A THOUSAND CLOWNS

A comedy by Herb Gardner

Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm
October 19 through November 17, 2007
No performance on Friday, November 9

A THOUSAND CLOWNS, the Herb Gardner comedy about a bachelor uncle raising his precocious nephew, is the third production of the 2007-2008 Season at Eastpointe's Broadway Onstage Theatre. Opening on Friday, October 19 and running Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm through Saturday, November 17, the comedy produced one of the theatre's most beloved roles, nonconformist Murray Burns.

Select Sunday Matinees are only performed at Broadway Onstage when a prearranged group of 30 or more is scheduled to attend. There will be a Special 2pm Sunday Matinee of SOMETHING TO HIDE on Sunday, September 16. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 ˝ Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe. It is the home of the patented TeeVeeStage™ Presentation system, which employs cameras above the audience and monitors above the stage to provide audience members with different viewing perspectives of the live stage performance. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is also the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, Inc., which began producing Non-Equity professional live theatre on the Eastside of Detroit in February of 1980.

Murray Burns is the bachelor uncle to 12-year-old Nick Burns, who was left with Murray by his globetrotting mother when Nick was only five. Murray was tired of writing cheap comedy for a children's television program, and finds himself unemployed with some free time. He uses that time to saunter through New York and do everything he has always wanted to do like standing on Park Avenue in the dawn's early light and hollering, "All right, all you rich people; everybody out in the street for volleyball." When social services comes to insure that the nephew is receiving a proper upbringing, he finds himself solving their problems, but creating more of his own. Eventually, he must go back to work or lose his nephew, or he might marry the social worker. In any case, he remains one of the funniest non-conformists of the stage.

Portraying Murray Burns is Broadway Onstage producer Dennis Wickline. Sally Savoie, who was just seen as Karen in the Broadway Onstage production of SOMETHING TO HIDE, portrays Sandy Markowitz, the social worker with a heart. John Arden McClure, who has been seen in a number of productions at Broadway Onstage including SOMETHING TO HIDE as Detective Davies, takes on the role of Albert Amundson, the social worker with no heart. Nathan D. Santoscoy will be seen as Nick Burns, the very grown up 12-year-old who really runs the household. David O. Blenkle takes on the role of Albert Burns, Murray's brother and agent. James Howard Carr completes the cast as Leo Herman, also known as Chuckles the Chipmunk, the obnoxious kid's show star that wants Murray back as a writer. The production is under the able direction of Christopher Oakley, who directed last season's production of MISTER 80% at Broadway Onstage.



DENNIS WICKLINE (Murray) - Dennis portrayed Marc in ART and Weller Martin in THE GIN GAME here at Broadway Onstage in the fall of 2005. He was seen as Henry in THE BOOK OF MURDER in the winter of 2005, and as Bradley in THE COCKTAIL HOUR in the fall of 2004. He is the producer of all shows at Broadway Onstage. He began producing theatre in February of 1980 at Stouffer's Eastland. This season is his twenty-sixth of producing non-Equity professional theatre in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He is the author of a number of plays and musicals, including THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Dennis portrayed Vernon in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG in the spring of 2000 here, and portrayed Herbert Bracewell in THE RETURN OF HERBERT BRACEWELL in 2001. He also appeared as Fagin in Grosse Pointe Theatre's 2001 production of OLIVER! and was seen as Joe Keller in their production of ALL MY SONS in March of 2005. Dennis was also seen here in the thriller THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the fall of 2002, portraying 5 separate characters. He directed GPT's production of SHOW BOAT in May of 2005 and their EPIC PROPORTIONS in January of this year.

SALLY SAVOIE (Sandy) - Sally's first role for us here at Broadway Onstage was as Karen in our recently completed thriller SOMETHING TO HIDE. She has been seen in a number of local venues in a wide range of roles, and we're honored to have her back with us. She has portrayed Adelaide in GUYS AND DOLLS, Stella in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Sugar in SUGAR, Pfeni in THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG, Heidi in THE HEIDI CHRONICLES, and Myra in DEATHTRAP, among others. She has choreographed and danced in ROMANCE, ROMANCE and acted as Assistant Director for the productions of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and PAL JOEY. Sally has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with concentration in performance. She also plays guitar and is a certified Pilates practitioner. Welcome back, Sally!

NATHAN D. SANTOSCOY (Nick Burns) - While this is Nathan's first actual Broadway Onstage production, he is already a theatrical veteran that belies his years. He has been seen in Oliver in OLIVER! and Lefou in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, among others. He was also seen is Shmee in PETER PAN and performed here in the Jack Solomon Sorenson production of THE CRYPTOGRAM as John. It is a pleasure to have him appear on our stage as Nick in A THOUSAND CLOWNS. Welcome, Nathan!

JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Albert) - John just completed portraying Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE. His first appearance on our stage was in 2005 as Charley in THE BOOK OF MURDER. Since then he has been in numerous productions here, including Charles Wellington York in last season's SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET and Dr. Zubritsky in FOOLS.He has also appeared as Benny in EPIC PROPORTIONS, Reverend Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Donnie in THE FOURSOME, Charlie Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE, and Mellersh Wilton in ENCHANTED APRIL. John is a theatrical veteran, having portrayed Ranger Tom in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, Bozidar in DEAR SANTA, and Trent in THE LAST RESORT for Starbrite Dinner Theatre. He is also a member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, having portrayed Anthony Marston in TEN LITTLE INDIANS and Kenny Norman in PROPOSALS. We welcome him back to our stage.

DAVID O. BLENKLE (Arnold) - David has a wealth of experience with a number of groups throughout the area. He is a 30 year member of Players Club of Detroit, and recently joined with Eastpointe Players, performing Mr. Fryburger in their LIE, CHEAT AND GENULFECT and later directing their production of DEARLY DEPARTED, both to great acclaim. He is incredibly talented both onstage and behind the scenes and has two children and four grandchildren. This is his first appearance for us on our stage, but we hope that his performance as Arnold in A THOUSAND CLOWNS is the first of many for our company. He brings with him an incredible love for the theatre that is quite infectious. Welcome, David!

JAMES HOWARD CARR (Leo) - While this is James' first role for our company, he has performed in a number of professional venues throughout the area. He performed with the University of Detroit Mercy Theatre Company in MALICE AFORETHOUGHT. He has also performed with the Michigan Opera Theatre in ROMEO AND JULIETTE. James has begun a film acting career recently, and also won the 1997 Community Theatre Association of Michigan Playwriting Award. We thrilled to have him with us.

CHRISTOPHER OAKLEY (Director) - Christopher directed last fall's production of MISTER 80%. He just directed Avon Players' production of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. In September of 2006, he directed Grosse Pointe Theatre's opening production DIAL "M" FOR MURDER. He directed our production of THE FOURSOME in January of 2006, and our EPIC PROPORTIONS in the spring of 2005. He has directed a number of our most successful productions, including BREAKING LEGS several seasons ago, and our production of CRIMES OF THE HEART in the summer of 2001. He also directed our spring 2002 production of MISERY. In January of 2002, Christopher portrayed Lord Fancourt Babberly to great acclaim in Grosse Pointe Theatre's CHARLEY'S AUNT. He has been with us since the beginning of Broadway Onstage. Thanks for everything, Chris!

ELIZABETH RAGER (Stage Manager) - Elizabeth made her acting debut with her performance as Stella in our recent production of SOMETHING TO HIDE. She is no stranger to the stage, peforming parody songs as part of a singing group as well as performing skits in theatre-in-the-round. She is also an able pianist, playing in a variety of venues including accompaniment for soloists and musicals. She believes her occupation as a trainer helped prepare her for the stage: "In training others, you design and present everything for learning with a little entertainment spread throughout; with theatre, you design and present everything for entertainment with a little learning spread throughout." We welcome you back, Elizabeth.

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