Talenti says it was only gradually that he came to realize that his character, who criticizes Eva's actions throughout the show, actually loves the dictator's wife. He says that Sloan planted the seed of his realization during a rehearsal.

"It definitely became clear that the reason why he gets so frustrated at the end is because she had a certain something that made the people and himself fall in love with her," Talenti says. "He's incredibly angry at her for making him fall in love with her," he says.

The big payoff for everybody's hard work came on opening night, cast members say.

Fratto's reaction to opening night was one of both fear and surprise. "I was paralyzed. I was not able to enjoy the show at all. It has gotten successively easier with each night," Fratto says.

The big surprise, he says, was that "parts of the show were funny. because we rehearsed so much, the parts that I had directed as funny just weren't anymore. It was pleasant to hear the audience laugh."

Laughter was one of the things that made Shapiro happiest on opening night, too, he says. "If I do something on stage and I hear someone laugh I think `Oh my God, what's more important than hearing someone laugh?'" says Shapiro.

Talenti found that what he enjoyed most about the show's premiere was the fact that for the first time he had an audience. "I definitely felt them listening, and that was really nice since most of what I do is directed toward the audience. Talenti says.

He says he also appreciated the audience's apparent comprehension of what he tried to say. Talenti says, "Che is used mainly to move along the plot, and it's important that I be understood."

The difference between the first night and other performances was the added confidence the cast and crew gained, Sloan says.

"On opening night they were the greatest audience," Sloan says. "A lot of them were our friends. It was really great to do it in front of people. It is reassuring to know that you can do it," she says.

On the second night, she adds, "we concentrated more on `let's do it well' rather than `can we do it?'"