The Toledo City Paper depends on readers like you! Become a friend today. See membership options
Peanut butter balls, Christmas sausage, a missing cat and dysfunctional sisters are ingredients for an energetic Jeff Daniels’ comedy taking the stage at The Purple Rose in Chelsea, Michigan. Daniels wrote “Norma & Wanda” two decades ago and recently revived it with a new cast. “I remember writing into a lot of corners and then having to write my way out of them which, in a crazy comedy, is a good thing. If you didn’t see it coming, the audience won’t either.”
An intimate theater experience
The audience gets a close-up view of the insanity that drives the plot. “There’s the
audience on three sides and we have a very intimate space,” explained director Rihanna Ragland. “You are no more than a few feet from these amazing actors. If they let something fly, you’re going to see it, feel it, hear it. It’s what makes our theater so special because the audience isn’t set back and removed from the story.” Actors in this production at the regional theater do indeed let it fly with a plot that includes two sisters approaching life from distinctly different perspectives. Norma & Wanda is intended for an adult audience.
Peanut butter balls and plot twists
Kate Thomsen plays goody two-shoes friend Mary Sue. She is in charge of supplying thousands of peanut butter balls for a local church gathering. But Thomsen relates, not all is as it seems initially. “In true Jeff Daniels fashion, the place sets an expectation that just gets to be wildly and unapologetically broken. So that’s been delightful. His writing just goes in directions that feel very unexpected it…and is fun for the audience.” Thomsen, who teaches theater at Western Michigan University. Says, “Acting makes me a better teacher of acting and teaching makes me a better actor.”
Collaboration behind the scenes
Director Ragland utilizes a collaborative approach to directing, “Because if I’ve done a
good job of hiring great professionals, which there are in the group, then I get out of the = way and let them play.”
Jeff Daniels on rewriting and revival
Daniels is happy with the production. “They made it their own. I love what they did with it. It’s nice when something you did twenty years ago inspires others.” Daniels, the artistic director of the Purple Rose, grew up in Chelsea. His successful career includes a wide range of roles in movies.
His process as a playwright requires months of script refinement and several drafts. By the third draft, “I carve out a beginning, middle and end, commit to the characters I care about, make sure it contains smart, funny humor and if I’m lucky maybe even something to say. Then I turn the play into the Purple Rose along with a promise to fix it. Once it’s slotted for a future production, there are at least two more drafts not to mention rehearsal rewrites. Always rewriting, even years later.” Performers like Thomsen say the rigorous preparation is worth the result.
“I love being in a room full of laughter.”
Performances at Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St, Chelsea, MI 48118, continue through December 21. For ticket information, please go to thepurplerosetheatre.org.
