A woman's struggle to gain back her memory, while surrounded by a bizarre group of friends, enemies and family, is the focus of David Lindsay-Abaire's Fuddy Meers, the world premiere of which officially opens Nov. 2 at Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage II.
J. Smith-Cameron (Night Must Fall, As Bees in Honey Drown) is the amnesiac in the comedy, directed by David Petrarca (Marvin's Room). The company she keeps includes Patrick Breen (Big River), Marylouise Burke (Lettice and Lovage on tour), Lisa Gorlitsky (HBO's "Sex and the City"), Mark McKinney ("Kids in the Hall," "Saturday Night Live"), Keith Nobbs (Stupid Kids, The Lion in Winter) and Robert Stanton (All in the Timing).
The production's original musical score is by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade). MTC previews began Oct. 12. Performances continue through Dec. 12.
Fuddy Meers had a reading in spring 1998 at MTC's "Writers in Performance/Discovering the Next Generation" series. The title refers to a line spoken by a character with a speech impediment.
Playwright Lindsay-Abaire recently completed Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. He wrote Wonder of the World, which will have its debut in spring 2000 at Washington DC's Woolly Mammoth Theater, and A Devil Inside, Dotting & Dashing and A Show of Hands, among others. His next project is a play written with actress Janeane Garofalo in mind. The new, untitled comedy is being produced by Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener of Mosaic Entertainment in spring 2000. Designers for Fuddy Meers are Santo Loquasto (sets and costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting) and Bruce Ellman (sound). Fuddy Meers tickets are $40, with student discounts available. MTC is at City Center, 151 W. 55th Street in Manhattan. Stage I is currently hosting previews of Shelagh Stephenson's An Experiment With an Air Pump.
For tickets, call CityTix at (212) 581-1212.
Meanwhile, MTC presents Shelagh Stephenson's An Experiment With an Air Pump on Stage I.
-- By Kenneth Jones
