Produced and Directed byDAWSON HANN and TONY SCANLON

Musical Direction byMARGARET ARNOLD and BEN MARSLAND

Choreography byMELENIE CROWE

Designed byTONY SCANLON

Assisting in Choreography and DirectionFELICITY PEARSON

Technical Direction bySABINO DEL BALSO

Costumes bySTEPHANIE DES BARRES and JILL WELCH

The Adamson Theatre Company at Wesley College St Kilda Roadby special arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library Inc New York New York

presents

(Revised 1999)

Produced and Directed byDAWSON HANN and TONY SCANLON

Musical Direction byMARGARET ARNOLD and BEN MARSLAND

Choreography byMELENIE CROWE

Designed byTONY SCANLON

Assisting in Choreography and DirectionFELICITY PEARSON

Technical Direction bySABINO DEL BALSO

Costumes bySTEPHANIE DES BARRES and JILL WELCH

Performed in Adamson Hall, Wesley College St Kilda Road23-27 August 2011

KISS MEKATE

Music and Lyrics byCOLE PORTER

Book bySAM AND STELLA SPEWACK

There are few lovers of musical theatre who wouldn’t agree that Kiss Me Kate is one of the greatest triumphs of that special genre, “the Broadway musical.” Martin Gottfried, in his seminal work on Broadway shows, declares it Cole Porter’s “greatest and most memorable success”, providing theatre goers of the time, and ever since, with “one of the greatest of all musical scores.” In the Oxford Companion to the American Musical, Thomas Hischak likewise argues that Kiss Me Kate “boasts one of the best librettos ever written for Broadway, and Porter wrote his most dazzling collection of songs to go with it.” In its laudatory review of the 1999 Revised Version (the one used for this production, and which ran for more than 900 performances), the New York Times insisted: “Kiss Me Kate is again revealed to be what it has always been: an elegant, nimble, dream of a show, one of the rare perfect achievements of American musical theatre.” And there is nothing more quintessentially American than a Broadway show.

What is remarkable is that Kiss Me Kate really came out of the blue in the later stages of Cole Porter’s stellar career. By 1948 he was all but washed up, but Kiss Me Kate started a second career that seemed almost disconnected to the first. Previously, Porter had taken a somewhat careless approach to show composition, turning in handfuls of songs that may or may not have been embedded in the libretto, and more or less walking away. But since Rogers’ and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, a new approach had been required: not only did songs have to relate to the story being told, but the music was expected to play a larger role in general, and a composer was expected to work closely with the show’s construction from first to last. Porter responded to these new demands superbly, producing a score and lyrics that were inseparable from the context for which they were written.

Essentially, as Thomas Hischak also points out, Porter wrote two scores for Kiss Me Kate: a mock-Elizabethan set of songs (but with a delightfully contemporary edge) for the musical of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew taking place on the stage of Ford’s Theatre in Baltimore, and a cotemporary score for the backstage story. They are very distinct, but also part of a whole: both “scores” have their serious and comic songs, their choral songs and their love songs; and the way the two scores are in perfect balance with each other from start to finish signifies how

remarkable Porter’s achievement turned out to be. Nothing seems out of place, or forced. While several songs such as “Wunderbar”, “So in Love” and “Too Darn Hot” found success outside the world of the show, the score throughout is amazingly integrated with the script.

And what a brilliant libretto it is. The musical develops a not unfamiliar play-within-a play scenario (a convention as old at least as Hamlet), and plays with it in delightfully original ways, seamlessly connecting “on stage” and “off stage” character and situation. While a musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is playing on stage (snippets of which we see, though we come away at the end certain we have seen the whole play, so comprehensive is the integration with the rest), the stars, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who used to be married to each other, and who play Petruchio and Kate in the Shrew, battle with each other both on and off stage. Bella and Sam Spewack wrote the dazzlingly witty libretto in which the modern story comments on the Shakespearean one, and vice versa. The switch between the offstage scenes with the “real” characters, and the Shakespeare play, with its set of fictional creations, is so adroitly handled that the action almost miraculously seems continuous.

KISS ME KATE: BROADWAY PERFECTION

Also in the Shrew cast are sweethearts Lois Lane (a Broadway “hoofer” having her first crack at Shakespeare) and Bill Calhoun, a dancer as well, and with a gambling addiction. Their romance perfectly reflects that of Lucentio and Bianca in the Shrew, so here’s the traditional sub-plot but with some diverting additions. Bill has signed an IOU in Fred’s name for some gangsters, and when two of their henchmen turn up to collect the debt, Fred skilfully uses them to keep Lilli from walking out on the show. As plot devices, the two men contribute hugely to the comic genius of the whole show. They have no direct link with the Shakespeare play, but are among the funniest supporting characters ever invented, anticipating the Runyonesque characters of Guys and Dolls. Ending up on stage, they are slowly absorbed into the theatrical world, in turn becoming performers, critics and scholars, “theatre tragics” even, and they offer enormous scope for audience enjoyment, and add an entire other layer to proceedings. For Kiss Me Kate on a certain level is also about theatre, and about those who fall under its spell.

For all its occasional anachronisms, Kiss Me Kate’s sparkling libretto, sharp characterisation, and

close affinity with the Shakespeare play gave Cole Porter what every composer longs for: a musical milieu. As others have noted, Porter’s music for Kiss Me Kate could only be for Kiss Me Kate, it is that amazingly consistent in tone, with music that is inventive, melodic and exuberant, and utterly refined in its theatricality. Instead of writing hits, Porter consciously aimed for integration. Perhaps it is not too fanciful to suggest that the brilliant songs celebrate the common bond between the showmanship of Shakespeare and that of the Broadway musical genre. As Martin Gottfried again argues, in Broadway Musicals: “Are not both drawn from the same bloodline? It is a line richer, more rewarding and certainly more consequential than song popularity charts. Though he was not particularly culture-conscious or literary, the bright and quick-witted Porter delighted in collaborating with Shakespeare as one man of the theatre to another.”

Whatever the case, Kiss Me Kate demonstrates its pedigree in every richly entertaining moment.

The play is set in the Ford’s Theatre in Baltimore, a summer’s day and night in 1948.

ACT ONE

Scene One: The stage of Ford’s Theatre, before the opening of The Taming of the Shrew

1. Another Openin’ Another Show Hattie, Paul and ensemble

Scene Two: The backstage corridor of the theatre

2. Why Can’t You Behave? Lois and Bill

Scene Three: The dressing rooms of Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham

3. Wunderbar Lilli and Fred

4. So in Love (with You am I) Lilli

Scene Four: The stage of the theatre: a performance of a musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: On the Road to Padua

5. We Open in Venice Petruchio, Lucentio, Katherine and Bianca and ensemble

Scene Five: The Shrew: a market square in Padua

6. Tom, Dick and Harry Gremio, Hortensio, Lucentio and Bianca

7. I’ve Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua Petruchio and Men

8. I Hate Men Katherine

9. Were Thine that Special Face Petruchio

Scene Six: the backstage corridor

Scene Seven: the dressing rooms of Lilli and Fred

Scene Eight: The Shrew: A country road in Padua

10. Cantiamo D’Amore Ensemble and Dance Group

Scene Nine: The Shrew: the church square in Padua

11. Kiss Me Kate Petruchio, Katherine and Ensemble

SCENES AND MUSICAL NUMBERS

There is one twenty minute interval. Please resume your seats as quickly aspossible when the bell sounds. Refreshments are available in the Cato Room. Kindly

refrain from flash photography and from checking mobile phones during the performance.

ACT TWO

Scene One: The alley behind Ford’s Theatre: interval in The Shrew performance

12. Too Darn Hot Paul, Backing Group and Ensemble

12a Too Darn Hot Dance Dance Group and Ensemble Scene Two: On stage in the theatre: a break in the performance

Scene Three: The Shrew: a room in Petruchio’s house

13. Where is the Life That Late I Led? Petruchio

Scene Four: The backstage corridor of the theatre

14. Always True to You Darlin’ (In My Fashion) Lois and Bill

Scene Five: The dressing rooms of Lilli and Fred

15. From This Moment On General Harrison Howell and Lilli

Scene Six: The backstage corridor

16. Bianca Bill, Pops, male and female quartets

17. So in Love (reprise) Fred

Scene Seven: On stage

18. Brush Up Your Shakespeare The Two Men

Scene Eight: The Shrew: the garden of Baptista’s house.

19. Pavanne Dance Group

20. I am Ashamed That Women are so Simple Katherine

21. Kiss Me Kate (Reprise) Katherine, Petruchio and Ensemble

Approximate running times: Act One: 80 minutes Act Two: 65 minutes

THE KISS ME KATE ORCHESTRAConductor: Ben Marsland

Julian Bagnara Rachel Ben-David Joseph Buchan Marcus Chen Isabel Cocks Joshua de Bell Nathaniel de Bell Alyssa de LemosIsabella Etna John Felsted Phoebe Gardner Spencer Hughes

Madison Foley Louise Hildyard Jessica Keys Jodie LockyerRohan Khot Henrietta Mather Natasha Mai Lachlan McGeehan

Mikaela Mowat Sebastian Mundy Madeleine Neate Daniella NeriJillian Norton Henry Patterson-Finch Jeffrey Pullin Clio Renner

Georgia Smart Evan Votskos Isabel Wassmann Annie WilliamsonJohn Woods-Casey David Xu May Yang Syd Zygier

Willy Zygier

Martin QuinnRachael Findlay

Ben Symon or Liam AllanMary Ensabella or Caitlin Wallace

Charlie CraigNicholas Davey–Greene

Branford GruarElla Pattison

Jake ColmanKareem El Ansary or Tom Kantor

Simon Wright or Lachie Price Julian O’Donnell

Gus AttwoodClayton Waddell

Frederick Graham, actor and producer (Petruchio)Lilli Vanessi, actress, Fred’s ex-wife (Katherine)Bill Calhoun, dancer and actor (Lucentio)Lois Lane, an inexperienced actress (Bianca)Harry Trevor, a veteran actorThe First Man, an enforcer of debtsThe Second Man, likewiseHattie, Lilli’s dresserPaul, Fred’s dresserBenny Stubbs, principal actor (Hortensio)Chas Gilpin, principal actor (Gremio)General Harrison HowellRalph Johnson, the stage manager“Pops”, the stage doorman

The Really Darn Hot Dance Group

Alice Arch Georgie Byrnes Tomas KantorJimmy Dougherty Felix Kramer Sarah Mealor

Matt O’Brien Hunter Pool Hannah SimonGeorgia Steele Ivy Sun Cameron Tyncherov

Retired hurt: Chris Mark

(their parts in the production of The Taming of the Shrew are provided in brackets)CAST OF CHARACTERS

Sophie Avramoudas Isabella Baring Jazzy Bade-Boon Georgina BarlowRosie Black Meagan Carlesso Zoe Castran Darcie Davey

Scarlett Davey Bec Donnan Tim Grant Xueqiao Gu Chloe Hunt Maddie Hunt Beth Jackson Isabelle Knight

Anthony Kuiper Ken Kiat Aiden Lin Kade Main Jeremy Nadel Jess Naylor Emmaline Neate Edwina Orchard Lucinda Orr Joshua O’Sullivan Matthew Roach Caitlin Symon Stella Silagy Tiffany Tsoi

Todd Smorgon Chloe Stringer Camille Saunders-Browne

CAST PROFILESMARTIN QUINN (Fred Graham / Petruchio)Martin first came to notice in the Middle School in an engaging performance in Much Ado About Nothing in 2008; since then he has emerged as one of the Company’s leading actors in both straight drama and musicals. His versatility is notable, his characterisations beautifully crafted. He has rightly attracted the admiration and respect of his peers for his passion for doing a show. If we had separate dressing rooms, he would have earned one by now, and it would be regularly filled with floral tributes beloved of theatre folk. His credits are too numerous to list, but last year he won the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria award for Best Junior Male Performer in a Supporting Role, as Molokov in Chess. Earlier this year he produced another “stunner”, as Lester Lamb in a truly memorable production of Cloudstreet. There is no doubt that Martin has a promising future, should he choose a theatrical path; in the meantime, what he has contributed to Wesley theatre is now very much a part of our history, and will be long cherished.

RACHAEL FINDLAY (Lilli Vanessi / Katherine)Right alongside Martin’s dressing room, in an ideal theatrical world, would be Rachael’s, and it would, after every show, be jammed with admirers and well-wishers, since she too has a remarkable list of achievements in all kinds of roles stretching back to her debut performance as Cosette in Les Miserables (when she was in Year 6). Her love for theatre is unbounded, and her talent is comprehensive. Many will remember her as a crotchety Queen Elizabeth in The Clink in 2009, perhaps astonished by her maturity. This was evident again earlier this year, as the libidinous (and bibulous) Dolly Pickles in the epic Cloudstreet. Rachael’s glorious soprano voice has embellished many a musical, not least in last year’s Chess, for which she received a Music Theatre Guild of Victoria nomination as Best Junior Female in a Leading Role, as Florence Vassy, a very musically challenging part. But like everything else Rachael has done, she was more than up to it, and leaves school having left a legacy for others: talent is one thing, but drive and commitment are equally decisive in delivering a great performance.

LIAM ALLAN (Bill / Lucentio Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday evening)Liam’s beautiful baritone voice had been well known to his music friends for some time, but it took a while for it to be appreciated in a more public arena. Succumbing eventually to taunts and jibes, he tried out for Chess last year and won the role of the Russian Anatoly (he who sings Anthem) against stiff opposition, finally sharing the part with Michael Shalit (who had seemed to have a mortgage on it). While he may have lacked stage experience, his soaring vocals and sincerity carried the day and won many admirers. Earlier this year he enjoyed developing his acting skills further as Gerry Clay in Cloudstreet, and we are delighted that musical audiences once again can enjoy his vocal accomplishments in his role as the free-wheeling Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate, whose reckless betting causes headaches for everyone. Liam is an all round musician and fine pianist, and his musicality generally is an asset for any production.

CAST PROFILESBEN SYMON (Bill / Lucentio Wednesday, Friday, Saturday matinee)Ben is a young man of many parts; indeed, his preparation for his role in Kiss Me Kate was temporarily interrupted by his call-up as an Under 18 Victorian state representative hockey player in a recent national championship. But the role couldn’t be in safer hands. Ben is a natural on stage and is a wholly engaging presence in whatever he does, and he is, like in his sport, comprehensive in his preparation; he is dedicated to his art, which he describes humbly as “an enjoyable hobby”. Still only in Year 11, he has already contributed some memorable moments on this stage, as The Cat in the Hat in a wonderful Middle School production of Seussical: the Musical in 2008 and the following year as Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. But Ben’s sublime ease with performance extends beyond the musical genre, and audiences who were fortunate enough to see him in Cloudstreet earlier this year were surely touched by the depth and sensitivity of his performance as Quick Lamb, a pivotal role which never slipped from his sure grasp.

MARY ENSABELLA (Lois Lane / Bianca, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday matinee)Mary has just returned from a successful European tour! – well, to the extent that her several solo performances in sacred venues in France and Belgium (as part of the Wesley Anzac Music Tour group) won some generous applause from supportive locals. Her thrilling soprano voice hit the vaults in one or two Gothic auditoriums, and what a priceless opportunity this was for someone who loves singing so much. Mary appeared in several Elsternwick musicals (which took her to the National Theatre) before arriving at St Kilda Road, and last year had the opening vocals in Chess for some performances; her musical expertise as one of the principal vocal backing group in that show was invaluable. Now we see a different Mary: as the air-headed and flirtatious Lois Lane, she is able to develop a whole different persona, and to show her outstanding music theatre skills in her delivery of a Cole Porter classic: Always True to You Darlin’ (In My Fashion). In rehearsing this number, there is no doubt that Mary discovered her inner Lois.

CAITLIN WALLACE (Lois Lane / Bianca, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday evening) Caitlin is probably the “Recruit of the Year”, coming to Wesley this year when her family moved from the UK to Melbourne, and we are rather glad that Wesley was the school of her choice. She presented a theatre CV as long as your arm, but even without that, her vocal and dancing skills brought her to immediate attention during auditions. Her talent and vivacity proved irresistible, and she is a perfect match for the role of the second Romantic lead, Lois Lane; she also gets one of the show’s big numbers, one of those songs that is character-driven, and has “Broadway” written all over it. Caitlin is enjoying her first time with a Wesley production. Her training in England was with the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, from where she found her way into professional work in The Cunning Little Vixen at the Royal Opera House; in national television advertising; as young Queen Elizabeth in a live re-enactment at Hampton Court Palace; and some “extras” work in Midsomer Murders, and the recent film Never Let Me Go.

NIC DAVEY-GREENE (First Man)Even though he is still only in Year 10, Nic has a string of great performances behind him already, and has impressed with the range and quality of his stage work. Last year alone, while in Year 9, he turned in two outstanding lead performances, as the Stage Manager in Our Town and the singing narrator in the splendid Middle School musical Just So; for the latter performance he received a Music Theatre Guild nomination as Best Junior Male in a Leading Role, in a field where most nominees were much more senior. The previous year, when in year 8, he also received a Guild commendation for his performance as Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. With that sort of background, who knows what Nic is likely to deliver in the two fortunate years we still have him contracted? He doesn’t usually agree to playing un-named character roles, but when you see who the “First Man” is in Kiss Me Kate, you will understand why he made an exception in this case.

BRANFORD GRUAR (Second man)Playing alongside his mate Nick, as the other tough guy slowly absorbed into the world of theatre, is someone who also has graduated from Middle School productions with a host of credits. He was a gangster once before, in Bugsy Malone in 2006, tackled the challenge of being a “lead goose” in Honk! in 2007 and ended up finally as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz in 2009. Just to demonstrate his versatility and broad theatrical passions, he was an assistant director (while still in Year 10) for the Senior School production of A Streetcar Named Desire last year, and a member of the principal vocal backing group for Chess. Branford is renowned as a stand-up comic at lunchtime Senior School talent quests, and enjoys a large following amongst would-be comedians without quite his style. He in fact started with stand-up comedy with Class Clowns, a teenage comedy competition, and has been a practising comedian (very much “practising”, he confesses) since 2010, being offered turns in the Sydney Comedy Festival and “World’s Funniest Island”. Perfect for one of Kiss Me Kate’s funniest creations.

ELLA PATTISON (Hattie)Everyone is happy that Ella at last has a featured number in a big musical, especially after last year when damage to her vocal chords meant she missed Chess (though her input as a vocal coach assisting the musical directors was invaluable). Ella’s general musicality and accuracy are deeply respected, and she is a good teacher of her peers. She has been a fixture in the Music Schools at both Elsternwick and here at St Kilda Road, in orchestras and string orchestras, and now, as a Year 12 student, she is captain of both the Pop Choir and the A Capella choir. Her many contributions to Wesley’s musical culture are too numerous to list in detail, but her contribution to the performing arts has extended to roles on stage in Hair, and Annie (at Elsternwick), as well as dramatic roles in The Clink and Cloudstreet. Ella has exploited her musical talents to the full, and the Theatre Company too has been enriched by her passion for music.

CAST PROFILESCHARLIE CRAIG (Harry Trevor / Baptista)Charlie is one of four 1st XV111 footballers in this show (the other three are spectacularly on display in the Dance Group), and his tottery gait as the veteran repertory actor Harry Trevor (Baptista in The Shrew) is in stark contrast to his blistering forward thrusts that can dismantle an opposition defence in the game he loves. Charlie is a also a stage veteran of a kind, though, having appeared in several Middle School productions, and this year he captivated Senior Play audiences with his poignant and deeply thoughtful portrayal of the disabled but mystical Fish Lamb in Cloudstreet. Charlie’s experience in musical theatre extends back to his role as “Drake” in 2007’s Honk! and he followed this in Year 8 as General Ghengis Khan Schmitz in Seussical. His stage career went on slight hold until he re-emerged in the Senior School. Charlie takes his theatre side as seriously as he does his sport and his academic work, and has found a lovely balance in his school life, contributing humbly and cheerfully in many areas.

THE YOUNG GUNSSoloists Jake Colman (as Paul), Simon Wright and Lachie Price (as Gremio / alternate nights) and Kareem El-Ansary and Tom Kantor (as Hortensio / alternate nights) are an impressive group of youngsters who are demonstrating by their outstanding vocal and performance skills that the immediate future of the theatre company is in very safe hands from the boys point of view. Only Lachie is in Year 11; the rest are Year 10s, so there are some exciting times ahead. And there is some amazing talent too in our coming group of girls.

Tony Scanlon, the Artistic Director of the Adamson Theatre Company, will sadly not be in the audience tonight, but his outstanding contribution to theatre at Wesley will no doubt be remembered in every moment of this production of Kiss Me Kate. Tony passed away, on the stage, doing what he loved, less than two weeks ago.

Since joining the Wesley staff in 1977 Tony, together with long standing co-director, Dawson Hann, forged the beginnings of the theatre company that he went on to lead. Tony was appointed the first Director of the Adamson Theatre Company in 1989 and held that position until his recent death, but the seeds for the company’s inception were sown much earlier. The school was already achieving four productions a year when Tony became the artistic director but he was notably instrumental, along with Dawson, in creating an institution that has established a rich theatrical heritage within the school. Tony introduced the Middle School play into the school arts calendar back in 1979 with a production of Our Town. A production of Berthold Brecht’s challenging drama, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui followed the next year, and the Middle School play was a fixture from then on. He added a Junior School musical to Wesley’s theatre program, too. In 1980, Tony had also joined the production team of Pal Joey, the Senior School musical, and it was three years later, with September Song, that the creative collaboration between Tony and Dawson was born, a partnership that endured for over 30 years. Tony co-directed some 30 Senior School Musicals and over 20 plays; he also worked with other talented directors here at Wesley, helping to

bring countless shows to the Adamson Hall stage.

Tony’s legacy to Wesley is his contribution to a vital continuing heritage; to a lively, and loved, student theatre scene. The Adamson Theatre Company over the years, led by Tony, has brought together the creative talents of many Wesley staff essential to mounting a show; stage and technical directors and those working in costumes and set design, the latter being one of Tony’s great skills and passions too. But this theatre company exists for the students; it’s an inclusive company of young players whose talents and interest in theatre, every year, both on stage and behind, have been nurtured from an early age by Tony and his team. The high standards set by the Adamson Theatre Company under his leadership, evidenced by the quality of every production and the professional presentation of the company, derive from an unstinting striving for the highest production values, the provision of the best material to work with, and an unshakable faith that students can perform beyond expectation. Such uncompromising standards have taken many of our students from Wesley to successful careers in theatre both nationally and overseas, as the gallery of theatrical alumni in the theatre foyer attests. For all this, Tony was a behind the scenes person; someone who eschewed the limelight whilst creating opportunities for our students to star. His final bow to life, however, must be to a standing ovation.

Stephanie DundasChairman of the Arts Award Committee

A THEATRICAL MAN’S ENDURING LEGACY

Kiss Me Kate is also the last senior musical for Sabino Del Balso, who has been technical director of the Adamson Theatre Company for more years than he cares to remember. For all but one year, when he was on long service leave, he has collaborated not just with Tony and myself, but with a host of other directors, across nearly one hundred plays and musicals. For him, the year never slows down.

Sabino’s Wesley life began in 1984, when he was employed as a laboratory technician in the Physics department of the Science faculty. Four years later, and looking to extend his experience, he responded to a request from the then Head of Campus, Tony Conabere, for someone to “help out” with technical aspects of the burgeoning theatre company. Rather foolishly, he put his hand up, thereby consigning a fair portion of his private life and precious spare time to the personally consuming demands of theatre. But what rewards it has also brought, not the least of which is a legendary status amongst the whole St Kilda Road community. He is, to everyone, simply “Sabino”, and although there might be a mandatory protest at the thousands of requests he gets for assistance, he always obliges.

His theatrical career began with South Pacific in 1988 (it’s always better to be thrown in at the deep end when it comes to big shows) and he hasn’t

stopped running since. His leaps from bio-box to stage are breathtaking, as is his effortless scaling of scaffolding: get in his way and you will be run down. His instructions to his crews are rarely ambiguous, and delivered with fervour. He slings rostra and other weighty stage paraphernalia around like cushions, fixes the stage, runs assemblies, repairs damaged curtains and stage cloths, and can clear the hall of chairs in a flash (though where does he put them?). He knows more secret storage places than anyone alive.

Aside from an output of energy inviting serious scientific scrutiny (the diet fuelling this energy remains unknown, since he is never seen to eat), Sabino’s technical skills are awesome. During a performance of Cabaret in 2008, the lighting desk blew moments before interval. During the slightly extended break Sabino calmly installed a new desk that he produced from who knows where, and operated the lighting plot from it, so that the second act ran without a hitch, and only five minutes behind schedule. The audience was barely aware that the interval went on a bit.

His time with the Adamson Theatre Company is full of such stories. In this year of transition, as the Company looks forward to the next stage of its remarkable growth, it is time to say simply, “Thanks Sabino”. Anything more he would consider excessive.

Dawson Hann

SABINO: BIO-BOX LEGEND

Artistic Director Tony Scanlon’s sad passing less than two weeks before opening night of Kiss Me Kate meant that a huge effort was needed to deliver the set on time, and without his expertise on the more intricate aspects of the design. The main structures were built, and photos from the previous production were a key reference point. But it was in the human dimension that the most inspiring actions occurred. Tony’s team of OWs from recent past productions had been engaged to help construct the set, so they knew the intentions well, and in many instances had contributed to the conception. How well they had been provided with the requisite skills by their mentor is evident in every aspect of these beautiful sets, which they brought to completion, working deep into the night every night to ensure that what was needed was delivered. They simply stepped up to the mark. These young men – David Browne (OW2010), Ron Tidhar (OW2009), Will Cook (OW2010), Elliot Majid (OW2009), Chris Hiiri (OW2010) and Shian Su (OW2010) – have, by their commitment, let alone their competence, written themselves into the history of this theatre company. To say that Tony would have been proud of them is an understatement.

THE HOUR FOUND THE MEN

In the radiance of theatrical lighting, the set will seem finished and by and large it is. But if you noticed a small unpainted area, or something not “touched up”, you may rightly think this was an oversight in the rush to get the job done. But this was thought about deeply by everyone involved backstage.

A centuries-old theatrical tradition has it that should a master craftsman pass away before the design could be completed, the cast would perform the play in front of the unfinished set, as a mark of respect, and as a metaphor for the illuminating talent that had gone missing. Tony would have had none of this – though he was a great respecter of theatrical traditions. But compromising his desire for perfection would not have been on. So without his permission we have left a small part of the set, just here and there, unfinished, to remind us throughout the performances of the absence of the master craftsman.

A NOTE ON THE “COMPLETION” OF THE SET

PRODUCTION TEAMDirected and Produced by

Musical Direction by

Choreography by

Designed by

Assisting in Direction and Choreography

Technical Direction by

Costumes by

Conductor

Rehearsal Pianists

Stage Managers (alternate nights) and Set Construction

Stage Crew Foreman, Additional Stage Management

Backstage Crew

Sound Operator

Lighting Operators

Orchestra Mix, Sound Effects

Technical Crew

Properties

Business Manager, Front of House, Publicity

Programme

Make-up

DAWSON HANN and TONY SCANLON

MARGARET ARNOLD and BEN MARSLAND

MELENIE CROWE

TONY SCANLON

FELICITY PEARSON

SABINO DEL BALSO

STEPHANIE DES BARRES and JILL WELCH

BEN MARSLAND

ALYSSA DE LEMOS, CLIO RENNER and GEORGE KOZLOWSKI

DAVID BROWNE, RON TIDHAR, WILL COOK, ELLIOT MAJID, CHRIS HIIRI and SHIAN SU

ALEXIA THORNE

ROSS ECKERSLEY, HESTER LYON, LIZZIE DOERY, ANDREA BECK, SCOTT McGUINNNESS, SARAH ZIPPEL, EMILY McDONALD, JUZ LOWE, NOAM

TIDHAR, JAMES KENYON-SMITH, ALEX REES, ALEXANDRA GREEN, ANNABEL MASON, LACHIE

COOK, TIM WHITE

SAMANTHA WILLIAMS

GEORGE BERESFORD, REMY PERIN

THOMAS ORCHARD

JOSHUA EVELY (OW2011), HUNTER HAMMOND, DUNCAN JAROSLOW, ADAM OUSALKAS

(OW2009), CAMILLE SAUNDERS-BROWNE, HAMISH WALLACE

LISA BENNETT

BRETT FAIRBANK

DAWSON HANN, BRETT FAIRBANK,MARK O’NEILL

VAL CREES, STEPHANIE DES BARRES,JILL WELCH