Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWire) -- 07/07/2016 --Tom Hanks went back to where it all began, Lakewood, Ohio, two weeks ago, to connect with the actors he started with from The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival. The reunion was put together by Hanks and a fellow acting intern, Mary Beidler-Gearen. With a rented tour bus, the group of 40 went back to all the old haunts (The Tick Tock Tavern, Angelos Pizza, The Hanna Theatre, and the Lakewood Civic Auditorium) accompanied by Hanks the entire time.
Time slipped away as the actors reminisced about starting out in Lakewood. Many of the group, Hanks included, were 'interns' for the company that 1977 season; little pay, small roles, and the beginning of a bond that has stood the test of time.
Actress Holly Fulger, creator of The Hollywood Beauty Detective, and known for such shows as Ellen and Anything But Love, was there along side Tom (she too was an intern and had one line in Taming of the Shrew, Hanks played Grumio), as was award winning playwright, Jose Rivera, also an intern in 1977.
It was an amazing reunion and at the farewell brunch at the 9 Hotel, there were many toasts and promises of another reunion...one sooner than 39 years.
