[NEohioPAL] The Patron Saint of Local Theater

[Bob Abelman]

The patron saint of local theater

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This article, one in a series of profiles of local theater personalities,

appeared in the Times papers 6/18/09

 

When theatergoers take their seats, lost in the anticipation of an evening of live entertainment, so much around them goes unnoticed or underappreciated.

 

There are the carefully crafted but rarely read director's notes buried in the playbill.  There's the near-invisible outline of thespian masks meticulously hand-woven into the fabric of burgundy stage curtains.  And there's Larry in the first row.

 

Partake in repertory performances by The Great Lakes Theater Festival.  Subscribe to professional productions by the Cleveland Play House.  Attend community shows by the Hudson Players or summer stock at Rabbit Run.  There, overlooked and innocuous, you will find Larry-the patron saint of local theater-sitting in the first row. 

 

To say that Larry loves theater is an understatement.  It is his primary passion and his most fulfilling pleasure.  It does not define him, but theater most certainly completes him.

 

Larry is an advocate.  He is an adoring admirer of the arts with the finely tuned, discerning eye of a professional critic.  He is equally appreciative of equity performers and earnest amateurs, is unabashedly open to theater in all its many manifestations, and greets every production as if it was his first.  "We are always happy to have Larry in the audience," says Tom Neff, president of the board at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.  "He brings exuberance to the occasion."

 

Larry is an innocent.  He is astoundingly unaware or unconcerned that he is the only man at Menopause: The Musical, the only octogenarian attending children's theater, and the only straight man in the audience of an all-gay revue.   There's Larry in the front row-the only Caucasian Jew at a Karamu Theatre production of Black Nativity. 

 

Larry has not only had a lifetime of theatergoing experience, but he has had it in the Mecca of American Theater during its heyday.  A resident of Beachwood with family in Chagrin Falls, he grew up in the melting pot of New York City during the 1930s and 1940s surrounded by vaudeville houses off of Time Square, Yiddish theater on the lower east side, small-scale "Straw Hat" circuit productions on Long Island and upstate, and grand Broadway shows that claimed the likes of Lunt and Fontaine, Ethel Merman and Mary Martin.  

 

With a little prodding, Larry will recall 60-year-old performances as if they were yesterday and recount yesterday's performances with specificity and perspective.   

 

With no prodding whatsoever, he is more than happy to share that perspective with the stranger in the seat next to him, with the usher minding her own business during intermission, and with the startled guy standing at the next urinal.

 

He chats with directors before performances.  He chats with the actors afterwards.  "Larry is very social," notes Lakeland Community College theater director Martin Friedman, with genuine affection. "He is never shy about giving me his input about the show he has just seen.  Whether or not he enjoyed the play, I know that he appreciated the effort."

 

Larry admits that his affinity for the first row may stem from only being able to afford seats in the back rows of theaters when he was a youngster.  However, he quickly sweeps away such sentimentality.  Mostly, he wants to get as close to the action as possible to feel as much a part of the production as possible.  "The actors are putting their hearts and souls into their performances," explains Larry, who has never, himself, performed.  "You really only get to see that up close."  

 

Larry's love of theater goes beyond performance.  His fascination with the creative process takes him to theater appreciation classes at Cuyahoga Community College and, when invited, productions in progress.  Director Fred Sternfeld recalls that "Larry sat in on a few rehearsals of my most recent play just to see how a show gets developed. Whenever I looked over at him he seemed entranced, like a kid in a candy store."

 

An advocate.  An innocent.  A social butterfly.  A kid in a candy story.  These are the qualities that define the patron saint of local theater.  

 

When theatergoers take their seats, so much around them goes unnoticed or underappreciated.  Look around.  There are stories to be found on both sides of the proscenium arch.  There's my Dad in the first row.

 

Happy Father's Day, Larry.
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