Highlands Little Theatre

P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525

Grace Sagona - Amazing Lady
By: Roy Riedy

Since her debut at Highlands Little Theatre, 16 years ago, Grace Sagona has been associated with 48 plays at the Lakeside Playhouse and acted in one third of them. Besides her staring role of Martha, the sweet but sinister spinster, in Peter Pollard's Arsenic and Old Lace, she played Margaret Lord in Marian Dunham's The Philadelphia Story, was a member of the Royal Court in Frank Oberhausen's 1993 Camelot, and an outstanding Frauline Schneider in Marian Warehime Dunham's still remembered Cabaret, plus a dozen other roles. In the 1990 Christmas Show Grace revealed another asset. A voice that could make an audience listen when she sang the popular seasonal favorite "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

Grace has been awarded three Zenon Awards: a Production/Technical Discretionary Zenon in 1989 for service to the theater in Gourmet, Building Maintenance, Patrons Committee, and Special Events; and two in 1990: a Production/Technical Discretionary Zenon for outstanding achievement in property management for the 1989/1990 season; and Board of Directors Service Zenon: "for doing everything that no one else wants to do, but which needs to be done, and doing it with grace and charm.

In August of 1991, The News-Sun reporter, Kathy Grant, did a front page article on "Aunt Grace" in the paper's Sunday "Lifestyles" section. The article featured Mrs. Sagona's pioneering days on television in 1945, before the birth of NBC or CBS, 57 years ago, when she was the hostess on Channel 5 in New York City of "Aunt Graces's Birthday Party", an afternoon weekday live talent show for children on Dumont Television. The going rate for a show hostess then was $17.00. The show lasted for two and a half years. Grace retired from television to raise a family and eventually, some 40 years later, found herself in Sebring and again wooing and wowing audiences in her long and amazing love affair with theater, both electronic and alive.

In 1997 Grace, well known by members of our theater as an ineradicable presence, was memorialized with an award named after her, The Gracie Award. This is the way Beverly Brando Gillilan explained it in a HLT Newsletter article in December, 1997:
"When I first joined the HLT family I met a lady with an over abundance of energy, enthusiasm, wit, humor and love for the theater. She didn't care what the project involved, she simply saw a need and filled it. She cleaned toilets, took out the garbage, swept or vacuumed the floors, did the dishes, waited on tables, sold tickets, painted sets, and just about anything else you can think of that helped HLT keep going. I think if you looked up the word 'volunteer' in the dictionary you'd find her picture next to it. I wasn't the only person who thought so either.
"When the Board of Directors decided to pay tribute to those individuals with the same level of dedication and hard work on a monthly basis, they wisely chose Grace Sagona not only as the first recipient of the award but felt it most appropriate to name the award after her as well. Thus was the birth of The Gracie Award and a new tradition had been established at HLT.
"Today, The Board of Directors carries on with that tradition and each month they look around, they see what's being done and who's doing it. There always seems to be at least one individual whose efforts are tireless. One special person who seems to stand out in a crowd or is there working all alone while the rest of us are home with our families. It's that individual, the one who exhibits the same qualities of devotion and love for the theatre, that the Gracie Award stands for. This month the Gracie Award goes to: Larry Wollangk."

Since the middle of 1999 the Little Theatre has had an unbroken line of monthly volunteers who have qualified to fill the standards set by HLT's amazing Grace Sagona. Long may they march with her and with her inspiration

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