One letter at a time, Peter Dominic typed the words that filled the pages of Annette Dominic’s first three books.
Little did he know, one of the books he typed would become a play nearly 20 years later.
Annette began her career as an author in her early 80s, writing her novels by hand and passing them on to her husband to type up. The couple lived in Colonie, and Annette seemed to find that writing books kept her busy.
So, after writing poetry her entire life, Annette had her first book published at the ripe age of 80.
Later, Peter went on to have one of his books, I Was an Orphan, published.
Peter and Annette were married for 67 years. Annette died in 1999.
Annette and Peter never lived to see one of Annette’s books, `Why Didn’t He Tell Me?` come to life on the stage of Proctors, courtesy of their daughter, Ginger Miller.
Miller, who has been in the theater business for more than 10 years, said she had been planning to create a play out of one of her mother’s books as a tribute for quite some time.
However, she wanted to make sure to start small, using a shorter book and seeing how it went. Miller chose `Why Didn’t He Tell Me?` because she said it was shorter than the others.
Miller said she also chose `Why Didn’t Tell Me?` because of it has an ending with a twist.
`They call them Alfred Hitchcock endings,` she said.
`Why Didn’t He Tell Me?` is about two brothers from a wealthy family who grow up and grow apart after choosing two completely different life-paths to follow.
When one brother returns to the place where they both grew up, he is unrecognizable and falls into a bit of trouble with the law.
Director of the play Agnes E. Kapusta Skiff said she thinks the play will be especially exciting for those who may have read the book.
`It’s something that will keep folks interested and keep their interest throughout,` she said.
Kapusta Skiff said she became the director of the play after Miller called her and asked if she would direct a play based on a book written by her mother.
`It’s really interesting to see the whole span of time and to watch them grow up,` she said.
Kapusta Skiff also said she thinks people will enjoy the play because there is a lot in it that they will be familiar with, with the story being written in the 1980s.
The play will be performed at Proctors from Nov. 7-9, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling Proctors at 382-3884.
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