Column: Firsts and lasts for father, son at Macon Little Theatre’s Young Frankenstein’

Macon Little Theatre’s production of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” opens tonight promising plenty of laughs plus some meaningful firsts and lasts.

As for firsts, it’s the first time J.P. Haynie, MLT’s artistic director and director of “Young Frankenstein,” has worked in a production or directed his father, Phil Haynie, who plays Harold the blind hermit in the show.

And lasts? The senior Haynie, 75, said it will be the last-ever performance in his long career as a professional actor, director and educator — including a stint as MLT artistic director himself in the 1980s.

Those familiar with MLT through the last few decades will know Phil, who lives in Tennessee now, went on from MLT to direct, continue his pro acting career and teach college-level drama in Wisconsin, New Orleans and elsewhere.

It’s a legacy story compounded by the fact J.P.’s mother, Sylvia Haynie, who retired only last year after years teaching at Stratford Academy, has also been a mainstay at MLT on stage and off as a director, choreographer and musical director. She’s the accompanist for “Young Frankenstein.”

For J.P.’s part, he’s acted since a youngster in MLT’s youth programs, mainstage plays and been a working stage and television actor in New York before returning to Macon to lead MLT.

But J.P. was too young to ever be directed by his father while he was in Macon though he’s seen his father direct here and many other places.

He said he’s been heavily influenced by seeing his father’s directorial style.

“We’ve worked around each other a lot but I can’t remember that we’ve ever worked directly so this is the first time we’ve done a project together,” J.P. said. “I’ve seen him on stage and watched him direct, though, and I love his directing style and how he works with actors. I’ve adopted a lot of what I’ve seen him do and taken on a lot of his attitudes. He’s very actor friendly and I’m the same, meaning, we like to let actors come to who their characters are and how they should be played pretty much on their own. I don’t micro-manage and try to use gentle hands to shift and shape everything to serve the overall production.”

J.P. said he believes that helps bring greater honesty and life to characters as well as gives actors the opportunity to exercise their creativity and craft.

“Plus,” he said, “I’m not that much of an egomaniac to think I’m the only one with a good idea or that there are things I’m not thinking of. I adjust when necessary but my job is to bring all the parts together to serve the drama and source material. I think I got a lot of how that works by watching Phil.”

When the possibility of Phil being in the play came up, Phil insisted on auditioning. J.P. said, “OK, audition.”

It obviously went well.

And obviously, both couldn’t be more complimentary of each other.

“I’m so impressed with J.P. as a director and his leading Macon Little Theatre,” Phil said. “I’ve come down to see all his productions and couldn’t be prouder of him. I think he gives me too much credit – he’s far surpassed me.”

Phil said though he’s seen J.P.’s plays he’s never had the opportunity to see him go through the process of a show.

After getting to, he reiterates, “He’s very good.”

After saying he’s acted in some 125 shows and directing a few more than that, Phil said it’s time to quit.

“This is the last show I’m ever going to do,” he said. “At my age learning lines and songs is getting tough. Apart from scene directions, I probably don’t have half a page of lines in the script so I was happy about that. And it’s a good little part; I loved the character in the film.”

J.P. said the part of the hermit is brief but richly comedic and his father pulls it off beautifully.

In the classic 1974 film written by Brooks and Gene Wilder, Gene Hackman played the hermit. Brooks was instrumental in adapting “Young Frankenstein” as a musical comedy for Broadway in 2007.

“It’s a wonderful note to go out on,” Phil said. “I’ve learned my song, my lines and J.P. got me through the blocking and actions so I’m set and looking forward to it. To go out being directed by my son, well, how great is that? He handled me very well and I tried to keep my nose out of everything. You know that’s hard for a former director.”

With J.P.’s wife, Ashlee, also in the show, it’s definitely a family affair but the director is complementary of the whole cast which includes many new faces to MLT as well as familiar ones like his father’s.

“I know a lot of people will get out of kick seeing him,” he said. “There’s a reason he’s had such a long, successful career - he knows how to make magic moments. People who don’t know him, or “Young Frankenstein” for that matter, will enjoy it and those who remember Phil from back in the day and recall the movie will get to have a unique and wonderful time seeing him and reliving the story.”

J.P. said the only shortcoming in the production is they didn’t manage to get his young daughter, Lumi, in it.

For ticketing, dates, times and more on MLT, check their website at www.maconlittletheatre.org.

In other notes:

-Theatre Macon continues its run of “Singing in the Rain” through July 22. Information is at www.theatremacon.com.

-The Ocmulgee Artist Guild presents their Euphoria: Bazaar exhibit and sale today, July 15, from 6 p.m. to midnight at 391 2nd St. The wide-ranging fine art exhibit and party showcases guild members and invited artists in a postmodern, psychedelic-themed atmosphere. It’s free and includes interactive installations, collaborative creations and fine art works plus local bands performing and concocted cocktails available to those over 21 making a donation. IDs will be checked at the door. It’s a chance to see and buy traditional and provocative new art at tiered and competitive prices. See www.facebook.com/ocmulgeeartistguild for more.

-The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings’ annual Labor Day Festival is coming in September but the application deadline is today, July 15, for high school seniors – four violinists, two violists and two cellists – to participate in the intensive, hands-on three-day workshop with Center for Strings faculty for prospective students. Apply at www.mcduffie.mercer.edu/labor-day-application and stay tuned for more on the event.

-Macon Film Guild presents “Little Richard: I Am Everything” Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Douglass Theatre, 355 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Cost is $5 which includes a free Happy Hour sponsored by Fall Line Brewing Co. starting at 6:30. This is the second chance in Macon to see this new documentary in tribute to Macon’s own rock pioneer, Richard Penniman, a.k.a. Little Richard. More information is at www.douglasstheatre.org and www.maconfilmguild.org.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.