ARTS&LIFE
Gary Weinstein and co-star Cynthia Tupper during a run-through.
DAVE REINKE
THEATER
Last-Minute Lead Local jewelry store owner takes on lead role with three-weeks’ notice. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
J
ust three weeks before opening night of the Farmington Players’ upcoming production, Tokens of Affection, plans changed in the biggest of ways. One of the leads of the play, Dorne Lefere, dropped out due to a family emergency. Director Dave Reinke had to make a decision. Reinke made only one phone call for someone to take on the role and learn the entire production in just a few weeks: Gary Weinstein, owner of Weinstein Jewelers of Novi. Weinstein has a background in theater acting going back to high school and has worked on various productions with the Farmington Players since 2004. Weinstein’s store will also sponsor the show. Weinstein originally tried out for the role in early November but didn’t get the
part. Two months went by, and he received the replacement call from the director on Jan. 18, just 25 days before opening night. “(Reinke) expressed to me that I was the only phone call he made to take the role,” Weinstein said. “I took a couple hours to think about it, what it was going to entail and what I needed to do to be ready within three weeks, and I told the director I was in. I really jumped at the chance.” There are 230 lines Weinstein must memorize, though he says the memorization actually hasn’t been too hard after practicing each day since he got the call. “Repetition, repetition, repetition” is key, Weinstein said. Tokens of Affection, written by Topher Payne, runs from Feb. 11-26 at the Farmington
Gary Weinstein
Players Barn in Farmington Hills. The romantic comedy follows Frank Garrett, who’s stunned by his wife Jackie’s decision to leave him after 37 years of marriage, and siblings Charlie and Claire who team up to try and save their parents’ relationship. “He’s a father of the family and he’s been providing well for them for years, but the wife is feeling like she’s not being acknowledged, seen or fulfilled,” Weinstein said. “So, she wants a divorce. The metaphor ‘he doesn’t bring me flowers,’ that’s the background.” Since 1953, the Farmington Players have staged more than 200 different musicals, dramas, mysteries and comedies, all as a community theater with 100% volunteer membership. Weinstein’s store has sponsored many Farmington Players produc-
tions in recent years. Weinstein’s store is also running a special promotion involving 50-50 ticket sales. There will be three winners every night, with one person taking home the monetary prize and all three receiving gift cards to Weinstein Jewelers. They’ll have a chance to win jewelry displayed in the theater’s lobby showcase, or a free service from Weinstein, including a battery or a cleaning and inspection. The 50-50 winners will also be entered into a final drawing at the Weinstein store for a chance to win a brooch valued at $1,800. In just a few weeks of practice, Weinstein can already feel the connection to the character, as it spills over to his real life. “I’m often used by the character I perform,” he said. “In other words, you take on some of the persona of the character. Every day right now I find myself thinking how I can express my love to my wife, how I can help out a little more, and how I can bring her flowers, like the metaphor the show is really pointing at.”
DETAILS
Tokens of Affection runs Feb. 11-26 at the Farmington Players Barn in Farmington Hills. Tickets ($22 for adults, $20 for seniors) are available now at farmingtonplayers.org or at the box office: (248) 553-2955. You can also send an email to boxoffice@ farmingtonplayers.org. FEBRUARY 3 • 2022
|
55
