Phillyist Reviews... Schmucks

Schmucks is the second Roy Smiles play that the Wilma has produced in as many years. And between it and last year's Ying Tong, two things are obvious about the playwright: he treats the comics who went before him as Greek Gods—Greek because his characters are infinitely fallible but still worthy of reverence—and that he has a healthy love for the absurd. Last year's production largely took place inside Spike Milligan's nervous breakdown; this year's includes a visit from the dead, performed as a comic ballet. What sets the shows apart, though, is that where last year's production failed to find its mark, this year's avoided many of the same pitfalls.

Perhaps part of this is owed to the play's setting and cultural references. Where Ying Tong was very, very British, full of mentions of people and places that any Briton would find hilarious but that left the (largely) American audience at the Wilma with little to do but stare at the stage. Schmucks is about two American comedians—well-known ones, at that, set in New York City at a diner that could only be described as metaphysical. (Bill Clarke did a tremendous job constructing this set, with great help by lighting designer Jerold R. Forsyth.) It's here that we meet Lenny Bruce (played by Erik Jensen) and Groucho Marx (Ron Crawford), coming together as the younger comic prepares for his obscenity trial and the elder comic mourns the loss of his clowning brother, Harpo (whose ghost is eventually played by Gary Littman). Also joining them are a young Woody Allen-like comic named Joe Klein (Ian Alda) and Mary Lenahan (Caitlin Clouthier), a punchy late-night waitress who met Lenny Bruce in Chicago way back when. There's a blackout, there's dramatic tension, there are variations on a theme—Joe's really bad stand-up act. The aforementioned comic ballet, performed beautifully by Harpo's ghost, makes the entire performance worthwhile, but even if it weren't there, there'd be enough solid material iin the show to make it a good way to spend an evening. Alda's whiny Woody Allen-like performance got a bit irritating after a while (if only the character had actually been Woody Allen, it would have been far less annoying), and Jensen's frenetic performance of the doped-up Bruce was a bit uncomfortable to watch, but for every moment of the show that may have bugged you, there were ten solid minutes of theatre. The odds, as an audience member, are largely in your favor.

Erik Jensen as Lenny Bruce and Ron Crawford as Groucho Marx in Roy Smiles' Schmucks at the Wilma Theater, through January 4. Photo by Jim Roese.