State Theatre New Jersey Program — Vol 32, Issue 4 by State Theatre New Jersey

PROGRAM VOL. 32, ISSUE 4

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020

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VOLUME 32, ISSUE 4 | JAN-FEB 2020

CONTENTS Calendar......................................................................... 8 A Message from the President & CEO...............13 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra........................... 15 The Color Purple...................................................... 25 Ladysmith Black Mambazo.................................. 37 Star Wars: Retrun of the Jedi In Concert with the NJSO.................................... 45 Boyz II Men................................................................ 51 Siberian State Symphony Orchestra............... 55 Gifts to State Theatre New Jersey................... 65 General Information.............................................. 70 Board of Trustees & Staff..................................... 71 Sightings at The State............................................ 78 Pictured on the Cover: Boyz II Men; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ©Chris Christodoulou); Siberian State Symphony Orchestra; The Color Purple (Sandie Lee, Company of the National Tour, ©Jeremy Daniel); Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi In Concert with the NJSO

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS THE COLOR PURPLE — 1/30-2/1

JANUARY 2020 11 Sat

8pm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

14 Tue 10:30am 8pm 19 Sun 8pm 30 Thu 10am 31 Fri 8pm

Performance for Schools: Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom Dancing with the Stars: Live! The Color Purple Performance for Schools: The Color Purple The Color Purple

FEBRUARY 2020 1 Sat 2pm & 8pm 4 Tue 8pm 5 Wed 10:30am 6 Thu 10am & 12pm 7 Fri 10am 8 Sat 10am & 12pm 9 Sun 3pm 13 Thu 8pm 15 Sat 8pm 21 Fri 8pm 28 Fri 8pm

DANCING WITH THE STARS: LIVE! — 1/19

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO — 2/4

The Color Purple Ladysmith Black Mambazo Performance for Schools: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Performance for Schools: The Rainbow Fish Performance for Schools: The Rainbow Fish Milk & Cookies: mr. RAY Star Wars: Return of the Jedi In Concert with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Boyz II Men Siberian State Symphony Orchestra Get the Led Out Masters of Illusion

BOYZ II MEN — 2/13

GET THE LED OUT — 2/21

MASTERS OF ILLUSION — 2/28

FIND OUT FIRST—JOIN E-NEWS! Be the first to find out about just added shows at STNJ.org/enews.

BUY ONLINE: STNJ.org GUEST SERVICES: 732-246-SHOW (7469) 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ PERFORMANCES FOR SCHOOLS: 732-246-7469, ext. 545 8

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

Dear Friends,

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA PAIS

Happy New Year and welcome to State Theatre New Jersey! We have so many great shows in 2020, including concerts, family programs, modern dance, and so much more. Here are some shows that you won’t want to miss: •

Get The Led Out (2/21) - From the bombastic and epic, to the folky and mystical, Get The Led Out have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage delivering Led Zeppelin’s blues-soaked, groove-driven rock anthems with passion and fury.

•

Dinosaur World Live (3/15) - Grab your compass and join our intrepid explorer across unchartered territories to discover a prehistoric world of astonishing and remarkably lifelike dinosaurs. Meet a host of impressive creatures, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, and a Giraffatitan.

•

Complexions Contemporary Ballet (3/31) - This “matchless American dance company” (The Philadelphia Enquirer) performs two dynamic programs including Bach 25, featuring the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Star Dust, with music by David Bowie.

•

Once on This Island (6/5-6/7) - Winner of the 2018 Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Once on This Island is the sweeping, universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world. Featuring American Idol Alum Tamyra Gray as Papa Ge!

Dinosaur World Live

Complexions Contemporary Ballet

For a complete listing of our events or to be the first to receive information on added shows, be sure check us out online and sign up for our e-news at STNJ.org. Sincerely, Once On This Island

Sarah K. Chaplin President & CEO 13

OFFERS SINCERE THANKS TO

FOR ITS GENEROUS SUPPORT OF STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY AND THE ORCHESTRA SERIES

Photo: Chris Christodoulou

SAT, JANUARY 11, 2020 AT 8PM Mark Wigglesworth, conductor Khatia Buniatishvili, piano soloist

PROGRAM William Walton (1902–1983)

Portsmouth Point Overture

Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, S.125 (1811–1886) I. Adagio sostenuto assai Allegro agitato assai II. Allegro moderato – Allegro deciso III. Marziale un poco meno allegro – Allegro animato piano soloist Khatia Buniatishvili —INTERMISSION— Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op.43 I. Allegretto II. Andante, ma rubato III. Vivacissimo IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

ORCHESTRA SERIES UNDERWRITER

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

PROGRAM NOTES

William Walton (1902–1983) PORTSMOUTH POINT OVERTURE William Walton’s dashing concert overture Portsmouth Point was completed in 1925 during his first flush of success after leaving Oxford University. His music had come on in leaps and bounds since his 1919 string quartet—a work he later dismissed as ‘mostly undigested Bartók and Schoenberg.’ Next had come Façade (1921–22). Based on Edith Sitwell’s uproariously nonsensical verse, this jazzy, offbeat, utterly bizarre ‘entertainment’ proved a landmark in English music. Stylistically gregarious and madcap in the manner of much contemporary Parisian music, Walton was an amazing nineteen when he composed it. Premiered in 1923 with Sitwell reading the verses over a megaphone while concealed (along with the musicians) behind a specially designed curtain, it delighted and bewildered in equal proportions. Unabashed, unhindered and largely untutored, Walton was able to continue developing his precocious ability due largely to the generosity of Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell, whom he had met at Oxford. During the fifteen years that he remained largely based at their Chelsea mansion, Walton basked in the rarefied artistic lifestyle of this extraordinary (not to say mildly eccentric) family, whose gifted members were very much the ‘luvvies’ of their age. Following the notoriety of Façade, Walton turned his back on vaudeville parody, and drifted towards the European mainstream with his bustling overture Portsmouth Point, a coruscating outburst of musical high spirits (tellingly marked ‘Robusto’ in the score), intensified by an almost Stravinskian rhythmic complexity. It comes of something of a surprise to learn that Walton was away holidaying in Spain when he composed this most unmistakably English of all his orchestral works. Constant Lambert, the celebrated musical polymath who in 1932 arranged Portsmouth Point for small orchestra, did detect faint hints of Catalonia in some of the material, however. Based on a Thomas Rowlandson (1756–

1827) print of a lively, bustling scene, and dedicated to Siegfried Sassoon, Walton received the princely sum of £20 for his efforts. At the time, the overture’s rhythmical intricacies bamboozled even London’s professional orchestras, forcing Walton to take up the baton for the first time in order to iron out some of the more exacting passages. Franz Liszt (1811–1886) PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 IN A MAJOR, S.125 I. Adagio sostenuto assai – Allegro agitato assai II. Allegro moderato – Allegro deciso III. Marziale un poco meno allegro – Allegro animato ‘My piano is the repository of all that stirred my nature in the impassioned days of my youth,’ Franz Liszt once reflected. ‘I confided to it all my desires, my dreams, my sorrows. Its strings vibrated to my emotions, and its keys obeyed my every caprice.’ Such prodigious feats as learning Beethoven’s C minor Piano Concerto from memory at a day’s notice and playing the ‘Emperor’ Concerto with only four fingers of his left hand operational were almost child’s play to him. It is little wonder that the celebrated violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim was rendered speechless after Liszt accompanied him in the last movement of Mendelssohn’s E minor Violin Concerto at sight with a cigar held casually between the first and second fingers of his right hand! The normally unimpressionable poet and critic Matthew Arnold reported after a Liszt concert that ‘as soon as I returned home, I pulled off my coat, flung myself on the sofa, and wept the bitterest, sweetest tears.’ Women would variously swoon, cry out in ecstasy or faint at Liszt’s feet as he launched into one of his mesmerising pianistic tirades. The sheer quantity of music he composed for the piano still amazes: to perform his all-encompassing output of studies, paraphrases, transcriptions, illustrative pieces, poetic miniatures, dance medleys, and national airs non-stop from end-to-end would take over a week. No concertos in history had so much time and creative energy lavished on them as Liszt’s two masterworks for piano and

SAT, JANUARY 11, 2020 AT 8PM

to is derived almost entirely from a motif first heard in the woodwind, which is then transformed by the piano upon its first entry and, following a series of poetic episodes, explodes upon the scene as a triumphal march that builds inexorably towards the work’s exultant conclusion. Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, OP.43 I. Allegretto II. Andante, ma rubato III. Vivacissimo IV. Finale: Allegro moderato Jean Sibelius’ long life coincided with a politically volatile period in Finnish history during which a wave of national pride swept across the country in defiance of Russian oppression and occupation. Little wonder that his rousing symphonic poem Finlandia (1899) was eagerly adopted as a popular rallying cry for Finnish independence, nor that Russia banned any further performances. Sibelius’ symphonic music captures the way the passing of time in Finland plays

orchestra. Both are amongst the most structurally innovative of Romantic concertos and underwent a series of drastic revisions, giving the orchestra an increasingly important role and thereby refuting any suggestion they were composed merely as empty showcases for Liszt’s keyboard antics. Inspired virtuosically by Paganini and temperamentally by Berlioz (the great Frenchman conducted the premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 1), they are linked together organically via a series of ingenious thematic transformations. The earliest draft for the Piano Concerto No. 2 dates from 1839. A full revision emerged ten years later, then, following a series of additional refinements, the world premiere was given in Weimar in 1857, after which Liszt continued tweaking the score until a definitive version finally emerged in 1861. The Concerto is cast as a single continuous structure—hence the inscription on the original manuscript: ‘Concerto symphonique’—throughout which soloist and orchestra are integrated to an almost unprecedented degree. The Concer-

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ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

tricks with the mind, underpinning surfaces teeming with bustling activity and strange rustlings with granitic tonal fundamentals. Just as surely as his tone poems gave expression to his proud belief in his country’s legends and traditions, so his symphonies revitalised a genre that was close to collapsing under its own expressive weight. Feeling increasingly like a lone voice in the musical wilderness, Sibelius fell creatively silent (at least publicly) during the late 1920s, with thirty years of his life still remaining. He died in Järvenpää just two months short of his ninety-second birthday. The opening decade of the 20th century was a period of mixed fortunes for Sibelius. His international reputation grew steadily as he developed rapidly from a highly accomplished composer into one of music’s most original thinkers. Yet behind the scenes he found himself slipping further and further into debt, while his frequent bouts of heavy drinking placed an increasing strain on his marriage. His state of mind hardly improved when his hauntingly melancholy Valse triste (1903) became an international sensation—desperately short of cash, he had accepted a one-off payment of 300 marks from his publishers and waived his rights to royalties. On the plus side, Sibelius somehow cobbled the money together to build a villa (named Ainola, after his wife Aino) in Järvenpää, a forested area not far from the Finnish capital Helsinki, which was destined to remain his home and inspiration for over half a century. While it is easy when listening to the Second Symphony to conjure up images of Sibelius communing with nature in Finland’s icy, rugged landscapes, the music’s constant fluctuating between cool contentment, vibrant optimism and impassioned lyricism was inspired originally by a protracted working holiday in Florence and sun-drenched Rapallo (on the north-western coast of Italy) during the winter and early spring of 1901. The music’s spontaneous sense of ease and structural inevitability are also deceptive as some of the material (most notably the slow movement) was derived from other abandoned proj-

ects he started around this time, including a setting of Dante’s Divine Comedy and a planned tone poem entitled Festival, based on the Don Juan legend, employing the Commendatore’s famous ‘Stone Guest’ aria from the final act of Mozart’s Don Giovanni as a springboard for inspiration. Premiered in March 1902, the Symphony scored an overwhelming success, playing to another three packed houses during its first week. Although Sibelius insisted that his latest masterwork was entirely free of extra-musical associations, the reaction of his conductor friend Robert Kajanus accurately sums up the feelings of those present on the premiere night. ‘The Andante,’ he conjectured, ‘strikes one as the most broken-hearted protest against all the injustice that threatens at the present time to deprive the sun of its light and the flowers of their scent…The Scherzo gives a picture of frenetic preparation. Everyone piles his straw on the haystack, all fibres are strained, and every second seems to last an hour. One can sense in the oboe motif of the central trio section exactly what is at stake…The Finale develops towards a triumphant conclusion, intended to rouse in the listener a picture of a brighter and more confident future.’ At a more fundamental level, the Symphony demonstrates a marked tendency towards more concise thematic inspiration than its predecessor, particularly during the opening Allegretto. Sibelius appears determined to extract the maximum impact from the most economical of musical means, as in the first movement’s kaleidoscopic reappropriations of nine subtly interrelated motifs. So too in the inconsolable melodic strands of the Andante, which ends in total despair, the bustling obsessiveness of the scherzo and the same movement’s dreamy central oboe solo, which grows effortlessly out of a single note repeated several times over—a reworking of the Symphony’s opening, composed in response to his sister-in-law’s recent suicide. This striking movement links directly into a finale whose rousing combination of indelible melody and stoic resilience culminates in a bracingly optimistic coda. Note © Julian Haylock

SAT, JANUARY 11, 2020 AT 8PM

ABOUT ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA For more than seven decades the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been at the forefront of music-making in the UK. Its home base since 2004 at London’s Cadogan Hall serves as a springboard for seven principal residencies as well as more than 45 concerts per year in long-term partnership venues across the country, often in areas where access to live orchestral music is very limited. With a wider reach than any other UK large ensemble, the RPO has truly become Britain’s national orchestra. Throughout the regional program, plus regular performances at Cadogan Hall, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, a hugely popular series at the Royal Albert Hall, and international touring engagements, the RPO remains committed to working with the finest conductors. In July 2018, the RPO announced Vasily Petrenko as the Orchestra’s new Music Director, assuming the title of Music Director Designate in August 2020 prior to commencing the full role in August 2021. He joins the

RPO’s roster of titled conductors, which includes Pinchas Zukerman (Principal Guest Conductor), Alexander Shelley (Principal Associate Conductor), and Grzegorz Nowak (Permanent Associate Conductor). In 2018, RPO Resound, the Orchestra’s community and education program, celebrated its 25 anniversary. Throughout its history, it has thrived on taking music into the heart of the regions that the Orchestra serves, working with a variety of participants in a range of settings including working with young people, the homeless, and recovering stroke patients. Although the RPO embraces 21st Century opportunities, including appearances with pop stars and on video game, film, and television soundtracks, its artistic priority remains paramount: the making of great music at the highest level for the widest possible audience. As the RPO proudly looks to its future, its versatility and high standards mark it out as one of today’s most open-minded, forward-thinking symphony orchestras. For more information, please visit: www.rpo.co.uk

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

ABOUT THE ARTISTS MARK WIGGLESWORTH, conductor Internationally renowned and Olivier Award-winning conductor Mark Wigglesworth is one of the outstanding musicians of his generation, as much at home in the opera house as the concert hall. Recognized for his masterly interpretations, his highly detailed performances combine a finely considered architectural structure with great sophistication and rare beauty. Through a broad repertoire ranging from Mozart to Boulez, he has forged enduring relationships with many orchestras and opera houses throughout the world. Mark has enjoyed a long relationship with English National Opera (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Cosi fan Tutti, Falstaff, Katya Kabanova, Parsifal, Force of Destiny, Magic Flute, Jenufa, Don Giovanni, and Lulu), and operatic engagements elsewhere include The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Rise and Fall of Mahagonny), The Metropolitan Opera, New York (The Marriage of Figaro) as well as at The Bavarian State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real, The Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie, Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne, and Opera Australia. In 2017 he received the Oliver Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. On the concert platform, highlights include performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony, and the Sydney Symphony. His recordings include a critically acclaimed complete cycle of the Shostakovich Symphonies with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Mahler’s Sixth and Tenth symphonies, with the Melbourne Symphony, a disc of English music with the Sydney Symphony, Britten’s Peter Grimes with Glyndebourne, and the Brahms Piano Concertos with Stephen Hough. He has written articles for The Guardian and The Independent, made a six-part 20

TV series for the BBC entitled Everything to Play For, and held positions as Associate Conductor of the BBC Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony, Music Director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and most recently Music Director of English National Opera. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. His book The Silent Musician will be published by Faber & Faber later this year. KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI, piano Born in 1987 in Batumi (Georgia) French-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili discovered the piano at the early age of three and gave her first concert with Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra when she was six. Since then, she has established herself as one of today’s most prominent classical music artists, at home on the world’s great stages and universally celebrated for her “authenticity, charisma, and persuasiveness” (NZZ) and “playing straight from the heart” (The Guardian). Following an outstanding summer 2018 with appearances in London at the BBC Proms with Paavo Järvi; in Rome with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Long Yu; in Paris at the annual Bastille Day concert; and at the Salzburg Festival and Klavierfestival Ruhr, Buniatishvili’s 2018-19 season includes performances with the Seattle Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and RSO Vienna, as well as international tours with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich in Asia and Orchestre National de Lyon in Germany. Recital appearances include Montreal, Kansas City, Paris, Berlin, Dresden, and at the Barbican Center in London Following her belief that humanity is at the center of all art, Buniatishvili is involved in numerous social rights projects, such as the DLDwomen13 Conference (2013) in Munich; “To Russia with Love” (2013), a concert in Berlin to speak out against the violation of human rights in Russia; “Charity Concert in Kiev” (2015) for wounded persons in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone; United Nations Climate Change Conference—Marrakech Climate Show; and the United Nation’s 70th An-

SAT, JANUARY 11, 2020 AT 8PM

niversary Humanitarian Concert (2015) in Geneva to benefit Syrian refugees. She is an ambassador of Plan International, a UK-based organization for children’s rights and equality for girls and the Paris-based “Fondation Cœur et Recherche” for cardiovascular research. Buniatishvili made her U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall in 2008 and has since then performed at the Hollywood Bowl, BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, La Roque-d ‘Anthéron Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and Progetto Martha Argerich. Among Buniatishvili’s musical partners are conductors Zubin Mehta, Placido Domingo, Kent Nagano, Yannick NézetSéguin, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Gianandrea Noseda, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Long Yu, Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, and Philippe Jordan. She has appeared with the Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony,

China Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Filarmonica della Scala, and Munich Philharmonic. An exclusive SONY classical artist, Buniatishvili’s discography includes Franz Liszt (2011), Chopin (2012), Motherland (2014), and Kaleidoscope (2016), as well as piano trios with Gidon Kremer and Giedre Dirvanauskaite (2011) and violin sonatas (2014) with violinist Renaud Capuçon. She also collaborated with rock group Coldplay on their album A Head Full of Dreams. Buniatishvili’s most recent recordings unite her with two close musical partners: Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic in concertos by Beethoven and Liszt (2016) and Paavo Järvi and the Czech Philharmonic in Rachmaninov Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 (2017). Buniatishvili studied in Tbilisi with Tengiz Amiredjibi and in Vienna with Oleg Maisenberg.

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ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Managing Director James Williams

Tours Manager Dawn Day

Stage and Transport Manager Steve Brown

Deputy Managing Director Huw Davies

Tours Assistant Charlotte Fry

Stage Manager Esther Robinson

Concerts Director Louise Badger

Orchestra Manager Kathy Balmain

Assistant Stage Manager Dan Johnson

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA FIRST VIOLINS Duncan Riddell Tamás András Sulki Yu Shana Douglas Joana Valentinaviciute Eriko Nagayama Andrew Klee Kay Chappell Anthony Protheroe Erik Chapman Sophie Mather Esther Kim Marciana Buta Patrycja Mynarska Imogen East Joanne Chen SECOND VIOLINS Andrew Storey David O’Leary Jennifer Christie Charlotte Ansbergs Peter Graham Stephen Payne Manuel Porta Charles Nolan Sali-Wyn Ryan Colin Callow Nicola Hutchings Sheila Law Helen Cochrane Joanna Watts

VIOLAS Abigail Fenna Liz Varlow Ugne Tiškuté Chian Lim Esther Harling Jonathan Hallett Triona Milne Clive Howard Felix Tanner Helen Picknett Zoe Matthews Pamela Ferriman

CELLOS Richard Harwood Jonathan Ayling Chantal Webster Roberto Sorrentino Jean-Baptiste Toselli William Heggart Rachel van der Tang Naomi Watts Anna Stuart Emma Black DOUBLE BASSES David Stark David Gordon Benjamin Cunningham Ben Wolstenholme Mark O’Leary David FC Johnson Harry Atkinson Marianne Schofield

BASSOONS Joshua Wilson Stuart Russell CONTRA BASSOON Fraser Gordon FRENCH HORNS Nicolas Fleury Finlay Bain Philip Woods Jonathan Bareham Richard Ashton TRUMPETS James Fountain Adam Wright Mike Allen TROMBONES Matthew Gee Rupert Whitehead

FLUTES Emer McDonough Joanna Marsh

BASS TROMBONE Josh Cirtina

PICCOLO Helen Keen

TUBA Kevin Morga

OBOES John Roberts Timothy Watts

TIMPANI Matt Perry

COR ANGLAIS Patrick Flanaghan CLARINETS Benjamin Mellefont Emma Burgess BASS CLARINET Katy Ayling

PERCUSSION Stephen Quigley Martin Owens Gerald Kirby Richard Horn

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DARRYL ARCHIBALD EXCLUSIVE TOUR DIRECTION

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THE COLOR PURPLE was produced on Broadway at the Broadway Theater by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones. The World Premiere of THE COLOR PURPLE was produced by The Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia. THE COLOR PURPLE is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 www.theatricalrights.com.

JANUARY 30–FEBRUARY 1, 2020 BROADWAY SERIES MEDIA SPONSOR

THE COLOR PURPLE

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Church Lady... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELIZABETH ADABALE Sofia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHÃ&#x2030;DRA ARIELLE Nettie.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NASHKA DESROSIERS Bobby.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID HOLBERT Shug Avery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SANDIE LEE Church Lady/Olivia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PARRIS LEWIS Celie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARIAH LYTTLE Mister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANDREW MALONE Preacher/Ol' Mister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MON'QUEZ DEON PIPPINS Squeak.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GABRIELLA RODRIGUEZ Church Lady. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SHELBY A. SYKES Buster/Adam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CARTREZE TUCKER Pa/Guard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JEREMY WHATLEY Grady. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GERARD M. WILLIAMS Harpo. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRANDON A. WRIGHT

SWINGS JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, JENAY NAIMA, IVAN THOMPSON, RENEE TITUS

UNDERSTUDIES Understudies never substitute for listed performers unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the performance.

For Celie: JENAY NAIMA, RENEE TITUS; for Shug Avery: PARRIS LEWIS, JENAY NAIMA; for Sofia: ELIZABETH ADABALE, SHELBY A. SYKES; for Mister: IVAN THOMPSON, JEREMY WHATLEY; for Harpo: CARTREZE TUCKER, JEREMY WHATLEY; for Nettie: GABRIELLA RODRIGUEZ, RENEE TITUS; for Squeak: JENAY NAIMA, RENEE TITUS; for Buster/Adam: JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, IVAN THOMPSON; for Bobby: JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, IVAN THOMPSON; for Pa/Guard: JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, IVAN THOMPSON; for Church Ladies/Olivia: JENAY NAIMA, RENEE TITUS; for Preacher/ Ol' Mister: JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, IVAN THOMPSON; for Grady: JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT, DAVID HOLBERT

DANCE/FIGHT CAPTAIN JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT THERE WILL BE ONE 20-MINUTE INTERMISSION

SETTING

The story takes place in Georgia between 1909 and 1949.

The taking of photographs, videotaping or other recording of this production is a violation of the copyright law and an actionable federal offense.

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Mariah Lyttle

Sandie Lee

Chédra Arielle

Andrew Malone

Brandon A. Wright

Nashka Desrosiers

Elizabeth Adabale

Jarrett Anthony Bennett

David Holbert

Parris Lewis

Jenay Naima

Mon'Quez Deon Pippins

Gabriella Rodriguez

Shelby A. Sykes

Ivan Thompson

Renee Titus

Cartreze Tucker

Jeremy Whatley

Gerard M. Williams 27

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MUSICAL NUMBERS ACT ONE

"Huckleberry Pie".........................................................................................Celie and Nettie "Mysterious Ways".......................................................................................... The Company "Somebody Gonna Love You"........................................................................................ Celie "Our Prayer".....................................................................................Nettie, Celie and Mister "Big Dog"...................................................................................................... Mister and Men "Hell No!"...................................................................................................Sofia and Women "Brown Betty"..................................................................................Harpo, Squeak and Men "Shug Avery Comin' to Town".....................................................Mister, Celie and Company "Too Beautiful for Words"............................................................................................. Shug "Push da Button"....................................................................................Shug and Company "Uh Oh!".......................................................................................................... The Company "What About Love?".......................................................................................Celie and Shug

ACT TWO "African Homeland"....................................................................Nettie, Celie and Company "The Color Purple"........................................................................................................ Shug "Celie's Curse"............................................................................................................. Mister "Miss Celie's Pants"................................................................................... Celie and Women "Any Little Thing"....................................................................................... Harpo and Sofia "I'm Here"...................................................................................................................... Celie "The Color Purple" (Reprise).................................................................. Celie and Company

ORCHESTRA Conductor / Keys 1: JONATHAN GORST Associate Conductor / Keys 2: SHANE FFRENCH Reed 1 (Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Alto Flute): ERIC LAMPMANN Reed 2 (Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone): BRIAN LANG Guitar (Electric, Acoustic, Dobro, Harmonica, 12 String): JOE LEVENS Bass (Electric, Acoustic): CRISSY MARTINEZ Trumpet: NICO CURRENT Drums: TERRENCE BATES Keyboard Programming: SHANE FFRENCH Music Coordinator: TALITHA FEHR

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WHO’S WHO MARIAH LYTTLE (Celie) National tour debut. Regional credits include Dorothy in The Wiz at Virginia Repertory Theatre, Sarah in Ragtime at Park Playhouse. Ithaca College B.F.A. ‘19. “Many thanks to my family, friends and GOD for the love and endless support. Esther 4:14.” SANDIE LEE (Shug Avery) is a native of Columbus, MS. She holds a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She has appeared on American Idol Season 13 and Norwegian Cruise Line’s production of the Broadway musical After Midnight. Follow her on Instagram: sandieglee and Facebook: Sandie Ambitions Lee. www.sandielproductions.com. John 15:7 CHÉDRA ARIELLE (Sofia) Originating from Savannah, GA and based in Los Angeles, CA, Arielle is making her theatrical debut. She holds a Bachelor in Architectural Design with a concentration in Theatre and Dramatic Studies. Arielle is noted among her peers for her dynamism and commitment to her artistry. ANDREW MALONE (Mister) Tour: Kinky Boots (National/International). Regional: ASOLO Rep, Marriott Theatre. Other credits: Hairspray, Dreamgirls, Little Shop, A.C.L., Spelling Bee. AMDA-NY. “The more us wonder, the more us love.” IG: @angryactor bigmouthtalent.com BRANDON A. WRIGHT (Harpo) is grateful to join this iconic production! He hails from Newark, NJ, and holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He is happily repre-

sented by Paonessa Talent. Romans 8:28! @iactwright NASHKA DESROSIERS (Nettie) Equally a New Jersey and Florida girl, Desrosiers is thrilled to be a part of the cast of The Color Purple. She was previously seen on the seas with Royal Caribbean. “All thanks to God, her family, and Kai.” @Nashka_dezz ELIZABETH ADABALE (Ensemble/ Church Lady/U/S Sofia) National tour debut! Off-Broadway: Revelation the Musical (Woman 1). Regional: Sister Act (Deloris), Into the Woods (Witch), Urinetown (Pennywise), Hairspray (Motormouth). “The good Lord works in mysterious ways! Endless love to her family, friends, and her team at ATB and NOVA Talent.” Stay connected at www.elizabethadabale.com or @lizadabale JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT (Dance/Fight Captain/Swing/U/S Buster/ Adam, Bobby, Pa/Guard, Preacher/Ol’ Mister, Grady) Making his national tour debut! Regional credits include Memphis and Dreamgirls. A graduate of William Peace University and native of Roseboro, NC. Much love to his friends and family who support his endeavors! DAVID HOLBERT (Ensemble/Bobby) is thrilled to be making his national tour debut! Regional: Bring It On! (Twig), Hunchback (Quasimodo), Newsies (Crutchie). Holbert would like to thank God, Mom, Dad, Danny, Family, The Crew, and BWMT. IG: @_davidholbert PARRIS LEWIS (Ensemble/Church Lady/ Olivia/U/S Shug Avery) Native of Brooklyn, NY, Parris Mone’t Lewis is making her national tour debut! Other credits: STONE-

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WALL (New York City Opera); Pray (Ars Nova); A Time Like This (Carnegie Hall); Bars Workshop (The Public Theatre); Porgy & Bess (Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra); Pyer Moss (New York Fashion Week). @renaissancewoman_ JENAY NAIMA (Swing/U/S Celie, Shug Avery, Squeak, Church Lady/Olivia) is beyond excited to be a part of The Color Purple family. Credits include: national tour of Three Little Birds. Disney Cruise Line. Signature Theatre: Jesus Christ Superstar. Constellation Theatre Company: Avenue Q (2016 Helen Hayes Award). Creative Cauldron: Caroline or Change. Mill Mountain Theatre: Hairspray. UMD Grad. MON’QUEZ DEON PIPPINS (Preacher/ Ol’ Mister) is a seasoned performed experienced in theater, TV, and film. He has entertained audiences from all over the globe in venues such as The Hard Rock Hotel, Disney, Universal, Carnival Cruises, and TV shows like The Apollo and ER. He also recorded his first Original EP entitled Fine By Me, out in June 2020. GABRIELLA RODRIGUEZ (Ensemble/Squeak/U/S Nettie) is thrilled to be making her national tour debut! Huge thanks to the creative team, Chad at Binder Casting, and her supportive family. Point Park University. Jeremiah 29:11. Instagram: @gabriellajoy_ SHELBY A. SYKES (Ensemble/Church Lady/U/S Sofia) is thrilled to make her national touring debut! Credits: Once on this Island, Rent, The Wiz. Sykes studied vocal performance at the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. Special thanks to her family for the love and prayers! IG: @shelbyasykes Jeremiah 29:11 IVAN THOMPSON (Swing/U/S Mister, Buster/Adam, Bobby, Pa/Guard, Preacher/ Ol’ Mister) is a St. Louis native, father of five, published author, retired Air Force Lt. Colonel, and resides in Phoenix, AZ. He has performed the National Anthem for national sporting events and is a seasoned actor with numerous credits. RENEE TITUS (Swing/U/S Celie, Nettie, Squeak, Church Lady/Olivia) is thrilled to be

on her first national tour telling this beautiful story. Past credits include: The Storyteller in Festival of the Lion King in Hong Kong Disneyland, Sarah (Ragtime), Crystal (Little Shop of Horrors). Love to Justin. IG: @renee_m_titus CARTREZE TUCKER (Ensemble/Buster/ Adam /U/S Harpo) HAIR (national/international tour), Motown: The Musical (national tour), Trav’lin, Raisin: The Musical, Disney’s Tarzan: A New Musical, Sister Act, Disney’s Little Mermaid, Miss Saigon, RENT, Hairspray, and many more. IG: @Cartreze JEREMY WHATLEY (Ensemble/Pa/ Guard/U/S Harpo, Mister) is excited to make his national tour debut! Favorite regional: Sister Act (Eddie), In The Heights (Benny), Dreamgirls (Jimmy Early), The Color Purple (Harpo). AMDA LA Grad! “Much love to Ma, Pop, family/friends. Thank you God. Thank you Jim.” @just.jer.emy #StriveForGreatness GERARD M. WILLIAMS (Ensemble/ Grady) First national tour. Former Spotlight Cabaret singer, student of Berklee College of Music and Music admin at The River Church. Credits: Scottsboro Boys (Roy Wright), Ragtime (Coalhouse), A Motown Christmas (vocal coach/Ensemble), Memphis (Gator), Dreamgirls (Dave/Ensemble), Annie (Rooster), Jesus Christ Superstar (Apostle), Assassins (Proprietor). TV: CW’s The Originals. Celebrity Cruises Singer @Gmonwilliams BRENDA RUSSELL (Composer/Lyricist) Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter and author of “Piano in the Dark,” “If Only for One Night,” and “Get Here.” Russell has collaborated with superstars such as Sting; Mary J. Blige; Stevie Wonder; Chaka Khan; Tina Turner; Donna Summer; Michael McDonald; Ray Charles; Earth, Wind & Fire; Luther Vandross; Diana Ross; and Patti LaBelle, among many others. She was nominated for three Grammys® for 1988’s “Piano in the Dark.” Since 1979 she has recorded eight solo albums, releasing “Between the Sun and the Moon” in 2004. Her work has also been featured in How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Liberty Heights. www.brendarussell.com

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ALLEE WILLIS (Composer/Lyricist) has sold more than 50 million records, including “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Neutron Dance,” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” She has a Grammy® for the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack and an Emmy® nomination for the Friends theme song. She’s an award-winning artist, performer, multimediaist, writer, and director. Willis prototyped a social network in 1992 and addressed Congress on cyberspace in 1997. Willis’s opus to Detroit, The D, premiered at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the fifth largest museum in the world, on September 28, 2017. The song and video, written, arranged, produced, directed, edited, animated, and self-financed by Willis, features 5,000 lead singers and musicians, more people in history than have ever been on a record before. STEPHEN BRAY (Composer/Lyricist) made his Broadway debut with The Color Purple in 2005. After training at Berklee College of Music, Bray wrote and produced many top-ten recordings for Madonna including “Into the Groove,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue,” and “Express Yourself.” Performing with Breakfast Club, he earned a Grammy® nomination for Best New Artist. He has written and produced for multiplatinum artists including Gladys Knight and Kylie Minogue. Bray’s latest venture, Masterphonic, provides storytellers with original music and reimagined classics. He would like to thank Mom and Dad for blasting Broadway cast albums and insisting on those piano lessons. JOHN DOYLE (Direction/Set Design/ Musical Staging) Broadway: Sweeney Todd (Tony® and Drama Desk Awards for Best Director of a Musical), Company (Tony®

Award for Best Musical Revival), A Catered Affair (Drama League Award for Best Musical Production), The Visit (Tony® nomination for Best Musical), The Color Purple (Tony® Award for Best Musical Revival, Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Musical). Off-Broadway: Wings (Second Stage Theatre), Road Show (The Public Theater), Where’s Charley?, Irma La Douce (City Center Encores!). Regional: Kiss me, Kate (Stratford Festival); The Caucasian Chalk Circle (A.C.T.); Merrily We Roll Along; The Three Sisters (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); Ten Cents a Dance (Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Exorcist (L.A.). In the U.K., Doyle has been artistic director of four regional theaters. Numerous credits include The Gondoliers, Mack and Mabel (West End), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park), Oklahoma! (Chichester), Amadeus (Wilton’s Musical Hall). Opera includes Lucia di Lammermoor (Sydney Opera House), Peter Grimes (Metropolitan Opera), The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany (L.A. Opera). Doyle is Artistic Director of CSC in New York City, where productions include Passion, Dead Poets Society, Pacific Overtures, Carmen Jones, and The Cradle will Rock. ANN HOULD-WARD (Costume Designer) has won, or been nominated for, virtually every major theater award in existence, including the Tony®, Drama Desk, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, American Theatre Wing, Outer Critics Circle, and Olivier awards for her costume design. A Tony® winner for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Tony® nominee for the original Broadway productions of Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, HouldWard’s stage credits also include the up-

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coming production of The Prince of Egypt, as well as countless Off-Broadway productions and designs for the most highly regarded regional theaters and the theater-world’s finest producers and directors. International audiences applaud her work as well, as do audiences for film, television, concerts, dance and opera. Hould-Ward’s work has been seen in over 35 international companies of Beauty and the Beast, and her other designs are featured in shows all over the world. She also has more than 100 regional theatre credits. Hould-Ward is the recipient of the inaugural Patricia Zipprodt Award for ‘Innovative Costume Design’ and is a seasoned lecturer. JANE COX (Lighting Designer) Previous collaborations with John Doyle include Arturo Ui, Pacific Overtures, Peer Gynt, Allegro and Passion at Classic Stage Company; The Color Purple on Broadway and in London; Road Show; and Lucia di Lammermoor. Recent Broadway designs includes True West, King Lear, Jitney, Amelie, Machinal, and All the Way. Cox has been nominated for two Tony® Awards, is a member of the Monica Bill Barnes Company, and the director of the theater program at Princeton University. DAN MOSES SCHREIER (Sound Designer) Broadway: Gary-A Sequel, The Iceman Cometh, Falsettos, American Psycho, The Visit, Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Sondheim on Sondheim, A Little Night Music, Gypsy (Patti Lupone), Radio Golf, John Doyle’s production of Sweeney Todd, Gem Of the Ocean, Pacific Overtures, Assassins, Into The Woods, Topdog/Underdog, Dirty Blonde, Noise/Funk. Composed scores for Broadway: Merchant of Venice (Al Pacino), Julius Caesar (Denzel Washington), The Tempest (Patrick Stewart). Recent Off-Broadway designs include the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof, Carmen Jones at CSC. Awards: Five 5 Tony® Award nominations, 4 Drama Desk Awards. Schreier is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony. CHARLES G. LaPOINTE (Wig & Hair Designer) Numerous Broadway, Touring, West End, and International productions including: Hamilton; The Cher Show (Drama Desk Award); The Band’s Visit; Beautiful; Ain’t Too Proud; Beetlejuice; The Lifespan

of a Fact; SpongeBob SquarePants (Drama Desk Award); Jersey Boys; Motown; On Your Feet!; A Gentleman’s Guide…; Newsies; In the Heights. Television: The Wiz Live! (Emmy® Award nomination); Jesus Christ Superstar Live! (Emmy® Award nomination/Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylist Guild Award); Hairspray. DARRYL ARCHIBALD (Musical Supervisor) The Color Purple (2015 revival tour and Paper Mill Playhouse); Motown The Musical (Broadway 2016 and national tours); Wicked at the Pantages Theater (substitute conductor); Memphis (Broadway tour); Disney’s The Lion King (Broadway tour—vocal coach/ assistant conductor); Ragtime, Little Shop Of Horrors (Pasadena Playhouse); Dear World with Tyne Daly (VPAC); Jonathan Dove’s Innocence (Banff Centre and Manhattan Theatre Club); Next To Normal, Beauty and The Beast (McCoy/Rigby); In The Heights (TUTS); Two By Two with Jason Alexander, How To Succeed... with John O’Hurley, The Fantasticks with Eric McCormack, Once On This Island with Ledisi, Li’l Abner with Cathy Rigby and Fred Willard (Reprise); Great Expectations, My Fair Lady, 1776, Camelot, and Forever Plaid (Utah Shakespearean Festival). Orchestrations include: Great Expectations (USF), The Wiz (The Muny); A Hollywood Holiday Celebration (ABC), The Fountain Show, and Christmas Trolley Show (The Grove Los Angeles). JOSEPH JOUBERT (Orchestrator) Credits as orchestrator, arranger, conductor, musical director include Broadway’s Violet; Motown the Musical; Nice Work If You Can Get It; Leap of Faith; Caroline, or Change; The Color Purple; Billy Elliot. TV: Smash. Film: Nights in Rodanthe. Recording: Fantasia, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Patti Labelle, Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross. Grammy®, Emmy®, and Drama Desk Award nominee. JONATHAN GORST (Music Director/ Conductor) was born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO. He began his professional career at the Imperial Hotel in Cripple Creek, CO, at the age of 16. Moving to New York at the age of 22, he soon became Music Director/Conductor for the national tour of CATS, followed by his appointment to Music Director/Principle Conductor for the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera

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in 2007. Other credits include Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian Hotel and Casino, The Woman in White on Broadway, Ghost The Musical—First National Tour and 4U–A Symphonic Tribute to the Music of Prince European Tour. Gorst would like to thank his wife, Marisa, for her constant support of pursuing his dreams—wherever they take him! TALITHA FEHR (Music Coordinator) has worked on over 50 national and international tours and productions, highlights include Sister Act, Mamma Mia!, Come Fly Away, School of Rock, and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Ceremonies. She dedicates her work on The Color Purple to the memory of Sam Lutfiyya. SAMANTHA SALTZMAN (Associate Director) Resident Director credit: Matilda the Musical (1st National Tour/Broadway). Select Directing credits: LadyShip, The Drama League Gala Honoring Steve Martin, Madam Fury’s Traveling Show. Additional Associate/ Assistant credits: The King & I (2nd National Tour), Lady in the Dark (NYCC), Southern Comfort (The Public), Sarah Brightman’s Dreamchaser World Tour. Drama League Directing Fellow. “Love to Mom, Dad, Zach and Power Trio.” www.samanthasaltzman. com BINDER CASTING/CHAD ERIC MURNANE, CSA (Casting) Binder Casting, now part of RWS Entertainment Group, was founded by Jay Binder, CSA in 1984. Binder Casting has cast over 80 Broadway productions, dozens of national tours, off-Broadway shows, full seasons for over 25 regional theatres, as well as feature films, episodic television, and commercials. Binder has cast for Encores! at New York City Center since its inception in 1994. The office was also featured in the documentary, Every Little Step. Binder Casting is a 12–time recipient of the Artios Award. www.bindercasting.com BARRY BRANFORD (Company Manager), frequently seen with a suitcase in one hand and his phone in the other, has spent the last 10 years as a Tour Manager for a wide variety of productions. He is thrilled to join TROIKA for this tour of The Color Purple.

B.J. BELLARD (Production Supervisor) is thrilled to be working on this beautiful story with such an amazing cast and crew! He has worked everywhere from a cruise ship to Walt Disney World. Regional: Southern Rep Theatre. B.A., Loyola University New Orleans. “Thank you to my family and friends. Look what God has done.” BOND THEATRICAL GROUP (Marketing and Publicity Direction) is a fully independent booking, marketing, and publicity company for live entertainment productions. Current tour marketing and booking projects include Blue Man Group, CATS, Clueless, Girl from the North Country, First Date, Jesus Christ Superstar, Kathleen Turner’s Finding My Voice, Latin History for Morons, An Officer & A Gentleman, Once on this Island, and Spamilton. Current marketing and publicity projects include Anastasia, The Band’s Visit, Dear Evan Hansen, Diana, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, Escape to Margaritaville, Fiddler on the Roof, Moulin Rouge!, Oklahoma!, The Color Purple, The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and The Prom. THE BOOKING GROUP (Tour Booking Agency) Since its inception in 1996, The Booking Group has represented 25 Tony® Award-winning Best Musicals and Plays. Current touring productions include: Hamilton, Anastasia, The Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Fiddler on the Roof, Hello, Dolly!, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Mean Girls, My Fair Lady, RENT: The 20th Anniversary Tour, and Waitress. Future productions include: Hadestown, 1776, The Cher Show, Pretty Woman, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Tootsie. TROIKA ENTERTAINMENT (Producer, Tour Management) has been an innovator in touring musical theater productions for over two decades, producing shows throughout North, Central, and South America, Europe, and Asia. Additionally, the company is experienced in casino and leisure markets. Current and upcoming productions include CATS, The Phantom of the Opera, Escape to Margaritaville, The Color Purple, and My Fair Lady. With strong ties to the Broadway community, TROIKA prides itself on delivering top quality productions to audiences worldwide. Please visit us at www.troika.com.

THE COLOR PURPLE THE COLOR PURPLE TOUR STAFF GENERAL MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT TROIKA ENTERTAINMENT GENERAL MANAGER BRIAN SCHRADER Assistant General Manager…….A.J. Orth PRODUCTION MANAGER HEATHER CHOCKLEY TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DAVE BURCH COMPANY MANAGER BARRY BRANFORD CASTING BINDER CASTING Jay Binder, CSA, Mark Brandon, CSA Justin Bohon, CSA, Chad Eric Murnane, CSA Kyle Coker, Anthony Pichette, Jarrett Reiche Part of RWS Entertainment Group Ryan Stana CEO, Bruston Manuel COO MARKETING & PUBLICITY DIRECTION BOND THEATRICAL GROUP DJ Martin Temah Higgins Marc Viscardi Trish McKeon Nicholas Jaech Matthew Lerner Nicole Musto Tori Viggiano www.bondtheatricalgroup.com EXCLUSIVE TOUR BOOKING THE BOOKING GROUP Meredith Blair Brian Brooks Rich Rundle www.thebookinggroup.com PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR.........................B.J. BELLARD Associate Scenic Designer.....................David L. Arsenault Associate Costume Designer.......... Christopher Vergara Associate Lighting Designer................................Tess James Associate Sound Designer.......................................Josh Reid Associate Hair Designer..............................Ashley Callahan Assistant Director................................................Lynn Spector Moving Lighting Programmer.............Bridget Chervenka Fight Consultant................................................ Thomas Schall Production Electrician.........................................Justin Petito Production Audio................................................Matthew Bell Keyboard Programmer...................................Shane Ffrench Dance/Fight Captain...................Jarrett Anthony Bennett Production Assistants............. Erin Magner, Morgan Walker HEAD CARPENTER....................................AARON ADAME Assistant Carpenter....................................Jonathan Rogers Head Electrician....................................................... Chris Lubik Assistant Electrician...................................... Jameson Willey Head Audio..............................................................Tanner Elker Assistant Audio.......................................................Ethan Fuller Head Props.......................................................Whitney Phelan Head Wardrobe............................................Cecilia Gutierrez Head Hair & Makeup......................................Tyree Robinson Physical Therapy............. NEURO TOUR, Physical Therapy Inc. Medical Director......................................... Craig E. Weil, MD Production Videographer................................... HMS Media Tour Social Media................................ Andy S. Drachenberg Website.................................................... Situation Interactive Legal Counsel.................................................. Jean Ward, Esq., Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Accounting............................................ Zwick & Banyai, PLLC HR & Payroll Services....................Kim Merhar, PEOPLE® Trucking........................David Burch @Elevations Logistics Merchandising.....................ENCORE Merchandising, LLC FOR TROIKA ENTERTAINMENT Chief Executive Officer.................................Randall A. Buck Chief Operating Officer................................. Angela Rowles Executive Vice President, Production................ Kori Prior Executive Vice President, Marketing..................Amy Katz General Managers..... Karen Berry, Brian Schrader, Tyler Soltis Assistant General Managers....Madeline M. McCluskey, A.J. Orth, Mitzi Delgado Technical Director...................................................Dave Burch Production Managers............................. Heather Chockley, Gregg Damanti, Jessica Sentak Production Coordinator.................................. Drew Neitzey Director of Engagements..........................Barrett Newman Director of Finance.................................................Brian Jacob Financial Controller................................... George Lamberty Project Accountants................................... Lourdes Castillo, Erika Goldthwaite Accounting Clerk.............................................. Electra Walker Office Manager................................................ Mary Lauritzen Costume Shop Administrator.....................Alison M. Smith Warehouse Manager......................................... Scott Garrish www.troika.com CREDITS Scenery by TTS STUDIOS, Charleston, SC. Lighting equipment provided by PRG LIGHTING. Audio equipment by MASQUE SOUND, East Rutherford, NJ. Costumes by JENNIFER LOVE COSTUMERS and ERIC WINTERLING, New York, NY. Music equipment furnished by JONAS MUSIC, Indianapolis, IN. Millinery by LYNNE MACKEY STUDIO, New York, NY. Costume Painting by JEFF FENDER. Men's Shirts by DARCY CLOTHING LTD. Custom Shoes by LADUCA SHOES. Women's Undergarments provided by BRA*TENDERS. Production travel & housing by ROAD REBEL ENTERTAINMENT TOURING, San Diego, CA Rehearsed at PEARL STUDIOS, New York, NY Technical Rehearsals and Previews held at The Center for Performing Arts PRINCE GEORGE’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE Largo, MD www.ColorPurple.com Facebook: @ColorPurpleMusical Twitter: @BwayColorPurple Instagram: @bwaycolorpurple

Backstage and Front of the House Employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (or I.A.T.S.E) The Director-Choreographer is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union. United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.

OFFERS SINCERE THANKS TO

FOR ITS GENEROUS SUPPORT OF STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY AND LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO TUE, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 AT 8PM

SPONSORED BY

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

ABOUT THE ARTIST LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO For over 50 years, South Africa’s fivetime Grammy® Award winners, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with their uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves, and charming onstage banter. With a deep respect for both their cultural and personal history, Ladysmith Black Mambazo is ever-evolving with an eye toward their long musical legacy. Since the world discovered their powerful a cappella vocals from Paul Simon’s Graceland album, the original members have welcomed a younger generation in their mission, passing along the tradition of storytelling and spreading a message of peace, love, and harmony to millions of people the world over. Now led by the four sons of group founder Joseph Shabalala, after joining the group almost 25 years ago, an infusion of youthful energy and the promise of a bright future has a firm grip within the group. It was Nelson Mandela who anointed the group ‘South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,’ a designation the members carry with them with the highest honor. In 2017 the group released two albums that both were nominated for Grammy® Awards, a first for a World Music group. On Songs of Peace & Love for Kids & Parents Around the World, Ladysmith Black Mambazo shares their uplifting message with audiences of all ages through their music and the stories behind the songs. Their second album of 2017, Shaka Zulu Revisited, celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first Grammy® Award-winning album and fittingly won Best World Music Album that year.

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STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI IN CONCERT CONSTANTINE KITSOPOULOS—conductor NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Feature Film with Orchestra There will be one intermission Starring Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Billy Dee Williams Anthony Daniels as C-3PO Co-Starring David Prowse Kenny Baker Peter Mayhew Frank Oz Directed by Richard Marquand Produced by Howard Kazanjian Story by George Lucas Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas Executive Producer George Lucas Music by John Williams MPAA PG Rating Original Motion Picture Disneymusicemporium.com Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Warner/Chappell Music. © 2020 & TM LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © DISNEY

SUN, FEBRUARY 9, 2020 AT 3PM

STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI IN CONCERT WITH THE NJSO

STAR WARS FILM CONCERT SERIES PRODUCTION CREDITS President, Disney Music Group Ken Bunt SVP/GM, Disney Concerts Chip McLean Supervising Technical Director Alex Levy – Epilogue Media Film Preparation Ramiro Belgardt Business Affairs, Lucasfilm Rhonda Hjort Chris Holm Music Preparation Mark Graham Matthew Voogt Joann Kane Music Service Disney Music Library Operations, Disney Concerts Mae Crosby Royd Haston Business Affairs, Disney Concerts Darryl Franklin Meg Ross Jesenia Gallegos Non-Theatrical Sales, Twentieth Century Fox Julian Levin Business Affairs, Warner-Chappell Scott McDowell

ABOUT THE ARTISTS JOHN WILLIAMS, composer In a career spanning more than five decades, John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage, and he remains one of our nation’s most distinguished and contributive musical voices. He has composed the music for more than 100 films, including all eight Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, Memoirs of a Geisha, Home Alone, and The Book Thief. His 45-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg has resulted 46

in many of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and successful films, including Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, and The Post. Williams composed themes for four Olympic Games. He served as music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 14 seasons and remains their laureate conductor. Williams has received five Academy Awards® and 51 Oscar® nominations, seven British Academy Awards, 24 Grammys®, four Golden Globes and five Emmys®. In 2016, he received the 44th Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. CONSTANTINE KITSOPOULOS, conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos has established himself as a dynamic conductor equally at home with opera, symphonic repertoire, film with live orchestra, musical theater and composition. His work has taken him all over the world, where he has conducted the major orchestras of North America, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Philharmonic. In addition to guest conducting, he is music director of the Festival of the Arts BOCA and general director of Chatham Opera. He is also general director of New York Grand Opera. This season includes return engagements with the symphonies of Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, Toronto, San Antonio, Santa Barbara, Hartford, Philadelphia, and San Francisco On Broadway, Kitsopoulos has been music director of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, the Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical revival featuring Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. He was music director of ACT’s production of Weill/Brecht’s Happy End and made the only English-language recording of the piece.

SUN, FEBRUARY 9, 2020 AT 3PM

ABOUT NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians. Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence” The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra presents classical, pops, and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New

Jersey arts organizations, universities, and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity. In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People and the NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, led by José Luis Domínguez. NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners program. For more information about the NJSO, visit njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 1.800. ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

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STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI IN CONCERT WITH THE NJSO

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA XIAN ZHANG, Music Director, The Jaqua Foundation Chair FIRST VIOLIN Eric Wyrick, Concertmaster, The Donald L. Mulford Chair Brennan Sweet, Associate Concertmaster David Southorn, Assistant Concertmaster Adriana Rosin, Assistant Concertmaster Naomi Youngstein James Tsao Xin Zhao Darryl Kubian

CELLO Jonathan Spitz, Principal, The MCJ Amelior Foundation Chair, in honor of Barbara Bell Coleman Na-Young Baek, Assistant Principal Sarah Seiver Ted Ackerman Frances Rowell Hyewon Kim Philo Lee Laura Andrade+

HORN Chris Komer, Principal Andrea Menousek Lawrence DiBello Susan Standley Eric Reed

SECOND VIOLIN Francine Storck, Principal, The Dr. Merton L. Griswold, Jr. Chair Rebekah Johnson, Assistant Principal Debra Biderman Ann Kossakowski John Connelly Susan Gellert* Alexandra Neglia Ming Yang Héctor Falcón

BASS Ha Young Jung, Principal, The Lawrence J. Tamburri Chai Alexander Bickard, Assistant Principal Frank Lomolino Jonathan Storck, The Andrew and Katherine Davis Chair David Rosi

TROMBONE Charles Baker, Principal Vernon Post Vincent Belford

VIOLIN Fatima Aaziza Wendy Y. Chen Maya Shiraishi JoAnna Farrer Minji Kwon Bryan Hernandez-Luch Mee Young Paik VIOLA Frank Foerster, Principal, The Margrit McCrane Chair Elzbieta Weyman, Assistant Principal Michael Stewart Christine Terhune Martin Andersen Lucy Corwin Henry Kao Brett Deubner David Blinn

FLUTE Bart Feller, Principal, The Edda and James Gillen Chair Kathleen Nester

TUBA Derek Fenstermacher*, Principal, The Liss Chair TIMPANI Gregory LaRosa, Principal, The Mia and Victor Parsonnet Chair

PICCOLO Kathleen Nester

PERCUSSION David Fein*, Principal James Musto, Acting Principal

OBOE Robert Ingliss, Principal, The Arthur E. Walters and Marjory S. Walters Chair Andrew Adelson

PERSONNEL Adria Benjamin, Personnel Manager Naomi Youngstein, Assistant Manager

ENGLISH HORN Andrew Adelson

LIBRARIAN Erin Vander Wyst

CLARINET Karl Herman*, Principal, The Roy and Diana Vagelos Chair Pascal Archer, Acting Principal Andrew Lamy

* Leave of absence for the 2019–20 season

E-FLAT CLARINET Andrew Lamy BASSOON Robert Wagner, Principal, The Charlotte and Morris Tanenbaum Chair Mark Timmerman

TRUMPET Garth Greenup, Principal, The Amadeus Circle Chair Anderson Romero, Assistant Principal David Larson

+ NJSO Colton Fellow The NJSO uses a system of string rotation. In each string section, members are listed in order of seniority. The musicians and librarians employed by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra are members of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

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STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY - SAVE 10% Present either your paper or mobile ticket from the State Theatre and receive 10% off regularly priced menu items. Exclusions include happy hour specials, promotions and alcoholic beverages.

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THU, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 AT 8PM

BOYZ II MEN

ABOUT THE ARTISTS BOYZ II MEN Boyz II Men remains one of the most truly iconic R&B groups in music history. The group redefined popular R&B and continues to create timeless hits that appeal to fans across all generations. The band has penned and performed some of the most celebrated classics of the past two decades. The group’s four Grammy® Awards are just the tip of the iceberg—throughout their 25-year career, Boyz II Men have also won a whopping nine American Music Awards, nine Soul Train Awards, three Billboard Awards, a 2011 MOBO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a Casino Entertainment Award for their acclaimed residency at the Mirage Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, which has been ongoing since 2013. The trio holds the distinction of being the best-selling R&B group of all time, with an astounding 64 million albums sold. Boyz II Men’s past hits include: “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” “One Sweet Day,” “Motownphilly,” and many others. Their recent albums have earned them major critical acclaim as well. Their Decca label debut, Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA (Decca/Universal), on November 13, 2007 earned them two Grammy® Nominations. In 2011, Boyz II Men marked their 20th anniversary by releasing a landmark album, fittingly titled Twenty. The album contains the group’s first original material in nearly a decade as well as a dozen remastered classic, career-defining hits. Twenty debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, #4 on the Billboard R&B album chart, #10 on the Billboard Digital Album Chart, and placed #1 on the iTunes R&B Soul Album chart. Twenty’s first single, “More Than You’ll Ever Know,” cracked into the top 15 on Urban AC charts. Boyz II Men have won fans the world over with their soulful multi-octave sound and incredible vocals. Given the monumen52

tal success of their albums and the timeless quality of their vocals, it’s easy to see why Boyz II Men remains the most popular R&B group of all time. Ask any successful pop or R&B superstar which artists have inspired them—chances are Boyz II Men will be at the top. From Justin Timberlake and Usher to Justin Bieber and Beyoncé, the most successful stars in the industry look to Boyz II Men as their idols. Beyond making music, giving back is also important to Boyz II Men—the group has its own charity called Boyz II Men House which lends support to individuals and organizations that focus on improving quality of life and helping to unlock human potential, while contributing to the health and vitality of those less fortunate. The group released a new album featuring original material through label BMG in October 2014 called Collide. Collide is a landmark album for Boyz II Men, showcasing a new and different sound for one of the most successful and enduring groups in mainstream music. Two of the tracks, “Better Half,” and “Diamond Eyes” were featured on a special episode of ABC’s hit show, “The Bachelorette.” The group also performed on FOX’s hit live show, Grease Live which aired on January 31, 2016 and their performance became the most-tweeted moment. Most recently, Wanya Morris became a double threat stepping on the dancefloor on ABC’s hit show “Dancing with the Stars,” where he and partner, Lindsay Arnold, made it to the semifinals— ending on a high note with three tens. In the fall of 2017, the group released a Doo-Wop album, Under The Streetlight. Last year the group released, “If You Leave Me Now,” a hit song with singer/songwriter Charlie Puth. They opened for Bruno Mars on his 24K Magic Tour in select cities in the U.S. in 2018. Boyz II Men were also featured in the recent film Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen.

OFFERS SINCERE THANKS TO

FOR ITS GENEROUS SUPPORT OF STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY AND THE ORCHESTRA SERIES

SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SAT, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 AT 8PM Vladimir Lande, Music Director and Chief Conductor Pavel Milyukov, Violin Nikolay Rimksy-Korsakov

The Tsar’s Bride Overture

Dmitri Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 77 I. Nocturne: Moderato II. Scherzo: Allegro – demonic dance III. Passacaglia: Andante – Cadenza (attacca) IV. Burlesque: Allegro con brio – Presto — INTERMISSION — Nicolay Rimksy-Korsakov Scheherazade Opus 35 I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship Largo e maestoso – Lento – Allegro non troppo – Tranquillo (E minor – E Major) II. The Kalandar Prince Lento – Andantino – Allegro molto – Vivace scherzando – Moderato assai – Allegro molto ed animato (B minor) III. The Young Prince and The Young Princess Andantino quasi allegretto – Pochissimo più mosso – Come prima – Pochissimo più animato (G Major) IV. Festival at Baghdad. Allegro molto – Lento – Vivo – Allegro non troppo e maestoso – Tempo come I (E minor – E Major) ORCHESTRA SERIES UNDERWRITER

SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Overture to the Opera, Tzar’s Bride Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Born March 18, 1844, in Tikhvin; died June 21, 1908, in St. Petersburg) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born into a music-loving family of the Russian upper classes, and as an adult could still remember the songs his mother had sung to him when he was only two years old. At six, he began to play the piano, and at nine, to compose, but music was not considered a proper profession for the well-born, thus when he was 12, he was enrolled as a cadet at the Naval College. Music remained an important part of his life during his Navy years, even when he went off on a thirty-month cruise that took him to the Mediterranean and the Americas. (In the course of a six-month stay in New York during the winter of 1863-1864, he went to the opera, visited Niagara Falls, and took the side of the North against slave-ownership in the South.) On his return to St. Petersburg, he joined in an informal alliance with four other gifted young composers, most of whom also had professions other than music. They were soon to create a great new repertoire of Russian music. This “Mighty Handful,” as they came to be called, thought that the music of Tchaikovsky and his colleagues in Moscow was too Europeanized, not Russian enough, but eventually the two schools reached a state of détente. The “Mighty Handful” had a national focus; as a result, Rimsky-Korsakov had a very large influence on Russian musical life, helping to create a Russian sensibility in music. Over the course of his career, Rimsky-Korsakov completed a dozen operas. Many of his operas are based on fantastic stories from Russian folklore and legend, but The Tsar’s Bride is quite different; it is a complex, psychological and historical drama and is very lyrical with a kind of Classical feel. The opera itself, which is rarely heard in the United States, is based on an 1849 text by Lev Mey (1822-1862), a playwright popular for his historical dramas based on the 56

lives of Tsars. His libretto is a fictionalized story about the circumstances around the death of Ivan the Terrible’s third wife, Marfa Sobakina, who died just a few days after they were married. The opera suggests her death was primarily precipitated by spurned love and jealousy combined with treachery and poisoning. Rimsky-Korsakov took up the play in 1891 and began composing the opera in a slow, methodical manner. He hoped to debut it in the Imperial Theatre but its premiere took place in 1899 in a small private theatre; only on Oct. 30, 1901, did it appear at the Imperial Theatre. The overture is turbulent and symphonic, quite reminiscent of the composer’s early symphonies in style. It establishes the sense of conflict that suffuses the whole work. Although the initial theme creates a sense of urgency and drama, later in the piece, the violins introduce a love theme answered by the woodwinds. These two Russian flavored themes predominate until near the end when a new waltz-like subject brings the overture to a peaceful conclusion. The overture is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, and strings. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, No. 1, in A Minor, Op. 77/99 Dmitri Shostakovich (Born September 5, 1906, in St. Petersburg; died August 8, 1975, in Moscow) Shostakovich’s family was originally Polish but settled in Russia after his grandfather’s exile in Siberia. As a boy, Shostakovich took his first piano lessons from his mother and at the age of 13 entered the Petrograd Conservatory. In 1925, at 19, he completed his Symphony No. 1 as a Conservatory graduation piece. When Shostakovich was young, the rulers of the Soviet Union felt that their new kind of society should support varied and novel kinds of art; at that time, Russian composers, poets, novelists, and painters formed a true avantgarde. Before long, however, the political climate changed and

SAT, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 AT 8PM

ideas about the arts changed too. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, Shostakovich’s next symphonies and his two operas fell under Communist attack: aesthetic theoreticians faulted them for bourgeois decadence and ideological formalism, and consequently, they were withdrawn from circulation. When Shostakovich composed Symphony No. 5 in 1937, which he humbly described as “a composer’s reply to just criticism,” he was allowed to reenter the mainstream of Russian musical life. Although he wrote 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets, he wrote many fewer concerti, only two for piano, two for violin and two for cello. Shostakovich composed Violin Concerto No. 1 in 1948 for the Russian violinist David Oistrakh. At just that time, Shostakovich’s work was coming under political attack again in a period of severe censorship and purge. The critic Boris Schwarz later remarked that the only way Shostakovich had been able to survive as a composer was by using “two musical idioms: one more simplified and accessible to comply with [Soviet] guidelines ...the other

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

more complex and abstract to satisfy his own artistic standards.” The music of this concerto belongs to the second grouping, and thus Shostakovich did not release it until after Stalin’s death: it languished for seven years until it could be performed. Oistrakh and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Eugene Mravinsky, gave the first performance on October 29, 1955. The composer gave the concerto two opus numbers, one to indicate when the composition had been completed, the other for when it was first performed. Although the Soviet government was still not happy with his work when he published it, it tried to ignore their displeasure, as Oistrakh’s enthusiasm for the concerto kept it alive. The concerto is structured in four movements, (usually concerti have three movements) with unique instrumentation in which the brasses, trumpets, and trombones are not included. The feeling of the concerto, too, is unique, with a mixture of personal expression fused with elements of the public display, remnants of the “official

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You’re invited to pre-show events featuring January 30 the next generation of artists from across all February 20 artistic mediums. March 26 April 9 and 30 GALLERY HOURS Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. –4 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. –6 p.m. Saturdays, 12–4 p.m. 33 Livingston Avenue masongross.rutgers.edu @RutgersArt

SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

optimism” still demanded of the composer as late as the early 1950s. Shostakovich deemed his work remarkable for “the surprising seriousness and depth of its artistic content, its absolute symphonic thinking” that required “exceedingly interesting problems for the performer, who plays, as it were, a pithy ‘Shakespearian’ role, which demands complete emotional and intellectual involvement, and gives ample opportunities not only to demonstrate virtuosity but also to reveal deepest feelings, thoughts and moods.” When, in 1964, he was able to speak publicly about his music and his feelings about it, he remarked that music is “capable of expressing overwhelming, somber drama and euphoria, sorrow and ecstasy, burning wrath and chilling fury, melancholy and rousing merriment—and not only all these emotions but also their subtlest nuances and the transitions in between—which words, painting or sculpture cannot express...[Music] creates a spiritual image of man, teaches him to feel, and expands and liberates his soul...Real music is always revolutionary; it unites people, agitates them and urges them forward... Real music can express only great humane emotions, only progressive, human ideas.” Shostakovich named the first movement, “Nocturne”; it has a long, dark, almost uninterrupted melody, Adagio, for the soloist. This flowing melody appears in constantly changing rhythmic meters, which the violin plays against the bassoon’s counterpoint. It is introspective and foreboding. Oistrakh commented that it was “not all melancholy hopelessness, but ...a suppression of feelings, of tragedy in the best sense of purification.” Shostakovich derived its main theme from a musical motto that is based on the German designations of some of the letters in his name, D-S-C-H. Using the German musical letters DSCH, which in our musical notation are D/E-flat/C/B-natural, Shostakovich created a monogram. He used this same conceit in many of his late compositions. The second movement is an intricately worked Scherzo, Allegro non troppo, in shifting meters, in which the violin has a playful musical combat with the orchestra’s wind

instruments. In it, there are diabolic and sarcastic features, but they yield to the insistent energy of the music: a scampering flute melody is doubled four octaves lower by the bass clarinet, while the soloist has a rigid, rhythmic counter-theme. Later in the movement, a peasant dance is heard as well as a brief statement of Shostakovich’s personal thematic DSCH motto. The third movement, Andante, the most protracted of the movements, longer than the second and third movements together, is a Passacaglia, an old musical form in which continuous variations are played over an unchanging bass phrase. This rather virtuosic movement, characterized by its inwardness and probing character, has a very long bass line with the woodwinds initially delivering a mournful theme. The bass line gradually moves away from the lower instruments, as the theme journeys through various parts of the orchestra, gaining power and culminating in a solo violin statement, after which the violin seems to limit itself to and around a single note. At the end of the movement, the violin line is converted into a long and difficult cadenza that intensifies dynamically as it makes its way forward with inexhaustible energy. The cadenza leads without pause into the brief final movement, Burlesca, a brilliant and often festive sounding series of dances, Allegro con brio, arranged in a form similar to a rondo, the form which Mozart used for many final movements in his concertos. Before Shostakovich’s frantic yet triumphant coda, we are transported by almost manic joy. The score calls for an orchestra of piccolo and two flutes, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, tuba, timpani, tamtam, tambourine, xylophone, celesta, harp, and strings. Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite after The Thousand and One Nights, Op. 35 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Early in 1888, Rimsky-Korsakov first considered writing an orchestral work based on incidents selected from the book that is known in English-speaking countries as The Arabian Nights and elsewhere as The Thousand and One Nights. This an-

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thology of tales from Asia, India and the Arab lands seems to have been collected for the first time around 1500 in Cairo and to have made its way to Europe in the 18th century. As Rimsky described the book’s framework, the Sultan Schahriar, convinced of the falseness and unfaithfulness of women, vows to put each one of his many wives to death after their first night together. The Sultana Scheherazade saves her life by arousing so much interest in the story she tells him at night that, in anticipation of another, he postpones her execution again and again. Scheherazade tells Schahriar of many wonders, blending the words of poetry and of folk song into marvelous tales of adventure, love and war. This narration continues from night to night until 1,001 nights have passed, at which time the Sultan finally abandons his murderous plan. The symphonic suite, Scheherazade soon turned out to be Rimsky-Korsakov’s most widely played work; years later, he felt the need to explain the ideas behind it. Although the stories from The Thousand and One Nights provided the direct inspiration for the music, there are few specific ties between them. He therefore intended, he said, to give the movements vague headings like Prelude, Ballade, Adagio, and Finale. All he hoped for was that audiences would enjoy his work as a purely symphonic composition in four movements that share certain themes. However, his friends persuaded him that listeners deserved to know more of the music’s background, so he agreed somewhat reluctantly, he said, “to direct the hearer’s fancy along the path that mine had traveled yet, leaving details to the imagination.” The broad low-register theme first heard in the opening movement is generally, but not always, used to represent the stern Sultan Schahriar. The passages for solo violin represent the voice of the Sultana Scheherazade as she tells him her wondrous tales. Both of these themes are carried forward into later movements. Having given this much guidance to his overall plan, the composer yielded to giving a specific title to each of his four movements, but then left it to the listener to imagine the actual

events which the music depicts. In the first movement, “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship,” we hear the music to which a ship at sea rocks on the billowing waves, as Sinbad the Sailor tells of the wonders that he has seen on his great voyages to distant lands. Next, the voice of Scheherazade introduces “The Story of the Kalender Prince.” A “kalender” was an itinerant beggar priest or monk; at least three of the 1,001 tales tell of the princes who go wandering around the world disguised as kalenders. Faithful to his principle of giving the reader hints but not explanations, Rimsky does not tell just which Kalender-Prince story he had in mind, but lets the idea roam freely through the listener’s fancy. In the third movement, the orchestra sings the lovely songs of “The Young Prince and the Young Princess.” The finale, a grand summing up of what we have heard, presents a parade of pictures, new and old, projected across it. The series of musical images begins with “Festival at Baghdad” and continues with “The Sea.” Then, in a great tempest, “The Ship Goes to Pieces against a Rock that is Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior” and in the “Conclusion” we hear the voice of Sultana Scheherazade fade into the distance for the last time. Scheherazade is, among other things, a masterpiece of orchestration in which the composer finds an almost unlimited palette of sound-colors in an orchestra that is only moderately large in size: piccolo and two flutes, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, tambourine, triangle, harp, and strings.

ABOUT SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra dates back to 1977. Very quickly in its history the orchestra—then led by eminent conductor Ivan Shpiller—won a reputation as one of the best orchestras in the Soviet Union. SSSO has worked with

SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Dmitri Jurowski, Gintaras Rinkevicius, Vladislav Chernushenko, as well as illustrious soloists such as Mikhail Pletnev, Vadim Repin, the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky, the late Lazar Berman, Igor Oistrakh, Denis Matsuev, Rudolf Buchbinder, and Nikolai Lugansky, to name a few. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra began touring internationally to critical acclaim. In 1993, by special Decree of the Russian Ministry of Culture, the Orchestra was awarded the title of State Orchestra and in 2009 received venerable status as a Particularly Valuable Entity of Cultural Heritage. In 2015 Vladimir Lande became the orchestra’s new Artistic Director and Chief Conductor. Since then, SSSO has started successful new collaborations with international recording labels such as Naxos, Delos, and Parma Records, and the orchestra’s televised concerts have become available for online streaming. The orchestra and its new Artistic Director not only maintain the high performing standards that brought them early prominence, but also dedicate significant time to their mission as educators in the region of Central Siberia. VLADIMIR LANDE Music Director and Chief Conductor Russian-American conductor Vladimir Lande is the Music Director and Conductor of the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra (Krasnoyarsk, Russia). In 2008, Maestro Lande was appointed principal guest conductor of the St. Petersburg State Symphony, and in 2011 he led the orchestra on a 24-concert “Tour of the Americas” including New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Hall, and the Society of the Performing Arts in Houston, as well as the most prestigious venues in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile and Uruguay. A sampling of reviews from that tour includes: “In Tchaikovsky´s Fifth Symphony, the musicians produced a big, powerful sound, which

Mr. Lande molded into a shapely, emotional reading.” —NEW YORK TIMES “This [orchestra] did its home city and country proud.” —BOSTON GLOBE “Tuesday’s all-Russian program was memorable for this attention to detail -- just what one hopes.” —LOS ANGELES TIMES A graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and a former student of the renowned professor Gustav Maier, Maestro Lande has enjoyed a remarkable career as principal and guest conductor of major orchestras including the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Gallery Orchestra (in Washington D.C. and on a U.S. tour), the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Argentina, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Florida) the Baltimore Opera Orchestra, and many more. Maestro Lande actively tours with various orchestras; his most recent notable tours include Central and South America, United States, South Korea, and Europe. He is also Music Director and Conductor of Washington (DC) Soloists Chamber Orchestra. Vladimir Lande boasts an extraordinary recording career. His recordings received high critical acclaim and numerous awards, such as the Clef d’Or Global Music Award and the Award of the German Classical Music Critics Association. His CDs of Schubert’s Unfinished and Great Symphonies were released on Brilliant Classics in the summer of 2011, and his CD of American composer James Aikman’s music was released on Naxos. Other notable recordings include works by Respighi and Castelnuovo-Tedesco as well as contemporary works for the Parma label. Currently, Maestro Lande is in the process of recording a 17 CD cycle of the complete symphonic works of Soviet composer Mieczslaw Weinberg, whose centennial will be celebrated

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in 2019. Maestro Lande is an expert and active champion of contemporary music, having recorded more than 30 CDs of contemporary compositions. Vladimir Lande’s vision for contemporary music crosses genre boundaries in such ground-breaking projects as “Concerto for Chef and Orchestra,” and, in collaboration with the perfume industry in France, “The Fragrance of Sound.” In June of 2011 Maestro Lande successfully launched a series of video recordings for Naxos titled “Concerts from the Palaces of St. Petersburg.” His future plans include multiple high-definition video projects with the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra. Lande has collaborated with many of today’s leading soloists and rising stars, including Vadim Repin, Hilary Hahn, Pavel Milyukov, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, Olga Kern, Dmitry Kouzov, Xiayin Wang, Peter Laul, Maxim Mogilevsky, Eldar Nebolsin, Tianwa Yang, Gary Louie, Eugene Ugorski, Sergey Nakaryakov, Sergey Krylov, Alexander Knyazev, Andrei Gavrilov, Otto Sauter, and many more. Maestro Lande is equally successful in conducting Symphonic, Opera and Ballet repertoire. His upcoming conducting engagements include the Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Argentina, and many others. Maestro Lande divides his time between Russia and the U.S. when not on tour. PAVEL MILYUKOV Violin Pavel Milyukov was born in Perm in 1984. At the age of four he started taking music lessons with Tatyana Shevtsova, giving his first performance with an orchestra at the age of seven. Milyukov studied at the College of Music of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and at the Moscow Conservatoire (class of Vladimir Ivanov). In 2012 he obtained a postgraduate degree with distinction at the Moscow Conservatoire and in 2013 another one at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Graz (class of Boris Kuschnir). He is currently studying at the Vienna Kon-

servatorium. He has twice received a grant from the St. Petersburg House of Music and Bank Rossiya. In 2008 he took part in a meeting of young musicians with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prize-winner at international competitions in Kloster Schöntal (second prize, 2003), Astana (Grand Prix, 2008), Seoul (second prize, 2012), the International Robert Canetti Competition (first prize, 2005), the Vibrarte international competition in Paris (first prize, 2008), the David Oistrakh Competition in Moscow (second prize, 2008) and the Aram Khachaturian Competition in Yerevan (first prize, 2012). In June 2015, Milyukov won the third prize at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition. Milyukov also gives master classes in Russia and Brazil and tours across Austria, Belgium, Brasil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, South and North Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. He has worked with such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, James Conlon, Vasily Petrenko, Yuri Simonov, Pavel Kogan, Alexander Sladkovsky, Robert Canetti, Maria Eklund, and Kristjan Järvi among others. Since 2008 he has been a soloist with the St Petersburg House of Music. Since 2012 he has been a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic. In 2016 he was awarded the Order of Friendship. Recent engagements include concerts with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, the State Academic Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra of Russia, and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, participation in the Music of the Stars festival at the St Petersburg House of Music, and appearances at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. He performs with the Ex-Szigeti violin crafted by Pietro Guarneri.

SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN Alina Agafonova Liliia Brumm Marina Busarkina Liudmila Davydova Svetlana Deriabina Tatiana Filatova Larisa Fursa Elena Iagodina Elena Katcko Yulia Kharyushina Irina Khmel Tatiana Kukharenko Artur Kuznetsov Galina Leshta Elena Maier Pavel Milyukov Inna Nikitina Liudmila Paniushina Olga Poliak-Braginskala Antonia Rogtkina Irina Samoilova Liudmila Shapovalova Elena Shirova Tamerlan Tedeev Snezhana Zakharova Vladimir Zeyfert

CELLO Oksana Braddik Konstantin Koksharov Ekaterina Kolotvina Irina Kulik Aleksandra Nesova Ilia Nikolaev Elena Shilina Natalia Sideleva Zhanna Sorochan Tatiana Triska

VIOLA Olga Frolova Liudmila Ivanenko Tatiana Kleimenova Iuliia Kulmanakova Anna Lesnikova Nina Moltyanskay Mariia Rodygina Elena Soboleva Konstantin Sobolevskii Tatiana Uvarkina Olga Ziborova

CLARINET Aleksandr Mikheev Damir Valeev Fariza Yeraly Igor Zavialov

DOUBLE BASS Oleg Brattsev Aleksandr Koksharov Svetlana Primak Aleksandr Smagin Ian Sumarokov BASSOON Nina Andrievskaya Sergey Andrievskiy Lionid Kolesnev FLUTE Andrei Khudongov Petr Khudongov Sergei Khudongov

OBOE Tatiana Saveleva Irina Stoliarova

FRENCH HORN Alexander Gidzinskiy Fedor Kukoviakin Alexey Lisovitskiy Andrei Obukhov TRUMPET Evgenii Chepkasov Pavel Lesnikov Viktor Styro TUBA Aleksei Iurin TROMBONE Vladimir Diukov Konstantin Kuzminov Oleg Ptushchenko PERCUSSION Marina Aliahchikova Sergei Gazizullin Fedor Shtumpf Ekaterina Spravnikova HARP Tatiana Kravtceva

C reating our future, together.

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DONATIONS TRANSFORM YOUR COMMUNITY Contributions enable the non-profit State Theatre New Jersey to present an incredible array of performances and educational programs to inspire and delight our diverse community— from Broadway to comedy, family events to concerts, orchestras to dance, and beyond. With the support of our generous donors we can continue to create extraordinary performing arts experiences that last a lifetime!

GIFTS TO STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY State Theatre New Jersey, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is deeply grateful to the many individual, corporate, foundation, and government supporters that gave to our Annual Giving Program from 12/16/18-12/16/19.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT LEADERSHIP BENEFACTORS Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders New Jersey State Council on the Arts PRINCIPAL BENEFACTORS The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation Magic 98.3 MAJOR BENEFACTORS Bank of America The Heldrich Investors Bank New Jersey 101.5 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation BENEFACTORS The Karma Foundation The Star-Ledger/NJ.com United Airlines WMTR - AM 1250 Wells Fargo

SUSTAINING PARTNERS The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation Colgate-Palmolive The George Link Jr. Charitable Trust Magyar Bank * The Curtis W. McGraw Foundation MetLife Foundation Miller’s Rentals New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism The Presser Foundation Gia Maione Prima Foundation, Inc. PSEG Foundation ROI-NJ * The Wawa Foundation

SUPPORTING PARTNERS Anonymous BCB Community Bank * Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Louis Cyktor Jr, Fords Corner LLC* ETC, Inc. Hamilton Jewelers * Kinder Morgan Foundation The Harold I. and Faye B. Liss Foundation NJM Insurance Group George A. Ohl, Jr. Trust Plymouth Rock Assurance PNC Foundation The Rea Charitable Trust Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Sussan, Greenwald & Wesler * PARTNERS The DiLeo Family Foundation Gilbane Building Company Lyons & Associates, PC * Roberts Florals The Arnold A. Schwartz Foundation Vitiello Communications Group

* Denotes Business Council member

Members of the Chairman’s and President’s Councils enjoyed a wonderful performance by violinist Gabrielle Fink and cellist Dave Eggar, including dinner, at the Annual President’s Council On Stage Evening held September 24, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey Auger.

CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL VISIONARY CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Campbell UNDERWRITER CIRCLE Andrew Chen and Heidi Mass Andrew J. Markey Margrit McCrane

DIAMOND CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. Omar Boraie Robert and Nadine DiLeo John and Jeanne Fitzgerald Doug and Diane Garback~The Garback Agency Richard and Larisa Leist

Len Littman Farryn Melton Susan K. Perger Theresa Ragozine Todd A. Shamy and Joey Grinkley Matthew and Tracy Taylor Donna and Jack Walcott

Mr. and Mrs. Timothy W. Harbison Bill Herman Robert and Wanda Hope David Kapulsky Perry and Debra Koplik Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Korbel Jordan Krantz Charles and Ruth Larsson Gabriel and Jacqueline Lavigne Andrew and Pamela Lovasz Celeste H. Lynn Mr. and Mrs. Duncan L. MacMillan Dr. David and Margaret McIntyre Donna and Lance Miyamoto Carlo and Michele Pascetta Linda A. Piscadlo Vincent and Laura Pungello Salvatore J. and Bernice A. Romano Frank Rubin & daughters, in loving memory of wife & mother Gail Rubin Mary A. and Sal Sisto Ms. Robin E. Suydam and Mr. Paul Corkery Scott Sweeney James and Norma Tignanelli Wendy Wiebalk and Steve Cahn

Robert and Lily Erwin Scott and Barbra Fergang Barbara A. Fisk Steve and Ann Garvey Michael and Toby Gorlick Nancy and Craig Guiffre Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Harkins Mitch Horowitz and Andrea Greenberg Horowitz Christian and Christine Jensen Irina Kanevsky Marylu Korkuch Ann and John Kosco Howard and Cheryl Malitz Dr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Masi Todd and Dana Mayo Roberto Silva Moreira and Mark McMahon Joseph C. Nastus Rita Paszamant Susan and Brent Podlogar Dr. and Mrs. Rabson Felipe and Debbie Rodriguez Janie and George Schildge Gregory and Kimberly Seaman Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Sinko Rona Solberg Anne Spychala Family Charitable Foundation Peter and Maggie Stavrianidis Art Stevens Dr. William Terens Dr. and Mrs. P. Ashley Wackym Joseph and Kristine Yelencsics

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL PLATINUM CIRCLE Howard Appelson, in loving memory of Joan Appelson Isa and Michael Beck Robert and Jane Berry Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin S. Bucca, Jr. Campbell Family Foundation Peter and Nancy Cornell Stephan DeMicco and Jeanne M. Fox Laurence M. Downes Mary Ellen Dundon Judd and Carol Hamlin James A. and Elizabeth E. Hance Ms. Eileen Harkins Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Hartnett Carolyn and Dave Horn Stephen K. Jones Joseph Light and Jim Kershner The Luckhowec Family Richard and Cheryl McDonald Patrick and Mary Ellen Morris Kenneth G. and Jennifer J. Osterman Jaime Raskulinecz and Linda Varas GOLD CIRCLE Anonymous Paul Ashley Bryan Baugh Lauren D. Bercik, Esq. Hiam Boraie and Chris McDonald Steve and Cindy Brody Michael and Meredith Bzdak Deborah and Saul Curtis Russell and Stephanie Deyo E & G Foundation, in memory of George W. & Edith H. DeVoe Mr. and Mrs. John Fischer Mr. Fidel Garcia Thomas and Annette Griffoul 66

SILVER CIRCLE Don Amorosi and Doug Woelfel Joseph and Xenia Balabkins Gil Blitz and Tali Mendelberg Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bolanowski Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Ciatto Steve Crane and Yammel SanchezOcana Vincent and Renee Davis Benjamin and Marie Del Vento Mike and Kate Downey

PATRONS’ COUNCIL GUARANTOR Anonymous Esta Aranoff Nikki Austin Carole J. Banfield Brother International Corporation Michele Shields Buono, in memory of George V. Buono Neil J. Casey Mr. Arthur Connolly James and Joan Corbett Assemblyman Joe Danielsen In Memory of George Buchman – Mrs. Jean A Demko-Buchman Etta Rudolf Denk Alice A. DeVoe and John Szabo William and Constance Fortenbaugh Franklin Mutual Insurance Bryan and Susan Garruto Midge Golin Warren Gooderman Susan Goodin Ms. Ruth J. Crawford and Ms. Michelle Gorda Alex and Kimberly Grebel Fran and Richard Habib Jean and Claude Heller Marti Kalko Nick and Michele Lombardi Janet Lonney Robert W. and D. Nadine Mack Robin and Richard Marko Mr. and Mrs. Daniel McDonnell Richard A. Patt MD Bonnie Petrock Leo V. Priola, RN Timothy and Karin Shanahan Senator Bob and Ellen Smith James Tuttle Dr. and Mrs. C. E. Van Norman Walmart Foundation

BENEFACTOR Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore Abbruzzese Marci and Martin Abschutz Dr. Deborah S. Alexander The Auger Family, in memory of Blanche Auger Barbara Baier, in memory of Ralph and Barbara Voorhees Phil Battista William and Nancy Beachell Richard P. and Joan Burt Kausar Chatoo Jennifer Connolly Richard Cooke Susan Cooper James and Joan Corbett Bruce and Robin Corini S. Delp Exceptional Dentistry Staten Island Lian Brooke Farrer Bob and Lynn Fazen James Feeney Bruce Fromer Don and Kelly Gallagher Russell and Jill Gilkeson Rebecca Greenbaum Ms. Margaret Grove, in memory of Ralph and Barbara Voorhees Robert Haake John T. and Maureen Harrison Kevin Hoagland George and Ellen Horowitz Eric and Lisa Jager Cynthia Jankech Jerry and Barbara Judin Lawrence Katz, MD and Joanne Neiderhoffer Mary Ellen Kaulius Wayne and Debi Klokis Theresa Lanuto Tom and MaryAnn Lawrence Michael and Suzanne Lindemann Gregg Lipman

John and Diana Lucs Dr. Barry H. Lustig Ann Maher Chris and Lisa Maniaci Stephanie Martin Richard and Joan McCormick The Mero Family Carol Miller Mary Jane Motl Richard J. Moylan Russell and Janet Piparo Susan Ponas Joseph Quinones Jr. Carmen Randazzo Mr. & Mrs. Gary F. Roth Dr. Peter J. Schroeck and Dr. Alexander E. Pichugin Drs. Anthony and Rosanne Scriffignano Frederick and Kristen Sharp Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sleppin Matthew Stroh and Christine Clayton-Stroh Peter Tate Linda Van Derveer May Van Norman Dan Vickery and Carolyn Myers Bonnie and Jeffrey Viola Camille Walker Walter and Patricia Zatorski Dr. and Mrs. Jeffry Zavotsky PATRON Anonymous (2) John A. Anderson Todd B. Bates Arthur and Barbara Bergman Patricia Blake JoAnn Boos Adelaide and Terry Brenner Cabanas Family Gerald P. Campagna Mark and Stephanie Carey Audrey E. Carmeli Kawana Carr Laura A. Cisar and Robert Gowin

Allan Ellis, in memory of Sandi Ellis Kelly Fischbein Elizabeth and Louis Garlatti Lois and Mel Gelade Paul Goldman Gwendolyn and Michael Greenberg David and Virginia Hadland Todd Harvey Dr. and Mrs. Michael A. Isnardi Jimenez Family Ravikanth Kolla Bernardette S. Larsen Susan and Nels Lauritzen Michael and Sara Levine Sharon and Lou Marczak Erica Masusock Stanley Mendelson, in memory of Isabelle Mendelson Donna Marie Monek Michael and Diane Moskal Barry and Marcia Nathanson Jonathan and Pam Nemeth Naomi Nierenberg Doris and Dennis O’Dea Mr. Eugene F. O’Neill Ostrowitz & Ostrowitz, Esqs. Glenn and Judy Parker Evelyn Petercsak George F. Poppe III Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Post Ann and Robert Rafano Jo Ann and Tony Razzano Wilfredo and Maria Rivera Linda Romagnano The Rothschild Foundation Theresa Russo Karen Schoenberg Vanessa and Stacy Sciorra Stephan and Leslie Sekulich Barry and Lynn Sherman Jonathan and Linsey Short Irving and Claire Sinai Renee Sreenivasam Liz Stathis Szatkowski Thomas and Deborah Terracino

JOIN THE BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SPECIAL NETWORKING BENEFITS The Business Council is comprised of civic-minded business leaders committed to furthering State Theatre New Jersey’s mission, while creating valuable networking and distinctive sponsorship opportunities for companies of all sizes. Enjoy special benefits customized to meet your company’s giving priorities and business goals— including increased brand awareness, networking with like-minded decisionmakers, client and employee appreciation, and access to the best seats in the house. Join our Business Council today to take full advantage! For more information, contact Audrey Carmeli, Manager of Corporate & Foundation Relations, at 732-247-7200, ext. 546 or acarmeli@stnj.org. 67

PATRONS’ COUNCIL (CONTINUED) Rein and Carol Uibopuu UFCW Local 464A Mr. and Mrs. Robert Valentine Lorraine Walsh Allan and Bonnie Warton FRIEND Anonymous (8) Gail and Jeffrey Aaron Larry and Beatrice Abrams Carol Adelman Reggie Alexander Janice Anastasia Tom and Marie Andreano Jennifer Augustine William Baggett, in honor of Farryn Melton Joseph Bakes Stephanie and Ed Bartz Natalie Bazaral Myrna and Steven Berger Edith Bertan Charles Billy Victoria Bixel Barbara Boland Sandy Book Mr. and Mrs. Osman Boraie Linda Borsuk Phil and Jody Bramson Patricia Bratus William and Mavis Brier Jan and Gary Broder Joel and Ilene Brudner Joseph and Christina Bulman Leonard and Tamara Busch Mark and Frankie Busch Roger and Ute Bush Anthony Casale Jr., in memory of Karen M. Michane Vincent and Francine Catanzaro Elizabeth Columbo Jane Conner Joe and Cindy Cooper Ahmed Cooper-Bey Ellen and Cliff Cramer Marie A. Curtis Kristine Dalrymple Lisa DiCenzo and Theresa Marsicovetere

Nancy Duffy Egenton Family Sandi and Allan Ellis Lois and Mort Farrah Lenore and Harvey Feldman Lori and Bob Fink Robert Fischer James and Diana Flaherty Pete Forester William and Patricia Foster Bonnie and Sheldon Freidenreich Mr. and Mrs. Fryszczyn Antonino and Claudia Fusaro Suzanne Gates Cary Gerold Karen Giacobbe Craig and Eileen Glaser Dr. Alvin and Joyce Glasgold Dr. Barbara Glazewski Kevin and Kathleen Golmont Brian Gould Daniela Guido Angela Guy Brenda Hagan Mary Hanna Christian Hanns Kristine Hansen Ray Hanson, in memory of Joyce Ed Heck and Gerrie Misiewicz Dean and Michelle Heide Lucille C. Heller Deborah Henry Alberto Hernandez Mr. and Mrs. Robert Higgins Peter and Sylvia Hinge Irene Hnidj Mary and Fred Hopke Barbara Howard Harry, Kathy, and Kara Hudson Patricia Jones Tom and Demetrios Kalanekos Leonard and Bonny Kelter Thomas Kerekes Steven Kfare Suzanne M. Klein Janet Koenig

Patrons’ Council members mix and mingle with fellow theatergoers at a special, annual Donor Appreciation Event hosted by President & CEO Sarah Chaplin on November 15, 2018. 68

The Boraie Lounge is an exclusive space where members of the President’s and Chairman’s Councils gather before performances and during intermission to greet familiar faces over cocktails and engage with fellow theater lovers. Joyce Kosa William and Eleanor Kover Jim Kuligowski Miriam W. Lampen The Landis Family Sally LaPelosa Amy Livingston Barbara and Milton Loeb Anne Otterbein Lyman Robert Maher Thomas and Mary Marhevka John Mazzola C. McCormack Doug and Pat McKenzie Deborah Michael Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey A. Miller Peggy Morgan Ms. Jill Morrow Pabak Mukhopadhyay Mark Murphy Ursula Nasi-Darrow Barbara Nathan Irene Ng Joan A. Nowicki Talib Nunnally Raffaele (Ray) Ocello Eileen Opitz Marci Oslick Tom and Vickie Pais Cheryl Palent Ronald Park Shane and Camilla Patterson Pam Piotrowski Carmen Pizzuto Robert S. Pritchett Dr. and Mrs. Paul E. Prodromo Dr. and Mrs. Norbert Psuty Christopher and Helen Quinn Joanne Ramundo Ellen Rebarber Frank Rees Dr. Gregory Reinhard Mr. and Mrs. Jim Richards Dawn Roccaro Robert Rocco Buena Rosenbloom Judy and Abe Rosenstein

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ross David and Frumet Sachs Michael and Laurie Saks Josef and Susan Saloman Frank and Annette Santamaria Joseph and Theresa Savoia Karen and Andy Schmitt Ronald and Nina Schmitt Michele Senko John Seramba Sanford M. Share The Shaughnessy Family Patricia Shiffner Mary Sidorski Dr. Francine E. Sinofsky Lynn Snyder Eugene and Kathleen Soucek Drew and Ronnie Staffenberg Elaine J. Staley John and Alexis Stashkevetch Mary Steever Ann Stewart Stephanie and Nana Barbara J. Stone Fred and Susan Stucker Karol Tariska Michael Taylor Julia Temple Gary and Helene Tinkel Dr. Barbara A. Tocco Vincent Tseng Dalia I. Ubinas Susan Uhl Blanquita B. Valenti Mr. and Mrs. Gus Vang Lisa Vaz Eric and Suzanne Westberg Edward Wilkens Dean Wilson Douglas Wilson John and Harriet Worobey Karen Yackanin Gabriel and Donna Yandoli Judith Zone The Zych Family

THE ENCORE SOCIETY State Theatre New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Encore Society honors those who believe in our mission and support us by including The State in their will, as a beneficiary of an IRA, retirement plan, or insurance policy, or by creating a charitable trust or other planned gift. We thank the following individuals for their vision and continued support. Connie S. Breech Gerald P. Campagna Alisson Canavera Andrew Chen and Heidi Mass Stephan DeMicco and Jeanne M. Fox Scott and Barbra Fergang John and Jeanne Fitzgerald

Doug and Diane Garback Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Harkins Bill Herman Richard and Larisa Leist Andrew J. Markey Kenneth G. and Jennifer J. Osterman Susan K. Perger

Laura L Rothkopf Irving and Claire Sinai Ms. Robin E. Suydam Linda Van Derveer May Van Norman Warren and Wendy Zimmerman

ENDOWMENTS Endowment guarantees financial stability by providing reliable income, year after year, to support State Theatre New Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs, and is thus the perfect charitable investment opportunity for the donor who wishes to ensure permanence and excellence. Following are our endowed funds of $50,000 or more: Regina and John Heldrich Symphony Endowed Fund Betty Wold Johnson Endowed Fund J. Seward Johnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust Endowed Fund

Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust Endowed Fund David Lloyd Kreeger Endowed Fund The New Jersey Cultural Trust Fund George F. Smith Charitable Trust

Endowed Fund Barbara B. Voorhees Symphony Endowed Fund Donna and Jack Walcott Symphony Endowed Fund

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS Donor Advised Funds are the fastest-growing giving method and tax-efficient way to manage your charitable donations. Make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants from the fund over time. Visit STNJ.org/support/donor-advised-funds to learn more.

EMPLOYER MATCHING GIFT PROGRAMS Multiply the impact of your contribution through employer matching programs. Matching gifts count towards your membership level giving you maximum benefits. Visit STNJ.org/support/matching-gifts to see if your company participates.

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS FAMILY OF DONORS! Members sustain our artistic programming and community outreach while receiving special privileges like advanced ticketing before the general public, invitations to behind-the-scenes events, exclusive Boraie Lounge access, artist Meet-and-Greets, show underwriting, and so much more! For more information on how to become a member, or the many other ways you can support State Theatre New Jersey, please visit STNJ.org/Donate. 69

GENERAL INFORMATION GUEST SERVICES: 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Information & Tickets: 732-246-SHOW (7469) Broadway Season Ticket Concierge: 732-247-7200, ext. 555 Fax: 732-745-5653 Guest Services Hours: Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm; Sat: 1pm-5pm; Sun: Closed unless there is a performance. On weekends, State Theatre Guest Services is open at least 3 hours prior to any performance we ticket. For all performances we ticket, Guest Services is open at least one half hour past curtain and open through first intermission, when applicable. ORDER ONLINE 24/7: STNJ.org FIRE NOTICE: The red exit sign nearest to your seat indicates the shortest routes to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please do not run—walk to the nearest exit. LOST AND FOUND: If you discover that you have lost something during the performance, please contact the Director of Event Services in the lobby or call the theater at 732-246-7469. CELL PHONES/CAMERAS: Please note that ipads, go pros, selfie sticks, tripods, monopods, cameras with detachable lens and recording devices are not permitted in the theater at any time. Guests who do not adhere are subject to ejection without a refund.

THEATER POLICIES: Guests who arrive after a performance has begun will be seated at the discretion of the Theater Manager during an appropriate break in the performance. Please note this may not be until intermission, so guests should always plan to arrive early. Guests who must leave the theater during a performance are encouraged to do so during a break in the performance, and are subject to being held in the lobby until another suitable performance break. Please be sure to have your ticket on you at all times. If you do not have a ticket to show you will be asked to leave. Food and drink are allowed in the theater for most performances, check with an usher before entering the theater. Outside food and drinks are strictly prohibited from entering the theater. Smoking and vaping is strictly prohibited in all areas of the theater. State Theatre New Jersey has a zero tolerance policy regarding aggressive or abusive behavior at any time at State Theatre. Guests who engage in fighting, throwing objects, using foul/abusive language or gestures, attempting to enter restricted areas or engaging in other behavior detrimental to the experience of other guests will be immediately ejected from the venue. Please refer to our guest code of conduct at: STNJ.org/your-visit/guest-code-of-conduct

STATE THEATRE ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES Only the orchestra level is wheelchair accessible. Patrons can make arrangements for accessible seating through the Ticket Office when purchasing tickets. Listening (infrared) devices are available at coat check. Guests will be asked to leave a driver’s license as a deposit.

Large-print programs are available free of charge for most perform ances. Please request one week in advance: info@stnj.org. Deaf and hearing-impaired patrons may contact the State Theatre through the NJ Relay Service at (TTY) 800-852-7899. If you know someone who loves the arts and would benefit from these services, please share this information.

ADVERTISE IN OUR PROGRAM! Contact us today to find out how you can affordably align your organization with the excitement of live entertainment and put your company front and center among our growing customer base. For information, call 732-247-7200, ext. 534. 70

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Scott Fergang CHAIR John S. Fitzgerald VICE CHAIR Richard J. Leist TREASURER Peter Stavrianidis SECRETARY Hiam Boraie Luis De La Hoz Stephan DeMicco Etta Denk Robert J. DiLeo Douglas M. Garback, Sr. Craig J. Guiffre John Harrison Bill Herman Wanda Bryant Hope Farryn Melton Edward Moragas Robin Suydam Matthew Taylor Wendy Wiebalk, Esq. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS The Honorable James M. Cahill, Mayor, City of New Brunswick Ronald G. Rios, Freeholder Director, County of Middlesex ADVISORY COUNCIL Lauren D. Bercik, Esq. Saul Curtis Sharon Cyktor John Gantner Timothy W. Harbison Gabriel Lavigne Andrew J. Markey Richard McDonald Vincent Pungello Ernesto Quinteros James Tignanelli Jill Vitiello Jennifer Zimmer

STAFF ADMINISTRATION Sarah K. Chaplin President & CEO Marlene Canavera u Executive Assistant to the President & CEO EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Lian Farrer 9 Vice President of Education & Community Engagement Erik Stratton Education & Community Engagement Manager FINANCE Susan Levine Chief Financial Officer Patricia Lanza l Accounting Clerk & Volunteer Coordinator Robin Diamond Staff Accountant OPERATIONS Joe Stoltman u Vice President of Theater Operations Bill Riker Project Manager Tim Bailey Z Facility Manager Production Marian Zennie Production Manager Craig Werner 9 Master Electrician, Lighting Designer Willie Weist C Chief Audio Engineer Michael G. Sivetz 9 Master Carpenter Richard Stanek 9 Head Technician Roman Klima C Head Video Technician

MARKETING, DEVELOPMENT, & GUEST SERVICES Howard Levine Executive Vice President of Marketing and Development Marketing Kelly Blithe C Director of Communications Tracy Furr C Creative Director Jason Paddock u Director of Event Marketing Megan Wall Marketing Assistant Garry Owen l Sales Manager & Ticket Concierge Development Lisa L. Patterson Capital Campaign Director Linda Van Derveer l Director of Special Events & Donor Relations Leah J. Anglum l Manager of Patron Relations & Development Operations Audrey E. Carmeli Manager of Corporate & Foundation Relations Guest Services Don McKim C Director of Ticketing Services Raymond Dobrovolsky Guest Services Director Alison A. Hegarty l Guest Services Assistant Manager Deb Lemeshow Guest Services Supervisor & Season Ticket Concierge Susan Blumert Z Guest Services Sales Associate State Theatre New Jersey is proud to be associated with the professional technicians of IATSE Local #21

AUDITORSâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Mercadien, PC, Certified Public Accountants

William K. Pocsik 9 Head Flyman Front of House Jessica Trechak C Director of Event Services Dan Lyons u Concessions Manager

u l C Z 9

Indicates 5+ years of service Indicates 10+ years of service Indicates 15+ years of service Indicates 20+ years of service Indicates 25+ years of service

SEATS START AT $25 – ORDER NOW! A Riveting Tale of Suspense

midwives

Get tickets at GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org or 732-246-7717

An Early Selection of

by CHRIS BOHJALIAN adapted from his best-selling novel directed by DAVID SAINT

January 21 to February 16 A Power Play of Epic Proportions

Conscience

Sponsored by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

by JOE DIPIETRO directed by DAVID SAINT

March 3 to 29

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center 11 Livingston Avenue • New Brunswick, NJ 08901

David Saint, Artistic Director • Kelly Ryman, Managing Director

Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. 73

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Enjoy a fantastic meal at one of New Brunswick’s best restaurants and save! You pay only $20 for a $25 restaurant gift certificate at select restaurants when you add dining to your order. Catherine Lombardi* 3 Livingston Ave 732-296-9463 catherinelombardi.com

Harvest Moon Brewery/Café 392 George St | 732-249-6666 harvestmoonbrewery.com

Christopher’s 10 Livingston Ave 732-214-2200 theheldrich.com/dining

Old Man Rafferty’s 106 Albany St 732-846-6153 oldmanraffertys.com

CLYDZ 55 Paterson St 732-846-6521 clydz.com

Panico’s Restaurant + Bar 94 Church St 732-545-6100 panicosrestaurant.com

Esquina Latina 25 Liberty St 732-543-1630 esquinalatinarestaurant.com

Redd’s Biergarten 5 Easton Avenue, New Brunswick 732-246-6800 reddsnewbrunswick.com

Filippo’s Famous Pizza* 336 George St 732-846-9060 filipposfamouspizzanj.com

Sophie’s Bistro* 700 Hamilton St , Somerset 732-545-7778 sophiesbistro.net

Fritz’s 115 Easton Ave 732-543-0202 fritzsnb.com

Stage Left 5 Livingston Ave 732-828-4444 stageleft.com

George Street Ale House 378 George St 732-543-2408 gsalehouse.com

RESTAURANTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. *Not eligible for the $20 for $25 in dining offer.

SAVE ON DINING TODAY!

Order online at STNJ.org/Dining 77

SIGHTINGS AT THE STATE IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Our 2019-20 Broadway season opened up the weekend of November 8-10 with five amazing performances of Beautiful—The Carole King Musical, sponsored by Bank of America. On opening night audience members had a chance to mix and mingle with the cast of the national tour, getting autographs and taking selfies with Carole herself (actress Kennedy Caughell at right). Photos by Jeffrey Auger.

BOLLYWOOD IN NEW BRUNSWICK! On November 16 we presented Taj Express—The Bollywood Musical Revue, sponsored by Bank of America. The song and dance spectacle performed to rave reviews by audience members including “show was fantastic, the dancing, energy, and costumes!” Photos by Noor Eemaan.

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Let’s beat cancer together.

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