Dan Tarjeft Plays from His Heart as Lovelorn Butch

Dan Tarjeft (right) as "Butch" is yukking it up with his stage dad "Doc" (Jim Snideman)

“Follow your heart.”  In the Farmington Players’ production of Leading Ladies, Maxine gives Meg this advice, assuring her that it is always the best path to happiness.  Dan Tarjeft, who plays our Butch Meyers, connects with this theme in the play, saying, “I can relate to following your heart (wherever that leads), appreciating the arts, and bantering with family.”  In Dan’s case, it is his love of theater that has brought him to the Barn stage for the first time.  Dan is confident that audiences will love this show because “everyone loves to laugh! This particular production of Leading Ladies has many side-busting moments on top of an already hilarious script.”

Dan describes his character Butch as “a bit of a simpleton who tends to take everything a little too extremely. I most enjoy playing with his enthusiasm, and the most challenging part about the role is the dancing. I'm inexperienced as a dancer, and learning to dance well enough to be good at dancing poorly is an interesting challenge.”  Butch’s love interest is Audrey (played by Sarah Lovy), but Butch’s father Doc Meyers (Jim Snideman) encourages him to marry for money, not for love.  Although Dan can commiserate with the lovelorn Butch, he admits, “I've never done much of anything specifically to impress a girl. I'm not very conscious of those sorts of things.”

While Leading Ladies focuses on romantic love, Dan thinks it is also about "the bonds of friendship."  Butch and Doc share some nice father-son moments in this show, and Butch confides to Meg, his best friend, about his feelings for Audrey. Dan himself is good friends with cast member Lance Alan (Jack Gable), and he says he’s had “a lot of fun working on the production; everyone I've worked with is excellent, without exception. Leading Ladies is terrifically cast! I can't help but picture the actors that play the parts when I read the script.”

Dan grew up in Trenton, MI, and is a Computer Science student at Wayne State.  Most of Dan’s recent theater experience is with the Rosedale Community Players, including roles in Picasso, Deathtrap, Superior Donuts, Leaving Iowa and in various one-act plays as part of the RCP One-Act Festival. 

The Farmington Players' production of Leading Ladies opens November 28 and runs through December 20.  The show is proudly sponsored by Cadillac Travel Group. Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.