Read the reviews of Moonlight and Magnolias

Daily Gazette, Civic Players offer a perceptive, funny must-see, Monday, October 20, 2008, By Paul Lamar

Daily Gazette, Q&A: Cross passionate about acting and stars, Sunday, October 19, 2008, By Bill Buell

Time Union , Schenectady Civic Players presents 'Moonlight and Magnolias' 'Moonlight' takes audiences behind the scenes of 'Gone With the Wind', By MICHAEL ECK, Special to the Times Union, First published in print: Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ann Parillo, Schenectady Today, Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Shown are Ann Parillo, host and Joe Fava on the Schenectady Today Wednesday Edition – which aired October 15, 2008

Joe Fava (Director) from Sch'dy Civic Players on the upcoming production of Moonlight and Magnolias. Production dates are Oct 17-19 and 22-26. Don't miss this slapstick comedy based on a true story about the making of Gone With The Wind. Website: www.CivicPlayers.org·

Ann's Special Note: I attended Moonlight and Magnolias on Sunday and found the play to be outstanding. Topic, set, acting, directing and blocking were exceptional. This is a must see production! Ann

Cast of Moonlight and Magnolias: Cross, Hegeman, Orr, and Stern

Cast Photography by Tom Killips

Moonlight and Magnolias

Opening October 17th to 19th and running the 22nd to 26th, the Schenectady Civic Players start their 81st season with the hilarious Hollywood comedy Moonlight and Magnolias, by Ron Hutchinson. It's the story of the last minute rewrite of Gone With the Wind's screenplay. Set in 1939, producer David O. Selznick has called in crack writer, Ben Hecht for help, but he hasn't read the book! Stong-willed director Victor Fleming is called in from the set of "Wizard of Oz". Selznick and Fleming act out the play while the writer gets it all down.
The historic Civic Playhouse is set in the Stockade District at 12 S. Church Street. Evening shows start at 8 PM, Sunday afternoon matinees at 2:30 PM. Call the box office at (518) 382-2081 or visit www.civicplayers.org for tickets.

Joseph Fava

Joseph Fava (Director/Costumes) A former SCP president, Joseph has directed many shows for the Playhouse, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Cyrano, School for Scandal, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Time of Your Life, Present Laughter, Private Lives, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Royal family, Our Town, and Stage Door. His on-stage credits here include The Fantastiks and Private Eyes. Joseph has also been very active with SLOC having served as president and director of Company, Funny Girl, A Little Night Music, Carnival, 1776, Oliver, The Music Man, and Shenendoah; he will be directing Assassins for SLOC in March. He has directed many other shows in the area including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I Love My Wife, Godspell, and The Robber Bridegroom. Joseph is a senior sales associate with Realty USA and has served on the board and as president of the Stockade Association.

Denice Cross

Denice Cross (Miss Poppenghul) Denice earned a B.S. in Theater from Northwestern University. After college, she moved to the Albany area where she has appeared in many shows with groups including SCP, ACT, Columbia Civic Players, Riverview Productions, and many others. Besides writing six historical romances published by Fawcett, she also wrote two plays that were produced by Columbia Civic Players. She met her husband, Rich, during The Good Doctor at ACT. Her son, Colum, continuing the Cross theatrical dynasty, has already had a leading role in a production of A Christmas Story. Her daughter, Alisande Pipkin, just earned her MA in History from the University of Connecticut. On the weekends, Denice can be found mingling with the stars at the Schenectady Museum where she presents the planetarium shows.

Robert L. Hegeman

Robert L. Hegeman (Ben Hecht) Robert’s previous appearances at the SCP Playhouse include School for Scandal, The Foreigner, The Nerd, Betrayal, To Kill a Mockingbird, London Suite, Our Country’s Good, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has designed and built sets for SCP as well for our productions of Mister Roberts and Death Takes a Holiday and has appeared many times with SLOC in productions such as You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Annie, and, most recently, Anything Goes. Robert is in real life a computer science administrator locally for a computer science firm.

David Orr

David Robert Orr (Victor Fleming) This marks David’s fourth production with SCP in over thirty years, having previously been in The Time of Your Life, School for Scandal, and I’ll Be Back Before Midnight. More recently he has appeared in Looking for Normal (Curtain Call), and I Hate Hamlet, All My Sons, The Glass Menagerie, Rumors, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, all with Homemade Theater. David has studied with the HB Studios in NYC and is a captain with the Schenectady fire Department. He is grateful to Bo, Dane, and Mollie for their continued support.

Alexander M. Stern

Alexander M. Stern (David O. Selznick) Alexander has been acting since the age of twelve when he appeared in a Buffalo Theatre of Youth production of A Christmas Carol. He has since appeared in The Sandcastle, Witness for the Prosecution, Waiting for Godot, Othello , and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Show, and has directed productions of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Alexander is also a member of the Mop and Bucket Company Improv Troupe. Moonlight and Magnolias is his third appearance with SCP having previously appeared in Our Country’s Good and The Triangle Factory Fire Project. Alexander lives in Altamont with his long-suffering wife and brilliant, talented and adorable daughter.