PREVIEW: One-Woman Show Brady for the Ages Raises Funds for Schenectady Civic Playhouse
06/07 @ Schenectady Civic Playhouse.
“All I know is that I want to do this forever.”
Pat Brady's reputation in the Capital Region precedes her as a comedienne, singer, dancer, and consummate performer. The actress in over 50 local productions is taking the stage once again to raise funds for the Schenectady Civic Playhouse in a self-written and performed show, Brady for the Ages, to tell the story of her life and her journey with music.
“That’s what I like to do — write something, have charge, and have fun with it,” Brady says, explaining her motivations behind the show. “And engender benefits for the theater to make some money to keep it going.”
Brady has put on five one-woman shows before, but this story she’s written is unique for her. “This one is the decades of my life on Earth, and the importance of the music, and what cultural things happened during that time,” she explains.
Brady for the Ages is a sprawling piece across the decades, covering the music and performers who have made an enduring impact on our culture and the world. Brady’s ability to feed off the audience is her power, as she will pepper humorous anecdotes throughout and share her own relationship to the songs.
“I was born in the ’40s, so the first song I'm doing is “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller, and I had to teach one of the guys in the theater how to jitterbug, because nobody knows how to jitterbug anymore!” she laughs. “They call it swing dancing now.”
Onstage, she is joined by longtime collaborators, accompanist Max Caplan and singer and dancer Kevin Miner. Crafting a show like this requires a committed spirit of teamwork and a united purpose to entertain, raise funds, and create community.
“Live theater is unique because you get the energy from the audience and they get the energy from you. It’s like this circle of connection with the audience,” says Brady.
Preserving this sacred space for performers is essential to her. She adds, “The big thing is to support it not only with your presence and with donations, but to just come to the theater and enjoy it.”
Attendees being not only present, but also having a good time at the theater matters to Brady as a performer. The audience shouldn’t be held at arm's length; this is a communal experience, a loop of people partaking of a shared experience. In this case, it’s comedy for a good cause.
She describes Brady for the Ages as ‘a screaming riot.’ “I never have more fun than I do on stage, getting the people to laugh, and I always bring up some men on the stage to make fools of themselves, and they always love that,” she continues.
Without theaters, she fears that fewer people will be exposed to the diverse and extraordinary world of live entertainment. For Brady, theater is a second home; music has been a part of Brady’s life since birth. Her father's profession as a conductor earned him the honor of becoming the namesake of Cincinnati's Andrew J. Brady Music Center.
His passion for musical theater and taking her to concerts at a young age informs her work today. “Some people aren’t lucky enough to have a musical family,” she says. “It started with me with music when I was a little girl.”
Her interest in performing was present since childhood, but after the sudden death of Brady’s husband, she was a single parent, and acting was ‘put on the back burner.’ It was after her children went to college that she auditioned for Annie at Schenectady Light Opera.
“If you’re meant to do it, it takes one exposure and you’re bitten by the bug,” she says. “I’ve done 53 productions since that time. I have loved not only doing it, but also the people that I meet and the satisfaction that you have, and the challenges that you have.”
Brady, with her typical wit and honesty, tells a story about that first show ever, Annie, a show she knew by heart from her children long before she ever auditioned. Ironically, her daughter in college was also in a play, a moment of coincidence that ended with two wildly different reactions.
Her daughter called her after her show to tell her that she never wanted to act onstage again. Performing on a stage to strangers? Terrifying to some, but not to Brady. Brady knew from Annie onward that the stage was going to be an important and active part of the rest of her life.
“People in the theater call it the little fire in your belly,” she reflects. “All I know is that I want to do this forever.”
Brady for the Ages will take place on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. at the Schenectady Civic Playhouse. Tickets are $25 and are available through the SCP website, by phone, or at the door. Following the performance, audience members are invited to stay for a reception with Brady and all the performers from the show.
For more information, call (518) 382-2081 or visit civicplayers.org.