MEMBERconnection:
Arts & Entertainment
Shorn to
amuse you
MADNESS IS NOT funny except in certain
cases, usually in entertainment. The
case in question is Shear Madness, a
comedy whodunit set in a hair
salon; the show has been running somewhere in the world
for the past 30 years and has
kept millions of people laughing. According to one of its
creators, Costco member
Bruce Jordan, “The show
enlists the audience as armchair detectives.” His producing
partner, Costco member Marilyn
Abrams, adds, “It was the first
interactive play ever.”
Since its first production in Lake
George, New York, the play has been
Shear Madness creators Bruce Jordan
and Marilyn Abrams.
COURTESY OF CRANBERRY PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Singing from the heart
IN THIS SEASON of inspirational stories, consider Costco
member Renée Bondi.
At age 29, Bondi was an
established singer who had
toured the world with the musical group Young Americans and
found a rewarding career as a
high school music teacher in San
Juan Capistrano, California. But
in a freak accident, she broke her
neck and was paralyzed from the
chest down. Doctors said she
would never sing again.
But sing she does, and in
the 20 years since the accident
she has released
five CDs, including her latest, My
Christmas Wish
(
www.reneebondi.
com). Bondi also
travels across the
country, giving
speeches to churches
and other groups about overcoming life’s biggest obstacles.
“From where I sit as a
quadriplegic, I understand people’s suffering, their pain in this
world. I want to be not only an
encourager, but a huge
encouragement to those
who are going through
difficult times,” says Bondi.
Doctors also told her she
would never give birth. But her
son, Daniel, is now 13. Her husband, Mike, is director of
human resources for a large
semiconductor company.
“When I first broke my
neck, I really thought my life
was over,” says Bondi. “Now,
20 years later, I can look back
and see how many miracles
God put in my lap. When tragedy hits, your life is not over. It
is just changed.”—Tim Talevich
70 The Costco Connection NOVEMBER 2008
Shear Madness cast members
Brigid Cleary, Bobby Lohrmann
and Dawn Ursula ready for
comic action.
SCOT T SUCHMAN
translated into 10 languages and
has run in Spain, Italy and Canada,
among other countries, as well as
in Boston for 29 years and in
Washington, D.C., for 21. Jordan
and Abrams produce the Boston
and D.C. productions and license it
elsewhere. A new production opens
this month in Las Vegas.
Adapted from a German drama,
the largely improvisational play is
constantly updated. “It’s very different
every time you see it,” says Abrams,
“so people come back.”
Their initial $50,000 investment
has, to date, earned millions, but the
costs continue as well. Jordan says,
“Every night, two people get their hair
cut, washed, conditioned and set, and
one guy gets a shave,” which leads
Abrams to add, “Which is why we buy
so much stuff at [the Arlington, Virginia]
Costco.”—Steve Fisher
Fiddler on
the street
WHEN MOST of us think back
on our college jobs, we probably don’t have the fondest memories. But for Costco member
Geoffrey Castle, now a popular
violin player living in Kenmore,
Washington, his college job
turned out to be the steppingstone to a successful music
career, the humble beginning of
his dream come true.
IMAGES BY D WAYNE
One day, while working
at the library as a student at
Columbia University, Castle, an
amateur musician, decided to
play his violin on the street during his lunch hour. He wound
up making more money than
he’d earn in a week at the library
and decided he’d found his new
college occupation.
“I get asked all the time
where I completed my studies
in music, and I really have to
answer that I am a graduate
of the New York City streets,”
he says.
Castle has come a long way
since then. Along with a full
lineup of concerts and a holi-
day concert series, Castle (www.
geoffreycastle.com) has released
three CDs; the latest, Underhill’s
Angel, is a collection of 800-year-
old holiday carols.
CREATIVE INDULGENCE
—Karen Dawson
Geoffrey Castle’s street
performances honed his
concert-hall skills.
