SHE LOVES ME
September 22 - October 1, 2023

Berg Auditorium - PRYAC
3201 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446

STARRING

Veronica Surber as Amalia Balash
Thomas Grandoli as Georg Nowack
Curran Bojorquez as Arpad Laszlo
Lindsey Taylor as Ilona Ritter
Hunter Boaz as Steven Kodaly
Thomas Villa as Ladislav Sipos
James Brescia as Mr. Maraczek
Johnny Johnson as Mr. Keller/the waiter

Customers/Ensemble
Melodie Rivas
Mary Alvarado
Marjorie Hamon
Charlotte Surber
Greg DeMartini
Lillyana Denton

Veronica Surber has been a part of Wine Country Theatre since its beginning, appearing in one of its first shows: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Since then, she has participated in four other WCT productions ( Fiddler On The Roof, Next To Normal, Little Women: the Musical, and Back In The Saddle). Veronica is a proud kindergarten teacher at Lillian Larsen Elementary School and a mother to two wonderful children, one with whom she shares the stage tonight! "To H - keep playing my heart strings."

Thomas Grandoli is proud to be in his fourth appearance as an actor with Wine Country Theatre. The Paso Robles Youth Arts Center is where he first started acting and this is his first show back in the space as an adult. Outside of WCT, Thomas teaches music lessons at Matt's Music in Templeton and plays piano at St. Rose Catholic Church.

Curran Bojorquez has been acting with this company since he was nine years old, starting with Fiddler on the Roof. Beginning this fall, he has an amazing opportunity to build his musical theater skills through AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy) in New York City. "I love musical theater and I can't wait to go and work my way to Broadway!"

Lindsey is thrilled to be back on stage in this wonderful production, She Loves Me! This marks Lindsey's fourth production with Wine Country Theatre. After attending AMDA NY she has built a long list of regional and community theater credits spanning coast to coast. Lindsey took a break from performing to raise her two sons but still continued to direct and choreograph professionally. Lindsey would like to thank her family for their support- "Jude and Oliver you are the brightest stars in my sky!" Enjoy the show!

Hunter Boaz is a graduate of Cuesta College and CSU Long Beach, where he earned a degree in vocal performance. He has sung in countless choral and jazz concerts, including one memorable night as a backup singer for The Rolling Stones. After joining Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan in 2022, Hunter caught the "theater bug." He is delighted to perform with Wine Country Theatre in his first principal role. When he's not busy preparing for the next musical challenge, Hunter spends his time reading and drinking coffee.

Thomas Villa is a ninth generation San Luis Obispo County native. He discovered his love of singing in high school choir and continued to study choral music at Cuesta College as well as a wonderful welcome to theatre. Some past roles include "Pat Swoone"- Refried Elvis, "The Padre"- Man of La Mancha and "Samuel"- Pirates of Penzance. This is his first show with Wine Country Theatre.

James Brescia first performed in junior musical theatre in 1976. His participation in the arts continued with the San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan Company, Pacific Light Opera, Pioneer Players, Wine County Theatre, and a singing group he formed called "Carmen Couldn't Make It." Dr. Brescia is the San Luis Obispo County Superintendent of Schools and an advocate for the arts.

Johnny Johnson is returning to the stage after a 50+ year hiatus, having acted in major musical roles in high school and college. Between then and now, he has been a vocalist, conductor, teacher, and pastor, having performed well over 1000 live concerts in 49 states and nearly 40 countries around the world. He and his wife have lived on California's Central Coast for 25 years where he has been Musical/Orchestra Director for productions at Cal Poly's Performing Arts Center (Jesus Christ Superstar), the Clark Center (Sweeny Todd), and multiple musicals at Atascadero High School, including West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and My Fair Lady, among others. With a Master's Degree in Music, Johnny has been at various times Choral Music Teacher for Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero High Schools, and recently retired as pastor of Atascadero's Paradise Ministries Fellowship, where he served for 20 years.

CUSTOMERS / ENSEMBLE

Mary Alvarado is happy to be back performing with Wine Country Theatre! Her first WCT show was Fiddler on the Roof. She has also performed with Cambria Center for the Arts Theater, By the Sea Productions, Kelrick Productions and Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan. She sings with and is on the advisory board for Cuesta Concord Chorus. While performing is a blast she also likes to be involved in the behind the scenes work of set building, prop making and costuming. She recently started taking the Technical Theater class at Cuesta College so she can be more of service to the community companies she participates in. A retired music therapist, Mary now spends her leisure time entertaining her 76 lb Malinois Sage, quilting, reading, volunteering and being the part time Music Director for St. Rose of Lima Church.

Lillyana Denton is 13 years old and has been acting since she was seven years old. She has worked with Applause Children's Theater, Paso Robles Youth Art Center, Almond Acres Charter Academy Theater productions & now Wine County Theatre. Lillyana has also done a few commercials nationally & locally. She is beyond her years, lights up every room, fearless, & absolutely loves the stage.

Mr. DeMartini has had the honor of working with local theatre companies alongside Wine Country Theatre, such as CCAT, By The Sea Productions, and SLORep. He made his first appearance for Wine Country Theatre in the starring role of Nick Cristano in Over the River and Through the Woods.

I am thrilled to be cast in this latest production of Wine Country Theatre. Never afraid to be typecast, first as grouchy Aunt March in Little Women, then ditzy Edith Bunker in the All in the Familysegment, in Stay Tuned, and finally to Customer #2 in She Loves Me. "From the beginning, working with the director, the musical director, the cast and the crew, it has been delightful shopping and singing with all of you."

Melodie Rivas moved to the Central Coast from San Diego in 2003 and has been singing in local choirs ever since. She became hooked not only on the music, but on the sense of family that comes with rehearsing and performing together. She has sung with San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble, Canzona Women's Ensemble, Resonance, and Cuesta's Chamber Choir and Voce. The pandemic made her realize that live performances were not guaranteed to be around forever and, in fact, could end at any moment, so she joined everything all at once and began trying new things. She started in theater with Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan in 2022, and had her first principal role as Pitti-Sing in The Mikado this year. This is her first time performing with Wine Country Theatre.

Charlotte Surber made her Wine Country Theatre debut at 7 years old, appearing in Fiddler On The Roof as the young Bielke. Since then, she has participated in 10 other productions with companies such as Applause Children's Theatre (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book, and more) and OperaSLO (South Pacific). Charlotte is now a 9th grader at Paso Robles High School and is involved in the theatre program there. She would like to thank all of the theatre directors with whom she's worked for allowing her these wonderful experiences!

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director..........Elaine Fournier
Musical Director..........Marcy Irving
Producer..........Laurie Zenobio
Stage Manager..........Grace Anthony
Assistant Stage Manager..........Oliver Taylor
Costumer..........Karen Russu
Choreographer..........Lindsey Taylor
Lighting Design & Technical Coordinator..........Ryan Flores
Music Operator..........Geoff Higgins
Set Design/Construction..........Geoff Higgins
Property Mistress/Set Dresser..........Cynthia Anthony
Assistant Prop Master..........Jude Taylor
Props Team..........Anita Hendry, Marjorie Hamon, Colleen Bojorquez, and Mary Alvarado
Follow Spot Operator.......... Ethan Severy
House Manager..........Jody Birks

SPECIAL THANKS TO
Ann Berry Galagos for the use of Berg Auditorium and PRYAC facilities, Plymouth Congressional Church for rehearsal space, Raymond Fairchild of Vin 13 for wine wrangling, Vincenza Zenobio for concession shopping and cheeseplate assistance, David Linfield at SLO Rep, Chad Stevens, Anita Hendry, Mary Alvarado, Vineyard Antiques, Dale Gustafson, Jennifer Bloomfield, Linda Wilson, Selina Denton, Andrew Higgins, Jude and Oliver Taylor, Jim Brescia, Andy Anthony, and to myriad of volunteers who help make Wine Country Theatre a theatre for the community.

DIRECTOR NOTES - Elaine Fournier

        I first saw this jewelry box of a musical at the Savoy theatre in London, so when Cynthia asked me to direct it for Wine Country Theatre I was happy to take it on despite my previous refusals of "I don't direct musicals." It is a bit of a reversal of the standard rom-com in that the two "lovers" don't like each other at work but carry on a prolonged correspondence with each other and fall in love without actually meeting. Part Cyrano, part Romeo and Juliet, and all romantic comedy, this show has the traditional happy ending of the great musicals of its day. Alas, we no longer write love letters on paper and send them to post office boxes but the feelings remain the same. No more envelopes tied with ribbon to reread, only rapidly disappearing texts and emojis. Something has been lost that we cannot regain, but perhaps for an afternoon we can remember how it felt to find a letter in a box, or even hear "You've Got Mail," (a popular movie based on the original version of She Loves Me, The Little Shop Round the Corner.)         
This small and incredibly versatile cast has been a joy to work with. So come back in time with us to the 1930's where shop clerks were helpful, delivery boys had aspirations of something better, and unlikely couples find love.

Thank you to:
Cynthia Anthony, for urging me to rethink directing a musical
Marcy Irving for taking these singers to the next level
Karen Russu for the exquisite detail of the period costumes
Laurie Zenobio for responding quickly, efficiently and lovingly to my questions
Geoff Higgins for creating my own jewel box of a set
Ryan Flores for handling the musical tracks and lighting the show
Hamon Overhead Door for the use of the truck
Grace Anthony for styling the wigs
And most of all, my loving (and dearly loved) husband Bob Pelfrey for morning coffee, late night TV, making his own dinner and listening to my post rehearsal monologues. His support is what makes it all possible.

Elaine Fournier is proud to be directing with Wine Country Theatre after previously directing Other Desert Cities for the company. She has been involved with local theatre for many years as an actor, director, dancer, singer, choreographer, and house manager for various companies including The Great American Melodrama, Cambria Center for the Arts,, the former SLO Little Theatre and By the Sea Productions, as well as working on several local independent films both as actor and AD. A retired theatre and film instructor at Cuesta, she has been working with Marcy Irving (our musical divector and founder of Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan) since its inception ten years ago. "This company is truly my dream cast and crew and it has been a delight to work with them. As usual, love to Bob who keeps the home fires burning."

Marcy Irving, music professor at Cuesta College, has been a professional opera and choral singer in the LA, Reno and San Luis Obispo areas for many years. After getting her Bachelor of Music Degree in Classical Voice from California State University, Northridge, she spent seven seasons singing with Opera a la Carte, a Los Angeles based professional Gilbert and Sullivan Company. Marcy spent several years in Reno, and received a Master of Music Degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. Locally, she sings with the SLO Master Chorale, Canzona Women's Ensemble, Resonance Vocal Ensemble, and the chorus of Opera San Luis Obispo. Marcy has been a life-long lover of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and in 2013 co-founded Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan. Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan produced their first opera, H.M.S. Pinafore in 2013, and celebrated their 10th anniversary with a production of The Mikado in 2023. Marcy is thrilled to be working with this wonderful cast and crew at Wine Country Theatre.

WINE SPONSORS

SHOW SPONSORS

NEW TIMES

13 STARS MEDIA

Paso Robles Press
Paso Robles/Atascadero Magazines

WINE COUNTRY THEATRE:

Board of Directors:
Cynthia Anthony, Thomas Grandoli, Geoff Higgins, Kent Kenney, Garrett Larsen, Beth Marshall, Kristin Saunders, Veronica Surber, Lindsey Taylor, Laurie Zenobio.