"Stella & Lou"

September 1, 2015 — These two actors demonstrated the same great chemistry in Bruce Graham's "Stella & Lou" as they did in "Auld Lang Syne" in 2012.  Kathy Manfre as Stella won Best Actress award at the New Hampshire Theatre Awards for her role in the 2012 play. Cast as Lou was Gordon Clapp who won an Emmy for his role as Detective Medavoy in the long-running TV police drama, "NYPD Blue." Directing "Stella & Lou" for the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, was Gus Kaikkonen, who was also the set designer, and what a great set it was, a marvelous replica of a seedy South Philadelphia saloon.

Lou, proprietor of the South Philly bar, is left mostly alone after the death of his wife two years earlier, and the passing of most of his friends and associates. He looks forward to the brief visits from Stella, a registered nurse, several times a week. Stella had helped care for Lou's wife during her long illness.

In their long evening of conversation, just the two of them in Lou's bar, Stella tries to pull Lou out of his malaise. Lou, hopelessly set in his ways and unwilling to change, resists. Their conversation ranges from funny to poignant, occasionally erupting in anger. Two fine actors kept the audience totally engaged throughout this play about second chances.