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Feb. 2 – March 5, 2023 | Playhouse Theatre
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s mission is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of quality theatre for the enjoyment of its audiences.
Few figures of the 20th century achieved as much fame–or notoriety–as Andy Warhol. As a visual artist, his creations forever changed our notions of what constitutes “art” while blurring the lines between fine art and commerce. His forays into filmmaking established a true underground cinema movement, exploring subjects and techniques that are now part of the mainstream. His New York studio, the Factory, became a gathering place for a dizzying variety of intellectuals, playwrights, Hollywood celebrities, drag queens, downtown bohemians and wealthy patrons; and his pronouncement that everyone would achieve “15 minutes of fame” paved the way for such contemporary phenomena as YouTube, reality shows and tell-all autobiographies. He lived openly as a gay man decades before gay liberation; and his numerous writings are still revered as the quintessential definition of “pop art.” In the end, though, perhaps his greatest artistic creation was himself: enigmatic, ghostly and silent, Warhol’s presence became one of the indelible images of the 1960s.
But how did Andy Warhola, the impoverished son of immigrant parents, become one of the seminal figures of contemporary America? In his play Andy Warhol’s Tomato, first produced in 2017, Vince Melocchi creates a fable (perhaps based on an actual encounter from Warhol’s youth) that offers a fascinating look at the famed artist years before he became a household word. In a series of scenes that are both endearing and tantalizingly prescient, Melocchi posits a relationship between the young artist and Mario “Bones” Bonino, a no-nonsense bar owner in a village outside Pittsburgh (Warhol’s place of birth) that is alternately sweetly humorous and contentious, regretful and joyous. Much more than a fanciful conjecture about the possible origins of a grandly idiosyncratic cultural icon, Melocchi explores with simplicity and eloquence the struggles of two very different men united in their quest for authenticity and fulfillment in a world too prone to conformity. Not unlike Warhol’s creations, Andy Warhol’s Tomato is an unexpectedly profound journey of two very disparate individuals, drawn together by the power of art.
~SS
Bryan Burke+* is a member of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble. Burke’s acting credits include the Jeff-recommended productions of Clybourne Park (Russ/Dan), The Cake (Tim), Defiance (Col. Littlefield), The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay) and Good People (Mike), as well as Red, White and Blacklisted (Christopher Trumbo), Leading Ladies (Leo), Moon Over Buffalo (George), Faith Healer (Frank), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Johnny), Italian-American Reconciliation (Huey), Sleuth (Andrew Wyke), The Melville Boys (Lee), Noises Off (Frederick Fellows/ Phillip Brent) and Visiting Mr. Green. Other acting credits include The Trip to Bountiful, The Lonesome West, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Living, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Look Homeward Angel, Warrior and Hamlet. Burke also directed Frozen, Shining City, Love Song, Stones in His Pockets, The Weir and Three Days of Rain for BTE. College of DuPage directing credits include Defying Gravity, Anton in Show Business, The Laramie Project, and The House of Ramon Iglesia. Burke was also a founding member of Chicago’s Cactus Theatre Company. Acting credits with The Cactus Theatre Company include Golden Boy, Fishing, Paradise Lost and Waiting for Lefty. He also directed their productions of Hurly Burly and Valentine’s Day. Burke holds a BGS degree in Theatre from the University of Kansas. He is also a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Alexander Wisniewski makes his professional debut with Andy Warhol’s Tomato. He is currently working on his Associate of Arts degree at College of DuPage, and will pursue a Bachelors of the Arts. College Theatre credits include: Born Yesterday (Harry Brock), The SpongeBob Musical (SpongeBob SquarePants), and She Kills Monsters (Steve/The Great Mage Steve), all at the College of DuPage. Alexander is currently working with the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in conjunction with the McAninch Arts Center as an Andy Warhol lookalike in the upcoming Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop art exhibit opening in June of this year.
Dustin Ayers is grateful to be a part of this BTE production for his return to acting after 15 years. He is a graduate of the Conservatory Theatre program at Roosevelt University. He was last seen in seasons with Tinfish Theater, which included the roles of Roger in The Balcony, Leon in Fools, Hally in Master Harold and the Boys, and Yvan in Art. He would like to thank Connie Canaday Howard for this opportunity and his wife Jamie Ayers for her love and support.
Beck Damron is a Chicago based actor. He studied acting at The University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Previous credits: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Three Brothers Theatre), The Tempest (Goodly Creatures Theatre), The Book of Will (Edge of the Wood), Christmas Karol: a Holiday Intervention Cabaret (PrideArts), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dunes Summer Theatre) and many shows with the Chicago Kids Company. Find out more at Beckdamron.com.
Steve Scott ‡ returns for his ninth production at BTE, where he most recently directed The Cake in 2019. For over 30 years he served as Producer at the Goodman Theatre, and is currently an artistic associate and board member at the Goodman; his directing credits there include The Santaland Diaries; Ah, Wilderness; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Horton Foote’s Blind Date; the world premiere of Tom Mula’s Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol; and six editions of A Christmas Carol. Steve has directed at a wide variety of professional companies in Chicago; recent productions include Mothers and Sons at Northlight, Richard III at Promethean, King Lear and The Humans at Redtwist (where he is a company member), Why Torture is Wrong…and the People Who Love Them at Eclipse Theatre, Next to Normal at the Dunes Summer Theatre (where he is artistic director), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Skokie Theatre, and Summer and Smoke and Stage Door at the Theatre Conservatory of the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he has been on the faculty for over two decades. He has also taught at Columbia College Chicago, Loyola University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, and the Latin School of Chicago; and serves on the board of Season of Concern. For his work as a director, Steve has received six Jeff nominations, an After Dark Award, and numerous Broadway World nominations; he received the 2017 Special Jeff Award for his contributions to the Chicago theater community and the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the League of Chicago Theatres.
‡ Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
Aly Renee Amidei+^ is the Assistant Professor of Costume Design at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously she was the Associate Professor of Costume Design at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte with an MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University in 2000. In addition to being a BTE ensemble member, she is also an ensemble member, designer, and playwright at two pillars of Chicago ensemble-based storefront theatre: Strawdog Theatre Company and Lifeline Theatre. She was also a founding member and the artistic director for the horror theatre company WildClaw. Her costume and makeup designs have also been featured at Steep Theatre, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Magic Theatre of San Antonio, Lakeside Shakespeare, Irish Theater of Chicago, Dupage Opera, Stage Left, Artistic Home, House Theater of Chicago, Teatro Vista, Collaboraction, and Vitalist Theater. Previously, she worked for 15 years as the costume and makeup coordinator for the College of DuPage theater and dance department.
Garrett Bell is excited to be joining Buffalo Theatre Ensemble again for Andy Warhol's Tomato. Recent local lighting design credits include Season’s Greetings, Clybourne Park and Naperville with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Future Perfect with Bellissima Opera, and The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story (Associate) with Oak Park Festival Theatre. Other recent credits include the world premiere of A Hidden Life at PURE Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina, and Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, Ohio. More of Bell’s work can be found at www.garrettmbell.com
Connie Canaday Howard+* has directed numerous BTE productions including Good People, Time Stands Still, Noises Off, Into the Woods, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Rabbit Hole and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune. Favorite BTE acting roles have been Della in The Cake, Annie in The Real Thing, Harper in Angels in America, Nancy in Frozen and Ruella in Communicating Doors. Canaday Howard is a member of Actors’ Equity, and is on the Artistic Team of the Jeff Committee. She holds an MFA in directing, and has worked regionally with Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, City Theatre Company, Belvoir Terrace, Drama Workshop, Down River Dinner Theatre, Ingersoll Theatre, Charlie’s Showplace, and tours of both theater and dance, as well as helping to create and perform several improvisational shows. She was the state-wide co-chair of the Theatre Panel for Illinois Articulation Initiative for more than 15 years. Canaday Howard was Chair of the Theatre Department at the College of DuPage until her retirement in 2022, and was honored as COD’s Outstanding Faculty for 2003–2004.
Christopher Kriz+^ is a composer and sound designer based in Chicago, and an Ensemble Member with BTE. Previous BTE designs include The 39 Steps (Jeff Nomination), Naperville, The Cake, Holmes and Watson, Time Stands Still, and dozens of others. Chicago: Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Victory Gardens, Timeline Theatre, The Gift Theatre, and many others. Regional: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Crossroads Theatre, Montana Shakespeare, TheatreSquared, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and others. A winner of five Joseph Jefferson Awards, Kriz is a proud member of United Scenic Artists 829. To hear more of his work, please visit christopherkriz.com
Rachel Lambert is so happy to be working with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble again. She is a freelance costume and props designer in Chicago whose previous credits include work with Goodman Theatre, The Second City, Northlight Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre, First Folio, The Gift, Eclipse Theatre, Redtwist, DePaul School of Music, Greenhouse Theatre, BoHo Theatre, Underscore Theatre, Signal Ensemble, and American Blues Theatre. She has been nominated for five Jeff awards. Regionally she has designed for Peninsula Players and the Texas Shakespeare Festival.
Jack Magaw^ (Scenic Design) returns to Buffalo Theatre Ensemble after previously designing Warrior in 1998. Recent Chicago and regional credits include the world premiere of Relentless (TimeLine Theatre and Goodman Theatre), Nina Simone: Four Women (South Coast Rep), Two Trains Running (Court Theatre), The Agitators (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Indecent (Arena Stage, Kansas City Rep and Baltimore Centerstage), Legacy Land and Frankenstein (Kansas City Rep), America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise and Eventual Extinction of the American Negro (Barrington Stage), The Scarlet Ibis (Chicago Opera Theatre), Approval Junkie (Alliance Theatre and Audible Theatre Off-Broadway), Talley’s Folly and I and You (Peninsula Players Theatre). Upcoming projects include the world premiere of How to Break (Village Theatre) and Crimes of the Heart (American Stage). Jack is an Adjunct Professor of Design at The Theatre School at DePaul University and he resides in Chicago. www.jackmagaw.com
^ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829
Jenniffer J. Thusing* (Stage Manager) is happy to be working with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble for the first time. In her over 20 years of stage managing, she has worked for Windy City Playhouse, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, About Face, SoloChicago and Chicago Dramatists. Thusing is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
Christopher Lindquist is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. His favorite credits include Clybourne Park and Season's Greetings (ASM/ICSM) this season here at Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, as well as Peter and the Starcatcher (Assistant Director) and Head Over Heels (Stage Manager) at UWEC.
Carolyn Goldsmith◊ has performed in COD productions of Badger (Rose), and A Christmas Carol (Fezziwig Guest) This is her first time in a behind the scenes role as BTE Student Stage Manager.
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