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The Minetta Lane Theatre
Fuddy Meers
a play in two acts by David Lindsay-Abaire
February 18, 2000
Review by Andrew Yarrows
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Lately all I’ve been hearing from people I know who enjoy New York theatre is how hilarious and fun playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers is, the new play currently playing off-Broadway starring J. Smith-Cameron. After a short period of going cold turkey where purchasing show tickets is concerned, I was anxious to catch something new and opted to splurge on tickets to Meers because of all the interesting (and almost entirely positive) word-of-mouth I’d encountered during January and February. I also have to confess that I was taken in by the show’s interesting, amusingly designed poster, which seems to have been plastered in Windows and on advertising spaces all over the midtown area. The poster shows the body of the star tangled about herself in a contorted, mixed-up jumble of legs and arms, a hint at the show’s main subject matter-a woman with amnesia who forgets everything from the previous day once she has gone to sleep at night. What an amusing concept, I thought going into the theatre that evening. And, as it turned out, it was amusing-for about 10 minutes.
The problem with Fuddy Meers, at the most basic level, is that it’s a comedy and it simply isn’t very funny. What I mean by that is the play hardly garnered more than a few half smiles and weak chuckles from me as I sat through two acts worth of “comedy,” fidgeting in my chair with escalating exhaustion and annoyance as I anxiously awaited the curtain call. I was expecting something far more hilarious and clever than what I witnessed on stage that evening, which was apparently a mistake; I shouldn’t have allowed myself to listen to all of the exciting rumors and reactions I’d been exposed to during the previous few weeks, because those who walked away from this play and so freely preached its hilarity to an unwitting (and performance-deprived) theatre junkie clearly haven’t seen anything laugh-worthy in many months. One would have to be pretty hard up for humor to find much in this trite piece more than merely mildly amusing.
Aside from the fact that the show just isn’t very funny (I just want to stress that point in case there are others out there who are expecting the play to be more than slightly amusing), the concept has been done before and, I can say with certainty, it’s been done better. The Bill Murray film Groundhog Day comes to mind, a very funny take on the concept of one basically having to live each day over again, starting from a clean slate each morning. The difference between that film and Fuddy Meers is that the central character is an amnesiac, her memory of the previous day’s events (and thus her consciousness of the recurring cycle) completely non-existent. Naturally, this makes for a somewhat less amusing premise than the Murray film, as Groundhog Day’s humor was predominantly drawn from the cynical attitude of its protagonist, as he realized the wretchedness of his fate despite first believing it to be a blessing. Claire, the naïve amnesiac with a family she doesn’t recall (and has to re-familiarize herself with on a daily basis), is too innocent and squeaky clean a character to pull off sharp humor, which is what Fuddy Meers so desperately needs. Instead, the play makes Claire’s way of dealing with her condition and the bizarre events that befall her to wander innocently about in a childlike state of mind, making cute observations about her ever-foreign world and the uncertain figures that occupy it. While this is amusing for about half of the first act, it quickly wears thin as the “joke,” milked for everything it’s worth, grows increasingly tiresome.
I couldn’t help but think that Fuddy Meers is spawned, at least in part, by the love the entertainment industry has had lately with shows like Ally McBeal, which mix comedy and drama into one considerably odd, decidedly off-beat package, making for an often ridiculous, surreal presentation of events. I’m not opposed to this approach, as I feel it often works quite well at keeping the elements of drama and comedy properly balanced so that one or the other never gets overbearing, but in the case of Fuddy Meers it just gets annoying. For example, Claire’s lame-legged, lisping captor may or may not actually be her brother, as he claims, and suffers a deformed ear and an insanely intense aversion to bacon. Their supposed mother, a barely understandable stroke victim (convincingly portrayed by the talented Marylouise Burke), wants to warn Claire about the apparent danger she is in, which includes the presence of a just-out-of-prison madman who talks to his wily looking hand puppet. Meanwhile, Claire’s present husband and son (although, once again, her amnesia casts suspicion upon the validity of any of her relations) search for their loved one while smoking pot and getting pulled over by a lady cop, who they promptly kidnap and, ultimately, bring along on their search. Even the police officer’s identity comes into question in this comedy about identity crises. Claire, despite her severe amnesia, is perhaps the most familiar with herself and the most in touch with things. Everyone else, by comparison, is a screwed-up nut job. Such is the crux of Fuddy Meers, and so went my interest with the conclusion of Act One. Competent performances aside, there’s got to be more interesting (and funnier) stuff to be had out there this season. Any suggestions? I’m open.
-------Andy
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