This year's
Stratford Festival
marks the debut
olveteran actor
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the return of

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SUZANNE CHESSLER

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80

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

went to New York, and I've been working
ever since."
Waxman keeps his home in Toronto al-
though long-term engagements have
prompted him to get temporary residences
in New York and Los Angeles.
One role that took him away from home
but kept him close to Detroit was playing
Jack Adams in Net Worth, a movie about
the Red Wings. , r
"I've never acted in Yiddish, but I can
speak Yiddish," Waxman revealed. "On
June 23, I'm hosting the Ashkenazi Fes-
tival at the Ford Center in Toronto, where
some of the program will be in Yiddish."
A film with Jewish subject matter, The
Rescuers, will be on Showtime in the fall.
Waxman and his wife, Sara, a-journal-
ist, share a commitment to Jewish causes.
There is a medical center named after them
in a Jerusalem hospital, and over the years,
he has done work for B'nai B'rith and Is-
rael Bonds.
'1 try to balance the volunteer work that
I
do,"
Waxman said. Tve done work for the
Martha Henry, as Linda Loman, comforts Al Waxman, as her husband Willy, about his reversals of
United Appeal as well as the United Jew-
fortune in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
ish Appeal.
1 Waxman., who plays Willie Loman '70s and '80s. Now it's downsizing."
"I think it's because I have a sense of bal-
in the Stratford Festival's produc-
Waxman, appearing at Stratford for the ance that I'm treated with credibility by
tion of Death of a Salesman, first time, has found great variety while both Jews and non-Jews, and I think that's
builds every role from his per- working on Canadian television. His "King one of the reasons I was given the Order of
sonal foundation as a Canadian Jew.
of Kensington" series reached Detroit au- Canada (an award for service to country
American audiences saw the effects of diences.
and humanity) this past year."
that approach in his portrayal of a police
As host of "Missing Treasures," he helped
The Waxmans have two children, both
lieutenant in the hit detective series with the real search for children who had in their mid-20s. Adam is about to begin
"Cagney and Lacey."
vanished from home and was important to teaching English to high school students
"I could be playing an Irish cop in New finding three youngsters. As host of "Sim- in Japan. Tobaron (a combination of his
York, but I start from that same premise," ply Wine and Cheese," he presented cele- mother's and father's names, Toba and
said Waxman, now in the midst of playing brated wine makers from around the world. Aron) concurrently studies theater at the
a traveling salesman who must confront a
"When I was in my teens, I did radio, University of Toronto and other forms of
faltering career.
television and summer stock," Waxman re- art at the Ontario College of Art.
"It gives me a basic honesty, and then called. '1 continued acting while studying
After finishing his run with Death of a
I add to that foundation — adjustments, law at the University of Western Ontario, Salesman, Waxman plans to travel with
characteristics, intentions, wardrobe and where I decided that I preferred acting. I his wife to New Zealand, where she has a
makeup to build into and equal another
character."
Waxman, 62, whose most recent work
has been on Canadian television and in
Twelve plays have been scheduled for this year's Stratford Festival season. The
American films, has long wanted to be cast
run dates for each of the plays, as listed below, include the preview time. Plays
in the Arthur Miller classic.
without start dates are currently running in repertory.
`The opportunity to play Willie Loman
The first four are at the Festival Theatre; the second four are at the Avon The-
came up a number of times, but I was nev-
atre, and the final four are at the Tom Patterson Theatre.
er available because of TV series and oth-
For tickets and other information, call (800) 567-1600.
er work," he explained. "Now, the timing
Camelot, by Alan Jay Lerner and
Filumena by Eduardo De Filippo:
is right and the place is right and the part
Frederick
Loewe:
Through
Nov.
8
July
31-Oct. 11
is right, so hopefully everything will work
The
Taming
of
the
Shrew,
by
Equus,
by Peter Shaffer: Sept. 3-Nov.
out right.
William Shakespeare: Through Nov. 8 9
"I think there's something profound in
Romeo and Juliet, by William
Richard III, by William Shake-
the character of Willie that makes the play
Shakespeare: Through Nov. 9
speare:
Through Sept 20
always relevant. Certainly, the concept of
Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles: July 31-
Juno and the Paycock, by Sean
a traveling salesman is perhaps past tense,
Oct. 11
O'Casey: Through Sept. 21
but the concept of selling is not.
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur
Coriolanus, by William Shake-
"Some of the problems of employment
Miller: Through Nov. 8
speare:
Through Sept. 20
and being discarded by an employer are
Little Women adapted from Louisa
Wingfield Unbound, by Dan Nee-
very current issues. Over the years, there
May Alcott's novel by Marisha Cham- dles: Aug. 5-Sept. 19
have been different names for all of it. Peo-
berlain: Through Nov. 8
ple got automated out of their jobs in the

PHOTOS BY CYLLA VON TI EDEMANN

aking the trek to
the Stratford
Festival in Strat-
ford, Ontario — a
2 1/2-hour ride from Detroit —
is a welcome summertime tra-
dition for many metro Detroi-
ters. This year, 12 plays —
running the gamut from
Shakespearean tragedy to a
musical. by Lerner and Loewe
— rotate in repertory. Two Jew-
ish actors make their mark this
season: Al Waxman takes on
the classic role of Willy Loman
in Arthur Miller's Death of a
Salesman, and Jennifer Gould,
in her third year as an under-
study at the festival, takes part
in the ensembles of three plays
while waiting for her "big
break." Meet them — up close
and personal.

The 1997 Stratford Season