Jealousy, Revenge, Malice, and Scandal are Revealed in Peter Shaffer Drama, AMADEUS
Posted April 5, 2024 in Press Releases
The history, legacy, and rivalry of classical music giants, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, explode through epic storytelling in Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play, Amadeus.
(Cleveland, OH) Cleveland Play House presents the suspenseful, music-filled drama, Amadeus, written by Peter Shaffer. Running April 6 through April 28 in the Outcalt Theatre, the play is directed by Laura Gordon, and features Josh Bates*, Will Blum*, Madeline Calais-King*, Scott Campbell, Cate Castelli, Ellen Grace Diehl*, Victoria Alev Duffy*, Liz Huff, Dylan Ireland*, Shunté Lofton*, Steve Marvel*, Gavin Michaels*, Alfredo Ruiz*, Jonathan Smoots*, September Stanton, Owen Connor Stout, and Price Waldman*. Tickets can be purchased at clevelandplayhouse.com.
Why does God grace some individuals with talent and genius, but render others dull and mediocre? This is the question that plagues Italian composer Antonio Salieri as he chases after fame and fortune in 18th and 19th century Vienna. Frustrated by his plight, Salieri becomes obsessed with ruining a young rival composer - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - in a deadly game of deceit and revenge. Musical history is re-orchestrated In Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning tale of music, malice, and madness - Amadeus.
Shaffer’s thought-provoking, fictitious examination of the rivalry between renowned Italian composer Antonio Salieri and Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the springboard for his acclaimed play, Amadeus. As the story unfolds, musical history is enlivened and re-imagined in this intense, darkly comic parable about faith, malice, madness, and the love of music. The Broadway production garnered the Tony Award for Best Play in 1981. Shaffer then penned the screenplay for the highly praised 1984 film, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among numerous other accolades.
The themes of envy, jealousy, revenge, and humanity’s relationship to the Divine reverberate throughout the two-act play. At the same time, Shaffer assesses the dueling critiques of each composer’s talent by also uncovering impulsive creativity and the perils of fame. With echoes of “scandal” haunting Salieri, who transforms from his elder state to his younger self, Salieri’s character in the play exclaims, “God needed Mozart to let himself into the world. And Mozart needed me to get him wordly advancement. So it would be a battle to the end - and Mozart was the battleground.” This statement becomes the thesis of Shaffer’s historical conjecture.
At the helm of CPH’s production is Laura Gordon. A sumptuous feast for the eyes, the CPH production takes place in the intimate Outcalt Theatre — in the round — with audience members acutely immersed in the intrigue of this 18th century story of revenge. Gordon’s creative staging incorporates an ensemble of seventeen actors covering over two dozen roles.
For this production, CPH has partnered with The Cleveland Orchestra, whose September 2023 concert featured a live musical soundtrack for the film version of Amadeus. This production will also feature all eight members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA in Acting Program’s Class of 2024.
The design team includes scenic design by Regina García, costume design by Howard Tsvi Kaplan, lighting design by Jason Fassl, sound design by Barry G. Funderburg, wig and hair design by Roxanne De Luna, intimacy, fight, and movement by associate director, Jason Spelbring, dramaturgy by Michael Glavan, and stage management by John Godbout* and Tom Humes*.
Running April 6 through April 28 in Playhouse Square’s Outcalt Theatre, evening performances of Amadeus are held Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Matinee performances are held on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Additionally, an evening performance will be held on Sunday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m.
The production contains mild profanity, sexual innuendo, discussions of adultery, seduction, and sexual extortion, as well as physical violence toward women and visualizations of suicide. This production is highly recommended for mature audiences ages 16 and up.
Tickets start at $25. Student tickets are $15 (valid student ID required). Ohio Direction/EBT cardholders receive $5 admission to any performance (up to eight tickets). Military personnel and their immediate families receive 50% off tickets. Seniors may receive $10 off tickets. Groups of 20+ can save up to 30% on their purchase. Tickets can be purchased by calling 216.241.6000 or by visiting clevelandplayhouse.com.
KeyBank is the 2023-2024 season sponsor for Cleveland Play House.
Amadeus is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
Cleveland Play House’s exciting 108th season ends this spring with the hit Broadway musical, In the Heights, running May 11 through Jun. 9, 2024. The theatre company recently announced its dynamic “renaissance” 2024-2025 season. For further details and information, please visit clevelandplayhouse.com.
* denotes members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
BIOGRAPHIES
THE ACTING COMPANY
JOSH BATES* (Giuseppe Bonno, Ensemble) is a Southern California native who received his BFA in Acting from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He was most recently seen in Cleveland Play House’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and The Play That Goes Wrong, and CWRU/CPH’s The Tempest. Other credits: The Liar, Everybody, Passage all with CWRU/CPH; as well as Legally Blonde, and The Little Mermaid. He is also the recipient of the Best Actor Award at the Black Glasses Film Festival for his performance in Disaster Survivor. @joshbaetes
WILL BLUM* (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) recently appeared as David in the national tour of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Broadway: Beetlejuice, School of Rock (Dewey Finn), The Book of Mormon (Elder Cunningham), Grease (Roger), as well as Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song. National Tours: Elf The Musical (Buddy), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Jean-Michel), HAIR (Margaret Mead), Grease (Roger), and Seussical (Horton the Elephant). Regional: George in Sunday in the Park with George (Critics Circle nom.), Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Barfeé in …Spelling Bee, Lesh in Barry Manilow’s Harmony, and King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar. TV: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Elementary, Wacky Races, and The Tony Awards. BFA from The Boston Conservatory. @willblum
MADELINE CALAIS-KING* (Constanze Weber) recently appeared as Mary Shelly in Cleveland Play House’s production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. She had the immense pleasure of appearing in two world premieres, 10CHILDREN’s Watching Butterflies written by Eric Schmiedl, and Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival’s Hamlet 50/50 adapted by Vanessa Morosco and Peter Simon Hilton. Regional: American Shakespeare Center, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Red Bull Theater in New York City.
SCOTT CAMPBELL (Ensemble) was part of the ensemble in Cleveland Play House’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. A Cleveland native, Scott discovered his passion for acting at Near West Side Theatre. His most recent stage performance was as James T in Cleveland Public Theatre’s production Barbecue. Other credits include Jeremy in August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Beyond his acting career, Scott is currently a senior at Cleveland State University majoring in Organizational Leadership and Nonprofit Administration. He is a Gulf War veteran having served six years in the U.S. Navy.
CATE CASTELLI (Ensemble) is an actor, singer, and dancer who recently relocated from Colorado to Cleveland. She graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in dance in 2023. Credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Godspell (Anna Maria), Cabaret (Helga), and Fiddler on the Roof (Bielke) at Colorado Mesa; and Hello Dolly! (Minnie Fay) at the Sangre De Cristo Arts Center.catecastelli.com
ELLEN GRACE DIEHL* (Venticello 2) is a proud member of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Class of 2024 and previously appeared in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as Claire Clairmont, The Tempest as Ariel, The Liar as Cliton. Regional: Oklahoma! (Ado Annie) and Carousel (Louise) at the Round Barn Theatre; and A Gentleman’s Guide... (Sibella), Mamma Mia! (Sophie), Gypsy (Louise), and The Little Mermaid (Ariel) at the Allenberry Playhouse. Upcoming: Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor at Idaho and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festivals.ellengracediehl.com
VICTORIA ALEV DUFFY* (Katherina Cavalieri) has appeared in the CPH productions of The Play That Goes Wrong (Sandra), Watching Butterflies (Tox), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (U/S Mary Shelley/Claire). Other credits include The Tempest, The Liar, The Most Massive Woman Wins, Machinal, and more. victoriaalevduffy.com
LIZ HUFF (Teresa Salieri, Ensemble) has performed in concert work, theatre, and collaborative arts projects throughout the Midwest, as well as in Estonia, Northern Ireland, and Finland. She recently appeared at BorderLight Fringe Festival as the Narrator in Obediya Jones-Darrell’s opera Fairy in The Lake. Liz has performed with The Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall, headlined holiday concerts at Nighttown, premiered numerous works by Ryan Charles Ramer and other composers, and has appeared in plays Ensemble Theatre, Cain Park, and Cleveland Public Theatre. Other credits include Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music at Kalliope Stage. She is a member of The Greenhouse (Ohio-based theatre makers), and a voting member of the Recording Academy.
DYLAN IRELAND* (Venticello 1) is currently in his third and final year of his MFA Acting program for the CWRU/CPH Program. Ireland recently made his CPH debut as Lord Byron and The Creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He received a BA in theater performance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Credits: Fences (Cory), Julius Caesar (Caesar), The Wiz (Tinman), Everybody (Cousin), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Guy Jacobs), The Servant of Two Masters (Truffaldino), Passage (M), Twelfth Night (Toby Belch), and The Liar (Geronte). Ireland was nominated for “Best Performer in a Play” for his performance as Stephano and Sebastian in the CWRU/CPH production of The Tempest. @dylan.ireland_
SHUNTÉ LOFTON* (Countess Johanna Kilian Von Strack) is a graduate of the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance. She has appeared in the CWRU/CPH MFA productions of The Tempest as Prospera, The Liar as Lucrece, Everybody as Death, and Passage as F. She also served as the Assistant Director for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. A lover of the classics, she has performed her way through over half of Shakespeare’s canon. Some of her favorite credits include Ophelia in Hamlet and Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost with the American Shakespeare Center, and Constance in King John with Colorado Shakespeare Festival. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
STEVE MARVEL* (Joseph II) has appeared locally as Mantalini/Snevellici/Hawk in Nicholas Nickleby (Ohio Shakespeare Company) and as The Professor in Life Sucks (Dobama Theatre). In Los Angeles, Steve played Tom Sergeant in Skylight (Chance Theater); Decius in Julius Caesar and Oronte in The School for Wives (A Noise Within); and was part of the original company of Discord at the Geffen Playhouse. Regionally, he has played roles at PCPA Theatrefest, The Aurora Theatre Company (Berkeley, California), and the Arden Theatre Company (Philadelphia), among others. Film: The Bikeriders, A Little White, Troubled Waters, and as Sam in cult favorite, Chompy and the Girls. His audiobook narration work has earned him an Audiofile Earphones award, four Voice Arts Award nominations, and an IBPA Ben Franklin award. He has voiced some 200 audiobooks for Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Harper, and others. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Acting program.
GAVIN MICHAELS* (Ensemble) is from Seattle, Washington, and most recently he appeared as Victor Frankenstein/Percy Shelley in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and understudied the role of Dennis in The Play That Goes Wrong at Cleveland Play House. Other credits: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and Orlando in As You Like It with BPA; Ferdinand in The Tempest, Hamlet in Hamlet (Kentwood Players), Dorante in The Liar, and Caliban in The Tempest with CWRU/CPH. He worked with John Leguizamo at the Guthrie Theatre to workshop his new play, Our Hood, as well as appeared as Borrachio in a workshop of Tanta Bulla, y pa que?, a bilingual adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Film: Diabolos, The House (Tubi), Danny Doom (Amazon Prime). B.A. in Political Communication and Rhetoric from the University of Washington.gavinmichaels.com
ALFREDO RUIZ* (Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg) is currently a third-year graduate student in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. He recently appeared as Max in The Play That Goes Wrong a Cleveland Play House, directed by Melissa Rain Anderson. While pursuing his MFA, Alfredo has returned to his hometown of Miami, FL several times to work on a variety of award-winning short films. Regional: Watching Butterflies (Cleveland Play House), 7 Deadly Sins (Miami New Drama), Wynwood Stories (Juggerknot Theatre Co.).alfredojruiz.com
JONATHAN SMOOTS* (Baron Gottfried Van Swieten) is delighted to make his Cleveland Play House debut. A 29-year core company veteran of American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin, his credits include Shakespeare’s King Lear, Macbeth, Falstaff, Malvolio, Brutus, Cassius, Friar Lawrence, and many 18th-20th century roles including: Sparkish in The Country Wife, Joe Keller in All My Sons, Dr. Chebutykin in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and Captain Shotover in Shaw’s Heartbreak House. In many seasons with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, he played Scrooge, Marley, Present, Past, Fezziwig (et al) in 15 seasonal productions of A Christmas Carol, as Sir Robert in An Ideal Husband, as Hastings in Richard III, as Pato in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, as Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Mr Lockhart (the Devil) in The Seafarer. Some 20 years ago, he played the Pasha in Mozart’s Abduction From the Seraglio at Milwaukee’s Skykight Opera Theater. Education: BA, University of Illinois Chicago; MA, Northwestern University.
SEPTEMBER STANTON (Ensemble) returns to Cleveland Play House where she appeared in Watching Butterflies and Teddy Mountain. She leads a film production company, Stars of Yeshua, making biblical stories more understanding by contemporizing them to current times. @SeppySky
OWEN CONNOR STOUT (Ensemble) is thrilled to make his debut with Cleveland Play House. He received his Master’s in Opera Performance from the University of Illinois in 2021, under the tutelage of Dawn Harris and Nathan Gunn. He was been seen recently in Murder on the Orient Express at Great Lakes Theater and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Beck Center for the Arts.
PRICE WALDMAN* (Antonio Salieri) returns to Cleveland Play House where he last appeared as King John in Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. He has worked on and off Broadway and internationally with Julie Taymor, Bartlett Sher, Steven Lutvak, Robert Freedman, Darko Tresnjak, John Rando, Laurie Anderson, Anne Bogart, Francesca Zambello, Daniel Fish, Gabriel Barre, Jenny Giering, Gary Griffin, Steve Broadnax III, Warren Carlyle, Sarna Lapine, Charlotte Moore, Chris Baily, Mark Hoebee, Casey Hushion, Marcela Lorca, and Adam Immerwahr. Price received his training at Oberlin College/Conservatory, and University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program. His favorite collaborator is his wife, choreographer Rebecca Lazier.
THE CREATIVE COMPANY
PETER SHAFFER (Playwright) was a British playwright of considerable range who moved easily from farce to the portrayal of human anguish. Educated at St. Paul’s and Trinity College, Cambridge, Shaffer first worked for a music publisher and then as a book reviewer. His first play, Five-Finger Exercise (1960), is a tautly constructed domestic drama that almost overnight established his reputation as a playwright. It was followed by The Private Ear, The Public Eye (both 1962), and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), a portrayal of the conflict between the Spanish and the Inca – “hope and hopelessness, faithlessness and faith.” In 1965 Shaffer’s adroit farce Black Comedy was first performed. Equus (1973; filmed 1977), dealing with a mentally disturbed stableboy’s obsession with horses, and Amadeus (1979; filmed 1984), about the rivalry between Mozart and his fellow composer Antonio Salieri, were successes with both critics and the public. Later plays include the biblical epic Yonadab (1985), Lettice and Lovage (1987) and The Gift of the Gorgon (1992). Shaffer was knighted in 2001 and sadly passed away in 2016.
LAURA GORDON (Director) was born and raised in Chagrin Falls and is very pleased to make her debut at Cleveland Play House. A Milwaukee-based actor and director, her directing credits include Boswell (59E59); Steel Magnolias (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park/Indiana Rep); Boeing Boeing (Indiana Rep); She Stoops to Conquer, An Ideal Husband, The Royal Family, Edward Albee’s Seascape, Old Times (American Players Theatre); The Foreigner, Venus in Fur, Speaking in Tongues, Almost Maine (Milwaukee Rep); The Book of Will, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (Santa Cruz Shakespeare); Measure for Measure, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Winter’s Tale (Utah Shakespeare Festival); In the Next Room or the vibrator play (Actors Theater of Louisville); Russian Transport, Skin Tight, Amelia (Renaissance Theaterworks); Heisenberg, Red, Going to St. Ives (Forward Theater); Scarecrow, The Revolutionists, Motherhood Out Loud (Next Act Theatre); The Thanksgiving Play, Well (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre); Richard III (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival); Anna Karenina (Utah State University), The Beaux’ Stratagem, Eurydice (Nevada Conservatory Theatre). Laura is a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and a member of SDC and Actors’ Equity Association.
REGINA GARCÍA (Scenic Designer) is a Chicago-based scenic designer from Puerto Rico. She has had long standing relationships with the Latinx Theatre’s renowned Teatros, including Repertorio Español, the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Teatro Vista and Pregones Theater. Upcoming projects include productions at American Players Theatre and Guthrie Theater. Regina is a Fellow of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers and the Princess Grace Awards, USA; a Regional Associate member of the League of Professional Theatre Women; and company member with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago; and Boundless Theatre Company (San Juan/ NYC). She is the Head of Scenic Design at The Theatre School, DePaul University, and a founding organizational member of La Gente: The Latinx Theatre Production Network.
HOWARD TSVI KAPLAN (Costume Designer) has been the Resident Costume Designer for the Sarasota Opera for 27 seasons, where he has designed over 120 productions. His recent endeavors include designing the costumes for Blithe Spirit at Capital Rep (“Best Costume Award” for Berkshire Area Broadway World Award); My Fair Lady and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Barter Theatre; A Streetcar Named Desire, Werther, and The Consul for Florida Grand Opera. Additional credits: twelve years as the principal designer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College; The Mikado at Pittsburgh Public Theatre; Man of La Mancha for the Olney Theatre, for which he received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. He was a resident designer for The Alley Theatre, where he designed the American Premiere of …Henceforward, written and directed by Alan Ayckborn. And he was also resident designer at The Asolo Theatre, where he designed the world premiere of Horton Foote’s Talking Pictures.
JASON FASSL (Lighting Designer) is a Milwaukee-based lighting, projection, and scenic designer. This production marks his twentieth design collaboration with director Laura Gordon. Regional: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Ballet, American Players Theatre, First Stage Children’s Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Next Act Theatre, Forward Theatre Company, Florentine Opera, Northern Sky Theatre, Peninsula Players, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, The Fireside, among others. Member of Scenic Artists Local #829 and Milwaukee IATSE Stage Hands Local #18. @AntiShadows
BARRY G. FUNDERBURG (Sound Designer) is a Chicagoland composer, designer, and audio engineer who works nationwide in both theatre and live/corporate events, making his CPH debut. Off-Broadway, Barry designed the New York premiere of Wittenberg at The Pearl Theatre Company. Regional designs include 85 productions at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 34 productions at Utah Shakespeare Festival, as well as Alley Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Baltimore Center Stage, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Indiana Repertory Theatre. Chicago credits include Fake, Carter’s Way, and Mother Courage and Her Children at Steppenwolf; in addition to Writers Theatre, Next Theatre, and Lookingglass. Barry has received two Chicago Equity Jeff Awards, a St. Louis Theater Circle Award, and a Santa Barbara “Indy” Award. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829.
ROXANNE DE LUNA (Wig Designer) returns to Cleveland Play House where she designed hair and wigs for the world premiere production of Light It Up! CREDITS: Two River Theater’s The Scarlet Letter (World Premiere); Big League Productions: The Cher Show, First National Tour; North Carolina Theater: Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, Kinky Boots; Ogunquit Playhouse: Sound of Music, Tootsie, The New Broadway Musical (Regional Premiere), Da Vinci Code (American Premiere), Singing In The Rain, Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, Mr. Hollands Opus The New Musical (World Premiere), The Nutty Professor, The Cher Show, Young Frankenstein, Mystic Pizza (World Premiere), Escape to Margaritaville, Annie the Musical, Kinky Boots, Menopause, Cabaret, 42nd Street, Elf the Musical; Tuacahn: Beautiful, The Carole King Musical; Playmakers Rep: My Fair Lady, Intimate Apparel. She was born and raised in El Paso, TX, and holds a Master of Arts from University of Cincinnati- Conservatory of Music in Wig & Makeup Design.
JASON SPELBRING (Intimacy, Fight, and Movement Director/Associate Director) is a director, producer, and educator. Jason is an associate professor of acting and directing in the Department of Theatre Arts at Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts. He also serves as the Artistic Associate and Resident Director for The Lyric Repertory Company. Jason is a proud graduate of the two-year professional actor training program at The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA). He holds his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Acting from Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts and his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Acting from the University of California, Irvine.jasonmichaelspelbring.com
MICHAEL GLAVAN (Production Dramaturg) is an actor, director, and teaching artist in the Cleveland area. Michael is the Artistic Associate at Cleveland Play House, a Core Ensemble member of Seat of the Pants Theatre, and member of the Green House Artist Collective. NY Theatre: Joey and Ron, Three Sisters, Macbeth: Two Truths, Ultimate Man! The Musical, Sex Tips...from a Gay Man, American Hero, Ethel, Something I Should Tell You, Red, 1776, Camelot, and a series of smaller performance pieces at The Tank NYC as part of the Fast and Furious Series. Other Regional: Seat of the Pants, Dobama, Porthouse, Rubber City, Blank Canvas, Canton Players Guild, and Near West Theatre. TV: Ohio Lotto, Shahs of Sunset, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, and Power. @mglavan425.
KARIE KOPPEL (Casting Director) Off-Broadway: ‘Til Death, Queens Girl In The World, Eve Ensler’s Fruit Trilogy, The Gentleman Caller, The Boy Who Danced On Air, and Mother of Invention and upcoming Deadly Stages. Regional credits include: Denver Center Theatre, Geva Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Cape Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Trinity Rep, Arena Stage, The Magic Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Northern Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, Syracuse Stage, Bucks County Playhouse, and Alabama Shakespeare Festival. National Tours: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Middletown. Feature Films: The Empath, The House of Usher, The Visit, and upcoming Smashing. For PBS: Walter Winchell, The Vote, Charles M Russell, Across The Pacific. Karie is also the Director of Casting for GFour Productions.
JOHN GODBOUT* (Stage Manager) was Cleveland Play House’s resident stage manager from 2001 to 2008 and returned to CPH in the fall of 2011. Most recently, John stage managed A New Brain at Barrington Stage Company. John has also stage managed at North Shore Music Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, The Weston Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Northern Stage, Seaside Music Theatre, and Porthouse Theatre.
TOM HUMES* (Stage Manager) serves as an Assistant Professor for the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. Regional: Porthouse Theatre, Cain Park, Cleveland Play House, McCarter Theatre Center, Dobama Theatre, Beck Center for the Arts, Karamu House, Cleveland Orchestra, and Opera Cleveland. He has been an assistant production manager, events production manager, and senior production manager/assistant to the general manager at Cain Park. He is also a member of the I.A.T.S.E. Tom is twice published, with a recent book review of Stage Management Theory as a Guide to Practice: Cultivating a Creative Approach featured in Theatre Topics and he contributed to the book, Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career with his essay, “Maximum Flexibility”.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
MICHAEL BARAKIVA (Artistic Director) is an Armenian-Israeli American director and writer who has staged new plays, revivals, and classics in New York City and around the country. Michael was appointed Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House in December 2023, where he served as director of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as well as co-director of CPH’s world premiere production of Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure. Barakiva’s work has been seen at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Primary Stages, Syracuse Stage, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and the Hangar Theatre, where he served as Artistic Director. He founded The Upstart Creatures, a theatre company that creates community through performance and food, as well as the Leadership Initiative Project, which equips historically excluded artists with the tools to succeed in leadership positions. Barakiva has received three Drama League directing fellowships, the Phil Killian Directing Fellowship (OSF), the David Merrick Prize in Drama, and was a Granada Artist-in-Residence at UC Davis. He led a week-long workshop on musical theatre at the International Puppet Theater in Sofia, Bulgaria, and was a presenter at the International University Theatre Festival at UNAM in Mexico City. He served as producer of Summer Camp 6 (Soho Rep) and as the Readings and Workshops Coordinator at New York Stage and Film, as well as a Primary Coach on Season 2 of MTV’s Made. As a writer, Barakiva is the recipient of a Red Bull Commission for his adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, an EST/Sloan Project Commission, and a co-author of String Theory (Connotation Press). His young adult novels have been named to the Rainbow List, Equality Family Council Reading List, The Barnes and Noble’s Perfect Valentine’s Day YA Novels list, spending over a year as Goodreads #1 LGBTQ YA Novel. Education: Vassar College, The Juilliard School.
RACHEL L. FINK (Managing Director) is thrilled to be returning home to Northeast Ohio after 25 years. Her childhood was filled with fundamental and rich Cleveland arts experiences — and it was at Heights High (Go Tigers!) that Fink’s passion for arts access, social justice, and inclusive, equitable practices was ignited. She carried those values with her as she enrolled at Case Western Reserve University, where an astute professor introduced her to the field of arts administration, and she hasn’t turned back since. The experience at CWRU led to an internship at Cleveland Play House, followed by earning an MFA in theater management at the Yale School of Drama (now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale). After graduate school, Fink ventured west to Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, where she founded and grew the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre into a nationally-recognized learning hub which centered theatre as an essential education and engagement tool for all ages, providing direct service and support to more than 300 theatres and 2,000 artists across the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently, Fink served as the executive director of the Tony Award-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois. Producing highlights include Plantation! by Kevin Douglas and directed by David Schwimmer; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written and directed by David Catlin; Her Honor Jane Byrne, written and directed by J. Nicole Brooks (holiday radio broadcast in partnership with local NPR affiliate, WBEZ); Steadfast Tin Soldier, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman; and Lookingglass Alice, written and directed by David Catlin. Fink has held professional distinctions including co-leading the Professional Association of Chicago Theatres; and serving as a Fellow at the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago/Harris School of Public Policy; as the US delegate for the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International Programme; as a member of the American Express/Aspen Institute Fellowship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders inaugural class; and as a 2016 artEquity facilitator cohort member.
ABOUT CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Play House is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cleveland Play House is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. clevelandplayhouse.com
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