Season 7
2008 - 2009
On Golden Pond
by Ernest Thompson
September 18 - October 12, 2008
Good Theater is proud to open its seventh season with this timeless classic. On Golden Pond will star Broadway veteran Willi Burke, who is best known to Good Theater audiences for her lovely portrayal of Daisy Werthen in Driving Miss Daisy, and her real life husband, veteran actor Robert Morton Brooks. On Golden Pond is the touching story of Ethel and Norman Thayer who spend every summer on Golden Pond, and their only daughter Chelsea. Filled with great lines and touching scenes, this beautiful play will tug at your heart-strings and tickle your funny bone. On Golden Pond has been produced twice on Broadway and the film version received ten Academy Award nominations.
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Norman - Bob Brooks
Ethel - Willi Burke*
Chelsea - Kathleen Kimball
Bill Ray - Paul Drinan
Charley - David Branch
Billy - Dylan ChestnutDirected by Brian P. Allen^
Set Design - Stephen Underwood
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
Costumes - Brian P. Allen^ & Joan McMahon
Production Stage Manager - Joshua Hurd
Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
Props - Denise Poirier* Member Actors' Equity Association
^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers -
VETERAN STAGE COUPLE MAKE 'ON GOLDEN POND' SEEM REAL
The Maine Sunday Telegram By April Boyle 9/21/2008The Good Theater in Portland has chosen the perfect play to mark the change of the seasons. The theater kicked off its seventh season with a charming production of Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond."
The idea came about when veteran Broadway actress Willi Burke was starring in Good Theater's fifth-season closer, "Driving Miss Daisy."
Burke and her husband, veteran actor Robert Morton Brooks, were so enchanted by the theater that Brooks made a surprising proposal to Good Theater's founders, Brian P. Allen and Stephen Underwood: He would come out of retirement for the opportunity to co-star with his wife in "On Golden Pond" at Good Theater.
Brooks and Burke truly are a treat. They met 37 years ago while performing in a production of "Cactus Flower" in Houston and married two years later. They pour their love for each other into their characters, Ethyl and Norman Thayer, giving "On Golden Pond" an absolute sense of realism.
They deliver the dialogue-intense piece with ease. Brooks never failed to elicit laughter with his dry-witted quips and curmudgeonly behavior.
Burke enthralled the audience with her vitality. Their performances were so believable that genuine concern crossed the faces of the audience during the final scene.
A stunningly detailed set and wonderful sound effects make it easy to forget that the theater isn't a cabin on Golden Pond.
Like the 1981 film, this rendition explores the family dynamics between Ethyl, Norman and their 42-year-old daughter, Chelsea (Kathleen Kimball), who has always felt inadequate in her father's eyes.
Chelsea reluctantly comes home for Norman's 80th birthday, bringing her fiance, Bill Ray (Paul Drinan), and his 13-year-old son, Billy (Dylan Chestnut). David Branch rounds out the cast as the mailman, Charlie, a Down East Mainer.
The supporting cast does a superb job bringing out their characters' emotions and quirks.
"On Golden Pond" is an endearing, intimate show that's sure to win hearts. It brims with honest feeling and charm. And, it's a rare chance to see Brooks and Burke together again on stage.
Stones in His Pockets
by Maria Jones
October 30 - November 23, 2008
A recent Broadway hit, Stones is about two Irish blokes who get cast as extras in a big budget Hollywood film being shot in a sleepy Irish village. The two actors play 20 roles making for an exciting tour de force of comedy and laughter. Stones won the prestigious Olivier Award in London for outstanding comedy, and was nominated for three Tony Awards.
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Man 1 - Brian Chamberlain
Man 2 - Christopher ReilingDirected by Stephen Underwood
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
Costumes - Brian P. Allen^
Set & Sound Design - Stephen Underwood
Production Stage Manager - Joshua Hurd
Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson* Member Actors' Equity Association
^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers -
GOOD THEATER DUO CAST HILARIOUS 'STONES'
The Portland Press Herald By April Boyle 11/4/2008"What do you get when you put two chameleon-like actors on a virtually empty stage? At Good Theater, you get magic."
"Stones in His Pockets is a devilishly funny Hollywood satire featuring 20 quirky characters, all played by Brian Chamberlain and Christopher Reiling. It's a marvel to watch Chamberlain and Reiling switch from one character to another with a turn of the head or a slide of the feet. The changes are done at a madcap pace that leaves the audience eager to see what personality will pop up next."
"One minute Chamberlain could be leprechaun-sized, leaning on an imaginary cane as Mickey, and the next minute be the caddy Aisling, relaying instructions to the extras. Reiling pops back and forth between such varied characters as the narcissistic Caroline and her brutish bodyguard, Jock. It's hysterical."
"Stones in His Pockets is the directorial debut of Good Theater's co-founder, Stephen Underwood. The production shines with comic genius, and is a definite testament to the hard work of its stars."
GOOD THEATER'S DUO THROW A FEW STONES
The Portland Phoenix By Megan Grumbling 11/5/08"…some twenty different souls - are channeled via the remarkable virtuosity of just two actors: The excellent Brian Chamberlain and Christopher Reiling slip in and out of leads and extras alike in the Good Theater's superb, must-see Stones in his Pockets, a comedy about actors and acting, and a fine directorial debut of Stephen Underwood.
"All these people cavort in close proximity to each other, which calls for great speed and dexterity. And gloriously, hilariously, these two young actors are pure quicksilver. Costumes, set, and props are all minimal, the better to showcase the richness of Chamberlain's and Reiling's own resources: falsettos and eyebrows, limps and lips are all in the service of some impressive characterizations."
"Such is the two actors' virtuosity and rapport, in fact, that before long we're too absorbed by their characters to keep on marveling at how well they're pulling them off. That speaks volumes of their talent, and the effect is also vital for the show's power. Because while Stones is certainly meant to showcase theatrical chops, there's more at stake: a deep concern for the untold lot of the common guy."
GOOD THEATER'S MUST-SEE!
MaineToday.com By Josh Harriman 11/4/08"…a knockout. The production was a continuous burst of comedy and drama that related a story of small-town values and entertained with an impressive range of skills from the two actors, Brian Chamberlain and Christopher Reiling."
"Jones' drama, which is set in rural County Kerry, Ireland, found a kindred spirit in the precise and careful directing of Stephen Underwood…a tour-de-force of vocal and visual talent."
"The play is about two extras and it is their story, not Hollywood's. This production is an absolute must for anyone who enjoys truly great theatre."
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
The Bollard By Jason Wilkins 11/7/08"It's impressive to watch Chamberlain and Reiling populate a whole cast by themselves. They prove nimble in body and mind, leaping fluidly from role to role, making each character quite distinct. Director Stephen Underwood has prepared his two-man troupe well."
Broadway at Good Theater
Annual Fundraiser Concert
December 4 - 7, 2008
The annual concert for Good Theater is a 'not-to-be-missed' event. The concert features Broadway hits and holiday favorites accompanied by a three-piece band. This show has quickly become a holiday tradition and last year all five performances sold out. This year's show will be the biggest and most entertaining edition yet.
Our Broadway star will be Kenita Miller who starred as Miss Celie in The Color Purple on Broadway. She most recently completed the Broadway run of Xanadu and toured nationally as Sarah in Ragtime.
Our two special guests are singer/actor Bryant Lanier who toured nationally in Les Miz (Javert) and 42nd Street, and lyric baritone Joseph Stanek who makes his debut with Good Theater. Also performing will be singing sensation Marva Pittman, making her third appearance with the holiday show.
More than a dozen of your GT favorites will also perform including: Kelly Caufield, Ellen Domingos, Lynne McGhee, Amy Roche, Jennifer Manzi Macleod, Haley Bennett, Todd & Katie Daley, Marilyn Melton, Steve Underwood and Brian Allen. Newcomers to the GT stage include Grace Bradford and Marc Brann who stars in Light Up the Sky later this season. Last year all five performances sold-out and we encourage people to get their tickets early. A very special holiday tradition.
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Directed by Brian P. Allen
Musical Director Victoria StubbsFeaturing:
Kenita Miller
Bryant Lanier
Joseph Stanek
Marva Pittman
Kelly Caufield
Ellen Domingos
Lynne McGhee
Amy Roche
Jennifer Manzi MacLeod
Haley Bennett
Todd Daly
Katie Daly
Marilyn Merton
Stephen Underwood
Brian P. Allen
Grace Bradford
Marc Brann
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
book by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove
music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
January 22 - February 15, 2009
What is there to say? Forum just may be the funniest musical ever written! A cast of 18 will delight audiences with great comic timing, humorous gags, double takes, triple takes and outrageous situations. This fast paced, over the top romp is always unique, so even if you've seen Forum before, you've never seen it like this. A great way to cast off the winter blues is to join us for this multiple Tony Award winning musical. The original 1963 production of Forum won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical.
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Pseudolous - Tony Reilly
Senex - Stephen Underwood
Domina - Denise Poirier*
Hysterium - Will Sandstead
Philia - Annie Unnold
Hero - Christopher Reilling
Lycus - Cathy Counts
Erronius - Glenn Anderson
Miles - Bill Ellis
Protean 1 - Tyler Sperry
Protean 2 - Haley Bennett
Protean 3 - Erik Moody
Protean 4 - Betsy Dunphy
Panacea - Janis Greim
Gymnasia - Nell Green-Shipman
Tintanabula - Jeanne Handy
Gemini 1 - Vanessa Beyland
Gemini 2 - Jen MeansDirected by Brian P. Allen^
Musical director - Terry Hanson
Choreographer - Tyler Sperry
Set Design - Janet Montgomery
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
Costumes - Nina Jones
Technical Director - Stephen Underwood
Assistant Technical Director - Craig Robinson
Production Stage Manager - Joshua Hurd* Member Actors' Equity Association
^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers -
FARCICAL FUN FLOWS FREELY IN 'FORUM'
Maine Sunday Telegram By By April Boyle 1/25/2009The Good Theater is taking the absurd to new heights with an utterly ridiculous rendition of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum" that's sure to put smiles on the faces of theatergoers.
It's one of those guilty-pleasure productions that make you shake your head with disbelief at just how silly and over-the-top it is. You may even chastise yourself for laughing, but that won't stop the chuckles from spilling from your lips. "Forum" is a fun-filled romp into ancient Rome, and the Good Theater leaves no farcical stone unturned.
The production opened Friday with Tony Reilly heading up the cast as Pseudolus, Hero's scheming slave and the audience's irreverent guide. Reilly delivered an engaging performance that sizzled with satirical wit and comical expressions.
He remained on stage for much of the production, never seeming to tire.
The Good Theater got the farcical fun flowing with a laugh-out-loud rendition of "Comedy Tonight" that delightfully mocked the tragedy genre with black-clad cast members clutching severed "hands" as they mournfully wailed from the stage and in the aisles. Laughter erupted as Reilly admonished the cast, "tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight." Their expressions were priceless.
The song nicely introduced the audience to the 18-member cast and three-piece band, led by Terry Hanson on keyboard.
"Forum's" cast is the largest one the theater has used to date, and features Good Theater favorites and local and national talent.
Director Brian P. Allen has cast a treasure-trove of performers who clearly don't mind making complete fools of themselves. It was obvious they were having a ball Friday, which made it all the more fun for the audience.
Haley Bennett, Betsy Melarkey Dunphy, Erik Moody and Tyler Sperry were instant favorites as the Proteans, clownishly portraying pirates, slaves, eunuchs and soldiers.
The four hammed it up, with Moody unleashing an arsenal of freakishly funny expressions and gestures that provided an unending source of amusement.
Sperry, a principal dancer with the Portland Ballet Company, also provided the choreography for the production.
His talent and power shined through the ridiculousness as he effortlessly and gracefully danced across the small stage scantily dressed as a male courtesan, straight from "George of the Jungle."
Fellow dancers Jeanne Handy, Janis Greim, Vanessa Beyland, Jen Means and Nell Shipman were also marvels as the beautiful female courtesans.
Theatergoers will recognize a lot of names from this talented cast. Good Theater co-founder Stephen Underwood, also known for his work with the Maine Hysterical Society, plays Senex, the lecherous father of Hero, who is delightfully portrayed by local actor Chris Reiling.
Both are tall and lanky, with rubbery facial expressions and an innate sense of comic timing, making them seem like they truly are cut out of the same DNA cloth.
The cast also includes the multitalented Denise Poirier as Hero's mother Domina, Will Sandstead as Hysterium (Senex's and Domina's slave), Cathy Counts as courtesan procurer Marcus Lycus, Annie Unnold as Hero's love interest Philia, Bill Ellis as Miles Gloriosus and Maine State Music Theatre regular Glenn Anderson as Erronius. All shine.
The Good Theater has chosen a delightful production to break up the winter blues.
"Forum" is an outrageous lark that pokes fun at the formulaic nature of classic theater, with plenty of mistaken identity and ensuing madness to keep the laughter rolling.
And with a shamelessly entertaining musical score by Stephen Sondheim, it's hard to miss the mark.
THE PORTLAND PHOENIX
by Megan Grumbling, 1/28/2009Colorful archetypes abound in this super-stratified society of ancient Rome: The dirty old rich man, Senex (Stephen Underwood), is perfectly, shamelessly giddy over the lovely virgin, Philia (Annie Unnold). He's also perfectly pussy-whipped by Domina (Denise Poirier), the utterly imperious wife. Their impossibly innocent son, Hero (Chris Reiling), is pie-eyed with thwarted love for same said virgin, and then there's the household help: The good slave, Hysterium (Will Sandstead), is a completely insufferable brown-noser, while the lazy, rogue slave, Pseudolus (Tony Reilly), will seize on any scheme to win his own freedom. These and other pointedly named characters collide and ricochet in the Sondheim musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, on stage now in a buoyant and lavishly appointed production by the Good Theater, directed by Brian P. Allen.
Unfortunately for young Hero, the lovely virgin is also a slave and a courtesan in the brothel of madam Marcus Lycus (Cathy Counts) next door, and she is about to be sold to the narcissistic warrior Miles Gloriosus (Bill Ellis). But wily Pseudolus - who is also the show's charismatic narrator - sees an opportunity. There follows a slew of disguises, potions, untruths, and self-interested slapstick misbehavior (accented nicely by the live band's rim-shots, cowbell, and slide whistle) by characters both low and high on the social ladder.
Vivid is the visual contrast between those classes, thanks to the Good Theater's superb production design: the lowly are cartoonishly scruffy, the rich absolutely sumptuous. Pseudolus and his gang of Proteans (ever-morphing players who help with the exposition) wear blah shifts, striped leggings, and Chucks. For the well-heeled Romans, wardrobe coordinator Nina Jones acquired some decadent costumes on loan from the Cincinnati Playhouse, making the wealthy gleam in metallic and royal-hued luxury, the men bearing alluringly shiny daggers and swords, the women coiffed with glamorous wigs. Janet Montgomery's gorgeous set paints Senex's house in burnished ocher and orange, while the house of flesh next door is all cool seduction in indigo and silver.
The courtesans who emerge from it to ply their wares are manna for the eyes. Lithe Tintinabula (professional belly dancer Jeanne Handy) undulates and rings finger chimes; Panacea (Janis Greim) strikes poses in the blue sequins of an Ice-Capades-meets-Frederick's-of-Hollywood ensemble; and bendy Gymnasia (Nell Shipman) glowers over her chrome-domed bustier. The Geminae (Vanessa Beyland and Jen Means), twin redheads with bob cuts, cavort together in coral ombrû chiffon under red gels. Lush stuff!
Forum calls for a big, boisterous cast. Not every voice in this production is Broadway caliber, but the strength of the ensemble more than compensates, and it brims with local favorites in some very sharp casting. I use the word "louche" a lot when I'm reviewing Tony Reilly, but he's just so damn good at it; his shuffling Pseudolus is a lecherous but affable trickster. Underwood and Reiling, both lean, leggy, and very expressive physical actors, are a super father-son duo, and as for Domina, I can't think of a better choice than Poirier, with her haughty poise and the terrifying upswing in that voice of hers. As her rival Philia, the plot's virgin linchpin, Unnold has a sheer voice and easy, facile radiance.
Allen's nimble cast keeps everything frothy and tongue-in-cheek in this unabashedly light romp. The show's comic timing, its eye candy, and its vaudevillian titillations should sate a whole social array of pleasure-seekers.
Is There Fat in That?
by Ellen Domingos
February 18 - 22, 2009
World Premiere
This unique and very funny one-woman show makes it world premiere at Good Theater. Ellen Domingos is a young woman from Maine who has spent the last 12 years living in NYC working as a model and an actress. This is her story told with large amounts of humor and a great deal of warmth. If you ever wanted to know what it was really like to be a model, you will find out as Ellen weaves together stories and songs for an unforgettable evening.
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Starring Ellen Domingos
Directed by Brian P. Allen^
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
Musical Direction - Victoria Stubbs
Stage Manager - Justin Cote
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant* Member Actors' Equity Association
^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers -
Light Up the Sky
by Moss Hart
Apr 16 - May 10, 2009
From the co-author of You Can't Take It With You and The Man Who Came to Dinner, comes this rollicking backstage comedy about a group of theater people (the larger-than-life star, her mother, the tough-as-nails producer, his ice-skating wife, the overly emotional director, the idealistic writer and a host of other zany characters) getting ready to open a brand new play in Boston, prior to Broadway. Act One begins with everyone loving each other as they toast the play and prepare for the first performance. Things do not go well, and in Act Two everyone hates each other, but encouraging reviews from the first-night Boston critics require everyone to quickly make up and get back to work. Good Theater's crazy cast of ten will delight audiences with their antics in this screwball comedy.
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Miss Lowell -Laura Graham
Carleton Fitzgerald - Mark Honan*
Frances Black - Janice Gardner
Owen Turner - Bob McCormack
Stella Livingston - Tootie Van Reenen
Peter Sloan - Mark Brann
Sidney Black - Stephen Underwood
Sven/William Gallegher/Plain Clothes Man - Randall Tuttle
Irene Livingston - Denise Poirier
Tyler Rayburn - Mark RubinDirected by Brian P. Allen^
Set Design - Craig Robinson
Lighting Design - Jamie Grant
Technical Director - Stephen Underwood
Production Stage Manager - Joshua Hurd* Member Actors' Equity Association
^ Member SDC, Society of Directors & Choreographers -
HONAN and POIRER light up ‘LIGHT UP’
The Portland Press Herald By Steve Feeney 4/21/2009Saturday night's performance confirmed that this Portland production is greatly enhanced by the presence of two of the finest comedic actors working in the area in recent years, Denise Poirier and Mark Honan. Both were again masterful in portraying slightly, and sometimes not-so-slightly, wacky eccentrics. They were just a whole lot of fun to watch.
As in her role in "Hay Fever" from a couple of years back, Poirier got the scene-making and scene-stealing diva role down to a hilarious science. She turned on a dime from mock vulnerability to accusing menace and made it all so delightfully arch.
Honan's director here likewise made being on the verge of tears into one of the best of several running gags in the show.
Tootie Van Reenen, as the star's mother, had several of the better lines in the early going, providing a withering review of a rehearsal she snuck into. Bob McCormack, as an older playwright, offered some kind, if slightly jaded, advice to the young writer of the play within the play. All the while Stephen Underwood and Janice Gardner, as husband and wife producers, added to the sense of what a roller coaster ride opening a new play can be,
Marc Brann, Laura Graham, Randall Tuttle and Mark Rubin complete the ensemble that may wonder if the play is an "allegory" but is more concerned that it has the critics' blessing and will have a long run.
The director of "Light Up the Sky," Brian P. Allen, and his team obviously have their hearts bound up in the laughter and tears of showbiz and deserve praise for bringing this little period take on the world of the stage to their stage.
TRUE DE-LIGHT
The Portland Phoenix by Megan Grumbling 4/22/2009Good Theater's cast has decadent and often very virtuosic fun. The role of diva Irene might as well have been written for Poirier, who glides and flutters, effuses and struts and frets, and looks fabulous in a series of luxurious costumes (many on loan from the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). She and Honan egg each other on as the sensitive artistic temperaments of the bunch; and the watchful, knowing gaze of McCormick's Owen, both amused and affectionate, is an elegant counterweight to their histrionics.
As the less-refined Sidney, the angular Underwood is a casting coup, with his blunt gestures and his crass but musical delivery of the financier's alliterative patter and wacky metaphors. His platinum-blonde wife Frances, in Gardner's hands, is another coarse-talking delight — brash, buxom, chirpy, all candy and big jewelry. The record should also show that Randall Tuttle does an unexpectedly convincing Swedish masseur, not to mention a robust drunken Shriner. And Van Reenen, whose snappy wryness I've come to relish over many of her roles, is in prime form; I'd watch the whole three acts again just to revel in her Stella's sharp, no-nonsense cynicism. The set of her mouth, so often puckered to the side in a smirk of disapprobation, suggests not just that Stella constantly holds a figurative wedge of lemon in there, but that she particularly enjoys the taste of it.
Finally, the arc of Brann's young playwright Peter over the course of these few hours — from naive to world-wise — is an important one: Hart ultimately presents an homage to the birth not just of one show to a stage, but of a playwright into a long theatrical life, and Brann draws it with both charm and fire. No business like it, and the Good Theater's radiant, witty, affectionate production embodies just what Hart sought to celebrate.