Alan Woolf, Shelly Kurtz, and Bart Braverman

Sitting in the foyer of the compact Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, playwright Chuck Faerber and director Richard Kuhlman are anticipating the arrival of their production’s large acting ensemble for an afternoon rehearsal, 10 days away from the premiere of Faerber’s new stage work.

“Basically it’s a play about the Iraq war, set in a restaurant in Los Angeles,” says Faerber.  “One of the central characters is a waitress, Joyelle, played by Marion Ramsey.  Joyelle’s son is a Marine serving in Iraq. She is also a surrogate mother for a group of bachelors who gather daily at the restaurant’s counter for food and emotional support.  Of course, one of the subjects of constant conversation is Joyelle’s son.”

Chuck Faerber

Counter Men is 59-year-old Faerber’s third produced play.  “This one is reflective of my life.  For several decades I’d kind of attached myself to various neighborhood-style eating establishments that became second homes to me and guys like me.  We really became emotionally invested in the lives of the waitresses who served us every day.  And they would empathetically invest in our lives as well.”

Ramsey, who has been smiling and nodding throughout Faerber’s introduction of the play, just naturally flows into the conversation.  “I gotta say, at the first audition when I got sides, I was taken aback by the size of the role. I come from musical theater and I have never had to read so many lines, I think, in the span of my career.”

Her Broadway and regional credits include such tuners as Cinderella, Grind, Little Shop of Horrors, Eubie and Scarlett/Gone With the Wind, but she is perhaps best known for her starring role as squeaky-voice Officer La Verne in six out of the seven Police Academy films. Counter Men is her first non-musical play, and she admits to trepidation about taking on such a daunting speaking role. “But that first long monologue I read at the audition just drew me in. I thought then this was powerful stuff. I asked to read the entire script and when I did that, I knew I wanted to do this.”

Marion Ramsey

“Although Marion’s character is a central driving force to the play, there is a rich, character texture imbued within this work,” interjects Kuhlman. “There are 20 roles, played by 14 actors. There are several different story lines which have to crest at the same time to tell this group story.  It is not all about Iraq.  There are guys there that represent Korea and Vietnam, current soldiers and past soldiers.  Their interactions branch out to cover a whole lot of subjects of contemporary concern.”

Besides Ramsey, the Counter Men ensemble includes Bart Braverman, Naila Browne, Ted Elrick, Paul Haitkin, Vanessa Herrera, Dave Kirkpatrick, Shelly Kurtz, Anna Nicholas, Michael Ruesga, Amro Salama, Carol Soldo, Michael Uribes, and Alan Woolf.

Kuhlman affirms that the greatest need for an ensemble of this size and diversity is time together on stage.  “We started rehearsing in June so we’ve been living with this awhile. We are at the stage now where it is all coming together.  The play covers a four-year span, from the early stages of the Iraq war to 2008, and mainly takes place in this restaurant.  There are a few outer scenes that sort of dance about other atmospheres but the main focus is in the restaurant.  I know Chuck envisions it as Glendale, but it is a universal environment where neighborhood people gather.”

Alan Woolf, Shelly Kurtz, Marion Ramsay and Bart Braverman

“It is all feeling like a family to me,” interjects Ramsey. “Now everybody is interacting off book. We can truly focus in on one another outside of our written text and let our characters breathe. I love Joyelle. She is like mother earth.  In fact, I have come to a decision that Joyelle is the restaurant.  It’s hers.  I want to start playing her like that, a little edgier and tougher.  As much as she cares about these men, she takes no nonsense. And I am so happy that our fearless leader Richard has let me find her and been so supportive of my journey of finding her. “

“Of course, having this much talent to work with, the play has evolved a lot since the first rehearsal,” Faerber admits.  “They have offered so many little ways to make the characters believable, alive and distinctive, that I see them becoming fully dimensional right in front of me.”

Rick Kuhlman

At this moment actor Bart Braverman arrives and immediately segues into the discourse.  “I am a little embarrassed to admit I do not spend time working on a back story to my character.  I really act by the seat of my pants.  The only rule that I learned in acting class that means anything to me is: Everything you need to know about your character is in the script.

“I play Carl and there are a lot of things that jell with me about this character.  We’re the same age and in some respects we’ve had the same military experience.  Carl is the liberal in this group of guys and that certainly is me. My God, my parents were communists. I feed off the other characters.  I feed off the director.  The life of my character is born on stage during rehearsals and arrives fully developed when those audience members are in their seats.”

Braverman has certainly received affirmation that he knows what he is doing. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, he appeared in the first New York production of Godspell, as well as The Rocky Horror Show.  A member of the successful improvisation troupe War Babies, Braverman was also a regular on the ABC series VEGA$.

Bart Braverman and Anna Nicholas

Kulhman admits that keeping the energy flowing positively is a balancing act.  “Although we have a large ensemble, not everybody is on stage together. There is a great texture to the action. There are some small intimate scenes, romantic interactions, and some almost fight scenes.  The action can get loud and chaotic as well as very quiet and reflective. We just need to keep the through-line of where this work is going moving steadily forward. Chuck has scripted a significant play.  We all just want to do it justice.”

**Production Photography by Ed Krieger

Counter Men, produced by Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners, written by Chuck Faerber, directed by Richard Kuhlman.  The play previews Friday, August 5 at 8 pm; show runs August 6–August 27, at the Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks. Tickets:  Preview – $10   General Admission – $20.  323-960-5521.  www.plays411.com/countermen.