Local Talent in Baby, the Musical at DAC Weatherstone Studio

Several cast and crew members from Port Chester are contributing their talents to the DAC Stage production of Baby, just over the New York border, in Darien Connecticut. Jeffrey Aldana, Peter Green and Julie Thaxter-Gourlay are cast onstage at the Darien Arts Center, while Jac-que Robinson orchestrates lighting and Carin Zakes directs the musical by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire. Mario Fuentes created the graphics for their poster.

The story examines how parents-to-be experience the emotional stresses and triumphs, as well as the desperate lows and comic highs that accompany the anticipation and arrival of a baby. Three couples work their way towards parenthood under three very different circumstances: college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and middle aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started.

Jeffrey Aldana, who plays Nick Sakarian, one of the thirty-somethings, was born and raised in Port Chester. Aldana discovered his ability to sing when auditioning for the local opera Amahl at the Night Visitors, where he went on to perform the lead role of Amahl for three years. Subsequent theatre roles have included Jesus in Godspell, Linus in Charlie Brown, Bobby Strong in Urinetown, and Benny Coffin in Rent, among many others at local Westchester theatres. In addition to working as a sales executive for Baldor Specialty Foods, Aldana is also a Christian pop/rock artist.

Peter Green plays Alan Mcnalley, the husband of the older couple. An early graduate of SUNY Purchase’s Theatre Conservatory, Green has been involved in community theatre in Westchester and Fairfield Counties since 1996 as actor, director, and teacher. He has directed in the past two seasons at DAC Stage with Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He has been seen previously in A Month In the Country, Six Degrees of Separation, and Almost Maine. Along with Carin Zakes, he is co-producer and artistic director of the Rye-based summer Shakespeare program, LawnChair Theatre.

Julie Thaxter-Gourlay plays the doctor in the production and is also part of the ensemble. Her recent credits include Glengarry Glen Ross, Twelfth Night , Other Desert, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Her film and TV credits include Law and Order: SVU, Whipped, Freeze Out, and the four corners of nowhere.

Also cast in the production are Billy Shubeck, Hilary Webster, Danielle A. Valdes and Lisa Spielman. Ensemble roles also include Jonathan Hall, Regina Elliott, Alison Soderquist, Beth Brandon, Michele Salustri and Juan Londoño.

Baby is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Performances are on April 21, 22, 28, 29 and May 5 and 6 at 8 p.m., and April 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. in the DAC Weatherstone Studio at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students at darienarts.org. For more information, call the DAC at (203) 655-8683.

Pictured in the production:

#1: Jeffrey Aldana and Danielle Valdes

#2: Lisa Spielman and Peter Green

#3: Danielle Valdes, Jeffrey Aldana and Julie Thaxter-Gourlay