SCR/Party Play with Ann Conway

Playwright Donald Margulies and Honorary Producer Laurie Smits Staude

Producing Artistic Director David Emmes, Director Bart DeLorenzo and actor Greg Itzin

Actor Melody Butiu and Elaine Weinberg, center, with Elaine's grandchildren, left and right

ON BOARD FOR 'SHIPWRECKED' BASH
By Ann Conway

Sure, it was the world premiere of a play on the Julianne Argyros Stage by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Donald Margulies. But that didn't keep its star, Gregory Itzin, from assuming the crowd would react like most opening night audiences: "They usually sit on their hands!"

Not SCR First Nighters. They leaped to their feet in rapturous applause for a prolonged standing ovation at the conclusion of Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, the adventure-soaked tales of Louis de Rougement, a Victorian-era free spirit who regaled England with his vivid stories of mishaps and romps on the High Seas.

Julianne Argyros was the first to stand. "Brilliant!" she exclaimed. "The most refreshing, enlightening play I've seen in a very long time!" Her husband, George Argyros, agreed. "Terrific! I've never been shipwrecked, but if I ever am, I've been inspired to tell great stories!"

Mingling with First Nighters on Ela's Terrace after the performance, Itzin complimented the opening night crowd: "They were very nice — engaging! — right from the beginning." How does he do it, perform for 1 ½ hours non-stop (there was no intermission): "I could be coy, but I have to say I'm exhausted!" Itzin confessed. "The sheer physicality of this play!" Not to mention the need to have 90-minutes of script under your belt. "You just beat yourself to a pulp and do it," he said. "But I love this role. The hardest part was having to rehearse without an audience. It's the audience that makes the play come alive."

Margulies called the creation of the play "one of the most joyful experiences I've ever had. The subject matter is such that it reawakens the child in everyone associated with the production."

There was enough 'shipwrecked' atmosphere at the cast party — where director Bart DeLorenzo and co-stars Melody Butiu and Michael Daniel Cassady also rubbed elbows with the crowd — to kindle any kid's imagination: tables spread with cloths in vibrant hues of marine blue; scattered seashells; weathered buoys; coral branches; orchids; and island-themed fare that ranged from fresh oysters on the half shell with Tabasco jelly to rib-eye tenders splashed with coconut sauce.

Perhaps no one was more ecstatic at the Sept. 28 launch than the play's Honorary Producer, Laurie Smits Staude. "Donald Margulies is a national treasure," she said. "His language is so incredible. This play is gong to be part of the annals of American literature. It is beautiful and we at SCR are so lucky to get to be the world-premiere producers!"

Gail Doe, Playwright Donald Margulies, Joan Kaloustian	Andy Johnson, Mike and Denise Moon, Associate Artistic Director John Glore
Honorary Producer Laurie Smits Staude and actor Greg Itzin	Director Bart DeLorenzo, Marc Levin, Linda Maggard, Teri Kennady, actor Melody Butiu, Eric Hyman
Mary Ann Brown, Rick Reiff, Gloria Zigner, Lois Augustine	Dennis and Joanne Keith, Rita and Gordon Fishman
Bette Aitken, actor Michael Daniel Cassady, Olivia Johnson	Wylie Aitken, playwright Donald Margulies
Phoebe and Bob Lambeth, Bob and Elizabeth Plumleigh	Beth Jaeger and Richard Reisman
Actor Melody Butiu and director Bart DeLorenzo	Shipwrecked-themed spread by Mark's Catering