Vancouver’s Pamela Rabe, an actress who has been working in Melbourne for the last five years, has won the Australian equivalent of a Tony award. She’s earned a Green Room Award for leading actress for her role as Alice B. Toklas in a play called ‘Gertrude Stein and Companion‘.

Rabe, 29, graduated in theatre from the University of B.C. and was seen fairly often on the Vancouver Playhouse stage, including its production of Tennessee Williams’ ‘The Red Devil Battery Sign‘ in 1981. She is married to former Playhouse artistic director Roger Hodgman who is now a.d. of the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Her mother Rita Koropatnick was in Melbourne on a month’s visit that happened to coincide with the awards ceremony on Feb. 26. “Pam didn’t tell us she was nominated for anything until the night before at dinner. She said at least it should be a sparkling affair and maybe I’d like to go.”

“I was so amazed and happy when she won – for a Canadian girl to win in Australia. It was quite a gala, with opera and dance stars up for awards as well.”

Rabe gave her mother the award to take home. “It’ll get more mileage out of me here than it would get over there,” says Koropatnick.

The production of Gertrude Stein and Companion is supposed to go to Toronto and Montreal early next year, she adds.

By LLOYD DYKK

Source: The Vancouver Sun | 29 March 1988