Marguerite and T.J Rush were one of the very first couples to fall in love because of the Playhouse. Here is their story:
Liv: “What was your relationship with the playhouse before you met each other?”
T.J: “I lived in West Hartford and was an actor with Park Road Playhouse [for those who don’t know, Playhouse on Park used to be a community theater called Park Road Playhouse]. When Park Road Playhouse closed and reopened as Playhouse on Park, I was colleagues with Sean Harris at Conard Highschool’s theatre department. I was super excited for him to reopen the Playhouse, so I auditioned for him to try to get back on stage.
Marguerite: “I had done shows with Sean and Darlene in Manchester, Darlene was my choreographer for a few shows and Sean I met doing Thoroughly Modern Millie. When they first opened the playhouse, [they were doing] a variety show with all local people. I did that show on stage. After that I started stage managing. The very first show was Mama Tomcat, and then we met during their second show, Mrs. Bob Cratchet’s Wild Christmas Binge. I was stage manager and he was in the show.
Liv: “What role did you play?”
T.J: “I was Bob Cratchett.”
Liv: “So it was a real showmance?”
T.J: “Yup! I walked into the audition and that’s when I first saw her.”
Marguerite: “I was at the front table in the lobby passing out sheets”
Liv: “How long did it take for you to start dating?”
T.J: “Since that show. I was like “wow, this is this amazing, put together, professional person.’ It was an opposites attract kind of thing.”
Marguerite: “He was ALWAYS late! The show would start at 2:00 and he’d show up at 1:50 with no call!”
Liv: “A stage manager’s nightmare!”
T.J: “I was a stage manager’s nightmare.”
Marguerite: “We’re still playing the same roles everyday!”
T.J: “I remember, our first date was during the run of the show. I asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner at The Corner Pug, and when we got there, she was looking around for the other cast members, not realizing that this was our first date.”
Marguerite: “As a cast we’d all go out after shows so I assumed that everyone else would be there!”
T.J: “So we got through that awkward moment of her not realizing that it was a date, and we went from there.”
Marguerite and TJ’s engagement happened just as it began, on the Playhouse stage. TJ explained how he told Margueritte that they were going out to dinner, but he had to pick up some lights at the Playhouse first.
T.J: “Like the first date, I had to make her understand what was going on!” (Marguerite was still looking for lights.)
Marguerite: “When we walked out of the theater after getting engaged, it was really cute because Darlene and Tracy were standing in the lobby waiting for us all excited.”
T.J: “[After we got engaged], we did some more shows together, like Stuart Little.”
Marguerite: “I stage managed him AGAIN and we still got married!”
They’ll have been married for ten years in October, and T.J has gotten better about not being late.
SHOW YOUR LOVE for Playhouse Theatre Group throughout the month of February! Donate $5 or more, and your name will be displayed on a heart in our Window & Wall of Love! This is our 7th annual SHOW YOUR LOVE campaign. Thanks to our incredible community, we have exceeded our goal of $15,000 and are now reaching for $20,000! You still have time to donate! We are so grateful for your support!
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