Playwright: Bruce Graham. At: Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets: 847-673-6300 or www.northlight.org; $25-$79. Runs through Oct. 18
The ongoing love affair between Northlight Theatre and playwright Bruce Graham continues with the world premiere of Funnyman. This reflective and history-inspired comedy would stand very well on its own from the playwright with previous Northlight hits like The Outgoing Tide, Stella & Lou and White Guy on the Bus.
But what makes Funnyman even more of a must-see is its starry headliners: George Wendt of Cheers sitcom fame and Tim Kazurinsky, who appeared in a number of Police Academy films. Wendt and Kazurinsky were supposed to appear in a Northlight revival of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple a few years back, but Wendt had to pull out due to health issues. So it's great that the two stars get to finally share the stage together.
Graham's main inspiration for Funnyman is drawn from the unconventional casting of film and stage comic Bert Lahr ( best remembered as The Cowardly Lion in MGM's 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz ) in the American premiere of Samuel Beckett's groundbreaking existential play Waiting for Godot. Graham doesn't specifically use Lahr's story, but alternately creates a fictional comic named Chick Sherman ( Wendt ) who is pressured by his astute agent Milt "Junior" Karp ( Kazurinsky ) to take on a challenging absurdist comedy called In Lucy's Kitchen.
But, of course, there are complications. Sherman doesn't want to perform off-Broadway, and then he gets caught in the constant sparring between young hotshot director Matthew Baroni ( Steve Haggard ) and flamboyant gay playwright Victor LaPlant ( Rob Lindley ).
Sherman's family life is also awkward since his grown daughter, Katharine ( Amanda Drinkall ), enlists the help of her pushily amorous co-worker, Nathan Wise ( Michael Perez ), to dredge up the story behind the scandalous disappearance of her late mother.
Now some might find fault with Funnyman since it lacks a sense of urgency. The vital importance of Sherman succeeding with In Lucy's Kitchen isn't divulged until late in the game. Meanwhile, the big reveal behind Katharine's mother is a tad too matter-of-fact.
But what is truly enjoyable is watching the personal and professional dynamics unfold between the characters since director BJ Jones has made sure that there aren't any wrong notes between the actors. Wendt in particular is great at showing a showman when he doesn't have to turn the charm on, while Kazurinsky is fun as the constant cheerleader egging Sherman to take greater career risks. The rest of the cast fill out their character types quite nicely in making them real and believable.
Funnyman hammers home the fact that we all must grow and adapt to change, even if that means deviating from the tried-and-true formulas. And that's exactly what Graham has shown with his string of fine Northlight premieres that dramatically vary from play to play.