During my summer vacation at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco, I was a member of Donovan Marley's PCPA 1976 summer company in Santa Maria, California. The cast was mostly students with some Equity guest artists. I had the great fortune to be cast by Nagle Jackson as Elizabeth in The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall. Looking back at my 30-year career, the show was the funniest thing I have ever done.
During the performances, we continually had to wait for the audience to stop laughing. I remember thinking, "Wow! They really do roll in the aisles." And it was a gift, in that production, to play opposite the brilliant comic actress Jill Tanner. Sure enough, the show's reputation attracted interest from Broadway producers. A year later, I finished at A.C.T. and drove my carload of meager student possessions and huge hopes to NYC. The role of Elizabeth was mine after auditioning for the Broadway cast. Having landed the role, however, I still faced two more years of backers' auditions and survival jobs until we went into production. In 1979, the show opened and closed in one night at the Mark Hellinger Theater [now the Times Square Church]. The union has provided stability during the ups and downs of my career. I am devoted!
