‘Soap’ stars reunite for a little ‘Romance’

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Katherine Helmond and Robert Mandan have a special bond that is as

enjoyable off stage as it is comforting on.

They played husband and wife on the off-beat TV hit comedy series

“Soap,” and spent five months touring with the play “Same Time Next

Year.”

“Robert is like my second husband,” Helmond said about her co-star

of “A Twilight Romance” opening Saturday at The Falcon Theatre. “We

like each other and it’s pleasant and a nice challenge in the acting

area.”

They have stayed friends over the years and find whenever they

meet, no matter the length of absence, they pick up right where they

left off, inquiring about respective spouses, pets and other things.

It’s a combination of mutual respect and trust, which filters

through when they are working together on stage.

A mutual trust has to be formed between actors, Helmond said,

because live theater places heavier requirements on them than those

posed by TV or film.

“It forces you to use your mind, instincts, memory and emotions

simultaneously,” she said. “You are using the total self, so you have

to be there from top to bottom, 100 percent.”

An actor really feels the adrenaline perking away waiting for the

cue for the first scene, she added.

“But once you walk on stage and see your friend, you find you are

at home on that piece on which you worked together so hard,” she

said.

This Falcon performance is the world premiere for Mayo Simon’s “A

Twilight Romance,” a play about the romancing of a cantankerous but

content older lady by a charming elderly Casanova.

Directing is Jules Aaron, a recipient of 18 Drama-Logue Awards,

three Backstage West Garland awards and three Los Angeles Drama

Critic’s Circle Nominations for direction, winning the award for his

revival of “Equus.”

Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m.

Sundays. Tickets range from $25 to $37.50. The play continues through

March 2. The Falcon is at 4252 Riverside Drive, in Burbank. For

reservations, call 955-8101.

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A preview performance of The Colony’s “Fuddy Meers” will benefit

the Boys and Girls Club on Friday night. There will be a raffle, hors

d’oeuvres and no-host bar with festivities beginning at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $50 and can be reserved by calling 842-9333.

The off-Broadway hit comedy launched the career of play- wright

David Lindsay-Abaire. It tells the story of Claire, an amne- siac who

awakens each morning not knowing anything about who or where she is.

She ends up being kidnapped by one hus- band and pursued by another.

Directing is David Rose, who also directed “Bea[u]tiful in the

Extreme” and “Our Country’s Good,” which received six Ovation

nominations.

The production contains strong language and is recommended for

mature audiences.

Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7

p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $22 to $28 and can be reserved by calling

558-7000. The Colony makes its home at the Burbank Center Stage, 555

N. Third St. For reservations, call 558-7000.

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A special salute to young musicians is planned during the free

concert performed by the Burbank Philharmonic at 7:30 p.m. Saturday

at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.

Steven Kerstein will conduct the orchestra in the program titled

“Music for the Family: Lone Ranger and Beyond!” It features such

classics as Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”

The composer in residence, Cary Belling, will premiere his new

work, “Ripples in the Fabric of Space/Time.”

As part of the Orchestra’s Youth Outreach Program, the concert

will showcase a finalist of last year’s Young Artist Competition,

Jakub Obsky, performing a cello solo during Saint Saens’ Concerto #1.

And, for the first time, the Outreach Program is extending into

the classroom as art students will interpret Mussogsky’s “Pictures at

an Exhibition.” The student’s artwork will be displayed in the Hall

of Liberty prior to the concert and will be judged.

Four young musicians from Burbank High School will join the

orchestra in playing the piece, and their music director, Dean Immel,

will perform an alto sax solo in one of the movements called “The Old

Castle.” Forest Lawn is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive.

* JOYCE RUDOLPH’s column appears Wednesdays. For events happening

this weekend, read her 48 Hours column Saturdays. Reach her at

637-3241.