Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia continued a long-standing tradition by taking to the stage Friday night in Curtain Call's 20th Annual Summer Youth Theatre presentation of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND. His appearance at the end of Act I of this musical set in the Caribbean was greeted by wild applause from the sold-out crowd at Curtain Call's Kweskin Theatre.
Playing "Mayor Mike" - not too much of a stretch - he entered the stage to help the leading lady of the play, TiMoune, played by Talia Robinson. In this classic retelling of The Little Mermaid story, (that has a touch of Romeo and Juliet thrown in), island girl TiMoune is chided for her love of a rich white boy, Daniel, played by Sean Ormond.
Mayor Mike promised to help her find her way past the locked gates and into the heart of Daniel by traveling The Urban Transit Way. And, with the help of the Gatekeeper - his old friend Sandy Goldstein - TiMoune was sure to win the hearts of those living on the other side of the gates, even if they are Democrats.
The brief scene, written by Curtain Call's executive director Lou Ursone, was peppered with a few other light political jabs, but Pavia, in his first Curtain Call appearance, came off looking like a pro. "I love writing these scenes each year and our young artists love the chance to meet and work with the mayor," Ursone said. "Going back to my years in youth theater, Stamford mayors have participated so it's great to see this tradition continue," he added. Since Curtain Call began its program 20 years ago, each summer has featured a cameo by the sitting mayor.
Curtain Call offers this unique summer program free of charge to participants. "Our Summer Youth Theater program allows students age 10 - 21 to learn by doing...not only on stage ...but in all areas of the production, said Ursone. This year, support from GenRe and UBS helped underwrite the costs associated with providing nearly 100 hours of program time per student. Additional support comes from The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism as well as from State Farm Insurance Agent, Maria Ordonez. All Curtain Call programs are in presented in cooperation with The City of Stamford.
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. It has been voted Fairfield County’s BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 in the Annual Readers’ Poll of The Fairfield County Weekly and BEST PERFORMING ARTS GROUP by Stamford Plus magazine for 2008, 2009 and 2010.
