Productions directed by Gus Kaikkonen 1987-2012
The American premiere of THE BREATH OF LIFE by David Hare
Laurie Kennedy and Dale Hodges in the American premiere of David Hare's THE BREATH OF LIFE at Peterborough
PETER PAN at the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Florida
David Breitbarth as Captain Hook in PETER PAN at the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Florida
TRYING by Joanna Glass at Ford's Theater
James Whitmore and Karron Graves in TRYING at Ford's Theater, Washington, DC
"With its Washington setting and historical themes, this portrait of an FDR administration official and Philadelphia aristocrat is a natural for Ford’s Theater, and this sleek production fully exploits that opportunity...Little did Glass know back in 1967 that a secretarial position assisting a certain frail 81-year-old Georgetown resident would spawn a gem of a play...Her frank but gentle reflection of the relationship focuses on allowing two strong yet engaging personalities to shine through. Amid the diatribes we see attachments being formed in incremental doses, a nod here and a glance there between the judge and an assistant named Sarah. Under Gus Kaikkonen’s precise direction, the play adroitly sidesteps any maudlin trappings...Whitmore fits into this role with the ease one would expect of a legend on familiar turf."
VARIETY, February 6, 2006
VARIETY, February 6, 2006
OUR TOWN by Thornton WIlder, Peterborough Players 2008
James Whitmore and cast of OUR TOWN at Peterborough 2008
"This Our Town is perfectly, unassumingly right, a model of how to freshen a classic not by adding gimmicky touches of directorial frou-frou but simply by performing it the way it was written, adding only the enlivening force that makes an old chestnut seem brand new. Mr. Whitmore, who is 86 years old but acts 60, plays the Stage Manager with peppery wit and no sentimentality whatsoever, an approach well suited to Mr. Kaikkonen's interpretation of the play, which crackles with comic energy. The climactic graveyard scene of Our Town is so moving that it's easy to forget how funny the first part of the play is. You won't make that mistake in Peterborough, where the pathos is carefully held back until the last moment, and is all the more affecting for having been kept in reserve. The rest of the cast is as good as it could possibly be. So, too, is the lighting design of William Armstrong, which gives the production a precise visual focus that approaches the cinematic. I'd say more, but all that really needs to be said is that the author of Our Town would surely have been satisfied in every way by this scrupulously faithful, eloquently sensitive revival of his greatest play."
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2008
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2008
Paul Coffey, Kraig Swartz and Karron Graves in OUR TOWN at Peterborough, NH
St. John Hankin's THE CHARITY THAT BEGAN AT HOME
Kristin Griffith and Becky London in THE CHARITY THAT BEGAN AT HOME
"How many reasons do you need to see The Charity That Began At Home at the Mint Theater? I can give you three right off the bat: It's the play's New York premiere, it's the first time it has received a professional production anywhere since 1917, and, perhaps most importantly, it's one of the most solidly entertaining plays to hit the boards in months. But even if you were likely to see another production of St John Hankin's play again soon, this one would still be worthy of your time, thanks to the excellent work of the play's director, Gus Kaikkonen He has directed The Charity That Began At Home with a lithe grace that keeps the comedy and wit sparkling, the action moving, and the laughter always buoyant. Charles F. Morgan's sets and Henry Shaffer's costumes are nice frosting on an already fairly exquisite cake. Kaikkonen's primary achievement, however, is in making you feel so at home with the characters and the situations. It's as though the audience were invited into the home in which the story takes place...Hankin and Kaikkonen seem to have collaborated on what must be a near ideal production of this play, highlighting all the reasons we should feel pity - and animosity - toward the characters, identifying with them even as we are repelled by their antics. " Matthew Murray. Talkin' Broadway 10/07/02
"St John Hankin was a British playwright during the age of Bernard Shaw who did not get his due. Now the Mint Theater has given the first New York performances of his clever 1907 comedy of ideas, "The Charity That Began at Home." Gus Kaikkonen's production proved to be subtle, elegant, engrossing and entertaining...Hankin's play is as clever and rich as a good three-volume novel." Victor Gluck, Backstage
"St John Hankin was a British playwright during the age of Bernard Shaw who did not get his due. Now the Mint Theater has given the first New York performances of his clever 1907 comedy of ideas, "The Charity That Began at Home." Gus Kaikkonen's production proved to be subtle, elegant, engrossing and entertaining...Hankin's play is as clever and rich as a good three-volume novel." Victor Gluck, Backstage
Harmony Schuttler and Karl Kenzler in THE CHARITY THAT BEGAN AT HOME at the Mint
JB Priestley's I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE at the Pearl
Rachel Botchan and Dominic Cuskern in I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE
"Presented (for the first time in New York since its premiere 60-odd years ago) by Pearl Theatre Company in an excellent staging by Gus Kaikkonen, this suspense drama is an excursion into mysticism. Priestley the playwright behaves here like a man obsessed with a new toy, building a startlingly sophisticated melodrama...The characters are delightful, and they're brought to vivid life by the six-member cast, all of them Pearl regulars. Robin Leslie Brown is funny and touching as Sally, a widow before her time... Sean McNall makes Farrant quite the charmer, but doesn't neglect the darker shades to his character. As the sometimes menacing, always mysterious foreigner Gertler, Dominic Cuskern is suitably enigmatic and mercurial. Rachel Botchan gives us a beautiful, deep, and fascinating Janet Ormund, struggling mightily to be a good wife to a man who seems to resist her at every turn. Dan Daily is commanding yet sympathetic as her mate, the overbearing businessman Walter Ormund; he captures the Type A arrogance along with the substantial and genuine pain beneath the surface. He only seems completely relaxed when he's enjoying the company of his splendidly uncomplicated landlord, Sam (beautifully played—nay, inhabited, with Spencer Tracy-ish ease.) Kaikkonen stages the piece admirably, keeping us breathlessly awaiting each new development and revelation for the entire 2-1/2 hours of the play. The production design is masterful, especially Takeshi Kata's detailed set; this is the Pearl—and therefore off-Broadway theatre—at its absolute finest."
Martin Denton, NY Theatre.com
Martin Denton, NY Theatre.com
PITZ AND JOE by Dominique Cieri at GeVa.
Josh Brolin and Bari Hochwald in PITZ AND JOE at Geva.
GB Shaw's HEARTBREAK HOUSE at Peterborough
Pamela Bob, George Morfogen, Jack Koenig,
Dee Nelson, James Whitmore, Jr., Lisa Bostnar
"You can tell any truth, however hurtful, so long as you say it with a smile. That was the secret of George Bernard Shaw's success, and "Heartbreak House" shows his method at its most theatrically effective. Rarely have England's chattering classes been sketched so savagely, but Shaw tells his brutal truths with such impish charm that you scarcely feel the knife slipping in until the blood starts to flow. Therein lies the strength of the Peterborough Players' production of "Heartbreak House," which Gus Kaikkonen has staged with the lightest possible touch. It plays like a Noël Coward-style comedy of bad manners—until the climactic moment when the ground opens up beneath the feet of the characters... Every member of Mr. Kaikkonen's ensemble cast gives a sharply and memorably drawn performance, starting with Mr. Morfogen, whose Captain Shotover is a fey, shambling sprite, a Shakespearean fool who makes us laugh by doing nothing more than telling the truth whenever he opens his mouth. Would that I had space to dilate individually on the virtues of his colleagues, but I must be content with making special mention of Pamela Bob, Dee Nelson and James Whitmore Jr. Truth to tell, though, there isn't a thing wrong with this staging, which runs for three hours (Mr. Kaikkonen has trimmed Shaw's long-winded text with cunning discretion) but is so gracefully played that it feels a half-hour shorter. I last saw "Heartbreak House" three years ago on Broadway in a big-budget version by the Roundabout Theatre Company. This one is better—vastly so." Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2009
William Wycherley's THE GENTLEMAN DANCING MASTER at the Pearl
Marsha Stephanie Blake and Sean McNall in THE GENTLEMAN DANCING MASTER at the Pearl
Robin Leslie Brown, Rachel Botchan, Sean McNall and Dan Daily in THE GENTLEMAN DANCING MASTER
I DO! I DO! by Jones and Schmidt at Peterborough
Bev and Kirby Ward in I DO! I DO! at Peterborough
I DO! I DO! at Peterborough. Choreography by Kirby Ward, Set Design by Campbell Baird, Costumes by Nicole Wee, Lights by John Eckert. SCROLL BACK TO TOP OF THE PAGE AND CLICK ON A NEW SUBJECT FOR MORE INFORMATION
ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare at Peterborough
Jayne Houdyshell, Kraig Swartz and Ian Peakes in ROMEO AND JULIET at Peterborough, NH
THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON by J. M. Barrie at Peterborough
"When the spotlight goes out on theatrical fame, it leaves behind impenetrable darkness. A century ago J.M. Barrie was as well known as George Bernard Shaw or Henrik Ibsen. Today "Peter Pan" is the only one of his many plays that continues to be performed in this country. Were it not for Mr. Robbins's much-loved musical-comedy version of the 1904 stage fantasy about a plucky boy who refused to grow up, Mr. Barrie would be nothing more than a footnote to the history of Vicwardian theater. Might he be due for a second look? Gus Kaikkonen, the artistic director of the Peterborough Players, thinks so, for his company is currently performing "The Admirable Crichton," a once-famous Barrie comedy that disappeared from the American stage decades ago—and judging by Mr. Kaikkonen's brilliantly effective production, it's a not-so-minor masterpiece that cries out to be revived in New York or Chicago...I've praised Mr. Kaikkonen often in this space, both for his Peterborough Players productions and for his work with New York's Mint Theater. His uncluttered, untricky stagings never fail to give value for money, and this one is no exception. It deserves to be remounted in Manhattan—the Mint is the natural place for it—and Mr. Kaikkonen should also consider trying his hand at some of Barrie's other now-forgotten plays. If "Dear Brutus," "Quality Street," "The Twelve-Pound Look" or "What Every Woman Knows" are even half as good as "The Admirable Crichton," this could be the start of something big." Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2012
Karen Peakes and Tom Frey in THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON
Kraig Swartz, Karen Peakes, Emily Hooper, Laurel Schroeder, Ian Peakes, Michael Page, Tom Frey and Hayley Palmaer
Harley Granville-Barker's THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE
Kraig Swartz, Christa Scott-Reed, Jack Koenig, Arleigh Richards, Lisa Bostnar and Sally Kemp in THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE at the Mint
Chet Carlin and Kraig Swartz in THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE at the Mint
"That the play operates so successfully on many levels is not surprising; Granville-Barker's prefaces to Shakespeare's plays incited a revolution in production that rescued those dramas from two centuries of performance tradition that had almost smothered their intelligence and psychological penetration. The lines of "The Voysey Inheritance" are so sharp that even if they were read in a monotone a listener would be startled by the depths of character they reveal. And there is nothing monotonal here. Under Gus Kaikkonen's direction, George Morfogen as the senior Voysey is a generous, cheerful, guiltless thief trusted by everyone. With one exception, the male Voyseys, high in society, the army and the law, are so ridiculously confident that they make contempt a pure joy. Edward (Kraig Swartz) grows almost imperceptibly from a scandalized young prig into a man who finds total loss is salvation, even though he has to be led to that vision by his cousin Alice (Sioux Madden), a selfish socialite transformed by disaster into a wise, tender lover. And as for George Booth, the family friend who brings down the house of Voysey, there is not a sillier, more delightful or vapid ninny in the literature, and Chet Carlin plays him as though he owns the part — as, for now, he deserves to. At the end many people expressed surprise that they had been sitting enthralled for three hours. A playwright, and a company, can't do much better than that. " D. J. R. Bruckner, New York Times
The world premiere of Harley Granville-Barker's FAREWELL TO THE THEATRE
"The driest of all English stage jests, Harley Granville Barker's 1916 one-act, Farewell to the Theatre, is only now, in New York, receiving its world premiere. By the time it was published, Barker had already removed himself from the London theater's frustrations. His comedy, a duologue between the actress-producer of a high-art theater and the lovestruck lawyer who handles her affairs, pays tribute to both the power of the stage and its ultimate falsity. Both characters, in their fifties, have fought hard, she to make her artistry carry some value and he to keep from being hypnotized by her glamour. Both are long past all illusion: She's lost faith in her ability to find emotional truth onstage, as well as in the public's ability to accept it; he's conquered his sentiment sufficiently to marry and have children. With his wife long dead and her theater on the verge of financial collapse, will they finally get together? Don't jump to conclusions about who's renouncing what. The two roles are a diva's dream and a character man's apotheosis; Sally Kemp and George Morfogen handle them solidly, with sincerity and grace, in the Mint Theatre's production, directed by Gus Kaikkonen." Michael Feingold, Village Voice
George Morfogen and Sally Kemp in FAREWELL TO THE THEATRE at the Mint
Harley Granville-Barker's THE MADRAS HOUSE
"What if the hottest British import of the moment weren't Tom Stoppard but Harley Granville-Barker? Stoppard may be the hoity-toity choice, but it's the audiences leaving Granville-Barker's The Voysey Inheritance and this new production of The Madras House that are more likely to be excited. Written in 1909, The Madras House is a play of ideas that, unlike more hyped works, hasn't forgotten to develop real characters and give them actual drama to chew on. Happily, the Mint Theater's staging, ably directed by Gus Kaikkonen and featuring an excellent troupe of actors, makes the most of Granville-Barker's cogent themes."
TIME OUT NEW YORK February 22, 2007
"What if the hottest British import of the moment weren't Tom Stoppard but Harley Granville-Barker? Stoppard may be the hoity-toity choice, but it's the audiences leaving Granville-Barker's The Voysey Inheritance and this new production of The Madras House that are more likely to be excited. Written in 1909, The Madras House is a play of ideas that, unlike more hyped works, hasn't forgotten to develop real characters and give them actual drama to chew on. Happily, the Mint Theater's staging, ably directed by Gus Kaikkonen and featuring an excellent troupe of actors, makes the most of Granville-Barker's cogent themes."
TIME OUT NEW YORK February 22, 2007
Ross Bickell, Allison McLemore, Jonathan Hogan, Mark L. Montgomery, Pamela McVeagh, Kraig Swartz, Scott Romstadt, Thomas M. Hammond in THE MADRAS HOUSE
Lisa Bostnar and Roberta Maxwell in THE MADRAS HOUSE at the Mint Theater, NYC
Allison McLemore, Thomas Hammond and Laurie Kennedy in THE MADRAS HOUSE
TARTUFFE at Peterborough
Matthew Patrick, David Haugen and Ian Peakes in TARTUFFE
"When Mr. Kaikkonen last staged "Tartuffe" Off Broadway for the Pearl Theatre Company, he used the now-familiar rhyming translation of Richard Wilbur. In this country Mr. Wilbur's version is more-or-less standard, though Christopher Hampton's lumpy-sounding blank-verse rendering has lately found favor in England. So why do it over again? Because "Tartuffe" is a comedy, and Mr. Wilbur's translation, a miracle of elegant versification, is more witty than funny. Mr. Kaikkonen, by contrast, has given us a blunter, racier "Tartuffe," and though he lacks Mr. Wilbur's technical virtuosity, his up-to-date diction and sharp timing pay off in laughter.
Compare these versions of the same couplet and you'll see what Mr. Kaikkonen brings to the table:
• Wilbur: "He's made for horns, and what the stars demand / Your daughter's virtue surely can't withstand."
• Hampton: "It's written all over him, it's in his stars; / Not all your daughter's virtue could resist it."
• Kaikkonen: "However great your daughter's virtue, sir, / He's destined to be cheated on by her."
The first is as stately as a gavotte, the second rhythmically flat-footed, the third crisp and immediate.
The Peterborough Players, who have been around since 1933, perform in an 18th-century barn that has been converted into a 250-seat theater. It's a cozy, inviting space that makes you feel like having a good time as soon as you sit down. "Tartuffe" is the fourth show I've seen there, all of them directed by Mr. Kaikkonen and all memorable. If I had to pick a single company to sum up the satisfyingly old-fashioned virtues of traditional American summer repertory theater at its most accomplished, this would be it." Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal." August 6, 2010
Compare these versions of the same couplet and you'll see what Mr. Kaikkonen brings to the table:
• Wilbur: "He's made for horns, and what the stars demand / Your daughter's virtue surely can't withstand."
• Hampton: "It's written all over him, it's in his stars; / Not all your daughter's virtue could resist it."
• Kaikkonen: "However great your daughter's virtue, sir, / He's destined to be cheated on by her."
The first is as stately as a gavotte, the second rhythmically flat-footed, the third crisp and immediate.
The Peterborough Players, who have been around since 1933, perform in an 18th-century barn that has been converted into a 250-seat theater. It's a cozy, inviting space that makes you feel like having a good time as soon as you sit down. "Tartuffe" is the fourth show I've seen there, all of them directed by Mr. Kaikkonen and all memorable. If I had to pick a single company to sum up the satisfyingly old-fashioned virtues of traditional American summer repertory theater at its most accomplished, this would be it." Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal." August 6, 2010
Kaufman and Hart's THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
James Whitmore and Lisa Bostnar in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER at Peterborough
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
"Gus Kaikkonen, whose off-Broadway work with New York's Mint Theater Company and Phoenix Theatre Ensemble has been highly impressive, is in charge of the Peterborough Players, and he has done his very best by "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Every part of this production, from the sturdy set of Charles Morgan to the down-the-center performances of the large, uniformly excellent cast, has the satisfying solidity of an old-fashioned Broadway show. I wouldn't be surprised if the play's original 1939 production looked and sounded a lot like this, which would explain why it ran for 739 performances."
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, 8/10/07
"Gus Kaikkonen, whose off-Broadway work with New York's Mint Theater Company and Phoenix Theatre Ensemble has been highly impressive, is in charge of the Peterborough Players, and he has done his very best by "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Every part of this production, from the sturdy set of Charles Morgan to the down-the-center performances of the large, uniformly excellent cast, has the satisfying solidity of an old-fashioned Broadway show. I wouldn't be surprised if the play's original 1939 production looked and sounded a lot like this, which would explain why it ran for 739 performances."
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal, 8/10/07
James Whitmore and the cast of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER at Peterborough Players
James Whitmore and Carmen Decker in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER at Peterborough
James Whitmore and the company of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
Kelli Holsopple and Douglas McKeown in ANTIGONE
Jean Anouilh's ANTIGONE
at the Phoenix Ensemble
"Jean Anouilh's oh-so-Parisian 1942 adaptation of Antigone is a cheval of a different color, a modern-dress rewrite of a Greek tragedy in which the plot was subtly altered to make discreet but definite reference to the Nazi occupation of Vichy France. You don't have to know that, though, to delight in the elegance and intelligence with which Anouilh put a still-fresh spin on Sophocles' timeless tale...
Anouilh's once-fashionable plays long ago vanished from Broadway, so I am happy to report that the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, one of Manhattan's most artistically ambitious new Off-Off Broadway companies, has given "Antigone" a revival of exceptionally high quality, played on a near-bare stage and directed with limpid clarity by Gus Kaikkonen."
Terry Teachout Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2006
Tartuffe by Moliere at the Pearl
Set by Harry Feiner, Costumes by Sam Fleming, Lights by Steve Petrillo, Photograph by Gregory Costanzo
ARMS AND THE MAN by GB Shaw at the Pearl
Robin Leslie Brown and Dominic Cuskern in ARMS AND THE MAN at the Pearl
Arms and the Man at the Pearl. Set by Harry Feiner. Costumes by Sam Fleming. Lighting by Stephen Perilli.
MacBeth by William Shakespeare at Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival
Ian Rose and Buck Shirner in MACBETH at Philadelphia Shakespeare
Nicholas Clements and Jack Koenig in MACBETH
Sets: Donald Eastman, Lights: Jerold R. Forsyth, Costumes: Hiroshi Iwasaki & Miriam Jones, Original Sound and Music: Fabian Obispo
FREUD'S LAST SESSION by Mark St. Germain at Peterborough
Ian Peakes and George Morfogen in FREUD'S LAST SESSION at Peterborough
Lawrence and Lee's INHERIT THE WIND at Peterborough
James Whitmore and Company in INHERIT THE WIND at Peterborough
STONES IN HIS POCKETS at Peterborough
Kraig Swartz and Jack Koenig in STONES IN HIS POCKETS at Peterborough
THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Peterborough
Kris Danford and Sam Osheroff in THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Peterborough
ABOUT TIME by Tom Cole at the Peterborough Players
Carmen Decker and James Whitmore in Tom Cole's ABOUT TIME at the Peterborough Players
ABOUT TIME by Tom Cole at the Coconut Grove Playhouse
Patricia Conolly and Theodore Bikel in ABOUT TIME by Tom Cole, directed by Gus Kaikkonen at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida.
AN IDEAL HUSBAND by Oscar Wilde at Peterborough
Sevanne Martin and Jack Koenig
Kraig Swartz and Michael Page
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
at Peterborough with Jayne Houdyshell and Ian Peakes
at Peterborough with Jayne Houdyshell and Ian Peakes
Rachel Botchan and George Morfogen in HEARTBREAK HOUSE at the Pearl.
Guy Paul, Laurie Kennedy and Don Reilly in CANDIDA at Playhouse 91
Dan Hodge, Lisa Bostnar, Kate Hampton and Jack Koenig in ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR at Bristol Riverside Theater
Claudia Robinson and Lisa Bostnar in GOING TO ST. IVES by Lee Blessing at Peterborough
Jennifer Harmon and Stephen McHattie in MACBETH at Playhouse 91
Austin Pendleton, Timothy Oman and Penny Allen in RICHARD 3 at Riverside Shakespeare Company 1989
PIPPIN at Glassboro Summer Theater, 1987
Pamela Bob sings Mad About the Boy in OH COWARD! directed by Gus Kaikkonen at the Peterborough Players, Peterborough, NH, July 2011 SCROLL BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE AND CLICK ON NEW SUBJECT FOR MORE INFORMATION
