tertainment

First-time
playwright's
comedy, White's
Lies, will be
performed at
Meadow Brook
Theater.

Twistin

Ron Williams as Joe White and Henrietta
Hermelin as his mother, Mrs. White, in the
Meadow Brook Theatre production of White's Lies

I

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

long time, lived to see her grandchild:' says
Andron, 36. "It was one of the most loving
moments to watch the woman with the
laywright Ben Andron found a
baby:'
starting point for comedy in the
The play, making its Michigan debut, is
traumatic experience of a friend,
directed by Travis Walter and features Ron
and he imagined a series of events that
Williams as Joe, Emily Rose as Debbie,
developed into White's Lies, the current pro- Peter Prouty as Mark, Henrietta Hermelin
duction at Meadow Brook Theatre.
as Mrs. White, Sarab Kamoo as Barbara
Before getting deep into this writing proj- and Katie Hardy as Michelle.
ect, Andron asked for the friend's approval.
Hermelin, seen many times at the Jewish
Not only did he get that, he also got the
Ensemble Theatre, says this play has taught
friend's participation in the evolution of the
her that there are many fewer than six
comedy.
degrees of separation in relationships.
White's Lies, being
Since accepting the role
staged through Feb. 3,
played by Betty Buckley
introduces a bachelor on
in New York, Hermelin
a guilt trip that gets ever
has learned that the
more complicated as the
playwright is a profes-
play progresses.
sional colleague and good
After Joe White's dying
friend of her son-in-law,
mother confesses that her
former Michiganian
only regret is not having a
Neal Spector. At least
grandchild, he establishes
one grandchild has
a series of whoppers that
been taught by Andron's
grow to impede his actual
wife, who is known by
romantic interests.
Hermelin's daughter Lisa
"It's the kind of play
through school activities.
that has people leaving
"My experiences as a
mother have given me
with smiles on their
Playwright Ben Andron
faces:' says Andron in
insight for this play," says
a phone conversation from his California
Hermelin, who looks forward to meet-
home. "They've watched the lies create
ing Andron. "It's not always easy to step
chaos for the main character:'
back and respect our own children's adult-
Joe White, Andron explains, is nothing
hood. It's hard for a mother to just hold
like his friend, who loved the script and
her tongue and hope a stumbling son or
participated in the living room readings
daughter can see what is being done wrong
through all the revisions. The fmal piece
at times:'
was staged Off-Broadway in 2010.
Andron, born in New York and raised in
Miami, originally wanted to get into film
"The cool part of the story is that my
friend did get married and have a child,
production. He majored in English and
and his mother, who battled cancer for a
motion pictures at the University of Miami

p

and moved to California after graduation.
"I had minor successes with writing, sell-
ing to Disney animation and the BBC, but it
really wasn't happening the way I wanted:'
he says. "I became a producer of movie
marketing and was involved with trailers
and TV spots for new films."
The Harry Potter series and Parental
Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette
Midler have claimed his attention.
"I had been active in the theater pro-
gram at the Hillel Community Day School
in Miami," Andron recalls about his early
interest in the stage. "A few years ago, a
friend from those times was working in
New York theater and said if I could write
a comedy that fit certain parameters, he
could get it produced.
"I pitched him the idea about my friend,
and he thought it was very funny. As I
started to get the hang of what I was asked
to do, I started to get more passionate about
the idea of playwriting. I had a blast hearing
my words aloud:'
Andron, who is Orthodox, believes that
theater offers him more opportunity to
express his personal ideas.
"I can exercise my creative muscles doing
the trailers, but there's also a hunger for me
to do something a little bit bigger; he says.
"I have a greater desire in creative expres-
sion that comments on society, religion and
the world in general, and playwriting fits
that need.
"I would love to see more of my shows
moving up. White's Lies is the only play
that's been produced so far. I have a few
others — still with comedic wrapping —
that are developing with a producer:'
Andron has worked closely with his
father on theater and writing projects,
including a book on energy healing. His

dad, who is involved with theater manage-
ment and acted in the New York production
of The Fantasticks, also has built a career in
alternative healthcare.
"My parents (Lillian and Michael
Andron) run J-CAT (Jewish Cultural Arts
Theatre) in North Miami Beach:' he says.
"It's one of the only shomer Shabbat com-
munity theaters not affiliated with a school.
It started 25 years ago as part of the Hillel
Community Day School, and they went off
on their own about five years ago.
Andron's wife, Michelle, is the vice prin-
cipal of Emek Hebrew Academy in LA.
They have one daughter and three sons.
Educational initiatives fall into the play-
wright's responsibilities as he holds the Los
Angeles charter to teach Tora Dojo, an all-
Jewish system of martial arts.
All the martial arts teach focus and
discipline," says Andron, who will be in
Michigan for the opening of his play.
"When I'm balancing playwriting with
movie marketing and being a husband and
father, the ability to focus and do exactly
what I need to do when I need to do it is
huge and absolutely necessary.
"Tora Dojo gives me grounding. It also
keeps me in shape as it provides a deeper
level of meaning to a lot of the things I
do:' ❑

White's Lies will be performed
through Feb. 3 at Meadow
Brook Theatre on the campus of
Oakland University in Rochester.
Performances are Wednesdays-
Sundays with differing times
for matinee and evening shows.
$25-$40. (248) 377-3300; www.
mbtheatre.com .

January 10 • 2013

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