July 22, 2011
Frank and Joanne Livelli are the founders of SummerStage at Leonia, now in its 12th year. Frank is a cardiologist. Joanne is a nurse practitioner. They have two daughters, Christina, 30, and Kathleen, 28, who acted in numerous productions while growing up. Frank serves on the Environmental Commission, the Board of Health, the Economic Development Committee and the Transportation Committee. He is chief executive and sound designer for all SummerStage productions. Joanne is costume chair of the Leonia Players Guild and SummerStage. This year’s production is “Bye Bye Birdie,” which is being performed at Leonia High School’s Little Theater for the next two weekends.
Q: Did you know at an early age that you wanted to go into the medical profession?
A: Joanne: Nursing was my third major after chemistry and psychology. Frank: I became interested in medicine as a biology major at Columbia. I went on to graduate from Harvard Medical School. I am currently on the faculty of Columbia University as a clinical professor of medicine.
Q: How did you meet?
A: Joanne: Frank was an intern at Columbia University Hospital and I was a nurse practitioner. We had a mutual patient who brought us together. We just celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary.
Q: What’s your favorite date?
A: Dinner at the Harvard Club, where we got married, followed by a Broadway show. We recently saw “War Horse” and loved it.
Q: What brought you to Leonia?
A: Frank: We were looking for a house in which we could open our medical practice and also live in. It had to be near the bridge, and an easy commute to Columbia University Medical Center. After looking for a year-and-a-half, we moved to Leonia in 1985, when our girls were 2 and 4. It’s a six-minute commute from my house to Columbia. Joanne: With two small children, I loved the sidewalks, which enabled me to walk or push a baby carriage all over town.
Q: What do you most appreciate about Leonia?
A: Joanne: It’s socially, culturally and economically diverse. We like “the mix” and the fact that it’s so close to the city. Frank: I love the Rockwellian quality of Leonia – a quality worth fighting for to preserve and protect.
Q: How did you both get so involved in Leonia theater?
A: Frank: Our daughters, both redheads, auditioned for, but were not cast in, the Leonia Players Guild production of “Annie” in 1992, but were in “Oliver!” in 1993. It was the first I’d heard of the Guild and their summer musicals in Wood Park. Like many other parents, I just dropped the kids off for rehearsals and picked them up when it was over. On opening night, I was astonished at the quality of the production. We invited all our friends and we went every night. From then on we were hooked.
Q: What’s your favorite Broadway musical?
A: Frank: We have different tastes in books and movies, but we both love “Les Miserables.” It was an experience of a lifetime when we first saw it on Broadway in the early 90s. We’ve seen numerous productions of it all over the East Coast.
Q: If you could be any actor or character in a play, who would it be?
A: Frank: A combination of Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery. Joanne: Fontine in “Les Miz” is my tragic heroine; Carol Burnett is my comedic one.
Q: How did you get so involved with sound and costumes?
A: Joanne: Our daughters acted in numerous summer shows, and we both offered to be of help wherever we could. Frank had always been interested in electronics, especially stereo components, so he naturally gravitated to the sound booth. I offered to sew buttons on costumes and be a wardrobe assistant. Now I research period costumes and get a vicarious thrill transforming actors with costumes. Frank’s mother Christine, who lives with us, is an amazing seamstress and is up all hours of the night sewing costumes.
Q: How did SummerStage evolve from the Guild’s summer “Plays in the Park?”
A: Frank: 1999 was the last outdoor summer show for the Guild. Outdoor shows were financially risky; if it rained, was too hot, or too buggy, people didn’t come. That was also the year of the West Nile Virus and people were very alarmed about being exposed to mosquitoes. A core group wanted the summer shows to go on, so we started SummerStage. Instead of sitting on bleachers outdoors, the shows are held in the air-conditioned Little Theater at Leonia High School on comfortable seats.
Q: With a full-time medical practice, where do you find the time to produce an ambitious musical every summer?
A: Frank: It’s like having a second job for both of us, but we’re both energized by the rehearsals and shows. Joanne: It’s also gratifying that we give the net profits back to the Leonia schools arts programs and other cultural arts organizations in town, including The Players Guild of Leonia. To date, we’ve donated over $82,000 in cultural arts Grants. Among the awards were a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system for the LHS Little Theater.
Q: Is there anything else you like to do in your “spare time?”
A: Frank: I love to do track driving with my Porsche 911 at the Lime Rock Racetrack in Connecticut. Joanne: I love to garden and have a penchant for historical novels.
Q: What do you do after the final curtain call?
A: Joanne: After the cast party, we spend about two weeks taking down the set, returning rental equipment, and paying the bills. We then head for the coast of Maine to relax – then we meet with our board to plan the next show!
For more information, visit http://www.leoniasummerstage.org.
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