Playbill.com - 14/Jun/2010

[Source]
Abraham, Brown, Cerveris, Gleason, Rapp and Spinella Set for Powerhouse Readings
By Thomas Peter
14 Jun 2010

Michael Cerveris

Photo by Joan Marcus

Vassar College and New York Stage & Film's Powerhouse Theater has announced casting for Readings Festival 1, the free event  that will open the theatre company's 26th season (June 25-Aug. 1). Some casting for the Powerhouse Mainstage season has also been announced.

Tony winners Blair Brown, Michael Cerveris, Joanna Gleason and Stephen Spinella, Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, Oscar nominees Jill Clayburgh and David Strathairn, Rent's Anthony Rapp, Tony nominees Isabel Keating and Maryann Plunkett, and recent Drama Desk winner Santino Fontana are among the actors who will bring to life plays by Richard Nelson, Peter Golub, Stephen Karam, actress-playwright Zoe Kazan and Megyn Mostyn Brown.

The readings will take place June 25-27 in the Susan Stein Shiva Theater on the Vassar campus in Poughkeepsie, NY. A list of the plays to be read and their casts follows:

Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano
A Musical Play
Based upon a screenplay by A. Adabashyan and N. Mikhalkov, and Platonov, a play by Anton Chekhov
Written and directed by Richard Nelson
Music by Peter Golub
Lyrics conceived and adapted by Richard Nelson & Peter Golub
June 25 at 8 PM
The cast will feature Stephen Bogardus, Blair Brown, Michael Cerveris, Jon DeVries, Rebecca Faulkenberry, Barret O'Brien, Maryann Plunkett, Anthony Rapp, Marquis Rodriguez, Andrea Ross, Stephen Spinella, David Strathairn and Michael Winther.

Sons of the Prophet
By Stephen Karam
Directed by Peter DuBois
June 26 at 2 PM
The cast will feature F. Murray Abraham, Dan Bittner, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Santino Fontana, Joanna Gleason, Gideon Glick and Okieriete Onaodowan.

This Thing of Darkness
By Zoe Kazan
Directed by Sam Gold
June 26 at 8 PM
The cast will feature Jill Clayburgh, Michael Countryman, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Josh Hamilton, Sarah Steele and Jeremy Strong.

The Rest of Your Life
By Megan Mostyn-Brown
Directed by Josh Hecht
June 27 at 2 PM
The cast will feature Sarah Nina Hayon, Isabel Keating, Darren Pettie, Simon Pincus and Manda Siegfried.

The Inside Look Series will workshop a series of plays, giving each play a weekend of readings and developmental work. The plays in the series, with casting where available, follow:

Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
By Keith Bunin
Directed by Mark Rucker
July 1–3
The cast will feature Luke Macfarlane ("Brothers and Sisters").

A Long and Happy Life
By Bekah Brunstetter
Directed by Pippin Parker
July 9–11
"Cass thinks she's finally found happiness -- perfect job, perfect apartment, perfect fiancé -- until a brush with death forces her to reconsider. From Bekah Brunstetter, the award-winning writer of Oohrah!, You May Go Now: A Marriage Play and To Ninevah, comes a play with humor, heart, and a high school step team!"
The cast will feature Cassie Beck, Toccarra Cash, Audrey Esparza, Darren Goldstein, Donnetta Lavinia Grays and Hubert Point-DuJour.

My Life With Men – And Other Animals
By Maria Cassi & Patrick Pacheco
Directed by Peter Schneider
July 16–18
The cast will feature Maria Cassi.

Interviewing the Audience
By Zach Helm
July 23–25
The cast will feature Zach Helm and Powerhouse audience members.
The previously announced Mainstage season will open with We Are Here (June 29-July 11), written by Tracy Thorne, directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller and set to feature Tony winner Adriane Lenox and Tony nominee d'Adre Aziza.

Casting for John Patrick Shanley's Pirate will be announced shortly.

The Martel Musicals series of musical workshops have announced creative teams but not casts. Bonfire Night (July 16-18), with book, music and lyrics by Justin Levine, will be directed by Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Alex Timbers with Kimberly Grigsby serving as musical director.

A revised version of the Alan Jay Lerner-Burton Lane ESP-themed musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever will be "reincarnated and directed" by the previously announced Tony winner Michael Mayer, with Lawrence Yurman as musical director and arranger and JoAnn Hunter as choreographer.

A second Readings Festival (July 29-Aug. 1) will feature works by Eve Ensler, Romulus Linney and Eleanor Cooney, Tony winners Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, Kate Walbert, Patricia Wettig and a screenplay by Tony-nominated actress Jennifer Westfeldt.

Although admission to the Readings Festivals is free, reservations are suggested. Visit the box office or call (845) 437-5599. Reservations are open to subscribers beginning June 18 and to the general public beginning June 22.

For tickets to other productions in the season and for further updates, visit powerhouse.vassar.edu or call (845) 437-7235 or (845) 437-5599.

Theater Mania - 01/Jun/2010

[Source]
Adriane Lenox, de'Adra Aziza, Luke MacFarlane, Larry Pine, et al. Set for Powerhouse Shows
By: Dan Bacalzo Jun 1, 2010 New York State

Adriane Lenox

Vassar & New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater has announced casting for two of its upcoming productions.

Adriane Lenox, de'Adra Aziza, Larry Pine, Adam Rothenberg, Uzo Aduba, and Michael Cummings will star in the world premiere of Tracy Thorne's We Are Here, to be directed by Sheryl Kaller, June 29-July 11. The play offers a glimpse at three generations of a family, who possess wit, endurance, and compassion in the face of unimaginable loss -- and they all sing. The creative team will include Scott Bradley (set), Toni-Leslie James (costumes), Russell H. Champa (lighting), and John Gromada (sound).

Luke MacFarlane will star in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (July 1-3), by Keith Bunin, directed by Mark Rucker, with musical direction by Debra Barsha. The piece offers a sharp and poignant look into the world of 1958 at a Greenwich Village nightclub.

Playbill.com - 01/Jun/2010

[Source]
Lenox, Pine, Aziza, Macfarlane Will Star in Powerhouse Season at Vassar
By Kenneth Jones
01 Jun 2010

Luke Macfarlane

Photo by Andrew Eccles/ ABC

Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt), Larry Pine, Tony nominee de'Adra Aziza (Passing Strange), Adam Rothenberg, Uzo Aduba and Michael Cummings will be featured in the world premiere of Tracy Thorne's We Are Here this summer as part of the New York Stage and Film season at Vassar.

Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall) will direct the play, to run June 29-July 11 at the Powerhouse Theater in Poughkeepsie, NY.

The NYS&F fully staged workshop production of Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, directed by Mark Rucker, will star Luke Macfarlane (TV's "Brothers and Sisters") July 1-3. Musical direction for Sam Bendrix is by Debra Barsha. Macfarlane's credits include The Busy World is Hushed and "Kinsey." Performances play the Susan Stein Shiva Theater.

We Are Here "will offer a glimpse at three generations of a family possessing wit, endurance, and compassion in the face of unimaginable loss," according to production notes. "As the joyful past and devastated present are braided together with song, young parents Billie (de'Adra Aziza) and Hal (Adam Rothenberg), together with Billie's sister Shawn (Uzo Aduba) and their parents Everett (Larry Pine) and Vera (Adriane Lenox), search for the strength to live on."

Set design is by Scott Bradley, costume design is by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design is by Russell H. Champa, sound design is by John Gromada.

"A smoky Greenwich Village nightclub in 1958 — a decade before the Stonewall riots — is the setting of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," according to production notes. "With music drawn from well-known songs of the era, [the play is a] sharp and poignant look at a now-vanished world, a young singer takes the stage of a Greenwich Village nightclub for his last performance before leaving New York City for good."

The Powerhouse Theater Box Office will open June 2 for single ticket sales. Season subscriptions are on sale online at powerhouse.vassar.edu.

AfterElton - 17/May/2010

[Source]

Presenting The 2010 AfterElton Hot 100!
Posted by AfterElton.com Staff  on May 17, 2010

4. Luke Macfarlane

Rank last year: 3

He sings too! Did you catch that on the most recent episode of Brothers & Sisters where Luke Macfarlane sang that touching Irish funeral song? Granted, he was singing about Ojai Foods, which is hard to get too worked up about, but who knew he had such a beautiful voice?

As Scotty Wandell, Kevin’s love interest on ABC’s primetime soap, Luke caught our attention early on. Some have wondered what Scotty sees in the famously neurotic Kevin, but no one has ever wondered what Kevin sees in Scotty: not only is he the calm at the center of the Walker family storm, he’s got classically handsome good looks. And now that we’ve seen Scotty in both his swimming trunks and his underwear, we also know he’s got a body to die for.

Basically, Scotty is damn nice to come home to. And ever since the actor himself bravely came out in 2008, we can make a pretty good guess that Luke would be wonderful to come home to too.

AfterElton - 17/May/2010

[Source]

The 2010 AfterElton Hot 100: Out Gay Men
Posted by AfterElton.com Staff on May 17, 2010

4. Luke Macfarlane

AfterElton - 15/Apr/2010

[Source]

AfterElton Briefs: Huckabee Hounded, "Showgirls" 15th Anniversary, Kevin & Scotty's Crystal Balls, and More!
Posted by snicks on April 15, 2010

Plus the 7 craziest things ever blamed on gays, "Flaming Moe", taking bets on a probably doomed marriage, and maybe, just maybe, naughty girls have birthdays, too.

"Kevin, you in danger, girl!"

• Above you can see a teaser for the April 25 episode of Brothers & Sisters. What do you think is going on here? 

ABC - character bio

[Source]

Scotty Wandell        Played by Luke Macfarlane        THE FACTS        • Co-owner of Café 429 with Saul        • Former head Chef at the restaurant          San Estephe        • In a domestic partnership with Kevin          Walker        • Only child of Wally and Bertha Wandell

"Who knew a fertility clinic could be so sterile." - Scotty Wandell
"Kevin, I think what you're doing is incredible. I don't think I would be so brave." - Scotty Wandell

Character Bio
While it initially seemed like we wouldn't be seeing much of this guy --one the first of Kevin's love interests we were introduced to in Season 1—little did we know what a stable force he'd turn out to be for the middle Walker son.

Scotty Wandell was born in Oxford, Mississippi. He met Kevin while serving as a witness in a class-action lawsuit that Kevin was working on. The two started dating shortly thereafter, and he helped Kevin become more open about his sexual orientation. Ultimately however, things between Kevin and Scotty didn't work out—or so it seemed.

While Kevin was secretly dating Chad Barry, Chad's girlfriend Michelle set Kevin up on a blind date—claiming she knew the perfect guy for him. That guy turned out to be Scotty, and the two quickly realized they still had a connection. After going back to school to become a chef, his career began to take off.

Scotty eventually became head chef of San Estephe, and was even featured as one of the "Five L.A. Chefs on the Rise" for L.A. Contemporary Magazine.

Kevin and Scotty decided to get married in May of 2008. Kevin had hoped that Scotty's unsupportive parents would attend the ceremony, and drove to Arizona to try and convince them to come.

Unfortunately, Wally and Bertha Wandell disagreed with Scotty's desire to marry a man, and would not join their son at the wedding. Scotty's father, however, did give Kevin the cufflinks he'd worn at his own wedding as a gift for Scotty, who was extremely touched. Later, in a joyful ceremony in Nora Walker's living room, Kitty officiated their wedding ceremony and the men exchanged rings.

Having committed to each other, Scotty and Kevin turned their attentions to starting a family of their own. Hesitant at first, Scotty finally decided he was ready to be a father after talking it over with Kevin and spending time with his nephew Evan. Scotty suggested his coworker Michelle as a potential surrogate for them, and after some discussions, finally convinced Kevin it was the right choice.

Meanwhile, the restaurant at which Scotty worked as a chef -- San Estephe -- closed down, leaving him jobless. But the bad news may have been a blessing in disguise; Scotty and Saul decided to open their own restaurant together.

Scotty has always been a rock for the Walker family; loving, motivated, and stable. But as the pressures of his new café and his impending baby mount, cracks begin to form in Scotty's once-perfect foundation…

Actor Bio
It wasn’t long before we became enamored of this relative newcomer, who stars as Scotty Wandell, husband of Kevin Walker, on ABC’s Brothers And Sisters.

In his short career, Luke Macfarlane, who brings a winning combination of indelible charm, charisma, intensity, versatility and intelligence to his roles, is quickly establishing himself as leading-man in Hollywood. He can currently be seen on ABC's critically acclaimed drama Brothers & Sisters, playing the much beloved character, Scotty Wandell.

Macfarlane appeared in several off-Broadway plays, including The "Busy World is Hushed," "Where Do We Live and Juvenililia," before making his feature film debut in Bill Condon's "Kinsey". He recently shot the CBC miniseries Iron Road, opposite Peter O'Toole and Sam Neal.

Other television credits include a starring role on FX's Over There, a series produced by Stephen Bochco about American soldiers on their first tour of duty in Iraq, and Tanner on Tanner, a four-part series for the Sundance Channel directed by Robert Altman.

Macfarlane trained at the prestigious Juilliard School in the Drama Division. There he performed in stage productions of "The King Stag," "Sir Patient Fancy," "The Blue Window," "The School of Night," "King Richard III," "The Grapes of Wrath" and "As You Like It."

Originally from London, Ontario, he currently resides in Los Angeles.