STILL PRICKLEY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ANDREA MARTIN BRINGS HER BELOVED COMEDIC CHARACTERS TO HAMILTON
The Hamilton Spectator
May 11, 2011 Wednesday
First Edition
by Vidya Kauri The Hamilton Spectator
Comedy legend Andrea Martin will be bringing her one-woman show:
Final Days! Everything Must Go!! to the Hamilton Place Studio Theatre
Thursday. Martin's act will feature characters made famous by her
in her decades-spanning career on television, movies and Broadway,
including dysfunctional sexologist Cheryl Kinsey, Aunt Voula from My
Big Fat Greek Wedding, and SCTV firecracker and Martin's alter-ego,
Edith Prickley.
"The characters I'm doing in my show are so much in the cells of my
body. I really just have to close my eyes, put my costume on and I'm
there because I've done them for so long," says Martin.
However, the characters in the new show are anything but a replica
of what viewers have become accustomed to. Rather, they have matured
over the years, very much like Martin herself.
"There will be memories from SCTV, but new observations all under
the umbrella of comedy," she explains. "They'll still have the same
costumes, they'll still have the same buzzwords. Dr. Cheryl Kinsey
will still be talking about sex and Edith Prickley will be, you know,
she's really a determined, outgoing, optimistic person, but now she's
kind of angry. She's tired that everybody keeps telling her to join
CARP (Canadian Association of Retired People). She says that every
time she hears the word CARP, she goes into a violent rage."
The title of the show is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek, a double
entendre. Although it may suggest that Martin is slowing down or
thinking of retiring, this notion couldn't be further from the truth.
Indeed, SCTV, the show that launched Martin to fame in the '70s,
is gone, and there is nothing left now except reruns and memories.
However, the real point that Martin hopes to drive home is that
"you keep going, everyone must go, I'm going, everything must go,
you don't have a real choice in life. You must stop or keep going."
And Martin is indeed going strong. At 64, not only is she getting
onstage to make people laugh for an hour and a half, she swims daily,
rides her bicycle and works out at a gym. Last week, she hiked six
miles up the Santa Monica Mountains when she was in Los Angeles to
celebrate her younger son's 29th birthday.
Exercise is central to Martin's youthfulness, but she also credits
her Armenian heritage for her "beautiful, healthy skin." However,
after speaking with Martin, it is evident that her ambitious and
playful attitude is a big part of what keeps her going. It is the same
attitude that she had around the age of nine or 10 when she realized
that comedy was her strength.
"Really, the spark of who I am is that young girl. That never went
away, and that probably is the answer to your question How can you be
the age that you are and still have the energy?' Because the person
that's inside of me is really the child that wants to show off,
do cartwheels, play."
That young girl grew up a long time ago, but in Final Days, the
audience can expect to see how Martin, the adult, has matured through
life experiences that are not uncommon to many of us attempting to
get through life's daily grind and rat race. Like many career women
raising children, she felt guilty when she was working and guilty
when she wasn't. She also struggled with feelings of insecurity and
anxiety while she competed with other parents such as Meryl Streep and
Dustin Hoffman, whose children attended the same school that Martin's
sons did. Martin now proudly brags about her sons' numerous talents,
especially within the musical and acting arenas.
As well, we will get a glimpse of her "dating or nondating habits,"
how she spends her time Googling herself and "watching Hoarding:
Buried Alive." Despite her numerous Emmy, Tony, Gemini and other
awards, Martin comes across as down-to-earth, warm and affectionate.
"When you start out, you feel frightened and worried that the universe
isn't going to provide for you, and I think the older I get, the more
I realize that the more you give, the more that comes back to you."
Final Days also features the musical accompaniment of Seth Rudetsky,
the daily host of Seth's Big Fat Broadway on Sirius/XM radio's
Broadway channel. It's a musical retrospective of an impressive,
multidimensional career.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The Hamilton Spectator
May 11, 2011 Wednesday
First Edition
by Vidya Kauri The Hamilton Spectator
Comedy legend Andrea Martin will be bringing her one-woman show:
Final Days! Everything Must Go!! to the Hamilton Place Studio Theatre
Thursday. Martin's act will feature characters made famous by her
in her decades-spanning career on television, movies and Broadway,
including dysfunctional sexologist Cheryl Kinsey, Aunt Voula from My
Big Fat Greek Wedding, and SCTV firecracker and Martin's alter-ego,
Edith Prickley.
"The characters I'm doing in my show are so much in the cells of my
body. I really just have to close my eyes, put my costume on and I'm
there because I've done them for so long," says Martin.
However, the characters in the new show are anything but a replica
of what viewers have become accustomed to. Rather, they have matured
over the years, very much like Martin herself.
"There will be memories from SCTV, but new observations all under
the umbrella of comedy," she explains. "They'll still have the same
costumes, they'll still have the same buzzwords. Dr. Cheryl Kinsey
will still be talking about sex and Edith Prickley will be, you know,
she's really a determined, outgoing, optimistic person, but now she's
kind of angry. She's tired that everybody keeps telling her to join
CARP (Canadian Association of Retired People). She says that every
time she hears the word CARP, she goes into a violent rage."
The title of the show is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek, a double
entendre. Although it may suggest that Martin is slowing down or
thinking of retiring, this notion couldn't be further from the truth.
Indeed, SCTV, the show that launched Martin to fame in the '70s,
is gone, and there is nothing left now except reruns and memories.
However, the real point that Martin hopes to drive home is that
"you keep going, everyone must go, I'm going, everything must go,
you don't have a real choice in life. You must stop or keep going."
And Martin is indeed going strong. At 64, not only is she getting
onstage to make people laugh for an hour and a half, she swims daily,
rides her bicycle and works out at a gym. Last week, she hiked six
miles up the Santa Monica Mountains when she was in Los Angeles to
celebrate her younger son's 29th birthday.
Exercise is central to Martin's youthfulness, but she also credits
her Armenian heritage for her "beautiful, healthy skin." However,
after speaking with Martin, it is evident that her ambitious and
playful attitude is a big part of what keeps her going. It is the same
attitude that she had around the age of nine or 10 when she realized
that comedy was her strength.
"Really, the spark of who I am is that young girl. That never went
away, and that probably is the answer to your question How can you be
the age that you are and still have the energy?' Because the person
that's inside of me is really the child that wants to show off,
do cartwheels, play."
That young girl grew up a long time ago, but in Final Days, the
audience can expect to see how Martin, the adult, has matured through
life experiences that are not uncommon to many of us attempting to
get through life's daily grind and rat race. Like many career women
raising children, she felt guilty when she was working and guilty
when she wasn't. She also struggled with feelings of insecurity and
anxiety while she competed with other parents such as Meryl Streep and
Dustin Hoffman, whose children attended the same school that Martin's
sons did. Martin now proudly brags about her sons' numerous talents,
especially within the musical and acting arenas.
As well, we will get a glimpse of her "dating or nondating habits,"
how she spends her time Googling herself and "watching Hoarding:
Buried Alive." Despite her numerous Emmy, Tony, Gemini and other
awards, Martin comes across as down-to-earth, warm and affectionate.
"When you start out, you feel frightened and worried that the universe
isn't going to provide for you, and I think the older I get, the more
I realize that the more you give, the more that comes back to you."
Final Days also features the musical accompaniment of Seth Rudetsky,
the daily host of Seth's Big Fat Broadway on Sirius/XM radio's
Broadway channel. It's a musical retrospective of an impressive,
multidimensional career.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress