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  • SYNOPSIS
  • PLAY MUSIC
  • AWARDS
  • MEET THE WRITER
  • DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
    • MAY 17, 2022 SAVE THE PALACE AT THE PALACE
    • OCTOBER 21, 2021 -THEATRE ROW INDUSTRY READING
  • PRESS & REVIEWS
    • EDDIE AND THE PALACEADES "SAVE THE pALACE" CD IS OUT
  • VIDEOS

SAVE THE PALACE

VIDEO: Pay to Play
VIDEO: This Theater is Condemned
VIDEO: Spread my Wings
VIDEO: Give Me A Little KIss
VIDEO: Bangarang

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MITF PLAYBILL

 

NATIONAL REPORT:  CONNECTICUT, BY CHARLENE DONAGHY

In Connecticut, as in other states, we inspire each other: dramatists like Emma Palzere-rae and Judith Clinton who organize productive writing retreats in southeastern CT, Steven Otfinoski who elevates our dramatist community, William Squier of Curtain Call who was instrumental in bringing together dramatists for our June event, and many more.

Another dramatist who comes to mind is Roy O’Neil who is an inspiration not only in his writing but also in his musical skills and determination to his craft. Roy and I met a few years ago at the Warner Theater where I first heard of his musical Eddie and the Palaceades. The piece was in an early draft but, even back then, the music was infectious and the story universal. And, perhaps more important to our CT dramatists’ community, it is a story born in our state, of our state.

Eddie and the Palaceades is the story of a one hit wonder from the 1960s. He runs for mayor 30 years later to save the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT, where his band got its start and its name.

Somewhere in my romanticized version of this story, the musical premieres at The Palace in Waterbury and, quite frankly, they should snap this up before an NYC theatre steals it.

At the Midtown International Theater Festival it was nominated for nine awards including “Best Musical Production” and “Best Book, Lyrics, and Music”.  At the Manhattan Theater Mission’s New Musicals Showcase it won “Catchiest Song” for “Bangarang,” “Best Comedic Couple,” and “Audience Favorite.”  

The seed and passion for the show sprouts from Roy’s Waterbury, CT hometown. Everything in the show - the band, Palace Theater, crooked politicians, planning and zoning deals, historic architecture, salt of the earth citizens, Italian restaurants, primary elections, write-in campaigns - is traceable back to Waterbury. But the show itself is fiction: what make it a success are the characters and the emotional roller-coaster they each ride from start to finish.

Eddie and the Palaceades is fun and uplifting, with just the right blend of what is worth fighting for in this life, intertwined with love, friendship, and 22 songs that you can’t stop singing. 

A true CT story, written by one of our own, and that, to me, is inspirational for dramatists in every state. 

[photo caption: Eddie and the Palaceades performance in the 2014 Midtown International Theater Festival. Photo credit: Faith/Focus/Flash (Dlo Slaughter).] 

cdonaghy@dramatistsguild.com

LADIES WHO PLAYED GRACIE Top left is Alice Ostrander who was first to read the part of Gracie at our 2013 table read. Top middle is Susan Cohen DeStefano who played Gracie in our Manhattan Theatre Mission Showcase. Top right is Sheila Egan who brought Gracie to life for the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Middle left is Sonia Schonning who played the part at the Woods Hole Community Theatre reading in 2016 and to her right is Toni-Ann Carey who was Gracie for the production at Square Foot Theater in 2017.  Middle right is Annie Edgerton who played the role of Roz, the magazine editor, in the MITF production and she played Gracie in our 2017 TRU Workshop.  Bottom left is Haley Swindel who rocked Gracie's part in the 2021 Theatre Row production. Next is Kristal Seid who played Gracie in the reading down in Grapevine, TX.  And bottom right is Semina Delaurentis who sang Gracie at our 2025 Save the Palace Cabaret in Washington Depot, CT. 

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