Of Mice and Men

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CATEGORY: MAIN EVENT

Of Mice and
Men

Written by John Steinbeck
Directed by Scott P. Calhoon

November 2, 2018 – November 11, 2018


ACCESSIBILTY
  • Audio Described Performance - Friday, November 9th (8 PM) with Touch Tour Workshop (7:15)
  • Interpreted Performance - Saturday, November 10th (8 PM)
  • Post-Show Discussion on Saturday, November 10th with the consultants who assisted the company on this production
    Martin J. Lubetsky, MD
    Professor of Psychiatry
    Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

    Michelle Lubetsky, M.Ed., BCBA
    IDEA Training and Conultation Coordinator

John Steinbeck based Lennie on a real person. We invite you to take part in this important conversation on Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, such as the character of Lennie Small, and how Dr. and Mrs. Lubetsky raised our awareness and ensured authenticity in the production.

"Because of his innocence and unawareness of his strength, he commits violent acts without knowing he is doing wrong. Unlike most main characters in novels who develop and grow over the course of the story, Lennie's personality, actions, and motivations remain the same at the beginning, middle, and end of the story." ~ Study.com.

PROGRAM NOTES
Saturday, November 3rd - Prime Stage Theatre will observe a moment of silence to honor the victims of the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. LEARN MORE

Sunday, November 11th - We're honoring our Veterans during the production of Of Mice and Men and welcome the Vietnam Veterans, Inc as honor guards at the beginning of the show.


MEDIA

Review: Pittsburgh in the Round

Review: Burgh Vivant

Review: Pittsburgh Quarterly Magazine


The season of "Courage" opens as you share the desire for the American dream with two migrant workers in California who grasp for a place to call their own. Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the play being awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award as we partner with the National Steinbeck Center. The National Steinbeck Center is dedicated to Steinbeck’s creative legacy: to participate, to inspire, to educate, and to understand one another.

Production photos from Laura Slovesko



Cast

Ryan Bergman (Curley) is making his Prime Stage debut. Regionallly, Ryan has performed with The Guthrie Theater in Pride and Prejudice and Othello; National Theatre for Children in Hot Pursuit, CLIMB Theatre’s 2012-2013 Tour, The Music Loft in The Fantasticks, No Refund Theatre with Hamlet, Six Elements Theatre’s production of Human Combat Chess and The Epic of Nick Monsanto. He has also performed with Phoenix Theater’s production of A Klingon Christmas Carol, A Common Night, and Neutral Mask Collective’s I’ll Be Trying to Be There.  Locally, Ryan has worked withFront Porch Theatricals productions of Floyd Collins, off the WALL Theater in Kimono, Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh with The Storm and Kitty, Throughline Theater’s production of Julius Caesar, as well as Confidential Musical Theatre Project’s Little Women and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  Ryan’s work with classics include Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks production of Henry V, The Jesters’ Guild with The Three Musketeers, Pittsburgh Classic Players in Macbeth, Mariposa Theatre for Young Audiences in Wanda’s Monster and The Princess and the Pea, along with New Renaissance Theatre in The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth and Steel City Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Ryan has a B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University. www.ryan-bergman.com

Randy Berner (The Boss) is really pleased to be associated with this production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and what a treat to be back at Prime Stage. Randy played Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank last spring.  He says, “For some reason, I have an affinity for classic American theater. Can’t get much more classic than this one.”  The issues and attitudes presented in this play provide opportunities to examine our own dreams and desires and reach for the American Dream.  Randy has been a full time Realtor for 16 years at Coldwell Banker. Following a 30 year career in radio, he’s also a Voice Actor doing radio imaging for Pastwax Radio on the G-Man Radio Network as well as an audiobook narrator. His work can be found on Amazon, Audible & iTunes. Currently he’s working on developing a real estate podcast featuring interesting (hopefully) stories from Realtors. Working title is: Real Estate - From the Trenches. Stay tuned.

Chris Cattell (Slim) has cherished an understanding of the world through make-believe since he was a wee lad, went on earning a bachelor's degree in Theatre from Point Park University, debuted professionally as Cecil in Amy Hartman's world premiere of Disinfecting Edwin, has performed numerous roles with the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools program through the University of Pittsburgh. He played The Thompson Kid in the Rep’s Umbrella Man, delivered urgent letters in the Pittsburgh Public’s Hamlet, and most recently appeared as Conrad in a 12 Peers production.  One of Chris’ film credits is Agent Reese in Michael Dickson's Telly award-nominated short film Remnant.

Lawrence Karl (Whit) is excited to be performing in Prime Stage’s production Of Mice and Men. His most recent credits include When RomComs Go Bad (Cary) with Pittsburgh NewWorks Festival 2018 through Prime Stage, Heathers the Musical (Ram Sweeney) with The Duquesne Summer Company, Ubu Roi (Paladin Lap) with Throughline Theatre, Arriba!Arriba! The Roberto Clemente Story (Swing) with The Pittsburgh CLO, Equus (Horse/Alan Strang u/s) with The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Citizens Market: Momentum (Stage Directions) with City Theatre, Pippin (Lewis) with Princeton Summer Theatre, and A Pirates Tale (Robert) with Shadows and Flames Productions. He is a Pittsburgh native who received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and his Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Slippery Rock University. Lawrence also works as a Propel Teaching Artist for PearlArts Studio, an overhire with City Theatre, an actor with Fairytale Princess Parties, and an actor with The Scarehouse.

Sam Lothard (Crooks) was born in Youngstown, Ohio and now resides in Pittsburgh. He has written, directed, and performed plays for over ten years with his most recent play being August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.  Some of his favorite productions include August Wilson's King Hedley II, Dr Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Sherri Lynn's The Bold and the Sanctified; as well as Findings, Lights Out, and Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water, all at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company; Monteze Freeland's Kalopsia; and Dr Tameka Cage Conley's opera A Gathering of Sons. "I have been blessed to share the stage with some PHENOMENAL cast mates doing another timeless classic with Prime Stage. It don't get no better than this!"

Ken Lutz (Candy) Ken is delighted to reprise the role of Candy, having performed it with Prime Stage in 2008. Active in both theatre and music, Ken plays clarinet in the East Winds Symphonic Band and the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra. Acting roles include George Spelvin in The Actor’s Nightmare with Proudly Presents Productions, Weller in Grand Dream Productions’ The Gin Game, Charles Thomson in 1776 with Artscape, Dr. Dorn in Wooden Rocket’s The Seagull, Pastor James in The Gospel Singer with Pittsburgh Lab Project, and Lee in Better Late with South Park Theatre. He has appeared in thirteen productions with Prime Stage Theatre, most recently in the title role of The Giver.

Liam Macik (Lennie) Liam is thrilled to be making his Prime Stage debut as Lenny. Liam is a co-founder of Throughline Theatre Company where he served as Artistic Director for seven seasons and played such roles as Sarnoff in The Farnsworth Invention, Beverly in August: Osage County, and Creon in Jean Anouihl's Antigone.  Liam has also directed productions of Judgement at Nuremberg, Oedipus Rex, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and Arsenic and Old Lace.  Liam's original play, Bastards and Fools, was the recipient of the Peterson Award for Emerging Playwrights.

Corey Rieger ** (George) is an actor and writer based in Los Angeles and he originally hails from Butler, PA.  He has worked at various regional theaters across the country, including Court Theatre in Chicago, Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, BoarsHead Theater in Lansing, MI, the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh Musical Theater.  His film and television credits include Out of the Furnace starring Christian Bale, The Last Witch Hunter with Vin Diesel, The Phoenix Project, and the Cinemax series Banshee.  This is his second show with Prime Stage having worked with Mr. Brinda back in 2001.

Vanessa St. Clair (Curley's Wife) is ecstatic to be making her Prime Stage debut with the wonderful cast and crew of Of Mice and Men!  Some past favorite credits include Heathers: The Musical (Ms. Fleming/Veronica's Mom), Ubu Roi (Mama Ubu), True Wit: A Western Extravaganza (Karen), An Ideal Husband(Mabel), Stage Door (Bernice), Tony and Tina's Wedding (Grandma Nunzio) and performing in The Big Deal Presents: Big Lies Sketch Show in 2017, the 2017 and 2018 Pittsburgh Comedy Festival and the 2018 Green Bay Comedy Festival.  Most often, she can been seen doing standup at various Pittsburgh venues and improv at Arcade Comedy Theater, Steel City Improv Theater and is an ongoing cast member of The Dinner Detective at The Omni William Penn Hotel. Her website is www.vanessastclair.com, Instagram and Facebook@vanessastclair

Nathaniel Yost (Carlson) is making his debut with Prime Stage. He is a recent Theatre Arts graduate from Duquesne University.  Nathaniel's past roles include Happy Loman in Death of a Salesman, King Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Brian in Avenue Q, Hank in A History of the American Film, Mr. Boddy in Clue: The Musical, and the titular role in Macbeth.

Bennie (Candy’s Dog) is excited to be making his theatrical debut in Prime Stage’s production Of Mice and Men! He is a 10 year old German Shepard/Lab mix. Bennie was a rescue dog as well and has had quite the lovable home since he was rescued at the age of 5. He now resides at the Karl household in Pittsburgh. A typical day for Bennie includes taking long naps, running through the backyard, eating food, and playing games with his sisters Bella, Sadie, and Jojo.  Bennie also loves a good belly rub and gets along with anyone and anything. He will be accepting treats and “good boy” compliments following each performance.

** Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association under a special Pittsburgh guest artist contract.


Background

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is one of the best loved stories of all time. Two drifters - small, shrewd George and huge, simple-minded Lennie - get work on a ranch, planning to raise enough money to get a place of their own and live off the land, if George can save his childlike, bull-strong friend from getting into trouble.

Published in 1937, Of Mice and Men debuted to instant acclaim and was soon adapted for the stage and screen. For Steinbeck, the essential story is how the world and humans’ place in it is "one inseparable unit - man and his environment.” Steinbeck used his own experiences as a bindlestiff and his love of the Salinas Valley in California to tell the story of two migrant workers, one of whom is developmentally disabled, courageously trying to eke out a life in 1930’s Depression-era California.

"There are many things that lead to success and happiness, but one of the most powerful is courage" - Karen Young, psychologist and founder of the popular website, Hey Sigmund - "Building Courage in Kids – How to Teach Kids to Be Brave." Be inspired and moved by witnessing the many faces of courage along with friendship, loneliness, violence and justice. Of Mice and Men is still relevant today as our theatrical presentation shows that people always have to follow their dreams, no matter what obstacles they face. This relevance makes it a modern classic that will last for many years to come, as the memory of this production will last.

2018-2019 SEASON

Season of Courage
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
- Mark Twain

#PRIMESTAGE

Box Office: 412.608.2262

Main Stage performances are at the New Hazlett Theater Center for Performing Arts

Performances are typically 2 hours long plus one intermission.

Phone: 724.773.0700

Showtimes: Friday &; Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Sunday @ 2:30 PM

Parking only $7 (Cash Only)

On-street parking is available at no cost after 6:00 pm, Monday-Saturday and all day Sunday. Paid parking is available in the Allegheny Health Network garage for evening events and weekend matinees. Parking in the garage is $7 (cash only)

To find the garage:
- Drive past the theater and follow Allegheny Square East as if you were going back out onto East Commons. The Allegheny Health Network garage will be on your left.
- Pull in and a uniformed parking attendant will collect your fee.
- Parking in the garage is $7 (cash only)

NOTE: The lot will close one hour after the show.

For various events, security is on site to direct you to available parking options. Parking for sporting events impact space available near the Theater. Please check your local listings to see if the Theater’s event conflicts with our local sports teams.

TICKET PRICES (Online/Door)
Preview: All Seats $10/$15
Adult: $25/$30
Senior (63+): $20/$25
Educators: $15/$20
Military/1st Resp: $12/$17
Young Professional (under 30): $20/$25
Student (under 18): $12/$17
College Student Rush: $10 - one hour before show with ID

^Senior - 63 plus
*Students under 18