44 Time of My Life by Alan Ayckbourn dir Michael Maggio. I got to Understudy! I was the Understudy to Neil Flynn and David Alan Novak. Mike was the Understudy for Ian Barford. This was an interesting little comedy that played with time, branching out from a one particular dinner, happening at the same restaurant. In one branch, we follow Bob Breuler and Molly Regan for the rest of their evening after a big family dinner in the restaurant. In another, we follow Neil Flynn’s and Matha Lavey’s characters through jumps in time going forward from that night, and in the last branch we follow Ian Barford and Mariann Mayberry’s characters backwards through time to their first date. Then the play ends with the beginning of the family dinner that it all branches out from. The other actor in the play - plays a variety of waiters and the restaurant owner. One day we were at our Wednesday afternoon understudy rehearsal, when Ian showed up four hours early. He wasn’t feeling well, so he was going to lay down in the dressing room. So Mike decided he better stick around, and I hung out with him. Half hour came, and Ian was set to go on, but we had to see the show twice a week anyway, so we figured we would just do that. !5. 10. 5. Places. Ian goes upstairs, and then two minutes later came back down stairs and said, Not gonna make it. So suddenly we are scrambling to get Mike dressed (they hadn’t pulled costumes for us) so he went on wearing the sportcoat I happened to be wearing that day and my belt (braided leather don’t you know) and killed it. Truly a wunderstudy. Production still by Michael Brosilow. Group photo of the cast at closing (minus Bob who I think was already across the street at O’Rourkes). #retrospective #1995 #steppenwolftheatrecompany #timeofmylife #alanayckbourn #michaelmaggio #mikedailey #ianbarford #neilflynn #marthalavey #bobbrueler #mollyregan #mariannmayberry #davidalannovak #wunderstudy #happytimes #happydays (at Steppenwolf Theatre Company) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ftq92JCBl/?igshid=7sg7leesr5xv