From April 29 to May 2, FDU’s College at Florham brought the award-winning play “Gemini” to the Dreyfuss Theater. The play was a student production, sponsored by the deparment of visual and perfomring arts, and was directed by Stephen Hollis.
The hilarious comedy took place in the back yard of two adjoining houses in South Philadephia in the 1970s. One house was occupied by blue-collar laborer Fran Geminiani (Bryan Payerl) and his college student son, Francis Geminiani (Ross Weinberg). The other house was occupied by the loud, lively, boisterous neighbor Bunny Weinberger (Stephanie Roman) and her asthmatic teenage son, Herchel Weinberger (Sean T. McGrath).
The unexpected arrival of Francis’ friends from college, Judith and Randy Hastings (Chaelee Chaput and Alex Pepperman), who come to celebrate his 21st birthday, helps unfold the series of hysterical and sometimes touching moments, while secrets and passions are revealed to the audience.
The small cast of seven, including those mentioned above and Beth Amodeo as Lucille Pompi, prompted lots of laughs from the audience.
Heather Lonergan, a junior at FDU, saw the play opening night. “I thought it was absolutely hilarious. The character of Bunny had me cracking up the whole time she came on stage,” Lonergan said.
Roman, who plays Bunny, truly loved working on this play. “The cast was defintiely my favorite part. I honestly feel like all of the characters were perfectly cast and all of us get along so well going to rehearsal was not a chore at all,” Roman said.
On opening night, the theater was half filled with students and parents. The weekend was more promising, as the theater was more filled.
“Nothing ever goes perfectly and you have to work hard to get to the end result,” Roman said. “If you don’t want to deal with all of the steps before that, then you’re wasting your time as well as others.”
After a successful run with “Guys and Dolls,” FDU’s theater department had high hopes for the “Gemini” turnout.
“The shows are constantly progressing in the theater department,” Roman said.
Others involved in the play consist of Gina Elia (Stage Manager), David Storicks (Assistant Stage Manager), Marissa Marlborough (Costume Designer) and Cindy Fernandez (Prop Mistress).
KAYLA HASTRUP
News Editor
