LANGLEY - A relative newbie to Langley, Danny Steele said jumping feet-first into the production of a comedy seemed like an ideal way to re-immerse himself in community theatre and also get to know the Langley Players drama team.
Fellow cast members in the upcoming production of Self-Help have made the 63-year-old funeral home director and embalmer feel very welcome since he showed up for audition back in early September.Steele, who moved from New Westminster to Walnut Grove last March, plays the role of Detective Snow in the Players' winter show, which opens Thursday, Jan. 15 at the Brookswood playhouse.He and his husband Don saw the Langley Players' spring production of Light Sensitive, another comedy, and were "very impressed" with the quality of the production and the acting, Steele said.While he has been engrossed in acting since age 12, he hadn't actually been on stage for more than five years, and said he was anxious to reconnect with the thespian community.He wouldn't hesitate, having worked with the cast and crew three days a week for the past few months, to consider this his new "home theatre."This isn't a lead role for Steele, but that's OK. It's been fun and challenging, he said, explaining that he has no similarities with the character, and therefore, he has had to really work to understand him before bringing him to life on stage.He's confident he's managed to do that, and has invited a number of his friends to see him in the upcoming show. "I'm not on until the second act, but I keep telling them it's well worth the wait."Langley Players has selected another comedy by Canadian playwright Norm Foster. Self-Help tells the story of a married couple, both second-rate theatre actors, who re-invent themselves as nationally renowned self-help gurus. Their lives unravel in a farce as they try to conceal a body and hold on to their falsely won fame.It's dubbed a clever and fun look at love and the selfhelp industry, and what this couple will do to stay on top."It's very funny," Steele said.While he described it as an adult-oriented play, he said "even a non-theatre person would get a good giggle out of it."Steele is not the only Langley actor in this production.He's joined on stage by a few familiar local faces, including Langley's Ken Boyd as the lead character of Hal Savage, as well as Langley's Barb Coulter playing Ruby Delvecchio.Self-Help's playwright, Norm Foster, is a Torontonian who worked in radio for a quarter century before discovering his passion for theatre. He's been writing plays for 30 years, and isn't showing any signs of slowing down, said producer Dave Williams.Director Mary Renvall added: "It has been a real treat to direct a group of actors who have such a strong commitment to their craft and enormous comedic talent."Self-Help runs from Jan. 15 through Feb. 14 (Thursdays to Sundays) at Langley Playhouse, 4307 200th St. in Brookswood.Show times are 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.Tickets are $15 each and available by calling 604-534-7469, emailing reservations@langleyplayers. com, or going online to www.brownpapertickets. com/producer/133005.