written by Jeffrey Hatcher
directed by John Heimbuch
May 18 – June 2, 2012
Minneapolis Theatre Garage
In the flamboyant reign of King Charles II, London’s most renowned leading lady is a man named Edward Kynaston. But when royal decree puts women onstage and Kynaston finds his role reversed, he must learn to adapt to the times. Can England’s first actress help him become the man he never was? The battle of the sexes takes to the stage in this regional premiere by acclaimed local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher.
Cast
Production Team
| edward kynaston | Wade A. Vaughn | director | John Heimbuch |
| margaret hughes | Jane Froiland | set | Rob Jensen |
| thomas betterton | Sean Byrd | costumes | Katherine B. Kohl |
| king charles II | Erik Hoover | lighting | Wm. P. Healey |
| nell gwynn | Adelin Phelps | sound/music | Michael Croswell |
| maria | Teresa Marie Doran | props | Bobbie Smith |
| sir charles sedley | Duncan Frost | stage manager | Sarah Holmberg |
| george villiars | Gabriel Murphy | asst. stage manager | Adam Samson Perry |
| samuel pepys | Matt Sciple | lighting assistant | Jeremy Ellarby |
| lady meresvale, revels | Katie Kaufman | makeup artist | Eric William Jones |
| miss frayne | Anika Reitman | wig stylist | Robert A. Dunn |
| edward hyde, etc. | Justin Alexander | fight choreography | Brandon Ewald |
| thomas killigrew, etc. | Neal Beckman | dialect coach | Lucinda Holshue |
| elizabeth barry, etc. | Larissa Gritti | dramaturg | Amy Rummenie |
| stagehand | Jeremy Ellarby | ||
| MUSICIANS | scenic painting | Angelique Powers | |
| guitar | Michael Croswell | photography | Dan Norman |
| dulcimer | James Lekatz | ||
| percussion | Jay Walters | ||
Reviews
Walking Shadow’s production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty received a 2012 IVEY Award for Overall Excellence.
“a big and very enjoyable play full of chewy intellectual questions… Director John Heimbuch understands this play and its setting well… Vaughn digs into [his] meaty role with an actor’s talons and claws. He creates a Kynaston of effete and supreme arrogance… He and Froiland bristle with realism as Othello and Desdemona.”
“Walking Shadow Theatre Company is offering a smart local premiere of this tale, which, though set in the early 1600s, has plenty to say to contemporary audiences about gender roles, power and the passions that drive us… Wade A. Vaughn deftly trods a fine line between the actor who plays women with masterful affectation and the off-stage man whose life is significantly more nuanced.”
