Theater Review—

Town Players’ Latest, ‘Fuddy Meers,’ Is A Good Show, Just For Fun

By Julie Stern

Carl Sandburg wrote a poem that began “Sooner or later they all want to play Hamlet,” in which he spoke of how the role of a man so tormented by the circumstances of his life is a tempting challenge for actors.

David Lindsay-Abaire is no Shakespeare, and his absurdist Fuddy Meers lacks the poetry and the tragedy and the cosmic significance of that play about the Prince of Denmark. However, it certainly is packed with juicy roles for actors, and under Mary Poile’s deft direction, her very talented cast has a field day with the show, while the audience rocks with laughter. Ms Poile is leading a cast through the current production at The Little Theater in Newtown. The show opened last weekend and continues – hopefully for full audiences – for just a few more weeks.

Elise Bochinski is Claire, a woman suffering from a form of traumatic amnesia that causes her to wake up each morning with her mind a totally blank slate. No matter how much she learns during the day about her identity, her family, and her history, it is erased by sleep, so that patient husband, Richard (Charlie Cowles) must begin each day by explaining “These are your slippers, they go on your feet… this is your house… this is your son…”

Kyle Langan is Claire’s teenaged son, Kenny. An angry, learning disabled drug-user, he gets to be loud, surly, abusive and foul-mouthed to the adults in his life.

While Kenny is off to school with his drug money, and Richard is in the shower, Claire is kidnapped by a masked, limping, lisping man who claims to be her brother Zack, and claims to be saving her from Richard, who, he warns, plans to murder her. He won’t say why he is wearing manacles.

After a harrowing car-ride – Zack is blind in one eye, and deaf in one ear, and thus doesn’t notice impending tractor trailers – they reach the house of their mother, Gertie. Beautifully played by Marie Rowe, Gertie is happy to see Claire but alarmed at the presence of Zack.

Unfortunately, she has suffered a stroke and lost her mastery of language: everything that comes out is so garbled – “Fuddy Meers,” for instance, is actually “funny mirrors,” as in a carnival funhouse – that she can’t make herself understood.

They are joined by another manacled escapee, the mild-mannered Millet, who is accompanied by his alter-ego hand puppet, the foul mouthed Hinky Binky. While Gertie and Claire try to deal with this pair of home invaders, Richard and Kenny set off to find and rescue Claire. On the way, they are forced to abduct a policewoman, who stops them on the highway, and threatens to arrest them for drug possession.

Eventually the plot untangles, explaining the source of Claire’s trauma and the true relationships and motivations that link all the characters. That is really secondary to the pleasure of seeing what the cast has been able to do with roles, however.

In addition to the actors already mentioned, Manuel Browne as Millet, Aaron L. Schwartz as the “limping man who claims to be Zack,” and Melanie Strumbl as Heidi, the supposed policewoman, all have a wonderful time and so does the audience.

In addition to the acting and directing, Sarah Copeland does a wonderful job with the sound and lighting, which play a significant part in the plot. Stage manager Annie Murcko keeps the show moving with deft handling of the props, and the Poile family has created a very creditable set representing a farmhouse, a cellar and an apartment.

Fuddy Meers has no deep significance whatsoever, but it is a whole lot of fun and makes for an enjoyable evening. Good job, Town Players!

(Performances continue on Friday and Saturday evenings, plus the afternoon of Sunday, September 18, until September 24. Tickets are $15 for the evening shows, and $12 for the matinee.

Call 270-9144 for additional information or reservations.)