Countless fairy tales begin with “Once Upon a Time” and tell the story of
princesses, pirates, dragons, knights, and wolves. The fables often finish with the words “The End.” This month, the area theater community is mourning the loss of long-time Potomac resident and local playwright, singer, songwriter and actress Marilyn Shockey.
Her plays often turned familiar fairy tales upside down or blended several characters from various stories together. Many of her plays have been performed by Picture Book Players, Adventure Theatre and Potomac Theatre Company such as “What’s a Wolf to Do?” which won 14 Adventure Theatre awards including Best Musical. Her work also includes “Cinderella or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Ball” and “Sleeping Beauty or A Day in the Palace, a Night in Hollywood” and “Snow White & the Several Sillies.”
Shockey began writing plays when her daughter Holly went to college and her husband John retired. She had always loved fairy tales because her mother read them to her as a child and she in turn read them to her daughter. After writing several children’s musicals; her friends Patti Warner and Nan Muntzing encouraged her to try out for the Potomac Theatre Company’s production of “The Pirates of Penzance” and she was cast as one of General Stanley’s daughters.
Several more roles followed including Mrs. Greer in “Annie,” Mrs. Paroo in “The Music Man,” the Mad Hatter in “Alice In Wonderland” and Sister Sophia in “The Sound of Music.”
Glenda Henderson remembered, “There are so many things that connected me to Marilyn. There is just a huge void now. She was like a sister to me. What struck me about her is how much love she had for her own mother. Her mother lived with her family for many years. I never had the chance to meet her but from what I have heard Marilyn took very good care of her. Marilyn was the sweetest, nicest person. During a production of ‘What’s a Wolf to Do?’ and others, she not only wrote the script but acted in the show and did the costumes and pitched in to help with whatever was needed. She even worked in the box office.
“She had so many creative facets and abilities. She wrote stories, plays and music. She could sing and tell the story, sew and make beautiful costumes. Plus she could cook. Marilyn was always so positive. We would go to see shows together and she never said a bad thing; she always found the positive in something. Even if she did not feel like being at a rehearsal she was there setting the best example. She was just amazing and the most accepting person I have ever met. She never made me feel stupid if I did not know something. I am grateful for her as a teacher and as a friend. She would illuminate without being judgmental. I am happy to have known her. I feel her loss so keenly and I know others do too.”
Nan Muntzing recalled, “Marilyn and I met in 1989 at auditions for The Potomac Theatre Company’s first show — “Pirates Of Penzance.” That started what became an incredible, lasting friendship. The many shows we did together will be memories I will forever cherish.
“Marilyn wrote many terrific shows for Adventure Theatre. I had the pleasure of being involved in two of them. The Potomac Theatre Company did several of her plays with great success. She was so very talented in singing, writing and performing. She brought great pleasure to so many.
“My husband, Manning and I went on some great trips with Marilyn and John, which of course adds to the many wonderful memories. Marilyn sang in four shows we did at Fox Hill, where we live. Our fifth show will be in March and will be dedicated to Marilyn. We sang together for 26 years. She was a dear, dear friend, and I will miss her terribly.”
Director Ron Sarro had worked with Marilyn several times: “Marilyn was one of those very few people who emerge in a person's life who is so special, so endearing, so supportive, so trusting, so understanding, and so generous in spirit and in deed, that there is no way for a friend to replace her in his heart, to fill the void. Marilyn brought her considerable talents both to Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo and the Potomac Theatre Company. At Adventure, her original musical plays were magical, not only for the young audiences that saw them, but for the actors who performed in them. I felt honored to have been entrusted by Marilyn to bring her works to the professional stage for the first time. She worked tirelessly to support such efforts. No job was too big, no job was too small.”
Carol Leahy remembers meeting Marilyn in the late 1980s when she came to audition for a role in the Picture Book Players, a volunteer group which performed weekly for school groups. “We shared many interests: acting, singing, and reading plays” she said. “Marilyn was a multi-talented person who wanted to write plays. She wrote one titled ‘What's A Wolf to Do?’, which incorporated some ideas from Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and The Three Little Pigs.
“She was kind enough to ask me to read and comment and we did some revisions together. Then we produced the play at Adventure Theatre to rave reviews. I encouraged her to submit it to the Dramatic Publishing Company which did indeed publish it and it was produced in many different areas, always to very positive reviews. I can still see in my mind's eye the handsome young man who played the Wolf and the three beautiful young women (yes, they were the three little pigs!) in their gorgeous costumes — in which, of course, Marilyn had a hand. Our friendship grew throughout the years as she joined the Adventure Theatre Board, wrote and acted in more plays, and was the kind of friend everyone should have, making soup for my husband in his final illness and listening to me when I needed an ear.
“We'll all miss her greatly, but our hearts are lifted by knowing that generations of children will be entertained and educated by the plays she wrote with a wonderful insight into what could both entertain and educate children for years to come.”
Shockey was a member of The Potomac Theatre Company’s Board of Trustees and a member The Dramatists’ Guild and The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. Her publishers have expressed interest in publishing a number of Marilyn’s children's musicals that have already been produced and performed locally. Her husband, John, and daughter, Holly, plan to have her plays produced again so that more children can enjoy her musicals and hear the familiar beginning “Once Upon a Time .…”
Shockey died Friday, Jan. 23, 2015.
A celebration of her life will take place on March 7 at 2 p.m. at the Blair Family Center for the Arts, Bullis School, 10601 Falls Road, Potomac.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name may be made via mail to Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, MD 20812 Attn: Janet Berry.