BWW Reviews: MIXED NUTS from 3Ps Productions at Backstage at the Barn

 

Johnny Peppers, the affable "Every Man" of Nashville theatre, makes his directorial debut with Mixed Nuts, the latest from 3Ps Productions now onstage at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn. Peppers, who might best be described as the most likable man in Nashville theatre circles - and certainly among the hardest working people onstage anywhere - shows that he is a competent, details-oriented, director whose strongest suit might possibly be his casting skills.

But with Mixed Nuts - which he says is his favorite play, the script that inspired him to want to direct and to share his vision with audiences - you are left with one burning question: Why? Sure, Mixed Nuts is a pleasant comedy, but that's about all you can say; coming of age, fish-out-of-water stories abound in Contemporary Theatre and you'd be hard-pressed to describe Mixed Nuts any other way - and many of those plays are certainly better written than this one.

Written by Simon J. Donoghue and Nancy Manera, the plot follows the comic misadventures of Michael Caldwell, a young midwesterner (from Dayton, Ohio, to be exact) transplanted to New York City to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He rents an apartment at the Adolph Zuckerman Home for Artistes, a stereotypically run-down NYC building, that's filled with all manner of colorful, zany characters, including Marshall, an actor who specializes in playing inantimate objects (when first we see him, he's playing an olive); Tanya, a thickly accented Russian emigre/ballerina, who's into scream therapy and is cast as Bess in a Porgy and Bess ballet; and Philomena, a fiery Italian actress who's playing Liesl in a production of The Sound of Music on a floating barge in the East River.

Definitely filled with cliches - and rather stereotypical in its depiction of starving artists in New York - Mixed Nuts is set in the mid-1980s (we know this thanks to Peppers' Walkman-worthy musical score and frequent pop culture references in the script) and is an amusing, if somewhat uneven, valentine to that era. The comedy is rather gentle, despite some heavy-handed slapsticky moments in the second act, and it's a very pleasant - if somewhat bland - couple of hours, thanks to the consistently winning performances of Peppers' cast.

Flynt Foster is fine as Michael Caldwell, playing him with a steady-handed demeanor - perhaps if Michael were a bit more nonplussed by his surroundings and his newfound neighbors, he'd have played him more energetically. He comes across like a latter-day Mickey Rooney (a thought that occurred to me long before Philomena addresses him with a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland "let's put on a show" reference), in an updated version of an Andy Hardy movie (and, I have to admit, I love me some Andy Hardy movies).

Megan Murphy plays the high-strung Philomena with tremendous ease and confidence. Murphy's high-spirited portrayal of Phil and her delivery of her character's lines is superb. If only all the characters were written with such verve, the playwrights would have a much more successful play on their hands. J. Dietz Osborne is at his drolly comic best as Marshall Ryan, the aforementioned olive who is seen throughout the show in a variety of crazy costumes. Like Murphy, Osbore delivers his lines with an assured ease that makes them all the better.

As the twirling Russian dervish that is Tanya, Jennifer Richmond is charming and beguiling. Richmond is a gorgeous woman who can be as funny as all get out - and she has absolutely no qualms about looking or sounding foolish, playing her character with a madcap joie de vivre that belies Tanya's Russian seriousness.

Eric Ventress is well-cast as Mike, adroitly playing his scenes with believable pacing and rhythm, and Layne Sasser takes on a pair of roles with her usual comic dexterity, giving a truly hilarious opening scene performance as Michael's NYC landlady and later toning things down as his mother.

But, for my money at least, the production's best performance comes from Laura Thomas, cast as Heather, a fashion model who goes on a blind date with Michael. Tall, blond and thin, Thomas clearly looks the part and the ease with which she plays Heather is as entertaining as it is impressive. She reels off her lines at breakneck speed, perfectly capturing the essence of her vapid character with style and panache.

Across the board, Peppers' cast deliver the goods in Mixed Nuts; it's just too bad they don't have a better script from which to work. As a director, Peppers acquits himself admirably in his debut, which is not at all unexpected. He loves the theatre and he loves actors - that is apparent in everything he does - and he should be proud of the performances he is able to draw from his castmembers. Maybe next time he'll have a script that lives up to his promise.

-- Mixed Nuts. By Simon J. Donoghue and Nancy Manera. Directed by Johnny Peppers. Presented by 3Ps Productions at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn, Nashville. Through May 29. For details, visit the company website at www.3PsProductions.com.

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