Lisa LoCicero (Olivia, GH) is starring in a production of Bill W. And Doctor Bob, directed by Ronnie Marmo (ex-Ronnie, GH). “When Ronnie came to me with this, initially, I was like, ‘No way,’ ” she recalls. “And then I read the material. It’s a play about Bill Watson and Dr. Bob Smith and the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, and I play the role of his wife, Lois, who was the founder of Al-Alon. It’s a really interesting play and Ronnie had done before as an actor, in the role of Bill, and said, ‘It’s a really moving piece to perform because all the people from the rooms [AA meetings] come and sit in the audience. Some of them aren’t usually theatergoers; some of have never been to the theater before. But this is material that resonates so deeply with them and their survival that they come, and it winds up being a very emotional exchange between the actors on the stage and the people in the audience.’ And I thought, at the end of the day, isn’t that what we do this for? So I said, ‘I need to jump into this.’ I’ve really enjoyed the rehearsal process with this, and I’m so excited to tell this particular story because I don’t think that anyone in modern times has not been touched by alcoholism, by substance abuse, in some way, shape or form. When you go back in time and realize that when they developed the 12-step program, there was nothing [to help people maintain sobriety]! What these people did for the world is a pretty amazing story and then what Lois did, getting the people affected by the people in their lives [who were struggling with addiction] and all the chaos of that to be able to sit together in community and share without judgment was tremendous, especially since there was so much stigma around it at the time. We are performing this in a very intimate, 50-seat house, so it’s really like you’re sharing a very intimate moment with all of these people and all of these issues.” Working with Marmo has also been a joy. “Ronnie is such a wonderful director. He’s been such a dear friend to me for many years and he has a great eye and great creative instincts. He’s got theater in his blood! He runs and owns the theater complex where we’re doing it and he’s just great to work with. I’m glad I allowed him to convince me to do this!” LoCicero notes that the show’s run is open-ended, and she is doing the performances that take place Friday night and the Saturday matinee at Theater 68 in North Hollywood. For tickets and more info, click here.
