Greg Jbara, who's just finishing his limited engagement in Broadway's Chicago, and who played the tough but lovable Squash in Victor/Victoria, makes his feature film debut in Paul Rudnick's comical story, In and Out, due in theatres Sept. 19.
Major cast members in the Frank Oz-directed comedy include Kevin Kline (Hamlet), Glenn Close (Barnum, Sunset Boulevard), Whoopi Goldberg (Forum), Debbie Reynolds, Tom Selleck and Joan Cusak, though other actors in the film are best known for their work on and off Broadway.
According to Jbara, other cast-members in In And Out include Debra Monk (Steel Pier), Ernie Sabella (Forum), Lewis J. Stadlen (Olympus On My Mind, Forum), J. Smith Cameron (As Bees In Honey Drown), Zak Orth (Off-Broadway's Misalliance), Kate McGregor Stewart, Wally Dunn (Master Class), Deborah Rush, Kevin Chamberlin, Patrick Garner (Forum), William Parry, William Duell (Forum), Robin Morse (Second Stage revival of Uncommon Women And Others, Six Degrees of Separation), Becky Ann Baker (Durang Durang, Titanic), Lauren Ward (Violet, 1776), Anne Pitoniak (Keely and Du), Alice Drummond (Marvin's Room), Gus Rogerson (The Grey Zone), John Cunningham (Six Degrees of Separation, Titanic) and Bill Camp (One Flea Spare).
Also appearing in the film are Shalom Harlow, Shawn Hatosy, Lauren Ambrose, Alexandra Holden, Larry Clarke, Scott Robertson, June Squibb, Selma Blair, Mary Diveny, Joanna Wolff, Jane Hoffman, Colette Bryce, Richard Woods, Dan Hedaya, John Henry Wood, Bill Hoag, Arden Myrin, Taylor Stanley, Heather Burns, Cara Jedell, Greg Haberny, Jill Horner, Karron Graves, Jessica Walling, Lizbeth Mackay, Miranda Kent, Tara Carnes, Julie Entwisle, Beth-Anne Arentsen, Anne Russell.
In taking his role, Jbara, who has had minor roles in such films as Jeffrey, The House on Carroll Street and Crocodile Dundee, hopes to get some major exposure and do more feature films. According to Jbara, "This is the first feature film role that I [had] to work on for more than a week. It's a great opportunity, not to mention, the film has a great cast." The story of In and Out was inspired by Tom Hanks' Oscar winning speech for Philadelphia, where Hanks outed his high school English teacher. Scott Rudin is producer of this Paramount Pictures and Spelling Films release.
Rudnick, author of Off-Broadway's Jeffrey, was first approached by Scott Rudin with the idea for the screenplay: "I started to think about someone being outed the week they were to be married," Rudnick said in a statement, "and a comedy came into view. And I liked the idea of setting the film in the small town where he lives and works and has spent his life. It's a story that really could only exist at this moment in an age of global video and grand movie stars. We've had a lot of Manhattan cocktail parties on screen recently, but how many barn raisings?"
--By Katia Lundy and David Lefkowitz
