After Graduation, Playtime
It’s three times the seduction for Jonathan Kaplan, who stars as Benjamin Braddock in the production of The Graduate touring cities from Chicago to Nashville through this spring. That’s because actresses Kelly McGillis, Lorraine Bracco and Linda Gray each take a turn opposite him in the famed role of Mrs. Robinson. Devon Sorvani plays the Robinson daughter, Elaine.
Kaplan, ’03, needs no initiation to the stage. In 1992, he won a Tony nomination for his role in the musical Falsettos. More recently, he played Peter Van Daan in the 1998 Broadway revival of The Diary of Anne Frank, starring Natalie Portman. And he lit up Memorial Auditorium in Ram’s Head productions of Lulu and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Still, nothing prepared the drama major for the trio of leading ladies he succumbs to in his latest role. “They are quite intimidating before you meet them,” Kaplan says of his co-stars. “But they really make it easy and fun. They are actresses who know how to check their fame at the door.”
Even more daunting was the prospect of filling Dustin Hoffman’s shoes as Ben, although the script puts a fresh spin on the aimless college grad of the 1967 hit film. Kaplan says he enjoys renewing the character in each new city. But when asked about his favorite part of the show, he replies smoothly, “the opportunity to work with so many beautiful women, of course.”
