Westchester Performers Highlight New Production of 'The Most Happy Fella'

The following announcement is from the Mount Pleasant Community Theater:

Steve Taylor of White Plains plays Tony, the male lead in “The Most Happy Fella,” to be presented by the Mt. Pleasant Community Theater on Aug. 8, 9, 10, 15 and 16 in the John Whearty Theater at Westlake High School.

Taylor has a long-standing relationship with the show. The 1991 Goodspeed Opera House revival inspired him to get back into theatre after a long hiatus, and it was his first appearance on a Westchester stage – as Herman at the Asbury Summer Theater in Crestwood in Yonkers. He even worked on the role this summer with New Rochelle vocal coach Richard Slade, whose wife Cynthia played Marie in the Asbury production.

“Most Happy Fella” tells the story of a romance between an older man and a younger woman. “It is one of my favorite musicals,” Taylor says. “I have been listening to the score for years – it is about love and mistakes, and ultimately, forgiveness, communicated through beautiful music.”

Taylor says he has been doing theater ”all his life.” He started singing in the church choir at age six and landed his first starring role, at 11, as Amahl in Gian-Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” in Harrisburg, PA , where he grew up.

In a quick rundown of the past quarter century, Taylor says he graduated from West Virginia University with a major in theater and a minor in music, moved to New York City to become an actor, did that for a few years, got married, had a couple of kids and turned his “survival job” – third-shift word processing at a law firm - into a “real” job. Twenty years later, he is an IT manager at the same firm.

“Most Happy Fella” reunites Steve with female lead Julie Wendholt, who plays Rosabella, his love interest. They have performed together several times over the past two years – including as the leads in “”The Secret Garden” at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, where Taylor serves on the board of directors; an evening of musical theater and operatic duets at the Nyack Center; and most recently at a benefit for the Croton Teen Theatre.

Taylor’s 21-year-old twin sons are following in his theatrical footsteps – Griffin, a rising senior at Occidental College in Los Angeles, is majoring in politics but does a lot of theater, even occasionally “competing” with his dad -- he will appear in “Spring Awakening” at the Helen Hayes Youth Theater in Nyack at the same time that Most Happy Fella is performing across the river. Taylor’s other son, Luke, is majoring in theater at Muhlenberg College in PA.

Taylor met his wife, Kathleen Mahan, in a tap dance class in New York City. She teaches and directs children’s theater all over the Tristate area, including a program where the children write their own script, integrating the school curriculum with performance.

Taylor is in the Chancel Choir at the Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, where he has sung for 15 years under the direction of Dr. John King. Additionally, Taylor sings with the New Choral Society of Westchester County, also directed by Dr. King.

The cast also include White Plains residents Chuck Buchanan as a priest and Bob Beitscher as Max, along with his wife Maureen and daughter Jessica in the ensemble and son Matthew on the stage crew.

Beitscher is back with the company for a second year after a long absence. He was last seen as the Beggar in last year’s production of “Fiddler On The Roof.”Chuck has spent most of the last 19 summers relaxing with on the Mt. Pleasant Community Theater stage. While waiting for the return
 of each summer, he passes his time working in the Special Ed. Department at Horace Greeley High School and as a Board member of Pleasantville Music Theater (PMT).

The 44th performance by the local group since its founding in 1970, the show is directed and choreographed by Rose Cremonese-Norton. Other cast members include:

Julie Wendholt of Nyack as Rosabella

Jean Garner of Rivertowns as Cleo

Sam Stein of Purchase as Herman

Justin Thomas of Hawthorne as Joey

Frank Accosta of Elmsford as Ciccio

Rich Murden of Pleasantville as Pasquale

Jon Thomas of Hawthorne as Guiseppe

Matt Perito of Amawalk as Doc

John Wright of Hawthorne as Jake

Kit Colbour of Fishkill as Marie

Bob McFarlane of Scarsdale as the Postman

The Most Happy Fella is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and a younger woman, ran for 676 performances when originally presented on Broadway, and has enjoyed several revivals.

Westlake High School is located at 825 Westlake Drive in Thornwood, NY. Friday and Saturday night performances are at 8 pm, Sunday matinee at 2 pm. Tickets can be ordered on-line at www.mpctshows.com. For further information, please call

(914) 773-9171 or (914) 769-0958.

About Mount Pleasant Community Theater

The Mount Pleasant Community Theater, originally called Mount Pleasant Summer Stock, was founded in the summer of 1970 for ages 15-25 by Rose Cremonese Norton, owner of Rose’s School of Dance, and a group of football players -- Tom Darby, Steve Desidore, Owen Cottle and Pete Mastropietro,who wanted to continue performing after high school. Key participants in the founding included Sue Delaney, Laura DeSanto, and Justine Muller. Since early shows proved successful, support has been provided by the community, including the Mt. Pleasant Recreation Department, the Thornwood/Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce, and Luca Cappelli family.

Photo: Julie Wendholt, as Rosabella, and Steve Taylor, as Tony, in “The Most Happy Fella.” Photo credit: Andrea Minoff