Funny Girl

WRITTEN BY: Isobel Lennart, Jule Styne, and Bob Merrill
PERFORMED AT: Samuel Clemens Center, Elmira, NY
PERFORMED ON: November 7-9, 1997 (4 shows)
DIRECTOR: Craig Bond, with choreography by Mia Filippetti
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Jim Keenly
SPONSORED BY: Elmira Little Theater
PRINCIPAL CAST (and selected extras and CREW):
* FANNY BRICE- Christine Gill-Pelcher
* NICK ARNSTEIN- David Stearns
* CY LEVEEN- Florenz Ziegfeld
* MRS. BRICE- Kathy Wilcox
* MRS. STRAKOSH- Mary Cameron
* JENNY- Rosanette Abrams
* EMMA- Katie Lane
* EDDIE- Ben Curtis
* TENOR- Harold Treu
* MR. STRAKOSH- A.W. "Whit" Weigel
* TOM KEENEY- Stu Luther
* HECKIE- Thomas Jackson
* SNUB TAYLOR- Kevin Thomas
* TROMBONE SMITTY- Isaac Campbell
* JOHN/FIVE-FINGER FINNEY- Luke Berger
* MIMSEY- Lee Gaylord
* STAGE DIRECTOR/PAUL/ACTOR- David Alan Scott Jr.
* CATHY- Brynn Thomas
* MS. RENALDI (first performance)- Peggy Coleman
* MR. RENALDI (other performances)- Mike Lavarnway
* RUNNING CREW COORDINATOR- David Battaglin
* RUNNING CREW- Thomasine Elizabeth Lubertowicz

PLOT: Can an aspiring actress (Christine Gill-Pelcher) handle musical stardom and a gambling husband (David Stearns)? A musical comedy.

HISTORY: Since "The Mousetrap" had originally been scheduled for August (though later moved to September), I decided not to audition for the CCC summer plays, and to save my energies for the college's fall shows (which were a big part of why I chose to go to CCC for a third year, even though I'd already graduated).
However, having failed to score roles in "Psycho Beach Party" (the initially-proposed performance dates of which clashed with those of "Mousetrap") or "Rumplestiltskin" (the one I auditioned for), I found myself up the creek without a show.
In desperation, I attended the second of two auditions for "Funny Girl." I only landed some minor parts, but I was glad to be in a show that would take me, and glad to finally be involved in an Elmira Little Theater production.
On the whole, it turned out to be my most positive experience with a play in over a year. Oddly enough, my "minor" parts became, in some people's words, the "biggest laughs of the show" with audience, crew, and cast members alike.
Also, when I brought my girlfriend Thomasine to a rehearsal at the Little Theater building, my fellow "Ten Little Indians" cast member David Battaglin talked her into joining the running crew. (Though she didn't join in time to be listed in the program, Craig announced her name with other unlisted people before the opening of each show.) It became one of the most positive experiences of her life, too.
The first show (a morning performance) was mainly for area high school students, while the other three were for the general public.

PHOTOS:
* Cy Leveen, me, Christine Gill-Pelcher, and David Stearns, before a performance (photo by Kevin Thomas)
* Me as Paul the Waiter, outside the dressing rooms (photo by Luke Berger)
* Me in a soldier outfit, outside the dressing rooms (photo by Luke Berger)