Entertainment
Norwalk legislator returns to Congress
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Sep 10, 2010 - 11:58 AM

PICTURED HERE ON THE SET OF 1776 AT CURTAIN CALL'S KWESKIN THEATRE ARE (Left to Right) MICKEY MALLARDI AND JOHN ATKIN, BOTH OF NORWALK

After spending 12 years in the Connecticut State Legislature as both a State Representative and a State Senator, John Atkin may have thought his congressional days were behind him...until recently when he was cast a delegate to the Continental Congress in Curtain Call's season opener, 1776!

Atkin plays North Carolina delegate Joseph Hewes - a role vastly different from his congressional service. Whereas Hewes defers all decision-making to his South Carolina colleague, Atkin was a very active and vocal member of the Connecticut Legislature. This Tony Award-winning musical opens the theatre company's 20th anniversary season. It's a truly revolutionary musical that will give you a new appreciation for the faces on our currency.

You'll be an eyewitness to history as Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and others help deliver a newborn nation, the United States of America. But this birth will most certainly be a difficult one. There'll be plenty of behind-the-scenes politicking in the weeks leading up to the final vote on July 4, 1776. You may know how this story turns out, but you’ll still be on the edge of your seat! 1776 is a riveting musical filled with history, humor, romance and even some dance.

"This has always been one of my favorite shows," says Lou Ursone, Curtain Call executive director. "The story is educational, inspirational and one that needs to be told," he added. The fact that the ideas espoused by leaders like Adams, Franklin and Jefferson were not embraced by all the colonies may be a surprise to some audiences. "Many probably don't realize how close we came to NOT declaring independence," Ursone said. The debate over slavery, which waged for almost another 100 years, all but derailed efforts to free the colonies from Great Britain.

The play begins in May 1776 and tracks the debate among the delegates leading up to the drafting - and eventual signing - of the Declaration of Independence. The book is by Peter Stone with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Portions of the dialogue and some of the song lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants of the Second Continental Congress and/or their spouses, as is the case with John and Abigail Adams.

This season opener for Curtain Call is directed and choreographed, respectively, by Ridgefield residents Gordon Casagrande and Karen Casagrande. They have both worked on the show several times and have a great love for the material. Other members of the production team include music director Peter Randazzo of Trumbull; set designer Peter Barbieri, Jr. of Norwalk; costume designer Megan Latte Ormond of Stamford; and lighting designer Aaron Meadow of New York, NY.

This Broadway musical hit is a great way to introduce history to younger members of the family but is also a terrific reminder of how fortunate we are to live in our great nation. John Adams, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson may be just names from a history book to many but they become real in this witty and engaging telling of the birth of our nation.

The cast of 24 men and two women includes, from STAMFORD: John Ashe, Brian Bianco, Randy Bucknoff, Greg Chrzczon, Scott A. Ferrara, Sr., Andy George, Brendan George, Richard Levitt, Sean Ormond, Frank Russo, Ursone, Gail Yudain and Ted Yudain; from NORWALK: Atkin and Mickey Mallardi; from WESTPORT: Marc Hartog and Ryan O'Neil; from FAIRFIELD: Ron Setkowski, from GREENWICH: Steven Michael Joseph Kelly; from BETHEL: Jim Muthersbaugh; from GEORGETOWN: Andrew Morris; from LITCHFIELD: Jonathan Jacobson; from ROWAYTON: Tom Butterworth; from ASTORIA, NY: Haley Bond Petersen; from PORTCHESTER, NY: Peter Green; and from MAMRONECK,NY: Peter Dell Uomo.

(1776 is a co-production with The Darien Arts Center Cabaret and will play there October 15 through 23. For details call 203-655-5414 or go to arts.darien.org)

Tickets are available through the Curtain Call Box Office at 203-461-6358 x33, or online at www.curtaincallinc.com. Tickets are $28 for adults, $20 for Senior Citizens and $14 for children. THRIFTY THURSDAY price: All seats $18. Discounted Flex passes reduce prices by over 25% and are available all year.

Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue in Stamford. Year-round productions and workshops are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre. Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County's BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP 2005 through 2010 in the Annual Readers' Poll of The Fairfield County Weekly as well as BEST LOCAL THEATRE by Stamford Plus magazine for the past three years.

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