Funny people

View larger image Leon, played by Steve Nichols, center, watches as Bill, played by Jeff Schwartz, left, questions Debbie Miles, as Justine, after she unexpectedly shows up at his apartment exhibiting every quality Bill wishes for in a girlfriend, in a rehearsal of “The Love List” at Winchester Little Theatre. — Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Justine bursts through a door surprising Leon and Bill in "The Love List." — Dennis Grundman/Daily

Third consecutive comedy at WLT is mysterious from the start

By Josette Keelor -- jkeelor@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- The cast of Winchester Little Theatre's upcoming play "The Love List," by Canadian playwright Norm Foster, has a message for its audience: Be careful what you wish for.

It's an age-old warning, backed up in film, music and literature, but it's a mantra that never dies, and it's the driving lesson in WLT's third comedy this season.

Bill just turned 50 and feels like he's in a bit of a slump. Or maybe it's only his friend Leon who thinks Bill needs more excitement in his life. Either way, Leon challenges Bill to make up a list of the 10 top qualities he's looking for in a woman.

Maybe you can guess what comes next.

Justine shows up, "and strangely enough she happens to have all the qualities that are on the list," says director Pat Markland.

"But is what you think you want really what you want?" Jeff Schwartz, who plays Bill, hopes the audience will derive from the story.

"The rest of the play is discovering things about Bill, things about Leon," says Debbie Miles, who plays Justine.

Discoveries about who and what Justine is and where she came from also will spring forth from the hilarity of the three-act play, Markland says.

"The mystery really starts from the very beginning. There's no whodunit there, it's what's going on?" he says.

"I think we've got four comedies and a drama this season, so this is the third comedy in a row," Markland says.

It happens sometimes, he says. Some seasons are heavy on the dramas while others serve up more musicals.

"We're making up for it next year," Schwartz says.

Still, one play's funny is not another play's funny, and "39 Steps," which the cast of "The Love List" describes as "wild and crazy" differed greatly from the more down-to-earth, larger-scale "The Foreigner," both in WLT's fall lineup.

"The Love List," too, offers its own brand of comedy.

"This is more in [a] Neil Simon vein. It's funny, but it also has a point," Schwartz says.

"But it fits good with January," he says. "The whole New Year's resolutions, are you sure that's what you want?"

Bill, after all, isn't really sure what he wants. He's not even sure he wants to date again after being divorced for seven years.

"He's a numbers guy, he's a statistician," Schwartz says, later explaining, "The statistics are against him finding someone else."

"He thinks he likes his rut, though," Miles says.

"Leon and his list take him out of it," Schwartz says.

But what does Leon know of what's good for Bill?

"Leon goes through an arc that starts with jerkiness and ends just short of jerkiness," says Steve Nichols, who plays Leon.

Like their roles, the three actors differ greatly in their past experiences.

Miles, who acted years ago in New York's Hudson Valley, playing Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors," has recently returned to the stage after several years following other paths.

Living in Winchester for the past 12 years, she says she has thought long and hard about taking to the stage again.

"I used to pine, I used to drive by all the time," she says.

Her first role at WLT was as an extra in "39 Steps," so the audience basically will meet her in her starring role this month.

"They're going to get to know me really, really well," she says.

Schwartz, on the other hand, a professional actor, counts 70 stage performances and 12 movies to his credit. He's been in five plays at WLT, including "39 Steps," "Into the Woods" and "A Comedy of Errors."

"We're having a good time and we think it will show for the audience," says Nichols, who has been on and off the WLT stage since 1979.

"A lot of directors just kind of let me do what I do," he says.

"The process has been so fun," Miles says. "[Markland] has a really good way of giving you directions. ... The whole thing has been fun."

"Come ready to laugh," Markland says.

"[Foster has] taken very real people and put them in an unexpected situation and it makes it very, very funny," Schwartz says.

"This is real life," Miles agrees. "This is some guy's apartment. ... People can identify. The era is now, the culture is us."

If you go
"The Love List" will begin at Winchester Little Theatre, at 315 West Boscawen St. in Winchester, on Friday and run through Jan. 22. For information, call 662-3331 or email wlt@wltonline.org.