Visiting Mr Green!
Read a special interview with writer at the bottom of this page!
Visiting
Mr. Green
Plays January 14 thru February 6
Visiting Mr. Green by Jeff Baron ran off-Broadway in New York from 1997
through 1998 with Eli Wallach in the title role, to much critical acclaim. It
opens at the Racine Theatre Guild on Friday, January 14 and runs four weekends
through February 6.
Mr. Green is an 86-year-old retired dry cleaner, a man who embodies
the term "curmudgeon." He lives in a messy, run-down apartment in
New York, bitter, lonely and unhappily coping with the death of his wife two
months ago. To his door comes Ross Gardiner, a young yuppie executive who works
for American Express and who has been ordered by a judge to do community service
for dangerous driving. The service the judge orders is to visit the man that
he nearly mowed down with his car.
Mr. Green does not want the attentions of this anxious young man,
and Ross does not want to waste his time making weekly visits to the crotchety
old man, but the judge won't relent. The play follows the visits that Ross makes,
first bringing food from the local deli, then offering to clean up the apartment
and have the phone reconnected. The men discover that they are both Jewish,
and that helps thaw Mr. Green's coldness toward the younger man.
The sharing between the two continues, until Ross reveals that he is gay, and that brings another conflict. As the play unfolds we learn that Mr. Green has family conflicts of his own, and he discovers a secret that his dear departed wife kept from him. In the end, the story is about acceptance, forgiveness and love.
Critics praised Visiting Mr. Green during its New York run.
"It tells a moving story about growing older, struggling with change and
staying open to love."-
Back Stage.
"An absorbing and touching play that leaves a heartwarming spirit."
- New York Law Journal
"Baron has captured the cliche of the cheap, narrow-minded Jewish Grandpa
perfectly. The one-liners are funny, and the play is inspired with comic timing."
- Village Voice
"Skillfully executed and passionately heartfelt... A feel-good winner."
-- Newsday
Visiting Mr. Green runs four weekends, January 14 through February 6. For
information or to reserve tickets, please call the Racine Theatre Guild Box
Office at 633-4218.
You won't want to miss this touching comedy where you can find humor and more
from Ross and Mr. Green.
From the Director - Doug Instenes
Happy New Year!
At the RTG we have been excited about the positive things happening so far
this season. Everyone seems very happy with our new look, including our lighted
outdoor sign. We've had four successful shows, including two musicals. We hosted
CNN with a live political debate in October, giving our theatre some national
television coverage. Most recently we celebrated the wonderful life of volunteers
Vi and Jim Yorgan.
Now we are looking forward to great things ahead, with Visiting Mr. Green,
Dead Guilty, I Ought to Be in Pictures, and the much-anticipated
The Music Man. These shows should give us a strong conclusion to our
67th season.
As we turn the calendar to 2005, many people make resolutions to better themselves,
mend fences, or try to improve in some way. That is one of the themes of
Visiting Mr. Green, a play about acceptance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
While this play deals specifically with just two families, as with all good
stories the real message is universal.
Our lives are enriched by the bonds forged with friends and family. We need
to maintain those connections of love and tolerance even though it is often
difficult. Forgiveness can overcome a multitude of sins, and if we turn away
from each other, our lives are very lonely indeed. Ross and Mr. Green learn
this in the play, and it is a good reminder to us all.
As you look at 2005 and what lies ahead, we at the RTG wish you and your family
a very prosperous and joyful New Year.
.
Visiting Mr. Green
by Jeff Baron
CAST
Mr. Green ............... George Mangold
Ross Gardiner ..... Christopher Smith
CREW
Director ................... Norman McPhee
Technical Dir. ..................... Kurt Oian
Scenic Design .............. Charles Erven
PSM/Light Design. ....... Brian Schalk
Sound Design .............. Kevin Hlavka
Stage Mgr. ....................... Russ Stetler
ASM ................................ Joan Roehre
Costume Design ........... Cindy David
Wardrobe Sup. ....... Karen Hamilton
Props ..... Jamie Johnson, Matt Specht
Light Tech. ................. Jon Eckblad
Sound Tech. ............... Marge Eckblad
About the Playwright
Jeff Baron
Jeff Baron is an eager and ambitious writer, willing to give much of his personal
time and attention to each production of his play. He shared some interesting
background about writing Visiting Mr. Green.
Jeff Baron's first play, Visiting Mr. Green, starred Eli Wallach and
was nominated as Best Play by the Drama League. After its year-long run at the
Union Square Theatre in New York, it has been performed in 27 countries winning
several international awards. He recently completed a screenplay for a film
of Visiting Mr. Green to star Eli Wallach.
Baron's second play, Mother's Day, has been produced in Australia, Germany,
and Brazil and Michigan. He has just finished two new plays, Mr. & Mrs.
G and (in collaboration with Moe Angelos) Edna and Joe Forever.
In addition to his work in theatre, Jeff Baron wrote and sold four screenplays.
For television, he has written for The Tracy Ullman Show, A Year in the Life,
Sisters, and Nickelodeon.
Jeff Baron also shared some insights into what it is like to become a playwright,
making the switch from the business world.
Callboard: How did you come to write your first play?
Jeff Baron: "I have always been a writer, ever since I was a child. I
was a film major at Northwestern University, and wrote and directed theatre
there as well. When I finished college, I needed to start earning a living and
fell into the business world. That included getting an MBA from Harvard and
working at high-level jobs for The Coca-Cola Company, and, like Ross Gardiner
in Visiting Mr. Green, for Amex.
"When I was working as a screenwriter, a friend came to me and told me
he thought his experiences visiting an old man in New York City might make an
interesting dramatic piece. Although it sounded very sweet, I didn't see any
conflict and put it aside.
"A few years later, I thought about this idea again. During those years,
my grandmother got to be very old and needed more help with daily life. We had
always been close, but our relationship changed and grew as I became more involved
in keeping her going.
"After she passed away, I went back to my list of possible ideas for what
I could write next. When I looked at the story of the old man and the young
man who came to visit him, I realized that the old man could be someone like
my grandmother, and the young man could be me.
Callboard: What was it like to produce your first play with an actor the stature
of Eli Wallach?
Jeff Baron: "I wrote Visiting Mr. Green without having any particular
actors in mind. I think for theatre, this is the way to work, because a lot
of different actors will have to play the roles. Also, when writing, the characters
become so vivid as themselves, that thinking about specific actors would be
limiting and not as interesting.
"After I finished a draft that I liked, I had a small public reading and
invited some people I knew in New York from the movie business. One producer
couldn't make the reading, but asked for a copy of the play. The producer never
read the play himself. He had his assistant read it, and write a one-page synopsis.
The assistant liked the play very much, so the producer called me in for a meeting.
It turned out that when I came for the meeting, the producer hadn't even read
the synopsis. He'd only read the one-sentence summary that the assistant wrote
at the top of the synopsis. I walked into the producer's office, and he said,
'Who are you thinking about for the old man?'
"I said that I had made a list of actors who might be interesting. He
said, 'How about Eli Wallach?' I said that Eli Wallach was one of the names
on my list.
"The producer picked up the phone and called Eli Wallach, who agreed to
read my play. A week later, I was in his apartment. I walked in, and he said,
'I'm never doing a play again.' He and his wife, Anne Jackson, had just starred
in a play together, and it hadn't done well. I listened, then asked him if he'd
consider doing a reading of Visiting Mr. Green for me. He said, 'Okay,
but I won't rehearse.'
"This, of course, made me a little nervous, but I went ahead and rented
a theatre and invited all the producers and theatres in New York to come to
this reading, which also featured Tony Goldwyn (the bad guy in "Ghost").
I talked to Eli for a minute and something he said made me realize that he hadn't
read the whole play, even to himself. I held my breath, started the reading,
and soon relaxed. He was great. He's one of those actors who can pick up a script
and instinctively make it come to life. At intermission, three different producers
offered to produce the play.
"It took three years for the play to open in New York, but from that day
on, Eli Wallach was committed to Visiting Mr. Green, and stayed with
it through a bunch of readings and two out-of-town productions. He's an amazing
actor and a lovely human being. The play evolved during the three years, and
it was great to have an actor of his stature available and willing to try things
out."
Callboard: How did you make the change from business to playwrighting?
Jeff Baron: "While I was working at Amex in Atlanta, my father became
quite ill. My parents were in New Jersey, and I traveled north more and more
often, and decided that I wanted to be with my family during this difficult
time. I left my job and moved back to New Jersey. After my father passed away,
I started thinking about my life, and decided to make the transition to what
I had always wanted to do.
"I started by writing and directing and producing and hosting a weekly
half-hour cable television series in Atlanta. That went very well, so I moved
to New York and wrote a screenplay. The film was never made, but I started getting
television assignments and selling other screenplays, and I never went back
to the business world.
The above information was first published in the January 2005
issue of the Callboard, Nancy Moldenhauer editor.