More images Sunday PM -- and watch for a gallery on the State Championship basketball game from New Britain!

Dear cast members, crew, and – especially, Susan Clark, Patti Piras, Tara Winch, Shelley Sprague, and all the others whose efforts resulted in this production:

The production of “The Pajama Game” offered so many photo opportunities that – because of the efforts of all those above – even a selection of the best images would not do fairness to their efforts. And so, while I will put a selection from the three nights on the gallery, I am also going to produce some CDs – probably, make them into a DVD – which I will offer without charge to the production members and their families. Send me your mailing address in an email to melsnyder@earthlink.net

My new camera, first used for “Our Town,” enables me to shoot faster and more varied images than in past productions…and what I discovered upon viewing those images is that Susan, and Jeanne Proctor, are crafting more perfect productions than I ever appreciated. And I never appreciated the depth of talent that is “our town”…our school…our kids.

Until I studied the images, I never appreciated how every child has been so perfectly coached and motivated to give the same attention to “character” as the leads. The effect is so perfect you don’t notice it – any more than your kids notice when the dishes are done, or the floors vacuumed, or the tank of the family car is filled. “The Pajama Game” was a perfectly crafted production from an admittedly imperfect beginning cast.

My guest on Saturday, as for the past few years, was Doc Irving, a community legend as a pediatrician for 42 years. He and his wife Esther, who was a teacher at Goodwin for many years, are great appreciators of the theatre, and have contributed significant amounts of money to the music programs of Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, and possibly other districts. On the way home, Doc said,

“You have to remember – these productions are only one part of most of the kids’ lives. They are students, they are athletes, they have girlfriends and boyfriends and family obligations – and yet, there’s something special about Old Saybrook theatre productions. They are as professional as the productions of many for-profit theatres.”

I am, of course, proud of my daughter Becca’s contributions to that history – contributions on and off stage. I am proud that she brought “Broadway Cares” to Old Saybrook. I am proud of the contributions that my “adopted daughter,” Christine Eaccarino, has made behind the scenes, year after year – ones as great as the onstage, visible contributions of her sister, Susan. And I am so pleased that my son Aaron has taken the first step toward following – and perhaps, exceeding, Becca’s example. Thanks to the example of Mike St, Germaine, Aaron is learning the theatre craft from another natural.

However, I am most appreciative and thankful for the contribution Susan and Jeanne have made to the preparation of all our children for the world beyond Old Saybrook, Each year, they must perform greater miracles each year than those of Joe Torre in assembling a “World Series” quality pair of productions from a sliding window across just 400 pupils. And they do it perfectly, year after year. From a pool of talent the members of which they can access no more than four years.

Thank you, thank you.

TO DOWNLOAD IMAGES TO YOUR COMPUTER:

1. Click on the image.

2. Click on the word "original" under the photo

3. When the image fully downloads, "right click" (click with the right mouse button) anywhere on theimage, and a small menu with a "save as" option will appear. Choose where on your hard drive you want to save it.