Professor Ken Stevens’ eyes light up and a smile instantly appears on his face when he talks about the show. “Little Me” has been on his mind for years, since high school, and has never been far from his heart. After all that time, conditions are finally right for Stevens to put on the hilarious musical that harkens back to classic situational comedic styles.
Directed by Stevens, with musical direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis, Neil Simon’s upbeat musical comedy “Little Me” will close out Eastern Michigan University’s 2009-2010 theater season on a high note this weekend and next in Sponberg Theatre.
“Little Me” is the story of the optimistic, and accident-prone, Hollywood star Belle Poitrine, who rises from rags to riches. The musical highlights Belle travels as she meets a variety of interesting and sometimes zany men, before finding her heart’s desire.
“Little Me” originally premiered on Broadway in 1962, and that production was memorable with Sid Caesar in multiple roles with multiple stage accents playing all of the heroine’s husbands and lovers. In later productions, the roles have been portrayed by actors like Victor Garbo and Martin Short.
Here at EMU, actor Andy Orscheln steps into those big shoes portraying all of “Belle’s men,” as they are called. Orscheln looks forward to the challenge and sees the performance as a culmination of the work he has done in the past.
“I really like Fred, sort of a nerdy Army man. He is funny and I think I am most like him, you know? A child in a man’s body,” explains Orscheln of his favorite character he portrays in the show.Fresh off his fall semester studying with Chicago’s famed improvisational sketch comedy group “The Second City,” Orscheln is ready to show what he has learned. For this performance, Orscheln explains that, while he did not necessarily ignore Caesar or Short’s performances, he really fought to make the characters his own unique vision. In this adaptation, Orscheln will not be the only actor performing multiple roles.
Behind the scenes, Technical Director John Charles works hard to ensure that the changing scenery, which is usually complex in a musical, remains simple and does not distract from a fluid performance. As the scenic and lighting designer, Charles has helped to create many layers within the relatively small Sponberg stage by designing multiple platforms for the actors. Keeping the set unrealistic allows for quick changes with just lighting, explains Charles. In addition to the lighting, the plan is to have three projection screens that will allow depth to various scenes. Seeing projection screens in theater has become more and more common, even in major productions like “The Wizard of Oz,” which played in Detroit’s Fisher Theatre this past January.
“I think the fastest growing field in theatre and scene design is projection, with the majority of productions featuring it in some way now,” said Charles.
To Stevens, every facet of the production brings joy. Even with a week until those first curtains go up, a time usually reserved for frantic temper tantrums from other frazzled directors, Stevens is the epitome of calm, cool and collected; joking with cast members and chuckling to on-set one-liners, rehearsals seem to be the highlight of his day. The style of comedy in the musical makes it easy to see why this cast and crew is so excited for opening night.
“Neil Simon wrote this one, but, at the time, all of these writers were working together. You know, you had Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Carl Reiner… they just inspired each other and this show reeks of it. You know, just silly satire, parody, burlesque; this is not subtle dry wit,” explains Stevens wryly, as his cast lets out a burst of laughter between song numbers in the next room.
“Little Me” will be performed June 4-5 and June 10-12, 7 p.m.; and June 6, 3 p.m. at Sponberg Theatre. Picnic games and goodies will be available to the audience 30 minutes before show time. Tickets are $10 for regular admission and $7 for Mainstage patrons. For tickets call the box office at (734) 487-2282 or visit www.emutix.com.
