What could be more appropriate for Milwaukee than a play titled, Moon Over the Brewery?. Well, Bruce Graham's gentle play does occasionally focus on the moon, but it has absolutely nothing to do with beer. The piece is set on the edge of a Pennsylvania coal town, where hometown girl Miriam Waszyk works as a waitress. In her spare time, she paints, sculpts and makes quilts. She's also a single mother raising her teenage daughter, Amanda.
All the action takes place inside or outside the ramshackle house where Miriam and Amanda live. The outside of the home looks whimsical and magical, with suns and moons etched into the wood. There are strings of lights in the shape of stars decorating the home's exterior, too. One would expect a psychic to live here, not a waitress.
Inside, there are more clues of Miriam's true passions. Shelves hold artists' supplies, and Miriam's own artwork hangs on the walls. For some inexplicable reason, Miriam paints only moonscapes. She is completely unaware that the moon represents her own dreams. Miriam also doesn't know how to balance a checkbook or perform practical tasks the brainy Amanda does all that. They are an odd pair, yet in many ways, they relate to each other like a typical mother and teen.
The audience doesn't quite know what to make of the opening scene, in which Amanda is coming home from school. Trailing behind her is someone who looks like a very young Ricardo Montalbaum from TV's "Fantasy Island." He is impeccably dressed in a crisp white suit. The young man also talks with Montalbaum's rich baritone voice, and he seems to have adopted Montalbaum's gracious manner as well. It is a very odd juxtaposition: this young schoolgirl with an older, more sophisticated man.
From their conversation, we learn that they know each other well. They reminisce about the past and spend a good deal of time laughing about how they used to scare away the mother's suitors. It's only when the mother arrives a bit later that the truth is out - the young man, Randolph, is merely a figment of Amanda's vivid imagination. The mother guesses, correctly, that the appearance of a man's watch triggers Randolph's appearance. As Amanda's protector; he helps remove any threat (such as a boyfriend for her mother).
This time, Miriam takes a different tack with her 13-year-old daughter. She reminds Amanda that someday she will fulfill her wish to go to a faraway college, leaving Miriam alone. Miriam confesses that she's scared. Who will fill Amanda's absence?
The play picks up the pace with the arrival of the local mailman, who turns out to be Miriam's latest suitor. Actor Dan Katula does a masterful job at balancing both sides of his character. He makes Warren a rube, but one who is not as dumb as one might think. Warren uses his life experience to win over Amanda. But first he uses some clever (and hilarious) tactics to rid the house of Randolph.
As Miriam, the accomplished Melinda Pfunderstein creates a sympathetic if somewhat wacky character. Yet she seems to have done a good job of raising her daughter alone. Pfunderstein gracefully handles all sides of her complicated character. Miriam confesses to something she fears will make Warren flee, and at the same time she discovers that she desperately wants to hang onto him. Warren, thick-headed as he may be, won't be chased off so easily.
Amanda Hull must make the greatest transition as Amanda. She does a better job with displaying the practical side of her character than being a confused 13-year-old. As the imaginary Randolph, Travis Knight moves easily in the world of the living. His ability to successfully dodge the real-life characters is a testament to director Angela Iannone's skill in movement techniques. Knight is everything that Amanda wants him to be: handsome, swashbuckling in an Errol Flynn sort of way, smart and patient.
Although there's a bit of ambiguity in the play's ending, one gets a satisfying sense that everything will turn out all right. It's a charming story told with humor, candor and joy by the Chamber Theatre cast. The detailed set is both functional and funky, and the lighting and costumes also enhance the play.
