The Dining Room

THEATER 38
-spring 1993
Back in PA, Adam Gee asked me to do a show with the Pennington Players. He was directing an A.R. Gurney comedy, and told me he would hook me up with his New York agent if i did the show. I said he needn't worry about the agent, as i wasn't keen on them. Gurney was a modern American writer with insight into the WASP lifestyle. I'd read the play, and wanted to do it. It was an ensemble piece in which we all played many characters. Adam's girlfriend Nikki was cast, and so was Chris Arena, Simon from JCS in 1985. It was great to reconnect with him. The third male was Joe Mihalchik, whom i hit it off with wonderfully. Betty Henninger was cast, and it was delightful to finally do some real acting with her. Our final player was a wonderful, gracious human being named Betty Beltz. She was in her late 60s, and we became special friends. We lived a couple miles apart, so we carpooled. She cooked the most incredible meals for me, and shared her life. I did yardwork for her. She gave me a dashiki, and a 1914 Annapolis jacket that had belonged to her husband. The AD was Jon Betzler, who was going off to film school the following fall. He and i became buddies. The cast chemistry was wonderful. My favorite scenes were the one in which i played the aging patriarch whose only real friend is his maid Dora (played by Betty), and the one where the men played Betty's sons, trying to keep her happy as she descends into dementia. We sang "Aura Lee" (the "Love Me Tender" melody) in three-part harmony, and swapped off the harmony parts. One rehearsal i wore my leper costume from JCS (Betty had dared me to do it), and Joe said that buff guys shouln't be allowed to wear costumes like that. We performed in a Pennington church. Such a sweet time.