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An interview with actor Barry Pearl

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Contributed by: Cheryl Games on 3/8/2007

Encino resident Barry Pearl stars as 'Sydney Hocheiser' in "Where's Poppa?," now playing at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. The play is based on the hilarious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film and the novel by Robert Klane. We caught up with Barry to ask him about the experience of bringing to life one of the most outlandish mother/son relationships since ancient Greece.

Many "Grease" fans will remember you as 'Doody' from the T Birds gang. Any behind the scenes dirt on one of America's most favorite musicals?

BP: We always get asked that....ah....the public's hunger for "dish"! After all of these years, I only WISH that I'd have sumpin' sumptuous and sensational to add. It was simply a 15 week labor of love that found all of us getting along famously and having the time of our lives.

Had you seen the Carl Reiner's film adaptation of "Where's Poppa?" before taking on the role?

BP: Yes, once when it was released and once recently prior to starting work on the play.

How's working with the cast and with director Gordon Hunt?

BP: It's one of those "vunder casts"....a dream group of people who are so willing to experiment and play.

Gordon is an institution who I challenge at every turn. We all want the best product to emerge from this process and that happens only when ideas are allowed to be heard and tested. He allows for that environment to exist here.

What can die hard fans of the film "Where's Poppa?" expect to see?

BP: A plot twist that helps to justify certain behavior and a new ending!

What can audiences completely unfamiliar with "Where's Poppa?" expect to see?

BP: A crazy black comic ride through the lives of some pretty dysfunctional people....wait....not that unfamiliar to many of us, I suppose!!

Were you "bummed" to learn about Sydney's "revealing" scene?

BP: I hope you intended that "bun"...I mean pun! Let me just say this about something I've always believed about "baring it all"...When you can "reveal" it all, there's NOTHING you can't do upon the stage. It makes one fearless; and it's fear that is at the heart of pretty much any problem that an artist can encounter along the way to bringing ideas to fruition.

What's up next for you?

BP: There are LOTS of proverbial "irons in the fire", not the least of which could be a stint, this summer, in New York re-creating the role of Sheldon Seltzer in a very successful new musical about the life of the resort entrepreneurial Grossinger family, "Saturday Night At Grossinger's".

Come out and see all of us play at the Falcon!

"Where's Poppa?" plays Tues. - Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 4pm, through March 25th at the Falcon Theatre, located at 4252 Riverside Drive, in Burbank. For tickets, call the Falcon Theatre Box Office at (818) 955-8101. More info and photos at www.FalconTheatre.com.

- Kendall Ward, Burbank

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