Home for the Holidays

Charles Cook as George Morkys

Charles Cook, a seasoned actor with a passion for performance, has graced both stage and camera since 2002, leaving a trail of memorable characters in his wake. Known for his versatility, he’s brought to life a wide array of roles that showcase his exceptional talent, from the suave and charismatic Billy Flynn in Chicago to the enigmatic Rum Tum Tugger in Cats. His portrayals of Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde and Glenn Guglia in The Wedding Singer captivated audiences with his range and dedication. Charles has also shared the stage with ensemble roles in acclaimed productions like Annie Get Your Gun and La Cage aux Folles. He appeared in the 2020 digital recording of Christmas My Way: A Sinatra Holiday Bash with the Broadway Rose Theatre Company, and is thrilled to be back for Home for the Holidays and collaborate with his incredibly talented castmates.

Chad Craner as Matthew Talmadge

Chad Craner is delighted to be returning to the Broadway Rose stage. He has previously appeared in Broadway Rose productions as Levi in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and as a member of the quartet in It Happened One Christmas. Other favorite roles include Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mother’s Younger Brother in Ragtime, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance.

Aurora C. Gooch as Jeri Esposito

Aurora C. Gooch (they/them) is a queer multidisciplinary actor, musician, and recording artist local to Portland. Aurora is a graduate of Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre’s professional training program and is are excited to make their debut with Broadway Rose! Aurora was recently awarded the OTAS Award for Best Featured Actor in 2022 for their performance in ELF The Musical at Lakewood Theatre Company. Choice non-local roles include Rizzo (Grease), Laura (Significant Other), and Capitano/Pulcinella (Commedia!).

Annie Kaiser as Peggy Goldman

Annie Kaiser has worked with Broadway Rose since 2001 as a performer, teacher, costumer, playwright/composer, and director. She directed Broadway Rose’s productions of Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, Gypsy, Company, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Whodunit…The Musical, and began directing their summer children’s productions in 2009. Annie appeared most recently on stage at Broadway Rose as Muzzy van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie. Other Portland area roles include: Dr. Charlotte in Falsettos (Live on Stage!); Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man and Mama Morton in Chicago (Broadway Rose Theatre Company); Martha Watson in White Christmas (Lakewood Theatre Company); and Miss Nelson/Viola Swamp in Miss Nelson is Missing (Oregon Children’s Theatre). Some favorite roles include Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Anita in West Side Story, Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, and Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town. Annie received her theatre training at the University of Washington. She is the performing arts coordinator and co-advisor of Thespian Troupe 1915 at West Linn High School.

Andrew Maldarelli as Henry Travers

Andrew Maldarelli was last seen on our stage as Sebastian in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. You may have seen him as Dan in Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, Billy in Once, Sam in Mamma Mia!, and Jackson in Pump Boys and Dinettes, also at Broadway Rose. Other roles include Sparky (Forever Plaid), Herman (The Most Happy Fella), Adam (The Apple Tree), Angel City 4 (City of Angels), and Mr. Lindquist in A Little Night Music, where he met his wife Maya.

Abby Murray Vachon as Rebecca Schulz

Abby Murray Vachon is thrilled to be making her Broadway Rose debut! Most recently, she played Maria in The Sound of Music with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Other favorite regional credits: My Fair Lady (Eliza Doolittle), Bridges of Madison County (Marian), The Miracle Worker (Annie Sullivan), Les Misérables (Fantine), All Shook Up (Natalie), An Evening with Leslie Uggams (featured soloist), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Chicago Joseph Jefferson Award: Best Musical). She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre from Wright State University and was a member of the Second City Training Center Conservatory Program. She also holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in leadership for the common good.

Click on a date to purchase tickets.

Wednesday, November 22, 7:30 p.m. – Preview performance – Limited availability
Thursday, November 23 – No Show (Thanksgiving)
Friday, November 24, 7:30 p.m. – Opening night
Saturday, November 25, 2:00 p.m. – Limited availability
Saturday, November 25, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 26, 2:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT

Thursday, November 30, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Saturday, December 2, 2:00 p.m. – Post-show talkback – SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 2, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Sunday, December 3, 2:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT

Thursday, December 7, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Friday, December 8, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Saturday, December 9, 2:00 p.m. – Limited availability
Saturday, December 9, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Sunday, December 10, 2:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT

Wednesday, December 13, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 14, 7:30 p.m. – Limited availability
Friday, December 15, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 16, 2:00 p.m. – Audio Descriptions available – SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 16, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Sunday, December 17, 2:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT

Wednesday, December 20, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Thursday, December 21, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Friday, December 22, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 23, 2:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 23, 7:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT

Directed and Choreographed by
Dan Murphy

Assistant Direction by
Chelsea Curto

Music Direction by
Wendy Vece

Scenic Design by
Bryan Boyd

Costume Design by
Allie Schluchter-Cox

Lighting Design by
Phil McBeth

Sound Design by
Brian Karl Moen

Prop Design by
Sam Manilla

Stage Manager
Jessica Junor

Conductor/Piano
Wendy Vece

Bass
Will Amend

Drums
Justin Radford

I believe that one of the things Broadway Rose does well are musical revues and jukebox musicals. In a jukebox musical, you take a lot of familiar tunes and string them together with a storyline, and the holidays offer the perfect opportunity to feature a wealth of festive songs. Home for the Holidays is the third jukebox musical Rick Lewis and I have written together, and there’s no one I love collaborating with more. Aside from his amazing talents as a writer and musician, Rick also has a knack for sleuthing out the most memorable songs for the season. It’s always a lot of fun to see what he’ll come up with!

When you put together an original show there are no boundaries, and everyone contributes – from the painters and carpenters to the musicians and designers. One of my favorite parts of the process begins when I assemble the cast. There’s no greater joy than working with a gifted group of actors who can take a new script and bring the words and music to life for the first time. These folks never fail to bring the finishing touch to the tale we’ve been developing, and I am so honored that they joined me in telling this simple heart-warming holiday story for the first time.

Thank you for joining us as well for our very first production of Home for the Holidays. We hope you’ll enjoy this festive musical about a few stranded strangers and the magic of Christmas. Here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

– Dan Murphy, Director

Bryan Boyd is our scenic designer for Home for the Holidays. With 23 years of scenic design experience, Bryan is a theatre professor at George Fox University where he has designed for over 50 productions. Staffer Dani Wright sat down with Bryan recently to hear how he approaches scenic design.

Where do you begin when designing a set?
I always begin with the script. The first time I read through the script, I do my best to carve out space where I won’t be interrupted. I try not to read the script as a scenic designer, but to experience the show for the story itself and get lost in it. I’m not trying to solve any problems at that point, but to connect with the characters and imagine myself in their world.

After the first read, I dive into research of the period – historical, architectural, and conceptual research – to see if the show feels like it’s part of a certain style. I collaborate with the director, ask what stands out to them, and find out what they feel is at the heart of the show.

What’s at the heart of Home for the Holidays for you?
The space is the station master’s. It’s a space that he loves and has cared for, for a long time, and where he loves to host and care for people as well; it’s home for him in a lot of ways. The period research on this production was a lot of fun. One of the first things I did was to look up the Union Bus Depot and the Union Station in Davenport, Iowa, where the story takes place. The windows in the set are based on these stations.

Are there any future projects you’d like to mention?
We just had the first design meeting for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical which will be presented at Broadway Rose next summer. I’ll be working with the same artistic team that put together Mamma Mia! in 2018, and I’m really excited about that. Beautiful is a wonderful show and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

You can view more of Bryan’s designs at bryanboyddesign.com.

Rick Lewis, co-writer of Home for the Holidays, is the creator of the hit off-Broadway musicals The Taffetas, The Cardigans (NYC Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Revue), and Have a Nice Day! Here at Broadway Rose, he has worked on over 20 productions, receiving a Drammy Award for the musical direction of Broadway Rose’s 2011 production of Hairspray. Rick recently sat down with staffer Dani Wright for an interview.

What was your first experience with Broadway Rose?
In 1993, Sharon and Dan and I all moved here from New York within a week of each other. I had only just met them at a fundraiser in New York City where Dan was hosting and I believe Sharon sang. I watched Dan do the Dan Murphy show, as he does so beautifully, and I thought, “We’re going to be in Portland together – we’re either going to hate each other or we’re going to be best friends.” We immediately started working together after we all got here, and Dan and Sharon are like my second family.

Where do you begin when you start writing a show?
It’s different each time, and Dan Murphy is probably the only person that I collaborate with. Collaboration is a really odd relationship; it’s a lot of give and take and I don’t give very well. But Danny and I are such good friends and have known each other for such a long time that it’s kind of easy, and we’ve found a way to dance around each other. Writing a show starts with the germ of an idea, and sometimes that idea morphs into something else when you start to work on it. One of my playwright friends says that he just sits down at the computer and starts typing, and then the characters and events tell him what’s going to happen. That’s kind of how it worked with Home for the Holidays. Dan had the idea for the show and with that starting point, I was able to suggest additional ideas to flesh it out. I have a huge collection of old vintage holiday music and access to a lot of holiday songs, so as we were talking about things, sometimes an idea for a song for a particular character would pop into my head.

When you’re writing a song, do you start with the lyrics or the tune?
It depends. I was writing something for an event at Portland Center Stage and I was stuck. So I sat down at the computer – that’s called forced creativity, I think. Then I gave up and went out to water flowers in the garden, and while I was watering the idea came to me and I came back in, sketched out the lyrics, and then the melody came after that.

I think that if you start with the melody first, your song isn’t as intelligent – or at least my songs would not be. Sometimes if I have a really good hook, I can find a way to make that wrap around an idea, but usually the lyrics come first.

Anything else you’d like to say to the patrons at Broadway Rose?
It’s nice to be asked every few years to write another holiday piece for Broadway Rose. They’ve made my summers very Christmassy, because that’s when we have to start writing the holiday shows, and then by the time the holiday comes I’m actually kind of over it – but they’ve really given me some beautiful Christmas memories in July over the years.

Broadway Rose Theatre is honored to continue our partnership with Good Neighbor Center to help local families experiencing houselessness, so that they might experience the warmth of the season while receiving safe emergency housing and supportive, empowering services.

To bring comfort and joy to our neighbors in need, simply place your unwrapped gift from their current needs list in one of the provided collection bins under the tree in the Broadway Rose New Stage Theater lobby after Nov. 20 during business hours or when attending a performance. You can also order food and supplies for them directly through Amazon and have their needs shipped right to their door! At the top of their needs list this year are cleaning supplies, dishes, and warm winter coats in nearly all sizes (18 months to 5XL).

Thank you for helping those in need within your community this holiday season!

Purchase a gift of See‘s Candies in the lobby at your performance – proceeds fund musical theatre and education programs. Even better: pair it with a gift certificate for Broadway Rose!

Thank you to the Broadway Rose Theatre Guild for this fundraiser.

Click here for our pre-viewing guide for sensory- and content-sensitive patrons (PDF).