About
Music has always been a part of Nancy McDonald’s life.
Her father, Paul McDonald, worked as an engineer for the Scranton Electric Company, later PPL. As a young man, he worked in theaters as an electrician under the chief stage electrician, Terence Carden.
His uncle, Michael McDonald was a state senator and lawyer for Arthur Frothingham, who built Scranton's Frothingham Theater. As a young man, ...Paul McDonald saw many of the famous performers mentioned in If You Can Play Scranton. His stories prompted the research for this project.
From an early age, Nancy McDonald studied music and its history. Her great aunt taught piano and her cousin taught violin at the Scranton Conservatory of Music. Both were two of the original members of the Scranton Singers Guild.
She is a summa cum laude graduate of Marywood University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She majored in history and minored in drama. She was certified to teach history, drama and English. She received an M. A. in European History from Marywood University. She was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society while in graduate school. After she completed her master's, she took graduate credits in voice at Marywood.
She taught at West Scranton Senior High School until her retirement in 1999. She is a career-long member of the Scranton Federation of Teachers. She also represented the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers for five years on the Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Practices Commission. In 1983 she was one of ten finalists for the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.
Email: nancy@tribute-books.com
Description
<p>It’s hard to be committed to anyone when you don’t know whom to trust.</p><p>Alexis Toles, a former FBI agent turned undercover CIA agent, is quickly finding that out in Nancy Ann Healy’s newest political thriller, <i>Commitment</i>.</p><p>Alex embeds in a secret organization of intelligence operatives known as The Collaborative. Its partners include operatives from the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI, US Department of Defense, and an entanglement of foreign intelligence agencies.</p><p>It’s about half a year after the death of President John Merrow, a friend and someone she respected. But she remains committed to overthrowing The Collaborative as she works with a onetime adversary who believes the organization’s involved in the president’s death.</p><p>Meanwhile Alex; her wife, Cassidy O’Brien; and Cassidy’s son try hard to live as a family but must first overcome personal struggles, including a nasty custody battle with Cassidy’s ex-husband, Congressman Christopher O’Brien. The family has their own share of secrets that, if unleashed, could affect their hopes for the future.</p><p>There’s no place to turn without discovering people who are not who they claim to be. That can’t stop Alex. She must remain committed to the cause, both at home and as she works against The Collaborative.</p>
Reviews
"From mining's glory days to <em>That Championship Season</em>, who
would have known that Scranton was such a national hot-bed for
performance and that its stages hosted so many giants? Thanks to
Nancy McDonald, we all will! Packed with information, yet always an
enjoyable and fascinating read."<br />
- Alan Baker, The Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania<br /><br />
"Jack Benny and Mae West, vaudeville and big bands, stage plays and
movie stars – to open this treasure of a book is to relive
Scranton's entertainment scene from its heyday right up to modern
times. With juicy details and magnificent photographs, Nancy
McDonald captures a beloved aspect of the city's history." <br />
- Cheryl A. Kashuba, local historian & <em>Scranton
Times-Tribune</em> columnist<br /><br />
"With incredible detail and occasional whimsy, Nancy McDonald
brilliantly chronicles the range and high caliber of artists
subjected to the unyielding scrutiny of the unique culture that was
– and is – Scranton. Nancy demonstrates, with great pride, how
Scranton is a footnote in the history of America’s performing arts."<br />
- Dr. Paulette Merchel, retired theater program director, Marywood
University<br /><br />
"<em>If You Can Play Scranton</em> is a work that anyone who is
interested in Scranton's entertainment history MUST read. Nancy
McDonald has dedicated a lifetime to researching the topic and her
work provides an excellent document of the amazing talent that has
appeared here."<br />
- Mary Ann Moran Savakinus, director, Lackawanna Historical Society<br /><br />
"I found <em>If You Can Play Scranton</em> to be very informative and
interesting. It's a great read for anyone with Pennsylvania roots."<br />
- Karl Wegforth, president, Dunmore Historical Society
