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Local Couple Acts Again in the Musical that Brought them Together

Dawn and Eric Spitz are back where they started – on the stage, together, performing one of America’s favorite musicals with the Chatham Drama Guild.

“Dawn and I met way back," Eric Spitz said. “How many years ago? 53 years ago, in this particular show, Guys and Dolls.”

The couple initially lost touch after that show five decades ago. But a few years later, they were re-introduced by their mutual singing teacher. Soon they married, and they’ve been traveling the country performing ever since.

“It’s been real fun, it’s been a great marriage, and music has been a big part of our lives together. It’s good for the soul,” said Eric

“Good for the soul, also good for your health I think," Dawn added. "There’s something about music.”

Guys and Dolls is the story of a group of gamblers (the ‘Guys’), trying to organize a game of craps. The cast ranged from people in their 80s – like Eric and Dawn, to people in their 20s.

“It's not only just the fun of singing and performing. It’s really the sense of community," Dawn said. “And where else would people our age get to meet and spend time with younger people and have some fun? That’s really a large part of it. And it really just keeps us going!”

Orleans native Pam Banas is the show’s director. Banas noted that without broad audience support, age-inclusive, non-profit theater guilds like theirs may disappear.

“That’s one of the great things about community theater,” Banas said. “You can include all of these people and not have it be an age-specific thing, and then it becomes like a family.”

The production more than feels like a family; many of the cast members are family. Banas’s daughter Rebecca plays one of the female leads. Another daughter, Rachel, is the stage manager. A father and son duo also act in the show together. And then there’s the Spitzs.

“Sometimes the rehearsals are more fun than the actual show,” Eric said. “Because there’s a camaraderie among the cast. We get to meet these new people, and they’re all younger than us, and it’s real fun. And saying goodbye after a show is always tough.”

They won’t have to say goodbye until after they perform several more shows at the Drama Guild’s home in Chatham. The final performance is Aug. 16.