The Cast
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Eddie Collins (David Gold) is making his Apple Tree Theatre and Chicagoland debut with Twilight of the Golds. This summer he was seen at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival as Henry in Henry V, Berowne in Love's Labours Lost and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing. Regional credits include: Laughing Stock, You Can't Take It With You and The Story (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Macbeth (Meadow Brook Theatre);, Macbeth and The Merry Wives of Windsor (American Players Theatre); Take Me Out (Milwaukee Chamber Theater); Much Ado and Richard II (Milwaukee Shakespeare); The Retreat from Moscow (Next Act Theater); and The Glass Menagerie, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest (Texas Shakespeare Festival.) He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre.
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Brigid Duffy (Phyllis Gold) is delighted to have an opportunity to work at Apple Tree Theatre. Brigid was Artistic Associate of Irish Repertory where she appeared in The Mai, A Life, Pentecost, and Well of the Saints. Other performances include: Hedda Gabler (Steppenwolf); The Sea and Freedom of the City (The Goodman); and Mornings at Seven (Drury Lane Water Tower.) Brigid taught in Chicago Public Schools and won the prestigious Golden Apple Award. Favorite roles include Gabrielle in The Madwoman of Chaillot with Zoe Caldwell; Lady Macduff in Macbeth with Sam Wanamaker; and alternating with Cicely Tyson in Servant of Two Masters at American Conservatory Theatre. Brigid holds an M.A. in theatre and trained at the Goodman School of Drama.
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Elise Kauzlaric (Suzanne Stein) is happy to be making her Apple Tree Theatre debut. She is a member of the artistic ensemble at Lifeline Theatre where she has appeared in Queen Lucia, Strong Poison, and The Silver Chair, among others. Other area acting credits include: King Lear (The Goodman); The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Importance of Being Ernest and Tartuffe (City Lit Theatre); Cabaret (Metropolis Performing Arts Center); and A Midsummer Night's Dream (First Folio Shakespeare.) Her adaptation of Half Magic can be seen in Lifeline's KidSeries this fall, and she will appear in Lifeline's upcoming winter production of Talking it Over.
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Steven Marzolf (Rob Stein) is happily making his Apple Tree debut in Twilight of the Golds. Past Chicago credits include: August: Osage County (Steppenwolf Theatre); Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, How Can You Run With A Shell On Your Back (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); A Christmas Carol at Provision Theater; Anyone Can Whistle, The Frogs (Pegasus Players); Marlowe, The Christmas Schooner (Bailiwick Repertory Theatre); and Salome (The Side Project.) Regional credits include: Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival); Two Rooms (In Tandem); and Richard III, Mary Stuart, Napoli Milionaria, A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory Theater.)
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Larry Wiley (Walter Gold) is delighted to be working with the talented people at Apple Tree Theatre. A veteran of over 100 stage productions, he was last seen in Raised (The Side Project); and Another Park of the Forest (Writer's Theatre.) He has worked with the Griffin Theatre, Raven Theatre, Piven Theatre Workshop, Provision Theatre, Stage Left and The Eclipse Theatre as well as others that have come and gone. Some of his favorite roles include: George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf; Atticus Fitch in To Kill a Mockingbird; and Morris in God's Favorite all of which allowed him to receive Best Actor awards. Other favorite shows include, Golden Boy and Road To Mecca (Raven Theatre); Astounding Science Fiction, Ah Wilderness and Riding the Dolphin (Griffin Theatre); and Skyscraper (Piven Theatre Workshop.) Larry has also had speaking roles in the movies, Suburbia, George and the Flies and Incident at Black Rock . Many thanks to all the talented persons who, over the last 31 years, have shared their talents and their friendships.
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Press
Pioneer Press feature
Daily Herald feature
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Highlights from the Pioneer Press feature by Dan Pearson
Opera, ethics and eugenics collide in Highland Park's Apple Tree Theatre production of "Twilight Of The Golds," running Oct. 17-Nov. 11.
This provocative 1993 drama written by Jonathan Tolins examines difficult moral and personal issues facing an affluent, liberal New York Jewish-American family who have some tough choices to make after a pre-natal test.
"I think it's the kind of play that if you see it, you can't help but have a conversation about it afterward," said director Tim Gregory.
Gregory, who has previously directed productions of "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" for Apple Tree's Theatre for Young Audiences, was attracted to the topicality of the play.
Moral dilemmas
"It deals with eugenics, which is certainly relatable to stem cell research. It deals with gay rights and it deals with tolerance among self-defined liberals. But most of all, it asks, 'Are we getting too comfortable, as a society, with playing God?' That is certainly relevant today."
So are some people better off not being born? That is the question facing the close-knit members of the Gold family when their son-in-law scientist informs them his company has developed a process to test his expecting wife for any potential birth defects. In this case, one potential birth defect might be the existence of a "gay" gene.
"What I like about what the playwright does is that he is able to depict each character in a way that we can identify with all of them, so there is no villain in this play. These are good people in very difficult circumstance," said Gregory.
Today's issues
The scenario was science fiction when the play was written but the director said he has read recent articles where the potential for such testing now exists, at least in theory. "They have done some testing recently to determine certain types of immune shortcomings within chromosome makeup. The technology is there but because it is an ethical and legal issue, it is not practiced," said Gregory.
As members of the Gold family, the production also features Eddie Collins, Brigid Duffy, Elise Kauzlaric, Steven Marzolf and Larry Wiley as members of the Gold family. All five members of these actors are making their debuts at Apple Tree.
"They are all compassionate people," said Gregory. "That's important because the Gold family are good people. They are productive and smart and compassionate, so it is not a far stretch for the actors that are playing them."
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Highlights from the Daily Herald feature by Jack Helbig
It is a story ripped from today's headlines: A prenatal genetic test reveals something awful about an unborn child. What does the couple do? Play God and abort? Or do they let the child come to term and then do all they can for the child after birth?
The fact that what they discover -- that the child has a good chance of being gay -- is not a physical handicap but, as perceived by some, a social one, only adds to the parent's quandary.
This is the plot to Jonathan Tolin's 1993 play "Twilight of the Golds," currently in previews at Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park and opening Saturday. Director Tim Gregory admitted to being intimidated by the play.
"At first when I read it I was a little flustered," Gregory said. "I thought, 'Oh, these are people making such hard decisions and whatever they decide it is going to be hard on someone else.'"
Ultimately, however, Tobin's storytelling won Gregory over.
"I enjoy plays that tell stories, all kinds of stories," Gregory said. "I have directed musicals. I have directed classical theater, contemporary plays. This play is relevant and topical. It deals with family love and with tolerance among so-called, self-defined liberals."
The play revolves around a fictional genetic testing program that determines the sexual orientation of an unborn child. When one character discovers her son is genetically predisposed to becoming gay, a controversy erupts within her family. She considers aborting him. Her gay brother, who has not been fully accepted by his conservative family, objects. And there hangs the tale.
"I thought it was interesting that the playwright doesn't take a side," Gregory said. "He gives us a portrait of people dealing with a very difficult circumstance. We can identify with all of the characters on some level."
Gregory comes by his interest in characters honestly; he started out in theater as an actor. He came to Chicago in the early '90s from New York to appear in Marriott Theatre's "Arthur: The Musical," and he stayed in Chicago because "this is an easier town to live in as an actor."
After a while, however, he felt the urge to stretch beyond acting.
"I wanted to direct," Gregory said, "because as an actor you tell other people's stories."
But as a director you are responsible for the main story -- and making sure it all works.
"What I love about Tolin's writing," Gregory said, "is that he is able to communicate some very weighty issues in a way that is smart and elegant. He doesn't get preachy. In fact, parts of the play are very funny. It is in many respects part drama, part comedy -- a 'dramedy.' That keeps it all fresh. And that keeps the playwright from getting on a soapbox.
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Photos
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Director's Notes
If your parents knew everything about you before you were born, would you still be here? If they knew, before you were born, that you were sure to live an unhappy existence or create one for them, would you blame them for not “choosing” you? Why force someone into an unhappy existence? Whether one believes that genetic testing is eugenics or that some people may be better off not being born, life is too mysterious for anyone to predict who will be happy.
Written in 1993, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GOLDS touches on topics of eugenics, tolerance among self-defined liberals, and limits of family love. However, it is ultimately a play about a world getting comfortable with playing God.
The playwright, Jonathan Tolins, thru the main character of David Gold, uses the opera the Ring Cycle as a metaphor for the journey that the Gold family lives out. The opera describes the destruction of a decadent and corrupt world by a family of spiteful, quarreling gods. In the Ring Cycle, the gods give up on humanity because we've become corrupt and lazy.
I think that's very topical, especially in today's society. We want the easy way out; we're a drive-through-obsessed society. We want less time and easier situations. At the end of this performance, I'd like you to ask yourself two questions. “Is this a situation where there is clearly a right and wrong?” And secondly, “what would you do?”
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