CANTON − Sitting side by side, the local theater actors portraying George and Louise Jefferson from the popular 1970s and ’80s television show nailed their roles.
Rufus Malone Jr. and Kathy J. Boyd weren’t even on stage. The duo was sitting at a table in the library area of a downtown Canton church serving as rehearsal space.
Facial expressions, vocal inflections and the sassy chemistry between George and Louise were in full effect.
But “I’m not going to imitate (Sherman Hemsley),” Malone said of the actor who played a bigshot businessman on television. “I’m just taking his essence and his attitude.”
“And we’re going to take you on a trip down memory lane,” he said. “You will have fun.”
Fans of the television show, aired on CBS from 1975-85, will relive classic episodes when Malone and the rest of the cast at Stardust Dinner Theatre present “The Jeffersons Tribute Show” on Saturday at The Metropolitan Centre, 601 Cleveland Ave. NW.
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Tickets, $45 to $55, can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets include a buffet-style meal with beverage and dessert. A cash bar also will be available. For more information, call 330-327-2087.
Stardust Dinner Theatre also will present “The Jeffersons Tribute Show” at 6:30 p.m. on June 29 at La Pizzaria in Jackson Township. Ticket information and updates will be posted on the Facebook page of Stardust Dinner Theatre.
George and ‘Weezy’
Malone summed up the dynamic between George and “Weezy” Jefferson.
“We can talk to each other in certain ways and not get too mad at each other,” said Malone, 69. “We do things to push each other’s buttons sometimes, but we love each other.”
Boyd, 69, said she could relate to “The Jeffersons” as a viewer.
“That was depicting real life,” she said. “I wasn’t rich, but it was a Black family and it was funny. It inspired you to do better and let you know it’s possible to achieve things.”
Malone and Boyd also have acted together previously in “Sanford and Son,” which was staged by Stardust Dinner Theatre.
Rare opportunity to see ‘The Jeffersons’ on stage
Mark Adkins, who is directing “The Jeffersons,” said the production will recreate funny moments from three episodes of “The Jeffersons,” including the pilot.
Stage performances of “The Jeffersons” are highly rare, the Perry Township resident said. He wasn’t aware of any in Northeast Ohio.
‘It brings back all those good feelings.’
Stardust Dinner Theatre has been performing shows in Stark County since 2012, including a popular “Golden Girls” tribute show. Other tributes have included “All in the Family,” “I Love Lucy,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Married… with Children” and “Alfred Hitchcock.”
Recreating television sitcoms theatrically is challenging, said Adkins, who co-owns Stardust Dinner Theatre with Kathy Lewis.
“The actors need to go over the top,” Lewis said. “When you’re doing television and you’re so close to the camera, they teach you to hold back, but when it’s on stage, we ask (cast members) to bring it up many, many notches. The characters have to be a lot bigger.
“Mark and I have a ball with these television shows,” said Lewis, who co-produced “The Jeffersons” with Adkins. “It makes people feel good. It brings back all those good feelings when they watched the show.”
Added Adkins: “It’s just a sentimental journey from the past. I love it. (Audiences) love it.”
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The rest of the cast includes Adkins in the role of Tom Willis; Tiffany Brown as Jenny Willis and others; Carol McAfee as Florence the maid; Lewis as Diane and others; Corey Lipkins as Lionel Jefferson and others; Delores McLeod as Helen Willis; and Denise Robb as George Jefferson’s mother.
The show’s technical directors are Anthony Zook and Jenny Kessler.
Bringing Florence to life on stage will be a thrill, McAfee said. She enjoyed the character as a viewer of the TV show.
“You get to see what happened on TV,” she said. “It’s live right in front of you. It’s almost as if (audiences) become part of the show instead of sitting at home watching on television.”
Audiences are “going to experience what they watched on television and bring back all those memories,” said Lewis of North Canton. “And they’re going to see some of the best lines ever written on television. These vintage television shows are wonderful. They’ll see something from their memory that is a delight to them.”
Beyond the laughs and humorous banter between George and Louise, “The Jeffersons” was influential in helping to break racial barriers in television. The TV show also addressed the issue of race relations in America.
Hemsley’s character, bullheaded and arrogant, was known for his own prejudices against white people.
“The Jeffersons” was a spin-off of “All in the Family.”
“(George Jefferson) gave a Black version of Archie Bunker,” Adkins said.
