When I entered NHSTC in the fall of 1957, I auditioned for the fall production at NHSTC, Moliere's The Would-Be Invalid (better known as The Imaginary Invalid). I got the part of Beralde, the brother of the invalid. It was a fairly large role. I had run into Fred Way in the cafeteria. Fred had just graduated from North Haven High and had been in Annie, Get Your Gun with me there, so I talked him into auditioning as well.
Others in the cast of The Imaginary Invalid included another freshman, Stetson Blake, as the invalid, Terry Germanese, a very attractive junior, as his maid, and Lorraine George, still another freshman, as his daughter--Fred was cast as Lorraine's suitor. The drama club at NHSTC was called The Crescent Players and their advisor and the director of most of their plays was Dr. Robert E. Kendall ("Dr. K"), a tall gentle balding man with a smile on his face most of the time and a fringe of gray hair around his bald spot.
In December, 1958, I played Ford in the Crescent Players' production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
1 a.m., Dec. 13: All good things must come to an end. Tonight, for all intents and purposes, ends one of the most hectic and wonderful months of my life. We put on The Merry Wives of Windsor tonight and it was great. I feel exhausted and sorry things are over. I wonder just how Sandy and Judy feel about me. Doubtless, Fred and Bess are mad after the way I "snubbed" them after the play. I'm sure that I'm back in the good graces of Henry Coe and Lorraine George. Life is beautiful. It's a shame the play's over. What a hectic, wonderful life. Why must it come to an end?
Dec. 14: Well, it's all over. Yesterday afternoon's performance of The Merry Wives was a bigger farce back stage than it was on, but somehow we covered up all our goofs and no one was the wiser. I forgot both my props, the money bag and keys, and am proud of myself for covering them up. Afterwards, Sandy and I ate at Jimmy's at the Rock. The evening performance was fabulous, with my expression and intonations getting several laughs, Scene V coming off riotously, and the audience loving Henry Coe. Harriet Fried was scared to be initiated at the cast party but she was, along with me, Sandy, and
Marilyn Levine et al. I spent much of the eve with Judy Pocoski while Sandy spent it with some other kids she knew. Afterwards we went over to Judy's and Harriet's for coffee and stuck around till around 5.
In the spring of 1959, I played my one lead, Pat Farley in Hotel Universe. For this play, I learned to play guitar again for a song at the beginning, "Le roi a fait battre tambours." Mr. Diers helped me work out the chords for it. The guitar cost me $15, which was cheap even then.
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