By Samuel D. Hunter
October 26 – November 18
Directed by Nathan Motta
2011 OBIE Award for Playwriting
2011 Drama Desk Nomination for Best Play
In the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho, someone is summoning The Rapture. Will, a disgraced Evangelical who has fled his rural hometown, comes to the Hobby Lobby not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, his brooding teenage son whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. He joins the ranks of the blue-vested employees, a comedic set of misfits struggling to find their way. Samuel D. Hunter’s dark but deeply empathetic comedy won the 2011 OBIE Award for Playwriting and the 2011 Drama Desk Nomination for Best Play.
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Artists
Tom Woodward* (WILL) the role of Will in “A BRIGHT NEW BOISE” marks Tom’s fifth appearance with Dobama in recent seasons. Previous roles include John Dodge, a lost soul seeking human connection in “MIDDLETOWN”; Nicky Giblin, a boisterous and drunken man-child in “THE SEAFARER”; Dwight, the meek and forgotten brother who haphazardly finds love in “DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE”; and the mysterious, malevolent Mr. Dart in the ”THE RECEPTIONIST.” A native of the rural outskirts of Topeka, Kansas(is that redundant?) and a graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in Theatre, he continued his pursuit of acting in Chicago, studying at Second City and landing roles in small theaters. He then focused his sights in the land of fame and fortune, and spent nearly a decade pursuing film and television work in Los Angeles, with only moderate success. A recurring role on the daytime drama GENERAL HOSPITAL, several respectable stage roles in Equity-waiver theaters, a handful of film roles and three unsold television series pilots collecting dust on a shelf in a Production Office are basically what remains on paper. The dawn of the millennium brought him back to the midwest where he work successfully as a regional theatre actor in Kansas City and the surrounding region until settling in Cleveland nearly seven years ago. After a gradual integration into Cleveland’s thriving theatre community, he has been fortunate to work consistently in productions with Cleveland State’s Summer Stages Repertory Company, the Beck Center for the Arts, and Cleveland Public Theater, as well as Dobama. He is thrilled to be a part of the regional ensemble of artists working in Cleveland. He is a very proud member of *Actors’ Equity Association.
Kristy Cruz (PAULINE) is elated to return to the Dobama having first been seen as Grace in last season’s Tigers Be Still. A graduate of Ashland University’s Musical Theatre Performance Program, favorite roles include Mrs. Walker in Tommy, Marian in The Music Man, Penny in Urinetown, Svetlana in Chess (Near West Theatre), and Baker’s Wife in an InConcert reading of Into the Woods (Mercury Summerstock). She will also soon begin her 10th year as Choreographer for Solon High School’s annual spring musical. Kristy would like to thank Nathan for this opportunity, her family for their constant support, and her friends and extended theatre family for always believing in her.
Kim Krane* (ANNA) is thrilled to be making her DOBAMA debut. She last appeared at the NY Fringe Festival in ‘The Mirror Show’. Regional credits include: Virginia Galilei in ‘The Life of Galileo’, Anya in ‘The Cherry Orchard’, Monica in ‘Present Laughter’, Aggie Wheeler (U/S) in ‘Game’s Afoot’ (Cleveland Play House), Alice in Closer (Knockabout Theatre), and Ellen in ‘Little Dog Laughed’ (Whole Art Theatre). Krane is a recent graduate of the Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program and has her BA in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University. She currently lives in New York City. Many thanks to Nathan Motta for the opportunity, Stephen for the unending support and love, and her Cleveland family for making it wonderful to return.
Brian Devers (LEROY) is an unaccomplished actor who has always lived on the east side of Cleveland. He has been seen most recently in Convergence Continuum’s MilkMilkLemonade, CPT’s Big Box in Chaos Theory, CPT’s Springboard Art and Werewolves, and John Carroll’s Pippin (Charles). This is his first show at Dobama.
Andrew Deike (ALEX) is proud to be making his Dobama Theatre debut. He is a recent graduate of the Case Western Reserve University Theatre and English undergraduate programs. Andrew has appeared on the Eldred stage in Love’s Labours Lost (Berowne), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Valmont), and Our Town (Constable Warren). He also studied at the British American Drama Academy in the Fall of 2010.
Nathan Motta (DIRECTOR) is currently the Associate Artistic Director at Dobama Theatre and is the Founding Artistic Director of the Dobama Emerging Actors Program. A professional director, conductor, and composer/lyricist, Mr. Motta has worked with Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Opera Cleveland, Ohio Light Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Opera Rochester, and Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh). Nathan’s has written two original musicals; Little White Gloves (an adaptation of the movie All I Wanna Do which premiered in February 2010) and Midsummer (based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which premiered in October 2012). His recording of the operetta Der Vogelhändler with the Ohio Light Opera was released on the Albany Records label. He acted as Assistant Director on Cleveland Play House’s productions of Brecht’s Galilieo and Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, a collaborative production with the Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Motta will also be music directing upcoming CPH productions of A Carol for Cleveland and Bell, Book, and Candle. Other directing credits include Antigone; Blood Wedding; The Tempest; Our Town; Almost, Maine; Pippin, Into the Woods; A Funny Thing…Forum; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Chicago; and Fiddler on the Roof. He holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music.
*members of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States appearing under a special appearance contract
