Is Guy Stroman really a good choice for the director of the play with Emmy winner Sally Struthers?”
Two-time Emmy Award winner Sally Struthers will play the Fairy Godmother in Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, to play the Kavli stage at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, July 23-August 1, 2010. Struthers’ many stage credits include Nunsense, The Odd Couple, Grease, Anything Goes, The Full Monty, and Fiddler on the Roof. She won her Emmys for her role as Gloria on All in the Family. As previously announced, she will appear in The Ogunquit Playhouse production of All Shook Up later this year. The Cabrillo Music Theatre’s 2009-2010 season will also feature the classic musical Guys and Dolls (October 16-25), to be directed by Nick DeGruccio; The Andrews Brothers (February 5-14), a musical valentine to the heroes of World War II; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (April 23-May 2), the ultimate musical satire about corporate America; and a special holiday presentation of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (December 26-29), starring Da
Johnson gets second billing in Ted Swindley’s bio-drama, under Emmy Award-winner Sally Struthers, who plays a real-life fan who befriended Cline. Struthers’ performance is remarkable in its own way; it may or may not be to your taste. She pulls out all the comic stops, making silly faces, throwing in extra routines, running amok in the audience – over and over again. She brings to mind Mickey Rooney in his later years, laying on the ham like a Virginia farmer. Rooney seemed cynical as he disrupted the shows he toured in. Under Guy Stroman’s direction, on the other hand, Struthers projects warmth and a certain poignancy amid the madness. Struthers and Johnson have teamed up to do this show before, and they show teamwork. However zany Struthers gets, Johnson remains unfazed, even occasionally gets her own back.
Emmy award winner Sally Struthers and Julie Johnson co-star in the popular play with music ‘Always… Patsy Cline’, which began performances on June 2nd. Guy Stroman directed Tim Swindley’s work, and is determined to do justice to the play. Considering how closely he’s working with him, it’s hard to deny he did.
