MIDTOWN PLAYERS PRESENTS

The Arsonists

By Max Frisch
Translation by Alistar Beaton

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April 16th–25th 2026 | 7:30PM
MOOD ROOM

Directors:
Merry Gordon and Eddie Gordon

Suhrkamp Verlag GmbH & Co. is the Licensor of this work
and the owner of all performing rights.
www.suhrkamp.de

  • In one of those coincidences that gain meaning with hindsight, the two of us, as children—long before we met—both received the same gift: Billy Joel's Storm Front album, with its instant classic single "We Didn't Start the Fire". Unknowingly, our twelve-year-old selves chanted together Billy's list of historical strifes: Panmunjom … Joseph Stalin … Little Rock …. (Karaoke, anyone?) Even then, something about the chorus felt like a copout. In the midst of a conflagration, who started it isn't what matters, is it?

    The fire is spreading.

    It spreads in rooms full of reasonable people. Nice people, even. People who don’t want to overreact. People who don’t want to be rude. People who are quite certain that if things were truly dangerous, someone would do something. 

    This play is how we’re choosing to do something. We’re yelling “Fire!”—in a theater, no less. By its light, we may see ourselves a little more clearly.

    Fires are burning right now—and they don’t care who started them.


    —Merry and Eddie

  • Max Frisch’s The Arsonists (Biedermann und die Brandstifter, 1958) emerged from the moral and political tensions of postwar Europe. Frisch’s work was shaped by his confrontation with the rise of National Socialism and the troubling question of how destructive movements gain ground in plain sight. Rather than offering a direct historical allegory, the play explores broader patterns of denial, self-justification, and moral hesitation—patterns that extend far beyond any one moment in history. Frisch himself described it as a “didactic play without a lesson,” resisting simple conclusions even as it invites reflection.

    The work also has an unusually rich formal history. Frisch first developed the material in the early 1950s, then reworked it across genres before the best-known stage version premiered in 1958. In English alone, it has circulated under several titles, including The Firebugs, The Fire Raisers, and The Arsonists, and it has continued to be translated, staged, taught, and reimagined internationally. That long afterlife helps explain why the play still feels so current: it is rooted in the crises of the twentieth century, but it keeps finding new relevance wherever people recognize the danger before them and fail to act.

  • Stage Manager … Annie Dozeman

    Lighting … Christopher Green

    Publicity … Lisa Foster

  • Laura Nardone-Saltsman, Diane Gordon, Leslie Criger, Catrina Kahler, Susan Thompson, Midtown Neighbourhood Association, The Electric League, and all of our friends and family members who had to hear so many times, “I can’t. I have rehearsal.”

 

The Players

James Yaw | Gottleib Biedermann

  • James first took the stage at Mount Markham Senior High School in the Upstate New York town of West Winfield in the mid-1980s. After some time as a stand-up comedian, he shifted gears and spent a decade in the US Army. He now calls Phoenix, Arizona, home, where he lives with his partner and his rescued pit bull. With several feature films currently streaming on various platforms and almost a dozen short films to his credit, he welcomes the chance to participate in the mental exercise of live theater whenever the opportunity arises. James is a company member with the Emerson Theater Collaborative in Sedona, Arizona, where he recently starred in Black Irish and Driving Miss Daisy.

Cindy Covington | Babette Biedermann

  • Cindy is beyond thrilled to be playing Babette in The Arsonists with Midtown Players. Cindy has been doing shows all over the valley for the past several years. A couple of her recent roles were Aunt March in Little Women, Kate in Broadway Bound, and one of her all time favorites, Tracey in SWEAT at Stray Cat Theatre. Next up for Cindy is The Gin Game at The Jedlicka Performing Arts Center in Cicero, Illinois, this June. 

    Thanks so much to our dynamic duo directors, Merry and Eddie, for this amazing opportunity and to our stage manager, or as I like to call her, “the glue”—that which holds us all together—Annie!

    I hope you enjoy this play as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. What a wonderful group of talented actors! 

    And if you’re ever in doubt in life, just don’t be a Biedermann! 

    All my love to Anthony and Mysia, my ride or die crew and the best line readers a girl could ever ask for. 

    Break legs! 

Byron Marlow | Joe Schmitz

  • Byron Marlow is one of the founding members of Midtown Players. He was last seen as Jody in Lonely Planet.  Past roles include: Polonius, Oberon, Prince Escalus, and Judas Iscariot. Byron has also directed Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who’s Tommy, and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Dorian Rattwel | Billy Eisenring

  • Dorian Rattwel is a Balkan artist/performer currently residing in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally schooled in classic theater in Slovenia, he's now expanding his skills in the Phoenix scene by showing off his artistic, performance, and cosplay skills. He worked as a freelance artist for over 8 years and volunteered in theater productions as an actor, costume designer, makeup artist, prop maker, and set maker. He's been performing in the local Phoenix drag scene for over 3 years now. He specializes in digital and traditional art illustration, specifically for storytelling and character design, as well as portrait art and clay sculpting. He’s highly skilled in many artistic mediums and can bring to life whimsical worlds and characters with visual storytelling.

Paige Harmann | Anna, the Maid

  • Paige is a new actress to the theater scene with The Arsonists being her first show with the Midtown Players and her first on-stage role in over 10 years. Since childhood, Paige has maintained a passion for the theater, and she is grateful to the Midtown Players for reigniting the spark. Paige hopes to bring an edgy and grounded portrayal of Anna that provides the audience with a sense of relatability in this wacky commentary on the limits of denial and complicity.

Robin Anderson | Chorus Leader

  • Robin is excited to be making her debut with Midtown Players. This performance will mark her return to stage after a 20-year hiatus! Robin was a regular in the community theater scene for years back in her home state of Illinois and then here in Arizona. Some of her favorite roles include Elvira in Blithe Spirit, Mrs. Boyle in Mousetrap, Dorine in Tartuffe, and Fairy May in Curious Savage. Robin also received 2 Arizoni nominations for Best Actress from her portrayals of Muriel Tate in Plaza Suite and Nell Oudt in Klondike Kalamity.

    Robin would like to thank Merry & Eddie for this amazing opportunity. And thanks to this wonderful cast and crew (that's you, Annie!) for making her return to theater so much FuN!

    A special shout-out to my ride-or-die posse (you know who you are) for "nudging" me to get back out there and supporting me through this journey. And to CJ, I love you to the moon and back! What do you think of your mom now?!

Deb Stout | Chorus/Doctor of Philosophy

  • Deb is so excited to be a member of the Chorus and play the Doctor of Philosophy in The Arsonists! She loved performing in school and decided to pick up acting again a few years ago. This is her third performance with Midtown Players. It has been a pleasure and a great learning opportunity working with such an amazing group of actors. Eddie and Merry are so talented and a class act. Thank you for the opportunity! Annie, your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you, Topher, for sharing your lighting talent with us. And Dorian, wow, your artistry blows me away! A big thank you to my love, Fred, who read lines with me so many times I think he could perform as my understudy. I hope you all enjoy the show as much as we do!

Bryan Tupper | Chorus/Policeman

  • Bryan got his start performing doing community theater in Chicago, Illinois. Since then, he has done professional theater, professional dance (Romeo & Juliet with the American Ballet Theatre in Chicago), print and runway model work, commercials, and movies. Bryan recently moved to Phoenix with his lovely wife, Amberlee, from Greenwood, South Carolina, where he was involved with the Peachtree Players in Abbeville, South Carolina, at the historic Abbeville Opera House. He also recently starred as Mr. Green in Clue, and Baxter Olson in Southern Crossed. He is thrilled to make his Phoenix stage debut with Midtown Players! When not on stage, he can be found listening to audiobooks, watching true crime shows, and spending time with their three animals, Promise (dog) and cats, Caesar & Pharaoh. Bryan would like to thank his late mother, Mary, for getting him involved in the performing arts.

Debra Lyman | Chorus/Mrs. Knechtling

  • Debra is thrilled to be in this production of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists. Debra has been in several Valley productions, including Klingon Hamlet (Ronin), Fetal (Stray Cat), Barbecue (Black Theatre Troupe), Angels in America (Fountain Hills Theater), 20th Century Blues (Stage Left), Tea for Three (Stage Left), Doll’s House Part 2 (Stage Left and an AriZoni Nominee), ‘Tis a Pity She’s a Whore (Space 55), Something Wicked (Black Box Phx), Medea (Now and Then Theatre), John (Stray Cat and AriZoni Best Supporting Actress), Masque of the Red Death (PoeFest), Julius Caesar (Class 6). Many bows to Merry and Ed for their huge, unstoppable vision, her fellow Chorus woe’rs, and the entire cast and crew for this hot adventure, her 3 daughters for their constant applause, and you, Dear Audience—thank you so much for coming to our play and supporting Valley theatre.