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by Christopher Durang
December
4, 2009-January 3, 2010
Previews
December 2 and 3
Co-Directed by
Cynthia Levin and
Steven Eubank
Featuring
Jan Rogge
Amy Urbina
Helen Gonzalez
Dina Kirschenbaum
and
Matthew Rapport
Co-Produced with UMKC
Theatre
Single Tickets
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Synopsis:
When life becomes too
frightful to endure, Veronica opts out for eternal peace.
Instead, she finds herself in the Bardo (a Tibetan Buddhist
netherworld) with an overly cheery spirit guide who forces
her to reincarnate in a dizzying array of roles from
trailer-park infant to playful golden retriever. There are
lessons to learn if she is to save her soul—and maybe even
the world.
Special Events:
Talk back performances December 8, 13 and 15
Stay afterwards for a
discussion of the play with the Director and Actors.
Groups:
Bringing 10+people? Call
Group Sales. 816-531-7529 x21
or
groupsales@unicorntheatre.org
Student Groups of 10 or more get $10 tickets to any
performance
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Single Tickets NOW ON SALE!
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December 4, 2009-January 3,
2010
Previews December 2 and 3
*Talk-Back Performance
with the actors and director after the show.
Call 816-531-7529 x 10
Box Office Hours:
During Performance Weeks
Monday 12-5pm
Tuesday-Saturday 12-8pm
Sunday 1:30-3pm
Non-Performance Weeks
Tuesday-Friday 12-5pm
Photos
Production
Photos
  
Pictured:
Jan Rogge, Matthew Rapport, Dina Kirschenbaum, Amy
Urbina and Helen Gonzalez.
Photos by
Cynthia Levin
Publicity
Photos
Pictured:
Jan Rogge, Matthew Rapport, Dina Kirschenbaum and Amy
Urbina.
Photos by
Cynthia Levin
The Reviews
are in...
Kansas City Star--Posted on
Sun. Dec. 6, 2009
Theater Review | 'Miss Witherspoon'
(May
require registration)
By ROBERT TRUSSELL
Pitch--Posted on
Tues. Dec. 8, 2009
Refuse reincarnation at the Unicorn
(Click
for story)
By
ALAN SCHERSTUHL
KCMetropolis.org--Posted on
Tues. Dec. 8, 2009
The reincarnation blues
(Click
for story)
By
STEVE SHAPIRO
Sun Publications--Posted on
Wed. Dec.16, 2009
‘Miss Witherspoon’ humorous but unwieldy, pretentious
(Click
for story)
By
RUSS SIMMONS
InfoZine--Posted on
Thurs. Dec.17, 2009
Miss Witherspoon on a Wild Unicorn Ride, Theatre Review (Click
for story)
By
JEANNINE CHATTERTON-PAPINEAU
In Other
Press..
Kansas City Star--Posted on
Wed. Dec. 2, 2009
Unicorn Theatre avoids Christmas
(May
require registration)
By ROBERT TRUSSELL
Kansas City Star--Posted on
Sat. Dec. 12, 2009
Christopher Durang reflects on his life and his play
'Miss Witherspoon'
(May
require registration)
By ROBERT TRUSSELL
Broadwayworld.com--Posted on Thur. Nov. 19, 2009
Unicorn Theatre Presents MISS WITHERSPOON, Opens 12/4
(Click
for story)
By
BWW NEWS DESK
CHRISTOPHER DURANG’S other
plays include A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM, THE
ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE, THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE
UNIVERSE, ‘DENTITY CRISIS, THE VIETNAMIZATION OF NEW
JERSEY, SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR
YOU, BEYOND THERAPY, BABY WITH THE BATHWATER, THE
MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO, LAUGHING WILD, TITANIC,
SEX AND LONGING, THE IDIOTS KARAMAZOV, MISS BETTY’S
SUMMER VACATION, and ADRIFT IN MACAO. He has an
MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Early in his
career, he won a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS
Playwriting Fellowship, the Lecompte du Nouy
Foundation grant and the Kenyon Festival Theatre
Playwriting Prize. In 1995 he won the prestigious
three-year Lila Wallace Readers Digest Award; as
part of his grant, he ran a writing workshop for
adult children of alcoholics. Since 1994 he has been
co-chair with Marsha Norman of the Playwriting
Program at the Juilliard School in Manhattan. He is
a member of the Dramatists Guild Council.
CYNTHIA LEVIN (CO-DIRECTOR) is in her 31st season
with Unicorn Theatre as Producing Artistic Director
where she has served as a director, actor, designer or
producer for over 235 productions. In addition to
managing the Unicorn, she stays busy tending her
100-year-old Victorian home (and gardens), one very laid
back Golden Retriever, an insanely mischievous Beagle
pup and one very humorous cat. Most recently, she
directed the readings of Two Jews Walk into a War
at the Unicorn and White Devil Loving Mother, at
the Kennedy Center’s MFA Playwright’s Workshop. At the
Unicorn, she’s directed My First Time, The Clean
House, Mauritius, Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts
of Desire, Nickel and Dimed, The Great American Trailer
Park Musical, tick, tick...BOOM!, Frozen, I Am My Own
Wife, Bug, The Exonerated, Convenience, Take Me Out, Bat
Boy: The Musical and the world premieres of
rightnextto me (both at the Unicorn and Geva Theatre
Center, Rochester, NY), How His Bride Came to
Abraham, Light:Damage, Mercy Killing, Innocent Thoughts
and Jack and Jill. At the Coterie Theatre she
has also directed And Then They Came for Me,
Frankenstein, Gatherings in Graveyards (I and II),
Valley Song and To Kill A Mockingbird.
Cynthia is a graduate of Park University where she was
additionally awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2002. She
is also a founding board member of the National New Play
Network, an organization dedicated to the development
and production of new works. She is the 2006 recipient
of the Pinnacle Award for Excellence in the Arts from
the Johnson County Library Foundation and the 2007
recipient of the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award.
Next up, Cynthia will direct the world premiere of
Green Whales at the Unicorn.
STEVEN EUBANK (CO-DIRECTOR) is thrilled to be
directing with Cynthia Levin! Previously at the
Unicorn, Steven choreographed tick, tick…BOOM!
and The Great American Trailer Park. He is
currently the Artistic Director of Egads Theatre Company
(formerly Eubank Productions). Notable directing
projects include Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Reefer Madness, The Rocky Horror Show,
Zanna Don’t!, The Last 5 Years, Dog Sees God
and A New Brain. Upcoming performing and
directing projects include Life on the Mississippi
at the Coterie, a new season for Egads (checkout
www.egadstheatre.com) and The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee at the American Heartland
Theatre. Steven earned a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre
Performance from Missouri State University. At age
four, Steven announced he wanted to be a director – so
thanks Mom and Dad for always supporting his childhood
dreams!
JAN ROGGE
(VERONICA) is thrilled to be working at the Unicorn over the
holiday season. She was last seen in The Clean House
and Tracy Letts’ play
Bug where she
received The Pitch’s “Best
Actor Award”. The past three summers she worked at HASF in
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello and
Romeo and Juliet. She appeared in Rabbit Hole at
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Jan played Martha in Whose
Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? with Kansas City Actors
Theatre. Her regional credits
include Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Ground Zero
Productions, Utah Shakespearean Theatre, Old Globe Theatre,
and North Shore Music Theatre. A few of her favorite plays
include Hamlet, Macbeth,
King Lear, Widow’s Blind
Date, Frankie &
Johnny in the Claire DeLune, Marvin’s Room,
Unidentified Human Remains, The
Grapes of Wrath and The Skin
Of Our Teeth. For three years she has been an
artist-in-residence at Cornell University. Jan is happy to
be settled in her new home in Kansas City with Eddie and
Buster.
AMY URBINA
(MARYAMMA) is ecstatic to work at the Unicorn for the first
time. She is a 2nd-year M.F.A. actor at UMKC where she has
recently played Chloe in Arcadia, Frieda in The
Master and Margarita, Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations,
and Caliban in The Tempest for her 1st year
Shakespeare project. She received her B.A. in Theatre at
California State University-Northridge where she appeared as
Maria in Twelfth Night, Hector/Maddy in Nickel and
Dimed, Churro/Malinche/Lolana in Ole’ For Hollywood,
Irina in Three Sisters and Elsie in
Time of Your Life. Amy has also worked with the
Independent Shakespeare Company in Hollywood where she
appeared in A Midsummer Nights Dream and
Macbeth. She looks forward to continuing her growth as
an actor and would like to thank her UMKC professors for
their guidance on her journey.
Dina Kirschenbaum (Mother 1, 2)
is extremely excited to be involved in her first production
at the Unicorn Theatre! Dina is a 2nd year MFA Acting
Candidate at UMKC originally from the East Coast. Previous
UMKC credits include Miranda in
The Tempest,
Young Pip in Great
Expectations, Natasha in
The Master and Margarita
and Hannah Jarvis in
Arcadia. This
past summer Dina had the fortune to play Rosencrantz in
Hamlet and also
played Cupid in The Death
of Cupid at the KC Fringe Festival. Regionally,
Dina has been seen as Tzeitel in
Fiddler on the Roof,
Cleareta in the Comedy of
Asses and Sister James in
Doubt. Dina
would love to thank every person involved at the Unicorn,
her faculty, family and, of course, Mark.
MATTHEW RAPPORT (FATHER 1, 2 AND OTHERS) is pleased to
be returning to the Unicorn stage this holiday season. He
was last seen here in A House With No Walls. Other
Unicorn credits include Fuddy Meers, Slight Defect, Arms
and Legs, At the Feet of Doves and Mojo. Other
recent, local credits include The Borderland and A
Christmas Carol with the Kansas City Rep, The
Homecoming and Hedda Gabler with The Metropolitan
Ensemble Theatre, The Death of Cupid by Kyle Hatley
for the KC Fringe Festival and How Does Your Garden Grow
by Ron Simonian for the Actor’s Equity Showcase. He has
also performed with the New Theatre Restaurant, the Heart of
America Shakespeare Festival, Theatre for Young America and
the Coterie Theatre where he will be seen this season in
Life on the Mississippi. In addition to acting Matt is
also a performing arts instructor, musician and Artistic
Director of the group Staged Readings. Many thanks and much
love to all the critters; especially Gracie and Sarah.
Helen Gonzalez
(TEACHER/WOMAN IN HAT) is absolutely thrilled to be making
her Unicorn Theatre debut in Miss Witherspoon. Helen
is a 3rd year MFA acting student at UMKC. Originally from
Brooklyn, NY, Helen holds a BA in Theatre from Binghamton
University. Some UMKC credits include Lady Croom (Arcadia),
Azazello (The Master and Margarita), Biddy (Great
Expectations), Bertha (Hello from Bertha), Elmire
(Tartuffe), Chorus (The Cure at Troy) and
Anennon Mary (Quindaro). Other favorite roles
include Claire (Proof), Philaenium (The Comedy of
Asses), Absalom (The Canterbury Tales) and Arles
Struvie (Greater Tuna) at American Conservatory
Theatre. Thanks to Ted and Cynthia for this incredibly
generous opportunity.
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