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REVIEWS

Funnyman visits the dark night of George Wendt’s soul

★★★½

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
September 20, 2015
By CHRIS JONES

George Wendt – the much-loved comic actor, former improviser and Cheers star, the man saddled for life with an open-for-business sign on the Norm Petting Zoo – goes to some very dark places in Funnyman, the world-premiere drama at the Northlight Theatre about an old-school comic in 1959 with a wretched family life, a tortured soul, and copious amounts of coiled-up anger at the lousy world. Indeed, I’ll venture that some of da Wendt’s many Chicago superfans who find their way to Skokie will leave uttering some version of “I didn’t know George could do that.”

Before Friday night, neither did I.

I’m not making claims that the playwright Bruce Graham is up there up with Eugene O’Neill (although Funnyman is not too shabby), but Wendt’s somber, pained, unstinting turn in this play reminded me of nothing so much as what Nathan Lane was trying to do in The Iceman Cometh. As Wendt’s character, Chick Sherman, notes in the play: “Nobody takes comics seriously until they do something serious.” Great comics come to see that.

Wendt is doing something serious here, all right. Graham has given him plenty of fodder for an actor with his particular trajectory: Chick, a consummate craftsman, now has to deal with shoddy new material; irritating, over-educated young directors with no respect for the old-school craft; and, well, the ghosts of a long career in show business and all the sacrifices that has engendered, and all the bad personal decisions it tempted.

Sherman’s old catchphrase – and the noose around his neck now – is “Wowza!” “People stop me on the street all the time,” he growls. “‘Say something funny!'” We all have a Wowza! – the one thing that people think we do and that we’re sick of doing. Perchance Norm is Wendt’s “Wowza!” He keeps on giving. Cheers!

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REVIEWS

George Wendt earns title in Northlight’s Funnyman

★★★

DAILY HERALD
September 21, 2015
By BARBARA VITELLO

Sight gags get laughs.

Playwright Bruce Graham knows it and uses one to great effect in his solid new dramedy Funnyman, which premiered to a chorus of belly laughs from Northlight Theatre’s near capacity audience.

I won’t spoil the scene, except to say it involves Emmy-nominated George Wendt as you’ve never seen him before. And in more ways than one.

Funnyman fulfills the promise of its title, particularly with the “inside” show biz bits. The performances are solid (Second City veterans Wendt and Kazurinsky have great chemistry) and the play benefits from the quietly assured, unfussy direction of BJ Jones, who has helmed four previous Graham commissions for Northlight. Jones knows Graham and he knows comic actors.

In a 2014 interview with the Daily Herald, John Mahoney (Frasier) said Jones “delves deeper than most directors … He won’t settle for what he’s seen you do a thousand times. He makes sure you use every weapon in your arsenal.”

That’s true of Wendt, who reveals the ache in the soul of a man who arms himself with shtick so he doesn’t have to feel. His deeply felt portrayal suggests an actor who possesses greater weapons than he has so far displayed. Here’s hoping we get to see them again.

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REVIEWS

Review: Funnyman/Northlight Theatre

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ★★★★

AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO
September 20, 2015
By ALAN BRESLOFF

I suppose people seeing the name George Wendt on the billboard for a play titled Funnyman will enter the theater ready to hear the old familiar “Norm” called out as the lights come up. After all, most people know him for the role he created on Cheers all those years ago. Ladies and gentlemen, please be advised that Mr. Wendt is indeed an actor and can play many roles, which he more than proves in this beautiful story about a fading vaudeville comic who many only remember from his signature “Wowza”! Could this tight story written by Bruce Graham, now on the stage at Northlight Theatre, in reality be “his own story”?

Going into this play, try to think about the differences between clown, comedian and comic. While all are on the stage to make us laugh, it is a fine line between what they do. The comedian tells us stories and does bits that have a punchline, the clown does silly things that are out of reality and the comic does more with sight gags and perhaps a trademark. Chick was known for his pants dropping sight gags and his “Wowza”. Fans loved him (or hated him), but none could get close enough to know that deep down, he was a different persona than they saw on the stage. I was impressed with the set (Jeffrey D Kmiec) that allowed us to go between Chick’s home, Katherine’s workplace, Junior’s office and the small Off Broadway theater swiftly. The sound (Andrew Hansen), Lighting (Jesse Klug), projection design (Stephen Mazurek) and props( Kurtis Boetcher) completed the picture that Jones and Graham placed before us.

It is a beautiful story, well written and directed to perfection with a dynamite cast telling a story that will take your breath away, and possibly bring a tear to your eye. The life of a comic is often taken for granted. People “assume” their lives are wonderful and they laugh all the time. The truth is, they are private and often sad people who have the desire to compensate for their own lives by bringing laughter to others.. I suggest that you put this one on the see list!

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REVIEWS

The Saddest Guy

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW
September 25, 2015
By COLIN DOUGLAS

Bruce Graham’s latest play, following the Northlight hit productions of his Stella & Lou, The Outgoing Tide and the recent White Guy on the Bus, understands how to craft a drama with just enough laughs to keep the story from turning depressing. With its modest running time of just under two hours, Graham’s new play gets right to the point without a lot of exposition.

Mr. Wendt’s portrayal of Chick Sherman offers a well of deep, unexpected emotion. Chick’s called “the saddest man I’ve ever met,” by one of the characters, and this sorrow is carefully underplayed by Wendt with skill.  Supported by both his manager and an alcoholic playwright, Mr. Wendt’s sad clown blossoms and discovers once again what it means to feel. The actor’s relationship with his daughter evolves into a wonderful, heartfelt moment that audiences will remember.

This fine production is staged by BJ Jones with care and compassion, allowing his six experienced actors to live naturally through Bruce Graham’s well-scripted characters. Mr. Jones has gently tapped into the comedy while still bringing the play’s tender, affecting sentiment to the forefront. This production is a theatrical triumph for both George Wendt and Tim Kazurinsky and offers a wonderful opportunity for audiences to enjoy the talents of these two terrific actors, as well as their supporting cast.

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