Wantagh Shows its Talents at Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst

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Timothy Eletto, Reporter

Despite my interest in literature and storytelling, I have never had much of an interest in my past English classes.  However, that changed this year. In English 11R, we read the fantastic play, All My Sons, by Arthur Miller. We went to see the play in person at Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst on November 20. It was directed by retired Wantagh High School English and Drama Teacher, Mr. Dubin, and performed by a cast of incredible actors, one of whom was current English teacher, Mr. Garey.

Back in 1981, when Mr. Garey transferred to Wantagh Junior High School from St. Frances de Chantal, a Catholic school, he met a cool, young teacher — Mr. Dubin, who had recently graduated from college.

“It was like going to see some sort of rare bird in the zoo,” said Mr. Garey, since all of his previous teachers had been older nuns.  

After being inspired by Mr. Dubin, Mr. Garey auditioned for the school play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.  Rather than getting the part that he auditioned for, Mr. Garey got the role of Bernard, the nerd.

So this time around, 34 years later, when he heard that Mr. Dubin was planning to stage All My Sons, he decided to take a chance, and this time it paid off. He was cast in the role that he desired, that of Dr. Jim Bayliss.

While the leads in All My Sons were outstanding professional actors who did an amazing job, Mr. Garey more than held his own in his first acting role since high school.

I was truly impressed by this play.  As director, Mr. Dubin really brought the play to life.  Everything in the play felt very realistic. The easiest way to tell if a play was well performed is if the viewer almost forgets that they’re watching a play, and there were definitely plenty of times that I thought that I was actually looking into the Kellers’ backyard.