MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS
DAN BUTLER (Ben Hecht) Dan happily returns to the Cape Playhouse after a nearly 20-year hiatus (All My Sons 1987). A multi-talented actor, writer, producer and director, Dan is probably best known for his stint on “Frasier” as the sportscaster “Bulldog”. Dan’s one-man show, The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me…, garnered critical acclaim across the nation including Drama Desk and Outer Drama Critic’s Circle nominations during its Off-Broadway run. Other Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include: Twentieth Century; Lisbon Traviata; Old Money; True West; The Widow Claire; and Biloxi Blues to name a few. TV credits are numerous. Films include: “Fixing Frank”; “Enemy of the State”; “Clowns”; “Silence of the Lambs”; and “Manhunter”. He is currently editing his own film “Karl Rove, I Love You”, and is at work on a new play.
BRAD OSCAR (David O’Selznick) recently played the devilish Mr. Applegate in Arena Stage's production of Damn Yankees in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He created the role of deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in Mel Brooks' The Producers, and went on to play the role of Max Bialystock on Broadway, on tour and in London's West End for over 1,000 performances. He garnered a 2001 Tony nomination for his portrayal of Franz and a Best Actor award from the Independent Reviewers of New England for his performance as Max. He appeared in the original Broadway casts of Jekyll and Hyde and Aspects of Love, and toured with both shows, as well. Other theater credits include several editions of Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway in New York and LA, the Encores! production of Do Re Mi, and Santa in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular in LA and Branson. He recently directed and performed in the Broadway by the Year 1968 concert at Town Hall in Manhattan. Film appearances include The Producers, Building Girl and Rydal Park, as well as television appearances on Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. A graduate of Boston University's College of Fine Arts, Brad also taught musical theater techniques at Marymount Manhattan College.
MARK ZIMMERMAN (Victor Fleming) Broadway: The Rainmaker; Shenandoah; On the 20th Century; Brigadoon; and Face Value. 1st National Tours: Mamma Mia! and Kiss of the Spider Woman. Regional and Off-Broadway: A Little Night Music (Joseph Jefferson Award); Moonlight and Magnolias; Paper Moon; Olympus on My Mind; 110 in the Shade; and 1776. Television: “Law and Order” (including Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit); “Conviction”; “Central Park West”; “Murphy Brown”; “Ed”; “One Live to Live”; “As the World Turns”; “General Hospital”; and “Another World”. Film: “The Thomas Crown Affair”; “A Price Above Rubies”; “Dash and Lilly”; “Claire Dolan”; “The Giraffe”; “For Love or Money”; and “Bonfire of the Vanities”. Mark is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association where he currently serves as 1st Vice President.
KATHEL CARLSON (Mrs. Poppenghul) is a graduate of AMDA and a veteran of stage and (TV) screen. A friend dragged her to her first New York audition on the spur of the moment where, having no music with her, she improvised a chorus of “Swanee” and, in a single shot, won the roles of Ado Annie in Oklahoma; Sally Bowles in Cabaret; Rosemary Pilkington in How to Succeed…; Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie; Amy in Where’s Charley?; and Agnes in I Do, I Do in a single season of stock! She has subsequently performed the roles of Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress; Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing; Emily in Our Town; Molly Brown in The Unsinkable…; Dora in Fiorello; Myrtle in Mornings at Seven; Sister Robert Ann in Nunsense; Pistache in Can Can; Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello Dolly!; Mother in the original production of George Wolfe’s Paradise; Melissa Gardner in A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters; and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? among others. Her directing exploits include Waiting in the Wings by Noel Coward; Once Upon a Mattress; Blythe Spirit; The Dining Room; Into the Woods; and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In addition to all this, she made, between 1970 and 1995, just over 200 network television commercials for everything from Pampers to Dr. Pepper, Sara Lee Cake to Reynold’s Aluminum foil, Hall’s Mentholyptus to Ice Blue Secret, and along with her husband, Jim, raised one perfect son smoothly to adulthood which is no small accomplishment in today’s world! She is an avid gardener and an accomplished painter.
JAMES BRENNAN (Director) Jim has created productions of Sound of Music for the Pittsburgh CLO; Call Me Madam at the Goodspeed Opera house; On Your Toes; Noises Off; Don’t Dress for Dinner; and A. R. Gurney’s The Dining Room at the Cape Playhouse on Cape Cod and She Loves Me at the Paper Mill Playhouse. This past year he directed the Off-Broadway premieres of Ed Dixon’s musicalization of the ribald 16th century novel “Fanny Hill” at the York Theatre and Richard Corey, based on the A. R. Gurney play of the same name, at The Lion Theatre on 42nd Street. He has also directed the Paper Mill’s productions of Noises Off; Sound of Music; and Crazy For You (which was televised on PBS), as well as a Where’s Charley? in Wichita; 42nd Street; and Hello Dolly! in Sacramento; C4U in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Westchester, and Wichita, and She Loves Me in Philadelphia and Maine. On the Broadway stage he set the revivals of Cole Porter’s Jubilee and Jerome Kern’s Sally. He has, over the years, in various stock and dinner theatres, directed and choreographed productions of Chicago; Cabaret; The Merry Widow; The Unsinkable Molly Brown; Bells Are Ringing; George M; The Apple Tree; Kiss Me Kate; and High Button Shoes, among others. As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway in Good News; Rodgers and Hart; So Long 174th Street; I Love My Wife; Little Me; 42nd Street; Singin’ In the Rain; Me and My Girl and Crazy For You. He toured America in No No Nanette; Good News; Me and My Girl; Camelot; and Crazy For You. Jim has performed the role of Elyot Chase in Noel Coward’s Private Lives at the Alley Theatre in Houston; Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady in Philadelphia, Sacramento, Wichita, and Winnipeg; Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the Portland Center Stage (Oregon) and the Dallas Theatre Center; Arthur in Camelot in San Diego, Sacramento, Philadelphia (Barrymore nomination); and at the Paper Hill Playhouse; John Adams in 1776 in Sacramento, Rochester, and Philadelphia (Barrymore Award); and The Devil in Damn Yankees in Sacramento. When he’s been directing for a while, he misses acting….and vice versa.
DANIEL MEEKER (Set Designer for Moonlight and Magnolias and The Rink) Dan’s scenic designs include: The World Goes Round and Wait Until Dark at the Cape Playhouse; The Blue Room and I Am My Own Wife at the Hangar Theatre; and The Consul and Owl Creek at Ithaca College. Scenery and lighting credits include: Noodle Doodle Box at the Geva Theatre; Tony & The Soprano and The Drawer Boy at The Kitchen Theatre; and The Soup Comes Last at the 59E59 Theatre. Lighting design credits include: Bill W. & Dr. Bob at the New Rep; Auntie & Me at the Merrimack Rep; The Magic of Christmas 2005 for the Portland Symphony Orchestra; The Blowin of Baile Gall at the Irish Arts Center; the Lepers of Baile Baiste at the Phil Bosakowski Theatre, The Korean Contemporary Dance Showcase 2006 at the Kaye Playhouse of Hunter College; Cool Wave Dance Festival 2006, The Dumbo Dance Festival 2005 and The Dumbo International Dance Festival 2005 at the White Wave Performance Space in Brooklyn; and American Landscape for the Nai Ni Chen Dance Company at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Dan was the resident lighting designer for The Cape Playhouse from 1995-1999. Upcoming productions include scenery for Hello Dolly! at the Hangar Theatre and lighting for the Off-Broadway production of Bill W. & Dr. Bob. Projects outside of theatre include: designs for Barbara Israel Garden Antiques and designing custom residential light fixtures. Dan is a graduate of The Yale School of Drama and Ithaca College and is a member of United Scenic Artists.
PAUL FAVINI (Costume Designer) began designing costumes 20 years ago and has executed designs for over 80 productions. Theatres such as The Gateway Playhouse on Long Island, The Palace Theater in Myrtle Beach, The Kravis Center in West Palm Beach and the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts have all displayed Paul’s work. This is his third production at The Cape Playhouse having designed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1999 and Communicating Doors starring Rue McLanahan in 2001. As an Assistant Professor of Costume Design at the University of Florida, he mentors both undergraduate and graduate students and serves as the School’s Design/Technical Area Coordinator. At home Paul shares his life with Natalie Reger, Britton Reger and John Reger who always remind him that there’s real life out there.