2006-2007 Season: Nixon's Nixon

 

David Pichette (Richard Nixon) is delighted to be returning to the Rep to recreate one of his favorite roles. He was last seen here as the unflappable Mr. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. In addition, Rep audiences may remember his portrayals of Ivan in ‘ART’, Felix in The Odd Couple, and for those with long memories, Nicola in Arms and the Man. Though appearing frequently in regional theatres across the country, David has spent the bulk of his career in the Seattle area, performing at ACT Theatre, Intiman, Empty Space (R.I.P.), and the Fifth Avenue Theatre, among others. In the last year, he has been Mr. Apopolous in Wonderful Town, Gribble in Room Service, Mazzini in Heartbreak House, and, for the eighth time, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Later this spring, David will be in David Hare’s Stuff Happens, a play about yet another reprehensible president.

Peter Van Norden (Henry Kissinger) is happy to make this ninth appearance with San Jose Rep, where audiences might remember him in Moonlight and Magnolias as Ben Hecht, and Major Barbara as Andrew Undershaft, for which he was recognized with a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Male Performance. Peter most recently played the title role in the world premiere of The Flying Karamazov Brothers’ adaptation of Don Quixote at San Diego Rep. He was also seen in the role of The Judge in David Mamet’s courtroom farce, Romance, also at San Diego Rep. In Los Angeles, he appeared in The Wasps  inaugural production at theGetty Villa and The Wild Party at Blank Theatre Co. He has appeared at most regional theatres across the country, including The Guthrie, Berkeley Rep, The Globe Theatre in San Diego, Intiman Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and Laguna Playhouse. Mr. Van Norden was nominated for an Ovation Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in Dinah Was at International City Theatre, Long Beach, and won the very first Backstage West Garland Award for best performance in Joe Orton’s Loot. In his native New York, he has appeared in Hamlet with Kevin Kline, Jungle of Cities with Al Pacino and on Broadway in Saint Joan with Lynn Redgrave and Little Johnny Jones with Donny Osmond. Film/T.V. includes leads opposite Oscar® winner Jodie Foster in The Accused, as Steve Guttenberg’s partner in Police Academy 2, the Stephen King mini-series The Stand and dozens of T.V. shows, including recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote and L.A. Law.

Michael Taylor (The Marine) is a senior at Mount Pleasant High School. As a Cadet Major in the Marine Corps JROTC program, he is Executive Officer and a Platoon Commander. Starting as a freshman in 2003, Taylor was a part of the Exhibition Drill Team. From 2005 to present he has led the Drill Team as Exhibition Drill Commander. Taylor is familiar with the stage and spot light. He competitively performs slam poetry, competing with MACLA in San Jose, and Youth Speaks in San Francisco and Oakland. In 2006 he was invited to perform in Los Angeles at the release of Kip Fulbeck’s book, Part Asian, 100% Happa. Taylor was accepted to San Francisco State University, and plans to major in Journalism.

Russell Lees (Playwright) studied play writing under Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. His play, Nixon’s Nixon, was transferred Off-Broadway after its initial run at the MCC Theatre in NY. Mr. Lees has had several plays produced in his native Salt Lake City as well as in Los Angeles and Boston. These include The Cast of the Blue Narcissus, The Shepards Play, The Foggiest Notion, Monday Night Football, and Lost Scene from Cyrano. Mr. Lees also works in the CD-ROM multimedia industry and recently served as writer and Creative Director for The Dark Eye, an interactive game based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

Michael Butler (Director) is delighted to return to San Jose Rep where he directed The Haunting of Winchester, Mary’s Wedding, Side Man, Desire Under the Elms, Twelfth Night, and the original production of Nixon’s Nixon. He also appeared on stage in seven Rep productions, many under the direction of Artistic Director Timothy Near. Favorite roles include Francois, the philandering Frenchman in Wintertime, and Cliff, the ballroom-dancing nerd in Wallflowering, his first job at San Jose Rep back in 1996. He co-composed music and lyrics with Bay Area blues artist Chris Cain for Thunder Knocking on the Door, which opened San Jose Rep’s new theatre in 1997, and contributed music to several Rep productions as well as serving as the Rep’s Literary Manager and publications writer from 2000 to 2004. His directing work has also been seen at Marin Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, San Jose Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Seattle Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, and The Juilliard School, of which he is a graduate. As an actor, Michael appeared on and off Broadway, in film and television, and theatres around the world. In his career as a performer, he has also danced with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company and played guitar and harmonica in many rock, blues, and country western bands at all the notable dives in NYC. He recently co-wrote two songs with recording artist Holly Near, which can be heard on her latest CD, Show Up. Michael is currently in his first season as Artistic Director of Center REP in Walnut Creek, where he directed Around the World in 80 Days, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Marriage of Figaro.

Scott Weldin (Scenic Designer) designs for San Jose Rep include The Immigrant; 2 Pianos, 4 Hands; Enchanted April, Rounding Third; A Flea in Her Ear;  Communicating Doors; Cole!; Nixon’s Nixo; Anna Christie; Blithe Spirit and Lonely Planet. He has designed over 230 productions for theatres around the country including Arizona Theatre Company, the Alley Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Alliance Theatre, the Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Intiman Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, People’s Light and Theatre Company, Tacoma Actor’s Guild, Missouri Repertory Theatre and George Street Playhouse. His design for Geoff Hoyle’s one-man show, Feast of Fools, was seen Off-Broadway at the Westside Arts Theatre in New York. Scott passed away in April, 2006.

B. Modern (Costume Designer) is delighted to return to the Rep. Previous productions include Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Christmas Story, The Immigrant, Hannah and Martin, Bad Dates, Rounding Third,Mary’s Wedding, Humpty Dumpty, ‘ART’, Las Meninas, Ctrl+Alt+Del, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Award and Dean Goodman Choice Award), Enter the Guardsman (Dean Goodman Choice Award), The Drawer Boy, Side Man, Having OurSay, Desire Under the Elms, Over the Tavern, Legacy, Three Days of Rain, Mizlansky/ Zilinsky, Cole!, Old Wicked Songs, Nixon’s Nixon, The Lady’s Not for Burning, Wallflowering, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Sylvia, Mirandolina, Redwood Curtain and The Caretaker. She is an Associate Artistic Director at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, where she has received four DramaLogue Awards, and is an Associate Artist at Geva Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. Other regional theatre credits include productions for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Globe Theatres, Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Magic Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Center Repertory Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Sacramento Theatre Company, and American Musical Theatre of San Jose. Opera credits include productions at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Opera San Jose. B. shares a home and studio in Santa Cruz with several cantankerous cats.

Kurt Landisman (Lighting Designer) is pleased to return to San Jose Rep to design Nixon’s Nixon for Michael Butler. Kurt was the Rep’s Resident Lighting Designer for the second and third season in the 80s. He then moved to San Francisco Opera to serve as the Assistant Lighting Designer for three years. Since then, he has gone on to design at practically all of the local theatre companies in the Bay Area, including ACT, Berkeley Rep, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Center Rep, Theatreworks, and California Shakespeare Festival, among others. Locally, his work has garnered 15 Bay Area Critics Circle Awards and five LA Drama- Logue Awards. His lighting designs for playwright Sam Shepard included the world premieres of True West and Fool for Love. Nationally, his work has been seen at many regional opera and ballet companies, including the Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, Virginia Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Ballet Arizona. His designs have also been presented off-Broadway, represented at Circle Rep, and the Douglas Fairbanks Theatres. Other designs, internationally, include premieres of plays by Sam Shepard in Japan and Singapore; the San Francisco Opera in Shanghai, China; and the Moscow Circus in Tokyo, Japan.

Jeff Mockus (Sound Designer) is now in his 13th season as Resident Sound Designer for San Jose Repertory Theatre, with over 60 production credits. His work for both Old Wicked Songs and Mary’s Wedding earned Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Awards. He was also awarded Dean Goodman Choice Awards for By The Bog of Cats..., ‘ART’, and Major Barbara. He served three years as Director of Sound for PCPA Theaterfest, while teaching for their technical conservatory and designing over 40 productions. He is also a lecturer for UC Santa Cruz’s Theatre Arts Department. Jeff has designed for ACT, Berkeley Rep, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, The Western Stage, Center Rep, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, The Huntington Theatre, Missouri Rep, San Diego Rep, Sledgehammer Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Jeff is currently working on a world premier musical, Tracy’s Tiger, for Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Laxmi Kumaran (Production Stage Manager) is enjoying her second season at San Jose Rep. Before moving to San Jose, Laxmi spent nine years in Chicago stage managing for a variety of theatres including the Goodman Theatre and the Court Theatre. Some of the directors with whom she has had the pleasure of working are Timothy Near, John McCluggage, Jonathan Moscone, Michael Butler, Robert Falls, Mary Zimmerman, JoAnne Akalaitis, Robert Woodruff, Karin Coonrod, Gary Griffin, and David Cromer. Laxmi has taught stage management classes at Northern Illinois, DePaul, and Northwestern Universities and currently teaches at UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State University.

Bruce Elsperger (Casting Director) is in his 13th season as Casting Director at San Jose Rep. He has stage managed the Rep’s productions of Making Tracks, Mary’s Wedding, The Wind Cries Mary, Aliens in America, Love in the Title, Communicating Doors, Old Wicked Songs and The Lady’s Not For Burning, among others. Mr. Elsperger stage managed for eight seasons with A.C.T. where his credits include Home, Oleanna, The Duchess of Malfi, Nothing Sacred, Golden Boy, Right Mind, A Christmas Carol, Cyrano de Bergerac, Learned Ladies and Hecuba. He was Production Stage Manager with Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, the Bathhouse Theatre and a western U.S. tour of The Big Broadcast, as well as at PCPA TheaterFest. He has appeared onstage at the Rep in roles in Anna Christie and Desire Under the Elms. Mr. Elsperger’s directing credits include The Dying Gaul, A Breeze from the Gulf, Bag Lady, A Streetcar Named Desire and A Tribute to American Musical Theatre. He is also Resident Casting Director at New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco, and has cast several independent productions in the Bay Area.