LADY WINDERMERE’$ FAM
Anthony Balsano, Nadiya Atkinson, Sean Woytowitz, Aly Charfauros, Michael Tong, Adam Sussman, Grant Ritchie, Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger, Mo Hetzer, Zachary Sundstedt, Alyssa DeVries, Phillip Magin
It all started with oscar Wilde…
It was Christmas, 2015.
My Aunt gave me a copy of the Complete Plays of Oscar Wilde as a gift. Having heard of Oscar Wilde but never having read a single one of his works, I curiously began reading the first play in the collection…
“Lady Windermere’s Fan”
I was intrigued by the show but at the same time it didn’t have the luster that Shakespeare brought for me. It felt dated, stuffy, and not the kind of show I would personally go to see live.
That got my mind racing. Who would want to go see this show, and would this show ever appeal to young people? Could this show be adapted for younger audiences that would enjoy it?
And that started the crazy idea of “Lady Windermere’$ FAM”.
An artistic director of a theater in London who is overseeing a production of “Lady Windermere’s Fan” is battling heartbreak and depression and laments that he is not artistically fulfilled anymore. He gets the idea to adapt this Oscar Wilde classic for younger audiences, hoping it will renew interest in people and himself. But along the way, he clashes with his drug addicted Artistic Associate, his relationship with a long suffering actress, and the crazy actors employed in his company.
We rehearsed at my house, where I was the sole writer, producer, and director. The entire cast consisted of my friends who do theater and who I had worked with before or that I went to High School with. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with me. I asked them to leave their sanity at the door, and they happily complied.
For two months we prepared for our grand debut at the 2016 San Diego International Fringe Festival, where we had five performances at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center downtown. We were greeted with a warm reception, and Joe Udall, a fellow artist and Producer, remarked it was the “Best comedy of the #sdfringe16 thus far” (June 27, 2016).
This show gave me the confidence that I could juggle many hats as a creator, and that my work was worth showing to the world.
You can enjoy the entire show below!
The full cast and CREW:
BARRY: Grant Ritchie
MARTIN: Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger
AGATHA: Aly Charfauros
LENNY: Zachary Sundstedt
WALTER: Adam Sussman
ROSALIE: Nadiya Atkinson
RODERICK: Mo Hetzer
DAVID: Sean Woytowitz
JULIA: Alyssa DeVries
JESUS/CORNELIUS/THERAPIST Anthony Balsano
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Phillip Magin
STAGE MANAGER: Maya Abed
CREW: Michael Tong
PHOTOGRAPHER/GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Shelley DeVries Gerber
