Ron Bohmer in "Bed & Sofa" at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia

Ron Bohmer in:

Ron Bohmer in "Bed and Sofa"

Ron Bohmer starred in the musical Bed and Sofa with Ann Crumb (Aspects of Love, Les Miserables) and Jeff McCarthy (Beauty and the Beast, Side Show) at Philadelphia's Wilma Theater. Bed and Sofa is based on the 1926 silent film by Abram Room with music by Polly Pen, libretto by Laurence Klavan, musical direction by Georgia C. Stitt, and directed by Blanka Zizka.

Ann Crumb, Ron Bohmer, and Jeff McCarthy

Photo courtesy of Bettina Pagalilauan
and Jeff McCarthy Online

Ron has been nominated for Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance as Volodya in "Bed and Sofa"!! Congratulations, Ron!

NIKOLAI. LUDMILLA. VOLODYA.

(Bed and Sofa's three characters)

Nikolai (Kolya) works and lives with his wife, Ludmilla, in a tiny apartment in Moscow. She stays at home dreaming of romance and a life outside. Volodya has a job but needs a place to live in order to work. Moscow has a housing shortage. The good intentioned Kolya invites Volodya to share his cramped quarters, but unbeknownst to him, ends up sharing his wife as well. From the rumpled covers of a bed to the battlefield of a checker board, Bed and Sofa soars with its whimsical score and haunting libretto. Bed and Sofa is a delightful and innovative musical which garnered two 1996 Obie Awards (including Distinguished Music) and seven 1996 Drama Desk nominations (including Best Musical).

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"...the production, directed with great flair and affection by Blanka Zizka, is a marvel. The score has exceptional clarity and charm, as, indeed, do the three fine performers in the cast. How refreshing to see a sweetheart of a musical theater piece without falling chandeliers, flying helicopters or sinking boats - just a good, solid story about people." -Brian Caffall, Philadelphia Weekly, 12/23/98

BED AND SOFA is "tasteful, appealing and entertaining. ...a truly stunning production...that features three superb performers and a physical production that rivals any the Wilma has heretofore produced." -Clarke Groome, Chestnut Hill Local, 12/17/98

"...one of the most astonishing theatrical works of this or any season. This simple jewel of a production should go on everyone's holiday list. What a gift of the season from the always-innovative Wilma!" -Sally Friedman, Main Line Life, 12/17/98

"One of the strangest and most wonderful productions of the year proves that good things come in small packages, particularly when the package is expertly wrapped. BED AND SOFA, directed by Blanka Zizka, manages to tell a huge emotional story with a quirky but convincing balance of sincerity and slapstick. You've never seen anything like it - but you ought to." -Mark Cofta, Main Line Times, 12/24/98

Bed and Sofa

The Wilma Theater

Philadelphia, PA

December 2, 1998 - January 10, 1999

Outside The Wilma Theater

The Train, The Train, The Train; in 20 minutes the train to Rostoff

Photo courtesy of The Wilma Theater

The two war buddies, Kolya and Volodya meet on the streets after many years. After a bit of reminiscing, Kolya invites Volodya to share the tiny apartment much to the surprise and eventual delight of Ludmilla, "He has blond hair and a sensitive face."

Surprise, Kolya must leave on an important, unplanned, business trip for three weeks. Volodya realizes that this could lead to a compromising situation and intends to leave to protect Ludmilla's reputation, saying "People will talk rubish." But Kolya naively insists that he stay.

Photo courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

The dressing screen.

Volodya and Ludmilla are left alone in an uneasy silence. Volodya brings up the sleeping arrangements, half clarifying and half questioning, "You take the bed and I the sofa." The attraction between the two intensifies. The dressing screen is the only thing to separate them. Out of sight, but not out of mind.

Jeff, Ann, and Ron in "Bed and Sofa"
Jeff McCarthy (Kolya), Ann Crumb (Ludmilla), and Ron Bohmer (Volodya)

Production photo
courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

We'll take the bed
and you the sofa.

As time passes, Ludmilla finds Volodya to have qualities that Kolya is lacking. He is attentive and treats her with kindness. It isn't long before they give in to their mutual attraction. As they revel in the morning after joy of their connection, the realization of their betrayal also sets in.

Kolya returns early from his trip eager to spend time with his wife. Volodya is quite unhappy that he has become the odd man out; after sharing the bed, he is now back to the sofa. He must find a way to tell his friend that he has fallen in love with Ludmilla, and she with him. Kolya is also unhappy with the situation, wanting to be alone with Ludmilla as well. To which they simultaneously declare, "Love is big and complicated! ", and the secret is revealed.

I sit in my rocking chair and dream.

Kolya leaves unable to bare it any longer. High atop the Bolshoy, he dreams of being back at home and sitting in his rocking chair with Ludmilla by his side. In his place and in his chair, Volodya rocks back and forth and dreams of leading a rally with Ludmilla by his side. Both men love her in their own way, but not the way Ludmilla wishes to be loved. Ludmilla dreams of being independent, but sadly reveals that, "I never remember my dreams."

Photo courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

Ann Crumb, Ron Bohmer,
and Jeff McCarthy

Production photo courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

Every evening now....CHECKERS! Kolya, Volodya and Ludmilla, 1-2-3.

Kolya returns, Moscow still has a housing shortage, so they must continue to share the tiny apartment. In what has become an uncomfortable situation, Kolya wages war in the form of a nightly game of checkers. As he proclaims, "In the end I always win," he manages to find a way to keep the two apart. Frustrated, Ludmilla and Volodya come up with a plan to get Kolya out of the apartment by sending him for food. Volodya insists, "You get the bread and I the soda!" Of course, only Kolya goes to the market. Volodya sneaks back in to be with Ludmilla.

Eventually, both men become engrossed in their nightly contests to the exclusion of Ludmilla. Now she is ignored by both Kolya and Volodya. Try as she might, she can't quite get either interested in spending time with her. As soon as one starts to waver, the other draws attention back to the game. Ludmilla threatens to leave, yet neither tries to stop her. She now has two men who ignore her.

The Stalin wall calendar....
February 9th!

An unhappy and broken Ludmilla does her chores, knowing that neither man appreciates her. Her sighs concern Volodya and he tries to appease and comfort her, while Kolya repeatedly dismisses her plight. Eventually she reveals, "I am going to have a child!". Both Kolya and Volodya are ecstatic until the moment they realize that the child might belong to the other. From the calendar, Kolya determines that the child is not his. In turn, Volodya believes that "She would always be torn." So neither is happy about this turn of events and both selfishly insist that Ludmilla have an abortion.

Photo courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

Photo courtesy of
The Wilma Theater

I am not FOUR!

Ludmilla waits her turn and watches the other women go one by one for their abortions. As her turn comes up, she decides she cannot, she will not do what she is told to do this time.

She returns home to gather her things; finally ready to gain her independence. She leaves a farewell note for both men on the back of her picture: "I am going away. I do not believe that either of you is worthy to be a father." When they realize that she has really left, they experience one brief moment of remorse and then go about deciding who gets the bed and who gets the sofa.

The Final Curtain Call: January 10th, 1999

Jeff McCarthy, Ann Crumb, and Ron Bohmer

Photos courtesy of Bettina Pagalilauan and Jeff McCarthy Online

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Jeff McCarthy, Ann Crumb, and Ron Bohmer at Curtain Call