Josh Grisetti's Web site says it all.

"Josh is: collecting unemployment," the mournful gray letters announce.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

This month was supposed to be the culmination of one of the most exciting autumns of the young actor's life. Grisetti, who is from Boones Mill in Franklin County, got married in September to Candice Ann Ross of Lake Charles, La.

Then he went into rehearsals for the upcoming Broadway revival of the autobiographical Neil Simon play, "Broadway Bound."

Grisetti was slated to play the character of the famed playwright himself. It would have been his first role on Broadway.

But in a cruel twist of fate, "Broadway Bound" was canceled before it even opened.

The reason: "Broadway Bound" was to be the second of two Simon plays revived in Broadway's 1,232-seat Nederlander Theatre this fall. But the first, "Brighton Beach Memoirs," tanked -- drawing poor houses despite positive reviews.

Two plugs were pulled

When the producers decided to close "Brighton Beach," they also pulled the plug on "Broadway Bound," which was to be performed in repertory with "Brighton Beach" beginning later this month.

Grisetti said he got the news while on a dinner break from rehearsals the Friday before Halloween. He said that Santino Fontana, who was to portray his older brother, called him at home.

"He sounded distraught. He said, 'Haven't you heard?' They had just handed him a letter. ... It's been a rough week."

Producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman later released a statement about the cancellations that said:

"A lot of nice people on stage and off will be out of work and a lot of good partners and investors will have lost a great deal of money. They all deserve better. It makes us sad."

The silver lining

Grisetti, 27, attended Franklin County High School before heading to the North Carolina School of the Arts for his senior year. He played a nerdy college student on the short-lived ABC sitcom "The Knights of Prosperity" a few years back.

His family and friends already had made plans to go to New York to see "Broadway Bound," his mother said.

"I stayed in the house all weekend and just sulked and cried," Patricia Grisetti said. "When your child hurts, you hurt, too. He had finally reached his childhood dream of starring on Broadway, and the rug was pulled out right from under him. I have no doubt that he will succeed in this business. He just has to go through these trials before he gets there."

The cancellation is a downbeat ending to a year that included not only Josh Grisetti's marriage, but also awards and kudos for his starring role in an off-Broadway play last winter, "Enter Laughing."

"In many ways, 2009 seemed like a year that was too good to be true, to quote a cliche," Grisetti said in an e-mail.

"As it turns out, it was. But, to put things in perspective, if there had been a choice between losing a beautiful and amazing and supportive wife or losing an enormous and brilliant Broadway debut, then I've won big. I am the luckiest guy in the world to have what I have."

They say every dark cloud has its silver lining. In this case, the good news is that a lot of people in the industry are aware of Grisetti's plight.

"It's put a little spotlight on me in the inside world of theater," he said. "It has already opened doors. I've gotten a slew of phone calls," including some inviting him to auditions.

Grisetti quoted a line from "Broadway Bound": " 'The movie isn't over yet.'

"I hope that applies to me, in a good way."