Downton
Goes
Downtown
Lewis and script-editor Jeremy
Limb, we came up with a
Downton-based impressions
show:' he says. "It made a tour in
the U.K. and went to Moscow and
Spain. A completely new show is
coming to America:'
Called "the Energizer
Bunny of impres-
sionsts" by the
Huffington Post, the
tall, dark and hand-
Luke Kempner
can transform into
a Lady of the Manor
with a raise of his
eyebrows.
Cultures clash as
a one-man tour-
de-force brings his
Downton Abbey
parody to Detroit.
Luke Kempner performs
"America's Got Downton"
at 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday,
April 12, at the City
Theatre in Detroit.
$43. (313) 471-6611;
olympiaentertainment.
COM.
I
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
A
s producers of the hit
PBS series Downton
Abbey wind down
programming, nonstop fan Luke
Kempner winds up "America's Got
Downton," his one-man touring
stage parody of the popular saga.
Kempner, who acts out
Downton's continuing characters,
along with additional celebrities,
will appear twice on Sunday, April
12, at the City Theatre in Detroit.
The theme of his production
repeats a continuing thrust of the
series — saving the massive estate
from financial ruin.
"I think my show is really
good fun, a celebration of the
quirks of the television show:'
says Kempner, 27, in a phone
conversation from his London
home. "It's very silly and moves
very quickly. I have a complete
[presentation] with a beginning,
middle and end:'
Kempner has watched each epi-
sode of Downton Abbey at least 10
times to get the hang of the voices
and mannerisms. "[As a fan,] I
think the characters are so well-
formed, and the performances are
so good:' he says. "I just want to
flick on [an episode] and see what
they're up to:'
Kempner, who takes on 40
parts, solidified his interest in
becoming an entertainer when
he was 16. A teacher suggested
drama studies, and an audition
resulted in a scholarship offered
by the Guildford School of Acting,
part of the University of Surrey.
"I was always the class clown,"
he says. "I never was rude to
teachers, but I always wanted to
show off and make people laugh.
In drama school, I made fun of all
the teachers, always light-heart-
edly, [and moved on to] impres-
sions of celebrities:'
Kempner believes he can take
on so many characters because he
has a malleable voice. "I can move
it to a lot of different places:' he
explains, then readily demon-
strates. "I can bring it down to
talk like Mr. Carson (the butler)
or I can move it around to talk
like Mrs. Patmore (the cook):'
Kempner also sings in the
show, building on musical-theater
experience in South Pacific and
Les Miserables. Other credits
include roles in Sleeping Beauty
and Avenue Q.
The idea for the touring pro-
duction came after Kempner
started putting Downton Abbey
impersonations on YouTube.
"They got a lot of hits online, and
one Downstairs at Downton clip
became viral," Kempner says.
"From that, a producer, James
Seabright, came to me and said
he'd like to make a live show of
my impressions:'
Kempner got to work writing.
"Between us, director Owen
IN THE FAMILY
Kempner is not the only perform-
er is his family. His sister, Sooz
Kempner, is a standup comedian
who acts out characters and
sings. Three years older than her
brother, she has remained a big
influence and life coach.
And Pongo, his Chihuahua with
fiancee, DJ Alana MacFarlane,
played Bruiser on the stage in
Legally Blonde — he still responds
to his stage name.
"We got him because of my
background in musical theater:'
Kempner says. "Some friends
were re-homing their three
Chihuahuas who used to work on
the play:'
Kempner, who comes from a
family of Austrian Jews — and
says that Judaism has provided a
strong sense of community and
held the family together through
tragedies — does play favor-
ites: His favorite member of the
Downton community is Maggie
Smith as Lady Violet.
"I love watching [and playing]
her as the dowager countess:' he
says. "She has so many great one-
liners. I also love performing as
her because she can be so cutting-
edge. I play her sometimes very
flirty and sometimes very naugh-
ty. I think if Maggie Smith came
to watch my show, she would
enjoy that:'
Although this will be
Kempner's first working trip to
America, he has traveled as a
tourist enjoying Broadway shows.
His late grandfather lived in
Maine, and he knows people in
Connecticut.
"I think Americans will
appreciate a British person com-
ing over doing Downton Abbey
impressions and impressions of
people who traveled to America
— Gordon Ramsay [food show
host, who also is Jewish], Ricky
Gervais [comedian] and Russell
Brand [performer and activist]:'
the versatile entertainer says.
"I just can't wait to see the dif-
ferent audiences:'
❑
April 9 • 2015
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