Gesturing to his wife and singing partner Shirley to join in, Joe Romagnoli entertains at the piano in their Fox Chase home. He will portray Captain Hook in "Peter Pan," opening this weekend at the Clay Center. He performed the same role for the Charleston Light Opera Guild 10 years ago.
Joe Romagnoli could write a handbook for aspiring actors hoping to get a bite in the Big Apple.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It took gumption, but Joe Romagnoli followed his heart. Smitten with theater, armed with a degree in drama and musical theater from the Boston Conservatory of Music, he moved to New York and spent 20 years eking out a living, studying and yes, actually performing. Along with off-Broadway shows, venues included the New York Opera Forum, Lincoln Center and touring companies, summer stock and dinner theater productions.
He could write a handbook for aspiring actors hoping to get a bite in the Big Apple.
Fate eventually called him home. In Charleston, he resumed his involvement in community theater, accumulating credits galore with virtually every existing performing group from the Charleston Light Opera Guild to the Seneca Chamber Orchestra. These days, his ever-growing engagement résumé includes duet appearances with his wife, Shirley.
When "Peter Pan'' opens this weekend at the Clay Center, he will reprise the colorful Capt. Hook role he first performed with the Guild 10 years ago.
It's not Broadway. But it feels plenty good enough.
"I grew up in Weirton. My dad was in life insurance. My mom was a housewife but also worked in the school cafeteria. I had a wonderful childhood. I have three sisters, and that's why I'm spoiled.
"I had no formal voice training. My mom and dad sang a lot. When we had company, we would eat and then gather around the piano. My mom and sister played. I was in school plays and sang in church, but that was about it.
"I loved photography and I liked writing, especially short stories. I thought writing might be a nice outlet.
"When my family moved to Charleston after I graduated in 1960, I was working in photofinishing photography and went to West Virginia State College and majored in creative writing. I went two full years and a third year part-time.
"I was doing theater with State and also with the Charleston Light Opera Guild. We had to write all kinds of papers and short stories. By the end of that third year, I felt really dry, like I didn't have anything else to write about, nothing else to say.
"And writing wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be because it's solitary. You are by yourself and thinking. I really enjoyed theater because it's a group function.
"When I came to Charleston, a friend encouraged me to try out for the Light Opera Guild. 'Kiss Me Kate' was the first production I was in with the Guild. It was about the same time I was going through the writing thing, and I enjoyed theater so much more. I thought it would be wonderful if I could do that for a living.
"I transferred to the Boston Conservatory of Music. I was a drama major but a musical-theater minor, so I had singing and dancing along with the acting.
"I got a part-time job as a singing waiter on the north shore in Danvers, Mass. It was a place called Romie's Quarterdeck. We would put on solo and group numbers and pieces from different shows. You learned a lot of music from different shows.
"After I graduated, I moved to the north shore, close to Danvers, and stayed with the singing-waiter job. The salary wasn't great, but the tips were wonderful. I would commute to New York, either fly in or take a train, and find out about auditions, They had an airline called the People Express that was like $19 for a one-way flight. Even so, that got to be expensive.
"I thought, 'If I'm really serious about this, I have to go to New York.' So I moved to New York.
"I was married to a young lady who went to the conservatory with me. Theater is a crazy lifestyle, although rewarding in other ways. We were married seven years before we got divorced.
"I would suggest to anyone who really wants to pursue acting to also have a very good skill job that pays well with not many hours, or hours you can choose.
"I did a lot of odd jobs. Like a lot of actors, I worked as a waiter. I worked as an office temp. I would work nights in photography processing.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It took gumption, but Joe Romagnoli followed his heart. Smitten with theater, armed with a degree in drama and musical theater from the Boston Conservatory of Music, he moved to New York and spent 20 years eking out a living, studying and yes, actually performing. Along with off-Broadway shows, venues included the New York Opera Forum, Lincoln Center and touring companies, summer stock and dinner theater productions.
He could write a handbook for aspiring actors hoping to get a bite in the Big Apple.
Fate eventually called him home. In Charleston, he resumed his involvement in community theater, accumulating credits galore with virtually every existing performing group from the Charleston Light Opera Guild to the Seneca Chamber Orchestra. These days, his ever-growing engagement résumé includes duet appearances with his wife, Shirley.
When "Peter Pan'' opens this weekend at the Clay Center, he will reprise the colorful Capt. Hook role he first performed with the Guild 10 years ago.
It's not Broadway. But it feels plenty good enough.
"I grew up in Weirton. My dad was in life insurance. My mom was a housewife but also worked in the school cafeteria. I had a wonderful childhood. I have three sisters, and that's why I'm spoiled.
"I had no formal voice training. My mom and dad sang a lot. When we had company, we would eat and then gather around the piano. My mom and sister played. I was in school plays and sang in church, but that was about it.
"I loved photography and I liked writing, especially short stories. I thought writing might be a nice outlet.
"When my family moved to Charleston after I graduated in 1960, I was working in photofinishing photography and went to West Virginia State College and majored in creative writing. I went two full years and a third year part-time.
"I was doing theater with State and also with the Charleston Light Opera Guild. We had to write all kinds of papers and short stories. By the end of that third year, I felt really dry, like I didn't have anything else to write about, nothing else to say.
"And writing wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be because it's solitary. You are by yourself and thinking. I really enjoyed theater because it's a group function.
"When I came to Charleston, a friend encouraged me to try out for the Light Opera Guild. 'Kiss Me Kate' was the first production I was in with the Guild. It was about the same time I was going through the writing thing, and I enjoyed theater so much more. I thought it would be wonderful if I could do that for a living.
"I transferred to the Boston Conservatory of Music. I was a drama major but a musical-theater minor, so I had singing and dancing along with the acting.
"I got a part-time job as a singing waiter on the north shore in Danvers, Mass. It was a place called Romie's Quarterdeck. We would put on solo and group numbers and pieces from different shows. You learned a lot of music from different shows.
"After I graduated, I moved to the north shore, close to Danvers, and stayed with the singing-waiter job. The salary wasn't great, but the tips were wonderful. I would commute to New York, either fly in or take a train, and find out about auditions, They had an airline called the People Express that was like $19 for a one-way flight. Even so, that got to be expensive.
"I thought, 'If I'm really serious about this, I have to go to New York.' So I moved to New York.
"I was married to a young lady who went to the conservatory with me. Theater is a crazy lifestyle, although rewarding in other ways. We were married seven years before we got divorced.
"I would suggest to anyone who really wants to pursue acting to also have a very good skill job that pays well with not many hours, or hours you can choose.
"I did a lot of odd jobs. Like a lot of actors, I worked as a waiter. I worked as an office temp. I would work nights in photography processing.
"There are a lot of workshops where you are exposed to other actors who help you along and to agents who come to see shows. So you are auditioning at the same time.
"The first Equity job I got was in Boston at a dinner theater up there. My first Equity show was a small role in 'Fiddler on the Roof.' So I got my Equity card that way and went to New York. I did some off-Broadway shows, some summer stock with a lot of traveling and some national tours, what they call bus-and-truck. They were similar to some shows that come to the Clay Center. You come in and perform, and then you are off on the bus again and the truck carries all the scenery and sound.
"I was in New York about 20 years.
"When you are working, it's the best thing in the world. Some people are so talented and lucky and go from show to show. For me, there were lapses between shows. You do a show, and the show closes, and you collect unemployment for a while and keep auditioning for other shows, and if you are getting close to unemployment ending, you start looking for a 'job' job and still audition.
"When you go to a party with other actors, they say, 'Hi, how are you? Where do you live?' Rent up there is crazy. I moved around a lot. I lived in Brooklyn for a while. I lived on 79th Street and 91st Street. The last place was up by Columbia University on 122nd Street. That was a real find because it was rent-controlled.
"If you have a decent place to live and get a skilled job, maybe as a lawyer's assistant where the hours are flexible and fit in with your schedule, you can make it.
"I never made it to Broadway, but I did a lot of off-Broadway. I was studying while I was there. I always loved opera, but I always felt my voice was better suited for musical comedy. I started studying with Nino Tello, and that really helped me develop my voice. I was torn between opera and musical theater. I did some operas while I was there.
"One of the nicest memories I have was when I was doing summer stock in Pennsylvania and my mom and sisters came and saw the show. I stopped at home before I went back to New York, and while I was home, my mom had a stroke. I was always very close with my mom. I didn't have any engagements coming up, so I stayed here and went through therapy with her.
"She was in her late 80s. While she was in the nursing home, I went to New York and packed up my things and came back to spend some time here. I moved back in 1994. I had five wonderful years with mom.
"She needed around-the-clock care, so I moved in with her and took care of her. After she got better, we had a lot of good times. Then she had other problems and had to have a leg amputated. She always had a lot of spirit and was very positive. I don't regret any of that.
"I didn't do any theater until 1999. I got a call from Louis Husson. The Guild was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The show they were doing was 'Follies.' Louis said they had one small singing role, and I would just have a few scenes. My sisters were able to fill in for me when I couldn't be with my mother. It was wonderful to see people I had performed with back in the '60s.
"After my mom passed away, I started working at Kaufmann's and did more theater with the Kanawha Players and Children's Theater and the Guild, as well as singing engagements.
"I did Capt. Hook in 'Peter Pan' the first time in 1999, 10 years ago. The show I'm doing this time is co-produced with the Guild and the Clay Center. I had to relearn a lot of the dialogue. It's a wonderful role, one of my favorites. 'Peter Pan,' 'Fiddler' and 'Man of La Mancha' are my favorites.
"I knew Shirley from when I would come in and do guest solos at Bream Church, where she was in the choir. I renewed my friendship with her when Mark Hornbaker was giving classes and concerts and asked me to sing. I did some duets with Shirley. We perform together now. We did 'HMS Pinafore' last February with the Guild, and we also did Good Night. Shows are more fun with your best friend.
"Theater was still fun after mom passed away, but there wasn't much in my life besides that. Once Shirley and I started singing and took some ballroom dance classes and started dating, it was very rewarding. I couldn't ask for anything more.
"I think I've been very fortunate. God blessed me with a voice and talent, and it's wonderful to be able to share that and get that feeling back from the audience.
"It would have been wonderful if I had had even one big show in New York, but people are people no matter where you are, and the interaction between you and the audience - that connection - is there.
"I've settled back. I love Charleston. Life is very good, so good it's almost scary."
Reach Sandy Wells at san...@wvgazette.com">san...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5173.
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