New series celebrates extraordinary life stories

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: “There are no second acts in American lives.” Sheree Marcucci, marketing and public relations officer for the Palace Theater in Waterbury, is proving him wrong with “Second Act Life Stories,” an amazing program featuring people who have begun a second career or found a new purpose in life, long after the normal retirement age. For these participants, their first act was just the rehearsal.

“I host a bimonthly radio show in Waterbury called “Your Palace, Your Place,” where I interview people with interesting stories,” Marcucci said. “I had met Nancy Schuler at the Mattatuck Museum. She was charming and engaging and I invited her to be a guest on the show and talk about what she was doing in this second half of her life. We got some great feedback, so I pitched the idea of casting about for more people like Nancy. The idea that life can be richer and even more fulfilling after the first act is what this series is all about.”

With funding from the Connecticut Community Foundation, Marcucci has lined up nine individuals who will discuss the ways in which they have enhanced and changed their lives by following their hearts and pursuing their dreams.

While the speakers come from various towns in Connecticut, two are Litchfield residents.

Schuler, a Waterbury native and the inspiration for the series, has taught art and painting and was a personal trainer for over 30 years. She transitioned to writing and acting.

“A local production company was looking for senior people to write about Waterbury neighborhoods in collaboration with high school kids,” Schuler said. “This was right up my alley. I know everything about Waterbury, so I volunteered and wrote a story about my Italian grandmother and started performing it in her Italian accent. It opened a door for me to write and perform more. I entered a contest in New York and I won and they asked me to perform it, so I did. I’ve also been modeling, filmed two national commercials, and I acted in a couple of television dramas. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in my life.”

She has since performed the monologue at various venues in New York and at local libraries and the Mattatuck Museum. Her talk is called “Everyone Has a Story” and she will tell hers on Nov. 10.

Jeff Savage, another Litchfield resident, presents “From Wall Street to Chappaquiddick” on May 7. He worked as a lawyer, corporate counsel, CEO, investment banker and an antiques and art dealer and then found the path to his current career as an actor.

“I had some things that were not going so well,” Savage said. “You can either throw in the towel or try something new. I went to a college reunion and a classmate told me he was acting in ‘Guys and Dolls’ and suggested I try out for it as well. I come from a big Irish family with a lot of interest in theater and singing. So I auditioned and got a part.

“Since then I’ve done over 80 shows, voice-overs television commercials, and some films, including the recent ‘Chappaquiddick.’ Things happen and you examine your life and take the chance on trying something new.”

The series opened on Sept. 17 with musician Tom “The Suit” Forst. The former vice-president of Cox Communications has forged a new career as a blues guitarist. A musician in his teens, he always wanted to return to music and now he has. He has released a solo album, “On Fire,” and has been inducted into the Connecticut and New York Blues Hall of Fame. He has a podcast, “Chasing the Blues,” where he chases down old blues legends, classic stories and what’s happening with the blues today.

The programs will be presented once a month through June in the Poli Club, a smaller venue at the Palace Theater. It is named for Sylvester Poli, an Italian immigrant who became a theater magnate and is responsible for the building of the Palace Theater.

“While the main theater seats 2,600 and is where we hold our major productions, the Poli Club is a much more intimate space,” Marcucci said, “and seats under 100 people.”

The ticket price of $25 includes a meal and mingling prior to the performance, and a Q&A session afterwards.

The group is indeed impressive. Consider mystery writer Martin Herman, October’s presenter. For more than 40 years he led a series of start-ups and troubled businesses toward stronger bottom-line results, here and abroad. Although he has written and published articles and short stories under a series of pen names since his early teens, it wasn’t until he approached his 75th birthday that he published his first full-length mystery novel, “The Jefferson Files,” a historical murder mystery now in its seventh printing.

December introduces sleep coach Brooke Packard, a singer, writer and musician who got her certification in positive psychology. She believes we are in the middle of a global sleep deprivation crisis. In this talk, “The First Best Habit to Nurture,” Packard will go over why we need to upgrade our bedtime routine, sharing simple, actionable steps to take for a better night’s sleep. Marcucci said thus far, this is the most popular talk in the series.

In February Eric Lanzieri, an attorney and teacher of college law presents “Miraculous Coincidence.” At age 53 he wrote his first book, “A Story for Louise,” which traces his paternal grandparents’ emigration from Italy to Waterbury. He explains how the journey enabled him to find longlost relatives in Italy and a piece of family history that helped complete his own life.

Garrison Leykam, March’s performer, has held leadership positions at such companies as MCI Telecommunications, Cablevision and DSL.net and been featured on ESPN’s “Extreme Magazine” TV program. He hosted and produced “DINERS,” that aired on Connecticut Public Television, and he has been an author and a standup comic. His talk is aptly called “Audacious at Any Age.” He believes that whatever you want to do, you are capable of doing it.

James Mapes fills the April slot with “Imagine That! Igniting Your Brain for Creativity and Peak Performance.” He believes if you want to age with passion and joy and be in the best mental health possible, it is absolutely essential that you reinvent yourself. He instills inspiration and shows that aging, physical challenges and fear do not have to limit you in the second act of life.

Aingeal McLaughlin Murray rounds out the series in June with “Fit & Fabulous into your 50s and Beyond.” She decided to take her job as a part-time fitness trainer and wellness advocate and turn that passion into a career. Now a certified integrative health coach, she is sharing her strategies for balancing the “F” words in our lives: food, fitness, friends, family, faith and fun.

Schuler

Savage