PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Day at Arena Stage With Meg Gillentine of Mother Courage, Starring Kathleen Turner

“Hey Billy Porter, you’re not the only girl that gets to wear RED BOOTS!" #thanksladuca — PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Day at Arena Stage With Meg Gillentine of Mother Courage, Starring Kathleen Turner

Broadway's Meg Gillentine (*The Producers, Cats*) is currently starring as Yvette in Arena Stage's production of Bertolt Brecht's *Mother Courage and Her Children,*starring Kathleen Turner. She documents a recent day at the theatre.
51 PHOTOS

Good Morning bunions, glad to see you're still there. Happy two show Saturday!

Meg Gillentine

Since <i>Mother Courage</i> is a play that is set during a time of famine, plague and many other horrible things, I treat myself to the opposite at home and stuff my face. — Since *Mother Courage* is a play that is set during a time of famine, plague and many other horrible things, I treat myself to the opposite at home and stuff my face.

Meg Gillentine

Nothing starts my morning off better than a Skype session my two loves! Oh, how I miss thee!

Meg Gillentine

My commute to work. On most days I walk both ways barefoot in the snow to see how Yvette must have suffered during the winter months.

Meg Gillentine

Kristen our trusty ASM. She keeps the wagon organized, God bless her. Without a doubt she is always right here at this spot when I first walk in the door. She also has to handle the dead chicken. #gross

Meg Gillentine

My loyal dance partner, Dan (pronounced Don). By loyal I mean I can always count on him to love on me, throw me, use me, slap me and then leave me on stage. #PoorYvette

Meg Gillentine

Smile, you're on Playbill.com you guys! This is gonna be fun.

Meg Gillentine

Here we go! My last moment of peace until...

Meg Gillentine

ERIN WEAVER walks into the room. My awesome roomy Erin. We both have babies, we both have husbands. Be warned, all we talk about are our babies and husbands.

Meg Gillentine

Romancing the Stone #KathleenTurner

Meg Gillentine

It's hard keeping Nicholas Rodriguez in line. We leave that to Kathleen.

Meg Gillentine

Fight call. AKA "You better put your &#%$@* sword in the right place!" — Fight call. AKA "You better put your %$@* sword in the right place!"

Meg Gillentine

Dan (Don) and John Leslie showing off their fancy form.

Meg Gillentine

Warming up. I require Monalisa to play while I warm up, it's in my contract. #Diva

Meg Gillentine

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing James Konicek, the sexiest voice in the building and that's saying something.

Meg Gillentine

Our fabulous stage manager Kurt Hall. AKA Yvette's understudy.

Meg Gillentine

Kathleen can always count on Erin and Nehal to be there at places. Nicholas? Not so much.

Meg Gillentine

Rick Foucheux, our divine Chaplain and Tuba player. Book him for your next wedding. #greatsavings

Meg Gillentine

Hmm…should have gone with yogurt and chia seeds this morning. oops

Meg Gillentine

Transformation into Yvette is now complete. Thanks Vincent for my gorgeous hair.

Meg Gillentine

Nehal Joshi showing off his six pack. #hot

Meg Gillentine

"Oh come on Lise, it's just jelly."

Meg Gillentine

Whatcha readin Jack Willis?

Meg Gillentine

More dirt Rick, lots more dirt. P.S. I think you’re sexier than Michael Douglas.

Meg Gillentine

Next Slide

Must reapply lips for Yvette’s BIG return

Meg Gillentine

Our very own Mother Courage cowboy. He's there for all of my exits offstage. #alsoinmycontract

Meg Gillentine

I guess that's what happens to you after they throw ya on the fire! #mydinnerdate

Meg Gillentine

Back for round two. Isn't she pretty!

Meg Gillentine

I'm in a play with Kathleen Turner y'all! #pinchme

Meg Gillentine

Our trusty music coordinator Nathan. He's the best!

Meg Gillentine

Monalisa, our newest Equity member! We are so proud!

Meg Gillentine

This is how I warm up for the second show. Nathan, Jed, Monalisa and a little bit of Dan (Don) play for me while I find young Yvette. I like to relive what it must have felt like the first night at camp before everything went south. #thisisalsoinmycontra

Meg Gillentine

My AEA cot. Monalisa look what you have to look forward to! The luxury of coming on stage 25 minutes into the play, I can get a little snooze.

Meg Gillentine

Halle Dollar Saxony Saturday! Hope you win John Walters!

Meg Gillentine

Love, love, love the costume shop at Arena Stage. Yes, that is a chainmail custom made jacket! Way to go Joe and Steven! #ilovemyjob

Meg Gillentine

"I've just heard, there's Catholics arriving!"

Meg Gillentine

Best caption wins a ticket to the show! Tweet me @meggillentine

Meg Gillentine

Jacobi Howard prepares for Act 2!

Meg Gillentine

Marne…she's always there for all of my weird mishaps! Including me ripping my thumb nail off while wearing leather gloves. #howisthatpossible

Meg Gillentine

This lady is unstoppable and I love her #KathleenTurner

Meg Gillentine

"Raise your hand if you’re sure!" Rayanne and Monalisa prepare for Act 2 with jumping jacks!

Meg Gillentine

I still to this day have to check and make sure I don't enter from the wrong vom. #blondmuch

Meg Gillentine

Jesse Terrill... he plays a saw in the show. That's right, a saw.

Meg Gillentine

That's what friends are for. Rayanne's Saturday lice check. She is method.

Meg Gillentine

That's a wrap! Great two show day with my <i>Mother Courage</i> family! #blessed — That's a wrap! Great two show day with my *Mother Courage* family! #blessed

Meg Gillentine

Arena alums at Station 4—Brad Oscar and Diego Prieto with Nehal.

Meg Gillentine

With Nicholas, my love, photo bomb courtesy of Diego.

Meg Gillentine

My <i>Damn Yankees</i> family- Rayanne and Brad. — My *Damn Yankees* family- Rayanne and Brad.

Meg Gillentine

Play or Musical it doesn't matter, I'll always be a girl that bevels! Thanks Playbill.com.

Meg Gillentine

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Helmed by Arena Stage artistic director Molly Smith, performances of the David Hare translation continue through March 9 at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Making her professional singing debut, Turner (High, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) stars as Mother Courage; her children are played by Nehal Joshi (Les Misérables, The Threepenny Opera) as younger son Swiss Cheese, Nicholas Rodriguez (My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!) as elder son Eilif and Erin Weaver (The Last Five Years, Xanadu) as daughter Kattrin. The cast also features Rick Foucheux (Ah, Wilderness!) as The Chaplain, Meg Gillentine (Cabaret, Damn Yankees) as Yvette and Jack Willis (Julius Caesar) as The Cook.

Nathan Koci leads the ensemble as music coordinator along with Monalisa Arias, Lise Bruneau, Jed Feder, Rayanne Gonzales, Jacobi Howard, Dan Istrate, James Konicek, Jesse Terrill and John Leslie Wolfe.

Click here to read Playbill.com's interview with Smith on finding the humor in Brecht's work.

The production features more than ten pieces of original music composed by musical supervisor James Sugg.

"Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage... as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage — a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war," press notes state. "The show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians."

"To stage Mother Courage and Her Children with Kathleen Turner and this host of artists is a galvanizing experience," Smith said in a previous statement. "People who believe that they've seen Mother Courage before should forget everything that they've ever known about this show. We've assembled a dream team cast who, together with James Sugg's brilliant music, David Leong's imaginative movement work and Todd Rosenthal's rough and expansive use of the Fichandler, will make this an epic production. We are creating something that will be absolutely vital and exhilarating and terrifying."

The creative team for Mother Courage and Her Children also includes set designer Todd Rosenthal, costume designer Joseph P. Salasovich, lighting designer Nancy Schertler, sound designer Timothy M. Thompson, wig designer Anne Nesmith, dramaturg Mark Bly, movement director David Leong and assistant fight and movement consultant Brad Willcuts. The stage manager is Susan R. White, and the assistant stage managers are Kurt Hall and Marne Anderson.

More information can be found by visiting arenastage.org.