‘The Actors,’ a Plays of Wilton production, makes its Off-Broadway debut

Ronnie Larsen, far left, Allen Lewis Rickman, Jeni Hacker, Gabriell Salgado and Jason Guy, far right, in The Actors, a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City. Photo courtesy Ronnie Larsen

By Oline H. Cogdill

NEW YORK CITY—Families start in myriad ways—biological origins, adoptions or forged among friends. Ronnie takes a different route—he hires a family in the witty, poignant “The Actors,” a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City through June 1.

Written and starring Ronnie Larsen, “The Actors” made its debut in September, 2022, at The Foundry in Wilton Manors where he is the founder and executive producing director. The South Florida production garnered a Carbonell award for supporting actress Jeni Hacker and a Carbonell nomination and Silver Palm award for director Stuart Meltzer.

Bill Hirschman’s review of the original 2022 production is here .

Ronnie Larsen, left, Allen Lewis Rickman and Jeni Hacker in The Actors, a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City. Photo courtesy Ronnie Larsen

“The Actors,” which is semi-autobiographical, is rich with comedy, emotion, pathos and a thoughtful look at families, loneliness and grief wrapped in a tightly balanced script that moves over a brisk two hours.

Larsen stars as Ronnie, a lonely middle-aged adult who has never gotten over the death of his mother 12 years before or his father’s passing two years later. He’s not exactly estranged from his brother or two sisters, but he doesn’t visit or contact them or his nieces and nephews, all of who live in other states.

Ronnie’s pain is deep and his solution is to hire out-of-work actors Jean (Jeni Hacker) and Clarence (Allen Lewis Rickman) to impersonate his parents, who were named Jean and Claire. The “project,” as Ronnie calls it, will have them act as his parents about two or three hours a week inside his apartment. They will act out some of these parents’ stories, recite phrases they would say and recreate a few events from his childhood. Yes, they all admit it is a bit weird, but it is theater and it does pay.

Gabriell Salgado, far left, Ronnie Larsen, Allen Lewis Rickman and Jeni Hacker, far right, in The Actors, a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City. Photo courtesy Ronnie Larsen

Ronnie wants them to give him a birthday party, complete with the cone hats; to occasionally tuck him into bed as he wears his Superman pajamas. He wants them to tell him it is past his bedtime and that he can’t stay up late to watch TV. It’s those little moments we may have resented as children but fondly remember as adults and, perhaps, long for occasionally.

For the actors, it’s a job, yet for Ronnie, it’s real. But as Jean tells her “son,” families are messy and complicated. Sometimes, Ronnie learns, this family of actors doesn’t take direction, especially when their off-stage lives intrude on their roles as his parents.

The appearance of an unplanned brother Jay (Gabriell Salgado) upends the family dynamic that is further problematic when Real Jay (Jason Guy), Ronnie’s actual brother, makes a surprise visit.

Jeni Hacker, Ronnie Larsen, Allen Lewis Rickman, Jason Guy and Gabriell Salgado, far right, in The Actors, a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City. Photo courtesy Ronnie Larsen

Anyone who has parents to whom they are close or have dealt with their passing can relate to “The Actors,” the desire to recreate some of those little moments; just the chance to talk with them again. “The Actors” makes you remember and appreciate even the most mundane moments as being precious. That’s a tactic Thornton Wilder used in his classic “Our Town” when the spirit of a young woman recently deceased relives the most ordinary day of her life, finding solace in those little moments.

Meltzer’s always smooth direction keeps “The Actors” seamlessly moving as the cast wonderfully acquits itself. The multi-award winning Hacker is on fire as Jean, going from a weary, financially strapped actress who thinks the project strange, but who soon grows into the role. When she switches from portraying Ronnie’s mother to her off-duty self, Hacker quickly turns from one role to the next as she blurs the lines between fiction and reality.

Rickman delivers a dad-vibe from the beginning as the role starts to take over his life when he also sees a different advantage to being Ronnie’s dad.  Although his role is smaller, Salgado proves why he has become one of South Florida’s most sought-after young actors from his roles in area productions such as “Clyde’s,” “Frankenstein” and “Red Speedo.” Guy’s solid performance puts a different spin on “The Actors;” one truly believes his Real Jay is related to Ronnie. The appealing Ronnie keeps his personal story churning, making us feel his grief and root for him to have a family, especially when the story takes a turn.

Jeni Hacker, Gabriell Salgado, Allen Lewis Rickman and Ronnie Larsen, far right, in The Actors, a Plays of Wilton production now making its Off-Broadway launch in Theatre Four at Theatre Row in New York City. Photo courtesy Ronnie Larsen

The set by Stone Dog Design depicts a modest, but comfortable, livable apartment down to the box of Apple Jacks cereal on the kitchen table.

“The Actors” is not the first time a South Florida playwright has had work produced on Off-Broadway—Davie playwright and co-founder of Zoetic Stages Michael McKeever has had several produced in New York City as well as many mounted internationally. Miami playwright Nilo Cruz’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning “Anna in the Tropics” opened on Broadway during November of that year for a three-month run. Miami resident Christopher Demos-Brown’s “American Son” debuted on Broadway during November, 2018, for a two-month limited run.

But “The Actors” is the first time a South Florida production has transitioned to Off-Broadway with several local actors and production members.

South Florida talent in the Theatre Row production includes actors Jeni Hacker, Gabriell Salgado, and Larsen; director Stuart Meltzer; costumes by Laura Turnbull; intimacy director Nichole Perry as well as several South Florida producers.

For years, we’ve been bragging about the quality of South Florida theater. This Off-Broadway production of “The Actors” is proof of that.

The Actors runs through June 1 in Theatre Four at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St., New York, New York. Tickets begin at $52.50. Visit https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/the-actors/ or  www.theatrerow.org  for tickets or more information. The running time is 2 hours plus an intermission.  Visit https://www.playsofwilton.com for information on Plays of Wilton.