By GINA RAE | Wilton
As I settled in to watch the opening night performance of “Red, White and Tuna” in the basement of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, I was jittery. I was nervous for the actors and the director and for their friends and family members. What would ever make someone want to give up every night’s free time for an entire month to stand up in front of neighbors and quite possibly make a fool of oneself?
As the performance began, my tension lifted. I laughed out loud and I watched as the audience stopped watching their neighbors and began seeing the play’s characters. We shared a meal, some laughs and an experience in which the cast was “all in,” and so was the crowd.
As the audience left after the last performance, it was moving to listen as the actors said their farewells to one another. Some will be up for our next adventure in community theatre, while others may be satisfied with this one weekend in the limelight. In this crazy world where you have 500 television channels, a live performance in a tiny town’s church basement is still a momentous experience.