Show Retrospective – Daddy’s Girl

Written by MaryAnn Lyons

Show Retrospective is a monthly feature where we highlight a previous show at The Academy Theatre. This month’s Show Retrospective is DADDY’S GIRL, written by Gary Ray Stapp. This play ran at The Academy Theatre May 17-19, 2013. WARNING – SPOILERS FOLLOW

The cast. Standing, from left to right: Linda Chaves, Jackie Sniff-Boor, Sharon Stead, Janet Williams, Norma Moran, Schuyler Williams, Edward Williams, MaryAnn Keyser, Noah Suhr, and Brenda Cuellar Reza. Sitting, from left to right: Karen Todd, Ed Keyser, and Allisyn Keyser

Play Synopsis

“Meet Benard Muloovy, proprietor of Maudie’s Diner, the most no-nonsense cook you’ve ever met. Bernard gets served a full plate of comic chaos when his deceased wife decides to take up residence as a talking portrait on the diner wall. Enlisting the services of an angel, Michaela, Maudie hopes to reunite Benard with their long lost daughter, Elizabeth. True to her mischievous nature, Michaela delivers two Elizabeths, and Benard’s task is to decide which young woman is his real daughter.”

Family Connections

Like many shows at The Academy Theatre (TAT), real-life family members acted alongside each other in Daddy’s Girl. Ed Keyser, who played Benard Muloovy, was joined by both of his daughters, Allisyn Byrne and MaryAnn Lyons (both credited with the last name Keyser at the time). While Ed and MaryAnn had previously acted together in Divorce Sale in 2011, Daddy’s Girl marked the introduction of Allisyn to the stage. Allisyn played local food critic E.L., while MaryAnn played a waitress named Betsy. Both E.L. and Betsy turn out to be potential daughters of Benard.

MaryAnn recalls her excitement at acting with her sister. “Getting some extra time to hang out with my sister every week at rehearsal was awesome! She really impressed everyone when she came to only the fourth rehearsal with all of her lines memorized.” Allisyn, too, has many positive memories of the play. “Everyone in the cast was really supportive of me as a newcomer to the group.” When reminiscing about their characters’ dynamics toward each other in the play, MaryAnn says, “Allisyn’s character was not the nicest person in the world, and she was a bit rude to my character several times. It was quite different from our real life relationship.” But Allisyn embraced her antagonist role, saying that “it was fun to play a somewhat unlikeable character.” She also enjoyed “experienc[ing] the audience reactions and bits that landed.”

Aside from acting with his daughters, Ed remembers being pleased at being cast in his first lead role. With over 350 lines to memorize, it would be quite an undertaking for any actor! Allisyn and MaryAnn found the script a bit ironic, as only one of their characters could be Benard’s daughter. Complicating things further was the introduction of a third potential daughter, Lizzy, played by Brenda Cuellar Reza. MaryAnn likes to think the play would have been downright hilarious if Lizzy had been the real daughter instead of one of Ed’s real life ones. Ed loved acting with the knowledge that no one in the audience knew who Benard’s daughter was “until the end.”

The Williams family was also well-represented onstage. Edward Williams and his sister, Janet Williams, both played parts alongside Edward’s son, Schuyler Williams. Unlike the Keysers, none of the characters played by members of the Williams family were related in the play. Edward played a regular diner customer, Bob, Janet played Lizzie’s stage mom, Big Earl Ella, and Schuyler played the studious Walter.

Actors’ Reflection

Karen Todd, a frequent collaborator at The Academy Theatre, played a character named Darlynn, a sweet regular customer who has been in love with Benard for years. Karen says she “loved being in love with the cook.” Food brings people – real and fictional – together. Karen also remembers that Daddy’s Girl “was the longest dialogue I had to memorize” with 153 lines given to Darlynn. “She did a fantastic job,” says MaryAnn.

Another mainstay at TAT is Brenda Cuellar Reza. She found herself challenged by the role of Lizzy. Her character was a meek and shy young woman whose mother, Big Earl Ella, pushes her to sing in public so that she’ll be discovered and become a star. It already takes bravery to go up onstage and act, but Brenda found that the added element of singing tested her limits. “I had to gather a lot of courage to be able to sing on stage,” remembers Brenda. During rehearsals, Brenda kept building her confidence until showtime, when she belted out the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” three nights in a row. “It took me a while,” says Brenda, “but the play really pushed me.”

Conclusion

Were you in the audience to watch Daddy’s Girl? What is your fondest memory of this play? Let us know!