IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
INTERVIEW WITH
PLAYWRIGHT, MICHAEL MCKEEVER
BY WILLIAM HAYES, PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dear Friend,

Contemporary Voices continues on Monday, June 14 at 7:30pm with The Code, the second of three plays by Michael McKeever. PBD’s reading marks the first public performance of the playwright’s newest work.    

The play takes place in Hollywood in 1950. Prior to a dinner party at the home of director George Cukor, Billy Haines, interior designer to the stars, invites a handful of friends, including Tallulah Bankhead, for cocktails. When agent Henry Willson arrives with his newest protégé, Chad Manford, a simple request turns into a heated debate on the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a star in the land of make-believe.

The reading is directed by Christopher Renshaw, and features Tom Wahl as Billy Haines, Brittany Baratz as Tallulah Bankhead, Bruce Linser as Henry Willson, and Scotty Leavitt as Chad Manford; Gary Cadwallader reads the stage directions. A discussion of the play follows on Wednesday, June 16 at 7:30pm, with Cadwallader hosting Renshaw and Christy Andreoni, production director at the Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission and a board member of Women in Television and Film – Florida.

Also, a reminder that tonight Cadwallader leads a discussion about The Garden of Hannah List, speaking with Linser, who directed the reading, and Dr. Peter Cruise, executive director of the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy and affiliate associate professor at Florida Atlantic University. You know the drill: tickets to all three events are free, but reservations are required.  And, of course, the same is true for our next Luminaries of Stage & Screen program, a prerecorded interview with actor, playwright, cabaret artist, and drag icon Charles Busch on June 30, hosted by PBD Producing Artistic Director Bill Hayes.  


It was 10 years ago this June – June 19, to be precise – that we ended our eight-year run at our 85-seat theatre on Banyan Boulevard. We have fond memories of that venue, as we know many of you do, too. It’s the place where PBD came into its own, where we established our identity as a theatre with a passion for thought-provoking work. It’s where our reputation began to flourish – so much so, that we outgrew the space. We needed a venue that could accommodate our desire to continue to evolve and produce larger-scale works, and were fortunate that we had a board of directors and county officials who believed in us and gave us the opportunity to move into what is now the Don & Ann Brown Theatre and model it to our specifications.

As we continue our 20th anniversary reminiscences, we want to share photos from our final two seasons on Banyan to remind you of the breadth and variety of the work we did there.  

2009-2010 Season
A Doll’s House
by Henrik Ibsen
Gregg Weiner and Margery Lowe
Copenhagen
by Michael Frayn
Elizabeth Dimon, Christopher Oden, and Colin McPhillamy
American Buffalo
by David Mamet
John Leonard Thompson and Dennis Creaghan
Three Tall Women
by Edward Albee
Angie Radosh and Beth Dixon
The Gin Game
by D.L. Coburn
Barbara Bradshaw and Peter Haig
2010-2011 Season
Candida
by George Bernard Shaw
Kim Cozort Kay, Will Connolly, and John Leonard Thompson
Freud’s Last Session
by Mark St. Germain
Christopher Oden and Dennis Creaghan
Dinner with Friends
by Donald Margulies
Erin Joy Schmidt, Jim Ballard, and Sarah Grace Wilson
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
by Martin McDonagh
Kati Brazda and Barbara Bradshaw
Please consider donating to PBD. With your support, we can continue to offer a variety of programs virtually and preserve our reserve funds as we await the return to our live, mainstage performances later in the year.

We look forward to seeing you in October.
THE CODE
(June 14, 7:30pm; Discussion June 16, 7:30pm)
Hollywood, 1950. Prior to a dinner party at the home of director George Cukor, Billy Haines, interior designer to the stars, invites a handful of friends, including Tallulah Bankhead, for cocktails. When agent Henry Willson arrives with his newest protégé, Chad Manford, a simple request turns into a heated debate on the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a star in the land of make-believe.
DANIEL'S HUSBAND
(June 21, 7:30pm; Discussion June 23, 7:30pm
Mitchell Howard does not believe in gay marriage. His partner, Daniel Bixby, does. Before they can resolve their difference of opinion, fate intervenes. This Off-Broadway hit explores the devastating consequences that can occur when fundamental rights are denied.  
CHARLES BUSCH
JUNE 30
Charles Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over 25 plays including The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway. The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (in which he did not appear) had a run of 777 performances on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. He is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch. He is a two-time MAC Award winner and has performed his cabaret act in many cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Barcelona, and New York. In the winter of 2016, his show The Lady at the Mic premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. His first CD, Charles Busch Live at Feinstein’s 54 Below, was released in 2016 by Broadway Records.
Marilyn Meyerhoff and Samuel Feldman are the executive producers of Contemporary Voices.
Marsha and Stephen Rabb are the program sponsors for The Code and Daniel’s Husband.
Louise and Barry Snyder are the sponsors of PBDonline.