Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506260138
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fat chance.
"The Nerd," written by Larry Shue and directed by Michael Mansfield, really is very funny - wall-to-wall funny, in fact, and very few lines aren't given their full due by this able cast. The play opened Thursday.
It's the story of a guy named Willum, a young architect, who is celebrating his birthday with friends when he learns that the man who saved his life in Vietnam is coming to visit. Willum has kept up a correspondence with the lifesaver - Rick Steadman - but has never actually met him.
So, when Rick arrives dressed as a monster (he thinks Willum is throwing a Halloween party), the partyers - Willum, pals Tansy and Axel and Willum's new boss, Warnock "Ticky" Waldgrave, and his family - don't quite know what to make of him.
Under that monster costume is a much more frightening creature, however: He's not just the guest who came to stay. He's a Nerd. And that's Nerd with a definite capital `N.'
He's got tape on his glasses, wears his pants too high and has a penchant for party games like "Shoes and Socks," which involves removing one's footwear, putting a bag over one's head, spinning and humming. Or something like that.
As The 'N' creature, Doc Kelley is pretty wonderful - a sort of "Pat" variation (from the ``Saturday Night Live'' sketch), only slightly more male. His voice is loud and grating, his physical presence equally as irritating.
As Willum, the not terribly assertive but attractive guy who doesn't know how to get rid of the Nerd who saved his life, Richard C. Kirkwood is right on target and demonstrates pretty sophisticated comic timing.
The quibble is with the character Axel, Willum's drama-critic friend, who seems vaguely sketched. It's not the fault of Jeff Walker, who plays the role. The problem seems to be in the conception of his character, which could use some defining.
It's the one soft spot in an otherwise pretty tight production. Mansfield gets wonderful performances from Jenefer Davies as Tansy and Beth E. Moody as Clelia Waldgrave, the boss's wife. Moody really sparkles and has a special gift, apparently, for physical comedy. (Tyler Bradshaw plays her disturbed son, Thor). Her husband as played by Harry Wise evokes Dabney Coleman in every overbearing boss role he ever played.
It's an impressive directorial debut by Mansfield and lives up to its billing after all.``The Nerd'' runs through July 2 at the Showtimers Studio Theatre. 774-2660.
by CNB