Connecting Through Clothes

One of the first people I met when I became involved in Gas Lamp in 1999 was Ruthie Merrigan, a petite, pretty blond with a plus-size personality. Ruthie was the "Rose Seller" in Oliver, and I was the "Strawberry Seller." I came to know Ruthie as a woman who invested 110% conviction in everything she did. When she came on stage to sell those roses, she had the intensity of Tom Cruise cracking open a safe in Mission Impossible. Although not the strongest singer in the group, she was mesmerizing in her absorption in her part.

I lost touch with Ruthie when her family moved to Morristown many years ago. I often wondered what she was up to, and whether she was still involved with theater. Well, just last week, she re-appeared in my life in the Costume Shop. She is teaching theater at Morris Catholic and is directing "Anything Goes." She has spent several hours at the shop, pulling costumes with the same commitment to detail as she showed in her performances. How nice to see her again, and what a wonderful place the Costume Shop is to provide this connecting thread.