By Sue Merrell
Hallo! Is dis da Soady deer camp?
It sure is.
After closing for a year of fundraising, Augusta's Barn Theatre is back in full swing, and what better way to welcome returning audiences than with the familiar Yoopers of Michigan playwright Jeff Daniels.
About 400 faithful fans nearly filled the iconic red barn building Tuesday evening for the opening of "Escanaba in Love," a prequel to Daniels' "Escanaba in da Moonlight," which the Barn has presented at least three times since 2003. Barn regulars Eric Parker and Roy Brown return as well, playing earlier generations of the characters they portrayed in "Escanaba in da Moonlight."
Daniels' newer play turns back the clock to 1944 when Albert Soady Jr. (the patriarch in "Escanaba in da Moonlight") is 18 and about to go off to war. His father (Parker) wants to send his son off with the best deer camp memories ever. But young Albert (Patrick Hunter) bags a bride instead of a buck. He shows up at camp with Big Betty Balou (Erin Oechsel), after winning her in a kissing contest at a U.P. bar.
Albert describes his new lady love as a "pistol," but she's more like a 30-30 rifle, with enough spunk to take on every man in the camp, whether the contest is chugging sweet sap whiskey, dancing a jig or farting.
Although filled with physical humor and funny Yooperisms like "big hairy eyeball" and "Holy Wah," Daniels' script is almost poetic in its simple language and rustic reality. He bares the souls of men, their loves and their fears, with an intimacy more akin to high drama than low comedy.
Director Hans Friedrichs has worked out a fine balance between the talented five-member cast, each shining in spotlight moments of ridiculousness, but creating a quiet, more serious interplay as well. As the boisterous Betty, Oechsel wins the audience from her first flamboyant entrance. She puts her full enthusiasm into the character's bawdy overtures and gritty behavior. I know from previous productions I've seen – and the laughter of half the house – that Betty's pre-bed ritual is pretty acrobatic and entertaining, but unfortunately on Tuesday night, a large chair center stage blocked the line of sight for those of us seated on the right side of the house so we missed her toe cleaning.
Hunter is full of boyish bravado and wide-eyed wonder as the young Albert, but does a good job of standing up to his father. As Daddy Albert, Parker is the camp's steadying force, the solid, sensible Yooper caught between the antics of his aging father and his impetuous, growing son. But Parker allows him moments of weakness, too, when Albert Sr. pines for his late wife.
Much of the comedy comes from Grandpa Alphonse Soady (Charlie King) and family friend "Salty" Jim Negamanee (presumably the father of the Jimmer character in "Escanaba in da Moonlight.") With a bushy beard, King's character channels images of the country bumpkins in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," opening the show with a mesmerizing tale of hunting prowess and adding wry comments throughout the show.
As always, Brown is sheer delight as Salty, a bright-eyed, fast-talking seaman with such a pronounced limp that every movement adds to his cantankerous characterization.
Richard L. Haptonstall's cabin set design fades into green pine forest shapes for a whimsical, woodsy feel. And the furnishings are wonderfully, well-used pieces with personalities all their own.
My only real complaint is accent overload. Sometimes the Yooperspeak sounded like a mixture of Chinese laundry, Irish cop and all the other accents actors slather on too thickly. Less is more whenever accents are involved.
"Escanaba in Love" is goofy enough for the guys, sweet enough for the gals and an appropriate tribute for Fathers' Day.
Owner Brendan Ragotzy opened Tuesday's show by introducing Robert Newman, a long-ago Barnie who is best known as Josh Lewis on the former television soap opera, "Guiding Light." Newman will star in the Barn's next show, "Man of La Mancha."
Ragotzy also got a little sentimental about the opening of the theater's 65th season after being closed last summer.
"As long as you continue to come, we're going to be here," Ragotzy said, to resounding applause.
REVIEW:
'Escanaba in Love'
Barn Theatre, 13351 W. M-96, Augusta. Tuesday-Sunday through 26. $34. 269-731-4121. http://www.barntheatre.com
