Curtains Up

It's Curtains for Guiding Light's dynamic duo Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer

Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman from "Guiding Light"
From "Guiding Light," Josh Lewis (Robert Newman) and Reva Shayne (Kim Zimmer),childhood sweethearts who had several stabs at a relationship and a fewmarriages to other people before finally tying the knot in a July 1989 episode
"Guiding Light" cast members say good-bye in a double-page spread in "Soap OperaWeekly"

Soap opera stars Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer spent 28 years as a star-crossed couple on Guiding Light. When the classic soap opera ended in 2009, fans were devastated. But now Newman and Zimmer are together again in the current Theatre Under the Stars production of the Broadway musical, Curtains, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

CultureMap had a chat with the dynamic duo to discuss life, love and the pursuit of a Galleria shopping spree.

CultureMap: Tell us about your transition to a career in theater.

Robert Newman: When Guiding Light went off the air, I was already working on another musical. That was an easier transition for me, because for the last seven years, I've taken four to six weeks off a year to do theater. As an actor, I thought that would always keep me on the ball and keep my muscles moving. It would also rejuvenate me for soap opera work. I'd shot about 100 of the 150 Guiding Light episodes each year. It wears you out, and you need to work different muscles. Otherwise, I've been having a great time. I've shot three different prime time shows including Criminal Minds and Law and Order: SVU, and have done a couple of commercials, including one for IKEA, which is a company I adore.

Kim Zimmer: I'd slip away to do summer productions — I also love doing Shakespeare — but it's really been a dream of mine to get back into theater. Actually, I have a casting application on my computer. I went onto testing sites, and of course there were very few things for me. When i heard that I got the offer for Curtains without auditioning, I said, 'This I like,' because I don't get jobs that I audition for! It was totally incidental that Robert and I ended up working on Curtains together. It wasn't until I was in negotiations that I found out that he was on it. What can I say? It was fate.

CM: What was most surprising about working on Curtains?

KZ: We both have numbers where we're working our asses off. I have no excuse to be out of breath at the end of this one number. I'm kicking myself for not getting in better shape.

RN: We compare aches and pains every day. 'It's my shoulder;' 'It's my back.' I wake up and I'm like, 'What the heck?'

KZ: I walked into a Massage Envy yesterday and Robert was right there getting a massage, too. Of course, I'm a Massage Envy member in New Jersey.

RN: I actually put my massage on her credit card!

CM: To what extent do you interact onstage?

KZ: We don't have a whole lot to do together onstage. However, the little bits we do together are precious. His character's with another girl, which I don't like!

RN: Kim and I try to make out once or twice before we go onstage. It's an old relationship. I remember way before I saw the show a year and a half ago, I thought, 'Gosh, she's so great for this show.' It's been really fun to work with her in a completely different format than the one we worked in for two and a half decades. Just standing across the room and watching her work through a number is a joy.

CM: What do you miss about acting in a soap opera?

RN: Soap opera work really narrows you down. What I miss primarily are the people I worked with there for 28 years. There were lots of births and weddings and deaths amongst the cast and crew. There were just a lot of great people and we became close in many ways. And that's what makes this a complete joy with Kim.

KZ: I can echo that. I'm actually currently rehashing a role I did 29 years ago on One Life to Live, so I still experience that whole life. But when you spend 28 years of your life on one show, it's like being divorced and losing that whole side of the in-laws. I miss that family — the crew and the jokes. And I miss the paycheck. I do have a book coming out in August about my experience on Guiding Light.

CM: Do you plan on exploring Houston during your time here?

RN: I'm sure I'll be tracking down golf courses. And I like Barnaby's a lot — the buffalo burger and fries are very nice.

KZ: I myself haven't even been to The Galleria. I'm like a rabid dog without a bone because I am a shopaholic and I have not had the opportunity to go over there. It's like I can see it, and I can smell it. Hopefully once the show gets underway, I can go during the day and manage that. Oh, and I have every intention of getting a couple of pairs of boots from Cavender's.

CM: Any interest in the NCAA fanfare?

RN: Actually, Kim is the sports person in this relationship. That's something my poor son has had to put up with.

KZ: I've been trying to get my hands on some tickets to Monday's game. If Charles Barkley is out there and reading this, he needs to give me his extra ticket!

Curtains plays at the Hobby Center through Saturday.

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Movie Review

Cookie Queens goes behind the scenes of Girl Scout Cookie season

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Girl Scouts in Cookie Queens.

Few people are strong enough to resist the lure of Girl Scout cookie season every year, with the cookies’ limited availability and unique flavors a strong incentive to indulge. But only the girls and their families who have sold the cookies know the joys and stresses of trying to get people to buy them, a process that is detailed in the new documentary, Cookie Queens.

The film by documentarian Alysa Nahmias uses the stories of four different girls to represent the nationwide ritual for the Girl Scouts. They include 12-year-old Olive in Charlotte, North Carolina, a longtime top seller; 8-year-old Shannon Elizabeth in El Paso, Texas, who wants to earn the reward of going to camp; 5-year-old Ara in San Diego, California, whose goal is modest compared to most other girls; and 9-year-old Nikki in Chino, California, who has to compete with her older sisters in the cookie-selling bonanza.

The girls represent a cross-section of both ages and backgrounds, with some girls coming from wealthy families and some girls dealing with more limited means. And how much money your family has makes a big difference, as not only does someone richer have more freedom with their time and supplies, but all scouts are required to reimburse the organization for every box they take in, regardless of whether they’re able to sell it or not.

That caveat makes the journeys of the four featured girls feel wildly different. It’s clear from the start that Olive and Nikki’s families don’t give a second thought to the personal economics of selling cookies, with each girl taking in thousands of boxes at the beginning of the six-week selling season. With both Olive and Nikki rightfully confident that they’ll have no problem offloading their supply, their stories turn to how selling is personally affecting them, with each trying to reconcile the fun of doing it with the pressure they feel from their family members.

Shannon Elizabeth’s story is more harrowing, as her parents feel a strong desire to help her accomplish her lofty goal, but worry that the cost might literally be too high for the family as a whole. More than once, the parents are shown fretting that they won’t have the money to pay back what they owe should they fall significantly short in their sales. Their selling approach, which includes walking through an empty swap meet and standing outside a chain restaurant at night, only adds to their stress.

The most fun story to watch is that of Ara, whose innocence is matched by her confidence. Her parents teach her how much money they’ll owe with her small goal of 55 boxes, but right away she takes on more responsibility than expected. She’s shown making sales pitches and tallying the total number of boxes she’s sold with little-to-no help from either her mom or dad. With her high voice, glasses, and a monitor on her arm to manage her diabetes, she becomes the cute and sympathetic part of the film.

There are times that the film starts to feel more than a little manipulative, however. While many of the moments documented come off as organic, some of them seem like Nahmias is actively guiding the participants in order to get a better story. This is especially evident with Shannon Elizabeth and her family, whose early struggles turn into a miraculous feel-good story by the end, a turnaround that seems implausible at best. Everything with them might have been aboveboard, but Nahmias and her team edit the family’s journey in a way that pushes a bit too hard for emotion.

Cookie Queens, which was produced by a company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, helps to give insight into the business of selling Girl Scout cookies for those who’ve only been on the purchasing end of the transaction. The dedication of each girl toward selling their allotted supply proves fun and interesting, even if the filmmaker tries to gild the lily on occasion.

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Cookie Queens is now playing in theaters,

movies girl scout cookie film

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