Winston-Salem Festival Stage's HATCHETMAN Closes Season, Now thru 5/27

Festival Stage of Winston-Salem concludes its second season of resident professional theatre with the new office-based farce Hatchetman, which runs tonight, May 11 through May 27 at Hanesbrands Theatre (209 N. Spruce Street, Winston-Salem).

Festival Stage is presenting Hatchetman in only its fourth production nationwide, and the first in North Carolina. The production is directed by Steve Umberger, Festival Stage’s director in residence.

In Hatchetman, by playwright and novelist David Wiltse, the struggling golf magazine Putts falls prey to a corporate takeover. In classic farce style, there are slamming doors, mistaken identities, double entendres, rapid-fire office banter and a marathon of physical comedy as the Putts staff – and the audience – try to figure out who’s getting the ax.

Playwright David Wiltse will visit Winston-Salem for a first-time reading of his new, unpublished play, Stone, on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m. in Hanesbrands Theatre. Wiltse will also give a pre-show talk at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 13, prior to that day’s 2 p.m. matinee.

Other special events include pre-show talks with members of the cast and artistic staff, which take place at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays, and post-show talk-backs following the 8 p.m. performances on Fridays and Saturdays.

Tickets are $10-$37 with group rates available. Also offered is the VIP Balcony package for $50, which includes two tickets, a private bistro table and a bottle of wine. For more information, visit www.festivalstage.org or call 336-747-1414.

David Wiltse won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright for his first produced play, Suggs. His acclaimed second play, Doubles, ran on Broadway in 1985-86. In addition to his plays, Wiltse’s 12 novels include Into the Fire, a main selection of the Literary Guild, and The Wedding Guest¸ a New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year selection. He has written more than 50 screenplays, TV screenplays and TV pilots, and created the CBS comedy Ladies Man. He received the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the television movie The Revenge of the Stepford Wives. In January 2006, Wiltse was appointed to the position of playwright-in-residence at The Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Conn.

Steve Umberger has directed and produced for theatres around the country, including Barter Theatre, Riverside Theatre, People's Light & Theatre, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, An Appalachian Summer Festival, Florida Studio Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse and Charlotte Repertory Theatre, of which he was founder and artistic director. Work on new plays includes many premieres by writers such as Chris Kyle, Wendy Hammond and Beth Henley. Work on Shakespeare includes a three-year Rep/Symphony collaboration on three plays; a three-year project directing Shakespeare's King Lear for NCShakes and People's Light, and a new version of A Midsummer Night's Dream with Cirque du Soleil's Karl Baumann, which has had four productions including two at NCShakes.

He is also founder/director of Playworks, through which he is developing the new musical Lunch at the Piccadilly. After directing the show's premiere and two other productions, he recently directed Piccadilly in a concert performance at the York Theatre Company in New York. He has been involved in the openings of three arts centers, and the development of four theatres including Festival Stage, for which he has also directed The Exact Center of the Universe and the inaugural production of The Foreigner.

The cast is as follows.

Christian Casper (Carter) has performed in over 100 plays across the country, and this production marks his first visit to Winston-Salem. Most recently he played Charles Strickland in David Mamet’s controversial play Race at Cast Theatre in Charlotte. Before that he was Adam in Next Fall and Dr. Givings in The Vibrator Play at Actors Theatre of Charlotte. He received his MFA at the University of San Diego Professional Actors Training Program.

Amy Hutchins (Jane) returns to Winston-Salem for her second season with Festival Stage, after appearing in the premiere season production of The Foreigner. Her regional credits include Florida Repertory, People’s Light & Theatre (Philadelphia), Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Arkansas Repertory, American Players Theatre and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. In New York, she has performed with the Pearl Theatre Company, Misfit Toys, Prospect Theatre Company and Shakespeare in the Parking Lot.

Andrew Kane (Johnson) makes his Festival Stage debut after appearing last year in a People’s Light & Theatre production of Hatchetman also directed by Steve Umberger. He has performed in several productions at People’s Light, as well as with six seasons of the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Other credits include Arden Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, Theatre Horizon and Lantern Theatre. He is a three-time nominee and one-time co-recipient of Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award and holds a BA from DeSales University.

Rebecca Koon (Sam) was previously seen in Festival Stage productions of The Foreigner and The Exact Center of the Universe, in which she played overbearing mother Vada Love Powell. She has numerous credits with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Recent film and TV credits include the Hallmark Channel’s “The Confession,” Showtime’s “Homeland” and HBO’s “Eastbound and Down.”

Mary McCool (Temple) was last seen in Shipwrecked at The People’s Light & Theatre Company. Other credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Arden Theatre Company, P.S. 122, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 59E59th, 1812 Productions and the Wilma Theater. Mary is a co-founder of theatre company New Paradise Laboratories and a recipient of the 2010-11 Independence Foundation and Live Arts Brewery Fellowships. She is reprising her role as Temple, which she also played in the People’s Light production of Hatchetman.

Graham Smith (Otis) has appeared in more than 200 plays, including Festival Stage's The Foreigner last season. He has worked for many years with the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (Stephano, Lear, Malvolio, Master Ford, Capulet, Sir Thomas More, Deputy Danforth, Argan, Bob Cratchit) and worked for 22 years with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Since 1999 he has been a company member with People's Light & Theatre in Philadelphia, where he most recently played Louis de Rougement in Shipwrecked: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougement, as Told by Himself.

Festival Stage of Winston-Salem is resident professional theatre that performs three productions each season at Hanesbrands Theatre in downtown Winston-Salem. Festival Stage is an affiliate theatre of the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival For further information about Festival Stage of Winston-Salem, call 336-841-2273 or visit www.FestivalStage.org.