There are no true heroes or villains in Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons, on stage at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center March 16–April 2, but that’s what longtime local actor Joneal Joplin, who stars as patriarch Bill, says makes this story feel real for audiences.
“There are no angels, there are no demons,” says Joplin. “It’s just people.”
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Several elements drew Joplin to Grand Horizons, which is both his first return to the stage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and his Moonstone Theatre Company debut. Among them were the chance to play a character who is in a similar stage of life and the opportunity to work with some actors he’s collaborated with before, including his son, Jared Joplin.
“We’ve worked together so many times before, but it’s one of the things that anytime I get the opportunity, I look forward to it,” says Joneal. “One, he’s a pleasant person to work with. Two, he’s a talented person to work with, and three, I know he has my back at all times.”
Grand Horizons sees the pair play father and son as Joneal’s Bill and wife Nancy (played by Sarah Burke) deal with the fallout as they end a 50-year marriage. Moonstone’s production is the play’s regional premiere, and producing artistic director Sharon Hunter is at the helm.
Joplin has spent more than 50 years working on St. Louis–area stages, and he’s been impressed with Moonstone’s contribution to the local theater scene in the few years since Hunter founded the company. He points to Hunter’s practice of hiring both equity and non-equity actors and the wide appeal of Moonstone’s programming as good signs for the Kirkwood-based company’s future.
“They’re looking to be an important company in this town, and I think they will be. I think their contribution will be huge,” says Joplin. “[Hunter] is a terrific director, because she’s got beautiful ideas about how to do it, and she’s also got ears that are wide open. Those are two very hard things to find together.”
In their collaboration on Grand Horizons, Joplin hopes audiences will find some lessons to be learned among the drama and laughter. He stresses that while the play includes some strong language and hard situations, it is also full of humor stemming from the reality of the family’s situation.
“You do want the audience to keep an open mind about it and remember that these are real people,” says Joplin. “These are the kind of people that you have in your neighborhood. You probably have some in your family. Just be able to recognize that and be willing to listen and be willing to learn, because there are lessons to be learned in this one…but just like in real life, the funniest things are not the jokes that are told. They’re the funny things that come out of life.”
Moonstone Theatre Company’s Grand Horizons runs March 16–April 2 at Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. Tickets and showtimes are available at moonstonetheatrecompany.com.
