Every high school girl needs a Kurt. Rod was mine.

We met in sophomore English, fall of 1968, and soon gravitated together to the back of the class. When we studied Romeo and Juliet, Rod asked to read the part of Juliet. Miss M wouldn’t let him. Of course, she also bragged about helping our principal expel Truman Capote from the high school. We shouldn’t have been surprised by her decision, but I was proud of Rod for trying.

I focused on grades and student government and getting myself the heck out of that Connecticut town for college. Rod was the class thespian—president of the Dramatics Association who directed oodles of plays. Our senior show brought us back together for what turned out to be the highlight of my high school career, with Rod playing a starring role.

It was the school’s first year out of the 1925 brick structure where the senior show had been called Vaudeville since, well, the Roaring Twenties. With a modern school building and theater, a new principal and a new decade, Rod and his co-directors defied tradition and christened the class of ’71 show SRO, for Standing Room Only. I was in charge of ticket sales in addition to being part of the show, so I know there was indeed standing room only for every performance.

Managing tickets was my SRO job; singing and dancing were my joys. Thanks to Rod’s leadership and love of all things theater, for two months that spring we were a  …