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

Closing a Hit Show

Some productions can't end soon enough. Chemistry fizzled, audiences steered clear. When the final curtain comes down, the run doesn't end; it's put out of its misery.

But what if a show hit the heights? Rave reviews, standing ovations and booming bravos every night, a cast so together they can razz each other with impunity. In other words, the Dream.

What happens when that show closes?

It did, last Sunday night at the North Coast Rep. A crack ensemble cast played Ken Ludwig's farce, Lend Me A Tenor with stopwatch precision. They were so polished they replayed the entire script, at the end, in two minutes.

The bonding started, says Courtney Corey, with the director. "I think Matthew Wiener had great success in casting the right people for the roles," she says, "and also the right people for each other." From the start it was clear that "this group of funny, cynical, quick-witted actors could give each other a run for their money."

"A perfect mix of individuals," says Jessica John. "It's so uncommon to spend two months with a majority of strangers and look forward to being with them backstage as well as onstage. We have spent long hours struggling through line flubs and challenging transitions and have saved one another on stage from potential disasters. We are true friends."

When he heard who was in the cast, Bernie Kopsho felt "trepidation. I knew almost no one, but knew OF almost everyone." Their resumes, he confesses, made his look skeletal. "But I could not have been more warmly embraced." Performing Tenor became "the most gratifying experience of my so-called career."

"Tenor proved to me what I always expected," says Jill Drexler, "that the very best actors are the smartest. I will dearly miss the wicked repartee that began in rehearsal and continued in the dressing room. We laughed almost as much behind the scenery as the audience did in the house."

Then it was over.

"The end of a run is always an enormously wrenching experience," says Ted Barton. "All my friends and the little, vibrant world we had created become vaporized."

"You have to say good-bye and let go," adds Albert Park. "The comfortable routine of working with one another seven shows a week, grabbing a bite between matinee and evening performances - you hope to work with these wonderful folks in the future, but you know it won't be exactly like this again."

When they strike the set, says Jacque Wilke, it's the equivalent of summer camp, "where you have developed relationships that are irreplacable. This cast has been inspiring. All are down-to-earth human beings who dropped their guard and felt free to be themselves."

A key ingredient, she adds, is the people who can play farce: "quick-witted, know comedic timing, and willing to laugh at yourself."

When a run concludes, actors also leave their characters. "It can feel," says Jessica John, "like the abandonment of a friend, or the return to a less brave, less gorgeous version of yourself."

Jill Drexler admits to something most actors won't. "We aren't supposed to say so, but I will miss the curtain calls. I will miss the pure joy that comes across every night. And I leave the stage thinking 'it doesn't get better than this.'"

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

Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed

Some productions can't end soon enough. Chemistry fizzled, audiences steered clear. When the final curtain comes down, the run doesn't end; it's put out of its misery.

But what if a show hit the heights? Rave reviews, standing ovations and booming bravos every night, a cast so together they can razz each other with impunity. In other words, the Dream.

What happens when that show closes?

It did, last Sunday night at the North Coast Rep. A crack ensemble cast played Ken Ludwig's farce, Lend Me A Tenor with stopwatch precision. They were so polished they replayed the entire script, at the end, in two minutes.

The bonding started, says Courtney Corey, with the director. "I think Matthew Wiener had great success in casting the right people for the roles," she says, "and also the right people for each other." From the start it was clear that "this group of funny, cynical, quick-witted actors could give each other a run for their money."

"A perfect mix of individuals," says Jessica John. "It's so uncommon to spend two months with a majority of strangers and look forward to being with them backstage as well as onstage. We have spent long hours struggling through line flubs and challenging transitions and have saved one another on stage from potential disasters. We are true friends."

When he heard who was in the cast, Bernie Kopsho felt "trepidation. I knew almost no one, but knew OF almost everyone." Their resumes, he confesses, made his look skeletal. "But I could not have been more warmly embraced." Performing Tenor became "the most gratifying experience of my so-called career."

"Tenor proved to me what I always expected," says Jill Drexler, "that the very best actors are the smartest. I will dearly miss the wicked repartee that began in rehearsal and continued in the dressing room. We laughed almost as much behind the scenery as the audience did in the house."

Then it was over.

"The end of a run is always an enormously wrenching experience," says Ted Barton. "All my friends and the little, vibrant world we had created become vaporized."

"You have to say good-bye and let go," adds Albert Park. "The comfortable routine of working with one another seven shows a week, grabbing a bite between matinee and evening performances - you hope to work with these wonderful folks in the future, but you know it won't be exactly like this again."

When they strike the set, says Jacque Wilke, it's the equivalent of summer camp, "where you have developed relationships that are irreplacable. This cast has been inspiring. All are down-to-earth human beings who dropped their guard and felt free to be themselves."

A key ingredient, she adds, is the people who can play farce: "quick-witted, know comedic timing, and willing to laugh at yourself."

When a run concludes, actors also leave their characters. "It can feel," says Jessica John, "like the abandonment of a friend, or the return to a less brave, less gorgeous version of yourself."

Jill Drexler admits to something most actors won't. "We aren't supposed to say so, but I will miss the curtain calls. I will miss the pure joy that comes across every night. And I leave the stage thinking 'it doesn't get better than this.'"

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

Hooray for Hollywood

Next Article

Overrated Movies -- Gran Torino, Wrestler, Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire

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