GILROY — It’s funny how things work out. Real funny.
Not long ago Rod and Marion Pintello found themselves with
little to do after work at Kaiser Permanente.
Now they race home from work to 8531 Church St., the home of the
Gilroy Calvary Chapel
– and soon to also be the home of Pintello Comedy Theater.
GILROY — It’s funny how things work out. Real funny.
Not long ago Rod and Marion Pintello found themselves with little to do after work at Kaiser Permanente.
Now they race home from work to 8531 Church St., the home of the Gilroy Calvary Chapel – and soon to also be the home of Pintello Comedy Theater.
That’s because they have as much as they can handle, as they set to open their new comedy theater Jan. 3 with an outrageous cast for the show “Holiday Snap.”
But the road to having their own theater company came from having things work out just right.
When Center Stage, Gilroy’s former comedy theater, stopped putting on shows in South County, the Pintellos found there was still a need for a small-scale, light adult comedy theater in town.
“It left a hole where this kind of show was,” Rod said.
And who better to fill that hole than the Pintellos, who have been involved in the arts in South Valley for many years and have earned a reputation of excellence in theater.
The Pintellos have been on the Board of Directors for the South Valley Civic Theater for 20 years and have been involved in shows for the 25 years. They were on stage together last in SVCT’s “My Fair Lady” this spring.
Marion has directed the Gilroy High School senior class play for the last five years and has directed at least three dozen plays in South Valley. The Morgan Hill couple’s daughter Whitney Pintello McClelland graduated with a creative arts degree from San Jose State University and was a drama teacher at Gilroy High School. Their son Simon, who just turned 30 years old, is involved with the community theater in Fremont.
“It’s been a big part of our lives,” Rod said.
And so the Pintellos kept their eyes open for the right opportunity – which came all at once this fall.
When South Valley Civic Theater decided not to put on its holiday show, the Pintellos, who would’ve been involved in the show, were left with nothing to do. But when space for their own theater opened up at the chapel in Gilroy, the Pintellos decided to go for it. They leased the space and began building a stage and a set that can be reused for different shows.
The space almost seemed made for a theater. Flourescent lights are arranged in a circular fashion around the stage, which Rod Pintello built in the corner of the space. Already existing areas would make for a concession stand and bathrooms are in the front, away from the stage area. The space allows for seating of up to 250 people, but the Pintellos plan to seat 120 people comfortably around tables where they can enjoy drinks.
“That is one of the keys to why this works,” Rod Pintello said. “(The intimate setting) allows the audience to participate and feel close.”
Now with a theater, the Pintellos needed a solid cast that could get a play down in a very short time – just five weeks. They needed what they thought were some of the area’s best actors: Rosalind Farotte, Tom Hepner, Kevin Heath, Whitney Pintello McClelland, Maureen Imagawa, Bill Corneth, Christine McElroy and even Rod Pintello himself.
“This was our creme-of-the-crop group,” Marion said. “We specifically knew we needed the best.”
Only one thing was left – a script. They began reading and reading, looking for the perfect show to start off their new venture.
“We were looking for a fast-pace comedy,” Marion said. “I’m sure we read 30 scripts. When we found this one, we jumped on it. This is our favorite kind of show.”
The show, “Holiday Snap,” is a comedy by Michael Pertwee and John Chapman about two different couples who have mistakenly been given the same time-share for a week. They show up at different times and don’t even know there is a mistake.
The entire play is set in a new villa in Portugal, where the Smith couple (Heath and McClelland) come in expecting to spend a week of their time-share. When the Smiths leave, the Charlesworths (Hepner and Farotte) arrive. Finally, they are bound to discover each other, and when they do there is a hilarious scene when the Charlesworths discover the Smiths aren’t who they say they are.
The entire story is woven together around the hilarious antics of Commander Chittenden (Rod Pintello), a not-so-bright former naval officer who is the representative for the time-share.
The Pintellos aren’t sure if they will be able to fill the theater, but hope the show becomes a success. They have a year lease on their space, so they have time to build an audience.
“We’d like this to be a retirement job,” Rod said. “Not that we’re planning to retire anytime soon.”
The Pintello Comedy Theater’s premiere production, “Holiday Snap,” will be performed at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from Jan. 3 until Feb. 1.
Tickets for the show are $15 and can be reserved by calling 776-8004 or e-mailing pi******@****ic.com.
