A Grandmother's Dickensian Afficionado
Margaret Hoorneman, at ninety-two years young, was so inspired by her many years of teaching the great Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, to her English literature classes, that she adapted the novel to a musical. She then contacted her grandson in Los Angeles, Brian Van Der Wilt, who was busy with his television career, to continue adapting her script. Brian enlisted the talents of Steve Lozier to help him with the book, Richard Winzeler to write the score, and Steve Lane to write the lyrics. Thus began the journey of bringing the sprawling novel to the stage.
The creative team knew that the endeavor would take more than just presenting highlights of the book interspersed with songs. It would take creating a theater piece inspired by the beloved story.
As the songs began to spring to life, many talented friends such as Debbie Reynolds, Patti Cohenour, Hugh Panaro, David Barnham, Calvin Remsberg, Stephen Breithaupt and Mary VanArsdel lent their magical voices to the project’s CD.
Readings were performed for small audiences in Los Angeles with Cloris Leachman as Miss Havisham, Hugh Panaro as Pip, and Anastasia Barzee as Estella. Faith Prince also played as Miss Havisham in a later reading in which Calvin Remsberg generously contributed his talents as dramaturg.
The latest addition to the team has been the enormously talented director and producer, Ray Roderick. He had taken notice of Great Expectations after it had won the “Producers’ Award” at the New York Musical Festival. Once on board, Ray gave the team an added momentum and the result was a conceptual transformation into the realm of the Pip’s psychological journey, which Dickens, so ahead of his time, had captured in the novel.
With the CD and script complete, Great Expectations is ready for its maiden voyage.
Thank yous
We would like to acknowledge and thank the many fine actors that have already contributed to the development of GREAT EXPECTATIONS.
Debbie Reynolds
Cloris Leachman
Faith Prince
Patti Cohenour
Hugh Panaro
Calvin Remsberg
Stephen Breighthaupt
Mary Van Arsdel
Robert Townsend
Anastasia Barzee
Elizabeth Ward Land
Norman Large
Chuck Dickens
T. Eric Hart
Eric Kunze
Colt Beyer-Johnson
Larry and Robin Goetz
Melissa Lyon
Janine Lovulo
David Burnham
Hap Lawrence
Perry Brown
Eric Anderson
Jessica Pennington
Sierra Rein
Dink O’Neal
Brandon Crane
Sara Mann
Ed Martel
Jerry Sternbach
Richard Jay-Alexander
Betsy Nickels
Joshua Finkel
Mitch Stark
Chett Gunhus
Erika Amato
James Detmar
Chandler Warren
Bill Hutton
Amy Kramer
Georgia and Gholi Darehshori
Ronald Rolfe
Sara Darehshori
Evan and Mollie Hoorneman
Ruth Rann
Nader Darehshori
