[NEohioPAL] Canal Fulton Players- Personal Thanks to Mary Mahoney, Cast and Crew

[dvangaasbe at aol.com]

Personal Thank You from David Van Gaasbeek
 
 The curtain came down on Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys on December  20, 
2009.  This production, which was presented at the Community  Connections 
Theatre, started in late October, 2009, and continued non-stop  either in the 
artistic area or the production area from that date to its last  performance. 
 At the end, over twenty people were involved as either a  cast, stage 
crew, production staff, and/or directorial member.  Through  everyone’s efforts, 
The Sunshine Boys was seen by 207 people over a six night  time period.
 
 Major thanks goes to Director Mary Mahoney, who was doing her first  
directorial with this play.  Mary worked exceptionally hard with a cast of  eight 
people to produce a play about two old vaudevillians, who are attempting  
one last hurrah.  Her work was exceptional with the cast and this producer  
is exceptionally grateful for her efforts in producing a very good 
presentation  of this play.  Her work also allowed this producer to free up his time 
and  concentrate on building a portable stage which enhanced the atmosphere 
at  Community Connections.  Also, her ability in informing this producer of a 
 possible opportunity for the theatre to expand was greatly appreciated and 
 spawned a meeting with several people in the community who wish to expand 
the  arts in Canal Fulton.  
 
 Mary’s understanding of the outer and inner conflict experienced by  the 
main characters of the play made this production more than just a slap stick  
comedy.  It was an exploration of the actions of two men who know that time 
 has passed them by but are not yet ready to accept the inevitable, which 
is that  it is time to pass the torch to a new generation.  Not only did the  
audiences leave laughing but they also left discussing the very issue that  
confronts all of us, aging.
 
 Mary’s exuberance and enthusiasm brought a great deal out of the  cast, 
which gave very multidimensional characterizations to the audiences.   Even 
the caricature, Nursey Nurse, performed very brilliantly by Sarah Price,  was 
presented as a character and not as a passing fantasy.  Mary’s work was  
outstanding in this area.
 
 On the whole, this was an excellent first time effort by a person who  had 
never directed a play prior to this one.  This producer thanks Mary for  
all of her work and effort and wishes her the best of luck in all of her 
future  endeavors. 
 
 As for the cast, this producer had to walk a fine line for the first  time 
in the entire history of the Canal Fulton Players.  For twenty one  
productions, this producer was also the artistic director and had close  
relationships with the actors and actresses that he directed.  This was the  first 
time that he was not the artistic director, which meant he had to let the  
director do her job without interference from the producer.  Thus, this  
producer kept his distance from the actors as much as possible.  Even a  simple 
statement of “Good job” could cause a problem between an actor and the  
director, especially if the producer did not know all of the facts that occurred  
between the two.
 
 Now that the play is done, my hat is off to Steve Ryan who gave an  
absolutely wonderful performance as Willie Clark, the man who held a grudge  
against his co-star simply because the co-star retired eleven years  before.  
Steve was absolutely on point with his rage over being forced into  retirement 
by Al Lewis’ retirement since Willie and Al were a team for forty  three 
years.  Steve managed to give Willie that lovable feature in which  the 
character may not be very likeable but you could not wait to see him get  back on 
stage.  Many thanks to Steve for his efforts in presenting a  tremendous 
performance.
 
 The same can be said for Ken Hehmeyer’s wonderful presentation of Al  
Lewis, the man who realized eleven years prior that he was losing it and decided 
 to bow out gracefully, not realizing that he was also retiring Willie.   
Ken’s low key performance was the perfect contrast to Willie’s rage.  It is  
not hard to believe that Ken, who never acted prior to 2008, has presented 
some  of the most memorable characters that have graced our stage.  His hard 
work  and willingness to grow as an actor makes him very easy to direct and 
a valuable  asset to this theatre group.
 
 And what can be said about Matt King, who at the age of twenty two,  had 
everybody believing that he was thirty two with two children and a  mortgage. 
 Matt is an excellent upcoming actor who has given some great  moments on 
stage.  His efforts have been greatly appreciated and there is  not doubt 
that his hard work is going to pay off in the future.
 
 The remainder of the cast was equally good.  Josh Rowe was a  delight as 
Eddie, the beleaguered television assistant.  Even though he was  on stage 
for a short period of time, Josh’s reactions to the constant feuding of  
Willie and Al and the tyrannical authority of the unseen director caused comic  
delight.  The same can be said of Sarah Price, who humanized a caricature  
and made that caricature  something more than window dressing.    Irene White, 
who played the Nurse, who cared for Willie after he is taken ill,  was 
greatly understated and when she had to show the rash of anger to Willie, it  
caught the audience by surprise.  And last but not least, Duane Acker, who  
mystified all of us, by traveling a great distance to appear for a grand total 
 of thirty five seconds on stage as the Man in the Doctor’s sketch, gave a  
memorable performance.  There is no doubt that two lines and thirty five  
seconds can have a great impact on a play.  Duane’s efforts are greatly  
appreciated.
 
 Behind the scenes were the efforts of Ken, Josh, Duane, Matt, Gary  
Nelson, Gary Linknes, George Dorer, Jon Neumann, Ray Olivera, Jack Yoak, Ron  
Martin, Sue Martin, Karl Blanding, Joanne Ballbach, Carol Van Gaasbeek, Kathy  
Orlando, Jamie Orlando, Lisa Van Gaasbeek, Josh’s numerous friends, Rick 
White,  and the staff of Community Connections.  Ken, Josh, and Jack spent three 
 Saturdays hanging off a ladder placing hooks into the ceiling so we could 
hang  drapes and curtains from the ceiling to the floor in an effort to kill 
the echo  which had hindered casts in previous productions.  Matt spent 
time along  with Josh and his friends hanging those drapes and curtains so the 
theatre no  longer had an echo.  Further, Gary Nelson and George worked hard 
to get the  lighting in a position so shadows disappeared and to anchor the 
doors which were  very much a part of the play.  Duane was involved in the 
voice over  prepared by Mary Mahoney and in the preparation of the actors’ 
photo board which  stood next to the box office at every production.  Gary 
Liknes, Ray  Olivera, Gary Nelson, and George Dorer spend hours building six 
four feet by  eight feet by thirteen inch platforms which were used as the 
portable stage  extension.  This was done to improve all site lines that the 
audiences  had.  One of the biggest problems that we encountered in previous  
productions was the inability of some of the audiences not being able to 
see  everything.  This portable stage solved that problem.  
 
 As for the box office and the concession stands, there is no doubt  that 
the efforts of Carol, Kathy, Jamie, Joanne, and Rick and his staff made the  
stay of the audiences at Community Connections an enjoyable experience.   
One of Rick’s staff members, Ron White, was very helpful in making sure that 
all  of the facilities were clean.  The Community Connections’ staff 
themselves  moved a considerable amount of the tables and chairs, which are used by 
the  clients of Community Connections during the weekdays, for performances 
making  life easier for the crew that assembled the theatre every Friday  
afternoon.
 
 As for directing and parking the patrons’ cars, the efforts of Ron,  Karl 
and Jack were greatly appreciated.  Karl went so far as to donate  flood 
lights that lit the signs that directed patrons to this new site for our  
productions.  These men never complained about standing in cold weather for  
forty five minutes to an hour making sure that all patrons were directed to the  
correct site.
 
 A production is a team effort.  Everyone performs a task that  makes the 
productions live.  One of my favorite Biblical characters is the  Apostle 
Paul, who I am convinced predated the philosophies of Vince Lombardi,  Red 
Auerbach, David Merrick, Steven Spielberg and Pat Riley.  There is no  “I” in 
team according to Paul and these fine gentlemen.  As can be seen  from the 
efforts of Mary Mahoney right down to Ron White, this production was a  
success because everyone performed their duties and talents in concert.   The 
Canal Fulton Players are a small but growing theatre troupe in Northern  Stark 
County.  We are looking for people who want to make theatre and the  arts 
grow in the Greater Stark, Summit and Wayne Counties area.  
 
 As the New Year approaches, this producer wants to thank everyone who  
made this particular production a success.  There is no doubt that with the  
cooperation that was exhibited in this production that the remainder of the  
productions of this season’s schedule and for upcoming years will be highly  
successful.
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