THE OAKLAND Off-the-wall 'We R Just Men' amuses audience with humor

The original music helps set the show apart from typical musicals.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Back in February, local playwright Harold Davis presented his original musical comedy, "We R Just Men," at the Oakland to a select group, in the form of a read-through. This week, a tweaked, scripted version was presented to the public.
Davis, who has been writing music for years, said putting together this play fulfilled a dream.
The story is about Bill Saunders, who suddenly wakes up from a drunken stupor and finds himself dead. His guardian angel is a bartender named Pete, who tells him he has to review his life, especially the murder of his wife, Hannah, and convince the audience that he is worthy to go to heaven. So he is forced to look back on the highlights (and in his case, lowlights) of his life, and present them to those who will be his final judges.
One of the qualities that makes this musical truly a step apart from the typical is Davis' original music. Most people write musicals with a Broadway potential in mind. This work, however, is perfect for small stages.
Musicians
The musicians, directed by Jeff Bremer (bass guitar), were Bob Bacha (drums) and Rudy Cahuenga (lead guitar). Davis, who played Saunders, also plays guitar and harmonica. His songs cover a wide range of styles, including blues, country and rock, and include a brand new style piece, written since the read-through. Called "Could Have Been," and sung by Kristina Pokopatz, who played Christina, it was the most serious and beautiful song of the evening, with a nice exotic beat. The crowd loved it.
Another thing that makes this work interesting is its multimedia aspect. The backdrop in the center of the set was used for numerous purposes. It became an extension of the bar scene, and was used as the psychedelic screen for the go-go dancers in the '60s-style tune, "OSU Revisited," and also the dog cartoon that accompanied "Doggy Blues."
Hysterical Hannah
Shaye Cahill played Hannah, and left us wishing we could have seen more of her. Her sexy hula-hoop dance was mesmerizing, and her lovely duet with Pokopatz, called "Beautiful Moment in Time," was a sweet song about the magic of Christmas.
But Hannah has a hysterical side -- she is the most irritating back-seat driver -- that prompted Saunders to kill her. In the song called "Auto-Crazy [Shut Up]" they are trying to drive down Market Street and she corrects him nonstop: "You could have made that light, you're going too slow, you're going too fast, you don't need your wipers on ... ." So he shoots her. But she doesn't die, so he shoots her again as she starts telling him how to drive to the hospital. When she still doesn't die, Pete, the angel shoots her. When they finally meet in the afterlife, he apologizes for killing her. She replies that it was her fault. "You always said if I didn't shut up you were going to shoot me," she says. "I just thought you were kidding."
Cahill and Josh Terlecki (Pete) created the wonderful video scenes. The other cast member, Aleisa Drivere, makes a couple of seductive appearances, and sings and plays guitar in one scene. She and her husband own a recording studio, and have recorded these songs on CD, available to the public. Call Davis at (330) 533-5000 for information.
If you like off-the-wall humor, you'll like this work. The Oakland audience gave it a standing ovation. Davis plans to present it again in the fall, possibly as dinner-theater entertainment.