In new Wichita Community Theatre show, actress portrays ages 17 to 101
Through her time on stage in Wichita Community Theatre’s “Birthday Candles,” Michele Janssens ages from 17 to 101 – without any changes in makeup or costumes.
“That’s one of the fun things about doing it,” said the actress, who says she’s “halfway between Ernestine when we first meet her and halfway to Ernestine at the end of her life.”
“That’s kinda fun,” she added.
“Birthday Candles,” written by Noah Haidle, was scheduled to open with actress Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”) on Broadway in April 2020, but was delayed until 2022 because of the pandemic.
“It had just a few performances and even less word of mouth,” WCT director Angela Forrest said. “This was brand spankin’ new to me.”
However, “It’s written in such a relaxed, conversational style, and it’s so rooted in reality that it immediately spoke to me,” Forrest said.
Asked whether it was more difficult to play a teenager or a centenarian, Janssens said it was neither.
“Honestly, the middle. I don’t know why I feel that way,” she said. “I feel like those middle years are difficult. Maybe that’s because where I’m at in life right now, maybe it takes an emotional toll just relating to the character, but I feel like these middle ages are challenging.”
Ernestine is first seen as 17, then 18, up to 101, sometimes with clearly defined ages, sometimes not. Her body language changes, but nothing else does.
“The playwright said you can do the scene changes however you want,” Forrest said. “The key is that there is no true stoppage of the acting on stage. We have decided to do it in such a way that there’s a visual cue and a sound cue during the scene change. The key was that it just kept on flowing.”
Joshua Rosenberg, who plays her husband, also ages from 30 to 50 to 88 to 100.
“When it comes to the older ages, especially 88 and above, (I’m) trying to do it respectfully,” he said. “I don’t want to be cartoony.”
Janssens said “Birthday Candles” celebrates everyday life.
“We tend to see life as living from crisis to crisis, from extreme joy to extreme joy, because those are the things we remember, the things that get our adrenaline flowing and get cemented into our minds,” she said. “But life happens in the routine. It’s the boring stuff.”
Forrest said she hopes the audience finds relatability.
“My goal for the show is for everyone in the audience, at some point in the show, to go, ‘Yeah, I remember that from my own life,’” she said. “I want them to see a little bit of themselves and their own family.”
‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’
When: March 12-22; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
Where: Wichita Community Theatre, 258 N. Fountain
Tickets: $20 adults, discounts for seniors, students and military, from wichitact.org