One of the joys of community theater is the varied ways that people find our way to us. In the very talented cast of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, we have two actresses with an uncommon connection. Katie Bruno and Clare Lopez are both professionals who are working with the Merry Go Round Playhouse with the Youth Tour. Since the Playhouse has multiple companies performing the same show, Katie and Clare are actually playing the same character in MGR’s production of The Paper Bag Princess in separate traveling companies.
Although they have their work in common, Katie and Clare come from opposite ends of the country. Clare Lopez was born in Chicago, but grew up in California. She went to college in Washington state, and California. Two years ago she moved to Auburn to work with Merry Go Round. On the other hand Katie Bruno was raised in Lansing, New York. She studied Musical Theater at the University of Miami. She too has been working at Merry Go Round for several years.
In fact for Bruno, this is her second time revisiting her role in The Paper Bag Princess. According to her, “It’s been a great opportunity to build even stronger characters and make bolder choices.” She continues, “Knowing that someone else will be playing your role also helps you take yourself less seriously and keep your ego in check knowing that all artists can make different choices to successfully tell the same story.”
Clare agrees, “It is also very nice to watch another cast’s production to see all of the other alternative choices being explored. If anything, there is a sort of camaraderie between Katie and myself. Our track is very physically demanding, and requires some expert puppetry work, so it is nice to look to her and empathize with the hard work and the joy we bring to each character we play.”
In our production of Musical Comedies Murders of 1940, Clare plays Bernice the librettist. “Bernice is equally fun and challenging… Throughout the entirety of the show, she is driven by her desire to write and improve the musical– even when people around her are dropping like flies. However, with her propensity to drink, and her relatively low tolerance for emotional strain and real life gore, she spends much of the show passed out, and intoxicated.”
On the other hand Katie’s character is suspicious from the beginning of the show. She plays Helsa Wenzel, the German Maid of the Von Grousenknueten estate. “It’s a joy to play characters with such rich backstories. Helsa is especially dark and bizarre, which is a great challenge as a character actor. It’s fun to find the highs and lows in a character who plays her cards close to the chest.”
Katie and Clare were both encouraged to come out by other members of the cast. Alicia Frame who also works with them at MGR plays Nikki the chorus girl, Mike Antico is an MGR alum plays Eddie the Comic, and Kristin Bridges works in the front office and place Marjorie the producer. To see the entire cast click here.
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 will be April 17th, 18th, and 19th. Tickets are $14 General Admission, $10 Students/Seniors. Tickets online are available at ShowTix4U.com.
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