March 23, 2025 • 11 mins
We spoke with Director of Curated Programs Sheree Marcucci about an event for Women’s History Month called “Herstories.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Sherry Marcucci. She's director of curated Programs
at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. Good morning, Sherry, Good
morning Allison. So you have this amazing event coming up
marches women's history months and you have this event of
the Palace called Tragedy to Triumph her stories or her
(00:23):
stories of hope and plan words of history except it's
her history.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, yes, it is, it is. And I'm very excited
to present this program because it is something I've wanted
to do for a while. And basically what it is
is bringing together some women, some who you may know
are local women, some that have a broader appeal, to
(00:48):
tell their personal story of something that has been part
of their life experience that we would call tragic or
tragedy in some way, shape or form, and then hear
how they approached that experience and how they turned a
tragic experience into hope as part of their story. And
(01:12):
I am a firm believer in women being the most
resilient creatures on the face of the planet. I think,
you know, the fact that we give birth our starters,
certainly you know is relevant, but we are able to
(01:33):
as as a species, I guess, just overcome, get things done,
problem solve and make the world just a better place.
So this is a day for women to come together.
Men are Men are invited as well, but it's it's
definitely geared to women. We have a piano, uh and
a moderator, and we'll have lunch. And here here's some
(01:56):
really really powerful stories.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Just a back up for a second. We were talking
about women being resilient and strong men are too, and
I always say, we're not better, We're just different.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
We're different. Absolutely, absolutely. I think there's a little secret
sauce though in the resilience of women.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Absolutely I feel the same way, you know. But again,
men have their strengths. Women have their strengths, and some
people might get aggravated that I'm differentiating. But so this
particular day, I can't get over this. You're going to
have lunch, you're going to have the speakers, the panel
rather the moderator, and it's only twenty dollars.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It is only twenty dollars, and I really appreciate so much.
The reason we can offer it at such a low
price point is because we have wonderful sponsors the Connecticut
Community Foundation in Tim and Mary Ellen Rourke. It's if
we didn't have that kind of support for programs like these,
we would not be able to offer it. And basically
(02:59):
we're just covering the lost of offering the free lunch.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Wow. So Randy k this actress, this amazing broadcaster.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
She is the moderator, and she herself has an incredible
story and has written a book or two actually about
this experience in her life. She has an adult son
who has been diagnosed as diagnosed with schizophrenia, and so
she definitely understands tragedy to triumph and it will share
(03:30):
as well some of her own story in her family dynamic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And not to give away everybody else's stories, but maybe
you could give just a little overview of the panelists.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I certainly will. We have and I love that we
have a wide range of ages represented on our piano.
So we have a younger woman who just became a
mom in the last year and her chance lounges in
becoming a mother and with infertility, and so she's going
(04:06):
to share that. We have another woman on the pianol
who had a sad experience. Her son and daughter in
law had a child who died of SIDS, and then
after that her son transitioned, and so she's going to
(04:27):
share what that experience has been like for her. And
we had someone else who has been along, had a
long history of caregiving for her son and then her
husband who died unexpectedly and you know not you know,
(04:50):
it wasn't expected that he was going to survive. So
people are sharing those kinds of stories, and I know
I'm forgetting somebody. I think, Oh, and another woman who
experienced one of her siblings being murdered and how that
impacted and changed the trajectory of her own life.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
It's a hopeful story of moving forward after overcoming the tragedy.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That's exactly right. And I know there's comfort in hearing
someone's story because sometimes we in our own whatever you're experiencing,
we feel we're alone in that. And the truth of
the matter is there's somebody else who may have experienced,
maybe not the exact same thing, but something, and by
sharing our story, we can help someone else get through something.
(05:42):
And then these women who are all of them are
such powerhouses. They've been successful in their careers in life.
They're going to share what their tools were as well,
what one of the things that helped them get through
these challenging experiences.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I want a preacher say, you may see my glory,
but you don't know my story.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
That's absolutely right. And you know we look. I know
I'm guilty of this. I look at someone else's what's
presumably a perfect life and go of my life. Isn't
that or whatever? But just as the old saying goes,
we don't know what's going on behind closed doors. We
don't know the pain or the heartache someone has experience
(06:28):
until they trust us and share it. And I do
want to say something else about this event. I've invited
a counseling practice, Bluebird Counseling, led by Lauren Nesta and
some of her stuff. They will be there that day.
They'll be there sharing, like we all are coming together
as a body of women. But should somebody need any
(06:52):
kind of resource down the road or possibly that day,
maybe something is triggered and they you know, we'll have
people there who can you know, you can feel free
to talk to privately. And so again, I feel like
this is just such a coming together and ultimately an
(07:12):
uplifting experience, and at the end of the day, we'll
have two things. One is we'll have those wonderful Sweet
Maria cupcakes from Sweet Maria's Bakery. But we'll also have
a little fifteen minute play written by Lauren Yager, one
of the women on our panel, actually performed by Virginia Woolf.
(07:36):
And it's funny, it's uplifting, there's a definitely unexpected comic
hook at the end. So I will lift will end
the day on a high note.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Beautiful. What I love so much about my job being
a reporter all these years interviewing people, it's always the
same message that their suffering wasn't in vain. I mean,
do they wish it on anybody? Would they ever want
to go through it again?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Know?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
But it made them who they are today.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You're so right about that. You're so right about that.
Like you know, we when we have choices in life too,
like something can break us and we never recover. And
I'm not minimizing when that happens to somebody, that's awful.
But sometimes if we can see there's two roads, I
can choose this or this, and maybe they need help
(08:27):
somebody to you know, whether it's a best friend, whether
it's a family member, whether it's a professional to help
them move to that next thing. But I'm a great
believer in that. I've experienced that in my own life.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And I feel like when the women hear these stories,
if they may be going through something similar, they can
say I made it through. You can also.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yes, yes, And there's such comfort. I mean, it's the
reason why self help, whether it's a group, whether it's
a book, because people need to hear somebody else did
this or went through this and just as you said,
and you can get through it too, and here's some
tools to help you. Whatever those tools are. For some
(09:10):
it's fate.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I just want to give their names again. Randy Kay
will be the moderator. And you have Tracy Beezer Barrett.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Who's a Broadway actress by the way, and I left
that out. She's originally from Waterbury. She went to Crosby
High School right in Waterbury, Connecticut, and she is an
amazing talent and her story is just I actually, you
know how I found out about her story. I know Tracy,
but she put something on Facebook that just gave me chills.
(09:41):
It was such a beautiful story and that is what
made me reach out to her.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Oh yeah, I know she was in Frozen, so many
amazing Broadway shows, these beautiful. Her heart is so good
and her mother, Iotha, is just a piece.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Oh yeah, and she'll be there, shore be there.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
And then we have Joyce.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Joy Solo Jeffrey who you know, she's a fabulous actor
and it's just just a wonderful human being. In her story,
I did not know it and it is eye opening.
And what I love about her story is out of
(10:22):
true tragedy, many many many years later, something unexpected, unexpected
for her and unexpected to the people that come that
day happened, and she'll be sharing that beautiful.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And then we have Lauren Yarger who you mentioned earlier,
well known in.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
The greater Harford area as a playwright and actor.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And then finally we have Betsy who's also on the panel.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yes, and you know, each one of these people were
were chosen for a specific reason and they were all
you know what they're like, Like you said, they all
have a crown and they want to share some wisdom,
(11:07):
some knowledge, some of their pain in some of their exultation,
if you will, some of the joy. And that's ultimately
that's what this day is going to be, a joyful day.
It's Saturday, March twenty ninth, from noon to three pm.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I'm speaking with Scherry Marcucci, director of Curated Programs at
the Palace Theater in Waterbury. The event is Tragedy to
Triumph her Stories of Hope. It's Saturday, March twenty ninth,
from noon to three Tickets are only twenty dollars. You
get this amazing event and a luncheon. Just go to
PALACETHEATERCT dot org to get your tickets. Sherry, thank you
(11:48):
so much for being here today and for putting on
amazing events like these.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Oh you know my pleasure. I mean thank you for
allowing me to tell this story and share it with
other people.
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Sherry Marcucci. She's director of curated Programs
at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. Good morning, Sherry, Good
morning Allison. So you have this amazing event coming up
marches women's history months and you have this event of
the Palace called Tragedy to Triumph her stories or her
(00:23):
stories of hope and plan words of history except it's
her history.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, yes, it is, it is. And I'm very excited
to present this program because it is something I've wanted
to do for a while. And basically what it is
is bringing together some women, some who you may know
are local women, some that have a broader appeal, to
(00:48):
tell their personal story of something that has been part
of their life experience that we would call tragic or
tragedy in some way, shape or form, and then hear
how they approached that experience and how they turned a
tragic experience into hope as part of their story. And
(01:12):
I am a firm believer in women being the most
resilient creatures on the face of the planet. I think,
you know, the fact that we give birth our starters,
certainly you know is relevant, but we are able to
(01:33):
as as a species, I guess, just overcome, get things done,
problem solve and make the world just a better place.
So this is a day for women to come together.
Men are Men are invited as well, but it's it's
definitely geared to women. We have a piano, uh and
a moderator, and we'll have lunch. And here here's some
(01:56):
really really powerful stories.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Just a back up for a second. We were talking
about women being resilient and strong men are too, and
I always say, we're not better, We're just different.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
We're different. Absolutely, absolutely. I think there's a little secret
sauce though in the resilience of women.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Absolutely I feel the same way, you know. But again,
men have their strengths. Women have their strengths, and some
people might get aggravated that I'm differentiating. But so this
particular day, I can't get over this. You're going to
have lunch, you're going to have the speakers, the panel
rather the moderator, and it's only twenty dollars.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It is only twenty dollars, and I really appreciate so much.
The reason we can offer it at such a low
price point is because we have wonderful sponsors the Connecticut
Community Foundation in Tim and Mary Ellen Rourke. It's if
we didn't have that kind of support for programs like these,
we would not be able to offer it. And basically
(02:59):
we're just covering the lost of offering the free lunch.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Wow. So Randy k this actress, this amazing broadcaster.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
She is the moderator, and she herself has an incredible
story and has written a book or two actually about
this experience in her life. She has an adult son
who has been diagnosed as diagnosed with schizophrenia, and so
she definitely understands tragedy to triumph and it will share
(03:30):
as well some of her own story in her family dynamic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And not to give away everybody else's stories, but maybe
you could give just a little overview of the panelists.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I certainly will. We have and I love that we
have a wide range of ages represented on our piano.
So we have a younger woman who just became a
mom in the last year and her chance lounges in
becoming a mother and with infertility, and so she's going
(04:06):
to share that. We have another woman on the pianol
who had a sad experience. Her son and daughter in
law had a child who died of SIDS, and then
after that her son transitioned, and so she's going to
(04:27):
share what that experience has been like for her. And
we had someone else who has been along, had a
long history of caregiving for her son and then her
husband who died unexpectedly and you know not you know,
(04:50):
it wasn't expected that he was going to survive. So
people are sharing those kinds of stories, and I know
I'm forgetting somebody. I think, Oh, and another woman who
experienced one of her siblings being murdered and how that
impacted and changed the trajectory of her own life.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
It's a hopeful story of moving forward after overcoming the tragedy.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That's exactly right. And I know there's comfort in hearing
someone's story because sometimes we in our own whatever you're experiencing,
we feel we're alone in that. And the truth of
the matter is there's somebody else who may have experienced,
maybe not the exact same thing, but something, and by
sharing our story, we can help someone else get through something.
(05:42):
And then these women who are all of them are
such powerhouses. They've been successful in their careers in life.
They're going to share what their tools were as well,
what one of the things that helped them get through
these challenging experiences.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I want a preacher say, you may see my glory,
but you don't know my story.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
That's absolutely right. And you know we look. I know
I'm guilty of this. I look at someone else's what's
presumably a perfect life and go of my life. Isn't
that or whatever? But just as the old saying goes,
we don't know what's going on behind closed doors. We
don't know the pain or the heartache someone has experience
(06:28):
until they trust us and share it. And I do
want to say something else about this event. I've invited
a counseling practice, Bluebird Counseling, led by Lauren Nesta and
some of her stuff. They will be there that day.
They'll be there sharing, like we all are coming together
as a body of women. But should somebody need any
(06:52):
kind of resource down the road or possibly that day,
maybe something is triggered and they you know, we'll have
people there who can you know, you can feel free
to talk to privately. And so again, I feel like
this is just such a coming together and ultimately an
(07:12):
uplifting experience, and at the end of the day, we'll
have two things. One is we'll have those wonderful Sweet
Maria cupcakes from Sweet Maria's Bakery. But we'll also have
a little fifteen minute play written by Lauren Yager, one
of the women on our panel, actually performed by Virginia Woolf.
(07:36):
And it's funny, it's uplifting, there's a definitely unexpected comic
hook at the end. So I will lift will end
the day on a high note.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Beautiful. What I love so much about my job being
a reporter all these years interviewing people, it's always the
same message that their suffering wasn't in vain. I mean,
do they wish it on anybody? Would they ever want
to go through it again?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Know?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
But it made them who they are today.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You're so right about that. You're so right about that.
Like you know, we when we have choices in life too,
like something can break us and we never recover. And
I'm not minimizing when that happens to somebody, that's awful.
But sometimes if we can see there's two roads, I
can choose this or this, and maybe they need help
(08:27):
somebody to you know, whether it's a best friend, whether
it's a family member, whether it's a professional to help
them move to that next thing. But I'm a great
believer in that. I've experienced that in my own life.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And I feel like when the women hear these stories,
if they may be going through something similar, they can
say I made it through. You can also.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yes, yes, And there's such comfort. I mean, it's the
reason why self help, whether it's a group, whether it's
a book, because people need to hear somebody else did
this or went through this and just as you said,
and you can get through it too, and here's some
tools to help you. Whatever those tools are. For some
(09:10):
it's fate.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I just want to give their names again. Randy Kay
will be the moderator. And you have Tracy Beezer Barrett.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Who's a Broadway actress by the way, and I left
that out. She's originally from Waterbury. She went to Crosby
High School right in Waterbury, Connecticut, and she is an
amazing talent and her story is just I actually, you
know how I found out about her story. I know Tracy,
but she put something on Facebook that just gave me chills.
(09:41):
It was such a beautiful story and that is what
made me reach out to her.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Oh yeah, I know she was in Frozen, so many
amazing Broadway shows, these beautiful. Her heart is so good
and her mother, Iotha, is just a piece.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Oh yeah, and she'll be there, shore be there.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
And then we have Joyce.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Joy Solo Jeffrey who you know, she's a fabulous actor
and it's just just a wonderful human being. In her story,
I did not know it and it is eye opening.
And what I love about her story is out of
(10:22):
true tragedy, many many many years later, something unexpected, unexpected
for her and unexpected to the people that come that
day happened, and she'll be sharing that beautiful.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And then we have Lauren Yarger who you mentioned earlier,
well known in.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
The greater Harford area as a playwright and actor.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And then finally we have Betsy who's also on the panel.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yes, and you know, each one of these people were
were chosen for a specific reason and they were all
you know what they're like, Like you said, they all
have a crown and they want to share some wisdom,
(11:07):
some knowledge, some of their pain in some of their exultation,
if you will, some of the joy. And that's ultimately
that's what this day is going to be, a joyful day.
It's Saturday, March twenty ninth, from noon to three pm.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I'm speaking with Scherry Marcucci, director of Curated Programs at
the Palace Theater in Waterbury. The event is Tragedy to
Triumph her Stories of Hope. It's Saturday, March twenty ninth,
from noon to three Tickets are only twenty dollars. You
get this amazing event and a luncheon. Just go to
PALACETHEATERCT dot org to get your tickets. Sherry, thank you
(11:48):
so much for being here today and for putting on
amazing events like these.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Oh you know my pleasure. I mean thank you for
allowing me to tell this story and share it with
other people.
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