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EBENEZER SCROOGE AND HIS THREE GHOSTLY VISITORS RETURN TO THE HISTORIC PABST THEATER IN MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER'S ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF DICKENS' BELOVED HOLIDAY CLASSIC A CHRISTMAS CAROL December 2 – December 24, 2014
November 19, 2014 Michael J. Roberts
Milwaukee Repertory Theater brings its uplifting production of Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic A Christmas Carol to The Pabst Theater this December. Filled with beautiful music, stunning costumes, and joyous dancing, Dickens' masterpiece celebrates its 39th year as Wisconsin's favorite family holiday tradition. Audiences will be enthralled as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge takes a fantastical journey through Christmas Past, Present, and Future and is then transformed into a man of generosity and good will. Adapted by Joseph Hanreddy and Edward Morgan, Dickens' A Christmas Carolbrightens the holiday season with its timeless message of hope, peace, and love, capturing the true spirit of the season. Proudly sponsored again by Wells Fargo, A Christmas Carol runs at The Pabst Theater fromDecember 2 – December 24 and opens on Wednesday, December 3, 2014.
Rep Associate Artist Aaron Posner will once again direct this year's production of A Christmas Carol after adding exciting new creative touches to the last two years' heartwarming productions. Guest actor and Rep favorite, Jonathan Smoots, will make his debut as Ebenezer Scrooge, after appearing in the production 15 times and playing over 50 roles in A Christmas Carol since 1981, when he played the role of Young Scrooge. Also returning to this year's production of A Christmas Carol are Melody Betts, Michael Doherty, Marti Gobel, Beth Mulkerron, and Jonathan Wainwright. New to the cast this year are American Players Theatre actors Sarah Day and Brian Mani, as well as guest actors Robert R. Doyle, Chiké Johnson (A Raisin In the Sun, 2012/13), Ashleigh LaThrop and Chicago actress Hollis Resnik (End of the Rainbow, 2013/14).
"A Christmas Carol is one of the greatest redemptive stories of all time – if not the greatest," says Artistic Director Mark Clements. "I am so excited to have Aaron Posner back directing again this year and to have Jonathan Smoots play Ebenezer Scrooge. Jonathan is someone who really gets the play. Audiences are going to be in for a real treat. He's going to be a phenomenal Scrooge!"
Actor Jonathan Smoots added, "I'm super excited to play Scrooge in A Christmas Carol this year – it's a journey that calls on an actor's full range of dramatic AND comedic skills. Dickens' scary, funny, and truly moving story is such fun to be a part of!"
Tickets for A Christmas Carol are $25.00 – $85.00. (Prices subject to change.) Single Tickets for all of Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2014/15 productions are now on sale and can be purchased by going online 24/7 at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, through The Rep's Ticket Office by calling 414-224-9490 or in person at 108 E. Wells Street. Group tickets are also available for purchase by calling Group Sales Coordinator Morgan Halverson at 414-290-5340.
To learn more about The Rep or its productions, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.
Melody Betts (Ghost of Christmas Present) performed the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present for the last two years. She was just seen playing one of the "Church Ladies" in The Rep's recent production of The Color Purple. Regional credits include: Sarah's Friend in Ragtime, Muzzy Van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Luce in The Boys from Syracuse, Sour Kangaroo in Seussical the Musical, Asaka in Once on This Island, Sister Hubert in Nunsense, Sylvia in All Shook Up, Trix the Avaitrix in The Drowsy Chaperone, Courtesan, Abbess in Comedy of Errors, Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, Tasha in Motherhood the Musical, and Mother of Mary in The Nativity. TV credits include Keisha in Chicago Code (FOX) and Talia Cook in Chicago PD (NBC). MFA (WIU), AEA, SAG-AFTRA.
Sarah Day (Mrs. Fezziwig/Mr. Twyce/Businesswoman/Scadger) is pleased to return to Milwaukee Repertory Theater. She has been a member of the Acting Company of American Players Theatre in Spring Green since 1986, and is a member of the Advisory Company of Forward Theater. Recent roles include Joan in The Year of Magical Thinking directed by Brenda DeVita, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest directed by William Brown, Ruth Steiner in Collected Stories, and Emmy in The Doctor's Dilemma directed by Aaron Posner.
Michael Doherty (Fred/Mr. Oatway) was last seen on the Milwaukee Rep stage as Mother's Younger Brother in Ragtime and as Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway credits include: Dublin by Lamplight (59E59/Inis Nua Theatre Company). Regional: Next to Normal and The History Boys (Arden Theatre Company); Assistance (The Wilma Theater); Mr. Hart and Mr. Brown (People's Light & Theatre Company); and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Theatre Horizon – Barrymore for Supporting Actor). His sketch comedy pilot, Los Jarochos, was a finalist last year in New York TV Festival's Comedy Central Pilot Competition and won Best Writing in the Independent Television and Film Festival.
Robert R. Doyle (Young Scrooge/Mr. Grimgrind/Mr. Topper) will be making his debut at Milwaukee Rep. His most recent credits are The Newspaper Man in Aaron Posner's production of his own adaptation of Shaw'sThe Doctor's Dilemma, Balthazar in Much Ado About Nothing, and Friar John in Romeo & Juliet (American Players Theatre). Other credits include Gonzalo in The Tempest (Asylum Theatre Company/ RSC Open Stages Project), Pistol and King of France in Henry V, Macbeth in Macbeth (Long Island Shakespeare Festival), and Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac (Royal Productions Ltd.)
Marti Gobel (Mrs. Cratchit/Mrs. Sidebottom) is Producing Artistic Director and a founding member of UPROOTED theatre and proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Stage credits include: Milwaukee Shakespeare, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Children's Theater, Forward Theatre, UPROOTED theatre, Next Act Theatre, and Theatre Lila. She plays an ongoing role as the Civil Rights suffragist, Ida B. Wells, for the Kenosha Civil War Museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and is often featured in local commercials and voice-overs. She appeared in the short film, Spare Change, as well as the web-series Gettin' Grown, both directed by the award-winning film director Aaron Greer; and Faith Flix'sCome Follow Me. National television credits include NBC's Chicago PD.
Chiké Johnson (Marley/Old Joe/Reverend Waghorn) most recently appeared in Goodman Theatre's production of Meet Vera Stark and Milwaukee Rep's production of Raisin In the Sun. His New York credits include a Broadway production of A Time To Kill; Manhattan Theatre Club's Wit on Broadway; and Off-Broadway's Lost in the Stars in New York City Center's Encores! He also appeared in the Off- Broadway production of Ruined. Some of his other Chicago credits include: Sizwe Banzi is Dead (Court Theatre) andThe Crucible, The Unmentionables, and Huck Finn (Steppenwolf Theatre Company). Regional credits include: a revival of The Unmentionables (Yale Repertory Theatre); Topdog/Underdog (Renaissance Theaterworks); King Lear (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Home (In Tandem Theatre); Master Harold and the Boys (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre); and Smoldering Fires (First Stage Children's Theater). Film credits include: Friends with Benefits, Sleepwalk with Me, and The Machinist. TV credits include: Law & Order, Girls,Veep, and Prison Break.
Ashleigh LaThrop (Belle/Lucy) is making her Milwaukee Rep debut. Previous Wisconsin credits includeCrumbs from the Table of Joy (Renaissance Theaterworks and UPROOTED theatre) as well as two seasons at American Players Theatre where her favorite productions include As You Like It, The Critic, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Cure at Troy. A Chicago native, LaThrop has appeared in Motortown (Steep Theatre);Metamorphoses (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Yellowmoon (Writers' Theatre); In the Continuum(Pegasus Players); The Twins Would Like to Say (Dog and Pony Theatre Company); and The Comedy ofErrors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). This spring she will appear in the USA network comedy Sirens. LaThrop is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois and the School at Steppenwolf.
Brian Mani (Mr.Fezziwig/Mr. Philpot/Businessman/Mudd) is returning to The Rep and A Christmas Carol,having performed in the production in 2007. He is a Core Company member at American Players Theatre, having just completed his 15th season there. Recent APT shows Include The Doctor's Dilemma, American Buffalo, Skylight, Twelfth Night, Of Mice and Men, and the title role in Timon of Athens. He performs regularly around Milwaukee as well. Favorite plays performed with the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre include 'Art', The Lion in Winter, A Lesson from Aloes, and The Sum of Us. Roles with Renaissance Theaterworks include Honour, Blackbird, and The Dig. Last spring he appeared as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof with the Madison Children's Theatre.
Beth Mulkerron (Catherine/Mrs. Oatway/Cook) is grateful to be returning to A Christmas Carol after her run as Belle last year. Previous shows with The Rep include Hula Hoop Sha-Boop and Ragtime. She has performed across the country including appearances Off-Broadway, in concert with Davis Gaines, and locally at The Fireside, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Optimist Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park, and Skylight Music Theatre. Television and voice-over credits include Miller, GE, the Wisconsin Lottery, and NBC. Beth has also appeared in independent films, and has enjoyed recording extensively for Hal Leonard. Mulkerron studied Musical Theatre at the University of Cincinnati's Conservatory of Music and received her BFA from Florida State. She is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.
Hollis Resnik (Ghost of Christmas Past/Mrs. Dilber/Madeline) was last seen at Milwaukee Rep in End of the Rainbow, Love's Labor's Lost, The Norman Conquests, and Arcadia. Most recently she has been on the national tour of Sister Act as the Mother Superior. Other national tours include Les Misérables, Thoroughly Modern Mille, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Resnik resides in Chicago where most recently she appeared in Angels in America at Court Theatre, and as Carlotta in Follies at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Other regional credits include: Candide (Goodman Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.); Light in the Piazza (Arena Stage); and Grey Gardens (Philadelphia Theatre Company). Other Chicago roles include The Little Foxes, The Learned Ladies, Hay Fever, Titus Andronicus, Man of La Mancha, and An Ideal Husband all at Court Theatre; Wings and A Little Night Music at Goodman Theatre; and several appearances at Ravinia Festival. She is the recipient of a Helen Hayes Award, 12 Joseph Jefferson Awards, and two Sarah Siddons Awards. She has recorded her own solo CD called Make Someone Happy and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.
Jonathan Smoots (Ebenezer Scrooge) returns with delight to participate once again in the telling of this remarkable story. His first A Christmas Carol was at MRT in 1981, (he played Young Scrooge and Topper), in Nagle Jackson's first Rep adaptation. Other Milwaukee Rep credits include: In the Next Room or the vibrator play (Mr. Daldry); Speaking in Tongues (Pete/Neal/John); The Seafarer (Mr. Lockhart); The Voysey Inheritance (Major Booth); A Doll's House (Torvald); Arsenic and Old Lace (Jonathan Brewster); The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Pato); and An Ideal Husband (Sir Robert Chiltern). As a charter member, and later, a resident actor, at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Smoots has played dozens of roles over 24 seasons. In the summer of 2013, he was Joe Keller in All My Sons and Mr. Rice in Molly Sweeney. This past summer he joined the acting company of the Utah Shakespeare Festival to play three roles in rotation.
Jonathan Wainwright (Bob Cratchit/Mr. Sidebottom) returns to A Christmas Carol and the role of Bob Cratchit once again. He was seen as Roderigo in The Rep's powerful production of Othello; as Vern in the world premiere of Broken and Entered this past fall for Milwaukee Chamber Theatre; and as Sam in Grace at Next Act Theatre. Favorite roles at Next Act Theatre include Bobby in Coyote on a Fence, Clifford inSideman, and Kerry Max Cook in The Exonerated.
Members of The Rep's Artistic Intern Ensemble who appear in this year's production of A Christmas Carolinclude: Andrew Carlyle (Vendor/Milkman/Future); Katherine Duffy (Ensemble/Fezziwig Daughter); India Gurley (Vendor/Fezziwig Daughter); Taurean Hogan (Ensemble/Mourner); Jennifer Latimore (Ensemble);Josiah Laubenstein (Ensemble); Nick Narcisi (Ensemble); Vallea Woodbury (Ensemble).
The cast of A Christmas Carol has 20 child actors. The children's cast includes: Austin Bock (Ensemble);Amalia Cecsarini (Tiny Tim); Miranda Cecsarini (Ensemble); Eloise Field (Ensemble); Freedom Gobel(Martha Cratchit); Jamaica Gobel (Peter); Kemet Gobel (Ensemble); Nya (Ensemble); Carlos Meyers (Dick Wilkins); Chantae Miller (Mary Cratchit); Georgina Pink (Ensemble); Leah Schiman (Fan); Gabe Smith (Boy Scrooge), Hope Stiverson (Alice); Abby Thompson (Ensemble); Jack Trettin (Smudge); Josie Trettin(Ensemble); Victoria (Tory) Trettin (Ensemble); Anthony Wells (Ignorance); Claire Zempel (Belinda Cratchit).
Aaron Posner (Director) is a freelance director, playwright, and teacher. He is an Artistic Associate of the Folger Theatre and an Associate Artist for Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Past Rep productions include A Christmas Carol, To Kill a Mockingbird, and My Name is Asher Lev. He is a founding Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Arden Theatre Company and has directed over 100 productions at major regional theaters. His plays and adaptations include Chaim Potok's novels My Name Is Asher Lev (winner of last year's Outer Circle Critics Award in NYC) and The Chosen; Stupid F**king Bird (loosely adapted from Chekhov's The Seagull); Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love); and Sometimes A Great Notion, a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage, and many more. Posner is an Eisenhower Fellow and a graduate of Northwestern University from Eugene, Oregon. He currently lives in Maryland with his wife, Erin Weaver, and their daughter, Maisie.
Dan Kazemi (Music Director), a Rep Associate Artist, is a composer, actor, music director, and educator. He returns to The Rep after having been the Musical Director for recent productions of The Color Purple,Ragtime, Forever Plaid, Blues in the Night, Assassins, Always . . .Patsy Cline, Next to Normal, and Cabaret. Kazemi made his directorial debut with The Rep's production of Ain't Misbehavin' last season. He also orchestrated and musically directed the world premiere musical Tulipomania at the Arden Theatre Company.
Leda Hoffman (Associate Director) is a member of Milwaukee Rep's Artistic Staff and is in her fifth season with the Company. A former Rep Directing Intern, Hoffmann was the Assistant Director on A Christmas Carol in 2010. Since then, she has directed The Comedy of Errors (Door Shakespeare), The Penelopiad (Luminous Theatre), King Lear (Alchemist Theater), Birth Witches (Riverside Theatre), The Chairs (Alchemist Theater), Phaedra's Love (World's Stage), and six short plays over the past four years of Rep Lab (Milwaukee Rep). Hoffmann is a proud graduate of Grinnell College and a member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab 2012. Upcoming directing projects include: The Amish Project (Milwaukee Rep), Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest (both with Door Shakespeare).
Marjorie Bradley Kellogg (Scenic Designer), an award-winning Broadway designer, designed The Philandererat American Players Theatre in 2009. Her designs for opera include the world premiere of Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner for Michigan Opera Theatre, plus The Tender Land for Skylight Music Theatre, and Paul Bunyan for the Manhattan School of Music. Broadway credits include a season as resident designer for the National Actors Theatre, as well as Any Given Day, the George C. Scott revival of On Borrowed Time, Lucifer's Child (starring Julie Harris), American Buffalo with Al Pacino, Da, Requiem for a Heavyweight, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Solomon's Child, Arsenic and Old Lace, Steaming, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Designs for Circle in the Square include Spokesong, Heartbreak House, andPresent Laughter. She has taught at Princeton University, Columbia University, and has been Associate Professor of Design at Colgate University since 1995. She is also the author of three science fiction novels (ARumor of Angels, Harmony, and Lear's Daughters), plus a fantasy series, The Dragon Quartet.
Martha Hally (Costume Designer) returns to The Rep to design A Christmas Carol. Other Rep credits include: Seven Keys to Slaughter Peak, The Government Inspector, King Lear, Armadale, Pride and Prejudice, Sueño, The Voysey Inheritance, and The 39 Steps, among others. She has designed costumes at regional theaters across the country including Pittsburgh Public Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Alley Theatre, Great Lakes Theater Festival, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Recent New York designs include: Off-Broadway productions of Richard II (The Pearl Theatre Company); Katie Roche, Mary Broome, and Wife to James Whelan (Mint Theater Company); The Late Christopher Bean and Bedroom Farce (TACT); Banished Children of Eve, Gaslight, and The Field (Irish Repertory Theatre); and Secret Order (59E59)
Thom Weaver (Lighting Designer), returns to The Rep for A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway credits include: How I Learned What I Learned and King Hedley II (Signature Theatre), Teller's Play Dead and Thrill Me (York Theatre Company), Two Rooms (Theatre Row), Frankenstein (37 Arts Theatre), Masked (DR2 Theatre), Lincoln Center Festival, and Vital Theatre Company. In Philadelphia, he has worked with Arden Theatre Company, The Wilma Theater, People's Light & Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Exile, 1812 Productions, Azuka Theatre, New Paradise Laboratories, Curtis Opera Theatre, and Flashpoint Theatre Company, where he is Artistic Director. Regional credits include CenterStage, Syracuse Stage, Portland Center Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Cleveland Play House, among others. His awards include AUDELCO (two nominations), three Barrymores (18 nominations), and three Helen Hayes nominations.
Barry G. Funderburg (Sound Designer) returns for 17th season of A Christmas Carol and his 69th production at The Rep. Memorable Rep productions include The Color Purple, Clybourne Park, Othello, The 39 Steps, The Cherry Orchard, Pride and Prejudice, Armadale, Mary Stuart, Work Song, and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. Off-Broadway, Funderburg designed the critically-acclaimed New York premiere ofWittenberg at The Pearl Theatre Company. Regional theater credits include Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arizona Theatre Company, City Theatre (Pittsburgh), CenterStage (Baltimore), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Peninsula Players, American Players Theatre, LA Theatre Works, and Indiana Repertory Theatre. Chicago credits include Next Theatre, Theatre at the Center, and Lookingglass Theatre Company. Funderburg has received four Chicago Equity Jeff Award nominations, the 1996 and 2008 Jeff Awards for Sound Design, and an MFA in sound design from Purdue University.
Michael Pink (Staged Movement Director) is Milwaukee Ballet's longest serving Artistic Director. Since joining the Company in December of 2002, he has established himself as a prominent member of the Milwaukee arts community, demonstrating his commitment to the future of dance through new work, education and collaboration. Milwaukee Press Club honored Pink this year with its Headliner award for services to Wisconsin. He continues to build a strong working relationship with Milwaukee Rep, where his collaborations include A Christmas Carol, Assassins, Cabaret, and Next To Normal. His artistic vision for Milwaukee Ballet continues to be exciting and challenging. His recent production of Mirror Mirror was hailed a Majestic Masterpiece. His highly successful production of Peter Pan was shown nationally on PBS this year. Pink's theatrical productions of Dracula, Esmeralda, Swan Lake, Giselle 1943, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Romeo & Juliet have been hailed as "Classical Ballet for the 21st Century."
Jill Walmsley Zager (Dialect Coach) was the dialect coach for recent Rep productions of after all the terrible things I do, The Color Purple, and The Doyle & Debbie Show. Other Milwaukee Rep credits include: The History of Invulnerability, The Whipping Man, End of the Rainbow, Noises Off, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park, Sense and Sensibility, A Christmas Carol, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Mountaintop, Assassins, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lombardi, Yellowman, Ten Chimneys, The 39 Steps, My Name Is Asher Lev, Laurel and Hardy, and Cabaret. Regionally, she has worked at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, among others. She earned her Master's Degrees at Central School of Speech & Drama (London) and Northwestern. She is married to James Zager, the Head of the Theatre Program at Carroll University.
Lara Leigh Dalbey (Make-up/Hair/Wig Designer) is now in her 16th season with A Christmas Carol. She is the Wig Master and Make-up Supervisor for The Rep. Her work has been seen at Arizona Opera and Skylight Musical Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks, American Players Theatre, and Writers' Theatre.
Hannah Greene (Assistant Director), proud graduate of Northwestern University and Denver native, is a member of Milwaukee Rep's Artistic Intern Ensemble this season. Favorite directing projects include SwanSong (a Midnight Project at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival), an original adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 4.48 Psychosis, The Seagull, and A Bright Room Called Day. Assisting credits include Howard Shalwitz's Stupid F***ing Bird (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Heidi Stillman's The North China Lover and David Catlin's The Little Prince (Lookingglass Theatre Company), Marcia Milgrom Dodge's The King and I (Jupiter Maltz Theatre, SDCF Observership Program), and Amanda Dehnert's Into the Woods (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, FAIR Program). She has also worked with The Hypocrites, Buzz22 Chicago, Theatre Zarko, and Steppenwolf's Garage Rep.
Sarah Hoffman (Stage Manager) returns to stage manage her seventh production of A Christmas Carol. She most recently worked on The Rep's beautiful production of The Color Purple. Hoffmann has also worked at numerous other theaters including American Players Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, American Folklore Theatre, Riverside Theatre in the Park (Iowa City, Iowa), and First Stage Children's Theater, where she was Production Stage Manager for three years.
Kimberly Carolus (Assistant Stage Manager) was a Stage Management Intern last year at The Rep. Last season Carolus worked on The History of Invulnerability, An Iliad, A Christmas Carol, Forever Plaid, Ragtime,and I Left My Heart. She has also worked at Riverside Theatre in the Park (Iowa City, Iowa), the Orlando Repertory Theatre, and Walt Disney World, and holds her BFA in Stage Management from the University of Central Florida.
Rebecca Lindsey (Assistant Stage Manager) returns to the Christmas Carol Stage Management team this season. Having started her professional career with a Rep internship during the 2005/06 Season, she has been delighted to work on a variety of Rep projects since then, with favorites including last year's production ofAn Iliad and 2011's Next to Normal. Lindsey spends her time away from Milwaukee as a Stage Manager and Core Tech Company Member at American Players Theatre, where she has enjoyed eight seasons. Recent favorite SM credits there include The Doctor's Dilemma, The Year of Magical Thinking, and The Two Gentleman of Verona. Credits elsewhere include The Wiz with Arkansas Repertory Theatre and three seasons touring with the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Audra Kuchling (Children's Stage Manager), a native of Quincy, Illinois, joins the Stage Management team at Milwaukee Rep this season. She recently graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a BA in English Literature and a minor in Theatre Arts. Stage Management credits at IWU include: F2M, Problem Child, a play workshop of An Actor Prepares, Senior Showcase 2014, and Treasure.
KEY BIOGRAPHIES
Charles Dickens (Author, 1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic who is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period and the creator of some of the world's most memorable fictional characters. Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843, the first of five novellas about the holiday. The book received immediate critical acclaim. During his lifetime Dickens' works enjoyed unprecedented popularity and fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was fully recognized by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to enjoy an enduring popularity among the general reading public.
Joseph Hanreddy (Co-Adapter) served as Milwaukee Rep's Artistic Director from 1993 – 2010, during which time he established one of the country's most respected resident acting ensembles, engaged acclaimed international directors to create innovative productions of world classics, and produced several premieres of new plays by leading American dramatists. Since leaving as Artistic Director, he has returned to direct Rep productions of Ten Chimneys and A Christmas Carol. His other recent work includes directing Richard IIIfor the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Moliére's The Misanthrope at The Pearl Theatre Company, The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead for Writers' Theatre in Chicago, and O Beautiful for Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Hanreddy's stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (with J.R. Sullivan) has received over 70 productions in the U.S. and abroad, including the Oregon and Utah Shakespeare Festivals, South Coast Repertory, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Round House Theatre in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He recently directed Lillian Groag's Aimée and Jaguar at Northwestern University and the premiere of his and J.R. Sullivan's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Edward Morgan (Co-Adapter) is a freelance director, writer, and teacher. Recent projects included Race at Next Act Theatre, As You Like It at Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and the premiere of Twenty Seven, his adaptation of a Faulkner novella, at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Recent projects include The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare Santa Cruz,Microcrisis at Next Act Theatre, To Kill a Mockingbird at Utah Shakespeare Festival and Dicen las paredes at Teatro 1887 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Morgan was Milwaukee Rep's Associate Artistic Director for six seasons and directed many productions for The Rep. He has worked at theaters throughout the United States and his work has been honored with Helen Hayes Nominations and Awards and taped for Milwaukee Public Television. Morgan is also a Casting Partner for Cirque du Soleil and is on the roster of Fulbright Specialists.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR – Wells Fargo
"Wells Fargo is proud to sponsor Milwaukee Repertory Theater's timeless classic, A Christmas Carol, to support the theater, and to demonstrate our commitment to Milwaukee and keeping our community a great place to live, work, play, and do business," said Sang Kim, Wells Fargo Regional President for Wisconsin and Michigan. Wells Fargo has stepped forward to continue its commitment as a strong corporate citizen in Wisconsin to support The Rep in this 39-year holiday tradition. "The messages of the classic Dickens' novella surrounding generosity, thankfulness, and decency speak to all ages, cultures and faiths, as well as to Wells Fargo's vision and values. We look forward to sharing this event with our families and with the community," Kim said.
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