When you consider the greatest acting couples of all time, you think of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (Sleepless in Seattle), Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (Swing Time), Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca), Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable (Gone With the Wind), Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (“I Love Lucy”), Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford (The Empire Strikes Back), and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic).

But none of them have a legacy forged on the stage and in real life.

Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne were America’s couple — starring opposite each other in a string of Broadway productions spanning from 1923 to 1960. In fact, starting in 1928 they refused to appear onstage separately, performing in more than 40 plays together. To recognize their significant contributions to theatre, New York’s Globe Theatre was renamed the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1958, and they were presented with a special Tony Award in 1970 named in their honor, which is still given today.

Ultimately, they were considered the greatest husband-wife acting team in the history of theatre.

But their legacy doesn’t stop there.

Their estate, known as Ten Chimneys, served not only as their summer retreat, but as a beacon to some of the best and brightest talent in the arts. It became a place of artistic creation, discussion, and inspiration.

Ten Chimneys is a protected historical site today and continues to be a haven for some of the best talent in theatre through its Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. Since 2009, the Fellowship has annually welcomed 8-10 of the nation’s most accomplished actors to gather for a weeklong master class and retreat. The eight-day program includes daily master class sessions as well as moments to reflect, congregate, rejuvenate, and collaborate.

This year’s class includes two individuals from Denver. Nominated by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA), veteran actors Leslie O’Carroll and Rodney Lizcano were selected to join Angela Brazil (Trinity Repertory Company, RI), Anthony Cochrane (Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ), Ronald Connor (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, IL), Margo Hall (American Conservatory Theatre, CA), Maggie Lacy (Cleveland Play House, OH), David Manis (Lincoln Center Theatre, NY), Greta Oglesby (Shakespeare Festival, OR), and Mark Jude Sullivan (Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ).

These 10 Fellows will further hone their craft under the tutelage of 2025 Master Teacher Marsha Mason. This two-time Golden Globe winner and four-time Academy Award nominee will lead the group as they develop Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Mason’s acting credits on stage include Cactus Flower, The Deer Park, Richard III, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Night of the Iguana, and many others, while her directing credits include Chapter Two, Steel Magnolias, An Act of God, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and more.

Leslie O’Carroll

O’Carroll is a well-known actress throughout the Denver community who has worked with the DCPA for 24 seasons. At the Denver Center Theatre Company, she has appeared in A Christmas Carol, A Doll’s House, A Doll’s House Part 2, The Whistleblower, Eventide, Plainsong, Benediction, and many others. Throughout Colorado, she as performed with Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities (Noises Off, Into the Woods, Tartuffe, Mrs. Mannerly, Blithe Spirit, The Crucible), Colorado Shakespeare Festival (One Man Two Guvnors, Midsummer, As You Like It, You Can’t Take It With You), Curious Theatre Company (POTUS, The Secretary, Good People), Vintage Theatre (One-Act Play That Goes Wrong), TheatreWorks (The Half-Life of Marie Curie, Much Ado About Nothing, Our Town, Grapes of Wrath), and many more. She’s appeared on television in “Breaking Bad” and “Longmire.” O’Carroll received her master’s degree from the DCPA’s former National Theatre Conservatory.

After admitting she was unfamiliar with this particular fellowship, O’Carroll did her homework. “When I looked up Ten Chimneys and saw past Fellows I’ve admired and worked with, like Mike Winters, Mark Harelik, Kim Staunton, Timothy McCuen Piggee, Jeanne Paulsen, Kathleen McCall, Sam Gregory, I had one of those ‘Well, it’s an honor just to be nominated’ moments. When I got the call that I had been selected, I honestly couldn’t believe it and asked, ‘Are you sure?’”

Once the news sunk in, she was excited to know that she was joined by another DCPA actor. “I’ve worked with Rodney for years at the Denver Center and was there when he debuted on the DCPA stage. He’s like my own personal ‘emotional support Actor.’ I’m thrilled to be able to share this experience with him”

Rodney Lizcano

Lizcano is a triple threat: actor, director, and teaching artist. He has spent 22 seasons with the DCPA as an actor (The Book of Will, The Constant Wife, American Mariachi, Hamlet, Frankenstein, and more) and a teaching artist. He made his DCPA directorial debut this season with the cabaret production of Gutenberg! The Musical! He’s also performed with Utah Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare, The Old Globe, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Dallas Shakespeare, BETC, Theatre Aspen, Arvada Center, LOCAL, and Off-Broadway with Actors Ensemble Theater and DreamScape Theatre Company. His directing credits include The Book of Will and Twelfth Night (School Tour) for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Quest for Don Quixote for Little Theatre of the Rockies, and The Laramie Project for Arvada Center. Lizcano also received his master’s degree from the DCPA’s former National Theatre Conservatory.

“I am deeply honored to be chosen to represent the Denver Center Theatre Company as a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow for 2025 alongside longtime friend and collaborator Leslie O’Carroll,” said Lizcano. “The DCPA has been my artistic home for 28 years. It has been here at the Denver Center where artistry, mentorship, and the deep commitment to the craftsmanship to live theater was first instilled in me.”

In sharing his enthusiasm for this opportunity, Lizcano said, “This year’s master teacher, Marsha Mason, will help us focus on the work of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, a play and author that I have been deeply drawn to since the beginning of my formal training. Chekhov wasn’t just a playwright — he understood performance from the inside out. His keen sense of timing, subtext, and psychological realism came from his firsthand knowledge of what it means to be on stage, live and in the moment. To return to this type of work and play at this stage of my life and career is truly a gift.”

As seasoned, accomplished actors, both O’Carroll and Lizcano could mentor their own share of aspiring actors. O’Carroll advises actors entering the field to make sure that whatever market they select to build a career “enhances your life.”

“I am grateful to have had an artistic home at the DCPA for over 25 years,” she enthused. “I love to meet audience members out in ‘the wild’, like the grocery store or walks in the park, and hear them say ‘We loved you in that show’ or ‘We’ve watched you for years.’ It’s those shared experiences that remind me why I chose to live and work in this community. And even when I work in other places around the country, my heart is always in Denver.”

Lizcano echoes his appreciation for Denver and the DCPA. “Thank you to the Denver Center, to the colleagues and directors who continue to inspire me, and to every audience member who sat in the dark and allowed themselves to feel, to laugh, to question with me. I am truly thankful for this moment.”

It would seem that the honor is ours.