They’re all crazy. It takes a cast of uniquely talented actors to interpret the hilarious insanity of David Lindsay-Abaire’s award winning play, “Fuddy Meers.” And only a gutsy director like Marla Brown would attempt it. Bravo!

“Fuddy Meers” is the story of Claire, a psychogenic amnesiac who wakes up on the Warehouse Performing Arts Center stage attempting to reconstruct her life. The unsolicited help offered and shielded by her outrageously zany family and their associates, only tends to complicate her plight.

Lucky for The Warehouse, Claire is played by Frances Bendert, a seasoned actor who has performed a wide variety of support and leading roles in Charlotte and the surrounding areas including Davidson and Cornelius. Bendert carries her role with confidence even as she attempts to understand herself amid the confusion brought on by characters she meets along her journey.

Vito Abate is another accomplished pro. Expertly, Abate never falters in his portrayal of the lisping Man in a Ski Mask who awkwardly limps around. Abate manifests other injuries of his character with ease, including deafness in a grotesque right ear. Perhaps that’s why the crescendo tones of his angry voice tend to shatter—a bit too loud.

Bendert and Abate are great together. Their performances are a treat to watch. But there are more, like Mara Rosenberg as Gertie.

Gertie is Claire’s dear mother whose speech has been reduced to utter gibberish by a recent stroke. Incredibly, Gertie is the only clear-headed member of the cast. Despite the pronunciation of such cumbersome language, Rosenberg manages to interpret and enunciate her awkward language amazingly well enough for the audience to experience her anxiety and pain.

The performance by Bill Reilly as Millet, a mild-mannered escaped convict is another treat. It’s a riot to watch—more importantly, to hear Millet handle his alter-ego, a foul-mouthed sock puppet he learned how to make in prison. Poor guy—all he really ever wanted was to become a zookeeper. Reilly is well cast for that role.

Alan Martin plays Richard, Claire’s exuberantly chipper but nervous husband. As the plot unfolds, we begin to understand why. Like everyone else in that crazy conglomerate, Richard’s moods run the gamut. The tone of his high anxiety, at times, also pierces the ear. Martin performs a magnificent duet scene while driving with Kenny, Claire’s disrespectful teenage son.

Kenny is portrayed by Caleb Warren, a handsome youngster performing his first show at The Warehouse. He’s a natural interpreting a slouching, irreverent, pot-smoking seventeen-year-old who can also be tenderly sweet.
Amy Wada rounds out the cast as Heidi, a hard-luck woman posing as a police officer. Her emotions swing the gamut too—from a tough law-enforcement officer to a screeching insecure lover, the companion of a nut.

Zany as it seems, “Fuddy Meers” offers the audience a couple of hours of hysterical laughs and amazing twists of scenes. Would you believe that a basement could be a truth serum? Well, believe it or not, the second act picks up with exactly the same posture where the first one ends. Outrageous!

WANT TO GO? 

The curtain goes up at 8pm for “Fuddy Meers” Thursday through Saturday nights until Oct. 4, and at 2pm on Sunday, Sept. 28, at The Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Road in Cornelius.
For tickets call 704-619-0429 or email marlabrown@mac.com. Specific seats may be reserved online.