Creative Team |
Synopsis |
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Director: Dane CT Leasure^
Music Director: Anthony Trifiletti Stage Manager: Patrick Lee Johnson* Sound Designer: Hazen Tobar Composers and Writers: Amy Burgess and Rachel Dean Orchestration: Emily Chiu and Lucy O'Brien Intimacy Director: Julia Fisher VIP Tickets on sale for Members May 3rd
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It is May, 1945, and the G.S. Good Rubber Factory in Akron, OH, is in the throes of rubber production for World War II. With most of the men overseas, it is no time to be frail for the female workers as they navigate the new, harsh work environment of factory life, and discover the freedom and agency that come with it. In this adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helen, the factory forewoman, Billie, the factory machinist, Ellie, the factory owner's daughter, and Sandra, a female Naval Lieutenant turned filmmaker comprise a lovers' quartet on a collision course with their burgeoning feelings for each other and the uncertainty of a changing world. With the announcement of V-E Day, their newfound freedoms are in danger, and all four must decide how to chart their futures. Mix in Robert and Clarence (long-time partners and proprietors of the local Ritz Theatre longing for the old days of sumptuous revelry and passion), Buck (their mischievous assistant), Nick (the exceptionally handsome lead singer of the band "The 4 Fs”), and a mad-cap masked party in the woods, and the end of the war is sure to only be the beginning.
MusiciansConductor/Piano: Anthony Trifiletti
Percussion: Richard Moore+ Cello: Gregory Fiocca+ Violin: Eunho Kim+ Guitar: Jeremy Poparad+ |
This world premier musical re-imagines Shakespeare through the lives of LGBTQ+ characters is made possible through support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge. The Knight Arts Challenge funds the best ideas for engaging and enriching Akron through the arts.
CAST
Tess Primack*
Helen Cross 
Alexis Sims*
Billie Harris 
Lana Sugarman
Lt. Sandra O'Hare 
Anna Popa
Eleanor "Ellie" Good 
Jason Eno*
Clarence "Clary" Ryan 
Jay Sigler
Robert Sheridan |
Andrew Strano
Buck Ryley 
George Csanyi
Mr. GS Good 
Nick Salazar
Nick Butz 
Zach Palumbo
Francis/Film Crew 
Olivia Billings**
Mary/Finn 
Jack D. Riter
Frank/Film Crew |
Carolyn Demanelis
Margie 
Caroline Turner
Elaine 
Roxana Bell
Betty 
Kayla Lehman
Ruth 
Tara Corkery
Jean |
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Rubber City Theatre, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
**Actors' Equity Membership Candidate.
+Member of the American Federation of Musicians
^Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
**Actors' Equity Membership Candidate.
+Member of the American Federation of Musicians
^Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
 Image by #SueroPhotography
Amy Burgess is a composer, writer, and performer from New York City. Recent Theatre: ELEVATOR HEART, NYC premiere production with THML Theatre Co. and Access Theater (Spring 2019), University of San Francisco production (Fall 2018), NYC concert reading @ the Tank (Fall 2017), NYU Tisch New Musicals Workshop (Fall 2016), Queens Council on the Arts Grant (2016); STIR (music) with Basin Arts (Summer 2017) filmed for PBS; Under My Skin (words and music) with collaborator Joel Waggoner, choreography by Clare Cook, Dance Now NYC @ Joe's Pub (2014); SHOW ME REAL (words and music) with Clare Cook Dance Theatre at the New York Musical Festival (2012) and Tada! Theater (2012). Amy’s musical theatre work has been seen at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, The Tank, Dixon Place, Berkshire Playwright’s Lab, Goodspeed Musicals, and many other NYC venues.
Choral and symphonic commissions (selection): for the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir: Upcoming Moon Dance: A Choral Fantasia (Spring 2019); We Will Speak (2017) international premiere @ St. Giles Church, Edinburgh, Scotland (Summer 2017); Look To This Day (2016); Dreamer of Dreams (2014) international premiere Beijing, China (Summer 2014). Other commissions: A Day In The Life for the Marian Singers, Portland, OR (2013); She Holds Fire in Her Hands and I Have Come To Cast Fire (for choir and orchestra) commissioned for Oregon's 150th Anniversary Celebration, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR (2009). Composer-in-Residence, Portland Symphonic Girlchoir (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019). Amy received her BM in Composition from Pacific Lutheran University and MFA from NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Amy plays and sings in the indie folk band Two Sheets to the Wind with Joel Waggoner and works at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. composeramy.com / follow on insta and twitter @composeramy |
RACHEL DEAN is a composer, pianist, and music director originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now New York City-based, she serves as a rehearsal pianist for Hamilton and Moulin Rouge as well as a staff pianist for NYU Steinhardt. An ASCAP award recipient, Rachel’s work has been performed in New York, Tokyo, Miami, Ohio, Phoenix, and New Jersey. Musicals in development include Medusa (with Wes Braver), The Anxiety Project and Amelia (with David Brush), On the Line (with Amy Burgess) and The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts (with Giancarlo Rodaz). Rachel is a member of ASCAP and Local 802.
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Actors' Equity Association (“Equity"), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. #EquityWorks
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80,000 musicians comprise the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM). AFM members perform in orchestras, backup bands, festivals, clubs and theaters—both on Broadway and on tour. AFM members also make music for films, TV, commercials and sound recordings.
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