Wendt to star in Drayton Entertainment production
ST. JACOBS — Whenever George Wendt, as the character Norm Peterson, walked into the Boston bar Cheers, in the television sitcom, the rousing chorus of “Norm!” spoke of how beloved he was.
This fall, that same charm will grace a Drayton Entertainment stage.
On Monday, Drayton made the announcement that the versatile actor will play Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s classic, “Death of a Salesman.”
The 1949 Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winning play opens Oct. 18 at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, running until Nov. 4.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Alex Mustakas, artistic director of Drayton Entertainment. “I cast a net wide to see who was interested in the role.”
When he received a call from Wendt, Mustakas halted the search. He had found his Willy Loman.
“It’s on the bucket list for any actor,” said Mustakas. “He said it’s one of the greatest roles ever.”
Mustakas had first seen Wendt on stage in the three-character production “Art” in London, England’s West End.
“I was really impressed, he gave a brilliant performance,” he said.
Mustakas then met the actor a few years later when he was performing in the Charlottetown Festival’s “Hairspray.” Those two exposures to Wendt the stage actor stayed with Mustakas. Then a friend and fellow director from Western Canada offered to reach out to Wendt when “Death of a Salesman” was added to the 2017 Drayton season.
“My friend said he’s one of the nicest guys to work with,” said Mustakas. “He works really hard.”
Wendt has never let his star power go to his head, despite the 11 years on “Cheers” and his nomination for six Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. After the series finished in 1993, Wendt appeared in several other sitcoms as well as in films and numerous stage productions, including on Broadway. This was the just sort of well rounded background Mustakas was looking for.
“There’s no retakes on stage,” Mustakas said. “We needed someone with that experience.”