Copperstate Dinner Theatre's "The Nerd" at Max's Dinner
Theater
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
(out of )From the "if-you-do-something-well,-do-it-often"
files, Peter J. Hill and the Copperstate Dinner Theatre
are mounting the late Larry Shue's other famous play, The
Nerd. After Mr. Shue's phenomenal success with the farcical,
slapstick comedy The Foreigner, he decided to be really
daring and write a farcical, slapstick comedy entitled The
Nerd. The scripts bear some similarities in terms of plot
and action, though The Nerd is not as strong (or original)
an idea as its predecessor. It is still entertaining, and does
have its share of wonderful comedic bits.
The titled nerd is none other than Rick
Steadman, the heroic Viet Nam vet who saved Terra Haute, Indiana
architect Willum Cubbert's life on the battlefield. Over two decades
later, Willum is put in the position of standing by his offer
to do anything in return for Rick's heroic action. Rick moves
into Willum's staid life, disrupting his friendships, his relationship
with a lovely young lady who will be leaving his life for a job
in Washington, and his building plans for an old curmudgeon's
hotel. Willum feels indebted to Rick, but grows ever more weary
as Rick's annoying habits, odd views on life and incessant tambourine
playing drag on for days. He is finally driven to the point of
madness.
In the hands of a knowledgeable and talented
director the likes of Peter J. Hill, the show should rise above
its occasionally unoriginal bits and become a hit the likes of
Mr. Hill's previous productions of Run For Your Wife and
Lend Me A Tenor. Unfortunately, the production on opening
night suffered from a pretty bad case of jitters. There's still
a chance that things like timing and characterization will be
ironed out through the planned summer-long run, but the short
rehearsal period for this production shows itself in spades.
As the nerdy Rick, Mel Reid goes
completely for the laughs, laying on his teeth-grindingly annoying
ways as much as the script allows. The part calls for someone
annoying though the character often threatens to become genuinely
unlikeable, and there is a fine line which Mr. Reid crosses on
occasion. While over-the-top is necessary for the presentation
as originally scripted, there could have been a bit more subtlety
to take just a touch of the shrill characterization down a notch.
As the abused Willum, Ross Collins
seemed uncomfortable throughout the first act, though his presentation
improved noticeably in the second act. Mr. Collins had trouble
with
dialogue and line delivery, and visibly shook at inappropriate
moments. His nervousness seemed infectious, and his stepping on
laugh lines and dropping of others spread to T.J. Weltzien,
playing the part of his friend Axel, the drama critic with an
attitude. A very one-note performance came from Jim Driskill,
Willum's bossy boss Warnock Waldgrave, and he seemed only able
to play varying shades of anger. As Warnock's eight-year-old son,
Lorin Collins gave a commendable performance.
The light of the show, though, came from
the women, both of whom carried their parts off solidly. Through
the obvious nervousness of the rest of the cast during the first
act, Kristan Hintze's Tansy provided a base and a support
that kept the production from derailing. While the part as written
tends a bit to the two-dimensional, Ms. Hintze's portrayal was
genuine and funny, allowing her to cover for others mistakes while
still giving her a chance to shine. Also impressive in her performance
was Noel Irick as the beleaguered wife of Warnock, whose
odd use of fine china is one of the funnier points in the play.
Mr. Weltzien's
set was impressive, and used the tiny space well. His recreation
of Willum's living room and office was so well-appointed as to
blow away other sets with much higher budgets. Ms. Irick's
costumes also worked well.
The Copperstate Players have become entrenched
in Phoenix as being the alternative to the murder mystery dinner
theatres, giving audiences the traditional dinner and a farce.
Previous productions have had longer rehearsal periods, allowing
the first few performances to be solid and polished. Undoubtedly
the jitters, halts, misstarts and miscues will work themselves
out over the next couple of weeks, though this is a poor excuse
for full-priced audience members. It might be in Mr. Hill's best
interest to return to the longer rehearsal period.
Production Details:
"The Nerd" by Larry Shue
Copperstate Dinner Theater
Max's Dinner Theatre, Glendale
279-2806
March 28th-August 31st, 1997
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