s
I,
NEW YORK from page 70
LONERS IN LOVE on page 71
Mexican) believes that Ben, a strug-
gling artist, is a portrait of the man he
might have become had he not lucked
into a show business career. That hap-
pened by accident when, with zero
acting experience, he tagged along
with friends to an open casting call for
Herb Gardner's Conversations of My
Father — a play about self-hating Jews
and anti-Semitism — around 1990.
By the age of 13, he was playing Judd
Hirsch's younger self in the Broadway
production.
His paycheck helped pay for his
bar mitzvah: "We couldn't afford to
rent a hall, so we had the reception-
in the synagogue's basement — lox
and bagels only," Krumholtz recalls.
opportunities would be greater.
After getting to know a group of
artists hanging out at a cafe, he had his
first play, So Long at the Fair, produced
in New York in 1963. As he became
more entrenched in theater, Wilson
became one of the founders of the
Circle Repertory Company in 1969 and
wrote for specific actors, including Jeff
Daniels, who recently invited Wilson to
write two plays for the Purple Rose
Theatre Company in Chelsea.
"I was at the Purple Rose seven or
eight times to get familiar with their
acting company in order to write for
them," Wilson says. "The first play,
Book of Days, is about a small town's
morality. The other, Rain Dance, is
about four people waiting to be taken
to the site where the first atomic bomb
is tested."
Fifth of July, part of the Talley family
play trilogy that also includes Talky &
Son, has a part originally written for
Daniels.
"My Jewish accountant is the model
for Matt in Talley Folly, and my mother
is the model for Sally," explains Wilson,
who has won the Brandeis University
Creative Arts Award in Theatre Arts.
"The only other Jewish character in
my plays is Mr. Katz in The Hot L
Baltimore. I had lived around very
sophisticated Jewish people, and I was
very fond of the humorous rhythms of
their dialogue."
Wilson, who just completed a new
translation of Ibsen's play Ghosts, is
thinking about possible topics for his
next writing project. He's had more
time for independent theatrical explo-
ration since the closing of the Circle
Repertory Company in 1995.
"I'm incredibly impressed with the
pool of talent that's in the Detroit
area, and I'm very thrilled that the area
gets to see another play of mine,"
Wilson says. ❑
David Krumholtz, cast as Ben, a shlubby
doorman, attempts to win the heart of
Ashley played by Brittany Murphy.
He says his father, the son of Polish
immigrants, didn't have a problem
with his career choice "because for
him, my acting success felt like,
`Finally, we are making a name for
ourselves in America.'"
While still in his teens, Krumholtz
began landing roles in films such as
10 Things I Hate About.You and
Slums of Beverly Hills, in which his
character stole a scene by belting out
a Sinatra song in his underwear. In
the short-lived Fox-TV series,
Monty, he portrayed actor, David
Schwimmer's brother.
Along the way, he says, "I've had a
really hard time getting away from
the Jewish typecasting thing. I'd like
to play a range of characters and not
just do ethnic roles." ❑
Sidewalks of New York is playing
at the Star Southfield and
Uptown Birmingham theaters.
•
JET's Talley Folly will be per-
formed Nov. 28-Dec. 31-at the
West Bloomfield JCC.
Performances start at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Sundays; 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2
p.m. Sundays. There will be two
performances New Year's Eve, 7
and 10 p.m., with refreshments
at the first performance and a
midnight breakfast at the second.
$18-$28 except for New Year's
Eve, when prices are $40 and
$60. (248) 788-2900.
Cordially invites you
to celebrate with us
We have been serving the Finest Italian Cuisine
in Michigan for 62 years
Call To Make Your Holiday Party
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(248) 373-4440
885 Opdyke Road (Across from the Silverdome)
1939
Monday Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. • Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. • Sunday 12 noon to 9 p.m.
Serving memorable Italian lunches and dinners since
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(248) 788-2500 • FAX: (248) 788-4302
5540 DRAKE RD. (in the Rite Aid Plaza) • W. BLOOMFIELD
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