This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 15, 2010 - When Joneal Joplin finally got to play Don Quixote in Insight Theatre Company's "Man of La Mancha" last August, it was a dream come true for the veteran St. Louis actor.
But he still has big dreams yet to be realized.
A real family show is what he's hoping for. No, we're not necessarily talking about a G-rated production, just one that includes the theatrical progeny of the man who's widely known as "Jop."
Grown son Jared and daughter Jennifer were bitten by the acting bug at young ages. Jared, who inherited his dad's booming baritone, is now touring with Cirque du Soleil. Jennifer, who lives with her husband and young son in Ohio, took on the role of young nun Sister James in a recent production of "Doubt" in Dayton.
The Beacon caught up with Joplin, 71, in Cincinnati, where he was playing Grandpa in a St. Louis Repertory-Cincinnati Playhouse production of "You Can't Take It With You." Whether at home or away, the idea of finding a play that would be a good fit for his family of actors is never far from his mind.
But one of the biggest obstacles is that too often the young male and female adult actors are in a romantic relationship. Still, father, son and daughter aren't giving up.
"We're just keeping our fingers crossed that we'll find something," Joplin said.
Family Production On Mom's Bucket List
Joplin's wife Janie knows plenty about theater in her own right. A retired elementary music teacher, she directed the school musical every year.
"It's definitely in the blood all across the family," Joneal Joplin said.
Janie shares her husband's goal of a family production.
"As a mom and a wife, I would love to see my three best actors up there together -- that would be on my bucket list," Janie Joplin said.
A 'Giant Lion's Heart'
Even as Joneal Joplin supported the aspirations of his children as they grew, he also played -- and still plays -- a big part in encouraging other actors, young and old, according to Tom Martin, stage manager at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre.
"The man has a giant lion's heart," Martin said. "He'll go out of his way to compliment other actors when he sees them making a courageous choice. Every time I see him, he's talking about what a great job one actor is doing on a particular show."
And while Joplin has played countless leading roles in his 46-year theater career, he doesn't really see himself as a leading man, Martin said.
"He feels more at home as a member of the ensemble, a character man," Martin said. "That's Jop -- when he's onstage, it's all about the other actors onstage with him."
Part of the St. Louis theater scene for 38 years, Joplin has no plans to leave the local stage.
"I'll keep on until I can't get out of bed," Joplin said. "And then maybe they'll find a role where I can just lie in bed onstage."
Nancy Fowler Larson is a freelance writer, who is also the Beacon's theater critic.
