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In The Spotlight The TheatreWorks e-Newsletter |
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| Volume 08 / Number 7 | Click Here if you are unable to view this email. | April 15, 2008 |
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Casting Call for Tennessee Williams’ TheatreWorks New Milford is seeking two men, ages 20-35, and five women, ages 20-65, for its upcoming 50th anniversary production of the searing Tennessee Williams drama, Suddenly Last Summer. The story centers on the events of the previous summer, when Sebastian Venable replaced his Mother, Violet, with young, sensual cousin Catharine as his traveling companion. It was on Catharine’s watch that Sebastian died and she cannot forget how — and why — it happened. In a fierce attempt to keep the light of truth from exposing a mother’s illusions and losing her son yet again, Violet has summoned a young neurosurgeon to erase Catharine’s memory of what may well have been the unspeakable truth of last summer. Suddenly Last Summer is under the direction of Joseph Russo of New Milford. The auditions will be held at TheatreWorks: 5 Brookside Ave, just off Route 202 (next to the CVS), in New Milford, CT on Tuesday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 23, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Southern accents are requested. |
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Moonlight and Magnolias
Movies were always first in actor Tom Libonate’s passion for the visual arts. After seeing Dumbo on the big screen at the tender age of four, he felt some act of destiny would result in a career in motion pictures. It’s a passion that is shared equally with David O. Selznick, his onstage persona in Moonlight and Magnolias. “The one crucial aspect of Selznick’s character in this play is his love of ‘the big picture’ in every sense,” Mr. Libonate said. “He lives and breathes the movies and he’s obsessed with creating them. That I can relate to more than anything. I was always a movie guy. I never went to the theater. Ever. Until about seven years ago, I didn’t know squat about it…maybe I still don’t?” he says with a laugh. “I can also relate to the fact that Selznick was nuts,” Mr. Libonate said. “Selznick was known for his infamous obsessive-compulsive memos, one of which ran 30 feet long. When the publicist finally got to the end of the cablegram, Selznick wrote ‘I’ve just received a phone call that pretty much clears up this matter. You can therefore disregard this wire.’ You have to love a maniac like that!” Mr. Libonate never so much as stepped on a stage until December 2000, when he had a 90-second walk-on in A Christmas Carol at the Main Street Theater Company in Woodbury, CT. Moonlight and Magnolias marks Mr. Libonate’s 11th time on stage at TheatreWorks New Milford and his 20th local production. “So, after all these decades I haven’t landed in the movies, but being on stage in a play about one of the greatest films every made…that’s a start, isn’t it?” he added, freely admitting that he had never seen Gone With The Wind “from beginning to end” until this past February. “It was much better than I thought it was going to be…it doesn’t reach the giddy artistic heights of Soylent Green, but hey.” Mr. Libonate celebrated his first appearance in a professional production this past fall in Hartford Stage Company’s production of Our Town, starring Hal Holbrook. “I played the role of Sam Craig…one of the only living people in Act III,” Mr. Libonate said with a grin. “It was a wonderful experience all around and it exposed me to so many other actors and crew who were true professionals in every sense of the word…I’ll never forget it, and I hope it’s not the last time I’ll be able to do it.” By day, Mr. Libonate is a not-so-mild-mannered freelance advertising/marketing/PR strategist and writer who runs his own business, Concept2Copy, LLC (www.Concept2Copy.net). And while the demands of “real work” keep him from working in Hollywood, it won’t ever keep him from auditioning in New Milford. “I’m blessed, truly, to have three dear friends and talented actors on stage with me and so many more working behind the scenes to make Moonlight a reality. I don’t audition for every play – only the ones I believe in. I believe in the humor, history, and hilarity of this little gem, and I really believe that anyone who has even an inkling of what Gone With The Wind is about will find this to be a great show with lots of laughs.” To see Mr. Libonate and this wonderful cast of characters, click here to order your tickets today.
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Legend: Rumor has it that Selznick and Fleming then “kidnapped” screenwriter and script doctor, Ben Hecht, forced him into Selznick’s office for five days, dieting on nothing but peanuts and bananas, until the script was complete. It’s here where the imagination of playwright Ron Hutchison takes over as he asks the audience, “What might have happened in Selznick’s office during those five days?” For the answer, 
