Dr. Frank Sheboy is no longer a Cornwall high school principal, but he’s still connected to the community. He’s part of a local cast that will be performing at Palaia Vineyards next weekend.
They’re presenting “Fools,” a Neil Simon comedy about a Russian village that has been cursed with ignorance. No one has escaped the curse — not even Dr. Sheboy, who is playing Slovitch the Butcher.
Director Rich Aufiero, the head of the Cornwall Drama Club, recruited Dr. Sheboy for the part and told him not to use an eastern European accent. So the former principal decided to talk like one of the Bowery Boys. And he sounds surprisingly natural for someone who grew up in Ohio and graduated from the Goshen School District (where he is now an assistant superintendent).
“Dem’s is flowers,” he says to a vendor who is claiming that they’re fish, because the fishermen didn’t catch anything. When the characters in one scene reveal their ages, Dr. Sheboy announces that he’s “forty-tree” (a few years less than his age in real life). Throughout the performance, he manages to say “curse” so that it rhymes with “choice.”
This is Dr. Sheboy’s second show at Palaia. Two years ago, he played an accountant in the “Odd Couple.” Before that, he appeared in community theater during his college days.
“Being on stage,” he says, “is most akin to doing a pep rally. You’re hoping for a reaction.” As a principal, he got huge reactions from the high school students at a pep rally when he told them that he bled “Dragon green.”
As an actor, he has enjoyed the preparation. “I just laugh through the rehearsals,” he admitted as the cast gathered for a run-through in the Palaia warehouse. “I keep laughing at the same lines over and over.”
One that always amuses him is part of a dialogue in the Zubritsky household. “Go plant a garden,” the mother tells her daughter, “so we can have vegetables for dinner.” That’s typical of what’s heard on stage until the curse is finally broken.
The show will be presented at the vineyard from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3. The Friday and Saturday performances start at 8 p.m; the Sunday matinee is at 2 p.m.
Unlike rehearsals, when the show is performed, Dr. Sheboy won’t be able to watch the scenes that don’t include him. “The sad thing about the performance,” he said, “is that I won’t get to see it.”
CAST
Rich Aufiero (the count), Ken Cashman (chief magistrate), Sean Dougherty (the schoolmaster), Ann Fulton (doctor’s wife), Kristin Henne (vendor), Kristin Oberle (shepherd), Frank Sheboy (butcher), Al Snider (village doctor), Chuck Trella (postman), Monica Trella (female lead). Palaia Vineyards are on the west side of Route 32 about a half mile south of the Cornwall-Woodbury town line.