JEFF RECOMMENDED!!!
Orange Flower Water tells the story of two ordinary suburban couples caught in a private web of deceit as they tear down their everyday lives in search of a greater happiness that seems to be always just beyond their reach. Told through an intensely intimate series of theatrical, voyeuristic scenes that all take place on or around a single revolving bed, we see the unraveling of both troubled marriages from every angle. Eventually, the construction of a very fragile new beginning for everyone concerned seems to emerge . . . but for how long?
Special Event: Double Feature Sundays including prix-fixe dinner! – http://backstagetheatrecompany.org/2010-orange-flower-water/double-feature-sundays-at-the-chopin
Praise
“Hutchinson’s staging in the round, centering on a bed that rotates from scene to scene, mirrors the unstable negotiations of the two couples. Tony Bozzuto plays betrayed husband Brad with a tensile energy, suggesting he’s been waiting to snap for most of the 15 years of his marriage to Beth (Shelley Nixon). In one beautifully played scene, Kettering and Huysman capture the raw unpredictability of a marriage on the rocks, careening from sex to tearful isolation.”
- John Beer, Time Out Chicago
“These people aren’t sexy or unique or even that interesting. They are your friends and neighbors. And Wright (a frequently produced playwright in Chicago whose television credits include “Six Feet Under”) is offering a glimpse — at turns bitter, comical and devastating — of what happens behind locked doors while you’re going about your day muttering about your own life.”
“There’s no question the acting is good — especially Tony Bozzuto as Brad, the hilariously confrontational, full-bore crass-hound dumped by Beth, his wife of 15 years . . .”
- Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
Cast & Crew

Jessica Hutchinson
Director
Jessica has called Chicago home since January 2005. Directing credits include Vox Pandora, The Dining Room, Six Years, and Touch for New Leaf Theatre, where she has served as Artistic Director since summer 2007. She acted as assistant to the director for The Crowd You’re In With (Goodman Theatre) and has worked with Caffeine, Rascal, and the Abbie Hoffman Died for our Sins and the 365 Day/365 Plays festivals. This fall she’ll direct the world premiere of Bilal Dardai’s adaptation of G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday for New Leaf.
Tara Malpass
Stage Manager
Tara Malpass (Stage Manager) is very excited to be working with BackStage Theatre Company for the first time. Recent works include Rewind with The Side Project, Plaza Suite with Eclipse Theatre Company, A Perfect Wedding, Escanaba In Love, Boy and Tent Meeting with Circle Theatre Company, and Rhymes With Evil, Intrigue with Faye, Creole and The Last Supper with InFusion Theatre Company. Tara is a Company Member with Circle Theatre and InFusion Theatre Company. Thanks to Steve for his love and support.

Tony Bozzuto
Brad
Tony is thrilled to be a part of another BackStage production. He was last seen in the Jeff Recommended, On An Average Day. For about seven years, Tony has been honored to work his way around the Chicago theatre scene with such talented companies as Lifeline Theatre, Next Theatre, Metropolis PAC and of course BackStage Theatre Co. Whether on stage, television or film, Tony credits much of his skills and successes to his studies at the incomparable Hilberry Theatre in Detroit, MI, where he received his MFA. Many thanks to Matthew Reeder for another great opportunity.

Jason Huysman
David

Maggie Kettering
Cathy
MAGGIE KETTERING (Cathy) makes her debut at Backstage! A recent transplant to Chicago, she was recently seen as Lady Macduff at First Folio, and Sybil in PRIVATE LIVES (City Lit). She was a founding member and artistic associate of Mythmakers Theatre Company, where she appeared in Tartuffe, Medea, and The House of Atreus. Other favorite regional credits include: 9 Parts of Desire (Contemporary American Theatre Festival), Midsummer, As You Like It, Inherit the Wind (The Warehouse Theatre), and Taming of the Shrew, A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya, Peter Pan, and the world premiere of Adrian Hall’s Savages, Christians & Other Homo Sapiens at the University of Delaware. She holds an MFA from the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program.

Shelley Nixon
Beth
Former Artistic Director of Theatre for Young Audiences at Apple Tree Theatre, Shelley eagerly embarks on her first production with BackStage. She has recently taken a fun jaunt through Chicago short play and one-act festivals, appearing at The Artistic Home, The Side Project, American Theatre Company, and with Dramatis Personae at Strawdog Theatre. Other recent credits include work with Metropolis PAC and Emerald City. Shelley is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.
Megan E. Frei
Production Manager
Hailing from the 'burbs of Detroit, Megan received a degree in Music Education from Central Michigan University while performing and working in the University Music and Theatre Departments, Highlands Playhouse (NC), and Vision Studio of Performing Arts (MI). Following, she served as Director of Vision for four fabulous years, began working as a freelance artist, and made her move to Chicago in 2004. Megan is an in-demand teacher and director for a plethora of activities–voice, piano, acting, dance, musical theatre. She also performs in various genres, settings and groups. Favorite artistic experiences: an intimate master class with the Ann Reinking; as CONNIE in Good News, directed by acclaimed August W. Staub; as BEBE in A Chorus Line, directed/choreographed by Emmy-award winning Linda Talcott-Lee; ZOMBIES FROM THE BEYOND! BSTC credits: Terra Nova (Flag Designer, Costumes), Anton in Show Business (CostumeDesigner), Denise Druczweski's Inferno (Assistant Director, Stage Manager/Board Operator), The Skin of Our Teeth (Production Manager, Co-Sound Designer,Co-Music Director, and MUSE), The Ruling Class (Music Director, Choreographer), Zombies from the Beyond (Director/Choreographer), On An Average Day (Props Designer); BSTC 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 seasons (Associate Artistic Director).
Heath Hays
Sound Designer
Heath is a BackStage Ensemble member, where he has designed set for On An Average Day, The Memory of Water, Beauty on the Vine, Bloody Bess and Zombies from the Beyond as well as the Jeff-recommended shows Waiting for Lefty and Medea. He also designed sound for BackStage's The Ruling Class and Seanachi Theatre's drama Whistle in the Dark. He designed set for Infamous Conmmonwealth Theatre's Keely and Du, GreyZelda's Jeff-recommended production of A View From The Bridge as well as their Desire Under the Elms, and Hell in a Handbag's Caged Dames. Heath has also worked for Grounded Theatre, Arena Dinner Theatre, and Village Players.
Laura Kollar
Costume Designer
Laura hails from Atlanta, GA, but has lived and worked in the Chicago area since 2000. After spending the fall working on projects in Maryland, Laura is delighted to be home and working on her first show with BackStage. Recent designs include Gossamer for Adventure Stage Chicago, where she is an Ensemble Member, and Follies for Actors’ Theatre. Her work has also been seen at Theater Wit, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Co., Serendipity Theatre Collective, and North Park University. Laura would like to thank Matt R. for bringing her onboard, her loving family, and most of all, Matt, for being her favorite.
Jessica Kuehnau
Co-Scenic Designer
Jessica Kuehnau is pleased to be designing her second show with Backstage Theatre since costuming On An Average Day last spring. As a recent graduate of Northwestern University, Jessica received her MFA in both set and costume design. Her Chicago credits include Rivendell Theatre (Jeff recommended These Shining Lives), Building Stage (Dracula), Pegasus Players (Ten Square, Jitney), and Steep Theatre (Parlour Song). She has also designed several productions with Adventure Stage Chicago (ensemble member), Griffin Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, MPAACT, and Metropolis Performing Arts Center. Jessica is currently the resident set designer and design professor at North Park University and full time teaching faculty at Northeastern Illinois University.
Jared Moore
Lighting Designer
Jared resides in Chicago where he has lit more than 150 shows, in a variety of genres, over the past seven years. He is a resident designer/artistic associate with the Hypocrites, NoMi LaMad Dance Inc., and New Leaf Theatre, of which he is a company member. His work has garnered him five Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards for Outstanding Design and two After Dark Awards. His selected design credits have included Frankenstein, Oedipus, The Hairy Ape (Hypocrites); A House in Haifa (Next); The Man Who Was Thursday, Touch, The Permanent Way (New Leaf); Winter Pageant Redux, Twilight Orchard (Redmoon); Dark At the Top of the Stairs (ATC); Jerry Springer: The Opera, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Inventing Van Gogh, The Christmas Schooner (Bailiwick Rep); Twelfth Night (City Lit); Meet Me in St. Louis (Circle); Roasting Chestnuts (Noble Fool); Falsettos (Porchlight); Porno, Salome (Side Project); Sylvia (Metropolis); The Conversation, Misery (Pyewacket); Proof (Hippodrome State Theatre); and assistant designs at Drury Lane-Oakbrook, Marriott Lincolnshire, Chicago Shakespeare, and Writers’ Theatre. Outside his work in Chicago, he has had productions run Off-Broadway, in the NYC International Fringe Festival, Boston, Maine, Florida, & Georgia. He returns to Backstage Theatre after previously designing All Tied Up in Love at the Cornelia Arts Center in 2003.
Brandon Wardell
Co-Scenic Designer
Brandon Wardell is a freelance Lighting and Scenic Designer in Chicago. He earned his MFA from Northwestern University, teaches at several Universities, and is an Ensemble Member at Adventure Stage Chicago. Recent lighting credits include Aunt Dan and Lemon (BSTC), The Hollow Lands (Steep), On An Average Day (BSTC), The Arab-Israeli Cookbook (Theatre Mir), John & Jen (Appletree), and The Robber Bridegroom (Griffin Theatre). Scenic Designs include Maria’s Field (TUTA), In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Steep Theatre), Holes (Adventure Stage), Dracula (The Building Stage), and Be More Chill (Griffin Theatre). Teaching credits include Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, The University of Chicago, Illinois Wesleyan University, and North Park University. www.brandonwardelldesign.com