caused a great demand for new Coward plays. He had four shows running in the West End. His frantic pace caught up with him, however. He collapsed on stage in 1926 but took little time out for recovery. THE GREAT DEPRESSION - By the beginning of the Depression, Coward was one of the world’s highest-earning writers. His success continued with a succession of popular hits. The film adaptation of his historical extravaganza Cavalcade won the 1933 Academy Award for best picture. Between 1929 and 1936 Coward recorded many of his bestknown songs for His Master’s Voice (HMV), now reissued on CD. WWII - With the outbreak of the Second World War, Coward abandoned the theatre to and run the British propaganda office in Paris and work for British intelligence. His task 12

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was to use his celebrity to convince Americans to help Britain. In 1942 George VI wished to award Coward a knighthood for his efforts, but was dissuaded by Winston Churchill due to the public view of Coward’s flamboyant lifestyle. Coward then began entertaining British troops. He toured, acted and sang indefatigably in Europe, Africa, Asia and America. He wrote and recorded war-themed popular songs, including “London Pride” and “Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans”. During this time, Coward also wrote, composed, directed and starred in the naval film drama In Which We Serve. The film was popular on both sides of the Atlantic, and he was awarded an honorary certificate of merit at the 1943 Academy Awards ceremony. Coward’s most enduring work from the war years, the hugely successful black comedy Blithe Spirit, broke box-office records in London. It was also produced on Broadway where it ran for 650 performances. Problems arose when Coward commented in his Middle East Diary that he was “less impressed by some of the mournful little Brooklyn boys lying there in tears amid the alien corn with nothing worse than a bullet wound in the leg or a fractured arm.“ After protests from both The New York Times and The Washington Post, the Foreign Office urged Coward not to visit the United States. He did not return to America again during the war. POST WAR -- Coward’s post-war work failed to match the popularity of his pre-war hits. Despite his disappointments, Coward maintained a high public profile. His performance in his cabaret act, honed during his wartime tours, was a supreme success in London and Las Vegas. 1950’s – 1960’s - During this time, Coward continued to write, act and direct for the stage. He met with much popular success but faced what he called “critical disdain.” However, he won new popularity in several notable films including Around the World in 80 Days. He turned down the role of Humbert in Lolita, saying, “At my time of life the film story would be logical if the 12-year-old heroine was a sweet little old lady.” 1966 - Coward’s final stage success came with Suite in Three Keys, a trilogy he wrote as his swan song as a stage actor: “I would like to act once more before I fold my bedraggled wings,” he said. In one of the three plays, A Song at Twilight, Coward abandoned his customary reticence on the subject and played an explicitly homosexual character. Oh, Coward!

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“Dad’s Renaissance” - In the mid-1960s and early 1970s successful productions of his 1920s and 1930s plays, and new revues celebrating his music, including Oh, Coward! off Broadway and Cowardly Custard in London, revived Coward’s popularity and critical reputation. He dubbed this comeback “Dad’s Renaissance” and it included revival productions of many of his most popular shows. Time wrote that ”in the 60s... his best work, with its inspired inconsequentiality, seemed to exert not only a period charm but charm, period.“ Coward was knighted in 1969 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement. In 1972, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Sussex. March 26, 1973 - Coward died from heart failure at his home, Firefly Estate, in Jamaica. On 28 March 1984 a memorial stone was unveiled by the Queen Mother in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. Thanked by Coward’s partner, Graham Payn, for attending, the Queen Mother replied, “I came because he was my friend.” WO R K S O F N O E L C OWA R D

Plays, Musicals and Operettas

1917 -- Ida Collaborates 1918 -- Women and Whisky, The Rat Trap 1919 -- I’ll Leave It to You 1921 -- Sirocco 1922 -- The Young Idea, The Better Half, The Queen Was In The Parlour, Mild Oats 1923 – Weatherwise, Fallen Angels, The Vortex 1924 -- Hay Fever, Easy Virtue 1926 -- This Was a Man, The Marquise 1927 -- Home Chat 1928 -- Bitter-Sweet 1929 -- Private Lives 1930 -- Post-Mortem, Some Other Private Lives, Cavalcade 1932 -- Design for Living 1933 -- Conversation Piece 1934 -- Point Valaine 1935 -- Tonight at 8.30 parts I, II & III 1937 -- Operette 1939 -- Present Laughter, This Happy Breed 1941 -- Blithe Spirit 1946 -- Pacific 1860, Peace In Our Time 1949 – Ace of Clubs 1951 -- Island Fling, Relative Values , Quadrille 1953 -- After the Ball 1954 -- Nude with Violin 1956 -- Volcano 1958 -- Look after Lulu 14

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1959 -- London Morning, Waiting In The Wings 1961 -- Sail Away – 1961 1965 -- Suite In Three Keys (In the USA Noël Coward In Two Keys) 1966 -- Star Quality

Revues

1923 -- London Calling 1924 -- On With The Dance 1927 -- This Year of Grace! 1932 -- Words and Music, Set to Music 1945 -- Sigh No More

Revues to which Coward contributed

1918 -- Tails Up! 1922 -- The Co-optimists 1924 -- Charlot’s Revue, Yoiks! 1927 -- Whitebirds 1931 -- Charles B. Cochran’s 1931 Revue, The Third Little Show 1939 -- All Clear 1940 -- Up and Doing 1951 -- The Lyric Revue 1952 -- The Globe Revue

FA M O U S N O E L C OWA R D Q U O T E S To several generations, actor, playwright, songwriter, and filmmaker, Noël Coward (1899-1973) was the very personification of wit, glamour, and elegance. “It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” “Work is much more fun than fun.” “Strange how potent cheap music is.” “Never trust a man with short legs – his brain’s too near his bottom.” (Coward was over 6’ tall.) “I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” “Television is for appearing on – not for looking at.” “Work hard, do the best you can, don’t ever lose faith in yourself and take no notice of what other people say about you.” “Am reading more of Oscar Wilde. What a tiresome, affected sod.” “ He must have been an incredibly good shot” (When told an acquaintance he found to Oh, Coward!

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FA M O U S N O E L C OWA R D Q U O T E S

c o n t.

be stupid had blown his brains out.) “You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don’t bump into the furniture and if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday.” “He’s completely unspoiled by failure.” “Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in your head. The one and only thing that counts is: Do you have staying power?” “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” “People are wrong when they say opera is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That is what’s wrong with it.” “I have always been very fond of drama critics…I think it is so frightfully clever of them to go night after night to the theatre and know so little about it.” “The theatre is a wonderful place, a house of strange enchantment, a temple of illusion. What it most emphatically is not and never will be is a scruffy, ill-lit, fumed-oak drill hall serving as a temporary soap box for political propaganda.” “I am determined to travel through life first class.” If you must have motivation, think of your paycheck on Friday. Noel Coward I’ll go through life either first class or third, but never in second Let’s drink to the spirit of gallantry and courage that made a strange Heaven out of unbelievable Hell, and let’s drink to the hope that one day this country of ours, which we love so much, will find dignity and greatness and peace again. I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. I don’t believe in astrology. The only stars I can blame for my failures are those that walk about the stage.

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Dead Writers Theatre Collective

HONORS / MEMORIALS - RECOGNIZE SOMEONE SPECIAL Dead Writers’ Honor/Memorial Giving Program offers you a way to honor your friends and family by making a tribute or memorial gift to Dead Writers. Your generous contribution supports the artistic endeavors produced on our stages and helps fund our vital programs. Contributions made to Dead Writers Honor/Memorial Giving Program can be used to honor any important occasion, including birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. It is also a very special way to remember those who are no longer with us. Honorees will receive a beautiful card notifying them of your thoughtful gift. Any contributor will be listed in our programs and our website for one full year. Contact Bob Douglas at 773.750.9730. Memorial gifts honor the memory of a friend or loved one. Honor gifts provide an opportunity to celebrate milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays, graduation or weddings. Below are the commemorative gifts made between July 31, 2015 and August 1, 2016. In Memory of Elsie Katherine Sphatt JoAnn Formanek Sandra D. Ochs Jim Schneider Robert Douglas Sphatt

In Memory of Bonnie DuBois Hilton Jim Schneider Bob Douglas Edward Wavak Darla Goudeau

In Memory of Christa Jean Formanek & Christine Broom JoAnn and George Formanek

In Memory of Isabella Geraghty Alain & Diana Monier Sean Alan Monier In Memory of Eberhard & Lieselotte Schwerdtner Bob Douglas

T H A N K YO U S Joyce Saxon* The Dead Writers Theatre Collective Board of Directors The Clare, Kyle Exline, Executive Director; Lori Griffin, Director, Life Enrichment The Athenaeum Theatre, Allan Chambers, Executive Director, Jeff DeLong, Marketing Director, Beth Bullock, Box Office Manager and Team 1900 N. Austin Warehouses, Peter Arenson, Owner and Team Joanna Riopelle* Bev Coscarelli* The Saints

The Dead Writers Theatre Board of Directors Mary Anne Bowman* Patti Roeder* Noah Sullivan Michael Stults, Bread and Roses Remy Bumppo Theatre Barbara Brodsky Light Opera Works, Bridget McDonough, Executive Director and Team Dan Pontarelli, Pontarelli Companies Winston & Strawn LLP Katie Beaks Willie Wilson Oh, Coward!

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DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE

HONORS

JOYCE RUTH SAXON*

Diamond Guarantor, Member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective, Season Sponsor, Board Member and Patroness Joyce Ruth Saxon is a pioneer for women, one whose professional career shattered the glass ceiling at the executive level in the advertising industry. Joyce Saxon served as the first female senior vice president at J. Walter Thompson (JWT) one of the largest and oldest advertising agencies in the U.S. In her 25-year tenure with JWT, she placed $51 million each year in broadcast advertising and identified TV networks throughout the US for syndicated news programs, one of which won the coveted Peabody Award for Excellence in Journalism. Joyce also worked in the culinary arts industry as Personnel Director for Culinary Enterprises and staffed the U.S. Senior Open, Ravinia Park Concerts, and the Kentucky Derby. She is co-founder of Chicago Gourmets. Joyce’s influence and capabilities have greatly impacted the cultural landscape of the City of Chicago. Joyce serves on the City Club of Chicago’s Board of Governors and was Executive Director of the Old Town Chamber of Commerce and Manager of the Wells Street Art Fair. Her involvement with TV, radio and cable continues as Treasurer-for-Life of the Broadcast Advertising Club of Chicago. Joyce is a docent of Loyola Museum of Art (LUMA), has served as a Chicago Art Institute Sustaining Fellow and a Newberry Library President’s Fellow. After attending a performance of Dead Writers’ initial offering of Noel Coward’s The Vortex, Saxon promptly announced herself and said: “What may I do to help?” and soon became a member of the Collective and the Board. She is a graduate of Mundelein College. Joyce has lived by her mantra: “Life has been good to me and I must be good back to it.” Thank you, Joyce! 18

Dead Writers Theatre Collective

GIFTS The Society of Friends of Dead Writers Theatre Collective is a select group of concerned supporters who make tax-deductible gifts in support of  the Company. Of these financial gifts 99% are seen on the stage because at this date we do not pay administrative salaries. The following Friends have made contribution from June 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016. We salute you! To become a member of the Society of Friends, please call 773.750.9730.   FOUNDATION & $500 – $999 Gail Schoenbeck CORPORATE Bev Coscarelli William and Lorian UNDERWRITERS Mr. and Mrs. Michael Schwaber Bank of America Hagedorn Ron and Gena Settle Bridgeview Bank Dennis and Dee Lynne Isolde Stiller John R. Halligan Charitable Bridget McDonough Joseph Streeto Fund Kevin McGirr Michael Sullivan and The Grill on the Alley Sara Minton Associates Property Tax Control   Senka Tadich-Gagich RCPA & Associates $250 – $499 David Wojtowicz, DDS Richard and Margaret Cathy Hertzberg   Romano Charitable Trust Susan Gohl To $99 The Saints, Volunteers for Barry Gross Lynne Denise Bergero the Performing Arts James Harger and Mark David Buzenberg Barbara & Barre Seid Johnson James & Margaret Carlson Foundation Alain and Diana Monier Robert Cramer   Michael Pacas and Timothy Major George Dempsey $40,000+ Cagney (Ret) Joyce Saxon Marilyn Perno Harmon Dow   Robert D. Sphatt       Ruth France $10,000 - $24,999 Ed Wavak Adele Friedman and Stu Lois Siegel   Kisilinsky   $100 - $249 Dale Glanzman $5,000 – $9,999 Marlena Ascher Richard Groh Anonymous Andrea Bauer Michael and Laura Kibler James and Susan Hannigan Marcia Flick Jane Lippow   Darla D. Goudeau Linda Lucht $2,500 – $4,999 Howard Greenberg Marjorie P McIntyre Susan Ferraro Therese Gutfreund Bridget Regan Sandra D. Ochs Eileen Howard-Weinberg  William & Lorian Schwaber Jerri Jennifer Smart Diana Hunt King Lynn Stutzriem   Jim Egeberg Kathleen Sullivan $1,000 – $2,499 Ed Jamieson Sharyne Tu JoAnn Formanek Amy Muncie and Peter Satich Udpa Gwen Grogan & Cindy Kachergis Vince and Irene Vitullo Gaver Gwen Nodiff Bernard & Averill Leviton Marilyn Parsons Bridget McDonough Liza Pilch Richard and Jane Nystrom Joan Riley and Jim Richard Rinehart Goodridge Noah Sullivan Rosemarie Roseth Ronald D. Weslow Robert Rubenstein Oh, Coward!

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DEAD WRITERS THEATRE COLLECTIVE

Jim Schneider Artistic Director

Bob Douglas Managing Director

COMING IN 2017 The Original Broadway Play by Ruth and Augustus Goetz

“The Heiress” Winner of 4-Academy Awards and based on the Henry James Novel “Washington Square” Directed by Jim Schneider* Production Stage Manager SHANNON DESMOND Scenic Designer ERIC LUCHEN Costume Designer PATTI ROEDER* Technical Director ADDISON O’DONNELL Lighting Designer AARON LORENZ Property Design JIM SCHNEIDER* A plain, young, naive woman falls in love with a handsome young man despite the objections of her emotionally abusive father who suspects the man of being a fortune hunter. *Denotes Member of Dead Writers Theatre Collective

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Dead Writers Theatre Collective