Solana Beach, Calif. – While sitting on a park bench in Washington, D. C., contemplating the death of her husband, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt candidly reveals the many facets of her storied life in a riveting West Coast premiere at North Coast Repertory Theatre. Award-winning actor Kandis Chappell deftly illuminates the witty, feisty, vulnerable woman who was considered the heart of FDR’s presidency. Exploring both the public and private persona of this remarkable woman, Mark St. Germain (Dancing Lessons, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Freud’s Last Session) captures the essence of the woman who left an indelible mark on American history. For those who love honest, pull-no-punches drama, this is one you cannot miss. A West Coast premiere.

David Ellenstein directs Kandis Chappell* in ELEANOR. Christopher M. Williams is the Assistant Director. The design team includes Marty Burnett (Resident Scenic Designer), Matthew Novotny (Lighting), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design), Aaron Rumley (Sound & Projection Design), and Peter Herman (Hair & Wigs). Cindy Rumley* is the Stage Manager.

*The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. For photos, go to www.northcoastrep.org/press.

ELEANOR previews begin Wednesday, June 7. Opening Night on Saturday, June 10, at 8pm.  It will play Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm with Sundays at 7pm through July 2. There will be a talkback with the artistic director and cast on Friday, June 16. A performance has just been added on Wednesday, June 28, at 2 pm, (See Schedule below). North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075. Tickets: Previews - $54 (including Friday preview at 2pm), Week Nights/Wed. & Sat. Matinees - $60; Sat. Eve. & Sun. Mat. $65; Sun Night - $57. Seniors, Students, Military & Educators - $3 off admission. Call 858-481-1055, visit www.northcoastrep.org to purchase tickets.

WHAT:            NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE presents

                          ELEANOR

                          Written by Mark St. Germain

                          Directed by David Ellenstein

CAST:            Kandis Chappell*

WHERE:        North Coast Repertory Theatre

                          987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive

                          Solana Beach, CA 92075

SCHEDULE: Previews start June 7, 2023

                        Opens: June 10, 2023

                        Closes: July 2, 2023

                        Wed. @ 7pm, Thurs-Sat @ 8PM; Sat & Sun @ 2PM, Sun @ 7pm

                        Fri (June 9) @ 2pm

                        Wed. (June 28) @ 2pm

PRICES:         Previews                                                   $54.00

                       Week Nights & Sat. Matinees                   $60.00

                       Sat. Nights & Sunday Matinees                $65.00

                            Sunday Nights                                           $57.00

DISCOUNTS: Seniors, Students, Military & Educators $3.00 off admission. Rush tickets available for $25. Sold 15 minutes prior to showtime.

BIOS:

MARK ST. GERMAIN (Playwright) has written the plays Freud’s Last Session (Off Broadway Alliance Award), Camping with Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award), Forgiving Typhoid Mary, (Time Magazine’s “Year’s Ten Best”), and Becoming Dr. Ruth, the story of Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Other plays include Eleanor, Best of Enemies, Relativity, and Out of Gas on Lover’s Leap. His latest play, premiering in the summer of 2023 at the Barrington Stage Company, is The Happiest Man On Earth, The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor. Mark co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard’s Warner Brothers film, “Duma.” He directed and co-produced the documentary, “My Dog, An Unconditional Love Story,” featuring Richard Gere, Glenn Close, and Billy Collins among others. His film adaptation of “Freud’s Last Session” will be released by Sony Entertainment in early 2024. He has written the award-winning children’s book, “Three Cups,” “Walking Evil,” a humorous memoir, and “The Mirror Man,” a thriller. Mark is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writer’s Guild East, and an Associate Artist at the Barrington Stage Company. The Barrington Stage Company named their second stage, “The St. Germain Stage.”

DAVID ELLENSTEIN (Director) Born into a theatrical family, David is an actor, director, producer, and playwright. Before joining North Coast Rep in 2003 as Artistic Director, he served in that position for the Los Angeles Repertory Company and the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company (AJTC). He is a veteran of over 300 theatrical productions at theatres from San Diego to Maine, and from Alaska to Miami and most places in between. David has won numerous theatre awards, including the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for “2018 Director of the Year.” David has also appeared in dozens of film and television roles, as well as having been guest faculty for numerous universities including California State University Northridge, Cal Arts, and Shakespeare workshops privately. He is the interim Artistic Director of Laguna Playhouse.

KANDIS CHAPPELL* (Eleanor Roosevelt) is delighted to return to North Coast Rep, where she was previously seen in Collected Stories, King O' The Moon, The Lion in Winter, and The Illusion. Kandis is an Associate Artist of the Old Globe where she has appeared in more than 30 productions including The Merchant of Venice, Private Lives, The Winter's Tale, and Pygmalion. She has worked extensively at South Coast Rep in Costa Mesa in such productions as The Crucible, Woman in Mind, Shadowlands, and A Streetcar Named Desire, and has also appeared on Broadway, at Lincoln Center, and at theaters across the US.

CINDY RUMLEY* (Stage Manager) recent credits as a Stage Manager at North Coast Rep include: Blues in the Night, The Remarkable Mister Holmes, Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits, Desperate Measures, Dancing Lessons, Another Roll of the Dice, All in the Timing, Holmes & Watson, A Funny Thing... Cindy holds an M.F.A in stage management from UC Irvine.

CHRISTOPHER M. WILLIAMS* (Assistant Director) is an actor, director, producer, fight director, stage manager, and former Associate Artistic Director of North Coast Rep. Selected theatre credits: Over 30 mainstage shows at NCRT including Don’t Dress For Dinner, The Illusion, Gabriel, Dancing Lessons, and Desperate Measures; Rothschild & Sons (Original Off-Broadway cast); The Drawer Boy, A Moon For the Misbegotten (AZ Theatre Company); Angels In America I & II, Lobby Hero (Actors Theatre); Noises Off! (Idaho Shakespeare and Phoenix Theatre); Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Henry V (Southwest Shakespeare); Julius Caesar (New Village Arts); I Hate Hamlet (Intrepid Theatre); Biloxi Blues, Light Falling Down, The Elephant Man (Oceanside Theatre). He was the founding Artistic Director of Oceanside Theatre Company and a producer of the WWII feature film, “Walking With the Enemy,” starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Jonas Armstrong.

DESIGN TEAM

MARTY BURNETT (Set Design) Resident Designer at North Coast Rep since 1992 and has designed more than 200 productions for the theater. Other design venues include: Sahara and Hacienda hotels in Las Vegas, Claridge Hotel, Atlantic City, and Drury Lane Chicago.

MATTHEW NOVOTNY (Lighting Design) is pleased to be designing another show for North Coast Rep, where he has designed close to forty shows over the past seven years. Matthew is currently the Lighting Designer in Residence for San Diego Musical Theatre as well as North Coast Rep, and his work can be seen at a wide variety of theatres across San Diego. Matthew holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre from San Diego State and a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Boston University. Matthew is married to his beautiful wife Amanda, with five AMAZING children: Ragan, Harper, Heston, Maddex, and Harrison.

ELISA BENZONI+ (Costume Design) is thrilled to be working on her eighth season at North Coast Rep including numerous Craig Noel nominated productions. Elisa has also worked on over a hundred productions across Southern California with theatres such as The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Diversionary Theatre and New Village Arts. Being Italian born, Elisa has also had the opportunity to work and perfect her craft in Europe. Elisa holds a costume design M.F.A. from UCSD where she currently is an adjunct professor.

AARON RUMLEY (Sound & Projection Design) has worked on over 120 shows at North Coast Rep, over 50 as a stage manager, over 20 as a designer.

PETER HERMAN (Hair & Wigs Design) has previously designed wigs for over 30 North Coast Rep productions. Peter teaches wig and makeup design at San Diego State University. He is glad to be part of the creative team on this show.

CREW

About the North Coast Repertory Theatre under the artistic leadership of David Ellenstein since 2003, is a professional Equity theatre, currently celebrating its 41^st Season. North Coast Rep has received critical acclaim from media and audiences alike, and has evolved into one of the area’s leading performing arts organizations. North Coast Rep prides itself on employing the majority of its actors from Actors’ Equity Association for its high quality, award‐winning productions, and staging works by established and emerging playwrights. Throughout its history, North Coast Rep has created a platform where artist and audience thrive through the intimacy of live theatre, recognizing the power of theatre to challenge complacency, revitalize the imagination, nurture the unexpected and embrace the variety and diversity in our lives.