Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fred Harlow's acting bucket list

Roles both dramatic and comic appeal to the veteran actor, from Equus to the Tuna

Fred Harlow in A Man His Wife and His Hat
Fred Harlow in A Man His Wife and His Hat

I’m asking veteran local actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that may seem outside the box.


Fred Harlow in An Inspector Calls

1.) Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein. “When people ask me if I can sing, my response is always, ‘at gunpoint.’ The few times I’ve been cast in a musical I make sure everybody concerned heard me sing and double-checked they didn’t switch my name with somebody else. However, FTOR is a perfect story! It has it all. Tevye’s relationships with his daughters and his faith are gut-wrenching. I can only imagine how draining this role is, but I would welcome the challenge.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

2.) Martin Dysart, Equus, by Peter Shaffer. “I saw the Broadway production in 1978 and was blown away. I remember sitting there thinking I could play that role someday. There is a stipulation, however: ion theatre must produce it! It’s such in-your-face storytelling. Combine that with their wonderfully intimate space, and they might have to add seat belts to the chairs!”

3.) “All of the Tuna plays.” Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard have written four: Greater Tuna, A Tuna Christmas, Red, White, and Tuna, and Tuna Does Vegas. Two actors play over 20 eccentric characters. “I was lucky enough to have been cast in A Tuna Christmas, and would love to do the whole series. I know, it's light fluffy theater, but hey — funny is funny!”

Fred Harlow

4.) “Any role in The Skin of Our Teeth,” by Thornton Wilder. All time exists at once, which is why a dinosaur’s in the Antrobus family’s living room. “I love this play!! I saw it when I was 11 or 12 and thought it was delightfully weird. A while back I posted on Facebook if people thought it worthy enough to produce today, and the answer was a resounding YES! We all know about Grover’s Corners in Our Town, but I feel we theater geeks know very little about the Antrobus family. I also love the fact that Thornton Wilder wrote the play as a reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

5.) Sheridan Whiteside, The Man Who Came to Dinner, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Theater critic/raconteur Sheridan Whiteside slips on ice, breaks his leg, and commandeers the home of unsuspecting Ohioans. “I would love to revisit Sheridan Whiteside. I played him in college but what the hell can a 20-year-old bring to that part? I know it’s an old war horse but what a noble war horse it is! I love language and so does Sheri. He has some of the funniest insults ever written. It’s a tricky role that could sour very quickly. He’s a pompous ass but a lovable one.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Fred Harlow in A Man His Wife and His Hat
Fred Harlow in A Man His Wife and His Hat

I’m asking veteran local actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that may seem outside the box.


Fred Harlow in An Inspector Calls

1.) Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein. “When people ask me if I can sing, my response is always, ‘at gunpoint.’ The few times I’ve been cast in a musical I make sure everybody concerned heard me sing and double-checked they didn’t switch my name with somebody else. However, FTOR is a perfect story! It has it all. Tevye’s relationships with his daughters and his faith are gut-wrenching. I can only imagine how draining this role is, but I would welcome the challenge.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

2.) Martin Dysart, Equus, by Peter Shaffer. “I saw the Broadway production in 1978 and was blown away. I remember sitting there thinking I could play that role someday. There is a stipulation, however: ion theatre must produce it! It’s such in-your-face storytelling. Combine that with their wonderfully intimate space, and they might have to add seat belts to the chairs!”

3.) “All of the Tuna plays.” Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard have written four: Greater Tuna, A Tuna Christmas, Red, White, and Tuna, and Tuna Does Vegas. Two actors play over 20 eccentric characters. “I was lucky enough to have been cast in A Tuna Christmas, and would love to do the whole series. I know, it's light fluffy theater, but hey — funny is funny!”

Fred Harlow

4.) “Any role in The Skin of Our Teeth,” by Thornton Wilder. All time exists at once, which is why a dinosaur’s in the Antrobus family’s living room. “I love this play!! I saw it when I was 11 or 12 and thought it was delightfully weird. A while back I posted on Facebook if people thought it worthy enough to produce today, and the answer was a resounding YES! We all know about Grover’s Corners in Our Town, but I feel we theater geeks know very little about the Antrobus family. I also love the fact that Thornton Wilder wrote the play as a reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

5.) Sheridan Whiteside, The Man Who Came to Dinner, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Theater critic/raconteur Sheridan Whiteside slips on ice, breaks his leg, and commandeers the home of unsuspecting Ohioans. “I would love to revisit Sheridan Whiteside. I played him in college but what the hell can a 20-year-old bring to that part? I know it’s an old war horse but what a noble war horse it is! I love language and so does Sheri. He has some of the funniest insults ever written. It’s a tricky role that could sour very quickly. He’s a pompous ass but a lovable one.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader