1776!

1976

My first "adult" show at Genesius.

Ross Ringler and I were Leather Aprons. A Leather Apron is a non-speaking role and there is usually only one, however, it was a large, complicated set (by Joe Kubala) with many moving parts, and so, two Leather Aprons to do the grunt work.

Two particular memories: One, Fred Swavely's character ate during the entire show. Every weekend, a whole turkey would be roasted to be used as a prop. This turkey was used all weekend. It sat backstage all weekend. Unrefrigerated. By the end of the weekend, it was a pretty ghastly thing.

Fred did not eat that turkey. He had turkey breast specially cooked for him.

Two, during the show, the date changes with each new scene. The dates were painted on 8 x 10 fiberboard and hung off a peg on the ballotting panel. This panel rotated to become a window wall in the Jefferson's (Thomas and Martha, not George and Louise) apartment.

Invariably, even when exercising the utmost care, some of these date cards would fall off the peg and onto your (my) head. If you were in a hurry and forgot to be careful, almost all would fall.

They were not light.

It was, however, an amazing show.