TS: Isn’t that hard to do on stage?


SE: You are right, it is. We’ve had many conversations about how this piece should look on stage, and what the car will be was a major part of those conversations. We have discussed all the possibilities: whether the car should be realistic or more abstract, and we’ve come up with a combination of both styles that I think will serve the play and specifically the action that takes place inside the car.


TS: You’ve assembled a talented design team. It seems to me that two of the designers are new collaborators for you. You’ve never worked with Rachel Hauck, the set designer, or Alejo Vietti, the costume designer, have you?


SE: No, I have not worked with Rachel or Alejo before. I knew some of Rachel’s work, and it was Lindsey who asked if I would consider working with her because Lindsey knew her work and admired it. I thought, if this is someone she feels comfortable with and has worked with before, that’s probably a good reason to explore a new collaborator. When I met her, I knew right away ours would be a good collaboration, and it has been. It’s a very difficult piece because the play moves to so many locations in the course of the action. So, Rachel and I have been asking each other, “How do we get the various set pieces moving?” It was a challenge, and Rachel has done a phenomenal job. As for Alejo, I was around Holiday Inn, overseeing it during rehearsals. He designed over 400 costumes for that show. I hired him because I watched him and I liked how he worked. I liked how he dealt with the actors. I thought he was very level-headed, and I remember thinking, someday, I’m going to use him. So, when this project came up, I called him and said, “Come on in and let’s talk!” I was happy it worked out.


TS: Does working on a play like this alter the way you think about being a parent?


SE: My whole life has changed because of being a parent. I don’t think I look at anything the way I used to in the same way. I think what I learned most as a parent is there’s no black or white. There’s no wrong or right way, every parent does the best they can, and they try parenting their children without really knowing what the answers are. It’s a responsibility that is constantly moving and changing. You make


decisions, and sometimes it’s the right decision and other times maybe it isn’t the right decision.


TS: You’ve worked with both Debra Monk, who is playing Amy’s sister Maggie, and Mark Blum, who is playing her brother Jacob, before. What makes you decide to work with an actor multiple times?


SE: People always say that casting is 75% of the director’s job. It can be the most important thing one does. It’s easy to work with people you love; that happens all the time now. I’m fortunate enough that I’ve worked with a lot of great people throughout the years and I love being in the rehearsal room with them. There’s a shorthand. You know and trust each other. I am thrilled to work with Mark and Debra again and all the other actors who we cast and am working with for the first time.


TS: The understudy for Jamie’s character, Amy, is a male actor, correct? What is that going to be like?


SE: I said to Lindsey that I felt this play can work with a male or a female protagonist, with some minor line changes. I said ultimately the option should be explored because you don’t want to limit the play’s opportunity for possible productions. The understudy we’ve hired is an actor named Eddie Barbanell.


TS: When Eddie goes on, will the title change?


SE: There will be an announcement at the start of the show about the title change, which will become Andy and the Orphans. Eddie will be performing some matinees once we get up.


TS: That will be fascinating. What else are you working on? I know you’ve been directing some television in Los Angeles.


SE: Yes, I directed "A Christmas Story Live" for television, and I’ll be directing the stage musical version of Tootsie.


TS: Will that happen before you direct Kiss Me, Kate next season at Roundabout?


SE: Yes. It’s going to be a busy year, and it hasn’t even started yet!•


EDWARD BARBANELL


Depending on which performance you attend, you might be seeing Andy and the Orphans, with the titular character played by Eddie Barbanell. Eddie grew up in Florida and has been acting since the year 2000.


In addition to his many theatre credits, he has appeared in films such as The Ringer, Hall Pass, Down, Dumb and Dumber To, and Addicted to Fresno, as well as documentaries such as Jackass 3D, Ridiculousness, and Diffability Hollywood. In addition, he is a comedian, an advocate and athlete for the Special Olympics, and has spoken for the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign. In his role as the Special Olympics International Board Director, Eddie was part of a delegation of athletes and self-advocates who were present for President Obama’s historic signing of Rosa’s Law. The law banned the use of “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” in federal policy, replacing them with people first language “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability.”


AMY AND THE ORPHANS UPSTAGE GUIDE 9


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