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The Iowa Premiere of
​the NEW PLAY...

 The Friendly Hour 

by Tom Jacobson

NEWS FLASH:  Cloris Awards for Excellence in Theatre Arts, 2019

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IOWA PREMIERE
May 9, 10, 11, (7:30)
May 12 (2:00) 2019!
VIKING THEATRE, DES MOINES, IA

Photos and Video (click)
Reviews (click)
Playbill (click)
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Story

Based on the actual minutes of a women’s club formed in rural South Dakota in 1934, this poignant comedy charts 70 years of personal and national history, from skinning skunks and julebukking in the ’30s to restoring native prairie in the new millennium.
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Original production, Los Angeles, 2008

The Friendly Hour pays "exemplary homage to real-life American heroes from a less jaded period in our history, using transcripts of minutes from a rural South Dakotan women’s club that gathered monthly from 1934 through 2004, when the last two survivors begin to fade.… These powerful Midwestern survivors are the stoic Americans to celebrate and honor, something Jacobson has accomplished with his lyrical, sweetly bucolic text.” --Backstage
“Tom Jacobson’s lovely new play chronicles the rituals of a women’s club in rural South Dakota from the late ’30s to 2007, and we watch the women with whom we grow increasingly familiar age and engage in theological disputes that are really at the heart of the matter. God’s purpose, and the purpose of community, interweave and clash through the decades … an impressionistic landscape that straddles the literary worlds of Anton Chekhov and Thornton Wilder.” --L A Weekly
THE FRIENDLY HOUR 
is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC

www.broadwayplaypub.com
World premiere by The Road Theater Company, Los Angeles

CAST
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Jami Bassman Ahart
Dorcas Briggle
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THEATRE Repertory Theatre of Iowa: Glass Menagerie, Diary of Anne Frank Our Town, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sense and Sensibility, God of Carnage, Blood Red Poe; Des Moines Playhouse:  Metamorphosis.; Stage West:  Miss Witherspoon; Theatre For A Change:  The Dead Guy, Taming of the Shrew; Drama Workshop:  Les Liaisons Dangereuses; FILM/COMMERCIAL Fertile Ground, Strong Medicine, Guilty or Innocent, Girlfriends, E.Confessions, Unsolved Mysteries, I. Sessions, Love You Back. 


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Tiffany Flory
Opal Zweifel
​Choreographer


ACTING Tallgrass Theatre:  The Foreigner, Independence, Barefoot in the Park; Iowa Stage Theatre:  Lion in Winter, Romeo and Juliet; Repertory Theatre of Iowa:  Turn of the Screw; Des Moines Playhouse: West Side Story, Rent; Goldfinch Theatre: Macbeth; University of Idaho:  Winter's Tale, Three Strikes to First; Simpson College:  Learned Ladies, Servant of Two Masters, Henry 5, Antigone. CHOREOGRAPHY  Urbandale Community Theatre: Music Man; Des Moines Playhouse (Academy):  Fame Jr.; University of Idaho:  A Christmas Carol; Lincoln High School:  Sound Attraction and Infinity Show Choirs; Southeast Polk High School:  IHSSA Musical Theatre; 


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Rebecca Haroldson
Wava Jamtgaard

THEATRE  Urbandale Community Theatre:  Hello Dolly; Twisted Tragedy Improv:  Troupe Member; Black Hole Theater: Spoon River Anthology, Welcome to the Monkey House; Turning the Page; FILM/COMMERCIAL  Courting Des Moines, EMBEDS, Dead Awake, Molly's Girl, LIving the Country Life, Upper Iowa University, Hy-Vee, Casey's, Kaplan University. 


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Deidra Mohr
Isabelle Hagen (+)

THEATRE  Kata Klysmic Productions:  The Rocky Horror Show, Vagina Monologues; California Theatres:  Young Frankenstein, Burning Opera LA, Ragtime in Concert, Company, Not Your Mama's Broadway, The Nitch, Stepping Out, Marat/Sade, Mousetrap, Laramie Project;  FILM/TV  My Friend Max, That Night, Lost Soulmates, Antique America.


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Emily Solo
Effie Voss
Music Director


THEATRE 
Iowa Stage Theatre:  It's a Wonderful Life-The Radio Play; Des Moines Playhouse:  The Addams Family;  MTH Theatre at Crown Center: Tony Awards Cabaret, McCarter Theatre: A Christmas Carol; Charlottesville Opera:  Oklahoma, Rigoletto; Other Opera: Godspell, The Bartered Bride, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Street Scene;  FILM/TV  Z: The Beginning of Everything; Knee High, Plus One, The Cast.

PRODUCTION TEAM
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Katie Privitera
Associate Producer/Hair & Makeup

PRODUCTION/BUSINESS MANAGEMENT   Des Moines Social Club, Historic Valley Junction Foundation, Theatre Simpson  STAGE MANAGEMENT  Theatre Simpson:  A Year With Frog And Toad, The Learned Ladies, Festival of Short Plays 2010;  THEATRE DESIGN  Repertory Theater of Iowa:  That Championship Season;  Theatre Simpson:  Festival Of Short Plays, The Servant Of Two Masters;   ACTING  Theatre Simpson:  Push-Up 1-3, The American Dream, Back Story, Spring Awakening, Fall From Grace 


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Mackenzie Sheehan
Marketing Director


THEATRE MANAGEMENT/MARKETING  Des Moines Symphony: Marketing Manager; Iowa Dental Association:  Marketing & Membership Manager; Alexandria (MN) Schools: Performing Arts Manager; Mixed Blood Theatre (MN):  Management Intern.  ACTING  Alexandria (MN) Arts:  The Addams Family; Theatre Simpson:  Antigone, The Love Talker, Trash Anthem, One Flea Spare, Into the Woods, The Bear, Trojan Women. Countryside Players:  The Sound of Music.


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Erin Tracy
Graphics, Audience Services

GRAPHIC/AD DESIGNER 
Carroll Daily Times Herald, The Graphic Edge, Kingman Row Entertainment, Carroll Library, Donna Reed Foundation, AUDIENCE SERVICES  Simpson College:  Box Office Manager, House Manager, Audience Services (Undergraduate Assistant.) THEATRE DESIGN  Theatre Simpson:  Eurydice, Festival of Short Plays, A Year With Frog and Toad; ACTING/DIRECTING Theatre Simpson:  Spring Awakening, Necessary Targets, Henry 5, The American Dream, Pride and Prejudice; Carroll Community Theatre:  Steel Magnolias, Wizard of Oz, Annie, Peter Pan (Director); Kuemper Catholic High School:  Speech Coach, Assistant Musical Director.


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Erin Webb
Props Manager


THEATRE DIRECTING/MANAGEMENT Theatre Simpson: Knowing Joan, Festival of Short Plays-Eco-Drama, Vagina Monologues, Women of Lockerbie.   DESIGN/PRODUCTION  Stage West: Baltimore Waltz; Des Moines Metro Opera: Three Decembers; STAGES St. Louis, Texas Shakespeare Festival,  Theatre Simpson:  Memory of Water, Lysistrata Jones, Alice's Trip, University; Costume Shop (Undergraduate Assistant), Scene Shop. ACTING/DIRECTING Theatre Simpson:  


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Rick Goetz
Lighting

LIGHTING DESIGN  Stage West:  The Underpants, I am My Own Wife; Theatre Simpson:  Kiss Me Kate, Tartuffe, Playhouse Creatures, The Comedy of Errors, Noises Off, Marisol, Carousel, Lysistrata Jones, The Winter's Tale, Peer Gynt, Love Letters, The Learned Ladies, Henry 5, A Year with Frog and Toad, Push Up 1-3;  Lyric Opera of Kansas City:  Don Giovanni, La Boheme, Tosca, Vanessa, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Barber of Seville, Madama Butterfly, The Ballad of Baby Doe; Music at Simpson:  La Canterina/Prima la Musica e poi le parole, Dido and Aeneaus/Venus and Adonis, Cendrillion, The Mikado, Die Zauberflute, I Paggliaci;  SCENIC DESIGN  Theatre Simpson: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pericles, The Women of Lockerbie, The Glass Menagerie, Betrayal;  TECHNICAL DIRECTION  Theatre Simpson:  Festival of Short Plays '19/'18/'17/'16, Kiss Me Kate, Silent Sky, The Bald Soprano, These Shining Lives, Knowing Joan, Marisol, Peer Gynt.

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Amber Miller
Designer

THEATRE  Des Moines Playhouse:  A Streetcar Named Desire; Coralville Arts Center:  A Year With Frog and Toad, Bye Bye Birdie; Simpson College: Peer Gynt, The Learned Ladies; Yellow Tree Theatre:  Expecting Isabel, Miracle on Christmas Lake;   Jungle Theater (MN);  Shirley Valentine, Driving Miss Daisy;  Theatre in the Round (MN):  Don't Dress for Dinner, The Burial at Thebes;  Playwrights' Center (MN):  500 Words; Park Square Theater (MN):  Rock 'n' Roll, Painting Churches.  BUSINESS  The Planning Center:  Certified Financial Planner; Starbuck's:  Store/Space Designer;  Jungle Theater:  Graphic/PR Designer.


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Cassie Foster
Technical Director

EVENT/CREW MANAGEMENT  Des Moines Metro Opera, Simpson College Conferences & Events, Brownville Village Theatre, Missoula Children's Theatre,  Theatre Simpson  DESIGN/TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT  Brownville Village Theatre: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; Winterset Stage:  Death by Disco; Theatre Simpson:  Women Beware Women, Love Letters, The Learned Ladies, Festival of Short Plays; ACTING  Brownville Village Theatre:  June Groom, The Perfect Murder, Move Over Mrs. Markham, Lie, Cheat, and Genuflect; Theatre For A Change:  The Winter's Tale; Missoula Children's Theatre:  The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella, The Jungle Book; Theatre Simpson:  Peer Gynt, Henry 5 


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Stephanie Eggert
Costume Designer


Styling/Design Trend Magazine, Atomic Garage.  Education Iowa State University - Apparel Design and Merchandising: Historical Dress and Museum Studies.


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Ann Woldt
Speech and Dialects

DIALECT/VOCAL COACHING  Des Moines Playhouse:  A Streetcar Named Desire, Metamorphosis, Dinner with Friends; Stage West: Cock;  Simpson College: Noises Off, Pride and Prejudice, The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Woman in Black, Tons of Money;  ACTING  Stage West: Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike, Dancing at Lughnasa;  Des Moines Playhouse:  Little Woman,  Sabrina Fair  COMMERCIAL VOICE   Hummel’s Nissan, Wells Fargo, John Deere, EMC, Mediacom, GMAC, Dupont;  DIRECTING  Simpson College:  Silent Sky, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, These Shining Lives, Noises Off, The Memory of Water, University, Betrayal, Necessary Targets, Pride and Prejudice, Standing on My Knees TEACHING  Simpson College:  Acting, Voice, Dialects, Arts Management, Oral Interpretation, Directing; Des Moines Playhouse:  Acting for Youth, Acting for Adults


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Tom Woldt
Director

DIRECTING  Repertory Theatre of Iowa:  The Diary of Anne Frank, That Championship Season; Des Moines Playhouse:  A Streetcar Named Desire; Duluth Playhouse:  Singin' In the Rain;  Yellow Tree (MN):  Expecting Isabel; Williamston (MI):  Five-Course Love;  Guthrie Theatre (Studio):  Hopscotch;  Other Professional:  Seven Year Itch, Jesus Christ Superstar, I Do! I Do!, Noises Off, Lysistrata the Bluegrass Musical!, Mother Courage, Night at the Carlton With Ray Charles;  Guest Residencies;  The 39 Steps, One Man-Two Guvnors, On The Razzle, As You Like It, Antigone;    Simpson College:  Peer Gynt, Learned Ladies, Henry 5, Into the Woods, Trojan Women, Godspell, Quilters, The Woman in Black, Twelfth Night; Other Academic:  Machinal, The Winter's Tale, The Marriage of Figaro, The Bacchae;  ACTING  Goldfinch Theatre:  Macbeth; Stagewest:  Time Stands Still; Other: Taming of the Shrew, The Glass Menagerie, Brigadoon, Carousel, My Fair Lady, Equus, A Flea In Her Ear.  
Homepage tomwoldt.com


VENUE

Scandinavian Farm Women?
PictureThe beautiful Viking Theatre on the campus of Grand View University in Des Moines, IA.
 
​​Viking Theatre,
​of course!



MISSION
Professionals creating works of relevance to the people of the Midwest, ​with particular attention to the voices of women ​and other under-represented groups.

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  • HOME
  • Past Events
    • SEASON 4 >
      • Fresh Produce S4
    • SEASON 3 >
      • Atlas of Mud
      • Fresh Produce-S3
    • SEASON 2 >
      • 2020 Brilliant Traces >
        • Couples Interviews
      • Fresh Produce 19-20
    • SEASON 1--Friendly Hour >
      • PhotoVideo Friendly Hour
  • RADICAL HOSPITALITY
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