The weather is turning warm, and thank goodness! But that’s just one of the fun things going on right now, so let’s do a quick roundup of some of them!
Right now, at 8pm on Monday April 28, the Detroit Tigers have the best record in the American League! Whaaaaaaaat?! They’ve been super fun to watch so far this year. I mean, we’re not even 30 games into the season, but I’m going to enjoy it!
We are opening the beautiful play Baba by Denmo Ibrahim this week, and I am really excited and proud of this show. Sarab Kamoo is doing beautiful work as the solo performer, the design team crushed it, and I think it’s a really wonderful night of theatre.
Pictured: Sarab Kamoo as Layla in Baba by Denmo Ibrahim, at Williamston Theatre. Set by Ranae Selmeyer, Costumes by Camille Charara, Lights by Sam Schikora, Media by Sarah Webb, Props by Michelle Raymond. (and you can’t hear it here, but the Sound is by Julia Garlotte!)
Haven’t seen many movies lately, but today I had the day off and I went to see the Ryan Coogler film Sinners, and it’s excellent! I really, really enjoyed it – such excellent storytelling. Confident, creative and full of surprises. I loved the whole thing. Go see it!
At Williamston Theatre we are holding our general auditions for the 2025/2026 season, our 19th, in early May! That means our season lineup is coming very soon, and I’m getting excited to release it to the world!
The world is crazy right now, there’s a lot going on that’s less than wonderful, but I hope you’re having a week where you can still list some good things going on in your part of the planet!
I have to say, sometimes it’s nice to be reminded.
I mean, anyone who does theatre KNOWS why you do it – you love the power of storytelling, you BELIEVE in the transformative magic that happens when you gather a group of people together to experience an event, a moment together. (And there are lots of other reasons – it’s moving, it’s challenging, it’s fun, it helps us grow as people, it creates and nurtures community and spreads joy and fosters empathy discussion and change, and so much more….)
But, even though we know why we do it, it really is nice to SEE that happen, and be told it’s working by the people we gather with.
I’ve been so pleased with the impact that our production of On The Market at Williamston Theatre has had on audiences. This very funny, charming and heartfelt piece by Jason Odell Williams was a blast to work on with the entire company. The thing that’s blown me away though, after 3 weeks of doing this production for people, is how many audience members have come to us to open up and talk about their feelings, their own lives – to be a little vulnerable with us.
The piece is a sweet, funny, romantic “Rom Com” type of story – it’s about a widow in her 40’s who lost her husband early, and her friends are trying to get her back “on the market” and dating again. So it’s a piece about friendship, loss, grief, moving forward and having the courage to embrace our Second Acts in life.
With all of that happening in the play, we’ve had so many patrons stop us or write us and say a whole lot of variations on “Thank you for this piece. I lost my spouse xxx years ago, and this piece made me laugh out loud, and cry, in the very best way. I’m still processing that part of my life, and you guys tackled the topic in a way so funny and so sweet and thoughtful, I can’t thank you enough for the laughs and the tears and the hope!”
It’s so gratifying to get these messages. To be reminded that, yes, we move people. We make them laugh together, and cry together, and process this whole frigging journey that we all get to spend – if we’re lucky – 70 or 80 years trying to make sense of. It means so much that people feel comfortable enough to come up and open themselves up to us, to share their hearts and say “This moved me. This meant something to me.”
I’m really savoring this show, and the responses to it. Holding on to the warmth and love from people and storing it in the tank so that later, when things get hard and frustrating and discouraging, I can look back at these and remember…. Because sometimes we all need a little reminder…. And Everything Will Be Okay.
Dani Cochrane and Brian Sage in On The Market by Jason Odell Williams. Scenery by Kirk Domer, Props/Set Dressing by Michelle Raymond. Lights by Eric Van Tassell, Costumes by Karen Kangas-Preston. Sound by Brian Cole.
Wow, so much stuff going on! We have just opened the first show of Season 17 at Williamston Theatre, On The Market by Jason Odell Williams. It’s a ton of fun, and very sweet. Getting terrific audience responses, with lots of laughs but also some beautiful emotional responses and people coming out very moved.
Pictured: Yolanda Davis, Patrick Loos, Brian Sage, Dani Cochrane. Costumes by Karen Kangas-Preston, Set by Kirk Domer, Props and Set Dressing by Michelle Raymond, Lighting by Eric Van Tassell, Sound by Brian Cole. Stage Management by Stefanie Din, Adam Kruger and Rylan Houle.
Coming up on Sunday October 2nd we have a play reading of a terrific piece called The Mouth of the South by Allison Gregory. A funny and fascinating play about the real life Martha Mitchell, famous Watergate whistleblower!
On October 16th we have a great collaboration with Michigan State University: an MFA Grad Student Showcase Performance! This beautiful musical called Love, Linda; The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter tells the story of Linda Lee Thomas, whose marriage to Cole Porter, who was gay, inspired some of the greatest songs of all time.
Then for the first time ever, we are having a night of Stand Up Comedy at Williamston Theatre! Hosted by popular Lansing-based comedian Louis D. Michael, this evening with 5 different Michigan comics will be a fun time! Come have some beer, some wine, and some laughs!
So, life is busy, but good. I’m super grateful to be able to do what I do with some terrific people. I hope you’re all doing well, and you can join us for some fun in Williamston this fall!
Life is super busy lately, seems that way for a lot of folks I know too. I hope everyone is doing okay. Still, there are a lot of things to celebrate, so I’m listing them to remind myself!
Yesterday the Detroit Tigers pitched the 9th no-hitter in team history!! Yes, they’re still in third place in the worst division in the league, but they’ve at least been playing entertaining baseball a lot of the season and yesterday was a very cool special thing!
We start preview performances for the beautiful, funny Be Here Now by Deborah Zoe Laufer at Williamston Theatre next week. The tech weekend has been terrific: director Rob Roznowski and the entire cast and production team are knocking it out of the park – it’s a terrifically entertaining piece! Get your tickets soon, this one is fun and will sell quick: https://www.williamstontheatre.org/shows/2022-2023/be-here-now
In other news, I’m directing a play in Ann Arbor, for the Penny Seats Theatre Company. Return To The Forbidden Planet is a fabulously silly musical, a combo of science fiction, Shakespeare and pop hits from the 50’s and 60’s! (I mean, if YOUR spaceship was hit by an asteroid storm, wouldn’t YOU sing Great Balls Of Fire?!). Opening August 3rd, it’s performed outdoors in Burns Park and it’s a perfect piece of outdoor summer theatre! I’m having a great time working with the team putting together this bit of toe-tapping ridiculousness – come out and have fun with us, and see how many sci-fi ”Easter eggs” you can spot!
WOW!
I got to visit the Grand Canyon!! Holy cow. My first time, some friends and I went for a couple days. Amazing. Humbling. Terrifying, because that’s a long way down and no railings!
At Williamston Theatre we closed Mrs. Harrison, the riveting piece by R. Eric Thomas, and now we are in rehearsals for Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly! I love this play! I’ve been waiting since before the pandemic to produce it, it’s part of the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere, but COVID delayed our show and I’m thrilled that we finally get to do it.
Fun rehearsal shots on our in-progress set, designed by Moníka Essen:
Katie Banks and Kristina RiegleKatie Banks, Kristina Riegle and Hallie Bard. Zoom in, you can see me doing my finest directing work in the background. Gloria Vivalda, Hallie Bard, Kristina Riegle and Katie Banks.
This piece is funny, thoughtful, heartbreaking and inspiring. And how many plays do you get to see that have talking goats? It’s a small number, so don’t miss this one! 😂
Today marks the 7th anniversary of my dad’s death. I still miss him every day. I talk to him all the time, sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud. Mostly if I’m trying to figure something out, or if something happens that he would’ve loved. Once in a while I’ll see someone on the street or in a store who reminds me of him and my breath catches for just a second – that usually takes the rest of the day to recover from. He was a a great guy, caring, smart, funny, imperfect like the rest of us, and I always knew I was loved. I wear the 25th Anniversary ring that he got from Ford Motor company, just to keep him close. (Well, he got a tie tack. Since my dad wore a tie about 3 times in his 68 years, he turned it into a ring when he got it!) Here’s what I wrote the day after he passed away, if you’d like to read more about Frank Caselli.
The other reason this time of year is weird is that 8 years ago today I was in the St. Joe’s Chelsea Hospital, after having collapsed at home, starting my long “meningitis adventure”. I remember very little of what happened, especially the beginning 6 weeks or so. The occasional flash of a hospital room or my wife or sister. I have clearer memories of the last few weeks, as I was waking from the coma and going in and out of consciousness. Some visitors, struggling to breathe, my parents being there non-stop. I remember a LOT of very vivid, long, coma dreams – what felt like other lifetimes and other realities. Here’s what I wrote about that experience, if you’d like to read more about that.
Also, my birthday is this coming Monday! It’s so close to these two things that have changed my life forever that it feels weird to be thankful and excited for my birthday, but I am. I know a lot of folks don’t like birthdays – “Another year older, ugh!” and all that, but I love it. Especially the last 8 years or so. “Another year older” isn’t “Ugh!” for me, it’s “I MADE IT!” – I got another year with my family, friends, enjoying the world around me. Especially with the pandemic and the world being what it is right now. This one will be 53! Who knows if I’ll make it to 68 like my dad – heck, who knows if I’ll make it to 54 – but I know I’m going to try and enjoy being here now, and celebrate the wonderfulness around me.
So, today, I encourage you all to celebrate. Celebrate your lives, celebrate the life of my dad, hug your loved ones and your friends – tell them how awesome they are, and put hang-out days on your calendar right now! This is the life we have – time is being spent right now. Enjoy it. Savor it all.
Jeanne and I have returned home from the amazing UofM hospital and transplant clinic. They took great care of us, and now she has one less kidney, and I have three! (But, as the transplant joke goes, two of mine are decoys!)
We are at home, getting taken care of by wonderful family and friends, and being very grateful for the support. We’re both very sore and tired, and under strict orders to rest, do nothing but take short walks, lift nothing and heal. The next 8 weeks will be a lot of recuperating, and we both have to just make ourselves take it easy. Right now it’s hard to sleep or rest because of how painful everything is, but the pain meds help and that will ease over the next week or so as incisions heal, muscles knit back together etc…. Right now we are trying to sleep a lot!
The new kidney, for me, is a whole new lease on life. It comes with a new set of challenges, a lifetime regimen of anti-rejection medications that require constant balancing and some other things that go along with those, but it’s such a gift. I’m the luckiest guy, and I’m determined to make the most of this blessing that my wife, medical science and the universe have given me.
Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive – the cards, social media posts, texts and well wishes – they all mean a ton to us and it’s deeply, deeply appreciated. If you know a medical professional, hug them for us.
Well, this is the week! On Friday the 21st of May, I’ll be getting my new kidney. Even more amazing is that it’s coming from my wonderful wife, Jeanne.
I’ve known this day would come for the last 7 years or so, although we didn’t find out until recently that Jeanne was a match and would be donating my kidney – for which I’m so grateful and thankful – she’s amazing and I’m a lucky man.
I’m also very grateful that I got the last 7 years of not needing dialysis. After my whole hospital stay in 2014, every day is one I’m thankful for, but for the first few months after the hospital I was on dialysis and we were thinking that would be a long-term thing as I went onto the transplant waiting list. But then I got very lucky and my kidneys healed up a bit, to my doctor’s surprise, and I got a whole 7 more years out of them! (If you don’t know any of this story and want some details, check out this part of my website)
Now we go into another stage of the adventure. Jeanne and I, and the kids, are so blessed to have family and friends who are so supportive during this time (If you’re reading this, you know who you are and we love you. Thank you.)
SO – if you’re a person who believes in putting good energy out into the universe for things, we’d appreciate any good vibes you have this Friday and through the weekend! I’m nervous, just because… y’know, surgery, but I also know we are in great hands with the fabulous team at the UofM Transplant Center – they’ve been SO great to work with, we’re eternally grateful for their skill and awesomeness.
Here’s Stef Din and I, and the Kidney SHE gave me. It’s a lot more plush than the one Jeanne is giving me, but I’ll love them both…. I’ll probably just USE the one from Jeanne more! 😂
I know, I know – pandemics, politics, there is a LOT going on in the world more important than baseball.
I have so enjoyed the craziness of this 60 game Covid season of baseball, with the cardboard cutouts of fans and the 7-inning doubleheaders and crazy schedule changes based on coronavirus testing and runners starting on second base in extra innings. Just the “will they really be able to complete it?!” drama (and yes I was skeptical) but it’s been so therapeutic and exciting to watch, and the final game of the American League Playoff Series tonight was excellent.
But.
Yes. More important stuff in the world. And those deserve attention. But sometimes I need to… not pay attention. I run a theatre. We, like most of the industry, haven’t really been able to work since March and don’t know when the hell we’ll be able to. So, between not knowing when my company will re-open, and not knowing when I’ll get another paycheck, life is stressful. My kids are back in college and away from home during the worst pandemic in our lifetime. The country is a politically divided nightmare. And the solid, normal action of watching baseball is such a grounding thing, that it’s incredibly easy to add it to the list of things that I’m grateful for, that are helping me get through the craziness of NOW.
It’s way too easy to fall into getting locked into watching the news 24/7, building anxiety inducing scenarios in your head as you avoid big crowds, and sit doomscrolling Facebook for hours… but tonight, watching the Tampa Bay Rays win the ALCS was such a moment: the joy on those faces. The excitement, love, hope and JOY on that field moved me tonight in ways I didn’t expect it to. With the state of the world, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen that much happiness. It choked me up. It was such a RELIEF – just seeing the emotion, the celebration – I’m so grateful to have been able to watch it, to have been reminded that those feelings can still happen, and to be unexpectedly overcome.
I can’t wait to watch the final National League Championship game tomorrow night. And then next week the World Series starts, and I will be watching every game.
Things are tough. Pandemic, economy, political divisiveness, the list goes on and for everyone I know it gets more and more personal.
So today I needed a break. Spent the day with Maggie. We took a nice walk, about 4.5 miles. Made a nice dinner, did a few things around the house. And now I’m thinking about a lot of the things I’m grateful for right now:
The text thread between my siblings and I.
Watching baseball on tv. I know the whole thing is fraught and ridiculous because of Covid, but it does something good to me, even when the Tigers are losing. (Which is a lot right now 😂).
Bobby Flay’s technique for cooking a steak in cast iron skillet. I love using my skillet, but this was the first time I’ve ever cooked a steak in it and man oh man that was maybe the best one I’ve ever cooked.
The “Five Minute Italian” podcast. The last couple months of quarantine I’ve been working slowly on my Italian, and this podcast is terrific.
The patrons of Williamston Theatre. Months after we had to shut down, they’re still with us. We’ve sold a bunch of WT FaceMasks in just a couple weeks, and still get regular feedback from them. I’m excited to reveal to them a couple things we’ve been working on pretty soon.
Being able to sit on our front porch in the evening, listening to the summer night sounds of the crickets, katydids, and cicadas, while reading, or writing in my journal.
That Jeanne was able to retire from teaching, and start a new job that she’s enjoying with less hours, less homework and less stress!
My doctors. With my medical challenges, I’m so grateful for the meds and science and medical know-how that is available to me.
Living in a neighborhood that’s great to walk around in. Trying to keep in shape (well, GET in better shape) and I’ve been walking 4 or 5 miles a day, and very glad for the ability to do it. And I’m down around 15 lbs!
There are more things, but that’s enough for now. Time to enjoy some baseball and relax a little. 😁 Hang in there everyone.
Tony Caselli 