BEST IF USED BY

The first draft of Best If Used By, by Doug Brendel, was produced in October 2023 at Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport MA, directed by Kristina Grundmann, starring Rebecca Axelrod and Barbara Bourgeois.

I love theatre, I love theatre people.
I’ve been onstage since first grade (debut role: Bigot the Bad Elf).
I’ve had the joy of acting in or directing numerous shows in Arizona, Missouri, and Massachusetts.
But mostly, I write:
Plays, sketches, a couple novels, a humor blog, loads of stuff.

Now I bring you a bittersweet little stage comedy.
Best If Used By showcases two talented elderly women.
It’s easy and inexpensive to produce.

I’d be glad to share it with you, and happy to get acquainted.
Hoping to hear from you,

Doug Brendel
Ipswich, MA
(978) 810-1005
Unconventional@DougBrendel.com

“I’m blown away by the rich characters you’ve created. They are so well drawn, they felt real.... Bravo for creating excellent roles for older women. I found it really moving.... Can’t wait to see it onstage!” —Actor/writer Victoria Fortune​

“I loved, loved, loved the script! Great character development and plot.... Loved the banter.... Not a ‘ho-hum’ moment at all — and the resolution makes you want to go off with the characters to dinner and more conversation.” —Musical director Marcia Groome

“It’s just lovely! So many laugh-out-loud moments!... The story builds beautifully.” —Actor Liliane Klein

“WOW! I read it and I loved every minute of it!... I can see what all the rave is about. You definitely have struck gold.” —Actor Danny Marks

“A delightful read! The characters jump from the page, the witty dialogue zings by ... and it all unfolds naturally, believably, and ultimately with great heart.... A lovely little gem, perfect for any number of actors-of-a-certain-age!” —Director/educator Jeff Miller

“Hilarious, snappy and a bit poignant! I laughed out loud through the whole thing.” —Actor/educator Nancy Skee

“Great characters, sharp dialogue.... By all means, quote me.” —Actor/director Joseph Stiliano​

“I LOVE IT! So much fun! Moving, laugh-out-loud funny, and fantastic parts for two women! I love the simplicity of the setting, so you could literally take this show anywhere, and the turns the script takes in revealing the past of these two characters.... You have a winner with this script.” —Actor Lauren Ashly Suchecki

Here's the press release on the first-draft production we staged:

• Best If Used By

• A new play about aging and ageism

• Inspired by, and initially performed by, 2 senior-citizen actors

• Written by writer/actor Doug Brendel

• Contact: Doug Brendel via Unconventional@DougBrendel.com

A chorus girl kicks up her heels — an actor jumps around on furniture — no big surprise. In the theatre, these things happen.

But usually, the chorus girl and the table-hopper aren’t senior citizens.

This fall, two North Shore actors in the range of 80 years old will surprise you, starring in a new bittersweet stage comedy, Best If Used By.

The biting and sometimes surprising humor of the story focuses on issues of aging and ageism — topics of growing concern to increasing numbers of Americans.

This world premiere, October 12-15 on the Institution for Savings Mainstage at Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, is presented by Firehouse and the Ipswich Art Association.

Best If Used By, featuring well-known actors Becky Axelrod of Essex and Barbara Bourgeois of Andover, is directed by acclaimed Castle Hill stage director Kristina Grundmann of Ipswich.

Grundmann’s husband Doug Brendel, a writer and amateur actor, originally met both Axelrod and Bourgeois as his fellow cast members in separate community theatre productions.

“Becky in her show was doing these awesome dance moves and belting out songs,” Brendel remembers, “and Barbara in her show was literally jumping up on a table and crawling around on the floor. I couldn’t have done what either of them was doing!”

In the course of casual conversations, however, each woman mentioned to him how hard it is for women in their age bracket to find roles in the theatre.

“Becky and Barbara are both so talented,” Brendel says, “it suddenly occurred to me what a loss it is to the world when either one of them isn’t onstage.”

The two actors had never met, but Brendel brought them together, wrote the play they had inspired, and produced a staged reading at Stage 284 in Hamilton last year. The audience “test-driving” the show responded enthusiastically.

Best If Used By is an encounter between two elderly actors trying out for the same role. Turns out they’re both early for the audition, and they both have a long-ago relationship with the director — who is late.

The developing dialogue is by turns hilarious, poignant — and provocative. The story also turns out to be about love and loss, resentment and reconciliation.

“There are some surprises to be revealed in these two women’s intertwined life stories,” the playwright says.

“It’s a comedy, but I think it’s also important,” Brendel adds, “because it spotlights society’s natural tendency to discount the value of the elderly.”

The world premiere run in Newburyport may be only the beginning. “Every community seems to have excellent female actors of a certain age who aren’t being adequately utilized,” Brendel says. “This show could become a valuable outlet for them — and I hope it will strike a blow against ageism along the way.”

Rebecca Axelrod

A versatile singing actor with classical training, Becky (Jacqueline Sturgeon) has sung over 30 leading roles in musical theatre, including leading soprano roles with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players.

She performed for 19 years with New York Cabaret Unlimited, an American songbook touring ensemble located in Westchester County.

After retiring to Essex in 2012, she has enjoyed many roles with Stage 284 in Hamilton. Favorites include Aunt March in Little Women, Aunt Martha in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Jack’s Mother in Into the Woods. She also created a staged reading of her great-great-grandfather’s letters from the Civil War.

Last April, Becky debuted at the Firehouse Theater as Mrs. Jarrett in Escaped Alone.

She feels both hugely challenged and enormously grateful to Doug for writing Best If Used By for her and Barbara.

Becky graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in Music. She worked for many years for Phillips Oppenheim, an executive search firm in Manhattan. She feels grateful to be living near her two daughters, son-in-law, and three grandchildren, and singing with her church choir and the Paul Madore Chorale.

Barbara Bourgeois

Barbara Bourgeois (Josephine Duquesne) has been performing in and around the Boston area for the past 40 years.

Some of her favorite roles include Jennie in A Murder Of Crows(Quannapowitt Players), Abby in Arsenic and Old Lace (Arlington Friends of the Drama), Clairee in Steel Magnolias (Acme Theater), Deliverance Hobbs in Saltonstall’s Trial (Punctuate 4 Productions), and Nell in Haiku (Act) for which she won the NETC best actress award.

Barbara has also appeared in TV commercials, training videos and film.

Barbara was raised in Holbrook, MA, and earned a BA in business education at Boston University. She and her husband raised four children, and Barbara has five grandchildren. She worked for a dermatologist for 20+ years.

She always wanted to act, but never pursued it till her mid-40s.

“I am so fortunate,” she says, “that I am still able to follow my dream after all these years.”

Here’s low-resolution single-camera archive-only video of the opening night performance:

Best If Used By may be suitable for mature audiences only.