‘Fuddy Meers’ is memorable at NCP

By STEPHANIE OTTEY

The title of the New Castle Playhouse’s latest production doesn’t offer any clues as to what the show is about, and after watching “Fuddy Meers,” you still may not fully comprehend what you’ve just witnessed.

Last weekend, the NCP kicked off its 2010 season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s bizarre comedy “Fuddy Meers”. Abaire is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Rabbit Hole” and stands as one of the leading contemporary playwrights today.

“Fuddy Meers” revolves around a remarkably simple premise: A woman suffering from psychogenic amnesia (a mental disorder causing her to lose her memory whenever she falls asleep) spends a day trying to figure out how she lost her memory in the first place. Abaire compensates for the uncomplicated plot by introducing the audience to some of the most unusual characters ever contrived.

Claire, played by Janice Zurasky Hannah, is introduced first. Despite her severe mental disorder, it is easily said that Claire is the solitary example of sanity in the show. She wakes up every morning without a single idea of what has happened in her life, but she searches for answers in a calm and delicate manner. Hannah captures Claire’s curiosity and frustrating confusion as she calmly and delicately interacts with all of the new faces she meets.

Richard (Brady Flamino) appears to be the doting husband, caring for Claire enough to make a scrapbook of her life. As he interacts with his bratty, pothead-of-a-son, Kenny, Richard alludes to a dark and bizarre secret that he hides from his family. Kenny, played by Benjamin Solomon, is arguably the second- most normal character to be introduced, and Solomon surprises the audience at the end of Act 2 by providing a moment of heartfelt, genuine emotion as he pleads with his mother to remember her horrible past. Solomon’s performance here should be noted as one of the most emotionally charged moments of the show.

“Limping Man” (Phillip Clark Jr.), Millet (Ken Cole) and Heidi (Kali Davies) are a team of characters who may be good guys, but may also be bad guys as they force themselves into Claire’s day. “Limping Man” is aptly named due to the limp, lisp and other handicaps that Clark so convincingly includes in his character, and Cole is indescribably interesting as he interacts with Millet’s vulgar, foul-mouthed puppet “Binky.” Davies takes her role as “lady-cop” to an extreme that is distracting at times, but fits with the ridiculous tones of the show.

Impossible to forget, there also is show-stealer Gertie, masterfully played by Karen Kern. Gertie’s “stroke-talk” and heroic attempts at helping her daughter, Claire, are irrefutably hysterical. Kern is simply fantastic at making the severely distorted speech of Gertie believable and consistent. She commands the stage just by walking onto it, and leaves the audience anticipating her return as soon as she exits. Kern’s comedically perfect performance is reason enough to see the show.

When all of these outrageous characters finally come together at the end of Act 1, the only thing to say is “What the heck is going on?” Not only has the script climaxed in confusion, but the clusters of drama on stage as all of the characters battle each other is overwhelming to the eye. Audience focus is everywhere, and it’s easy to miss something important. This isn’t completely inappropriate, however, as the main focus of the show is about the confusion that Claire is facing as she attempts to make sense of the new world around her. The audience can relate to her completely.

Despite the confusing events and characters of Claire’s day, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that make for a very memorable show. One-liners and filthy insults reign supreme, so that audience members can give their minds a break and simply sit back and laugh.