Production staff - The American Century Theater

The American Century Theater
presents

About The American Century Theater
The American Century Theater was founded in 1994. We are a professional
nonprofit theater company dedicated to presenting great, important, and
worthy American plays of the twentieth century—what Henry Luce called
“the American Century.”
The company’s mission is one of rediscovery, enlightenment, and
perspective, not nostalgia or preservation. Americans must not lose the
extraordinary vision and wisdom of past playwrights, nor can we afford to
surrender the moorings to our shared cultural heritage.
Our mission is also driven by a conviction that communities need theater,
and theater needs audiences. To those ends, this company is committed to
producing plays that challenge and move all Americans, of all ages, origins,
and points of view. In particular, we strive to create theatrical experiences
that entire families can watch, enjoy, and discuss long afterward.
The Robert M. McElwaine American Reflections Project
One Night with Fanny Brice
Honorary Producers
Andrew Scott McElwaine
Ann Marie Plubell
Harry and Lucille Stanford
Anonymous
About the Robert M. McElwaine American Reflections Project
“Reflections” is an American Century Theater initiative designed to inspire
and produce new and original stage works that compliment the company’s
repertoire of important American plays and musicals from the 20th century.
Reflections includes new revues, plays, and musicals that bring to life
the remarkable personalities, events, and movements of “the American
Century” that make up our nation’s cultural and historical heritage. These
stage works may be developed by TACT or submitted for consideration to
the company by playwrights, producers, directors, and actors.
Reflections began in 1999 with a staged reading of Jason Sherman’s It’s
All True, which dramatized the circumstances surrounding Orson Welles’
production of The Cradle Will Rock. (The readings were presented during
the run of TACT’s production of the musical itself.) This was the first
continued on inside back cover
Director
Ellen Dempsey
The American Century Theater
presents
A Robert M. McElwaine American Reflections Project
production of
with Esther Covington as Fanny
Stage Manager
Arthur Rodger
Costume Design
Rip Claassen
November 5–27, 2010
Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre
1611 North Kent Street, Arlington VA
Musical Director
Tom Fuller
Scenic Design
Patrick Lord
Sound Design
Darlene Robinson
There will be a 15–minute intermission.
Producers
Rip Claassen
Rhonda Hill
Lighting Design
Steven L. Barker
Choreographer
Gia Mora
Please—Silence and stow cell phones and other distracting devices.
The use of recording equipment and taking of photographs
during the performance are strictly prohibited.

Cast
Fanny Brice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esther Covington
Pianist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Fuller
Production staff
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen Dempsey
Musical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Fuller
Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rip Claassen, Rhonda Hill
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur Rodger
Scenic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Lord
Costume Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rip Claassen
Lighting Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steven L. Barker
Sound Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Darlene Robinson
Choreography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gia Mora
Sound Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Moser
Rehearsal Pianist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Williams
Assistant Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Swiger
Master Electrician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Jorgensen
Electricians . . . . . . . . . Christopher Pless, Timothy Page, Peter Swinburne
Follow-spot Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.W. Glover
Sound Board Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Angel
Program Design and Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Sherman
Production Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dennis Deloria
Archivist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kim-Scott Miller
Special thanks to—
Jackie Altman
Don Barton
Keith Bell
Avery Burns
Rebecca Christy
Jared Davis
Lou George
Georgetown University
Lexi Haddad
Robbie Hayes
Vander Lockett
Sherri Perper
Become a fan of The American Century Theater on Facebook.
Keep up with shows, auditions, volunteer opportunities, podcasts,
videos, and more. www.AmericanCentury.org
One Night with Fanny Brice (2010) by Chip Deffaa
The chances are that you have no idea what Fanny Brice was like. She was
not, for example, anything like Barbra Streisand, who starred as Fanny in
the musical Funny Girl (and film of same) based on Brice’s life. Streisand
and Fanny Brice were both major stars of their times, but the similarity
ends there.
You don’t know what Fanny Brice was really like because, though she
died in 1951, there are very few filmed records of her performing and
none when she was at her prime. Oh, she appears in a very unfunny skit
in the misbegotten MGM musical sequel to The Great Ziegfeld, The
Ziegfeld Follies, in which William Powell reprises his portrayal of the great
producer and portrays him creating a new show, from Heaven, using the
MGM stable of stars. Fanny comes off weak, but this is a movie featuring
the worst dance number Fred Astaire was ever in and Judy Garland’s worst
song. They have their best work in other films, but for Fanny, there isn’t
much else.
Fanny Brice, you see, was an onstage female comic before there was a
Lucille Ball or Carol Burnett, in a culture where women were supposed to
be chaste, beautiful, or sexy, but not clowns. She was also a popular singer
before high fidelity recordings, in an era when quavering, delicate voices
like Helen Morgan’s were the rage. If you hear Fanny Brice’s recordings
today, you probably think using Streisand to play her was a great
compliment. And you would be wrong. No female performer, and few male
ones, could move an audience to laughter and tears like Fanny Brice.
Fanny Brice often wasn’t what she pretended to be; in particular, she
wasn’t the Yiddish-accented stereotype she so often portrayed; and she
was far from all laughs. She was, above all, tough, enduring more offstage
betrayal and heartbreak than her share yet always bouncing back,
sometimes using her personal tragedies to spur her to greater success.
Fanny was also, by all accounts, a good mother, a loyal friend, and able to
take what life dished out for her with humor, courage, modesty, and good
spirits. In show business, that makes her character as rare as her talent.
It was these qualities—and the fact that we really don’t know the real
Fanny Brice—that led Chip Deffaa, author, playwright, and authority
on American entertainment between the World Wars, to craft a musical
show, perfect for TACT’s Robert M. McElwaine American Reflections
Project, that imagines Fanny returning to us for one night only, to tell her
remarkable story and reprise her remarkable songs. He knew she’d be great
company, and she is.
She always was.
—Jack Marshall, Artistic Director

Chip Deffaa is the author of five published plays and eight books. George M.
Cohan Tonight!, which he both wrote and directed Off-Broadway, has been
performed everywhere from Korea to the United Kingdom. Other plays include
The Seven Little Foys, The Johnny Mercer Jamboree, and Theater Boys. Books
include Swing Legacy, Voices of the Jazz Age, In the Mainstream, Traditionalists
and Revivalists in Jazz, Jazz Veterans, F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Princeton Years
(ed.), Blue Rhythms, and (with David Cassidy) C’Mon Get Happy. He contributed
chapters to Harlem Speaks and Roaring at One Hundred. For 18 years, Deffaa
wrote for The New York Post, writing news, feature stories, and reviews dealing
with jazz, cabaret, and theater. He was also a longtime writer for Entertainment
Weekly. He has won an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award, a New Jersey Press
Association Award, and an IRNE Award (Independent Reviewers of New
England). A graduate of Princeton University, Deffaa is a trustee of The Princeton
Tiger magazine.
Esther Covington (Fanny Brice) is thrilled to be a part of an amazing collaborative
team and production. Previous American Century Theater credits include
Hellzapoppin’ and Babes in Arms (staged reading). Other DC/Baltimore area
acting credits include Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Wayside Theatre, Landless
Theatre, Imagination Stage, Toby’s Dinner Theatre, and Theatre on the Hill.
Favorite roles include Meredith (Bat Boy), Bella (Lost in Yonkers), Calamity Jane
(Calamity Jane), Vi (Buddy Holly Story), and Claire (Bare). Esther is a professional
piano player, role player, and DC tour guide and has a Master’s in Theatre.
Tom Fuller (Musical Director) has been conducting and performing in musicals
and operettas since 1967. A trained singer and pianist, he has appeared in roles
ranging from Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown to Monostatos,
the evil Moor, in The Magic Flute. Tom has been the musical director for The
American Century Theater productions of Lady in the Dark, archy & mehitabel,
The Cradle Will Rock, Hollywood Pinafore, Danny & Sylvia, Laughter at Ten
O’Clock, If Only in My Dreams (which he co-authored), One Touch of Venus, Call
Me Mister, Hellzapoppin’, and Babes in Arms. He adapted Uncle Tom’s Cabin for
TACT’s 2002–03 season, created (in cooperation with Jack Marshall) An American
Century Christmas, appeared onstage in the most recent production of Moby Dick
Rehearsed, and is general musical supervisor for all TACT shows.
Download the podcast
Listen in as Artistic Director Jack Marshall discusses the TACT
production of One Night with Fanny Brice with Director Ellen Dempsey,
Musical Director Tom Fuller, and Esther Covington, who plays Fanny.
Podcast available for download from www.americancentury.org.
Ellen Dempsey (Director) has directed Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Dr.
Cook’s Garden, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, MacBird!, and It Had To Be You
(The American Century Theater), Twelve Angry Men and Unquiet Hearts (Keegan
Theatre), and Play It Again, Sam and The Antigone in Warsaw (Little Theatre of
Alexandria). Stage management credits include Pump Boys and Dinettes, Hamlet,
On the Verge, Violet, and A Streetcar Named Desire (US and Ireland). Ellen was
assistant director for Violet and The Field at Keegan Theatre and for Little Shop
of Horrors, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, The 1940s Radio
Hour, and Lips Together, Teeth Apart at LTA. She is currently an artistic associate
and the controller for TACT.
Rip Claassen (Co-Producer, Costume Design) has been a fixture on the
Washington theatre scene for many years, perhaps best known as dramaturge at
Backstage, Inc. Rip has taught theatre and acting at the Institute for the Arts for
Fairfax County Public Schools, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and other local
theatre programs. For TACT, he has directed (Life with Father), produced (Native
Son and The Tenth Man), and costumed innumerable shows. He has directed for
Natural Theatricals and other other local venues. Rip founded the Northern Virginia
Theatre Festival for high schools and coaches theatre students seeking admission
to competitive programs. He is Artistic Director of Teens and Theatre (TnT), a
nonprofit theatre education company.
Rhonda Hill (Co-Producer) has been with TACT since it was first talked about in
that bar after Twelve Angry Men at Georgetown 16+ years ago and has served as
the Executive Producer for much of that time. She has produced or stage managed
many TACT productions (The Cradle Will Rock, Moby Dick Rehearsed, Danny
& Sylvia, Twelve Angry Men, to name just a few), acted in a few productions
and stage readings, and now coordinates front-of-house volunteer ushers, house
managers, and box office staff. Rhonda has been active in theater since the second
grade, when she played the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, and has a BFA in
Theater from Auburn University.
Steven L. Barker (Lighting Design), an adjunct professor of theatre for Northern
Virginia Community College, is resident designer for Crossroads Dance (CDC),
Vpstart Crow Productions (VCP), and Pied Piper Theatre (PPT). Recent designs
include The Tenth Man for The American Century Theater, Hamlet for VCP,
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast for PPT, and Six Degrees of Separation (2010
WATCH Nomination) for Taking Flight Theatre (TFT). Current and upcoming:
designs for A Christmas Carol (VCP) and The Nutcracker (CDC) and direction
for Charlotte’s Web (PPT). Steve holds an MFA in Theatre for Youth from
Arizona State University and a BFA in Theatre Education from Virginia
Commonwealth University.
Patrick Lord (Scenic Design) recently received his BFA in Scenic Design from
Emerson College in Boston and is excited to be back designing in the DC/Metro area.
Some of his recent scenic design work includes the Boston premiere of Incorruptible
(Emerson Stage), Peter Pan (Open Road Theatre), Julie (Mercutio Troupe), as
well as the props design for Source Theatre Festival this past summer. Upcoming:
assistant scenic design at Signature Theatre, The Hub Theatre, and Theater J.

Gia Mora (Choreographer) had the pleasure of assisting dance legends Gillian
Lynne (The Imaginary Invalid, Shakespeare Theatre) and Maurice Hines (Cool
Papa’s Party, MetroStage). Her choreography credits include Romeo and Juliet
(Maryland Shakespeare Festival), Alexander... Very Bad Day (Town Hall Arts
Center), The Tempest (Longmont Theatre), and numerous student productions. A
three-time Helen Hayes nominee, she has performed in musicals at MetroStage
(Glimpses of the Moon, Cool Papa’s Party), Arena Stage (Christmas Carol 1941,
She Loves Me), and Kennedy Center (Knuffle Bunny, Chasing George Washington).
Upcoming: Sunset Boulevard (Signature Theatre), Liberty Smith (Ford’s Theatre).
Darlene Robinson (Sound Design) is a freelance audio engineer in the DC/
Baltimore area. She studied audio engineering at the Conservatory of Recording
Arts and Sciences in Tempe AZ and has a BA in Music Performance and Theory
from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy MA. This is her third production with
The American Century Theater.
Arthur Rodger (Stage Manager) returns to TACT, having stage managed past
productions of Machinal and A Thousand Clowns. He appeared in the 2003
staged reading of Green Grow the Lilacs. In the intervening years, Arthur has
directed, designed make-up, and stage managed for several northern Virginia
theatre companies.
Board of Directors
Staff
Chair
Vice-Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Board
Jack Marshall
Jason M. Beagle
Rip Claassen
Brian Crane
Ellen Dempsey
Kate Dorrell
Tom Fuller
Wendy Kenney
Rebecca Christy
Kimberly Ginn
Ann Marie Plubell
David T. Austern, Richard Barton,
Elizabeth Borgen, Vivian Kallen,
Jack Marshall, Kevin McIntyre,
Kim-Scott Miller
CEO and Artistic Director
Bill Gordon
Rhonda Hill
Steven Scott Mazzola
David Olmsted
Ginny Tarris
Thank you to the many generous donors who provided support from November 1, 2009
through October 31, 2010.
Group Theater Goers ($5,000+)
Arlington Commission for the Arts
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Provincetown Players ($2,500–$4,999)
Wendy and Bob Kenney
Theater Guilders ($1,000–$2,499)
Anonymous
Rebecca and Gene Christy
Steven R. Cohen and Mary McGowan
Robert DuBois
Vivian and Arthur Kallen
Mercury Theater Backers ($500–$999)
John A. Acton
Anonymous
Arlington Community Foundation
Richard and Jean Barton
Noreen Hynes and Seth Carus
Tracy Fisher
Living Theater Lovers ($250–$499)
Pete and Cherry Baumbusch
Jim Bertine
Joya Cox
Dennis Deloria and Suzanne
Thouvenelle
Ellen Dempsey and Lou George
Adriana Hardy
ThomasW. Hoya
Angela Hughes
Marjie Mayer
The Players ($100–$249)
Linda Allen and Ron Bass
Cheryl Bailey and William M.
McClenahan, Jr.
Sally Beth Berger
Elizabeth Borgen
Rosemarie Bowie
Ron Brandt
Alan and Susan Branigan
David Briggs and John F. Benton
Marvin and Ellen Cantor
Gerald Chapman
Boris and Earlene Cherney
Robyn Dennis
Gloria M. Dugan
David T. Austern
Peri Mahaley
Donald Adams and Ellen Maland
Eleanor Marshall
Andrew Scott McElwaine
Constance McAdam
Patricia Payne
Ann Marie Plubell
The Plubell Firm
Harry and Lucille Stanford
Sheldon and Marilyn Wallerstein
Sandra McElwaine
Robert J. and Mark L. McElwaine
Harriet McGuire
Suzy Platt
William and Connie Scruggs
David and Willa Siegel
Marcia Neuhaus Speck
Ginny Tarris
Frontis Wiggins
Scott Durloo
Janet and Marty Fadden
Dr. Coralie Farlee
James and Maria Gentle
Larry George and Brenda Pommerenke
Jean F. Getlein
Kimberly Ginn
Gabe Goldberg
Virginia Harris
Stephen Harrison
Alan Herman and Irene Szopo
Rhonda Hill
Robert Honeygosky
Roger and Katharine Hood

The Players (continued)
Richard Kamenitzer
Charles and Ellen Kennedy
Robert L. Kimmins
Alan M. King
Paul Klingenberg
Lou and Jane Kriser
Kathryn and Robert Krubsack
Mary Ann Lawler and Neil Sigmon
Margaret Lorenz
Gudrun Luchsinger
Winnie Macfarlan
Angus and Sharon MacInnes
Lory Manning
Judith and David McGarvey
Carl and Undine Nash
The Federal Theater Funders ($10–$99)
Anonymous
Mary Beatley
Ricardo Castro
Mary Crosby
Patricia Dowd
Rita Gordy
William Kelleher
Paul Kohlbrenner
Mary Pascoe
Marcus Walker
Tom and Loretta Beaumont
Laura Burchard
Wendy Cohen
Mary Kay Davis
Michael deBlois
Patricia Dowd
Susan Duka
Donna Feirtag
Jay Fisette
Cathy Garman
Madi R. Green
Jean Handsberry
Bill and Donna Hannay
Rachel Hecht
Linda Hill and Paul Steinmetz
Alison Drucker and Tom Holzman
Elaine Howell
Howard and Myrna Kaplan
William Kelleher
Shirley Kostik
R.M. Kraft
David A. Lamdin
Steven Laterra
Robert Half International
Daniel Ross
Charline Rugen
Robert F. Schiff
Diane L. Schroth
John Seal
Henry Shields
Pat Spencer Smith
Jean V. Smith
Jennifer Sosin and Adam Posen
The Hon. and Mrs. John M. Steadman
Barbara Stearns
John Blaney and Robin Suppe-Blaney
David Tannous
Annette Zimin
Anna Leder
Sharon Leiser
Mark and Sarah Linton
James Mangi and Kathleen Schmidt
Martin Marks
Phebe K. Masson
Evelyn and Milan Matey
Barbara and Kenneth McLean
Margaret Meath
Richard and Dorothy Miller
Margaret Mulcahy
Barbara Murray
Thanh Nguyen
Miah Olmsted
Richard and Rebecca Pariseau
Paul and Carol Parowski
Ruth and Charles Perry
Rhoda Ritzenberg
Michael and Loretta Rowe
Dennis Ryan
John H. Schneider
Sharon Schoumacher
Susan and Ralph Shepard
Carole Shifrin
Bertha Shostak
Linda and William Smith
Paul Stayert
Kathryn Tatko
Marjorie Townsend
Doug and Evelyn Watson
Adrienne White
Bonnie Williams and Bob Skelly
Carol and Henry Wolinsky
Donors-in-kind
Jason Beagle, Brian Crane, Dennis Deloria, Ellen Dempsey, Kate Dorrell,
Tom Fuller, Bill Gordon, Rhonda Hill, Wendy Kenney, Loren Platzman,
Ann Marie Plubell
About “Reflections” (continued from inside front cover)
American presentation of the play, which later had many full productions in
New York and other cities.
It was followed by the original TACT one-man show, I Cry Aloud—The
Clarence Darrow Story, created by TACT Artistic Director Jack Marshall,
in collaboration with director Terry Kester and star Paul Morella. (Morella
continues to perform a later adaptation of the play, A Passion for Justice,
around the U.S.) Robert Benchley’s grandson, actor Nat Benchley,
premiered his one-man salute to his grandfather’s career and writings in the
2003 Reflections entry, Benchley Despite Himself.
Reflections then presented TACT’s most popular and most produced show,
the original musical Danny and Sylvia, by Bob McElwaine and Bob Bain.
The show followed the show business partnership and stormy off-stage
relationship of entertainer Danny Kaye and his wife, song-writer, muse,
and manager, Sylvia Fine. It won a Helen Hayes Award for its star, Brian
Childers as well as a nomination for his co-star, Janine Gulisano. Danny
and Sylvia has had productions in five states and London, England, most
recently opening off-Broadway in May 2009.
Celebrating another American comic was the Reflections revue Laughter at
Ten O’Clock, which recreated memorable skits and other highlights from
TV’s The Carol Burnett Show, while If Only in My Dreams, assembled
by TACT artistic staff Jack Marshall, Tom Fuller, and Jackie Manger,
combined letters from WWII servicemen with period music to evoke the
bittersweet Christmases at home during the war.
The 2006–2007 season saw the debut of the Reflections pastiche Drama
Under the Influence, a collection of seven plays by female playwrights of
the Prohibition and Depression eras, assembled and crafted by director
Steven Mazzola to create a coherent dramatic experience.
In 2008, TACT produced two Reflections entries: Stunt Girl, a staged
reading of a new play by former TACT Board member Peter Kellogg and
Disney composer David Friedman, tracing the spectacular life and career
of Nellie Bly, and The Titans, Bob McElwaine’s dramatic recreation of
the Cuban Missile Crisis. Following the latter production, the TACT
Board of Directors renamed the series for McElwaine to honor his many
contributions to the theater. In 2009, TACT produced An American Century
Christmas, a celebration of 20th century holiday music and memories from
TV, radio, recordings, and Hollywood.
This year has seen two Reflections: TACT’s May 2010 world premiere
of Treadwell: Bright and Dark by local Helen Hayes Award–winning
playwright–actress Allyson Currin about the life of Sophie Treadwell,
the glass ceiling–shattering journalist, playwright (Machinal), novelist,
feminist, and social reformer, and this production of One Night with Fanny
Brice by Chip Deffaa.
Sadly, Bob McElwaine passed away earlier this year. We miss him
and are proud to be able to honor his memory through the American
Reflections Project.

The American Century Theater
2010–2011 Season
Comedy, Romance, Suspense, and More! New productions of
the most outstanding American plays you’ve never seen—
and may never have the chance to see again!
Chip Deffaa’s One Night with Fanny Brice
This one-woman musical celebrates Brice’s personality and comic style
and includes Fanny’s performances of her signature songs,
as well as many early 20th-century standards.
Directed by Ellen Dempsey
November 5–27, 2010
Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon (1920)
The tale of a tragic love triangle that won O’Neill his first Pulitzer Prize.
Directed by Kathleen Akerley
January 14–February 12, 2011
Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman’s Stage Door (1936)
A full production of the classic saga of backstage intrigue
in a boarding house full of ambitious actresses.
Last presented as a staged reading by TACT in 2007.
Directed by Marie Sproul
April 8–May 7, 2011
Gore Vidal’s Visit to a Small Planet (1956)
A clever satirical comedy about a confused visitor from outer space whose
perspective on human behavior is both hilarious and thought-provoking.
Directed by Rip Claassen
July 8–August 6, 2011
*Apply the value of your ticket to One Night with
Fanny Brice to a subscription for the rest of
TACT’s 2010–2011 season. See Box Office.
*
One Night with Fanny Brice 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.
This arts event is made possible in part
by the Virginia Commission on the Arts,
the National Endowment for the Arts,
and our many generous donors.