Veteran film, television and stage actor Bernie Kopell, best known for his role as Dr. Adam Bricker on The Love Boat, is starring in the uplifting comedy Viagara Falls at Mississauga’s Stage West Theatre Restaurant until Nov. 22.
Bernie Kopell
The show involves two retired widowers, Charley Millhouse and his friend Moe Krubbs. Adding to the mix is a buxom call girl and Viagra. Viagara Falls examines the bond between these two men and their desire to feel wanted.
Kopell, 76, says it is actually a love story between two human beings who have bonded together for their own comfort and economic reasons.
“The play deals authentically and comedically with real issues that men have with their appearance below the waist and with their feelings about their ability to perform below their waist,” Kopell says.
The two were soldiers in the Korean War, during which Moe (Kopell) saved Charley’s life.
“Now, when the play picks up we are widowers on pensions,” Kopell says. Charley gets a notice from the veterans’ association and assumes that Moe is dying.
“He figures he will give Moe a great night with the little blue pill and a hooker. My character is totally reluctant to get involved because of his loyalty to the memory of his wife and the anxiety that comes along with sexual performance. A great deal of the comedy is Charley persuading my character that life goes on, and to enjoy it.”
Charley is played by character actor Lou Cutell, known for playing Dr. Cooperman, the infamous “Assman” on Seinfeld.
Cutell is also the co-author of Viagara Falls, and directed this production, which previously ran at Stage West in Calgary.
“I love working with Lou. We are symbiotic – we feed off each other,” says Kopell. “Between us there are 110 years of working in comedy, so we know what we are doing and we get a lot of laughs.
“Lou wrote the play and he’s Italian, not Jewish, but Italians and Jews are so similar, almost the same temperament. I love this quote – ‘I love Jews so much I had them for parents.’ I stole it from Milton Berle.”
Kopell has done Jewish theatre with comedian-actor Shelly Berman in Los Angeles.
“Basically, my rhythms are Jewish rhythms because I happen to be Jewish, and the first joke I ever heard was from my grandfather and it was in Yiddish. I have all these Yiddishisms,” Kopell says. “I often call upon my friend, singer Ed Ames, who is a Jewish scholar, when I come upon a certain Yiddish word. Although my first five years in showbiz was playing Puerto Ricans and Cubans, because I discovered that I could do these accents, and that really got me going on this magic carpet ride.”
After each performance, the cast comes out into the audience for a meet and greet. Kopell says that meeting the audience adds a personal touch that may get people to talk to their friends about the show. After all, he jokes, it is all about getting people in the seats!
Kopell also starred as Siegfried in Get Smart and as Jerry on That Girl. He is married to producer-actress Catrina Honadle. The couple has two sons – Adam, 12, and Joshua, 7. Adam was born when Kopell was 64 years old. They live in Tarzana, Calif.
For tickets, call Stage West at 905-238-0042 or book online at www.stagewest.com.
