Program notes

Fuddy Meers was the first of many of David Lindsay- Abaire’s scripts to come to fruition. David Lindsay- Abaire wrote this script at the age of twenty nine while he was attending Juilliard in the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. His script then went through a workshop process there at Juilliard in 1998 before its first production at the Manhattan Theatre Club on October 12th of the following year. Next Fuddy Meers moved to Off-Broadway on January 27th of the year 2000 to the Minetta Lane Theatre. Lindsay- Abairehas won many award in his lifetime and his script, Fuddy Meers, has won quite a few awards of its own as well as known many international productions with great success for the bulk of them. There is even a rumor of a screen play for Fuddy Meers in the works that David Lindsay- Abaire is said to be writing.

The current action of the play is never explicitly mentioned in Lindsay- Abaire’s script. This helps raise the themes to the universal level and make a connection with each member of the audience. This could be happening in your city to your family or your neighbor. Remember that this is not a play about a time and a place, however it is about the world around you, the people around you, and your relationship to them. In the Notes from the author, the script says that we are to view the world of the play through Claire’s eyes. And she is a woman that has no concept of date, time, or setting…

Bearing this in mind, we did have to sent these people somewhere in sometime out of necessity for our production team- especially our designers- while staying true to the playwright’s intent and preferred themes. We have chosen to set out current action in the year 2000 in Boston Massachusetts (Claire, Richard, and Kenny’s home) and Piermont New Hampshire (Gertie’s house).

It can be easy for the themes of this dark comedy can be lost in the humor that is innate in Lindsay- Abaire’s outrageous tale. We in this production company hope that this is not the case and that in our production we have found this balance put delicately in place.We want to send you out of this theatre laughing, but also thinking about themes such as identity and loss of identity, Domestic violence and fighting back, and even ethics- what’s the right thing to do. Lindsay- Abaire tells Celia Wren in Lost in the Funhouse AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT BY CELIA WREN “I didn't go into the writing with any sort of agenda. I knew I wanted a play about a bunch of people who were trying to forget who they were and what they'd done, plus one person who needed to remember all those things. The fact that the play's set in a dysfunctional family seems appropriate, but it wasn't something I was commenting on. There's a lot in the script about the difficulty of communicating within a family--how things are squelched and denied and ignored entirely. But people can suffer from that in their work environment or anywhere. It's not exclusive to families.” When she asked Lindsay- Abaire about the use of dark and upbeat views on life that are presented in Fuddy Meers, David talked about the characters’ views of the world being distorted as if observed through funhouse mirrors or Fuddy Meers as Gertie would say. He wanted to juxtapose Claire’s necessity to remember her life and her past with the other characters (that have repulsive histories) and their desire to fail to remember theirs. The Idea that your past will come back to haunt you no matter what you do and that everyone of us is going to have to deal with our short comings, faults, and errors again and again. Lindsay- Abaire implies that we all have amnesia about certain things in our pasts, whether our mind has blocked it out from the pain of the experience (as in Claire’s case) or we have chosen to ignore it so that we won’t have to deal with it in our own consciences.

We hope you enjoy our production of David Lindsay- Abaire's Fuddy Meers!

Production Statement

Fuddy Meers presents a few problems in the script that need to be addressed. They are few but diverse. The show opens in Claire’s bedroom. Then we move to Limping man’s car. Then to Gertie’s kitchen. Then to Gertie’s basement. Then to Richard’s car. There are two different cars as setting! Another issue is the staged violence. There is a tussle between Richard and Heidi when he wrestles her gun from her using his self defense class knowledge. Later there is the struggle between Heidi and Kenny when she is trying to get the gun back from him. On top of that Kenny is shot in this process. And there is the fact that there is a gun on stage. Then there is the stabbing. Gertie stabs Limping man in the back. And to top off the staged violence, both Heidi and Millet are conked on the back of the head with a shovel. Lastly there is the problem of the two speech impediments that Gertie (aphasia) and Limping man (lisping) to consider. They make it hard for the audience to understand if not done properly.

Here at SHSU, however, we have more specified concerns. First of all I see Fuddy Meers as a show that would be in the showcase theatre. Assuming that this was the case, the size of the space right away sends bells off at the thought of the two cars that are settings. Not to mention the kitchen, the basement, or the bedroom that. Then there is the question of violence. The staged combat can be dangerous for professionals and we want students to be as safe as possible. Something else to think about with the small space is the audience’s close proximity to this action. This means that the wrestling, gun use, and stabbing have to be believable on top of the safety concerns. One plus with the small space is that the language issues are easier to handle. The easier it is to see an actors lips the easier it is to understand what they are saying. So, therefore, in the case of Limping man and his lisp, there is some relief to the concern of the ear picking up what is being said.

There were a few interesting solutions to the set that I read in reviews or saw in the production photos. More than one production had a revolving set, sort of like a Lazy Susanne, as an answer to the different sets. But most treated the sets and props as abstracts without walls. I saw one picture that had an actual car on stage…Or at least part of it (the front end) although I’m not sure if this production used the same car as both sets or if they used two different car fronts. Another way the cars were solved in a few of the productions was that the seats and steering wheel only as the car. One solution that I saw that did not work for me was the production that used a Fisher Price toy car! HUH?! There didn’t seem to be much said about the violence and or stabbing mentioned in my research. I saw one photo that had what looked like a large butcher knife being used. In another photo from the same production they seemed to be using depth as a way to fool the audience in sewing up Limping man’s wounds. One would assume that they used angles to have the stabbing work or a collapsible knife. To address the gun, I think that this was something that some of the smaller productions treated as part of the audience’s willing suspense of disbelief. I saw one photo that had Heidi and Kenny fighting over a more than obviously fake gun. Further more, none of the reviews addressed problems with the speech impediments that the characters have. I don’t know if this is due to a very well rehearsed set of actors or a translation sheet of Gertie’s lines slipped into the program. Every review I read seemed to understand her completely.

In the majority of the reviews that I read, the script was hailed as hilariously funny and spot on for this type of comedy and the productions nailed the performance. There were, however, mixed reviews in Europe. The professional English productions had some reviews that didn’t enjoy the outrageous comedy that switched into the moral lesion with a thoughtful, poignant even, ending. The critic that I am thinking of in particular that I’m thinking of ( and most like it about the same production) blamed part of the problem on the playwright and part on the director. Apparently there is a fine line that is easy to cross put forth by the playwright and the English production crossed it.

Australian Premiere 2005

Fishy Productions

The Darlinghurst Theatre Company

The Darlinghurst Theatre

Sydney Australia

May 2005

Directed by: Morgan Smallbone

Set Design: Hamish Peters

Costume Design: Alexandra Gallery

Lighting/ Sound Design: Glenn Dulihanty

Photography: Cameron Baird/ Criena Court

Graphic Design: Sensory Creative

The humour is universal and the various American accents only enhance the comedic elements. The set is basic but functional and makes the most of the space available, with a rather ingenious solution to staging scenes in a car.The play is rather Altman-esque (as in Robert Altman, the film director) in structure. There are many story strands woven together and as we get to know the characters, we discover where their stories intersect. In this way Claire’s journey is also the audience’s voyage of discovery. The audience is experiencing everything for the very first time – just like Claire.

Phillipa Wherett, theblurb.com

http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue54/FuddyMeers.htm

European Premiere 2004

Birmingham Repertory Theatre & Arts Theatre, London

Birmingham & London England

April to June 2004

Director: Angus Jackson

Designer: Lez Brotherston

Lighting Designer: Neil Austin

Music and Sound: Alex Gallafent

Dialect Coach: Penny Dyer

Fight Direction: Terry King

London Costume Supervisor: Dianne Williams

Assistant Designer: Colin Falconer

By stark contrast, Fuddy Meers brings us a major new American talent, though I wish the writer, David Lindsay-Abaire could have decided whether he was writing a heart-breaking tragi-comedy about amnesia or a manic farce. So in 90 short minutes we get both, often hopelessly jumbled. True, amnesia is a dodgy subject, especially for those of us getting a little absent-minded.

Sheridan Morley, Daily Express

http://www.aord.co.uk/fuddy/reviews.htm

The director, Angus Jackson, seems unable to decide whether we are meant to care about these dysfunctional characters, or regard them merely as comic cartoons, so he tries to have it both ways and falls flat on his face.

Charles Spenser, The Daily Telegraph

http://www.aord.co.uk/fuddy/reviews.htm

VBC Playhouse 2005

VBC Playhouse

Theatre Hunstville

Huntsville AL

January 2005

Director: Sam Marsh

Technical Director: Mark Eccleston and Karl King

Stage Manager: David French

Costumes: Special Assistance from Anne Clem

Set Design: David Harwell

Set Dressing: Heather Huber

Props: Breanne Wise

Make-up: Lydia Marsh

Prosthetic Make-up: Rick Coleman

Casting Committee: Sam Marsh, Michelle Allen, Jim Zielinski, Breanne Wise

Director Sam Marsh says in his "Notes From the Director" that his philosophy of directing is to "cast well and then stay out of the way." Whatever his formula, it seems to be working! This show is cast extremely well. Each actor has created a unique personality for the play.

Marsh also explains what he thinks the show is about (because you might be a little confused if you don't understand this): "To me, it's a little story about how looks can be deceiving, about how we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, about how little we really know each other--you know, all the little cliches."

Jean Brandau, About.com

http://huntsville.about.com/od/theatreanddance/ss/fuddymeers_8.htm

The Colony Theatre 2003

The Colony Theatre Company

Burbank CA

Through March 2003

Director: David Rose

Scenic Design: Robert L. Smith

Lighting Design: Lisa D. Katz

Sound Design: Drew Dalzell

Costume Design: A. Jeffrey Schoenberg

Properties Design: MacAndMe

Make-up Design: Bradley M. Look

Fight Choreography: Charles Currier

Assistant Director: Anjali Bal

The second act is not as funny as the first. Rather than end the show on a comic high, Lindsay-Abaire has chosen to go for a more serious, if not downright touching, ending. The company executes it well enough - when we're supposed to take a moment and think about how really awful it must be for someone suffering from amnesia and the people who must cope with it, we do feel for them. The problem is that we'd rather not. Having spent two hours laughing at these characters, it is a bit of a downer to actually have to take them seriously.

Sharon Perlmutter, Talkinbroadway.com

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/la/la89.html

Although Rose scores in leading this talented crew through a comedic minefield, when it becomes time to deal with the realities behind each character they have to travel too far to adequately register the reality of a prevalent social ill. Partly it is the writing that trivializes the problem. However, the actors have worked so hard to elicit laughter that their descent into recognition feels rushed.[separate interesting thought] An imaginative and versatile set by Robert L. Smith allows the proceedings to unfold cinematically without sacrificing the flow of action. Lisa D. Katz's lighting serves well, but the scenes in the car are not as tightly lighted as they might be. Costuming by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg also serves the interpretation.

Leigh Kennicott, Back Stage West

http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4386268-1.html

City Theatre 2002

City Theatre

Pittsburgh PA

March 2002

Director: Lou Jacob

Set Designer: G.W. Mercier

Lighting Desiner: Andrew David Ostrowski

Some of people in her life would rather hide than reveal the facts of who they are and what parts they play in Claire's life, so each revelation has a less than 100% chance of being disproved later in the play. This tenuousness plus the eccentric nature of the characters is the crux of the comedy in Fuddy Meers. In this production, it works only part of the time.

Ann Miner, Talkinbroadway.com

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/pitt/p29.html

The setting is a blue, cloudscape box by G.W. Mercier, which Andrew David Ostrowski's lights can spangle with stars or saturate with Norman Rockwell warmth. Necessary set pieces (furniture, car) whizz in and out between scenes, with the shadowy crew seeming like the stage-managering part of Claire's Wonderland dream.

Christopher Rawson, Post-Gazette

http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/ae/20020308fuddy0308fnp6.asp