Interview: Real-life Marrieds Julia Glander and Alex Leydenfrost are Having an Affair in THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF NOW at Tipping Point Theatre in Northville

Tipping Point Theatre in Northville closes out its 11th Season with Y York's romantic comedy The Impossibility of Now running through Aug. 19. The show stars real-life marrieds Julia Glander and Alex Leydenfrost who, onstage, are having an affair.

BroadwayWorld Detroit (BWW Detroit) caught up with the two prior to opening night, July 21. Here's what they had to say:

BWW Detroit: The Impossibility of Now made its world premiere at Thalia's Umbrella in Seattle, WA in March. Now it's making its Michigan Premiere at Tipping Point. Tell us about the play and its audience appeal.

Alex Leydenfrost: Julia's character, Miranda, is a professor of Poetry and a published author. Miranda is married to Carl (Dave Davies), a successful science writer, who has just come out of a coma following an accident. Carl doesn't remember anything from the past, especially the darkness of his personality over the last four years.

Julia Glander: Alex plays Anthony, a recently divorced pediatric dentist, who is romantically involved with Miranda. The play takes place in three locations: Carl and Miranda's condo, Anthony's dental office and a coffee shop. I love this play -- the words alone are as important as the meaning behind the words. It's truthful, poignant and funny. This is a full-circle moment for me with our playwright, Y York. Twenty-eight years ago, I was in another one of her plays, Rain, Some Fish, No Elephants at the New Theatre of Brooklyn. Y York writes with such insight, humanity, and humor. The play was ahead of its time. I was delighted to find out I would be auditioning for another one of her plays and thrilled when I was ultimately cast.

Alex Leydenfrost: This is a beautiful, poetic and funny play about three characters desperately trying to find themselves and their hearts again. The magical sway of poetry finally leads them to discover what was in front of them all the time.

BWW Detroit: Dave Davies plays the core character in your love triangle. Have you worked with him before?

Julia Glander: This is a full-circle moment for me with Dave. We were both in The Dinner Party, which was my very first production at Tipping Point, although we did not play husband and wife that time. It's always a joyous experience to be with Dave Davies on stage.

Alex Leydenfrost: This is my first opportunity to work with the comedic machine known as Dave Davies. It has been a blast.

BWW Detroit: How many shows have you each done at Tipping Point?

Julia Glander: I have performed in six TPT shows, most notably as "Ann Landers" in Lady With All The Answers, for which I won a Wilde Award. And I have directed three shows there as well.

Alex Leydenfrost: This is my second show at Tipping Point. The first one was The Outgoing Tide.

BWW Detroit: You've been married for 20 years. Is this the first time you've been on stage together?

Alex Leydenfrost: We haven't acted together since we met 25 years ago in an Off- Broadway production of Tartuffe at the Pearl Theatre in New York City. Even though we're not playing husband and wife in The Impossibility of Now, our characters are romantically involved, so that's fun.

Julia Glander: Yes, it is.

BWW Detroit. So, what's it like working together after all these years?

Alex Leydenfrost: It's been a lot of fun and interesting to take the play home with us every night.

BWW Detroit: Why did you move to Ann Arbor 11 years ago?

Alex Leydenfrost: We moved to Ann Arbor from Los Angeles because we had visited Ann Arbor many times over the years--Julia's sister lives here--and loved it. We also thought Ann Arbor would be a great place for our daughter, Josie, to grow up in.

Julia Glander: That has proven to be true. We are very happy we made that decision.

BWW Detroit: Has Josie expressed any interest in following in her parents' "footsteps?"

Julia Glander: Josie has many interests: languages (Mandarin and French), guitar, songwriting, art, writing and, yes, of course, theatre. She was fully bitten after playing "Little Red Riding Hood" last fall in Community High School's production of Into The Woods. She is currently looking at colleges where she can continue to explore all her interests.

BWW Detroit: Being a full-time actor in Detroit is difficult. How do you supplement that part of your careers?

Alex Leydenfrost: I am a full-time Drama teacher in Ann Arbor Public Schools and co-sponsor of the Pioneer Theatre Guild at Pioneer High School.

Julia Glander: I am an adjunct, part-time professor at Eastern Michigan University and occasionally at Washtenaw Community College.

BWW Detroit: How do you keep the balance of being working actors together in a show, parenthood and your "day" jobs.

Alex Leydenfrost: Part of the decision to be in The Impossibility of Now together was that it was rehearsing and running in the summer when we are both largely free from our teaching duties. It would have been much more challenging during the school year. There was a point last year when all three of us were involved with shows at the same time. Julia was directing, Josie was acting and I was producing High School Musical at Pioneer. We didn't see much of one another for a few weeks.

Julia Glander: When Josie was younger, we made choices to work at opposite times, so that one of us was always available for her. Now, as a teenager, she welcomes the time to have us both out of the house [she laughs].

BWW Detroit: Did you drive to rehearsals and, now, performances together?

Alex Leydenfrost: Yes, we drive together always. We run lines in the car, at home, walking the dog, wherever. There is still no escaping The Impossibility of Now.

Julia Glander: Or each other.

BWW Detroit: As husband and wife, what have you found that has helped or hindered your perspective in the characters?

Alex Leydenfrost: Actors don't give other actors notes, period. Well, sometimes if they are married.

Julia Glander. Ha Ha. The benefit of being an acting couple in real life is that we can always come home and vent and the other person just gets it. That is intensified when you are in the same play. Even though we are not playing a married couple in the show, our personal relationship does add some spice to our relationship in the play. It gives us a shorthand to the work. We have great respect for each other's process, even when we have to remind ourselves to be kind.

The Impossibility of Now will be presented Thursdays through Saturdays, July 19-August 19 at 8 p.m. with matinees at 3 pm on Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $30 - $46. Seniors (62 or older) receive a $2 discount off their ticket. For tickets or more information, please call the box office at (248) 347-0003 or visit www.TippingPointTheatre.com. Tipping Point Theatre is located at 361 E. Cady Street in Northville, Mich.

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