In Praise of Flubs

A meandering mustache. A wayward wig. Persnickety props of all stripes. A flubbed line or three.

Such boners, blunders, muffs, toe-stubs and other cringe inducers, especially when coming in torrents as they did the other night, are impossible to ignore when sitting down to write a review and I can’t even pretend to do so here. So it is only fair to report that “A Tuna Christmas,” the new comedy at the Bellevue Little Theatre is…

Sublime. Hilarious. Knee-slapping funny. A true hit.

Leave it to Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek and Brandon Rohe to turn mistakes into magic in the redneck world of tiny Tuna, Texas, a beer-guzzling, trailer trash-filled, gum-chewing, gun-toting, probation-violating, UFO-obsessed bump in the road populated with a zany assortment of endearing oddballs, misfits and cretins. The actor’s ad-libs – which came fast and furious – were almost as much fun as the script itself.

The duo in this two-man show, in playing 11 crazy characters each, did more than violate the normally sacrosanct “fourth wall” separating actor and audience. They demolished it, brick by brick. Think Ed McMahon not being able to keep a straight face when Johnny Carson did his Carnac bit. Think Harvey Korman losing it when Tim Conway went off the reservation. Think a snickering Jimmy Fallon in … well … just about any “Saturday Night Live” skit Jimmy Fallon has ever appeared in.  

Both – and this isn’t as scary as one may think – are educators who last worked together in “A Servant to Two Masters,” the smash hit of a couple seasons ago that brought the Bellevue Little Theatre a number of Theatre Arts Guild awards, including the one for best comedy. Kaczmarek is an assistant principle in the Omaha Public Schools system and Rohe is a player/manager with R.E.S.P.E.C.T., the anti-bullying troupe that tours middle schools throughout the state and beyond.

Let’s hope the versatile comedians leave the antics at the classroom door. Heavy on our collective conscious these days is the vexing problem of  “why Johnny can’t learn.” But something tells me that these two probably know how to mix humor and learning in ways that are not only welcomed by their students, but contribute to a vigorous learning environment. If the dozen or so adoring youngsters from Kaczmarek’s school in attendance last weekend were any indication, I’d guess that he knows a thing or two about connecting with kids.

The bane of every director is the actor who won’t follow directions. Kim Clark Kaczmarek is at the helm of “A Tuna Christmas,” but I’m betting she gave up long ago in trying to control her talented, if errant, husband Anthony – at least when it comes to their life on stage. The results of his wanderings, propelled by the obvious chemistry with Rohe, are belly laughs that eclipse the punch lines of an already gut-busting script.

Part “Prairie Home Companion,” part “As the World Turns” and all “Harper Valley PTA,” “A Tuna Christmas” is a fabulously enjoyable exploration of all things low brow and of the people who represent the vanguard in the race to the lowest common denominator – an unabashedly American phenomenon.

Charge!

Tim Daugherty practically steals the show in a fun little production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” running through Nov. 23 at the Chanticleer Theater (323-9955).

Sure, Denise Putman shines as Martha, one of the batty Brewster sisters who have the unfortunate habit of poisoning their gentleman callers and burying them in the cellar. And Richard Boyd is at his menacing best as Jonathan, the black sheep of the family who returns to his ancestral home with a still warm corpse of his own stuffed into the trunk of a getaway car. Then there’s the rare – and hilarious – cameo by the legendary Dick Boyd, he of decades-long Scrooge fame over at the Playhouse.

But it was character actor Daugherty who reeled in the most laughs in a familiar play that was made into an even more familiar movie with Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre.

“Charge!” Daugherty bellows – imaginary sword brandished for battle – as he leads his phantom troops up the staircase that he believes is San Juan Hill.  Madness, you see, runs in the Brewster clan – “it practically gallops,” we are told – and he fancies himself to be Teddy Roosevelt. Daugherty, in scene after scene, presides over the shenanigans with the all the barrel-chested officiousness due to the rough and tumble commander-in-chief.  From piercing trumpet blares that punctuate his comings and goings, to the salutes he earns from the local cops who politely play along with the charade, Teddy is one of the more memorable goofballs in all of theater.

The Panama Canal he is digging in the cellar is coming along quite well, except for when his excavations need to be potted with “yellow fever victims,” those who have succumbed to the elderberry wine served in the parlor above.   

Don’t look for “Arsenic and Old Lace” to win any awards, but a classic script, wacky characters and some nice performances carry the night in this madcap farce.    

– D.W.