Financial problems postpone 'Veronica's Veil' until June
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John Beale, Post-GazetteAudio slideshow: Is the curtain falling on "Veronica's Veil?"
"Veronica's Veil" is looking for an angel or two.
"We could name the building after them," said Frank Szemanski of any financial savior. He is treasurer of the Veronica's Veil Players, the independent group that continues the 87-year-old tradition of what it calls "America's Passion play." That long run was nearly broken this weekend, with the gas supply to the group's ancient furnace cut off because of nearly $40,000 in unpaid bills. Friday's performance went on using space heaters, but about two dozen audience members left early. The Players' board decided to cancel the remaining four performances, through next weekend, and to re-mount June 2-11, when any remaining cold in the building will function, Szemanski joked, "like free air conditioning."
It was the gas cut-off that dictated shrinking the scheduled performances to five over just two weekends, instead of the traditional 12 performances throughout Lent. Rehearsals were conducted wearing coats and using space heaters, while the board hoped to convert the furnace to propane to get through two weekends and generate income. But they couldn't get parts in time, and Plan C, the space heaters, proved unable to fight the unseasonable cold.
"It's a miracle play, and we hoped miracles would happen," Szemanski said. The board particularly didn't want to disappoint regular patrons, including groups that come from as far as Syracuse, N.Y., and Maryland.
John Beale, Post-GazetteMarilyn Rush reacts to the news that the Lenten season performances of "Veronica's Veil" have been cancelled. The Sheraden resident has been involved with the show for 22 years.
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"Veronica's Veil" continues to draw: Last year, it attracted about 3,500. But that's a far cry from the 25,000 it drew in its heyday, the 1920s. Even in Szemanski's own 29 years with the group, he remembers the 800-seat auditorium was regularly sold out.
The auditorium is on the second floor of the former St. Michael's School, which was affiliated with St. Michael's Church, at 44 Pius St. on the South Side Slopes. The school's two cornerstones are dated 1882 and 1900, and the auditorium, which features a lovely curved balcony, was enlarged in 1925, specifically for "Veronica's Veil."
The church was closed in 1992, but the Passion play continued. On March 18, 2003, the school building, which also contains a social hall, 14 classrooms and a huge utilities bill, was sold by the Diocese of Pittsburgh for $1 to the newly independent Veronica's Veil Players, formed to maintain the Passion play tradition and continue to produce secular plays as well.
Szemanski pointed out that although the tradition is old and the Players is a charitable organization, it is still too young to qualify for many foundation grants, which require a five-year track record.
Finances have been an endemic problem, only partly solved by space rentals to other theater groups and a variety of fund-raisers, such as bingo and lottery calendars.
John Beale, Post-GazetteCast members Marilyn Rush, Patty Elstner, Suzie Nemmer, 15, and Samantha Senn, 4, huddle for comfort and warmth at the former St. Michael's School on the South Side after learning that the show they'd come to perform in was canceled last weekend. Ms. Elstner, of the South Side, has been a part of "Veronica's Veil" for 43 years.
Click photo for larger image.
Along with the current debt, there is expensive work to be done on the building's roof. And the building sorely needs an elevator -- after mounting the steep steps from the street, the elderly are discouraged to discover the auditorium is still further up.
The board is studying such fund-raising possibilities as converting part of the building to rentable office space. It is also considering a change in the group name, which suggests that it is a religious group with diocesan support and conflicts with some of the plays it stages.
As to staging "Veronica's Veil" in June, rather than during Lent, board president Dennis Thumpston points out that other Passion plays are in summer, including the granddaddy of them all at Oberammergau, Germany.
First staged in 1910, "Veronica's Veil" is said never before to have been canceled except for bad weather. Many of its performers have been part of the show for decades, and their families have been involved for generations. The Players have an active membership of 75 to 100. Many were there Saturday to commiserate when the postponement was announced.
Bernie Switala, 28, was toting his Roman soldier's armor out to his car. Asked if he would return for the June performances, he said, "I've been in the show for 28 years -- the first time when I was 2 weeks old -- and I'm not stopping now."
Contributions may be sent to Veronica's Veil Players, which is a 501(c)(3) charity, at 44 Pius St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203.
John Beale, Post-GazetteClick photo for larger image
First Published March 28, 2006 12:00 am
