A-LISTS theatre
FALL IN LOVE AGAIN…
by lisa lipsey Expect a good dose of cheeky humor from the
1989 Tony Award-winning one-woman show Shirley Valentine. This is the tale of a middle-aged housewife from Liverpool and what happens to her when opportu- nity knocks—it’s almost like a fail-safe birthday gift. The show’s leading lady, DeeDee Rescher, is fabulous and has played the Valentine role before to critical acclaim. In continued celebration of the Laguna Playhouse’s
90th Anniversary, long-time friend of the theatre An- drew Barnicle has returned to direct Shirley Valentine. So get your party hats on, but no birthday suits please! Barnicle, who most recently directed The Laguna
Playhouse’s production of Private Lives is perhaps bet- ter known as the 20 year, recently retired Playhouse Artistic Director and as such will be honored on the opening night of Shirley Valentine—he’s working on his speech.
Have you directed a one-character show before? I directed a two-person show, but not a one person
show—that’s pretty close and I feel comfortable. If I was dealing with an actor that was new to me this process would be very difficult, but DeeDee and I knew what to expect. It is quite a challenge when one actor, this one character creates all the action through storytelling and impersonations, throughout the course of the show there are about 25 people whom DeeDee impersonates. Also, she has conversations while talking to the wall in her kitchen. “Hey Wall… what do you think about…” It takes a strong relationship between actor and director for that to work. I understand you are being honored on opening night. Having read your biography, I would hope you take a great deal of pride in the sheer volume of plays you have produced/directed or acted in. How do you measure success as a director and actor? As a director, you know the job is well done when you
can stand in the back and nobody is even thinking that there is a director involved. The show has been built, grown, raised like a child and sent on its way. Success is when the show has become a real adult. As an actor, you are on your own and you have to take
care of yourself. You have no control over the other ac- tors and the set, so you just have to have your own stuff covered. It’s like baseball, an actor is like being a baseball player. If I am the shortstop I need to cover my space and not worry about right field— meanwhile the director is
TONY AWARD-WINNING ONE-WOMAN SHOW COMES TO LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE
Did You Know? The Laguna Playhouse was founded in 1920. And while it has evolved in order to keep up with the times, it is the oldest continuously operating theatre on the West Coast.
the one worried about how the team will make it to the World Series. What’s it like working with Dee Dee Rescher? We have worked together many times and I have
directed her in three different plays. She is a wonderful actress, I really respected that she had done the show before and I respect her. This production has a smaller theatre, so we went back over things and I helped her with her acting. We have a great working rapport. She came to the first rehearsal completely memorized. That was a daunting challenge—at the first rehearsal she performed the show from beginning to end. Since then, our job has simply been fine-tuning things. For those of us who have only seen the movie, what’s different about the play? Well, I am falling in love with this show, I remember
the movie, but I never saw the play. The movie is differ- ent because they have actors playing all the characters. “Shirley” does all of them in the play and that works way better than the movie. The writing is so marvelous. It’s sweet and funny. The notion that a middle-aged married
woman could have some sort of life outside of marriage and family was not true in working middle class com- munities in the 1970s and 1980s. This is the story of one person’s explosion, a jail break if you will. Would you be friends with Shirley? Of course! Behind DeeDee she is my second favorite person—she is an amazing woman. The notion that she starts out locked up in her kitchen in Liverpool, locked up in the institution of marriage and her kids are gone. Then she breaks the mold. She is this wonderfully, marvelous creative artist and storyteller. She is a real human being. What’s next for you Andrew? I will be directing The Lion in Winter at North Coast
Repertory Theatre in San Diego. Then after that acting in Henry the Fourth, Part one. Also at North Coast Rep. I used to be the Associate Artistic Director there, prior to coming to Laguna, when I lived in Oceanside.
Shirley Valentine Running through Sunday, October 23 at the Laguna Playhouse. For tickets and more information contact 949.497.2787
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RAGE monthly | OCTOBER 2011
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