Eric Martin Brown: (Shepherd Henderson) acted on Broadway in Dance of Death alongside Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen. Off-Broadway work includes The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, Mint Theater; Suddenly Last Summer, NIKO Companies; Fly, Lincoln Center Institute; Servicemen, The New Group; and The Ruby Sunrise, The Public Theater. Regional theatre includes The Wilma Theater; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.; The Old Globe; Capital Repertory Theatre; Studio Arena; Bread Loaf; Palm Beach Dramaworks; Elm Shakespeare; Arkansas Rep; Caldwell, and Yale Rep. Brown has so far appeared on television and film in Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, Gossip Girl, Third Watch, One Life to Live, All My Children, As the World Turns, Pear, Found In Time, The Response, Jacklight and All I want for Christmas. Training includes a Master of Fine Arts, Yale School of Drama and Bachelor of Fine Arts, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. less acted on Broadway in Dance of Death alongside Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen. Off-Broadway work includes The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, Mint Theater; Suddenly Last Summer, NIKO Companies; Fly, Lincoln Center Institute; Servicemen, The New Group; and The Ruby Sunrise, The Public Theater. Regional theatre includes The Wilma... more

Georgia Cohen: (Gillian Holroyd) appeared in New York City as Sasha in Wasted: An Historical Burlesque at Ars Nova, as Olivia in Fiasco Theater Company’s Twelfth Night at Access Theater, and Hostess in The Acting Company’s National Tour of Henry V which ran at New Victory Theater (in NYC), Arizona Theatre Company, and Guthrie Theater. Additional regional theatre credits include portraying Meg in Crimes of the Heart at McCarter Theatre Center; Sandy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at People’s Light & Theatre; and Julia in 1984 and Elizabeth in Don Carlos at The Sandra Feinstein – Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and is a proud graduate of Brown/Trinity Rep’s Master of Fine Arts Acting Program. Other training includes workshops with The Public, Long Wharf, PS 122 and Naked Angels. less appeared in New York City as Sasha in Wasted: An Historical Burlesque at Ars Nova, as Olivia in Fiasco Theater Company’s Twelfth Night at Access Theater, and Hostess in The Acting Company’s National Tour of Henry V which ran at New Victory Theater (in NYC), Arizona Theatre Company, and Guthrie... more

Jeremy Webb: (Nicky Holroyd) made his professional debut in Cleveland as Dionysos in The Bahhhai for Gerald Freedman at Great Lakes Theater Festival. He appeared in New York in The Visit (Broadway, The Actors Fund); The Glorious Ones (Lincoln Center Theater, original cast recording); The Baltimore Waltz, Tabletop, Photograph 51 and BFF. Other credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival; L.A. Theatre Works; workshops of The Royal Family of Broadway, Dance of the Vampires, Yeast Nation; Eugene O'Neill Theater Center; New York Stage and Film; The Old Globe; The Kennedy Center; Long Wharf; Shakespeare Theatre Company; Huntington; McCarter; and The Hangar. Webb received a Drama Desk Award forTabletop; Connecticut Critics Circle Award for The Laramie Project; and Helen Hayes and SALT Award nominations. Film and television includes Love Walked In, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The Guiding Light. Training was at The North Carolina School of the Arts. less made his professional debut in Cleveland as Dionysos in The Bahhhai for Gerald Freedman at Great Lakes Theater Festival. He appeared in New York in The Visit (Broadway, The Actors Fund); The Glorious Ones (Lincoln Center Theater, original cast recording); The Baltimore Waltz, Tabletop, Photograph 51 and BFF. Other credits... more

Marc Moritz: (Sidney Redlitch) appeared at Cleveland Play House in readings of U.S. v. Howard Mechanic, The Will to Art and Thicker than Water. On Broadway, he originated the role of Talk Show Host in the Sondheim/Prince musical Merrily We Roll Along – Moritz is featured on the original cast recording. Regional theatre includes Long Wharf, Goodman, New Harmony, Riverside Shakespeare, Porthouse, Cain Park, Weathervane (as a director), TrueNorth (as a director), Dobama (as an actor and director), Great Lakes/Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and many more. Moritz was founding director of Cleveland-based Giant Portions Improv Company. Training includes a Master of Fine Arts, Kent State University; stints at ImprovOlympic; and extensive workshops with Paul Sills, Del Close, and Charna Halpern. He has acted in numerous television and radio commercials and in the made for TV movie Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus Farace. A teaching faculty member at Notre Dame College, he also teaches his unique Improv for Educators workshops throughout the U.S. less appeared at Cleveland Play House in readings of U.S. v. Howard Mechanic, The Will to Art and Thicker than Water. On Broadway, he originated the role of Talk Show Host in the Sondheim/Prince musical Merrily We Roll Along – Moritz is featured on the original cast recording. Regional theatre includes... more

Michael Bloom: (Director) is the eighth artistic director of Cleveland Play House. For CPH he has adapted Emma (published by Samuel French), and directed Bell, Book and Candle; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor (with The Cleveland Orchestra for New Ground Theatre Festival); Ten Chimneys; Lost in Yonkers; Heaven’s My Destination; The Glass Menagerie; A Streetcar Named Desire; Lincolnesque; Rabbit Hole; Well; and Private Lives. He has directed at many of the country’s other major theatres including American Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Old Globe Theatre, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre Company, and Long Wharf Theatre. His productions have also been seen throughout Japan. His off-Broadway production of Sight Unseen garnered three Obie Awards, and he received a Drama Desk nomination for direction. Other productions include the American premiere of A Young Lady from Rwanda; Gross Indecency, Elliott Norton Award for Best Directing, 1998; and the world premieres of Dinner with Friends at Actors Theatre of Louisville and Tennessee Williams’ Spring Storm. His articles have appeared in American Theatre Magazine and The New York Times, and his book Thinking Like a Director was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2001. less is the eighth artistic director of Cleveland Play House. For CPH he has adapted Emma (published by Samuel French), and directed Bell, Book and Candle; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor (with The Cleveland Orchestra for New Ground Theatre Festival); Ten Chimneys; Lost in Yonkers; Heaven’s My Destination; The Glass Menagerie;... more

Patricia Kilgarriff: (Miss Holroyd) appeared at Cleveland Play House in Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot (world premiere) and The Importance of Being Earnest. Broadway credits include Steel Magnolias, Tartuffe, Night Must Fall, A Delicate Balance, A Small Family Business, La Bete, Lettice and Lovage, Shirley Valentine, Noises Off!, and The Man Who Had Three Arms. Off-Broadway includes Mary Broome, Mint Theater; Time and Again, Kindertransport and The Art of Success, Manhattan Theatre Club; Beckett/Albee; Spread Eagle; London Suite; All’s Well That Ends Well; Counting the Ways; and Footfalls. Selected regional appearances are A Woman of No Importance, Yale Repertory Theatre (Connecticut Critics Award, Outstanding Actress); Shirley Valentine, Portland Repertory Theatre (Drammy Award); Arkansas Repertory Theatre; City Theatre Pittsburgh; McCarter Theatre Center; and Hartford Stage. Film/television includes The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Real Blonde, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, All My Children, Second Honeymoon, Loving and Ryan’s Hope. Kilgarriff also has numerous voiceover and audiobook credits. less appeared at Cleveland Play House in Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot (world premiere) and The Importance of Being Earnest. Broadway credits include Steel Magnolias, Tartuffe, Night Must Fall, A Delicate Balance, A Small Family Business, La Bete, Lettice and Lovage, Shirley Valentine, Noises Off!, and The Man Who Had Three... more

Movement and Magic of Theatre: (CPH Note: KeyBank CPH College is a unique – and FREE - program that introduces teens grades 9-12 to the circle of artists creating professional theatre at CPH, allowing them to discover the powerful impact theatre plays in their community and their lives. They meet as a group one Saturday during each Mainstage show. One of the students, Cali Parey, shared her experience with the workshop for Bell, Book and Candle.) As soon as we walked in on Saturday morning, we were immersed in dancing and the teaching of Dr. Ellen Rooney. Thinking I was late, I quickly grabbed a partner, who looked equally as confused, and started following Dr. Ellen’s steps. We were taught the dance as more and more students trickled in. After learning the dance, and knowing those couple seconds of music would be stuck in my head for days, Dr. Ellen told us that this was all part of her plan. Being forced to just jump into the class showed us that the real life theatre world can be pushy and unpredictable. We were put into small groups, where we picked a common sit-com story line out of a bag. My group had “a family member no one likes moves in.” Other groups had things like “the husband breaks something and tries to fix it” and “misguided after over-hearing a conversation.” We had to improvise a scene that was choreographed by the dance we had just learned. This really put us on the spot, only having a few minutes, pushing creativity limits, and was one of the most fun exercises I ever have done. Group after group performed for us all, garnering a room full of laughs and applause.Before we had lunch, we had the chance to sit down with one of our teaching artists, Nina Dominque, and talk to her about working in show business. We were able to learn all about how she got where she was, the kinds of training she had, and jobs she had done. It was nice to talk to a real working thespian.We all filed out to the Allen Theatre to see Bell, Book and Candle. The play was about a witch who casts a spell on her attractive neighbor and what that means for her as a witch. During scene changes, the actors did dances almost exactly like the one we learned earlier that day, which was an ‘Aha!’ moment for most of us students. The show itself was wonderful, with a small cast and multiple “magic” effects. It ended the day on a magical note. less (CPH Note: KeyBank CPH College is a unique – and FREE - program that introduces teens grades 9-12 to the circle of artists creating professional theatre at CPH, allowing them to discover the powerful impact theatre plays in their community and their lives. They meet as a group... more

Play Guide-Bell, Book and Candle : To view the Play Guide, click on the related file link below!In Northeast Ohio, January chill usually freezes out December's holiday magic. But not this year! Cleveland Play House's fresh, fun and sexy new take on the ‘bewitching’ comic gem Bell, Book and Candle, will warm up even the coldest winter night!    John van Druten's play, which inspired the hit TV show Bewitched, introduces us to Gillian Holroyd, a beautiful and lively free spirit - who also happens to be a witch. Frustrated by a lack of romance in her life and smitten by her handsome neighbor, she “helps things along” by casting a spell. But will she give into the one thing that will take away her magical powers forever?   This edition of the CPH Play Guide is a delightful potion meant to open up the world of the play for you. You’ll explore the experience of real-life witches and their “Modern Magic,” learn what the social strictures of the 1950s mean for the play’s characters—and meant for its author, as well—and discover how Costume Designer David Kay Mickelsen and director Michael Bloom have given “a lift” to this mid-century classic.   And don’t forget that Bell, Book and Candle is one of our Reading Club selections this season. The sidebar on page 4 will tell you how you can “join The Club” on January 7th.   We look forward to ‘magical’ 2013 with you at the Allen Theatre!       To view the Play Guide, click on the related file link below! less To view the Play Guide, click on the related file link below!In Northeast Ohio, January chill usually freezes out December's holiday magic. But not this year! Cleveland Play House's fresh, fun and sexy new take on the ‘bewitching’ comic gem Bell, Book and Candle, will warm up even... more

David Kay Mickelsen on Costume Design: Costume Designer David Kay Mickelsen discusses how he and director Michael Bloom have used costumes to create a fresh and sexy new take on this ‘bewitching’ comedy classic!   Bell, Book and Candle is your 21st show at CPH! Lots of people will recognize your name, but probably don’t know much about you beyond your work. Tell us a bit about your path to costume design.   Well, I was raised on a farm in Oregon so it just seemed like a natural thing to do! (laughs)  But, I was always working with my hands, and doing various arts and crafts type things. I started in costuming with learning how to sew in high school—and I also learned how to knit back when I was in grade school! I went to Western Oregon University, on a music scholarship actually, but I was involved in theater.   I auditioned for Measure for Measure and got cast—as the Messenger with my one line. At the first rehearsal they told me about this thing called the Production Workshop and that you could go in and help with the costumes, set, etc. The director, Dr. Richard Davis, was also the costume designer and I thought “Well there is the man in the know.” So, I went in and built my costume for the show and then built two other peoples costumes and ended up being hired in the costume shop as my work study. I worked in [the costume shop] for my four years of school. By my second year of school I left the music program all together and ended up getting my degree in theater. And then I went on to do my MFA at California Institute of the Arts, and the rest is history!   What’s the first thing you do when designing clothes for a play? On the first read through of the script I’m already making notes of telling details: identifying words for the characters, the play, the time, the setting, etc. Also, I like to do a page-by-page entrance and exit plot. This way you have a better idea of who’s on stage and you’re able to look at your color and composition balance. So, the first read is basically gathering logistical information, but at the same time you get a good look at the story itself. Research also plays a big role in a designer’s process, right? What do you use for research? Absolutely. There is a lot of research, a lot of drawing…  I have a variety of research resources. Having done this for 30 years now my bookshelves are loaded with things from different decades. I have four eight-foot-tall bookcases that hold just my personal research library. So, on my 50s shelf I have old high school and college year books which give me great samples for what real people looked like and what real hair looked like. I had an old Aldens mail-order catalogue. I had Sears and Vogue and all those sort of things. And then I just went online and searched “1950s men” and just looked for pictures of ordinary people. When we were looking for research for Miss Holroyd we finally came to a character movie actress named ZaSu Pitts. I couldn’t think of who it was when Michael mentioned her and then I looked her up online and remembered I had used her for character research before. So, I have a very extensive collection for my own personal research for the ‘50s, but the internet really has changed many things. So what can we expect from the world of this production? Well, for Bell, Book and Candle you will definitely see things that are very much ‘50s, but we also wanted to make some choices that were very current as well. There is a way of looking at period clothes and just giving them a little “lift” to make them look a little more modern, and I knew that was what Michael was interested in doing. I did a fair amount of color scanning within old catalogues because color can give you a really good sense of period. There are a lot of colors that really embodied the clothes of the ‘50s that we still see a lot in clothing today.  Once you’ve identified those details, what’s next? Do these specifics tell us anything about the characters? Absolutely. Gillian is a perfect example because she has quite a journey throughout the play. She starts off in a very dark place: it’s Christmas Eve, she’s alone, and she’s realizing that she wants something more. So, she starts dressed in all black, but very chic—the material is very ‘sheeny’ and sleek, almost like a cat’s fur. Then, her next look is a very iridescent dark green dress that’s also very asymmetrical. So, we still have this dark and stern appearance, but the slight bit of green showing through—which could be thought of as a light coming through brought about by a new romance. And then in the last scene, Michael and I noticed that people keep telling Gillian, “You look different.” And Gillian keeps responding, “Different good? And I believe it is Nicky who says, “Well, I guess it depends on your point of view.” Basically what decided that her powers have been affected because she’s fallen in love. So we wanted something that was softer and gentler, perhaps even maternal or domestic. So, where we have seen these very sleek outfits earlier, we see in this scene something a little fuller, and softer in color. So everything is very text driven. Through the whole show, you really get to see her whole internal transition happen on the outside, too. You designed In the Next Room, which was in the Second Stage, last season. But this is the first show you’ve done in the Allen. Does the space affect your design?   Yes, working in the Allen will definitely change things for this process. You have to take in the proximity from actor to audience members. Even the angle and the lighting in the space make a difference. It changes the contrast against an actor’s skin, and contour on clothing. So I expect that working in the Allen I will have to change certain details and such. Any time you are working in a new space it’s about learning how that space affects your design.  You’re based in California, but we create these clothes in our Cleveland Costume Shop. Does the fact that you’ve designed for CPH so often change anything about the construction and fitting process? Nearly every person in that shop was working there when I designed my first show at CPH! For example: Claire Briggs, the Head Draper. There are some signature things that designers repeat a little, and I have certain shapes that I like that represent different characters and situations... When I make a pencil mark she knows what it means.  [Assistant Costume Shop Manager] Caroline Dickey has assisted me for many years. Jeffrey Van Curtis has worked with me for many years, even before he was Costume Shop Manager. [Stitcher] Kristine Davies and [First Hand] Christine Krysa know me and know that when I’m coming they are going to have some very fine fabrics and need a careful hand.  Being a ‘repeat offender’ at a shop, they have an understanding of what to expect before I get to town. And as a designer, when something doesn’t go the way you expect it you can figure it out because you are so used to each other. It’s absolutely terrific. less Costume Designer David Kay Mickelsen discusses how he and director Michael Bloom have used costumes to create a fresh and sexy new take on this ‘bewitching’ comedy classic!   Bell, Book and Candle is your 21st show at CPH! Lots... more

Modern Magic: “You know, I used to wonder when I was a kid why all the witches in history were always poor and miserable…” - - Nicky, BELL BOOK, AND CANDLE   Magicians are ordinary, well-educated, usually middle-class people. By some process, when they get involved with magic, they learn to find it eminently sensible. They learn to accept its core concept: that mind affects matter, and that in special circumstances, like ritual, the trained imagination can alter the physical world. Many non-magicians find that theory famous or false—even frightening.Modern magic is a mixture of many different activities and ideas: paganism, astrology, mysticism, the range of alternative therapies, even kabbalism. People practice as individuals or as members of groups which come and go in a fluctuating population, although some groups have stayed intact for decades.   The groups are astonishingly diverse. Practitioners think of themselves as, or as inspired by, the witches, wizards, druids, kabbalists, shamans, of mostly European lore, and they perform rituals and create ritual groups. They have two marked characteristics. First, they tolerate a surprising spiritual diversity. Central to the ethos is the notion that any path to a religion is a path to a spiritual reality, and whatever symbols and images one chooses are valid. Second, they practice what they call magic. They often describe themselves as “magicians,” perform what they call magic rites, and talk as if they expected those rites to have effects.   Magicians are ordinary, well-educated, usually middle-class people. By some process, when they get involved with magic, they learn to find it eminently sensible. They learn to accept its core concept: that mind affects matter, and that in special circumstances, like ritual, the trained imagination can alter the physical world. Many non-magicians find that theory famous or false—even frightening.   However, like the characters of Bell, Book and Candle, modern practitioners of magic may have good reason to keep their beliefs hidden. In the United Kingdom, a recent  University of Derby research poll analyzed data from religious groups, legal rulings and polls over a ten year period and found “substantial” discrimination. Especially affected groups include Muslims, members of new religious movements, and modern Pagans.   Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at the University of Derby, told Huffington Post UK that the team noticed a  “particular frequency and severity in the complaints relating to” Pagans and new religious movements: “There are many instances of discrimination against Christians, but the discrimination against new religions is more ‘in-your-face’, verging on hatred. […] For Pagans, many of them have kept their religion secret, for fear it would be misunderstood.” Likewise, a recent flap over a Pagan prison chaplain in Canada, and a recent story of a Louisiana woman who practices witchcraft being asked to hide her pentacle at her chiropractor’s office, all point to the fact that tensions and challenges remain for modern-day magicians.   Perhaps the continued fear of ‘witches,’ ‘wizards’ and the like has persisted over the centuries  because magicians maintain their jobs as civil servants, businessmen and computer analysts, often unnoticed—just as the rest of us. All people move between different parts of their lives with ease; modern magicians just move in different circles than what may be considered the ‘norm.’      Excerpted from Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft (Harvard U. Press, 1989), by T.M. Luhrmann and The Huffington Post UK article, “’Substantial' Religious Discrimination Affects Muslims, Pagans and Christian Sects, Research Finds” (9/18/2012) less “You know, I used to wonder when I was a kid why all the witches in history were always poor and miserable…” - - Nicky, BELL BOOK, AND CANDLE   Magicians are ordinary, well-educated, usually middle-class people. By some process, when they get involved with... more