Production Dates / Location
May 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 7:00 p.m.
May 19 & 26 at 2:00 p.m.
*There will be no late seating for this production.*
Black Box Theater
1075 West Capital Ave.
West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 455-0163
The Height of the Storm
by Florian Zeller
translated by Christopher Hampton
An enduring love story.
A mysterious flower delivery.
A visitor from the past.
André and Madeleine have loved each other for decades. Their marriage has been their sanctuary, their safe haven at the center of life’s storm. When their daughters come to visit for the weekend they find that the foundation is slipping away. Nothing is as it seems as the layers of their lives are slowly peeled away. Florian Zeller’s intimate play explores the intricacies of family life, love and loss.
“I try to construct little labyrinths in which the audience member tries to find out where they are. You hunt down the truth, but as soon as you think you’re able to grab hold of it, it takes on another form and slips through your fingers … For me the theatre is above all the place for questions, not answers. For doubt more than certainty or conviction.” Florian Zeller
“The Height of the Storm” premiered in the UK in 2018 before transferring to Broadway in 2019. The production starred Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins.
Black Point Theatre is proud to present the California premiere of this tender and poetic play.
Meet the director
Janis Stevens
Director
Janis received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Professional Actor Training Program at Ohio University. After apprenticing with the Old Globe Shakespeare Festival, she spent the first 10 years of her professional career working with the English-speaking theatres in Vienna, Austria. Regional and local credits: Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, American Stage in St. Petersburg, Florida, Idaho Shakes, Lost Nation Theatre in Vermont, TheatreWorks of Palo Alto, Sierra Repertory Theatre, California Stage, B Street Theatre, Capital Stage and Sacramento Theatre Company. Janis is a 2006 Drama Desk Award Nominee for “Outstanding Solo Performance” for her portrayal of Vivien Leigh in Rick Foster’s Vivien off-off-Broadway. Her directing credits include work at International Theatre, Vienna; Vienna’s English Theatre; Off-Off Broadway, NYC; Arizona Shakespeare Company; Theater at Monmouth, ME; Sierra Repertory; Sacramento Theatre Company and any number of productions with Sacramento’s Capital Stage. She is honored to direct for Black Point Theatre, having enjoyed one of her favorite professional experiences playing Rose in their 2022 production of The Children by Lucy Kirkwood.
Meet the cast
Tom Rhatigan (AEA)
André
Tom made his acting debut in 1981 in Key West in a production of Sweet Bird of Youth, supervised by Tennessee Williams. He then studied at HB Studios in NYC with William Hickey. He has been a journeyman actor since then working on many shows in many places. In Sacramento, Tom was most recently seen as Bull McCabe in The Field and Robin in The Children, both Black Point Theatre productions. He played Dr. Chebutkin in Three Sisters at Sacramento City College, which was directed by Adrienne Sher. At Falcon’s Eye Theatre, Tom won an Elly Award for his portrayal of Giles Corey in The Crucible and also appeared as Clive/Cathy in Cloud Nine. For the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, Tom appeared as Senior Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew. Elsewhere, some of Tom’s favorite roles have been Paul in The Lady and the Clarinet, Norman in The Boys Next Door and Hal in Loot (all in Key West, acting opposite Adrienne Sher!), Bobby in American Buffalo at The Actor’s Playhouse in New York City, Treat in Orphans, Louie in Lost in Yonkers, Edward in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, and Megs in Strange Snow. Tom is very proud to be co-founder of Black Point Theatre, and also a proud member of Actors’Equity Association. Tom is very excited to be working with this great cast and crew, and to finally be directed by the esteemed Janis Stevens.
Adrienne Sher
Madeleine
Adrienne holds a BA in Drama and English Literature from Stanford University, studied acting at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse Acting School in NYC. Sacramento audiences have seen her perform at The Show Below, B Street Theatre, Sacramento Theatre Company, Big Idea Theatre, The Delta King Theatre, Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre and the Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre. Her acting credits include Visitors, The God of Carnage, The Shadow Box (for which she won an Elly Award), Lear, The Memory of Water, Misery, Measure for Measure, A Chekhov Quartet, Shadowlands, Strange Snow, and The Lady and the Clarinet. She was most recently seen in Black Point Theatre’s production of The Children. She is thrilled to be working for Janis Stevens after all these years, and with this wonderful cast.
Taylor Burris (SAG - AFTRA)
Anne
Taylor is very excited to be making her Black Point Theatre debut with The Height of the Storm. Past favorite credits include: August Osage County at Capital Stage, The Scene at The PIT NYC, Urgent Care at Lyric Hyperion Theatre, Uncommon Women and Others at Redondo Beach Playhouse, as well as countless improv shows in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. She got her degree in acting from Ball State University and is currently the Program Director of The Performing Arts Corps at NorCal School of the Arts. She wants to thank the amazing cast and crew for a delightful process, as well as Patrick and Finola for their love and support always. This one, however, is for her mama!
Christi van Eyken
Elise
Christi has been acting in the Sacramento area since 2015. Some of her favorite roles include Ella in Life Sucks (Big Idea Theatre), Cathleen in Riders to the Sea (The Happy Hour Theatre), Marc in Art (Winters Theater Company), Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Susie Monican in The Silver Tassie (City Theatre), and Rosaline in Love’s Labors Lost (Sacramento Shakespeare Festival). She is one of the founders of The Happy Hour Theatre company.
Nina Collins-Patrick
A Woman
This is Nina’s first production with Black Point Theatre. Her sons performed in Black Point’s inaugural production, The Field. Other collaborations with Adrienne Sher are Spinning into Butter and Julius Caesar. Nina was most recently seen as Eurydice in Falcon’s Eye Theatre’s production of Antigone. Favorite roles include Agnes in Bug, Catherine in The Memory of Water, Lala in The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and every Shakespeare role she’s ever played. She is also a director, writer, and artist.
Andrew Fridae
A Man
Andrew is delighted to work with Black Point theatre in the second show back onstage after years focused on directing productions such as Riders to the Sea, and Mendacity (Happy Hour Theatre), Art and Circle Mirror Transformation (WTC), Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, and The Tempest (Winters Shakespeare Workshop) and his own Slug Love in the time of COVID (Capstage Apprentice team of 21-22). Acting credits include Georgiana and Kitty (Cap Stage), Sherlock Holmes (NWCT), Zen Shorts (Rogue Artists Ensemble), and 20,000 Leagues (Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre). Andrew is also developing an original play in collaboration with Capital Stage, The Cigarette Tree.
