Sandie Hawthorne has waged a battle with her body for 50 years but her life story is no pity party.
Hawthorne, 71, has spent the past five decades living with multiple sclerosis. She performs Saturday night at 7 in La Hacienda Recreation Center in a one-woman biographical show called “Come Fly With Me.” Doors open at 6:15; tickets are $10 at all Villages Box Office locations and at the event. All proceeds go to the National MS Society.
The play tells the story of a woman with a passion for theater and life who fought against feeling sorry for herself.
“If I wanted to have a pity party, I wouldn’t do it on stage,” said Hawthorne, chairman of the board of The Villages Musical Theater. “I want people to leave this feeling positive about life and living. There is always hope and that’s how I feel.
“I don’t have time for wallowing in sadness and ‘woe is me.’ This is my life on that stage. Believe me, I’ve had my moments when I wanted to deny this and didn’t want to deal with any doctors. I’ve lived through some dark times. But my life in theater has been great and it still is. I’m in a wheelchair. I can’t tap dance with my legs. But I can with my hands.”
Hawthorne’s can-do attitude has touched others. Mary Jo Vitale, a popular singer in The Villages, is in her 30s and was diagnosed with MS in 2012.
“Sandie is an inspiration,” said Vitale, who will open the show with two songs – “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Let It Be Me.” A jazz trio, Howard Glitt, Pat Kronk and Hershal Chapman, will perform a pre-show concert starting at 6:15 p.m.
“This disease forces you to look at yourself,” Vitale said. “You can’t let it get you down and you’ve got to live life to the fullest. That’s what Sandie is all about.”
Vitale is married to Jon-Marc MacLean, pastor of the Hope Lutheran Church, and they have a son, Daniel, 4. “I want to be here for my husband and son and this has brought us closer as a family. I’ve learned every day is a gift.”
Hawthorne has proved that statement most of her life. Much of it was spent in theater at Illinois. James Keeran is a close friend and playwright from Illinois and he wrote “Come Fly With Me,” as a tribute to Hawthorne’s courage and talent.
The play lasts 45 minutes, which can be an eternity for a solo performer on stage. “The last time I did it was about 13 years ago,” Hawthorne said. “I was younger then and it was easier to remember the lines. I’m hoping I can get past the first 15 minutes and keep going.”
Hawthorne has already made her mark in local theater. She and her husband, Jon, have been married 49 years and came to The Villages about 10 years ago. During her time here, she directed such shows as, “Bus Stop,” “A Trip to Bountiful,” “Always…Patsy Cline,” “Oklahoma” and “Carousel.” Next March, she will direct “The Music Man” for The Villages Musical Theater.
“It’s harder for me to get acting parts, so I keep directing,” said Hawthorne, the mother of two sons, Doug and Brad. Playing herself and facing MS on stage is a daunting challenge. The play runs an emotional gamut of coping with the physical and mental struggles of MS. It’s the story of an aspiring actress who was struck in her prime by an unrelenting disease. There are moments of laughter, tears, denial, anger and faith, but through it all, the dream of a life in theater endures.
“I always get butterflies when I go on stage but this is different,” Hawthorne said. “When the lights go on, something happens in my gut.” It’s that boundless spunk that is the essence of Hawthorne’s and life and philosophy, which she summed up with these words: “I just get on with the show.”
