HotHouse Reading: ONE NOVEMBER YANKEE

Written and Directed by

Joshua Ravetch

An ill-fated flight ignites a series of unlikely consequences.

Starring Academy Award nominee, Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) and two-time Emmy winner, Loretta Swit (TV's M*A*S*H*)

November 17-18, 2009

8:00 p.m.

A complimentary reception to follow.

En route to Florida, in perfect weather, a single-engine airplane 
disappears. A brother and sister were flying to their father's second
 wedding
, but without the ping of an emergency-locator-beacon, an 
extensive search of the Eastern Seaboard produces no trace of the
 wreckage. That tragic event ignites a series of unlikely consequences
 that span five years, nine states, and three families. But all may not
 be exactly what it would seem, as this play travels from the White
 Mountains of New Hampshire to the White Way of New York City, and it
 all begins with a serious martini, a Hirschfeld Cartoon, a dose of 
humor, and the ill-fated flight of, "ONE NOVEMBER YANKEE".

ROBERT FORSTER:
In 1997, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown". It has turned around a career that started 40 years ago and put him suddenly in great demand. Most recently, Robert starred alongside Ed Harris in the indie, “Touching Home,” and finished filming “The Code,” with Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas, and “The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” with Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey. Other recent projects include “Dragon Wars,” the Harrison Ford film, "Firewall," "Lucky Number Slevin," "Wild Seven," Wes Craven's "Cursed," "Grand Theft Parsons," starring Johnny Knoxville, as well as "Confidence," "Like Mike," "Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle," David Mamet's "Lakeboat," directed by Joe Mantegna, and "Diamond Men," with Donnie Wahlberg.

Forster has been busy on the small screen as well -- in addition to his recent stint as Arthur Petrelli on NBC's "Heroes," he starred in the CBS TV film, "The Hunt for the BTK Killer," guest starred as Hank Azaria's father on Showtime's "Huff," Michael Madson's father on ESPN's "Tilt," and Peter Facinelli's father in McG's "Fastlane," and starred alongside Carla Gugino in the ABC series "Karen Sisco." Forster co-starred in the HBO Films production "Undefeated," directed by and starring John Leguizamo, the USA film "Murder in Greenwich," and the CBS TV film, "Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes," with Mary Tyler Moore.

Independent films include "Outside Ozona," "Family Tree," "The Magic of Marciano," co-starring Nastassja Kinski and "It’s the Rage," with Joan Allen, Gary Sinise and Andre Braugher, as well as the MGM sci-fi film "Supernova," co-starring Angela Basset and James Spader, and the updated versions of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," directed by Gus Van Sant and a television version of "Rear Window," with Christopher Reeve. Forster went on to star in “Roads to Riches” with Rose McGowan, a modern-day film noir, and the present-day western, "Lone Hero."

Forster blazed on the scene in his debut film, in l966, in "Reflections in a Golden Eye," co-starring with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, directed by John Huston. He followed this in l968, with the seminal film, "Medium Cool," by Haskell Wexler. TV series include "Banyon." A native of Rochester, NY, Forster made his professional debut on Broadway in "Mrs. Dally Has A Lover." Other stage credits include "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Glass Menagerie," and productions of "Twelve Angry Men," "The Sea Horse," and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

LORETTA SWIT (Maggie/Margo/Mia):

As Major Margaret Houlihan of TV’s M*A*S*H*, Loretta became an American icon. She has received ten Emmy nominations and six Golden Globe nominations, and is a recipient of the People’s Choice Award, The Genie Award, The Silver Satellite Award, The Jean Golden Halo Award, the Pacific Broadcasters Award, and two Emmy Awards. She made her Broadway debut in Same Time, Next Year. After M*A*S*H* wrapped, she replaced Cleo Laine in The Mystery Of Edwin Drood. She has toured with national companies of Any Wednesday, and with two companies of Mame, having played both Agnes Gooch and the title role. She has appeared in over 1,000 performances of Shirley Valentine, a role for which she won the Sarah Siddons Award. Swit appeared in touring companies of the musical spoof, Song of Singapore, while performing select dates of Love Letters. She appeared in The Vagina Monologues in New York, Chicago and the West End in London. Film credits include Chris Cagney in the original Cagney and Lacey, Games Mother Never Taught You, Hell Hath No Fury, The Execution, Dreams of Gold, A Killer Among Friends, Stand Up and Be Counted, Freebie and the Bean, Race with the Devil, Beer, S.O.B., Whoops Apocalypse, The Lords of Tanglewood and Boardheads. TV musical specials include The Muppet Show and the Broadway musical It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman. Every year she can be seen in the annual specials The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Miracle At Moreaux, and A Christmas Calendar, aired worldwide during the holidays. She has just completed a tour of 42nd Street as Dorothy Brock, and most recently ended the season as Sister Aloysius in Doubt. Swit’s wildlife series, Those Incredible Animals, was shown twice weekly on the Discovery Channel for a five–year run, and was aired in over 30 countries. She is 1st Vice President of Actors and Others For Animals, and is actively involved in a number of other animal rights organizations.

Over the past several years, many new plays and musicals first seen in Hothouse at the Playhouse – our new play development program – have gone on to full productions here at the Playhouse and other prestigious theatres around the country! Don’t miss the next readings in this HOT series!

Hothouse readings are FREE, but reservations are required

Call the Box Office at (626) 356-7529

HotHouse: Watch Plays Grow!

Playhouse Patrons on Parade

Who's got the best Crown in town?

On July 19th, over a dozen hopeful contestants ventured out to the Pasadena Playhouse dressed in their very best church-going hats in the hopes of winning some great prizes.

Among the awards were a gift basket and a gift certificate good for a hand-made hat from milliner, Louise Green. (In the Playhouse Friendship Center)

The event, hosted by Pandora Carey of KKLA, happened on the Playhouse courtyard before the 2:00 P.M. matinee and was a great success!

For more information on up-coming events like this one, follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the Playhouse on Facebook.

Pre-show reception starting at 7:00p.m. in the Playhouse Library includes complimentary wine and snacks.

Reception will be followed by the production of THE LITTLE FOXES by Lillian Hellman.

2-for-1 TICKETS call (626) 356-7529 and mention code GLBT. LITTLE FOXES closes June 28 so you'd better hurry!

(L-R) Julia Duffy, Marc Singer, Kelly McGillis and Steve Vinovich. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

Critics say,

"The Pasadena Playhouse is to be lauded for its riveting revival of one of the iconic works of the American stage!" "Lillian Hellman's exquisitely crafted "The Little Foxes" gives historical perspective to the jaundiced machinations of such contemporary financial villains as Bernard Madoff and Michael Milken."

- Julio Martinez, Variety

"The play's social skewering remains satisfyingly fresh."

- Charles McNulty, The Los Angeles Times

"Bottom Line: If you're up for venom and fun, "Little Foxes" in Pasadena is for you!"

- Laurence Vittes, The Hollywood Reporter

"GO!"

- Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly

An Amazing Internship Experience: Stars Bowl to Support Pasadena Playhouse

Last night was the grand opening of Pasadena 300, an upscale bowling alley located at 3454 Foothill Blvd. The company pledged to donate $5,000 dollars to Pasadena Playhouse if the guests in attendance collectively bowled 300 strikes.

I went to volunteer for the event with a few co-workers from the Playhouse and had a blast getting to meet all the impressive corporate sponsors and celebrities who were in attendance.

ABC7 News also showed up to get the inside scoop.

These shots were taken with my phone, but we'll have the professional stills on here shortly, so check back soon!

~Greg The Intern

Saturday @ 6pm in The Carrie Hamilton Theatre:

To RSVP, please email: mktgintern@pasadenaplayhouse.org

Come see Deborah Martinson, a Lillian Hellman historian, June 15th at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood!

Lillian Hellman’s plays sizzle in edgy familial dysfunction, and swelter in Southern heat. In The Little Foxes, the carnivorous, sly, comic-evil Hubbards came from her Alabama family. When Hellman was asked if she purposely put family history into the play, Hellman replied: “oh yes. Part of my family threatened to sue when they saw the play.”

But she indicts us all. Hellman wrote: “I had meant the audience to recognize some part of themselves in the money-dominated Hubbards; I had not meant people to think of them as villains to whom they had no connection.” The Dámaso Rodriguez production lets the audience know that we are implicated. Hellman’s theme is clear in the action and the precise dialogue: “a dark devilish piece about a Dixie Hedda Gabler, grabbing its audiences by the scruffs of their necks and giving them a look at the predatory human animal” (NYT, 1939). Hellman made no apologies for Foxes’ melodramatic character. As Billy Wilder said, “oh melodrama—that’s what you call it when you care what happens next.” And watching a Hellman play, the audience cares.

I’ve seen six or seven productions of Foxes, counting the excellent Wyler film. The play’s script is nearly full proof. Hellman wrote at least ten drafts, and Dashiell Hammett excised any fluff with what Hellman called his editorial “paring knife.” She loved The Little Foxes the best of all her plays; it signified her success as a powerful story teller and the most “relentless” of women playwrights.

Early critics complained that Hellman was an “inquisitor” with characters and themes “too relentless for real life.” I say, The Little Foxes’ characters live in the headlines of the twenty-first century.

-Deborah Martinson, PhD. Author of Lillian Hellman: A Life with Foxes and Scoundrels.

DON'T MISS OUT! Deborah will be at the talk-back discussion following the screening of the 1941 film, The Little Foxes at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Monday, June 15th @ 7:30p.m.

Tickets $10 - Playhouse patrons receive an extra $2.00 off!

Call (323) 461-2020 x 112 to redeem discount. Ask about special group rates. www.americancinematheque.com

Meet Synthia SAINT JAMES on Sunday, June 14 - Free event and tour!

Please join us for a special FREE event on Sunday, June 14 at 2:00pm.

In celebration of Pasadena Playhouse upcoming production of CROWNS, which opens on July 12, the Community Outreach Program invites the community to enjoy two candid and lively CONVERSATION WITH...events with acclaimed artist/author Synthia SAINT JAMES.

The CONVERSATION WITH... series offers an intimate glimpse into the women's creative process of the musical CROWNS. The events will be held upstairs in Pasadena Playhouse's Carrie Hamilton Theatre (39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena).

Playwright Regina Taylor commissioned SAINT JAMES to create a painting for merchandising for her incredible play CROWNS. Join SAINT JAMES as she illuminates on her love affair with art. Immediately following the presentation, the artist will give a private tour of her exhibition in the Friendship Center.

The Synthia SAINT JAMES Solo Exhibition "In Celebration of CROWNS" opens Saturday, June 6 - August 16, 2009 showcasing high-end and affordable artwork. Partial proceeds of the artwork will go to support Pasadena Playhouse.

RSVP to gparker@pasadenaplayhouse.org.

See you there!

Photos: Suzanne Douglas and the cast of Crowns, The Cast of Crowns. Photos by Craig Schwartz.

See Bette Davis in the film of THE LITTLE FOXES with special guests!

The Little Foxes Presented by American Cinematheque

June 15 @ 7:30 p.m.
Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood

Join us for a screening of the 1941 film directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and Teresa Wright. Following the screening, the director and cast of Pasadena Playhouse's production of The Little Foxes will join David Wyler (son of William Wyler) and Deborah Martinson (author of Lillian Hellman: A Life with Foxes and Scoundrels) for a talk-back.

Tickets $10 Playhouse patrons receive $2.00 off!

Call (323) 461-2020 x 112 to redeem discount. Ask about special group rates. www.americancinematheque.com

Of WriteGirls, Elections and Cultivating Meaning

On May 3rd, Pasadena Playhouse joined forces with WriteGirl, a young women’s literacy and mentoring organization, to produce an event called PlayWriteGirl. This was both a large-scale, daytime writing workshop and an evening performance complete with pre- and post-show food and wine receptions. During a grand gathering on our patio, writing generated during the day by young WriteGirls, many of whom were Pasadena-based and attending for the first time, was selected and disbursed to actors who quickly turned around and performed the material that same evening.

I am late with this post.

Initially, I was going to talk about putting the event together and how excited I was to see the Pasadena Playhouse campus literally converted for a day into a wall-to-wall creative space for the mentoring of young women.Then, after May 3 came and went, I was going to write about how much energy was swarming the campus from dawn to dusk – how the first volunteers arrived to set up before 8:30 in the morning, and the last of us didn’t leave the theatre until after 11:00 that same night. How the girls, with much specific guidance, wrote and re-wrote and edited and finessed. I was going to talk about the 70+ young women, the 60+ mentors and guest writers, the 15 celebrity actors, the tremendous food and wine vendors, the countless staff & volunteers from Write Girl and Pasadena Playhouse who were here celebrating the written word, live theatre and fantastic food and drink. I was going to write about all of us coming together as a new community.

But I didn’t.

And today, May 20th, I finally know why I have taken so long to write about this event.

We had a special election yesterday. A special election where every proposition failed by at least 60%, except one: Proposition 1F, which dealt with limitations on the salaries of elected officials in times of state deficit. This one passed with a whopping 73.9%. The message from the citizenry was clear. Now, regardless of your politics, and whether you voted for or against these propositions, as a citizen of this state, you know we are facing some serious challenges – in the arts as well in public education.

Yesterday evening, I attended a parents’ forum that addressed some of the possible consequences of this already-almost-tired economic crisis to our schools. My daughter is barely 2, and I am doing what I can to stay optimistic about her possibilities regarding education, but suffice it to say, it is not a fun time to be a parent trying to figure out what’s best for your kid.

I don’t mean to be bleak, but it’s scary. Scary to think about ratios in classrooms going up to 40:1 and scary to see even further losses of arts and physical education programming, as these are two of the most important elements of quality education in my mind. It’s simple – when students receive more personalized attention, they are more able to reach their potential; if their minds and bodies are creatively and physically challenged and engaged, they learn endurance, ingenuity, team work, comprehensive thinking and problem solving skills.

On May 3rd, on the campus of Pasadena Playhouse, I saw a more stimulating academic environment than I ever could have imagined. Write Girl’s programs focus on one-on-one mentoring. This is how they can boast the shocking statistic that not only do all of their girls’ graduate high school, but also 100% of them go on to college. Pasadena Playhouse boasts an almost 100-year history of producing great theatre, and the same girls who spent the day writing took part later that day in an event where their work was performed, both back to them and to a larger public audience. The stakes were high for them in this extracurricular event, which made it important and meaningful.

Our kids need to be stimulated by understanding themselves and their work as part of a larger collective consciousness. The haphazard community created on the day of PlayWriteGirl sparked one of the young women to tell me “this was the most amazing thing [she’d] ever been a part of and [she] would never forget how it felt to hear someone speak [her] words back to [her] – like it made them really mean something.” In an era where there is so much information and input and “stuff”, to find this “meaning” in one’s work is gold.

I submit that the future of education will still, fundamentally lie in the hands of parents and schools; but community partnerships like the one we experienced here 2 weeks ago will play an increasingly pivotal role in providing students with meaningful educational experiences that fall outside the realm of traditional school curricula. We need to be innovative in the way we are working together to create opportunities for youth. We need to be the facilitators of a-ha moments. We need to encourage the fostering of meaning.

I look forward to our continued collaboration with WriteGirl, as well as our continuing collaborations with other organizations like Phoenix House, West of Broadway and Theatre 360. I also look forward to our work within the schools. As necessity breeds invention, I am eager to see what will come.

Photos: rhe cast and crew of PlayWriteGirl, Alexix Chamow - PPH Education Director.

Pasadena Playhouse Donor Event

Hi, I am Patti Johns Eisenberg and I work at the Playhouse as the Leadership Gifts Manager. Last week we had a wonderful, fun event for our most generous donors; a party at Tiffany & C0.

Paige Pomerantz, Director of Tiffany in Pasadena and Michele Engemann, our Board Chair hosted the cocktail party for 50 at the store in Old Town Pasadena. Champaigne flowed and the delicious appetizers from The Kitchen were passed. Paige welcomed the Mayor of Pasadena, Bill Bogaard and toasted Pasadena Playhouse for its Season of Women and the wonderful outreach programs we have. She also gave a brief history of the new jewelry line of Tiffany Keys. Sheldon Epps and his wife Monette Magrath were there as well as Damaso Rodriguez, associate artisic director and director of The Little Foxes. Besides Michele and Roger Engemann, Board Members Lilah Stangeland, Sheila Grether-Marion, Margaret Sedenquist, Sharon Muir, Cynthia Bennett, Lyn Spector (ok, diamonds are a girl's best friend) came to visit and shop. Many other friends and donors came including our friends from Riverside Si and Skip Ober, we all had a wonderful time.


Roger Engemann, Playhouse Board Chair Michele Engemann and Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps.

Crowns Group Sales Event - meet the playwright and hear the songs!

Come for the presentation, a complimentary pre-show reception, and a free raffle with prizes provided by Barnes and Noble and other Pasadena Playhouse partners!

Festivities begin: 12:00 p.m.
- Enter our free raffle for a chance to win gifts from Barnes and Noble and custom made hats from That's Yvonne
- Listen to live music provided by The Instrumental Women Project
- Enjoy complimentary refreshments from Gelson's Supermarkets
- Buy tasty treats from the Gourmet Cobbler Factory

Presentation on the Mainstage: 1:00 p.m.
- A special discussion of the musical by Regina Taylor, Crowns playwright
- A presentation of the costume and set design for the show
- A live performance from the musical starring three members of the cast!

Admission is FREE but RSVPs are required. Contact Paul Millet at pmillet@pasadenaplayhouse.org or (626) 737-2851 with your name, phone number, and the number in your party . If you do not hear back from Paul, assume that your reservation has been received.