“Stage Door”
By Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman
Dates & Times
- Thursday, November 6, 7 p.m. (Please note the earlier than usual time)
- Friday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.
- No performance on Saturday
- Sunday, November 9, 5:30 p.m.
About the play
In 1930s New York, Terry Randall dreams of Broadway. Samantha Noland ’17 plays this whip-smart, determined optimist who bunks with 18 other hopeful young women at “The Footlights Club,” a boarding house for aspiring actresses. On a typical evening the living room buzzes with energy and wit. Girls trade gloves, coats, gowns, insults and advice as they wrangle for slim opportunities left in the wake of the depression. Over the course of two years, we watch as each girl’s fate unfolds. Some will be cast in plays that quickly flop. One will move home. Some will be tempted by the lure of the silver screen, and a steady paycheck from a Hollywood studio. Terry must find a way to support herself while remaining true to her artistic ideals.
Anne Marie Huntington ’15 is the stunning Jean Maitland, destined for Hollywood. Claudia Levey ’15 cracks wise as Judith Canfield and Lindley Burnam ’17 is a quiet figure of despair as Kaye Hamilton. Society darling Kendall Adams (Sydney Johnson ’15) and former homemaker Louise Mitchell (Gabriela Schulman ’15) pound the boards seeking work, while loopy Bernice (Clara Ferrari ’17) stays home writing letters. Pat Devine (Shea Sion ’17) dances to show tunes played by the dour Russian pianist Olga Brandt (Dora Segall ’16) and Big Mary (Sarah Greisdorf ’17) and Little Mary (Sophie Gharai ’15) gossip about mercenary socialite Linda Shaw (Rachel Olick-Gibson ’17) while uptight Anne Braddock (Maryam Gilanshah ’17) looks on disapprovingly. Kate Squier ’15 plays the irrepressible Mrs. Orcutt who presides over the eclectic group assisted by her maid Mattie (Christine Baca ’17) and houseman Frank (Taya Lowery-Williams ’18). The girls seek love as well as fulfillment from an equally eclectic group of men. Southern Belle Bobbie (Inshira Mohi-ud-din ’16) falls for Texan Sam (Skylar Ungerman, Landon ’15) while grad student Susan Paige (Betsy Schugar ’18) steps out with classmate Devereaux (Bobby Ramkissoon, Landon ’17). Touring actress Madeline Vauclain (Camille Blum ’16) introduces Judith to her friends in the lumber business (John McMahon, Landon ’18, Bilal Wurie, Landon ’17). Terry is wooed by both the radical socialist playwright Keith Burgess (Zoe Chen ’17) and the Hollywood producer David Kingsley (Parker Smith, Landon ’15.) Yasmin Alamdeen ’17, Taylor Butler ’16, Kate Fynes ’18, Meghan Hunter ’16, Cecilia Parker ’17, Brijit Sangha ’16, Shoun Shi Landon ’17, Andrea Sloter ’16, Sheyda Tribble ’18, and Olivia Zimmerman ’16 round out the cast as publicists, aspiring actresses, and visitors to the "Footlights Club."
Technical Directors Doug Durlacher and Mark Robinson guide a team of twelve hard-working student technicians, headed by Assistant Director Maeve Hickey ’15 and Stage Manager Elisabeth Bragale ’15, who transform the Lewis Theater through scenery, lights, and sound effects (Assistant Stage Manager: Sophie Mills ’16, Lights: Claire Peng ’16 and Izzy Koff ’18, Sound: Natalie Bock ’18 and Kyla Matthews ’16, Props: Kate Fynes ’18, Wardrobe: Rinnie Hewlett ’17, Laila Syed ’18 and Palma Price ’18). Marilyn Johnson provides costume design and Christian Hershey provides lighting design. Elisa Perez assists with wardrobe, hair and makeup. Frances Gichner ’16 photographed the promotional image. Drama Director Elizabeth Zitelli leads this group of over 50 artists in mounting this glamorous production.
Prologue and Epilogue
As a compliment and counterpoint to Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman’s original play, Ms. Zitelli has written an innovative prologue and epilogue bookending the piece. In these scenes Yasmin Alamdeen ’17 plays the indomitable writer Edna Ferber who implores her grandniece Julie Goldsmith (Cecilia Parker ’17) to consider a more powerful role in the entertainment industry beyond acting. Based upon Ferber’s real-life accomplishments including multiple blockbuster movie-scripts and novels, and using Ferber and Goldsmith’s own words, the additional scenes invite us to consider the meaning of artistic fulfillment in the spotlight and beyond.
Tickets
The online Box Office is now open for ticket requests for "Stage Door." Send your ticket request to boxoffice@holton-arms.edu. Student tickets are free (but should still be reserved) and faculty and staff receive two free tickets each. Adult tickets for non-faculty/staff members are $10 each. The online Box Office will close at 12 p.m. on Thursday, November 6. After that time, tickets can be purchased at the on-site Box Office prior to each performance.
Please be advised that reserved tickets must be picked up and paid for by ten minutes before the show begins or they might be released to people waiting in line.
Please be sure that your request includes:
1. Name
2. Performance date you wish to attend
3. Number of student and/or adult tickets