Dec. 2, 2024

A Play Reading: Inspired by the Violin

In 2020, during Covid quarantine, director Gregg Edelman (recently starring in Broadway's Water for Elephants) gathered terrific actors for a Zoom reading of my three-act play We'll Be Fine.

The first act, which I'm sharing below, focuses on a father's obsession with the violin, and how it affects his entire family, especially his son. The father is performed by David Rasche, who played Karl Muller on HBO's Succession. Eric William Morris, who plays the son, is getting raves for his role in Off Broadway's Cellino V. Barnes.

This first act takes 30 minutes. If you notice that the sound drops out for a second here and there, don't worry -- that's just part of the Zoom experience. To watch the reading full-screen, click the red arrow on the video below, then click the box in the lower right corner of the player.

If by some chance you of a theater that might want to produce the whole play, don't hold back -- let me know. Thank you!

Want to hear the real-life experiences that inspired this fictional story? Listen to the related episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out: Listen Up! A Violin Lesson with Strings Attached

Director: Gregg Edelman

Stage manager: Jordan Moore

CAST

Billy: Eric William Morris

Robert: David Rasche

Rose: Peggy Gormley

Susan: Lindsey Alley

Young Billy: Lucas Shane

Stage Directions: Graham Straus

Michael Small

Host

Michael Small, the host of I Couldn't Throw It Out, can be seen telling stories on Youtube in the NYC storytelling showcase Tale. His plays have been presented in the New York International Theater Festival and The HOWL Festival. He and BT McNicholl co-wrote the book for the musical The IT Girl, which debuted Off Broadway in 2001 and is now performed regionally. His new musical The History of Light, which updates Gilbert and Sullivan songs with pop and hip-hop, was performed in a public reading at L.A.'s La Mirada Theater.

After 15 years as a reporter for PEOPLE Magazine, Michael became a manager of websites for Wired, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone, among others. Most recently, he was a product manager at MSNBC.com and NBC News Digital.

Michael's 1992 book Break It Down: The Inside Story of Rap included interviews with more than 60 hip-hop artists. And, yes, he also ghostwrote the biography of the superhunk Fabio. If you need a copy, let him know.

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