|
|
 |
We’ve started this series of articles where members
of the Company pick their five favorite roles played
at River Rep. It’s a wonderful opportunity for
us to share and reflect on some truly joyous memories
of our 19 summers in Connecticut. As those of you who
have been with us for many years know... I have had
the incredible privilege of playing well over 40 leading
roles with the company. So to choose just five
seems like an impossible task. I would have to call
them: “five of my favorites!”
Warren as Charlie Baker
in The Foreigner (1988)
The Foreigner (1988)
It was Producing Director Jenn Thompson’s idea
to revive The
Foreigner this summer, but I
was so thrilled at the prospect because Charlie Baker,
the play’s title character, is certainly
one of my all-time favorites. It was a phenomenal opener
for our second season. [1988!] For many summers afterward
people would approach me and want to talk about that
production. It also holds a very special place in my
heart, as it was one of the last roles my father ever
saw me play. My Dad was an Orthopedic Surgeon, but interestingly
enough, he was also a brilliant raconteur who could
tell incredibly funny and charming “stories,”
in practically every dialect you can name. At family
gatherings, social functions and at countless medical
conventions, Dr. Warren Kelley was the entertainment.
It gave me great joy that, years after seeing The
Foreigner, my Dad would quote entire passages of
the play, startlingly and hilariously mimicking my character’s
unique turn of phrase.
Warren, in between John Joseph
and Evan Thompson, as
Norman in The Dresser (1989)
The Dresser (1989)
My second choice is an easy one: Playing Norman in The
Dresser opposite Evan Thompson as Sir. This funny,
tragic, brilliant love-letter to the theatre was River
Rep’s first time presenting a drama. Audience
attendance was shatteringly small, but everyone who
saw it, and each of us who had the honor of working
on it, will never forget the experience. It was also
the first River Rep production that Katharine Hepburn
attended. She came backstage afterwards and was generously
enthusiastic. She swept into my dressing room, sat down
with me, took my face in her hands, and in her unforgettable
voice said, “Young man, you are terrifyingly
good.” Needless to say... the moment is forever
etched in my memory.
Warren (right) with Owen Thompson
in The Mystery of Irma Vep (2000)
The Mystery of Irma Vep (2000)
My third choice would have to be The Mystery of
Irma Vep, playing with my long-time partner, friend,
co-star, and “kid brother” Owen Thompson.
We often refer to Vep as the most terrifying,
the most arduous, and ultimately one of the
most thrilling things we have ever done. Given
the bizarre title and the elusive description of the
show, presale at the box office was “light”
at best. But after just three performances... word-of-mouth
produced a sold-out run.
Warren (left) as Gabe with Jean Tafler
in Dinner with Friends (2005)
Dinner with Friends (2005)
Number four is our final production of 2005, Dinner with Friends. Playing those beautiful scenes with my favorite leading lady, the astounding Jean Tafler — under Jenn Thompson’s flawless direction — was a profound experience. I will simply never forget it.
Follies (2003),
directed by Warren
Follies (2005)
My fifth favorite would have to be the “role”
of director/choreographer for 2003’s Follies.
Given the fact that it was my first summer as Artistic
Director of River Rep, choosing Stephen Sondheim’s
elusive, dramatic, sweeping masterpiece was foolhardy
at best. But, the River Rep team supported me throughout
and the company stepped up to the challenge in ways
that I could never have imagined. Tony Andrea’s
set, Marcus Abbott’s lighting and Steven Katz’s
musical direction transported us into the majestic but
crumbling world of The Follies and the shattered minds
of its characters. Our incredible audience showed up
in numbers that broke all of our previous Box Office
records. But, perhaps the defining aspect of the production
was my friend Joan Shepard, standing center stage and
stopping the show every night singing Sondheim’s
most famous show-business anthem, “Broadway Baby”!
As I stood there each night watching Joan…[who in real
life was appearing on Broadway at the age of 7!]...
it was so clear to me why we had come to Connecticut
back in 1987…and what River Rep had accomplished there.
THANK YOU, our wonderful
audience and supporters, for all of it!
|
|
| |
|
|
