Everybody Loves Opal. In High School I was a bit of a Theatre Geek. It was the other subculture I immersed myself in even if I really wasn't performer material. This was my first time on stage and it was a big part. I was in just about every scene and I had to do a spit-take, a love scene, act drunk and be funny. What they say is true, Comedy is hard. The play was about three criminals hiding out from the law. This wasn't Petrified Forest, the crime they committed was manufacturing and selling a controlled substance, bootleg perfume. The gang of three was made up of a large not very bright oaf who was the leader, a young tart, and my part, a drunken out of work chemistry professor. They hide out in the rundown home of the sweet natured and eccentric Opal who makes a living collecting and selling trash from the town dump. They decide to take out a large life insurance policy on her and then kill her and make it look like an accident. They make three attempts on her life each fails and in the end they give up and all become good friends no hard feelings. The play was done on Broadway in 1961 and starred some name actors like Eileen Heckart, Stubby Kay, James Coco, and Brenda Vacarro. It ran for all of 21 performances so it wasn't a big hit but that was 19 more then we did. I recall that for all of us this was our first play and we had a great time. I was so depressed when it was all over and though I did get to be in a few other plays after it none of them were as much fun as this one.