Rotterdam (2017)
West Coast Premiere of the 2017 Olivier Award Winning play produced with
Hartshorn - Hooks Productions.
Written by Jon Brittain
Directed by Michael A. Shepperd
Produced by Gary Grossman, Tony Abatemarco, Andrew Carlberg
Associate Producers: Joshua Gershick, Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx, Christopher Aguilar
A queer love story about all of us –
Will be produced by the Center Theatre Group as part of the 2019 Block Party. ROTTERDAM will be performed March - April at CTG's Kirk Douglas Theatre. This recognition is on the heels of winning three Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards: Best Production (tied with “Hamilton”), Writing – Jon Brittain, and Lead Performance – Ashley Romans for her portrayal of Fiona/Adrian. The production also garnered Production of the Year and another performance award for Ashley Romans from Stage Raw along with unanimous critical acclaim and a performance run at Skylight that included three extensions.
STORY: New Year’s. Rotterdam, 2017. Alice has finally found the courage to email her parents and tell them she’s lesbian. But before hitting send, her girlfriend Fiona reveals that she has always identified as male, and now wants to start living as one. "No, Alice, I don’t want to become a man, I just want to stop trying to be a woman.”
A bittersweet story with deeply relatable characters that are flawed and hilarious. Rotterdam is a comedy with powerful questions about love and identity at its core.
HISTORY: Playing in 2015 and 2016 in London to critical acclaim and sold out houses, ROTTERDAM won the prestigious 2017 OLIVIER AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE. The original cast performed a limited run in New York May/June 2017. The Olivier Awards recognize excellence in London's professional theatre and is equivalent to Broadway's Tony Award.
SCHEDULE
November 11, 2017 - January 28, 2018
AGE RECOMMENDATION: 14+
2017 - 2018 Season
SPOKEN WORD EVENTS
Join us for two special spoken word events with community artists sharing their experience, strength, passion & hope, preceding the performance of “Rotterdam.”
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20 7:00pm - in recognition of Trans Remembrance Day with Nicky Endres, Audrey Kuo, Josh Gershick
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 7:30pm - in recognition of World AIDS Day
Skylight Alley
CELEBRITY MONDAYS
Meet some of your favorite actors at 'ROTTERDAM'. It’s easy to meet people at Skylight. Say hello before the show, share something to drink at intermission. Ask questions. Take a selfie.
All guests are subject to availability.
2018
Mon. January 8 | LEA THOMPSON
Mon. January 15 |
CARLSON YOUNG
2017
Mon. November 13 |
SHARON LAWRENCE
Mon. November 27 |
BARRETT FOA
Mon. December 4 |
RIDER STRONG
Mon. December 11 |
THOMAS SADOSKI
Mon. December 18 |
JONATHAN LIPNICKI
BEYOND
CONVERSATION
Enhance
your experience.
We hope to bring more to the conversation begun by the play ROTTERDAM, and illuminate the breadth and depth of transgender experience as it is authentically lived.
2018
Sun. Jan. 7 | TRANSGENDER IN THE WORKPLACE
Sun. Jan 14 | IN G-D'S IMAGE: TRANSGENDER PEOPLE OF FAITH
Sun. Jan 21 | TRANSGENDER ACROSS THE GENERATIONS
Sun. Jan 28 | MOTHERS OF TRANSGENDER CHILDREN
2017
Sun. Nov. 12 | A FAMILY TRANSITIONS Part 1
Sun. Nov. 19 | TRANSGENDER THROUGH THE HISTORICAL LENS
Sun. Nov. 26 | FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT: FOUR DECADES OF ACTIVISM
Sun. Dec. 3 | THE COUPLE'S JOURNEY
Sun. Dec. 10 | A FAMILY TRANSITIONS Part 2
Sun. Dec 17 | PROTECTING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN TODAY'S POLITICAL CLIMATE
MEDIA
2017
THE ARTISTS OF ROTTERDAM
Jon Brittain
Writer
Jon Brittain, winner of the Olivier Award for Rotterdam, is a playwright, comedy writer and director.
His plays include The Wake, The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo, What Would Spock Do? and A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad).
He co-created the critically acclaimed show Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and its sequel Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows. He was one of the 503Five 2012/2013 and has worked extensively with Old Vic New Voices. He has written for Radio 4’s The Now Show and Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball, and created and starred in the online sketch show HodgePodge. He directed both of John Kearns’s Fosters Award winning stand-up shows Sight Gags for Perverts and Shtick, and Tom Allen’s shows Both Worlds and Indeed.
For Rotterdam, in addition to his 2017 Olivier Award win, Jon was nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Awards 2016.
Michael A. Shepperd
director
MICHAEL A. SHEPPERD is very happy to be back with his Skylight Family. Michael is the Artistic Director of Los Angeles’ award-winning Celebration Theatre.
Recent Directing credits include: The Boy From Oz (Ovation Award, LADCC Award, Best Director), Rotterdam (LADCC Award Best Production, Stage Raw award for Best Production (win) and Best Director, nom Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Director of the Year, Scenie Award, BWW nom, Best Director) The View Upstairs (BWW award, Best Director) Never Ever Land, Sucker Punch, Too Heavy for Your Pocket, The Next Fairy Tale, [title of show], Rent.
Acting roles include The Producers (Roger DeBris), Fences (Troy; Ovation, LADCC Nominations), BootyCandy (LADCC nom, Ovation, Stage Raw Win), The Color Purple (Mister; Ovation award), Steel (Ovation Award), Master Harold and the Boys ( NAACP theatre award nom), The Producers, Intimate Apparel (NAACP Theatre Award), Choir Boy (NAACP nom), and Shout Sister Shout.
Broadway/Regional credits include: Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan, The Seafarer, Little Shop of Horrors, Caroline, or Change, Whipping Man. TV: Why Women Kill, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Soul Man, Hot In Cleveland, Wizards of Waverly Place, Monk, Criminal Minds, NCIS. Olive Ewe all the time boo
Miranda Wynne
Actress
MIRANDA WYNNE (Alice) is a Los Angeles native. She recently played Cissy Franks in the West Coast premiere of Punk Rock at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. After graduating from UC-San Diego with her B.A. in Theatre and Communications, she performed at the La Jolla Playhouse, Santa Monica Playhouse, Art Share LA, The Whitmore-Lindley, NoHo Arts Center and Theaterlab in NYC.
Ashley Romans
Actress
ASHLEY ROMANS (Fiona/Adrian) moved to Los Angeles just two years ago to pursue acting. She performed in Charm at Celebration Theatre in 2016, and has recently completed Finding Johnny and The Devil Lives in Clarksville County. Previous work includes August Ninth, and TV Junkie. For more info: Instagram @romansash or imdb.com/ashleyromans
Ryan Brophy
Actor
RYAN BROPHY (Josh) graduated from USC's School of Dramatic Arts in May 2018. For his professional debut in ROTTERDAM at the Skylight, he was nominated for both the Ovation and StageRaw award for Best Featured Actor. Other LA credits include Oppenheimer at Rogue Machine. USC: Romeo and Juliet, The Country Wife, You Can’t Take It With You, That Long Damn Dark. British American Drama Academy: The Love of The Nightingale. Short film: We Could Have Danced (USC), The Gift of the Magi (UCLA). Multimedia: Is the Sky Falling? (dir. Bill T. Jones). YoungArts 2014 Silver Award winner in Spoken Theatre and 2013 Cherub (Northwestern University).
Audrey Cain
Actress
AUDREY CAIN (Lelani): was seen recently in East West Players production of La Cage Aux Folles, and Friends in Transient Places by Fresh Produce’d LA. She has also performed The Fountain Theatre, Chalk Rep and EST-LA. More info: www.audreycain.com
DESIGNERS
SET and LIGHT DESIGN: Jeff McLaughlin
COSTUME DESIGN: Naila Alladin Sanders
SOUND DESIGN: Christopher Moscatiello
PROP MASTER: Michael O'Hara
PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: Garrett Crouch
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Shen Heckle
DRAMATURG: Joshua Gershick
CASTING DIRECTOR: Raul Clayton Staggs
DIALECT COACH: Tuffet Schmelzle
PUBLICIST: Judith Borne - PRESS KIT
MARKETING ART DESIGN: Llance Bower
Skylight Theatre Company has always been drawn to personal stories.
Stories created by artists that help stimulate conversation, raise our consiousness, and expand our hearts.
Discovering “Rotterdam” has been an exciting challenge. As the producers of a play featuring a transgender character just beginning his transition, our aim is to present an accurate and authentic portrayal.
We have enlisted members of the trans community, Josh Gershick and Christopher Aguilar, as our associate producers and guides into this world and with their help we've met many insightful members of the trans/GNC community. It has been an amazing and revealing journey and we are hungry for more.
We want to continue the conversation with you.
We hope you'll join us at Rotterdam. We hope that you'll linger after the show and share your insights and experience with us. Most of all, we hope that you'll come to feel welcomed and part of the Skylight family.
SPECIAL EVENTS
REVIEWS
Los Angeles Times - Critics Choice
"Rotterdam" arrives in Los Angeles in a PITCH-PERFECT staging at the Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz.
ABSORBING... Gifted young cast ...plunges so deeply into the heart of the matter that we respond with whole catalogs of emotion. Shepperd's staging is so crisp that even the between-scenes set changes have a choreography to them.
Stage Raw- Recommended
TOP TEN! A compelling new age love story that is enhanced by its TRANSCENDENT casting
BroadwayWorld
Convergence of FANTASTIC TALENTS - writing, directing & acting.
Make ROTTERDAM a destination you need to visit.
Broadway World
BRILLIANT writing, direction and character portrayals
Los Angeles Blade
Crisp, entertaining production of this DECEPTIVELY FUNNY Olivier-winner...
Brittain’s brilliant play is truly universal in its scope...in a single moment, everything changes.
Anyone who has been in a long-term relationship – straight, gay, trans, or otherwise – will certainly recognize that situation.
To put it metaphorically, we’ve all been to Rotterdam.
Los Angeles Post
A beautifully written, brilliantly directed,
gorgeously produced, and wonderfully acted TRIUMPH
Rotterdam is FUNNY, it’s SAD it’s WISE, it’s ABSURD, it’s EMOTIONAL, it’s PROFOUND, and yes, it’s TOPICAL.
But don’t let that scare you off.
Edge Media Networks
REFRESHING. Thoroughly intriguing...truly an extraordinary welcomed addition...
Extremely well-directed...Superb cast
StageSceneLA - WOW!
L.A. intimate theater at its most cutting-edge and compelling.
A RIVETING, THRILLINGLY STAGED West Coast Premiere.
LA Weekly
GO! Shepperd hasn’t earned his reputation as one of L.A.’s best directors for naught.
Billed as “a queer love story about all of us,” the show lives up to that hype.
Theatre Notes, Paul Myrvold
The Cast is Extraordinary...Rotterdam is a Polished, Brilliant, NOT TO BE MISSED piece of theatre.
Discover Hollywood
Perfect show to see for a NIGHT OF GREAT THEATER. Relatable and heartwarming.
It is such a topical and engaging story that brings the human experience in all its shapes and forms
to life the way only the Skylight Theatre can produce.
Ticket Holders LA
An urgently important play, intelligently exploring territory which other writers haven’t yet really touched
with such UNDERSTANDING, HUMOR, and an overwhelmingly sense of HUMANITY…incredibly timely
On Stage and Screen
A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT achievement, exploring complex issues rarely seen in media with
honesty and sensitivity. It is a play that will not only make you think, but teach you about
life experiences and identities you may not share, at a time in the world when understanding others and
showing compassion feels so critical. Don't miss it.
