P l u m
P a rt
Tony Roberts returns to Broadway
in "The Sisters Rosenzweig."
ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ony Roberts is
thrilled to be back
on Broadway. As
the curtain slowly ris-
es on one of his
evening performances
of
The Sisters
Rosensweig and he en-
ters the stage as
Mervyn Kant, the
earthy, Jewish male protagonist,
the audience smiles. When his
deep voice resonates throughout
the theater, not another sound
can be heard. By the time the
curtain falls, he has captured
everyone's heart with his irre-
sistible charm. The proof? The
standing ovation and loud show-
er of applause when he takes his
final bow.
"There is nothing like a theater
audience," said Mr. Roberts from
his dressing room at the Ethel
Barrymore Theater in New York
"It's almost like a religious expe-
rience to look into a whole the-
ater of 1,100 people, to see them
still and quiet and focused and
laughing and getting a tear in the
eye all at the same time. It's an
incredible feeling to know that
everything is clicking."
Mr. Roberts said he feels very
lucky to play the role of Mervyn
Kant. In fact, he had to wait a
year after auditioning to actual-
ly land the part.
"When I first read Wendy
Wasserstein's play The Sister's
Rosensweig, I fell in love with the
character of Mervyn and desper-
ately wanted to play him," said
Mr. Roberts. He took over the role
earlier this year and is the third
actor to portray him.
"My agent arranged for an au-
dition and I worked very, very
hard and was more nervous
about it than anything else that
I can remember. When it was
over, my agent told me that al-
though the producers thought I
was very good, they decided to
cast Robert Klein. I was disap-
pointed at the time, but was
thrilled later when they finally
did cast me."
Mr. Roberts paused for a sec-
ond and smiled. "It's a funny
thing. I don't always
audition well. I guess I
get nervous, and not all
of my auditions turn
out great."
Oddly enough, it
was one of his not-so-
perfect auditions that
led to Mr. Roberts'
first encounter with
his longtime friend
Woody Allen.
"While I was per-
forming in Barefoot in
the Park on Broadway
I auditioned four or five
times for Woody's play
Tony Roberts loves the audience.
but it was never quite right," re-
called the actor. "One day Woody
came walking into my dressing
room after a performance of Bare-
foot in the Park and said, 'For
God's sake, you are so good. Why
are you so bad at the auditions?
You have the part!"
Impressed with Mr. Roberts'
Work, Mr. Allen went on to star
him in a slew of films, including
Unlike some of the pitfalls that
many eager actors face while try-
ing to earn a name for them-
selves, Mr. Roberts' road to
success was relatively smooth.
"When I was about 8 years old,
I knew I wanted to be an actor,"
said Mr. Roberts, who grew up in
Manhattan. His father, Kenneth
Roberts, had been a stage actor
and later a successful radio and
Annie Hall, Play it Again Sam, A television announcer.
Midsummer Night's Sex Come-
"It was a natural for me, since
dy, Radio Days and Hannah I had been around many people
and her Sisters. According to Mr. in the business. I used to go the
Roberts, working with Woody studio with my father and watch
Allen is one of the greatest plea- the actors."
sures of all time.
Not being athletic as a child,
"Woody knows what he wants drama was a safe outlet. "I was a
and that in itself is extraordinary," fat kid and couldn't win any
he said. "He is very professional points at camp with things that
and businesslike and runs a very were important to other kids —
happy ship. At first it was hard to like running the bases fast or
get to know him, because he was tackling people," said the now-
so desperately shy. But we became trim actor. "But I could recite
very good friends."
lines from a play."
Mr. Roberts attributes his blos-
After graduating from New
soming film career to Woody York's High School of Music and
Allen. After his face became syn- Art, he earned a degree in drama
with Allen's movies, from Northwestern University.
Don't Drink the Water, onymous
other cinema parts came his In the fall of 1961, he landed his
way—including leading roles in first professional part in a play
The Taking of Pelham 123, 18 called Something About a Soldier,
Tony Roberts and Michael
Again, Star Spangled Girl, starring Sal Mineo.
Learned rehearse.
Switch, Serpico and Le Sauvage.
That led to other Broadway
plays, including starring roles in
Jerome Robbins' Broadway;
They're Playing Our Song;
Promises, Promises; How Now,
Dow Jones; Take Her, She's Mine;
and Barefoot in the Park.
In the summer of 1962 he ap-
peared with the national road
company at Detroit's Fisher
Theatre in Come Blow Your
Horn.
Although he does not have a
favorite co-star, he especially en-
joyed working with Lucie Arnaz
in They're Playing Our Song, and
with Carol Burnett on her CBS
television variety show. Howev-
er, Mr. Roberts says he prefers
theater to television or film.
"You don't get stopped in the
middle of a scene, and perform-
ing on the stage gives you that
immediate effect — it's palpable
and happening at the moment,"
he said.
Is there anything that makes
the actor uneasy during a per-
formance? "Sure," admitted Mr.
Roberts, who is divorced and has
one daughter, Nicole, who re-
cently graduated from North-
western. "It's always difficult to
perform in front of your parents,
child, family and old friends.
PLUM PART page 81