Les Misérables – Meet the Thenardiers!

Less than 1 week until we open!!!! Let’s continue meeting cast members – up next: Priscilla McRoberts and Mike Pederson, who play the Thenardier’s!

PLAYHOUSE: You both are Playhouse veterans – have you been in shows together before?

Priscilla McRoberts: We have never acted together before, but I have bossed him around as his director in a couple of shows – The Fantasticks and Spamalot.

Production photo from “Spamalot.” Pictured in center: Mike Pederson. Directed by Priscilla McRoberts.

Mike Pederson: Priscilla and I have worked on shows together before. Not so much “been in together” as much as she has bossed me around (she’s really bossy). She has directed two shows that I have had the privilege of working on. The Fantasticks and Spamalot. Both through the Playhouse. Yep, if I had to describe Priscilla in one word it would be bossy. Next question!

PH: The Thenardier’s have to be fun characters to play! What has been your favorite part about playing them?

Mike Pederson and Priscilla McRoberts (in back) as The Thenardiers in “Les Misérables” rehearsal at UMD.

Priscilla: It’s always so much fun playing a villain – these two are greedy, opportunistic, dark, devious people who thrive in finding the weaknesses in others (which often means drunk or dead) in order to steal from them.  I particularly like how dark we have made Madame Thendardier.  It’s a great challenge to play so many different layers in a character.

Mike: The most fun for me has been finding the line these characters straddle between comedy and the darkness that we (humanity) have to offer. Finding the place in the show where the audience gets to realize that these characters that they were just enjoying are not at all what the music was telling them they were. If that makes any sense.

PH: Did you do any special research to prepare?

Priscilla: Sadly, I did not.  I haven’t read the book. I didn’t see the movie. I did see the original company in New York in 1987.  It changed my life.

Mike: I had read the novel forever ago so I went back to look at some of that and of course I love learning about the historical socioeconomic situations that birth these stories, so I went and looked at what was happening in Europe at the time. Not in a time machine mind you, but in books! And possibly the internet.

PH: What does it mean to you to be in this production?

Priscilla: I was a theatre major at Macalester College in 1987.  I had experienced some judgments about becoming an actor because I did not have a traditional actress body type/look and had been discouraged to pursue the industry for that reason.  I saw Les Misérables on Broadway in 1987 and when Madame Thenardier (played by Jennifer Butt who was a large woman with powerful energy, a strong voice, and genius comic timing) came out and stole the show, I thought to myself “I CAN be an actress.”  To be able to play the part that at one time gave me the courage to follow my heart is a gift I am humbled and honored to receive.

Priscilla McRoberts pictured on left in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Mike: It has been so very humbling to be a part of this production.These two characters are some of my favorite in all of musical theatre. Getting to play this in a community I really care about has meant the world to me.

PH: Any special thanks or shout-outs?

Priscilla:  I want to thank my parents who recognized my interest in theatre as a young girl in Fairfield, CT and who brought me to see brilliant Broadway musicals every birthday when I was growing up.  I thank Mike who is so SO much fun to play with. I thank my friends who always support and encourage me, especially when I doubt myself. And I thank Dottie Danner, our director, for giving me this opportunity.

Mike: To my family who first began fostering my love of the arts as a very small child going to see the Minnesota orchestra and shows at the Guthrie and children’s theatres. Thank you. To our director Dottie who has been simply a joy to work with, thank you so much for having me on this journey. Lastly, to Priscilla who has become a great friend, mentor and partner on this journey even if she is bossy.

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Don’t forget to get your tickets, we open next week! You can purchase in person at the DECC Ticket Office or online by clicking the button below. And check back for more Q&A sessions with the cast!

Meet the Cast of ODC

Leading up to the opening of our fifth show of the season, Other Desert Cities, we’ll be introducing you to the cast. A story about the fictional Wyeth family – lead by a mother and father highly regarded in old Hollywood circles – and daughter Brooke Wyeth’s memoir that may bring to light a dark secret that no one wants revealed. The Guthrie Theater characterized the play as “a searing comedy with banter that dazzles and decimates, making it one of the most satisfying grown-up plays of the decade.” Filled with a unique family of characters, we’d love for you to meet the talented actors behind them.

Next up, let’s meet mother Polly Wyeth, played by Sharon Salo. 

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Playhouse: In what ways do you relate to your character?

Sharon Salo

Sharon Salo: I have been close to parents who have suffered when they lost children just on the threshold of adulthood. There is no roadmap for how to handle such loss or how to carry on for the sake of those who remain. It takes great strength and sacrificial love to come through the many stages of grief. I have four sons. Any parent can imagine the devastation that Polly and Lyman have endured.

PH: In what ways are you changed from this story?

Sharon: I think I could lighten up a little on making helpful suggestions to my children?

PH: Your character can come off as a harsh mother. Do you think she is justified or not?

Sharon: Polly is one tough cookie and she sees no reason for others to wilt in difficult circumstances. Her needy sister has resisted any advice she’s ever received from her bossy sister but Silda still claims enough loyalty from Polly to remain as a millstone-heavy necklace of worry and frustration. Son Henry’s tragic absence is a constant grief that generates never-ending bitterness over what might have been. And now daughter Brooke is about to blow the whole story open in public. Youngest son Trip is Polly’s delight but also a bit of a disappointment, career-wise. Polly’s love for her husband gets her up in the morning. They share so much, and yet so little of their heartbreak. It’s best not to go there. And so Polly is unable to contain her justified anger at what life has dished up. She knows who she has to be—but why can’t everyone else just buck up, for God’s sake?

PH: Any special thanks or shout-outs?

Sharon: It’s been a wildly stirring experience to share such a grand play with Director Julie Ahasay and this fine cast and crew. Families can be SO interesting! And thanks to my husband Mike for making dinner and eating late most nights.

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Check back weekly to meet the rest of the cast until Other Desert Cities opens on May 29th. You can grab your tickets by calling 218-733-7555 or by purchasing online. See you at the show!

Good People

Opening next week Thursday in The Underground is a play called “Good People” by David Lindsay-Abaire. The production was nominated for two 2011 Tony Awards – Best Play and Best Leading Actress in a Play (Frances McDormand), with the latter winning. It was listed as one of the most produced plays of both the 2013-14 Season and 2012-13 Season in American Theatre magazine. And it was penned by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who is also known for his play “Rabbit Hole,” for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007.

If you’re looking for a deeper look into the show, below are some comments from both the director and two of the actors in the show.

Lawrence Lee (Director)

“What stories do you tell about yourself? What are the defining stories of your life?

Now, what stories do you think your family tells about you? Your friends? Your classmates? Your enemies?

‘Good People’ is a show about how we define ourselves through the stories we tell and how we tell them. Margie, the center of the show, starts the whole play by telling a story which she thinks is funny and shows her in a good light, only the person she’s telling it to, Stevie, remembers the story differently, in a much darker light. It’s not so funny to him.

And the play revolves around these interpretations and reinterpretations and misinterpretations, sometimes to hilarious effect and sometimes to disastrous effect.

I’ve been fortunate to work with six thoughtful and talented actors who aren’t afraid to delve into every nook and cranny of this play. It’s honest, funny, and heart-wrenching theater that may just make you rethink what you take for granted about your own life stories, because we all want to be ‘Good People,’ but can we?”

Robert Dunbar Hofman (Role: Mike)

“Rarely does a script as great as ‘Good People’ come around. It has been a privilege to work with a veteran cast as assembled by director Lawrence Lee shaping what will be an outstanding production. Good People tells a timely story of choices, luck, and perseverance. It shows us what is “good” about people – and what is not so good. Twin Port audiences are in for a real treat and will leave The Underground with something they will talk about for days to come.”

Ellie Martin (Role: Dottie)

“‘Good People’ is a wonderfully crafted play – you can count on some belly laughs as well as some tugs on your heart strings.  It’s a play that will stick with you – who are the ‘good people’ in the play and what makes them that way?  Don’t miss this great theatrical offering at The Underground opening January 16  and running Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for two weekends.”

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. You can purchase online, by calling (218) 733-7555, or at the door. See you at the show!

#TimeTravelTuesday Week 2

Hello and welcome back to #TimeTravelTuesdays!

This last week of rehearsal was filled with review of the show, along with new choreography as we prepare to move to the stage this Thursday!

All actors are now also off book (meaning all blocking and lines are memorized) and we will start doing full show runs instead of individual act runs.

Elements of tech will start to be integrated when we move to the Playhouse, and our official tech weeks starts next week.

As stated last time on Time Travel Tuesday, every week there will be a few different actors spotlighted so you can get to know them!

Next week there will be pictures and information from starting tech!

Remember, the show opens Friday, October 18^th, and there is still a little bit of space left for school matinees! If you are a teacher and are interested in your class seeing the show (and having a class room visit) call Sarah Diener at 218-733-7559.

Until next Tuesday!