In 2008, actor Tom Pelphrey, known to fans for his Emmy-winning role on the daytime drama, Guiding Light, joined with his friends and fellow Rutgers University graduates to form the Apothecary Theatre Company, which has allowed them to take the initiative, chart their own course, and find, develop, and produce their own theatrical projects rather than rely solely on the often-arduous audition grind.
To date, Apothecary has produced only a few productions, notably material by American playwright Don Nigro. From December 11 to December 20, 2008, they were performing An Evening with Don Nigro at Theatre 54 @ Shelter Studios, which consisted of four one-act plays by this playwright: Fair Rosamund and Her Murderer, The Sin Eater, Something in the Basement, and Wonders of the Invisible World Revealed. Pelphrey had the lead roles in both Rosamund and Invisible World.
Currently, the Apothecarians are preparing for a fundraiser in preparation for mounting their first major original work, In God's Hat, which is set to open in July 2010. The fundraiser will take place this Saturday, October 10 7PM, at the New York Downtown Marriott, which is located at 85 West Street at Albany Street. The main attraction at this event will be a staged reading of Don Nigro's Grotesque Lovesongs, which will feature Tom Pelphrey along with fellow Guiding Light actors, Kim Zimmer, Grant Aleksander, and Bonnie Dennison. Zimmer and Aleksander portray Tom's parents, while Dennison plays his love interest.
Tickets may still be available for the Saturday fundraiser, so if you will be in the New York area, you can order your tickets at www.apothecarytheatrecompany.org. The Apothecary Theatre Company is a not-for-profit organization that relies heavily on donations and public support to reach their goals and produce their projects.
If you cannot attend the Saturday fundraiser and would still like to contribute your financial support or even simply send the troupe a "good luck" email, you can do so at
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The following interview was conducted on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 shortly after the Tom Pelphrey Guiding Light Exit Interview segment wrapped. However, due to a technical glitch, much of the video we shot with Apothecary was unusable. However, we were able to salvage the entire audio track and have combined that with still photos from the event in order to produce our program. We felt that the interview was so good (and so long) that something would be lost in the translation if we simply transcribed it and presented it as pure text. We hope you agree, and feel that it was worthwhile to hear the gang speak in their own voices for this episode of US Townhall RealStories. Enjoy, and please feel free to comment below.