THEATER LaB HOUSTON

Presents the Southwest Premiere of

BANG THE

DRUM SLOWLY

by Mark Harris
adapted for the stage by Eric Simonson

Directed by Ed Muth

Theater LaB Houston
1706 Alamo, Houston, Texas 77007
(713) 868-7516

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THE CAST

Author..........................................................Lynn Miller, Jr.
Bruce.............................................................Hal Core
Dutch............................................................Darryl Murphy
Goose/Mr. Moors.......................................David Born
Jonah/Doctor...............................................J.D. Hawkins
Sid/Mr. Rogers............................................Bruce Countryman
Ugly..............................................................Marc Shellum
Horse/Bradley.............................................Henry Galipp
Piney Woods...............................................Michael Harren
Roberto/Aleck.............................................Pablo Bracho
George/Doctor.............................................Esteban Gago
Joe/Pa/Doctor..............................................Kit Fordyce
Katie/Ma.......................................................Deb Krupa
Holly/Mrs. Moors........................................Elva Evans
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The year is 1956
The New York Mammoths, a major league Baseball team




A new stage adaptation of what has been called the greatest baseball movie of all time. The story of two teammates whose journey to the World Series becomes a test of human dignity.
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ED MUTH, DIRECTOR
Resident Director at Theater LaB Houston, he has directed Silence, Cunning, Exile, First Lady Suite, PASSION, Poor Super Man, subUrbia, Dark Rapture, ASSASSINS, and Unidentified Human Remains. Ed holds a Master of Fine Arts degree and is a faculty member at Houston Community College System.

LYNN MILLER, JR. "Author"
Lynn Miller is making his third appearance at Theater LaB. Other productions include Beirut and Dark Rapture. He has worked at The Alley, Stages, and Actor's Theatre. As the narrator of the play, he describes in detail his experiences as a member of the New York Mammoths baseball team, and his feelings toward his good friend and fellow teammate, Bruce. As Author, he tells a funny and heartwarming story of a group of guys who probably wouldn't have made it without each other.

HAL CORE "Bruce"
Hal's other Houston appearances include ATH's Durang, Durang and for Stages, The Velveteen Rabbit. He made his Theater LaB Houston debut in September in Silence, Cunning, Exile. Hal takes on a much different role than his Romeo in the Shakespeare farce, Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet. In Bang The Drum Slowly, he plays the young, somewhat slow, but funny Catcher, Bruce. He makes the audience love him because of his positive attitude despite of the sad circumstances surrounding him.

DARRELL MURPHY "Dutch"
Darrell Murphy has worked in Theaters from the East to the West coasts of the USA. Some of his favorite roles were Andrew in Sleuth, Jack in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Brian in No Sex, Please We're British, Harry in Born Yesterday and Higgins in My Fair Lady. How would I describe his performance in Bang The Drum Slowly? Hilarious. Incredibly Believable. His performance is reminiscent of Walter Matthau's role as the Coach of the Bad News Bears.

DAVID BORN "Goose" and "Mr. Moors"
David has worked at The Alley, The Ensemble Theatre, Main Street Theatre and Stages. For The Houston Shakespeare Festival his credits include Macbeth, Julius Ceasar and Richard III. His film and TV work include appearances on Walker, Texas Ranger, Sidekicks and Unsolved Mysteries. Numerous national TV and radio commercials and over 50 Industrial films.

J.D. HAWKINS "Jonah" and "Doctor"
J.D. Hawkins is making his debut at TheatreLaB Houston. He has performed at The Ensemble Theatre appearing in such productions as Black Eagles, A Raisin in the Sun and East Texas Links. He is very excited to be apart of this theater experience.

BRUCE COUNTRYMAN "Sid" and "Mr. Rogers"
A philosophy professor and former stand-up comic whose work included Desert Storm, Desert Silence, Bruce has also appeared at Country Playhouse, Theatre Suburbia, Renaissance Performing Arts Center. He is currently studying theatre at the University of Houston.


(L-R) Lynn Miller, Jr. as Author and Hal Core as Bruce



MARC SHELLUM "Ugly"
Marc starred as one of the Wreckers in the TheaterLaB's production of The Rink. He has worked with HITS appearing in Guys and Dolls and Oliver. Marc has also worked at The Actors Workshop, Theatre Suburbia and Main Street Theater.

HENRY GALIPP "Horse" and "Bradley"
Henry is currently a Theatre Arts Major at Houston Community College where he has appeared in Grand National. Most recently at Main Street Theatre, he was seen in their production of The Enemy of The People.

MICHAEL HARREN "Piney Woods"
Michael is a Piano Major at Houston Community College, where he served as Assistant Music Director on Grand National and appeared in the production of Flora, the Red Menace. He has performed piano recitals throughout South Texas and performed with DiverseWorks QuAC performance art group.

PABLO BRACHO "Roberto" and "Aleck"
Also one of the Wreckers in the summer production of The Rink, Pablo has appeared in Macbeth at Main Street Theatre, Latina at The Actor's Workshop, and in A Little Night Music, West Side Story and The Miser at Westchester Theater. He dedicates his performance to his family and for the opportunity to share our lives through sports.

ESTEBAN GAGO "George" and "Doctor"
His rendition of the Spanish version or translation of "Who's On First?" with Coach Dutch is the funniest thing on this side of the Tex-Mex border. A definite must-see. Born in Argentina, Esteban discovered the passion of theater three years ago when invited to perform at Rice University. Esteban now belongs to three theater companies - Gente de Teatro, Jaguar Sun and Houston Playback Theater.


KIT FORDYCE "Joe", "Doctor" and "Pa"
Kit is making his third appearance at Theater LaB Houston. Previous productions include Silence, Cunning, Exile and as Babcock in Dark Rapture. A character actor familiar to Houston audiences, Kit works as a member of the cast of Murdery Mystery at Dave and Busters.

DEB KRUPA "Katie" and "Ma"
Currently a student at University of Houston pursuing an MFA in Theater, Deb has appeared in numerous local theater productions including Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun and HGO's Faust. Deb may be seen and heard in radio, print, industrial and commercial work.

ELVA EVANS "Holly"
Elva most recently appeared as Rebecca Flash in the ten month run of The Art of Murder. She has appeared at several local theaters including Stages Repertory, Actor's Theatre and the JCC.


Gerald Blaise LaBita
Producing Director


Gerald LaBita of Theatre LaB Houston



Theater LaB Houston presents the best in contemporary theater in the Off-Broadway genre, from nationally and internationally renowned playwrights, dramas and comedies that will take you on an adventure while exploring the human condition and the issues of our time. Our theater space has been designed with the flexibility to stage each production for best dramatic impact; the entire theater becomes, in effect, a playing area. Intimate setting invites you to participate in live theater with a new and exciting immediacy.