"Thoroughly Modern Millie" cast list!

Congrats to the cast of "Thoroughly Modern Millie"!

Millie Dillmount - Sissy Bell
Jimmy Smith - Paul Rye
Ruth/Stenographer/Ensemble - Mia Frattino
Alice/Stenographer/Swing - Katie Hensley
Gloria/Stenographer/Ensemble - Katie Crozier-Theis
Rita/Stenographer/Ensemble - Claudia Garcia
Cora/Stenographer/Ensemble - Sam Feldman
Lucille/Stenographer/Ensemble - Liz Mignacca
Ethel Peas/Stenographer - Aubrey Wise
Mrs. Meers - Sam Fundenberg
Dorothy Brown - Amy Smith
Ching Ho - Zach Kidd
Bun Foo - Erik Ramos
Mrs. Flannery - Gerri Sterne
Trevor Graydon - Bryan Faux
Muzzy Van Hossmere - Susan Christophy
Muzzy’s Boys/Tap/Ensemble - Malik Grady, Thomas Sanders, Mike Tremaine, Steven Griffin Gershwin /Dexter/Ensemble - Drew Carroll
Policeman/Rodney/Ensemble - Nick May
Kenneth/Dishwasher/Ensemble - Noah Jones
Daphne/Ensemble - Krsnaa Fitch
Mathilde/Ensemble - Patricia Kee

A note from director Dan Christophy:
"I want to thank all who auditioned. You made it hard to make decisions, as you were all great. If you were not cast, I want to ask you to consider working on the show in another capacity. It is a great way to get in and start to work in the theater, as well as be involved in a great show."

Thanks, Dan, and congrats again to everyone!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Intimate Apparel" cast profile: Madeleine Escarne

Madeleine Escarne's Mayme tells it like it is in "Intimate Apparel"!

GCP Girl: Tell me your name, your character's name, and a bit about your character.
ME: I play Mayme, a “good” friend to Esther; she is trying to find her place and validation in life, even with a not-so-glamorous profession.

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
ME: I was in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Wiz" at the GCP, and "The Commedia Tales of…King Arthur" and "Sinbad" at The Thomas Center Theater for Young Audiences.

GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "Intimate Apparel"?
ME: First, because Ms. Rhonda Wilson was directing…but mainly, the play is written by one of my favorite playwrights, Lynn Nottage. It is a human story that deals with real life issues that could just as easily be portrayed in today as it was in 1905.

GCP Girl: What is your favorite scene in the show?
ME: When Mrs. Dickson explains to Esther how her mother did not want her to be a “…washer woman if it killed her.” That monologue is so intriguing and Ms. Shetiquea Davis plays the part so well.

GCP Girl: What has been your favorite part of this experience so far?
ME: Getting to play someone who is so far from me in real life. The growth and experience in learning that part (with much appreciated help and direction from Rhonda, Shontae and Steven) has been priceless for my development in theater as a whole.

GCP Girl: What have you learned during the show about life in 1905?
ME: Life is so cyclical…you think a person may have had it easier or harder in a certain time period, but there truly is nothing new under the sun; it just may manifest in a different way.

GCP Girl: What do you hope audiences take away from "Intimate Apparel"?
ME: I hope that they see that this is not just an African-American story, but a true human story. That no matter the make-up of the cast, the importance is to focus on what is being told and support should be shown in the same way as with other plays.

GCP Girl: What plays or musicals would you like to see GCP produce in an upcoming season? ME: A few more plays by Lynn Nottage, and other poignant playwrights. Maybe something adapted from my favorite Haitian-American novelist, Edwidge Danticat.

GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know!
ME: Every opportunity I have to come before people through theater, I truly count it as an honor and blessing from God to be able to share the talent that He has given me.

Thanks, Madeleine! Opening night is tonight - do you have your tickets yet?

xo xo GCP Girl

Spotlight on Lynn Nottage

The lives of African-American women are the central themes of the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, author of "Intimate Apparel," opening this weekend at the Vam York Theater.

Nottage was born in Brooklyn in 1964, and is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. The West Coast premiere of one of her first major works, "Crumbs From the Table of Joy," won two NAACP Awards. From 1993 to 2003, she also penned "Poof," ""Mud, River, Stone," "Por'Knockers," and "Las Meninas."

"Intimate Apparel," her best-known play, was produced off-Broadway in 2004, starring Oscar nominee Viola Davis ("Doubt," "The Help"). The play tells the story of Esther, a 35-year-old African-American seamstress in 1905 New York City, who strikes up a long-distance romance with a man who is working on the Panama Canal.

Nottage wrote a companion piece to "Intimate Apparel," the OBIE Award-winning "Fabulation,or the Re-Education of Undine," which is set 100 years later. She went on to produce the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner, "Ruined," about the plight of Congolese women surviving civil war.

Nottage received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005, and a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2007.

"Intimate Apparel" previews tomorrow night. Tickets are $5 and are available only at the box office, beginning at 7 p.m. Get there early to get your seats!!

Resolve to get involved!

Did you resolve to do something new this year? Maybe you want to finally audition for a GCP show, or become more involved in theatre, but you don't know how to get started. I can help you check that resolution off your list!

Auditioning for shows is a great way to become known at the GCP. I know, it's scary to stand up in front of people you don't know and act and/or sing, but here's a secret: almost everyone, including the most experienced regulars, gets nervous at auditions. Thankfully, here's another secret: everyone wants you to do well. Directors want to be spoiled for choice!! It helps lessen the anxiety if you are well prepared for the audition - check out my audition tips, and these from the GCP website.

If you are cast in a small role or a chorus part, please do not see it as a reflection on you or your talent. Just being cast at all is a pretty big vote of confidence, especially since most shows have many more auditioners than parts. If you are not cast after your first audition, do not give up. The show might not be a good fit for you, or the production staff might have to make some tough decisions. Try again for the next show!

Here's what some of our actors had to say to people thinking of auditioning:
"Take a deep breath and show up. Sometimes all you need a is a break. I auditioned for several shows at GCP without getting in before I got into "Anything Goes" and now "Rent." However disheartening it is not to make it, I never gave up trying and it paid off in an incomprehensible way."
"Just do it. Everyone is very supportive and just as nervous as anyone else to get up there. It's worth it to be a part of theater and a show. It becomes your family for 3-4 months and beyond. So just do it. You don't have anything to lose."
"Please do so -- I personally will do everything I can to make sure you feel welcome and come back. The creative and collaborative effort of talented people working together to make art is a life-affirming continuous action that draws people together and which you really can't find anywhere else."

So what if you don't want to perform? There are lots of other ways to get involved at GCP. We always need stage crew, sound and lighting technicians, musicians, costumers, ticket takers and ushers, and handy people to build and paint sets! It really does take a village to bring our productions to life. Leave us a message on our Facebook page to let us know you are interested!

I hope one of your resolutions this year is to see more shows. GCP has a string of great shows left this season, starting in January with "Intimate Apparel," a drama about an African-American seamstress in 1905 New York (Viola Davis originated this role off-Broadway). "Thoroughly Modern Millie," the 2002 Tony Award winner for Best Musical and the show that made Sutton Foster a star, is coming up in March, followed by "Agnes of God," a drama that turned into an Oscar-nominated film starring Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly. The season ender is none other than the megahit 2003 Best Musical "Hairspray"!

Join us at the GCP and help us make 2012 the best year yet!

xo xo GCP Girl