Season 5

2006 - 2007

Into the Woods

by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine

October 19 - November 12, 2006

Good Theater kicks off its season with this Tony Award winning musical featuring a cast of 17. With music by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, Into the Woods weaves together several fairy tales including Jack of Jack and Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Little Red Ridinghood. Joining them on their journey is the Baker and his wife who are trying to lift a spell cast by the Witch. Great music, delightful characters and a story that is relevant for today’s audiences, Into the Woods is sure please audiences. Come see who lives happily ever after...

  • CAST OF CHARACTERS (in alphabetical order)
    Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince - Graham Allen
    Narrator/Mysterious Man - Glenn Anderson
    Baker - Timothy Bate
    Little Red Ridinghood - Haley Bennett
    Jack - William Broyles
    Cinderella - Kelly Caufield
    Jack’s Mother - Cathy Counts
    Rapunzel’s Prince - Todd Daley
    Granny/Giant Betsy - Melarkey Dunphy
    Steward - Steven Leighton
    Rapunzel - Jennifer McLeod
    Baker’s Wife - Jen Means
    Lucinda (Stepsister) - Jessica Peck
    Cinderella’s Father - Jeffrey Roberts
    Witch - Amy Roche
    Cinderella’s Stepmother/Cinderella¹s Mother - Karen Stickney
    Florinda (Stepsister) - Kristen Thomas

    Directed by Brian P. Allen^
    Set Design - Craig Robinson
    Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
    Costumes - Joan McMahon & Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
    Technical Director - Stephen Underwood
    Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
    Scenic Painting & Set Dressing - Janet Montgomery
    Photography - Craig Robinson

    * Member Actors' Equity Association
    ^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers

  • WELL WORTH VENTURING INTO GOOD’S WACKY ‘WOODS’
    Portland Press Herald, By April Boyle, October 21, 2006

    The Good Theater has pulled out all stops to create a production that’s pure magic. All who walk through the door are instantly transfixed by Janet Montgomery’s set. It’s not overly technical, but it’s stunning. A beautifully rendered backdrop of the forest gives the set a whimsical look, with soft colors and blurred lines reminding that life isn’t cut and dry, or black and white.

    Seventeen cast members guide the audience into the woods. Each is perfectly chosen for the role. "Into the Woods" is a thoroughly entertaining journey that is packed with wonderful songs, fun characters and unexpected plot twists.

    LOVELY, DARK & DEEP GOOD THEATER ENTERS THE WOODS
    The Portland Phoenix By: Megan Grumbling October 25, 2006 (Excerpts)

    Although its premise is delightfully, sharply simple, from a technical standpoint Into the Woods is no walk through the larches. But Good Theater is by now well known for its unparalleled virtuosity, and this production is no exception: Under the direction of Allen... this cast carries off seemingly effortless executions of the script and score’s intimidating demands, which include some stupefyingly quick timing in vocals and blocking.

    Good Theater’s gifted actors are also impeccably cast and gorgeously costumed. This production has a remarkable feel of unity among its actors; every single character is fully, dazzlingly inhabited - from the angular yearnings and uncertainties of Bate’s and Means’s baker couple, to Broyles’s subtly hilarious, dim-witted Jack. Fourteen-year-old Haley Bennett, as Red Ridinghood, is impressively sharp and savvy around her character’s more sardonic edges, and Cinderella’s step-trinity (Karen Stickney, Kristen Thomas, and Jessica Peck) is a shrill flurry of finery and righteousness. A few deserve special mention: McLeod’s Rapunzel and Caufield’s Cinderella are absolutely dulcet, and Bate also has an unusually warm and expressive voice. And in the plum role of the Witch - by turns comic, Mae-Westy, and wracked with yearning - Amy Roche is magnificent, her performance a sly and decadent delight that’s now a cackly staccato, now filled with lusty bravado, and finally slows to something cool, minor, and dark.

    The woods that these characters enter and confront are appropriately bewitching, too. Designed by Janet Montgomery, the set layers leafy corridors several wings deep, trails the wilderness out in foliage beyond the thrust of the stage, and, in the backdrop, suggests richly dappled branches and fronds, light and shadow.

    As the colors of the forest change, the intrepid characters of our nursery hours must navigate the ever-changing tempers of both the elements and their own desires. That journey, we suspect - funny, wild, wrenching - will continue long after everyone’s made it out of the woods.

Hay Fever

by Noel Coward

January 18 - February 11, 2007

Noel Coward, one of England’s greatest playwrights, will help us cast of the winter blues with this bright and breezy comedy. Star of the London stage, Judith Bliss, her author husband and two children are all hopelessly self absorbed. When each of them invites a guest for the weekend without telling anyone in the family, madness ensues as more and more people arrive. With Coward’s trademark witty repartee, and wildly comic situations, the weekend dissolves into insanity as the unsuspecting guests end up fleeing the insensitive Bliss family.

  • Judith Bliss - Denise Poirier*
    David Bliss - Tony Reilly
    Simon Bliss - Ian Carlesen
    Sorel Bliss - Jessica Peck
    Richard Greatham - Stephen Underwood
    Myra Arundel - Liz Chambers
    Jackie Coryton - Carolyn Turner
    Sandy Tyrell - Brian Chamberlain
    Clara - Cathy Counts

    Directed by Brian P. Allen^ & Robert Fish
    Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
    Technical Director - Stephen Underwood
    Set Design & Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
    Set Construction Crew - Gary Thayer, Merle Broberg, Lynda Wilson, Donna Graves

    * Member Actors' Equity Association
    ^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers

  • DELIGHTFUL 'HAY FEVER' NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT
    Maine Sunday Telegram, January 21, 2007 (Excerpts)
    By Steve Feeney

    ...armed with some of the play's funniest lines, Poirier takes charge of every scene she's in. This role plays to her proven talents for evincing the diva. ...overall, a fast-paced treat of an evening at the theater. ...is set in a period room designed by Craig Robinson with an intentionally eclectic decor... ...this family knows how to have some fun and, as the characters pair off for their various and hilarious little romances, the laughs pile up. When the guests finally realize they've been "played" and the Blisses go off into their own sort of theatrical Nirvana, it's one of the great moments in comedy and this GT production, directed by Brian P. Allen and Robert Fish, brings it all home in a perfectly delightful way.

    FIND YOUR BLISS... SNEEZING WITH LAUGHTER AT HAY FEVER
    The Portland Phoenix, January 24, 2007 (Excerpts)
    By Megan Grumbling

    First of all, young Sorel Bliss (Jessica Peck, with lovely, blithe arrogance) has invited a diplomatist named Richard (Stephen Underwood) to the house for the weekend, and one would think he would come in handy as the house fills. Her brother Simon (agile Ian Carlsen) has also entreated a visit from his own current interest, the socialite widow Myra Arundel (Elizabeth Chambers, utterly and exquisitely blasé). Then there are the heads of the house. Sorel and Simon's mother Judith (the formidable Denise Poirier), a retired stage actress, has invited fresh-faced ingénue boxer Sandy (Brian Chamberlain) for a little rejuvenation. Finally, Bliss père David (Tony Reilly), a self-absorbed novelist, has called upon a flighty flapper (Carolyn Turner) for his own weekend inspiration.

    This Allen/Fish cast is as scintillating as I've come to expect from the virtuoso Good Theater, and it's particularly fun to see actors from elsewhere in the theater community, like Reilly, Carlsen, and Chambers, working alongside Good Theater regulars like Underwood, Peck, and Poirier.

    ...its success is in its characters and repartee, and the Good Theater's actors make them buoyantly entertaining. This production of Hay Fever, another in the growing list of Good Theater tours de force, makes gleefully scandalous haymaking of this weekend of Bliss.

Shakespeare in Hollywood

by Ken Ludwig

March 1 - 25, 2007
Maine Premiere

Ken Ludwig, author of Lend Me a Tenor, has done it again with a madcap farce about the filming of the 1930’s version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What happens when the real Puck and Oberon show up on the movie set and begin making mischief with the likes of Jimmy Cagney, Louella Parsons, and the Warner Brothers? Come to the Maine premiere of this award winning new play to find out just how crazy things can get.

  • Oberon - Stephen Underwood
    Jack Warner - Bob McCormack
    Will Hays - Mark Rubin
    Olivia Darnell - Jen Means
    Lydia Lansing - Kathleen Kimball
    Jimmy Cagney - Craig Ela
    Puck - Jesse Leighton
    Max Reinhardt - Steve Leighton
    Daryl - Will Sandstead
    Louella Parsons - Amy Roche
    Joe E. Brown - Keith Anctil
    Dick Powell - Brian Chamberlain

    Directed by Brian P. Allen^
    Set Design - Janet Montgomery & Stephen Underwood
    Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
    Costumes - Nina Jones & Joan McMahon
    Sound Design - Stephen Underwood
    Technical Director - Stephen Underwood
    Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
    Set Construction Crew – Wilson, Donna Graves, Sandra Moore

    * Member Actors' Equity Association
    ^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers

  • GOOD THEATER TAKES THE BARD TO HOLLYWOOD
    Portland Press Herald, March 3, 2007
    by April Boyle

    In 1934 Austrian-born director Max Reinhart convinced Jack Warner of Warner Brothers Pictures to film and distribute the fist silver-screen version of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.”

    The cast included Hollywood notables James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Olivia de Havilland, Joe E. Brown and Dick Powell. What would have happened if the play’s famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, had magically appeared on the movie set?

    Mischief, mayhem and laughter abound as the Good Theater tackles this farcical notion in Ken Ludwig’s devilishly funny play “Shakespeare in Hollywood.”

    Janet Montgomery and Good Theater co-founder Stephen Underwood have cleverly designed a nostalgic set that captures the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood. Its monochromatic look beautifully simulates the view of the world through the lens of an old-fashioned movie camera.

    All the characters are also dressed in black, white and gray, with the exception of Oberon and Puck. The fairies are brightly attired to accent the contrast between Hollywood and the fairy world.

    Director Brian P. Allen has assembled a cast that gives added spunk and magic to the play. Underwood is a delight as Oberon, king of the fairies. He easily charms the audience with smoothly delivered prose, droll facial expressions and perfect comic timing. Jess Leighton is Oberon’s henchman, Puck. The University of Southern Maine theater minor delivers an impish performance that heightens the pair’s mischievous quality.

    The Tinseltown cast keeps the magic flowing. Leighton’s father, Steven, gives a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek performance as Max Reinhart, Kathleen Kimball is a riot as Lydia Lansing an airhead chorus girl willing to do anything to get ahead. Bob McCormack steps into the shoes of Hollywood movie mogul Jack Warner, who’s foolishly lovesick over Lansing. And, William Sandstead is Daryl, Warner’s “yes” man.

    The fun just keeps coming with Jen Means taking on the role of actress Olivia Darnell. She delivers a strong performance with just the right comic touch. Amy Roche also stands out as gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Mark Rubin garners plenty of laughs as Will Hays, head of the Hays commission. And, Craig Ela, Keith D. Anctil and Brian Chamerlain grab their share of laughs as actors James Cagney, Joe E. Brown and Dick Powell.

    “Shakespeare in Hollywood” is a play that combines the fanciful comic mayhems of a Shakespearean comedy with the behind-the-scenes mayhem of life in Hollywood. Ultimate chaos ensues when Oberon sends Puck for a magical flower that induces love at first sight.

    The play is teeming with absurd situations, mismatched love affairs and one-liners that keep the laughter coming. There’s never a dull moment in this fun-filled piece.

Driving Miss Daisy

by Alfred Urhy

May 16 - June 3, 2007

As the grand finale of its fifth anniversary season, Good Theater is proud to present this Pulitzer Prize winning classic starring two time Tony Award nominee Beth Fowler and Drama Desk Award nominee George Merritt.  Joining them will be local actor Michael Kimball.  Ms. Fowler has starred in 12 Broadway musicals including Beauty and the Beast (original Mrs. Potts), Baby, the revival of Sweeney Todd (Tony nomination) and as Hugh Jackman’s mother in The Boy From Oz (Tony nomination).  Mr. Merritt has starred in the Broadway productions of Big River, Ain’t Misbehavin,’ Porgy and Bess and most recently Jekyll & Hyde. Good Theater is also pleased to announce that Tony Award winner Christopher Akerlind will design the lighting for Driving Miss Daisy. Good Theater audiences won't want to miss this exciting classic play.

  • Miss Daisy - Willi Burke*
    Hoke - George Merritt*
    Boolie - Michael Kimball

    Directed by Brian P. Allen^
    Lighting Design - Christopher Akerlind
    Set Design - Janet Montgomery
    Costume Design - Jodi Ozimek
    Technical Director/Sound Design - Stephen Underwood
    Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
    Stage Managers - Adam Gutgsell and Natasha Mieskowski

    * Member Actors' Equity Association
    ^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers

  • GOOD THEATER DELIVERS SUPERB 'MISS DAISY'
    By April Boyle, Maine Sunday Telegram 5/20/2007

    The Good Theater's artistic director, Brian P. Allen, has assembled a superb cast to bring Alfred Uhry's heart-warming production to life. Broadway stars Willi Burke and George Merritt are Daisy and Hoke. The two have an unmistakable chemistry that gives emotion, depth and humor to the production.

    Burke is dynamic as the sharp-tongued Daisy. She delivers a believable performance that captures both the character's feisty independence and inner insecurities. Her performance is also note-worthy for her impressive ability to convey the passage of time. Burke seems to age in front of the audience's eyes, becoming more stooped, labored and frail as the play goes on.

    Merritt delivers a strong performance as Hoke. Like Burke, he is believable in the role. He makes the audience feel his character's kind-hearted, yet strong-willed nature. His facial expressions tickle the funny bone. And his imposing build and booming baritone voice lend a perfect contrast to Burke's delicate frame.

    "Driving Miss Daisy" also features a delightful performance by Michael Kimball as Boolie. Kimball pours on the Southern charm.

    "Driving Miss Daisy" is a classy way for the Good Theater to end a successful season. Check out this high-caliber cast and crew for yourself.

    DRIVING MISS DAISY
    by Scott Andrews, The Forecaster, 5/23/2007

    Good Theater offers a wonderfully moving, fully professional production with two Broadway stars in the key roles. The title character, Daisy, is played by Willi Burke, who has appeared in many Broadway roles. Hoke, her drive, is portrayed by George Merritt, and equally experienced Broadway veteran. Under the direction of Brian P. Allen, there's a magical chemistry between the two that permeates the whole theater. A tertiary role is ably played by Maine actor Michael Kimball.

Special Events

Edges

by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

July 3 - 7, 2006
Maine Premiere

‘Edges’ is a contemporary song cycle chronicling the lives of four individuals through snapshot musical episodes. Written by up-and-coming student composers from the University of Michigan, ‘Edges’ is a premiere for Maine audiences!!

Director: Jason Knight
Musical Director: Alyssa Bouthot
Stage Manager: Meg Baker

Maine Hysterical Society

Annual Holiday Fundraiser

November 24 - 26, 2006

Join the Maine Hysterical Society for their annual visit to the St. Lawrence. They are known for delighting audiences of all ages with a variety of down Maine humor, sketch comedy, song parodies and wicked good jugglin'. A fun and funny evening with lots of new material. Shows sell out, so we encourage folks to buy tickets early for this family friendly event.

  • Randy Judkins
    Stephen Underwood
    Barney Martin

Broadway at Good Theater

Annual Fundraiser Concert

December 14 - 17, 2006

Broadway stars Donna Lynne Champlin & Tony nominee Manoel Felciano plus special guest Marva Pittman join ome of Maine's best vocalists as they come together for an intimate concert of Broadway hits and holiday favorites in what has become a new family tradition. Five performances only. Critics call 'Broadway at the St. Lawrence' "an inspired evening of vocal music" - Portland Press Herald

  • Broadway veterans - Donna Lynne Champlin and Manoel Felciano
    Special Guest - Marva Pittman

    Featuring:
    Timothy Bate
    Haley Bennett
    Gregory Charette
    Jason Edward Cook
    Katie Daley
    Todd Daley
    Laura Harris
    Jennifer Manzi MacLeod
    Jackie McLean
    Bethann Renaud
    Amy Roche


    Director- Brian P. Allen^
    Musical Director - Victoria Stubbs
    Set Design - Janet Montgomery
    Assistant Technical Direction - Craig Robinson


    ^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers

The Blondes of Broadway

world premiere of a comedic cabaret act

February 15 - 18, 2007
World Premiere

A fair-haired evening of cabaret. Music theater actress (and lifelong brunette) Samantha Fitschen, tries to answer the question, "Why do I always get cast as a blonde?" In this fun and funny cabaret, Samantha relives some of her favorite Broadway Blonde roles, while singing songs by and about blondes. Be prepared to sing along, win a Broadway trivia contest, and celebrate all things Blonde! All hair colors welcome.

  • Starring - Samantha Fitchen
    Special guest - Todd Daley
    Musical Director - Victoria Stubbs
    LIghting - Jamie Grant
    Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson