All our best...

I am sorry to report that Jan Cohen, who plays Mama Wheelis in "Daddy's Dyin'" at the GCP, has had a family emergency and has left the show for the rest of the run.  Director Jennie Stringfellow is slated to fill the role until the run ends on Sunday.  Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes go out to Jan and her family!

xo xo GCP Girl

Read the review for "Daddy's Dyin'"!

Congrats to the cast of "Daddy's Dyin'" on a great review!

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090521/ARTICLES/905211004/1006/NEWS?Title=-Daddy-s-Dyin-shows-that-blood-is-thicker-than-water-.  

Catch this amazing show while you can!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Daddy's Dyin'" preview article

Check out the Gainesville Sun preview article for "Daddy's Dyin'" here: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090514/ARTICLES/905141007/1006/NEWS?Title=New-GCP-play-tackles-family-issues.

"Daddy's Dyin'" Cast Profile: Kristin Mercer

Kristin Mercer checks in before getting ready for Preview tonight...

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
KM: Some of my favorite roles include: Nellie in "South Pacific," Kate in "She Stoops to Conquer," Truvy in "Steel Magnolias," Penny in "You Can't Take it With You," Videllia in "Sugar Bean Sisters," Ruth in "Blithe Spirit," Chelsea in "On Golden Pond," and Zombie in "Night of the Living Dead" ('cause who wouldn't want to play a zombie, drool blood, freak out the audience, and dance to "Thriller"?!). I love playing a variety of diverse roles - in one very busy GCP season I played a 20-something-year-old in a musical and an eccentric 50-something-year-old in a straight play - ya gotta love the magic of theater!

GCP Girl: Which do you enjoy performing more, comedy or drama?
KM: That is a tough question. I love both! I have had greater opportunities to do comedy but I would really love to sink my teeth into a good drama - "Agnes of God," anyone?

GCP Girl: Tell me a little bit about your character.
KM: She is sweet, inhibited, and a bit beaten down. Her self-esteem gets a little boost by a recent weight loss that she is very proud of!

GCP Girl: What is your character's catchphrase?
KM: I've lost weight!

GCP Girl: Are you anything like your character?
KM: Not really. I love playing against type. I do relate to her compassionate side, though.

GCP Girl: This show is about family. Is there anything about this family that reminds you of your own?
KM: Thankfully, no - except for the fact that every family is a little bit crazy in their own special way. :-)

GCP Girl: If you had to be related to one of the characters in the show, who would it be and why?
KM: Probably Mama Wheelis or Marlene - I find them the most likable and the least selfish.

GCP Girl: Tell me something about yourself you'd like everyone to know.
KM: Uhhhhh....

Thanks, Kristin! Everyone, don't forget to get there early tonight since it is general seating!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Daddy's Dyin'" Cast Profile: Alexander Mrazek

Alexander Mrazek, who plays Orville, reflects on his families on stage, at home and at the GCP...

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
AM: Oh gosh, where to start. I probably end up doing 10 shows a year, so I have a lot I could list, but I think I'll stick with some favorites. I was fortunate enough to get to be a part of" Cinderella" at GCP as the inaugural show of the Vam York. I was part of the original cast and stayed on for about six months until the theater was finished. It was great because I got to sing the first note in the new theater! I have also had great fun in shows like "Ragtime," "Night of the Living Dead," and "Little Women: the Musical."  My all time favorite, dream-role show was Lumiere in "Beauty and the Beast."  I can't even describe how wonderful that show was and how amazing it was to be in it. I made so many fantastic friends from that show.

GCP Girl: Which do you enjoy performing more, comedy or drama?
AM: Ohhh, another tough one. I really like both, but at this time in my life, I would have to go with drama. I am usually considered the funny man, both on and off stage, and I love to make people laugh, and I love to explore different ways to make them laugh - whether just completely goofy or the driest of dry sarcasm. Most of the roles I have played are the comedic ones - and it is true it's harder to make people laugh, but there is something about the drama that I really like. I feel it allows you to make a bigger impact on someones life, the way they think or the way they view life. And since I don't get to do it very often, it really is a treat to play in a truly dramatic, gritty sort of play.

GCP Girl: Tell me a little bit about your character.
AM: Orville is mean, real mean. Just ask any of the other characters in the show - especially his abused wife, Marlene. He is a man who has lived in a family full of women and has kind of been kicked around a bit by other members of the family. He's truly stuck in this cycle of violence because he isn't that smart and everyone puts him down, even if it's not meant to be really malevolent, so it really becomes all he can focus on. Because of this, he acts out in the only way he knows how, and so he may do things he really does mean to do. On top of that, he is a baby - he will milk the pain of a small splinter until the end of time.

GCP Girl: What is your character's catchphrase?
AM: It's probably one of the best ones in the show (sorry guys), but Orville is very keen on one saying, especially when things are not going his way, which is most of the time. That saying is, "I have done peed in my chili!" It's usually whiny and makes most of us a little sick to the stomach.

GCP Girl: Are you anything like your character?
AM: Oh man, I hope not. We are both kind of these larger, more commanding figures, but I have a better grasp on my anger than he does. Now, don't get me wrong, I have quite a temper (hardly anyone has ever seen it), but I believe since I am somewhat intelligent, I can control it better.

GCP Girl: This show is about family. Is there anything about this family that reminds you of your own?
AM: The nagging. My family really does love each other. However, between my mom, my brother and me, we really know how to push each others' buttons, just like the Turnover family. I mean, this is not really new to the family structure, but it's definitely part of who we can be sometimes. Also, we have gone through a lot of obstacles in our lives, where the light at the end of the tunnel was very dim, but we have pulled through, and I believe we see that in the Turnover family eventually. The idea that maybe, the hope of things getting better, is there.

GCP Girl: If you had to be related to one of the characters in the show, who would it be and why?
AM: That's easy - Mama Wheelis. She is one spunky broad, and she will get you with her razor strap if you give her too much lip. We talk about it at rehearsals, and I believe it to be true – Mama Wheelis will most likely outlive all her grandchildren. She will be making grits and eggs and chasing dogs out of her garden 'til the world stops spinning.

GCP Girl: Tell me something about yourself you'd like everyone to know.
AM: As sad as this is, it is official that I'm leaving for either Orlando or Chicago after this summer. However, I do get to play in this wonderful show, AND I am playing Captain Hook in "Peter Pan" this summer so I get to do a great show with all my friends. It really is moving - I did my first show ever here in Gainesville with the GCP, and I will be doing my last one with them.

Thanks, Alex! We definitely will miss you, but we're glad we get to spend a little more time with you before you go. Preview is tomorrow night!!!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Daddy's Dyin'" Cast Profile: Jan Cohen

"Daddy's Dyin'" cast member Jan Cohen, who plays Mama Wheelis, talks about spirituality, hotels as theatre sets, and being a Badger...

GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.

JC: I guess my favorite theatrical moments happened in Kathmandu, Nepal.  We did the Jean Paul Sartre version of "The Trojan Women" in an old Rana palace, complete with barbed wire and flaming torches (the fire dept here would definitely have closed us down).  I played Hecuba and cried every night as I said my beautifully simple but profound lines.  It was very cathartic and wonderful to do with all my dear friends.  Then, I directed "Tamara" there, the play about WWII and the denial of Fascism by poet Gabrielle d'Annunzio.  We did it in yet another hotel, a garden hotel, and the audience follows the story/actor of their choice from room to room.  When we first did a complete run-through and the actors all entered the central room in the middle of the act just on the cue line, we decided that the author was a genius and that also we were blessed by the gods.  My goodness, I loved that show.

GCP Girl: Which do you enjoy performing more, comedy or drama?
JC: As a director or audience member, I always prefer drama.  As an actor, maybe not.  Comedy is harder to do, so there is a bigger challenge.

GCP Girl: Tell me a little bit about your character.

JC: Mama Wheelis is a survivor.  She has had a tough life, but has toughed it out with a sense of humor and a lot of cooking!  Oh, and her religion--she truly believes, but this belief has not gotten in the way of still being able to speak her mind about just about everything!  

GCP Girl: What is your character's catchphrase?

JC: On the positive side, "Bless her/his heart," and on the negative, variations of "Where is my razor strap?"

GCP Girl: Are you anything like your character?

JC: I think I am fairly tough and I do love to laugh, but I would prefer that someone else does the cooking (like a good restaurant), actually.  As to religion, I am a Protestant, married to a Jew, devoted to the Catholic priests I worked with for years in Nepal, and actually have very strong Buddhist leanings.  So, give me a spiritual event, and I will celebrate it!

GCP Girl: This show is about family. Is there anything about this family that reminds you of your own?

JC: A lot!  I would say that makes me sound dysfunctional, except I think most of us have had resonant chords struck by some things that are said and done in this script.

GCP Girl: If you had to be related to one of the characters in the show, who would it be and why?

JC: Harmony--he is genuine and loving, despite the hair, and since he doesn't usually drink, he would never ask me to bring him a beer!  He might even go and get me one instead!  Also, I went to the Univ. of Wisconsin in the late 1960's--enough said.

GCP Girl: Tell me something about yourself you would like everyone to know.

JC: I would kill to play Madame Ranevsky in "The Cherry Orchard," so if there is anyone out there planning to do it, here I am!

Thanks, Jan! Preview is in two days!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Daddy's Dyin'" Cast Profile: Samara Golabuk

Hi, everyone! "Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?" opens this week at the Vam York Theater!  First up for profiling is Samara Golabuk, who plays Evalita. GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.

SG: I've been very fortunate to have been a part of several shows at the GCP, most recently, last year's "Blithe Spirit" (Elvira, a favorite character for sheer sauciness alone) and "See How They Run" (Miss Skillon, for which role several patrons called me The Human Noodle). I also go to play the extremely unpleasant Stepmother in the new theater's inaugural show, "Cinderella," which was a blast, and my only foray into musical theater to date. I've also made an appearance at the ART, and The Hipp as a young street urchin oooooh so many years ago. :)

GCP Girl: Which do you enjoy performing more, comedy or drama?

SG: An extremely difficult question. As a younger actor, I'd've said drama, because comedy seemed so inescapably difficult to do well. It remains a difficult genre, but whether my own skills have improved (one hopes), or my preferences have merely changed, I'd have to say that I've been having an amazing time exploring the subtleties of timing and tone that make a comedic role so delightfully challenging. I tell myself that I'm getting funnier as I get older, and that it ain't just my looks.

GCP Girl: Tell me a little bit about your character.

SG: "Evalita Latrell Turnover Wilson" is referred to on numerous occasions in the script as "pure dee white trash," and I'd have to say this is probably the most succinct summary of her, though I find her to be more interesting than that. The youngest of four, she's accustomed to getting her way, expressing herself in the self-absorbed ways that spoiled brats normally do. Perhaps having been led to believe that ALL men would treat her with the doting affection that her father always has, she skips and hops from one relationship to another without ever being truly committed. She'd rather sow her wild oats, but continues to seek love and attention, so ends up being a serial monogamist of EPIC proportions (married 6 times before she was 40!)

GCP Girl: What is your character's catchphrase?

SG: The quote that comes to mind is a line she says in response to her current beau referring to her as "sweet cheeks." She says "He don't mean my face!" Another popular line is "Grab me a beer while you're at it, honey!"

GCP Girl: Are you anything like your character?

SG: I certainly hope not, but like most roles, I think we get cast where there is affinity, personality-wise. I would refer to myself as sexually liberated, at least, though not nearly the attention-hog she proves to be! I would definitely say that I have her free-spiritedness and appreciation of the male gender, and, while I do adore attention and admiration, I certainly WON'T go to any lengths to get it. I'm much more secure and self-possessed than she is. Hopefully a bit more erudite, as well! :P

GCP Girl: This show is about family. Is there anything about this family that reminds you of your own?

SG: Oh, my, yes. There is an incredibly strong bond in this family, as much as most of them hate to admit. They DO love each other a great deal, they just chafe under the limitations and expectations they place on each other. I think most humans are guilty of that. More superficially, my husband's family is from the deep south, so not only are the expressions and attitudes familiar, they are practically homey. :)

GCP Girl: If you had to be related to one of the characters in the show, who would it be and why?

SG: Probably Mama Wheelis, because she's the most together, and the most down-to-earth of all of them. God love a woman unafraid to wield a cast iron skillet!

GCP Girl: Tell me something about yourself you'd like everyone to know.

SG: I don't normally dress like that.

Thanks, Samara! That last line has definitely piqued my interest! Preview is Thursday night, so get ready!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Peter Pan" cast list

As promised, here is the cast list for "Peter Pan:"

Peter Pan: Lauren Omer
Capt Hook/Mr. Darling: Alex Mrazek
Mrs Darling: Leannis Maxwell
Wendy: Alice Rix
John: Winston Cunningham
Micheal: Gary Wells
Liza: Sue Addis
Nana/Crocodile: Carolyn Hanson
Jane: Teresa Hanson

LOST BOYS:
Slightly: Thomas Sanders
Twin #1: Joey McGinn (sp?)
Twin #2: Megan Hess
Tootles: Alex Christophy
Curly: Tony Lupi
Nibs: Michael Tremaine

PIRATES:
Brian Faux
Matt Parker
Carolyne Salt
Matt Delker
Leannis Maxwell
Malik Grady
Esteban Alvarez
Susan Christophy

Mr. Smee: Dan Christophy

INDIANS:
Olivia Turpening
Crimson Roe
Sue Addis
Audrey MacKay
Rachel Leightman
Caitlin Hunter
Rhonda Wilson 
Teresa Hanson

Tiger Lily: Diane Marono

Congrats to everyone! Check back for more news on this show and the opening week festivities for "Daddy's Dyin'"!

xo xo GCP Girl

"Peter Pan" cast list available!

The cast list for "Peter Pan" is now posted at the Vam York Theater! Congratulations to everyone cast in what is sure to be a fabulous show! Stay tuned here for more news on "Peter Pan" and the upcoming "Daddy's Dyin'"!

xo xo GCP Girl