Emmy award-winning writer Sindy McKay plays the role of Mrs. Bramson in the Ojai Art Center Theater production of “Night Must Fall,” which comes to a close with the last three shows this weekend. McKay has quite the acting résumé, performing in plays all over Ventura County.
“Each theater in the county has developed its own personality, reflected in their play choices,” said McKay. “I see the same audience members at a lot of the different theaters. To me, this says they appreciate everything from the grittiness of Sam Shepard’s ‘True West’ to the light-hearted fun of ‘Mary Poppins’! There is no other experience as visceral as live theater and audiences continue to crave it, for which I am very grateful!”
She last appeared as the fairy godmother in “Cinderella” at the Art Center in December. McKay said she likes to choose realistic roles for herself, finding parts that are age and type-appropriate.
She said: “I am pretty non-judgmental in the roles that attract me. I love dramatic roles in challenging relation- ships and personal demons that stretch my own experiences. But I also adore doing musical theater — which, now that I think of it, a lot of modern musicals have those same challenging characters in them!”
Her love of a challenge attracted her to this role of a matriarch who has complicated relationships with her staff. McKay says of the curmudgeonly Mrs. Bramson: “Deep in her heart, she lives in terror most of the time. She is afraid of being exposed as the frightened, lonely, old woman that she truly is. She must constantly ‘keep up appearances’ to fool the rest of the world. Most of all, to fool herself into thinking she is in total control. This self-delusion allows her to turn a blind eye to Dan’s manipulations.”
Dan is the character who ingratiates himself into the heart of Mrs. Bramson when he arrives at her country man- or in England. His charming humor keeps her laughing through her usual spiteful- ness, until circumstances beyond each of their control take a shocking turn. David Nelson Taylor portrays Dan in the play.
“All humans need other humans. No matter how strong or clever or independent we think we are, there is a longing in everyone for connection. We are all truly terrified of being alone,” McKay said.