By Tommy Bourgeois
Last time I promised more details to come about Catherine Schreiber’s current theatrical ventures, and I’ll let Catherine take it from here: “Excited to share news of my latest Broadway and London productions. The Olivier Award winner for best comedy, The Play that Goes Wrong, opened on Broadway April 2 and is non-stop laughs. The play is so wrong, it’s right. Ben Brantley wrote, ‘A gut-busting hit! The audience roared as loudly as the crowds at any wrestling match.’ Please check out www.catherineschreiberproductions.com for guaranteed mirth.
“The tireless Nancy Young organized a great event featuring dinner and the show. Thanks, Nancy! So much fun spending the evening with so many classmates. [Author’s note: more on this gathering in just a minute.] On March 25 at London’s Southwark Playhouse, we opened the Tony-winning Cy Coleman musical The Life to great critical acclaim and finished on April 29 with a sold-out run. In March we began the tour of the WWII thriller, Moira Buffini’s Gabriel, starring Belinda Lang and Dr. Who’s Paul McGann. It’s been a truly incredible spring. Also, it was an honor to be nominated for two Oliviers as a producer of the smash hit Dreamgirls and the revival of Show Boat in London. So happy for Dreamgirls stars Amber Riley and Adam Bernard and Show Boat star Rebecca Trehearn, who won Oliviers for their performances. Hope to see many of you in London or in New York.”
The event Catherine mentions was held on April 20. Joining her for dinner at DB Moderne, followed by the play at the Lyceum, were Paul Baumgartel and Mona Kosseim ’86; Richard Carnell; David and Catherine (’76) Cuthell; Michael Farewell and his fiancée Kate Jones; Pam Grossman and David Kahn, who traveled from Philadelphia for the festivities; Michael Hausman and Tracy Pogue; Charles Keefe and Lisa Locksley; Jeffrey McAulay and Patricia Bouley; Mark Peters and Claudio Vasquez; Laurie Stevens and Mark McAndrews ’76; Ariane Van Buren; and the aforementioned Nancy Young and husband Paul Ford. Glenn Reiter ’73 also attended with his wife Lyn. As a bonus, dinner doubled as Michael Hausman’s birthday celebration! I thank Nancy for her alphabetically ordered post on the class Facebook page.
On May 22, former congressman (New Hampshire) and retired ambassador Richard Swett and Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett ’79 received the 2017 Global Leadership Award from the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire in recognition of their “extraordinary commitment to New Hampshire and the world.” Dick, who represented the US in Denmark under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, writes, “Katrina was also recently honored by the Greater Concord Interfaith Council for her work promoting religious freedom. What is more important are the accomplishments of our children (yes, all seven of them), and I’ll be brief.
“Oldest, Chelsea, lives in Copenhagen with husband and three children working for the World Health Organization. Sheb (JE ’09, Yale ’12JD, and married to classmate Caroline Novogrod) has a little boy and is assistant US attorney in New York’s Southern District. Next is Keato, who is married (Stephanie) with an eight-month-old son and is studying for a PhD at Duke; he’s our social networking entrepreneur. Chanté graduates from Harvard’s Kennedy School this year and got married last summer. Her next younger sister, Kismet, is completing two years of Teach for America, simultaneously obtaining her master’s in education, and is getting married this August 5! Atty is a rising 2L at BYU’s J. Ruben Clark Law School, and our baby, Sunday, will be a senior at Yale, fulfilling her duties as captain of the varsity tennis team, acting as a freshman counselor, and leading the JE College Council, not to mention keeping up with her studies. There, I hope I was brief enough!” Thanks for that impressively comprehensive yet pithy account, Dick. Congratulations to you and yours, and I’ll bet our classmate Annette Lantos must be an awfully proud sister-in-law, sister, and aunt!
Speaking of honors, CBS chief medical correspondent and professor of medicine at NYU Jon LaPook just had the honor of addressing the first graduating class of Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. He advised the grads that constructing “the emotional wall” between themselves and their patients would be a “tricky” challenge: “You don’t want to make it too thin and porous because that can be emotionally devastating. But you don’t want to make it too thick and impervious, because then you miss out on all the good stuff, the precious moments when you connect with a patient as a human being. . . . What’s going to distinguish you as true healers is the way you embrace humility, compassion, and empathy.” He added that, even lacking an answer for a patient in need, “you can still help with a sympathetic ear, a reassuring touch of the hand, and sticking by them through sickness and health.” Well said, Jon.
By now you should have received a broadcast e-mail from the AYA announcing our upcoming mini-reunion in Savannah, to be held Friday, November 10, through Sunday, November 12. Nancy and I thank Savannah resident Tim Clemm and Chip Carey for their organization and inspiration. It promises to be a great event in an historic city distinguished by its architecture and original urban plan. You can register online before the August 2 deadline.
Finally, I am deeply saddened to report that our beloved classmate Jeffrey William “Big Dog” Barron died on May 1 in Naperville, Illinois, after a long struggle with COPD. I’m indebted to James Hart for posting this terrible news on the class Facebook page. Jeff was a native of Cincinnati, where he graduated from Xavier High. His JE mate Peter Kaufman writes, “To those of us who knew and loved him, it’s a crushing blow.” I had a terrific visit with Jeff and his son Jamie at our 35th reunion in TD, and he sent word before our 40th that his health wouldn’t permit him to attend. In addition to Jamie, Jeff is survived by his daughter Kaleigh Kleisch; siblings Patrick, Daniel, and Cyndy Barron; and nephews Matthew and Christian Barron. I hope they will be comforted to know how warmly he’s remembered by so many classmates, into whose lives he brought joy, a buoyant spirit, playful humor, and a profound sense of gratitude for life itself, for the chance to be a part of the Yale family, and particularly for their friendship.
As always, I invite you to drop me a line with your latest news.