the Miser
by Moliere translated by David Chambers

Directed by Eric Lewis
Produced with permission of Dramatists Play Service

The Cast

Michael Gene McFadden      as      Harpagon

James Lynch     as    Clèante

Susan Connors     as     M Simon, Police Officer

​ Steve Judy    as    Valère

Melanie Calderwood     as     Frosine

Anne Elizabeth Olsen   as   Marianne

 Caitlin Frances    as   Elise

 Karen Hendrickson    as   La Flèche

 Keith Remon    as   Master Jacques

Curt Simmons    as   Ansemle 


The Crew

Eric Lewis, Director
​
Amanda Costinett, Stage Manager

Craig Marshall, Lighting/Sound Designer & Operator

Ian Wight, Superhero, Temp-Stage Manager, Tech Operator

Jim Thompson, Set Design & Construction 

Elizabeth Shipman, Costumer

Susan Connors, Set Dresser

Lauren Kottwitz, Stacey Lynn Gilbert & Renee Gilbert,  House Managers

Matty Sythandone, Ticketing Admin

Tracy Cahill, Managing Director

​Melanie Calderwood, Artistic Director

Michael Gene McFadden/Harpagon
You may remember Michael as the creep in The Foreigner. He is pleased to return to the Phoenix stage to play another creep. In fact in American Buffalo at Red Curtain, his last production, he also played a creep. It appears his career is going through a "stage".
Michael has been on hiatus since 1/19. Traveling, brain surgery, skiing and the pandemic took up much of his time. His one performing outlet was creating and posting music videos (over 40) for Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater Virtual Open Mic, each Friday with his bandmates. You can find them on the website or on his Facebook feed.
Michael thanks his major partners in crime Mel and Eric for so many amazing opportunities. His cast mates for playing with him. His daughters, grandkids and great grandson for their love and support. And most importantly, our incredible audience members. Welcome back!!

Susan Connors/Mme. Simon; Police Chief
​A regular here, Phoenix audiences may remember her most recently in Wild Women of Winedale, Wonder of the World, Inspecting Carol,  & numerous others over the past 12 seasons.. She has also appeared locally with Woodinville Rep, Ballyhooo, Twelfth Night,  Red Curtain, Eclectic Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Bathhouse Theatre, and Tacoma Actors Guild among others. Although her TV credits age her, she confesses to appearances in Archie Bunker’s Place, Mrs. Columbo and Northern Exposure. She is a regular performer with the nationally syndicated radio drama series Imagination Theatre. She shares a special bond with Mel's pygmy goat, Forrest.

Caitlin Frances/Elise
Caitlin has worked in the Greater Seattle Area with Live Girls!, Macha Theater Works, The Village Theatre, Sound Theatre, Balagan Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Seattle Musical Theatre, Arts West, SecondStory Repertory, Centerstage Theatre, Harlequin Productions, Seattle Public and many others over the years. Caitlin can be heard portraying Dena Rising in the radio mystery series Phoenix Rising and enjoys singing in the Sugartime Trio with Meg McClinn and Kim McGuire. Caitlin’s hobbies include bike riding, wrangling her teenage kiddo, gazing lovingly at her husband, and perfecting the art fine art of Punning. 

Anne Elizabeth Olsen/Mariane
Anne is delighted to make her debut at the Phoenix with such a fun show! She was last seen onstage as Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest at Red Curtain. Past shows include Everything in the Garden (Jenny), and Fruits of the Harvest (Lucy), both with the Edmonds Driftwood Players. Anne excels at purchasing new books rather than reading the ones she already has at home. Love to MDLK&J, and thanks to Eric, Amanda, and the wonderfully talented cast and crew. Hooray for live theater! 

James Lynch/Clèante
James is beyond thrilled to be back at the Phoenix, working with such a wonderful cast and crew. Previous Phoenix credits include "Women in Jeopardy", "Ripcord", "It Could Be Any One of Us" and "The Underpants". During the extended break he had a couple employment changes and completed more video games than he is proud of. Special thanks to my wife for being so patient while I had no rehearsals to occupy myself.

Keith Remon/Master Jacques
Keith was last seen on stage with Phoenix's 24 hour play festival. He has appeared in numerous plays throughout his over 30 years in theatre.   He has performed locally as Elwood in Harvey, Freddie in Noises off and Duncan in Leading Ladies.  Keith can also be seen as Dwayne in the 2018 movie Chased. 

Karen Hendrickson/La Flèche
Karen is beside herself that she is finally able to perform on an actual stage. After two years of zoom performances, it almost doesn’t seem real. Before Covid she enjoyed performing at Sky Performing Arts in Monroe and CCT in Duvall. Her favorite roles include Lucy Van Pelt in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Mrs. Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, and Lily St. Regis in Annie. She lives in Duvall, WA with her husband, two daughters, a Dobalope (ask me what it is…) and two Frenchies (you can’t just have one!). When she isn’t onstage, she enjoys being a Lunch Lady at Cedarcrest High School.

Steve Judy/ Valère
Steve grew up in a small town in West Virginia, but moved to Seattle after getting his degree in Acting Performance! His favorite roles consist of Christopher from Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Peter in Peter and the Starcatcher. Steve also directs children’s theatre, once starring as Scar in The Lion King Jr., because all the kids thought it would be funny for him to dress up in a homemade lion costume… which he did.

Curt Simmons/Ansemle
Curt has had two acting careers, each separated by many years in the field of telecommunications. Most recently, he could be seen in several previous Phoenix productions including Wonder of the World, It Could Be Any One of Us, and The Underpants. On various other stages in the Seattle area Curt has appeared in Becky’s New Car, The Last Romance, and California Suite, plus a handful of pandemic lockdown Zoomies. Curt is also an award-winning audiobook producer and narrator and studies acting at Theatre 9/12. Ever the curious lad, when he was five Curt was playing where he shouldn’t have been and found a plastic baby bottle with something inside. He removed the cap, put his finger inside the bottle, and was bitten by a small animal which turned out to be a shrew, untamed of course. Curt cites this as the moment he knew he was bound for Theatre. He is thrilled to be performing live again at the Phoenix.

Melanie Calderwood/Frosine
Welcome back!   Melanie has been doing theater for about 300 years, or maybe it just seems that way, and Hollywood has yet to call.  She did get a part in Z Nation but the part was cut before rehearsals began.  When not on the stage she is a nurse, or tries to act like one, at Evergreen Health Care.  She lives with an extended family consisting of 3 Pygmy goats, 3 dogs and 2 cats.  All of them are more talented than Melanie.  Smucket, the goat is a published author and Sadie the dog is an actress.  The rest are really cute. Although they are glad that she has a hobby, after seeing her sing and dance to Dua Lipa, they strongly suggest that she stay away from musical theater.  They send their love to their favorite lunch partner, Aunt Susan Connors, who can actually sing and dance.

Eric Lewis/Director
Eric has been directing a long time. Other interests include sleeping, eating and watching television shows about Bigfoot. His daughter, Olivia (an avid gamer), plays trombone for the Snohomish High School Marching Band. Vicki, his wife, often accompanies him to rehearsal to help him stay sane. He didn’t like Disco when it came out but now he thinks it’s ‘Bitchen’.
‘Enjoy the show and thank you Melanie for letting me direct once again.’

Amanda Costinett/Stage Manager
​Amanda is a stage manager who has done a whole lot. In her spare time, she watches tiktoks and texts friends. Amanda enjoys tacos of all kinds, whether they be from Taco Bell or Holo Taco.  She would like to thank her family and friends and you as this wouldn’t happen and look a little weird without an audience.

Craig Marshall/Lighting and Sound Designer
Craig spent several years as a chef before becoming a stay-home dad. It is wholly due to his sons’ interest in music and theatre that he came to appreciate and get involved behind the scenes. When not in the theatre, Craig enjoys travelling abroad, going to baseball games, trying new foods, and spending time with his family and trio of black cats. Fun fact: For a stint in the early 90’s Craig worked in a travelling carnival.

Ian Wight/Temp Stage Manager, Tech Operator
We want to take a moment to say a huge THANK YOU to Ian who stepped in to serve as our temporary stage manager and tech booth operator for this show. Ian has served as the Stage Manager in many Phoenix Theatre shows like Wonder of the World and The Wild Women of Winedale and has acted in our Summer Shorts and Inspecting Carol last holiday season. 

Tracy Cahill/Managing Director
Orphaned by a plane crash in the Himalayas, Tracy was raised by tigers near the banks of the Ganges. When she was young, she dreamed of growing up to be a mermaid. All things considered she is happy with the way things have turned out.

​Tracy graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with the degree in Theatre. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and bird watching. You may have seen her at the Phoenix recently as “the blubbering blonde giving the curtain speech" in the Wild Women of Winedale or as the gun-wielding home intruder Molly in Female of the Species. She lives for scary movie season. 

Jim Thompson/Set Design and Construction
Over the last few years Phoenix Theater directors have asked me to create a wide variety of styles
and looks for sets.  These sets included looks of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, English and Germanic settings, 
contemporary and modern American, elegant, countryside and rustic....even a grave yard!  And now this. 
I want it to be clear that EVERYTHING you see on set was intentionally done to look this way.  I was asked to create 
a look and mood of 'careless and cheap'. Really!  I hope the work I have done, along with Susan Connor's set 
decorations allows that feeling to be present. Boy, I sure felt like that once I decided I was done. Ok then, 
just wait and enjoy what this cast can do to compliment the ambiance of the set. 
​

A Huge Round of Applause for our incredible donors, without whom we truly would no longer exist. This show is for all of you, your family, your friends, and the entire community who has been there for the Phoenix Theatre.

Alan Marx
Amelia Peabody*
Amy Colombana
Asa Sholdez
Barbara Peterson
​Bernard Garton
​Brenda & Mike Carrithers
Brenda Brown
Brian Albright
Carol Pearson
Caroline Cook
Christa Barke
Christine Bell
Cristina Jensen
Cynthia Shaw
Danica Larsen
Dean Wingfield
Don Henry
Donald Haff*
Doreen Harwood
Eldridge McFadden
Eric Lewis
Erin Nihei

George Gough
Greg G Deer
Ian Wight
Joanne Love
Karen & Tom Jurewicz
Karl Spang
Kathi Swanberg
Kathie Brodie
Kevin Mukhar
Krista Love
Lawrence & Virgina Cooper
Lisa Powell
Liz Osborne
Lou Ann Ochiltree
Lynda Walrath
Lynn Nixon
Mark Murdock
Martin Cayford
Mary Beth Walsh
​Mary Kay Voss
Megan McDermott
Megan Pasternak

Melanie Calderwood
Michael Gene McFadden
Mickie Gundersen
Nan Butler
Peggy Kurtz
Robert Kono
Roberta Chang
Ronald Goss
Ryan Hurey
Sandra Distelhorst
Sharon Cordisco
Sharon Lynch
Shawn Donnelly
Sheila Mulligan
Stephanie Suereth
Susan Connors*
Susan Deaton
Susan Shephard
Tiersa Helwig
Victor Chriest
​W.D. Barnum​

*Indicates Season Sponsor

Coming Soon ...

Inspecting Carol
​by Daniel Sullivan
​Directed by Tracy Cahill
Get your holiday cheer on with this hilarious, madcap comedy!
(*Back by popular demand!)
Behind the scenes of a struggling theatre’s annual clumsy production of A Christmas Carol, rehearsals are at a standstill. Tim is no longer Tiny, Scrooge wants to do the play in Spanish (Feliz Navidad), and their funding is on hold pending an inspection. To top it off, a man who asks to audition for the show is mistaken for an informer for the National Endowment for the Arts. Everyone caters to the bewildered wannabe actor, and he is given a part in the ill-fated production. Everything goes wrong and hilarity is piled upon hilarity. This laugh out loud spoof makes for a night at the theatre that is anything but show business as usual.

"I laughed till I cried [...] Sheer comic genius." - Journal American
"Hundreds of jokes …about anything that strikes the author's sardonic fancy." - Seattle Weekly
"A razzle dazzle of funny characters and ingenious jokes." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"A Dickens of a giggle." - The Seattle Times
Produced with the permission of Samuel French, Inc

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