Dear Friend,
This week, we’re going to delve into PBD’s history again, highlighting what was, in retrospect, another landmark season. But before we begin, we want to thank everyone who made our third annual New Year/New Plays Festival a huge success, beginning with you, our patrons. Your enthusiasm for this initiative, along with your great comments and questions, truly helped make this a special event. Of course, we also want to acknowledge all the wonderful artists, playwrights, directors, and behind-the-scenes personnel for their marvelous work. Finally, our deepest gratitude to Bruce Linser, our invaluable manager of The Dramaworkshop, who coordinated the entire Festival with his customary grace and good humor. Thank you all.
Now, we’re going to journey back to our fourth season, 2003-2004, when we moved to 322 Banyan Boulevard. This was our third home in our four years of existence, but it would go on to serve us well for eight seasons. As Jan Sjostrom noted in the Palm Beach Daily News, “This move to 2,500 square feet triples the space the company had at Clematis Street [our second home in the Via Jardin courtyard]. The 85 seats are a 50-plus percent increase. The relocation also gives the company a street-front entrance. Before, it was hidden on a via.”
Here's how she described the other improvements: “The wedge-shaped stage with its single entrance has been replaced with a much larger rectangular stage equipped with two entrances. The awkward lighting booth on the side has been succeeded by a bigger booth appropriately stationed at the back. The sound system, lighting controls and grid are all new.
“Backstage, the upgrades continue. In fact, there was no backstage on Clematis Street. Here, there’s a room for quick costume changes and props directly behind the stage. A capacious dressing room. Storage space.”
The season featured Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy, Ron Harwood’s The Dresser, Bruce Graham’s Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit, and Eric Blau and Mort Shuman’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, our first musical. And Sartre’s existentialist play continued our exploration of challenging, modern works.
But what makes the 2003-2004 season particularly memorable is that we began working with several people who would become so integral to PBD. Elizabeth Dimon (The Dresser), Margery Lowe (Rainbow Bar & Grille and No Exit), Angie Radosh (The Dresser and Rainbow Bar & Grille), and Laura Turnbull (Jacques Brel) all made their first appearances with the company. Mike Amico, now our production manager, designed his first shows for us, Rainbow Bar & Grille, No Exit, and Jacques Brel. The latter two were directed by PBD newcomer J. Barry Lewis, now our resident director. It’s the season where you can see PBD truly begin to take shape.
