Festival Theatre Presents:
Handy Dandy
A Nuclear Comedy by William Gibson
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Handy Dandy
A comedy by William Gibson (The Miracle Worker, Two for the Seesaw) about the relationship between an irascible district court judge and an elderly but feisty nun with a passion for protesting the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Alternately funny and touching, they develop an
unlikely friendship over her numerous court appearances as they both come to terms with their opposing views of humanity, religion, and our shared responsibility for one another.
“Change places and, handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?”
William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act IV, scene vi
“…a charming and poignant drama about two resilient personalities who nurture each other in
the face of nuclear annihilation…deals with a weighty theme in a simple, unself-conscious way.”
—Variety.
“…an exhilarating piece of theatre.” —Newsday
History
William Gibson is best known for his Tony-award winning play, The Miracle Worker, which told the story of Helen Kellar and her teacher Annie Sullivan. His screen adaptation of the film version starring Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft also earned him an Academy Award nomination in
1962. His other plays include Two for the Seesaw, A Cry of Players, and Golda. In 1984, as part of the international Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, over 100 staged readings and productions of William Gibson’s Handy Dandy were presented, featuring performances by many well-known actors of the day. Mark Rosenwinkel and Elizabeth Streiff received special permission from Mr. Gibson at that time to stage one of those productions in Boise, Idaho. The play was later revived at the John Houseman Theatre in New York, featuring James Whitmore and Audra Lindley, and has been seen at numerous regional theatres around the country. The original aim of Handy Dandy was to use theatre to draw attention to the thousands of nuclear warheads which threatened virtually all life on our planet. Sadly, that threat remains with us to this day, which is why, some forty years after their first production, Mark and Elizabeth are excited to perform this play once more. It is a deadly serious subject, but is presented with a great deal of humanity and humor, and they feel privileged to revisit this show once again.
Running time – 90 minutes, no intermission.
A comedy by William Gibson (The Miracle Worker, Two for the Seesaw) about the relationship between an irascible district court judge and an elderly but feisty nun with a passion for protesting the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Alternately funny and touching, they develop an
unlikely friendship over her numerous court appearances as they both come to terms with their opposing views of humanity, religion, and our shared responsibility for one another.
“Change places and, handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?”
William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act IV, scene vi
“…a charming and poignant drama about two resilient personalities who nurture each other in
the face of nuclear annihilation…deals with a weighty theme in a simple, unself-conscious way.”
—Variety.
“…an exhilarating piece of theatre.” —Newsday
History
William Gibson is best known for his Tony-award winning play, The Miracle Worker, which told the story of Helen Kellar and her teacher Annie Sullivan. His screen adaptation of the film version starring Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft also earned him an Academy Award nomination in
1962. His other plays include Two for the Seesaw, A Cry of Players, and Golda. In 1984, as part of the international Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, over 100 staged readings and productions of William Gibson’s Handy Dandy were presented, featuring performances by many well-known actors of the day. Mark Rosenwinkel and Elizabeth Streiff received special permission from Mr. Gibson at that time to stage one of those productions in Boise, Idaho. The play was later revived at the John Houseman Theatre in New York, featuring James Whitmore and Audra Lindley, and has been seen at numerous regional theatres around the country. The original aim of Handy Dandy was to use theatre to draw attention to the thousands of nuclear warheads which threatened virtually all life on our planet. Sadly, that threat remains with us to this day, which is why, some forty years after their first production, Mark and Elizabeth are excited to perform this play once more. It is a deadly serious subject, but is presented with a great deal of humanity and humor, and they feel privileged to revisit this show once again.
Running time – 90 minutes, no intermission.
Mark Rosenwinkel
Mark Rosenwinkel’s professional acting career spans over four decades, and includes work with most of the major theatres in the Twin Cities area. Among them are the Illusion (For the Loyal); the Guthrie Theater (Peer Gynt, The Music Man, 1776,); the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre (West Side Story, Guys and Dolls); History Theatre (Sisters of Swing, Hiding in the Open); and Park Square (Medea, Romeo and Juliet). In addition, he appeared Off Broadway in the Mixed Blood production of Pure Confidence, as well as with Tiger Lion Arts in their production, Nature, produced at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. A long-time member of the Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis, he has received numerous awards for playwriting including a Jerome Fellowship, and his plays have been produced by various theatres, both nationally and internationally. As a director, he has worked on some two dozen productions at Concordia University as well as Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Festival Theatre (St. Croix Falls, WI), Phipps Center (Hudson, WI), Stages (Hopkins, MN). He holds an M.F.A.in theatre from the Asolo/FSU Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota, Florida, and recently retired after fifteen years serving as Theatre Artistic Director for the Dept. of Music, Theatre and Dance at Concordia University, St. Paul.
For St. Croix Festival Theatre:
Directing: Rumors, Leading Ladies, The Marvelous Wonderettes, The Nerd, Boeing
Boeing, The Spitfire Grill, Ordinary Days (Summer, 2025)
Acting: Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing.
For St. Croix Festival Theatre:
Directing: Rumors, Leading Ladies, The Marvelous Wonderettes, The Nerd, Boeing
Boeing, The Spitfire Grill, Ordinary Days (Summer, 2025)
Acting: Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing.
Elizabeth Streife
Elizabeth Streife has worked with a variety of Twin Cities theaters including the Childrens Theater Company, History Theater, At the Foot of the Mountain, the Playwrights Center and the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Favorite roles include Hannah in The Spitfire Grill, Inspector Goring in Holmes for the Holidays, Prospero in The Tempest, Amanda in Private Lives, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and Man in the Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone. For over forty years, she has performed her original one-person show, Plowshares and Petticoats: Women of the West, in many locations throughout the country. She holds an M.F.A.in Acting from the Asolo/FSU Conservatory in Sarasota, Florida.
For St. Croix Festival Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing, Boeing Boeing, Holmes
for the Holidays, The Spitfire Grill
For St. Croix Festival Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing, Boeing Boeing, Holmes
for the Holidays, The Spitfire Grill