On Monday, I was paging through old issues of what was once titled "C-VILLE Review" when I came across another interesting first act. In the November 13, 1990 issue of the Review, there’s a listing for the final run of The Boys Next Door at the University of Virginia’s Culbreth Theatre, with an accompanying photo. While the cast members in the picture aren’t identified, the actress on the far left resembles Tina Fey—the UVA grad who out-winked Sarah Palin and nabbed writing and acting Emmys for "30 Rock." See for yourself below (and compare with her yearbook photo):
Introducing…Mrs. Fremus! Third-year student Tina Fey (above, left) appeared in the 1990 UVA Drama production of The Boys Next Door.
I’d read that Fey had the lead in a UVA production of Cabaret, but couldn’t find any reference to a role in The Boys Next Door. I called James Scales, business manager at the UVA Drama Department, and he dug up the show’s program, along with a poster and a Cavalier Daily article. The only mention of Fey is in the program, but there she is, listed in the role of "Mrs. Fremus."
Sure, there is no caption to accompany the photo. But I’ve got the program to prove she was in the cast and—beyond a shadow of a doubt—I’m convinced that’s Tina Fey. To borrow from a former Wahoo, "Lemon out."