DIFFERENT STAGES’ REPERTORYBegun as Small Potatoes Theatrical Company

1981: August Strindberg’s Creditors and The Stronger. 1982: William Shakespeare’s The Tem-pest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 1983: George Bernard Shaw’s Candida; Anton Chekhov’s The Brute, Swan Song, and Celebration. 1984: Luigi Pirandello’s Right You Are (If You Think You Are); Jane Martin’s Talking With… 1985: Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9; William Shakespeare’s As You Like It; Carl Sternheim’s The Underpants; Michael Weller’s Moonchildren. 1986: Amlin Gray’s How I Got That Story; William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale; Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon. 1987: Michael Weller’s Loose Ends; Aristophanes’ The Wasps; Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart; Arthur Schnitzler’s Anatol. 1988: Wallace Shawn’s Aunt Dan and Lemon; Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood; Moss Hart’s Light Up the Sky; Jean Racine’s Phaedra; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The Misanthrope. 1989: Caryl Churchill’s Fen; Charles Ludlam’s The Artificial Jungle; William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. 1990: Eric Overmeyer’s On the Verge; Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night; Milan Kundera’s Jacques and His Master; Tom White’s The Trouble with Tofu; William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. 1991: George Kelly’s The Show-Off; George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession; Keith Reddin’s Life and Limb; Mozart/Lorenzo da Ponte’s Così fan Tutte; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The Learnèd Ladies. 1992: Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind; Carlo Gozzi’s The Raven; Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck; Charles MacArthur’s Johnny on a Spot; George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer. 1993: Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good; Charles Ludlam’s The Secret Lives of the Sexists; Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending. 1994: Constance Congdon’s Tales of the Lost Formicans; William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline; George M. Cohan’s The Tavern; Marlayne Meyer’s Etta Jenks. 1995: Pierre Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love; Tom Stoppard’s Travesties; Larry Kramer’s The Destiny of Me; Alexander Ostrovsky’s The Diary of a Scoundrel. 1996: Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest; Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee; William Congreve’s The Way of the World. 1997: Terrence Mc-Nally’s A Perfect Ganesh; Dorothy Parker’s Here We Are; Alan Ayckbourn’s Drinking Companion; Terrence McNally’s Noon; George M. Cohan’s Seven Keys to Baldpate; Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock. 1998: Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia; Aeschylus’ Agamemnon; Giles Havergal’s Travels with my Aunt; Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. 1999: Edit Villareal’s My Visits with MGM; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The Hypochondriac (tr. Martin Sorrel); Edward Percy and Reginald Denham’s Ladies in Retirement; Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. 2000: Peter Parnell’s The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket; Ann Ciccolella’s Fruits and Vegetables; George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly’s Merton of the Movies; Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan. 2001: Milcha Sanchez-Scott’s Roost-ers; George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple; J. B. Priestly’s Dangerous Corner; Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke. 2002: Ann Ciccolella’s Madame X; David Linsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers; Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest; Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba. 2003: Christopher Durang’s Betty’s Summer Vacation; Horton Foote’s The Traveling Lady, William Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona; Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband; Moliere’s The Miser. 2004: John Patrick’s The Hasty Heart; Tom White’s The Misses Overbeck; Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney, George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man. 2005:William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Edit Villareal’s Marriage is Forever; Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death; John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. 2006: Two into War (The Gifts of War and The Retreating World); Amy Freed’s The Beard of Avon; Agatha Christie’s The Hollow; Christopher Durang’s Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge. 2007: Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage, W. Sommerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife; Moliere’s The Miser. 2008: Tennessee Williams’ Garden District: Something Unspoken & Suddenly Last Summer, Diana Son’s Stop Kiss; Tom White’s What I Want Right Now; George Ber-nard Shaw’s Getting Married. 2009: Christopher Durang’s Miss Witherspoon; Caryl Churchill’s A Number; J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls; Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth. 2010: Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice; Horton Foote’s The Carpetbagger’s Children; Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web; Paul Osborn’s Morning’s at Seven. 2011: Charlotte Jones’ Humble Boy; Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana; W. Somerset Maugham’s Too Many Husbands; Lisa Kron’s Well. 2012: Lillian Hell-man’s The Children’s Hour; Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile; Lennox Robinson’s Is Life Worth Living?; George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart’s You Can’t Take it With You. 2013: Doug Wright’s Quills; David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People; Emlyn Williams’ Night Must Fall

Different Stages presents

Arsenic and Old Laceby Joseph Kesselring

Director ........................................................................................Norman BlumensaadtAssistant Director ........................................................................................ Jean BudneyStage Manager .............................................................................................. Haley Naiser Set Design .........................................................................................Ann Marie GordonLight Design ................................................................................................... Amy LewisCostume Design .....................................................................................Heather Lesieur

CASTAbby Brewster .................................................................................Jennifer UnderwoodThe Rev. Dr. Harper ....................................................................................Mick D’ArcyTeddy Brewster ............................................................................................. Joe HartmanOfficer Brophy .......................................................................................Sebastian GarciaOfficer Klein .............................................................................................. Grayson LittleMartha Brewster ........................................................................................Karen JambonElaine Harper............................................................................................... Sarah DankoMortimer Brewster ..........................................................................................Tyler JonesMr. Gibbs .....................................................................................................Mike DellensJonathan Brewster ........................................................................................... Steven FayDr. Einstein .................................................................................................Porter GandyOfficer O’Hara .............................................................................................Andy BrownLieutenant Rooney ...................................................................................... Mick D’ArcyMr. Witherspoon .........................................................................................Mike Dellens

The entire action of the play takes place in theliving room of the Brewster home in Brooklyn.

Act I:An afternoon in September

~Intermission~Act II:

That same night~Intermission~

Act III:Scene 1: Later that night

Scene 2: Early the next morningProduced by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc.

This project is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through

the Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an invest-ment in Austin’s future.

Visit Austin at:NowPlayingAustin.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND SPECIAL THANKSPaula Gilbert, Royce Gehrels, Douglas Kelley, Bill Peeler, Bonnie Cullum and Melissa Vogt-Patterson, Doug Shae, Travis Dean, Larry and Bobbie

Oliver, Jamie Urban, Dougherty Arts Center

FUNDING AND DONATIONS

Director Level $5000+The City of Austin

Actor Level $1000 - $5000Karen Jambon & Jennifer Underwood, Bobbie & Larry Oliver,

Jack Grimes, Ameriprise Financial

Stage Manager Level $500-$999AMD Foundation, Ann Bower, Craig Kanne,

Connie McMillan

Designer Level $250-$499Irene Dubberly, Emily & Kent Erington, Royce Gehrels,Harvey Guion, Bruce McCann, Sarah & David Seaton

Stage Hand Level $100-$249Pamela Bates, Marla Boye, Andy & Renee Brown, Bonnie & Frank Cahill, Melanie & Travis Dean, Diane Herrera, Roy & Leona Kaskin, Bill Kemp, Steven Kinslow, The Pfizer Foundation, Annette Sherman, David Smith, Keith Yawn, Tom White,

Betty Wood, Brian Graham-Moore, Anonymous

Audience Level $20-$99Patricia Bennett, Cecilia Berg, Charles Ramirez Berg, Mary Alice Carnes, Paula Gilbert, Reba Gillman, Dianne & Donna Le Roy, Cade & Al Minder, Gerald

Moore, Rebecca Robinson, Miriam & Larry Rubin, Kelly Slupek, Brian Graham-Moore

In-Kind DonationsKaren Jambon, Bill Peeler

PRODUCTION STAFF

Set Crew ....................... Ann Marie Gordon, Elaine Jacobs, Sebastian Garcia....................................................................... Steven Fay, Norman BlumensaadtProperties .........................................................................Norman BlumensaadtWebmaster ..............................................................................Martina Ohlhauser Photography ................................................................................Bret BrookshireGraphic Artist ................................................................................... Dean ShultzProgram Design ..........................................................................Emily EringtonPublicity ......................................................Carol Ginn, Norman Blumensaadt

ABOUT DIFFERENT STAGESDifferent Stages, Inc. has been a community-based organization since its in-ception in 1981 and incorporation in 1984. It produces works by playwrights who we believe to be defining forces in theatre. We seek to entertain with per-formances that reveal life in all its comedy, tragedy and intensity; and we hope to educate by choosing plays that provide exceptional insight into the human condition. By challenging ourselves as artists, and our audiences as participants, we endeavor to provide the community with vigorous and exciting live theatre.

Producing Artistic DirectorNorman BlumensaadtBoard of Directors

Karen Jambon, T.J. Moreno, Norman BlumensaadtOperating Board

Norman Blumensaadt, Sarah Seaton, Royce Gehrels, Paula Ruth Gilbert

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTJoseph Otto Kesselring (July 21, 1902 – November 5, 1967) was an American writer and playwright known best for his play Arsenic and Old Lace, written in 1939 and originally entitled Bodies in Our Cellar. He was born in New York City to Henry and Frances Kesselring. His father’s parents were immigrants from Germany. His mother was an English Canadian. Kesselring spent much of his life in and around the theater. In 1922 he began teaching vocal music and directed stage productions at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. After two years, Kesselring left teach-ing and returned to the stage, working for two years with an amateur theatrical group in Niagara, New York. He began working as a freelance playwright in 1933, completing 12 original plays, of which four were produced on Broadway: Wisdom in Women (1935), Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), Four Twelves Are 48 (1951), and Mother of That Wisdom (1963).

Kesselring died in Kingston, New York in 1967 at the age of 65.

In 1980, the National Arts Club created the Joseph Kesselring Prize for up-and-coming playwrights. It was funded by Kesselring’s widow, Charlotte. Among the playwrights who have won the prize are Tony Kushner, David Adjmi, Doug Wright, Anna Deavere Smith, David Auburn, Rajiv Joseph, Melissa James Gibson, Jo Car-son, Nicky Silver, David Lindsay-Abaire, José Rivera, Naomi Wallace, Philip Kan Gotanda, Kira Obolensky, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Marion McClinton.

 

2013-14Season

~COMEDY CLASSIC~Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring

Nov. 22-Dec. 15, 2013 The Vortex

~NEW AMERICAN PLAY~The Language Archive by Julia ChoJan. 10-Feb. 1, 2014 City Theatre

~MYSTERY~Child’s Play by Robert Marasco

April 4-May 26, 2014 City Theatre

~A KIND OF LOVE STORY~Pygmalion by George Bernard ShawJune 27-July 19, 2014 The Vortex

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

ANDY BROWN (Officer O’Hara) is pleased to be appearing in another Different Stages production. He has appeared previously in Is Life Worth Living? and You Can’t Take It With You. Selected roles include Mark Styler in MindGame, Hugo Taney in God’s Man in Texas, and Lenny in Of Mice and Men. Andy would like the thank the cast and crew for another fun production, wishes everyone a happy holiday season, and is glad that this production concludes his community-service obligation. SARAH DANKO (Elaine Harper) is new to the Austin theatre scene, and thrilled to be making her debut with Different Stages. An actress and classically trained vocalist, Sarah has also studied with Austin Shakespeare and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Since moving to Austin in 2011, she’s been utilizing her skills, not only as an actress, but as a visual artist, with filmmaking collective--Archimedes Media Lab. Sarah couldn’t be happier to be a part of Arsenic and Old Lace.

MICK D’ARCY (The Rev. Dr. Harper, Officer Rooney) just finished The Spanish Tragedie for the Baron’s Men, Cyberfest 2013 at the VORTEX and before that Raisin in the Sun for UpRise Productions just before that. Before that was Much Ado About Nothing at City Theatre and EARTH before that at the VORTEX. Mick last worked for Different Stages in the capacity of director for You Can’t Take It With You just about a year ago.

MIKE DELLENS (Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Witherspoon) is excited to be in his first play for Different Stages. He has appeared at City Theatre in Buried Child and Othello. In ad-dition, he has been in the Wondrous Strange Players production of Blood Wedding, In2 The West at Austin Community College and an adaptation of Death of A Salesman titled This Great Country which was in the 2012 Austin Fusebox Festival. He gives thanks to his wife, Joanne, for all of her support for his creative endeavors. In addition to acting, Mike has been a mathematics professor at Austin Community College for 33 years.

STEVEN FAY (Jonathan Brewster) appears in his 22nd Different Stages production. Previous DS appearances include Appointment With Death (B. Iden Payne nomination), Getting Married, Mur-der on the Nile and You Can’t Take It With You. Many years ago, he appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace as O’Hara and Mr. Spenalzo.

PORTER GANDY (Dr. Einstein) is delighted to be performing in his second show for Different Stages and in Austin.

He was last featured as Stevie Grimes in Good People last spring. He received his BFA in

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theatrical performance from the Univer-sity of Texas at Arlington in 2010. Porter extends a grand gesture of thanks to the company of Arsenic and Old Lace and to his family and friends for all the love and support.

SEBASTIAN GARCIA (Brophy) is pleased to be doing his second show for Different Stages. His first was You Can’t Take it With You; in which he played the head G-Man. He is also thrilled to be back at the VORTEX. Garcia has per-formed in many shows here, including the Wyrd Sisters, Elizabeth: the Heart of a King and Vitriol & Violets.

JOE HARTMAN (Teddy Brewster) has performed in the past with Differ-ent Stages in Quills, Murder on the Nile, Too Many Husbands, and The Beard of Avon (B. Iden Payne Nomination). Other local productions include Zeus in Therapy, Vampire Les-bians of Sodom (B. Iden Payne nomination) Milkmilklemonade, Hay Fever, The Casket of Passing Fancy, The Page and the Caterpillar (B. Iden Payne nomination), Psycho Beach Party (B. Iden Payne nomination), and his one-man show Overwhelming Underdogs (B. Iden Payne nomination). Musical performances include appearances in Stephen Sondheim’s Com-pany, When Pigs Fly (B. Iden Payne nomination) Annie, Guys and Dolls, My Favorite Year (B. Iden Payne nomination), and The Music Man. LA credits include: Reverend Joseph Dale in Showtime Television’s Great Commission, Mrs. Mackelravey in The Tune Timers (TV pilot), and Wally in ITC’s 1940’s Radio Hour.

KAREN JAMBON (Martha Brewster) is thrilled to be playing Jennie Underwood’s sister again, having played her sister in Different Stages’ The Cripple of Inishmaan and Sam Bass Theatre’s The Queen of Bingo. She most recently directed Good People for Dif-ferent Stages and Next Fall for Paradox Players. For Different Stages she has directed Fuddy Meers, Betty’s Summer Vacation (B. Iden Payne nominations for Best Play), and Playboy of the Western World (Critic’s Circle nomination for best play) as well as Morning’s at Seven, Stop Kiss, and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge. Karen has also directed for The VORTEX Repertory Company, Sam Bass Theatre, Loaded Gun Theory, and Scottish Rite Children’s Theatre.

TYLER JONES (Mortimer Brewster) is pleased to return to Different Stages where he has appeared in Murder on the Nile, Getting Married, The Hollow, and The Beard of Avon. Other Austin credits - Zilker Hillside Theater: Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast,

ANN MARIE GORDON (Scenic De-sign) is pleased to be working again with Different Stages. Her recent work with Dif-ferent Stages includes Good People, Is Life Worth Living?, The Children’s Hour, and A Number, which was nominated for a Critics Table Award. She is a member of the VOR-TEX Repertory Company where she de-signed the sets for Oceana, The Inbetweeners, and The Dragonfly Queen, all premiere works recently presented by the VORTEX.

HEATHER LESIEUR (Costume De-sign) is excited for her first production with Different Stages. She will be gradu-ating from Southwestern University in December with a BA in Theatre. While at Southwestern she has designed costumes for The Laramie Project, Trial by Jury, Good-night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), and I Stand Before You Naked. Her other costume design work includes Dying City (Capital T) and Losing Elysium (University of Limerick).

AMY LEWIS (Light Design) is a graduate of McMurry University with a BFA in Theatre. She is very active in the Austin theatre community as both an actor and a lighting designer. Amy’s Austin area acting credits include Sordid Lives, Human Sketches, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Dracula at the Bastrop Opera House, The Laramie Project at City Theatre, Bitten!: A Zombie Rock Odyssey, The Au-tomat, Bride of Slapdash, Slapdash Cinco de Flimflam, Slapdash Live Six Show and The Brothers Merlin with Loaded Gun Theory, of which she is also a member and resident lighting designer. Past productions with Different Stages include The Skin of Our Teeth, An Inspector Calls, What I Want Right Now, Mrs. Bob Crachit’s Wild Christmas Binge, The Hollow, Playboy of the Western World, and Too Many Husbands.

HALEY NAISER (Stage Manager) stage manages, assistant stage manages, and does running crew for theatre companies around town, including Salvage Vanguard, City Theatre, Tutto Theatre Company, Crank Collective, MacTheatre, and now Differ-ent Stages.

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and The Music Man. ZACH: Xanadu, Ragtime, White Christmas. Hyde Park Theatre: The Lonesome West. Penfold Theatre: I Love You Because. Capital T Theatre: Spirits to Enforce. Paradox Players: Guest Artist. City Theatre: Death of a Salesman (B. Iden Payne winner for Outstanding Featured Actor), Songs for a New World, How the Other Half Loves.

GRAYSON LITTLE (Klein) is proud to be making his debut with Different Stages. He received his BFA in Theatre from Texas State University, and is a B. Iden Payne Award nominee. Grayson hosts a weekly podcast about wrestling and blogs about mu-sic.

JENNIFER UNDERWOOD (Abby Brewster) last appeared with Different Stages in the role of Ann Kron in Well, for which she won a B. Iden Payne award for Best Featured Actress in a Comedy. Other roles for Different Stages include Flora in Humble Boy, Grace Anne in The Carpetbagger’s Children, Esther in Morning’s at Seven, the title role in Miss Witherspoon, Mrs. Venable in Suddenly Last Summer, Lotte Shoen in Lettice and Lovage, Queen Elizabeth I in The Beard of Avon, Catherin Petkoff in Arms and the Man, Mrs. Siezmagraff in Betty’s Summer Vacation, (B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy), the title role in The House of Bernarda Alba, Gertie in Fuddy Meers, Mrs. Dudgeon in The Devil’s Disciple, Kate in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Kate in All My Sons and Norma in The Misses Overbeck. Other Austin area productions include The Duchess in The Casket of Passing Fancy, (2009 Austin Critics Table Award for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role), Mag in The Beauty Queen of Leenane (B. Iden Payne for Outstanding Cast Performance), Kate in Dancing at Lughnasa, Vera in Auntie Mame, Sis in Queen of Bingo, Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Melissa in Love Letters, Bessie in Marvin’s Room, Elizabeth in The Petition, Betty in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon-Marigolds, and Evie in The Gingerbread Lady.

DIRECTION AND DESIGN BIOGRAPHIES

NORMAN BLUMENSAADT (Director) is the Producing Artistic Director for Different Stages. As an actor, he has worked in Shakespeare festivals in Odessa; Dallas, Texas; and Madison, New Jersey. For Different Stages, he has recently appeared in You Can’t Take It With You, Eurydice, Humble Boy and A Number. He won a B. Iden Payne Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for The Triumph of Love. Among the numerous shows that he has directed, a selection includes Quills, Is Life Worth Living?, The Carpetbagger’s Children, Well, The Beard of Avon, An Ideal Husband, and The Constant Wife. In celebration of his long and outstanding work in the Austin theater scene, the Austin Circle of Theaters bestowed upon Norman the 1998 Deacon Crain/John Bus-tin Award. His productions of The Normal Heart and The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? won B. Iden Payne Awards for Best Production of a Drama. His production of Arcadia, the first of at least five productions in Austin, won the Austin Critics Circle Award for Best Comedy.

JEAN BUDNEY (Assistant Director) has appeared in Is Life Worth Living?, Quills, and Good People, all with Different Stages. Jean is a graduate of Boston Conservatory of Music. This is her first time not appearing onstage in a production she is involved with, and she thanks Norman Blumensaadt for the opportunity to gain a greater knowledge of her theatrical surroundings.

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