“Miracle on South Division Street” opened in the Frank Shiner Theatre at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture on Tuesday, April 14, in a collaboration between Penguin Rep Theatre and the Sheen Center team. The play was written by Tom Dudzick, who worked closely with director Joe Brancato.

The story follows the Nowaks of Buffalo through a family meeting about an alleged miracle that happened at their barbershop in 1942. The cast is led by Joey Pittorino, Grace Experience, Liz McCartney, and Coryn Carson. The Good Newsroom attended a matinee during opening week to get the inside scoop from the cast and crew.

Brancato, who is also the artistic director for Penguin Rep Theater, said, “This is a play that I have a very deep and long relationship with. I was part of the creative team when Tom [Dudzick] was creating the play, and we premiered it at Penguin Rep. Now we’re revisiting this play because the time is right!”

He also spoke about meeting Sheen Center Executive Director MaryLou Pagano, describing the two as a “sort of brother-sister duo waiting to find a project to share.” He added, “‘Miracle on South Division Street’ deals with a very strong theme of faith… The key thing is to have a support system of family and of love. We’re going to do our little part right here at the Sheen Center to do some changing on that.”

Cast members reflect on faith and family

Afterward, Coryn Carson, who plays the high-energy Beverly Nowak, said, “I was raised Catholic, and it’s fun to visit a different sort of family in their Catholicism and see how it plays out together on stage. Faith is deeply personal, and a journey that everyone takes on their own.”

Joey Pittorino, who plays handyman brother Jimmy Nowak, added, “It’s a super funny play to work on. There’s a lot of laughing going on. By the time you get to the end, it’s just laugh after laugh after laugh — I recommend sticking around for it.”

Visit the Sheen Center’s website for tickets and information.