Buffalo, New York, June, 1953
“It’s a gift to be that reckless and insane.”
“I want something different. Something that doesn’t drive me crazy all the time. Does that make any sense?
“Nervous? Look at me. I’m a wreck! Do they know that I’m in show business, too?
“Well, I was sitting in my office this morning, making a great deal of money, and I suddenly realized that I was terribly bored.”
“Your backside looks like a watermelon!”
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Brandon Salerno
HOWARD
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Carlie Zucker
ROZ
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Brandon Sealey
PAUL
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Steven Riedel
DIRECTOR
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Penelope Golden
EILEEN
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Julia LaVerde
PRODUCER
Set painting day: Saturday, April 19, 2025 (Standing L-R: Santi Caceres, Adriana Caceres, Barbara DeAngelo, Robin Lloyd, Janice Paganelli, me, MaryAnn Mallozzi, Liz DiMeo; seated: Julia LaVerde)
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Tom Beck
RICHARD
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Ruth Chiamulera
CHARLOTTE
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Anna Prestopino
STAGE MANAGER
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Tom Weppler
SOLDIER
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Liz DiMeo
ETHEL
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Me
GEORGE
“Well she has to know sometime! I mean, she’s gonna figure it out when I start waddling around here like a duck!”
To learn my lines, I like to use different color highlighters for each Act—I used blue for Act 1 and orange for Act 2. (Act 2 sample above.) I scribble notes from Steve in the margins. As rehearsals progress, while trying to get “off book,” I add different color highlights to the lines that keep tripping me up. (Some lines just don’t stick in my head as quickly as others.) Those purple accents help me visualize the lines. Then I “box” lines—important lines— like when George tells Charlotte how beautiful she is—to stress their importance in the scene. I also like to write out all my lines like poems—so I can see them in my mind’s eye…
Rehearsal of Act 2: Steven Riedel directing scenes featuring Brandon Sealey (Paul), Carlie Zucker (Roz), Liz DiMeo (Ethel), Brandon Salerno (Howard), and Ruth Chiamulera (Charlotte)—Thursday, April 17, 2025.
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Santi Caceres
SOLDIER
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Patrick Early
SOLDIER / FENCING COACH / FIGHT COACH
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Tony Paige
SOLDIER
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Mike Sedia
SOLDIER
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Dennis DeLeo
SOLDIER
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Jacob Ruiz
SOLDIER
Brian Crowley, Steven Riedel, and Robin Lloyd work on the set: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Carlie Zucker (Roz) and Liz DiMeo (Ethel) rehearse a scene from Act 1; the soldiers (Santi Caceres with daughter Adriana, Tony Paige, Mike Sedia, Jacob Ruiz, Tom Weppler, Dennis DeLeo, and fight captain Patrick Early) get costumed; Brandon Salerno (Howard), Brandon Sealey (Paul), and me (George) rehearse a scene from Act 2—Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
“I love it up here. Just look at the lights of that yacht reflected in the water.”
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Keira Ferguson
LIGHTING DESIGNER
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Janice Paganelli
ACT PRESIDENT
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Eric Zoback
SET DESIGNER
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Robin Lloyd
ART DIRECTOR
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MaryAnn Mallozzi
ACT COORDINATOR
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Brian Crowley
MARKETING / SOCIAL MEDIA
“She was cutting the crusts off little tea sandwiches and I was fighting a giant gorilla.”
Patrick & Steve taught Ruth & I how to fence using the sport’s numbered striking zones. We learned all about posture, movement, parrying, and how to play off mistakes. In theater, fencing is a lot like dancing—lots of fun!
The HARDEST PART to MEMORIZE!!!
The HARDEST PART to MEMORIZE!!!
5/1/25: The cast had a special “line-through” to ensure we got this scene in Act 1 word perfect. (Under Steve’s direction, with Julia monitoring the lines, we sat on the stage together, read them, and then performed them.) Add in all the running around and door slamming, and you have a beast of a scene to direct, act, and memorize!
Check this out…
CHARLOTTE: MOTHER!
ETHEL: What?
CHARLOTTE: WHERE’S GEORGE?
ETHEL: I hope he’s getting a root canal.
CHARLOTTE: Richard, come on.
RICHARD: I’d rather not.
CHARLOTTE: Richard!
RICHARD: Oh. Right. Coming.
CHARLOTTE: George!
PAUL: George?
ROZ: Grandma. GRANDMA!
ETHEL: What?!
ROZ: HAVE YOU SEEN DADDY?
ETHEL: Too many times. Your mother’s looking for him, too.
ROZ: Mother?
PAUL: Charlotte’s back? Oh great! This is great! ETHEL, WHERE DID SHE GO?
ETHEL: Through there.
PAUL: Come on!
ROZ: This is why I left the theater.
PAUL: Would you come on! Charlotte!
CHARLOTTE: George! He has to be here someplace… MOTHER?!
ETHEL: Through there.
CHARLOTTE: Richard, come on!
RICHARD: I find this very tiresome.
CHARLOTTE: George!
PAUL: Roz…?
ETHEL: Through there.
PAUL: Now I lost Roz. Eileen! Have you seen George?
EILEEN: No, and I never want to see him again as long as I live!
PAUL: Oh, hell. Roz?! George?! Charlotte?!
ROZ: Paul…?
ETHEL: Through there.
HOWARD: Roz, I’ve been looking all over for you!
ROZ: Howard—
HOWARD: I’m ready, I can meet your parents.
ROZ: Not now, you can meet them later. Paul?! Daddy?! Mother?!
GEORGE: Ethel!
Full performance—recorded Friday, May 16, 2025
Photos and videos by Santi Caceres, Brian Crowley, Brandon Salerno, Tom Weppler, and Yours Truly!