‘The West Wing’ films in Greene County
MORGAN TOWNSHIP – Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney are passengers in a red jeep, parked late Tuesday morning in the lot outside Lavern’s Restaurant. The three actors are dressed as characters from the acclaimed NBC television series “The West Wing’ about the inner workings of the White House under fictional President Josiah Bartlett, played by Martin Sheen.
Schiff plays communications director Toby Ziegler, Whitford is deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman and Moloney portrays Lyman’s assistant Donna Moss. With an unknown actor in the driver’s seat, the three characters appear to be hitching a ride, but this vehicle isn’t going anywhere on its own.
Instead of riding on the road, the jeep sits on a flatbed trailer – actually the left side of the trailer. The vehicle is surrounded by a film crew, who operate a camera, lights and sound system on the rest of the trailer as they record this event. The trailer floor is just inches from the ground so it does appear the vehicle is riding on the road. But the power actually comes from a pickup truck that pulls the entire contraption.
A woman shouts, “We’re loading up! Here, we go!’
With that, the entire parking lot springs into action as state police cars provide an escort for the truck and its attachments, which pull right onto Route 188 toward Jefferson. Vans and cars that are acting as support vehicles follow behind. They film a ride along a country road on a beautiful Pennsylvania morning.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, millions of Americans will turn on their television sets to watch the premiere of “The West Wing’ and see this scene and another set inside Lavern’s Restaurant. For one day, Greene County can bask in the glory of being a Hollywood set.
“We had scouted so many diners and found many that were not isolated or were on a busy road. At the 11th hour, we found this place. It has space, a nice counter and it’s in farm country,’ Neil Ahern, one of the “West Wing’ producers, explained the reason for using Lavern’s.
Farms are very important to the storyline for this two-hour episode called “20 Hours in America.’
As Ahern explained, “The president goes to farm country in Indiana for the start of his re-election campaign. What happens is the president gives a speech and these three characters are in conversation with a farmer’s daughter. The motorcade leaves and they are left behind.’
For this show, western Pennsylvania substitutes as Indiana, winning out over other parts of the country that included Austin, Texas, Wilmington, N.C., Georgia, Maryland and Virginia.
In fact, the show was close to filming in Virginia, but Ahern said on closer look, they discovered a lot of farms were owned by people who had bought them only 10 to 15 years ago. They wanted farms that had been in families for generations.
“We said, ‘Let’s check out Pittsburgh’ and we found beautiful country, well taken care of farms and people who were here more than 150 years with their grandfathers living next door,’ Ahern reported.
Thomas Schlamme, executive producer and director, visited Pennsylvania in mid-July to approve the location, Ahern said. The show filmed the campaign rally at a Lawrence County farm where Sheen and Allison Janney, who plays press secretary C.J. Cregg, also appeared.
“We hired a lot of local people,’ said Ahern, noting they include production crew as well as people who were hired to scout locations.
The cast and crew stayed in Pittsburgh where local officials offered a fine reception.
For the scene in a diner, the show decided that Lavern’s fit the bill.
Owned by Lavern Thistlethwaite, the white-and-gray, one-story, frame structure is located along Route 188 between Jefferson and Waynesburg. The family restaurant is easily accessible but is isolated from heavy traffic.
The parking lot is large enough to accommodate the show, which parks four trailers there and has dozens of people walking around the lot. The people are dressed casually in shorts, capris, jeans and T-shirts. Many wear hats to shield them from the bright sun. A field is located just across the two-lane highway keeps with the farm theme.
On close inspection, subtle changes to Lavern’s are noticeable. For instance, a newspaper box holds copies of the Unionville Bugle where the headlines read: “County fair preparation underway’ and “PTA to vote on school lunch reform’ and “Unionville panthers celebrate 50 years of football program.’
A crewmember walks by carrying green Indiana road signs and blue campaign signs that will be used to decorate the set.
For the story, Lavern’s is visited by Schiff, Whitford and Moloney as they try to make their way back to Washington, D.C.
“This is towards the end of their journey,’ said Ahern, who noted the stop also shows off the contrast of “city guys in the country.’
Crews reportedly arrived at Lavern’s around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Ahern said they would continue working until 11 p.m.
Interviews with the actors were not available as the cast and crew kept hard at work. Ahern said the trip in the jeep was not included in the original schedule.
Even extras who drove up and left their vehicles in front of Lavern’s were quickly snatched up and sent inside the restaurant to wardrobe.
But Ahern reported the cast members appreciated their time in Pennsylvania. Usually, the show is filmed on sound stages in Los Angeles and some location work in Washington, D.C.
“I think they’ve all enjoyed themselves a lot. It’s nice to get away from the grind and the people have been great,’ Ahern said. “This is the second to the last day of filming and we’ve had literally zero problems.’
There was one rain day which provided a day of rest. But Tuesday’s weather in Greene County was sunny and warm.
“Right now, it’s gorgeous,’ said Ahern.
Filming for the premiere began in Los Angeles in July and continued in Pennsylvania in August. Ahern said will conclude with scenes shot in Washington, D.C., in September. Altogether, the show required 17 days of filming.
“The editors will have to work really fast,’ Ahern said, referring to the Sept. 25 air date.
Meanwhile, across the highway, three young women observed the action from the field. They included Lynda Spargur, Jennifer Li and Samantha Stephens, all of Oregon and fans of “The West Wing.’
“We were coming here on vacation and heard about the filming so we drove here in two days rather than five,’ said Spargur. “We caught them filming (in Lawrence County). But by the time we got close enough, the actors were gone.’
The women heard about the Greene County filming and decided to travel here before leaving for the rest of their vacation in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Spargur said the women met each other through a “West Wing’ Web site and learned about the filming from the Internet. On their vacation, they had already planned to stop in Pittsburgh as Li is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and wanted to visit friends. The opportunity to watch filming of “The West Wing’ was a bonus.
“I started watching the show when I was volunteering on a Democratic election campaign in Oregon,’ said Stephens. “The campaign manager was a big fan and I met Bradley Whitford when he and his wife came out to do some volunteer work.’
Asked what they like about the show, Spargur said, “The writing, the acting, everything.’
Meanwhile, Bob Deter who lives next door to Lavern’s, observed the action from his front porch with a couple of friends.
“I think it’s great,’ Deter said of the visit from Hollywood. “It’s going to put us on the map.’
Deter noted that his son Matt is a busboy at Lavern’s and that his own Harley Davidson motorcycle will be parked in Lavern’s parking lot to decorate the set for filming.
“This will put Lavern’s on the map besides their good food and apple dumplings,’ said Deter. “People come from all around to eat here. Saturdays and Sundays you can’t get in the place. She’s known in the tri-state area for her apple dumplings and good food.’