THE THEATER MIRROR, New England’s LIVE Theater Guide
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MARQUEE | USHER | SEATS |
INTERMISSION | CURTAIN |
note: entire contents copyright 2007 by Carl A. Rossi
Marvin … Cory Scott
Lloyd … Bill Stambaugh
Ernie the Moocher … William Gardiner
Orchestra:
Piano; Conductor … Jose Delgado
Guitar … Kevin Grudecki
Bass … Ippei Ichimaru
Percussion … Mick Lewander
If the late Samuel Beckett ever penned a musical with Garrison Keillor, the results would be GUYS ON ICE: THE ICE FISHING MUSICAL, a ninety-minute sketch in the art of waiting for something to happen: Marvin and Lloyd, two Wisconsin buddies, sit in Marvin’s shanty out on a frozen lake, fishing through a hole in the ice and waiting for the perch to bite and for a local TV show host to come and interview them. Marvin and Lloyd drink beer, discuss their women and the Green Bay Packers (not necessarily in that order), swap bad jokes, tolerate a buttinsky aptly named Ernie the Moocher, drink more beer, wait, and voice their thoughts in song --- often. Being so many reflections, Fred Alley and James Kaplan’s score does little to advance the minimal plot but how good to encounter a stage-gamble that pays off and be so simple, sweet and good-natured in these dark, cynical days though I must confess that after awhile I, of all people, yearned for a bit of Sondheim to cut through all that cuteness…
The Stoneham production is eye-catching with Jenna McFarland Lord’s ice-shanty dominating the stage, layered with uncondescending detail, and Corey Scott (Marvin) and Bill Stambaugh (Lloyd) are a winning beagle-and-St. Bernard team. William Gardiner’s Ernie the Moocher, bearded and rotund and adorable, merrily steals the show; Ernie may be the walk-on comedy relief but Mr. Gardiner makes him the evening’s most memorable turn. Don’t stay away too long during intermission or you may miss Mr. Gardiner hilariously working the audience and even playing a pair of spoons to perfection. If GUYS ON ICE makes me think of the Messrs. Beckett and Keillor, Mr. Gardiner makes me think of Falstaff --- cough, cough, HINT!