Geva Announces The Return of Pam Sherman As Erma Bombeck
Geva Theatre Center is delighted to present an encore presentation of last year’s sold out hit, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s Endby Allison Engel and Margaret Engel. This production stars Pam Sherman and is directed by Mark Cuddy. The production begins performances on March 12 and runs in the Fielding Stage through March 31.
Erma Bombeck, one of our country’s most beloved humorists, captured the frustrations of her generation by asking, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” Starring nationally-syndicated columnist “Suburban Outlaw” Pam Sherman, this is the story behind America’s favorite average housewife who championed the lives of women with an incomparable wit that sprang from the most unexpected place of all — the truth.
Last season, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End broke box office records for productions in the Fielding Stage. The run was extended twice due to popular demand with most performances selling out well before the production had even begun. This season, performances will run for a strictly limited period – from March 12 to March 31.
Written by journalist sisters Allison and Margaret Engel, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End premiered at Arena Stage in Washington, DC in 2015. It has since been performed at theatres nationwide. Allison Engel has been a reporter for the Des Moines Tribune, San Jose Mercury and Pacific News Service. In addition to At Wit’s End, She and her twin Margaret wrote the play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, which premiered in 2010 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in a production starring Kathleen Turner. Margaret Engel was a reporter for the Washington Post, Des Moines Register and Lorain Journal. She and her twin co-wroteFood Finds: America’s Best Local Foods and the People Who Produce Them and helped turn the book into a show for the Food Network, where it ran for seven years.
Pam Sherman returns as Erma Bombeck in this one-woman tour-de-force. She is a nationally-syndicated columnist, actor, recovering lawyer and leadership consultant who was profiled in People Magazine about her career transition from attorney to actor. Pam began her career as an attorney in Washington, D.C. practicing securities and employment litigation. Upon becoming an actor she appeared in numerous productions in D.C. at Horizons Theatre, Theatre J, and Arena Stage among others. Most notably Pam performed in To Kill a Mockingbird at Ford’s Theatre and as Mrs. Shubert in the long-running show, Shear Madness, at the Kennedy Center. Her film and television appearances include “Homicide” and “Unsolved Mysteries” and her favorite, the “Shocked Mom” in The Replacements – a part she now plays in real life. Her own one-woman show, Pumping Josey: Life and Death in Suburbia, co-written with award-winning playwright Caleen Sinette Jennings, premiered at Horizons Theatre and played to great acclaim to audiences around the country. Today Sherman conducts programs and coaches leaders all over the world in leadership communications and how to present themselves and their stories with passion through her company, The ShermanEDGE. She has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, law firms, advertising agencies, and is a highly-rated global resource for a variety of leadership groups. Her nationally-syndicated column, The Suburban Outlaw, can be read in Gannett publications, including the Democrat & Chronicle and USA Today. Her best-selling book, The Suburban Outlaw: Tales from the EDGE is sold on Amazon.
Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End is directed by Geva’s Artistic Director, Mark Cuddy. The creative team includes Sam Hoderlein (Scenic Design), Casey McNamara(Costume Design), Derek Madonia (Lighting Design), Dan Roach (Sound Design) and Jenni Werner (Dramaturg).
Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End begins performances on March 12 and runs in the Fielding Stage through March 31.
The 2018-2019 Season is sponsored by ESL Federal Credit Union and Rochester Regional Health. The Honorary Season Producer is Dr. Dawn Lipson. The Associate Producer for Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End is St John’s Rochester and the Media Sponsor is WHEC TV.
February 26, 2019 | Artvoice