Name: Lois Jacobsen
Role: Savannah
Hometown: White Plains, MD
Favorite Food: Anything salty! Pretzels, peanuts, the tears of my enemies! lol I’m kidding! I can’t eat pretzels or peanuts, I’m doing a cleanse.
Hobbies: You know those things where there are all the clues and you’re trying to get into someplace? Panic rooms!
Favorite Play or Musical: Gas Light
Who is your favorite co-star?
Robert Downey, Jr. but since you’re probably talking about this amateur hour I guess I’ll say Ajax.
Do you have a fun backstage story?
One time Doris fell flat on her face.
If you could meet any person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
The Dalai Lama. Or Bryan Adams.
Can you give us any hints to solve the mystery?
Consider who might be an evil person. Someone who does evil things. Like upstaging me. There’s your killer.
What is your favorite part of the play?
The end
How did you prepare for this role?
I read the script. Then I watched A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Then YouTube clips of the best stuff from the movie Clue. Then Disney’s the Princess and the Frog because Savannah is definitely from The Bayou and may or may not know voodoo. Which made me want to watch the Labyrinth. RIP David Bowie
Do you feel personally connected to your character?
Savannah looks out for number one. I can relate to that.
What was the hardest thing to do when preparing for this production?
Taking things down a notch in order to meet the bar set.
Do you have a life philosophy?
I think gratitude is really important so my life philosophy can probably be summed up in that song that The Rock sings in Moana, You’re Welcome.
Name: Arnold Turnbull
Role: Fat Daddy
Hometown: Rock Island, IL.
Favorite Food: That’s a tough one. Chicken and dumplings, mmm.
Hobbies: Cooking. I’m a Civil War reenactor. Watching football. Chicago Cubs fan.
Favorite Play or Musical: 12 Angry Men
What made you decide to start acting/working backstage?
My wife, Doris, has been an actress since she was a little flower and when we got divorced a few years ago, I felt a calling to the stage. Also, for the past 19 years I have portrayed Private Perky McCann, a field cook and infantryman for the North in various Civil War reenactments.
Who is your favorite co-star?
My wife Doris, of course.
Do you have a fun backstage story?
I will often overhear other cast members, including my wife, belittle me. So there’s that. Also, I prepare all the food for everyone when we have our potlucks. It’s the little things.
If you could meet any person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Abraham Lincoln: just to thank him.
Can you give us any hints to solve the mystery?
No, I was in the bathroom.
What is your favorite part of the play?
When Sweet Mama, played by Doris, appears to be happy when I make my entrance.
How did you prepare for this role?
I watched the Dukes of Hazard and focused on Boss Hogg. I also watched the Smokey and the Bandit movies. Jackie Gleason as Sherriff Buford T. Justice is a great inspiration for my relationship with Earl.
Do you feel personally connected to your character?
Not in any shape or form.
What was the hardest thing to do when preparing for this production?
Since rehearsals ate up a lot of my usual prime time TV watching, I had issues setting up the recorder to capture the History channel’s newest series, “Great Men with Great Beards”. Technology is not my friend.
Do you have a life philosophy?
There’s a silver lining, even in hell.