Once in a Lifetime
March 29th – April 8th, 2018
by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart
This is the rollicking tale of three down and out vaudeville troupers who decide to head for Hollywood and try their luck with the newly invented “talking” pictures. Dubbed “a delicious Hollywood send up” (The New York Times) and “a Tinseltown satire with bite” (Newsday), Once in a Lifetime is a fast paced and witty satire of Hollywood by the Broadway luminaries behind such comedy classics as ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ and ‘You Can’t Take It with You’.
The satirical comedy focuses on the effect talking pictures have on the entertainment industry. When the New York City vaudevillean team of Jerry Hyland, May Daniels, and George Lewis find themselves in a faltering vaudeville act, they decide to head west and present themselves as elocution experts in the hope someone will hire them to train actors unaccustomed to speaking on screen. On the train they meet gossip columnist Helen Hobart, who introduces them to megalomaniac film mogul Herman Glogauer when they arrive in Hollywood.
The trio’s misadventures include encounters with Lawrence Vail, a New York City playwright driven to distraction and eventually a sanatorium by studio bureaucracy and a lack of work to keep him busy; silent screen beauties Phyllis Fontaine and Florabel Leigh, whose voices sound like nails on a blackboard; two pages in 18th-century dress who periodically arrive carrying placards with announcements about Glogauer’s latest doings; a ditzy receptionist who wears an evening gown to work; and aspiring actress (and proverbial dumb blonde) Susan Walker and her chaperoning stage mother.
George Lewis ………………………………………………………………. Austin Allison
May Daniels …………………………………………………………….. Taryn Holzhauer
Jerry Hyland ………………………………………………………….. Alexander Juliano
Helen Hobart, Gossip Critic ……………………………………. Emily Szymanski
Susan Walker, Aspiring Starlet …………………………………….. Chloe Mastro
Mrs. Walker, Starlet’s Mother …………………………………… Michelle Hakes
Herman Glogauer, Studio Head ……………………………….. Harry Rothman
Miss Leighton, Receptionist …………………………………………….. Amy Elkins
Florabel Leigh, Film Starlet…………………………………………. Colleen Boylan
Phyllis Fontaine, Film Starlet …………………………………… Laura Carpenter
Lawrence Vail, Frustrated Writer …………………………….. Eric Schweitzer
Rudolph Kammerling, German Director …………………….. Kurt F. Gawlik
Assorted Characters played by:
Nathan Daugherty (Headwaiter/Truckman)
Patrick Eland (Hotel Worker/Leading Man/Studio Executive)
Skylar Jay (Cigarette Girl/Student/Secretary/Bridesmaid)
David Malloy (Porter/Sign Painter/Studio Executive/Stagehand)
Jonah Mastro (Shorter Bellboy/Page)
Graham Mastro (Taller Bellboy/Page)
John Muehl (Hotel Worker/Bishop/Studio Executive)
Kristen Powell (Hat Check Girl/Student/ Bridesmaid)
Understudy for Girls: Sarah Rowell
Artistic Director/Designer………………………………………… Jason Fortner
Stage Manager/Set Builder ……….…………………….………. Gabe O’Reilly
Set Painter/Lighting Operator …………………..…………………… Liz Werlin
Additional Set Help ………Debbie Burridge, Margaret Boylan, Donna Mastro,
Graham Mastro, Chloe Mastro, Jonah Mastro, Traven Goettl, Guaire McCabe
Stage Crew ……………………………….……… Sarah Rowell, Guaire McCabe
Lighting Design …………………………………………….……………….. Andy Rufo
Music ………………………………………………………..……………… Jason Fortner
Costumes …………………………….……… Colleen Boylan, Margaret Boylan
Props/Dressing ……………………………………….…………………….. FWP Staff
Box Office …………………………………………Elizabeth Lott, Deborah Black
Publicity/Marketing/Website ……………………..……. Nathan Daugherty
Social Media ………………………………………………..…………. Colleen Boylan
House Manager …………………………………….……….…………. Nancy Russo