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March 21, 2008

Red Mask’s ‘Accomplice’ full of surprises

Play is last of the season

BY BARBARA GREENBERG

DANVILLE — A close-knit group of actors remained closed-mouthed about the surprises audiences will find when they see “Accomplice,” the final Red Mask play of the 2007-08 season.

Director Ed Sant describes the show as “a comedy/thriller, but more a comedy. It’s full of plot twists and turns that we can’t give away.”

Sant, a Red Mask veteran who recently moved to Champaign, said the script and the cast made the three-times-a-week drive to Danville for rehearsals worthwhile.

“The thespian gods came together for this one,” he said. “I’ve been gifted with a very talented cast.”

Anthony Roach was the last one to join that cast. Another actor left after the first rehearsal, and the other actors asked Roach to take the part.

Last seen in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Danville Light Opera’s musical earlier this season, Roach hadn’t auditioned for “Accomplice.”

The Westville High School graduate, who now works as a project engineer for a Champaign company, said, “I’m very selective when I do a show. I ask myself, ‘Does the show interest me? Will I enjoy working with the production staff?’”

Cast members Mike Young and Lisa Richter assured Roach this would be a worth-while experience. Both have worked with him before in either DLO or Red Mask productions. Young made his debut on the Red Mask stage in “Desk Set” in 2005.

“‘Desk Set’ was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Young said. “It was the first play I ever did. It was something I always wanted to do, but coaching got in the way.”

Young teaches P.E. and coaches for the Armstrong-Ellis School District. He, Richter and the fourth cast member, Trish Ceader, are all teachers. All are connected by theater, too.

Richter and Sant appeared together years ago in Red Mask’s production of Neil Simon’s “Gingerbread Lady.”

Sant said, “I’ve watched her grow from a teenager to a gifted actress.”

Richter and Ceader also appeared together on the Red Mask stage.

“We all trust each other,” Richter said. “We have a very intimate connection.

“This is a very free, secure environment.”

Richter described “Accomplice” as “intellectual and very well-written. It’s like a Chinese box — just when you think you’ve figured it out, you realize you haven’t. It’s not fluff.”

Roach said, “I don’t like fluffy shows. This one is atypical of most comedies — it’s very witty, a lot of fun.”

The cast speaks with British accents in the play. “We’ve slowed things down,” Roach said. “The audience has to get the words right or they’ll lose the meaning. We have to remember we’re doing it for an American audience.”

The group warns the audience should remember the play is not for children. They describe it as very adult, with sex scenes that would earn it an “R” rating if it was a film.

IF YOU GO

The Red Mask Players present “Accomplice” March 28-30, April 4-6 and 11-12 at the Kathryn Randolph Theater, 601 N. Vermilion St. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. and Sunday shows are at 2 p.m. Reservations may be made by calling 442-5858 or at the theater box office from 6-8 p.m. Sunday through March 27.Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 60 and older and $10 for students.

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