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| Kandi Krumins kills it as the doctor in red, in The Vast Difference. With Kyle Bushre as George. |
The Vast Difference challenges sexual stereotypes in a comedic look
at the chasm between men and women. Jeff
Daniels’ quirky comedy was written in 1993, when male flight attendants and female
doctors were an anomaly. And though acceptance
of women in different professional roles has improved, sexism still prevails in
many areas of life. In the Farmington
Players’ production of The Vast
Difference – three shows left, October 13-15 – Kandi Krumins plays Dr. Hala
Howard, a urologist. Kandi can
definitely relate to “being a well-educated, professional woman and sometimes
not having been taken seriously… particularly with a name like ‘Kandi’. It’s changed some over the last 20 years, but
some of that sexist attitude still lingers. Life has prepared me for dealing
with this role.”
Kandi’s describes her character,
Dr. Howard, as “a urologist with a dry sense of humor.” She interacts mainly with George Noonan
(played by Kyle Bushre), who is terrified to get the vasectomy she would
perform for him. While Kandi usually portrays
the doctor with a no-nonsense approach, she explains how she gets to have fun
with the role: “Because the play takes
place in George’s mind, there are times when Hala gets to show a different side
to her, so I get to change her character up several times in the show, based on
George’s imagination. That is fun! One
of the biggest challenges of this role is staying serious when I must. I often
want to laugh at the others on stage … even now.”
Kandi’s character change
is the most striking during a fantasy scene when George imagines he is dancing
with Hala, as Kandi’s red dress is in stark contrast to her white doctor’s
uniform. Kandi’s graceful performance,
both as dancer and doctor, makes it look so easy that audiences would never
know that she only had a dozen days to prepare for the role of Hala. As a late fill-in for an actor who had to
drop out of the show, Kandi stepped up to the challenge with her usual
enthusiasm: “Instead of feeling ‘stressed’ over the time crunch I had in order
to learn lines for this show, this fun show was something I needed right now in
my life… for me. 99% of my lines are with Kyle (George) who is not only a
wonderful person, but an amazing actor with great sense of comedic timing. I’ve
learned a lot from him. The rest of the cast, and I mean every one of
them, have been a joy to work with. Being around a cast like this makes me want
to ‘step up my game’.” Kandi has
definitely embraced the challenge and knows that audiences have loved the show
because “it’s funny, but also has serious heartfelt moments. It is well
executed.”
Kandi grew up in
Dearborn, the youngest of six children.
She taught public middle school most of her life, then in 2010 left the
profession to homeschool her children and write a musical. She calls this decision “one of my better
choices in life.”
The Farmington Players
production of The Vast Difference is
proudly sponsored by Mall Malisow & Cooney. The 3 remaining performances are
October 13, 14 and 15, 2016. Tickets are available online at
farmingtonplayers.org or by contacting the Barn box office at
boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org or 248-553-2955.