Today, we’ve grown from an idea budding around our kitchen table into the fifth largest professional theatre in San Diego. We’ve gone from welcoming 37 subscribers our first season to 2,400 subscribers today. After nine years, we’ve settled into our beautiful home in Old Town; produced 58 plays, created jobs for 367 actors, 98 Equity contracts, 190 designers, 58 stage managers, 39 backstage technicians and 41 musicians; and it hardly seems possible that we are making preparations for our 10^th Anniversary Season!

Cygnet’s season opens with MAN OF LA MANCHA, starring Sean Murray as  Miguel de Cerventes.  Considered one of the most enduring works of musical theatre, MAN OF LA MANCHA tells the story of Cervantes, a failed author, actor, soldier and tax collector awaiting trial by the Spanish Inquisition.  His desperate attempt to prevent attacking fellow prisoners from destroying his novel leads to a unique agreement. Cervantes is permitted to act out the story within the novel, and the prisoners will decide if the tale is worthy of saving.  What follows is a play within a play of a delusional man who believes himself to be the noble knight, Don Quixote.  With book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh, LA MANCHA opened on Broadway in 1965, ran for 2,323 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The principal song “The Impossible Dream” is now a classic of the stage. Cygnet Theatre’s MAN OF LA MANCHA will run July 5th through August 26th, 2012.

In late September, Cygnet Theatre is pleased to present beloved, veteran actor Phil Johnson in the West Coast Premiere of MISTAKES WERE MADE by Craig Wright.  This hilarious, fast-paced story of a B-list Off-Broadway producer and his messy quest for success was described by New York Magazine as “Ninety furious, fulminating, very funny minutes of American hucksterism in extremis.”  San Diego Critics Circle Award Winner Shana Wride (Private Lives) will direct Johnson in Cygnet’s side-splitting tour-de-force.  MISTAKES WERE MADE runs September 20th through October 21st, 2012.

At Cygnet Theatre, the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a trip to WCYG, Cygnet Playhouse of the Air.   But this year, audiences will be treated to a new holiday classic, Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, adapted by Sean Murray.  Once again the 1940′s radio actors of “WCYG Theatre of the Air” will delight audiences with a “live radio broadcast” filled with music, sound effects and a wide array of treasured characters from the family-favorite.  A CHRISTMAS CAROL visits Cygnet’s Playhouse of the Air November 23rd through December 30th, 2012.

The new year offers something truly surprising! Cygnet has to hold off on announcing our 2013 kick-off, but stay tuned for all the upcoming details of our January/February slot.  The TBA production runs January 24th through February 24th, 2013.

Taking place in Spring 2013, Cygnet Theatre is proud to announce ASSASSINS, with book by John Weidman and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  Artistic Director Sean Murray has had a long-time love-affair with Sondheim’s tricky musical scores and ASSASSINS has topped his list of productions for Cygnet’s stage.  The uniquely dark and funny musical, which explores the motives and inner-workings of nine individuals who assassinated or attempted to assassinate the President of the United States, is Sondheim’s off-kilter exploration of the American Dream.  Cygnet Theatre has staged two concert-readings of the show during its history and both received raves from Cygnet audiences.  Murray is pleased to bring a full production to the stage during Cygnet’s 10th Season.  ASSASSINS will run March 14th through April 28th, 2013.

Cygnet Theatre will close its season with the San Diego Premiere of Joe Calarco’s SHAKESPEARE’S R & J.   Part Dead Poets Society, part Lord of the Flies, Calarco’s work takes its audience to a parochial boarding school where four schoolboys discover Shakespeare’s most famous love story.  The NY Times described it as “A vibrant, hot-blooded new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet…pulsat(ing) with an adolescent abandon and electricity of which Romeo himself might approve,”  and the Wall Street Journal declares it “A gem, the most inventive reimagining of a classic in years.”  The stunning drama comes to Cygnet Theatre May 22nd through June 16th, 2013.

Current Subscribers can renew their subscriptions now by contacting the box office at 619-337-1525 or returning the renewal forms that have already been sent out.  Sales for New Subscribers will begin March 1st.

We look forward to sharing these productions with you!

There is an oft-told family story about one of my trips to the pediatrician.   Only 4 years old and unable to read, I sat in the waiting room with my favorite book – a Little Golden entitled, Bugs Bunny…Something’s Fishy.   I loudly “read” it to the antsy parents and feverish children, whether they cared to listen or not.  Each character had its own unique voice; each page provided a new set of madcap capers, deft drama and screwball comedy.  The Looney Tunes were a wacky bunch and I suppose, in the mind of a toddler, the perfect diversion for the circumstances at hand.  I felt I was donating a much-needed service.  Anyway, I could hardly be held responsible for the “medical drama” I provided.  You see, my mother read to me.

My twin sister and I grew up with the standard fare of Goodnight Moon, Caps for Sale and The Pokey Little Puppy.   My mother animated every page… enlivening each drawing with a distinctive importance.  Each writer had a new, glorious story to tell, and each one was told by a brand new cast…puppies and moons and spoons and cap-sellers.   By the time my twin sister and I were 8 years old, my mother had moved on to over 1500 page novels like Sacajawea (The Lewis and Clark Expedition) by Anna Lee Waldo.  My sister and I would climb into bed and listen to tales about terrifying treks through precarious terrains, a papoose strapped to the Indian woman’s back, lean strips of buffalo jerky – her only source of nourishment for days.  The stories my mother read were as good as any movie.  Better, in fact, because the “visuals” (the teepees and bison and feather headdresses) were mine alone.  The stakes were as high as I made them, the cliffs as steep…

My mother imported her love for reading to her children.  Many hot summertime days were spent in the local library.   With my sister by my side, we’d choose one book a piece – conferring with one another for trade upon our own completion.  Then off to the bay, with books in hand, my mother and sister and I would eat picnic lunches in silence – each of us deep within our own individual saga, epic or comic adventure.  Sometimes we’d ask one another to listen as we read a particularly intriguing section from our library loaner and then, after a bit of conversation, we were back to world of our own selection – separately experiencing new dramas, love stories, history lessons – all within each other’s company.

My conversion from reader to performer started early and my love and connection to the written story has never left me.  I owe so much to my mother and to the libraries where I spent so many of my days.  For this reason, it has been a particular honor to head Cygnet’s TUESDAY ON TWIGGS STREET Event.  These quarterly free theatre parties (aimed at supporting local libraries) have been delightful introductions to others who, like me, are in love with stories and great books.  They too understand the excitement, the escape and the unique perspective these penned pieces can provide.  In my life it has only been matched by the magic of live theatre.  Both fill me with same sense of joy, emotion and awe.  Both invite me to participate in the story being told.  Both pay respect to my own uncapped resource…my imagination.

So this is my personal invitation to those of you who remember being read to, appreciate the gift of good storytelling or who simply owe your local library a “thank you” for years of free reading.  I hope you’ll join us at one of our TUESDAY ON TWIGGS STREET Events.  Cygnet provides the food, the drinks, the enter-to-wins, backstage tours and a nice group of like-minded company.  All YOU need to bring is a new or gently used book or a cash donation (of any size) for our specified neighborhood library.   In turn, our libraries will provide you unlimited days of travel, riches, poetry, laughter and drama; a private world of untouchable props, scenery, characters and costumes.  And you will be the producer, right in your very own living room.

Last year, Sean Murray asked me to work with him on Sweeney Todd.  It was our seventh production together.  Working with Sean and co-director James Vasquez was

possibly the most freeing experience that can be asked of a designer for a musical theatre setting: we threw out all preconceived notions of the staging, we started from scratch and found our own voices in the piece.

And I discovered that doing a musical on a thrust stage means that, despite the amount of decorative flourishes I may apply to a setting, my eye always becomes inexorably riveted to the performer.  Out there on that thrust surrounded on three sides by a rapt audience, and commanding a story.  In one breathless moment, I can forget about everything I’ve been hired or trained to do as a designer, as I sit back and watch energy flow.

Being asked to design a stage setting for Cabaret can seem, like reinventing the architecture of Sweeney Todd, a daunting task. Certainly, a young designer can feel overshadowed by images of Boris Aronson’s original painterly and expressive setting, or Robert Brill’s radical departure from this in the 1993 Donmar Warehouse tour-de-force, which then transferred to Studio 54.  The latter, more than the former, was one of our major inspirations for this current production, but do not be fooled! Much in the manner of our dealings with the blood-spattered barber, this Cabaret was to be germane to Cygnet, and to the character of the Theatre in Old Town.   And as ideas developed, we found our world take root.  I think it’s a character of its own.

There is, of course, reality to be dealt with.  We’ve got to fit a five-piece orchestra into the set somewhere, for heaven’s sake! And how do we create the pervasive spirit of the Kit Kat Club, here, at the Theatre in Old Town?  Not to mention the persistence of budget, HVAC ductwork, and tricky sightlines, but I won’t bore you with those details!

I like to start vague though.  It’s nice to trip out on ideas without consequences just yet.  Some people think you should start in ground plan, or by finding cool materials, or coming up with a metaphor (trust me, sometimes metaphors can be just a bit hard for audiences to really get).  I like to start with the drinks.  In this case the alcoholic drinks.

You heard me.  Yeah, yeah, I know about this scene in the Cabaret, when Cliff Met Sally, but what were they all drinking that night in the club? Sherry out of a decanter?  Sake?  I like to think it was a fairly heady German beer, cheap and low-quality.  The kind that leads to a mountain of headaches in the morning.  Maybe they mixed other things in their beer: like in a Berliner Weiss mit Schuss, a beer mixed with a shot of flavored sugar syrup.  The syrup tinted the beer to green (woodruff flavor), red (raspberry flavor), or yellow (lemon). The layering of something sweet and colorful masking a darker, or more bitter truth, seems fitting as an emotional statement about Cabaret.

So in designing this set, I mused, how do we go about capturing this dual quality?  We had already determined that this was not going to be the high-class, pristine Nouveau Cabaret.  Sean Murray and I spoke of the space as a secret club, a German speakeasy, underground and a bit dingy.  The location would be an abandoned theatre.  Something that still contained some semblance of a proscenium, gilded balconies, and an old wooden stage.  Perhaps rearranged so that the balcony appeared squarely shoved into the proscenium, and that there would be a second, more modern proscenium within the old outer one, that truly expressed the character of the Kit Kat Club and its inhabitants.

From this point on, the decisions followed naturally.  The elements contained within could appear to be almost found objects from an old theatre, shifted and juxtaposed to fit our purposes.  The dominant choices would become color and texture- bold carnival reds and some deep jewel tones, with an overall cast of chipped, eroded gold leaf. This was an allusion to that sugar-tinted beer drink- sweet at first, but complex and dark at the core. However, it’s all still background elements.  As a designer in Old Town, I must remind myself of the importance of that actor on the thrust- how every design choice must help to motivate the swift movement downstage.  The upper level, serving as both a place for an orchestra and a major entrance, is not prime real estate, but it allows us to create an elaborate stage picture and use the full height of the Old Town proscenium.

Cygnet: What was the inspiration for Truth, Justice and the 4-Color Way?

Lance Arthur Smith: I originally conceived of this piece in early 2008 after learning my wife Colleen was pregnant. The 1954 Senate Subcommittee hearings have been on my radar for years due to my love of comic books. But with my daughter Scotland on the way, I felt compelled to explore parental themes in a play, and the backdrop of this 1950s comic book “war” felt like the right way to do it.

It focuses on an oft-overlooked event in our country’s history as well as on the major personalities surrounding it. The parallels to today’s video game industry, and the Hollywood machine, strike me as I figure out where I stand as a father.

Cygnet: What it means to have your play workshopped at Cygnet.

Lance Arthur Smith: Cygnet’s “Playwrights in Process” fosters playwrights in a program that, sadly, exists in very few places. Many theatre companies say they make a commitment to new work, but Cygnet commits itself fully to cultivating new work through a series of readings and interactions.

Fran championed this piece, and to have his backing and support has been a refreshing experience. Both he and Sean have been actively involved throughout several rewrites, and we’ve had meetings outside of rehearsal halls, through email, and over dropped phone calls (thanks to my unreliable carrier).

Joining a playwright the caliber of Stephen Metcalfe (whose Tragedy of the Commons was refined during “Playwrights in Process”), is a joy and I’m looking forward to continuing the theatrical conversation of 4-Color Way with a live audience.

Interacting with Sean and Bill, Veronica and Manny, Jason and Jessica (a theatre’s dream team) off stage, behind the scenes, sharing a common vision of providing this little theatre with the means to produce big, relevant and important works is so satisfying.

It’s my raison d’etre. In addition, it’s provided me a grand occasion to meet people in my broader San Diego community with whom I normally would not cross paths.

Wow! What I am experiencing through this fundraising process has far exceeded any expectation.

Like everyone these days, I’m a busy person with way too much on her plate. Besides being haunted by a daunting calendar, auction canvassing is time spent on activities that don’t directly increase my bottom line. Never mind that! More importantly, it compromises family time, which is primo to me. But being on this auction committee and having the opportunity to support something for which I passionately believe is just plain irresistible! I’m a sucker for a good time. That’s why I do it.

If I were tell you that this year’s Cygnet Gala to be held at The Prado in Balboa Park on Saturday April 24, 2010 will be its best yet, I would be telling the truth and nothing but.

The auction items that have been donated so far are unique, inventive, useful, and only acquired by bidding on them during the event’s silent or live auctions.

Need a new driver, putter, and bag stand? Callaway has donated them for this event. Interested in sharing an afternoon of wine tasting with Island Prime’s Chef Deborah Scott and Wine Director Maurice DiMarino and 8 of your friends? Or how about dinner for 6 guests with Sean and Bill, prepared by Sean, as Executive Chef? Ever dream about meeting The Phantom back stage in Vegas at this long running Andrew Lloyd Weber production? It could happen to you. And, of course, there are travel packages, spa services, jewelry, restaurant certificates, and in your home dinners provided by local chefs.

Now is a great time to join me, our incredible players, and other volunteers who are making this year’s event one that will be irresistible to everyone!

If you’d like to donate your time or an auction item, please email me at Lab4Us@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you See you at the Cabaret!

To start the season, we will revisit the works of Alan Ayckbourn, author of our immensely popular production of Communicating Doors. This time instead of traveling through time, we will visit the same time as seen in three different rooms, all of which get their own play! The Norman Conquests – which includes Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden and Living Together – revolve around Norman a charming library assistant, and the women in his life. Each play stands on its own, however, the fun is in seeing the entire trilogy as each play reveals unique secrets, surprising answers and loads of laughs. Directed by Artistic Director Sean Murray and Francis Gercke, The Norman Conquests will run in rep with the same six actors from July 28th through November 2nd, 2010.

For the holiday season, we are very happy to announce our fifth annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, adapted by Joe Landry. Each year, Cygnet audiences delight in this wintertime tradition. Tom Andrew will return with his San Diego Critics Circle Award winning performance as George Bailey, and the brilliant Scott Paulson will once again infuse the evening with his live, old-fashioned Foley sound effects ‘orchestra’. For Cygnet, the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without the fictitious “WCYG Theatre of the Air” and the classic Frank Capra story in a “live” 1940’s radio broadcast filled with music and the beloved characters of Bedford Falls. It’s a Wonderful Life runs November 26th through December 31st, 2010.

We are incredibly honored and excited to begin 2011 with the World Premiere of The Commons by Stephen Metcalfe (author of the screenplay Jacknife, based on his off-Broadway play Strange Snow). Our staged reading of this powerful work, which focuses on a retired school teacher, his wife and the threatening of their beloved home, received overwhelming response and will now receive its premiere production with the same cast. Jim Winker and Associate Artistic Director Francis Gercke headline this moving, electrifying production. The Commons will play January 20th through February 20th, 2011.

In the Spring, we invite you into the Kit Kat Club as we explore the world of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret! Set in the tumultuous city of Berlin, just before Hitler’s rise to power, and based on Christopher Isherwood’s “Berlin Stories”, Cabaret introduces the interlocking stories of cabaret singer, Sally Bowles; the American writer, Cliff who takes her in and the other local denizens of a quickly changing society. Sean Murray directs the dark, daring and provocative musical that won 8 Tony Awards and includes the musical numbers Willkommen, Mein Herr and Maybe This Time?. Production dates for Cabaret are March 17th through May 15th, 2011.

We will close our season at Cygnet with the Pulitzer Prize winning Our Town by Thornton Wilder. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town stunned its audience when it was first presented for its audacious, almost avant garde simplicity. Director Sean Murray, picks up from there and brings a contemporary sensibility to the staging of one of the most beautiful and moving plays ever written. Playwright Thornton Wilder (The Matchmaker) explores the essence of life and living by focusing both on the minutia of daily life’s routines and necessities as well as the larger place mankind holds on the cosmic plane of our universe. The always surprising Our Town, with its sparse, lofty stage and 23-member cast promises to take us on an exploration of our humanity. Performances for Our Town will run June 9 through July 10, 2011.

We certainly hope you will join us for our eighth go-around and look forward to seeing you at the Old Town Theatre.

When I was a young bride and not very kitchen adept (I put butter in the pan to fry bacon!!! and my first jello salad was more like jello soup), this is the first cake I ever made. It turns out I could bake!! This cake immediately became our family ‘Birthday Cake’ tradition, affectionately known as ‘Aunt Vicki’s Chocolate Cake.’ WARNING – When I made it for my youngest son’s 15th birthday, I mistakenly left out the baking soda. Not recommended!! It was tasty but very chewy, more like a giant Oreo cookie than a cake.

• • 2/3 cup soft butter (the flavor’s in the fat, as my chef friend tells me)
• • 1 3/4 cups sugar (apologies to my many diabetic friends)
• • 2 eggs (sans shells, of course)
• • 1tsp. vanilla extract (not the fake stuff)
• • 2 1/2 one ounce squares unsweetened chocolate, melted (in double boiler, never melt chocolate over direct heat)
• • 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (my grandmother never made cakes with any other flour)
• • 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda (Don’t forget this one)
• • 1/2 tsp. salt
• • 1 1/4 cups ice water (not sure why it has to be so cold but I’ve never tried it otherwise)

Cream together first 4 ingredients until fluffy. (Beat 5 minutes at high speed)
Blend in cooled chocolate.
Separately sift together cake flour, soda and salt;
Add to creamed mixture, alternating with ice water, beginning and ending with flour mixture – beat after each addition.
Bake in 2 greased and floured 9″ round pans at 350 degrees F (Don’t forget to preheat) for 35 minutes. It also works for cupcakes and loaf cake but the round layer is prettiest.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. When cake is cool to touch – FROST!

This is the frosting my mother taught me to make and at the end it’s a little by look and feel (you know how mothers cook).

• • 3 1/2 one ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
• • 3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• • 4 1/2 tbsp. hot water
• • 1 egg
• • 1/2 cup soft butter
• • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Melt Chocolate. Blend in sugar and water. Beat in egg, then butter and vanilla until of spreading consistency. If it’s too thin, place bowl in ice water and continue to beat. Or add a tiny bit more sugar.

Don’t forget to let the little ones (or the big ones) lick the bowl and spoons before washing.

Sean Murray’s Holiday Turkey Cranberry Chipotle Chili

This is my red and green Holiday Chili. The green comes from the tomatillos in the sauce (although it isn’t really all that green!) and the red from the fresh cranberries floating on the top of the chili. Make it as spicy as you desire. It’s great with cornbread.

• • 2 canned whole chipotle chilies in adobo (I do this to taste, I only use a half  the chilis in the can and the sauce for the chili. 2 cans can be pretty spicy, be cautious at the start, you can always add more to taste later.)
• • 2 lbs. fresh tomatillos or three 18-oz. cans whole tomatillos-drained (I found the canned tomatillos in a Mexican market, and they are so easy!!)
• • 2 large onions, chopped
• • 8 garlic cloves
• • 3 tbls. vegetable oil
• • 2 tbls. ground cumin
• • 4 lbs. ground turkey
• • 2 cups chicken broth
• • 1 bay leaf ( I use three because I like the flavor.)
• • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
• • 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• • 2 4-oz. cans mild green chilies, drained and chopped
• • 1 tbls. corn meal (This thickens the chili and I add about 2 more tablespoons if I want it thicker, personal taste)
• • 1 19-oz. can (about 2 cups) white beans, rinsed and drained
• • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• • 1-2 packaged fresh cranberries
• • sour cream and fresh chopped cilantro and onions as an accompaniment if desired

Puree the canned chipotle chilies in a blender. Reserve. Blanch the tomatillos in boiling water for 1-3 minutes or open the cans. Place the tomatillos in the blender and puree. Reserve the tomatillo puree.

In a large heavy kettle cook the onions and 5 of the garlic cloves, minced, in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the cumin, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add the turkey and cook the mixture, stirring and breaking up the lumps, until the turkey is no longer pink.

Add the reserved chipotle puree, the reserved tomatillo puree, the broth, the bay leaf, the oregano, and the salt and simmer the mixture, uncovered, adding more water if  necessary to keep the turkey barely covered, for 1 hour.

Stir in the bell pepper, the canned green chilies, and the cornmeal and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Stir in the white beans, the cilantro, the remaining 2 garlic cloves, minced, and salt to taste. Simmer the chili for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the beans are heated through, and discard the bay leaf.

Add the cranberries and after they begin to wilt or pop serve with a dab of sour cream and a pinch of fresh cilantro and sprinkle of chopped onion.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

1.

As most theatre buffs will tell you, the Globe Theatre in London has long-been considered one of the “most magnificent” theatres the city has every seen.  Shakespeare’s legendary theatre was built in the 16^th century by carpenter Peter Smith and his workers, and most arts-lovers of the day felt that no other theatre would ever match its accomplishments or stature.  Nor did many dare try.  The Swan Theatre became the Globe’s one major rival, continually striving to reach new heights in theatrical achievements, despite its later eminence.  Artistic Director Sean Murray was inspired by this driven-and-able historical theatre, and has held in the highest regard Craig Noel, the founding director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.   As cygnet is the name for a baby swan, Sean liked the tongue-and-cheek title for his theatre.   Cygnet Theatre may have begun as a fledgling playhouse in a strip-mall, but we’ve got some big ambitions and some real cheek.

2. There’s a swan in every Cygnet set.

We at Cygnet love our namesake.  For this reason, every Cygnet set pays tribute with a swan hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) within the scenery.  The very first Cygnet show – Hedwig and the Angry Inch – included a giant paper mache swan head made entirely of paper plates which guarded the band’s drummer.  Copenhagen’s swan was displayed on the multiple chalk-boards. Set designer, Sean Fanning hand-drew a swan, along with notes, phone numbers and doodles on the Mauritius set’s bulletin board.  Escanaba in da’ Moonlight featured crates with a company logo swan stamped on their sides and A Little Night Music continued the tradition with a swan carved into Frederick’s elaborate bed.   Although they’re sometimes challenging to spot, the Cygnet swan will make its appearance in each and every season’s show.  Just another reason to enjoy a look around your next Cygnet set.

3. There’s a Ghost in the House.

Sure we’re theatre people and drawn to the dramatic, but we can’t deny the feeling that we’re not alone in here.  Our move to Old Town not only provided us some new digs, it seems that it came with a complimentary company member.  Nothing to worry about, of course.  The Old Town ghost – or Charlie, as he’s been named – seems to appreciate the entertainment.  We assume it’s why he’s stuck around and made his presence known to other theatre companies who made their home at the Old Town Theatre before us.  But he also seems to love a practical joke or two.  While we’ve become accustomed to his slamming doors and bumps in the night, we do wish he’d return the various props and costume pieces that have gone missing from our latest Cygnet productions.

The artist formerly known as Thom with Marci Anne Wuebben in A Little Night Music

4. Sean Murray isn’t His Real Name.

Artistic Director Sean Murray isn’t who he says he is.  His real name is Thomas Murray, but you tell that to Equity.   In order to get his Equity card, he had to choose a name that wasn’t already in their system, and his middle name seemed to be the next best choice.  Plus, Mama Murray was all for it.  When he asked her what she thought his Equity name ought to be, she told him that although he was a fifth generation “Thomas Murray”, if she’d had her druthers, his name would have been Sean anyway.  Of course, we love him as “Sean” as much as we’d love him as “Thom” but we DO wonder what else he’s not telling us.

5. Cygnet Theatre’s Wonderful Life Includes Some Real Radio Royalty.

Lovers of Cygnet Theatre’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, have come to recognize actor Jonathan Dunn-Rankin as cantankerous, old “Mr. Potter.”   But listen closely and you’ll hear the golden pipes of real radio royalty in his between-scene radio announcements.

Jonathan Dunn-Rankin in It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

At only 17 years old, Jonathan began working in radio in 1940s Florida.  He grew up to become one of the recognized, big-voiced 40s radio announcers of the era.  That broadcast history eventually brought Jonathan to San Diego where he spent many years as KFMB’s principle television newscaster. Artistic Director Sean Murray remembers watching him on Channel 8 regularly, never realizing they would one day work together.  Now Jonathan has become part of Cygnet’s annual holiday tradition.  This will be his third year of bringing his life experience to the stage.  As the station chimes play and he opens the show into the radio mike, don’t be surprised if you feel as though you’ve slipped back in time.

Sean’s Pancake Recipe
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed (optional)
1/2 cup Oat Bran (optional)
Sprinkle of Wheat Germ (optional)
2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Tbs. Sugar (or Splenda)
1/4 Tsp. Salt
Dash of Cinnamon

1 Large Egg
1 Tbs. Melted Butter
Vanilla to taste
1 Cup Milk (more or less to create the batter consistency you prefer)
Chopped Walnuts
Fresh Blueberries

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the Flax and Oat Bran to taste. I eye it.

Add the egg, vanilla, and milk. For thinner pancakes go with a thinner batter (more milk), for thicker pancakes, a thicker batter (slightly less milk) Stir the liquids into the drys until the batter looks like you like it. Add the melted butter. Mix well.

Add the walnuts and blueberries.

Let it sit for a few minutes while the griddle gets hot.

Spray the griddle with Pam or something like that. You don’t want too much butter on the griddle.
Spoon the batter onto the griddle. When the edges begin to look cooked and small bubbles begin to form in the middle of the pancake, flip it over and let it finish cooking. Don’t let it burn!!

Add butter, of course and real maple syrup.
and above all, enjoy.