'Fuddy Meers' at Phoenix Stage Company - My Review

Fuddy Meers is a comedy by David Lindsay-Abaire that might be called as unique as its title. Someone who saw it on opening weekend at the Phoenix Stage Company in Naugatuck told me that it was "different." Director Donna Storms, a former Speech/ Language Pathologist, had her hands full with some of the demands of this funny script, not the least of which was the unusual speech patterns. As usual she rose to the challenge.

Claire has a rare form of amnesia that erases her memory when she sleeps. Her husband Richard helps her navigate her days. A man with a limp and a host of other issues appears claiming to be her brother and rushes her off to the house of her mother, a recent stroke victim who speaks in gibberish. Soon a dim-witted thug with a foul-mouthed hand puppet pops up at the window of the mother's country house, followed closely by Richard, her perpetually stoned son, and a claustrophobic lady cop that they have kidnapped.

So there is a lot going on, to put it mildly, and some of it is pretty weird. Some of the action is funny and had the audience laughing aloud. Some is pretty violent and was choreographed and coached by Rob Richnavsky. It is not without some surprising twists. Put it all together and it is in fact, different. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

A pretty complicated set was designed by Ed Bassett with props by Mr. Bassett and Stage Manager Lori Poulin. Costumes by Mr. Bassett and the members of the cast were effective and functional. Lighting designed by Al Hathway added to the ambience.

The cast did a great job of bringing these odd characters to life. PSC veteran Kristen Jacobsen did an amazing job of speaking in a language all her own in the role of stroke victim Gertie. She also aged into a convincing older lady. As her befuddled daughter Claire, Alana Kingsley (last seen as Cora in Death & Taxes) proved her range as an actress. As Claire's husband Richard, the always wonderful PSC veteran Chris Evans did not disappoint. Mr. Evans will have another of his one-act plays included in the 2014 PSC One Act Festival in May.

As the teenaged son with a foul mouth, Preston Bogan was superbly fresh and quite different from his most recent role of Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at NHS.  KC Ross was convincing as the kidnapped cop Heidi. Rob Richnavsky was perfectly cast as both the odd sidekick Millet and his foul-mouthed and very funny puppet. This talented comic actor sports crazy hair and moves quickly between the two characters as only he can. As the Limping Man, Ed Bassett was pretty amazing. He had to keep track of all of the character's issues in addition to his secrets; he thanks the director for "challenging my old brain" to bring this character to life.

After the curtain call, the actors changed out of their costumes and the members of the Phoenix Stage's Comedy Troupe Abridged returned to the stage to present a twenty minute mix of improv scenes. With the help of the audience, Mr. Bassett led the troupe through extremely funny sketches that entertained all the members of the audience who stayed to watch.