Buck Creek Players

Pen-pal pandemonium at Buck Creek Players

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By John Lyle Belden

Buck Creek Players lifts our spirits with a fun production of the classic rom-com musical, “She Loves Me.”

This 1960s Broadway hit by Joe Masteroff, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, is based on the 1937 play “Parfumerie” by Miklos Laszlo, which also inspired the 1998 movie “You’ve Got Mail.” Directed for BCP by Drew Bryson, its setting in 1930s Budapest, Hungary, feels like any European or American major city in a gentler time.

Maraczek’s perfume shop prides itself on its service, including a warm greeting, swift attention to returns and complaints, and even singing you out the door with your purchase. The staff includes neurotic family man Sipos (Phil Criswell), suave ladies’ man Kodaly (Troy Bridges), hopeless romantic Ilona (Miranda Boyle [nèe Nehrig]), eager delivery boy Arpad (Colton Woods), and introverted assistant manager Georg Nowack (Bobby Haley).

On a summer day, owner Mr. Maraczek (Darrin Gowan) brings to the shop a selection of musical cigarette boxes, which Georg fears will never sell. The boss declares they will, and bets him that one will be sold within the hour. Moments later, a young woman, Amalia Balash (Jenna MacNulty), nervously asks for a job at the shop. After being told there are no openings, she quickly talks a customer into purchasing a music box, convincing her it’s for holding sweets.

Amalia is hired; Georg is annoyed. While they bitterly bicker through the coming months, neither knows that they are anonymously writing romantic letters to each other through a lonely-hearts club. The “Dear Friends” of their correspondence plan a first-time in-person rendezvous in December. Looks like they are in for a holiday surprise!

Supporting in roles including shop customers, as well as discreet diners at a cozy café, are Zach Bucher, Drew Hedges, Elizabeth Huston, Sheila Raghavendran, Josh Rooks, Derek Savick-Hesser, Lizzie Schultz, and Lauren Bowers Werne.

Like a well-run parfumerie, this is an excellent ensemble performance. Each of the shop workers, including Gowan’s Maraczek, get moments to shine. We even get a personal-growth arc with Ilona, which Boyle brings out beautifully. On the other hand, Bridges keeps Kodaly cool but difficult to like, his bad-boy persona more than a facade. Criswell keeps Sipos’s nobility hidden, but it’s not hard to detect. High-schooler Woods maintains Arpad’s boyish charm as he matures before our eyes.

Haley shines as his Georg sorts out what he wants, struggling with confidence as events turn out nothing like he expected. As Amalia, MacNulty is simply brilliant – beautiful and powerful in voice and personality. We can’t wait to see how these two finally get together, though, as always with such stories it won’t be easy.

Content is no worse than PG, though there is an instance of self-harm.

Kelsey McDaniel is assistant director. Meg Benedict leads the 12-piece orchestra. Andy Riggs is vocal director. Choreography is by Justin Sheedy. Kayla Richardson is stage manager, assisted by Olivia Lawson.

With lots of laughs and sweet as vanilla ice cream, fall in love with “She Loves Me,” performances Friday through Sunday, Oct. 17-19, at Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern  Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Wild Wilde comedy at Buck Creek

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By Earnest Bunbury John Lyle Belden

Buck Creek Players takes on a classic comedy tackling issues of identity within a strict society, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which playwright Oscar Wilde cheekily called “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.”

The subtext was hardly trivial for Wilde, with this well-received 1895 play coming out shortly before his infamous legal spat that had him imprisoned for homosexuality (a crime in Victorian Britain). For BCP, director Mel DeVito sought to enhance the comedy’s queerness with cross-gender casting.

Amanda McCabe said that when she auditioned, she had no idea she would become Jack “Earnest” Worthing. “I believe Wilde would have loved this,” she said after a performance. DeVito agrees, adding, “I just wanted to see Ben (Jones) in a dress” – which he is as haughty mistress of manners Lady Augusta Bracknell. Judy Lombardo plays both the servant parts, one as male and one female. Paige Scott, whose past roles include a trans character in “Hedwig,” portrays a rather distinguished clergyman, Dr. Chausable.

We open at the home of Algernon Moncrieff (Aaron Beal), where Earnest (McCabe) has come to woo his cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Brittany Magee). Our suitor wins her heart, but not her hand as Aunt Augusta, a/k/a Lady Bracknell (Jones), forbids their union, considering the young man’s rakish reputation and apparent low birth.

Mr. Worthing has two more complications: Gwendolen insists she will only marry a man named “Earnest,” and Algernon has found the proof that is not his name. As for the latter, cynically jovial Algernon finds it amusing that his friend also enjoys “Bunburying” – named for his habit of avoiding responsibilities by going to visit his non-existent “invalid friend” named Bunbury. Worthing says his double life lets him be serious “Jack” around his ward, the beautiful young heiress Cecily Cardew (Kielynn Tally), and “Earnest,” Jack’s younger more fun-loving brother, elsewhere.

The plot twists and thickens when Algernon goes to call on Cicely, introducing himself to governess Miss Prism (Tracy Herring) as Earnest. This thrills the girl, who always wanted to marry a man by that name.

As Lady Bracknell says later, coincidences are very unseemly. Wilde’s pen seemed not to care.

The casting and sharply delivered performances bring out all the fun and make the satire relatable, including obliviousness to hypocrisy, vice as virtue, and women’s thoughts in diary form being a sort of official record of social life. McCabe embodies Jack/Earnest with dashing charm and Chaplain-esque nimbleness. Magee and Tally both play wily and smart, especially when the young women have the upper hand over their “Earnests.” Beal plays Algernon as a smooth cad, yet ever likable.

Jones commands the stage, perfectly blending a stern Victorian matron and a no-nonsense drag persona. Lombardo speaks volumes with an eye roll. Herring gets moments to shine when her small role becomes more integral to the denouement. Scott is subtly wonderful, even while Chausible is perplexed but willing to re-christen adult men.

For a fun old “trivial comedy” as you’ve never seen it before, “The Importance of Being Earnest” has one more weekend, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14, at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Get tickets and info at buckcreekplayers.com.

BCP comedy one for the books

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By John Lyle Belden

In “The Book Club Play,” a small group who meet regularly to discuss the literature they have all read adds an element of “Big Brother,” a new member or two, and before long the gathering becomes what one describes as “‘Lord of the Flies’ with wine.”

In this comedy by Karen Zacarias, presented by Buck Creek Players, Ana (Amanda McCabe) hosts the club at her home with close friend Will (Jericho Frank), a fellow literary snob, and husband Rob (Jeff Haber), who is there for the snacks. There is also Will’s friend Jen (Alyssa Lay); joining the club helped her recover from a downward spiral. Ana has brought in her new coworker at the newspaper where they work, Lily (Nia Hughes), who can’t help but notice she’s the only non-white person in the room.

Another source of tension: Ana – and the others, in signed releases – agreed to having a camera installed in the living room, recording everything during Book Club evenings. The footage goes to a famous Danish documentarian working on a film about the American phenomenon of these get-togethers. “Act natural,” Ana insists.

After lively discussions on “Moby Dick” and “The Age of Innocence” – the latter book affecting Rob deeply after he actually reads it – Lily shakes things up by selecting “Twilight.” This leads to the unexpected addition of Alex (Grant Bowen), a professor of literature seeking to understand the appeal – and unexpected merit – of popular fiction.

Between club meetings, we get brief scenes of various people apparently interviewed for the documentary, entertainingly portrayed by Connie Salvini-Thompson. (Note: One involves the smoking of an herbal cigarette near the front of the stage.)

It could be said that reading can change your life – but these readers aren’t prepared for what’s coming. This is especially true of Ana, the kind of person who feels things need to be perfect, as she sees it, and thrives on being in control. McCabe wonderfully portrays these borderline narcissistic tendencies, letting the comedy flow naturally from the contrast between her expectations and how things turn out. She seethes, but swallows her rage as she tries in vain not to look neurotic for the camera.

For the others, surprises start to alter their perspectives. A meeting on “The DaVinci Code” brings out secrets not on the pages. Then, an attempted discussion of a “Tarzan” book goes completely wild.

In the last chapters they read together, all is revealed.

In their performances, the cast show how the usual motivations for these clubs, equal parts fellowship and meaningful conversations with the book as a catalyst, get warped by the fact that there is an unblinking “audience.” Hughes’ Lily doesn’t mean to be provocative, yet stating the obvious seems to brush against unwritten rules. Contrast this with Bowen’s Alex, who, as an academic, welcomes and encourages debate.  Frank’s Will constantly flips between confident and unsure – and if he trips your gaydar, we all see it, too (well, not everyone). Lay as Jen gently finds necessary growth of character throughout. As for Rob, Haber’s portrayal of this go-along/get-along personality shows him finding he has lost track of what he really wants and needs.

Meanwhile, Salvini-Thompson’s character work adds wonderful comic touches – starting in full Capote mode, then a stiff Secret Service agent, down-home Wal-Mart associate, prison “dealer,” and a feisty retired librarian (with the final punchline at the end of the curtain call).

It’s all well-crafted by Josh Rooks in his directing debut, adding to past onstage experience in bringing the funny. He is assisted by producer and fellow BCP mainstay Ben Jones.

“The Book Club Play” is uproariously funny, and it might even give you a fresh perspective on books and reading – note its pitfalls if you wish to start a club of your own! Performances are Friday through Sunday, June 13-15 at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

‘Misery’ still thrills at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

In the years since Stephen King published his thriller “Misery” in 1987, there have been countless real-world stories of deranged fans stalking and even killing their celebrity obsessions. Yet this story is the most chilling, thanks in part to the William Goldman film adaptation, directed by Robert Reiner and released in 1990, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates (winning her an Oscar).

Goldman also adapted “Misery” for the stage, which Buck Creek Players now brings to life. Popular author Paul Sheldon (Mark Meyer) awakens severely injured in a remote house in the Colorado Rockies. The home belongs to Annie Wilkes (Lisa Banning), a nurse who rescued Sheldon from an auto wreck during a blizzard – and happens to be Paul’s “Number One Fan.”

Annie is obsessed with Paul’s novels about Victorian heroine Misery Chastain, and while caring for Paul reads his new non-Misery manuscript (which she hates), then makes her way into town to get the latest copy of his just-released “Misery’s Child.” She gushes over this new story, until she reaches the final chapter. Misery is dead?! Seeing this happen to her favorite character – her hero, practically a friend in her mind – enrages her beyond disbelief. Paul must write, and right this wrong!

As in the book and movie, this is an engrossing battle of wits. Paul, in a slowly-healing body, through his fog of pain, desperately seeks a way out of his entrapment. Meanwhile, Annie’s madness grows while sharpening her realization that there is only one way her and Paul’s story can end.

Aaron Beal completes the cast as Sheriff Buster, whose suspicions of what’s happening at Annie’s house grow with every visit.

Banning convincingly portrays Annie’s obsessive nature – at first fawning over Paul, later driving her to treat him like a misbehaving pet, at all times a little unbalanced – as well as her strict moral sense, with a sort of charming (at first) sense of eccentricity. It evokes in the best way the chilling transformation of Bates in the film.

Meyer tackles the role of Paul as a fairly nice regular guy who happens to have an exceptional talent for which he hides away in a mountain lodge to bang out a novel. This disruption to his routine has him forcing Paul to plot events in real life, which proves to be a lot harder than typing them to the page. His moments of pain are quite convincing – here’s hoping he wasn’t too “method.”

Jeremy Tuterow directs, and Susanne Bush designed an excellent stage set featuring Paul’s room isolated away from the more welcoming kitchen, with sight-lines that draw us in to Annie’s tightly controlled world.

Three performances remain of “Misery,” Friday through Sunday, April 4-6, at the BCP Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

BCP comedy toasts strong women

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By John Lyle Belden

For some women of a certain age, change is about more than just their inner biology. It can mean the end of a marriage – by death or divorce – or even loss of employment. In such events, one could use a drink!

Enter “The Savannah Sippin’ Society,” a comedy by celebrated writers Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten presented by Buck Creek Players, directed by Mel DeVito.

Randa (Georgeanna Teipen) was a top architect at her firm, but when passed over for promotion to partner, she totally lost her temper and her job. Seeking new experiences, she tries hot yoga – a mistake, but sharing in her misery she meets Dot (Beth Popplewell), still adjusting to life after her husband’s passing, and Marlafaye (Nancy Laudeman) who wouldn’t mind her ex being deceased as well. Without realizing it, Randa invites them to her nearby home for a “happy hour,” then decides it might be worth a try. On their first afternoon on Randa’s veranda (they even say that), Dot has also invited aesthetician Jinx (Gloria Bray), who aspires to be a life coach – and this trio seem perfect for her first clients.

What follows are various adventures that we mostly hear about. Since this isn’t a movie with multiple sets, supporting cast, and stunt performers, these four take turns narrating the events they go through in search of a more fulfilling life, interspersed with scenes on the veranda. Aside from a fateful surprise party, there are cocktail breaks during which they discuss their progress, or lack thereof. This formula works thanks to clever, funny dialogue and the talents of the cast. When not hitting each other with the punchlines, they grow an authentic feeling of friendship that we can’t help but sense. With the Georgia accents, this feels like “Steel Magnolias,” but with more drinking and less sadness.

No real booze is served at the Buck Creek Playhouse, but you can still enjoy your time with the “Savannah Sippin’ Society” in their remaining performances, Friday through Sunday, Feb. 14-16, at 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Songs and their stories at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

Did you know that the true meaning of “fa-la-la-la-la” is, believe it or not, fa-la-la-la-la? (Just musical filler.) Or, that while the tune of “Greensleeves” dates back to 1500s England, the Christmas hymn “What Child is This?” was written in America in the mid-1800s?

Feel free to share this information, as well as nearly all the songs in “Buck Creek Players Christmas Cabaret,” the company’s holiday offering through Sunday, Dec. 8.

For this original revue, directors Georgie Teipen and Tiffany D. Wilson went with the theme “Public Domain” not just because it’s for a cost-conscious community theatre, but mainly because so much of what we enjoy sharing at Christmas is not bound up in intellectual property restrictions, especially traditional music.

But because by their nature these songs are quite old, the stories behind their creation may be little known. Our hosts Clance LaTurner and Jeremy Teipen present the relevant histories of nearly 30 tunes – sacred and secular – which are performed by Nicole Bridgens, Onis Dean, Scott Fleshood, Jennifer J. Kaufmann, Nancy Laudeman, Gary Life, and Jennifer Poynter, accompanied by Debbie Stafford on piano. Their charming delivery enlivens our spirits; highlights include Life’s “How Far Is It to Bethlehem” (the lone protected song, for which he got permission from the writer!), lively company renditions of “Deck the Halls” and “Twelve Days of Christmas,” and Dean’s stirring “Ave Maria.”

This intimate show is given a “black box” setting, with audience seating on three sides of the stage (a ramp is provided for patrons). Singers appear at any of the four corners throughout the performance. The set-up works quite well, and we hope BCP considers it for any future productions that can benefit from this arrangement. Since we’re right there with the singers, we are encouraged to join them in a couple of the songs.

A good time for fans of trivia and traditional holiday hits, find the Buck Creek Playhouse at 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit of I-74); find tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

BCP ‘Vultures’ provides haunted hilarity

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By John Lyle Belden

Take one part Agatha Christie, one part “Clue,” and a dash of gay romance, and you get something unique, entertaining, and intriguing: “The Vultures” at Buck Creek Players.

In this 2018 comedy by Mark A. Ridge, directed by Andrew Souders, we spend a dark and stormy night at remote Westmount Manor, where the last remaining relatives of eccentric millionaire Simon West gather to hear the reading of his will, on the 20th anniversary of his death.

The only resident for the last two decades has been cryptic caretaker Talbot (Tiffany Wilson). The attorney, Mr. Cosby (Derek Sumpter), conducts the reading attended by Harrison Blythe (Tony Brazelton), Mary Roberts (Nancy Laudeman), Ashley Hopewood (Cairo Morado), Charles Willard (Scott A. Fleshood), Paul Jones (Jericho Franke), and Hunter West (Zach Bucher). Things get interesting even while these distant relatives gather as Harrison is a famous underwear model, and Ashley is a total ditz. The banter includes a lot of verbal barbs which only get sharper as it turns out only one of them will inherit the West fortune.

The plot thickens further when Rhinehart (Rich Laudeman) arrives from nearby Hillcrest Asylum to alert them that a murderous psychopath has escaped. Someone is not going to live through the night.

Dennis Karr completes the cast as physician Dr. Avery, who lives nearby.

With restless spirits, a missing priceless pocket watch, secret passages, and a shadowy figure, we get a puzzling whodunit as well as laugh-out-loud comedy. In addition, there’s the rekindling of past affections between Hunter and Paul, upping the ante when heroics are called for.

There are excellent performances all around, with Morado doing Generation Z no favors with her charming yet delightfully airheaded turn. Wilson’s never-break dour deadpan delivery is perfect, presenting herself like the sister of Addams Family’s Lurch. Brazelton is brave in his own way, fortunately having worked out enough to display his costuming (or lack thereof).

More creepy than scary, haunted but hilarious, this is an easy outing for your spooky season. However, it’s only available for one more weekend, through Sunday at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Buck Creek’s wonderful ‘Woods’

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By John Lyle Belden

The show “Into the Woods” could be considered the quintessential Stephen Sondheim musical (with book by James Lapine). Even in a world of fantasy and magic there is a sense of realism, real stakes and real consequences. It is also one of his works you are likely familiar with, thanks to numerous community and professional theatre stagings, as well as a popular movie (and, of course, its runs on Broadway).

Therefore, when Buck Creek Players took it on this year, under the direction of Ben Jones and music director Jill Stewart, they decided to make the production stand out while still true to its story and audience expectations. The result is an “Into the Woods” that is outstanding by practically every measure.

The experience starts the moment you enter the theater and see the stage. Aside from a large lone tree at the back of the stage –­ its hollow necessary to a number of scenes – setpieces are adorned with raised branches to suggest the ever-looming Woods where our stories are set. Those rotating pieces themselves look like giant open books, the covers walls of old bookshelves. Other props look like stacks of books (classic and popular titles on the spines) and scattered like random leaves on the floor are pages with burnt edges – we were told Jones had them be copies of pages from commonly banned books.  Set design and construction are credited to Matt Gray.

Roles are well-cast. Ellen Vander Missen, notable for leading ladies at Footlite Musicals, makes her BCP debut as Cinderella. Central characters the Baker and his Wife are wonderfully played by Ball State graduate Mason Mast and local favorite Miranda Nehrig. The quirky wit of Thom Turner fits perfectly as the Narrator and Mysterious Man. Cordale Hankins embodies the youthful impulsiveness of Jack (of “Beanstalk” fame) while Georgeanna Teipen returns to BCP as his Mother. Shelia Raghavendran appears to be having fun as brave, energetic Little Red Riding Hood.  Emily Gaddy commands her scenes as the Witch.

Others include Claire Slaven as Cinderella’s Stepmother and Jeremy Teipen as her father, with Claire Gray and Jenna MacNulty as the stepsisters; Addison Koehler as Rapunzel; Josh Rooks a striking presence as the Wolf and the Prince’s Steward;  Charming Princes played by Liam Boyle (for Cinderella) and Zach Bucher (for Rapunzel); Amelia Tryon as the spirit of Cinderella’s mother as well as the once-eaten Red Riding Hood’s Granny; and Anna Spack as diverse characters including some very expressive flocks of birds.

In a notable addition to the cast, Dominc Kattau brings the cow Milky-White to life, saying a lot with just a “Moo” and making scenes with his double-takes and antics.

The show also features a 16-member backstage orchestra, conducted by Jill Stewart.

For the unfamiliar, Act I has a number of popular fairy tales occurring simultaneously in and around the titular forest; Act II is what happens after the story says “happily ever after.” The songs serve the plot and work in Sondheim’s often complex style. The refrain of “Into the Woods” from the “Opening” sticks with you, and the Princes’ lament “Agony” is a favorite. The show’s “hit” songs come near the end – “You Are Not Alone” and “Children Will Listen.” No matter what your experience is with this musical, though, you are sure to be delighted.

More likely, however, you could be disappointed at missing out. As I finish this, Friday and Sunday’s performances are sold out, leaving two shows this Saturday (June 22), 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Call 317-862-2270 or visit buckcreekplayers.com for tickets.

Bewitching comedy at Buck Creek

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By John Lyle Belden

If you had the power to acquire anything you desired, when you get it, is it truly yours? Now, change that to “any-one.”

Buck Creek Players puts a little spooky in Spring with their production of the classic comedy, “Bell Book and Candle,” by John Van Druten. If the story of genuine spellcasting witches living among us looks familiar, the 1950 play (and the 1958 film version) was part of the inspiration for the hit TV sitcom “Bewitched.”

On Christmas Eve in 1950s New York, Gillian Holroyd (Anna Spack), the more powerful and practical of her witchy clan, notices a tenant of her building, Shep Henderson (Josh Rooks), is quite handsome. Upon finding out from silly Aunt Queenie (Nancy Laudeman) that Shep will soon be engaged to a woman Gillian has hated since they were schoolmates, she decides powerful magic to ensnare him will be worth the risk. But first, Gillian’s equally carefree brother Nicky (Ben Jones) and Queenie are there to exchange gifts. His to them are copies of non-witch Sidney Redlitch’s latest book “Magic in Mexico,” so the witches and warlock can mock it. But knowing Shep, a publisher, wants to work with Redlitch (Jeremy Teipen), they use the photo on the book jacket to cast a summoning spell.

With a little help from feline familiar Pyewacket, the magic is set into motion, and love, or something like it, is in the air. Calling off his engagement, Shep seems contented in Gillian’s arms, and he’s poised to work with Redlitch on his book about witches in the Big Apple. However, as anyone familiar (pardon the pun) with witchlore in any medium (sorry, can’t help it) knows that when significant energy goes out, who knows how it will come back.

Suddenly, Shep is confused, overwhelmed, and proposing marriage. Also, it turns out Nicky is helping Redlitch in exchange for drawing illustrations, and that Nicky and Queenie have taken him around the NYC magickal community. For Gillian, who takes her spellwork seriously, and had only wanted Shep for a good time, this could spell – I mean, lead to – disaster! And on top of it all, she’s starting to develop strange new feelings; this could cost her far more than she ever anticipated.

Directed by Mel DeVito, the rom-com that helped bring us Samantha, Sabrina, and arguably the “Charmed” sisters, is truly a bewitching delight.

Rooks, stepping into the shoes of the likes of Rex Harrison and Jimmy Stewart, gives us another example of the likable everyman character he is gaining mastery of. His constantly conflicted soul is plain for all to see, feeling put-upon by outside forces while never entirely yielding his inner strength. Spack is commanding without being bossy, clearly the woman in charge, even when things start to go sideways. Queenie, who only recently embraced her powers, is played by Laudeman as both the “cool aunt” and a little girl enjoying her new toys – which makes her both fun and, in Gillian’s mind, in need of restraint. Jones (who admits to using Paul Lynde as a touchstone) presents Nicky as practically giddy at any chance to wield some powers. A practiced warlock, he only lets Gillian limit him to a degree. Teipen, our other “mortal” in the cast, goes from drunkenly taking it all as a gag (he was summoned from a Christmas party) to soberly seeing he’s in over his depth in genuine occult activity.

Pyewacket is a clever rather life-like animatronic, moving and mewing precisely on cue. Without seeing a special credit for the kitty, I’ll note that props are by DeVito and Suzi Brown. Costumes, an eclectic mix of conservative, wild, and glamorous, as needed, are by Tiffany Wilson. Rich Laudeman is stage manager.

Fun and enchanting, see “Bell, Book and Candle” this Friday through Sunday, April 5-7 at Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeast Ave. (Acton Road Exit off I-74), Indianapolis, or the Witches might not bring back the Sun after they blot it out on the 8th. Tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Romantic battle of wits in BCP’s ‘Moon’

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By John Lyle Belden

Growing into your teen years is tough enough. But for a genius-IQ girl in a dull west Pennsylvania town in the 1980s with a single Mom who is a bit of a free spirit, the prospect of a new man in their life is a bit much to deal with. Fortunately, a lifelong friend is there to help.

In “Moon Over the Brewery,” by Bruce Graham, presented by Buck Creek Players, Amanda is our 13-year-old with this conundrum. Randolph, the (invisible to others) paternal-looking friend with a posh accent and wearing whatever was in the last book she read, has returned to delve into the mystery of the “midnight laugher.” They suspect this is a new bad decision for her mother, Miriam, a woman who stopped art school to become a diner waitress to raise her daughter – but never abandoned art, as she works on paintings of nightscapes as well as sculpture and a beautifully assembled quilt. The latter, Amanda (who minds the checkbook) plans to sell for top dollar.

Suddenly at their doorstep, there is an odd, mildly chubby mail carrier saying he is Warren Zimmerman, Miriam’s new beau. Amanda stands inside with Randolph at her shoulder: let the games begin.

This quirky comedy with quirky characters coalesces into a quirkier romance as our foursome come to understand each other and themselves. Brooke Dennis as Amanda is excellent as a 13-going-on-30 prodigy who at times mothers her mom but is not as mature as she feels she must be. AnnaStacia Nuffer in a brilliant debut as Miriam is a complex artistic soul who just wants everything good for everyone, hoping she could find some for herself. In her prior relationships she’s felt outvoted two-to-one by Amanda and Randolph, whom she regards not as a figment but a bogeyman who must be banished. Grant Bowen comes off a little disturbing and goofy at first as Warren; still, with genuine and easy manner he wins us as one who has eccentricities of his own but also varied life experience, just the right guy to stand toe-to-toe with an invisible man.

Tony Brazelton takes full advantage of a plum comic role; his Randolph is suave, brash, devious, protective, suspicious, sharply witty, and everything else you’d expect from a teenage girl’s id taken the form of a classic cinema leading man. His banter and mind games are highly entertaining, yet he never takes it too far, out of respect for the mistress from whose synapses he sprung, keeping him likable to the audience.

The result is a charming mashup of coming-of-age story and rom-com, with just enough weirdness to hold it together. This fun theatrical experience comes to life with the help of director Mac Bellner and technical director/stage manager R. Brian Noffke. Thanks also to young assistant directors Elsie Rau and Bennett Dilger for their work behind the scenes.

Remaining performances of “Moon Over the Brewery” are Friday through Sunday, Feb. 9-11, at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. For tickets and information, go to BuckCreekPlayers.com.