This poignant drama about a dysfunctional Jewish family in Massachusetts is structured as a memory play. Roddy Stern recalls what it was like growing up in a family dominated by his paranoid and pathologically jealous father, a truck driver who lurked outside his house instead of working to catch his wife with other men. A long suffering and abused saint, Roddy’s mother raised two children in this difficult environment. Roddy’s complex father is portrayed as a loving man with a demon inside that he fights but cannot exorcize. He eventually loses all control and drives away the family he loves.
Unexpected Tenderness
Ticket Information
May 2011
Cast & Creative
Scot Whitney
In 26 seasons and 76 shows at Harlequin:
A Man for All Seasons (Director) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Director) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Director) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Director) American Buffalo (Director) Antony & Cleopatra (Director) As You Like It (Director) Baltimore Waltz (Director) Clybourne Park (Director) Cymbeline (Director) Cyrano de Bergerac (Director) Dancin' in the Aisles (Director) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Director) Dracula (Director) Enrico IV (Director) Fighting Over Beverley (Director) Frozen (Director) Gloucester Blue (Director) Hamlet (Director) Hapgood (Director) Henry V (Director) Let the Good Times Roll! (Director) Letters from Waldo (Director) Macbeth (Director) Mating Dance of the Werewolf (Director) Measure for Measure (Director) Murder in the Cathedral (1st Tempter/1st Knight) My Old Lady (Director) Or, (Director) Orphans (Director) Recent Tragic Events (Director) Reckless (Director) Richard III (Director) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Director) Romeo and Juliet (Director) Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Director) She Stoops to Conquer (Director) Shining City (Director) Sins of the Mother (Director) Six Hotels (Director) Sixteen Words for Water (Director) Soul on Fire! (Director) Talking With (Co-Director) Ten Seconds in the Life of Fenwick Green (Director) The 39 Steps (Director) The American Pilot (Director) The Dumbwaiter (Director) The Elsinore Diaries (Director) The Lady's Not for Burning (Director) The Language Archive (Director) The Life and Death of King John (Director) The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci (Director) The Lonesome West (Director) The Love List (Director) The Misanthrope (Director) The Real Thing (Director) The Rocky Horror Show (Director) The Seafarer (Director) The Taming of the Shrew (Director) The Tempest (Director) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Director) The Understudy (Director) The Weir (Director) The Winter's Tale (Director) The Woman in Black (Director) Two Gentlemen of Verona (Director) Under a Mantle of Stars (Director) Unexpected Tenderness (Director) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Director) Waiting for Godot (Co-Director) What I Did Last Summer (Lighting Designer)
Jill Carter
In 20 seasons and 61 shows at Harlequin:
A Man for All Seasons (Lighting Designer) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Scenic Designer) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Co-Lighting Designer) A Stardust Christmas Carol (Lighting Designer) American Buffalo (Lighting Designer) And a Nightingale Sang (Digital Image Designer) Antony & Cleopatra (Lighting Designer) Baltimore Waltz (Lighting Designer) Billy (Lighting Designer) boom (Scenic Designer, Video Designer) Cymbeline (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Cyrano de Bergerac (Scenic Designer) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Scenic Designer) Dracula (Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer) End Days (Video Designer) Enrico IV (Lighting Designer) Frozen (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Hamlet (Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer) Holiday Broadcast of 1943 (Lighting Designer) Inspecting Carol (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Macbeth (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Mating Dance of the Werewolf (Scenic Designer) Measure for Measure (Scenic/Lighting Designer) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Scenic Design, Video Design) Operation: Stardust (Scenic Designer) Orphans (Lighting Designer) Psychopathia Sexualis (Scenic Designer) Rabbit Hole (Scenic Designer) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Scenic Designer) Romeo and Juliet (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Scenic Designer) Rough Crossing (Scenic Designer) She Stoops to Conquer (Lighting Designer) Shining City (Lighting Designer) Sins of the Mother (Scenic Designer / Lighting Designer) Six Hotels (Lighting Designer) Sixties Chicks (Lighting/Video Designer) Sixties Kicks! (Video Production) Stardust for Christmas (Lighting Designer) Stardust for Emily Jean (Lighting Designer) Summer in the Sixties (Video Designer) The 1940s Radio Hour (Lighting Designer) The Elsinore Diaries (A/V Designer) The Last Schwartz (Lighting Designer) The Life and Death of King John (Scenic Designer) The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci (Scenic Designer) The Love List (Scenic & Lighting Designer, Scenic Designer) The Rocky Horror Show (Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer) The Stardust Serenade 1942 (Scenic Designer) The Taming of the Shrew (Lighting & Video Designer) The Tempest (Scenic & Properties Designer) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Lighting Designer) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Lighting Designer) The Woman in Black (Scenic Co-Designer) Under a Mantle of Stars (Scenic Director) Unexpected Tenderness (Scenic Designer) Waiting for Godot (Lighting Designer)
Darren Mills
Darren Mills is the Resident Costume Designer for Harlequin Productions. Additional regional credits: La Cage Aux Folles and Angels In America (SPSCC), Equivocation (SMU), and Murder Ballad (Sidecountry Theater). NYC hairdressing credits: Broadway: Phantom, Mamma Mia!, The Music Man. Film: The Stepford Wives, War of the Worlds, Lonesome Jim, The Notorious Bettie Page. TV: The Sopranos.
In 26 seasons and 68 shows at Harlequin:
A Christmas Carol (Costume Design) A Doll's House (Costume Design) A Long Day's Journey into Night (Wig/Makeup Designer) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Hair & Wig Designer) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Costume Designer) A Streetcar Named Desire (Hair & Makeup Designer) And a Nightingale Sang (Costume Co-Designer) As You Like It (Costume Designer) Assassins (Costume Designer) August: Osage County (Costume Design) Cabaret (Costume, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Costume Designer) Dancin' in the Aisles (Costume Designer) Deathtrap (Costume Design, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Enchanted April (Costume Designer) End Days (Costume Designer) Falsettos (Costume/Hair/Makeup Design) Forever Stardust (Costume Designer) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Costume, Hair and Makeup Design) Henry V (Company Dresser) I Am My Own Wife (Costume Design) Intimate Apparel (Costume Designer) La Béte (Hair/Makeup Designer) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Costume Design) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Costume Designer) Little Shop of Horrors (Costume Designer) Love and Information (Costume Design) Man of La Mancha (Costume Design) Murder in the Cathedral (Costume Designer) My Old Lady (Costume Designer) Noises Off (Costume Design) Operation Stardust (Costume Designer) Philadelphia Story (Costume Designer) Present Laughter (Costume Design) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Rough Crossing (Costume Designer) Ruthless (Costume Designer / Hair and Wig Designer) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Costume Design) Six Hotels (Costume Designer) Stardust Radio Review (Costume Designer) Sweeney Todd (Costume Design, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Swingtime Stardust (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Sylvia (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Tenderly (Costume Design) The 39 Steps (Hair & Wig Designer) The Art of Racing in the Rain (Hair/Wig Design) The Constant Wife (Costume Designer) The Elephant Man (Costume Designer) The Glass Menagerie (Costume Designer) The Importance of Being Earnest (Costume Designer) The Ladies of the Camellias (Costume Designer) The Last Schwartz (Costume Designer) The Love List (Costume Designer) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Costume Designer) The Real Thing (Costume, Hair & Makeup Designer) The Rocky Horror Show (Costume Designer) The Seafarer (Costume Designer) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Costume Designer) The Stardust Christmas Enchantment (Costume Design) The Taming of the Shrew (Costume Designer) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Costume Designer) The Understudy (Costume Design) The Women (Costume Design) To Kill a Mockingbird (Costume Designer) Unexpected Tenderness (Costume Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Costume Designer)
David Nail
In 5 seasons and 7 shows at Harlequin:
Gloucester Blue (Latham) Mauritius (Director) Sins of the Mother (Dubbah) Six Hotels (Ensemble) Sixties Kicks! (Lighting Designer) The Seafarer (Lighting Designer) Unexpected Tenderness (Lighting Designer)
Gina Salerno
In 20 seasons and 91 shows at Harlequin:
A Christmas Carol (Co-Sound Design, Stage Manager) A Christmas Survival Guide (Stage Manager) A Doll's House (Sound Design) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Asst. Stage Manager) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Stage Manager) A Stardust Christmas Carol (Asst. Stage Manager) And a Nightingale Sang (Asst. Stage Manager) Blackbird (Sound Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Stage Manager) Clybourne Park (Sound Designer) Dancin' in the Aisles (Asst. Stage Manager) Dry Powder (Sound Designer) Enchanted April (Stage Manager) Enrico IV (Sound Designer/Asst, Stage Manager) Fighting Over Beverley (Sound Designer) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Stage Manager) For Peter Pan On Her 70th Birthday (Sound Design) Gloucester Blue (Sound Designer) Hedda Gabler (Stage Manager) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Stage Manager) I Am My Own Wife (Sound Design) I Ought To Be In Pictures (Sound Designer) Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage Manager) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Stage Manager) Let the Good Times Roll! (Asst. Stage Manager) Little Shop of Horrors (Stage Manager) Love and Information (Stage Manager) Macbeth (Asst. Stage Manager) Man of La Mancha (Stage Manager) Mauritius (Sound Designer) Measure for Measure (Prostitute, Asst. Stage Manager) Middletown (Stage Manager) Murder for Two (Stage Manager) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Sound Design) My Old Lady (Sound Designer) Noises Off (Sound Design) Operation Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) Or, (Sound Designer) Philadelphia Story (Stage Manager) Present Laughter (Sound Design) Pride and Prejudice (Sound Design) Psychopathia Sexualis (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Rabbit Hole (Sound Designer) Recent Tragic Events (Sound Designer) Romeo and Juliet (Citizen/Party Guest) Ruthless (Stage Manager) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Stage Manager) Shining City (Sound Designer) Sins of the Mother (Sound Designer) Six Hotels (Sound Designer) Sixties Chicks (Asst. Stage Manager) Sixties Chicks Too (Stage Manager) Soul on Fire! (Asst. Stage Manager) Sovereignty (Sound Design) Stardust for Christmas (Esther Bartoli, Asst. Stage Manager) Stardust Serenade 1942 (Stage Manager) Summer in the Sixties (Stage Manager) Sweeney Todd (Stage Manager) Tenderly (Stage Manager) The 1940s Radio Hour (Properties Designer / Stage Manager) The American Pilot (Sound Designer) The Americans Across the Street (Stage Manager) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Sound Design) The Elephant Man (Sound Designer) The Elsinore Diaries (Stage Manager) The Highest Tide (Stage Manager) The Ladies of the Camellias (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) The Language Archive (Sound Designer) The Last Five Years (Stage Manager) The Last Schwartz (Sound Designer) The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci (Asst. Stage Manager) The Love List (Asst. Stage Manager) The Rocky Horror Show (Asst. Stage Manager) The Seafarer (Sound Designer) The Stardust Christmas Blizzard (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Dazzle (Stage Manager) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) The Woman in Black (Asst. Stage Manager) The Women (Sound Design) This Flat Earth (Sound Design) Three Days of Rain (Sound Design) Time Stands Still (Sound Designer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Stage Manager) Under a Mantle of Stars (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Unexpected Tenderness (Sound Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Sound Designer)
Robert MacDougall
In 24 seasons and 59 shows at Harlequin:
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Fight Choreographer) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Fight Choreographer) Accomplice (Fight Director) American Buffalo (Fight Choreofrapher) Antony & Cleopatra (Fight Director) As You Like It (Fight Director) boom (Fight Director) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Fight Choreographer) Clybourne Park (Fight Choreographer) Cymbeline (Fight Choreographer) Cyrano de Bergerac (Fight Choreographer) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Fight Director) Dracula (Fight Director) Enrico IV (Fight Director) Fighting Over Beverley (Fight Choreographer) Gloucester Blue (Fight Director) Hamlet (Fight Director, Fight Choreographer) Hapgood (Fight Director) Henry V (Fight Director) Inspecting Carol (Fight Choreographer) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Fight Choreographer) Letters from Waldo (Fight Choreographer) Little Shop of Horrors (Fight Choreographer) Macbeth (Fight Director) Mating Dance of the Werewolf (Fight Choreographer) Mauritius (Fight Director) Measure for Measure (Fighter Director) My Old Lady (Fight Director) Or, (Fight Choreographer) Orphans (Fight Choreographer) Richard III (Fight Director) Romeo and Juliet (Fight Director) She Stoops to Conquer (Fight Choreographer) Sins of the Mother (Fight Director) Six Hotels (Fight Director) Stardust for Christmas (Fight Choreographer) Ten Seconds in the Life of Fenwick Green (Fight Choreographer) The American Pilot (Fight Director) The Dumbwaiter (Fight Choreographer) The Lady's Not for Burning (Fight Director) The Language Archive (Fight Choreographer) The Last Schwartz (Fight Director) The Life and Death of King John (Fight Director) The Lonesome West (Fight Director) The Love List (Fight Director) The Misanthrope (Fight Choreographer) The Real Thing (Fight Choreographer) The Taming of the Shrew (Fight Director) The Tempest (Fight Choreographer) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Fight Choreographer) The Understudy (Fight Choreographer) The Zoo Story (Fight Choreographer) Time Stands Still (Fight Choreographer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Fight Choreographer) Unexpected Tenderness (Fight Director) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Fight Choreographer) Waiting for Godot (Fight Choreographer)
Valerie Mamches
In 1 season and 1 show at Harlequin:
Unexpected Tenderness (Dialect Coach)
Andrew Gordon
In 14 seasons and 37 shows at Harlequin:
A Man for All Seasons (Cardinal Wolsey) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Sir Toby Belch) Arcadia (Ezra Chater) Assassins (Sam Byck) Billy (Company/Producer) Cymbeline (Philario/Belarius) Cyrano de Bergerac (Citizen/Poet/Sentry) Dracula (Renfield) Forever Stardust (Harry Hamilton) Hamlet (Polonius/Osric) Hapgood (Russian) Henry V (Exeter/Nym/MacMorris/Bates) Inspecting Carol (Director) La Béte (Elomire) Letters from Waldo (Buster/Stubb/Post Officer Clerk) Lewis & Clark & the End of the World (William Clark) Operation: Stardust (Harry Hamilton) Reckless (Doctors 1 through 6) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Sir Toby Belch) Rough Crossing (Ivor Fish) She Stoops to Conquer (Tony Lumpkin, Constance Lumpkin) Stardust for Christmas (Harry Hamilton) Stardust for Emily Jean (Harry Hamilton) Swingtime Stardust (Harry Hamilton) Sylvia (Director) Talking With (Co-Stage Manager) Ten Seconds in the Life of Fenwick Green (Gustav Mahler/Fess Parker/Scott/Craig/Gussy/Burl Ives' Evil Twin) The 1940s Radio Hour (Clifton) The Glass Menagerie (Director) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Mr. Nick Cricker/Durdles, Client of Puffer) The Stardust Club Christmas 1944 (Harry Hamilton) The Stardust Serenade 1942 (Harry Hamilton) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Panthino/2nd Outlaw/Sir Eglamour) The Winter's Tale (Polixines) The Zoo Story (Jerry) Unexpected Tenderness (Dialect Coach) Waiting for Godot (Estragon)
Kate Arvin
In 6 seasons and 20 shows at Harlequin:
A Stardust Christmas Carol (Stage Manager) A Stardust Homecoming (Lighting Designer) As You Like It (Lighting Designer) boom (Lighting Designer, Video Designer) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Lighting Designer) Enchanted April (Lighting Designer) End Days (Lighting Designer) Mating Dance of the Werewolf (Stage Manager) Mauritius (Lighting Designer) Psychopathia Sexualis (Lighting Designer) Rabbit Hole (Stage Designer) Sixties Chicks (Stage Manager) Sixties Kicks! (Stage Manager ) Soul on Fire! (Asst. Stage Manager) Stardust for Christmas (Lighting Designer) Stardust Serenade 1942 (Lighting Designer) The Love List (Stage Manager) The Seafarer (Stage Manager) The Taming of the Shrew (Stage Manager) Unexpected Tenderness (Stage Manager)
Katie Griffith
In 1 season and 1 show at Harlequin:
Unexpected Tenderness (Sylvie Stern)
Jason Haws
Other local roles include Captain Hook in Peter Pan (OSD Players and CTE), Toad in The Wind in the Willows (OFT), Clov in Endgame (Calpurnia’s Dream), Richard in Fuddy Meers, and Adam in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Centralia College). Jason has directed numerous shows for children and is going into his fifteenth season as the director of Creative Theatre Experience’s Showcase program. He currently teaches Drama and Social Studies at Thurgood Marshall Middle School here in Olympia. Jason owes everything to his beautiful family for their tremendous love and support. Cheers to my lovelies, Liz, Emma and Tess. You are my shining stars!
In 21 seasons and 33 shows at Harlequin:
A Bright Room Called Day (Emil Traum) A Christmas Carol (Bob Cratchit) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bottom/Pyramus) And a Nightingale Sang (Andie Ryan) As You Like It (Touchstone) August: Osage County (Bill Fordham) Clybourne Park (Karl / Steve) Hapgood (Maggs) I Ought To Be In Pictures (Herb) Intimate Apparel (Mr. Marks) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Max Prince) Murder in the Cathedral (4th Priest) My Old Lady (Mathias) Noises Off (Garry LeJeune) Phantom of the Stardust (Sam Gordon) Philadelphia Story (C.K. Dexter Haven) Rabbit Hole (Howie) Romeo and Juliet (Prince Escalus) Rough Crossing (Sandor Turai) The Constant Wife (Mortimer Durham) The Elephant Man (John Merrick) The Importance of Being Earnest (Lane/Moulton/Merriman/Gribsby) The Ladies of the Camellias (Ivan) The Misanthrope (Basque/Bicycle Messenger/Du Bois) The Rocky Horror Show (Simon Lock, The Narrator) The Seafarer (James "Sharky" Harkin) The Taming of the Shrew (Grumio) The Tempest (Andrian/Boatswain) The Understudy (Harry) The Weir (Brendan) The Winter's Tale (Time) Two Gentlemen of Verona (Launce / Outlaw #1) Unexpected Tenderness (Archie/Roddy Stern (the elder))
Jackson Jones
In 3 seasons and 3 shows at Harlequin:
Jesus Christ Superstar (Apostle/Ensemble) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Eric "Ricky" Sutton) Unexpected Tenderness (Roddy Stern (the younger))
Kate Parker
In 1 season and 1 show at Harlequin:
Unexpected Tenderness (Molly Stern)
Walayn Sharples
Walayn has performed on many Seattle stages including Intiman, ACT, Book-It, Greenstage, Seattle Musical Theater, Lyric Light Opera, ReAct, and Second Story Rep, among others. Some favorite roles include Ann in Well (Footlight Award), Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy, Sonya in Sixteen Wounded, Blanch in Mother in Another Language, Madam Arcati in Blithe Spirit, Nat in Rabbit Hole, and Dottie in Noises Off. A retired teacher, she now works as a standardized patient at the UW, melding her teaching and acting skills to provide students with “real life,” practical experiences.
In 5 seasons and 5 shows at Harlequin:
Enchanted April (Mrs. Graves) Hedda Gabler (Juliana Tesman) Middletown (Librarian) To Kill a Mockingbird (Mrs. Dubose, Clerk) Unexpected Tenderness (Haddie Stern)
David Wright
In 18 seasons and 36 shows at Harlequin:
A Long Day's Journey into Night (James Tyrone) A Man for All Seasons (Duke of Norfolk) A Streetcar Named Desire (Doctor) Arcadia (Richard Noakes) Art (Serge) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Reverend Tooker) Cymbeline (Cymbeline) Cyrano de Bergerac (Montfleury/Poet/Sentry) Dracula (Dr. Heinrich Van Helsing, Professor Van Helsing) Fighting Over Beverley (Zelly Shimma) Hamlet (Polonius/Grave Digger/Ambassador, Claudius) Hapgood (Paul Blair) Henry V (Chorus/Bardolph/French Governor/Burgundy/Constable/Ambassador) Inspecting Carol (Larry Vauxhall) La Béte (Bejart) Measure for Measure (Pompey/Friar) Murder in the Cathedral (Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury) Orphans (Harold) Romeo and Juliet (Friar Laurence/Signior Placentio) Rough Crossing (Alex Gal) She Stoops to Conquer (Mr. Hardcastle) Sixteen Words for Water (Stage Manager) The Importance of Being Earnest (Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.) The Lady's Not for Burning (Matthew Skipps, Hebble Tyson) The Life and Death of King John (Hubert/the Citizen) The Love List (Bill) The Rocky Horror Show (Narrator) The Seafarer (Richard Harkin) The Tempest (Prospero) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Antonio/Duke) The Weir (Jack) The Winter's Tale (The Shepherd) To Kill a Mockingbird (Judge Taylor, Walter Cunningham) Unexpected Tenderness (Jacob Stern)