Plot Synopsis

The play opens shortly after the death of Sir Rowland De Boys, whose estate has been bequeathed almost entirely to his eldest son, Oliver, who spitefully denies Orlando, his youngest brother, the education and property to which he is entitled. Charles, a wrestler, arrives to warn Oliver that Orlando may challenge Charles in the next day's match. When Oliver falsely describes Orlando as a dishonorable opponent, Charles vows to beat Orlando.

The wrestling match takes place in the court of Duke Frederick, who has recently usurped the throne of this brother, Duke Senior. Despite her connection to his royal rival, Duke Frederick allows his brother's daughter, Rosalind, to remain at court because of her close friendship with Duke Frederick's daughter, Celia. Orlando defeats Charles in the wrestling match, and Rosalind and Orlando fall instantly in love. Upon

his return from the match, Orlando is informed by his loyal servant, Adam, of Oliver's plot against his life, and he decides to flee to the Forest of Arden. Meanwhile, Duke Frederick decides suddenly to banish Rosalind from court, and she, too, decides to leave for Arden with Celia and Touchstone, the court jester. For safety's sake, Rosalind decides to disguise herself as a young man named Ganymede, and Celia dresses herself as a shepherdess named Aliena. Incensed by Celia's and Orlando's dual disappearances, Duke Frederick orders Oliver to lead a manhunt for Orlando, and simultaneously begins to raise an army to defeat his brother.

Duke Senior lives in voluntary exile in the Forest of Arden with his faithful band of followers. One day, Orlando, desperate for food for Adam, arrives at the duke's camp and rudely demands their help. Duke Senior responds by generously welcoming both Orlando and Adam into his company. In the meantime, Rosalind and Celia encounter a shepherd named Silvius, who is in love with a scornful shepherdess named Phoebe. Rosalind and Celia buy a cottage and soon encounter Orlando, who is pining for Rosalind. Rosalind, disguised as Ganymede, promises to cure Orlando of lovesickness if Orlando will agree to love lessons, in which he will woo Ganymede as if he is Rosalind. Orlando agrees.

Meanwhile, as Phoebe falls deeply in love with “Ganymede,” Rosalind becomes more and more infatuated with Orlando. One day, when Orlando fails to appear for his love lesson, Oliver appears and tells the women that Orlando came upon him in the forest and saved him from attack by a hungry lion. Oliver and Celia fall in love immediately and agree to marry. When Phoebe becomes increasingly interested in Ganymede, and as Orlando grows increasingly impatient for the “real” Rosalind, Rosalind decides to uncover the group's secrets, and promises to unravel the confusion of identity the next day at a wedding. When the various couples gather (Phoebe and Silvius, Celia and Oliver, Touchstone and Audrey [a goatherd Touchstone wishes to marry], and Orlando), Rosalind (as Ganymede) makes Phoebe promise that if she does not marry Ganymede she will marry Silvius, and makes Duke Senior promise that he will allow his daughter to marry Orlando if she appears. All agree, and Rosalind and Celia remove their disguises. The couples are married, and after a festive wedding ceremony, the guests are happy to learn that Duke Frederick, after meeting a holy man on his way to attack Duke Senior, has decided to lead a monastic life and restore the throne to his brother.

The cast includes

Orlando (Oliver's Youngest brother) - Chase Stoger
Adam (Oliver's servant) - Stephan J. O' Toole*
Oliver (Orlando's eldest brother) - J.P. Fitzgibbons*
Dennis (servant to Oliver) - Sam Bardwell
Charles (a wrestler) - Jim Lautenbach
Rosalind (daughter of Duke Senior) - Molly Rhode*
Celia (daughter of duke Frederick) - Jennefer Ludwigsen
Touchstone (a clown) - Stephan J. O'Toole*
Le Beau (a courtier of Duke Frederick) - Jon Sprik
Duke Frederick (brother of Duke Senior) - Richard Ooms*
Lord (attending on Duke Frederick) - Nathan M. Hosner*
Duke Senior (exiled brother of Duke Frederick) - Richard Ooms*
Amiens (lady attending Duke Senior) - Claudia Wilkens*
First Lord (attending Duke Senior) - Jon Sprik
Attendants & Musicians - Elizabeth Bird, Katie Dahl
Corin (a shepherd) - Claudia Wilkins*
Silvius (a sheperd) - Sam Bardwell
Jacques (lord attending Duke Senior) - Nathan M. Hosner*
Audrey (a country girl and goatherd) - Jim Lautenbach
Sir Oliver Martext (a vicar) - J.P. Fitzgibbons*
Phoebe (a shepardness) - Suzanne Graff*
William (a country fellow) - Chase Stoeger
Jaques De Boys (brother of Orlando & Oliver) - Jon Sprik

Understudies

The crew includes

Directed - Jerry Gomis*
Costumes - Barbara Portinga
Lightin & Scene Design - Stewart Dawson
Orginal Music, Arrangements & Direction - Karen Mal
Production Management - Elizabeth Bird
Stage Management - Kate Schultz
House Management - Bill Love
Box Office Management - John Hansen, Joan Shiels

* Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

SAM BARDWELL (Dennis/Silvius/Footman/Intern) is a junior in the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, where he has been seen as Mike in A Lie of the Mind and Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. A native of Eagle River, Wis., he is thrilled to be joining the team at Door Shakespeare and to have the chance to share beautiful words in beautiful surroundings. Sam would like to thank his friends, family and especially his remarkable teachers.

JASON ECONOMUS (Understudy: Oliver) is pleased to be working again with Door Shakespeare, even if for a short while. Milwaukee credits include: In Tandem (The Good Doctor, Hate Mail), Next Act Theatre (Dear Esther (reading), Master Harold and the Boys), Bialystock and Bloom (Never the Sinner, Fat Men in Skirts, We Won't Pay, The Zoo Story) and Milwaukee Shakespeare (Richard II). He spent last summer with Door Shakespeare in The Comedy of Errors and She Stoops to Conquer. This past winter he performed his one man piece, The Steve Show. In addition to acting Jason also does stand-up comedy and teaches. Yo.

J.P. FITZGIBBONS (Oliver/Sir Oliver Martext/Algernon) is thrilled to be appearing in his first season with Door Shakespeare. J.P. Hails from the Twin Cities, where he performs regularly in a wide variety of roles and venues. His performance credits include The Wild Party (Juggernaut Productions), Nunsense, A-Men! (Hey City Theater), Man of La Mancha and John and Jen (Nuatilus Music Theater), in addition to performances at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Children's Theater Company, Guthrie Theater, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and on tour with the Minnesota Opera. He has also appeared with Red River Dance and Performing Company and as a soloist with Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra.

NATHAN M. HOSNER (Jaques/Jack/Lord) A Chicago resident and graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Nathan is excited to take part in the 2006 Door Shakespeare season. Recent credits include: Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 and II and Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost for the Shakespeare Project of Chicago; Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors at the BoarsHead Theater in Lansing, Mich.; Edmund in King Lear and Duke Frederick in As You Like It at Illinois Shakespeare Festival. When not acting, Nathan can be found performing in the alt-country duo, Back Off the Hammer (www.backoffthehammer.com).

JIM LAUTENBACH (Charles/Audrey) is delighted to be back for his fourth season at Door Shakespeare, where he has been seen in The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream and A Comedy of Errors. A Door County native and Marquette University graduate, he was last seen on stage as Madame Popova in The Bear. He originated the role of Jason in the World Premiere of The Benevolent Women's Craft Society, and this past Christmas he traipsed around in an elf costume in David Sedaris' one-man show, The Santaland Diaries. Jim is indebted to his family and friends in Door County and beyond – especially Jerry and Suzanne – for their unending guidance and support. Thank you, everyone!

JENNEFER LUDWIGSEN (Celia/Cecily) returns to the garden for her sixth season with Door Shakespeare. A graduate of Northwestern University, her work has taken her to Chicago, Los Angeles and, luckily, Door County. She has appeared on stage with Shaw Chicago, Apple Tree Theatre, The National Theatre for Children and American Folklore Theatre and on television in “Desperate Housewives,” “ER” and numerous commercials. This summer, Jennefer will once again produce and direct Doorways: Creating Theatre for Children, a three-week workshop that focuses on creative drama and Shakespeare for youth. Jennefer is honored to be joining the University of Washington's Professional Actor's Training Program to earn her M.F.A. In acting this fall. Thank you to her family, especially her sister, Amy, for all her love, talent and laughter. Enjoy the show!

RICHARD OOMS (Duke Frederick/Duke Senior/Lane/Merriman) is happy to be with Door Shakespeare for another season. He is a founding member of John Houseman's The Acting Company, where for eight seasons he performed in cities throughout the United States. During this time he met and married his wife of 29 years, actress Claudia Wilkens. In 1981 they and their two-year-old son, Michael, relocated to Minneapolis, where Richard has been a member of the acting company at the Guthrie Theater and has appeared in more than 100 productions there, most recently in Hamlet. He has also performed with The Jungle Theater, Mied Blood, Minneapolis Children's Theater as Gandalf in The Hobbit, the Minnesota Fringe Festival and the Minneapolis Shakespeare Project. Richard can be seen in the films “Drop Dead Gorgeous” and “The Thirteenth Warrior.” Last summer he was Diggory and Sir Charles in She Stoops to Conquer and Egeon and Pinch in The Comedy of Errors.

STEPHEN J. O'TOOLE (Adam/Touchstone/Reverend Chasuble) has been a Twin Cities actor for the past 20 years and is delighted to be returning to Door Shakespeare for a third season. Stephen was last a company member in the 2003 season, when he appeared as Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing. Since then, Stephen directed Tartuffe at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minn. In addition, he appeared in Mrs. Man of God at Illusion Theatre and in the premiere of The Trial of Osama Bin Laden for Stage Wright Unlimited. Stephen holds an M.F. A. in Acting as well as an M.Ed. From The University of Minnesota. “Tutti della mi'amorea a Vittoria.”

MOLLY RHODE (Rosalind/Miss Prism) returns to Door Shakespeare for her seconde summer. She was seen last year as Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and Luciana in The Comedy of Errors. Molly has played for other Wisconsin audiences at American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Skylight Opera Theatre, Next Act Theatre, First Stage Children's Theatre and Renaissance Theatreworks. She has also appeared with the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Noble Fool Theatricals in Chicago. She looks forward to another summer of hiking, hammocks and great old stories.

JON SPRIK (Le Beau/First Lord/Jaques du Boys/Footman/Intern) is currently studying theatre at Hope College in Holland, Mich. Most recently at Hope he has performed as King Ferdinand in Love's Labour's Lost, Prince Serpohovsky in Strider, The Policeman in The Good Woman of Setzuan and Mr. Smith in The Bald Soprano. Other credits include: Candide, The Hardy Boys and the Secret of Skullbone Island, Clue – The Musical, All the Way Home, The Diary of Anne Frank, Les Miserables, Oklahoma! and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. John is excited to be a part of Door Shakespeare this season and would like to thank his friends and family for their constant support.

CHASE STOEGER (Orlando/William/Musician) is returning to Door Shakespeare for a second season. After his internship last year, he played Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew and Green in Richard II with Milwaukee Shakespeare. He also just finished working with First Stage Children's Theatre on Seussical as a Wickersham Brother and Yertle T. Turtle. He is excited to be back to the Peninsula once again with a wonderful group of people. Love and thanks to his friends, his family and his M.

CLAUDIA WILKENS (Amiens/Corin/Lady Bracknell) is delighted to spend another summer with Door Shakespeare. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Richard Ooms,and has performed there with the Guthrie Theater, the Jungle Theater, The Eye of the Storm, the Minnesota Opera, Chanhassen Dinner Theater, Minneapolis Children's Theater, The Great American History Theater, Mixed Blood and the Minnesota Shakespeare Project. She has acted with the National Theater of Great Britain in The Misanthrope, the Arizona Theater Company in Blithe Spirit, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Hartford Stage, Opera Pacific, The 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle and John Houseman's The Acting Company. She can be seen in the films “Untamed Heart,” “The Mighty Ducks,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “Sugar and Spice” and ”Joe Somebody.” Last Summer she was Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and the Abbess in The Comedy of Errors.

JERRY GOMIS (Producer/Director/Understudy: Algernon) has directed many productions at Door Shakespeare, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Comedy of Errors, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It in 1999. Jerry has also been seen in the Garden in various roles, including Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Other favorite roles include Arles, etc. in Greater Tuna, the title role in Macbeth and the Santa in Santa and the Magic Bell. Great thanks are owed to Suzanne, William and Anna Marie for their continual inspiration and patience. With deep gratitude, Jerry also acknowledges his family, friends and 9 to 5 co-workers for their support, love and acceptance in following the journey of Door Shakespeare.

SUZANNE GRAFF (Producer/Director/Phoebe/Gwendolen) has been involved in Door County theatre for more than 15 years. She performed onstage for several seasons at American Folklore Theatre. Since 1998, she and her husband, Jerry Gomis, have collaborated as producers for Door Shakespeare, for which Suzanne has directed Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew. Her Door Shakespeare acting credits include Viola in Twelfth Night, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nurse in Romeo and Juliet and Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor. On other stages, Suzanne's acting credits include off-Broadway's Zombies from the Beyond (Charlie) and Twelfth Night. She has performed in national tours of She Stoops to Conquer, As You Like It, Oedipus and A Midsummer Night's Dream. In her hometown of Milwaukee, she has appeared at the Skylight Opera Theatre and Theatre Tesseract. Other regional credits include She Loves Me at Indiana Rep. And at home in the Twin Cities at the Great American History Theatre, The Jon Hassler Theatre, and in the Buffalo Gal Production of The Spitfire Grill as Effy. Of earnest importance are Jerry, William and Anna Marie. Thanks, kids, for “mama, step away from the cookies!”

ELIZABETH BIRD (Assistant Company Manager/Musician) is returning for her second season with Door Shakespeare. Last summer she performed as a musician for The Comedy of Errors and primarily worked as the business intern. Originally from Oshkosh, Elizabeth spends most of her time at Lawrence University in Appleton pursuing a Music Education degree. She is delighted to psend another summer at beautiful Bjorklunden and would like to thank Door Shakespeare for the chance to return.

KATIE DAHL (Public Relations Associate/Musician) is happy to return for her third season with Door Shakespeare. Katie holds a B.A. In English literature from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and spent the last year in the south of France, where she drank good wine, ate good cheese, traveled and in her free time taught English to small French children. She worked on P.R. and office administration in both 2003 and 2005 and last performed on the Door Shakespeare stage in 2003 as a wandering musician in Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. Katie is grateful to be spending another summer frolicking in the woods with such a fine group of people and would like to thank the inventor of her favorite summer pastime, the bonfire hootenanny.

NICOLE D'ASTA (Costume Design Assistant) just graduated from Lawrence University with degrees in vocal performance and costume design. She is glad to be returning to Door Shakespeare after an amazing season last year. This native to the Midwest weather hails from LaGrange, Ill., and is excited to be in Door County for her 22nd year running. She would like to thank Suzanne and Jerry for the excellent opportunity to enhance her costuming career, Barb for rocking out with her and her parents for letting her go, once again, all summer long.

STEWART DAWSON (Lighting, Set & Properties Design) went back to school this past winter to finish his master's degree in the fine art of fairy tale mechanical engineering at the Albuquerque College of Fairy Tale Arts (ACFTA). One of his first jobs upon completing his studies was masterminding a 30-foot beanstalk for a production of Jack and the Giant that grew from a tiny bean all the way up into the clouds, fascinated the audience, awestruck the director and scared the heck out of Jack, who was supposed to climb it. (The accident wasn't Stewart's fault.) Stewart is dumb with wonder that Door Shakespeare just happened to need his new talents this summer. Apart from his continuing education, Stewart climbs to great heights as technical director for Opera Southwest in Albuquerque.

ERIK HANSEN (Office Assistant) has spent every summer of his life in Door County. He has been involved with Door Shakespeare since its first inceptions as a volunteer, concessions manager and office aide. Erik ran the original concession booth at AFT back when it was a card table with bumper stickers and candy bars. A Colorado native, Erik is a senior at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is majoring in Fine Arts.

JOHN HANSEN (Box Office Manager) has worked with Door Shakespeare since its beginning in 1995. John was a founding member of American Folklore Theatre and has 22 seasons of Door County theater experience. John studied theater at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, but is best known for his work in pottery, some of which you can see in our theater. John also teaches at the Peninsula Art School in Fish Creek and invites you to take a class or pottery lesson. John would like to dedicate his work this season to Dr. Arnold and the staff at Door County Memorial Hospital for allowing him to enjoy many more seasons with Door Shakespeare as well as Jerry, Suzanne and the Door County arts community for all their support.

BILL LOVE (House, Concessions & Office Manager) takes care of anything, from the stage out, at one time or another during the season. He first started with American Folklore Theatre in 1990 and has been hooked on theater and Door County ever since. He says: “When summer arrives there is no other place I would rather be than with all my friends and Door Shakespeare.” When the summer is over he can be found at The Denver Center for Performing Arts as theater manager.

AMY J. LUDWIGSEN (Choreographer) Amy is thrilled to work with Door Shakespeare for the first time. This summer she can also be seen on stage on the other side of the county in American Folklore Theatre's productions of Belgians in Heaven and See Jane Vote. Regional theatre credits include: All's Well That Ends Well, Pippin and My Fair Lady with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Chicago credits include: Alice in Wonderland and Brigadoon with the Marriott Theatre; Do I Hear a Waltz with Theatre at the Center; Pygmaslion, Lady from the Sea and On the Rocks with Shaw Chicago and Winter's Tale and All's Well That Ends Well with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Amy is a member of Actors' Equity Association and a graduate of Northwestern University. She would like to thank her family and her sister Jenn in particular for always supporting her dreams.

KAREN MAL (Musical Composer, Arranger & Director) is working with Door Shakespeare for a sixth season. A longtime performer at American Folklore Theatre, Karen now plays music full time, on the road and at home in Austin, Texas. She is an award-winning songwriter and has been chosen three times as a finalist for the prestigious songwriting competition at Kerville Folk Festival. This year she has been playing solo shows as well as playing mandolin and singing with the Ronny Cox trio. She was featured in the winter issue of “Sing Out” magazine an din May won first place in the Tucson Folk Festival Songwriter Competition.

BECCA NAISTAT (Arts Administration Intern) is originally from Edina, Minn., and just completed her third year at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Her theatre credits include Pirates of Penzance, The Crucible, Moon Over Buffalo and Proof. After completing her theatre education degree, she plans to return to the Twin Cities to teach high school theatre.

BARB PORTINGA (Costume Designer) has been designing costumes for almost 20 years. She graduated from Augsburg College and went right to work at Chanhassen Dinner Theater, where she learned most of her skills on the job and where she gleefully works as a cutter/draper for each mainstage show. She is glad to be back in beautiful Door County for a fourth year as resident costume designer. In recent years, she has designed The Wild Party, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Good Woman of Szechuan, The Tempest, Rhinoceros and her first set design for Suddenly Last Summer. She is looking forward to a fabulous production of A Secret Garden in the fall.

KATE SCHULTZ (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with such a talented an dedicated group of theatre practitioners in this, her second summer with Door Shakespeare. As a high school English teacher, Kate has spent the last year molding young minds for their future roles as Door Shakespeare audience members. Kate is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater whose past stage managing and directing credits include Moon over the Brewery, Moon Over Buffalo, Spinning into Butter, Pasta, Proof, The Comedy of Errors and She Stoops to Conquer. Thanks to everyone who supported her thus far and to those who will continue to in the future. Enjoy the show!

JOAN SHIELS (Box Office Manager/Company Chaplain) says she has too many degrees in theology for her own good. She has too many years of running different kinds of businesses to be really good at any one of them. And she lived in California too long to have any realistic take on life at all. She's been a minister, a real estate developer, a teacher, a business manager and mom. The work did good and the kids turned out okay so she decided to try one more thing that seemed like a lot of fun: theater. She claims, “If I had to choose a profession it would ruin my whole career.”