“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”– Mae West.
Love is in the air when two passionate Mae West fans meet at their idol’s gravesite. As their relationship blooms, they swap stories of the uniquely American icon who defiantly rejected polite society, theatrical norms, and constant censorship by being unapologetically authentic, rising from obscurity to sex symbol. “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful” in this funny and bawdy Tony-nominated musical.
- The Independent
By Claudia Shear
Conceived by Claudia Shear and James Lapine
Original Song “Dirty Blonde” by Bob Stillman
DIRTY BLONDE is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.www.concordtheatricals.com
Run Time: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission
Contains adult themes. Recommended for ages 12+.
Group rates available! Contact info@weathervanenh.org for more information.
Thursday, September 4 at 7 PM
Friday, September 5 at 7 PM
Thursday, September 11 at 2 PM
Saturday, September 20 at 2 PM
Sunday, September 28 at 2 PM
Saturday, October 4 at 7 PM
Thursday, September 4 | Opening Night Reception: Mingle with the cast and creative team immediately following opening night at this intimate ticketed event. Reception includes a glass of champagne and drink specials.
COMING SOON!
Valerie Wright (she/her)
THIRD SEASON
Performing: Broadway: Kimberly Akimbo; TUCK Everlasting; ELF; Annie Get Your Gun; Damn Yankees; Steel Pier; Sally Marr and Her Escorts; Song & Dance; Cats. First National Tour: Kimberly Akimbo. Off-Broadway: Wanda’s World; The World Goes ‘Round; Showing Off. Helen Hayes Award nominations and Jefferson Award. Directing/Choreography: National Tour–ANNIE (Associate Director) Regional: Anne of Green Gables (Associate Director); ELF; Miracle on 34th Street; Beehive; HAIR; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; Pajama Game; The Baker’s Wife; Fiddler On The Roof; Mamma Mia; The Story Goes On.
Andrew Morrissey (he/him)
SIXTH SEASON
Andrew Morrissey is a NYC based pianist, award-winning music director, vocal coach and composer. Experience includes educational, community and semi-professional theatre in NH, NYC and the DMV area. A NH native, regional credits include Interlakes, Jean’s Playhouse, Winnipesaukee Playhouse and Plymouth State University, where he received a BA in Music. He has a MM in stage music composition from CUA, and his thesis project grew into a fully fledged staging of Lost In Wonderland with DC’s Pallas Theatre Collective. Current projects include a new musical based on Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray and another on the life of Rasputin. IG: @Andrewmorrisseymusic
Rien Schlecht (she/her)
TWENTY-FIRST SEASON
Favorite Weathervane designs include A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (NH Theatre Award), GUYS AND DOLLS (NH Theatre Award), EURYDICE, BUYER AND CELLAR, and SWEENEY TODD (NH Theatre Award). Her New York theatre credits – Out of the Box Theatrics, including the Drama Desk-nominated BABY, several seasons with Theatre For A New Audience, Radio City, Mark Morris Ballet, and many other theatres and TV commercials. She designed The Mysteries at The Flea (Drama Desk nom), The Jinx for HBO, worked on THE WOODSMAN at New World Stages, and the stage and film productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Julie Taymor.
Jeremy Baldauf (he/him)
THIRD SEASON
Based in Vermont, Jeremy has been a freelance technical designer for 10+ years, traveling the East Coast and beyond. He is excited to be returning for his third season with the Weathervane! Jeremy is also a gaffer and grip for film and television, and is an active member of IATSE Local #481.
Connor von Rentzell (he/they)
FIRST SEASON
Connor is a recent graduate from the University of South Dakota. Sound Design credits include THE 39 STEPS (University of South Dakota) and THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (Black Hills Playhouse). Lighting Design credits include THE LIGHTNING THIEF and BAT BOY (University of South Dakota).
Jason Luck (he/him)
SECOND SEASON
Jason is an Ohio-based scenic artist and designer. Previously, he designed SWEAT and BURIAL AT THEBES at Baldwin Wallace University. This is his second season scenic painting at Weathervane and recently painted ELF, FOOTLOOSE, and JOSEPH… at Broadway Sacramento. He hopes you enjoy the show! @jjluck10
Vero Villalobos (she/her)
THIRD SEASON
Working her way through every position at Weathervane, Vero’s excited to be stepping in as technical director for the 60th season. Previous credits include: musician for EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, THE FULL MONTY, and CABARET; playwright for GLOCK 17. Para mi Papa: ¡Mira, soy carpinterá como tú! Te amo.
AP Pikiben (they/them)
THIRD SEASON
(Costume Design – Grease, Waitress | Intimacy Coordinator | Production Manager) is a theatre artist based out of the Midwest. They are currently working at Truman State University as a Professor of Theatre. AP is so excited to be back with their Weathervane family alongside their partner, Alexander. They are excited to create beautiful theatre in the North Country!
Sam Powers* (he/him)
FIRST SEASON
Recent credits include: Kennedy Center: SHEAR MADNESS; Everyman Theatre: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE; Round House Theatre: A HANUKKAH CAROL; Florida Studio Theatre: THE 4CNOTES, RHINESTONE COWGIRLS, THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND, TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REMIXED!, BLACK PEARL SINGS!, THE ’70S-MORE THAN A DECADE; Proud Muhlenberg College graduate. www.sampowersstage.com @sampowersstage
TessaMarie Beard (she/her)
FIRST SEASON
TessaMarie is a Chicago-based theatre artist and stage manager. This is her first season with Weathervane, and she is super excited to be part of the theatre’s 60th anniversary season!
Reed Davis* (he/him)
SECOND SEASON
Reed is returning to Weathervane for his second season. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Stage Management at the University of Iowa. Previously, he has worked with Opera House Arts, First Stage Milwaukee, and Penobscot Theatre Company. Thank you to his friends and family for their support—enjoy the show!
Egypt Dixon* (she/her)
EIGHTH SEASON
Credits: National Tour: PARADE (Asst Stage Manager), Atlantic Theater Company (Production Stage Manager): ANATOMY OAS. TFANA (Assistant Stage Manager): FEFU AND HER FRIENDS. Weston Playhouse (Asst Stage Manager): INDECENT. She is excited to return to the White Mountains. Education: MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College.
CLAUDIA SHEAR
Broadway: SMELL OF THE KILL (Drama League Award), DIRTY BLONDE (Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Play and Best Actress; Drama League Award, Theatre World Award). London: DIRTY BLONDE, CHICAGO. Off-Broadway: BLOWN SIDEWAYS THROUGH LIFE (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination), DIRTY BLONDE (NYTW). Television: ‘Blown Sideways Through Life,’ (Montreux Rose D’Or Prize).
James Lapine was born in 1949 in Mansfield, Ohio and lived there until his early teens, when his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut. He attended public schools before entering Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he majored in History. He went on to get an MFA in Design from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.
After graduate school, he moved to New York City where he worked part-time as a waiter; a page and tour guide at NBC; a free-lance photographer and graphic designer; and an architectural preservationist for the Architectural League of NY. One of his free-lance jobs was designing the magazine of the Yale School of Drama, Yale/Theater, then edited by Rocco Landesman and Robert Marx. The dean of the School of Drama, Robert Brustein, offered Lapine a full-time job designing all of the printed materials for the School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theatre as well as a faculty position teaching a course in advertising design.
While at Yale, his students urged him to direct a play during the annual January period when both faculty and students undertook a project outside of their areas of study or expertise. At their suggestion, Lapine directed a Gertrude Stein play, Photograph. The play was five acts, and just three pages in length. Assembling students and friends, the play was presented in New Haven and came to the attention of director Lee Breuer, who helped arrange for a small performance space in Soho to present the work for three weeks. The production was enthusiastically received and won Lapine an Obie award.
Lapine was approached to create a new piece for the Music-Theatre Group. He wrote and directed a workshop version of Twelve Dreams, a work inspired by a Jungian case history. The play was later presented at the Public Theatre and revived by Lincoln Center Theatre. Lapine eventually left the visual arts for a career in the theatre, where he has also written and directed the plays Table Settings, Luck, Pluck and Virtue, The Moment When, Fran’s Bed and Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.
He has written the book for and directed Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion and the multi-media revue Sondheim on Sondheim. He also directed Merrily We Roll Along as part of Encores! at New York City Center. With William Finn he has collaborated on March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, later presented on Broadway as Falsettos, A New Brain, Muscle and Little Miss Sunshine at Second Stage Theatre.
On Broadway, he has also directed David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, The Diary of Anne Frank, Michel Legrand’s Amour, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He directed Jenny Allen’s solo piece I Got Sick and Then I Got Better with Darren Katz. Lapine directed the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie. He co-produced and directed the HBO documentary Six By Sondheim. In 2014, Lincoln Center Theater produced his stage adaptation of the Moss Hart memoir Act One. Lapine has also directed several productions off-Broadway as well as three films.
He is the recipient of three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2011, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Lapine is a member of the Dramatist Guild Council and for the last twelve years has been a mentor for TDF’s Open Doors Program. He is also on the board of Ars Nova Theatre. He currently lives in New York City.
Concord Theatricals
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Kitt & Yorkey, Ken Ludwig, Marlow & Moss, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anaïs Mitchell, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson.
With offices in New York, London, and Berlin, Concord Theatricals is the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording, and first-class production.
Conductor/Keyboard: Andrew Morrissey
Drums: Mitch Perrins
Bass: AC Muench
Guitar: Jacob Bloom
Violin: Nick Deapo
Special Thanks to First Night Sponsor Scott Hunt
Given in memory and celebration of Kathy Meddings
* Denotes membership of Actors’ Equity Association
389 Lancaster Road, Whitefield, New Hampshire, 03598 | Box Office: 603-837-9322 | Business Office: 603-837-9010
Weathervane Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that produces all of its productions and special events. All ticket proceeds go directly to Weathervane Theatre.