A couple doesn’t often have the opportunity to portray another couple on stage, but Kyla Marie Mostello, a West Windsor native, and her husband, Chuck Connelly, play the parts of John and Emily Roebling in the world premiere of “Roebling: The Story of the Brooklyn Bridge,” at Actors Net of Bucks County. The show runs Friday, September 25, to Sunday, October 11, at the Morrisville, Pennsylvania, theater.
The show, inspired by the true story of the Roebling family of Trenton, was written by Hamilton resident Mark Violi. Washington Roebling took over as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge project when his father, John Roebling, the bridge’s designer, died before construction began. When Washington became disabled during the early phases of construction in the 1870s, his wife Emily taught herself engineering and became his mouthpiece, defying skepticism and sexism to carry on the family dream.
“Mark Violi has written a sweeping drama of the Roeblings’ determination to build what was at the time the largest suspension bridge in the world,” says Cheryl Doyle, the director of the show. “In a script inspired by actual events, we go behind the scenes to understand not only how the bridge was built, but how the project was plagued by unscrupulous competitors who would stop at nothing to win the bridge-building contract for themselves.”
Mostello, a graduate of West Windsor Plainsboro High School, Class of 1993, received a bachelor’s degree in English and Theater from Vanderbilt University, and is currently attending Holy Family University pursuing her MBA with a concentration in finance. She is a human resources associate at BlackRock.
“This show is definitely an example of life imitating art, as Chuck has been battling cancer since September, 2008,” says Mostello. “He is in-between treatments now, but having scenes with your real husband, saying lines like ‘Let me help you! For once in our lives let me help you!’ can hit close to home these days.”
She has previously appeared at the NET in “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs,” “Macbeth,” “Dark of the Moon,” “The Petrified Forest,” “The Man Who Bought a Country,” and “The Tempest.” She has also performed in regional theater in “The Sound of Music,” “Nunsense,” “Camelot,” and “1776.” She appeared in Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey in “The Crucible” and “Romeo and Juliet.” She assisted Don Gilpin at High School South with Pirate Players for several years.
Her husband has appeared at the Net in “Mass Appeal,” “The Last Days of the Dinosaur,” “1776,” among other plays. He studied computer systems technology and is a technical architect for Bracco Research USA in Plainsboro.
The couple met doing “The Tempest” in 2005 where she played Miranda and he was Caliban. Later that year they did “The Petrified Forest.” “My character boldly proclaimed, ‘You’re gonna love me’ — and low and behold she did, well Kyla that is,” says Connolly. They married in July, 2008.
“Today we all take the Brooklyn Bridge for granted,” says Doyle. “The Roeblings not only connected Brooklyn to Manhattan — making travel between the boroughs faster and easier — but they revolutionized how suspension bridges are built. This achievement came at the cost of workmen’s lives, including architect/builder John Roebling. Playgoers will see firsthand that beyond steel and concrete, the bridge was completed because Emily Roebling loved her husband so much that she wouldn’t let this dream die.”
Roebling: The Story of the Brooklyn Bridge, Actors’ NET, 635 North Delmorr Avenue, Morrisville, PA. Friday, September 25, to Sunday, October 11. Mark L. Violi’s historical drama about Trenton’s Roebling family and their fight against all odds to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Chuck Donnelly and his real-life wife, Kyla Marie Mostello, a West Windsor native, star as Washington and Emily Roebling. $20. 215-295-3694. www.actorsnetbucks.org
