Call Me Mr. Fry
One need look no farther for evidence that our educational system is seriously broken than this riveting one-man show, “Call Me Mr. Fry,” that recounts the experiences of a talented and enthusiastic first year teacher tackling the absurdities of Los Angeles’ Unified School District.
Jack Frey has traversed the continent with his exposé of a school system-gone-bad that nevertheless attracts such dedicated professionals as Fry, his wearily-wise African-American principal, and even the Nazi-disciplinarian in the next classroom. These are only a few of the characters that the classically trained actor navigates with aplomb.
He plays his young students with equal sympathy. Even in the fifth grade, we learn, boys like one of his characters, Anthony, aspire to gang life, practicing their skills in the hallways of the school. By contrast, the shy Jasmine is as fragile as he is tough. The two students serve as perfect screens upon which Fry can project the daily frustrations, frequent failures and occasionally heartwarming successes found in teaching at a school programmed in lockstep with the No Child Left Behind mandate.
We learn, too, of the personal price that young teachers like Fry must pay for grinding long hours, ridiculous administrative gaffs and the children’s voracious emotional needs. In one episode, Fry, a party clown on the side, utilizes his balloon skills to create inflated “swords” with which to charm his young students, only to earn a disciplinary citation and probation for the effort. He tells the harrowing story of young Anthony, whose favorite uncle is killed in a case of gangland mistaken identity, and he recounts Jasmine’s numerous efforts to make Fry her Dad.
Anyone who cares about the next generation: the horrendous overcrowding, the wrong-headed administrative decisions and general chaos that represents public schooling today, will find him or herself deeply moved by Fry’s true story. But be sure to bring plenty of Kleenex.
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Theater: Crown City Theater (located on the campus of St. Matthew's Church)
11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood 91602.
Web Site: http://www.crowncitytheatre.com/
Tickets: (818) 745-8527
Dates: Fri, Feb 06 – Sun, Mar 01 (Fri, Sat 8 pm, Sunday 2 pm)