Jarrod Emick (Danny Miller) has appeared in multiple Broadway productions including Ring of Fire, The Boy From Oz (opposite Hugh Jackman) The Rocky Horror Show, Miss Saigon (Chris); Les Misérables (Enjolras) and Damn Yankees, for which he won the 1994 Tony, Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards. He has also appeared across the Atlantic as "Jerry" in London's West End version of The Full Monty at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Television audiences will most likely recognize Mr. Emick for his work on "L.A. Firefighters" (FOX), "Andersonville" (TNT), and "Pacific Palisades" (FOX).
MATTHEW LOMBARDO (Playwright) returns to the Cuillo Centre after having had enjoyed a four month run of Tea at Five starring Kate Mulgrew three years earlier. That production, which earned Mr. Lombardo the 2002 IRNE Award for Best Solo Play, had its World Premiere at Hartford Stage followed by a successful run Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre. The play continues to tour the country, having played well over 1000 performances nationwide and has just debuted internationally with a Finnish speaking production in Helsinki, Finland. Mr. Lombardo's other Off-Broadway credits include directing the hit comedy End Of The World Party by Chuck Ranberg at the 47th Street Theatre; Mother and Child at Second Stage Theatre; and Guilty Innocence at The Actors' Playhouse, serving the latter two productions as both Playwright and Director. Regionally, he has directed the 20th Anniversary production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy at the American Stage Company and the West Coast Premiere of Mother and Child starring Tony Award-winning actress Ann Wedgeworth at the Coast Playhouse. Having written for the television series Another World, Mr. Lombardo garnered a 1993 Writer's Guild Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement. Other plays include The Kennel Club, House of Atreus, Trolls, and he is currently writing a new drama entitled High.
Rob Ruggiero (Director) In addition to Mr. Ruggiero's freelance work, he is the Associate Artistic Director of TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut where he has been a key partner in its Artistic Partnership since 1992. Recent projects at TheaterWorks include a production of The Little Dog Laughed (starring Chad Allen) and conceiving and directing an original musical revue entitled Make Me A Song: The Music of William Finn, which had a successful run off-Broadway last year as well as a recent London production. The production received nominations for both the Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Review" and the Outer Critics Circle Award for "Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical." His work was first seen Off-Broadway as director of All Under Heaven (starring Valerie Harper), which toured regionally and had a critically acclaimed run in Los Angeles. In 2005 Mr. Ruggiero conceived and directed the highly successful Ella, a musical portrait of Ella Fitzgerald (starring Tina Fabrique), which continues to play major theaters nationally with productions scheduled into 2009. Mr. Ruggiero's work on both plays and musicals has been seen at many regional theaters around the country, including Arena Stage, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, Barrington Stage Company, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arizona Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theatre and The Asolo Repertory Theater, among others. Last season he directed a highly successful revival of 1776 for Goodspeed Musicals, where later this year he will direct a production of Big River. He is the recipient of two Kevin Kline Awards, for both "Best Director of a Musical" (Urinetown: The Musical) and "Best Director of a Play" (Take Me Out). An online portfolio of his work can be viewed at www.robruggiero.com.
NOTES FROM PLAYWRIGHT MATTHEW LOMBARDO:
Someone mentioned if I had ever thought of writing a play about Tallulah Bankhead. My response was immediate and negative. I mean, having just spent the last few years of my life with The Great Kate, the last thing I wanted to do was to write another play about yet another famous actress. But I was rather intrigued why the question had been posed. It was soon explained that there evidently was this 1965 audio tape floating around of Tallulah Bankhead in a looping session for the film Die, Die My Darling.
Suffice it to say -- my curiosity was soon peaked. And after listening to that recording (and despite my early objections) I was simultaneously catapulted into hysteria and overcome with melancholy -- for hearing the laughter and pain of a woman who had lived such an outrageous life, a self-indulgent existence of excess -- had me questioning my very own life as well. And it was at that moment I soon began drafting LOOPED.
Human nature always continues to fascinate me. Why do so many of us instinctively attempt to sabotage ourselves, causing conflict and chaos when all is seemingly moving in positive directions? Do we think we are unworthy or undeserving of success? Or do we need to infuse self-inflicted drama in order to make ourselves feel more alive in our everyday living? I suppose questions like these may never get answered but they are certainly worth exploration. And in the case of Tallulah Bankhead, my investigation led to one hell of an unforgettable ride!
Photo by Craig Schwartz
