What difference does 20 years make?

The following is a brief excerpt of an interview with Ted Weil and Dave Radtke, remedy Falcon’s founders, website like this about Beyond Therapy…then and now.

The director of Beyond Thearapy, Ted Weil, honestly admits he never thought Falcon would still exist 20 years later so he is particularly pleased that the company is able to, not only present the play after all these years, but also to have the majority of the cast reprise their original roles as well.

Four of the original cast members: Dave Radtke, Holly Sauerbrunn, Dennis Murphy and Kathie Labanz are all stepping back into their roles.  They are joined by newcomers Thurman Allen and David Levy who replace the roles originally played by Chris Quitter and Tom Durkin.

Weil marvels at the fact that the characters are not that age specific and that the play works well whether the actors are in their 20’s or in their 40’s.  While this was certainly not planned all those years ago, it is serendipitous that the script allows for interaction of the characters in spite of age.  “Believe me, we never thought we’d be doing this play in 20 years back when we first presented it in 1989”.  “In fact, I didn’t even think Falcon would still exist for 20 years”, notes Weil.

Nevertheless, the re-mounting of the show allows Weil and his cast to make comparisons and explore how they’ve changed both as a director and as actors over the years.

David Radtke notes that 20 years ago he and Weil were more focused on making sure the play’s staging, lighting, etc. were all done correctly and in a professional manner.  “This time around we’ve been encouraged (by Weil) to experiment with the script and delve more deeply into the characters, and their motivations, rather than simply worrying about trying to make things look right or try to get a laugh”, says Radtke.

In fact, Radtke notes that perhaps they were too young last time to truly understand and have the proper perspective on the characters.  “We all have a better perspective and concept of the complexities of relationships than we did all those years ago”.  “This is simply because we’ve experienced many more life experiences”.  “Our audiences will likely see a funnier show this time around simply because the humor comes more naturally through the characters with a more mature, experienced cast.”