The Record-Review
Friday, October 1, 2004, pg 17 (Cover of “Better Living” section)

THESE PEOPLE
By Jane Sims

For actor Bruce Sabath, the path to self-realization has taken many unexpected turns, and in October, it will bring him right back to where he started. Mr. Sabath, a Katonah resident who left his Wall Street consulting career seven years ago to pursue his lifelong passion for acting, will take the lead role in the satirical comedy “These People,” a new play by New York playwright Chris Widney that takes a humorous and insightful look at corporate hierarchies and suburban aspirations. The play is about a successful entrepreneur who, due to a slight disagreement with the IRS, will be spending the next two years in federal prison. But before he goes away, he must ensure that his perfect life he has built for his wife and daughter will still be there when he gets back.

“I am thrilled to have discovered this ‘These People,’” said Mr. Sabath, who is also producing the show through his one-year-old production company, Golden Day Productions. “It made me laugh out loud, and at the same time it really nails some key truths about life in the suburbs where the race for things and image often obscures sincere human connection.” The show will run from Oct. 8 through 30 at the American Theatre of Actors in Manhattan.

“These People” recognizes how people in virtually any organization – a company, a school, or in this case, a tennis club, invent hierarchies and goals that to the rest of the world are meaningless, but to them are practically a matter of life and death. The characters are all so vivid. I think people may see a bit of themselves, their friends and neighbors in this play. And given recent headlines, I think people will be intrigued by a story about a successful businessman who, due to the pressure of his business and his ambition, is faced with going to prison.

Mr. Sabath’s professional acting career began in 1997, when he decided to leave behind more that ten years of experience on Wall Street and strategy consulting to pursue his passion. 

“I had had great fun performing in both high school and college, but it never occurred to me that acting was an option as a full-time pursuit,” said Mr. Sabath. “I pursued a career that I thought was appropriate, what I thought was expected of me, but I continued to feel that I was off course. It took a long time to figure out that I was living someone else’s concept of what my life should be.”

After studying for two years with the legendary acting teacher William Esper, while at the same time honing his skills in voice and speech, singing, and movement, Mr. Sabath booked his first big gig in the national tour of Victor/Victoria. Since then, he has continued to work steadily in plays, musical theatre, film and commercials. Last year Sabath played the title role in the premiere of Prince Hal, which won a 2003 OOBR (Off-Off Broadway Review) award for best play. Recently, Sabath voiced the audiobook for Digital Fortress, the first novel by DaVinci Code author Dan Brown (re-released after the immense success of the latter). Mr. Sabath also performed locally in Westchester, including Guys & Dolls and 1776 at Yorktown Stage, and at the Yonkers Shakespeare Project, where he played the title role in YSP’s premiere production of Macbeth in 2001; and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2003.

The establishment of Golden Day Productions was a natural next step for Mr. Sabath, who wanted more artistic control over his theatrical projects. “My personal goal as an actor has always been to bring to life meaningful characters in meaningful productions, to work with incredibly creative, talented people who have similar goals, and to share what I do with eager audiences,” he said. Golden Day Productions really sets out to do the same thing from a producer’s point of view. I will be looking to produce compelling stories that really move me and might not otherwise make it to the stage.”

For Mr. Sabath, “These People” was such a story. “In putting together our team, the play itself has been a major selling feature,” he said. Everyone who has read the script really connected with it, and as a result I was able to bring some great people into it.”

“These People” is directed by Mary Catherine Burke, a recipient of the prestigious Drama League Fall Fellowship, an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and the assistant director of Arthur Penn’s Tony Award-winning production of “Fortune’s Fool.”

Two of the cast members in “These People” will be familiar to New York theatre-goers. Rita Rehn, who plays Sabath’s wife in the show, was in the Broadway show Nine with Raul Julia, and recently toured with Valerie Harper in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.  James Young, who plays Sabath’s best old buddy, also starred on Broadway in Me and My Girl and the recent revival of My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain.

The role of Sabath's seven-year-old daughter in the play will be shared by Paris Rose Yates and Carson Kleiner who, lives part-time in Bedford and has performed locally with the Random Farms Kids Theatre in Chappaqua.

"We saw a lot of very talented little girls from all around the New York area for this role," says Sabath. "How funny that the girl we found was right here in our own back yard!"

As it is also important for Mr. Sabath to give something back to the community, on Monday, October 11th. the Columbus Day performance of “These People” will be a benefit for The All-Stars Project. “The All-Stars Project is a fantastic organization in New York City that helps tens of thousands of underprivileged kids in the city by providing performance opportunities, most of which involve the participants developing and presenting their own works,” Mr. Sabath said. “The program has a great track record of improving self-confidence, communication skills, academic performance, community involvement and career success. In addition to donating one-third of that evening’s ticket sales to the All-Stars Project, we will host a benefit reception following the show that night.

Speaking of kids, what do Mr. Sabath’s children think of his career change from businessman to actor/producer? “I think it has enriched our lives as a family,” he said. For one thing, I think they’ve seen that when you do something you really love, your life is positively affected. And acting and music seem to filter into our lives in many ways. I’ve collaborated with my creative wife, Karen, on our kids’ birthday parties, which have included rehearsing and presenting an original play and shooting a digital movie. The boys are both performers themselves. They’ve both acted in local theatrical productions. Also, the boys and I have a rock band together, and we just had our first gig playing at the John Jay Homestead Barn Dance.”

By bringing “These People” to the stage, Mr. Sabath has been able to realize his passion for theatre with  a project that was truly relevant to him. “It has taken a huge amount of work and a fair amount of luck,” he said. I was just insane enough to think I could pull all of that together. But now that we are into rehearsals and have seen the plans of our designers, I am just thrilled with the whole team. And the best part is that everyone involved seems to be enjoying the process. That was also very important to me.”

“These People will run from October 8 through October 30 at the American Theatre of actors, located at 314 W. 54th St. (between 8th and 9th Avenues.) in Manhattan. Performances will be held on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm, with additional performances on Monday October 11 at 8pm, Wednesday, October 20 and 27 at 8pm and Sunday matinees, October 10 and 17 at 3pm. Tickets may be purchased through SmartTix, at www.SmartTix.com, or by calling 212-868-4444. Through a special arrangement with Actors Equity, seats for this limited run are only $15. Tickets can also be purchased for the Columbus Day benefit and performance ($50) or to the benefit alone ($40) through SmartTix. For more information on “These People”, the All-Stars Project Benefit and Golden Day Productions, visit www.GoldenDayPro.com.