|
[To view photos of shows, click
|
Renee Taylor made her Hampton debut this season (1963 15TH SEASON) … at the time she was best remembered for her work on the Perry Como and Jack Paar shows. Since then, she and her husband, Joe Bologna have written plays, acted on stage together, and she is remembered for a myriad of screen roles. This was also Richard Kneeland’s first Hampton season. Richard was a very handsome and talented actor from Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, RI. He worked for several seasons with the Hampton company, turning in many wonderful, memorable performances. Company members and local talents featured this season included Peter Bailey, Dan Olin, Steven Levi, Karen Monko, Eric Shugaar, Jeff Blake, Barrie O’Brien, Sonny Spiller, Froncine Yagoda, Rebecca Callahan, and Technical Director Bob Jeffords.
Dick Kennedy remembers … “The funniest incident … was during the opening night party of THE HOSTAGE. The play was well received and so we had a very gala celebration (including very loud singing). At about three in the morning, I found myself freshening up my drink on Maddy’s summer porch when the police entered through the back door. One of the officers asked me ‘My Gawd, Mister Kennedy, don’t you think this party is getting too rowdy for this time of the morning?’ I replied that I thought it was and then I asked them the following question: ‘Did you ever get the guy off the roof?’ Pandemonium broke loose. The cops were running around shouting things like, ‘What guy on the roof?’ Louis Beachner approached one officer and advised him … ‘wipe off your bayonet, you’ve killed enough!’ It seems that one of our apprentices had climbed onto the roof of Maddy’s house earlier that night and was threatening to jump to his death. Since it was doubtful that he would have died from such a meager height, the revellers got bored with trying to coax him down after about half an hour, and went back inside the house to resume their festivities. The fire department came and rescued the dissident from the roof and the party dissolved shortly thereafter.
Bob Jeffords remembers … “The greatest challenge for me as stage manager was the last two minutes of THE HOSTAGE. As I recall, there were 173 cues in those last two minutes.”