BWW Interviews: The Cast Of Paradise Found - Including Patinkin, Hensley And Opel!

Mandy Patinkin

I loved doing my concerts in London, and would love to return with my Sondheim concert, and our evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin.

I'm certainly looking forward to doing our play for the Chocolate Factory audiences. Their response is crucial to this process, I expect they will teach us everything. Without them, we're nowhere.

Daniel Marcus

My role in this show is to be the strange man who keeps showing up in different costumes and characters. The audience no doubt will be wondering why all three of my characters are short and round. I like them all: The Mayor, The General and what I call "Will the real Eunuch please Stand Up". I am particularly curious as to how as The General I am expected to make love to Nancy Opel while in full military dress. I assume wearing my sword during sex is some sort of birth control but I guess Nancy and I will suss that out in rehearsal,

In London I look forward to taking my Chocolate Factory pay and discovering all the wonderful things one can do for free. The larger project is to take my "Gilbert and Sullivan's London" and visit all the places I can mentioned in the book. True!

Lacey Kohl

Being one of only three women total in the female ensemble, I get to be a bit of a chameleon and play multiple roles. Throughout the course of the show, I play a lower-class citizen of Vienna, a prostitute in a brothel, a harem girl or one of the shah's wives, and a prison matron. My mother would be so proud! Haha!

I've never been to London before so I'm especially excited to get this chance to not only do what I love, but also have a mini-vacation in a fabulous city! I love to run, so I'm looking forward to lacing up my sneaks and exploring the beautiful parks and gardens. I love outdoor markets so I'm excited to see Columbia Road market and Portabello Road Market. Yoga and a local ballet class are also top on my list to check out. And of course I want to take advantage of all the museums - the V & A museum, Tower of London, the National Gallery, and the zoo.

Amanda Kloots-Larsen

I play a lot of different roles as one of the ensemble members. I am a Folk Girl, a Whore, an Empress, a Prison girl, and a Harem wife! It is a lot of fun to have so many characters and take on a lot of personalities. I also am the dance captain for the show so I have to make sure that I know all the dance steps to keep the show looking fantastic and clean!

I am looking forward to EVERYTHING in London. I have never been and only hear wonderful things about it. I can't wait to have a day where I walk around and get lost, going in and out of stores and cafes!

Shuler Hensley

The Baron is the sort of "alpha male" character in the show -a man who loves women but doesn't know what love really is. I had always intended on returning to London to perform! I find that , as an actor, there is a different kind of respect for the theatre and the profession of acting in England. It was something that I admired when I worked at The National and something I have looked forward to experiencing again! London theatre has a very special place in my heart.

Martin Van Treuren

I play several characters in the show, one of them being Johann Strauss I who is very proud and more than a little jealous of his son Johann Strauss II whose music is being used in this show.

Having not been to London in 20 years I am looking forward to being the total tourist again. I am also excited about getting the feel of actually living and working there for a time and visiting old friends.

Nancy Opel

I have never worked in London before. Obviously I've seen gorgeous Theatre Over there and I'd love to be a part of the scene even for just a moment! In Paradise Found, I play the Soap Manufacturer's Wife, a woman of humble beginnings who climbs the social ladder - horizontally. She has lots of money, lots of curls, lots of fun. In The Toxic Avenger, which played off-Broadway this season, I played a dual role of the evil Mayor of Tromaville and the hero's mother. These two characters dislike each other intensely and actually square off in a cat fight. Yes, I sang a duet with myself. The music was written by Bon Jovi's keyboardist, David Bryan, so it was my first real adventure in a rock score. It was a blast!