When Cookie Crumbles, Audiences Applaud!

Nick Szczerba  and Mary Ann Tweedie as the cutesy couple, Ernie and Cookie Cusack

Rumors is filled with rich characters:  “Rich” as in wealthy, and also as in complex, layered, and multi-faceted.  Of the four main couples, Ernie Cusack (Nick Szczerba of Brownstown) and Cookie Cusack (Mary Ann Tweedie of Novi) have the most loving relationship, and their pet names for each other are sweet bordering on saccharine.  Mary Ann describes her character Cookie as “a successful cooking show host and the only one at this dinner party that actually likes her husband.  I like playing her because she runs through many different emotions – from sweet, to snarky, to clueless.”  Cookie has a bad back, which sporadically spasms, sending her into gyrations of pain. As Mary Ann says, her “biggest challenge in this role is the physical humor that I have do to.  This may be my last show falling on the floor and crawling around! It's not as easy as it used to be.”  

Cookie is well matched with Ernie, who is a successful psychologist.  Nick thinks “some may see Ernie as brow-beaten, but I see him as a man who is truly in love with his wife, Cookie. I like playing Ernie, as he has some funny moments and can get quite frantic at times. I especially like the Second Act, where Ernie can just sit back and enjoy all the humor, action, and fun.”  This is actually Nick’s third time in Rumors, having played Lenny and directed the show previously. He wanted to be in it again “to re-unite with some long-time theater friends and to prove to the Tuppers [director Cynthia and set designer Brian] that I can walk through a door without taking it off its hinges.”

Mary Ann is not surprised that audiences have responded so well to this show, saying, “the dialog is hilarious and there are so many funny moments, what's not to like?  Farce is funny if it is fast and loud.  The fast pace really keeps you on your toes as an actor, and you can't lose your concentration for a minute. This show puts these wealthy people into ridiculous situations and shows how silly they can be trying to avoid the truth.”  Nick jokes that “people will enjoy Rumors for it's message: It has none.  You see, I believe that, above all, theater should entertain – and it certainly does with this cast.  Farce is funny when the actors truly commit to their parts.  I believe Mary Ann was the first to be committed.”

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors has three more performances: May 15, 16, and 17.  The show is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.

Despite the Rumors, Ross Grossman Is Politically Correct

Julia Spina-Kilar and Ross Grossman do battle as Cassie and Glenn Cooper

Politicians are always at the top of the list of the most hated, least trusted professions.  So playing a politician and making him likeable is a challenge for any actor.  In Rumors, Ross Grossman of Farmington Hills plays Glenn Cooper, a local politician who is running for New York State Senator.  His wife Cassie Cooper, played by Julia Spina-Kilar, is unimpressed by his politician aspirations (Albany is not exactly Washington, DC), and the two feud constantly throughout the show.

Ross was attracted to this role mainly because of the husband-wife dynamic, saying, “it's not about what Glenn does for a living that I relate to, but the passion he has with his wife, whether the good kind (romance) or the misbehaving kind they show when they bicker.  Despite all the other shenanigans, the passion (both good and bad) is so real and earnest and what people have in real life.  With your husband or wife, you know exactly where the buttons are, even if you choose not to push them.  Glenn and Cassie push those buttons, AND with the passion of a marital spat – out  in public.”  The fact that Julia and Ross are good friends adds to the realism of their stage marriage, and Ross hopes “that genuine affection will play into the roles as a married couple.  Because as much as they bicker, there is a strong attraction in their passion for life and each other.”

Offstage, Ross works as a school psychologist, so it’s natural that he analyzes his character Glenn: “I suspect Glenn represents those among us who want to believe what is in front of them, mixed with his adept ease of trying to slide out of danger.  Glenn is not the brightest character of this lot, and he makes a lot of sincere but silly assumptions -- I'd like to think I'm a lot cleverer than him. The challenge is to play those assumptions as genuinely as possible, without looking like the village idiot, compared to his quick and witty friends.”  

Ross is especially attracted to the farce genre because “what makes farce funny is the characters taking themselves seriously, but in outrageous situations. Not just something that COULD happen, but more likely something that would never happen, due to the insane number of unlikely situations, plot twists, and incomprehensible choices that the characters make.  For me, it is a challenge for a character to take themselves as serious as in a drama, but in these absurd, outlandish situations, where their dedication to making bad decisions and interesting choices spin out of control, and make us all feel better about our own lives.” 

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors runs through May 17^th and is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955. 

The More Erin Osgood Changes, the More Things Get Insane

Erin Osgood and Jim Moll (3rd and 4th from R) exchange knowing glances as attorney couple Chris and Ken Gorman

When we first meet Chris Gorman at the beginning of Rumors, she is frantically seeking her husband’s guidance to cope with a crisis. But perhaps more than any other character, Chris transforms during the course of the show.  Erin Osgood of Brighton describes her character as “the younger second wife to Ken. Both Chris and Ken are lawyers, although Chris is a contract lawyer. She married Ken for his money and power (he's a litigator).”   At first, Chris is pretty passive and reactive, literally parroting the words that her husband tells her to say into the phone.  But over the course of the show, she emerges as her own person.  

Erin describes Chris’ transformation as follows: “Chris is really fun to play. Once she is introduced at the beginning of the play, her character goes through many changes: trying to deal with what's happening, trying to cover it up, even becoming quite tipsy. By the end of the show, she is more blunt and less worried about appearances.”  Erin’s ability to transform a character speaks to her strength as an actor.  In her most recent role at the Barn, she played Lexie Richards in The Dixie Swim Club.  Like Chris, there was a depth of character to Lexie that surpassed your superficial first impression. 

Erin really wanted to be in Rumors “because of Neil Simon! I just love his work.  I also had the pleasure of working on another one of his works, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, while I lived in England. It's so wonderful to be on stage with a great ensemble. It has been such fun! We laugh and snort at each other throughout rehearsals.” Erin knows that audiences will be laughing out loud at this hilarious farce, saying, “Audiences will love this show because it's a non-stop party. Nothing is funnier than watching people stumble through chaos and the craziness that unfolds.”

Erin is no stranger to the Barn, first appearing over a decade ago as Lizzie Curry in The Rainmaker, which was also directed by Cynthia Tupper. Some of Erin’s other favorite roles include the title role in Hedda Gabler, Claire in Boston Marriage, Elaine Navazio in Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband.  Erin admits to being a “closet writer” and is working on a play right now. She is a dedicated volunteer for the Make a Wish Foundation, saying, “It is truly amazing to be apart of making a child's wish come true after that child is dealing with things no one should have to deal with.”

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors opens tonight (April 25) and runs through May 17.  The show is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.

Just the Facts, Ma’am: Officers Carlson and Schwartz Abide No Rumors

Getting the Cookie to Crumble:
Officers Pudney (Kristi Schwartz) and Welch (Erik Carlson) interrogate Cookie Cusack (Mary Ann Tweedie)

It’s not easy playing it straight when everyone around you is a crack-up.  Such is the challenge faced by two straight-laced cops in Rumors, a zany Neil Simon farce opening April 25^th at the Farmington Players. Erik Carlson plays Officer Welch and Kristi Schwartz is Officer Pudney, and their “just the facts, ma’am” demeanor is in stark contrast to the lunacy that surrounds them.

When you are a smiley, perky, 3rd grade teacher like Kristi Schwartz, it’s not easy being mean.  Kristi describes Officer Pudney as a “serious, gruff, law enforcement officer.  There is not a lot of smiling going on in her character.  She is suspicious of everyone and the people at this party are no exception.  The biggest challenge I face is NOT smiling.  This show is very funny and the characters are cracking me up already.  It will be difficult to keep a straight face.”  Similarly, Erik Carlson finds his role as Officer Welch to be “challenging. The rest of the cast really crack me up and it is hard to maintain character with cast mates who are so funny.” 

Although Officers Welch and Pudney only appear in act two, as Erik says, “we really take charge when we are on stage, as well as have some fun at the expense of the other characters.”   Welch has a couple of longer soliloquies when the police question the dinner guests, who are frantically trying to cover up a scandal involving their host.  The evolving mystery will definitely keep audiences engaged in Rumors.  As Kristi says, “there is a kind of a mystery that the characters are trying to solve.  The show immediately starts with a problem.  I really like the idea that things are not always as they seem.  There are many interesting characters in this play.  They all assume that they know what is going on, when really none of them have a clue!”    Erik adds, “I think people will love the zany humor in Rumors. But they will have to keep on they toes in order to follow some of the twists and turns in the play. Be prepared for a wild ride.”

Erik last appeared onstage seven years ago as Old Man Carnes in Oklahoma, but he has been very active onstage and off at the Barn since becoming a member in the mid-1970s.  Some of his other favorite Barn shows include: Charley’s Aunt, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Bedroom Farce, How the Other Half Loves, HTSIBWRT, The Nerd, Blithe Spirit and South Pacific.  Kristi is a nine-year member, and shows her dedication to her Barn “family” by currently serving as Secretary on the Board of Directors.  She was last seen onstage as Elle’s Mom in Legally Blonde and is looking forward to making her directorial debut this fall in Arsenic and Old Lace.  While being a law enforcement officer is a new role for Kristi, perhaps it’s not as different as you might think.  As she likes to joke, “Having taught for 15 years now, I kind of have to ‘police’ a room full of children every day!”

  

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors runs from April 25 through May 17 and is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.

Jim Moll Is Out of Control, and That’s a Good Thing

Jim Moll and Erin Osgood play a mercurial married attorney couple, Ken and Chris Gorman

Jim Moll is a take-charge kind of guy.  As a career educator and building principal (recently retired), he’s usually in control, or at least trying to assert his authority in stressful situations.   So Jim feels right at home playing Ken Gorman in the Farmington Players’ production of Rumors.  Jim describes his character Ken as “an attorney who has a fairly significant need to control the situation.  Unfortunately for him, he is rarely successful with this during the course of the show.  He is a guy who is fast paced and sometimes blustery.”  Jim admits that like Ken, the “need for control is one that I struggle with personally.  As principal, I knew first hand the frustrations of seeing a situation slip away from you and trying hard to get things back under control. Luckily for me, my real life experiences haven't spiraled out of control nearly as much as Ken's seem to during the show!”

Rumors is a zany Neil Simon farce where the characters try to cover up a scandal involving their dinner host, who has apparently shot himself on his 20th wedding anniversary. (It’s only a flesh wound.)  Jim and his stage wife Erin Osgood play one of five couples, which presents an interesting twist for Jim: “One challenge in this show is to develop a believable relationship between the characters -- especially between the spouses.  There has to be a depth of caring and a sense of a real partnership with the spouses which can be difficult to develop given the pace and the humor.”

Jim really wanted to be in Rumors because of his “fondness for Neil Simon's work. His writing style is both conversational and comic.  And, being a farce, this show relies both on the wonderful comedy of the script and sight gags and physical comedy.  The fast pace and frenetic style of the farce enhances his dialog and makes the humor even bigger.  What fun!”  Jim loves being reunited with one of his favorite directors, Cynthia Tupper, who “gives just the right amount of direction -- allowing us to develop character and have fun while staying true to her vision for the total experience of the show for the audience. “ 

Jim is a long-time Barn member whose more memorable roles include Roger DeBris in The Producers, Dad in Leaving Iowa, and Clifton Feddington in the 1940’s Radio Hour.   He’s also appeared in the movies, including as an Emerald City citizen in Oz the Great and Powerful.  Jim and his wife Denise have lived in Farmington Hills for the past 37 years.

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors runs from April 25 through May 17 and is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955. 

The Rumors Are True: Frank Markus is a Very Funny Man

Frank Markus and Sue Rogers do battle as Lenny and Claire Ganz

Here’s a simple formula for comedy:  Frank + Markus = Funny Man.  He excels at comedic roles and last appeared onstage at the Barn in Red, White and Tuna 2011, playing several over-the-top characters.  In Rumors, Frank describes his character Lenny Ganz as “a guy who wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and has managed make it to the right side of the tracks by becoming some sort of tax/investment advisor. As such, he doesn't suffer fools lightly and has an acerbic wit that gives him a lot of fun laugh lines in this script.”  Frank relates well to Lenny because they are both “car guys”:  Lenny just bought a new BMW and knows what kinds of cars everybody drives in the play, while Frank admits to being an “inveterate car-lover from birth.” He now serves as Technical Director for Motor Trend magazine and travels the world reporting on the car business and driving almost every new car and truck made.

Frank was attracted to Rumors because “Neil Simon has a real knack for compelling, engaging dialogue, and he's written non-fiction books about the art of writing farce well.”   Unlike many farces that “rely too heavily on lowest-common-denominator sight gags and door-slamming for laughs,” Frank says that “the Rumors script doesn't rely solely on the physical humor, misunderstandings, and shared secrets to get the audience laughing. Rather, the plot and dialogue does that and the gags merely heighten the effect.”  Frank also enjoys being reunited with fellow cast-mates Mary Ann Tweedie and Sue Rogers, who all performed under Cynthia Tuppers’s direction in 1994's The Man Who Came to Dinner.  As Frank says, “it was impossible to pass up the chance to work once again with Cynthia Tupper. Tupper's facility with the farce genre keeps us actors on our toes so that we maintain the fast-is-funny comic timing on which farce relies. Most of us who were cast have worked with Cynthia and/or with each other onstage before, so the cast began this production already fast friends, intimately aware of each other's numerous capabilities and strengths. We've been having a lot of laughs ever since the first read-through.”

Frank was born in Chicago, but raised mostly in Memphis, Tennessee.  To pursue his love of cars, he came north for engineering school to get a job in Detroit's auto industry. After six years as a Chrysler engineer, as he says, “I ran away to join the automotive circus, and have written for and tech-edited car magazines since 1991,” including Motor Trend.  His first Farmington Players’ play was Mister Roberts in 1989.  Frank and long-time partner Michael Smith recently got married on the Barn stage, with the wedding officiated by fellow Rumors cast-mate Jim Moll.

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors runs from April 25 through May 17 and is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.

Julia Spina-Kilar is the Bad Girl with a Heart of Gold

Julia Spina-Kilar rehearsing as Cassie Cooper with Ross Grossman as Glenn

At first blush, Julia Spina-Kilar is funny, quirky, and a little offbeat.  In that respect, you could say that she’s similar to another hyphenated Julia (Louis-Dreyfus) that has a facility for making people laugh.  Our Julia plays Cassie Cooper in the Farmington Players upcoming production of Rumors, a zany Neil Simon comedy.  In the play, the Deputy Mayor of New York suffers a self-inflicted gunshot wound on his 20th wedding anniversary, and five couples conspire to keep the truth from one another – and the police – as the cover-up spirals out of control in hilarious fashion.

Julia describes Cassie as the “angry, insecure arm-piece for her State Senate candidate husband Glenn.  She enters pushing Glennʼs buttons and threatening divorce. This continues throughout the play, along with her display of deep breathing and crystal ‘worship,’ much to Glennʼs worry. He does not want to tarnish his political image or reputation.  Cassie does not care!”  Julia loves being the “bad girl” in the play, as Cassie goes to extreme lengths to provoke and embarrass her husband.  But as she says, “the challenge is to not have the audience think she is just a constantly nagging witch. Creating a little empathy would be nice. But Iʼm not sure I can, because she truly behaves badly!”  

Julia saw Rumors as a great opportunity for middle-aged actors: “Plum roles for females over 40 are rare and Rumors provides them. Director Cynthia Tupper and I have wanted to work together, so having her direct is a double treat for me. I also enjoy working with this glorious cast! Our different characteristics meld together well. We each ‘fit’ our partners and play off each other with ease.“   The natural chemistry between the couples is important to keep things real, which is essential for farce.  As Julia says, “People enjoy comedy, especially farce, because it is a ‘tick-tock’ away from reality. At the same time, Rumors is a situation people might be able to relate to or at least enjoy watching at a safe distance! People panicking, behaving badly and showing their true colors is most likely somewhere in everyoneʼs experience.”  (When asked to reveal her own “bad girl” experiences, Julia demurred coyly, saying, “I’ll never tell!”) 

Despite her own personal losses, Julia finds fulfillment in bringing joy to people onstage and off: “Sadly, Iʼm a widow and it is odd to be on stage without my husband Ted beaming in the audience. But, it is a joy to perform once again, and Iʼm most honored to have the opportunity to be involved in theatre both on and off the stage at The Barn. Itʼs 'community' theatre, after all! Shows donʼt come together by waving a magic wand. The magic is in the friendly, talented membership and the many opportunities for involvement.”  Julia also gives back in other ways.  She’s a 33-year organ transplant recipient and counsels kidney donors and recipients as a Beaumont Nephrology Peer Mentor. In addition to her many Barn credits, she has also performed with the Power Center, Utah Shakespeare Rep., Birmingham Village Players, and SRO.

  

The Farmington Players' production of Rumors runs from April 25 through May 17 and is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Advisors.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.