Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Last night was opening night for The Graduate. It went very well. Despite a late start and some long set changes, I'm very pleased. The audience was great - very responsive and they seemed to enjoy themselves. The reviewer for the local newspaper was there and afterwards he booked (which isn't a good sign) but we'll see what the paper says this week. Regardless, much of the audience absolutely loved it which is all that matters.
Here is an article about it from the paper last Thursday:
"I've been seeing an older woman..."
'Graduate' brings back the classic sound, story
By Don Snider
"Here's to you Mrs. Robinson ... dee da dee dee ..."
Yes, here's to the woman, who with only a surname, helped boost the names of Simon and Garfunkel, Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross.
Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft, was the seductive woman in the classic coming-of-age film "The Graduate."
That was in 1967.
Mary Tuminello, of Orland Park, like many people of that generation, remembers it well.
But a few years ago, she would never have dreamed she would be playing Mrs. Robinson on stage. Now she is part of the Spotlight Theater's "The Graduate" at Bloom High School Auditorium.
"The Graduate" will open Friday and run two weekends. Directed by Jeff Gamlin, it's Spotlight Theater's debut and the first time the show has been given community theater script rights in the Chicago area.
Tuminello came to community theater on a whim, cast unexpectedly as Mother Moss in the Orland Park Theatre Troupe's "Register Here" in 2002. She's since gone on to more than a half dozen roles.
"Community theater has really been good to me," Tuminello says. "It's become a big part of my life."
Tuminello's Mother Moss was one of the lead roles in a trilogy with the Orland Troupe, and she was a standout as Mrs. Potiphar in the OPTT's "Joseph" a couple of weeks ago.
But Mrs. Robinson should be her real breakthrough.
"There's a lot more dialogue," she says.
But more importantly, it gives Tuminello a chance to add to her acting range in the role that dominates the comedy, along with Benjamin, played by Kevin Folliard (Hoffman, in the movie).
Since "The Graduate" became a stage play in 2000, such name actresses as Kathleen Turner, Lorraine Bracco, Linda Gray and Morgan Fairchild have played Mrs. Robinson.
"I'm not like Mrs. Robinson at all," Tuminello says about the subtle, coldly calculating stage demeanor the role requires.
"I'm Italian (heritage)," she said. "I keep wanting to be more expressive. Jeff (Gamlin) keeps reminding me not to use my arms so much."
Otherwise, Tuminello fits the bill as Mrs. Robinson perfectly. She's attractive, and of the right age range for what has been called a "generation gap" movie.
"The Graduate" deserves to be called a classic story on many fronts. The soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel is still popular today, with Mrs. Robinson's bare leg an iconic album cover.
And then there are the film's many catch phrases that remain memorable. Such as:
"Plastics." "You're trying to seduce me, aren't you Mrs. Robinson?" "Half-baked? No, it's completely baked all-right."
Once you heard them, you never forgot them.
Despite the fact it's almost 40 years old, "The Graduate" has been seen by many of today's twentysomethings.
For example, Jane Cox, of Homewood, who will play the role of Elaine Robinson. She's had a number of parts with Spotlight Theater's predecessor, the Greater Matteson Community Theatre, including off-the-wall roles in "Murder's Bad but Mondays Can Kill You" and "The Rocky Horror Show."
"I've seen 'The Graduate' two or three times (on video or TV)," she said. "I don't think it's dated at all. Maybe the styles are, but certainly not the themes."
But like Tuminello, Cox doesn't believe she's really anything like the character she's playing.
"Elaine, in the play, is a overly enthusiastic and displays a bit of goofiness," she says.
"I don't identify with her very much. Actually, I'd like to play Mrs. Robinson."
Well, truth be told, Bancroft and Hoffman were playing out of real-life character, too.
Bancroft had a distinguished career at the time and had won an Oscar for portraying Annie Sullivan in "The Miracle Worker" in 1962.
But Bancroft was only 36 when "The Graduate" was made. Hoffman, playing a new college grad (presumably about 22), was 30, only six years younger.
But ironically, Bancroft (real name Anna Maria Italiano), like Tuminello, is of Italian descent.
" So here's to you Mrs. Robinson ... dee da dee dee ..."
IF YOU GO ...
WHAT: Spotlight Theater's "The Graduate."
WHERE: Bloom Trail High School Auditorium, 22331 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago Heights.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7:30 p.m. May 6 and 3 p.m. May 7.
TICKETS: $14; students and seniors $10; not recommended for children.
PHONE: (708) 758-1849.
Here is an article about it from the paper last Thursday:
"I've been seeing an older woman..."
'Graduate' brings back the classic sound, story
By Don Snider
"Here's to you Mrs. Robinson ... dee da dee dee ..."
Yes, here's to the woman, who with only a surname, helped boost the names of Simon and Garfunkel, Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross.
Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft, was the seductive woman in the classic coming-of-age film "The Graduate."
That was in 1967.
Mary Tuminello, of Orland Park, like many people of that generation, remembers it well.
But a few years ago, she would never have dreamed she would be playing Mrs. Robinson on stage. Now she is part of the Spotlight Theater's "The Graduate" at Bloom High School Auditorium.
"The Graduate" will open Friday and run two weekends. Directed by Jeff Gamlin, it's Spotlight Theater's debut and the first time the show has been given community theater script rights in the Chicago area.
Tuminello came to community theater on a whim, cast unexpectedly as Mother Moss in the Orland Park Theatre Troupe's "Register Here" in 2002. She's since gone on to more than a half dozen roles.
"Community theater has really been good to me," Tuminello says. "It's become a big part of my life."
Tuminello's Mother Moss was one of the lead roles in a trilogy with the Orland Troupe, and she was a standout as Mrs. Potiphar in the OPTT's "Joseph" a couple of weeks ago.
But Mrs. Robinson should be her real breakthrough.
"There's a lot more dialogue," she says.
But more importantly, it gives Tuminello a chance to add to her acting range in the role that dominates the comedy, along with Benjamin, played by Kevin Folliard (Hoffman, in the movie).
Since "The Graduate" became a stage play in 2000, such name actresses as Kathleen Turner, Lorraine Bracco, Linda Gray and Morgan Fairchild have played Mrs. Robinson.
"I'm not like Mrs. Robinson at all," Tuminello says about the subtle, coldly calculating stage demeanor the role requires.
"I'm Italian (heritage)," she said. "I keep wanting to be more expressive. Jeff (Gamlin) keeps reminding me not to use my arms so much."
Otherwise, Tuminello fits the bill as Mrs. Robinson perfectly. She's attractive, and of the right age range for what has been called a "generation gap" movie.
"The Graduate" deserves to be called a classic story on many fronts. The soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel is still popular today, with Mrs. Robinson's bare leg an iconic album cover.
And then there are the film's many catch phrases that remain memorable. Such as:
"Plastics." "You're trying to seduce me, aren't you Mrs. Robinson?" "Half-baked? No, it's completely baked all-right."
Once you heard them, you never forgot them.
Despite the fact it's almost 40 years old, "The Graduate" has been seen by many of today's twentysomethings.
For example, Jane Cox, of Homewood, who will play the role of Elaine Robinson. She's had a number of parts with Spotlight Theater's predecessor, the Greater Matteson Community Theatre, including off-the-wall roles in "Murder's Bad but Mondays Can Kill You" and "The Rocky Horror Show."
"I've seen 'The Graduate' two or three times (on video or TV)," she said. "I don't think it's dated at all. Maybe the styles are, but certainly not the themes."
But like Tuminello, Cox doesn't believe she's really anything like the character she's playing.
"Elaine, in the play, is a overly enthusiastic and displays a bit of goofiness," she says.
"I don't identify with her very much. Actually, I'd like to play Mrs. Robinson."
Well, truth be told, Bancroft and Hoffman were playing out of real-life character, too.
Bancroft had a distinguished career at the time and had won an Oscar for portraying Annie Sullivan in "The Miracle Worker" in 1962.
But Bancroft was only 36 when "The Graduate" was made. Hoffman, playing a new college grad (presumably about 22), was 30, only six years younger.
But ironically, Bancroft (real name Anna Maria Italiano), like Tuminello, is of Italian descent.
" So here's to you Mrs. Robinson ... dee da dee dee ..."
IF YOU GO ...
WHAT: Spotlight Theater's "The Graduate."
WHERE: Bloom Trail High School Auditorium, 22331 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago Heights.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7:30 p.m. May 6 and 3 p.m. May 7.
TICKETS: $14; students and seniors $10; not recommended for children.
PHONE: (708) 758-1849.