Daniel Jenkins Asks an Old Pal to Describe His Love
About the author:
Daniel Jenkins knows a thing or two about opening a show. The actor’s Broadway credits include Mary Poppins, Wrong Mountain, Big, Angels in America, a Tony-nommed turn in the original Big River (as Huckleberry Finn) as well as the revival the musical (as Mark Twain). His list of off-Broadway, regional theater and film credits is equally impressive. Now Jenkins has shifted from playing starchy Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins to a star turn at off-Broadaway's New World Stages in a show that is close to his heart. Love Child, written by and starring Jenkins and Robert Stanton, takes the audience across the footlights and back in a comedy about an opening night of a play in which real and theatrical worlds collide. In keeping with the show’s theme, Jenkins received a little assistance from one of the dozens of characters he and Stanton play to explain the charms of Love Child.
Love Child has indeed been a labor of love, one that has lasted the duration of my friendship with Robert Stanton. We met in 1993 when we were doing the Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons. We had a blast performing in Five Visits from Mr. Whitcomb by Carter Bays, and on one occasion, were very impressed with a couple of patrons in the front row. They were completely involved in the performance—to the point where they almost seemed to be equal participants. They were eating, chatting and generally having a grand time of it. We were very entertained by their presence and felt that perhaps they should have a play of their own, since they seemed so keen on being a part of the show. Sixteen years later, those gals have finally made it onto the boards at New World Stages. Their names are Ethel and Kay—and if Kay were to come to Love Child now, this might be her take on it...
“Well, at first you see a very interesting set with six chairs at the center. On the sides you see a bunch of funny show posters like The Blacchae and Cat on a Hot Tin Roofie. You get the idea that this may get a little wacky—but hey, I’m a bit of a wackjob myself, so I fit right in! Then two young fellas start running around doing all sorts of voices and characters and sound effects—it’s like a whirlwind! The way they change from one character to the next is by spinning around in a circle. I’m glad it’s not me, ‘cause I would get so dizzy! Then you start to catch on that it’s about families. You see a father and son, then two ladies (one seems an awful lot like me!), then you’re introduced to a whole theater company as they get ready backstage for their opening night. There’s even singing, for some reason I can’t quite make out what—but I like it! Who doesn’t like a musical number or two?
"But really, what I love about it is that it keeps you on your toes. It’s kind of like one of those big jigsaw puzzles you do at Thanksgiving. You put some of it together, then you move to another area and work on that for a while, then you go to the kitchen and make a turkey sandwich with the cranberry sauce on it (if you know what’s good for you), then you come back and your son has finished the section you were working so hard on for hours and takes all the credit, then you work on that darned top right corner, then at the end it somehow all comes together! It’s so much fun. I love to laugh and this really gets me going, let me tell you. It also chokes me up a little, too. But I’m a big softie.
"No one gets pulled up on stage or anything, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so involved in a production before. I get so caught up, I don’t know what’s real! It’s quite something to follow these two boys as they play all the characters. It really seems like there are so many people up there, though it is only the two of them. I sometimes wonder if the voices in my head are chiming in, but then I realize I’m at a theater and I calm right down. I go to the show pretty much every night, so if you see me, I can always use a reminder that it’s just a play—ha ha!
"I love going to the theater, and this is such a love letter to that community and the audience that supports it. We really are an important part of this family, and I am so proud to be included. So do yourself a favor and go see Love Child. And tell ‘em Kay sent you!”
