The St. Petersburg Little Theater had no choice but to stage its production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum after the sudden death of the show's lead, Michael Schwartzberg.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published January 20, 2005
[Photo: St. Petersburg Little Theater]
Amy Kisner, left, is Philia; David Haverty, center, is Pseudolus; and Christian Maier is Hero in St. Petersburg Little Theatre’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Michael Schwartzberg, a well-known criminal defense lawyer, was also an actor, director and president of the St. Petersburg Little Theatre. He died earlier this month.
[Times photo: Cherie Diez 2003]
Heading home from rehearsal on Jan. 5, Michael Schwartzberg, the star of St. Petersburg Little Theater's upcoming production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, suffered a fatal heart attack.
Schwartzberg, a high-profile criminal defense lawyer, was halfway through his second year as the theater's president, and had been a popular and important member of the SPLT family for many years. He had directed hits such as last year's Webb's City and had appeared on stage in many productions, including recently in The Music Man.
The shock of his death was especially acute because Schwartzberg was 47 and had taken steps to improve his health.
"He had lost 150 pounds and was still losing," said Murray Mintz, director of Forum, which opens today. "He was working with a personal trainer, he was playing golf, and he was having a great time with this role. He was at a point where he really felt good about himself. Everything was working for him."
But when Mintz got the call about Schwartzberg's death he didn't have time to mourn his friend. He had a musical opening in two weeks,and he had lost his leading man.
"The immediate thoughts were we could cancel the show, or we could postpone it, delay it to give another actor time to learn the role, or find someone who had played the role before and, even if he didn't know our blocking and choreography, at least knew the lines and the songs," Mintz said. "The memorization process usually takes two to three weeks, and we were opening in two weeks."
He quickly rejected the first two options. The theater couldn't afford to cancel the show, and the rehearsal time for the next show, Noises Off, was already so limited that Forum couldn't be postponed.
The remaining option worked out better than anyone could have hoped, Mintz said.
One of the cast members, Ron DeBeck, had directed Forum a few years back at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts. In DeBeck's Forum, a student named David Haverty played Pseudolus. Haverty happened to be back in town.
Haverty came to rehearsal less than 24 hours after Schwartzberg had left the theater for the last time and stepped into the role.
Haverty, Mintz said, has done a remarkable job in stressful circumstances. He picked up the choreography faster than anyone expected and learned his entire role in a matter of days.
"David is a completely different kind of Pseudolus than Michael was," Mintz said. "And that means the entire show is different. All (the cast's) reactions are different. It's a big adjustment, and I think the respect they had for Michael had a lot to do with how well they've managed to step up."
PREVIEW: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, today through Feb. 5 at St. Petersburg Little Theater. 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 general and $8 for students. Call (727) 866-1973.
Michael Schwartzberg, a well-known criminal defense lawyer, was also an actor, director and president of the St. Petersburg Little Theatre. He died earlier this month.