Photo by Doug Engalla
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Lonny Chapman Group Rep Theatre
Through Nov. 15
We’re back again in Bunyan Bay Minnesota’s famous alehouse (a visually stunning conception and design by Chris Winfield) for some more laughs via another installment of Phil Olson’s “Don’t Hug Me” musicals. The series is a like Hee–Haw tinged with a bit of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
In this latest version, proprietors Clara (Rebekah Dunn) and Gunner (Don Schlossman) are suffering from the marital blues. Clara wants more attention and affection from the emotionally clueless Gunner and plans on attending a “fantasy divorce camp,” while their friend Bernice (Truett Jean Butler) nurtures blissful nuptial designs on Aarvid (Troy Whitaker), who sells karaoke machines that seem to read minds. Stirring the pot of happy mishap is Kanute (Bert Emmett), the pub’s resident joker and impresario of the one-liner, who has something of a crush on Bernice.
The characters are funny (gotta love those rural Minnesota accents, yaw!), but none more so than Trigger (Schlossman in drag), Gunner’s estranged, lovesick sister, who pops in dressed like a forest ranger, loves guns and hunting, and eyes Kanute for her bridal bed.
The production’s silliness (in high-octane overdrive) really starts to wear thin by Act 2, though the music and dance routines are a kick, courtesy of Paul Olson’s score, Phil Olson’s off-the-wall lyrics, and Stan Mazin’s snappy choreography. Doug Engalla directs.
Lonny Chapman Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Nov. 15. (818) 763-5990, www.thegrouprep.com
