Enchanted April

A romantic comedy

Adapted from the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim by Matthew Barber

April 16 to May 4, 2008

Directed by Bob Belfance

Cast Biographies

TORI MACNAIR (Lotty Wilton) marks her first stage role since moving to the Cleveland area from Columbus in August. Her most recent roles elsewhere include Cherie in Bus Stop and Elizabeth Procter in The Crucible, for which she won acting awards at both the state-level festivals for both the Ohio Community Theatre Association and the American Association of Community Theatre. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a master’s in business administration from Montreat College in North Carolina. Currently, she works for the Dan T. Moore Company in Cleveland as a business administrator. She makes her home in University Heights with her husband and their three cats. She would like to say thank you to everyone at Weathervane for making her first experience here so much fun and she would also like to say thank you to her wonderful husband, Marc, for his love and patience.

HOLLY HUMES (Rose Arnott) made her last Weathervane appearance as Poppy in Noises Off in 2004. She has also been seen on other local stages, including Coach House Theatre and Dobama Theatre. Her favorite roles include Catherine in Proof, Mae in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Yelena in Uncle Vanya, various roles in The Laramie Project, Dawn in Song of Survival and Lil in V-E Day. She is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s in Russian language and Soviet/East European studies. She works as a chiropractic assistant at Fairlawn Family Chiropractic Center. She would like to thank her husband, Scott Custer, for all of his love and support.

HENRY BISHOP (Mellersh Wilton) has been around Weathervane for 20-some years. He has acted, sung, danced, run props and lights and sound for all sorts of different performances. He has worked with director Bob Belfance many times. In fact, Bob directed Henry and fellow Enchanted April cast member Carol Belfance 20 years ago in the Weathervane production of Chicago, when they were all children. Henry has worked and played at several of the other area theatre groups, including Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Coach House Theatre and Eileen Moushey’s Mysteries by Moushey audience-participation murder mysteries. Henry and his wife, Karen L. Wood, live in Creston, in Wayne County, with four cats (named Ring Tailed Boomer Cat, Sunny, Kramden and Not-Our-Cat) and 14 birds (all named Chanticleer).

EMILY WEST (Lady Caroline Bramble) is thrilled to be performing at Weathervane for a third time. Her previous performances here include Harper in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Hope in a staged reading of Down Under. Emily graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor of fine arts in acting. Her favorite roles include the aforementioned Harper, Mina Murray in Dracula, Rosannah Deluce in Brilliant Traces and the title role in Annie Get Your Gun. She works as an administrative assistant with eBlueprint in Cleveland. Soon, she and her husband are moving to the Parma area with their two dogs, Mary and Wendy.

AARON J. VEAL (Frederick Arnott) appears for the first time on the Weathervane Main Stage since his appearances as Jacob in the Young Actors Series production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2003 and 2004. He has participated in several staged readings for Weathervane and also performed as one of the Not-Ready-for-Main-Stage Players for the Playhouse’s Chanticleer Awards in 2005. Aaron received a bachelor or arts degree from Wright State University, where he performed as a cast member in the operetta La Perichole and was a member of the Men's Chorale. Aaron is a sales manager for Revol Wireless and currently resides in Uniontown with his wife, Brandi.

CAROL BELFANCE (Mrs. Graves) earned the first of her four Chanticleers as Abigail Williams in The Crucible at Weathervane’s previous home on Copley Road. She also enjoyed portraying Claire (the alcoholic sister) in A Delicate Balance there. At Weathervane’s Merriman Valley location, some of her favorite roles include Dr. Livingston in Agnes of God, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Matron Momma Morton in Chicago, Sara Muller in A Watch on the Rhine, Delia in Bedroom Farce and both Maggie Cutler and Mrs. Stanley in two separate productions of The Man Who Came to Dinner. She also choreographed several musical revues at Weathervane and created its original adult acting workshop, which she taught for many years. Of the over 150 productions in which Carol has appeared (both professional and community theatre), some of her other favorites include: Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Bring Earnest, Mame in Auntie Mame, the Wife of Bath in Canterbury Tales, Hannah Jelkes in Night of the Iguana, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (at Stan Hywet), Lady Macbeth in The Lady Has Her Plan (a musical spoof of Macbeth) and Melba Snyder (“Zip!”) in Pal Joey with Arlene Dahl. Carol holds a master’s in speech/theatre from the University of Akron, where she taught theater, speech and communication classes. As a member of Actors’ Equity, AFTRA and SAG, she has had great fun doing commercials, industrials and voice-overs. She was casting director and featured performer on two award-winning national radio series. She is happy to be engaged with such a pleasant, talented cast and crew for Enchanted April and, to be working again with her absolute favorite director.

TIMOTHY M. KELLEY (Antony Wilding) first appeared on the Weathervane stage as the King of Hearts in 1979 in a production of Alice in Wonderland. Since then, he has been working in local theater, on and off, for the past 29 years. He holds a bachelor’s in theater from the University of Akron. In addition to on-stage roles at such other local theaters as Coach House Theatre and Actors’ Summit, he has also worked backstage in New York City for Veterans Ensemble Theatre and locally at Carousel Dinner Theatre and for the now-disbanded Kenley Players. His most recent stage roles were Ira in Brooklyn Boy at the Shaw Jewish Community Center in Akron and Harry in Wait until Dark at Weathervane.

HARRIET DEVETO (Costanza) This is Harriet’s tenth show at Weathervane in over 30 years and her ninth show with director Bob Belfance. A professional actress for 13 years, she is now back in community theater, where she started. There are many favorite roles to remember, including the one you are seeing today. In September, she will be directing Terrence McNally’s Master Class at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.

BOB BELFANCE's (Director) last directing assignment for Weathervane was the 2006 production of Over the Tavern, which marked his return to the Playhouse after a 15-year hiatus (following a 30-year tenure as Weathervane's artistic and managing director). He began his career as a professional actor at the age of nine and, in the course of his career, has directed more than 200 plays and musicals, produced and directed several award-winning documentary films, owned and operated his own theater and provided the voices for many radio and TV commercials in Ohio.

JILL FORSTER (Stage Manager) is a stage-management veteran who has steered the course of such diverse Weathervane productions as Fiddler on the Roof, Wait until Dark, 1776, Company, Over the Tavern and My Way. Over many years, Jill has won three Chanticleer Awards for her talents as a lighting designer. She is a second-generation Weathervaner, following in the footsteps of her mother, Jan Michael, who for many years served as the Playhouse’s pianist and musical director. In her long association with the Playhouse’s Women’s Board, she has served as treasurer for youth-theater programs and currently serves as First Vice President. Jill holds degrees from the University of Akron in sociology and criminal justice and works as Director of Specialty Courts for the Akron Municipal Court. She thanks her husband, Jim, for his strong support.

KEVIN FORD (Lighting Designer) has turned his theatrical talents primarily to set construction for Weathervane, having created the swimming pool for Lips Together, Teeth Apart, the trap door for Dracula, the bridge for Fiddler on the Roof and the elevator for The Rocky Horror Show. Kevin also co-designed the lighting (with Scott Ferrall) for Ain’t Misbehavin’ and the Chanticleer Award-winning The Full Monty. By day, Kevin is a CNC Supervisor for Acro Tool and Die Company in Akron. He has an associate degree in engineering from the University of Akron. He and his wife, Erin Katz Ford, live in Cuyahoga Falls.

RANDIE O. SASS (Co-Costume Designer) has been a volunteer at Weathervane since 1989 and a member of the Women’s Board since 1990. She has costumed a number of award-winning shows, including Fences, Master Harold…and the Boys and Fiddler on the Roof. Enchanted April re-unites her with director Bob Belfance, who also directed the very first show she costumed, The Little Foxes. She thanks the following important people in her life: her husband, Brian, for enduring her crazy hours spent toiling at Weathervane; her co-costumer, Karen Burridge; and her children, Lean and Ben, who have been taught through example about tikkun olam (“repairing the world”).

KAREN BURRIDGE (Co-Costume Designer) is a former Weathervane Women’s Board president who has continued to pursue new Weathervane volunteer opportunities. Most recently, she designed the costumes for this winter’s production of Moon Over Buffalo. Earlier this season, she designed the stage properties for Weathervane’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Over the past several years at Weathervane, Karen has sewn dozens of costumes, assembled a multitude of stage properties, and she has also worked in a front-of-house capacity as one of the many friendly ushers and hostesses who welcome theater patrons to their seats. Retired from the United States Postal Service, she raised two children with her husband, Pat. She works part-time at Curves in Tallmadge and answers the phones for the Sunday Oldies Jukebox on WSTB 88.9-FM. She lives in Brimfield.

JOYCE STADLER (Sound Designer) worked on the sound crew for this winter’s production of Children of a Lesser God and has returned to Weathervane to design the soundscape of Enchanted April. She studied filmmaking at Full Sail University (a private, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida, which prepares students for careers in the entertainment industry). At Full Sail, Joyce wrote, directed and edited two films. After graduating with both an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree, she put her filmmaking experience to work for Norwegian Cruise Lines, working at sea as a broadcast technician filming various cruise-ship activities and then broadcasting them to passengers’ televisions. Since returning from sea, Joyce has been volunteering as a sound technician for the singers and band at Valleyview Chapel in Wadsworth.

JAMES PRAZNIK (Composer) has compsosed original music that will underscore portions of the second act of Enchanted April. A native of Cleveland, he is an active composer and pianist. His compositions have been performed by a number of world-renowned musicians in venues such as E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall in Akron and at the world-famous Interlochen Center for the Arts’ performing-arts camp in Michigan. In addition, his has performed pieces for recitals in Akron, at the University of Kentucky and at Ohio State University. Currently, James studies at the University of Akron with pianist Philip Thomson and composer Daniel McCarthy. Over the last two years, James has held the position of musical arranger and guest conductor for the “Monster Pianos” concerts at the University of Akron.

Alan Scott Ferrall (Scenic Designer and Technical Director) -- see staff bios.

Kathy Kohl (Properties Designer and Assistant Technical Director) -- see staff bios.

About the Play

Enchanted April opens in London in 1922. We meet two bored English housewives, Lotty Wilton and Rose Arnott. Bored by their humdrum lives and desperate to flee a cold and damp mid-winter London, the two hatch a plan to rent a villa in Italy for the month of April. The women place a newspaper advertisement seeking two other women to split the cost, and the notice attracts the attention of two women very much removed from their usual social realm: Lady Caroline Bramble, a beautiful young socialite, and Mrs. Graves, an imposing dowager of great wealth and self-importance. In the play’s second act, the women make their trip to Mezzago on the Italian coast. Here, under the restorative spell of wisteria and sunshine, the women welcome the exciting opportunity to relax and rediscover laughter, basking in the promise of spring.

Before it was a stage play, Enchanted April was a book. British writer Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel, The Enchanted April, has spawned several adaptations for the stage and screen. In 1925, a three-act stage play adapted by Kane Campbell played for a month-long run at the Morosco Theatre in New York City. In 1935, fabled Hollywood studio RKO Radio Pictures brought the story to the silver screen with Frank Morgan (the future Wizard in The Wizard of Oz) as Mellersh. Sadly, the film became one of the studio’s biggest failures that year. The 1992 British television adaptation proved to be much more successful, and it was released theatrically in the United States, where it grossed over $13 million and was a certified “art-house” hit. With a cast including Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright and Alfred Molina, the film earned three Academy Award nominations (for its costume design, its screenplay adaptation, and for best supporting actress for Plowright). Locally, at its 1992 stint at the Cleveland International Film Festival, it won the audience-choice award for best film. The stage adaptation you are seeing today had its original production in 2000 at the Hartford Stage Company, a resident professional theater company in Connecticut. The show transferred to Broadway in the spring of 2003, where it played for a total of 143 performances and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. The Broadway cast featured Elizabeth Ashley as Mrs. Graves and former 1980s-era “Brat Pack” movie star Molly Ringwald as Rose.

About the Playwright

Enchanted April is Matthew Barber’s first play. He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a degree in English. Before venturing into playwriting, he worked as an advertising writer and arts journalist. He also worked for several San Francisco-area theaters doing publicity and marketing. In 2000, he told Variety that he approached his stage adaptation of the 1922 novel “as a challenge…I’ve avoided seeing the English version (the 1992 film) as well as the American one (from 1935).” After Enchanted April opened on Broadway in 2003, the Outer Critics Circle awarded Barber the John Gassner Award (presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright). He now lives in Los Angeles.