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Bill Galarno, 1933–2020

Bill Galarno as Kris Kringle, December 8, 2019

Photo by Bob Johnson

Out of the Box Theatre Company (OotB) dedicates this production of The 28 Stairs to our beloved actor and friend Bill Galarno, who passed away last year at age 86. Bill lit up every OotB stage on which he played, from 2011’s Spoon River Anthology to playing Kris Kringle in 2019’s Miracle on 34th Street. A highlight was playing Carl Bolton in the OotB 2017 revival of Paul Osborne’s affectionate comedy Morning’s at Seven.

Bill was also sought as a director, teacher, and coach. The plays he wrote won awards, and his Boston Broadcast of 1932 has been mounted as far as away as Surrey, England. Bill’s rich career as a theater professional spanned 65 treasured years.

An early triumph in Bill’s trajectory was playing Rolf in The Sound of Music, first in the 1962 Broadway touring company, and again six years later in its first Broadway revival. Also in 1968, Bill joined a Lincoln Center production of Candide, mounted to honor Leonard Bernstein’s fiftieth birthday.

Bill was keen to impart his experiences to the younger generations. As part of the Performing Arts Legacy Project, the Actors Fund in 2018 helped Bill archive his career. The next August, Bill started coaching a promising 11-year-old actor who, working with Bill, landed his first stage role that fall off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theater.

Bill never became famous, but he touched all of us who experienced the pleasure of knowing him. He was a wonderful actor, a generous and staunch supporter of OotB, and a dear friend, and we miss him greatly. We welcome all of you in the audience to join us in honoring Bill Galarno.