Cognac and Roses

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Cast

Creative Team

Scenes

SCENE BREAKDOWN

The Raven --- Paul O'Brian

The Lake --- Rune Vaughan

Eldorado --- Jamie Young

A Dream --- video by Tara Holwegner

The Cask of the Amontillado - Paul O'Brien & Ernie Eliason

The Pit and the Pendulum - Jamie Young, Rune Vaughan, Ernie Eliason & Jonathan Quarles

Alone --- video by Tara Holwegner

A Dream Within a Dream --- Rune Vaughan

The Tell-Tale Heart --- Jonathan Quarles 

Lines on Ale --- The Cast

Meet the Company

Paul O'Brien

Paul O’Brien grew up in Charleston and left to pursue a career in medicine. When he returned, he became a physician at MUSC and was excited to find such a vibrant theatre community. He has performed extensively in Charleston theatre over the past twelve years and has even played an English king on occasion including Henry II in The Lion in Winter and King Arthur in Camelot. Paul most recently played Henry VIII in the Threshold Repertory Theatre / South of Broadway Theatre Company co-production of Wolf Hall. He can also be seen in Threshold's current productions, The Book of Will and Cognac and Roses: A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe. Other favorite roles include George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?, Vershinin in Three Sisters, Voltaire in Emilie, Harry Brock in Born Yesterday, Slim in Of Mice and Men, Dr. Sugar in Suddenly, Last Sumer, Dr. Sweet in Bug, Ghost/Player King in Hamlet, Daddy Warbucks in Annie, and Juan Peron in Evita. He currently serves on the board and staff of Threshold Theatre.

Rune Vaughan

Rune Vaughn is a local stage and film actor. Their recent stage credits include Beehive: The 60’s Musical andThe Little Mermaid. They are a member of the SC Vintage Vixens singing group. They are excited to be making their Piccolo Spoleto debut with Cognac and Roses. Rune would like to thank their husband Michael for his constant support, their mom, Mel, for everything, and their kids, Ash and Kes, for always rooting them on. They’d like to dedicate this performance to the memory of their grandfather, Vernon, who loved Poe’s work. “I miss you, Daddy, and I think you’d enjoy this one.”

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is a veteran of the United States Air Force who retired here in the Lowcountry after 21 years of service. While he doesn't perform in the downtown area often, he's no stranger to the Threshold stage. Aside from previous productions of Cognac and Roses, Jamie has appeared at Threshold as Baptista Minolo in Taming of the Shrew and as the infamous Colonel Jessup in 5th Wall Productions’ presentation of A Few Good Men. He was most recently seen playing the part of Jacob Jerome in the Flowertown Players production of Brighton Beach Memoirs. His most notable roles include Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, Marcus Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Judge Littlefield/Caiphas the Elder in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

Ernie Eliason

Ernie Eliason was born and raised in Charleston. He has been involved with theatre and set design since 2009 where he made his debut role as Detective Rooney in Arsenic and Old Lace at The Flowertown Players. He has played many roles over the last fifteen years, but his passion turned to designing and building sets. Ernie currently works for TEC as a master carpenter. He is a devoted husband, father and his best role yet, as a Grandpa to four amazing grandchildren. He plays the role of Montressor in the Cask of the Amontillado and is in the shadow box of The Pit and the Pendulum.

Christine Eliason

Director

Chrissy has been involved with theatre since 1992. She started her journey as backstage help and has learned directing by working with some incredible directors over the years. Her credits include Wait until Dark, Legally Blonde, Moonlight and Magnolias, Catfish Moon and many others. In 2017 she designed and named Cognac and Roses. She is extremely happy to once again see her creation on stage. She would like to thank Threshold Repertory Theatre and Paul O'Brian for giving Cognac and Roses a platform to be seen and enjoyed. As Poe once said, "If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make note that this thing is to be remembered. "

Don Brandenburg

Artistic Director, Threshold Repertory Theatre

Don is a veteran of Charleston theatre, having either performed in, produced or directed over 100 productions, all while managing his job as a civil engineer. Don has worked with a number of other area theatre companies and previously held the position of Artistic Director of The Footlight Players. Don worked with Charleston Stage Company, appearing in their production of Murder on the Orient Express. In March, he played Frank in Charleston Stage's production of Native Gardens. Some of his favorite acting roles include Bill in The Jacksonian, (Threshold Repertory), Vanya in Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Footlight Players) and Andre Thibault in the musical production, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Footlight Players). Treasured directing credits include To Kill a Mockingbird (Charleston Stage), Della's Diner (Threshold Rep) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Footlight Players).

Crew

Direction --- Christine Eliason 

Lighting Design --- Robbie Thomas

Poem "Alone" Video --- Tara Holwegner

Set Pieces and Construction --- Ernie Eliason

Sound Design --- Christine Eliason

Special Thanks

We extend a special THANK YOU to the following for their support of this production.

Muse Restaurant and Wine Bar

Tara Holwegner for "Alone" video production