The titled nerd is none other than Rick Steadman, the heroic Viet Nam vet who saved Terra Haute, Indiana architect Willum Cubbert's life on the battlefield. Over two decades later, Willum is put in the position of standing by his offer to do anything in return for Rick's heroic action. Rick moves into Willum's staid life, disrupting his friendships, his relationship with a lovely young lady who will be leaving his life for a job in Washington, and his building plans for an old curmudgeon's hotel. Willum feels indebted to Rick, but grows ever more weary as Rick's annoying habits, odd views on life and incessant tambourine playing drag on for days. He is finally driven to the point of madness.
In the hands of a knowledgeable and talented director the likes of Peter J. Hill, the show should rise above its occasionally unoriginal bits and become a hit the likes of Mr. Hill's previous productions of Run For Your Wife and Lend Me A Tenor. Unfortunately, the production on opening night suffered from a pretty bad case of jitters. There's still a chance that things like timing and characterization will be ironed out through the planned summer-long run, but the short rehearsal period for this production shows itself in spades.
As the nerdy Rick, Mel Reid goes completely for the laughs, laying on his teeth-grindingly annoying ways as much as the script allows. The part calls for someone annoying though the character often threatens to become genuinely unlikeable, and there is a fine line which Mr. Reid crosses on occasion. While over-the-top is necessary for the presentation as originally scripted, there could have been a bit more subtlety to take just a touch of the shrill characterization down a notch.
As the abused Willum, Ross Collins seemed uncomfortable throughout the first act, though his presentation improved noticeably in the second act. Mr. Collins had trouble with dialogue and line delivery, and visibly shook at inappropriate moments. His nervousness seemed infectious, and his stepping on laugh lines and dropping of others spread to T.J. Weltzien, playing the part of his friend Axel, the drama critic with an attitude. A very one-note performance came from Jim Driskill, Willum's bossy boss Warnock Waldgrave, and he seemed only able to play varying shades of anger. As Warnock's eight-year-old son, Lorin Collins gave a commendable performance.
The light of the show, though, came from the women, both of whom carried their parts off solidly. Through the obvious nervousness of the rest of the cast during the first act, Kristan Hintze's Tansy provided a base and a support that kept the production from derailing. While the part as written tends a bit to the two-dimensional, Ms. Hintze's portrayal was genuine and funny, allowing her to cover for others mistakes while still giving her a chance to shine. Also impressive in her performance was Noel Irick as the beleaguered wife of Warnock, whose odd use of fine china is one of the funnier points in the play.
Mr. Weltzien's set was impressive, and used the tiny space well. His recreation of Willum's living room and office was so well-appointed as to blow away other sets with much higher budgets. Ms. Irick's costumes also worked well.
The Copperstate Players have become entrenched in Phoenix as being the alternative to the murder mystery dinner theatres, giving audiences the traditional dinner and a farce. Previous productions have had longer rehearsal periods, allowing the first few performances to be solid and polished. Undoubtedly the jitters, halts, misstarts and miscues will work themselves out over the next couple of weeks, though this is a poor excuse for full-priced audience members. It might be in Mr. Hill's best interest to return to the longer rehearsal period.
Production Details:
The Nerd by Larry Shue
Copperstate Dinner Theater
Max's Dinner Theatre, Glendale
279-2806
March 28th-August 31st, 1997
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