arts & life
Ode To A
A local actor helps the
Village Players honor
the late Harper Lee in
their production of
To Kill a Mockingbird.
E
ric Goldstein could not
anticipate the timeliness
of his role in To Kill a
Mockingbird for the Village Players
of Birmingham.
The run of the play, through
March 20, comes just after the
death at age 89 of Harper Lee, the
author widely lauded for the 1960
novel that served as foundation for
the namesake theater piece.
Plans to present the drama,
adapted by Christopher Sergel,
preceded the season and reflected a
longtime interest in honoring Lee’s
talents. The play, which addresses
racism and explores the imperative
of viewing the world through the
perspective of others, can be seen
on weekends.
“Actors don’t often get to be in a
classic so I appreciate this oppor-
tunity,” says Goldstein, who plays
Sheriff Tate in the story about a
man wrongly accused and brought
to trial.
“I was told to read the book
in junior high, and I’ve seen the
movie. This script has great integ-
rity with both. It’s great to honor
Harper Lee, what she has given to
the public with the opportunity for
PHOTO BY MICHAEL BROWN
theater
Harper Lee, c. 1960
Mockingbird
Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer
thought.”
Goldstein, an attorney who can
relate to the experiences of the
courtroom production, considers
the role of sheriff a challenge and
a gift. He takes the part played by
Frank Overton in the movie star-
ring Gregory Peck as the compel-
ling defense lawyer.
“The character of sheriff pro-
vides a unique arc,” Goldstein
explains. “He starts out on one
side of a controversy and ends up
on another. In the course of the
trial, the sheriff confronts evidence
but is helpless to stop the wheels
of injustice. Taking him through
the evolution shows how we can
change with more experience.”
The drama, in the 93rd season of
Village Players, is Goldstein’s first
role with the company he got to
know as a member of the audience
and the father of a participant in
its youth theater. He saw Annie Get
Your Gun in a program that bene-
fitted the SandCastles grief support
initiative offered by the Henry Ford
Health System, and he became a
volunteer as his daughter Miriam
won roles.
“I’ve been very active with the
Eric Goldstein
Rosedale Community Players,”
says Goldstein, who studied act-
ing at Interlochen Arts Camp. “In
my years at Detroit Country Day
School and in student organiza-
tions at the University of Michigan,
I was involved with theater. I credit
Miriam with reigniting that inter-
est.”
Goldstein, 51 and a Southfield
resident, returned to the stage in
2011, when a family friend told
him about auditions for Rosedale,
which is based at the Peace
Lutheran Church in Southfield.
That started his participation
in many productions, including
Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Superior
Donuts and Drinking Alone.
Goldstein, who also appeared in
Bus Stop for the Ridgedale Players,
recalls portraying a Jewish charac-
ter, writer Ben Hecht, in Moonlight
and Magnolias for Rosedale. The
production had to do with the
writing of the movie Gone with the
Wind.
“I was pleased to portray history
and him,” says Goldstein, who has
been active with Temple Emanu-El
in Oak Park.
Goldstein’s wife, Margaret Sands-
Goldstein, gets involved with
theater by volunteering to help
with the costumes. Older daughter
Rachel prefers being in the audi-
ence.
“There are two components to
my interest in community theater
— the sense of community and
the creative aspect,” Goldstein says.
“Experiences are both invigorating
and life-affirming.
“People choose to come together
to put on a good show, and that
means bonding and friendships; it’s
not so easy to bond in other situ-
ations. The experience also has to
do with understanding a story and
finding ways to portray it — taking
something two-dimensional and
adding meaning not found on the
written page to bring it to life with
three dimensions.”
Goldstein is extending his the-
ater interests by writing. His play,
Unsaid, recently was featured
in a staged reading by Rosedale
Community Players and is in com-
petition for a full production.
“The play is about a man and
woman who take on new identities
in the face of white supremacy and
test their loyalties to each other and
their new community in the pro-
cess,” Goldstein explains.
As To Kill a Mockingbird claims
Goldstein’s current attention,
he gives special thanks to Tim
Wittlinger, a fellow attorney who is
a director saluting the cast, which
includes Paul Gillin as Atticus
Finch, Elena Pfeiffer as Scout and
Ronnie Glen as Tom Robinson.
“The cast has worked overtime
to portray the true feelings and
dilemmas about their characters’
lives, hopes and fears,” Wittlinger
says. “I hope the audience appre-
ciates how closely these stories
reflect their own.”
*
details To Kill a Mockingbird runs Fridays-Sundays through March 20 at the Village Players of Birmingham. $15-$21. (248) 644-2075; birminghamvillageplayers.com.
46 March 10 • 2016