Jeanie Rapp* as Steffy, Mike Boland* as Herb and Siobhan Fitzgerald* as Libby. “I Ought To Be In Pictures” opens April 23rd.
Herb, a Hollywood scriptwriter currently “at liberty”, is surprised when his forgotten past reappears in the form of Libby, a teenage daughter who’s trekked from Brooklyn with dreams of movie stardom. With Steffy, his sometime paramour at his side, Herb decides to take another stab at fatherhood and hopefully this time, get it right. Poignant and amusing, Neil Simon paints wonderfully dysfunctional family relationships with hilarity, honesty, and heart.
Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Generously sponsored by:
Mike Boland * (Herb) is thrilled to be making his Ivoryton Playhouse debut in this touching and funny play. Mike’s other credits include: BROADWAY – An Enemy of the People at Manhattan Theater Club (with Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas); NATIONAL TOURS – Twelve Angry Men (with Richard Thomas, George Wendt and Kevin Dobson) and West Side Story. OFF-BROADWAY – The Orphans’ Home Cycle at Signature Theater; REGIONAL – To Kill A Mockingbird (with Matthew Modine) and The Orphans’ Home Cycle at Hartford Stage. She Stoops to Conquer, Wit, A Question of Mercy and Mystery School (with Tyne Daly) at Long Wharf. The Exonerated at Theaterworks, Twelve Angry Men at the Engeman. Lend Me a Tenor at Playhouse on Park. Centennial Casting at Virginia Stage and Lone Star at Totem Pole. On TV, Mike had guest spots on Person of Interest, The Zero Hour and Rubicon. And he played the lead in the award-winning indie film Bobby Dogs. He has studied with George DiCenzo, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Arkin and Cotter Smith.
Siobhan Fitzgerald (Libby) is so happy to be here at the Ivoryton Playhouse. Some favorite roles include Cosette (Les Miserables), Ariel Moore (Footloose), Cinderella (Cinderella), Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre), Louise (Gypsy) and Meg March (Little Women). Siobhan has also enjoyed performing with the New York Grand Opera and the Simsbury Light Opera.
Jeanie Rapp * (Steffy)
Ivoryton Playhouse: Love, Loss and What I Wore. New York Stage: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Kathy and Mo Show, Big Train, Night in Armor, Miss Julie. Regional: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Margreta Stage Company); The Nibroc Trilogy (New Main Street Theater); Light Up The Sky, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Awake and Sing! (American Conservatory Theater), The Seagull (American Repertory Theater). Training: American Conservatory Theater, MFA. Denison University, BA. Jeanie is the Founder/Artistic Director of Margreta Stage Company.
Directed by: R. Bruce Connelly
Stage Manager: Jim Clark *
Set Design: Bill Stark
Lighting Design: Marcus Abbott
Costume Design: Kari Crowther
Hair Design: Joel Silvestro
* member of Actors Equity
R. Bruce Connelly is an Ivoryton Playhouse favorite!
He has acted and directed at the Ivoryton Playhouse since first appearing as Jesus in Godspell in 1974. Recent productions he has starred in include The Bells of Dublin, The Producers and Last of the Red Hot Lovers. He directed Playhouse productions of Oliver! and Barefoot In The Park. We caught up with Bruce after the opening matinee performance of I Ought To Be In Pictures now on stage at the Playhouse.
Why Neil Simon?
As an actor and a director, you are in great hands with a writer like Neil Simon. You know, the writers of Sid Caesars’ Your Show Of Shows – one of the best TV variety shows ever produced – were Neil Simon, Mel Brooks and Larry Gelpart and there have been many shows produced at the Playhouse that were written by these talents including The Producers and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. But I Ought To Be In Pictures is different because there is a heartfelt story here – a difficult situation is being explored and made better in this play. There is a great deal of heart and it’s very moving. Besides the jokes you expect from a Neil Simon comedy, there is also a lot of honest emotion for the audience to respond to.
What makes this cast special?
They all say yes! As a director I had a vision to guide them into the same world and into the same energies and timing. The three people starring in this play took every single director’s note they said “Yes! I’ll do that” and “Yes! I’ll change that”, supporting me by their positive and open attitudes. Each of them are very funny in their own way – they brought that comedy with them. They can make us laugh but they can also make us cry and that’s what this play demands.
As an accomplished actor, was directing always something you wanted to do?
I started directing in 4th grade with a chaotic production of Hansel and Gretel in Grammar School in Wallingford! It wasn’t until college that I started directing seriously – and I found that directing also helps me as an actor. I like to have a director guide me through a scene or monologue to help me get to where I need to go honestly. Since I’ve had good directors in the past, they have helped me to help other actors. Miss Constance Welch, who founded the Yale School of Drama with George Pierce Baker, was my drama coach at Southern Connecticut State College and I direct in the same style. It was her kindness and support of actors that inspires my work as both an actor and a director. She’s been gone since 1976, but she still directs me today!
What makes acting or directing at the Ivoryton Playhouse so special?
The staff and crew are some of the best that I’ve ever worked with. It’s always a pleasure to come back here. From the people who greet you at the door as you arrive to the crew behind the scenes – every one of them is so good at what they do and so easy to work with. When I come back to Ivoryton it’s like my home away from home. Jacqui and Suzy and Ed Burke (at whose home I stay when in Ivoryton) are like family. They always make me feel very welcome whenever I come back.
Bruce is looking forward to directing Pickwick Papers for the Battell Arts Foundation in Norfolk, CT in August and he continues as Barkley the Dog on Sesame Street as he has since 1993.
Check back here for video clips and photos.
PRESS RELEASE 04/08/14
A Neil Simon classic
I Ought To Be In Pictures
Ivoryton: What’s a daughter to do when she wants to get in touch with her father who she hasn’t seen in 16 years and who lives 3,000 miles away? Well, if you’re Libby Tucker you hitch hike and bus your way across the country with nothing but a backpack full of dreams and spare socks. Libby travels from Brooklyn to Los Angeles ostensibly to break into movies but mostly because she needs to find out why her dad and left and does he still love her.
I Ought To Be in Pictures opened in New York in April 1980, and in 1982 was turned into a movie starring Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret. This is Neil Simon at his best – poignant and funny. For dads and daughters everywhere, this will be a memory to treasure.
I Ought To Be In Pictures opens at the Ivoryton Playhouse on April 23rd and runs through May 11th. Directed by R. Bruce Connelly, the cast includes Mike Boland*, Jeanie Rapp* and Siobhan Fitzgerald. The set design is by William Stark, lighting design by Marcus Abbott and costumes by Kari Crowther.
I Ought To Be In Pictures opens in Ivoryton on April 23rd and runs through May 11th. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $42 for adults, $37 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.
Members of the press are welcome at any performance. Please call ahead for tickets.
*denotes member of Actors Equity Association
Generously sponsored by First Niagara Bank and Middlesex Hospital
Looking for something to do? Ivoryton Playhouse was voted Best Place to See Live Theatre by the readers of the Shoreline Times! Come and visit Essex and see a show at this Connecticut historic treasure!