WA Players ‘Nerd’ romps through Shue comedy

By Marilyn Jozwik

The 1981 play “The Nerd” represents one of an oft-performed duo of Larry Shue’s plays that also includes “The Foreigner.” As Shue was a playwright in residence at Milwaukee Repertory Theater when he wrote the shows, they once enjoyed tremendous popularity among local theater groups.

Although the comedy classic has been supplanted by other comedies in more recent years, the West Allis Players have brought it back to Liberace auditorium. And the troupe, directed by Mary Beth Topf, provides lots of slapstick hilarity and non-stop action, polishing up the show with some shining performances.

The show takes place in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1979. Willum (Scott Fudali), an architect, is celebrating his 34th birthday with friends Axel (David Cooklock) and Tansy (Anna Marie Zorn), as well as his boss Warnock (Bill Kaiser), his wife Clelia (Antoinette Stikl) and his young son Thor (Roan Kyne) when he learns that the man who saved his life in Vietnam is coming to visit. Willum was working as a draftsman in the war when he was injured and rendered unconscious. A soldier named Rick (Randy Tranowski) transported him to safety. Willum has never actually seen him.

Willum’s friend, Rick (Randy Tranowski), makes Willum’s boss and wife (Antoionette Stikl and Bill Kaiser) uncomfortable with his bizarre behavior in a scene from West Allis Players “The Nerd.”

When Rick arrives, he turns the quiet little gathering on its ear with his obnoxious behavior that wreaks havoc with the evening’s dinner and game time, as well as with Willum’s career.

Willum feels tremendous allegiance to his life-saver so he hesitates to call out Rick’s bizarre actions. But when Rick decides to make himself at home in Willum’s apartment, Willum must make some tough decisions.

The show plants itself in the post-Vietnam era with frequent use of an answering machine that was often hard to understand, as were the performers on some occasions. It probably would be best to sit close to the stage in the spacious Liberace auditorium at West Milwaukee Intermediate School for the best sound experience.

Tranowski uses his long, lanky frame to great advantage as he dives into the role of the socially inept Rick, scampering around the room and on furniture like an untrained puppy. He takes over every scene he’s in with Gumby-like postures, outrageous behavior and exasperating communication.

As the ever-patient Willum, Fudali strikes just the right chord. Fudali’s Willum dials through a range of emotions, does a balancing act to impress his boss while exonerating his army buddy’s outrageous actions.

I also enjoyed Cooklock as Willum’s wise-cracking friend Axel, who handles Shue’s off-handed humor with aplomb. Zorn does a nice job as Willum’s girlfriend Tansy, who keeps an even keel during the social madness while hoping her beau could develop some “gumption.” As Willum’s boss, Kaiser does well maintaining a near constant state of agitation while Stikl plays the understanding wife to a tee. Kyne provides bursts of levity playing the bratty couple’s bratty son, Thor, in the performance we saw. Ellory Woodford played Thor is some other performances.

Perhaps the show’s major hilarity comes during the lively games the characters engaged in. All would get into the light-hearted mood, including – for a time -- Willum’s boss and family. The madcap scenes are delightfully done and remindful of fast-paced action in some other comedy classics.   

If You Go:

Who: West Allis Players

What: “The Nerd”

When: Through Oct. 15

Where: Liberace Auditorium, West Milwaukee Middle School, 5048 W. Greenfield Ave.

Info/Tickets: 414-604-4900/www.westallisplayers.org

Next Act's 'Splash Hatch' hits with impact

By Marilyn Jozwik

Next Act Theatre has a knack for presenting plays that are dense with ideas, all sorts of seeds that can grow into thoughtful discussions of important, relevant issues, all the while providing top-notch, incredibly imaginative entertainment.

In its season opener, “Splash Hatch on the E Going Down” by Kia Corthron, Next Act pulls the curtain back on a black family caught in the ill effects of poverty. Cheryl Lynn Bruce directs.

Thyme (Jada Jackson) and her friend Shaneequa (Malaina Moore) share their thoughts on water birth in a scene from Next Act’s “Splash Hatch on the E Going Down.”

The center of the story is Thyme (Jada Jackson), a smart-teenager who is married and pregnant. She and her husband, Erry (Joseph Brown Jr.), live with her parents, Marjorie (Kristin E. Ellis) and Ollie (James Carrington), in a Harlem tenement. Thyme has taken up the banner for conservation and environmental responsibility. She doesn’t believe in pets, circuses or zoos (“abducting animals for our entertainment”); wasting resources (why flush the toilet after every use?) and pollution (she enumerates the amount of garbage created by a simple fast-food meal.). She gets on her soap box about the toxic lead from old paint that fills the old tenement house in which she lives.  With her social awareness and insatiable thirst for knowledge, she is not your typical poor, pregnant teenager.

Her pregnancy has made Thyme more keenly aware of the world her baby will live in. She studies topics concerning her baby and the environment tirelessly, causing her husband to remark, “Libraries will never go out of style with you!” She can recite facts and figures regarding waste (the U.S. has 6 percent of the world’s population but consumes almost half of its resources). She bemoans the loss of our natural world, saying we are “bending nature to our needs. If it don’t bend, we break it.”

Thyme (Jada Jackson) and her father (James Carrington) in a scene from Next Act’s “Splash Hatch on the E Going Down.”

She is obsessed with having a water birth (splash hatch), believing it to be the most natural way for a baby to enter the world. “We are water; we came from the sea,” she says. But while Thyme focuses on the environment and her baby, her unemployed husband finds a job that plays havoc with his health, as does the toxic area in which they live, another by-product of poverty and tenement living.

Corthron gives Jackson’s young Thyme a heavy load of information as Thyme tries to convert anyone who will listen – her husband, parents and best friend Shaneequa (Malaina Moore), even the audience – to her mission of environmental responsibility and awareness of environmental racism. Everyone around Thyme is a sounding board. Jackson keeps her youthful energy and enthusiasm, but the barrage of facts becomes a bit overwhelming. Yet, Jackson is a marvelous conduit for Corthron’s often elegant and poetic prose.

Jackson and Brown as the youthful couple are a wonderful pairing as they sweetly navigate her pregnancy and his illness. As Thyme’s friend, Shaneequa, Moore strikes just the right attitude that creates tension as well as tender and light moments between the two friends sharing their pregnancy experiences. Their bathtub scene and baby-bump tussle cement the bond they share.

As Thyme’s parents, Ellis and Carrington give Jackson’s Thyme a wide berth to express herself as their characters maintain a loving household while scraping by.

Brian Sidney Bembridge’s scenic design features a backdrop of lit squares, a creative, pleasing visual which nicely symbolizes the neighborhood of cramped quarters for its residents and a backdrop for the sparse furnishings in Thyme’s home.

If you go:

Who: Next Act Theatre

What: “Splash Hatch on the E Going Down”

When: Through Oct. 15

Where: 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee

Info/Tickets: 414-278-0765; info@nextact.org

WCT does justice to classic courtroom drama

By Marilyn Jozwik

Several years ago, I was selected to appear on a jury for a trial involving domestic abuse. So, I went into Waukesha Civic Theatre’s presentation of “12 Angry Men,” several versions of which I had previously seen, with considerable interest.

 I was struck by how closely it mirrored my experience, mostly the way it depicted the variety of people on the jury, people with biases and preconceived notions. In my situation, most of the jury leaned one way at the beginning – many hoping for a swift decision in order to get the whole procedure over quickly and return to their lives. But through the efforts of a couple jurors and several hours of thoughtful discussion, the tide turned until there was only one dissenting. Rather than pressuring that one person to go along with the majority, jury members encouraged her to do what she thought was right. On her own, she joined the others. It made me realize that, though flawed, our jury system is quite remarkable.

Waukesha Civic tackles the show by Reginald Rose, with the stage version by Sherman L. Sergel, with a fine cast headed by Mark Neufang as Juror 8, the lone holdout of 12 at the initial vote of the jurors. The case they are deliberating involves a young man who has been accused of stabbing and killing his father. The cards are stacked against him: an elderly neighbor in the tenement building where the crime was committed testified that he heard an argument between the young man and his father, and saw him running down the stairs shortly after. A woman claims to have seen the stabbing through the cars of a passing elevated train. A nearby shopkeeper said he sold a knife, similar to the murder weapon, to the defendant.

Only Juror 8 sees that all those stories have flaws. With a cool, objective manner he bats away the many arguments – several angry ones – that other jurors put forth. Neufang’s is one of those “bucket list” roles – one made famous by Henry Fonda in the movie –and Neufang doesn’t disappoint. He handles his role with assuredness as he carefully lays out facts not tainted by biases that others clearly show.

A vote is taken in the jury room during deliberations for a murder trial that included Juror 3 (Kevin Peters), from left, Foreman/Juror 1 (Jim Doucette, Juror 11 (Sandra Pocaro), Juror 12 (Zach Sharrock), Juror 4 (Lawrence J. Lukasavage), Juror 2 (Mary Rynders), Juror 5 (Martin Scanlan), Juror 10 (Angie Rodenkirch), Juror 7 (Hal Erickson), Juror 9 (Ron Clohessy) and Juror 8 (Mark Neufang in a scene from Waukesha Civic Theatre’s “12 Angry Men.”

Director Meghan Hopper has the characters moving about, rather than staying seated, as they give their opinions on a scorching summer day in the realistic jury room created by Michael Talaska.  The jurors’ recreated scenes – such as how the old man could have walked as far as he testified to in the brief time – are nicely done as Neufang’s No. 8 methodically builds his case like a bricklayer.

All the roles are handled well, but several stand out. Kevin Peters gives fire and passion to his Juror 3, a passion that nearly boils over into fisticuffs between two characters. Angie Rodenkirch as Juror 10 also has an intense moment, spewing venom about the sort of people, like the defendant, that she deems “no good,” giving the audience a glimpse of someone they might know with similar views. Lawrence J. Lukasavage gives a solid performance as the forthright, thoughtful Juror 4, while Hal Erickson adds some color with his wise-cracking Juror 7, who wants nothing more than a quick verdict.

Other Jurors in the show are Jim Doucette (1), Mary Rynders (2), Martin Scanlan (5), Kennan Ellis (6), Ron Clohessy (9), Sandra Pocaro (11), Zach Sharrock (12).

Among the finest English language courtroom dramas, “12 Angry Men” offers a realistic look at the cornerstone of our justice system with this riveting presentation by Waukesha Civic Theatre.

If you go:

Who: Waukesha Civic Theatre

What: “12 Angry Men”

When: Through Oct. 1

Where: 264 W. Main St., Waukesha

Info/Tickets: 262-547-0708/www.waukeshacivictheatre.org

‘Dad’s Season Tickets’ kicks off Sunset season with winning performances

By Marilyn Jozwik

Even before the cast utter their first words in “Dad’s Season Tickets” at Sunset Playhouse, the stage is clearly set.

Patrons in Packer gear can be spotted milling about the lobby, and piped in music encourages audience members to respond with the familiar game day chant, “Go, Pack, Go!”

Being a football and Packer fan, I was anxious to see what playwright Matt Zembrowski, a 2001 graduate of Dominican High School, did with the book, lyrics and music for the show.

I figured it might be a little cheesy (pun intended), but I wasn’t prepared for how funny, heart-warming, and downright entertaining the show would prove to be.

The story nicely captures religiously practiced Packer game day traditions, like paying homage to a bobblehead Bart Starr before the game, wearing an unwashed lucky jersey, touchdown celebrations and special game-day food. It pokes fun at outfits needed for in-person games at Lambeau Field, causing one character to call a game-goer in inflated winter wear -- akin to a space traveler – “Buzz Aldrin.” A visit to Lambeau is dubbed “The Holy Grail.”

Fans, from left, Edgar (Corey Klein), Cordy (Lily Nielsen), Gabby (Sarah Briana Monahan), Frank (Tim Gensler), Rhonda (Caitlin Kujawski Compton) and Ralph (Jordan Paullin) react to the Packer game on TV in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Dad’s Season Tickets.”

The story begins with Packer backer Frank Kosinski (Tim Gensler) in his Green Bay home. He seems to finally have turned a corner, three years after his wife has died, and elevated his mood just in time for the holidays and a Packer Super Bowl run. It’s December of 1996 and a Packer tree has been added to the Kosinski Packer-themed home that also includes teen-aged daughter and wannabe reporter Cordy (Lily Nielsen).

The heart of the play is the struggle of Frank’s two married daughters to inherit their aging Dad’s coveted Packer season tickets. The two have not been civil to each other for years, and their rivalry reaches a peak as they vie for this plum prize. Pregnant daughter Gabby Nimwitz (Sarah Briana Monahan) bleeds green and gold, while her sister Rhonda Kafura (Caitlin Kujawski Compton) doesn’t know a center from a goal post and would much rather deliver homemade treats to the game watchers than see the game.

Frank (Tim Gensler) discusses family business with his three daughters Rhonda (Caitlin Kujawski Compton), from left, Cordy (Lily Nielsen and Gabby (Sarah Briana Monahan) in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Dad’s Season Tickets.”

Rhonda’s husband and crazed Packer fan Ralph (Jordan Paullin), however, desperately wants the tickets and tutors his wife on football ins-and-outs in an utterly charming tune, “Football is Like Love,” that turns into a ’90s love song complete with background singers --Pips with pompoms. Gabby’s husband Edgar (Corey Klein), a professor who incongruously scatters literary pearls at family gatherings, has a secret crush on a Packer rival team, which causes even more family friction.

Michael Pocaro directs a fine cast of a half-dozen who give each character a distinct likeability. It’s easy to recognize ourselves or someone we know in these truly relatable characters. My favorite is, perhaps, Klein, whose staid Edgar flaunts his professorial nature quite in contrast to the unabashed enthusiasm of other family members, especially his fanatic wife Gabby, played with cheerleader enthusiasm by Monahan. The pair’s “My True Colors” is a delightful bit.

I also enjoyed the Paullin and Compton pairing as Rhonda and Ralph, especially Ralph’s sincerity as he tries to convince Rhonda of his devotion to her in “I Love You More Than Football.”  Compton is wonderful as she transforms, from purveyor of gametime treats to football aficionado, with gusto.

Gensler as Dad Frank finds himself playing referee to his bickering family. Nielsen as his daughter Cordy is hoping to find out why his sisters don’t get along. In a nicely done bit, Cordy uses her reporter’s curiosity in “Two Sides to Every Story” to get the scoop on their squabbles.

Perhaps the funniest piece is the opening to Act 2, “What Do You Do With a Bye Week?,” which has the family looking bored and lethargic as they lounge around lethargically on Sunday counting the days to the next Packer game.

Music director Mark Mrozek (keyboards), Tim Karth (drums/percussion) and Nic Buendia (bass) keep the tunes lively. The vocals are generally strong and pleasing, although some harmonies ended on discordant notes.

Choreographer Karl Miller incorporates lots of fun -- simple football-themed moves, complete with challenge and penalty flags, all handled nicely by this talented cast.  

If you go:

Who:     Sunset Playhouse

What:   “Dad’s Season Tickets”

When:  Though Sept. 24

Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove

Info/Tickets: 262-782-4430, SunsetPlayhouse.com