From the author of the Tony-nominated play The Motherf**ker With the Hat, a gritty exploration of a seedy NYC bar’s clientele and their ignorance as to what’s happening in this city that’s edging them out.
Content Advisory: Contains mature language and adult situations. Not intended for anyone under 16 years of age.
Bernard Bygott: (Lenny/Man #1/Bartender) recently created the role of Calandrino in the world premiere opera Decameron at Prince Music Theater. He spent two seasons in the resident company of American Shakespeare Center, where he appeared in The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, to name a few. Other credits include Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theater For The New City (New York City), The Northern New England Repertory Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, Storybook Musical Theatre, The Ko Festival of Performance, Mum Puppettheatre, Glimmerglass Opera, International Opera Theater (Italy & USA), and The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center. Bygott attended Maestro Antonio Fava's American International School for Commedia dell'Arte (twice), and was interviewed in Maestro Fava's recent book Nasi Mustacchi e Lazzi (Noses, Mustaches and Running Gags). He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. less recently created the role of Calandrino in the world premiere opera Decameron at Prince Music Theater. He spent two seasons in the resident company of American Shakespeare Center, where he appeared in The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, to name a few. Other credits include Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival,... more
Christa Hinckley: (Chickie) was raised in Dallas, Texas and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, English, and Linguistics from Dartmouth College. Additional theatre studies include conservatory training at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Since graduation she has worked both on and off-stage in New York City, as well as regionally. Credits include New York Musical Theatre Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, and Disney's Theater of the Stars. less was raised in Dallas, Texas and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, English, and Linguistics from Dartmouth College. Additional theatre studies include conservatory training at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Since graduation she has worked both on and... more
Drew Derek: (Charlie/Man #2/Holy Roller) received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008. Along with a number of acting credits in Buffalo (including the Irish Classical Theatre Company) and New York City, he also performed at the International Theatre Institute in Romania. He has written and directed at Manhattan Repertory Theatre (off-off Broadway). less received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008. Along with a number of acting credits in Buffalo (including the Irish Classical Theatre Company) and New York City, he also performed at the International Theatre Institute in Romania. He has... more
Michael Feldsher: (Jake/Sal/Greer) has performed and taught extensively throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, notably at Ford's Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Shakespeare Library, Rep Stage, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also studied Shakespearean performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. less has performed and taught extensively throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, notably at Ford's Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Shakespeare Library, Rep Stage, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also studied Shakespearean performance... more
Sarah Ann Kinsey: (Daisy/Miss Reyes) received her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice and Theatre from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2003. She also spent a year as a member of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Acting Apprentice Company, and she performed extensively in Chicago both onstage and on-camera.
Stephen Spencer: (Skank) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011. He's worked professionally with Triad Stage and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival as well as been on tour with North Carolina Theatre for Young People.
Therese Anderberg: (Demaris) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University in 2011. This past summer she performed in So Far from God at Chicago Shakespeare Theater for one industry performance and at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland, in an original show.
TJ Gainley: (Sammy/Vic) appeared previously at Cleveland Play House in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter as Fred, An Orchard as the stranger, and As You Like It as Adam and Silvius. Previous credits, among others, include Tartuffe, Much Ado About Nothing, The Philadelphia Story, and The Cure at Troy, as well as Alcestis at the British American Dramatic Academy in London. An ensemble member at Big Dog Theater in Cleveland Heights, additional training includes improvisation with Second City and Improv Olympic in Chicago. After graduation Gainley spent two years in the Teach for America Program. less appeared previously at Cleveland Play House in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter as Fred, An Orchard as the stranger, and As You Like It as Adam and Silvius. Previous credits, among others, include Tartuffe, Much Ado About Nothing, The Philadelphia Story, and The Cure at Troy, as well as Alcestis at the British American Dramatic Academy in London. An... more
Cyrus O. Taylor: (Dramaturg) is a senior at Case Western Reserve University. He recently served as dramaturg for Cleveland Play House’s production of Legacy of Light, and he is dramaturg for all of this season’s CWRU productions, both graduate and undergraduate. Taylor has appeared in Othello and Stage Door at Eldred Theater and Samuel Becket’s All That Fall at Caesar’s Forum. He designed sound for Eldred’s productions of The Heidi Chronicles and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Directing credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Gutenberg! The Musical!, both through CWRU’s Players’ Theater Group. He has also worked as properties master for Dobama Theatre’s production of Blue Door and Dobama’s Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival. less is a senior at Case Western Reserve University. He recently served as dramaturg for Cleveland Play House’s production of Legacy of Light, and he is dramaturg for all of this season’s CWRU productions, both graduate and undergraduate. Taylor has appeared in Othello and Stage Door at Eldred Theater and Samuel... more
Jerrold Scott: (Dialect Coach) is Cleveland Play House’s resident dialect coach. Selected CPH coaching credits include The 39 Steps, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the world premiere of Lee Blessing’s adaptation of Heaven’s My Destination, Around the World in 80 Days, The Glass Menagerie, Vincent in Brixton, The Waverly Gallery, A Small Family Business, and The Emancipation of Valet du Chambre. Scott directed Present Laughter, Heartbreak House and The Real Thing for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, and appeared with the MFA ensemble in As You Like It. Before joining the faculty at CWRU as associate professor of theater with teaching areas in directing, acting and speech/dialects, Scott was a freelance actor and director based in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, he worked at most major theatre companies in the city and served as The Studio Theatre’s resident dialect coach. He holds a Master of Fine Arts, University of South Carolina/The Shakespeare Theatre. less is Cleveland Play House’s resident dialect coach. Selected CPH coaching credits include The 39 Steps, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the world premiere of Lee Blessing’s adaptation of Heaven’s My Destination, Around the World in 80 Days, The Glass Menagerie, Vincent in Brixton, The Waverly Gallery, A Small Family Business,... more
Kristine L. Davies: (Costume Designer) designed costumes for Cleveland Play House’s A Soldier’s Tale with Catch and Release and CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter, Autobahn, Arcadia, Big Love, The Little Foxes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Real Thing. She designed Bright Room Called Day, What the Butler Saw, and Shadow of a Gunman for the CWRU undergraduate theatre program. Davies was resident designer at The Beck Center for the Arts; she has done other costume work for Great Lakes Theater Festival, Akron Art Museum, Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University, Phenix Repertory Dance Theatre, GroundWorks DanceTheater, Boise Contemporary Theater, and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. She has her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Sociology from Cleveland State University. less designed costumes for Cleveland Play House’s A Soldier’s Tale with Catch and Release and CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter, Autobahn, Arcadia, Big Love, The Little Foxes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Real Thing. She designed Bright Room Called Day, What the Butler Saw, and Shadow of a... more
Lisa G. Palinkas: (Stage Manager) recently graduated from Lorain County Community College with an Associate's degree in Arts and Science. Last year she did an internship through LCCC at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, Texas, and while there she was stage manager for Odd and the Frost Giants. She is honored to be working on this production with Cleveland Play House and Case Western Reserve University. less recently graduated from Lorain County Community College with an Associate's degree in Arts and Science. Last year she did an internship through LCCC at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, Texas, and while there she was stage manager for Odd and the Frost Giants. She is honored to be working on... more
Matthew Eckstein: (Sound Designer) is proud to be designing in the new Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre and working alongside such talented artists. His previous credits include I Remember Mama, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, 2011; Our Town, Case Western Reserve University, 2011; The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, CWRU, 2010; and The Last Night of Ballyhoo, CWRU, 2010. He has worked as a freelance sound designer at several theatres and schools in the Cleveland area including Dobama Theatre, The Beck Center for the Arts, and Chagrin Falls Performing Arts Academy. Eckstein is a junior Bachelor of Arts in Technical Theater and Design student at Case Western Reserve University. less is proud to be designing in the new Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre and working alongside such talented artists. His previous credits include I Remember Mama, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, 2011; Our Town, Case Western Reserve University, 2011; The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, CWRU, 2010; and The Last... more
Michael Boll: (Lighting Designer) is Cleveland Play House's production electrician. Cleveland designs include CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter, An Orchard, Cloud 9, All's Well that Ends Well, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, and Arcadia; Endgame, Cleveland Museum of Art; The Wiz, Cain Park; Dream/Home, Dobama Theatre; The Aperture, Cleveland Public Theatre and New York International Fringe Festival; and Evil Dead the Musical, Beck Center for the Arts. Off-Broadway credits include The Moliere Cycle, Classic Stage Company; Songs for a New World, George Street Playhouse; Dog Sees God, SoHo Playhouse; and as associate lighting designer, The Moonlight Room, Beckett Theatre. Boll designed NY Fringe Festival's award-winning productions of Ellen Craft and Valiant. His work has also been seen at La Mama E.T.C., HERE Arts Center, Blue Heron Theatre, and Center Stage New York. He designed many Yale Cabaret shows including Say You Love Satan, Fake, and Three Days of Rain. less is Cleveland Play House's production electrician. Cleveland designs include CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of Present Laughter, An Orchard, Cloud 9, All's Well that Ends Well, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, and Arcadia; Endgame, Cleveland Museum of Art; The Wiz, Cain Park; Dream/Home, Dobama Theatre; The Aperture, Cleveland Public Theatre... more
Ron Wilson: (Director) among his many directing credits was the world premiere of Comp at the Boston Playwrights’ Stage. He directed The Underpants and Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Case Western Reserve University’s Eldred Theater and Cloud 9 and Arcadia for the CWRU/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program where he serves as program director and chair of CWRU’s Department of Theater. As an actor his most recent performance at CPH was as Dr. Glass in Room Service and prior to that as Klingelehoff in The Underpants. He also made an appearance in 2009 on the Brooks Theatre stage as Lavash in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of All’s Well that Ends Well. He is resident production movement director and fight choreographer at CPH. less among his many directing credits was the world premiere of Comp at the Boston Playwrights’ Stage. He directed The Underpants and Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Case Western Reserve University’s Eldred Theater and Cloud 9 and Arcadia for the CWRU/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program where he serves as... more
Stephen Adly Guirgis: (Playwright) has been a member of LAByrinth Theater Company since 1994. His award-winning plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. They include The Motherfucker with the Hat, Guirgis’ Broadway debut as a playwright, starring Chris Rock, Bobby Cannavale and Elizabeth Rodriguez and nominated for six 2011 Tony Awards; The Little Flower of East Orange, world premiere at The Public Theater in 2008, Los Angeles premiere at the Elephant Theatre Company in 2010; Our Lady of 121st Street; Jesus Hopped the A Train; In Arabia We'd all be Kings; and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. With the exception of Motherfucker, these plays were originally produced by LAByrinth and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Guirgis was awarded a 2004 Theatre Communications Group Fellowship, attended the 2004 Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab, and was named one of 2004's 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. He is the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and South Coast Repertory and is a member of New Dramatists, MCC Theater’s Playwrights’ Coalition, New River Dramatists, Primary Stages, and The Actors Studio Playwright/Directors Unit. He developed and directed Liza Col-n-Zayas's Sistah Supreme for Danny Hoch's Hip Hop Theater Festival, and Marco Greco's award-winning Behind the Counter with Mussolini in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor he appeared in Brett C. Leonard's Guinea Pig Solo, produced by LAByrinth at The Public Theater in 2004 and has had leading film roles in Todd Solondz's Palindromes, Brett C. Leonard's Jailbait opposite Michael Pitt, and in Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret. Guirgis has also worked as a violence prevention specialist and HIV educator. less has been a member of LAByrinth Theater Company since 1994. His award-winning plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. They include The Motherfucker with the Hat, Guirgis’ Broadway debut as a playwright, starring Chris Rock, Bobby Cannavale and Elizabeth Rodriguez and nominated for six 2011... more
Tiffany M. Scribner: (Scenic Designer) is celebrating her first season as charge scenic artist at Cleveland Play House. She has designed Looking for the Pony and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie for Synchronicity Performance Group in Atlanta, The Pajama Game at The University of Findlay, as well as The Lark, Six Degrees of Separation and To Kill a Mockingbird among others. Scribner has worked as the charge scenic artist for Utah Shakespeare Festival and Porthouse Theatre. Teaching is one of her passions; she enjoys working with others to help an idea blossom into beautiful reality. In her spare time she is a superhero, defending the streets of Cleveland from injustice and baking for carpenters in need. less is celebrating her first season as charge scenic artist at Cleveland Play House. She has designed Looking for the Pony and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie for Synchronicity Performance Group in Atlanta, The Pajama Game at The University of Findlay, as well as The Lark, Six Degrees of... more
Content Advisory for In Arabia We'd All Be Kings: The CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program is charged with training actors for the professional theater. The fact that the program is housed in a professional theater adds an expectation of high standards of artistry in the work audiences see on the CPH stage.For the students to have experiences that will give them the tools necessary to meet the needs of the profession, the training has to encompass a broad range of material and performance styles. As we look for appropriate scripts, one of the main considerations of the program is to expose the students to plays that are rich in language and character. These choices have run the gamut from Shakespeare to Moliere, to Anton Chekhov and Tennessee Williams and William Inge, and to modern authors such as Neil LaBute and Stephen Adly Guirgis in this instance.In Arabia We’d All Be Kings was chosen for its rich source of character work and challenging language. This collection of characters represents a side of the social order that is rarely seen onstage. They are as close to the bottom of the social order as you can get yet they continue to struggle to hold onto their humanity and their dreams – as ill-conceived as the dreams may be. There is a sense of nobility in that pursuit and that is what the actor looks for in a role. The challenge for the actor in this instance is to expand their sense of empathy for characters that society has forgotten about or who have fallen through the cracks. Please be advised that this production contains strong, graphic language and adult situations and is not intended for anyone under the age of 16.To go even deeper into this production, we invite you to participate in our pre-show conversations, which begin 45 minutes before each curtain. These interactive half-hour conversations pull back the curtain early to let you connect with the people, themes, ideas and creative choices that go into each production, in an engaging and relaxed setting.Thank you for joining us as the First Year MFA Graduate Ensemble begins its work with Cleveland Play House. less The CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program is charged with training actors for the professional theater. The fact that the program is housed in a professional theater adds an expectation of high standards of artistry in the work audiences see on the CPH stage.For the students to have experiences that... more
A Look Inside the 'In Arabia We'd All Be Kings' Set: The upcoming CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of In Arabia We’d All Be Kings takes inspiration from various places in order to capture the feel of New York City in the 1990s. In the midst of Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to clean up the city, the play centers around a local bar where the main characters find solace from their daily struggles.The production’s Scenic Designer Tiffany Scribner used a variety of materials to capture the essence of this time in New York City commenting, “The main locations in the play are the bar and exterior street scenes. The bar, which used to be a very beautiful piece of carpentry, is now a dirty, gritty, thing with names carved in it, cigarette burns and grime rubbed in so deep it has become part of the woodwork.” She adds, “The street is created with walls of mixed materials including things like plywood, OSB, chain link fence, brick and corrugated metal. This mimics the texture and layering that exists in and around construction sites, abandoned buildings and generally run-down, unsavory areas where stop gap measures are the only answer to decay.” Scribner and her team researched designs for the set which included photographs of graffitied walls and alleys. These pictures of rusted, defaced walls and littered streets helped Cleveland Play House set the mood for In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. “The play in general is dark and gritty, and we wanted that to be reflected in the set,” stated Scribner. Come see the finished product of our team’s hard work, research and design when In Arabia We’d All Be Kings runs February 1-11 in the newly finished Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre. less The upcoming CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of In Arabia We’d All Be Kings takes inspiration from various places in order to capture the feel of New York City in the 1990s. In the midst of Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to clean up the city, the play centers around... more
In Arabia We'd All Be Kings
February 1 - February 11, Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre
By Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Ron Wilson
Performed by the Graduate Ensemble of 2014
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A must see! This is a terrific, entertaining show. It is full of more over-the-top characters played expertly by the cast. The play is hip, funny and thought-provoking.
- Dave Loomis, Cleveland
Very Very good! I came to see the show for an assignment for grad more school. I am glad I did. All of you did a great job in portraying the seedier side of life.
- scl, Mentor
This is a powerful play coupled with a powerful performance by the actors. Each portrayed more a character whose life was consumed by some form of addiction and the grave sacrifices they made of themselves and their relationship with others. This play took me through a hurricane of emotions.
- Jean, Town of Tonawanda, NY
We traveled out in a blizzard (well a mini-blizzard) to see this... AWESOME....
- KTHoliman, Cleveland,Ohio
Terrific show - fabulous cast - wonderful set with a neighborhood bar that could be more next door - great outfits - a gritty setting but interspersed with humor
- DLN, Cleveland
This cast was so good in their initial offering - Think of how great they more wiil be in their send-off show in 2014
- Robert Kovach, Cleveland
Beautifully staged with great sets, costumes and props brought to life by a very talented more
cast giving exceptional performances in multiple roles The play is less theatrical and more slice of life giving the actors an even bigger challenge to get into the skins of their characters. In Cleveland, the Lab Theater and MFA Production was truly King for the night.
- Bud Ford, Shaker Hts
A must see! This is a terrific, entertaining show. It is full...
- Dave Loomis, Cleveland
