Dare I Say...Typecasting?
Reviewed April 22, 2006
by Larry Shue
Directed by Ben Tyler
Hale Centre Theatre, Gilbert
(480) 497-1181
April 7th - May 13th, 2006
$20.00 - $22.00
Discount tickets may be available at
Larry Shue’s The Nerd is a community theatre staple that is silly and endearing and perfect for a company that wants to make an audience laugh without having to traipse anywhere near the cutting edge. That fits the bill for Hale Centre Theatre, the family venue always searching for the universal laugh. Perpetually stuck in its original 80s setting, the play offers a bit of cleverness, a lot of silliness, and even a hint of romantic possibilities. It isn’t hard to cast, but it does have the benefit of being even funnier when talent is involved. Director Ben Tyler is in luck.
His cast includes mega-talents like Jessica Godber as love-interest Tansy and Jere Van Patten in the title role. He has a couple of stalwart dependables in the form of Matthew Cary as the hapless Willum, Mark Hackmann (performing for his second time in this show, this time) as the caustic critic Axel, and Randy Hesson (in the best performance I’ve seen from him) as Willum’s persnickety boss Warnock “Tikki” Waldgrave. This type of talent ensures an engaging production. Tyler’s inventiveness, willingness to give his cast creative license, and keen blocking build the production even more. It has its problems, but I’m happy to report they are few and far between.
One of those minor problems is jumpiness. Tyler’s initial blocking through the first part of the show seems too inclined to move the actors around the stage in unmotivated ways. He is a master of the round, so it was surprising to see so many initially unexplained movements from couches to seats to tables. As soon as the exposition is exposed, though, the visuals settle into the natural-looking stage pictures one expects.
Another minor problem is the volume of Tikki’s mousey wife, Clelia (Shari Watts). As the browbeaten mate, it’s hard to find a median for the character’s vocal levels, and Watts errs on the side of less-is-more. She is still an enjoyable frau.
As for the rest, the great are great, the good are nearly great, and the laughs are plentiful. Cary is made for this role, the too-good guy who can’t say “no.” His hesitant attempts at romance with Godber and his slow burns through the proceedings are perfectly modulated. Save for a God-awful wig that has to be seen to be hated, Godber is the perfect type of perky that one would expect from a future Washington weathergirl. The tentative intimacy between Cary and Godber is dead-on. Hackmann plays snide with a twist as Axel, and I must say that he’s definitely great in this role. Hesson is wonderfully uptight and completely in the moment as Tikki. He interacts well with those around him, and hits his laugh lines with precision.
And then there’s Van Patten. Had I not worked with him on three separate occasions, I might have thought his was typecasting, but instead this is a showman doing whatever it takes to get the laugh, yet amazingly without pushing. He manages to keep his Rick a little too annoying to be truly empathetic, which is a great way of keeping the audience’s empathy with Cary’s Willum. He does some little gestures and asides that are screams, and I can only imagine he and Tyler grinning each time one of them came up with another sly choice. This is crafted comedy.
John Autore’s set is a perfect creation for this farce, and David Dietlein’s lighting supports the mood. Kudos to Corrin Dietlein for her props and especially her and Sandy Bishop’s perfect Big 80s costumes, even if Godber's wig needs to be returned to Heart's Ann Wilson.
