58 | APRIL 11 • 2024 
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N

I

n her acting career portraying 
many characters, Amanda 
Buchalter has taken on roles 
that have included a mouse and 
a human with wolfish tenden-
cies. This season, she gets to be a 
squirrel in a play that tells a story 
as animals depict human issues 
through a cast numbering eight.
The Michigan premiere of The 
Squirrels presents a dark comedy 
by Robert Askins, who wrote 
the Tony Award-nominated play 
Hand to God. 
“This is a really unique play 
in that it’s about squirrels not 
letting little differences get in the 
way of kindness and taking care 
of each other,
” said Buchalter, in 
her first appearance, now-May 5, 
for the Tipping Point Theatre in 
Northville.
“I have a really interesting role 
because I’m also assistant stage 
manager while being one of the 

ensemble squirrels. I’ll be on and 
off stage quite a lot. You’ll see the 
cast in pants and skirts, shirts and 
scarves. We’ll have tails and things 
like that, but we’re not in a full fur 
suit. 
“Our faces are going to be front 
and center as we communicate.
” 
The production, directed by 
Tipping Point artistic director 
Julia Glander and intended for 
mature audiences, introduces a 
head squirrel who has collected 
enough nuts to last 10 winters 
and is begged to share them by a 
group of starving squirrels. 
Animosity turns into war as 
issues addressed are described 
as good and evil, power and 
tribalism. The difficulties posed 
by climate change enter into the 
production.
“I think it’s fun being a squir-
rel,
” Buchalter said. “It’s kind of 
refreshing because there’s so much 

energy and you have to be really 
present when you’re playing an 
animal. It’s necessary to think 
about how you’re carrying your-
self, and with a squirrel, there’s so 
much in the moment.
”
Buchalter, 28 and single, started 
thinking about an acting career 
when she was 8 years old and 
her mother took her to see a 
professional production of the 
musical Oliver at the Fox Theatre 
in Detroit. As cast openings later 
became available in a local presen-
tation of Oliver by the Spotlight 
Players in Canton, Buchalter was 
chosen for a part.
“I remember finishing the 
opening number, ‘Food, Glorious 
Food,
’ and sliding on my knees 
to the very end of the stage,
” 
Buchalter said. “We had a very full 
house, and they broke into huge 
applause. It was so rewarding see-
ing that. I wanted to act forever. 
There was nothing else like this.
”
Buchalter, who appeared 
in productions at Salem High 
School in Canton, where she still 

lives, went on to earn a theater 
degree from Eastern Michigan 
University. Among the many 
productions that have included 
her are The Winter Wolf at Penny 
Seats Theatre Company in Ann 
Arbor, Maestro at the Roustabout 
Theatre Troupe in Ypsilanti and 
Romeo and Juliet for the Michigan 
Shakespeare Festival Interstate 
Tour. 
Amid her many theater com-
mitments, including stage manag-
ing, Buchalter took time to go on 
a trip to Israel with a Birthright 
group, which was starting up 
again after isolation brought on to 
fight COVID. 
Although she wanted to see 
theater in that county, the tight 
schedule of the group did not 
allow for that experience. She 
was able to see theater in anoth-
er country when she visited 
Germany last year. The actress 
was in the audience for a produc-
tion of Cabaret.
Buchalter’s early years, includ-
ing preparation for her bat 
mitzvah, were based on studies 
at a since-discontinued Reform 
congregation in Canton, which 
shared space with a Methodist 
community. 
With stage oppor-tunities lim-
ited because of COVID, Buchalter 
worked as a part-time admin-
istrative assistant for Autumn 
Insurance & Benefits in Novi and 
is thinking of transitioning to full-
time work there as she pursues 
acting interests also expressed 
through film and podcast projects.
“
Among my goals, I would love 
to support myself with my art, but 
my biggest goal is finding ways 
to tell stories that bring people 
together and create a sense of 
community and comfort with 
each other,
” Buchalter said. “That’s 
what I hope to do whether work-
ing on stage or backstage. 
“I think The Squirrels has a 
story for right now and a story 
that we all potentially can take 
from. The Squirrels does an excel-
lent job of balancing the ridicu-
lous with the things that need to 
be taken seriously.
” 

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

Amanda Buchalter takes on the role 
of a squirrel in this dark comedy 
presented by the Tipping Point Theatre.

A Nutty Role

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY TRACY SPADAL

Amanda 
Buchalter

The Cast of 
The Squirrels
Details
The Squirrels will be 
presented now-May 
5 at the Tipping Point 
Theatre, 361 E. Cady St., 
Northville. Tickets start 
at $32. In collaboration 
with the Northville Tree 
Champions, there will 
be a free pre-glow 
at 5 p.m. April 13 for 
ticket holders on that 
day. (248) 347-0003. 
tippingpointtheatre.com.

