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| Don Fowler is Axel Hammond, Jeff Asch is the nerd Rick Steadman, Jessica Gisin is Tansy McGinnis and Michael Tushaus is Willum Cubbert in ‘The Nerd.’ (photos by Alysa Brennan) |
Willum Cubbert is an aspiring architect in Terre Haute, Ind., who hates his job. To make matters worse, his girlfriend, Tansy McGinnis, is looking for career advancement as a weather girl in Washington, D.C. But his life takes an unexpected twist when the man who saved his life in Vietnam, Rick Steadman, comes to visit him on his 34th birthday and adds further chaos to Willum’s life when he turns out to be the most uncouth, tactless person he’s ever met - in other words, “The Nerd.”
Larry Shue’s play, “The Nerd,” a comedic romp that went from the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre to Broadway with great success, comes to the Hermosa Beach Playhouse this week, the fourth play in the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities’ 2007-08 season.
When Rick (Jeff Asch) unexpectedly shows up at Willum’s (Michael Tushaus) birthday party, he’s happy and feels every obligation to help him in any way he can. But Rick’s presence at the gathering, which also includes Willum and Tansy’s (Jessica Gisin) best friend Axel Hammond (Don Fowler) as well as his boss (Jack Messenger) and his wife (Aileen-Marie Scott) and their troublesome son (Brendan Brady), raises the ire of everyone involved.
Tushaus, who also doubles as the scenic designer, said Willum is basically “going through the motions in this part of his life” and his character is stuck in a hopeless job and on the verge of losing Tansy.
“Through all the course of events in the show, Willum’s basically a spineless, nice guy who can’t stick up for himself,” Tushaus said. “He’s driven to a point where he needs to make a change in his life and start making some decisions on his own and grow a spine and be a man about this. Of course the events that take place during the show that makes him do this are completely zany and crazy.”
Tushaus added, “Rick had saved his life in Vietnam. He feel he owes Rick his life and he offered anything, money, a place to stay. He’s doing everything he can to make appease but at the same time Rick is the most annoying obnoxious person on the planet.”
While Tansy is set to leave in a week for Washington, D.C., Axel, who also had a relationship with Tansy in the past, tries to convince them that they are better together than apart. But for Tansy, Willum never made an effort to convince her to stay or “won’t step up and make the next step.”
“I (Tansy) like gumption and Willum doesn’t have it,” Gisin said.
Axel, whom Fowler describes as “snarky and sarcastic,” is the center of some twists and turns of the story. Fowler said the role is a challenging one, physically and mentally; an “aerobic workout” because of what the nerd puts them through.
“He (Shue) almost walks the line of it being a farce but he just stays on the other side of it to where it never really gets out of control,” Fowler said. “It’s always based on reality like a farce can get really extreme but he has that movement going on mentally and physically taxing which is why we have to work so hard at getting everything down.”
Director Ted Escobar said Shue, who died in a 1985 plane crash when he was 39 years old, mixes slapstick with sardonic wit, creating a play that will make anyone laugh. The humor in “The Nerd” also helps the actors tackle this “zany” production.
“That whole laughter thing takes your energy to a whole other level so it’s easy for people to relate to each other when they’re laughing with each other as opposed to a really hard drama where they’re all trying to get into their character and they’re isolated from each other,” Escobar said. “In a comedy you can’t isolate, you’re laughing with each other, and your energy and your friendships open up, and your arms open up and your heart opens up. It’s a quicker process to become an ensemble than with a heavier piece.”
Gisin, who also starred in CLOSBC productions of “Cinderella” and “Godspell,” added, “I think Ted cast the show well because we all have good chemistry on the stage together, which is awesome in a show like this because you have to have that or otherwise the relationships aren’t there.”
Tushaus said “The Nerd” works on different levels because it’s a “deeply layered piece” that is based in reality with characters that are “real people.”
”There are moments with Willum and Tansy that are very sweet and very real,” Tushaus said. “They’re not these foppish crazy characters.”
Tushaus, who played Willum in a production in Nebraska, added, “I found so many more levels playing it this time and really delved into it deeper. There are so many things you can keep discovering, so many of us have done it so many times but you find so many more new little Easter eggs hidden around the script that I didn’t realize before.”
Tushaus has worked behind the scenes for the CLOSBC as its assistant tech director and master electrician but for “The Nerd,” not only is he starring, he designed the set. He works in the morning on the set and then goes into the night rehearsing.
“It’s a lot of energy to expend every day,” he said.
The cast warned the audience that their stomach muscles will hurt a lot after seeing “The Nerd.”
“Weeks and months down the line you’re going to be in your kitchen making dinner and you’re like, ‘Oh, my god, I can’t believe that guy did that thing in the show,’” Fowler said. “That guy was such a nerd and you’re going to be impersonating him in your house. This is a kind of show that’s going to stick with you. It’s going to stick with you and you’re going to tell stories about it.”
Even with its humor, Escobar said there’s a message in “The Nerd.”
“Sometimes there are things that happen in your life you can’t control and I think Larry Shue is kind of showing us that sometimes things come into your life and it looks like utter chaos but when the chaos is cleared it has given you a different direction and you see you have a strength you didn’t have,” Escobar said. “I think everybody in their lives has a nerd that comes into their life and things may look strange at times but there’s always a silver lining.”
The Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities’ production of “The Nerd” opened March 25 with previews, which run through Thursday, March 27, with 8 p.m. start times. Matinees will take place Sunday, March 30 and April 6, at 2 p.m. The show closes Sunday, April 6, with a 7 p.m. show.
The Hermosa Beach Playhouse is located at Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.
For more information, call (310) 372-4477 or visit www.hermosabeachplayhouse .com.
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