MLT Presents New Play at Duquesne U.

Entry in Pittsburgh New Works Festival debuts tonight

By Bonnijean Cooney Adams
The Tube City Almanac
August 22, 2024
Posted in: Entertainment

Nancy Caronia as Rivka Blumenthal and Alex Naglich as Michael Primmer rehearse ways they might be able to resolve a tricky situation in “They-Said, They-Said.” (Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Little Theater)

Fans of McKeesport Little Theater have another opportunity to show their support at the world premiere of an original one-act play as part of the 33rd season of Pittsburgh New Works Festival.

McKeesport Little Theater is producing “They-Said, They-Said,” by playwright Brenda Kenworthy of Garden Grove, Calif., as their entry to the festival.

For those not familiar with the process, PNWF annually solicits original, one-act plays, which are narrowed down by a panel of judges. The top 15 are selected to become full productions.

This year, the plays will be performed at the Genesius Theater on the Duquesne University campus over the course of five weeks, with three one-acts per session.

“They-Said, They-Said” debuts on Program A, which opens Thursday, Aug. 22, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 25.

Jennifer R. Vertullo, who has produced multiple shows at McKeesport Little Theater, took on that challenge for their PNWF entry.

Patrick Daniel, with a long list of credits as a writer, performer, and director in Texas and California, joined the Pittsburgh theater community fairly recently, including at McKeesport Little Theater for “Gabriel” in 2023. He is the director for “They-Said, They-Said.”

“We were selected to go first,” Daniel said when it came time to match the 15 regional theaters with the plays. “We had our list and got our top choice.”

With his background as a writer, too, Daniel explained “They-Said, They-Said” really stood out to him because of the complete characterization of the four parts.

Jess Uhler as Schuyler Cagan and Daniel Lamond as Ayal Cagan clearly aren’t pleased with what they are being told as parents summoned to discuss the behavior of their twin sons in “They-Said, They-Said.” Produced by McKeesport Little Theater, the original one-act play by Brenda Kenworthy is part of Pittsburgh New Works Festival’s 33rd season. (Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Little Theater)

With the top 15 plays selected, auditions were held in July to fill more than 50 roles. In addition to getting matched with a play, representatives of each regional theater got to sit in on the auditions and choose whom they wanted to fill each role.

Patrick said MLT also was lucky in that aspect. “We got everyone we wanted,” the director said.

“I’m excited to work with McKeesport Little Theater, Milo Carey (stage manager), Jennifer R. Vertullo, and a crackerjack cast to bring this play’s debut to Pittsburgh New Works Festival,” Daniel said.

While the producing theater companies are from the region, playwrights from around and even outside the United States are welcome to submit plays for consideration.

Kenworthy, who has had success with plays produced in California, Utah, and New York, has a BFA from UCLA in Fine Art and an MFA in Theatre from the California Institute of Arts.

She also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and is a member of Orange County Playwrights Alliance. And when she’s not writing, she is an acting instructor at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Kenworthy said she saw the Pittsburgh New Works Festival post and decided to submit “They-Said, They-Said.”

The play is described as a look at how rumors of misbehavior can sometimes lead to exclusion, or whether perhaps the reverse is true -- that social exclusion can create malicious rumors.

There are four characters – Daniel Lamond as Ayal Cagan, Jess Uhler as his wife Schuyler Cagan, Nancy Caronia as Hebrew school headmistress Rivka Blumenthal, and Alex Naglich as Michael Primmer, a public school principal called to assist in an investigation.

The Cagan parents are called to the school to discuss reports of possible inappropriate behavior by their twin sons, who are 13 years old and have completed b’nai mitzvah.

Kenworthy said she started writing the play in 2018 or 2019, partially influenced by the Me Too movement to empower women, and also in response to the prevalence of bullying and devastating rumors.

She said she drew on some experiences from her own life, including having twin sons, now 20. Kenworthy said she put the play aside for awhile, then completed it in 2023, with issues that inspired her in the first place still highly relevant.

“The audience should keep an open mind,” Kenworthy said. “There are accusations and rumors, but did anything inappropriate actually occur? That’s up to the audience to decide.”

The playwright said she hopes to come to Pittsburgh for one of the performances to see how her play and characters have been interpreted.

“I kind of like giving over my work,” she said.

Asked why the twins in question weren’t characters in the play, Kenworthy said, “In my own mind, when I started writing it, there weren’t that many actors that age that I thought could play those roles, if I had included them. Maybe there are now.”

As far as the four actors go, “I don’t have enough good things to say,” director Daniel said. “They started bonding right away.”

Three are relative newcomers to the Pittsburgh theater scene, while Uhler, as the twins’ mother, has performed in regional theater and movies. Her local work includes the Mon River Arts production of “Rock of Ages.”

Naglich is making his Pittsburgh debut in “They-Said, They-Said,” where he moved from Montana as a Ph.D student in biomechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Caronia, a New York-trained actor and director, also is making her regional debut at the festival. Her character decides to bring in an outside source in Primmer.

Daniel explained the headmistress thought there might be a perceived conflict of interest because she had a child in the class where one of the twins allegedly misbehaved.

The director also praised Lamond as the father, and his interaction with the other characters with tech week approaching. Lamond studied at New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

Stage manager Carey said it is their first time participating in PNWF, calling “They-Said, They-Said” a “fantastic script.”

Bonnijean Cooney Adams is a freelance contributor. She can be reached at adamsclick@aol.com.

Cast and Crew

Jess Uhler as Schuyler Cagan
Daniel Lamond as Ayal Cagan
Nancy Caronia as Rivka Blumenthal
Alex Naglich as Michael Primmer

Original one-act play by Brenda Kenworthy
Produced by Jennifer R.Vertullo
Directed by Patrick Daniel
Stage managed by Milo Carey

Originally published August 22, 2024.

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