[NEohioPAL] Cleveland Play House's A Christmas Story Produced for Third Year!

[Alison Bibb]

> Cleveland Play House’s A Christmas Story Quickly Becomes Holiday Classic
> Stage adaptation of film favorite produced for third year at CPH
> 
> 
> CLEVELAND (November 8, 2007) – Back by popular demand, the stage
> adaptation of A Christmas Story returns to the Bolton Theatre for the
> third consecutive year at The Cleveland Play House. Opening for previews
> on Thursday, November 29, this tribute to the original, traditional, 100%
> red-blooded, All-American Christmas, will entertain the entire family
> through Sunday, December 23.
> 
> “It's wonderful to see how A Christmas Story has become Cleveland's new
> holiday tradition,” says Michael Bloom, Cleveland Play House Artistic
> Director, of Philip Grecian’s stage adaptation of the motion picture
> filmed in Cleveland. “And it's always gratifying to be able to produce
> plays that have special meaning for our local audience.”
> 
> Cleveland Play House Associate Artistic Director Seth Gordon will take the
> helm for the third year in directing A Christmas Story. Of the cast of 13
> actors (including two understudies), seven are newcomers to the production
> and to The Cleveland Play House.
> 
> “I'm thrilled to be able to direct this play for the third time -- it just
> seems to get richer and the actors dig deeper each time. And now we have
> mostly new kids, because the original cast has grown out of their roles,”
> says Gordon. “The newcomers will bring new flavor while blending nicely
> with the returning adults. I always look forward to this time of year; now
> I have two reasons.”
>  
> Those returning to the Play House this year are Naomi Hill (Helen),
> Charles Kartali (The Old Man), Billy Lawrence (Ralphie), Christopher
> McHale (Ralph), Lily Richards (Esther Jane; she was the female understudy
> last season), and Elizabeth Ann Townsend (Mother).
> 
> ABOUT A CHRISTMAS STORY
> When modern Christmas trappings are reduced to plastic reindeer and
> artificial logs, an aging Ralph Parker recalls Christmases long past. He
> revisits his home on Cleveland Street in 1938 Hohman, Indiana when all he
> wanted was an official Red Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Range Model Air
> Rifle “with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.” Ralph
> becomes nine-year-old “Ralphie the Kid” again, battling varmints and other
> imaginary ne’er-do-wells.
> 
> The scenes of his childhood evoke a simpler time in America: Little Orphan
> Annie promises fame and fortune through her radio contest; kids
> “triple-dog-dare” each other; The Old Man goes to battle with a furnace
> that threatens to smoke the family out; and Mother somehow manages to keep
> it all together. Through it all, Ralphie lobbies tirelessly to convince
> the adults that owning his dream BB gun with not put anyone’s eye out.
> 
> ABOUT THE CAST
> ADAM HASS-HILL (understudy, male children) has performed at the regional
> Theatre IV at the Children’s Theatre of Virginia in Best Christmas Pageant
> Ever. His community theatre credits include roles in Oliver and Peter Pan
> at Silhouette Productions and Oliver at Beachwood Community Theatre. Adam
> has appeared in school theatre productions of The King and I and Once Upon
> This Island at Steward School in Richmond, Virginia, and Holiday Heroes at
> Gurney School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Adam has attended the Fairmount
> Performing Arts Camp and enjoys soccer, baseball, writing and playing the
> trombone. Adam Hass-Hill lives in Chagrin Falls.
> 
> NAOMI HILL (Helen) returns to The Cleveland Play House and A Christmas
> Story in the role of Helen. She has performed in South Pacific at the
> Jewish Community Center of Cleveland and various plays at Playmakers and
> the Heights Youth Theatre. Naomi has attended both Interlochen Performing
> Arts Camp and Fairmount Performing Arts Camp, and is a member of the
> Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus. Naomi lives in Shaker Heights and
> is a seventh grader at Shaker Heights Middle School.
> 
> CHARLES KARTALI (The Old Man) returns to the role of The Old Man for the
> third year at CPH. He performed in CPH’s FusionFest production of Trumbo
> last season, and Tuesdays With Morrie in 2006. Mr. Kartali has performed
> in such Cleveland-area productions as The Price, Frankie and Johnny in the
> Clair de Lune at Ensemble Theatre; The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, The Trestle
> at Pope Lick Creek at Dobama Theatre; A Bright Room Called Day at
> Cleveland Public Theatre; The Zoo Story at Charenton Theatre; and Awake
> and Sing at the Halle Theatre. His regional theatre credits include
> productions at American Stage, Aspen Theatre in the Park, BoarsHead,
> Shadowland, Steppenwolf, The American Classics Festival and the Victory
> Gardens Readers Theater. Kartali was seen on television’s “Lost Subs,” and
> performed on film in High Spirits. Other credits include participation in
> WordBRIDGE Playwrights’ Lab (St. Petersburg, FL/Clemson, SC) and the
> Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition (Cleveland).
> 
> BILLY LAWRENCE (Ralphie) returns to The Cleveland Play House for the third
> production of A Christmas Story. He played the role of Ralphie last
> season, and first appeared in the play as Randy in 2005. Billy has
> performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at Heights
> Youth Theatre, and productions of The Three Musketeers, The Hobbit, Guys
> and Dolls and Oliver at University School. Billy studies piano, trumpet
> and voice and has attended the Fairmount Performing Arts Camp. He is in
> seventh grade at University School and lives in University Heights. 
> 
> CHRISTOPHER McHale (Ralph) returns to The Cleveland Play House’s A
> Christmas Story for the third year in the role of Ralph. He has performed
> on Broadway in Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, King Lear with
> Christopher Plummer, Execution of Justice, The Iceman Cometh and Piaf. His
> off-Broadway credits include roles in Lemkin’s House at McGinn-Cazale
> Theatre; Molly Sweeney at Roundabout Theatre; eight Shakespeare
> productions at the New York Shakespeare Festival; Defiance and Playland at
> Manhattan Theatre Club; and Domino at New York Theatre Workshop. His
> regional theatre credits include productions at Yale Repertory Theatre,
> Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre of Washington, Cincinnati Playhouse in
> the Park and Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Mr. McHale most recently
> appeared on the television shows “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “Six
> Degrees” and “Without a Trace.”
> 
> CAMERON McKENDRY (Scut Farkas) has performed in Honk: The Musical at the
> Beck Center for the Arts. At the age of six, Cameron entered and won first
> place in an “In-Sync” dance contest, beating out four groups of high
> school dancers. He went on to study and performed hip hop and jazz dance
> for two years at the Shaker Dance Academy. He was introduced to stage
> acting at the Broadview Heights Recreational Center. Now a sixth grader at
> St. Albert the Great School, Cameron lives in Hinkley, Ohio.
>  
> CAROLE MONFERDINI (Miss Shields) has performed on Broadway in The
> Misanthrope and the national tour of Waltz of the Toreadors. Her
> off-Broadway credits include roles in Full Gallop at Westside Theatre and
> National Tour; If Memory Serves at Promenade Theatre; and The Club at
> Circle-in-the-Square. Regionally, Ms. Monferdini has performed at Delaware
> Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Public Theatre (multiple credits), Alabama
> Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Clarence Brown
> Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Barter Theatre,
> Portland Stage Company (multiple credits), Virginia Museum Theatre,
> Philadelphia Drama Guild, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center
> Stage, Hartford Stage Company and Theatre Three. She has appeared on
> television in “The Brass Ring” and “As the World Turns,” and on film in
> The Bell Jar and Next Stop, Greenwich Village.
> 
> KOLIN MORGENSTERN (Flick) has performed in the community theatre
> productions of The Prince and the Pauper at The Margo Snider Theatre and
> Weathervane Community Playhouse. A fifth grader at Miller South School for
> Performing Arts, Kolin has performed works of Shakespeare there and Barnes
> & Noble. He received the Miller South Thespian Troupe PlayWrite Award for
> his original screenplay It Worked. Kolin plays the baritone, loves to snow
> ski, and play baseball. He lives in Akron.
> 
> 
> JUSTIN MONTGOMERY PECK (Schwartz) has performed in several community
> theatre productions, including 101 Dalmatians Kids, High School Musical,
> Babes in Toyland, Once Upon a Mattress, Little Rascals and The Grinch, all
> at Olmsted Performing Arts. He has appeared on television in “Overrated
> Understudies.” He is a fourth grader at Fitch Intermediate School and
> enjoys singing, dancing, basketball, baseball, football, soccer and
> swimming. Justin lives in Olmsted Township.
> 
> LILY RICHARDS (Esther Jane) returns to A Christmas Story at CPH after
> understudying for the female children’s roles last season. She has
> performed at the Beck Center for the Arts in productions of Cinder-Ella,
> The Phantom Toll Booth, Snow White and School House Rock. Her school
> theatre credits include roles in Snow White, King Arthur, North vs. South
> and Passport to Asia, all at Ruffing Montessori School. Lily also appeared
> in the film Hero Tomorrow. She studies both dance and voice, but also
> enjoys playing piano and guitar, as well as snow skiing, lacrosse,
> swimming, sailing, water skiing, and soccer. Lily is in the 7th grade at
> Ruffing Montessori School and lives in Lakewood. 
> 
> LISANDRA STEBNER (understudy, female children) has extensive community
> theatre credits, including productions of Stuart Little and
> Rumplestiltskin at Canton Players Guild; Les Miserables, Annie, Brundibar
> and Wait Until Dark at Salem Community Theatre; Music Man at Hiram
> College; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at New Castle Playhouse; Secret
> Garden and Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Youngstown Playhouse; and The
> King and I and Snow White at Move Over Broadway Productions. Lisandra
> served as a host for the local television program “SMARTS,” (and also
> appeared on “Overrated Understudies“and “PBS/SCT Superstars Competition.”
> She has appeared in various commercials, including Smith’s Dairy, Great
> Lakes Science Center and Sherwin-Williams. OTHER CREDITS: Lisandra won a
> Marquee Award for Best Juvenile in a Musical (Secret Garden), 2007. She
> also won a Best Supporting Actress Arthur Award for the role of Gladys in
> Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 2006. She has attended the Fairmount
> Performing Arts Camp and lives in Canfield.
> 
> JOEY STEFANKO (Randy) has performed in community theatre productions of
> Godspell, Alice in Wonderland, Babes in Toyland and Jack and the Beanstalk
> at Cassidy Theatre; and Nuncrackers and Flashback at Independence
> Community Theatre. Joey was a member of the 2005/2006 Radio Disney Pop
> Squad and was a 2006 Playhouse Square Rising Star semifinalist. He studies
> guitar and also enjoys playing baseball and football. Joey lives in
> Brooklyn Heights and is a third grader at Cuyahoga Heights Elementary
> School. 
> 
> ELIZABETH ANN TOWNSEND (Mother) is making her third appearance in the role
> of Mother at CPH. Her Cleveland theatre credits are extensive, including
> roles in Hay Fever at Great Lakes Theatre Festival; Our Town and Peter Pan
> at Porthouse Theatre; Talley’s Folley at Ensemble Theatre; The Exonerated
> at Dobama Theatre; and Agnes of God and Boy Gets Girl at The Beck Center
> for the Arts. Her regional theatre credits include world premieres of
> Leaving Iowa, Hope for Corky and Completing Dahlia at Purple Rose Theatre
> Company. She has appeared on television’s “The Sopranos” and “Law and
> Order,” and on film in Jeff Daniels’ Super Sucker. Ms. Townsend worked in
> NYC appearing in theatre, film, television, and national network
> commercials.
> 
> ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
> PHILIP GRECIAN (Playwright) began his “show business” career at the young
> age of four as a ventriloquist and a magician. He received his
> professional debut with Creede Colorado Repertory Theatre, and he
> continues to maintain a connection with the theatre as a playwright and a
> guest performer. He spent six seasons as Artistic/Managing Director and
> Resident Playwright for a theatre company he founded at the age of 16,
> and, in 1976, he left the company to create a professional dinner theatre,
> serving as Producer and Artistic Director. He then shifted his career to
> the film, video and audio production industry. In 1994, he became Founding
> Director/Playwright for I.H.S. Productions, Inc., which annually produces
> his stage adaptation of In His Steps, based on the Charles Sheldon novel.
> Other works include Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, The Velveteen Rabbit, The
> Dragon of Nitt, Lion and the Lyre (translated and performed in Russia),
> Little Pills (based on Moliere’s Imaginary Invalid), Toby Saves the Farm,
> and a translation Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Mr. Grecian has also adapted
> many novels and films into plays for staged radio dramatization, including
> Dracula!, Frankenstein, Twisted Tales of Poe, The Blood Countess, and It’s
> a Wonderful Life.
> 
> SETH GORDON (Director) is Associate Artistic Director of The Cleveland
> Play House. CPH: RFK, Of Mice and Men, Ferdinand the Bull, Dinner with
> Friends, Proof, Forest City (world premiere), Vincent in Brixton, Tuesdays
> with Morrie, A Christmas Story, The Wind in the Willows; this season, The
> Chosen, Doubt CLEVELAND: Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival,
> Beck Center for the Arts NEW YORK: Primary Stages, Ensemble Studio
> Theatre, Theatre for the New City, many others REGIONAL: Repertory Theatre
> of St. Louis, Bay Street Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre INTERNATIONAL:
> Arabic premiere of Our Town in Cairo EDUCATION: High School of Performing
> Arts in New York and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh OTHER
> CREDITS: Mr. Gordon previously served as Literary Manager and then as
> Associate Producer of Primary Stages in New York. He has also directed and
> lectured at various universities, including Case Western Reserve
> University. He received the Northern Ohio Live Awards for excellence in
> theatre in 2004 and 2006. He considers himself a lucky man.
> 
> MICHAEL GANIO (Scenic Designer) CPH: Proof, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and
> world premieres of Jerusalem and A Kiss for Cinderella REGIONAL: Virginia
> Opera (multiple credits), Chicago Opera Theatre, South Coast Repertory
> Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (multiple credits), Intiman Theatre
> (multiple credits), Denver Center Theatre Company (multiple credits),
> Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (multiple credits), Repertory Theatre of
> St. Louis (multiple credits), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Mannes
> Camerata Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (multiple credits) EDUCATION:
> Mr. Ganio holds an MFA from New York University, and a BFA from Webster
> University in St. Louis
> 
> DAVID KAY MICKELSEN (Costume Designer) CPH: The Chosen, Cuttin’ Up, Of
> Mice and Men, A Christmas Story, Room Service, The Dinner Party, Dr.
> Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frank Langella’s Cyrano, I Hate Hamlet, Company,
> world premiere productions of Jerusalem and The Emancipation of Valet de
> Chambre  REGIONAL: Guthrie Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Denver Center
> Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Arizona Theatre
> Company, Pioneer Theatre, Geva Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Tennessee Rep,
> San Diego Rep, New Mexico Rep, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis,
> Williamstown Theatre Festival, Sundance Theatre, The Children’s Theatre
> Company of Minneapolis, Ford’s Theatre, Portland Center Stage, A
> Contemporary Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pennsylvania Center Stage,
> Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre, Theatre of the Open Eye, Hampton
> Playhouse, Timberlake Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse,
> Berkeley Repertory Theatre, as well as the Oregon, Colorado, Utah and
> Illinois Shakespeare festivals  OTHER CREDITS: Originally from Canby,
> Oregon, David now makes his home in Long Beach, California. He is a member
> of United Scenic Artists. 
> 
> RICHARD WINKLER (Lighting Designer) CPH: The Underpants, Dirty Blonde, A
> Tuna Christmas, and Waverly Gallery, as well as the world premiere
> productions of Jerusalem and The Smell of the Kill, which transferred to
> Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre in 2002 NEW YORK: Howie the Rookie, Silent
> Laughter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, NYC Opera; a tribute
> to jazz legend Shirley Horn, a concert version of Carmen Jones with
> Venessa Williams conducted by Placido Domingo, and individual concerts
> starring Patti Lu Pone, Julie Andrews, Barbara Cook, and Liza Minelli at
> The Kennedy Center NATIONAL TOURS: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (world
> premiere), A Chorus Line, Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, A Funny
> Thing
, On the Twentieth Century, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Kiss Me
> Kate, Tommy, Funny Girl, Jekyll and Hyde, and Anything Goes REGIONAL:
> Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Theatre Virginia, The State Theatre (multiple
> credits), OTHER CREDITS: Mr. Winkler’s designs for the 25th anniversary
> tour of Evita, directed by Harold Prince, and the recent national tour of
> Fame, The Musical were widely acclaimed.  He has also designed for major
> opera companies in Houston, Miami, San Diego, and Dallas, where his 50
> productions included The Aspern Papers, televised on PBS.
> 
> JAMES C. SWONGER (Resident Sound Designer) CPH: The Chosen, Bunnicula, Man
> of La Mancha, Trumbo, Lincolnesque, The Clean House, Cuttin’ Up, Of Mice
> and Men, RFK, Rabbit Hole, Dream a Little Dream, Custody of the Eyes,
> Well, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Christmas Story, I Am My Own Wife, Room
> Service, Bad Dates, Restoring the Sun, Rounding Third, The Real Thing, The
> Piano Lesson, John Henry, Tuesdays with Morrie, Plaid Tidings, Crowns,
> Hurlyburly REGIONAL: Cleveland’s Lyric Opera, Utah Festival Opera Company,
> Utah’s Pioneer Theatre Company, Baltimore’s Center Stage, New Jersey’s
> George Street Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theater OTHER CREDITS: designed
> the premiere productions of The Tragic Demise of Whaleship Essex, Swinging
> on a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Burke, Tangents, and The Count
> of Monte Cristo, adapted by Charles Morey; designed sound system
> installations for restaurants, theatres, and churches; former adjunct
> professor for the University of Utah’s Fine Arts program.
> 
> Founded in 1915, The Cleveland Play House is the first permanently
> established professional theatre in the United States. More than 12
> million people have attended over 1,300 productions at The Play House –
> including more than 130 American and/or World Premieres. Today, under the
> leadership of Artistic Director Michael Bloom and Managing Director Kevin
> Moore, The Cleveland Play House is an artist-driven theatre that serves
> the Greater Cleveland community by holding true to its mission:
> 
> To produce plays of the highest professional standards that inspire,
> stimulate, and entertain our diverse audiences, and to conduct training
> and educational programs that enhance the quality of life for those we
> serve and help to insure the future of theatre.
> 
> The Ohio Arts Council helps to fund The Cleveland Play House with state
> tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and
> cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
> 
> ###
> Alison Bibb-Carson
> Associate Director of Communications and Marketing
> The Cleveland Play House
> 8500 Euclid Avenue
> Cleveland, Ohio  44106
> 216.795.7000 x236
> SEEINGISBELIEVING...www.clevelandplayhouse.com
> 
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