Theatrical Production Strikes a Chord this Veterans Day

It’s hard to know who was helped more by the discussion at Oddfellows Playhouse last week, the 15 students preparing to stage Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war classic, Slaughterhouse Five, or the eight veterans who shared their personal stories.

Joe DeRing, Paul Fazzino, Tom Goglia, Phil Cacciola, Ken McClellan, Cheryl McClellan, Larry Riley and Frank Martini spoke to the high school students for an hour giving them a sense of what it was like to serve in wars and conflicts from Afghanistan to Vietnam, but also what it was like to come home. Their perspectives, shared with sincerity and humor, struck a chord with the teens who will now take what they heard to develop their myriad characters.

“I play Paul Lazzaro who is really messed up and now I understand why he changed and how he got that way,” said Jacques Phelps from Portland. The veterans described the first night at boot camp, about being told what to do and when to do it, about disrupting their lives, and doing without so much.

Phil Cacciola added, “It’s humbling. You’re cold, you’re hungry and you’re lonely. You learn to appreciate a lot.” A concept many of the students could relate to having lived without electricity thanks to Mother Nature’s cruel trick last week.

Ken McClellan asked, “How many of you lost power this week? Remember when your power came back on and you could flush the toilet? Remember how great that was? That’s how it was for us to come home. We just appreciated the littlest things.”

Zoe Lerman of Durham really understood that [the panelists] lived on bare minimum. “They had to get by and they did it because they made a commitment,” she said. And then the stories of coming home came flooding back. Tom Goglia, Paul Fazzino, and Larry Riley all served in Vietnam and each told a story of being called baby killers, or being advised to wear civilian clothes when they got back because backlash from the war was so strong.

Kati Carini of Deep River was baffled by that. “It’s interesting that they weren’t respected. Now it’s second nature to be grateful to our soldiers. It’s disgusting they weren’t treated with respect.” Interesting too is that many of the students have grandfathers who served in World War II but admitted many of them had never heard their family members actually talk about their service. Cacciola, who has worked with many veterans through his involvement with the American Legion, Post #75, the City of Middletown and the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, addressed that. “Our tours were 12-15 months. World War II veterans served for years. And when they came back they just couldn’t talk to their families about what they saw or did.”

“It’s so important to have these dialogues with our students,” said Slaughterhouse Five director Daniel Nischan. Emma Lerman of Durham agreed adding, “I’m playing multiple roles and hearing them, how they felt, how their families felt and what it was like to come home really helps get into the mindset of my characters. "

"Slaughterhouse Five is a swift, confusing punch to the gut, which gives us reason to pause the daily information barrage and consider the expense of humanity. The hope contained in its jumbled text, is that we can choose to look back. This is not an anti-war story. It is a pro-humanity story. We can learn from our mistakes and find the time to be compassionate, " said Nischan.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, adapted by Eric Simonson and directed by Daniel Nischan opens on Veterans Day with additional performances on Nov. 12, 17-19. All shows start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for Students and Seniors. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (860) 347-6143 or purchase them online.

Oddfellows Playhouse 2011-12 Season is made possible through the generous support of the CT Department of Education, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, The Stare Fund, Pratt & Whitney, Middlesex United Way, J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Irving Kohn Foundation, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Fund. Media support is provided by Comcast.