Mom, Daughter Shed Light on Foster Care

Montville mother and daughter acting team, Lucy Tullo and her daughter, Veronica, will open in an original new play Friday at the Darress Theatre in Boonton.

“Lost in the Field,” written and directed by Perry Award-nominated playwright Keith E. Brown, is the story of life in foster care. The title refers to what it is called when a child, who has been placed in foster care, is monitored by the system. Those who work in the system must go out into the field to make reports on the child’s quality of life, progress and future.

Veronica, 9, plays Alex, a little girl in the foster care system who is very protective of her sister.

“It’s the first time I’ve had to get really angry on stage,” noted the young actress of her role.

Lucy portrays an attorney who is representing a woman who had to give up her child to the system under unusual circumstances. Lucy’s character fights for years to help the woman regain custody of her son.

 “Lost in the Field” follows the lives of several children through the system and across 45 years.  The work is scored with original music by Kurt Goldstein.

“There is singing in it,” said Lucy. “It’s a play with musical soliloquies.”

The songs are indicative of the decades they represent.

“The music is quite good,” added Lucy.

With a cast of 23 actors, ranging in age from 8 to 60, “Lost in the Field,” has been in development since June.

“It’s been a really collaborative effort," said Lucy. “That’s what’s been just really incredible about it. He’s [the playwright] really listened to his actors.”

Throughout the summer, the cast of community theatre actors has played a role in shaping the script.

As both playwright and director, Brown has asked the cast to assist in refining and developing the story and the characters. Together, they have tightened and molded the script.

“This play has changed a lot,” explained Veronica. “It is not the same script as when we started.”

A playwright and director in her own right, Veronica is no stranger to the creative process. The elementary student enjoys writing and producing plays and movies in her spare time. Her dad, Dr. Nick Tullo, shares this interest with her. He built a recording studio in their home.  

Last year Veronica even created a class, known as an Interest Group, about theatre for her school in Morristown. The group met once a week for 40 minutes during Unity Charter School’s regular class instruction time.

Working with the K-8 students Veronica produced and directed her own script, entitled “Santa’s Puppy.”

“I started with one idea and then a couple of months later I decided to switch it around, and I came up with 'Santa's Puppy,'” she explained. 

“I’d been thinking of the play for a long time, and how it should work out,” Veronica explained about her experience directing students in first through fourth grade, and working with students in fifth through eighth to assemble sets and costumes.   

“I took all the things I had been thinking about and smooshed them into one,” she said. “And I just led.”

Veronica auditioned for “Lost in the Field” at Lucy’s suggestion.

“I have always been writing plays with my friends, so my mom decided to show me what a real audition is like. So, I tried out,” Veronica explained.

During the audition, Veronica mentioned to Brown’s assistant that her mom, Lucy, is an actress, singer, director, and drama coach. Naturally, Brown asked Lucy to audition too.

“I asked Veronica if it would be ok,” said Lucy. “Because, I really had wanted this audition to be about her; I had no intention of auditioning.

“It was sweet,” Lucy added. “Veronica said, ‘That’s great because you can give me pointers while I’m on stage.’”

"Lost in the Field" marks Lucy's return to the stage after a two-year hiatus while she battled breast cancer. During her recovery she missed performing and directing.

Lucy, whose father, Thomas Ford, was an Emmy and CLIO winning director of early television and commercials, doesn’t remember a time when she “wasn’t being told where to act, and what to do and where to go,” she said.

“My father used to make us unwrap and rewrap the presents 6 times just so he could get it on film,” Lucy added.

As a child, Lucy modeled and performed in commercials and did voice over and television work. As an adult, she studied opera at SUNY Purchase and sang with small companies in Manhattan, Italy, and wherever else she could find work.

“For an opera singer it’s very nomadic,” she said. “It’s whoever will hire you.”

After marrying Nick, the couple moved to Montville in 1992. Once in New Jersey, she discovered the Darress Theatre in Boonton. Lucy has performed and directed many shows over the past 19 years in the historic Vaudeville venue on Main Street. Veronica is named Veronica Rose because Lucy was pregnant with her during a production of “Snow White and Rose Red” in which Lucy played a title role.

Because of her experience directing children, Brown asked Lucy to stage some of the children’s scenes in “Lost in the Field.”

“I really, passionately, love working with kids,” said Lucy. “The four kids in it are just spectacular.”

But, despite a large cast of young people, “Lost in the Field" is not for kids.

“This is a really important play,” said Lucy. “People need to see it. The story really needs to be told. But, it’s not a kid’s show. There’s a lot of adult material and language.”

Veronica joked that her mom is always holding her hands over her ears during rehearsal.

Lucy joked that, “She’s learned so much from doing this play.”

Then both grew serious, noting that the subject matter is difficult but powerful.

A press release from the producers says “Lost in the Field” is about the resilience of the human spirit.

“It’s a great play. It really is,” Lucy said. “Everyone is very dedicated to this play.”

“Lost in the Field” opens Friday at 8 p.m. It runs Friday and Saturday nights through Sept. 24 at the Darress Theatre, 615 Main Street, Boonton. Tickets are $20.