Dear Microsoft Word:

I’m a simple man. I don’t ask for much. Many moons ago, when I was but a wee dramaturg, I mindlessly accepted that many of the words I wanted to type—not the least of which, my last name—were unrecognizable to you. In an act of faith, I moved on from the acute sense of unacceptance, right-click on the infamous red squiggles which underlined my words of choice, and in an act of defiance, clicked “ignore.” By the time I got to college, I grew braver still, skipping past “Ignore” on the drop down menu and added words to the Microsoft Word dictionary. I accepted for a long while that the words I typed were beyond your recognition. “My language is just too academic,” I assured myself.

But today is the day the right-clicking and ignoring stops.

“Why,” you ask? What could bring a reasonable intern such as myself, a lover of language, to such an adamant refusal? The outrage began when my colleague, Directing/Producing intern Sarah Wansley, dropped off an article on “Shavian Style” for our Mrs. Warren’s Profession Audience Resource Guide with our Literary Manager, Carrie Hughes. As an introduction to her article, Sarah observed that besides “Shakespearean,” “Shavian” is the only adjectival form of a playwright’s name that Microsoft Word recognizes.

Impressed and amused by Sarah’s discovery, Carrie shared this information with my officemate, Producing Associate Adam Immerwahr, and me. Ever the skeptic, Adam opens up a blank document in Microsoft Word and begins challenging Sarah’s claim. “Pinteresque!” he exclaims while typing furiously, only to be defeated within seconds when the red squiggly line, the ultimate sign of failure, appears upon his screen. From our respective desks, Carrie and I wrack our brains for playwrights with well-established names and sufficiently distinct styles to warrant such recognition. “Wildean!” I shout as I reach for our list of classic playwrights, determined to find at least one more, while Adam, turned to the Greeks. “Sophoclean?” Fail. “Euripidean?” Fail. “Aristophanean?” Fail. We move on. “Pirandellan.” “Marlovian.” “Sondheimesque.” Fail. Fail. Fail. “Brechtian!” I declare triumphantly before turning to Adam and Carrie, eager to have them affirm my discovery. But no. Fail. I brush it off. What should I expect from a program that doesn’t even recognize verfremdungseffekt?

Distraught but relatively unscathed, I look up to the shelves next to my desk which hold archival binders for plays previously produced at McCarter. Then, I see it, there out of the corner of my eye, A Seagull in the Hamptons, Emily Mann’s adaptation of Anton Chekov’s play: “Chekhovian!” The suspense is almost unbearable (is Adam typing slower than before?) but then…yes! Chekhovian is the third, and, it seems, final adjectival form of a playwright’s name your program accepts. Victory!

Or is it?

What kind of world do we live in where only three playwrights are deemed worthy of their own adjective? Not Brecht? Not Sondheim? Not August Wilson? Not a single writer who isn’t white, male, and, at the time of this blog entry, less than 148 years old? Not a world I want to live in, Microsoft. Not a world I want to live in.

And thus, the right-clicking continues, name by name, eagerly awaiting the day I can type “Aphrabehnian,” “Wassersteinian,” “Zimmermanic,” or “Vogelian” without so much as a second thought.

Impatiently yours,

Patrick McKelvey

Literary Intern
McCarter Theatre

Ming Cho Lee

Calling A Christmas Carol Set Designer Ming Cho Lee a prolific and talented theater artist is a bit of an understatement. Born in Shanghai, Ming originally moved to the States in 1949 to study art at Occidental College in L.A.. After falling in love with theater and receiving an M.F.A. in design from U.C.L.A., Ming’s career skyrocketed when he became an apprentice to designer Jo Mielzner. Only six years later Ming designed his first Broadway show, The Moon Besieged. Since then, Ming has designed over 20 Broadway shows including Mother Courage and her Children, King Lear, The Glass Menagerie and For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf and worked with McCarter’s own Emily Mann on the Broadway production of her play, Execution of Justice. Interestingly, Ming’s designs have often received critical and popular acclaim even when the shows themselves did not: Ming often jokes that he has “more Broadway flops than anyone!” With such an illustrious career, one may wonder how McCarter was lucky enough to snatch him up for A Christmas Carol. As McCarter Resident Stage Manager (and resident Christmas Carol expert) Cheryl Mintz tells the story, Ming was thrilled to design A Christmas Carol because despite the abundance of Christmas Carols across the country, no one had ever asked him before!

Ming’s set, which had its debut at McCarter over a decade ago, lives in four 48-foot trailers parked outside of the McCarter Shops during the off-season. Each year the Production department spends four whirlwind days loading in the set before A Christmas Carol technical rehearsals begin; the first two days of load-in alone require 35 people working from 8am to 10pm. Check out Adam’s blog from last year about the intense installation process. The set has four motorized units: Scrooge’s Bedroom, the Counting House, the Cratchit’s table, and Fred’s piano. There are also 14 scenic elements that fly in or out and 34 speakers throughout the theater. When the Counting House unit was originally built by a scene shop in Philadelphia, it weighed approximately 6,000 pounds. A few years ago the McCarter scene shop rebuilt the top of the unit with lighter material and shed 1,000 of those pounds. Loading the set is only the beginning of the Production department’s work—it takes 16 crew members to run the show each night.

Ming designed the set with a forced perspective, so that the units look deeper than they actually are. The outside of Scrooge’s house (which flies in), for example, has 11 vanishing points (this is when parallel lines appear to converge to simulate depth - check out Wikipedia for a demonstration). The original drawing was so detailed, the McCarter scene shop chose to print out the drawing actual size and build it from that. Ming’s use of perspective is also evident in the city backdrops, which feature St. Paul’s dome. He used a stock image of London from WWII as his source and broke the image into three parts for three separate drops. If you look closely, you can see what appear to be dirty piles of snow near the bottoms of the buildings—in the source image, these mounds were actually piles of debris from bombings during the war. Every year, audience members comment that the set appears to slant to one side. Have no fear, the McCarter scene shop did not accidentally create the next leaning tower of Pisa, Ming actually designed nearly everything in the set to slant in order to represent Scrooge’s skewed view of the world. Thanks to Chris Nelson (technical director), Steve Howe (stage supervisor) and Bill Kirby (sound engineer) for the fun facts about the production! Study up and you’ll do well on the upcoming A Christmas Carol trivia quiz!

Posted by Sarah Wansley, Directing/Producing Intern at McCarter Theatre.

Cheryl Mintz

Five things I am especially enjoying this, my 15^th year, as the Supervising Stage Manager for McCarter Theatre’s A Christmas Carol:

1] Dermot Crowley: I have probably watched every scene of the play either rehearsed or performed over 800 times (imagine watching the same film 800 times?), but Dermot is forcing me to listen all over again.  With his fresh interpretation and the delivery of dialogue in a new way.  I thought I had heard the words every way possible, but Dermot has found new ways to make me to laugh and touch my soul.  There is one moment in the first office scene that with only a well-placed pause, Dermot lands a specific moment in a totally new way.  I can’t believe no other prior Scrooge has thought of doing it that way!

2] James Ludwig:  Having played Fred and the Undertaker from 2000-2003, he was whisked off to Broadway, where he spent 4 years with Spamalot before returning this year as Bob Cratchit.  Jimmy is a company leader, our AEA deputy, and loves being back at McCarter so much.  He brings so much joy with him every time he walks through our rehearsal hall doors.  It is a pleasure watching him navigate Cratchit, and he is so good with the children.  He mentioned at our first read-through how, though being in a successful Broadway run is amazing, he always thought of and missed being at McCarter for A Christmas Carol during the holidays.  It seems that every actor who is a part of this production takes something very special in their heart away with them.

3] Anne O’Sullivan: Back for her 7^th year as Mrs. Fezziwig, Mrs. Stocks and the Laundress after taking last season off, Anne has the most extensive woman’s role, and if you don’t see her onstage, you can bet she is changing her costume somewhere in the wings.  Anne walked in this year with her inspiring love of life.  Anne has had the same Palmer Square apartment during all her appearances at McCarter, which is better known as her “love shack” where she has had wonderful holiday memories with her husband over the years!

4] The Young Ensemble: Never in my 15 years have we seen such a large turnover in our Young Ensemble of 14 local children.  With 10 new children, it has kept all of us on our toes re-experiencing the process as we lead the children through it.  Danny Hallowell is back for his 6^th year in the company at the ripe old age of 10!  What a pleasure to have watched him progress from 3 seasons as Tiny Tim, one season as the Beggar Boy (as he was too big to play Tim and too young for the other boys roles), last year landing the scene perfectly as Turkey Boy and now in his touching portrayal of Boy Scrooge.  I am especially looking forward to Kalyn Altmeyer (Martha Cratchit) achieving her 100^th performance in the production, a milestone that an actor can reach in their 4^th year with the production.

5] Our Director Michael Unger: Michael and I have collaborated for 11 years heading up McCarter’s production of A Christmas Carol.  (And celebrating the birth and watching the growing up of our respective children.)  I love my yearly call to Michael in August announcing that it is Christmas Carol time as we set up and plan for the Young Ensemble auditions.  I love seeing his face when he walks into the rehearsal room for First Rehearsal and the space is transformed, especially for his production.  I love making the journey with him as he guides the new and alumni company members through the rehearsal process and then I wait for yet another new and creative idea pop out of his brain.  I love how he lets me set the schedule and then directs whatever I put in front of him each day!  I love collaborating with Michael!

Posted by Cheryl Mintz, Resident Stage Manager at McCarter Theatre and Supervising Stage Manager of A Christmas Carol.

Mrs. Dilber. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Dear me, but I was in such a rush to get back home to make Mr. Dilbers tea I almost forgot what day it was, and that I had to wait to open the door for Mr Scrooges laundress, to deliver her washing back to us.(Oh but she rather frightens me I must admit, shes a tough old bird scrounging and spitting.) Imagine what could have happened if Mr Scrooge were to find no nightcap under the left hand pillow on this bed! Well, there’s my job in a flash, and where could I go then, at my age, what with Mr Dilber and my brother Herberts daughter Sarah, all depending on me for meat and bread and coal? To say nothing of my dear brother Herbert himself, who has the fits coming on too often now, making his living as a “cats meat man” more of a strain on him than ever. it’s a shame really, as he is so clever with his call:

“The best Newington butts, an cheerful giver
A bushel and a peck or an I suppose,
Nothing sorry and sad, for your cats Jim Skinner all for an abergavenny wrapped in a Linen draper”!!!*

And he looks so cheerful and gay with his purple and red and yellow ribboned trousers, and the green plumed hat I made for him 15 years ago, when he first started.

The small packet we’ve been receiving from the Ladies Aid has been reduced to almost nothing now. I thank heaven above for the blessing of my work, though my dear John says he can tell from my hands, as he holds them to his cheek, how tired I must be at the end of the day, and what a shame Mr Scrooge cannot give me a day of rest now and then, except of course for Christmas Day!

*The best guts or a nose
Nothing bad for your cats dinner
All for a penny, wrapped in a newspaper”

Posted by Mrs. Dilber, played by Lisa Altomare in McCarter’s Production of A Christmas Carol.

Ned Noyes

Of the many perks playing Fred and the Undertaker, chief among them is this: once those pixies of Christmas Past take over, my characters have yet to be born. Read: I am not required to participate in that highlight of Act One, that gorgeous celebration of life, that intensely choreographed and massively energetic dance at the Fezziwigs. This is something for which both my cast mates and Princeton audiences alike should be grateful, as the last time I attempted a jazz square it resembled an R & B rhombus.

The other side of this equation is that I find myself with colossal chunks of time on my hands, especially on weekends when it’s basically all-Fezzi, all the time. While those revelers are being flung about the stage and icing their ankles, one of these lazy Sundays finds me sleeping in, making late breakfast and taking advantage of the multitude of channels in my apartment. And I become suddenly, painfully aware that I am honestly invested in “Pet Star.” Yes, “Pet Star.” I won’t go into details for those unfamiliar with the show, suffice to say that if you can’t hear that brazen an alarm to get off the couch, nothing will move you. Get that muu muu to match the upholstery and be done with it.

So, wresting myself from the siren call of “Wazoo the Cockatoo” (seriously), who did impressions of other animals (seriously), I begrudgingly laced up to explore some of those handsome Princeton trails.

I won’t bore you with details, but being on those trails, the early winter air forcing my lungs to open up, and nothing to listen to but the silence of my own thoughts was precisely the environment I needed for thinking through a problem—something I’m certain wouldn’t have happened with dear Wazoo doing his best whippet.

Just before I started writing this entry, I was flipping through the new Entertainment Weekly (judge away), and they’re featuring Robert Downey Jr. as “Entertainer of the Year” (a choice I wholeheartedly endorse, by the way … but Gossip Girls at #4? Seriously? ). I’ll quote from Benjamin Svetky’s profile, “After doing just about everything humanly possible to destroy a once-promising career - including spending the better part of a decade in courtrooms and even jail cells - he’s finally fulfilling his potential.”

In that moment, I newly realized that a marvelous (and chilling) part of Scrooge’s awakening occurs as he reflects on just how much of his life has been not only a list of poor choices, but also a life left unrealized. Put aside the saving of his own soul for just a minute, and imagine the effect this powerful man might have had on others’ lives in the months, years, decades before this night. Dickens hints pretty strongly that Scrooge may indeed be the author of Tiny Tim’s fate, but just how many other lives that once held alternate endings have already had their fates sealed by Scrooge’s unrealized potential?

What if Scrooge hadn’t been warned by Marley to pay attention to the Spirits? What if Robert Downey Jr. hadn’t gotten his stuff together? What if I had stayed to the bitter end of “Pet Star”?

Well, for one you wouldn’t be reading this. So there: solid proof that animal impressionists and trashy magazines (and a good blast of winter air) can lead to new realizations. Phew. Now I’ve earned my Top Chef marathon.

Posted by Ned Noyes, who plays “Fred” and “The Undertaker” in McCarter Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Dermot Crowley and Matthew Kuenne. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski.

Once again, we’re mounting A Christmas Carol with a new Scrooge.  Acclaimed Irish actor Dermot Crowley (who appeared in Translations both at McCarter and on Broadway) will be donning the whiskers to play Dickens’ miserly and misanthropic role.  We’re utterly thrilled to have this internationally renowned actor in our Holiday production, it’s a great joy to have him back in the building again.

In addition to Dermot’s countless international stage credits (including roles at Long Wharf, Manhattan Theatre Club, London’s West End and The Royal National Theatre), he’s also appeared in several TV shows (Bleak House, MI5, The Sculptress and Father Ted are just a few of them) and many films, including The Legend of Bagger Vance, Octopussy, Babel, and, of course, The Return of the Jedi.

What was that?  Oh yes, you heard it right, Dermot Crowley was in Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi.  In case you were raised by wolves, and have only seen the movie a few times (perish the thought), I’ll remind you.  Dermot played General Madine, the Alliance officer who announces that the rebels have captured the Imperial Shuttle that will go to the forest moon of Endor to destroy the shield generator that protects the second Death Star.  Got all that?  Apparently he had several more scenes in the original movie, but they got light-sabered out during the editing process.

Dermot Crowley action figure

Dermot Crowley LEGO action figure.

Of course, the exciting thing about this is that it means there are Dermot Crowley action figures.  Which, to the best of my knowledge, sets him apart from all the other venerable actors who have played the role at McCarter.  You can find some of them here.  But maybe my favorite one is the LEGO Dermot Crowley (pictured at left).  You just can’t make this stuff up.

I’m trying to convince Hannah, our company store manager, to sell some of the action figures during intermission for A Christmas Carol. You’ll have to come to see the show to find out if she does!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Mrs. Dilber. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

This morning, Mr Dilber woke me early, a full hour before my usual four am, as he’d just had the most “very real” dream of Christmas! Imagine that as it being just the 17th of November! He had such a sweet smile on his face, and held my hands in his as he recounted to me the goose and oyster stuffing and roast potatoes, and pudding, and all our children back home, oh my mouth waters even now in the recounting of it. He held my hands and smiled in such a way as I’ve not seen since the accident, quite like he was in our younger years, or our young John did when he was a boy and marked the days on his hands and toes towards that great festive day. I believe my dear John’s other senses have become more keen, since that awful day that robbed him of his sight four years ago now in that awful factory .Though of course we are thankful for the rays of light he reports he can see at certain hours in his left eye. My father told me “don’t marry a man who works in a tannery Lizzie, the extra money ain‘t worth becoming a widow over”" but of course by then it was too late, how could I not fall in love with John Dilber, the smilingest young man I’d ever met? And of course those gay blue eyes?

Yes, this morning just thinking of our Christmas to come made my dear John smile again, and made me smile this morning as I made my way along Borough Road past Kings prison and across Southwark bridge to Mr Scrooges, I didn’t even mind the damp and found myself humming a little song celebrating our savior’s birth as I ducked under the awning at Freed’s poulterers on Leadenhall street, having almost reached my place of employ before the real torrent of rain hit. Of course being even a half minute late was not in question! Mr Scrooge would let me go quicker than a mouse on cheese–so I bustled as quickly as I could all the way along St Marys, (the sole of my boot appreciating it as the hole I’d hoped I’d just imagined was soggily announced as real by the foot of my stocking). As it turns I was even early (oh my John loves to tease me “Mrs Elizabeth Dilligent,”- its true, I’ve never been late to anything in my life, if I’m only five minutes early I think I’m late!. I had more than enough time to put a piece of newspaper in my boot, while boiling the water for Mr Scrooges tea and gruel, the memory of my Johns sweet smile warming my heart.

Posted by Mrs. Dilber, played by Lisa Altomare in McCarter’s Production of A Christmas Carol.

Dae.l Orlandersmith

Long time McCarter Associate Artist Dael Orlandersmith has been awarded the coveted Whiting Award which carries a prize of $50,000.  The awards are given by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation for writers of exceptional talent.  Dael is the only playwright in this year’s field of recipients that includes 2 poets, 3 writers of fiction and 1 writer of nonfiction.

McCarter audiences will remember Dael from her stirring performances in her plays The Gimmick and Yellowman.   Yellowman, a McCarter commission, became a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has been widely performed in this country and abroad.

Over the years Dael has been a frequent participant in McCarter’s annual June artists’ retreats where she so generously shares her talents as a writer and actress in communal readings with the groups of emerging and established writers.  It was at one of these retreats that her other talents were made manifest to us…that of a culinary goddess and wine connoisseur when she prepared her legendary country gumbo with all the trimmings for a retreat evening get-togethers.

Dael is currently in Africa where three of her plays are being performed.  All of us here at McCarter send a big congratulatory shout-out across the seas to our good friend and colleague.  Way to go, Dael!

Posted by Grace Shackney, Director of Artistic Administration at McCarter Theatre

At the beginning of the season, Emily Mann sat down with me to film a series of short videos on all the plays in our season.  Though we only have two of the videos out, so far they’ve received over 2,500 views (and counting), so obviously it’s something that folks want to watch.  So here’s the third video, on Emily’s production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession, which stars the magnificent Suzanne Bertish (yes yes, you heard it first on the blog!!). Enjoy.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Every year, McCarter’s production staff throws a pumpkin-carving celebration in the shops.  The production staff decorates the place and invites the entire staff to come over and carve their pumpkins (possibly with power-tools)—it’s the networking event of the season.  It can be kinda intimidating to carve a pumpkin next to a bunch of skilled artisans (especially with power tools), but it’s always a great event. The production staff always decorates the shop—this year they turned the A Seagull in the Hamptons dollhouse into a spooky haunted house, and projected the dead-body outline from Herringbone onto the floor as you walked in the door.

Matt Pilsner, one of McCarter’s stage carpenters, is also a brilliant photographer, and he took a bunch of great pictures of the event last night, which he’s agreed to let us feature on the blog.  You can find the rest of the photos on Matt Pilsner’s website.

Enjoy your spooky Halloween Treat!!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

A Seagull in the Hamptons’ dollhouse as spooky decoration. Photo by Matt Pilsner.

Samantha Flint, Stage Management Intern, with her pumpkin pie. Get it?. Photo by Matt Pilsner

A special celebratory pumpkin. Photo by Matt Pilsner.

All of the spooky pumpkins. Photo by Matt Pilsner.