Silk Stockings (1955)

Archive

Read our review in the Bay Times and a mini-review in the Huffington Post.

May 4 - 22, 2011
The Eureka Theatre

Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath & Abe Burrows
Directed by Greg MacKellan

Runtime: approximately 2.5 Hours

A B O U T

The Cold War turns hot in Cole Porter's final Broadway Musical, a sly and sophisticated version of the Lubitsch-Wilder classic Ninotchka!

Porter's legendary wit is in top form as a stern but lovely Russian commissar is seduced by the joys of Paris and the charms of an American film agent. The dazzling collection of songs includes the classics All of You and Paris Loves Lovers, and the Porter comic masterpieces Stereophonic Sound, Satin and Silk, and Siberia.

C A S T
	*Ian Simpson (Steve Canfield)** returns to 42nd Street Moon where he was last seen as Dick Trevor in the hit, Lady, Be Good! Other credits include: Harry Bright in the National Tour of Mamma Mia!, Leo Bloom in The Producers, Tokyo Philharmonic (soloist), The Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada, The Shaw Festival in Canada and The Charlottetown Festival on Prince Edward Island. Other selected credits: Les Misérables, Equus, Falsettos, Into the Woods, Cinderella, King Lear. Proud Actors’ Equity member. Up next: André in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Empire Theatre in Ontario, Canada.
	*Lee Ann Payne (Ninotchka)** is making her 42nd Street Moon debut. Recent credits include Amy in Company and Louise in The Great Nebula in Orion (Jewel Theatre Company), The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods (Broadway by the Bay), and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and Vicki Nichols in The Full Monty (Little Theatre on the Square, Illinois). Also a local choreographer and director, Lee Ann earned her MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University.
	*Dyan McBride (Janice Dayton)** has proudly worked with 42nd Street Moon for over 15 years as an actress, director and most recently added education director to her list. Other companies include: Sacramento Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, Ray of Light, Laguna Playhouse, Napa Rep, Broadway by the Bay, Golden State Theatre, Utah Musical Theatre, New Conservatory, CTA Crossroads, Mondavi Center, Solano College Theatre, Performance Riverside, as well as film, TV, print, web and voiceover work. BA- Cal. State Fullerton- Musical Theatre. MFA- UC Davis-Acting. Member of Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors’ Equity Association. Acting faculty at Solano College. www.dyanmcbride.com.
	*Jackson Davis (Brankov)** last worked with 42nd Street Moon playing the title character in Ben Franklin in Paris. Other Moon credits include Pipe Dream, Goldilocks and It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman. In the Bay Area Jackson has worked with American Conservatory Theater, San Jose Repertory, TheatreWorks, Aurora Theater, Marin Theater Company, the Magic, SF Playhouse, CenterRep, and San Jose Stage Company, among others. He received his MFA from Temple University.
	Daniel Epstein (Boroff) is making his 42nd Street Moon debut in Silk Stockings. Most recently, Mr. Epstein performed the role of Robert in The Drowsy Chaperone with Diablo Theatre Company. Daniel finished his Postgraduate Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music last spring after getting his Masters in 2009. Other recent roles include Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Valentin in Faust, The Father in Hansel and Gretel, Morales in Carmen, the title role in Gianni Schicchi and Professor Bhaer in the musical, Little Women.
	Michael Rhone (Ivanov) returns to 42nd Street Moon after playing Hysterium in Forum last fall. Other credits include Company (Paul) at Jewel Theatre Company; Swing! (Principal Vocalist) at Cabrillo Stage; The Who’s Tommy (Captain Walker) at City Lights Theater Company; Bat Boy (Bud/Daisy/Pan), The Pajama Game (Prez), Carousel (Enoch Snow), and Urinetown (Officer Barrel), all at Foothill Music Theater. He also played a variety of peasants, courtiers and soldiers as a member of the Opera San Jose chorus for six seasons.
	Jeremy Vik (Bibinski) is returning for his third 42nd Street Moon show. You may remember him from Destry Rides Again, Very Warm for May, or have seen him performing with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. If you want to see more of him, check out Pratfalls and Rising Stars this June at the San Francisco Circus Center. As a student in the Professional Acrobatic Training Program, Jeremy will be doing a hand balancing act on stacked chairs, as well as juggling and tumbling with his fellow acrobats. Jeremy will also be a performing in The Tempest this summer with Marin Shakespeare Company in San Rafael.
	*Nancy Dobbs Owen (Vera)** National Theater: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. L.A. Theater: Theatre of Note, the Production, the Alex Theater, the Hudson Theater and the Met Theatre. Bay Area Theater: American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the Magic Theater, 42nd Street Moon and Berkeley Opera. L.A. choreography: Theatre of Note, Sight Unseen Theatre, the Production Company and the Hudson Theater. Nancy has appeared in numerous independent films and national commercials. A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. www.nancydobbsowen.com.
	Annie Donahey (Edith, Sonia et al) previously appeared in 42nd Street Moon’s productions of Babes in Arms (Maizie Green), The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd (The Kid), and Finian's Rainbow (Honeylou). Other credits include Little Sally in Urinetown (Sunnyvale Community Players), Anybodys in West Side Story (Sunnyvale Community Players), Leah/Gabe in Elijah’s Hope (Staged Reading, Pear Avenue Theatre), Shereee in Families in the Fifties (Staged Reading, Virago Theatre Company), and The Drowsy Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone (Archbishop Mitty High School).
	Hannah Knapp (Saleslady, Anna et al) is an ensemble member with Precarious Theatre, and originated the role of Luscinda in their original musical, I'm Yours! (or Deranged by Love). Other favorite roles include: Laura in The Glass Menagerie and Mae (Sister Woman) in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Boxcar Theatre; Nina in The Seagull and Catherine in Proof with Shakespeare's Associates; and Helena in All's Well That Ends Well and Celia in As You Like It with Valley Shakespeare Festival.
	*Bill Olson (Pierre Bouchard, Alexei, et al)** returns for his third show at 42nd Street Moon, where he previously played Dan King in Plain and Fancy and Art O'Malley in Out of This World. Some of his favorite roles include Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Andrew in I Hate Hamlet (both at San Jose Stage Co.), Milky White the Cow in Into the Woods at TheatreWorks and The Cat in the Hat in Seussical at Berkeley Playhouse.
	Corinne Proctor (Suzanne, Maria, et al) returns to 42nd Street Moon after making her debut as Penny in Babes in Arms earlier this season. She was last seen in the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco production, Sheherezade XI. Other Bay Area appearances include The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (St. Monica) with Custom Made, How the Other Half Loves (Teresa Phillips) with Off Broadway West, and Den of Thieves (Boochie) at SF Playhouse. Corinne graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in Acting in 2008.
	*Ray Renati (Commissar Markovitch)** is performing for the first time at 42nd Street Moon. His credits include Schrank and Gladhand in West Side Story at American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Antonio in The Merchant of Venice at the RADA Theatre in London, Jeff in Brigadoon at Foothill Music Theatre, Ernst in Cabaret at Broadway by the Bay, and The Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show at City Lights. Ray has studied at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he earned a certificate in Acting Shakespeare.
	Jonathan Shue (Hotel Manager, Fabour) was last seen at 42nd Street Moon as Peter in Babes in Arms. Other credits include Pepys in Compleat Female Stage Beauty (City Lights Theater Company), Chester in A Civil War Christmas (TheatreWorks), Simon in Hay Fever (Pear Avenue Theatre), multiple roles in As You Like It (San Jose Rep), Scripps in The History Boys (New Conservatory Theatre Center), and 16 productions including an international tour with California Theatre Center. A proud Bruin, he is also a musician and songwriter. www.jonathanshue.com.



C R E A T I V E
	Greg MacKellan (Director) is never happier than when he is doing a Cole Porter musical. During his 18 years as Artistic Director of 42nd Street Moon, Greg has directed Porter’s Gay Divorce, Jubilee, Can-Can, Something for the Boys, Red Hot and Blue!, and Fifty Million Frenchmen. Greg’s award-winning revision of the Cole Porter musical Out of This World was presented to critical acclaim at the Chichester Festival in England, and has since been produced in Seattle, Los Angeles, and twice by Moon. A graduate of San Diego State University and UCLA’s Musical Theatre Workshop, Greg co-founded Moon in 1993. He spearheaded Moon’s two NEA-sponsored projects: a restoration of the Arlen-Harburg of Hooray for What!, and the recording of Leave it to Me. Greg’s non-Moon credits include productions of The Baker’s Wife (on which he worked with Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein), Mack & Mabel, Once in a Blue Moon, Tintypes and Broadway by the Bay’s The Sound of Music, a production that was second to nun. In LA and New York, he was responsible for the acclaimed six-CD “Shadowland” series of CDs devoted to rare American musical theatre songs. Greg is shepherding Moon’s next NEA-sponsored restoration, the Kern-Hammerstein Three Sisters, later this year. He also directs and narrates the Moon Salon Series, which continues with Cole Porter on September 15th.
	Dave Dobrusky (Musical Director) is celebrating his 15th season with 42nd Street Moon! Favorite productions include Lady, Be Good!, Jubilee, Call Me Madam, High Spirits, Girl Crazy, The Student Gypsy, Plain and Fancy, Mack and Mabel, Minnie’s Boys, Can-Can, Finian’s Rainbow, Paint Your Wagon (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award), By Jupiter, Leave It to Me! (recorded), Dear World, and Louisiana Purchase. He has also appeared with Karen Ziemba, Noah Racey, Donna McKechnie, Cady Huffman, Nancy Dussault, Andrea McArdle, Marni Nixon, Rebecca Luker and Leslie Caron. Other Bay Area credits include: Marry Me a Little, tick, tick…Boom! (Theatre Rhinoceros); I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Ray of Light); Man of LaMancha (BATCC Award-San Francisco Playhouse); The Fantasticks (Shakespeare at Stinson); Passion, and Chess (New Conservatory Theatre).
	Nick Di Scala (Reeds) has played with Beach Blanket Babylon, the California, Napa, Sacramento, and Oakland Symphonies, with Ray Charles, The Temptations, Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, and Isaac Hayes. He regularly plays with TheatreWorks, Woodminster, and other regional theaters. He has arranged for Tony nominee Christianne Noll and the New York Pops. He has Music Directed for over 20 theater productions in the Bay Area. He also works with the estate of jazz pioneer Don Ellis preparing music for publication and producing new and archival recordings.
	Jayne Zaban (Choreographer) danced professionally with the Atlanta Ballet Company. As co-owner and director of Dance Arts Center in San Carlos, she has instructed many students who now have professional careers in theatre and dance. Jayne has choreographed for many Regional theaters: 42nd Street Moon, New Conservatory Theatre, Broadway by the Bay, the Lamplighters, Hillbarn, Aurora Theatre, Diablo Theatre Company and Morrie Bobrow Productions. Awards and nominations: Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Garland, Dean Goodman, Shellie, Subscribers Choice Award, Hillbarn.
	Joe Mader (Stage Manager) has written on theater and film for a variety of publications, including Salon.com, the San Francisco Weekly, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Hollywood Reporter. He served as managing director and producer for a Worcester, Massachusetts theater company for two years. For 42nd Street Moon, he recently stage managed And All That Jazz: A John Kander Salon, as well as Peddling Rainbows, Girl Crazy, and Very Warm for May, the company's last three annual fundraising galas, as well as the first entries in Moon’s Salon Series: Nice Work If You Can Get It: An Ira Gershwin Salon and I Feel a Song Coming On: A Dorothy Fields Salon.
	Ellen Brooks (Lighting Designer) has designed countless productions for 42nd Street Moon at the Alcazar, Herbst, Eureka, and New Conservatory Theaters - including our recent Salons and annual fundraisers. She is Resident Lighting Director at the Marin Shakespeare Company and this summer designed Anthony and Cleopatra and Travesties for that company. Other recent work includes Lucia di Lammermoor, Eugene Onegin and Macbeth for North Bay Opera; Bittersweet for Lamplighters/Opera West; The Middle Ages, Last Night of Ballyhoo and The Miracle Worker for Ross Valley Players; and the World Premiere of Dogsbody at the Yerba Buena Forum. As a performer, Ms. Brooks recently returned from a tour of Turkey with Innovations in Noh, directed by Yuriko Doi.
	Louise Jarmilowicz (Costumer) is in her fifth season as costumer for 42nd Street Moon. She has been costuming around San Francisco for many years. Other groups with whom she has worked designing and constructing costumes, include Crowded Fire, the Thrillpeddlers, Handful Players, the African-American Shakespeare Co., Children’s Fairyland, Stage Door Conservatory, The Lamplighters, the Dark Room Theater, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and many other local artists. www.jarmodesigns.com
	Sarah Phykitt (Set Designer) Credits include: Babes in Arms with 42nd Street Moon, Our Body Remembers (Scenic and Lighting Designer) with Levy Dance, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Scenic Design and Production Manager) with Custom Made Theatre, The Jewish Theatre San Francisco (Production Manager), the Duke on 42nd Street (Technical Manager). Other recent SF productions include Sketchfest 2010, Stateless: A Hip Hop Vaudeville Experience, The Sisters Rosensweig, and The Floating Light Bulb. NYC productions include Black Nativity, My Dead Mother Is Funnier than You, Altar Boyz, Slava’s Snow Show, Anton: Scenes from the Family Life of Anton Chekhov, Trailerville, and several pieces for the Central Park Zoo’s Wildlife Theater.
	Karla Hargrave (Props Master) graduated from Wesleyan University with degrees in Sculpture and Art History. She is currently a Fellow at the Brava Theater Center and is enrolled in San Francisco State University's Theatre Design Masters program. She is the set designer and props master for the AKA Theatre Co. in Palo Alto and has worked as the set designer for I.D. at Elon University, as co-set designer for Kaleidoscope's burlesque show, and as props master and set assistant for The Beebo Brinker Chronicles at the Brava Theater Center.
	* Member Actor's Equity Association (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 49,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org