Tom Flannery is a man of many talents. Musician, Composer, Liberal Activist and Playwright. For the last 7 years Flannery’s plays have graced local stages from Scranton Public Theatre to Showcase Theatre in Exeter.

The summer of 2006 promises to be a very busy time for Tom with 4 shows opening in a 2 and a half month time period. July 14th sees his “Last Thoughts of Gino Merli” premiere for Scranton Public Theatre under the direction of Bob Schlesinger. Michael Fallon stars as the Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Merli, a Peckville native, died in 2002.

“If ever a story needs to be passed on its Gino’s. I’m very proud we’ll be doing our own little part here this summer. It will be combined with another one act play….this one written by Michael Cotter and dealing with Wilkes-Barre’s own Dan Flood. It should be a fun night.”

Yours truly has the honor of directing Flannery’s next work “Marcinkus”… The piece is also a one man play, this time dealing with the late Archbishop Paul Marcinkus who was head of the Vatican Bank from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Marcinkus was a controversial figure inside and outside the confines of the Roman Catholic Church and has been accused of everything from murdering Pope John Paul the first to having been involved with a famous Italian Mafia Bank scheme. The play, starring Greg Korin premieres at Arts Youniverse on Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre, August 4th and runs 2 weekends.

Rounding out the summer for Flannery are a One act play, “Nixon‘s Last 15 Minutes” and a revival of his “Katrina Monologues”. A play designed to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“Nixon” will be presented by Actor’s Circle as Part of a series of Touring One Act Original works While Bracken Theatre; Exeter… will present “Katrina Monolouges” on the first anniversary of the disaster.

For all his accomplishments Tom remains very humble about his work, when asked about some of his favorite memories as a theatrical writer He responded…

“Like your first love….you never quite get over the first time you hear your words on a stage. Gene Malone starred in my first play “The Driveway”….and Jason Miller was my director. Not a bad way to start right? I just tried to stay the hell out of the way. I remember Gene calling Jason out from the wings after opening night….and then dragging me up there…where Jason was waiting with a big hug. I considered retirement right then actually.”

I remember Agnes Cummings in my play “God Bless Roy Campanella”….and the audible shudder she induced from an audience one night with the last words of the play. It wasn’t a reaction that was built into the writing. That was a great actress bringing something out on her own. I remember thinking “Tom…..kidnap this woman and cast her in all your plays and then maybe you have a fighting chance.”

If this summer is any indication, Tom Flannery’s chances are paying off.