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The Nerd

This is a reprint of my remarks about “The Nerd” at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater presented in their Quadracci Powerhouse main stage theater during the 2019 – 2020 season. This originally appeared on my Facebook timeline November 14, 2019.

The comedies of Larry Shue are now part of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s DNA, so it is no surprise the Mark Clements brought The Nerd back as part of his 10th anniversary season. The Nerd is a completely balanced combination of slap stick, absurdism, one liners, and situational comedy to please every funny bone.

Since this play has been around for 30 years, I won’t be giving away too many things here. The basic premise is a couple of friends are throwing a small birthday party for an up and coming architect in of all places, Terre Haute IN. And he invited a client, who is building a hotel. AND a man who saved the architect’s life in Viet Nam…a man the principle has communicated with via letter but has never met…is also coming to the party. The initial anticipation vs. resulting reality are totally different strokes.

So there are misunderstandings. Partly generational, partly class, and some totally intentional! And the play is set in the late 1970s and has become a period piece…in a good way. And it is amazing how simple life was in the late ‘70s. The set gives that perfect feel…simple mid-century furnishings…a stereo system we, boomers, all lusted after…and a simple tape operated answering machine…the ones that always gave us fits. No other devices getting in the way.

And an interesting view into the social structures at the time. Women are definitely second class citizens here…children an afterthought…monied men are powerful men…women do all of the domestic work.  And heaven forbid a man should follow a woman who is pursuing their employment dream…even when your location could be fluid.

The slap stick is hilarious. The absurdities provoke belly laughs. The one liners are still funny, even for someone who was seeing this for the fourth time. Although I anticipated some of the situations and some of the punchlines, it was still a completely entertaining evening. I will happily revisit this again, the next time the Rep offers it.

The cast is amazing…director JC Clementz made sure all of the comedy potential written in the text made it to the stage. There are two young men playing Thor, the only child character in the play. We got to see Damon McCoy on Tuesday night, and he nailed it.

Only two small quibbles. Sometimes the characters couldn’t be heard or were a bit garbled. Slowing down a bit and speaking up would help. But given the story and dialogue it has got to be really hard to keep on track without laughing out loud yourself. And I thought that Mr. and Mrs. Waldgrave were made up as older individuals than I would expect for someone with an 8 to 10 year old child. Shrug.

Special congrats to Michael Doherty and his portrayal of The Nerd, Rick Steadman. That role has got to have a tour de force actor!

But do go…it will be one of the funniest evenings of live theater that you will ever experience!

And it’s too bad that I am over the hill for the role but I would love to try Axel Hammond, the self-defined snooty theater critic!

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Nunsense

This is a reprint of my remarks about “Nunsense” at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater presented in their Stackner Cabaret during the 2019 – 2020 season. This originally appeared on my Facebook timeline November 11, 2019.

The Milwaukee Repertory Theater opened their production of Nunsense in the Stackner Cabaret this past weekend. And the musical presents just what you’d expect from Nunsense. A ton of music and some silly connecting banter and storytelling in between. And the Stackner is a perfect venue. But the text has gotten a bit dated and some of the jokes don’t work as well as in 1985…even for a former Catholic of the target demographic age…but don’t let that stop you from seeing this!

Director Malkia Stampley has the perfect ensemble and she has them playing to type and against type marvelously. And the ensemble singing as well as solos are just a lot of fun. My favorite character is Sister Mary Amnesia. She is played by Veronica Garza….with the right amount of confusion, enthusiasm, and whimsy to represent a nun who has forgotten who she is. And her voice can just hit all of the highest note and fill the room at the same time.

Melody Betts plays Mother Superior, Sister Mary Regina. And you never quite know if she is trying to remain the stern Mother Superior or at times is wishing she could be just one of the girls. Ms. Betts gets it absolutely right and when she gets to play against her character, it’s a lot of fun!

Sister Mary Hubert? Down to earth and something of a stabilizing influence without really intending to be is perfectly played by Lachrisa Grandberry. And she just rocks the whole center stage with her rendition of the gospel music inspired “Holier Than Thou”. For me it was the highlight of the evening.

And then we have Sisters Robert Anne and Mary Leo. Two aspiring artists…with unlimited energy. Robert Anne, Kelley Falkner is pushing and pushing to have a solo in the nuns fundraiser show…and finally Sister Mary Regina relents. And of course it is perfect and even the Mother Superior has to admit it. And Candace Thomas’ portrayal of a ‘dying nun’ is hilarious. Part flying nun, part dying swan, Ms. Thomas just makes it…well just Nunsense!

A wonderful time was had by all!

Now for a commercial: The Stackner Cabaret has a full dinner menu so make a reservation or get there early and enjoy an outstanding meal before your show. And I have it on good authority that the hot adult coffee selections are pretty darn good.

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The Niceties

This is a reprint of my remarks about ”The Niceties ” at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater presented in their Stiemke Studio theater during the 2019 – 2020 season. This originally appeared on my Facebook timeline October 11, 2019.

The Niceties, in the Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Theater, is the most challenging play you are going to see this season. And you will love it. But it’s complicated. And you will be disoriented. Trust Me. Playwright Eleanor Burgess has written a 21st Century drama that confronts contemporary racism in America and delves into how we got here.

The play features exactly two characters, college history Professor Janine Bosko, played by Kate Levy, and history student Zoe Reed, played by Kimber Elayne Sprawl. All of the action occurs in Professor Bosko’s office (and I’ll admit I’ve never seen a campus office quit as nice as this one) on the campus of an elite college. Think Ivy League. Professor Bosko is a white woman and Ms. Reed is a black woman.

Ms. Reed is getting some advice on her American Revolution history paper and everything is going very well when the discussion remains focused on commas, grammar, and spelling. But when the professor questions the Ms. Reed’s thesis and how racism affected the development of the nation after the Revolution, the sparks begin to fly.

I won’t get into the arguments…you really need to experience them for yourselves. But you will agree with some points from both characters. You will certainly disagree with points made by each character. And you will be uncomfortable and some points will hit very close to home. And the play will let you see that. But the play will clearly outline the legacy thinking around the founding of the nation and how new thought and scholarship shows some substantial points missing from our traditional teaching of history.

Kate Levy never for a moment lets you forget that she is a college professor. And Kimber Elayne Sprawl totally inhabits the engaged 19 year old college student, except for just a moment in the second act when Professor Bosco exposes a fact about her personal life and Ms. Reed starts to reassess the situation and their relationship. But only for a moment and then they turn back to their arguments.

Given the roles and story, the major focus is about race in America. But don’t let that be the only issue you see here. There are a number of other, some rather subtle, counterpoints and examples of hierarchies at work. The first is obviously the professor vs. student relationship and who wields the power. And there’s a bit of ageism since the professor is particularly older than her student and she brings that into focus in a fairly inelegant manner. And then there are the questions around class and social rank and elitism and sexuality…and the use of social media as a weapon or defense mechanism (you’ll get to decide).

This is an amazing play that lays out these contemporary social issues and more. I don’t know how Ms. Levy and Ms. Sprawl can maintain the intensity of their roles for the entire play much less the entire run. They do so remarkably well. And are doing it in a set that is essentially a fish bowl since the stage is centered in the Stiemke with seating along both longitudinal sides of the stage.

The Niceties runs through November 3rd and is directed by Annika Boras who did an amazing job putting Ms. Levy and Ms. Sprawl into their roles and facing down the hard edges that this play presents.