Inspector Clouseau will leave Valley audiences in stitches

WASILLA — D.J. Rotach said he loves comedy, but was kind of reluctant to take on the job of directing “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” at Valley Performing Arts.

“I was never really a’ Pink Panther’ fan,” he said.

He hadn’t seen the movies in awhile, but said he remembered thinking they were kind of dumb.

“I came home and I popped in the movie and watched it and my 3-year-old kid was jumping up and down,” he said. “I didn’t even know he knew ‘The Pink Panther.’”

Rotach said he decided that if his kid could enjoy the story, he could too.

For those unfamiliar, “The Pink Panther” follows the zany hijinks of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau.

“Paul Dreyfus, once his long-suffering boss, now turned into a raving lunatic, holds the world at bay with the ultimate weapon, the Doomsday Machine. Dreyfus is out to get Clouseau, the man whose undeserved success has driven him crazy,” according to the plot synopsis on VPA’s website.

Rotach has acted in numerous VPA productions.

“Last year I did ‘A Trip to Bountiful,’” Rotach said. He played the sheriff. Based on past performances, the director was worried he’d turn the character into a comedic one. “I tried. I really did. I tried to be as serious as possible and the audience was still laughing.”

He said that for his directorial debut he picked a comedy because that’s what appeals to him.

“That’s my bread and butter,” he said. “I just like comedy. I like to be funny. I like hearing people laugh.”

And, he said, he expects he will hear a lot of laughter during “The Pink Panther’s” run.

“It’s almost too much comedy,” he said. “You just have to really appreciate and want to be in the mood for laughing when you watch this show.”

He said the story is the same as in the movie and includes all the main characters, including Clouseau’s zealous butler Kato. It’s been updated a bit, though, to take place in the present day.

“We use our iPhones on stage,” he said.

He said that being a director is much different than playing a part on stage.

“It really makes you appreciate everything that the director has to go through,” he said. “Keeping everybody together, keeping everybody energized and going — it’s a long road to get a show ready and you don’t want people to get burnt out and you have different attitudes and you got to keep people going.”

He said probably the toughest part was communicating exactly what he wanted.

“I’m used to, like, creating the zany character in my mind,” Rotach said. “But actually molding someone else into what you’re thinking? It was quite challenging.”

He seemed nervous but optimistic for Friday’s opening. The cast, he said, worked really, really hard for him.

“It’s really quite epic how much volunteer work all the actors and crew and everyone puts in,” he said. But, he joked, “This is my debut, so if it sucks I apologize.”

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.