Dauphin County Edition
October 2012
Vol. 14 No. 10
Finding Laughs Between Sorrows Local Theater Vet and Writer Takes on Troubled First Lady By Katie Weeber For years, Central Pennsylvania has been home to a thriving community of artists, musicians, and actors, providing residents with ample opportunity for entertainment and cultural experiences. One member of this community is Candace O’Donnell, who has performed at numerous local theaters and has recently completed a year-long project of researching and writing a monologue for Mary Todd Lincoln. O’Donnell will be performing Mary Todd Lincoln: Much Madness is Divinest Sense at the Ware Center in November of this year. O’Donnell has performed throughout the county at venues such as the Fulton Opera House, Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, Rainbow Dinner Theatre, Sight and Sound Theatre, Theater of the Seventh Sister, Sharadin Bigler Theatre (Ephrata Performing Arts Center), and the Brossman Theater. She also appeared in a Smilebuilderz dental commercial and in the independent film Another Harvest Moon. She has been on the board of directors for several local theaters, including that for the Fulton Opera House guild. For most of O’Donnell’s life, however, theater was not her main focus. “I probably had more of an interest in writing before I got into the theater,” she said. Growing up in St. Louis, Mo., O’Donnell showed an early aptitude for English and writing. This talent was fostered by encouraging teachers, including one who took a poem O’Donnell had written and submitted it to the local paper. Shortly thereafter, O’Donnell’s work was in print. please see LAUGHS page 20 Candace O’Donnell (in the period guise of Mary Todd Lincoln) will reveal a rarely seen lighter side of the first lady’s eventful life when she presents her monologue Mary Todd Lincoln: Much Madness is Divinest Sense at Millersville University’s Ware Center next month.
Inside:
Create a Great Funeral Salute to a Veteran: ‘After you, Mr. Lindbergh’ Day page 21 page 12
LANC., PA 17604
PERMIT 280
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