Meet a Cast Member!

Today's post is brought to you by Starbucks' Caffe Verona coffee, the number 13, and Light Pringles.

Today's interviewee is Jen Falconer of green is the new black, a cute blog dedicated to finding ways to be more eco-friendly, and also, recently, to showing you cute Target clothes, to making you feel really, really guilty about all the Easter candy you ate recently. (I've only read the few first entries so I'm sure there's more further down, but there you go.)

Also, look at that picture -- Jen's a total hottie. I haven't met her in person yet, so perhaps it's kind of weird for me to be saying that, but it's true. Jen, I'm very jealous of you.

NAME: Jen Faulconer
ROLE: Nena/Ensemble

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? (Just one!) Cinderella in Into the Woods. (Erin says: I love that show. We did it in high school and poor Cinderella lost her voice opening weekend, so she had to speak-sing the whole thing, except for "No One Is Alone", which really needed to be sung-sung, so the girl who played the Baker's Wife sang into a microphone backstage and Cinderella lip-synched. My mom was sitting right next to their mothers, and the Baker's Wife's mom was like, "Why is my daughter's voice coming out of your daughter's mouth?")

If you could do only one show ever again, what would it be? Evita, I could have done that show every night for the rest of my life ... well, until I got too old to be the Mistress, I guess.

What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? Actually, I boycott GS cookies. Its very hard to do. But have you seen their ingredients? It's bad. (Erin says: Remember what I was saying about making you feel guilty about all the Easter candy you just ate??? If you feel too guilty about your GS cookies, I'll take them off your hands. Except the Thin Mints. Send those to rehearsal and the vultures will descend.)

Who’s cooler, Batman or Superman, and why? Spiderman (Erin says: Jen, Spiderman was not an option. I'd be willing to let it slide, except you didn't tell us why he's cooler. I expect a comment left on this post expounding on this answer, or I'm afraid I'll have to do something very nefarious. I'm not sure what, yet, but I'll get Michael to help me, and trust me, you don't want that.)

A or B? While yes, I agree that B is better, at my house we have to do A to keep my dog from unrolling it across the entire house. (Erin says: Oooh, I just thought of my nefarious thing. Michael, wanna help me reverse all of Jen's toilet paper???)

It's Interview Time Again, Jerry Gorman.

Okay, so far, these are the last of the interviews I've gotten ... so cast and crew, remind your fellow cast and crewmates to fill it out, or I'll have to resort to posting pictures of Dudes with Balloons for the next month.

Funny story about Susanna's photo -- she sent me a bunch to pick from, and I was torn between two. One was a really cute pic, and the other was just funny. When I mentioned this to her, she responded with a jpeg of the two next to each other. So that's what I posted :)

And Randy didn't send me a picture, so you all get another lovely MS Paint Creation by yours truly. I call it "Randy as a Lego man".

NAME: Randall Jones
ROLE: Director/Choreographer

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? (Just one!) I was a singing/dancing, Elvis-impersonating, extraterrestrial lizard in Starmites in 1991. Basically, I was an “intergalactic pet” to Lori Staley, FOTLM’s “Little French Boy!”

Jerry’s dream is to fly – what is your dream? I want to play Edna Turnblad in Hairspray with my daughter, Maribeth, as Tracy Turnblad! (Erin says: I want to see that. Let's make it happen.)

Do you speak any languages (besides English) fluently? If so, what are they? I only speak English—and sort of a Missouri Hillbilly version of English—so I speak about 75% of a language.

Who’s cooler, Batman or Superman, and why? Batman—because he doesn’t really have any fake special powers. He’s just smart, strong, clever, and RICH. (Erin says: That is a truth-fact. Batman is way cooler for exactly that reason.)

A or B? BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

If you had your pick, which of Shakespeare’s characters would you be most attracted to, if he/she was a real person? Can I just pick Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love? Can you just allow me to pretend that he hops the fence once Gwyneth Paltrow is sent packing? (Erin says: I want to say no, but if I say no, then I can't post this question, and since somehow all 3 of today's interviewees are the only ones to have answered this question, it would throw off the balance. So I'll give you partial credit, but only because a) I like balance, and b) Gwyneth Paltrow annoyed the crap out of me in that movie.)

NAME: Susanna Todd
ROLE: Gracie

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? Blood Brothers at Elden Street in the summer of 2006. It was just such an overall great experience: great cast, great crew, great production. And it never got old. It’s one of the few shows I’ve done where I haven’t been ready for it to close. And I absolutely LOVED the finale “Tell Me It’s Not True”—it was a wonderful theater moment.

If you could do only one show ever again, what would it be? Oooh, that’s a good one. Jekyll & Hyde. I bet it’d take a while for me to get sick of it because
(a) it’s one of my favorite musical scores and
(b) there are so many good roles that you’d want to do it over and over just to play them all. Emma is one of my dream roles and Lucy is probably up there as one of the best musical roles for women; plus, there’s all the great ensemble work, so being a Red Rat girl or random Londoner would also be worthwhile. (Erin says: Many people have asked me if I mean "do one show over again" -- no, I mean exactly what I said. One show, ever again, for the rest of your life. I had actually meant "You get one more shot onstage and then your feet may never touch the boards again", but I like Susanna's interpretation. You only get to do one show ever again, but do it as many times, playing as many parts, as you want. If you haven't answered the question yet, that's what I mean now.)

What are your favorite pizza toppings? Green Pepper, Black Olives, & Tomato. I also like Ham & Pineapple or Plain Cheese. I’m kind of a bad person to order pizza with because I don’t like a lot of the standard toppings (i.e. pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions).

What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? Samoas, with Tagalongs and Thin Mints tied for 2nd. Which apparently puts me along with the rest of America since those are the 3 best sellers and comprise nearly 60% of total cookie sales (don’t ask me why I looked that up, I just did). (Erin says: You looked it up cuz you're awesome and a nerd like me ... even though you like Thin Mints.)

If you had your pick, which of Shakespeare’s characters would you be most attracted to, if he/she was a real person? I like Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, but I think I’d have to go with Hamlet. Can’t really explain why. I guess I’m a sucker for the tragic hero. (Despite the fact that, as my sister said, “Hamlet’s kinda messed up … and his girlfriend went insane.”) (Erin says: I like Hamlet, too. He's in my top three. I probably wouldn't be able to deal with him for the long term, though.)

NAME: Jeffery Miller

ROLE: Ensemble/Parisian

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? Ryan in High School Musical

If you could do only one show ever again, what would it be? Probably How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying with my middle school kids (Erin says: May I assume you teach middle school theatre?)

What are your favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni and pineapple (Erin says: Together? Weird.)

Who’s cooler, Batman or Superman, and why? Batman is way cooler!!!!!! A real superhero doesn’t need powers!

If you had your pick, which of Shakespeare’s characters would you be most attracted to, if he/she was a real person? Haha I like Hermina :) (Erin says: What play is Hermina in? [I am such a jerk.])

Interviews, Part Un (that's "one", for you non-French speakers)

A new show, a new installment of "Get to Know the Cast and Crew!"

Michael Schaaff has informed me that he is "waiting with bated breath" for my commentary, so I'll try to be funny for you, Michael.

Here we go!

NAME: Shannon Montague
ROLE: FAA Agent (aka Mrs. FAA man)/Ensemble

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? (Just one!) I did Godspell about a year ago and sang the solo for “O Bless the Lord.” It’s such a fun show because it gives a lot of opportunity for improve and just having fun with your fellow ensemble members. In a lot of ways, the process so far with FOTLM reminds me of that.

Jerry’s dream is to fly – what is your dream? My secret dream is to be a cruise ship entertainer. It’s a career I’m pretty sure my family wouldn’t approve of.

Do you speak any languages (besides English) fluently? If so, what are they? The operative word is fluently, in which case the answer would be no. I even struggle with Pig Latin. I teach English and find simply understanding the nuances of it is enough work. (Erin says: Amen. People really don't understand exactly what a complex language English is. Oh, wait, I promised Michael I'd be funny, and that wasn't funny at all. Um ... okay, how many letters are there in the alphabet? 24, because ET went home. Hahaha, I slay me.)

What are your favorite pizza toppings? When I was in high school, the newspaper advisor introduced me to bacon and green pepper pizza. Everything is better with bacon. (Erin says: Um, YEAH it is.)

What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? I HATE Thin Mints. Just want to put that out there into the universe. I love Samoas in moderation and Trefoils. There’s also this new lemon flavor that’s pretty tasty. (Erin says: Shannon and I just might be the same person ... I don't know anyone else besides me who can't stand Thin Mints. I once ate one in a fit of "If I don't have something sweet right now I might die, and this is all there is", and it actually made things worse. I ended up running to 7-11 for a candy bar to get the taste out of my mouth. Oh, and Michael, no comment-section war about Girl Scout cookies this time ... after all, if Shannon liked Thin Mints, then you'd have to share.)

NAME: Cathy Arnold
ROLE: Amelia Earhart

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? Must be bare because the cast was amazing and I got to see 2 men kiss and that's really hot!

If you could do only one show ever again, what would it be? If I could do one show over it would be Cats because there are jellicle songs for jellicle cats (whatever the h*ll [Erin says: Come now, Cathy, this is a family-friendly blog!] that means!)

What are your favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni

A or B? Toilet paper roll has to be on the outside (B) . That is only proper!! And it is nice when folded in a triangle for easy access!

What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? Thin Mint cookies are the best girl scout cookie in the world!!!! You can buy lots of them and freeze them! (Erin says: Uh-oh, Michael, looks like you're gonna have to share.)

NAME: Michael Schaaff
ROLE: NASA Official, Walmart Employee, Ensemble, Assistant Costume

What is your favorite role/show worked on to date? (Just one!) Alan in bare: a pop opera (WHERE ARE MY CUPS!!!) and Ken de La Maize in The Musical Comedy Murders of the 1940s
(Yes Erin … I did 2!!! I’m a rebel) (Erin says: Strikethrough'd -- what now???)

Jerry’s dream is to fly – what is your dream? TO RAIN TERROR ON DOWNTOWN TOKYO!!! (Erin says: Michael answered this question specifically to justify the inclusion of his "Michael as Godzilla" picture. Whic is why his headshot is, um, him as Godzilla.)

This question un-intentionally left blank because Erin screwed up and hit "Enter" in the middle of a numbered list in Word. I am choosing to answer this question, which is I think the most thought provoking. How does one answer a blank question? I’d say 42. (Erin says: Douglas Adams for the win. Well played, my friend, well played.)

What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? VIVA LA THIN MINTS!! (Erin says: Sigh.)


A or B? B! It’s so much easier to find the end cause you can just spin it a little and ta-da. I actually will change it if I go to people’s houses or the public restroom (if I can) cause it bothers me. I’m forcing my choice onto other people!