Actors Arrive from NYC, CT, DC, & PA to start rehearsals for Andrew Bergman's "Social Security"

The cast for "Social Security" converged on Cape May amidst considerable drama! Neal Lerner boarded a bus in Manhattan bound for Atlantic City and found himself in the emergency room after a truck hit his bus. After being checked out for a few bumps and bruises he was given a clean bill of health and brought to Cape May for some dinner and a good night's sleep. Lynn and Ron Cohen were coming from the O'Neill Playwright's Center in Connecticut and had to find their way in a rental car to the Atlantic City airport where they were met by Roy Steinberg and driven to their new housing. For Manhattanites more use to taxis than driving they were much relieved to be at their final destination. Andy Prosky had just flown back from San Diego where he was performing and Suzanne O'Donnell just finished a show at the Folger in Washington, D.C. Grace Gonglewski put her daughter to bed and drove late at night from Philadelphia.

The next morning they all met in the glorious home of Victoria Clayton and Rick White for a read through of the play. They were presented with a model of the set by Robert Martin, the designer and shown costumes by Vickie Tryon, the costume designer. After croissants and coffee there was a discussion about the style of the play and the time period. This is a large cast (six characters) for Cape May Stage and logistics about dressing rooms and getting table and mirrors became very important!

Across town in a garage on Lafayette Street a one-man construction team named Nathan Ruffan was building a bar and modern furniture for the show. He had already completed platforms and stage flats to resemble the walls of a modern chic apartment circa 1986. He soon transported those set pieces to the theatre so the actors could rehearse with them. This is the most elaborate set in the history of Cape May Stage. In addition to raising the bar with the talent coming to perform here, Cape May Stage has raised the bar on all production elements.

The first day of rehearsal the first act was blocked. The second day was devoted to act II. The actors were finding the best movement patterns for their characters as the director guided them to make the story clear and point out nuances for them to explore. A photo call was scheduled early in the process before the set was up so arrangements needed to be made to find a location. The costumes were not finalized but nothing could wait so costumes were approximated and the location stood in for the set. That is life in the theatre! Each day the rehearsals get more specific as more elements get added until that opening night on Thursday, July 23! The party is being planned and the seats are selling fast. If it is anything like "Say Goodnight Gracie" there is never an empty seat in the house so order them now. This show is bound to be a sell-out hit!!