Matt & Ben
Matt & Ben depicts its Hollywood golden boys – before J-Lo, before Gwyneth, before Project Greenlight, before Oscar… before anyone actually gave a damn. When the screenplay for Good Will Hunting drops mysteriously from the heavens, the boys realize they’re being tested by a Higher Power.
from the director
How did good-time guys Affleck and Damon, who were in the 1992 movie School Ties together and have supposedly been friends since childhood, come up with the Oscar-winning original screenplay for their impressive 1997 Good Will Hunting? This question has haunted many professional screenplay writers and directors for the last 25 years. It is also the premise that is at the core of Matt & Ben written by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers.
Mindy Kaling is most widely known for her offbeat humor, which has been on display in the television shows The Office and The Mindy Project (2012–17). Brenda Withers, on the other hand, is best known for being close friends with Mindy Kaling, whom she met when they were both attending Dartmouth. And that is where the irony begins.
When people ask me about Matt & Ben, they tend to ask about the Mindy Kaling play and forget that this play was written in collaboration with Brenda Withers who played Matt in the original production. It is very ironic to me that when people forget to mention Brenda Withers; it is almost the same as people questioning Ben Affleck's true contribution to Good Will Hunting. The script says Mindy Kaling AND Brenda Withers; not WITH Brenda Withers or occasionally including Brenda Withers. So please remember Brenda Withers as a writer instead of just a close friend of Mindy Kaling.
Both Matt & Ben and Mindy & Brenda have been true lifelong friends. That is what is at the core of this production: the ups and downs of a true lifelong friendship. The fact that these iconic dudes of the 90s are being played by female actors also suggests that there is something more to this play. Matt & Ben is also a commentary on celebrity, both permanent and fleeting, loyalty, and an industry known as Hollywood.
So sit back, remember the 1990s, and I hope you enjoy this production as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for you.
About the Director
Billy Buff has been involved with Pensacola Little Theatre since he was a teenager in the 1980s. He graduated from the University of West Florida with both a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. He studied directing at The University of Mississippi under Scott McCoy. He has performed in numerous shows including Boeing, Boeing and The Odd Couple and directed both musicals and non-musicals including The Wedding Singer, The End of Jack Cruz, and The 39 Steps (codirected with Barbara Jacobs). He is currently a theater educator at Jim C. Bailey Middle School.
crew
Director - Billy Buff
Stage Manager - Choh Man Teng
Stage Design - Kayla Stephenson
Lighting Designer - Choh Man Teng
Costume Designer - Sue Sue Sherrill
Fight Choreographer - Hannah Spears
Costume Crew - Cristina Finger, Jeanette Gibson
Backstage Crew - Eric Michael
Set Construction and Painting - Kayla Stephenson, Choh Man Teng, Bill Mankins, Carol Mankins, Jonathan Mankins, Barry Boyd
Production Coordinator - Cristina Fenger
PLT Artistic Director - Kathy Holsworth
PLT Technical Director - Kayla Stephenson
cast
Maggie Crain As Matt
Maggie is very excited to be back on the Pensacola Little Theatre stage after a seven-year hiatus. She has most recently been seen as a performer in Arrant Knavery’s The Will of Women and as an improviser with Pensacola’s professional improv troupe IMPROVable Cause. When Maggie isn’t performing she is studying for law school and playing with her son.
Christina Cusack as Ben
Christina has been performing musically and theatrically for 30 years. At Pensacola Little Theatre, her favorite roles have been Annette in God of Carnage in 2015, Isabella in A Sleeping Country in 2020, and Claire in Rumors in 2021. In 2017, Christina also enjoyed playing the role of Agnes in an independent production of Bug.
SPECIAL THANKS
ALGA Beer Company - 2435 N 12th Ave, Pensacola, FL 32503 Addie Quina
Gopuff Kitchen
Barbara Jacobs
Katelyn Geri
Shana Solomon
MATT & BEN is presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatrical.
up next at plt
Mad Padraic cares about one thing, and one alone, and -- despite his title as the lieutenant of Inishmore’s Irish National Liberation Army -- it’s not his fight for Irish independence. It’s his cat. When Padraic learns that his beloved cat, Wee Thomas, has been killed, Padraic rushes home. As he plows through the town in pursuit of revenge, bodies pile up in his wake. As fierce as he may be, however, Padriac’s soft spot for Wee Thomas may be the weak spot the next aspiring Lieutenant of Inishmore needs to target. This mainstage production is directed by Barbara Jacobs and is intended for mature audiences. The Lieutenant of Inishmore contains adult language and graphic violence.
