THE FRIDAY FIVE: Butler and Nappo from OF MICE AND MEN

Circle Players continues its 2015-16 season with its production of John Steinbeck's literary classic Of Mice and Men, opening tonight at Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theatre. Daniel DeVault and Heather Vaughn Alexander team up to direct the show, starring Mitchell Stevenson as George and Tony Nappo as Lennie, the two migrant workers and pals whose woeful life and tragic experiences have made Steinbeck's novel - and its subsequent stage version - among the best-loved tales found in all of American arts and letters.

Today, Eric Butler (who plays Curlie) and Tony Nappo take on our Friday Five questions, to give you some insight into the two actors. Here's your chance to get to know them before seeing the show which runs for three weekends, through November 15.

Eric Butler (Curlie)

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? The first show I performed in was To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. I played one of the angry townsfolk, and the antagonistic roles have been coming in ever since. The first show I had ever seen was a production of Annie that my sister was in at St. Cecelia Academy. To this day it's one of the best productions of Annie I've ever seen.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I tend to fidget. So I'm one of those people who will pick a space backstage and just continuously move around in it. Whether it be pacing back and forth, practicing martial arts movements, or even the occasional dance party. Dance party tends to be the more popular choice with my other castmates.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? I had the role of Bob Cratchit in a production of A Christmas Carol and my line was supposed to be "My dear, the children," but what came out was "My children, the dear," and without missing a beat, a girl who was playing one of my kids responded with "What deer, Father?" It was everything myself and the actress playing my wife could do not to break, but we ad-libbed a couple of things and powered through.

What's your dream role? I have several, but the first one that comes to mind is Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey in Biloxi Blues. I love character actor roles, and that has always been one that I have found interesting. Ash Williams from Evil Dead - The Musical would be great as well though.

Who's your theatrical crush? It varies, but right now, Marla Mindelle. She's relatively new to the Broadway scene, but I could watch her read the phone book and be ok with it.

BONUS QUESTION: Tell me something about yourself that would surprise people. I have secretly trained several Nashville theatre actors to be Sleeper Agents. I haven't actually figured out what their objective will be yet, so they will remain undercover for now...for now.

Tony Nappo (Lennie)

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? My first taste of "live theater" came in the second grade when a buddy and I did and excerpt of "Who's on 1st?" for a school talent show.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? My pre-show ritual varies from show to show and it usually depends of the location of the theater, but it always involves food and/or caffeine.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? When I was a freshman in high school we did Grease and once while entering a scene I knocked a set flat over. Another actor caught it, stood it back up and covered saying, "Hey man, way to bring down the house" - cue the laughter.

What's your dream role? I don't know that I have any specific dream role. I just want to act. For me the dream is just to get a role.

Who's your theatrical crush? I'm a huge fan of supporting local talent so I'm gonna say David Compton, Megan Murphy-Chambers, and personally I think anything Nate Eppler touches is gold.

BONUS QUESTION: Tell me something about yourself that would surprise people. I think people would be surprised to know that I love math. So much so that I was two classes shy from minoring in it in college.

ABOUT THE SHOW: Circle Players, at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, Nashville: Of Mice and Men, running through November 15. www.CirclePlayers.net Heather Alexander and Daniel DeVault direct the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic tale of George and his lumbering friend, the gentle giant Lennie. Tony Nappo plays Lennie, with Mitchell Stevenson as George. Other cast members include Eric Butler, Morgan Fairbanks, Joseph Lovell, Ethan Treutle, Nick Boggs, Ron Veasey, Christian McLaurin and Craig Hartline.

To post a comment, you must register and login.