A
part of director
Chadd Green is hoping that some of his "Rumors" actors aren't
able to go
on during the show's run.
He
doesn't wish any of them ill, understand - he'd just like to see
understudy Alexander Berkowitz get a chance.
"He's a marvelous actor," said Green, who's directing the show for
the Renaissance Guild and PrimaDonna Productions, Inc. "In part of
my mind, I hope that he gets a chance to shine."
Berkowitz's presence onstage also would shift some of the dynamics a
bit. See, Berkowitz is understudying the women's roles, so if he
goes on, one of the couples will be a same-sex pair.
"It
was an idea I had whenever I was casting it; I had men and women
come in and read for a particular role - it would be a man named
Casey or a woman named Cassie. He came in and read for the gay man,
and he was great, he blew me away. The only problem was, I needed to
cast his opposite, and the only people I really liked didn't work
with him."
Berkowitz will get to go on even if no one has to bow out for a
night. He's playing a small role of a police officer and will be
partnered with various local celebrities playing the other officer.
Opening night, it'll be actor Jade Esteban Estrada; one-time
"Survivor" competitor Rita Verreos and comedian Roman Garcia also
have been lined up.
"Rumors" is about a dinner party in which the guests arrive to find
evidence that things have gone horribly awry erlier in teh evening,
including a missing hostess and a host with a gunshot wound (hence
the eventual presence of the cops).
Neil
Simon wrote and set the story in the '80s, but Green decided to give
it a contemporary spin.
"We
updated some references and some lines, and a lot of the mainstream
social commentary we kind of left out," he said.
Working on the piece has been a lot of fun: "Every rehearsal is just
a blast," he said. "We're laughing the whole time. If the audience
laughs half as much as we do, it's well worth the money."
©2010 San Antonio Express-News
