Berkshire on Stage

by Dan Mayer

A play that aggravates spellcheckers and invites the question “Wait, what’s it called?”, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers is an absurd comedy with a disturbing edge. Albany Civic Theater‘s production brings the off-the-wall characters to life with a fresh cast at the top of their game.

The title is essentially “Funny Mirrors” as pronounced by Gertie (Jackie DeGiorgis) when talking about the crazy mirrors in a carnival fun house. The poor woman has had a stroke, so most of what she says comes out muddled, out of order, or just complete gibberish. While laughing at someone who’s suffered a stroke would seem to be in poor taste, it’s very much in line with the show’s general approach to trauma: laugh through the pain.

The plot isn’t bad, but on paper it’s quite dark and potentially depressing. Claire is a woman who wakes up every day with no memory of her past, her loved ones, even herself, but as the story unfolds and she learns what she has lost, seemingly everything she remembers is tragic, and everyone she’s forgotten is deeply flawed at best or utterly awful at worst. It has no right to be as funny as it is, but by some literary magic, Lindsay-Abaire makes it work.

ACT’s playbills usually note when actors are appearing on their mainstage for the first time. It’s uncommon to see a show where the entire cast share this distinction, but this production of Fuddy Meers is played entirely by first-timers to ACT. Some are regulars to community theater in the capital region, while others are relative newcomers to the stage or returning after long absences. Each character is excellently cast, and there’s not a weak performance in the group, but a few definitely steal the scenes more than others.

Claire (Amanda Conlon) is very endearing as our amnesiac lead character, and she is varying degrees of funny and sweet and scary depending on the moment. Conlon’s performance goes a long way to keeping the tone from getting too heavy. Her pained smiles and everything-is-fine posture seem to give the audience permission to laugh at her trauma, or indeed laugh with her as the case may be.

The Limping Man (Eric-jon Tasker) is vying for the title of Most Ridiculous Character, with Millet (Alex Headley) just barely beating him out. However, while Tasker’s comical physicality is very broad, bounding and loping awkwardly around the stage, he also manages to inject an undercurrent of sinister into the silly, which is perfect for the character. Headley is mostly a bundle of anxious energy throughout the show, with brief moments of pathos that work excellently in contrast.

And then there’s Hinky Binky. Very rarely, maybe once in a generation, an actor comes along with such gravitas and poise that the moment they appear onstage, the audience leans in wide-eyed with their breaths caught in their throats. Such unparalleled charisma rattles the bones, warms the heart, and moves the soul. Binky is one such actor, and he is as hilarious as he is enigmatic. I don’t know where the crew found this guy, but mark my words, we are seeing an international superstar in the making.

(Kidding aside, we don’t get Binky the puppet without Headley, who deserves kudos for cracking everyone up with his vocal gymnastics and comedic timing)

With a cast this good, it would be easy to overlook the crew, but all of the technical aspects of the production were solid as well. The sets took five people to design and build, and the rooms are all nicely detailed, with only the driving scenes requiring more imagination for the nonexistent car. The sound design by Barry Streifert is quite immersive, with suitably disorienting circus music taking us from scene to scene. Since the Limping Man needs to have a visibly deformed ear, Tasker is outfitted with a prosthetic, and Brian McBride Land’s makeup effects make the ridiculous thing look pretty convincing from a few rows back. Libby Brennesholtz created this show’s version of Binky, whose design is simple yet effective.

Fuddy Meers is easy to recommend. It’s funny and bizarre, surprisingly dark, but with a warm heart at the center. Plus, it has a sock puppet. Really, what more do you want?

Albany Civic Theater presents Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Teresa Storti, runs from Dec 5 – 21, at Albany Civic Theater, 235 Second Avenue in Albany, NY. Cast: Amanda Conlon as Claire, Gregor Wynnyczuk as Richard, Dominic Tillou as Kenny, Eric-jon Tasker as Limping Man, Jackie DeGiorgis as Gertie, Alex Headley as Millet, Isabelle McKeon as Heidi, and Hinky Binky as Himself.

Stage Manager/Light Board Op: Oona Newman. Assistant Stage Manager/Sound Board Op: Baruch Rainey. Producer: Barbara Davis. Set Design: Jacob Bell, Peter Kantor. Set Construction/Decoration: Peter Kantor, Kat Fronheiser, Kevin McNamara, Isabelle McKeon, Dominic Tillou. Lighting Design: Oona Newman. Sound Design: Barry Streifert. Costume Design: Dianne E. O’Neil. Photography: Andrew Elder. Playbill Cover Art: Peter Kantor. Puppet Construction: Libby Brennesholtz. Special Makeup Effects: Brian McBride Land. Fight Coordinator: Kimberly Martin.

Performance dates are Friday – Sunday, Dec 5 – 7, 12 – 14, 19 – 21. Friday and Saturday curtains are at 7:30 pm, and Sundays are matinees only at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $20, or $10 for students. Runs approximately 120 minutes including a 15-minute intermission. Contains moments of domestic and emotional violence. Tickets are available online. Visit https://www.albanycivictheater.org/ for more information.