New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Musical comedy revolves around Charles Island history and legends
People have always enjoyed walking on Charles Island, the 14 acres about a half a mile off the coast of Milford that is accessible through a tiny plot of land just off Silver Sands Beach.
It also serves as a Natural Area Preserve for the local bird population of herons and egrets. And there are also tales of a curse, pirates and a buried treasure.
Now, a new musical comedy exploring the rich history, legends and lore of the island will be presented by Pantochino Productions at the Milford Arts Council, April 29 through May 15.
Written by Bert Bernardi (book and lyrics) and Justin Rugg (music), “Checking in on Charles” is set in the former Island House, an inn which once was the centerpiece of the island, and follows an innkeeper who does her best to keep calm as grifters, ghosts, pirates and promoters attempt to take the island from her in a farcical, door-slamming comic manner.
“Charles Island is very rich in history and legends, and for our purposes, we’re doing it at the time when there was this inn on the island, and run by a gentleman from Waterbury ... when he passed, he handed the business to his daughter, who was an unlikely candidate to run it,” Bernardi said.
“Our story picks up at the beginning of her tenure as an innkeeper.”
For those who know the history, there were so many interested parties at the time who wanted to own the land, including a promoter from Coney Island who wanted to turn it into an amusement park, a businessman who wanted it to be a casino, and even a priest who wanted to turn the entire island into a monastery retreat.
And then there were the treasure hunters who believed that there was buried treasure hidden on the land.
“There were so many different ideas on what the island could be during this grand and gilded age,” Bernardi said. “I envisioned a story where all of these people were there at the inn and tried to get the keys away from the innkeeper.”
The idea came to Bernardi by accident. He was attending Milford’s annual Pirate’s Day, and wondered why this event came about.
He started looking into its origins. He soon learned about the legend of Captain William Kidd and his landing on Charles Island and burying part of his treasure there. He also learned about the several curses supposedly placed on the island.
“There’s so much history, and it was so fascinating to me, I was just enjoying reading about it all,” Bernardi said. “When I got to the part about the inn, I knew there was a story here and one that should be told on the stage, and I thought it was the perfect piece to put on in Milford.”
“Checking in on Charles” was originally scheduled to be staged two years ago, but the pandemic put those plans on hold.
“When everything shut down, we closed the file and hoped that one day we would still get a chance to do this,” Bernardi said. “Rather than finish and get things ready, we put it aside and ignored the show because we had so many
other things to do to keep Pantochino alive.”
That included coming up with online content, a curbside
show performed on people’s lawns and other things that took up a lot of the writing team’s time.
“It was kind of fun to look at it again with fresh eyes and dig into it once we knew it was going to be staged,” Bernardi said. “We made a lot of changes from the first draft and it’s been so much fun getting it ready. I just can’t wait to do it.”
The cast features company members Mary Mannix, coproducer Jimmy Johansmeyer, Shelley Marsh Poggio, Maria Berte, Valerie Solli and Rachelle Ianniello. Two local children, Ryder Blanchard and Cara Marquis, also are part of the cast.
“This show is very silly and a lot of fun, and that’s exactly what we need right now,” Bernardi said. “People who live in the area and know the history will get a kick out of some of the stories they have heard played out on stage. But you can have no knowledge of the show and just laugh along with the situations. It’s going to have a broad appeal to a lot of age ranges and people should come in ready to laugh.”
The show is sponsored by the City of Milford, Devon Rotary and Colony Grill.