Escanaba In Love
If you were lucky last year and saw "Escanaba in da Moonlight"
at the Little Fish Theatre, you already know four essential facts:
(1) It was written by Jeff Daniels; (2) Escanaba is a small,
heavily-wooded Michigan community on the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Lake
Superior; (3) It's populated by descendants of Fins, Norwegians, and
Ojibwa Indians who developed their own traditions about hunting, male
bonding, and bagging their first "big buck." And (4) It's an absolute
laugh-out-loud riot.
Well, Little Fish has done it again. On stage through April 3
is Daniels' "Escanaba in Love," the first of three plays that follow
the irascible-but-loveable Soady family through one cockamamie
escapade after another.
Once again it's superbly directed by Gia Jordahl, and once again
this odd-ball comedy will have you aching with laughter. Of course
it has to be deer season, so Albert (Michael Grenie) and his
doddering old father (Gordon Wells) are already holed up in the Soady
family camp.
They are especially excited because today, 18-year-old Albert
Jr. (their son and grandson respectively) is going to join them and
bag his first buck. While waiting for him, they toast the occasion
with the UP's traditional home-brewed hard liquor laced with maple
syrup (yuk!). Never could they guess what's about to happen!
Into their peaceful family camp bursts "Salty" Jim (Cary
Jordahl's portrayal is hysterical), who only a year ago had a boating
accident and got caught in his own fish net. As a result, "Salty"
Jim has been crippled, crazy, and drunk ever since.
Then young Albert Jr. explodes through the door with two
surprises. (Cory Nestor almost steaks the show every time he opens
his mouth.) First off he tells them, "I didn't bring a gun cause I'm
not goin' huntin'. I enlisted in the army and I'm reportin' to duty
tomorrow."
To that he adds, nonchalantly, that he met a girl in the bar and
it was love at first sight. So the youngest Soady and Big Betty
Balou got hitched a few hours ago, and he brought her along for their
instant honeymoon.
Yes, he knows it's a sacred place where no females are allowed;
but he has to leave for Ft. Custer in the morning so he thought it
would be OK. His reasoning goes something like this: He may get
killed in the war, and--bein' a virgin and all, well--he sure didn't
want to die without knowin' what "it" was all about.
When Big Betty Balou lopes in she is quite a sight, covered with
dirt and rumpled from head to toe. Katie Quinones is terrific as this
spunky babe who's "been there, done that," ain't afraid of nothin' or
nobody, and lets everyone know it.
All hell breaks loose as the three older men confront the
love-struck kid. What was he thinking? Enlist in the army? Meet a
loose bar-fly and get married the next day? Crash into men-only
territory? Spend your wedding night here, are you out of your mind?
Albert Jr. stands firm and Big Betty stands with him. The plot
is wild, wooly, and off-the-wall; but it's also heart-warming,
life-affirming and uplifting. Go see it for yourself. I guarantee
you'll leave laughing out loud with a big smile on your face. But
you have to act fast.
"Espanada in Love" plays weekends through April 3 at Little Fish
Theatre, 777 Centre St., at the corner of 7th and Centre in downtown
San Pedro. Call (310) 512-6030 for tickets or go on line at
www.littlefishtheatre.org