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Theater community gathers to celebrate Wood's career
Well, as it turned out, my hunch was slightly off the mark. A line from "Steel Magnolias" better suits Barry's reaction to the party at Jeremiah's, where no good wish and no heartfelt testimonial went unspoken. That line: "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
"I cried and laughed all night long," said the beloved educator and mentor, now officially retired but not quite used to the change. "The entire event was overwhelming. Forty years of students, parents, administrators, directors, theater people from all over - it was too much to take in. I was very conscious of the fact that few people have the opportunity to be so honored as I was that night."
Tony Award-nominated actress Stephanie D'Abruzzo, a PTHS alumna, sang "The Rainbow Connection" as a nod to Barry's fondness for the whole Muppets family, especially Kermit the Frog.
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Attendees I later heard from described the reception, held on May 30, as "fun," "lovely," "sentimental," "appropriate," "fit for a king" and "mushy, but in a good way."
To Barry, whose only instructions beforehand were to show up and enjoy the festivities, the celebration was at times reminiscent of a Jimmy Stewart movie. And not just any Jimmy Stewart movie. The four decades of teaching English and drama to students who learned from him, trusted him and respected him were, after all, "a wonderful life" from beginning to end.
No one cherished the years more than Barry, who loved the kids as much as he loved the teaching profession itself. But once a director, always a director.
"Wouldn't it be great," he said, "if I could just do it all over again from the top?"
On with the shows
In this space last week, I mentioned two musical revues at the Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret - one honoring Cole Porter, the other honoring George and Ira Gershwin.
The bad news about the one-night-only Porter tribute, originally scheduled for June 5: Producer Gorman Lowe had to postpone "It's De-lightful! It's De-licious! It's Cole Porter!" because of an undisclosed problem behind the scenes.
The good news: Postpone doesn't mean "cancel" in this case, and I've heard that Lowe will re-group Krista Kaley, Sean Flaherty, Carol Wiltman and Eric Thomas in a few weeks, maybe at a different venue. Watch for updates.
For the time being, though, the term "business as usual" sums up the circumstances regarding CLO's much-anticipated Gershwin revue.
Director Ray Roderick and choreographer Vincent Pesce have a cast ready to go for " 'S Wonderful," which opens June 17 and runs through Sept. 5. Courtney Basset, Michael Campayno, Trevor McQueen Eaton, Jessica George and Montaja Simmons will perform up to 50 Gershwin classics, with Kristiann Menotiades and John Wascavage on hand as understudies.
For more information, visit CLOCabaret.com.
Tony fever
Lucky are the Tony Award-watching theatergoers who live amid the splendor and chaos of New York City. On Sunday, a pre-show ("On Stage's Red Carpet to the Tonys") and the entire ceremony will be telecast in Times Square.
The rest of us can enjoy the show at home, starting at 8 p.m., on CBS. The nominees include "American Idiot," "Fela!," "Memphis" and "Million Dollar Quartet" as Best Musical, and "Next Fall," "Red," "Time Stands Still" and "In the Next Room, Or the Vibrator Play" (I'm not kidding) as Best Play.
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