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As Time Goes By is a new off-Broadway play starring newcomers Ephraim Birney and Joel Meyers and we caught up with the young actors to learn more about them!
The two-person play imagines what would happen if you get trapped inside with your Grindr hook-up because of a snow storm.
After their Grindr hook-up is snowed in, Adam and David are forced to do the unimaginable: learn each other’s names. Trapped in a post-coital snow globe, they exchange quips and digs in a misguided attempt to connect. As they confront their insecurities and shared identity as gay Jewish men, they begin to expose their tightest-held secrets. Will they part ways unscathed, or does sharing yourself with an unexpected stranger mean more than you bargained for?
The play is running in New York City through March 30 and tickets are on sale now.
Ephraim, the son of Constance Shulman and Reed Birney, was previously seen in the off-Broadway play Jonah. Joel is best known for playing Albus Potter in Broadway’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. We caught up with the actors to learn more about them!
Keep reading to find out more…
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT EPHRAIM BIRNEY
I pronounce my name EE-Frum. I’m named after Ephraim McDowell, the surgeon who conducted the first ovariotomy. Apparently that’s how he pronounced his name! I don’t know what an ovariotomy is! Growing up, I was allergic to animal dander so I had a pet Uromastyx lizard. His name was Jake and I used to walk him on a leash on the Upper West Side, but then they wrote about it in the news and he got embarrassed. My first ever acting job was working as a professional Harry Potter lookalike for the premiere of the last movie. I had never read any of the books, but I knew he had glasses and a British accent and you’d be surprised how far that got me. Once I was asked to play the bongos in a black turtleneck for a beatnik poetry night. I told them I was a drummer, but that I didn’t know how to play the bongos, but I thought I might’ve looked good in the turtleneck so I did the job anyway. When I was in my acting conservatory, we had to do themed movement pieces for our movement class. One week the theme was trees, and tried be an acorn turning into a tree. I was told my tree was too rigid and I failed the class. I’m told I’m allergic to mustard but I don’t buy it. Everyone in my immediate family is an actor. People are always trying to come up with a play for the four of us to do together. I always suggest Long Days Journey Into Night and we change Edmund to Edna for my sister Gus. I know every single Pokemon. All 1164 of them. I have a podcast with my best buddy Ryan where we talk about them, which I’ve heard is very cool. I went to a performing arts high school and graduated with a special acknowledgment in science. I was later told this was because I was the only person who showed up for the extracurricular biology crash course. I like designing my own t-shirts, which really means I buy white shirts in bulk and draw on them with fabric markers. I’m currently wearing once that says, “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” and it’s got a little guy on the back.10 FUN FACTS ABOUT JOEL MEYERS
I have 3.2-star rating on Yelp from my cat due to occasional late breakfast service. I regularly atone and endeavor to improve. My performing “career” began at four years old in my great grandmother’s nursing home, where I received rave reviews from the tenants – a high I’ve been chasing ever since. I love the rain. As a proud Seattleite, I refuse to use an umbrella. My preferred font is Garamond because Wingdings is impractical. My top three colors, in order of descending favor, are Green, Blue, and Orange. My favorite day of the week is Tuesday because it’s the most underappreciated day and so I do what I can to make it feel better. Thursday can get over itself. For reasons I can’t explain, I hold Bachelor’s degrees in both Theatre and Astrophysics. I played four years of varsity soccer in high school, primarily as a forward but also (despite my vertically challenged stature) as the backup goalkeeper. In my spare time, I try to make the most of my STEM education by running a tutoring company (www.hyperspacetutors.com if Calculus ever becomes relevant in your life!) In the rest of my spare time, I work with Candle House Collective as one of the co-creators of their phone-based immersive show Lennox Mutual, and I pay fealty to the Lord of Spreadsheets as their Systems Architect.Go see As Time Goes By, now through March 30!
