Falcon, Farewell

Years ago, I was looking for a part time job to make some extra cash. My friend Deirdre was working at the Falcon Theatre and they were looking for a house manager. I was soon hired and spent many evenings and weekends in the Falcon lobby, selling $1 candies, chatting with the box office crew, Gordon, Amanda and Scott, and getting to know the ushers and patrons. Last night I worked my final opening night party and brought my 5 year stint as a Falcon employee to a close. 

Every few months, a new show opens at the Falcon and I would join Sherry and Brigitta, and, more recently Chelsea and Joe, to work the opening night party. We are the caterers, bartenders, photographers and clean-up crew for the night. Mix a little wine and cheese with Falcon patrons and you have a fun (and exhausting) experience. I start my evening defrosting shrimp and skillfully arranging them in dazzling displays. Sherry's secret recipe bbq meatballs are always a big hit. (I now know the secret recipe, but I'm not telling!) Pair those meatballs with brie cheese, put them on some mini Hawaiian sweet rolls - amazing!

Once the party gets started, we hang out behind the bar, pouring drinks and people watching. There are always some interesting characters - like the reviewer who hoards shrimp in his jacket pockets. Soon the meatball pan is empty, the champagne has run dry and the crowd thins out. But, the night's not over for us yet. Like zombies we start the clean up. Half-eaten shrimp and broken crackers get dumped in the trash. As the clock ticks past midnight, we're doing dishes in the slop sink. Inevitably,  stories about the Falcon ghost come up while we're working backstage in the empty theatre. Unexplained sounds of tap dancers and sightings of ghostly figures late at night make us wash those dishes a little faster.

Last night I was looking at posters of all the shows I worked through the years, remembering the actors I got to meet. Everyone from Tony Danza to Joe McIntyre (I got him soup from Bob's Big Boy), Sally Struthers, Joe Mantegna, Yeardly Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson), Hector Elizando, Zac Ephron and, of course, the Troubies. One of my favorite star encounters was when Slash from Guns and Roses came to see a show with his family. He asked me to watch his son for a minute while he ran out to the car to get the diaper bag!

When I think of the Falcon, the theatre's owner, Garry Marshall, creator of classic t.v. series like "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley", director of some of my favorite movies including "Pretty Woman", comes to mind.  I picture Garry coming in on Sunday afternoons after a softball game, still in his uniform, looking like a fun-loving grandpa. He would ask for Hershey bar, pay full price for his candy ( $1 as opposed to the employee price of 50 cents), and head in the theatre to watch the show. It makes me smile just remembering those moments. What a great opportunity it has been to be part of the Falcon family but now it's time to bid the Falcon farewell.