Suite Surrender
by Michael McKeever
April 25, 26, & 27, 2024
7:30pm at the Boal Barn Playhouse (Boalsburg, PA)
It's 1942, and two of Hollywood's biggest divas have descended upon the luxurious Palm Beach Royale Hotel -- assistants, luggage, and legendary feud with one another in tow. Everything seems to be in order for their wartime performance...that is, until they are somehow assigned to the same suite. Mistaken identities, overblown egos, double entendres, and a lap dog named Mr. Boodles round out this hilarious riot of a love note to the classic farces of the 30s and 40s.
Cast
Bernard S. Dunlap....................NATE SCHIERMAN
Claudia McFadden...................HEIDI J. COLE
Athena Sinclair.........................KARI WILLIAMSON
Murphy Stevens.......................LILLI FALCON-GUNTER
Mr. Pippet.................................BRANDON SMITH*
Dora Del Rio.............................LIZ FUHRMANN
Mrs. Everett P. Osgood............MELISSA BRANNEN
Francis.....................................JOSHUA FALCON-GUNTER
Otis...........................................ZACHARY MYERS
*Sock & Buskin debut
Crew
Producer/Technical Director...........STEFANIE AUSTIN
Director……….....................................PHILLIP ZAPKIN
Asst. Director/Stage Manager........JOE APPEL*
Lighting/Sound Designer................NATHAN GLUNT
Set Design & Construction..............DANIEL SKILES, YOUKI SATO,
CHRISTIAN KURPIEL-WAKAMIYA
Costumer….......................................ELIZABETH BAPTISTA
Props Master/Photographer...........AVA BIERLY
Fight Choreographer........................SHANE TROXELL*
House Manager...............................AMY SHRECKENGAST
Graphic Designer.............................CAITLIN MELESKI
*First production role with Sock & Buskin
Meet The Cast
Nate Schierman
Bernard S. Dunlap
Despite starring in several Sock and Buskin shows, Nate continues to live a normal life. Dealing with the paparazzi has been a challenge, but he is thankful to his thousands of adoring fans for respecting his need for privacy. “I love my fans; I am so happy to be able to shop like a normal person without having to stop and sign hundreds of autographs.”
Heidi J. Cole
Claudia McFadden
Heidi is happy to add Suite Surrender to her list of favorite productions along with The Mousetrap (also with Sock & Buskin), The Iliad, The Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology (in 99 Minutes or Less) and Clue: On Stage (both with State College Community Theatre). She would like to thank the cast and crew for putting up with her diva-tude as well as the small (but hopefully ever-growing) group of fans who seem to recognize her around town.
Kari Williamson
Athena Sinclair
Kari is excited to take the stage once again with Sock & Buskin Theatre Company. Her recent roles include Mary/Kathryn in It’s A Wonderful Life, Athena Grimore in The Witching Hour, Renee in Murder in the HOA and Christy in Cutthroat Christmas. When not on stage, Kari enjoys stage managing, directing and writing scripts. She is currently working on two scripts that she looks forward to bringing to the Sock & Buskin stage. She also loves to sing and is excited to play a singing diva in this show. She’d like to thank her husband and kids for supporting her creative hobbies, and her parents for traveling to see her perform. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Lilli Falcon-Gunter
Murphy Stevens
Lilli is so excited to be back on stage with Sock & Buskin alongside this talented cast and crew! Her previous roles include Mollie in The Mousetrap and Taylor in Cutthroat Christmas and stage managing The Final Rose. She would like to give a shout out to Joe, Zach and her husband Josh for supporting her both on and off the stage in what has undoubtedly been the busiest, most eventful semester of her life. To her colleagues, family and the S&B community: thank you for your support and enjoy the show!
Brandon Smith
Mr. Pippet
Brandon is excited to star in his first production with S&B! His recent roles include The Boys Next Door, Beau Jest, Rumors, and What is Susan’s Secret? All of these were performed with The Stone Arch Players in Lewistown. Brandon would like to thank all of his friends and family who show all their love and support, especially Tami. Without her encouragement, none of this would be possible.
Liz Fuhrmann
Dora Del Rio
Liz is thrilled to join Sock & Buskin for her first performance of 2024! Recent roles include ensemble for A Christmas Carol with Penn State Centre Stage; Lorelei Grimore in The Witching Hour, Rosalind Hay in Moon Over Buffalo, Grace in 86’ed with Sock & Buskin; and Deidre in A Murder Has Been Renounced with State College Community Theatre. When Liz isn’t doing theatre, she’s helping to run Penn State’s main social media accounts, watching documentaries, or in a dance studio somewhere. Liz wants to thank her fiancé, Nate, as well as her chosen family and friends for their continuous love and support.
Melissa Brannen
Colleen Masters
Melissa is delighted to be part of this production of Suite Surrender. She’s already losing count of how many productions she’s been involved in with Sock & Buskin which is a good thing! “It’s been great working with old friends and getting to know new ones. Brandon and Joe are wonderful additions to the theatre and I’m lucky to get to get to know them during their first production with S&B! Thanks a million to the behind the scenes people who stage manage, construct sets, find costumes, and make props! You ARE THE BEST!!”
Joshua Falcon-Gunter
Francis
Josh is back on stage for his second outing, inspired by his debut as Giles Ralston in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap with Sock & Buskin. Offstage, his life is a whirlwind of unicycling, balloon twisting, fire breathing, piano playing, gaming, spoiling his cat, and engaging in historical discussions with his students at the Grier School. He's grateful to his wife Lilli for her unwavering support and extends a hearty thank you to the audience, cast, and crew for making this production possible. Should you find a unicycle mysteriously parked outside, you'll know Josh has arrived and is ready to roll into character!
Zachary Myers
Otis
Zach is excited to be working with Sock & Buskin again! Zach is a Ph.D. student in Educational Psychology from Cleveland, Ohio. He has been involved in a number of Sock & Buskin productions both acting and as a member of the crew. Zach is grateful for Sock & Buskin for creating such a welcoming community and is excited to be working with such a talented cast! He hopes you enjoy the show!
Meet The Production Team
Stefanie Austin
Producer; Technical Director
Stefanie is the current President and a Founding Director of Sock & Buskin Theatre Company. Since 2014, Stefanie has held roles both on and off stage in a number of productions by SCCT, Nittany Theatre, and S&B. Most recently, you may have seen her as Rebecca in S&B’s The Final Rose (Feb.) Later this year, she will be performing as Gwen in Rapture, Blister, Burn (Jun.) and directing Rehearsal for Murder (Sep.). She is also in the midst of writing 3 plays! She thanks her husband, Peter, and their two kids for their unwavering love and support.
Nathan Glunt
Lighting & Sound Designer
Nate has been involved in live sound ever since he was a teenager. From live stages, to small bars, to outdoor amphitheaters, he has helped set up audio equipment and mixed a variety of venues. He has served as sound/lighting designer on several of S&B’s shows since last year. Nathan was born and raised in Altoona, PA. He moved closer to the State College Area for work with AccuWeather designing and maintaining studios as an Engineer. Aside from live sound production, Nathan is an avid musician always looking for gigs in the surrounding areas.
Ava Bierly
Props Master; Photographer
Ava is a second-year art education and film student at Penn State and thought that designing props would be a great way to combine her love for theater, goodwill runs, and arts and crafts. This is her third time involved in production crew/making props for Sock & Buskin and she has truly loved watching the shows come to life piece by piece. She wants to say the biggest thank you to her Mom and Dad as well as Kyle and Parker for their infinite encouragement and support; and another big thank you to the cast and crew for being so kind and supportive!
Phillip Zapkin
Director
It is with great joy that Phillip returns to the director’s chair for the second time with Sock & Buskin. He previously directed Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap and performed in Joe Landry’s It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, both in 2023. Outside the S&B life, Phillip teaches rhetoric and composition at Penn State and is a scholar of drama.
Daniel Skiles
Set Design & Construction
Daniel Skiles remains astounded that they trust him with power tools.
Elizabeth Baptista
Costumer
Elizabeth has acted with Sock and Buskin, The Next Stage, Tempest Productions, and SCCT. She also dabbles with costuming and was happy to assist with costuming for this fun production.
Shane Troxell
Fight Choreographer
Shane is a fourth year acting major at Penn State with an interest in devising, fight direction, dance, justice, and where each of these things intersect. Graduating this May, Shane is very grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the wonderful work being done at Sock & Buskin and hopes to return soon. Huge thanks to Erik Raymond Johnson for getting me connected with this show!
@shane.troxell
Amy Shreckengast
House Manager
Amy is excited about being a part of Sock & Buskin, and she has volunteered for all of the group’s main stage productions to date. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Joe Appel
Assistant Director; Stage Manager
Joe is a native of Brooklyn, NY where he directed, musical directed, and conducted well over 50 productions around NYC. All-time favorites include Les Miserables, Guys & Dolls, Bat Boy, Assassins, Little Shop of Horrors, Godspell, West Side Story, and many others. A career educator, Joe moved to Happy Valley two years ago for a job he loves at Penn State and to pursue a more peaceful life. He is excited to get involved with the local community theater scene and to meet some nice people who share a love for it. He sends his well-wishes and appreciation to the cast and crew. Many thanks to his incredible students who inspire him every minute, his colleagues who make his days bright, and his family and friends back home.
Youki Sato
Set Design & Construction
Youki is a grad student at Penn State. He is excited to continue contributing to S&B productions, mainly in set construction/painting!
Christian Kurpiel-Wakamiya
Set Design & Construction
Christian is a father of two and lives in State College. He’s happy to continue to help with production and sets. Theater is exciting!
Caitlin Meleski
Graphic Designer
Caitlin considers herself to be “a small-town-famous graphic designer with a passion for digital artistry.” She is a 2015 Advertising Art & Design graduate of SUN Area Technical Institute and a 2019 Bachelors of Arts graduate of Susquehanna University. Before designing promo artwork for Sock & Buskin, Caitlin designed posters for productions presented by Selinsgrove Area High School Theatre, Riverstage Community Theatre, and many other small theater companies across the United States. Caitlin hopes to continue to combine her skills in design and her love for theater and hopefully get to work for productions on Broadway. You can follow her work on Instagram @caitlinmeleskidesign
Thanks & Recognition
Business Sponsors
Supporting Sponsors ($500+)
Jared Ernico, REALTOR, ReMax Realty
Special Thanks
Faith Centre Thrift Store
Boal City Brewing Company
Seven Mountain Winery
Dolce Vita Desserts
Nittany Mall
Hospitality Asset Management Company
Peter Austin
Phoebe Austin
Front-of-house Volunteers
Eli Beers-Altman
Tara Caimi
Jedidiah Groothius
Janejira Kalsmith
Mitchell Kling
Kim Plummer
Robin Post
David Smith
Emily Smith
Caroline Tseo
J. Lance Wilkinson
Stephen Williamson
Coming up next from Sock & Buskin
Production Photos
