Get To Know The Cast Of THREE MEN ON A HORSE- Day Two

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre presents Three Men on a Horse, by John Cecil Holm & George Abbott, the final production of the company's 2010/11 season. Directed by TACT Co-Artistic Director Scott Alan Evans, performances began at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Avenues) on Monday, March 14th, 2011.

The cast of Three Men on A Horse includes TACT Company Members Jeffrey C. Hawkins (The Memorandum, Incident at Vichy), Ron McClary (Incident at Vichy, Home), James Murtaugh (The Late Christopher Bean; Ah, Wilderness-Lincoln Center), Gregory Salata (Bent, Incident at Vichy), and Scott Schafer (Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Bedroom Farce).

In Three Men on a Horse, hen-pecked greeting-card writer, Erwin Trowbridge, has an uncanny ability for predicting the winners of horse races. For Erwin it's just a hobby, but when his extraordinary talent is discovered by a down-and-out pack of gamblers, Erwin suddenly finds himself very far from his safe suburban home in Ozone Heights. This dizzy and delightful Depression-era comedy by one of theatre's most accomplished showmen will bring a much needed lift to your Recession -wearied spirits.

The cast of THREE MEN ON A HORSE took some time to speak with Broadwayworld. The questions will run one each day everyday for the remainder of the week. 

Day two question two: How difficult was it to master the language/slang that you use in THREE MEN AND A HORSE?

JEFFREY C. HAWKINS (Charlie)

Well, not terribly. Although for some reason I found it difficult to memorize. Maybe because of how quickly the lines move around the stage. Very quick, topping dialogue. There was a term or two that had me puzzled: for example I have a line, "ertznay". Which is nertz, in pig-Latin. Which is another way of saying, "nuts".

Geoffrey Molloy (Erwin)

Well, gee, gosh, I'm not kidding, I talk this way anyways so it was awfully easy for me...fellows.

 

 

Julianna Zinkel (Mabel)

The language in Three Men on a Horse was one of my first clues into the heart of the character. Undeniably fun, the vocabulary also has such heartbreak right on the page! One moment she's talking about the "swell" times in the follies, the next she's "hocked" all of her possessions and the next she says "well, that's just the breaks!".

Gregory Salata (Patsy)

Mastering the language and slang of a play is always a challenge! With this particular play, being a native New Yorker was a great help to me! Much of this play sounds like a Sunday afternoon visit to my grandmother's house when I was a kid. Actually there are still members of my family who speak Noo Yawkese today!

 

 

Don Burroughs (Frankie)

The play was actually written in the 30's so the vernacular is accurate and true. Plus, it's a well written play. Like all good plays, once you find the intent of the language, the meaning and the cadence become very clear. The dialect is very informative as well.

 

Three Men on a Horse will have the following performance schedule: Monday, Wednesday - Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $36.25 - $56.25 and are available 24/7 through Telecharge.com/212-239-6200 or at the Theatre Row box office (410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) between 12pm and 8pm daily.