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[0:00] Mark-Eugene Garcia: Welcome to the Drama Book Show, where we bring you conversations with the writers, artists, and theater professionals whose work helps shape the world of live performance. My name is Mark-Eugene Garcia. In this episode, we explore a new work of theater that brings humor, heart, and human connection in an unexpected setting. We're joined by playwright Tom Dugan for a conversation about Irish Goodbye, the first installment of his critically acclaimed Jersey Pub trilogy. Set in a small New Jersey pub across the train tracks from St. Gertrude's Catholic Cemetery, the play follows a disgraced cop and an ex-beauty queen who find themselves seeking shelter from a frigid storm on a lonely Christmas Eve and discover an unlikely bond along the way.

Tom Dugan, a Los Angeles-based playwright known for his meticulously researched historical one-person plays, is joined by moderator Mel Johnson, the Broadway performer and star of Frederick Douglass in the Shadow of Slavery, and actor Anica Petrovic, who originated the role of Sandy in Irish Goodbye. Together, they discuss the creation of the play, the journey from page to stage, and the power of storytelling through both comedy and drama. Here's Tom Dugan, Mel Johnson, and Anica Petrovic, live at the Drama Bookshop.

[1:30] Mel Johnson: Well, welcome everybody. And before we start, I'm going to start out by asking just a few questions. I've known Tom for a very long time. In fact, the reason why I know Tom is sitting in the front row, Jeff Calhoun, we both did his play in Los Angeles. Also, I am the reason why Tom has all these children, you know, because I introduced Tom to his wife and his son is sitting right next to him. So, Tom. And also, his brother is here and his brother's wife. So, Tom, tell us what's new.

[2:06] Tom Dugan: What's new? All right, I'm going to pretend that I didn't write this down, so I'm going to try to sound... I've got a lot going. Actually, my play, the Frederick Douglass piece, you're just about to tour Minnesota with that, are you not?

[2:16] Mel Johnson: Yes, I am, and I'm looking forward to it. It should be very exciting.

[2:20] Tom Dugan: I can't think of a better subject matter than a human rights activist in the great state of Minnesota right now.

[2:28] Mel Johnson: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.

[2:31] Tom Dugan: Also, my collaboration with the great Gene Cato at Nextage Press continues. Yay, Gene. Last year, I had Wiesenthal published. Just now, Irish Goodbye has been published. And then, right after that, The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln will be published, and I thank Gene for that. Yay!

[2:50] Tom Dugan: Wiesenthal, which I said came out last year, has enjoyed productions... First of all, it's been translated into four languages. Enjoyed productions throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel, Australia, Italy, Scotland, and London. And I just received word that there's a new production that's going to happen next month in India.

[3:11] Tom Dugan: And finally, Golden River Entertainment, a film company out of Los Angeles, is planning on making a feature film based on my play Wiesenthal.

[3:21] Mel Johnson: Wow. That's really wonderful. Tom, who's going to write the screenplay?

[3:25] Tom Dugan: I am going to write the screenplay. I'm busy working on that now, yeah.

[3:28] Mel Johnson: Great. And who are they getting to play Wiesenthal?

[3:31] Tom Dugan: Well, their idea is that I would play Wiesenthal, but Hollywood, Mel. By the time we get in front of a camera, it's probably going to be Timothee Chalamet.

[3:39] Mel Johnson: Oh, God. And so now, Anica, you originated the role of Sandy. How did you and Tom come together?

[3:48] Anica Petrovic: Tom and J.P. Hubbell, his producing partner, who is also the Artistic Director of the Alliance Repertory Company in Los Angeles. Tom and J.P. saw me in a couple of productions in Los Angeles, and then Tom asked me to do a reading of the script. And I read it once, and then the rest is history.

[4:08] Mel Johnson: Oh, fantastic. Now, I know that you're based in Los Angeles, but where did you originally hail from?

[4:12] Anica Petrovic: I came from Belgrade, Serbia. My family moved here when I was almost nine, and I didn't speak any English. So, of course, I had wonderful teachers and family who helped teach me. But my parents also recommended that I watch a lot of American TV that was easy to comprehend. So I like to say that I learned English quickly thanks to Three's Company and Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

[4:37] Mel Johnson: Fantastic, fantastic. So, now, Anica and Tom are going to read a scene from the play, and then when they read this first scene, right after that, we'll open it up for a couple of questions, and then they'll read the next scene, and then we'll have an ending and a quick book signing right after that. So, let's begin.

[5:00] Tom Dugan: Irish Goodbye by Tom Dugan. The setting is the interior of O'Brien's Tavern on the other side of the train tracks that cut through the back of St. Gertrude's Catholic Cemetery in a small New Jersey town. It's a family bar barely holding on to the frayed threads of its former glory. The time, December 24th, 1983 at 8 p.m. At rise, an imposing man, Barney, mid-sixties, sits at a table left finishing his dinner. Sandy O'Brien, a beautiful woman in her early thirties, wearing blue jeans and a red sweater, is behind the bar.

[5:41] Sandy O'Brien: Are you from around here, Barney?

[5:45] Barney: Originally Wisconsin, but I've lived in New Jersey for 50 years. Winfield Park.

[5:51] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, yeah? Shoebox City? Is that a trailer park, or?

[5:54] Barney: No. It's low-income housing, but it's nice.

[5:57] Sandy O'Brien: Really?

[5:59] Barney: Yeah. It's actually the smallest town in New Jersey. There's a Jeopardy! question you'll never hear. What are you doing over here on Christmas Eve?

[6:03] Sandy O'Brien: Business. I had a delivery.

[6:06] Barney: So late? I don't know if you looked out the window, but the snow is pretty thick out there.

[6:10] Sandy O'Brien: Yeah, the train's even stopped clearing the tracks. Your family must be worried. Do you want to use the telephone?

[6:17] Barney: No. No family. How about you? You got family?

[6:21] Sandy O'Brien: Yeah, my daughter, Dixie.

[6:27] Barney: She's not home on Christmas Eve?

[6:30] Sandy O'Brien: No, she had a thing. The Girl Scouts are singing carols at the old folks' home up the track.

[6:33] Barney: That's adorable. Oh, what are you, like a den mother or something?

[6:35] Sandy O'Brien: Used to be. What happened?

[6:37] Barney: Oh, I'm not going to bend your ear with my problems.

[6:40] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, look at me, nosing into your family life. Sit!

[6:45] Barney: I don't want to ruin your holiday or anything.

[6:48] Sandy O'Brien: Yeah, I got more customers than I can handle. Just relax, will ya? You're not ruining anything.

[6:50] Barney: Okay, so a couple of months ago, I'm on the committee planning how to decorate the town for Christmas. They didn't really like my idea much. I got a lot of ideas. I'm kind of like an idea person.

[6:59] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, okay, so what's your idea?

[7:03] Barney: I'm kind of like an original thinker.

[7:07] Sandy O'Brien: Okay. So, all these ladies, everybody's 20 years older than me, they're throwing out the same old, tired, boring decoration gimmicks. Mrs. Reedy wanted to wrap the streetlights with red and white ribbon to make them look like candy canes. And Mrs. Davis suggested spray-painting snow on the windows downtown. Just real unimaginative stuff, right?

[7:26] Barney: Yeah, sounds like it. So, now it's my turn. So, I get up and I put a lot of thought into this. So, I get up and I pitch my idea.

[7:34] Sandy O'Brien: Which was?

[7:36] Barney: Which was catch, decorate, and release.

[7:41] Sandy O'Brien: Catch, decorate, and release. I'm with ya.

[7:43] Barney: Yeah, so the idea is this. We'd catch a whole bunch of squirrels in town, humanely.

[7:48] Sandy O'Brien: Squirrels?

[7:49] Barney: Yeah, and we'd decorate them with Christmas colors. Red, green, gold, with a powder or something so it doesn't harm them. And then we'd sprinkle a little glitter on their tails maybe. And perhaps even affix some antlers made out of pipe cleaners to their little heads. Then release them back into the town. What a frolic and spread good cheer.

[8:09] Sandy O'Brien: I see. Catch, decorate, and release. How'd that go over with the Girl Scouts?

[8:14] Barney: My daughter barred me from any more meetings.

[8:16] Sandy O'Brien: They didn't go for it, huh?

[8:18] Barney: Deafening silence. Dixie stormed out of the room.

[8:21] Sandy O'Brien: Perhaps the handler idea was a bridge too far?

[8:24] Barney: Perhaps. I guess I kind of see her point.

[8:27] Sandy O'Brien: Yeah?

[8:28] Barney: Yeah. Also, I think I might have been a little high that night.

[8:32] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, with the marijuana?

[8:35] Barney: Yeah, with the marijuana. That doesn't make me a drug fiend, by the way.

[8:39] Sandy O'Brien: No, I don't judge.

[8:40] Barney: Good, because I get some of my best ideas when I'm stoned. I guess that wasn't one of them. But hey, it could have been worse. Dixie could have quit the Girl Scouts altogether.

[8:49] Sandy O'Brien: So you were sacrificed for the greater good.

[8:51] Barney: Yeah, I like that. Yeah, that's the right way to look at it.

[8:55] Sandy O'Brien: Sounds more noble.

[8:56] Barney: Yeah, noble. That's me.

[8:58] Sandy O'Brien: But she enjoys the Girl Scouts.

[8:59] Barney: She complains a lot.

[9:00] Sandy O'Brien: Yeah?

[9:01] Barney: Sure, but she's 13. That's her job. She complains, but she still goes. I think she just stays for the uniform.

[9:06] Sandy O'Brien: The uniform?

[9:08] Barney: Yeah, she loves the uniform.

[9:09] Sandy O'Brien: That's really funny that you should say that, because my son was the same way. He was really attracted to uniforms, like Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League, ROTC. He was kind of insecure, but boy, those uniforms, they made him stand a little taller.

[9:24] Barney: I thought you didn't have family.

[9:26] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, after high school. So this was 15 years ago now. He wanted to volunteer for the Army. His mother said, she's a lot younger than me. She forbid it. She made me promise I wouldn't let him join. It took the wind out of his sails. He started smoking and drinking, hanging with a bad crowd. He was a good kid, but he was heading for trouble. It broke my heart. So I drove him to enlist.

[9:48] Sandy O'Brien: Oh, I bet your wife didn't love that.

[9:50] Barney: Yeah, we split up over it.

[9:53] Sandy O'Brien: I'm sorry. It sucks when people leave.

[9:56] Barney: I didn't mean to dump all that on you. Christmas makes you think about it.

[9:59] Sandy O'Brien: So your wife just walked away?

[10:00] Barney: Yeah, she didn't even say goodbye.

[10:02] Sandy O'Brien: So how'd your son do in the war?

[10:05] Barney: Oh, he was killed immediately. Tet Offensive. Some town, I can't pronounce.

[10:12] Sandy O'Brien: Oh my God. So you two went through all that grief alone, without each other to lean on?

[10:18] Barney: Yeah. I guess it would have been nice to have someone to...

[10:21] Sandy O'Brien: Lean on.

[10:23] Barney: They say you come into this world alone, you go out alone, but I don't know. I always thought somebody would come along, too.

[10:30] Sandy O'Brien: Lean on.

[10:31] Barney: Yeah, last time I saw her was at the funeral just across the street at St. Gertrude's Cemetery.

[10:36] Sandy O'Brien: No way! My whole family's over there!

[10:38] Barney: No kidding!

[10:40] Sandy O'Brien: Most everybody's buried around that big dogwood tree right opposite the church there.

[10:44] Barney: How about that? My son is just to the right of that in the back by the fence.

[10:49] Sandy O'Brien: When I was in high school during Vietnam, my dad would take me to some of the military funerals there. He was a veteran. He'd help organize things.

[10:56] Barney: So maybe you were at my son's funeral?

[10:58] Sandy O'Brien: Could be.

[10:59] Barney: How about that?

[11:01] Sandy O'Brien: Hey, have you seen that Vietnam wall they just put up in D.C.?

[11:04] Barney: I'm planning to.

[11:06] Sandy O'Brien: So you were saying, about the last time you saw your wife?

[11:09] Barney: Oh, you don't want to hear my sob story.

[11:12] Sandy O'Brien: Hey, I'm asking! So, your son's funeral...

[11:15] Barney: My wife wouldn't talk to me, look at me. Nobody would. I stood in the back.

[11:20] Sandy O'Brien: That's pretty rough.

[11:21] Barney: I guess I don't blame her.

[11:23] Sandy O'Brien: So you haven't seen your wife in 15 years?

[11:27] Barney: No.

[11:28] Sandy O'Brien: So you're in the dark about where she went?

[11:30] Anica Petrovic: What she did, that's the thing. I'd visit his grave. Bobby, my son's name was Bobby. Here's a photo of him when he was ten. Yeah, over the years I'd go to mass over at Saint Gertrude's, I'd light a candle, and then I'd visit his grave. Not all the time, just special occasions—his birthday, Easter, Christmas. When it rains, well, I just—I hate to think of him over there lying there on the wet ground all alone. It's just a kid. I want him to know that his father still loves him. Sure, yeah, I guess my wife, my ex-wife, she was visiting too. If you never saw her again...

[12:07] Mel Johnson: How'd you know she was visiting?

[12:11] Anica Petrovic: That's the thing. She'd leave flowers in a card, and in the card she'd tell him what was happening in her life.

[12:13] Mel Johnson: You read her cards?

[12:17] Anica Petrovic: Yeah, sometimes the snow, the rain would mess up the ink, but more often than not, I could make out most of it. She had remarried, had a baby, a little girl. She's a lot younger than me.

[12:23] Mel Johnson: Yeah, you said so. So you read her cards?

[12:27] Anica Petrovic: Yeah, I read her card. What do you think? That's wrong? Like I'm a bum for doing that or something?

[12:30] Mel Johnson: No, what do I know? I don't know nothing.

[12:33] Anica Petrovic: Oh, you don't give yourself enough credit. You got a lot on the ball.

[12:35] Mel Johnson: Yeah, I'm a friggin' genius. So you read her cards and it made me feel close to them, like I still had a family.

[12:43] Anica Petrovic: Okay, only today, like I said, I was in the area making a delivery, so I stopped across the street, and this card said she was moving to Oregon.

[12:50] Mel Johnson: I hear it's nice there.

[12:54] Anica Petrovic: Yeah, she and her new family were moving to Oregon, so she didn't know when she was going to come back and visit.

[12:57] Mel Johnson: Oh, what?

[13:01] Anica Petrovic: Only after she signed the card. Yeah, she wrote a P.S. and it said, "I forgive you, Barney."

[13:10] Mel Johnson: So all this time she knew you were reading those cards?

[13:15] Anica Petrovic: Yeah, maybe all along she was writing to you too.

[13:20] Mel Johnson: Yeah.

[13:27] Anica Petrovic: Oh man.

[13:37] Mel Johnson: So let's take a moment and ask some questions of Tom or anybody here on the front here.

[13:41] Audience Member: Questions?

[13:46] Mel Johnson: Yes, I have a question. Wait, wait, Jeff's got one here.

[13:52] Tom Dugan: Right.

[13:57] Tom Dugan: It's a trilogy. I wrote them backwards, so the final one is called Cemetery Pub. I call it my New Jersey Pub Trilogy, and the first play takes place in 2000. It's about the O'Brien family in their family bar. When I wrote and when I rehearsed, you have to, of course, fill in the backstory completely so the characters feel realistic and you know where they came from and all that. I realized by the end of Cemetery Pub that I had such a backstory that it could be its own play, and that became Irish Goodbye. While I was writing and performing and directing Irish Goodbye, the backstory led me to the final installment, which is called 13 Coffins, and it takes place in 1925, and it's to the O'Brien family, but way back, and they were veterans of World War One, and they come up with the idea of the pub. So that's how it all happened.

[15:13] Audience Member: So all of my plays have been historic.

[15:16] Mel Johnson: What was the—repeat the question?

[15:20] Tom Dugan: Most of the plays, his plays were about historical figures, and this one isn't.

[15:25] Tom Dugan: That's right. I wrote six historical one-person shows that have all been professionally produced. They tour throughout the United States still, and then I got the idea of maybe I would write a fiction, and I found out it's a lot easier to write fiction because you get to make shit up. So that's what led me to write these three plays, and once again, my plays, as we said, still tour the country by the one-person show.

[15:51] Audience Member: Yes.

[15:59] Mel Johnson: The question is, is it harder to write a one-person play or a two-person play?

[16:04] Tom Dugan: It's easier to write a two-person play than a one-person play because one of the biggest tricks about writing a one-person show is why is this character talking to me? And so I'd have to come up with a machination that made absolute plausible sense as to why this person is talking to me. And with a play where there's two characters, you're just playing pretend, and it's a lot easier. As one who is doing one of Tom's one-person shows, it was—I'm not a fan of one-person shows, so I told Tom, I said, "Tom, yeah, no, you can write it, but if I don't like it, I'm not doing it." But it was fantastic. He has become the one-man show maven, and people really like it, and I'm sure they're liking this.

[16:48] Mel Johnson: Some more questions? Any more questions?

[16:55] Audience Member: Yes, with this trilogy that spans multiple generations, do you have a specific hope for the future of the three plays as a trilogy and how they're produced versus each play on its own?

[17:08] Tom Dugan: Yes. You want to answer?

[17:11] Mel Johnson: No, I'm not going to answer. I'm just saying the question. You're hoping with—since you're writing all of these as a trilogy, are you hoping that they'll be produced on their own or together?

[17:18] Tom Dugan: My ultimate goal is world domination, obviously, and which all starts at Next Stage Press.

[17:32] Mel Johnson: That's right, that's right. And so, of course, I want to be produced anywhere, anytime. The idea that one regional theater might be interested in presenting all three is a very exciting idea for me, and we'll see, but baby steps. Can I? Fingers crossed.

[17:51] Anica Petrovic: Yeah, and the one thing that we have that is added in the script is that I always have to play Sandy.

[17:54] Mel Johnson: Oh yeah, if anyone wants to bring that up, I was going to bring that up.

[17:57] Anica Petrovic: Oh, I would play her forever. I'd be thrilled. One time he was like, "Would you go to another state to play Sandy?" I said, "Absolutely." And here she is.

[18:08] Tom Dugan: I was—as I got here earlier today, I just noticed she has her brother here. He came all the way from another country.

[18:12] Anica Petrovic: No, he doesn't see who you are. He lives up the street.

[18:21] Audience Member: Yes. Oh, what's—as you're writing, is it a lot of like rewriting process or is it in the rehearsal? Because what I noticed with this play and what's distinguishing from any other play that I've seen is that it had so much rhythm that I hung up to every word. Usually, I'm playing, I'm looking at a costume, set design—not every word guy, but in this one, I was every word. I was there, and I feel like it was the writing, the rhythm. So is there—you know, what's the secret sauce there? What's the secret sauce in your writing?

[18:57] Tom Dugan: I get an idea for a scene, and I'll write it down, and then I'll write a bunch of scenes, and I'll sew them together, and I call it—that's my Frankenstein script. And then it's ten percent writing, ninety percent rewriting, and so it gets honed and honed, and then it's time to put it on its feet with actors, and we'll be rehearsing, and it's fun. You should—rehearsals should be fun. Remember that, Jeff?

[19:30] Mel Johnson: They were playful with each other, and they would improv things that were better than what I had written, and I would say, "All right, don't say what I wrote. Say what you just said."

[19:41] Tom Dugan: And you're not getting a dime.

[19:48] Mel Johnson: Heard that a lot. Yeah, it was so funny when we started rehearsing Frederick Douglass. There's a scene between Frederick Douglass's two daughters, and the daughters are playing a game at night at bed, singing a song and guessing what they were. And when we finished rehearsing, I said, "That's what my brother and I used to do," and he said, "That's why I put it in the script." He had heard I had talked about it because who knows what Frederick Douglass's kids did, but it fit perfectly into the script. So it's listening and what comes natural, and I think you do a great job, and you have to—

[20:20] Tom Dugan: Thank you. And you have to be careful what you say to a writer because you'll wind up—my brother's sitting right here. You know that crazy thing, catch, decorate, and release? I sat at his dining room table a couple years ago, and he just verbatim just said that to me.

[20:31] Mel Johnson: And I said—

[20:35] Tom Dugan: And I said, "Didn't get a dime." Hey, Paul.

[20:43] Mel Johnson: All right.

[20:55] Audience Member: Oh, this is an interesting question. She's saying, how do you use AI in your writing?

[20:58] Tom Dugan: Boo. His in your writing, but have you?

[21:05] Tom Dugan: I do. I use AI too because I am a terrible speller. Punctuation is another language to me. So I will take what I've written and just have it fix the punctuation and the structure—change no words. But it's a funny thing, though. You do that when I'm publishing the first script, the clean script I sent to Next Stage Press. You start the process by going page by page to fix all the mistakes, and that's all it does, and it's wonderful. Of course, I have to go to a proofreader thereafter because it doesn't catch everything, but after a while, like page 60, I'm just doing it.

[21:39] Mel Johnson: It starts—it did. He says, "Hey, Tom, what if she pauses before, turns around dramatically, and says it real loud?"

[21:55] Tom Dugan: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Gotta look out.

[21:59] Mel Johnson: Okay.

[22:03] Tom Dugan: It was very scary. Yeah, and I typed bad words to...

[22:08] Mel Johnson: You gave the most fun audition that I ever saw.

[22:13] Tom Dugan: We only have an hour.

[22:17] Mel Johnson: Oh, but this is a good one.

[22:24] Tom Dugan: Go tell it, Tom.

[22:28] Mel Johnson: All right. Jeff was directing a revival of Grease that Tommy Tune was producing, and he was in Los Angeles auditioning, and I called him up to get, I guess, to get an audition to tell him I was auditioning. And he's—he got on the—he's in a hotel. He says, "Oh, hold on a second." He just put it right there, and I said, "What's going on?" He said, "I just got margaritas delivered to my room." I was a little fancy. I said, "You like margaritas?" He said, "Oh yeah, I'm a margarita guy." Great for the audition. I showed up with a backpack, and there's the accompanist, Carol, there's Jeff, and I think it was just—that was it. Tommy wasn't there for that one, and so...

[23:31] Anica Petrovic: I think what’s really interesting about the character of Sandy is that she’s not just a beauty queen. She has a lot of depth and complexity. She’s been through a lot, and I think that’s what makes her relatable.

[24:01] Anica Petrovic: In the play, you see her vulnerability, and it’s really beautiful to portray that. It’s not just about her past as a beauty queen; it’s about her journey and how she’s trying to find her place in the world.

[24:23] Anica Petrovic: The dynamic between Sandy and the cop is really fascinating. They come from such different backgrounds, yet they find common ground in this unexpected situation. It’s a testament to how people can connect despite their differences.

[24:33] Anica Petrovic: I love how Tom Dugan writes these characters. They feel so real and relatable. You can see their struggles and their hopes, and it’s just a joy to bring that to life on stage.

[24:43] Anica Petrovic: There’s a lot of humor in the play, too. Even in dark moments, there’s a lightness that comes through, which I think is really important. It keeps the audience engaged and allows them to connect with the characters on a deeper level.

[24:53] Anica Petrovic: I remember during rehearsals, we would often find ourselves laughing at the absurdity of some situations. It’s a reminder that even in tough times, there’s always room for laughter and connection.

[25:03] Anica Petrovic: The setting of a pub on Christmas Eve adds a unique layer to the story. It’s a time when people are supposed to be joyful, but for these characters, it’s a moment of reflection and confrontation with their pasts.

[25:23] Anica Petrovic: I think that’s what makes the play so special. It’s not just a holiday story; it’s about human connection and the complexities of life.

[25:33] Anica Petrovic: Playing Sandy has been such a rewarding experience for me. I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself through her journey, and I hope the audience can see that as well.

[25:43] Anica Petrovic: I also appreciate how the play tackles themes of redemption and forgiveness. It’s something we all struggle with, and seeing these characters navigate those feelings is really powerful.

[26:03] Anica Petrovic: I think audiences will leave the theater feeling a mix of emotions. There’s laughter, there’s sadness, and ultimately, there’s hope.

[26:13] Anica Petrovic: It’s a beautiful reminder that we’re all just trying to find our way, and sometimes, we need a little help from unexpected places.

[26:23] Anica Petrovic: I’m really excited for people to see the show and to experience the journey of these characters. It’s a heartfelt story that I think will resonate with many.

[26:43] Anica Petrovic: The chemistry between the cast is incredible, and I think that really shines through in our performances. We’ve all worked hard to create authentic relationships on stage.

[26:53] Anica Petrovic: I feel grateful to be part of this production and to share this story with audiences. It’s a privilege to bring these characters to life.

[27:03] Anica Petrovic: I hope that people come away from the show feeling inspired and maybe even a little more connected to their own stories.

[27:23] Anica Petrovic: It’s been a journey for Sandy, and I think that journey reflects a lot of what we all go through in life.

[27:33] Anica Petrovic: I can’t wait for everyone to see it and to hear their thoughts.

[27:43] Anica Petrovic: It’s such a unique experience to perform in front of a live audience, and I think that energy really adds to the show.

[28:03] Anica Petrovic: I love the intimacy of the space we’re performing in. It feels like you’re right there with the characters, experiencing everything alongside them.

[28:13] Anica Petrovic: That connection is something special, and I hope it resonates with everyone who comes to see the play.

[28:23] Anica Petrovic: I’m really proud of what we’ve created, and I think it’s something that will stick with people long after they leave the theater.

[28:33] Anica Petrovic: It’s a story about resilience and the power of human connection, and I think that’s something we all need to be reminded of.

[28:43] Anica Petrovic: I can’t wait to see how audiences respond to it.

[28:53] Anica Petrovic: It’s been a joy to work with such talented people, and I think that shows in the final product.

[29:03] Anica Petrovic: I hope everyone comes out to support the show and to experience this journey with us.

[29:13] Anica Petrovic: It’s a heartfelt story that I believe will touch many hearts.

[29:23] Anica Petrovic: Thank you for having me here to share my thoughts on the play and my character.

[29:33] Anica Petrovic: I’m really looking forward to the performances and to seeing how the audience connects with Sandy’s story.

[29:43] Anica Petrovic: It’s been an incredible experience, and I hope it inspires others as much as it has inspired me.

[29:53] Anica Petrovic: I think that’s what theater is all about—creating connections and sparking conversations.

[30:03] Anica Petrovic: I’m excited for the journey ahead and to see where this story takes us.

[30:13] Anica Petrovic: Thank you again for this opportunity to discuss Irish Goodbye.

[30:23] Anica Petrovic: I can’t wait for everyone to see it and to experience the magic of live theater.

[30:33] Anica Petrovic: It’s truly a special experience, and I hope it resonates with all who come to watch.

[30:43] Anica Petrovic: I’m grateful to be part of this production and to share this story with the world.

[30:53] Anica Petrovic: Thank you!

[31:03] Anica Petrovic: I appreciate the chance to talk about my role and the play.

[31:13] Anica Petrovic: It’s been a wonderful journey, and I’m excited for what’s to come.

[31:23] Anica Petrovic: I hope everyone enjoys the show as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.

[31:33] Anica Petrovic: Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you at the theater!

[31:43] Anica Petrovic: It’s going to be a memorable experience, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

[31:53] Anica Petrovic: Thank you once again for having me here today.

[32:03] Anica Petrovic: I’m really looking forward to the performances and to connecting with the audience.

[32:13] Anica Petrovic: It’s a beautiful story, and I hope it touches many hearts.

[32:23] Anica Petrovic: Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts on Irish Goodbye.

[32:33] Anica Petrovic: I’m excited for the journey ahead and to see how the audience connects with Sandy’s story.

[32:43] Anica Petrovic: It’s been an incredible experience, and I hope it inspires others as much as it has inspired me.

[32:53] Anica Petrovic: Thank you!

[33:03] Anica Petrovic: I appreciate the chance to talk about my role and the play.

[33:13] Anica Petrovic: It’s been a wonderful journey, and I’m excited for what’s to come.

[33:23] Anica Petrovic: I hope everyone enjoys the show as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.

[33:33] Anica Petrovic: Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you at the theater!

[33:43] Anica Petrovic: It’s going to be a memorable experience, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

[33:53] Anica Petrovic: Thank you once again for having me here today.

[34:03] Anica Petrovic: I’m really looking forward to the performances and to connecting with the audience.