Dr. Cook's Garden - The American Century Theater

The American Century Theater
presents
Dr. Cook’s Garden
by Ira Levin
December 10, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Gunston Theatre II
2700 South Lang Street
Arlington, Virginia
Director
Jack Marshall
Stage Manager
Rhonda Hill
Costumer
Rip Claassen
Producer
Ann Marie Plubell
Sound Designer
Bill Gordon
Dr. Cook’s Garden is produced by special arrangement
with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Setting
Greenfield Center, Vermont, Fall 1966
Act I: Late Afternoon
Act II: Ten Minutes Later
Act III: Half an Hour Later
There will be two 10-minute intermissions.
Musical Director
Tom Fuller
Lighting Designer
AnnMarie Castrigno
Technical Director
Michael Null
Period books provided by Already Read Used Books
www.alreadyreadusedbooks.com
Cast (in order of appearance)
Bea Schmidt.................................................................................... Kathryn Cocroft
Jim Tennyson............................................................................................ JB Bissex
Dora Ludlow.................................................................................. Carol McCaffrey
Elias Hart........................................................................................... Robert Lavery
Leonard “Doc” Cook........................................................................ David Schmidt
Production Staff
Director............................................................................................. Ellen Dempsey
Stage Manager............................................................................... Zoia N. Wiseman
Producer............................................................................................... Karen Currie
Set Designer.................................................................................. Trena Weiss–Null
Lighting Designer..................................................................... AnnMarie Castrigno
Sound Designer............................................................................ Christopher Baine
Costumer.............................................................................................. Rip Claassen
Props.................................................... Karen Currie, Ellen Dempsey, Lou George,
Rhonda Hill, Trena Weiss–Null, Zoia N. Wiseman
Fight Director.......................................................................................... Steve Lada
Technical Director................................................................................ Michael Null
Board Operator................................................................................. Teneriffe Mapp
Electrics................................................................................................... Ben Welsh
Set Construction.................. Rick Albani, Jason Beagle, Karen Currie, Tom Fuller,
Bill Gordon, Steven Scott Mazzola, Michael Null, Trena Weiss–Null
Program......................................................................................... Michael Sherman
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Already Read Used Books, Theater J, Rick Albani, Jason Beagle,
Deborah Rinn Critzer, Hannah Crowell, Linda Doyal, Lou George, Bill Gordon,
Sarah Holt, Doug Kretzlin, Steven Scott Mazzola, Jennifer Moss Kincaid,
Carol Randolph, Stephanie H. Wiseman, The Arlington County Department of
Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, Cultural Affairs Division, and all others
whose names were not available as this program went to press.
The American Century Theater is funded in part by Arlington County through
the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Resources and the Arlington Commission for the Arts; the Virginia Commission
for the Arts; numerous foundations; and many generous donors.
Supported in part by the Virginia Commission of the Arts and
the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and
Community Services, Cultural Affairs Division.
PLEASE NOTE:
Please turn off any cell-phones and other noise making devices.
The use of recording equipment and/or the taking of
photographs during the performance are strictly prohibited.

Artistic Director’s Notes: Dr. Cook’s Garden (1967)
by Ira Levin
When Ira Levin died last year, his passing was not marked as a great loss
to the world of literature. He was never a household name, because Levin
never received his fair share of respect while he was alive, though he
got an abundance of grudging recognition. This was due to his peculiar
affinity for the form known as the “thriller,” a genre of both novel and
play popular with the public but seldom with serious critics. Levin stands
virtually alone in his ability to churn out best-sellers and Broadway hits
with equal success, all while generating sniffs, sneers, and disdain from
most reviewers.
His success arose from a mastery of his own brand of thriller, a special
recipe of Gothic horror, Michael Crichton techno-thrills, old-fashioned
suspense, and satire, and also from a deep well-spring of versatility.
Attempting adaptations of other author’s works? Levin aced his first
attempt, turning Mac Hyman’s novel No Time for Sergeants into a hit
Broadway comedy, and, while he was at it, planting the roots for a whole
grove of American pop culture: it was this show that launched the career
of Andy Griffith, paired him with Don Knotts, and inspired the Mayberry
spin-off, Gomer Pyle USMC. (Yes, Ira Levin was responsible for Jim
Nabors. Oh! The horror!) Thinking of song-writing? Although Levin’s
one musical, Drat the Cat!, was a failure, he wrote the lyrics for one of
its songs that has become a standard: “He Touched Me.” And questioning
his movies? Every one of his novels and most of his plays were made into
movies, usually with Levin collaborating on the screenplays; his first, A
Kiss before Dying, has been filmed twice. Inquiring about phrasemakers?
“Stepford wife” has become a full-fledge catch phrase, so vivid was his
feminist nightmare about chauvinist husbands turning their liberated wives
into pie-baking, sexually submissive June Cleaver androids.
The Stepford Wives and Rosemary’s Baby, both mega-selling novels and
hit movies, were examples of Levin riding cultural waves with perfection.
Sometimes he created the wave himself: people forget that Rosemary’s
Baby launched the public demand for demonic possession-themed
entertainments like The Exorcist and The Omen. On other occasions,
he sensed that a previous wave still had a kick: Deathtrap, Levin’s 1978
play that became the fifth longest running play in Broadway history,
was inspired in part by his realization that Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth
was frustrating small theaters that found its set and prop requirements
daunting. They needed a simpler cat-and-mouse American thriller with
similar virtues, and Levin supplied it.
Dr. Cook’s Garden, which played on Broadway briefly in 1967, was one of
the times Levin missed his wave: the real-life Dr. Cook, under a different
name, didn’t arrive on the American scene for almost 20 years. But this
play is pure Levin in concept―a disturbing “what if?” played out to its
logical, unsettling conclusion. It was joined, later on, by others more
familiar to you, perhaps―What if they cloned Hitler? What if a family
procured lovers for its necrophiliac son? What if a housewife was carrying
Satan’s unborn child?―but it is no less memorable. Indeed, though Levin
managed to thrill millions of readers, play-goers and movie audiences
without establishing a strong public memory himself, the calling cards
his stories left in our collective subconscious will be turning up in our
nightmares for a long, long time.
Jack Marshall,
Artistic Director
The American Century Theater
THE AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF
Chair: Wendy Kenney
Vice–Chair/Secretary: Steven Scott Mazzola
Treasurer: Ann Marie Plubell
Board: Rebecca Christy, Vivian Kallen, Peri Mahaley,
Jack Marshall, Loren Platzman
Jack Marshall, CEO and Artistic Director
Rhonda Hill, Production and Casting Manager
Steven Scott Mazzola, Associate Artistic Director
Jason Beagle, Artistic Associate
Rip Claassen, Community Programs/Outreach
Brian Crane, Database/Communications Manager
Deborah Rinn Critzer, Front of House/Volunteer Manager
Karen Currie, Group Sales
Ellen Dempsey, Artistic Associate/Controller
Bill Gordon, Web Marketing/Podcasts
Rebecca Hunger, Director of Operations
Tom Fuller, Resident Musical Director/General Counsel
Michael Null, Technical Director
Michael Sherman, Graphic Artist & Design
Ginny Tarris, Director of Development
Trena Weiss–Null, Technical Director
Robert McElwaine is the Residential Playwright of
The American Century Theater

THE COMPANY
JB BISSEX (Jim Tennyson) has previously appeared as Snug the Joiner in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream with Shakespeare Dallas and Bishop Crumley in The Sugar Bean Sisters
at Watertower Theater in Addison, TX. Other roles include Kenneth in Memory of Two
Mondays, Mr. Miller in Love and Intrigue, Joe in Waiting for Lefty, Mr. Morland in
Barrie’s Mary Rose, Oberon in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Malvolio
in Twelfth Night, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and
the title role in Caligula.
KATHRYN COCROFT (Bea Schmidt) was last seen at Scena Theatre as Elderly
Woman in Mountain Language and as several characters in War of the Worlds. She
was last heard as the voice of the 911 operator in After Ashley at Woolley Mammoth
Theatre. In Washington Shakespeare Company’s Bard 37: Canon Cabaret, she read
the roles of Emilia in Othello, the Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost, and
Calpurnia in Julius Ceasar. Chicago theater credits include First Witch in Macbeth,
Tessie in The Lottery, and Lannie in Pick: A Midwest Fable. Kathryn also works in
independent films, training films, and commercials. Kathryn trained with Charles
Goldbeck in Washington and with Ted Liss in Chicago.
ROBERT LAVERY (Elias Hart) is making his first appearance with The American
Century Theater. Last year, he performed the role of Lucretius in the Washington
Shakespeare Company’s production of The Rape of Lucrece. Additional performances
include Lt. Col. Johnstone in The Gray Ghost, and Dr. Strauss in the Landless Theater’s
production of Flowers for Algernon. Bob has also appeared as Father in the Landless
Theatre Company’s production of Godzilla and The Scientist in Theater Du Jour’s There
Is No More Firmament. He recently finished filming the docudrama Stolen Thunder
and the made-for-television Civil War movie Red Legged Devils, which will be shown
on the History Channel later this year. Bob is a member of the Actors’ Center.
CAROL McCAFFREY (Dora Ludlow) has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for the
past seven years. Her credits include the Wicked Witch of the West in Dorothy Meets
Alice (Adventure Theatre), Eurydice in Antigone (Forum Theatre), Fanny Magnet
in The Stage Struck Yankee (New Old Theatre), Kate in Old Times (Omaemoda
Productions), Amanda in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Susan in Funeral Parlor,
Stepmother in Cinderella, and Muriel in Plaza Suite. Carol has also appeared in short
films, commercials and industrials. In an earlier life, she worked in Hollywood where
she developed screenplays for feature films, including “The Stepfather,” “Without a
Clue” and “A Summer Story.” She is a Board Member of Actors’ Center.
DAVID SCHMIDT (Leonard “Doc” Cook) appeared in New York in Classic Stage
Company’s productions of The Tempest, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The
Devils and Measure for Measure. He also appeared in the revival of Harold Pinter’s
The Homecoming as well as with New York Lyric Opera Company’s The Mikado.
With commercials and soap opera appearances, David has performed extensively in
summer stock in such shows as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Fantasticks, The Subject
Was Roses, Noah, and Toys in the Attic. Dinner theatres have seen his work in The King
and I, South Pacific and as Franklin in 1776. Schmidt recently completed his Masters
of Education at the University of Virginia and is currently working toward his Ph.D.
For his dissertation, he has created the first high school drama festival in Beijing, China
and a pen pal cultural exchange program. He has designed stage sets for universities,
community theatres and dinner theatres and directed more than 135 plays, musicals
and revues and is a member of the Actors’ Center.
PRODUCTION STAFF
ELLEN DEMPSEY (Director) The American Century Theater: Happy Birthday,
Wanda June, MacBird!, It Had to be You; Assistant Director: That Championship
Season, Paradise Lost, Moby Dick Rehearsed; Keegan Theatre: Twelve Angry Men
and Unquiet Hearts; Elden Street Players: Sweet Charity, The Antigone in Warsaw;
Stage Management: Keegan Theatre: Pump Boys and Dinettes, Hamlet, On the Verge,
Violet and A Streetcar Named Desire (US and Ireland). Last seen on stage in TACT’s
Hellzappoppin’. Ms. Dempsey is Artistic Associate at The American Century Theater.
ZOIA N. WISEMAN (Stage Manager) has worked as a professional stage manager
for the past 10 years. DC area credits include The Altruists and The Elephant Man with
Catalyst Theatre and Venue Manager for the Capital Fringe Festival. Other favorite
credits include Dark of the Moon, Working, and Rhetorical Jazz.
TRENA WEISS–NULL (Set Design and Construction) most recently completed the
set and prop design for The Titans. She has also designed Happy Birthday, Wanda June
and Cops for TACT and is hard at work on Life with Father. She enjoys her freelance
design career but is also a director and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Acting-Directing
and Masters degrees in both Theatre and Education and has worked in professional,
educational and community theatre for most of her life.
ANNMARIE CASTRIGNO (Lighting Designer) The American Century Theater:
The Emperor Jones, Cops, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, The Titans. Nominations and
awards for Outstanding Lighting Design: Murder Room (Little Theatre of Alexandria,
2000), Misery (LTA, 2001), Master Class (LTA, 2002), Kiss Me Kate (The Arlington
Players, 2003), Evita (Vienna Players, 2004), The Weir (Elden Street Players, 2005) and
Fiddler on the Roof (TAP, 2006). AnnMarie holds both community and professional
credits in lighting and electrics at many DC metro area theaters, including Toby’s
Dinner Theater in both Columbia and Baltimore, MD.
RIP CLAASSEN (Costumer) has been a local fixture in the Washington theatre scene
for many years. Most know him as the Dramaturge at Backstage Inc., Washington’s
theatre supply store. He has taught theatre and acting at The Institute for the Arts for
Fairfax County public schools, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and several other local
theatre programs. Rip has costumed for The American Century Theater and numerous
other professional theatre companies, and has directed for Natural Theatricals, as well as
several other local venues. Rip founded the Northern Virginia Theatre festival for high
schools, and provides coaching to theatre students seeking admission to competitive
college theatre programs, Governor’s School, roles in community and professional
theatres and other competitive programs. He also serves as the Artistic Director of
Teens N Theatre (TNT) a local youth theatre training company.
CHRISTOPHER BAINE (Sound Design) recently designed for Rorschach Theater’s
Dreamsailors. Other design credits include: Kennedy Center Theatre for Young
Audiences, Washington Shakespeare Company, Constellation Theater Company,
Theater Alliance, Source Theater Festival, American College Theater Festival,
University of Maryland, Catholic University, The Essential Theater Company, Doorway
Arts, Active Cultures, Actors Theater of Charlotte, and Groundup Productions. Also he
was an assistant sound designer for Edward II and Tamburlaine (Shakespeare Theatere
Company), Cabaret, and The Mystery of Irma Vep (Arena Stage). He was an apprentice
for the national tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Alliance
Theater. He graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts and holds a degree in
Sound Design and Engineering.

STEVE LADA (Fight Director) The American Century Theater: The Eccentricities
of a Nightingale. A founding member of the Noble Blades stage combat troupe, Steve
has performed at the Maryland Renaissance Festival and in the Washington Opera’s
productions of Tristan and Isolde and Caesere. His stage combat has been honored with
the Watch Award for Outstanding Achievement in Combat Choreography for Richard
III, Veronica’s Room, Romeo & Juliet, Kiss Me Kate and The Miracle Worker.
TENERIFFE MAPP (Sound Board Operator) has been performing since age eight
and is a member of the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT),
and a member of the Tobago Drama Guild of T&T since 2002. He has performance
credits from both African and Caribbean playwrights, winning the Best Actor award
from NDATT’s Secondary School Drama Festival. He has also assisted backstage in
many productions.
MICHAEL NULL (Technical Director) just finished technical direction for the world
premieres of The Titans and the staged reading of Stunt Girl for The American Century
Theater. Other jobs for TACT include Sound Design for Cops and Stage Management
for Ah, Wilderness! With experience in both professional and community theatre,
Michael enjoys all aspects and looks forward to a continued involvement with TACT.
KAREN CURRIE (Producer) The American Century Theater: Thicker Than Water
(SM); Eccentricities of a Nightingale (Producer), Cops (Props Designer), Drama
Under the Influence (SM), The Autumn Garden (SM); Signature Theater: The Happy
Time (ASM); Theater J: 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (ASM); Speed the Plow
(SM), Either Or (ASM); WSC: Two-Headed (SM), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (SM),
The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore (Production Consutlant), Titus Andronicus
(SM); DC Dollies & Rocket Bitch Revue: Nutshell (SM); Open Circle Theater: You’re
a Good Man, Charlie Brown (SM); Low Level Panic (SM); The Myth Project (Cofounder/Producer):
The Myth Project: Greek; National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts:
Twelfth Night (SM), The Real Inspector Hound (SM), Fen (SM), Our Lady of Sandwich
(SM); Spellbound Theatreworks (Co-founder/Managing Director/Producer): Twelfth
Night, HAIR, The Last Session, A Woman of No Importance, Hear My Song; M.A. in
Arts Management, American University. Member Actors’ Equity Association.

DONORS
GROUP THEATER GOERS ($5000+)
Robert & Sandra McElwaine
Arlington Commission for the Arts
PROVINCETOWN PLAYERS ($2,500 – $4,999)
Bob & Wendy Kenney
THEATER GUILDERS ($1,000 – $2,499)
Rebecca & Gene Christy
John Dawson
Peter Kellogg
Peri Mahaley
MERCURY THEATER BACKERS ($500 – $999)
Alan & Susan Branigan
Mary McGowan & Steven Cohen
Deborah Rinn Critzer
Robert DuBois
Jacqueline Manger
Constance McAdam
LIVING THEATER LOVERS ($250 – $499)
Joya Cox
Dennis Deloria
Gloria Dugan
Tomas & Kathryn Fuller
IBM Corporation
Lou & Jane Kriser
Jim & Marjie Mayer
Harriet McGuire
THE PLAYERS ($100 – $249)
Anonymous
Deborah Ashford
Tom & Loretta Beaumont
Sally Beth Berger
Jon Blackman
David Bernstein & Deborah Brudno
Marvin & Ellen Cantor
Ellen Dempsey
Dr. Coralie Farlee
Timothy Farris
Tracy Fisher
Gabriel Goldberg
Hilton Lee Graham
Hal Handerson
Alan Herman
Roger & Katharine Hood
Elaine Howell
Michael Kahn
Vivian & Art Kallen
Charles Kennedy
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Kim–Scott Miller
Jack & Eleanor Marshall
Ann Marie Plubell
Sheldon & Marilyn Wallerstein
Bruce Alan Rauscher
David & Willa Siegel
Adam Posen & Jennifer Sosin
Janet Reingold & Phillip Yasinski
Annette Zimin
Thene Martin & George Mernick
Margaret Mulcahy
Carl & Undine Nash
Bill & Connie Scruggs
The Troy Foundation
Frontis Wiggins
Bonnie Williams
Robert Kimmins
Alicia & John Klaffky
Paul Klingenberg
Nathan & Mary Lynn Kotz
Jo Ursini & Ken Krantz
Phil & Pat Larson
Mary Ann Lawler
Donald Adams & Ellen Maland
Suzy Platt
Robert Schiff
Jol & Elizabeth Silversmith
Alan P. Simon
Pat Spencer Smith
Jean V. Smith
James & Patricia Snyder
John & Alison Steadman
George & Kay Wagner
Heathcote W. Wales
Glenn & Nancy White
THE FEDERAL THEATER FUNDERS ($10 – $99)
Jules Abrams
Mark Linton
Richard & Jean Barton
Margaret Lorenz
Jim Bertine
Gundrun Luchsinger
Janet & David Bond
Angus & Sharon MacInnes
Ron Brandt
Phebe Masson
Ann Caracristi
Judith McGarvey
Seth W. Carus
Margaret Meath
Boris & Earlene Cherney
Richard Pariseau
Peter Garcia & Diane Clark
Sherman & Anastasia Pratt
Ronald Cogan
Pearl & Cecil Richardson
Sally & Jack Cooper
Loretta Rowe
Judy Davis
Ryan Schmelz
Janet Fadden
Sharon Schoumacher
Charles Feingersh
Henry Shields
Donna Feirtag
Carole Shifrin
Renee Fischman
Bertha Shostalk
Tracy Fisher
Linda & William Smith
Cathy Garman
Robert L. Spatz
James & Maria Gentle
Barbara Stearns
Madi Green
Sue Swift
Jean Handsberry
Kathryn Tatko
Angela Hughes
Marjorie Townsend
Howard & Myrna Kaplan
Douglas & Evelyn Watson
Charles Kennedy
Maura Weiner
Dianne Levine
DONORS–IN–KIND
Jason Beagle
Steve Cosby
Karen Currie
Ellen Dempsey
Ayun Fedorcha
Rhonda Hill
Wendy Kenney
Jack Marshall
Steven Scott Mazzola
Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden
Kim–Scott Miller
Ann Marie Plubell
Lonny Smith
Mariano Vales
Ann Paine West
This listing reflects donations received from August 1, 2007 through August 15, 2008
The American Century Theater
extends its thanks to staff members
Trena Weiss–Null and Michael Null
for their extraordinary
contribution to the company
Jack Marshall
Artistic Director
Wendy Kenney
Board Chairperson

The American Century Theater’s
2008–2009 Season
Ira Levin’s Dr. Cook’s Garden (1967)
Written by Ira Levin, the author of “The Stepford Wives,” this
Broadway thriller about another small town that achieves perfection
in an unexpected – and deadly – way anticipated an ethical debate that
rages today.
Directed by Ellen Dempsey.
September 9 – October 4, 2008
Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse’s
Life With Father (1939)
The longest running play in Broadway history, this is a classic family
comedy that has been called “the play every American must see, like
the Washington Monument or Niagara Falls.”
Directed by Rip Claassen.
November 25 – December 7, 2008
and January 8 – 25, 2009
An American Century Christmas (Premiere!)
Traces the most memorable dramatic and comic moments from 100
years of Christmas on stage, screen, radio and TV. By the creators of
The American Century Theater’s revue, If Only in My Dreams.
Directed by Jack Marshall and Tom Fuller.
December 10, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Richard Wright and Paul Green’s Native Son (1941)
A legendary production by Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater, and a
ground-breaking portrayal of the forces that turn a poor black man into
a criminal and killer. Often written about, but rarely produced.
Directed by Bob Bartlett.
April 14 – May 9, 2009
Edward Albee’s Seascape (1975)
From one of America’s most provocative playwrights comes this
acclaimed comedy exploring relationships across genders, generations
and species during an ordinary beach holiday on one extraordinary day.
Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola.
July 30 – August 22, 2009