Next Chapter Highlight: Gary

Age

61

Retirement Status

Semi-Retired

How does Gary spend his time as a semi-retiree?

Actor – Photographer – Traveler

These days, as an actor, Gary does 1-2 shows per year. In the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him in Miracle on 34th Street and All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at Greater Boston Stage Company. I also enjoyed his performance in The Great Leap at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston.

Gary’s focus on photography began in 2003. What started out as a new hobby to learn turned into a portfolio of Theater photography. His photos have been featured by Gloucester Stage Company, Wheelock Family Theater, and Ogunquit Playhouse.

By far, his favorite thing these days is having free time to travel. Gary loves to tell of the year he took a solo trip to Disneyland in Paris, then Disney World in Orlando, followed by Disneyland in California—all within 7 weeks! To say he loves the magic of Disney is an understatement. He hopes to visit the Disney parks in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai in the not too distant future.

What did Gary do for work before he decided to retire?

Actor – Bookkeeper

After spending time chatting with Gary, I’m convinced that his theatre career was inspired by his parents’ love of theater. As a child, he accompanied them on many family visits to New York City, which included seeing shows at Radio City Music Hall. He also recalls going to the Ogunquit Playhouse around the age of 7.

Although he started acting for fun in high school, his actual career started seven years later. During those middle years, he earned his degree in Biochemistry at the University of New Hampshire. One day, as he was waiting in the drive-through lane of his bank, the teller overheard him singing. The teller was associated with the Portsmouth Academy of Performing Arts (PAPA), which most locals now know as The Seacoast Repertory Theatre. She invited him to check out PAPA, and the rest is history.

At the height of his acting career, Gary performed in 4-5 shows per year. These include Grease, Footloose and Miss Saigon at Ogunquit Playhouse, and Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Billy Elliot and Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka at Wheelock Family Theater, He also toured the Far East in Cole Porter’s Aladdin

I should also note that he was nominated for the IRNE Small Theater: Best Supporting Actor (Musical) for his role as Sam Kimura/Ojii Chan in Allegiance. (Fans of George Takei may recognize Allegiance as the musical that was inspired by his experiences in a Japanese internment camp during WWII.)

Gary’s Bookkeeping part of his life started in 1985 and phased out in 2020.

How does Gary see his future?

He has a very adventurous wish list for travel. Some of the destinations include Machu Pichu, some locations where Indian Jones was filmed (the city of Petra in Jordan, for example), the Pyramids of Egypt, an African safari, and Australia. He’s open to other adventures that may come along, too. That last part was spoken with a sparkle in Gary’s eyes.

As for the rest of his non-traveling days, Gary is an avid movie-watcher. He goes to the movie theater at least once a week. He also enjoys spending time with his friends, especially if dinner is involved!