The Villages - February 2021 - 55

And while retirement includes leisurely hours by the
pool and dinners with friends, creativity still churns
within. After reading biographies about the Hollywood
vixen Mae West, Harrington felt moved to write song
after song.
" I started to feel like Mae West, " she said, clicking the
play button on her portable stereo. Her gaze blurs into
the distance as if haunted by visions of Mae. The song
plays and Harrington sings. " It ain't no sin to love the
skin you're in ... "
She never thought she'd write a musical, but writing
isn't always a choice.

" I don't understand how it happened, " Harrington
said. I just started writing the songs. "
Unsure about the project, she hosted a listening party
to gauge feedback from Villages friends. Their generous
applause and positive response gave Harrington the
courage to finish the musical. She credits the Daily Sun
for helping her find a director and venue.
" After the party, a reporter wrote a really nice article, " she said. " Dave Saxe just happened to read it. "
Also a Villager, Saxe is producing artistic director
operating Nittany Theater in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania
- one of America's oldest barn summer-stock
theaters. Under Saxe's direction, Harrington performed
" Mae " in September 2017, and won yet another award.
In April 2019, she performed it at Rohan Regional
Recreation Complex. A poster now hangs among her
career memorabilia. It features a red-lipped, languid
Mae West, poised and self-possessed.

Harrington's playbill from the 2017 presentation
of The Mae West Musical at Nittany Theatre.

I STARTED TO FEEL
LIKE MAE WEST.
- Shawna Harrington

MAGAZINE

55



The Villages - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - February 2021

Contents
The Villages - February 2021 - Cover1
The Villages - February 2021 - Cover2
The Villages - February 2021 - 1
The Villages - February 2021 - Contents
The Villages - February 2021 - 3
The Villages - February 2021 - 4
The Villages - February 2021 - 5
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The Villages - February 2021 - 8
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