ANDREW BOTSFORD (Frank Foster) is a veteran of more than 30 Hampton Theatre Company productions since 1985. He appeared most recently as Curtis in BLACK TIE and Sidney Bruhl in DEATHTRAP. Favorite shows include ‘ART’, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN, THE FOREIGNER, ORPHANS, NOISES OFF, THE DINING ROOM, SYLVIA, SOCIAL SECURITY and RUMORS. The host of “Tuesday Night at the Movies with Andrew and Friends” at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center during the summer, Andrew, a resident of Quogue, currently teaches and serves as a communications consultant at the newly expanded Graduate Arts Campus at Stony Brook Southampton.

ROSEMARY CLINE (Fiona Foster) played Mimi in BLACK TIE, Myra Bruhl in DEATHTRAP, Mrs. Lotty Wilkins in THE ENCHANTED APRIL, Candy Starr in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, Charlotte Hay in MOON OVER BUFFALO and many other roles dating back to the beginnings of the HTC. After many years performing in the city she is delighted to be back where her career began. Thanks to Diana, Jean, John, Sean, Jimmy, Sarah, our cast, our delightful backstage crew and always to Jane Stanton. My love to Christopher, Cashew and Carter… with a wink to Mom, Dad and June.

JANE CORTNEY (Mary Detweiler) is pleased to be making her HTC debut. Most recently she played Sulla in R.U.R. with Resonance Ensemble at Theatre Row. NYC roles include Curley’s Wife in OF MICE AND MEN, Irina in THREE SISTERS and Alma in SUMMER AND SMOKE. Regional work includes Beth in LITTLE WOMEN at Northern Stage and Franzl in THE COMFORT OF DARKNESS at Caldwell Theatre. She is a member of Oberon Theatre Ensemble and a co-founder of the Lafayette Series Salon, a monthly reading series that meets at the Players Club. Jane received her MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School/New School for Drama. AEA member. www.janecortney.com.

JESSICA ELLWOOD (Teresa Phillips) is thrilled to be back on stage, and to be part of this outstanding cast, after a three year hiatus. Favorite roles here include Susy in WAIT UNTIL DARK, Maureen Kinkaid in THE OLDEST LIVING GRADUATE, Jenny in EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN, Elaine Wheeler in NIGHT WATCH, Claire in PROOF and Nellie in SUMMER AND SMOKE. Past productions with the NFCT include THE DINING ROOM, ELEEMOSYNARY, and her first LI production, WAIT UNTIL DARK. Jessica teaches 8th and 11th grade English, is co-director of the Southold Drama Club, and is the proud mother of her daughters Jamie and Abbey.

JONATHAN HOLTZMAN (Bob Phillips) is delighted to make his debut with the Hampton Theatre Company. Other credits include: Stage: MACBETH, MEASURE FOR MEASURE and AS YOU LIKE IT (American Shakespeare Center); TWELFTH NIGHT (Schoolhouse Theater); ROMEO AND JULIET and THE PASSION OF DRACULA (Tri-State Actors Theater); ROMEO AND JULIET(Connecticut Free Shakespeare); MURDER IN GREEN MEADOWS and CROSSING DELANCEY (Bickford Theater); KING LEAR (Shakespeare NYC). TV/Web: One Life To Live; As The World Turns; I Married A Mobster; Mona Wonderstein. Film: Fuse; Dreamland; Adelaide. Jonathan is proud to have trained at LAMDA.

MARK McCARTHY (William Detweiler) is making his Hampton Theatre Company debut. Shadowland Theatre Company: DANGERS OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING, THE SEAFARER. Illinois Theatre Center: MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS. Mercury Theatre (Chicago): KING O’ THE MOON. Denver Center Theatre Company: THE RIVALS. Portland Center Stage: THE RIVALS, MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT. Notre Dame Shakespeare: TAMING OF THE SHREW, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Heart of America Shakespeare: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Kansas City Rep: PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE, THE TEMPEST, THE DEPUTY, JULIUS CAESAR, THE IMAGINARY INVALID. Mark has played hapless people in several cheesy TV movies and independent films. He voices over a hundred characters in the audio book version of Alan Brennert’s new novel Palisades Park. He’s also a stage combat choreographer and published playwright. He lives just outside New York City with his wife, the brilliant and talented Hollis McCarthy. Coming up: MRS. MANNERLY and MAKING GOD LAUGH at Nebraska Repertory Theatre. www.McCactors.com.

ALAN AYCKBOURN (Playwright) has written and produced over 70 plays, most originating at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, England, where he is Artistic Director. The Hampton Theatre Company has produced three of his most popular, BEDROOM FARCE, ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR and HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES, the latter first presented by the HTC in 1972. Other most successful plays include THE NORMAN CONQUESTS trilogy, A SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS and WOMAN IN MIND. He is the recipient of numerous awards. HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES is his only play to be adapted specially for American actors and an American audience.

DIANA MARBURY (Director, Set Decor) is delighted to be closing the HTC’s 28th season with this wonderful play by Britain’s Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Diana directed last spring’s production of BLACK TIE as well as ‘ART’. She was seen most recently on stage as Bea Sullivan in OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY, Dottie in GOOD PEOPLE, and Helga Ten Dorp in DEATHTRAP. Diana wears many hats with the HTC and that of the director is one of her favorites. She would like to thank her dedicated cast and crew as well as all the people and businesses that provide the furniture, decorations, and props for each show. Also, a big hand to our wonderful patrons, who continue to give their support, in spite of these tough financial times. Have a lovely summer, and we’ll see you in the fall with another exciting season!

SEAN MARBURY (Set Design) designed the set for the HTC’s recent production of OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY as well as last season’s DEATHTRAP and worked in collaboration with James Ewing on THE DRAWER BOY. He has worked for many years building HTC sets alongside his father Peter and friend James Ewing. He is thrilled to once again don the esteemed mantle of set designer with this production.

SEBASTIAN PACZYNSKI (Lighting Designer) first worked with the Hampton Theatre Company when he designed the company’s 2003 production of SUMMER AND SMOKE at Guild Hall and has designed all the company’s productions since PROOF in 2004 as well as the theater’s new lighting system. He has designed lighting for theater, dance and special events in a number of Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and regional venues. He has also worked in film and television as the director of photography. He has designed numerous productions for Guild Hall and for the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival.

TERESA LEBRUN (Costume Designer) is the resident costumer for the Hampton Theatre Company and has designed costumes for all the company’s recent productions. Teresa has also costumed for Spindletop Productions at Guild Hall. Much love to her boys Josh and Noah.

JOHN ZALESKI (Production Stage Manager). This is John’s 26th production with HTC. After a personal hiatus, he is thrilled to be back with the best theater company on the East End. Special thanks to the Board of Directors for their patience, and to Catherine for her “Moonstruck moment” with me.

JEAN PLITT (Rehearsal Stage Manager). It is a pleasure to work with the talented people who perform or are involved in the production of each show presented by the Hampton Theatre Company. From auditions to opening night, the process of bringing the “page to the stage” requires the creative energies of all involved, and I am very happy to be part of it. Congratulations to the cast and crew of HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES!

ROBERT ARCHER (Assistant Stage Manager). “I enjoy not only the theater, but also the community spirit!”

ROB DOWLING (Lighting & Sound Technician) has done lighting and sound for 21 years at the North Fork Community Theater, Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, Producer’s Club (NYC), the Loft Theater at Dowling College and the Southampton Cultural Center. He has also helped Sebastian with lighting set up at Guild Hall, the Ross School, and other local venues. “Many thanks, Sebastian!” This is Rob’s sixth season with the Hampton Theatre Company. He is very happy to be part of the show and the company.

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Director - DIANA MARBURY
Producers - SARAH HUNNEWELL, DIANA MARBURY
Set Design - SEAN MARBURY
Set Decor - DIANA MARBURY
Lighting Design - SEBASTIAN PACZYNSKI
Costume Design - TERESA LEBRUN
Fight Choreography - MARK McCARTHY
Production Stage Manager - JOHN ZALESKI
Rehearsal Stage Manager - JEAN PLITT
Assistant Stage Manager - ROBERT ARCHER
Set Construction - JAMES EWING, SEAN MARBURY, TONY CINQUE, JAMES FINK, FREDY GUZMAN,
MICK MORONEY, SEAMUS NAUGHTON, VINCENT RASULO
Lighting/Sound Tech - ROB DOWLING, SEAMUS NAUGHTON
Backstage Crew - JAMES ALLEN, EMILY BROSNAN
Sound Design - SARAH HUNNEWELL
Production Graphics - JOE PALLISTER
Program, Publicity & Box Office - SARAH HUNNEWELL
House Manager - JULIA MORGAN ABRAMS
Advertising Sales - SARAH HUNNEWELL, RAFE WORTHINGTON
Production Photographer - TOM KOCHIE
Opening Night Party - STATION

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"It never ceases to amaze how the HTC continues to produce one superb piece of theater after another. "The Drawer Boy" is a three man play with three meaty roles. Ben Schnickel gives a first-rate performance as young Miles, the gawky interloping actor/playwright. Joe Pallister is outstanding as Morgan, one of the two bachelor farmers that Miles has come to observe and study. Edward A. Brennan is positively luminous in the role of Angus, his idiot-savant partner. The play itself, at once witty and deeply probing, is a finely nuanced study of memory, guilt, friendship, lost love, and the power of narrative. I cannot recommend it too highly." - Fred Volkmer, author

"This is our sixth season as subscribers to Hampton Theatre Company, and I am happy to say that "The Drawer Boy" is one of the very best productions my wife and I have seen here. It is simply excellent. The play itself is wonderfully written. While a serious drama, it is filled with quietly funny, suspenseful and poignant moments. The acting is superb, and the dynamic between the three characters is spot on. We loved it!" - Terrance Fiore

"I attended opening night of "Drawer Boy" and thoroughly enjoyed the production. Everything about it was excellent - the lighting, the staging and the ACTING! The smooth, spot-on direction was impressive. Joe Pallister was in top form with total credibility and strong emotional projection that allowed the viewer to identify with Morgan's burden and warm humanity. Angus and Miles were also very well-interpreted. The audience was rapt with attention hanging on every all important word. It was a fine evening of theater." - Larry B. Liddle, Ph.D.

"El and I saw Michael Healey's brilliantly written and powerfully acted play The Drawer Boy at its Hampton Theatre Company premiere tonight. If you're on Long Island, don't miss this play." - Charles Fishman, poet

Please email your comments to: info@hamptontheatre.org

by Steve Parks (Newsday)

Unfamiliar with "The Drawer Boy" until its recent Abingdon Theatre debut in Manhattan and Long Island premiere last Thursday by the Hampton Theatre Company, I took the title to mean, perhaps, an infant sleeping in a snug open drawer substituting for a crib.

In a way, that might still bear relevance to this masterful drama by Canadian playwright Michael Healey.

When we meet Angus, who shares an Ontario farmhouse with lifelong friend Morgan, we assume he's a mental cripple. We soon learn he's quite bright. He just can't remember what happens from one minute to the next. The friends are visited by Miles, a playwright-actor wannabe who asks if he can hang around, absorbing verité for his troupe's project on farm life. Morgan has fun at Miles's expense, assigning him nonsensical chores such as washing rocks and mucking out the barn with a fork. During his stay, he overhears a story about how Angus and Morgan became loner bachelors.

We also learn that Angus has an excuse for his short memory. There's a chunk of war shrapnel in his head from the friends' service together in Europe. When they attend a rehearsal of the farm play, memories — especially Angus's — become unmoored. The reality of their past enters a jarring "Twilight Zone" interregnum between what is real and what is the record as they've shared it all these years.

The title refers to Angus's love of drawing and cordoning off sections of the sky into countable clusters of stars. He's a math savant, it turns out.

Sarah Hunnewell directs three astutely cast actors of perfect range for these disparate male roles. Ben Schnickel as Miles teeters between interloper and confidant. He wants to use the farmers, but finds their humanity too disarming. Joe Pallister as Morgan is Big Brother, always protective of his friend but also of himself and his farm enterprise. He doesn't want to go there, wherever there may be. Edward Brennan as Angus invites us into his world with a childlike openness that strains against his manly strength. "Of Mice and Men" comes to mind.

Their superb performances are directed with vision for the words on the page so tenderly arranged by the playwright. Add James Ewing and Sean Marbury's ethereal yet earthy set and Sebastian Paczynski's sunrise-to-moonrise lighting and you have a polished gem. Don't miss "The Drawer Boy."

WHAT "The Drawer Boy" by Michael Healey WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. March 28 & April 4, 8 p.m. March 29 and April 5, 2:30 March 30, and 8 p.m. March 30 and April 6, 2:30 p.m. April 7, Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Ave. TICKETS $25 Adults, $23 Seniors (exc. Sat. eve.), $10 students; hamptontheatre.org or 866-811-4111 (OvationTix)

Review by Toni Munna (Art & Architecture Quarterly/East End)

The transformative capacity of the arts is a powerful thing. Music soothes the savage breast. A painting can bring one to tears. And theatre can show us ourselves in unexpected ways. Nowhere is this more effectively demonstrated than in Michael Healey’s The Drawer Boy, as currently presented by the Hampton Theatre Company.

In the early 1970s, a troupe of actors from Theatre Passe Muraille spent three months living in rural Clinton, Ontario, interviewing farmers and their families. Combining these interviews with their own observations and improvisation, they told these stories through a collection of monologues, songs, and sketches called The Farm Show, which became a classic in Canadian theatre.

In the 1990s, actor Michael Healey met many of the farmers and others who had inspired the stories in The Farm Show. He was inspired as well, and he wrote The Drawer Boy to reflect the impact the earlier show had on the Clinton community. This, too, is considered a Canadian classic, winning every major theatrical award.

The play begins with Miles, a young actor, arriving at the farm of Morgan and Angus, two middle-aged bachelor friends. Miles asks for the opportunity to stay with them and observe their lives for a theatrical project he’s working on with his company. Morgan agrees, but only if Miles pitches in with the farm work.

It immediately becomes clear Angus is mentally compromised. His memory is short-term, to put it lightly. He can barely remember one minute to the next, but he’s friendly and generally happy.

We learn along with Miles that Morgan and Angus have been friends since childhood and served in the war together, where Angus was injured. With metal plates in his head, Angus also experiences severe headaches. Morgan is kind and patient as he helps Angus stay on track.

Morgan shares with Miles the story of their journey from wartime London to the farm. A story of the two English girls they loved and who followed them home to Canada, and Morgan calms Angus when he is agitated by repeating this story.

As Miles picks away, he uncovers a truth that has been buried since the war. Through his theatrical presentation of their story, and later telling the story again, Miles inadvertently helps Angus remember this truth.

I cannot imagine a better cast. Ben Schnickel portrays Miles as an actor eager to observe, create and touch his audience…much as the actors who created The Farm Show must have. He brings to life Miles’ ambition, but also his empathy for the two men.

As the stoic and wry Morgan, Joe Pallister superbly conveys the weariness of a self-imposed life of sacrifice and loss, but he also expresses the gentle love he has for Angus and a dry sense of humor that comes in some unexpected moments. This is a performance you do not want to miss.

Edward A. Brennan is remarkable as the simple Angus, known as the “drawer boy” because he had a talent for designing structures. Brennan inhabits his character as though he’d lived with him his entire life. His every movement and word is as real as it gets. Brennan and Pallister are indeed one dynamic duo.

I must confess…I kind of forgot to review this play. I became so involved in these characters and their stories, I was lost…but in a good way. When a play is directed poorly, I notice. When I don’t notice, I know it’s been directed well, and Sarah Hunnewell has done incredible, seamless work here. For nearly the entire play, I felt like I was eavesdropping on real people. Every movement, every conversation, was natural and organic. That’s probably one of the best compliments I can give any actor or director. The truth of the characters, the direction and the story was intensely profound and moving.

The gorgeous set design by James Ewing and Sean Marbury, along with Diana Marbury’s attention to detail in her set decoration and Sebastian Paczynski’s lovely lighting design, managed to present both the realistic and the abstract, enhancing the reality of the present with the haziness of memory. Teresa LeBrun’s costumes fit the bill perfectly.

With agriculture and tourism the two largest industries on Long Island, it is more than fitting The Drawer Boy is finally making its premiere here on the rural East End. Co-producers Marbury and Hunnewell have hit this one out of the park. This is a thoughtful and absolutely beautiful production, finely directed and acted. And one not to be missed.

WHAT "The Drawer Boy" by Michael Healey WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. March 28 & April 4, 8 p.m. March 29 and April 5, 2:30 March 30, and 8 p.m. March 30 and April 6, 2:30 p.m. April 7, Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Ave. TICKETS $25 Adults, $23 Seniors (exc. Sat. eve.), $10 students; hamptontheatre.org or 866-811-4111 (OvationTix)

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Dawn Watson (The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press)

The Drawer Boy,” an award-winning drama by Canadian playwright Michael Healey, is the staged version of a cross between the novels “Of Mice and Men” and “Flowers for Algernon,” but with a twist.

Much like the title, which refers to a boy who draws and not a boy in a drawer, the meaning of this play could easily be misconstrued. It isn’t so much misleading as it is complex.

The action focuses on simpleton Angus, portrayed in this Hampton Theatre Company production in Quogue by Edward A. Brennan, and his gruff friend, Morgan, portrayed by Joe Pallister. The way of life for these two elderly Canadian farmers is disrupted by the appearance of a young actor, Miles, portrayed by Ben Schnickel, who is intent on studying their agrarian ways for use in a local theatrical production.

But what happens in this play, directed for HTC by Sarah Hunnewell, is a whole lot less about life on the farm as it is about a fairy tale that has been carefully crafted.

Angus, a likeable fellow played affably and endearingly by Mr. Brennan, suffers from a debilitating mental disorder that has seemingly eradicated his short-term memory and dealt significant damage to much of his long-term memory as well. He’s a big, sweet, childlike guy who means well but needs a lot of supervision.

The first few moments that Morgan is on stage sets up him up to be a bad guy, a bully. What he does—nonchalantly taking a sandwich painstakingly made by Angus for himself—is the equivalent of stealing candy from a baby. The audience soon learns that Morgan, played with brooding depth and intensity by Mr. Pallister, isn’t actually mean but he does have a tough hide, which is necessary for his, as well as for his friend’s, survival.

Mr. Schnickel’s Miles is in turns naive, perceptive, silly, boundary pushing and empathetic. He is the unwitting catalyst for all that is to come.

“The Drawer Boy” is definitely a drama but there are funny parts as well. There’s a running gag where Morgan tasks the farm-incompetent Miles with ridiculous busy work, such as when he assigns the actor to study how the cows feel about getting milked twice a day, as well as being killed for food. Miles does his best to put himself into the cow’s heads, getting down on his hands and knees and mooing while contemplating the milk-feed-death life cycle.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” Morgan says drily in response to Miles’s dramatic take on the situation.

The inspiration for Mr. Healey’s writing about these two elderly farmers and their surprise guest comes from personal experience. The playwright based the plot of “The Drawer Boy” on an earlier work, “The Farm Show,” created by the theatrical collective Theatre Passe Muraille, which included Jim Garrard, Paul Thompson, Miles Potter and David Fox.

In 1972, members of the collective visited the farming country of southwestern Ontario, learned the stories of the men and women who worked there, and then created “The Farm Show.” The play, which premiered in the same barn where the show had been rehearsed, was an instant success, and became a travelling show throughout Canada. Nearly two and a half decades later, Mr. Healey came into contact with many of the farmers upon which “The Farm Show” was based, as well as Mr. Potter (who was the inspiration for the character of Miles) and reworked the Canadian classic into the three-man play “The Drawer Boy.”

Without giving too much away, this complicated work takes the audience down a distinctly different path from the one they might expect. The unravelling of the story is the best part.

As always, the sets of this HTC production are outstanding. Bravo to the set design team of James Ewing and Sean Marbury, to lighting designer Sebastian Paczynski, the costume designer Teresa LeBrun and stage manager Jean Plitt.

Bottom line: A gripping and intriguing play, served well by the talents of the Hampton Theatre Company.

“The Drawer Boy” stages at the Quogue Community Hall on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m., through Sunday, April 7. There will be an added matinee at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 30. There will not be a Sunday show on March 31. Special dinner theater packages, in collaboration with the Southampton, Westhampton Beach and Hampton Bays libraries, are also being offered. For more information about the library packages, call the box office at 653-8955. To reserve show tickets, visithamptontheatre.org, or call OvationTix at (866) 811-4111.