Man and woman of the year

READY -- read by SJ* EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series of four columns reviewing the year 2005 in local theater.

Earlier this year, the Newport Theater Arts Center presented an excellent revival of Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes,” featuring particularly outstanding performances by an actor and actress playing husband and wife.

These veteran performers went on to distinguish themselves in other productions during the year. They are two of the local theater community’s finest actors, excelling both in comedy and drama.

The talent and versatility of these two, both in their 50s, stand as models for younger actors to emulate.

They are Michael Ross and Harriet Whitmyer, the Daily Pilot’s 31st annual man and woman of the year in theater.

Ross functions alternately as actor and director, usually with impressive results. In 2005, he followed his nasty character in “Little Foxes” with the role of a frustrated father in Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite” at the Huntington Beach Playhouse, where he also directed Arthur Miller’s searing drama “The Crucible.”

Among his more than 50 acting assignments have been roles in “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Light Up the Sky,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Rumors,” “The Odd Couple,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Noises Off,” “Ten Little Indians,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”

Ross also has directed over 50 productions, including “The Philadelphia Story,” “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” “Dial M for Murder” and “A View From the Bridge.” Quite a resume for an actor-director who was so painfully shy as a child that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming, literally, to his first audition.

Whitmyer, who’s married to a former man of the year, Orange Coast College’s Alex Golson, has performed in more than 70 productions, following her poignant portrayal of Birdie in “Little Foxes” with a screamingly funny character in “Breath of Spring” on the same Newport Theater Arts Center stage.

Other local appearances, either for the Newport Theater Arts Center or the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse, include roles in “The Guys,” “Young Man From Atlanta,” “Quilters,” “Harvey” and “Gemini.”

At OCC, she’s been featured in “Equus,” “Bleacher Bums,” “Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” “Assassins” and “Sweeney Todd” opposite Golson.

Whitmyer also has served on the boards of directors at both the Laguna Playhouse and Newport Theater Arts Center, but dropped off both because, as she says, “I decided I really preferred the stage.”

Michael Ross and Harriet Whitmyer have made enormous contributions to local community theater, enriching dozens of productions with their talent and versatility. Their recognition as the Daily Pilot’s 2005 man and woman of the year in theater is long overdue.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Fridays.

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