"The Nerd"

OK, I'd never heard of this play. I have seen, and indeed, costumed and stage-managed another play by Larry Shue; "The Foreigner."

This production, the first by a new theater company, North By Northwest, is a brilliant ensemble piece. The premise is simple: our hero, Willum (Keith Yawn), a Purple Heart Vietnam vet, is visited by the guy who saved his life over there in a rice paddy. He has never met the man while conscious, but is very aware of the debt owed. So The Nerd (R. Michael Clinkscales), shows up and turns out to be a truly inept individual who manages to offend everyone in sight. And that's just for starters. When he unpacks his tambourine and his teddy bear, you know Willum is in trouble. Keith plays Willum with just the right touch of terror (there but for the grace of God...). I would have thought R. Michael was born to play this role, except for the masterful (and I mean that) portrayal of Fagin he gave us in "Oliver" at the Palace last year.

And excellent director and a fantastic cast put this show over the top. As well as the two named, Darla Alpizar is sparkling as Tansy, Willum's girlfriend, a meteorologist on the way up. Michael Rhea as "Tickie" Waldgrave, the businessman who has hired Willum to design his hotel, does a worthy job of presenting the constantly enraged man in the grey flannel suit. Miriam Rubin as his wife Clelia, who smashes saucers for stress relief, does brilliant things with a character that could have been lost in the shuffle, and Ian Blake as their son, Thor (poor kid!), does a bit of smashing on his own. Kudos to the only child in the show!

However, with all this talent, my favourite character was Axel (Derek Jones), who has all the best cynical lines, delivered with a suave aplomb reminiscent of James Bond.

All of y'all did a fantastic job! I know this was the last night, but I'm still not going to spoil the twist, in case anyone gets to see another production, or North By Northwest can be persuaded to reprise this at a later date.

I don't care who you are, that there is funny!

The play was produced in the sanctuary of a church. One thing...I recommend installing a dimmer switch on the house lights, as they came and went rather abruptly.

Congratulations to Dave Butts and all the North By Northwest Company on an excellent first play.