Photo by Martha Swo e Assoc iate/Ca rol Rosegg
ister
ct
Faith and Jill Soloway.
The Soloway sisters parody "The Brady Bunch"
in a live reprise at the Strand Theatre.
SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
omewhere between
a party and a play"
is the way Jill
Soloway describes
The Real Live Brady
Bunch, the theater piece
she created and directed
with her sister, Faith.
Staged since 1990 and
now at the Strand Theatre
in Pontiac, the show pre-
sents parodies of actual
scripts from the long-run-
ning TV series "The Brady
Bunch," which captured
experiences of a widow
(Florence Henderson) with
three daughters, remar-
ried to a widower (Robert
Reed) with three sons.
The comedy derives
from the all-adult cast,
'70s music, a set-the-mood
quiz show and a living-
room feeling in the first
three rows, where the
seats have cushions.
During the Strand
engagement, continuing
through Sept. 4, one of
four different episodes is
being performed each
week. The current seg-
ment, "Silver Platters,"
features the kids going on
TV to sing "Sunshine
Day." Beginning Sept. 1,
the segment "Time to
Change," pokes fun at one
of the boys, whose matur-
ing voice turns squeaky.
"You go with a bunch of
friends and see a bunch of
friends," said Ms. Soloway,
27, who was a Brady fan
with her sister, now 29,
during their growing-up
years in Chicago. "It is a
way for our generation to
feel a sense of community."
The two never anticipat-
ed how the production
would change their lives.
"We just started this as
a lark," said Ms. Soloway,
who was working with a
documentary film compa-
ny and whose sister was a
musical director at comedy
clubs. "We didn't think it
was our career or our tick-
et to anything big. It was a
good time.
"We were very lucky
that it turned into some-
thing that brought us so
many other things. It got
us agents and other deals.
We were able to do more
plays."
The idea came about at
a party when a friend imi-
tated one of the characters
in the sitcom. The sisters
were so impressed that
they built the idea into a
play, choosing close friends
to be in the first cast with-
out conducting any audi-
tions.
"When we did it in
Chicago, we did it without
money," said Ms. Soloway,
who has spent summer
vacations in South Haven.
"We only did it one night a
week and went to thrift
shops to get costumes.
"We didn't need a pro-
ducer until after it became
a success in Chicago.
Then, producer Ron
Deosener approached us
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