A THOUSAND CLOWNS Opens 5/15 At Intiman Theatre

Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. Tickets range in price from $40 to $55, with discounts available for youth, seniors and groups. All patrons who were 12 years old in 1962 will receive $12 off the adult-ticket price, with proof of age. Patrons 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. Pending availability, rush tickets will be sold 15 minutes before curtain for $20. Intiman will offer a pay-what-you-can performance (with a $5 suggested minimum per ticket) on Friday, May 22 at 8 pm. This production is recommended for ages 12 and up. 

Playwright Herb Gardner made his Broadway debut with this 1963 comedy, a tribute to an unconventional family in a deeply conventional time, which won a Tony Award nomination for Best Play and was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film. Set against the backdrop of live children’s television, A Thousand Clowns takes place in 1962, when the agents of Eisenhower-era conformity first began to clash with the free-thinkers who would one day change the world. Sari Ketter, who staged Intiman’s acclaimed 2008 production of The Diary of Anne Frank, directs.

The production features Matthew Boston as Murray, an anti-establishment New Yorker, and Nick Robinson as his nephew Nick, a 12-year-old genius who brings “The Man” into their lives when he writes a school essay on the advantages of Unemployment Insurance. The cast also includes Bradford Farwell (Albert Amundson), Tim Hyland (Leo Herman, aka “Chuckles the Chipmunk”), Julie Jesneck (Sandra Markowitz) and David Pichette (Arnold Burns).

The creative team includes scenic designer Nayna Ramey, costume designer Marcia Dixcy Jory, lighting designer Marcus Dilliard, sound designer Joseph Swartz, dialect coach Judith Shahn and ukulele coach John Ackermann. The New York casting is by Janet Foster, C.S.A. and the stage manager is Kandra L. Payne. Ramey and Dilliard previously worked at Intiman on The Diary of Anne Frank.

Herb Gardner won the 1986 Tony Award for I’m Not Rappaport and was a 1992 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Conversations with My Father, both of which had their world premieres at Seattle Repertory Theatre before moving to Broadway, and both of which starred Judd Hirsch. In 2000, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers Guild of America. He died in 2003 at the age of 68.

Sari Ketter was a longtime member of the artistic staff at The Guthrie Theater. She has directed at The Guthrie and at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the Great Lakes Shakespeare and Idaho Shakespeare Festivals and many other theatre and opera companies around the country. She made her Intiman debut with The Diary of Anne Frank.

Matthew Boston made his Intiman debut last season as Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. His regional credits include The Seafarer at George Street Playhouse, The Beard of Avon and The Invention of Love (American premiere) at American Conservatory Theater, and the world premiere of Donald Margulies’ adaptation of God of Vengeance at ACT in Seattle.

Bradford Farwell previously appeared at Intiman in Richard III and The Grapes of Wrath. He is currently playing Dr. Henry Jekyll in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at ACT. Other local credits include productions at Seattle Repertory Theatre and Seattle Children’s Theatre.

Tim Hyland performed at Intiman last season in A Streetcar Named Desire. He has been seen in 21 productions at Seattle Children’s Theatre and 30 productions with Bathhouse Theatre Company, and is on the steering committee of 14/48: The World’s Quickest Theatre Festival.

Julie Jesneck made her Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll. Off-Broadway and regional credits include Cherry Lane Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Trinity Rep and others. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

David Pichette is currently performing in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at ACT. Recent work includes Twelfe Night at Seattle Rep, Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 with Seattle Shakespeare Company and Pharaoh Serket and the Lost Stone of Fire at Seattle Children’s Theatre. He made his Intiman debut in The Last Unicorn (1988) and most recently appeared here in Heartbreak House (2006).

Nick Robinson returns to Intiman after appearing here as Jem Finch in the American Cycle production of To Kill a Mockingbird in 2007. Other credits include Mame at 5th Avenue Theatre (Young Patrick) and three seasons of A Christmas Carol at ACT (Turkey Boy), as well as many productions with Broadway Bound.

Conversations and Events

Spotlight Supper - Wednesday, May 13 at 6 pm - Free event

The public is invited to hear Sari Ketter talk about the play and watch a tech rehearsal.

Conversations with Intiman Staff and Artists

There will be free post-play conversations on Tuesday, May 26; Friday, May 29; Saturday, May 30 (matinee); and Thursday, June 4; Intiman’s bar will remain open during the discussions. 

 ‘Round Six Happy Hour - Friday, June 12 beginning at 6 pm - Free with ticket

Intiman hosts a free pre-show happy hour with hors d’oeuvres, drinks and live music.

Intiman Theatre Fact Sheet

A Thousand Clowns
By Herb Gardner
Directed by Sari Ketter

Intiman Theatre continues its 2009 Season with Herb Gardner’s comedy, which was nominated for the Tony Award and the Academy Award for its film adaptation. Set against the backdrop of live children’s television, A Thousand Clowns takes place in 1962, when the agents of Eisenhower-era conformity first began to clash with the free-thinkers who would one day change the world. Murray Burns and his 12-year-old nephew Nick are an unconventional family in this deeply conventional time. When Nick writes a school essay on the advantages of Unemployment Insurance, their home life is investigated by a psychologist and a social worker from the Child Welfare Board — and Murray is forced to choose between rebellion and responsibility.

For more information about the production, including complete biographies of the company and the creative team, visit www.intiman.org.

Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center

First Performance: Friday, May 15 at 8 pm

Pay What You Can: Friday, May 22 at 8 pm

Closing: Wednesday, June 17 at 7:30 pm

Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. All patrons who were 12 years old in 1962 will receive $12 off the adult-ticket price, with proof of age.

Tickets range in price from $40 to $55, with discounts available for youth, seniors and groups. Patrons 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. Pending availability, rush tickets will be sold 15 minutes before curtain for $20. Intiman will offer a pay-what-you-can performance (with a $5 suggested minimum per ticket) on Friday, May 22 at 8 pm. This production is recommended for ages 12 and up.

There will be no performances on Saturday, May 23 or Sunday, May 24 due to Folklife Festival.

Seasonal support for Intiman Theatre is provided by ArtsFund; Intiman Theatre Foundation; Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation; The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and Washington State Arts Commission.

Intiman Theatre gratefully acknowledges the following major donors for their institutional support: The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Ameriprise Financial, ArtsFund, The Boeing Company, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, John Graham Foundation, Hafer Family Foundation, Intiman Theatre Foundation, Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Nesholm Family Foundation, The Norcliffe Foundation, PONCHO, Safeco Insurance, The Shubert Foundation, The Seattle Foundation, U.S. Bancorp Foundation, and WaMu. Additional funding is received from Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, City of Seattle; 4Culture; Metropolitan King County Council; National Endowment for the Arts and Washington State Arts Commission.

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