Gary Waldman's new production is a family affair! - Sun-Sentinel Feature Story

Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman, theater producers, presented the premiere professional production of the musical-comedy Pickles at the Atlantis Playhouse, W. Palm Beach, FL (2003) … the following is a feature story published in the Sun-Sentinel:

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LISA GODDARD ON STAGE

Production is a family affair

October 17, 2003|LISA GODDARD (link to original article)

The on-again, off-again love affair between Ginger Reiter and comedian Jackie Mason is the subject of Pickles, a new play written by Reiter that will premiere at the Atlantis Playhouse on Wednesday.

Starring in the lead female role is Sheba Mason, the real-life daughter of Reiter and Mason. "I'll be playing my mom starting when she was in her mid-20s and covering about a 10-year span of time," she said.

'Pickles' stage set mimics a Miami Beach delicatessen

Mason, 18, who lives with her mother in Boca Raton, is excited about the opportunity to portray her mother and expand her acting repertoire.

"It's a very interesting experience, playing my mother," said Mason, who attends classes at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. "It's easy in some ways because I'm just like her. She has shtick, and I have an inclination toward that as well. It's fun."

Mason, who has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Godspell at the Creative Stage of the Lake Worth Playhouse, says her father is supportive of the effort.

My father knows about the play, but he's not going to be able to be here because he'll be opening on Broadway about the same time," Mason said.

Reiter, who also wrote Solomon's 700 Wives, says she has mixed feelings watching her daughter rehearse.

"It's a real trip watching her play me. On the one hand, I want to hug and kiss her and tell her she's wonderful, and sometimes I want to tell her to sit up straight," says Reiter, who likes to say she's older than Brooke Shields, but younger than Goldie Hawn. "She's a natural actress."

The play, whose title is based on the legendary Wolfie's Restaurant in Miami Beach, is a piece Reiter has worked on for years.

"It's been a work in progress for a very long time, but this is the brand new, finished version. Jackie has always been encouraging of it," said Reiter, who is now married to the cantor for Temple Beth El in Hollywood. "There's comedy and music and a lot of drama, and we have original music with live musicians. Gary [Waldman], the director, and the whole crew have been incredible. It couldn't be better if it was on Broadway."

Reiter "fictionalized everything; she didn't want a Jackie Mason impersonator," Waldman said, "but you do see hints of him and the essence of his personality."

Local actor "Mark Harmon plays the role as a character actor, and that's good."

Singing and entertaining on the South Florida condo circuit with her mom and comedian Frankie Man since the age of 6, Mason hopes to make the theater her career.

Reiter, who performs Women of the Bible, a show featuring belly dancing and comedy, is optimistic about the show.

"It could play elsewhere, you can never tell what will happen," she said.

Previews run through Sunday. Opening night is Wednesday, and the show runs through Nov. 30. Preview tickets are $21.50, $24 for Saturday evening and Sunday matinee. Regular performances are $26.50, $29 Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. Performance times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday; and 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Atlantis Playhouse is at 5893 S. Congress Ave. in the Shoppes of Atlantis. 

E-mail Lisa Goddard at ladygatr8@aol.com or fax 561-272-3189.