Most actors learn something from every part they play. Nathanial Cedroni’s lessons from Forgotten were unexpected.
Cedroni is playing the lead role of “Lewis Bradford” in the jazz/blues musical production that tells the story of Bradford, a minister and pro-union worker at Ford’s Rouge Plant who died mysteriously inside the plant during the unionization efforts of the 1930s. Forgotten will be presented at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, as part of the And Still They Prospered: Living Through the Great Depression program series at Macomb Community College’s Lorenzo Cultural Center.
Talking with his grandfather, Peter Cedroni, about the role of Lewis Bradford and the storyline of the production, Nathanial Cedroni learned that two of his great-grandfathers were present at the infamous Battle of the Overpass, the bloody 1937 clash between Ford security guards and union organizers, captured in a series of Detroit News photographs, that helped sway public opinion in favor of the fledging United Auto Workers union.
“My grandfather just casually mentioned that one of my great-grandfathers was there during the fight and the other was just down the street, having a sandwich. I had no idea my family had connection to that day,” said Cedroni, 28.
Cedroni’s great-grandfather Eugene B. Groesbeck worked at Ford’s Highland Park Plant and his great-grandfather Pietro Cedroni worked at the Rouge Plant. Nathanial Cedroni said Pietro was offered promotion to foreman at the Rouge Plant several times, but turned down the promotion due to his limited English skills. His first language was Italian.
Cedroni, who lives in Chesterfield Township, also has a family connection to Macomb. His grandfather Harvey J. Groesbeck, who turned 90 last month, served as a member of the college’s elected board of trustees during the college’s early years. Groesbeck was a member of the board from 1963-1970, the time period when the college’s South and Center campuses were being built.
Cedroni is a full-time student at Macomb and a member of The Macombers, the college’s singing and dancing performing company. Cedroni served as a computer and linguistics specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years prior to enrolling at Macomb, with his goal firmly set on becoming a professional stage actor and performer.
He got his first break just after leaving the Marine Corps.
“I was driving home from Texas after getting out of the Marines, and my sister called me and said a local production of ‘Cats’ that she was appearing in had an open part, “Cedroni said. “I thought, ‘If my friends in the Marines knew I was going from a Marine uniform to wearing a giant cat costume, well they’d have been surprised.’”
Cedroni said the self-esteem and strong sense of drive he gained from his service with the Marines is paying benefits now as he pursues his stage career.
“A career on the stage is not something I am attempting to do,” he said. “It is something I will be doing.”
Cedroni has been a full-time student at Macomb since 2007 and has also taken a few classes at Wayne State University. He has already completed an associate of arts degree and plans to transfer to an area university to earn a bachelor’s degree in musical theory.
Cedroni is one of two Macomb students appearing in the cast of Forgotten. Gary Sacco, of Clinton Township, is playing the role of auto pioneer Henry Ford.
Sacco, 49, has been singing, often impersonating Frank Sinatra, in local performances for 20 years.
“It started as a hobby and just grew from there,” he said.
Forgotten is his first theatrical experience and he said he hopes to bring some of his Sinatra-style “swagger” to the role of Henry Ford.
Sacco, a Teamsters truck driver for the Detroit News since the late 1970s, starting taking classes at Macomb on a part-time basis about three years ago. He is working on a degree in information technology.
Like Cedroni, Sacco has a family tie to the Forgotten story.
“I’m dedicating my performance to my late Uncle Tony Gravina,” Sacco said. “He started working at the Rouge plant in 1941, just as the first union contracts were coming in. He retired in 1975.”
Forgotten was originally written by Detroit-area author/composer Steve Jones, a descendant of Lewis Bradford. More than 20 of Bradford’s extended family are expected to attend the presentation at Macomb.
Gold circle tickets to the presentation are $30; general admission $20; students, military and unemployed resident tickets are $10. Tickets may be purchased through the Macomb ticket office at 586.286.2222.
The production is part of the ongoing And Still They Prospered series at Macomb’s Lorenzo Cultural Center. The program series continues through May 8, examining the economic, social and cultural changes that took place during the 1930s and how those shifts laid the foundation for future prosperity in the Motor City and beyond.
The series features exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution and the Michigan State University Museum and more than free 40 presentations.
The Lorenzo Cultural Center is located on Macomb Community College’s Center Campus, Garfield and M-59, Clinton Township. The cultural center is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Additional information on the cultural center and on the And Still They Prospered program series is available at www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com.
About the Lorenzo Cultural Center
The Lorenzo Cultural Center (lorenzoculturalcenter.com) explores the influences and experiences that shape our community's heritage, examining topics from a variety of perspectives and creating interactive opportunities for learning, celebration and entertainment. Located on Macomb Community College's Center Campus, Hall and Garfield Roads in Clinton Township, the cultural center is adjacent to the Macomb Center for Performing Arts.
About Macomb Community College
Macomb Community College (www.macomb.edu) is one of the nation’s leading community colleges, providing learning experiences to more than 59,000 students annually. Macomb nationally ranks in the top two percent in the number of associate degrees awarded and as the largest grantor of associate degrees in Michigan. The college’s comprehensive educational programming includes pre-collegiate experiences, university transfer and career preparation programs, bachelor degree completion and graduate degree programs, workforce training, professional education and certification, and continuing education and enrichment opportunities.
Media contact:
Dan Heaton
586-445-7271
heatond@macomb.edu