Playwright: Larry Shue
At: Rogue Theatre Company at City Lit Theatre
Phone: ( 773 ) 450-0591; $15
Runs through: Jan. 29
The Nerd is a nearly foolproof good time written along classic comedy lines of mistaken identity, misdirection and farce. The play's resilience is tested by Rogue Theatre's mixed-bag production, which ultimately succeeds despite inconsistencies.
Set in the mid-1980s, The Nerd concerns affable but spineless architect Willum Cubbert, a Vietnam vet whose life was saved by another GI grunt, one Rick Steadman, who shows up at Cubbert's door 15 years later. Thick-witted, socially graceless, self-absorbed, mindlessly interfering and hopelessly annoying, Steadman quickly turns Cubbert's life into a catastrophe. Think of the TV commercial where Mr. and Mrs. Mucus play house in your head. Cubbert, who owes Steadman his life, is too passive to send him packing.
In the title role as the long-expected but unwanted visitor, Ryan Young delivers the show-making performance, as he must. Young's unerring deadpan delivery, blithe ignorance and aggressive blandness are pitch perfect ( as my colleague Rick Reed might say ) and hilariously infuriating.
However, two other key players are out of proportion, one over the top and the other under the radar. Nate White is far too explosive as Cubbert's blustery, hotel-mogul boss. He's self-important and peremptory, yes, but shouldn't be volcanic. White is too big and loud in his first moments on stage, leaving himself no place to go. He's the show's director, too, so he needs to ask a no-nonsense colleague to look at his scenes. By contrast, Gordon Chow as Cubbert doesn't build enough. We need to see his frustration and anger stew and simmer, nearly telling Steadman off but pulling back, until finally he boils over. At the preview performance I attended, Chow was too much the same throughout, even when he finally found his gumption ( which playwright Shue amusingly defines as Marjorie Main, a reference to the buxom—and lesbian—character actress who won fame as Ma Kettle ) . The preview was beset by technical troubles ( no sound system ) that may have thrown the show off somewhat, but the disproportionate playing was real. Fortunately, however, such modulations can be adjusted.
Also needing adjustment is child actor Liam Elward as the boss' bratty boy, with several potentially funny moments in Act I. Young Master Elward ( who alternates in the role with his brother, Jordan ) too obviously is enjoying himself. If he's serious about acting, he should know now that if you let on that you're funny, you won't be. Master Elward should study Ryan Young in the title role, who does it right, gets all his laughs and carries the show.
Detail: Cubbert several times takes architectural renderings from his portfolio, and then leaves them where people sit on them or they fall to the floor. I can't believe Cubbert would treat important documents so carelessly.
