Joel Mapes Lives the Life of Brian: Laid-Back, Fat and Friendly

Joel Mapes plays his alter ego, Brian,
and pleads his case to Christmas Eve (Katie Evitts)

In the Farmington Players’ upcoming production of Avenue Q, Joel Mapes plays Brian, a 32-year-old unemployed comedian, who is married to Christmas Eve. Brian is one of the three human (non-puppet) characters in the show.  Joel can easily relate to Brian: “I enjoy the fact that Brian and I are quite similar.  We are both in our 30s, fat, laid-back, friendly, and wear Converse All-Stars.  Brian thinks he's very funny... but no one else does.  Brian is a good friend, though.  He cares about his fellow friends on Avenue Q.”

Although Joel only recently became aware of Avenue Q, “I wanted to do a show and get involved with the Farmington Players.  The timing was right, and I felt I would 'fit in' to this show just fine. … There is a lot of talent in the cast, and the Farmington Players is clearly a top-notch, well put together organization.  I'm very happy to be a part of this show, and a member here.”

Joel says, “There’s nothing I like better than performing for others!”  Some of his previous show highlights include: Horace Vandergelder - Hello Dolly! (Franklin High School); Fakir - Secret Garden (Players Guild of Dearborn); Moonface Martin - Anything Goes (Wing and a Prayer Players of Birmingham); The Snake - The Apple Tree (Wing and a Prayer Players); and Flint - Something's Afoot (Wing and a Prayer Players). Professionally, he’s sung in the AGMA chorus in eight different productions with the Michigan Opera Theatre between 1997-2001, and as the tenor soloist at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Birmingham, from 2005-2010.

When not on stage, Joel works inside sales at Material Sales in Redford (a carbide tool distributor). He enjoys many types of music, but mostly old-school rock and classical.  He says, “I also like karaoke, movies, keeping in touch with friends on Facebook, and most of all, riding my Suzuki chopper.” 

Avenue Q opens Friday August 10 and runs through Saturday August 25.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under “Farmington Players.”

Jim Snideman is Right on “Q” as Trekkie Monster

Jim Snideman as ...

... Trekkie Monster!

In the Farmington Players’ upcoming production of Avenue Q, Jim Snideman plays Trekkie Monster, a parody of the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster.  As Jim explains, “Every neighborhood has a Trekkie Monster. He's that weird individual that you both want on your side and are squeamish to admit you talk with him.  You really don't want to know what he does in his abode.”  As a Star Trek fan himself, Jim is well suited to this role, although he prefers the term “Trekker” to the more derogatory “Trekkie.”  Jim says, “If I had permission to perform this role in Klingon, I most certainly would.”

Jim has been entertaining himself “since brathood with characters and voices.  Trekkie is an interesting characterization to perform. The fine line between ‘gravelly’ and ‘blown vocal cords’ certainly comes into play here. … I also like the fact that Trekkie is such a raw, untamed fellow.  He's the local eccentric.”  While Jim has never puppeteered for an audience, doing so while “singing naughty songs in a gravelly voice and choreographing all the movements will present a most enjoyable challenge.”

Jim wanted to be in Avenue Q for the music, the parody, and the chance to play Trekkie Monster.  But he also wants to “dedicate this performance to my late uncle, Philip Molby.  Phil was a long time one-man puppet show in the Detroit area.”   Jim has been performing onstage since high school and gravitates toward the “character roles” like Trekkie.  He has also worked in radio, where he created, wrote and performed in a weekly sketch show called The Kold Kut Revue at Central Michigan University.  He’s been a street character at the Renaissance Festival, and has worked in TV and film, lately more behind than in front of the camera.  During his spare time, he is “a card carrying Gear Head. … I have also been known to write and perform songs, sing the blues with a friend's band, enjoy Sci-Fi and ‘not-so-gourmet’ cooking.”

Jim was last onstage at the Barn in 2003’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) where he worked with Allison Boufford, director of Avenue Q.  He has also worked with co-producer John Boufford (as “Candy”) in Of Mice and Men.

Avenue Q opens Friday August 10 and runs through Saturday August 25.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under “Farmington Players.” 

Early Bird Season Ticket Discount by June 15th!

  

Whatever you fancy, you’re likely to find it in the 2012-13 season at the Farmington Players barn theater.  You want drama?  Check.  You want comedy?   Check.  Musicals?  Oh, we’ve got musicals.  But you'd better act fast to get your early bird discount!  Purchase season tickets to all four shows by June 15 for only $58 and get first crack at choosing your own reserved seats. Call the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955 or go online at www.farmingtonplayers.org. 

The slate officially kicks off this fall with The Dixie Swim Club, a poignant comedy featuring five southern women who bonded as friends on their college swim team.  The quintet reunites every summer at a North Carolina beach house to rekindle relationships. The play spans 33 years as the women come together to face life’s challenges, such as men, sex, parenting, divorce, and aging.   Director Tim Timmer is holding auditions on June 17th (callbacks the 18th) and show runs from October 5 – 27.

Be prepared to travel back in time to New York City on December 21, 1942, to experience The 1940s Radio Hour.   The play is reminiscent of an actual radio variety show, with songs and commercials from the World War II era, including 40’s favorites such as “Strike Up the Band” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” Before the radio show goes on the air, the colorful characters play out their own backstage drama.  And the Barn’s patrons play the live studio audience!  Rachael Rose directs this entertaining romp that runs from November 30 – December 22, which is a great holiday group outing!

The vicissitudes of life sometimes result in tragedy that defies logic or reason.  Bad things happen to good people.  Rabbit Hole explores how one couple, Becca and Howie, try to put their lives back together after the accidental death of their four year-old son.  The resulting story, while heartrending, inspires hope and even humor as we commiserate with the grieving family and embrace our shared human condition.  Brian Tupper directs this touching drama (February 15 to March 2, 2013).

Okay, so there’s this musical – Legally Blonde – which is like based on the movie, but “OhMyGod!” who knew that Delta Nu could rock your socks like this!  Elle Woods takes on Harvard Law School to prove that she’s “serious” enough for her preppy boyfriend Warner, but somewhere along the way to earning her MRS degree, Elle instead learns that being true to yourself is like totally awesome!  And don’t even get me starting on the singing, and the dancing, and the costumes!  This show has it all!  Jason Wilhoite directs this spring fling, which runs from April 26 to May 18, 2013.

And first, but not least, in a special pre-season addition (not part of the season ticket package), the Tony Award winning Avenue Q is coming to the Barn this August! The show has been called a “zany, adult-themed spoof on Sesame Street”.  And yet, Avenue Q is about real life. It's about finding and losing a job, getting and losing your apartment, learning about racism, being different, falling in love, promiscuity, avoiding commitment, hangovers, Internet porn and discovering the world.  All acted and sung by players with puppets.   Allison Boufford is directing this unique musical comedy which runs from August 10 – 25.

Gary Weinstein is a Diamond in the Rough

Gary Weinstein is a wino, an agent, a dental  patient ... and a real gem.

The slogan for his store – Weinstein Jewelers – is: “If you don’t know your gems, know your gemologist.”  But most people don’t realize what a gem of a human being Gary Weinstein is.  Gary is unassuming and humble and doesn’t need the spotlight to shine on stage.   In Little Shop of Horrors, Gary plays three roles:  Wino, a deranged panhandler on Skid Row; a masochistic dental patient; and Skip Snip, whom Gary describes as “a flamboyant, self-aggrandizing, high-energy booking agent.”

Gary says, “I enjoy playing different characters in this show because it gives me a chance to explore different aspects of my personality. … The biggest challenge is in playing the patient.  I don’t have any lines.  My character has to be portrayed through physical actions, such as enjoying the pain inflicted by a sadistic dentist.”

Gary has appeared in several Barn productions including Fiddler on the Roof, Miracle on 34th Street, and most recently as Mr. Marks and the Judge in The Producers. (I first met Gary during The Producers and it was almost scary how “in character” he was backstage before each show.) Weinstein Jewelers has also sponsored several shows at the Barn.

When not working or on stage, Gary is an avid golfer.  He plays in local charity golf tournaments, has golfed in all 50 states, and in 22 countries in the past four years (with a goal of reaching 100 countries in 20 years).  Gary sometimes uses his golf outings to share his own story, which involves the tragic loss of his family to a drunk driver in 2005.   Gary’s story of loss and forgiveness is the subject of an upcoming documentary called Project: Forgive.   As human beings go, Gary really is a diamond in the rough, so you should definitely get to know him as your gemologist, onstage, or otherwise.

Little Shop of Horrors opened Friday April 27 and runs through May 19.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under "Farmington Players".

There’s No Resting on This Laurel!

The multi-talented Laurel Stroud

There’s an old saying that goes, “You can take the girl out of the country, but you just can’t take the country out of the girl.”  And in this case, you just can’t keep her out of the Barn, either.   Try as she might, Laurel Stroud just can’t rest on her laurels.  There’s no keeping her away from the Farmington Players’ stage.

Fresh off her role as Laura Baker in Whose Wives Are They Anyway?, Laurel has jumped right back on the stage in Little Shop of Horrors.  She is in the chorus, plays a Skid Row bum, and a customer in the flower shop.  Her other “role” is gathering all the props.   Laurel sighed in relief when she said, “I'm glad we're renting the plant!”  Laurel came late to Little Shop, stepping up at the director’s request when another actor had to bow out.   As a Skid Row bum, she says, “I had to find my own bum ‘voice.’  We tried putting me on a scooter to roll around, but it took up too much space.  The other bums are great to play off of, so it's all worked out. It's a fun show, the cast is super-talented and I'm having a ball.”

Laurel loves chorus roles in musicals: “I get to dress up, sing, dance, be a couple of different people.  The chorus adds depth to the show.  No matter how great the leads are (and they are fabulous in this show) the entire performance is taken up a notch with the ‘background artists’.” Although she has loved theater since childhood and was back stage in high school and college, “it never occurred to me that being onstage was an option.  A friend invited me to join the Barn about 10 years ago and my first time onstage was in one of our spoofs.  I loved it and haven't looked back.”  In addition to Whose Wives, Laurel has graced the Barn stage as Catherine Dickens in A Christmas Carol, Mom in Leaving Iowa, Essie in You Can't Take It With You, and was a tap-dancing showgirl in The Producers.  Offstage, Laurel is a Board member and serves as Director of Communications and Education. 

Little Shop of Horrors runs from Friday April 27 through May 19.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under "Farmington Players".

It Ain’t Easy Being Mean, But Tim Timmer Hopes You’ll Hate Him

Tim Timmer plays the despicable dentist, Orin Scrivello

Personally, I hate going to the dentist.  But after seeing Orin Scrivello, the Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors, I’ll never ever complain about mine again!  Tim Timmer plays Orin, who he says “chose to be a Dentist because as his mother put it, ‘it was the only career that people will pay you to be inhumane’.”  Tim describes his character as someone who is “evil and enjoys hurting people, especially his girlfriend, the ingénue of the show, Audrey. She doesn’t think she is good enough to leave him because of who she is, so she endures the violence that Orin dishes out to her on a regular basis. He is also known to indulge in a little Nitrous Oxide whenever he feels he needs a pick-me-up to help him enjoy the pain and suffering he administers to others.”  

Anyone who knows Tim knows that he would give a total stranger the shirt off his own back.  By contrast, Tim says, “Now I have to basically rip the shirt off of the total stranger’s back, and enjoy doing it. Also, it is tough to be so cruel and violent to Audrey. Here is this sweet, young, innocent woman who has never said a bad thing about anyone or hurt a fly, and yet I have to act like I enjoy beating her just to derive some weird sadistic pleasures.”  While it is out of character for Tim to play the bad guy, he realizes that to bring his character to life (or death, as the case may be), “my goal is to get the audience to hate me as well. That way I know that I would have done a good job with the role.”

Tim wasn’t sure that he’d be right for the part of Orin until he discussed the role with director Rachael Rose.   Tim learned that Rachael didn’t want the Dentist to be portrayed like the “campy, rock & roll” character played by Steve Martin in the movie version:  “She wanted him to be as dark and sinister as the actor could be. So, that really caused me to think about the challenge it would take to really pull something like that off.”  I think audiences will agree that Tim has discovered his dark side in the Dentist.

Tim met Rachael seven years ago in Rochester while was she the musical director of A New Brain. Tim really appreciates the opportunity to work again with Rachael, saying, “Watching her work and put 1000% effort in this production of Little Shop has been a joy. She brings fresh ideas and never fails to surprise me on what other talents she has up her sleeve.”  Tim has been a Farmington Player for over 10 years and has been involved in some capacity with every show put on by at the Barn since he joined in 2001.   His most recent performance on the Barn stage was as the Old Man in A Christmas Story. 

Little Shop of Horrors opens tonight (Friday April 27) and runs through May 19.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955. Find us on Facebook under "Farmington Players".

Taylor Alfano Is In Tune With Audrey

Taylor Alfano Debuts at the Barn as Audrey

At auditions for Little Shop of Horrors, over 20 women stood nervously on stage, all awaiting their chance to sing for the lead role of Audrey.  After director Rachael Rose expressed her vision for the role, she asked, “Who wants to be first?”   Without hesitation, Taylor Alfano stepped forward.  Later, she recalled, “this was the first audition I had gone to since I graduated from Central Michigan so it was pretty nerve-wracking for me, but so exciting at the same time.”  She certainly hid her nerves well.  As soon as Taylor started singing, I knew that she had set the bar high for all those who followed her. Taylor was soon cast as Audrey, her first role in her very first audition with the Farmington Players.

Ironically, the same sense of self-confidence that served her well at auditions created a challenge for her character development. As Taylor says, “Audrey is one of the most difficult characters I’ve had to play. Audrey is a very abused woman, and probably always has been, whether emotionally or physically. Obviously, this would be difficult for anyone to portray if they hadn’t experienced any kind of abuse, which I haven’t. However, I think it is even more difficult for me because I am a pretty confident person. Even though I am small, I have a big personality and voice to match, so having to play a character with little self-esteem is harder than I expected. It’s difficult for me to be in that vulnerable place for an extended period of time.”

Despite Audrey’s vulnerability, Taylor is definitely in tune with who she is: “She’s sweet, loyal and so supportive of those she loves. She’s never known what it feels like to be unconditionally loved; yet she still has the imagination and capacity to envision a place where she could have her happy ending. Because she never really had a family as a child, she creates one out of the group of people she meets on Skid Row, like Seymour, Mr. Mushnik, and Chiffon, Ronnette and Crystal.”  Taylor sees the song “Somewhere That’s Green” as Audrey’s “landscape of her entire dream.  She fantasizes about a life she wishes she could have and it all surrounds the idea of a beautiful green lawn. She lives on Skid Row, where there is absolutely no grass, nothing really grows, and it’s actually pretty depressing. So, for Audrey to be happy she really just wants growth and beauty and she sees that in the plants and flowers she works with in Mushnik’s flower shop.”

Taylor has wanted to be in Little Shop since she did the lighting for her high school’s performance of the show when she was a freshman.  Taylor graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor’s degree of fine Arts in 2011.  While there, she portrayed Cecile in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the wicked stepmother in Into The Woods, and Sally in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown!  Although she is a newcomer to the Barn, Taylor calls her cast mates “the most welcoming and loving cast of people I have ever worked with, and I truly enjoy going to rehearsal everyday. Family and friends are very important to me personally, and the people I have met through the Barn have become like a family to me.”

Little Shop of Horrors opens Friday April 27 and runs through May 19.  Get your tickets at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the Farmington Players box office at 248-553-2955. Find us on Facebook under "Farmington Players".