DeBaun relaunches “Good Ship” for Alumni Weekend

By Beth Kissinger - Associate Editor



The “Good Ship” will sail again.

Due to a smashing response to last year’s Alumni Weekend production, “The Good Ship Pride of Communipaw Flats” will return to the DeBaun Auditorium stage on Alumni Day, Saturday, May 31, at 3:30 p.m.

The melodrama, written by the late James T. Costigan ’33 and once a mainstay of Stevens’ freshman orientation, was presented last year for the first time in years, and featured a lively cast of older and younger alumni and DeBaun staff. This year, the show is hoping to recruit members of the Class of ’58—celebrating their golden anniversary this Alumni Weekend—and will also feature younger alumni and Stevens students, said David Zimmerman ’90, executive director of The Center for the Performing Arts at DeBaun Auditorium. Some members of the Class of ’57—such a strong presence in last year’s production—may also return.

“Good Ship” drew such an enthusiastic audience last year, that it only seemed natural to include it again for Alumni Weekend 2008.

“It was extremely well received,” Zimmerman said. “People were talking about it all afternoon, all weekend, the next week, the next month.

“We thought it would be a great tradition to start for Alumni Weekend.”

Traditionally, Stevens presented “Good Ship” during freshman orientation, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and periodically after that. It features a hero, a villain, a damsel in distress, drunks, “jezebels” and various others aboard The Good Ship Pride of Communipaw Flats, a ferry boat traveling from Hoboken to New York in 1837.

“Good Ship” is a great experience for alumni because they can relive their Stevens Dramatic Society days—or take to the stage for the very first time—in a relaxed atmosphere, Zimmerman says. As it has historically, the show will come together quickly, with a rehearsal with some cast and crew on Friday, a full rehearsal early Saturday and the show on stage by that afternoon. Robert Reed ’70 will again direct.

To participate in “Good Ship,” please e-mail David Zimmerman at dzimmerm@stevens.edu