By Christopher Cappiello

Celebration Stages 30th Anniversary Production of Gemini

“I'm not hungry, I'll just pick,” said the outrageous Lucille, about to slurp an entire bowl of spaghetti, in the memorable late-'70s commercial for the Broadway production of Albert Innaurato's Gemini. Among those who remember the spot is television writer Stan Zimmerman (Golden Girls, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls), an underage acting student at the time who is now directing the 30th anniversary revival of the play at the Celebration Theatre.

“It was a huge deal. It was one of the first commercials ever for a Broadway show,” Zimmerman recalls. “The show just cracked me up. I laughed really hard. But it also scared me because they were talking about being gay and being in the closet, and that's what I was. And I couldn't believe that on a stage they were actually saying those words out loud.”

Gemini tells the story of Francis Geminiani, an opera-loving Harvard student home for the summer in Philadelphia with his father, Francis, dad's girlfriend, Lucille, and the neighboring Weinbergers. When a pair of swank sibling classmates comes to call in Francis' humble 'hood, it triggers a number of discoveries, including the young man's awakening sexuality.

When Zimmerman was starring in Bravo's Situation Comedy a couple of years ago, he met Celebration's artistic director, Michael Matthews, whose boyfriend is Todd Milliner, Sean Hayes' producing partner on the Bravo show. “Michael said to me, 'We really want you to direct a play here,' and I thought, 'Oh, my God, that is exactly the area I've been wanting to go into,” Zimmerman explains. “So when Albert Innaurato agreed to let us do it and call it the 30th anniversary revival, I thought this was just so perfect for my maiden effort in theater.”

Zimmerman started spinning his Rolodex, contacting every agent and casting director in town to assemble the right cast. “I knew it had to be a very special cast, and I was very fortunate and got a great group of actors,” he says, including Stephanie Faracy (Grey's Anatomy), Peter Onorati (Civil Wars, Murder One) and Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers' Frau Farbissina).

The director considered giving the mid-'70s play a contemporary setting, “but then I thought I really wanted to honor the 30th anniversary of it.” By maintaining the original time period, Zimmerman feels he can show what it was like to come out 30 years ago, while also showing how little some things have changed. “Since starting the play, I have run into so many young people that are not out, that still have a problem with it—and these are people in Los Angeles!” he says. “It's still very difficult.”

After years in the television world, the rookie director is relishing the comparatively luxurious timetable of a theater production. “It's not like television, where an actor can be fired at the table read if you're not good,” he says. “I had to remind my cast, you're all here for a couple of months. No one's being fired. Come here and just play, and we'll find it together. I think that's why it's important for actors to do theater. And I would love for more actors to want to play in that sandbox.”

Directing the play he saw as a young, closeted stage actor is “a full circle moment for me,” Zimmerman concludes. “And I'm looking forward to doing much more theater in L.A.”

Gemini runs May 11-June 17 at the Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. For tickets and information, call (323) 957-1884 or visit www.CelebrationTheatre.com.