For Shawn Cohen, who coped with the inhibitions of obesity all his young life, theater was the one stage he could securely call his own.
In his senior year at Stonington High School, in 1993, he played one of the leads in the drama club's production of O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief". His father, Fred Cohen, videotaped it.
Fred Cohen, who owned the Republic Auto and Truck Plaza in North Stonington, and his wife, Joanne, moved from Pequot Trail in Stonington to West Palm Beach, Fla., three years ago, taking the tape with them. Shawn stayed in Pawcatuck, moving in with his older sister, Rachel Carr, and her three young daughters.
A week ago, Joanne Cohen came north, bringing with her a copy of the "Red Chief" video as well as other plays Shawn had been in during high school. She arrived on Tuesday, the day before Shawn, who was 22, was to undergo gastrointestinal bypass surgery as St. Raphael's Hospital in New Haven.
Shawn wanted the video and plays to show his nieces.
For Shawn, whose weight had swollen to 540 pounds, the surgery was a radical, though anxiously welcomed, step toward finally reining in his obesity.
"He tried everything," said his father, Fred, on Tuesday. "Weight Watchers Camp. 
He was treated for compulsive eating at Newington Hospital. He went to a special school, the Grove School in Madison, for kids who acted out. People feared he was eating himself to death. Nothing seemed to help. He was fighting a war. He thought he had won."
The surgery, in which the stomach is partitioned and stapled to prevent ingestion of meals larger than what most people would consider a normal portion, was successful. Joanne Cohen was with Shawn in the hospital. His sister spoke with him by phone.
Fred Cohen, who prefers not to fly, did not come north with his wife.
Shawn started running a temperature and was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit. The next day he was back in his room. Then he was returned to the ICU.
On Saturday, he died.
His family says it was a blood clot in his lungs. The hospital, on Tuesday, was still reviewing the autopsy results.
People who are terribly overweight show an increased tendency for blood clots. Even though Shawn lost 40 pounds in the weeks before the surgery, blood clots are considered a common complication in intestinal bypass patients.
Fred Cohen, who arrived here on Sunday, the day after his son died, was overcome as he spoke about Shawn's promise.
"It took him a year to make the decision," said the father. "He went to support groups. He went on the Internet and found such support. He graduated from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting last year and he wanted to do something with acting again, to get back on stage somehow. He was OK. He was looking forward to going on with his life."
Shawn and my son, Sam, had known each other since nursery school. They ended up on stage together in high school, in "Red Chief", "Grease" and "The Sound of Music." When Shawn wasn't on stage he was working behind the scenes, painting, spiriting on friends.
"He just wanted to be a part of it." said Patricia Jeffrey, a teacher at Stongington High who directed productions for years. She also taught a theater class. Shawn was her student.
"Shawn had that adrenalin." she said. "He had that for everybody. He came in and pumped everybody up. Shawn really needed drama. It was his chance to do something after school, to feel good about himself."
What showed in Shawn, through all the years we knew him, was a cheerful disposition, a willing personality. He was maybe 5-foot-9 and a portly 230 pounds in high school. After graduating, friends went their own way and a few in his class knew how this compulsion overwhelmed Shawn.
He believed, as his father said, he had beaten it. The surgery went well. It was his chance once again, like his time on a high school stage, to feel good about himself.