Meet the Cast: Dana Cherry and Joni DeGabriele
Dana Cherry (Isabel) is delighted to be making her debut with Ross Valley Players. Dana is a native to Marin County where she has been performing since age 8. Some of Dana’s favorite roles include Gertrude in Seussical with Stapleton Theater Company, Little Becky Two Shoes in Urinetown with Novato Theater Company and Rocinante (Don Quixote’s horse) in Man of La Mancha with the Mountain Play. When not on stage, Dana is a therapeutic behavioral specialist with Sunny Hills Services.
Joni DeGabriele (Mabel) is delighted to be performing Gilbert and Sullivan again with dear friends Norman Hall and Kathryn McGeorge. Favorite roles include Susannah (The Marriage of Figaro), Sally Plummer (Follies), Sarah (Guys and Dolls) and Mother (Ragtime) where she earned a Shellie award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also performed as the Minstrel in the Yosemite Bracebridge Dinners. Joni recently launched her business, “Musical Moments: Building Character Through Music” working with preschool and early elementary students, and is recording a children’s CD to be released this Fall.
Dana and Joni will appear in The Pirate of Penzance at Ross Valley Players, July 17 through August 16. Tickets are available HERE. Learn more about the production HERE.
Meet the Cast: Bob Wilson and Greg Wolff
Bob Wilson (Police) last played a cop in The Music Man (Mountain Play), last appeared at RVP in You Can’t Take It With You, and has been a part of RVP for the past 25 years as performer, director and producer.
Greg Wolff (Samuel). This is Greg’s debut with the Ross Valley Players, but he is a Mountain Play veteran, having appeared in nine productions — Oliver!, Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, My Fair Lady, Wizard of Oz, Man of La Mancha, Guys and Dolls, Sound of Music, and South Pacific. He also played the role of Wilbur in the Stapleton Theater Company’s production of Hairspray. He lives in Mill Valley with his lovely wife, Lori Howard.
Bob and Greg will appear in The Pirate of Penzance at Ross Valley Players, July 17 through August 16. Tickets are available HERE. Learn more about the production HERE.
Meet the Cast: Javier Alcaron and Charles Bookoff
Javier Alarcon (Policeman) is thrilled to be back at RVP for his fifth show having previously performed in Greater Tuna, You Can’t Take It With You, All My Sons, and The Fox on the Fairway. It is an honor to work with James Dunn and Paul Smith and such a talented cast. “Thank you always to my loving wife, Erika.”
Charles Bookoff (Policeman) recently made his theatrical debut as Avram in NTC’s Fiddler on the Roof. For several years he has been singing in chorus at College of Marin and has performed numerous times in the Contemporary Opera Program directed by Paul Smith. He is grateful to his voice teacher, Boyd Jarrell, and Terry McGovern, director of Marin Actors’ Workshop. He is thrilled to be performing at RVP with this amazing cast and director in Pirates of Penzance.Auditions for Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the Worst Singer in the World
The Ross Valley Players are having open auditions for our upcoming production of Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the Worst Singer in the World. Written by Peter Quilter and directed by Billie Cox of last season’s hit Impressionism. Auditions by appointment only.
When: Saturday, July 25th from 2 pm – 5pm
and Sunday, July 26th from 5 – 9 pm
Callbacks are by invitation only on Saturday, August 1 from 10 am to 2 pm.
Where: Ross Valley Players Barn
Marin Art & Garden Center
30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross, CA 94957
What: Prepare two contrasting monologues, each less than one-minute long, one comedic and one dramatic.
Email: glorious.auditions@gmx.com for an appointment.
Rehearsals start Monday, August 3rd. Rehearsals will be Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 to 10 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Thursday rehearsals will be added starting on August 20. Tech is scheduled on Sunday, September 13. The show opens on September 18.
Performances Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. There is no Sunday matinee the first weekend. The show closes on Sunday, October 18. There is a $100 stipend. Non-AEA only.
Character Descriptions
The part of Florence Foster Jenkins has been cast, but we will be giving consideration to casting an understudy. All other roles are open and are as follows:
Florence Foster Jenkins (understudy) – Eccentric American lady, 60s-70s. Should be a good singer, ideally a colartura.
Cosme McMoon – Male, early 30s, piano playing not required. It would be excellent addition, but acting ability trumps piano playing.
St. Clair – Male, 60s-70s, Florence’s English boyfriend. Ebullient, lover of life, food and wine (and women).
Dorothy – Female, 60s – 70s. Florence’s friend.
Maria – Female. Florence and St. Clair’s Mexican cook/housemaid. Role is entirely in Spanish. Dry wit a plus.
Mrs. Verrinder – Gedge Florence’s nemesis. An American lady of middle age.
First Lady of the Sliding Scale
Jenkins is the hottest ticket in town, and not for the reasons you’d think. An enthusiastic soprano with less than perfect pitch, she warbles and screeches her way through arias by Mozart and Strauss, accompanied by her trusty pianist. But this delusional and joyously happy woman pays little attention to her critics, and instead surrounds herself with devoted friends and fans nearly as eccentric as herself.
Based upon a true story, the play follows plucky Florence through charity recitals, balls, bizarre recording sessions, and ultimately to her triumphant performance at Carnegie Hall. Take a journey with Florence and her pianist Cosme McCoon to rediscover the definition of passion! Directed by Billie Cox.
“Delightful and often blissfully funny…this is a cult hit if I ever saw one.” – Daily Telegraph
Ross Valley Players at the Marin County Fair
For a number of years RVP has operated a Beer Booth (including wine, and a few alcohol-free beverages, sodas, juices and water) at the Marin County Fair. This is a major and very important fundraising effort for the Players. A few people do the hard work of setting up, ordering and receiving goods to sell, and arranging staff assignments. There is a Responsible Beverage Service training required to work in any of the booths selling alcohol; a photo badge is issued at its completion.
We ask people on our regular house staffing lists, as well as board members and backstage personnel to work a shift at the Fair. This year we are looking to our broader community of supporters for new volunteers to HELP US in the Booth.
Please contact Eleanor Prugh to explore your interest further. Some details follow:
DAYS AND DATES OF FAIR:
Wednesday, July 1, through Sunday, July 5 = FIVE DAYS
HOURS OF BOOTH SHIFTS (a break is given):
SHIFT ONE: 10-45-2:45
SHIFT TWO: 2:30-6:30
SHIFT THREE: 6:15-10:15
DATES AND TIMES FOR R.B.S. TRAINING:
(located in the Showcase Theatre on the Marin Civic Center campus):
Saturday, June 13 – 10-12 noon
Thursday, June 25 – 6-8 pm
Tuesday, June 30 – 10-12 noon (“last chance” training)
You will be registered for the training after choosing your shift to work and your training date. Contact Eleanor.
For each day you volunteer to take a shift, you will receive from RVP a pass to the FAIR. And, OH, besides its “bottom-line” importance and the fact that it’s a bit of work, it can also be a LOT OF FUN. Please consider helping and decide affirmatively as soon as possible!! THANK YOU.
Note that there are no special arrangements for parking for people who work at the Fair.
Contact Eleanor Prugh at ecprugh@earthlink.net for more information.
Why Do You Love Ross Valley Players?
The Critics LOVE RVP’s Production of “The Clean House!”
Critics can’t get enough of our current production of Sarah Ruhl’s Pulitzer Prize winning The Clean House. Barry Willis has awarded the show five stars and called it a “near perfect theatrical experience.”
“On rare occasions, theater critics face the happy task of reviewing a production about which nothing negative can be said. Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, now at Ross Valley Players, is such a production — one whose script, casting, set, direction and pacing combine in a near-perfect theatrical experience.
A love triangle with heartache to follow is among the oldest stories on earth, of course, but Ruhl takes this basic setup into such unexpected and profound territory that it becomes an often comic riff on issues of attachment, expectation, friendship, love, devotion and death — all of it so deftly interwoven that poignancy lingers long after the final scene.
The show moves along briskly without feeling rushed, and with appropriate changes in tempo that amplify the playwright’s emotional roller-coaster. David Shirk’s elegant set enables multiple scenes — scenes-within-scenes and cutaway bits — without the need to change anything. A projection screen cleverly displays translations or descriptions, like the text inserted between shots in old silent movies. Sound designer James Ard has chosen a couple of gorgeous operatic arias for key scenes, yielding an emotional resonance not possible from actors alone, no matter how talented.
But make no mistake — this is one talented troupe. Director JoAnne Winter extracts a glorious synergy from an incredibly well-balanced cast. A production that’s a welcome departure from RVP’s tried-and-true repertoire, “The Clean House” goes in many unexpected directions, but all of them make a sort of believable, empathetic and ultimately satisfying sense. A standout among a handful of “best of” Bay Area shows so far this year, RVP’s production is quirky, beautiful, brilliant — and not to be missed.”
-Barry Willis, Marin Independent Journal (read the full review HERE)
“I’m sure I wasn’t meant to immediately get some ruminations within the play. Or ever. Some enlightenment might have been expected to arrive hours — or days later. After all, Ruhl originally wanted to be a poet, and much poetry is initially unfathomable or mysterious, right? Like an elongated Portuguese joke never translated.
I surely wasn’t sure what I thought of the whole eccentric, moving enchilada while watching it, nor instantly after exiting. Yet the next morning I recognized it had a deliciously subtle, flavorful aftertaste. One that absolutely left me looking forward to the Bay Area’s next show by Ruhl.”
–Woody Weingarten, Marinscope (read the full review HERE)
The Clean House runs now through June 14, 2015. Get your tickets online HERE or by visiting our website at rossvalleyplayers.com/tickets. Special talk back with director JoAnne Winter on Sunday, May 24 and 31 following the matinee performance.
Photo by Gregg Le Blanc / Cumulus Light Photography.
Opening Weekend Festivities at Ross Valley Players!
Preview
Do you like to be the first person to see the show? Join us for a specially discounted preview performance on Thursday, May 14 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are only $15 ($10 for Students and Youth). Click here to purchase!
Opening Night
The Clean House opens on Friday, May 15th at 8 pm. If you are an 85th Season Subscriber, an Opening Night Reception with hors d’oeuvres and wine is included in the price of all season subscriptions. The fun starts at 7 pm. Meet the director JoAnne Winter, schmooze with members of Ross Valley Players’ Board of Directors, and claim the best seats in the house!
Not a Season Subscriber, but still want to join in the celebration? All Opening Night tickets include a sparkling wine beverage post show. Get your Opening Night tickets here!
Buzz at the Barn
A beloved tradition, Buzz at the Barn returns this Saturday, May 16 at 7 pm. Join us for sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvres, included in the price of all tickets on the first Saturday of our run. Purchase your tickets here!
We hope that you’ll join us for opening weekend, and that you’ll help spread the word about our show. Ross Valley Players strives to create professional-level, quality theatre for our community, and we thank you for your support!
A Note from the Director
“How to describe The Clean House? A Portuguese cleaning woman, the progression of dust, medieval love songs about surgery? Its disparate elements make it impossible to conveny the elegant beauty, the simple joy, and the tragic humanity of this play. If you want to believe the world is awful, well, there’s plenty of evidence to prove your point. But, there is just as much evidence to the contrary. Life holds such sublime beauty, such sheer, absurd fun, such glorious music and delicious flavors. Everyone is a mess, broken, needy, and frightened. We may not ever fully understand the jokes life plays on us. So maybe it’s better to just have a good laugh, go apple picking, and eat homemade chocolate ice cream.
I have loved exploring this play with this wonderful and talented cast, and design team. It is a joy to be reminded every day to embrace the messiness of life – to let go, and dive in. Many thanks to the RVP staff and volunteers for this wonderful opportunity to share this play with you.”
JoAnne Winter (Director) is a Bay Area director and actor. In 1993 she co-founded Word for Word Performing Arts Company, a theatre company that creates performances from short fiction and poetry. In the past 22 years, as Co-Artistic Director, she has produced over 100 shows and readings, as well as performed and directed for both Word for Word and other Bay Area theaters. She is also the director of Youth Arts, Word for Word’s arts education program and has produced 10 years of the YA School & Library Tour. She oversees scores of WfW workshops with students in Bay Area schools. As a WfW actor, she has originated roles in 36 Stories by Sam Shepard, In Friendship, John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven (a co-production with Cal Shakes and Octavio Solis), Three On a Party, Three Blooms, among many others. As a director, her favorite shows include Word for Word’s Wants and A Conversation With My Father by Grace Paley, Spring Rain by Bernard Malamud, and Ancestor by Greg Sarris. She is very pleased to be making her RVP debut with this lovely play by Sarah Ruhl.
Ross Valley Players 