WHO'S WHO
ANDREW BOTSFORD (Walsh McLaren) is very happy to be in another Neil Simon show, having played a messenger from God, Sidney Lipton, in Simon’s God’s Favorite in 1987, and Lenny Ganz (twice) in Rumors, the first time in 1992 opposite Rosemary Cline, and again in 2002. He has appeared in 50 Hampton Theatre Company productions since 1985, most recently as Barry Dragonetti in The Portuguese Kid. Also a director, his most recent productions were Admissions by Joshua Harmon in 2020 and Ripcord by David Lindsay Abaire in 2022. Other regional stage work includes Round Table Theatre Company’s East Hampton production of Shakespeare’s Scottish play and Noël Coward’s Tonight at 8:30 at Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater. The host of a summer film commentary program at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, he is also the host of the annual Hamptons Doc Fest (formerly the Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival) in December in Sag Harbor. An archive of his occasional columns on life in Quogue can be found at AtQuaquanantuck.com.
ROSEMARY CLINE (Rose) last appeared at the HTC in June 2023 as Atalanta Lagana in The Portuguese Kid. A founding member of the company and current Board member, she has had leading roles in over 35 HTC productions. She spent 15 years in NYC performing in theater, film and TV, as well as seven years in summer stock in the Tri-State Region. More recently she studied directing and acting at Stony Brook Southampton with playwright Lucas Hnath, Mercedes Ruehl, Joanna Merlin, Tony Walton and Rinde Eckert, among others, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the Southampton campus. Fresh off 14 years as theatre director at Westhampton Beach High School, she’s excited to share her new career as an audiobook narrator and can be found at rosemaryclinenarrator.com. Heaps of thanks to our amazing director George, our beautiful cast and crew, and all of those in our company who make the magic happen season after season. All love to Christopher, Cashew, Carter, her mother and father, with a wink to Poonie and Jane.
ALAINA MANZO (Arlene) is a graduate of The City College of New York, with a B.A. in Theater Arts and a minor in Music. In addition, she received an A.S. in Theater Arts from Suffolk County Community College. She was a nominee and finalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Her representational roles include Caliban in The Tempest, Meredith in Bat Boy, and Fritzie in Cabaret. She has sung in the Masterworks Chorus Festival Concert at Carnegie Hall for the past two years. Most recently, she performed in All That Jazz at 54 Below in New York City. Accolades include: Best Female Actor Award (SCCC), Outstanding Performance in Contemporary Acting Scholarship (SCCC), and Excellence in Performance Award (CCNY). She would like to thank her family for their endless love and support in all her artistic endeavors.
ALEXANDER MASSAAD (Gavin Clancy) is a new member of the Hampton Theatre Company. He originally majored in journalism at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and has an athletic background in football and in track and field. Looking for a creative outlet to spark his affinity for classic cinema, he began his acting career starring as the lead in the short film Pukka in 2020. In 2022, he played the role of Fred in the St. Petersburg Community Theatre rendition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A devoted prankster, he enjoys regularly posting comedic sketches on his YouTube channel and on social-media platforms. He is grateful to be a part of this season’s fall production of Rose and Walsh and would like to thank the Hamptons community for being so welcoming throughout.
NEIL SIMON (Playwright) is widely regarded as one of the most successful and best-loved playwrights in theatre history. Over the course of a prolific career spanning well over half a century in television, film and the theatre, Simon wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, many of which were adapted from his plays. A short list of his theatre credits: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Sweet Charity, Plaza Suite, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Lost In Yonkers, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, God’s Favorite, The Sunshine Boys, Chapter Two, They’re Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, California Suite, Rumors, The Goodbye Girl, and Promises, Promises. A Pulitzer Prize winner (for Lost in Yonkers) who was a 1995 Kennedy Center honoree and winner of the 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Simon (who died in 2018) received more Tony and Oscar nominations than any other writer.
GEORGE A. LOIZIDES (Director/Co-Set Designer) is a veteran member of the Hampton Theatre Company. His most recent HTC credits were co-directing Over the River and Through the Woods (in which he also acted) last fall, as well as directing The Lifespan of a Fact this spring. He has also directed HTC’s productions of A Doll’s House Part 2, Native Gardens, Private Lives, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Lost in Yonkers, Picnic, The Odd Couple (Female Version) and Bus Stop. His acting credits for HTC include Sylvia (playing three different parts), On Golden Pond, Alarms and Excursions, Heroes, Bedroom Farce, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Glengarry Glen Ross. With a theatre background spanning more than 55 years, he has acted and directed for Playcrafters Theatre Company in Bellport, and for 27 years was Director of Theatre Arts for Ward Melville High School, where he taught acting and directing and directed 81 productions. He studied acting and directing at the HB Studio in NYC. He is on the Board of Directors and the Artistic Committee at HTC, and is administrator of the theatre’s Diana and Peter Marbury Scholarship. To my cast: “Thanks, thanks and many thanks. It has been a pleasure.” He is grateful to HTC for the opportunity and support through the years. Thanks to Roger, Ricky and Meg, Teresa, Seamus and Sebastian for their hard work on this production. Thanks to Terry for being his sidekick at rehearsals. Thanks to Julia for managing the house, and to Terry Brennan who makes things happen. Thank you, Doc. Love to Kathy.
ROGER MOLEY (Producer) is excited to be reunited with George Loizides for this production, having served as his co-director on last year’s Over the River and Through the Woods, as well as his Rehearsal Stage Manager for A Doll’s House, Part 2. Shout-outs to Andrew, Rosemary and Lulie for their tutelage and inspiration. Thanks to Terry and Julie for their unending patience and professionalism. Love to his family, everyone on the HTC Board, and all of you who continue to support our unique and iconic theatre through your attendance and generous donations.
TERRANCE FIORE (Rehearsal Stage Manager) is delighted to be returning to HTC for this production of Rose and Walsh. He last appeared with HTC as an actor in 2021’s Native Gardens (as Frank); other HTC credits include A Comedy of Tenors (Saunders), Clever Little Lies (Bill Sr.), Other People’s Money (Jorgenson), Enchanted April, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Dr. Spivey) and Six Degrees of Separation. Other favorite performances include The Summit at Guild Hall, Love Letters (with Pia Lindstrom and Tony Walton, dir.), Galapagos (adapted from the Kurt Vonnegut novel), The Diary of Anne Frank at Bay Street Theatre, Tennessee Williams’s In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel, and 110 in the Shade. He has appeared in a range of dramatic readings and radio plays. Film credits include Dark Was the Night, which premiered at the Lincoln Center Scary Movie Festival. Video: Grey Advertising’s award-winning The 401K Project, which advocated for a reduction in gun violence. Thanks to his wife Blair for her love, encouragement and good-spirited tolerance of dinners alone during our rehearsal schedule.
TERESA LEBRUN (Costume Designer) is the resident costumer for HTC. She began helping with costumes in 1986 and has designed the costumes for the company’s productions since 2005. Teresa has also costumed for Westhampton Beach High School. Much love to her sons, Josh and Noah, family and great friends.
JULIA MORGAN ABRAMS (House Manager). After retiring from the legal department of Bristol Myers Squibb, Julia began a second career as a volunteer, initially for Literacy Suffolk, HTC, the Southampton Animal Shelter and Early Girl Farm, where she wrote grants and worked in fundraising. She continues to write grants and help with marketing for several local nonprofits. Julia would like to thank all of her dedicated House Assistants for their continued support.
REVIEWS
NEIL SIMON’S ROSE AND WALSH at Hampton Theatre Company
By: Melissa Giordano Broadwayworld.com
The Hampton Theater Company does it again with their wonderful production of Neil Simon’s Rose and Walsh. Kicking off their incredible 39th season, the adorable Quogue, Long Island, venue has assembled a stellar company strongly directed by George Loizides. The four-person cast works well together with great chemistry. Indeed, based on the very enthusiastic reception of the audience opening weekend, you may want to get your tickets quickly.
Running through November 5th, the emotional play is truly gripping with plot twists galore. This is Mr. Simon’s final play, initially entitled Rose’s Dilemma. It is set on the eastern Long Island (okay, so maybe the excited audience was a little biased) following a literary giant named Rose Steiner, portrayed superbly by Rosemary Cline. In hopes of improving her current financial situation, Rose gets advice from her partner, Walsh McLaren, portrayed wonderfully by Andrew Botsford. We see a plan develop to help Rose with the additional assistance of Arlene Moss, portrayed excellently by Alaina Manzo, and Gavin Clancy, an up-and-coming writer portrayed strongly by Alexander Massaad.
Frankly, telling you more, I feel, would take away from the mystique and mystery of this fantastic show with these great actors. So, as a fellow audience member I’ll say this: Being the many twists and turns the story takes, I urge you to focus your full attention when you see this show.
On the clever creative team, Mr. Loizides’ set with Ricky Bottenus and Meg Sexton is well done. The tale takes place solely in the living room of Rose’s Hampton’s beach house in the mid-1980s. A gorgeous, lush couch sits center stage, the white walls are adorned with beautiful photos, and a bar is off to the side. This is heightened by Sebastian Paczynski’s atmospheric lighting and kudos to Teresa LeBrun for the wonder costumes. It is a visually stunning production.
And so, Hampton Theatre Company’s incarnation of Rose And Walsh is certainly a must-see this Fall. Get to your local theatres, folks. A great cast, an intriguing tale, and a beautiful, crisp Hampton night make for a fun time at the theatre.
Review by T. J. Clemente, Hamptons.com
Judging by the enthusiastic applause, Neil Simon’s play “Rose and Walsh,” currently in production by the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue, is a resounding success. It serves as the opening act for the Hampton Theatre Company’s 39th season, and Director George A. Loizides deserves applause for his exceptional work in staging this comedy.
The four-actor ensemble comes together seamlessly, creating a performance so delightful that I found myself never wanting it to end. The energy and chemistry on stage are exceptionally natural, keeping the audience engaged without a glance at their watches – instead, they’re laughing and clapping. “Rose and Walsh” is set to run until November 5th at Quogue Community Hall.
There are numerous reasons to enjoy this production. Neil Simon’s play boasts a unique local appeal, with one of the characters, Gavin Clancy, scripted as a Quogue resident. This adds to the joyous and lively atmosphere. After all, who can appreciate Simon’s witty one-liners about Quogue better than the actual Quogue Community Hall audience?
Rosemary Cline, a beloved actor of both the Hampton Theatre Company and East End theater, delivers a remarkable performance as “Rose.” Her talent shines through in every gesture, eye-roll, perfectly timed moment, and line delivery. The audience is captivated from the very beginning, as demonstrated by the thunderous applause during the curtain call – a well-deserved “Brava.”
The iconic Andrew Botsford takes on the role of “Walsh” and truly appears born for the part. Botsford’s masterful performance showcases grace, dignity, and impeccable timing. His presence under the stage lights makes the production flow effortlessly, like water to the sea. Botsford stands as one of the pillars of talent that consistently propels the Hampton Theatre Company to success.
Alaina Manzo, portraying “Arlene Moss,” and Alexander Massaad, in the role of “Gavin Clancy,” both offer notable performances, with each seizing wonderful scene-stealing moments throughout the show.
While the cast may consist of just four actors, it takes a dedicated team to make this show such a triumph. Special thanks to producer Roger Moley. Kudos for the beautifully crafted set go to set designer George A. Loizides, who is also the director, along with resident designers/builders Ricky Bottenus and Meg Sexton. Lighting design is by Sebastian Paczynski, with sound design by Seamus Naughton. Costumes are skillfully handled by Teresa Lebrun. Terrance Fiore manages the rehearsal stage and shares production stage management duties with Laurie Atlas. Michael Sean Jones is in charge of lighting and sound, and let’s not forget the much-appreciated Julia Morgan Abrams, the house manager. Last but certainly not least, a big thank you to Hampton Theatre Company General Manager Terry Brennan for their invaluable contributions.
For an evening of entertaining live theater, be sure to catch the Hampton Theatre Company’s production of Neil Simon’s “Rose and Walsh.” This is a truly outstanding show.
Hampton Theatre Company
