World Premiere Set For Production Of Enfield Playwright's New Comedy

ENFIELD, CT — For more than four decades, Enfield native Glenn Reese has been heavily involved in all aspects of community theatre. From starring alongside his future wife Susan in a college production of Neil Simon's "Barefoot In the Park," to technical work on dozens of shows throughout southern New England, to directing and advising hundreds of high school thespians through the Enfield Lamplighters drama club - there is hardly any role, on or off stage, that Reese has not filled.

Until fairly recently, the one thing to which he had not devoted much time was writing. Around 2019, he began penning a series of four vignettes, collectively titled "Stories From Sweater Season," which were performed by the Valley Repertory Company last fall.

For his next writing effort, Reese drew upon some recollections of growing up in the Hazardville section of Enfield. The result is "Saving Fairview," a two-act comedy which will have its world stage premiere the first two weekends in November in the auditorium at Asnuntuck Community College.

The latest production of Valley Rep, which Reese and his wife serve as technical director and executive producer, respectively, “Saving Fairview” is set in the 1960s. It is the story of Matt Ross, who runs a small-town restaurant handed down to him by his father Johnny, who started the business the day he returned from being discharged from the Army. The town has fallen on hard times due to a large corporation moving their operations overseas, but Matt continues to extend credit to the locals in keeping with his dad's mantra, "Always do nice things for good people, because they’ll be there for you when you least expect it."

When a mysterious buyer offers his landlord an unbelievable price for the building, Matt must come up with six months of unpaid rent to have a chance to continue with his lease. For Matt, losing the business would mean letting his small, dedicated staff go, and an end to his father’s "American Dream" legacy.

A tour bus, carrying big-time country singer Skeeter Jones, arrives in search of chicken broth to help the ailing performer recover enough from the flu to play a sold-out concert the next evening. When the singer’s manager realizes Matt could pass for Jones with the right lighting, make-up and a well-positioned cowboy hat, he desperately tries to convince Matt to save his boss’ career and entices him with a large sum of money.

A manic process of teaching Matt to sing, play the guitar and overcome severe stage fright ensues after the restaurant closes for the night. Just when things seem hopeless, his friends return to help him push through. In the end, Matt decides to use his new-found money in ways that fill his heart, rather than his wallet.

Reese based the fictional town of Fairview partly on the village of Hazardville, where he grew up prior to graduating from Fermi High School in 1975.

"It's a small town, a one stop light town with a lot of family-owned businesses, and we find out the town is in economic distress because a big manufacturing company is leaving," he said in an exclusive interview with Patch. "Early in the story, his uncle tells Matt he is thinking of selling the building, which leaves Matt worried about the future of some longtime employees."

A unique element of the performance is the stage is split in two.

"On one side is Johnny Ross's living room and you actually see Matt when he's 8 years old," Reese said. "The other side of the stage is Johnny's All-American Grill, so you see Matt when he's older. His dad has passed away, but we go back and forth and his father teaching him life lessons."

He said he patterned the relationship between the father and son after his own experiences with his dad.

"It reminds me a lot of my relationship with my dad because we used to sit on the front porch and he used to tell me a lot of stories about his life growing up in Pennsylvania," Reese said. "He was in the military, and Johnny Ross has a military background. He's very patriotic and very loyal to the country; a lot of his personality traits have to do with honor and treating people the way they should be treated."

With the action shifting back and forth between sets over a period of several years, three different actors portray Matt Ross: Brandon Hosig, Grant Kelly and Joshua Madison.

"We actually tried to do this show last fall and I honestly couldn't find the right child actor to play it, so we pivoted and did a different show," Reese said. "We started auditioning for this show in July, so we had plenty of time to fill that critical role, and luckily we have a young man by the name of Grant Kelly."

Tyler Kickham plays Johnny Ross, and Frank Ross is portrayed by Shaun Barry. Other cast members are Alanah Hutchings, Grace Kesilewski, Joelle Dzedzy, Jennifer Madison, Jason Black, Jordan Liddell, Thomas Piccin, Sydney Hamre and Renee Centore-Kelly.

Performances of "Saving Fairview" are on Nov. 3, 4, 10, and 11 at 170 Elm Street, Enfield. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and curtain is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for seniors and students. They are available at the door or by visiting www.valleyrep.com or calling 860-810-6152.