Ronnie Marmo has a strong connection to the play “Bill W. and Dr. Bob,” about the two founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
That’s why he is so pleased to be playing the role of Bill W. and directing the Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey work at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, May 30-June 8.
Marmo credits Alcoholics Anonymous with helping him turn his life around and stay sober.
Marmo drank alcohol for the first time when he was 11 years old at a sleepover party with friends.
“We were unsupervised and we got ahold of the liquor cabinet,” Marmo recalled. “We were like, ‘Wow this tastes horrible, but look how it makes you feel.’”
Marmo kept drinking and was in rehab for the first time when he was 15.
It was a turbulent time for the young man because his parents split when he was 11. “My mom went from this little Italian housewife to suddenly working three jobs,” Marmo said. “I went from ultra-supervision to none. I started to run around with the kids on the street. Not a bad kid but I was completely influenced by the wrong crowd.”
Marmo was in and out of rehab throughout his teenage years. He finally stopped drinking when he was 20. “I’ve been sober ever since,” he revealed.
That turnabout came, Marmo explained, because he saw people coming into rehab when they were 70 and 80 years old. “I thought, ‘Am I going to squander this whole life?’” he questioned.
He credits the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous with helping him stay sober.
“It changed my life,” Marmo declared. “I realized how lucky and blessed I am, and one of the fortunate ones.”
Sadly, Marmo’s mother died of cancer when he was 24. “I had made her a promise that I would stay sober,” he said. “She would see me sober through the rest of her life. And I really took that to heart.”
Marmo reported that he is still deeply involved with Alcoholics Anonymous, which he credits with saving his life.
Marmo was first asked to perform in a production of “Bill W. and Dr. Bob” around 30 years ago.
“I couldn’t do it at the time but I always kept the play in my back pocket,” he said.
The New York/New Jersey native moved to Los Angeles in 1999. “I started a theater company in L.A. in 2001,” he said. He decided to stage “Bill W. and Dr. Bob” there.
At first, he was uncomfortable producing the play because participants in AA aren’t supposed to make money off the program. His sponsor encouraged Marmo to go ahead with his plans, telling him to just charge enough to pay his expenses in mounting the production.
When he discovered how important the show was to so many people, “It kind of blew my mind,” Marmo said. He noted that he received hundreds of letters from people who had seen the production telling him about the impact the play had on their life.
“I’ve been doing the play for 25 years, putting it on every couple years in L.A.,” Marmo said. “We just got the rights to do a national tour, and that’s why I’m bringing it to Skokie and other places.”
Marmo always directs the play but initially he played the part of The Man, taking on seven different roles. But he particularly cherishes the chance to play Bill W., he said.
He wanted to return to the Chicago area, where he had a successful run last year at Victory Gardens of a one-person show he wrote and starred in, “I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce.”
“I feel like Chicago is like a second home,” Marmo said. “I met my wife in Chicago. It’s very dear to me.”
Marmo brought “Bill W. and Dr. Bob” to the Biograph Theater in Chicago for an 11-week run last year.
“It was a huge success,” he said.
The actor/director observed that a lot of people in the audiences for this show aren’t necessarily theatergoers. They just want to see this play. He estimates that 60% of the audience members are in Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12-step program.
“You’re not supposed to look at the audience when you’re performing but it’s so hard not to be taken by the visceral reaction the people are having in the audience,” Marmo said.
Performances of “Bill W. and Dr. Bob” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, are 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Tickets are $64-$93. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
