Oh... There was one other very moving moment from yesterday's Homecoming that will forever stick in my mind. Guy Bergquist, Operations Manager, the man who coordinated all of the various stages of construction of the new building, after introducing all three of the Artistic Directors, wanted to introduce one more person, Tom Fichlander. Tom was Zelda's beloved husband, and it was with Tom's initial monetary support that Arena got started. He shifted his energies from life in the corporate world to support not only the work of his wife, but of the Arts, in general, in the DC area. Guy pointed to the Arena Stage baseball cap that he was wearing, and said, "This was Tom's". -Cue the tears.
*And then when Zelda shared her own, very personal remembrances of Tom, she mentioned that Tom would always give her notes after the first full dress rehearsal of a show. And that he would always give her the same first note. Always: "Needs cutting."
