Porters April Newsletter... →

Featuring info on our Facebook Live reading of Gus Krieger’s Breaking Bard, a compilation vid of many of us (myself included) reading “Now entertain conjecture of a time…” from Henry V, and more.

Arms and the Man has been Canceled

At this point, it felt inevitable - but I received confirmation this morning that the run of Arms and the Man at The Jewel Theatre Company has been canceled. While I’m very disappointed, it’s had plenty of time to sink in.

I will miss the chance to reencounter Shaw; I will miss getting to play the fabulous role of Bluntschli; and I will miss the exciting opportunity to return to Santa Cruz after so many years. There is hope that the show will be rescheduled - not for next season, but for the following - if so, this wonderful opportunity will come back around. I hope all works out so that I get to play it.

James Bohnen, who directed me in Man of Destiny at APT, is one of the leading Shaw experts working in the American theatre. When I told him I had been cast as Bluntschli, he sent me his working copy of Arms. It has both his notes and Shaw’s. It’s incredible. Here’s hoping I get to take full advantage of it one day.

Hamlet Has Closed Early

Three days early, to be precise. Closing weekend canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Found out yesterday morning - tough day - difficult to close something without knowing your closing it. My dear friend, Brian Mani, reminds me that plague often closed the Globe. He’s right, of course. And I count my blessing in that I got most of the run. Others are losing entire contracts. Ours is an industry especially vulnerable to the need for social distancing. That said, of course: health and safety must be the top priority.

As of now, Arms and the Man is still on. Very hopeful it stays that way.

The rest is silence… photo by Brynn Yeager

Up Next: Arms and the Man

Excited to announce my next gig: I’ll be playing Captain Bluntschli in Shaw’s Arms and the Man with the Jewel Theatre Company in Santa Cruz, CA. The production will be directed by Nike Doukas.

I loved playing Napoleon in Man of Destiny last year at APT. Both Destiny and Man were first published in Shaw’s Plays Pleasant in 1898. Destiny director James Bohnen and text coach Susan Sweeny really opened the world of Shaw to me and I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to encounter his work so soon after discovering a love for it.

A huge thank you goes out to director Art Manke who recommended me to Nike for the production. Without his good word, I would not have had the opportunity.