Act III

I first moved into New York City in 2002. I had a great apartment in Hell's Kitchen. It was there that I wrote Foggy Bottom, which later premiered at the Abingdon Theatre Company, as well as my adaptation of A Christmas Carol done in Saratoga Springs.

Later, when I got married, my beloved didn't want to move into my beautiful Hell's Kitchen apartment. She needed luxury amenities, such as hot AND cold running water. (I always had at least one or the other.) That meant I had to move into her apartment in Harlem at the end of 2012.

Well, during that second act in New York City I wrote Meucci's Message, which premiered on Staten Island. I was also fortunate enough to have my adaptation of Moby-Dick done on Cape Cod and for Detroit Rep to produce my original play Capital. As the years went on, our friends who lived in Harlem moved away and it became time for a new change.

So now I'm beginning Act Three in New York, this time in a co-op apartment in the Bronx. While I can't tell what the future will hold, theatre does seem to be coming back as the pandemic recedes. My play Kew Gardens couldn't be performed live earlier this year, but you can watch it on YouTube.

Kew Gardens begins about an hour and 12 minutes into the video, but it's well worth watching to see Sienna Thorgusen play Kitty. Enjoy!

Performance Time Announced for Meucci's Message

It's official! Sundog Theatre Company will be giving a special performance of scenes from my play Meucci's Message this Saturday at 2:30 in the Courthouse of Historic Richmond Town.

If you missed the play this summer, Meucci's Message tells the story of Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant who did pioneering work on the electronic transmission of sound--all in a tiny basement workshop on Staten Island.

Sundog commissioned the play, which is written in the form of a live radio drama, complete with music and sound effects. The Borough President's office asked Sundog to present excerpts from the play this weekend as part of "Rome Through Richmond Town," a celebration of Italian-American culture.

Historic Richmond Town is a living museum located right in the center of Staten Island. This Saturday, admission will be free from noon to five so all can come attend the event. There will be music, food, and plenty of entertainment on hand.

Our performance will be in the Courthouse, which is fairly easy to find, so be there at 2:30 on Saturday as Antonio Meucci comes to life once more!

A Brief Return for Antonio Meucci

On October 11th, Sundog Theatre Company will be performing excerpts from my play Meucci's Message at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island.

If you've never been to Historic Richmond Town, it's a wonderful place to visit. It is a living museum that consists of some of the most historic buildings in New York City, most of which have been moved to the site to preserve them.

Much like Greenfield Village in Michigan and Skansen in Sweden, Historic Richmond Town combines a whole village of historic buildings with costumed interpreters who help bring the sprawling complex alive for visitors.

Saturday, October 11th, this living museum will host a celebration of Italian culture called "Rome Through Richmond Town." Admission is free, and in addition to scenes from Meucci's Message, there will be music, food, and various demonstrations and exhibits.

For more information, go here:

Historic Richmond Town

Sundog Theatre Company, which produced Meucci's Message this summer at Casa Belvedere, will be bringing the cast back for this very special presentation, which will honor Antonio Meucci, one of the most remarkable Italian Americans to have ever lived on Staten Island. If you missed the show, here's your chance to see at least some of it.

Hope to see you on the Island!

Last Chance to Hear Meucci's Message

My play Meucci's Message closes tomorrow, Sunday June 29th, at Casa Belvedere on Staten Island, so you have only one chance left to see this delightful production by Sundog Theatre.

The Staten Island Advance ran a review of the show, which you can read here:

Sundog makes good on sad story of Antonio Meucci

The reviewer has special praise for director Richard Grunn, and for Nate Ullrich, who provides live sound effects for the "radio drama" being performed as the framing device of the story. He also lauded the performances of Frank Nigro, who plays the Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci, for Nikki Lauren, who plays his wife Esther, and for Ritty Mahoney, who plays a host of different characters including the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi.

The production is in the historic Casa Belvedere, an old mansion recently restored to be an Italian-American cultural center. It's a wonderful venue for a very fun show. For more information, check out Sundog's website here:

Sundog Theatre

Advance Publicity for Meucci's Message

My play Meucci's Message opens this Saturday at Casa Belvedere on Staten Island. Sundog Theatre is doing a great job with the show, which features Frank Nigro as the Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci. Nikki Lauren, one of my favorite actors, play's Meucci's wife Esther. I've also had the pleasure of working with Earl Gatchalian, Ritty Mahoney, and Emma Myers, three talented actors I met for the first time on this show.

What's most fun is that the piece is being performed as an old-fashioned radio program, exquisitely directed by Richard Grunn, who has staged and recorded a number of radio dramas in the past. We have two foley artists providing live sound effects for the audience. It's great fun.

Staten Island's newspaper the Advance recently ran an article about the piece. You can read it here:

THE ADVANCE

Tickets are only $20, in part due to funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The venue is the magnificent Casa Belvedere, a mansion originally built in 1908, and now an Italian-American cultural center.

The play is at 8:00 on June 21st and 26th, and at 3:00 on June 29th. I hope you can make it! For more information go here:

SUNDOG THEATRE

A Message From Antonio Meucci

Last night, the crew of the Pequod encountered Moby-Dick on the June Havoc stage of the Abingdon Theatre Company as part of the theatre's Sunday Series. We hope to have Moby-Dick back before too long, so stay tuned on that front. In the meantime, set your sights on Staten Island, where Sundog Theatre is preparing for the premiere of my latest play: Meucci's Message.

Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci did pioneering work with electricity in the mid-nineteenth century, and he reportedly sent sound messages over electrical wires long before Alexander Bell's famous cry for help to his assistant. In spite of his many contributions to the advancement of technology, Meucci died in obscurity, embroiled in one of the most infamous patent disputes in our nation's history.

Meucci's Message brings the great inventor back to life, leading the audience on a journey from the streets of Florence, to an opera house in Havana, to the sidewalks of New York and a tiny house on Staten Island. It tells Meucci's story of constant struggle, from opposing political tyranny in Italy to standing up to an army of corporate lawyers in a protracted legal battle over who really had the right to say he created something.

Sundog Theatre commissioned Meucci's Message as a radio-play-style drama, and it will be performed that way before a live audience on June 21, 26, and 29th at Casa Belvedere on Staten Island. The performance is supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

For more information and tickets, go to:

Sundog Theatre

http://www.sundogtheatre.org/season-tickets.html