In
Honor of Dana Reeve
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| At The Shakespeare Theatre of
New Jersey's 2004 gala fund-raiser Dana Reeve sang "Some
Enchanted Evening" in honor of her husband, Christopher
Reeve. Photo by Warren Westura. |
The Shakespeare
Theatre of New Jersey Board of Trustees, staff and company
of artists mourn the loss of Dana Reeve, who was a member
of our acting company since 1993, a trustee since 1996,
and a dear and loyal friend to artistic director Bonnie
J. Monte since the mid-1980s.
Dana, who died of
lung cancer on March 6, was perhaps best known as the wife
of Christopher Reeve, and a champion, together with Christopher,
on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries.
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Robert Cuccioli and Dana Reeve co-starred in The Shakespeare
Theatre of New Jersey's 1999 production of the musical
Enter the Guardsman. Photo by Gerry Goodstein.
|
As our audience members
know, Dana was also a leading lady onstage, as a talented
singer and actress in her own right. She first appeared on
The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage as Louka in George Bernard
Shaw's Arms and the Man , and later that season in
Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors , demonstrating
in one season her versatility and range as an actor . In
1996, she starred as Julia in the musical Two Gentlemen
of Verona , along with Tamara Tunie, and she returned
two years later to delight audiences in another musical, Enter
The Guardsman , this time opposite Robert Cuccioli. In
2001, she gave a luminous performance in Arthur Miller's The
Crucible as Elizabeth Proctor, a woman whose goodness
was matched only by Dana's own. Dana will also be remembered
for her many performances in our annual gala cabaret shows
- singing with Chris before his accident, and to him or for
him afterwards.
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Dana
Reeve as Elizabeth Proctor and Paul Niebanck as John
Proctor in The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's
2001 production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Photo by Gerry Goodstein.
|
Dana and Christopher
Reeve were also major inspirations, supporters and advocates
for the campaign to renovate and expand our Main Stage venue,
a project that took the company from the retrofitted Bowne
Gymnasium into the state-of-the-art F.M. Kirby Shakespeare
Theatre, which is fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
"Dana Reeve
did more for this world, her family and her friends in her
44 luminous years than most people could accomplish in a
score of lifetimes. She will be deeply missed, and all of
us at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey offer our heartfelt
and sorrowful condolences to her extraordinary family and
circle of friends."
For those who wish
to honor Dana's memory and remarkable life, The Shakespeare
Theatre recommends that donations be made to the Christopher
Reeve Foundation.
Bonnie
J. Monte
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