JENNA DIGREGORIO
Staff Writer

The Fairleigh Dickinson University theater department has begun the process of preparing for this year’s productions.

The first play, “Boeing Boeing,” tells the story of a 30-year-old architect and his affairs with multiple women, all of whom find out about each other, said Stephen Hollis, theater program director.
“It is a city play that has no right to be as funny as it is,” said Hollis.

Opening night is set for Wednesday, Oct. 7. The play will run to Sunday, Oct. 11, with repeat performances on Oct. 16 and 17.

Usually the plays only last one weekend, but the theater department wanted to try something new this semester.

“It takes time for word-of-mouth to spread, and we wanted to give the actors a few extra nights to get used to how the audience would react and which parts they would laugh at,” said Hollis.

The second play of the semester, called “Once in a Lifetime,” is set in the 1920s, said Hollis. “It is a group of out-of-work New York actors, and basically the condemnation of Hollywood,” he said.
Rosemary Glennon, a junior at FDU, is excited to be a part of the play this year.

“This play is hilarious. It’s really upbeat, very high energy, and the audience will get sucked into it,” she said.

Glennon, a theater arts major, is happy to get involved with the plays in any way, but this one seemed particularly interesting to audition for.

“It is a period piece with different dialect, and the guest director seemed interesting to work with,” she said.

Glennon explained that the actual acting in this play should be very good, and the end result is always her favorite part of working on a performance.

“Afterwards, when people believed your performance, believed that you were really the character you were portraying, when it actually moves people – that is the best part,” she said.

It will run from Wednesday, Nov. 18 until Sunday, Nov. 22.

“Sweet Charity,” the third play, will take place in the spring of 2010. It was created after the movie in the 1970s, Hollis said. It will feature songs such as “Big Spender” and “Rhythm of Life.” Opening night will be Wednesday, March 31.

“Who’s Life is It Anyway?” will be the fourth and final play of the school year, and will open the first week of May.

Hollis explained that it is a serious play about a man who gets into a car accident and becomes completely immobile. His brain is completely fine, but his body is completely useless. He is confined to his bed for the rest of his life, and wants to die.

“I was hoping that some classes could make this last play a part of their course curriculum by being required to come see it, like a Humanities class,” said Hollis.

According to Hollis, plays are chosen according to four specific criteria: Will they be able to cast them? Would anyone come see them? Is it a play with a large cast, so more students can be involved? Is it an overall good play?

Hollis said this year’s plays are all very different from one another. “It’s like ingredients in a cake,” he said.

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

Beth Amodeo’s production of “Call Me Goliath” created curiosity inside and outside of the FDU community. The Barn’s small theater barely held all the people who attended the last performance on March 11.

Amodeo, who wrote “Call Me Goliath,” is a theater, creative writing, and English literature senior who started this play as a sophomore.

“I am by no means finished with this play…and there have been quite a few rewrites of it since then. It’s taken a lot of time to make it ready for any type of performance,” she said.

“Call Me Goliath” is Amodeo’s senior writing project.

The play is about two brothers, Stanley and Liam, who were abandoned by their parents due to Liam’s uncontrollable mental illness. Stanley, the older of the two, dreams of going to college and making something of himself. Liam, who has an incredible talent for playing piano, has delusions and flashbacks of his parents coming back and talking to him.

Throughout the play, Liam asks Stanley’s live-in girlfriend to call him Goliath. It’s very clear that Liam hates her, and he keeps plotting her departure by telling her that Stanley beats him. Goliath is presented as his other personality, the one that brings out the bad in him, and in all of the characters.

The play ends with Stanley’s girlfriend shooting Liam (from what the audience can assume), in an act of desperation.

“It was a wonderful experience being in ‘Call Me Goliath’ because it is such a captivating and intelligently written play,” said student Angeline-Rose Troy, who played Stanley and Liam’s mother, Theresa.

“The character of Theresa is such a conflicted woman who plays many roles in her day to day life: mother, caregiver, wife, lover,” said Troy.

In the play, Theresa is flustered and often at a loss for what to do. She is also seen with the gun that eventually kills Liam.

After the play, Amodeo, the cast and the director all collected on stage for a 15-minute “talk back” where the audience got to ask any questions and give criticism if they wanted. Discussion about the characters ensued, including who exactly the main character was, Stanley or Liam.

“It’s mostly Stanley’s story, but you could make the argument that its Liam’s too. It’s really up for interpretation,” said Amodeo.

The interpretation line kept coming up in all the answers and quickly became a joke between cast and audience.

Although Amodeo doesn’t plan on writing another play to be produced at FDU, she feels broadened by the experience.

“This entire journey has been a really spiritual process for me. I don’t believe that art happens by accident or that writing this play was all about me and the crazy ideas that pop out of my own head,” she said.

“Honestly, writing this play has taught me a lot about listening and being open to the impossible.”

ANGELA SPARANDERA
Assistant Editor