Meet the Cast: Life Could Be a Dream

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll introduce you to the five new faces who are not only on stage at the Old Church Theatre doing five shows a week, they're also soaking up all New Rockford has to offer. Take the time to introduce yourself to them after the show!

Tori Lynn

Tori Lynn plays Lois Franklin, daughter of "Big Eddie" Franklin, owner of Big Stuff Auto. A former song leader at Springfield High, Lois arrives on the scene to help shape Denny and the Dreamers into a real singing and dancing group.

Lynn is a small town girl herself, as a child she lived in a "village" with less than 1,000 people in southern Illinois. Her parents gave up their 20-acre property and mile-long gravel driveway for a bigger small town called Highland, which is 30 minutes outside of St. Louis, Mo. (on the Illinois side). She was raised in a close-knit family and has one older sister.

In her youth, she was active in sports, and it wasn't until her sophomore year in high school that she fell into theatre. And she fell hard. "I got a taste of it, and I could not let go," Lynn says. Although she was a latecomer to theatre, Lynn has made up for lost time over the past five years. She is now entering her junior year at Western Illinois University (WIU), pursuing a bachelor's degree in musical theatre. Her character in "Kiss Me Kate," which she performed with two of the other Dream cast members at WIU, was also named Lois. She also played Fiona in "Shrek The Musical" and Shelby in "Spitfire Grill."

Lynn was the first of the cast members to find out about New Rockford, as she was set to perform in "Little Shop of Horrors" last summer, which was canceled. She got tuned into DPRCA by a WIU alum, who had shared a casting call from Schwab in early 2020. After submitting her audition video, she said it was Schwab himself that pulled her to New Rockford. "He responded back with such kindness and so much energy," she recalls. "He got to know me, and it made me want to come work for him." She said she was "crushed" when the show was canceled.

When Schwab received Lynn's audition for the role of Lois in this summer's production, he called to ask for her help. DPRCA needed promising male actors to fill out the cast. Lynn sent the opportunity to a select few of her "favorite, most talented friends'' at WIU who she knew didn't have commitments for the summer. She later learned that not just one, but three of her peers at WIU had also been cast in "Life Could Be a Dream."

Now four weeks into her New Rockford experience, Lynn is once again immersing herself in small town life. "This town is charming," she says. "I'm so excited to show everyone what me and my friends can do. These boys are electric on stage."

Danny Hollander

This won't be the first time that Danny Hollander, who plays "Denny Varney," has worked alongside Lynn. The pair performed together in "Kiss Me, Kate" last summer, with full pandemic protocol. "Danny lifted me about a thousand times in that show," Lynn said with a laugh.

"It was an experience," Hollander recalls. The budding actors donned special masks designed to sing in, which Hollander said looked more like duck bills. They constantly sanitized everything on and off stage, and performed to no more than 50 people at a time.

More of a city boy, Hollander grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He has been performing since he was five years old. His debut was in the musical version of "Miracle on 34th Street," when he played the son of the prosecutor. His entire family was in the cast. Now in his senior year at Western Illinois University (WIU), Hollander has come a long way. His most notable roles were Jet in "West Side Story," Anthony Hope in "Sweeney Todd" and Bobby Strong in "Urinetown."

Hollander said he expected to be back at home this summer, until Lynn sent him the audition notice for DPRCA. He was cast as the self-professed leader, a role he said suits him. "This is the one I came out swinging for," Hollander declared. "It really worked out for the best."

Hollander's character, Denny, still lives with his mother, goofing off in the family basement instead of working. What he lacks in ambition and discipline, he makes up for in imagination. He dreams of making it big at the WOPR Radio "Dream of a Lifetime Talent Search." Drawing from his high school days as a member of Springfield High's glee club, the Crooning Crabcakes, he uses his talent to first create a duo, then a trio, and finally a quartet to form the unique doo-wop sound he needs to bring his dream to reality.

The facial expressions are what Hollander considers the funniest moments of the show, and he's ready to put away his mask and ham it up. With his microphone taped to his cheek, Hollander was ready to rehearse that Tuesday afternoon. "Come sit back and enjoy a fun show post COVID," he concluded.

Next week, we'll introduce you to Lynn's other two WIU friends, McGwire Holman (Wally) and Kelly Brown (Eugene). In the third installment, you'll get to know North Dakota native Drew Relling, who plays Denny's rival, Duke Henderson.