CHARISMA AND CHUTZPAH
Somewhere in the mid to late 1970’s I decided I would like to try my hand at directing. The only problem, I had never directed a show professionally, although I had directed several shows in college and high school. I was in my twenties and had the confidence that only comes with the young and naïve – did not have a clue about how much I did not know. To make a long story short, one day in the Spring of 1977 I was on the M104 bus heading uptown when I ran into my old mentor/friend Del Brownlee from my apprentice days at Melody Fair in North Tonawanda, New York. I knew she was affiliated with a producer of a small theatre near her hometown, so I boldly asked her, if the producer. Norma Bruce needed any directors for the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta she was producing that summer. I made as if I were an experienced director already, but Del must have realized how green I was. However, she said she would speak to the producer about me. Now at that point I had been in possession of my Equity card since 1971, and had performed in a variety of musicals and operettas. I understood the genre but had a lot to learn. In any event, Del soon set up an interview with me with Ms. Bruce. I spoke with incredible bravura, and I made much of the fact that I had performed in several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, not the least of which was THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in a principal role. In addition I had roles in New York in both PATIENCE and RUDDIGORE. I also had several large musical packages including the STUDENT PRINCE and was to tour that summer with Roberta Peters in THE MERRY WIDOW (in which I wound up understudying several roles). I made as if I had ample directing experience as well (a bit of a white lie). Well, Norma Bruce hired me for her SINGERS’ THEATRE for the grand fee of $350.00, and the rest is history. I had my first professional directing gig and we opened IOLANTHE in August of that year in a lovely little outdoor theatre. I talked myself into that job with charisma and chutzpah. My boldness paid off. I did a creible job and I really fell in love with Gilbert and Sullivan and it was the first of many, many operettas to come.