My guest is Jack McDonnell ... again. Jack was my guest for the first time in Episode 79. He asked if he could return, and he’s back today to discuss this summer’s main stage production of TARZAN. You will love Jack’s enthusiasm and Summer Stage spirit. So, come along and have some fun… We all have stories to tell, and they can be heard here. Welcome to Brave and Strong and True, a podcast that engages Summer Stage alumni of all ages. I’m Bob Falkenstein. Follow Jac...

In this special episode, I talk with Chris Luner, who presents a preview of the 51st season of Summer Stage. We discuss each show on the schedule, the exciting changes for the Summer, and Chris presents some new ones. I hope you enjoy our conversation. So, come along and have some fun… Visit Summer Stage’s website https://www.udsummerstage.org/ Find out more about the Upper Darby Arts & Education Foundation https://www.udfoundation.org/ We all have stories to tell, and they can ...

“June is bustin’ out all over.” Pretty soon, school will be out, and Upper Darby Summer Stage will launch Season 51 with a temporary home base and new programs such as Second Act Cabaret and Senior Stage. This podcast begins its fifth season, and my 101st episode features Dan Luner. Dan joined Summer Stage in 2005 as an apprentice and moved up the ranks of Children’s Theatre and Main Stage. He also became a staff member. He graduated from Upper Darby High School and Cabrini College. Dan will ...

I am so proud and excited to welcome you to Episode 100 of the Summer Stage Alumni podcast. It boggles my mind realizing that I recorded interviews with so many Summer Stagers, and how many folks listen to this show regularly. I don’t want to sound like I am bragging, but I am proud to have created this project. In July of 2022, I interviewed Joe Hummel, who was my tenth guest. He mentioned that if the podcast ever made it to 100 episodes, he would interview me. Well, that’s what you're going...

It’s been a few months since I dropped a new episode, the longest gap since we launched four years ago, so when Theresa Brown and Leslie Monaco asked if they could put together an alumni group for an episode, I agreed. Multi-guest interviews work best when each guest is at their own remote location; however, for this particular interview, all six guests would be together in the same location, gathered around the built-in microphone of a single laptop computer. Being so hungry to produce an ep...

By the time this podcast drops, Dan Martin will be a newly married man, so congratulations, Dan! Dan Martin went to Saint Berndette’s grade school and Drexel Hill Middle School, where his friends introduced him to Summer Stage. He attended Monsignor Bonner, where he was the Friar mascot. He received his degree from Saint Joseph’s University and his Master's from Temple. In 2002, Dan performed in his first children’s theatre production, Bound for Broadway. He fondly recalls the 2005 prod...

Brenna Dinon joined Summer Stage as an Apprentice while she was a student at Saint Bernadette's in Drexel Hill. She hung around for several summers performing in Children’s Theatre shows and with The Shooting Stars, eventually joining the staff. She graduated from Saint Joseph’s University and works out of her East Falls home as an author, copywriter, and creator. Please follow the link to Amazon to see the RP Minis that she created. I hope you enjoy our conversation, so come along and have s...

Highland Park native, Meghan Malloy, had a brief stint as an apprentice in 1991. She triumphantly returned in 1996, appearing in Alice in Wonderland. She later appeared in Main Stage productions, Dance Troupe, and One Acts. After graduating from Point Park College, she joined the staff and taught acting in the outreach program. Meghan led Camp Friendship and directed children’s theatre shows. She currently works as an actor, an accent and dialect coach, a teaching artist, and a playwrig...

Mark Cronin grew up in Drexel Hill and graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1982. He was Rooster Hannigan in 1984’s Annie and finally made it to East Street. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He cultivated his comedy roots in the Mask and Wig Club. He began his professional career writing jokes for Howard Stern. Mark is known as the King of Reality TV, producing hits for over three decades. His latest creation, Below Deck, has been ru...

Donata Cucinotta joined Summer Stage in 1994. She was a student Waldron Mercy Academy in Merion Station and during her summers enjoyed performing in the casts of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, where she played Scotty the Scottish Dwarf. She remembers the heat and humidity of the Beverly Hills summer of 1995,and 1996’s No One Will Marry a Princess With a Tree Growing Out of Her Head. In 1997, she was in the mainstage cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She attended Ithaca ...