Our 547th Production
Directed by Loretta Lucy Miller
June 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th, 29th, 2025
Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
A comedy of manners that takes place in a single New England dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. The action is a mosaic of interrelated snapshots — some funny, some touching, some rueful — which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species of the upper-middle-class. It was a finalist for the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Meet the Cast
Bonnie Kapenstein as Various Roles
Bonnie has performed with Old Academy Player for 24 years. Some of her favorite plays and roles here include Love, Loss and What I Wore (Rosie), Barefoot in the Park (Mother), Calendar Girls (Ruth), Little Women (Marmee), The Bad Seed (Christine), To Kill a Mockingbird (narrator Scout), The Quick Fix (Val) & An Act of the Imagination (Julia). Area credits include Over the River and Through the Woods (Ida) with Actors Net of Bucks County, Desperate Affection (Maddie) & Recent Tragic Events (Waverly) with Langhorne Players, All My Sons (Kate) & Exit Date (Kay) with Village Players of Hatboro, Cemetery Club (Ida) & Moon Over Buffalo (Charlotte) with Colonial Playhouse, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Kate) with NCT–Narberth Community Theatre, You Can’t Take it With You (Penny Sycamore) & Theatre District (Lola) with Allens Lane Theatre, Fiddler on the Roof (Yente) with Bryn Athyn Community Theatre, The Haunting of Hill House (Eleanor) with Town & Country Players, Marvin’s Room (Lee) with Bridge Players, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Masha) with Village Playbox of Haddon Heights and Blythe Spirit (Ruth) with Acting Naturally Productions.
Harrison Rothbaum as Various Roles
Harrison is excited to appear on the Old Academy Players stage for the first time. He has previously appeared in Rumors (Lenny) at The Blue Moon Theater, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Jesus), Rogues’ Gallery (Artificial Leg), and Lobby Hero (Jeff) at The Stagecrafters Theater, Barefoot in the Park (Telephone Repairman) and California Suite (Stu Franklyn) at Narberth Community Theatre, Waiting for Ganol (Lou) in the Philadelphia Cannonball Festival, Cheap Therapy with A Saturday’s Child, Binghamton Night Live (Cast member) at Hinman Production Company, and The Breakfast Club (Andrew) at Dickinson Community Players.
Jay Steinberg as Various Roles
Jay is thrilled to be returning to Old Academy Players where he’s recently appeared as Prim in The Exes and also acted and directed in the One ‑Act Festival. Recently, he’s appeared in Fiddler on the Roof at The Bryn Athyn Community theater as The Rabbi, Admiral Shreiber in the Sound of Music at The Candlelight Theater at Candlelight in Delaware. He was cast as the Understudy for Maurice in Beauty and the Beast and Santa Claus in Elf the musical at Walnut Street Theater. Other roles he’s recently performed in are Rehearsal for Murder as Lloyd at the Barn Playhouse, Sam in The Cemetery Club at Acting Naturally, the Forge Theater in Dearly Departed, Spotlight Theater in A Few Good Men, Captain Whitaker, Players Club of Swarthmore in A House of Blue Leaves as Billy, Guys and Dolls Lt. Brannigan and After-Play Marty and Stagecrafters in Witness for the Prosecution. His favorite role is as father and grandfather to his two daughters and five grandchildren.
Michael Tarringer as Various Roles
Michael is delighted to be returning to Old Academy Players, having previously appeared here in And Then There Were None (Dr. Armstrong); The Elephant Man (Treves) and Eurydice (Father). Some of Michael’s other performances were at Footlighters in August: Osage County (Sheriff Deon Gilbeau); at Forge Theatre in Leading Ladies (Reverend Wooley); at Barley Sheaf Players in Proof (Robert); and at Stagecrafters in Something Intangible (Von Meyerhoff). In addition, Michael wrote a two-act play, The Best-Laid Plans for Romance, that premiered at SALT Performing Arts. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with this talented cast and crew and sends hugs to his family.
Norman Burnosky as Various Roles
Norman is excited to work with Loretta Lucy Miller and this talented cast at the theater he has called home for over 15 years. He the President of the Old Academy Players and a Distinguished Member; Norman has appeared in many OA productions and worked backstage in several others. Past roles include: Robert in Boeing Boeing, Ivan in the Seafarer, General McKenzie in And Then There Were None and Father Mark in Tony and Tina’s Wedding. He would like to thank his wife, Justine, for her many years of love and support.
Susan Blair as Various Roles
Susan has long been active in PA & NJ theaters and is delighted to return to OAP where she last appeared in Love, Loss & What I Wore. Earlier this year she played Maud Mockridge in Dangerous Corner at ActorsNet of Bucks County. In 2024, Susan was Ms. Innes in The Minutes (Shakespeare 70). In 2023, Abby in Ripcord (Langhorne Players)) Hertha Ayrton in The Half-Life of Marie Curie (ActorsNet), Grandma in Billy Elliot (Broadway Theatre of Pitman). Previously at OAP: Calendar Girls (Chris), Mornings at Seven (Aaronetta). Elsewhere: ‘Night Mother (Thelma), August: Osage County (Violet), A Little Night Music (Madame Armfeldt), Cabaret (Fraulein Schneider), King Lear (Goneril), Third (Laurie), Beauty Queen of Leenane (Maureen), The Heiress (Aunt Lavinia), 33 Variations (Gertie), Angel Street (Bella), Copenhagen (Margrethe). Susan lives in Mt. Airy and by day, appears as a paralegal. Love to Mort.
Susan Mattson as Various Roles
Susan is excited to return to Old Academy Players where she was last seen in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore”, Loretta Lucy’s fund raiser for breast cancer. Regional theater includes Media Theatre (Mrs. Mullin, “Carousel”) and Montgomery Theater (Maude Gutman U/S, “Bakersfield Mist”). Favorite roles include Mrs. Mullin; Carole, the mayor (and other roles), “26 Pebbles”, the true story about Sandy Hook; Jean Horton, “Quartet”; Ana, “The Clean House”; Bernarda Alba, “The House of Bernarda Alba”; Birdie, “The Little Foxes”; Madame Pernelle, “Tartuffe”; and Judith Meade, “Vernal Rites”. Many thanks to Loretta for casting me and giving me the opportunity to work with such a talented cast! As always thanks to Tom for his support of my passion.
Loretta Lucy Miller (Director)
Loretta is absolutely delighted to be working with the fantastic cast and crew of The Dining Room. What a joy they are! She has been directing for over thirty-three years and acting for sixty-three… time does fly when you are having fun! Some favorite shows directed: Love, Loss and What I Wore(fundraiser for Breast Cancer research – raised over $8,300.00), Arsenic and Old Lace; The Unexpected Guest; Purlie Victorious; Morning’s at Seven; Angel Street; The Country Girl; The Foreigner; Broadway Bound; Crossing Delancey; Bell, Book and Candle; The Last Night of Ballyhoo; Expecting Isabel; Lost in Yonkers and The Mousetrap. Favorite acting roles range from Louisa in The Fantasticks to Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter, Kate in the Taming of the Shrew, Kate in All My Sons, Ida in the Cemetery Club, Tess and Fannie in Bermuda Avenue Triangle (twice), Amanda in the Glass Menagerie (twice) and Mrs. Clackett in Noises Off. She is grateful to the skills she learned at Hedgerow Theater School all those many years ago. Much love and gratitude to my wonderful hubby, Lovely Larry!
Janine Lieberman (Producer)
Janine has helped produce and operate tech for several plays at Old Academy Players and previously at Stagecrafters in Chestnut Hill. She arrives at this work via reading anthropology, writing short stories, and observing the work of others who so beautifully unfold a play from script to stage.
Jerry Jennings (Producer)
Jerry is proud to add Stage Manager to his mixed resume of writing, acting, producing, and set construction. He has acted in OA roles that include Arsenic & Old Lace, Our Town, and Barefoot in the Park, as well as Vegetables on Funny or Die. He is also featured in two TV true crime shows of Monster Preacher (Oxygen) and I Survived a Serial Killer (A&E). Producing and stage assistance credits at OA include Miss Bennet Christmas at Pemberly, Our Town, Bus Stop, and more. As a writer, Jerry has won or placed in numerous screenwriting competitions.
Joan Shupp (Producer)
Joan has been a member of Old Academy Players since 2009. She enjoys the opportunity to wear many hats, among them Producer, several times for Loretta Lucy Miller, Director, Tech Person, Set Worker, Hospitality Co-chair, Recording Secretary of OA, Sets and Props Co-chair for the Children’s Arts Program, and, her favorite, as proclaimed by her friends from first grade, Vice-president of Fun. Her other favorite role is wife of the co-producer, the multi-faceted Randy. Thanks to Loretta Lucy for the opportunity to work with this delightful and talented cast and company.
Randy Shupp (Producer)
Randy is delighted to co-produce The Dining Room for Loretta Miller as he did for Arsenic and Old Lace, Unexpected Guest and Calendar Girls. He also produced Rainbow Holiday and Old Ringers with Terri Bateman, and A Streetcar Named Desire with our dearly departed JP Parrella. He co-directed with his wife Joan Stealing a Kiss in last season’s One Act Bonanza. Randy has acted in six major productions. Randy has served Old Academy as Vice-President and as various committee chairs and co-chairs. For over ten years he and Joan also worked with children building sets and props in OA’s Children’s Arts program.
Carla Childs (Set Designer)
Carla, a Distinguished Member, has been active at the Old Academy since 1993, when she brought children to audition for a play and got a part of her own. Directing highlights include Our Town (in 1996), The Winslow Boy, Driving Miss Daisy, Smash, Charley’s Aunt, To Kill a Mockingbird, Enchanted April, The Miracle Worker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Little Women, The Taming of the Shrew, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Lion in Winter, Twelfth Night, A House with No Walls, A Raisin in the Sun, Wedding Band, and ShakespearaPalooza! Her most recent onstage appearance was in As It is in Heaven. She works at Germantown Friends School with students who are interested in costumes and technical theater.
Helga Krauss (Costumer)
A Distinguished Member, Helga has been active at OAP for 20 years. Some of the plays she has directed are: Two Dozen Red Roses, Return Engagements, Relative Values, The Constant Wife, Murdering Marlowe, The Countess, Doubt, Wedding Belles, and The Pearl. Production credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Member of the Wedding, An Ideal Husband, The Miracle Worker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Little Women, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Taming of the Shrew, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Lion in Winter, Twelfth Night, A House with No Walls, A Raisin in the Sun, and Wedding Band. Her memorable performances as an actor include roles in The Price and For Goodness Sake. Helga a member of the production committee and is the theater’s treasurer.