Interview: First Stage Honors 20th Anniversary of LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE

The popular Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse returns to First Stage for Kevin Kling's theatrical adaptation of Kevin Henkes best selling children's book beginning this May. A picture book written in 1996, Henkes' story features a tiny little girl mouse struggling to be who she is, wearing glitter sunglasses and mismatched outfits--as Lilly called herself, "The Queen of the World" who liked everything" and in 2016, celebrates 20 years still tucked firmly in children's hearts.

Coincidentally, as an actor in the 2016 production playing Lilly's mother and grandmother, Elyse Edelman also celebrates 20 years with First Stage. The First Stage Theater Academy actor began her career at the age of five and the 2001 First Stage production of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse marked Edelman's initial professional performance. Edelman played Raphael when she entered fifth grade, although she missed the FS 2007 performance when Lilly reappeared on the Milwaukee stage.

Edelman's childhood story bears retelling for the impact First Stage developed through out professional regional theater and the young people's lives they serve with the mission statement "Transforming Lives Through Theater." Edelman mentions she was unbearably shy as a child, "I wasn't always able to express myself, but I had a vivid imagination and loved to play pretend."

Her mother eventually enrolled her in the First Stage Academy where Edelman discovered, "Speaking other people's words helped me articulate my thoughts and find my own voice."

Fast forward to circa 2016 where returning to perform in Henke's Lilly reminds Edelman of the connection between who Lilly was and who she was. Edelman explains with sincerity, "I love this play, the message. It captures the spirit of First Stage. My favorite line in the play, in the first scene, happens when Lilly comes to meet her friends. She is dressed in a mismatched outfit, covered in bandages. Her friends ask her why the band-aids?"

"Because I look brave," Edelman reads from the script. "And when I look brave, I feel brave. ...of course whatever you wear can make you look how you feel, and feel how you look."

This represents to Edelman how theater helped her as a young person. "The play and First Stage found me when I needed it most and it's essential to remind myself of a child's wonder and why I do what I do."

What did Edelman decide to do after spending a childhood at First Stage? After graduating from Nicolet High School and then the prestigious Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre BFA Program in 2012 that only accepts 16 students a year from more than 2000 auditions, Edelman has constantly been acting or teaching acting to other children, often similar to her own experience.

Edelman spent time at Milwaukee Rep for a year in their Emerging Professional Residency and at American Players Theatre last summer where she appeared inPride and Prejudice, Private Lives and A Streetcar Named Desire. In Spring Green, she worked with Marcus Truschinski, Kelsey Brennan, and other seasoned actors, Tracy Michelle Arnold, James DeVita and Deborah Staples. Or waited in the wings talking with Jonathan Smoots for their end scene in Streetcar. Other acting credits include Chicago and Minneapolis venues, Riverside Theater, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Door Shakespeare, and a recent appearance in Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play at Forward Theater in Madison. While Edelman maintains a home base in Milwaukee, she road trips wherever the casting leads and mentions, "Everything I own, I can fit in my car."

First Stage has played an invaluable connection to the Midwest acting community and for advice she considers Northern Sky Theater's Associate Artistic Director Molly Rhode one of her greatest mentors. Rhode remains one of the original First Stage Theater Academy graduates whose career since has impacted every avenue in regional theater by working as an actor, choreographer and up and coming director, last seen in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's Fallen Angels. With genuine fondness, Edelman says "Molly has been a friend to me, almost a big sister who taught me how to put on make-up when I was 14 years old."

Edelman further explains she has taught at the First Stage Academy, worked as the summer headmaster, and in 2016 will be directing for the program. Her enthusiasm runs over when she says, "I love telling stories as a forum for expression, exploration, and understanding."

When Edelman did experience tough times, she again turns to Henke's Lilly, her spoken words in his play memorable because of another meaningful connection. In the book and script, Lilly's teacher Mr. Slinger advised Lilly after an extremely rough school afternoon, "Today was difficult, tomorrow will be better." These are the exact words Edelman's father used to inspire Elyse when she called him at home worrying over current trials and tribulations, and adds, "Lilly as a character is the person we all wish to be - the most colorful and authentic version of herself. And she owns it."

When First Stage reprises the beloved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse under Marcella Kearns' direction, Joe Klug's scenic design and Debra Krajec's costumes this May, audiences will be reminded that the authentic version of who they are can be equally beloved as Lilly. Exactly what Edelman discovered over the past 20 years. After appearing in the 2016 Lilly production, Edelman will be seen at Renaissance Theaterworks for their first October selection titled The Drowning Girls.

This May, laugh and love with Lilly by celebrating the charming First Stage production. While Lilly can be brave and colorful, believe anyone can begin to feel brave and colorful, their authentic self. Edelman knows from experience and as someone who chooses an actor's life, concludes: "I am most grateful in my life for First Stage, an artistic home for 20 years... the people who watched me grow up - Jeff Frank, John Maclay, and Brad Bingheim - are my biggest champions and invest, inspire my future."

Wish Lilly 20 more years of being brave and colorful. Inspire and invest in the future of First Stage.

First Stage presents Kevin Henkes' Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse in the Todd Wehr Theatre at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts opening May 13 through June 12. For information on First Stage, First Stage Theater Academy, the 2016-2017 season, or tickets for this performance, please visit: 414.273.7206 orwww.firststage.org.