Earth-shaking! Life-affirming! Breathtaking! Gut-wrenching! Heart-aching! In two words, it’s history-making! They’re really and truly changing lives— at least they hope to be! The four actors, some of Baltimore’s most recognized members of the theatre community, playing the four Broadway stars who find themselves in a small town in Indiana trying to ‘change lives’ though perhaps for all the wrong reasons. Sound familiar? It is Prom season, after all. In a sit-down interview, we talk with Shannon Wollman, Darren McDonnell, Coby Kay Callahan, and Randy Dunkle and what it’s like getting to play these “Broadway Narcissists” in the Cockpit in Court summer production of The Prom.
So thrilled to have all four of you here in one room, getting to talk to the legends of Baltimore theatre! Theatre royalty, really. You guys are all household names across the theatre scene here. But let’s have some quick introductions for some of our newer readers!
Darren McDonnell: I’m Darren and I play Barry Glickman.
Coby Kay Callahan: I’m Coby and I’m playing Angie Dickinson.
Fun fact for our readers, though they can’t physically see it, Coby is seated next to Darren, who played a “John Dickinson” from 1776 several summers ago!
Coby: Fun fact— I asked Darren to sing “Copa Cabana”, a Barry Manilow song, at my wedding a year ago, now he’s playing a Barry character and we’re both going to see Barry Manilow in concert when he’s in town later this summer!
This is a room full of fun facts. I love it! And our other two?
Shannon Wollman: I’m Shannon and I am playing Dee Dee Allen.
Randy Dunkle: I’m Randy and I’m playing Trent Oliver.
Fantastic! Now that we’ve done the who’s who, what was the impetus or the yen that led you all to want to come out and audition at Cockpit in Court for their production of The Prom?
Darren: I came out to audition because of the history I have at Cockpit. I wanted to do it here because of the history.
Randy: I’m going to tell the truth about this. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been on stage. And Coby kind of knows that I get depressed if I don’t perform for a while. So she signed me up. She literally signed me up to audition and said, “If you want to cancel, you have to call and cancel.” So I guess suddenly I was auditioning because I wasn’t going to call and cancel! So I auditioned and I got the part. But I am really glad that I did. I love this cast, I really do. And Coby can attest to the fact that I am not someone who hides my opinions and this entire cast has been amazing to work with. It’s been a really awesome experience and I am not someone who says that when it’s not true.
Shannon: Similarly to Randy, I haven’t been in a full staged production in ten years. Since Gypsy, which was ten years ago. I do a lot of cabaret work around but not in a full-booked show. I think a lot of that is because I am getting older— not old, just older! That’s actually a line from the show! But as I get older, there aren’t as many great roles available to me. When you do community theatre, and I say this intending to give full transparency, I also have a full-time job and a family and all of those things, so for me and community theatre, I’m selective when I make the hopeful decision to audition for a show that I’m going to have the time commitment for. But when a show like this came up, and a role like Dee Dee Allen, and knowing whoever was going to play the other characters were going to be phenomenons— all of it just fell into place. The fact that Roger Schulman is directing, the fact that it was going to be at Cockpit, there were so many pieces—
I wish the our readers could see that you’ve been gesturing to Darren this whole time, like he is synonymous with Cockpit in Court.
Shannon: In a way he is! And he mentioned wanting to do this show here because of his history with Cockpit, and I agree with that. Darren and I have known each other since 1986.
I was born in 1986.
Shannon: Shut. Up. That’s me, channeling my Dee Dee Allen at you. Anyway, Darren and I have this unbelievable history— Randy is a new friend of mine and I’ve known Coby for several years, but Darren and I go back to the beginning of my doing theatre in town. And to be able to come on stage together with that history of friendship and experiences while we’re sharing this show has been awesome. And I just have to give one another plug here before Coby gives her answer— but I could not agree more with Randy here. The cast— both adult and teen— there’s not a bad seed among them.
Randy: They are so amazing and supporting. The teens will be watching us, we’ll be up there singing our songs and they’re sitting there cheering us on.
Shannon: They are so excited and they’re welcoming and they’re kind. It has just been a joy to come to rehearsals. A joy!
Coby: I auditioned because with work commitments and life I’m trying to do a show or two a year. And I’m being very selective with it. I initially only auditioned for Dee Dee.
You’re not old enough to play Dee Dee.
Coby: I know!! I realized that! And then I quickly put “and Angie.” But the more I looked at her, the more I realized I really love Angie. I love a supporting character, a “princess track” as I call it. I auditioned, it ended up working out, and then of course when I saw cast list I thought it was so awesome. And the fact that we all really gel with everybody is just so cool.
Shannon: She brings such heart to Angie, she really does. I feel like your character is so endearing and she really becomes endearing to the audience throughout the journey. You bring such realness and heart to her because that’s really who you are. We weren’t joking when we were saying that we’ve all been type-cast here. Because there are elements to each of us in these roles. It translates really well.
Coby: You know, Randy and I go back to our first days in theatre together too. We met in 1997 and we haven’t done a show together in over 20 years so this is really fantastic to get to do one together again.
Randy: It’s a great reunion. And Shannon’s right about us being these characters. Trent has this line, “I do tend to pontificate.” And I, Randy, do tend to pontificate. But it’s a character flaw that I try not to do.
Coby: But I think these older relationships and their effect that its having on this show is just awesome.
I couldn’t agree more. And I’m actually kind of shocked, being the Baltimore-based theatre royalty that you all are, that you guys have never actually been in a show all together at the same time. We’ve had quite a few configurations—Darren and Coby, Darren and Shannon, etc—
Randy: Yeah, Shannon and I, who didn’t know each other and had never done a show together, actually had a conversation first rehearsal, “we’re going to be close friends, we just have to be close friends, starting right now, ready go.” And now we’re practically besties, and it’s great because we have to have that chemistry on stage too.
Hearing all of these wonderful and fun unifying things about you four could not make me happier. Now, for those of you that have not been on a stage for a full show in say a decade or more, what has returning to the stage for this particular show been like?
Shannon: I’ve really had to build up the stamina and I mean that in many different ways. Certainly the energy for it but the brain stamina too. Memorizing blocking, memorizing lines, choreography— things that used to come easier for me. And I don’t know if it’s because it’s been over ten years or just the fact that I’m getting older. If it’s in your being, you’re just used to a lot more, so I kind of had to re-train myself a little bit. But it’s been awesome! But I’ve been rusty. I’m using the oil can.
Coby: Oh please, it’s like riding a bike for this lady, she’s amazing.
Randy: I give myself license that I could not have given myself before to be myself. I can take chances that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking earlier in life. I can do stuff. I also see— and I haven’t said this yet to anybody else— but I see why people used to get annoyed with me in the process for getting too stuck in my own character instead of at the whole bigger picture of the production. Now I feel like I look at the whole picture. I love that and I feel differently. I feel like I’m able to be better now, and I don’t think I could have been that then. And now I’m going to have to live up that. I’m really enjoying exploring it, just having fun, seeing what happens, and not taking it so seriously. Not that I don’t take it seriously— I feel like I’m digging myself in a hole over here. But I’m loving ‘take chances, see what happens, enjoy the process, see the bigger picture’ experience I’m having this time around.
I don’t think anyone is going to think you don’t take it seriously and I actually think it’s really refreshing to hear you say that. And it sounds like you’re having a wonderful time! Now, what about my two recent recurring stage veterans over here? What’s it like coming into this particular project, knowing that you’re both only doing one or two shows a year, being selective and choosing this show, what has that been like?
Darren: It’s been great. Really, really good. I was actually hesitant at first about even auditioning, but then I thought, “Ah, what the hell, I’ll just audition.” And whatever happens, happens. And this happened, and I’m thrilled.
Coby: This is my first time doing a show here at Cockpit, so that’s fun. I love getting to explore this new stage space, it’s so awesome. They’re very professional here. The set is already half-built and it looks great. (Set Designer Sammy Jungwirth.) Roger (Director Roger Schulman) is the nicest. River (Stage Manager River Hansen) is fantastic. And Nate Scavilla is working on it, and he was a huge reason to come out for this, I love working with Nate. (Nathan Scavilla, Musical Director.)
This is all awesome. That’s quickly becoming the word for this show: Awesome. Now, how are we bringing ourselves to Barry and Angie and Trent and Dee Dee. What are finding might be difficult in doing that? What are these characters bringing to us? Where are the similarities and differences between you and the characters?
Coby: I was telling Shannon about a week or two ago that I don’t know if I’ve fully figured Angie out yet. I want to make her subtle but not boring. And I do want to give her all of the heart she comes with but she is also still a little bit of a narcissist herself. She’s not quite as bad the other three… but she’s definitely a narcissist. She’s a performer.
Ha! I think you nailed that right on the head. There are tiers of narcissism in The Prom when it comes to the four “liberals from Broadway” and I feel like Angie reads at the bottom of the pile, like low-key narcissim, whereas Dee Dee and Barry are way at the top with Trent somewhere in the middle though hovering closer to the Dee Dee/Barry tier.
Randy: There’s a reason Angie is the first one to go, “I’ll go talk to Emma”.
Coby: Well yeah, but don’t forget, Angie just quit a Broadway show because she couldn’t be the lead. They refused to let her out of the chorus, so she literally quit under the mindset of “I can’t be the lead. I’m leaving.” So she’s still a narcissist. But I really do just want to bring the heart and the nuance to her. And she has some funny little quirky things that I’m looking forward to doing; Angie has a good time.
Randy: And Coby is an excellent dancer, so I am really excited for people to see her in this role. I’m especially excited for you to see “Zazz” because it’s going to be stellar.
Coby: It’s going to be fun. I keep thinking, how lucky am I to have done A Chorus Line last year (Dundalk Community Theatre, which is sister-cousins to Cockpit in Court) and The Prom this year with these guys, I am so lucky! I feel like I am living the dream.
That’s amazing. Live that dream! How about you, Darren?
Darren: Me and Barry? I’m still finding him. I am sort of like him. I’m still playing with him and bringing out his better qualities because he can be an asshole. But I need to find his softer side. Especially with Emma. He came in for a certain reason to help but then he ends up being helped himself. In the script it says he’s flamboyant. And yeah, he’s flamboyant. But I don’t want to be overly flamboyant where it’s annoying. I’m still playing with that. I don’t think he’s a Broadway star. I like he thinks he’s a Broadway star. Dee Dee is a Broadway star. Barry is below Dee Dee. Like way below. I think he thinks he’s more than he really is.
Randy: I’m sorry— I need to cut in here. Darren, when I look at you as Barry, I see you soften whenever Emma is around, which to me I thought was a choice you were making, and she really helps you let that softer side out. So I think you’ve found more with Barry than you may be aware of. I watch you, because you’re fun to watch, but in watching you, I see your demeanor change when she comes around and it’s really wonderful to watch.
Shannon: Let’s talk about Nia for a second (Nia Chavis, playing Emma Noland). I mean, she’s got it all. She’s really a triple threat. She doesn’t really dance in this show until the finale but she’s got it. She is a killer singer, she is such a good actress, and she just graduated high school! She’s going to be a theatre major in college. She’s just so natural. And I say all of this to say that I feel like it’s very easy to have a connection to her. And you, Darren, have so much work with her on stage, I can see how it would be easy to soften around her because she is so real and natural.
Coby: I think the first time she met us she was like “oh my gosh. Who are these people.” I think it was very much like how Emma responds to the initial encounter with Barry, Dee Dee, Angie, and Trent.
Trent: We joked around about what kind of first impression we must have made on this girl because she’s here ready to roll and we’re standing around backstage cracking jokes and how we must look exactly like our characters to her. But she has been so wonderful to work with.
I’m so glad to hear that you guys have a strong leading younger actor in the role of Emma and everyone has been so easy and great to work with. Now Shannon, what about you and Dee Dee?
Shannon: My answer is going to be similar to Darren’s and Coby’s in that I’m still trying to find Dee Dee. Now that we’re in “let’s keep running the show” mode, I think that it really all does start to click in. But I think being off stage for ten years the way I have been, I think if I had played this role ten years ago— I would have been too young— but I would have had more of that ‘I’m a lead in all the shows’ kind of attitude to go with it. And I don’t have that this time around. I haven’t found her edge yet. I think I tend to be a little bit nicer than Dee Dee. And we get to the nicer part by the end of show, she even has the line “I need to be deprogrammed” so she does get there at the end. But I have to program her a little bit more to find that level of narcissist in order for her to get to the “I need to be deprogrammed” moment. So I’m still finding all of that.
Randy: I understood Trent very quickly because we’re very similar. When he knows what he’s doing or thinks he knows what he’s doing, he’s very confident. And when he doesn’t he is not. That huge spectrum is what I’m working on now, trying to be consistent with it, so it doesn’t look like I’m popping into character and popping out of character. That’s really where I am right now because I understand that completely. He walks up to Dee Dee confidently because he has an agenda but then all of a sudden he’s like “I’m sorry!” He has very huge spectrum to swing between and I am still trying to find the balancing middle point of that spectrum for consistency.
Does everybody remember their prom? What was your prom like? Did you go? Did you take a date? What did you wear? Did you have a good time?
Darren: Oh yeah. I went to both of mine. No theme. God, this is back in the late 70’s so I wore a white tux.
To both of them?
Darren: No, the second time it was black and white. I was very nerdy.
Were you prom king?
Darren: God no. Also, we didn’t have that back then.
Shannon: We didn’t either.
Coby: Inclusive before their times!
Darren: But we did have fun. I had a blast! And I went with a girl both times. She was my girlfriend then. We had a great time. I see her every now and again like at reunions. It was a good time.
Coby: I didn’t go to junior prom, we all just hung out as a group at somebody’s house. Then senior prom I went with my long-term boyfriend, and he was great. The only problem was, we got into a fight that night and didn’t get prom pictures. But I had a green dress, it was so cute, it was green-metallic, like green and silver— it was so cute. But like in high school at one of the Homecomings two girls went to Homecoming together and we were all like “cool.”
Darren: We didn’t have Homecoming.
Shannon: We didn’t have Homecoming either. But the two girls at your school, they were a couple, you think?
Coby: Yeah.
Darren: Really? What year?
Coby: Mid 90’s.
That’s really great. By the time I was in high school, early 2000’s, you were bringing whoever you waned to Prom, they didn’t care as long as they had purchased a ticket. But I also went to a magnet-public school in Baltimore County, so the rules were probably different elsewhere.
Shannon: I went to my senior prom.
Darren: Didn’t you have a junior?
Shannon: We did have a junior prom. I asked somebody to go to the junior prom with me and he really should have just said no. Because he said yes to be nice I think? And it was the same night as Preakness. And he was an hour and a half late picking me up. I think my parents thought that he wasn’t coming. I can remember it— it was so sad. Just like in that movie— all dressed up, and you’re sitting there and waiting. Though he did finally show up. It was nothing to write home about. So anyway! Senior prom… I got asked to go. We were on a double date, the two guys— my date and his friend who was also in my year— came to pick us up obliterated. I mean OBLITERATED. And they continued to get even more drunk throughout the night. We had rented a limo so they didn’t have to drive. And I’m not even going to say this one thing that happened because it’s too offensive— but you know, the Prom was in downtown Baltimore, so you went to dinner somewhere downtown beforehand, but then they made a pitstop before we went to prom— did a very offensive thing— and then we get to the prom, they get drunker and drunker and drunker, so we left them. The limo took me and my friend home and I drove her to her house.
Darren: But did you have any fun?
Shannon: NO. So I’m making it all up now by having fun at THIS prom.
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry that you had that prom experience, but I’m so glad you get to make up for it here. Randy?
Randy: I went to my senior prom with a female friend. And I wore a red suit jacket thinking I would be special and stand out but I was not the only one there wearing one…which I guess looking back is funny. But that was my prom experience. The end.
Wow, Darren and Randy had the good proms, and I’m so sorry that Coby and Shannon had less-good experiences. I got stood up for my senior prom.
Shannon: Shut up! No you did not! Was he in your class?
I did. It was a classist thing— his mom thought I was poor/wrong side of town, and he was still living at home, he was in college at that point… it’s not all that important, especially looking back on it because I still had a great time. I ended up going with my best friend and another friend who had grown up in our neighborhood (it was supposed to be the four of us in the limo but it ended up being three and it was fine.) Now my prom— spring of ’04— was at The Radisson downtown…but we had the most culturally-inappropriate theme. It was called “Whispers of the Orient” and we had the white idea of what oriental culture was— so paper lanterns and umbrellas, a Chinses dragon that rolled through the prom at one point, sushi as appetizer-finger-food, and things like that. So, so, inappropriate. My junior prom was held in “the den” (which was like the bonus gym at Western Tech?) and it was Time-Stars themed? I did take a very good friend from the marching band with me to that. He was a funny story because I crushed hard on him from the moment I met him and remember asking him to a Valentine’s Day dance, and he said “no because I don’t like girls. And if you’re okay with that I’ll still go with you.” And he ended up as my junior prom date and he was amazing. But he was a year ahead of me and gone by senior prom. I wore lilac to junior prom and big-ass Barbie-poofy-pink-tutu-floofy dress to senior prom. But enough about me! Back to you guys and your proms!
Shannon: Coby did you guys have a theme?
Coby: We had a homecoming theme think? ‘The Night Will Never End’ or one time it was a Boyz2Men song something like “Hard to Say Goodbye” and I just remember thinking “that’s a song title not a theme.”
Darren: Yeah what kid of theme is that?
Clearly, the theme of The Prom here at Cockpit is “awesome” and also “acceptance.” Speaking of acceptance… why is it so important for Cockpit in Court to be putting on The Prom, especially right now? The horrible irony for the readers is, this interview was supposed to be conducted at the end of June about a week prior to when it was actually conducted but conflicts arose. In the interim of that and rescheduling to today*, the Supreme Court made multiple rulings, one of which has strong negative impacts for the LGBTQ+ community. Had this interview happened on June 27th, I believe that the importance of the production would still stand, but given recent events it feels that the show’s importance and potential impact has been accelerated tenfold. What are your thoughts on why it’s so important for Cockpit to be doing The Prom right now?
Shannon: That’s another reason why I wanted to do this show. I want to hope— and I’m afraid to say that I want to hope— but I want to hope that audiences are going to come see the show— and I know we have a lot of the generations built-in who currently support Cockpit and the children’s theatre, they are going to show up and love it— but I want to hope that the older generation, who are subscribers to Cockpit and who might not know what the theme of the show is when they come to see it, will be open mind and embrace it.
Randy: I’m hoping they are going to surprise us.
Shannon: I want to think that do. I really, really do. But I wish I didn’t have to worry about it. And particularly to your point, with everything that just happened this week, I don’t know which side we’re going to come out on in the end. Especially now that they’re saying it wasn’t real— have you heard all that, that they’re saying the whole website design thing probably wasn’t real?
Darren: It wasn’t. It was hypothetical.
Shannon: But now the Supreme Court has ruled and made it real. It was purposeful, designed to intentionally start chipping away at LGBTQ+ rights. But to get back to the show itself— I think The Prom is written in such a wonderful way that it presents it so well. It doesn’t hit you over the head with any kind of message. It just presents it in an honest way.
Darren: In a human way.
Shannon: Exactly. An honest and human way. What are you thinking?
Coby: One of the lines is “I can’t believe this sort of thing still happens.” And I know we all feel that way but we all know it does still happen. I like the juxtaposition of the Broadway actors having absolutely no problem with this whatsoever— she’s a girl who wants to take the girl she’s in love with to prom as her date. But for the town folk it’s a huge disruptive deal. And we, in real life, here in Baltimore as actors are of the world where we don’t care about it, and not like “don’t care” we care— a lot, but it’s not a big deal, it’s a non-issue. I cannot imagine being in a world where I would surround myself with people who would not feel that way, who would feel that being a part of or supporting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community was an issue.
Darren: My husband teaches in a middle school in Baltimore County. Not that he comes home and gossips, but you hear things— both pro and con— about how these kids at school don’t care. They don’t give a shit, they’re accepting to anybody, it doesn’t matter. But then you hear the other side, where sometimes they can be cruel to people. So we have to open people’s eyes to that. And I hope, like Shannon was saying, that people come here with the hope of being open-minded. I don’t know if we’ll ever— no, I won’t say that— we have to keep hoping that we’ll get to that point where everyone can be open-minded. I think with this younger generation, they’re not going to tolerate intolerance.
Shannon: That’s the thing. Spending so much time with these kids here in these rehearsals, getting to know them… a few of them have just graduated but the majority of them are still in high school. They’re just good, kind, fluid people. It doesn’t seem like there’s straight/gay anymore. They’re all mutual, fluid, open, and just kind. I have really been just blown away by seeing them. They are just a great bunch of kids.
Darren: It’s a good responsibility we have.
Randy: We’re changing lives. As said in the show.
Shannon: I think that’s really valid. If there are people who are going to come and sit down and might not have ever been exposed to this sort of thing— look, its not a secret: two girls kiss. The show ends with two girls kissing. There are going to be people in that audience who have never seen two girls kissing.
Coby: Dee Dee and Angie.
Randy: That’s the whole new direction Roger’s taking the show in! I’m just kidding.
Shannon: Joking aside, I think if we can help to change their perception, aren’t we making just a little bit of a difference?
Randy: I think we might get some “well I don’t agree with that, but it was a great show.”
Shannon: Darren’s right. What a great responsibility we have.
This might sound cheesy, but if you have one person in the audience who walks away thinking differently and more open-mindedly about it because of what you’ve shown them, then you’ve made a difference.
Shannon: That’s right.
Coby: It’s a lack of understanding. A lack of exposure. “I don’t like that because I don’t know what that is.”
Shannon: That or and I’m assuming that there are a good number of kids who are going to come see this show, and what if we have some kids who are questioning their own sexuality, there might be some in our own show— who get to see it play out on stage, I think that might give them the courage or the encouragement they need to be a truer version of themselves and identify with who they really are more readily.
Randy: There are adults who are still struggling to come out and this show could help them with that. The Alyssa Green song is one of those moments that really creates that opportunity for people— kids and adults— to identify with her and how she feels she has to hide herself because of her family situation. And maybe seeing this story, they’ll see themselves and find a way to come out and be who they are.
This is really a wonderful message and solid reasoning for why Cockpit should be doing The Prom and why people should be seeing The Prom at Cockpit.
Coby: Mandy, can I tell you something?
You can tell me anything you want. What’s on your mind.
Coby: Very specific to the show… I worked at Applebee’s in Florida in college.
Randy: Which you called…
Coby: Crapplebees.
Darren: Hey, I like their two for $20.
Coby: Darren enjoys an Apples and Bees. Probably because he never had to work at one!
Shannon: Yeah we just did a field trip to an Applebee’s the other night. We went to the one in White Marsh.
Coby: When I was working there, to break up the monotony, I would walk around the perimeter of the upper area of ‘The Bee’s’—
Darren: Yours had a upper area?
Randy: It used to be a Bennigan’s.
Coby: Anyway! You can ask my friends who used to work there with me. Just for some entertainment, I would walk around that area, holding like ten menus, and I would pratfall down the three stairs by the host stand and I would throw the menus in the air. And people would be like “Oh! My! God! Are you okay?” And I’d struggle a bit and say “yeah…” and disappear to the back, and everyone would be dying with laughter. So it became the thing. People would be like “Go— go do the fall thing!”
Darren: What? I thought you did it to get to go home!
Coby: No! They wouldn’t send me home! I didn’t get to go home!
You guys are hilarious. Clearly you guys all have some beautifully peculiar connections to The Prom. Now what is the moment in the show that really defines what this show means to you personally?
Shannon: There is a beautiful moment that Tatiana Dalton, who plays Mrs. Green— and I have to tell you, she auditioned for Angie Dickinson, she got called back for it, but then she was cast as Mrs. Green, and Mrs. Green is not such a big part and Tatiana is driving in from Pennsylvania for rehearsals and she is taking what could be so underrated in this character and she is delivering the most poignant scene in the show. She has captured the essence of what it’s like to be a parent of someone who loves their child so much but is so scared for what this decision— of being different— could mean for their child. Because she’s looking at it through her own fear. Tatiana got it so perfectly even early on,and I said to her, “How are you doing that?” And she said, “I just think of it being my child.” When you’re a parent, you feel that.
It takes me back to when I came out to my mother. And I can remember her saying “I just feel scared.” And we were in a very different place then from where we are now. I think I told her I was bi-sexual in my mid-twenties. I didn’t probably honestly say to her, “I’m Gay” until I was 40. So that moment to me is so real, Tatiana captures the fear that parents have.
Even with the audience that we’re talking about— you’re scared of things you don’t know and you don’t understand. What your parents have taught you, what their parents have taught them, it’s generational. And that becomes the magic of the message for me in this show.
That is deeply profound, Shannon. Now, you’re the only mom/parent of you four?
Coby: How dare you.
Oh dear. I forgot, being a FurMom myself, I recant. Let me rephrase. Shannon, you’re the only mom/parent of human-children, right?
Shannon: I am. And I can relate in a way to that moment so much. When you have a child you just want the easiest path in life for that child. So that fear that Mrs. Green has— of not knowing, of just wanting what’s easy for her child— that’s relatable, I think not just for me, but for most parents. Good parents just want to protect their children and have them walk the easiest path. There is so much worry and fear for parents, and you really see that with Mrs. Green, at least with what Tatiana is bringing to the character, but all that worry and fear of how their child is going to navigate the world and people around them— how is the world going to treat your child because your child is different, regardless of what it is that makes them different— for Alyssa Green and her mom in this show it’s being a girl who likes girls in a very closed-minded town— but you also have to realize that your child is going to learn to navigate that in their own way, regardless of how scared and worried and frightened you as the parent are.
Randy: I think I’m with Shannon here. I don’t have children but I think I would have that type of reaction, kind of like Mrs. Green has with Alyssa, if I had children and they said they were gay, because I don’t want them to have a hard life. So I guess I’m stealing your moment, Shannon, because that’s the moment that made all four of us cry. And we all know it’s coming but we still have that reaction, probably because Tatiana embodies it so well.
Shannon: It’s every time that she runs that seen. But are there other moments? Is that everyone’s moment?
Darren: I think for me it’s actually when Emma sings “Unruly Heart.” It’s very powerful. Those kids come out and they just relate to her. And that is going on all over the world. It’s the call to wake up. Wake up, people. Wake. Up. Accept people for who they are. They’re real people. We’re real people. Accept us.
Coby: Yeah, I think for me it’s kind of the same moment. I love when the kids come out and sing with Emma. I also love, and I’m also just realizing this, but I love that Emma does it on her own. It’s her idea, sing-blogging this song, and it’s how she wants to do it, and she does it. It’s just so beautiful. I’m starting to actually cry here and I’m wondering if Angie is allowed to cry here because I feel like she will.
Absolutely. That’s Angie’s PNG moment— post-narcissistic growth.
Randy: Oh we’re stealing that one for backstage! But really, Emma delivers the perfect answer in that moment. Her own answer. She’s not shoving it in your face. All the Broadway people want Emma to do this big thing, go on TV, and shove it in everyone’s face. And she’s just like “Nah. I’m doing it may way.”
I know we’ve all talked about what we hope people will think or how they will respond when they come to see it, but why should they come out to Cockpit in Court? Especially as there seems to have been a local run on The Prom as of late?
Coby: Well, to me The Prom is new. I just saw it on Netflix. Like I had seen it on the Tony’s but that was just the clip from The Tony’s. So when I saw the movie on Netflix— and I love Meryl Streep— I just loved it. First of all, two roles for older women? Oh my God, let’s go! And secondly, they’re all asshole-Broadway people? Absolutely!
Randy: It’s got everything. Now, your question was, ‘why this production?’ Now Roger has fostered this, it’s the community of this cast. It was there immediately. It didn’t have to be created. We’ve mentioned before the teenagers cheering us on silently right from the first run-through of our songs and how much fun we’re having incorporating that into the characters and how much fun we’re having backstage with this group and just wanting to present that in this performance.
Shannon: And we’ve talked a lot about the kids ensemble but the adult ensemble? They don’t have a ton of special moments but they are all so fabulous and so committed. They are also so kind. But I think what Randy said about Roger is so true. He has done such a wonderful job. He had a meet-n-greet rehearsal for the whole cast. I don’t think I’ve ever had a meet-n-greet rehearsal ever.
Was it a Prom-Mixer?
Shannon: It kind of felt like that! We went around the room and everyone said what their pronouns are, and you said a little bit about something you do when you’re not on stage. It was a really nice ‘get to know you’ moment for the kids and the adults. That vibe just cemented that night and it really just kicked it off for the whole rest of the experience. I know there have been a lot of productions of The Prom in the area this year, but what I think makes this one special is what Cockpit does bring to live theatre. They’ve got that beautiful proscenium stage, top-notch sets, the orchestra is going to be kick-ass. The choreographer, Rachel Miller, has done a phenomenal job. These kids are dancing their asses off. And it looks great! And they’re excited to be doing it! The energy that this whole experience is bringing is what is going to set this production apart.
Randy: The four of us here poke a lot of fun at each other and Roger has been like “That. Keep that!” he wants that dynamic coming out with all of us on stage, and it’s been a lot of fun to have that dynamic both on and off stage.
If you had to sum up your total experience working on The Prom here at Cockpit in Court using just one word, which word would you use?
Randy: Joyous.
Coby: I’m along those lines. The first word I thought of was ‘happy’ but it’s not happy, it’s joyous.
Shannon: The first word that came to me was ‘family.’
But that’s a perfect word, so why not use it?
Shannon: Sure. I feel like every time you do a show, you bond with a core group of people and you look forward to being at rehearsals together, but this is that and more. We have a text thread—
Randy: I was just about to say that. We have a group text that we send messages back and forth to each other, during the day, while we’re at work. It’s great.
Shannon: It’s real. You care about each other in that real—
Randy: It was one word, Shannon.
Shannon: Shut up.
See? Loving this teasing dynamic gives me great hope for how sensational this production is going to be. Meanwhile, over here in Darren-still-thinking-about-words…
Darren: Responsibility.
Shannon: Ooh. Wow. That was a really good one.
You guys are great. Is there anything else any of you want to say about the overall experience, about working with Roger, the amazing kids or the amazing adults, coming back to the stage, etc.
Randy: It has been such a positive experience. My mother actually worked with Roger when she worked for the school system. And she said, “You’re going to love him, he’s so funny, he’s also really organized, he takes thing so seriously but you won’t feel pressured,” and she was exactly right. He loves when we’re having a good time. And I do need to reiterate these kids. I had no idea most of them were in high school. I thought they were all students that the college had just lying around. And Shannon is right too— the adult ensemble is great, they pick their moments, they’re joking around, and it’s just great.
Shannon: We had one of those Saturday rehearsals a couple of weeks ago and it was a looong day, and we all said “let’s buy the kids pizza.” All the adults chipped in like ten bucks, and it just felt like family. We were so happy to be able to do it and the kids were so excited; it all just comes from such a real place. It’s really nice.
Coby: It’s like striking gold. Everyone really wants to be here from top to bottom. Back stage, on stage, it doesn’t matter. Everyone wants to be here. And it’s wonderful.
Thank you all so, so much, for sharing your stories, your experiences, your feelings, and insights as to why people should come out to The Prom at Cockpit in Court! If you haven’t gotten your tickets to see this one— don’t delay!
The Prom plays July 21st through August 6th 2023 at Cockpit in Court in the F. Scott Black Theatre of The Robert and Eleanor Romadka College Center at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard, Essex MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2787 or purchase them online.
*Monday July 3rd 2023
NOTE: Despite multiple efforts, Prom Pictures for Randy Dunkle could not be located. (Randy stated outside of the interview that he and his prom date got into a Fender-Bender on the way to Prom and were very, very late, and that could possibly be the reason that there were no photos.)
