The Belle of Amherst

William Luce William Luce’s My Business Is to Love starred American soprano Renée Fleming, with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom. Its joint New York/London world premiere at Lincoln Center and Barbican Centre was directed by Charles Nelson Reilly. Luce’s play Nijinsky premiered at Parco Theatre in Tokyo and was directed by John Tillinger. Luce’s Broadway hit Barrymore starred Christopher Plummer as John Barrymore and was directed by Gene Saks. Plummer won the Tony Award for Best Actor. Actress Judy Davis directed the Sydney Opera House production, starring Australian actor Barry Otto. Baptiste, Luce’s comedy on Molière, premiered at Hartford Stage, direction by David Warren. Luce wrote his Broadway and London success The Belle of Amherst for Harris, who won her fifth Tony Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson, with Reilly directing. The record album received a Grammy Award. IBM’s production of Belle won three Christopher Awards. Thames Television’s production of Belle, starring Claire Bloom with direction by Adrian Brown, won the International Emmy Award. For her portrayal of Isak Dinesen in Luce’s play Lucifer’s Child (directed by Tony Abatemarco), Harris received a Tony nomination. Harris also starred in Luce’s Brontë for WGBH (Elinor Stout directing) and Irish Television (Delbert Mann directing), garnering the Peabody Award and Columbia University’s Armstrong Award. Luce’s play Bravo, Caruso! celebrated the Cleveland Play House’s 75th anniversary and was directed by Peter Mark Schifter. It starred Joseph Mascolo and Joseph Sicari. Luce’s Chanel premiered at Parco Theatre in Tokyo, direction by Philip Wm. McKinley. Luce’s Off-Broadway The Divine Orlando featured The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, direction by Paul Lazarus. Luce’s Sound Portrait of William Shakespeare for NPR starred David Warner, David Dukes, Peter Donat, Arthur Hill, Julie Harris, Joan Hackett and Marian Mercer, with direction by Charles Marowitz for Paper Mill Playhouse. Luce wrote the libretto for the musical Sayonara, choreography by Susan Stroman, direction by Robert Johanson, lyrics by Hy Gilbert, music by George Fischoff. A later production by Theatre Under the Stars featured choreography by Tony Stevens and direction by McKinley. With composer Henry Mollicone, Luce wrote A Rat’s Tale for narrator, orchestra and children’s chorus. He was also a Writers Guild Award nominee for his two CBS movies: The Last Days of Patton, starring George C. Scott and Eva Marie Saint, direction by Mann, and The Woman He Loved, starring Jane Seymour, Anthony Andrews, Olivia de Havilland, and Julie Harris, direction by Charles Jarrott. Luce lives on the Oregon Coast.

Robert Rechnitz founded Two River Theater in 1994 and serves as the theater’s Executive Producer. In 2015/16, Two River premiered his play Lives of Reason, which he co-wrote with Kenneth Stunkel. An educator, writer, and director, he is one of New Jersey’s most esteemed theater leaders. Together with his wife, Joan, he established Two River Theater in 1994—a time when Monmouth County was the last major populated part of New Jersey without a professional regional theater. After producing seasons at Monmouth University and the Algonquin Theater in Manasquan, Two River opened a state-of-the-art, two-theater complex in Red Bank, designed by the renowned architectural firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, as the theater’s permanent home. He directed the opening production in the new building, the classic American comedy You Can’t Take It with You, in 2005. The other notable productions he has directed at Two River include Curse of the Starving Class (for which he received The Star-Ledger’s nomination for Best Director of a Comedy), True West, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, Thieves’ Carnival, Uncle Vanya, American Buffalo, and Barefoot in the Park. He received his Bachelor’s degree in theater arts at Northwestern University and his Master’s degree at Columbia. He earned his PhD from the University of Colorado and was a Professor of American Literature at Monmouth University for 35 years, contributing scholarly articles and short stories to various academic journals. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors, commendations, and accolades.

Harry Feiner is a set and lighting designer for theater, opera and dance who is returning to Two River for his 11^th production. His work includes many Off-Broadway productions, as well as LORT and regional productions, including designs for the Mint Theater Company, Peccadillo Theater Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, Pearl Theatre, The Directors Company, Missouri Rep, Virginia Stage, A Red Orchid Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, People’s Light, Olney Theatre, Studio Arena, Pittsburgh Public, McCarter, Capital Rep, Delaware Theatre Company, Geva, Premier Stages, George Street, Syracuse Stage, Theatre Virginia, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Pennsylvania Stage Company, New Jersey Rep  and The Actors Studio.  He has designed for Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Dance designs include Rioult Dance, Germaul Barnes’ Viewsic Dance and North Carolina Dance Theatre. He has designed opera for Central City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Lake George Opera, Florida State Opera, Pennsylvania Opera Theatre, Syracuse Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Fort Worth Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Manhattan School of Music. Exhibitions include several Prague Quadrennials including the upcoming PQ 2019, The World Stage Design Exhibition and USITT Design Exhibitions. Mr. Feiner has received grants from the Graham and Tobin Foundations and awards include nominations and awards received in Boston, Connecticut and Santa Barbara, and company commendations with the Pearl Theatre Company (Drama Desk and Obies). He also received a CUNY Chancellor’s Honoree for Excellence award. He teaches at Queens College, CUNY.

Andrea Hood returns to Two River, where she previously designed The Lion in Winter. New York Off-Broadway: Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet (The Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park); Love and Information (New York Theatre Workshop, Lortel nomination); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, The Comedy of Errors (Classic Stage Company). Regional: Huntington Theatre Company,  Williamstown Theatre Festival, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, PlayMakers Rep, American Players Theatre, Chautauqua Theater Company, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare. Upcoming: Tommy (Kennedy Center); Hercules (The Public Theater by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions). www.andreahooddesign.com

Andrew F. Griffin returns to Two River Theater where he previously designed the Little Shakespeare production of A Comedy of Errors. Recent credits include: Sweat at Asolo Rep, Nell Gwynn at the Folger Theatre, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and A Christmas Carol at Le Petit Theatre. Regional credits also include: Yale Rep, Delaware Theatre Company, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre. He is currently the Associate Lighting Designer for A Thousand Splendid Suns, which premiered at American Conservatory Theater and has traveled to The Old Globe, Seattle Rep, Theatre Calgary, and The Grand in Canada. Andrew has two Helen Hayes Awards (DC) and a Big Easy Award (New Orleans). He is a member of USA 829, and graduated from Yale School of Drama. AFGlighting.com

Charles Coes is happy to be returning to Two River where he and Nathan have designed The Electric Baby, On Borrowed Time and Third. Off-Broadway: Tales of the Washer King (Playwrights Realm), Servant of Two Masters (TFANA), Robber Bridegroom (Roundabout), For Peter Pan… (Playwrights Horizons), Natural Shocks (WP Theater), Macbeth and Julius Caesar (Acting Company). Regional: OSF, Milwaukee Rep, Yale Rep, Seattle Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, South Coast Rep, The Old Globe, Guthrie, Shakespeare Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson, Wilma Theater, Berkeley Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Ford’s Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, the Huntington. He has also designed Puppet UP! at the Venetian in Las Vegas; robotic and aquatic spectaculars for Royal Caribbean; and collaborated on installations with artists Ann Hamilton, Abelardo Morell, and Luis Roldan. He teaches at the Yale School of Drama and has worked as an associate on many Broadway shows including Peter and the Starcatcher (Tony Award-winning Sound Design), The Great Comet of 1812 and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Nathan A. Roberts is happy to be returning to Two River, where he and Charles have designed The Electric Baby, On Borrowed Time and Third. Off-Broadway—WP Theater: Natural Shocks; TFANA: The Servant of Two Masters; The Acting Company: Julius Caesar, Macbeth; The Playwrights Realm: Crane Story, Dramatis Personae; HERE: Olives and Blood. Regional—Oregon Shakespeare Festival: The Way the Mountain Moved, Sense and Sensibility; Baltimore Center Stage: Fun Home, The Christians, Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Dallas Theater Center/Guthrie Theater: Sense and Sensibility; The Old Globe: Tokyo Fish Story; Ford’s Theatre: The Widow Lincoln, Our Town; Yale Rep: Assassins, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Servant of Two Masters; Hartford Stage: Twelfth Night, The Tempest; Long Wharf Theatre: It’s a Wonderful Life. Other—designs and builds musical instruments, with a special emphasis on flutes and hurdy-gurdies. Education—MFA, Yale School of Drama. Teaching—Director of Undergraduate Studies, Theater Studies, Yale University.

Previously designed wigs for The Belle of Amherst, Dancing at Lughnasa, Pericles and Absurd Person Singular at Two River Theater. Broadway: Once on This Island, Sunday in the Park with George, In Transit, Eclipsed, Side Show, After Midnight, Fela, AView from the Bridge. Off-Broadway: In the Blood, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World(Signature Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Shakespeare in the Park). Tours: Fela (National Tour), Fela (European Tour), Dirty Dancing. Television: Emmy nominated for makeup design for NBC’s The Wiz Live.

Larry Copeland is very happy to return to Two River Theater during these challenging times. Previously he was part of the Stage Management teams for Twelfth Night, Oo-Bla-Dee, Lives of Reason, and Henry V. Broadway: Leap of Faith; Off Broadway: Exit Strategy; In Canada: Lion King, I Am My Own Wife, Evangeline, Anne of Green Gables, Two years of touring with Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia through the US, Canada, and China. Larry would like to thank Sue, Sybil, and CC for all their love and support.