The Cemetery Club
by Ivan Menchell
Produced by Weathervane Playhouse, June 2009.
Cast
Doris .... Dawn Farrell
Ida .... Angela Palazzolo
Lucille .... Ellie Unger
Sam .... Dennis Kohler
Mildred .... Barb Helwig
Crew
Director .... Matthew Trombetta
Stage Manager .... Kelsey Rudiger
Sound Designer .... Tony Tambasco
Scenic Designer .... Adam Liston
Costume Designer .... Tory Depew
Lighting Designer .... Brian B. Moore
Properties Manager .... Meghan Chandler
It is tempting to think of The Cemetery Club as a play about coming to terms with death, but I prefer to think of it as a play about coming to terms with life. Doris and Lucille both live on the extremities of grief, while Ida, Sam, and Mildred all seem to be trying to come to find a middle road. It would be all too easy for the characters of The Cemetery Club to be too grounded in types to emerge as characters, but Matthew Trombetta prevents this nicely in his direction of the play. Rather than psychological extremes, he directs his cast to ground themselves in a world that they've lost, and variously remember fondly, try to re-create, or can't let go of.
Since the past itself, and the deceased spouses of the characters, figure so prominently into the work of the cast, I wanted to create a soundscape that would help realize that environment. Drawing heavily on the works of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and other standards, my sound design helped to make present the summer-time of the lives of The Cemetery Club's characters.
(hide)