| The Pocket Sandwich Theatre Presents - The Nerd featuring Chris Taylor (a.k.a. Chris Dover) |
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Chris made it that much funnier, but seriously folks, he is extremely
talented and very good in this play. Alicia (Chris's wife) was able to get
them to upgrade their wine selection for us, just for that evening. The play
will be running through the last weekend of June and it is completely and
totally worth the investment of both your time and money to go see it.
I thought I would share some more info on the play including two reviews:
“The Nerd”
By Larry Shue
May 27 through June 25
...............FEATURING..............
Shane Beeson
Christine Bush
Chris Dover (Taylor)
Scott A. Eckert
Bert Merino
Michael Roe
Angela Wilson
Goofiness takes center stage! Willum Gilbert has it all – a promising
career as an architect, devoted friends, even, maybe, a serious girlfriend.
But then Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who
saved has life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam, comes to visit.
Delighted at first, Willum’s delight soon fades as Rick turns out to be a
hopeless "nerd" – a bumbling oaf with no social sense, little intelligence
and less tact. The Nerd escalates into madcap farce as Willum tries to out-
nerd his sanity-destroying houseguest. One of the funniest comedies you’ll
ever see!
Here is the review from the Dallas Observer:
Dallas Observer
From dallasobserver.com
Originally published by Dallas Observer 2005-06-09
©2005 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Nerd's life of leisure suits the Pocket
By Elaine Liner
It ain't art, but The Nerd--with Christine Bush, Shane Beeson, Scott A.
Eckert and Chris Dover--is entertaining as all get-out.
There's not a blessed thing important, intellectual or profound about Larry
Shue's The Nerd, now playing (sans popcorn) in a production directed by
Lisa Cotie at Pocket Sandwich Theatre. Sure is a lot of fun, though.
The title character, an idiotic "chalk inspector" named Rick Steadman
(Chris Dover), is an old army buddy of a sad-sack Indiana architect named
Willum (Shane Beeson). When Rick blunders unexpectedly into Willum's
surprise birthday party, he becomes the dork who came to dinner. He
stays. And stays. And stays. Until Willum, girlfriend Tansy (Christine
Bush) and their drama critic pal Axel (Scott A. Eckert) can't stand him
another minute.
But Rick doesn't take "Go!" for an answer. He beds down on the couch
and becomes Willum's personal Amityville horror. When Willum's stuffy
boss (Michael Roe) comes for dinner one night with repressed wife
(Angela Wilson) and rowdy son (Bert Merino) in tow, Rick kicks it up a
notch, getting them all involved in a nonsensical game called "Shoes and
Socks."
And on it goes right up to a goofy shaggy dog of an ending that's like
something out of Sleuth. Except in Terre Haute. With horn rims.
No, it's not art, but it's entertaining as all get-out (and Pocket's little
kitchen makes a decent plate of nachos to munch during the show). Chris
Dover, who bears a strong resemblance to the late Frank Gorshin, attacks
his nerd persona with an arsenal of god-awful gestures, snorts and pratfalls
that are equally hilarious and cringe-inducing. All the actors throw
themselves into the wackiness with willing abandon, particularly young
Merino as Thor. He's one funny little monster.
Shue, who found success with The Nerd and The Foreigner in the early
1980s, died in a plane crash in 1985 at the age of 39. His pair of comedies
are mainstays of regional and community theaters. The Foreigner was
revived on Broadway last season starring Matthew Broderick.
The Nerd shows off Shue's ability to send up the plain vanilla tastes of
Midwesterners by layering reference upon reference. There's a fat man
who enters drenched (for reasons too silly to get into) in large-curd cottage
cheese. Characters joke about folk dancing with pork. And the nattering
nerd himself professes his devotion to the bafflingly generic cartoon strip
"Nancy." Come on, you have to love any playwright who recognizes the
genius of Ernie Bushmiller.
And here is a review from The Dallas Secret Wine Society's very
own Editorial Director, Ian Hastie:
Would the real Chris Taylor please stand up.
I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. Last night I was in a
room full of people who though I was insane. At one point in the evening I
was doing that most special of all laughs…. You know, the one where you
bury your face in your hands, your whole head turns purple, you can’t
breathe, and the people around you can see your shoulders bobbing up and
down uncontrollably while tears stream down your face.
As evenings go, this one was pretty good. It included a pitcher of
(remarkably good) Margaritas at J Pepe’s in Dallas. Not a bad start eh?
Little did I know it was going to get soooooo much better.
The margaritas were followed, somewhat disappointingly, by Shiraz in a
plastic cup. I won’t tell you what it was (because I really didn’t enjoy it), but
I will tell you that the bottle has a Label that’s Yellow. This was not the
high point of the evening.
So, adult refreshment in hand, I settled back in my chair and started to
read the program for the evenings entertainment. Hmmm, Houston we
have a problem. I was only here for one reason. A certain acquaintance of
mine (and yours probably), one Chris Taylor, had obviously been telling
lies. There I was, believing every word of it, confident that he was going to
be the star of the show, but the cast list for The Nerd didn’t have a single
Taylor anywhere. Was it his night off?? On the tiny stage just feet away
from me some guy was saying something about an understudy. Wouldn’t
that be just my luck. This may have been the low point of the evening.
Well damn it I’m here now, so I might as well sit back and enjoy the show.
Now, as I sit and write this, I know there are several people planning to
see the same show tonight. Maybe some of them will get a chance to read
this before they go, so here are a few words of advice.…..
…if you’ve never been to the Pocket Sandwich Theater, you’re in for a
surprise. It’s tiny. I don’t think you can get more than about twenty feet
from the stage in the whole place.
…don’t go there expecting to select Opus One from an extravagant wine
list. Your choices are pretty much Red or White (or sadly, Pink). And did I
mention that it comes in a plastic cup?
…get there early. It’s great to be able to almost touch the actors (I said
ALMOST, what do you think I am. I do not go around fondling actors……
no matter how much they beg). Anyway, get a table at the front if you can.
It will be worth it.
…sit back, relax, and prepare to leave the place with your face hurting
from laughing so much.
Without giving too much away, I can tell you that maybe ten minutes into
the show, the Nerd appears. Sure enough, despite my worst fears, there he
was. Complete with the perfect pair of Nerd glasses, one Chris Taylor, aka
Chris Dover (He has a stage name!! It’s almost like he’s a real actor!). My
evening was not a complete washout. Within minutes of his appearance I
was laughing like a drunken buffoon. THIS was the high point of the
evening.
Now, while many of you may think that I AM a drunken buffoon, rest
assured that I was not the only one laughing. All seven people in the
audience spent the evening in stitches. (Ok, Ok , so it may have been more
than seven).
Chris makes the perfect Nerd (but funnily enough gets fourth billing…..
and I thought he was the Star!).
Anyway, go see the show. Laugh till snot bubbles come out of your nose.
Don’t worry about people thinking you’re strange for laughing so much. Do
what I did……. Point at the guy in the big Nerd glasses and tell the people
around you “He’s a friend of mine……and he’s not acting, he really IS like
that”
Cheers Chris, you big Nerd
The Nerd is playing at the Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 E Mockingbird
in Dallas, until June 25th. Don’t miss it.
talented and very good in this play. Alicia (Chris's wife) was able to get
them to upgrade their wine selection for us, just for that evening. The play
will be running through the last weekend of June and it is completely and
totally worth the investment of both your time and money to go see it.
I thought I would share some more info on the play including two reviews:
“The Nerd”
By Larry Shue
May 27 through June 25
...............FEATURING..............
Shane Beeson
Christine Bush
Chris Dover (Taylor)
Scott A. Eckert
Bert Merino
Michael Roe
Angela Wilson
Goofiness takes center stage! Willum Gilbert has it all – a promising
career as an architect, devoted friends, even, maybe, a serious girlfriend.
But then Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who
saved has life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam, comes to visit.
Delighted at first, Willum’s delight soon fades as Rick turns out to be a
hopeless "nerd" – a bumbling oaf with no social sense, little intelligence
and less tact. The Nerd escalates into madcap farce as Willum tries to out-
nerd his sanity-destroying houseguest. One of the funniest comedies you’ll
ever see!
Here is the review from the Dallas Observer:
Dallas Observer
From dallasobserver.com
Originally published by Dallas Observer 2005-06-09
©2005 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Nerd's life of leisure suits the Pocket
By Elaine Liner
It ain't art, but The Nerd--with Christine Bush, Shane Beeson, Scott A.
Eckert and Chris Dover--is entertaining as all get-out.
There's not a blessed thing important, intellectual or profound about Larry
Shue's The Nerd, now playing (sans popcorn) in a production directed by
Lisa Cotie at Pocket Sandwich Theatre. Sure is a lot of fun, though.
The title character, an idiotic "chalk inspector" named Rick Steadman
(Chris Dover), is an old army buddy of a sad-sack Indiana architect named
Willum (Shane Beeson). When Rick blunders unexpectedly into Willum's
surprise birthday party, he becomes the dork who came to dinner. He
stays. And stays. And stays. Until Willum, girlfriend Tansy (Christine
Bush) and their drama critic pal Axel (Scott A. Eckert) can't stand him
another minute.
But Rick doesn't take "Go!" for an answer. He beds down on the couch
and becomes Willum's personal Amityville horror. When Willum's stuffy
boss (Michael Roe) comes for dinner one night with repressed wife
(Angela Wilson) and rowdy son (Bert Merino) in tow, Rick kicks it up a
notch, getting them all involved in a nonsensical game called "Shoes and
Socks."
And on it goes right up to a goofy shaggy dog of an ending that's like
something out of Sleuth. Except in Terre Haute. With horn rims.
No, it's not art, but it's entertaining as all get-out (and Pocket's little
kitchen makes a decent plate of nachos to munch during the show). Chris
Dover, who bears a strong resemblance to the late Frank Gorshin, attacks
his nerd persona with an arsenal of god-awful gestures, snorts and pratfalls
that are equally hilarious and cringe-inducing. All the actors throw
themselves into the wackiness with willing abandon, particularly young
Merino as Thor. He's one funny little monster.
Shue, who found success with The Nerd and The Foreigner in the early
1980s, died in a plane crash in 1985 at the age of 39. His pair of comedies
are mainstays of regional and community theaters. The Foreigner was
revived on Broadway last season starring Matthew Broderick.
The Nerd shows off Shue's ability to send up the plain vanilla tastes of
Midwesterners by layering reference upon reference. There's a fat man
who enters drenched (for reasons too silly to get into) in large-curd cottage
cheese. Characters joke about folk dancing with pork. And the nattering
nerd himself professes his devotion to the bafflingly generic cartoon strip
"Nancy." Come on, you have to love any playwright who recognizes the
genius of Ernie Bushmiller.
And here is a review from The Dallas Secret Wine Society's very
own Editorial Director, Ian Hastie:
Would the real Chris Taylor please stand up.
I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. Last night I was in a
room full of people who though I was insane. At one point in the evening I
was doing that most special of all laughs…. You know, the one where you
bury your face in your hands, your whole head turns purple, you can’t
breathe, and the people around you can see your shoulders bobbing up and
down uncontrollably while tears stream down your face.
As evenings go, this one was pretty good. It included a pitcher of
(remarkably good) Margaritas at J Pepe’s in Dallas. Not a bad start eh?
Little did I know it was going to get soooooo much better.
The margaritas were followed, somewhat disappointingly, by Shiraz in a
plastic cup. I won’t tell you what it was (because I really didn’t enjoy it), but
I will tell you that the bottle has a Label that’s Yellow. This was not the
high point of the evening.
So, adult refreshment in hand, I settled back in my chair and started to
read the program for the evenings entertainment. Hmmm, Houston we
have a problem. I was only here for one reason. A certain acquaintance of
mine (and yours probably), one Chris Taylor, had obviously been telling
lies. There I was, believing every word of it, confident that he was going to
be the star of the show, but the cast list for The Nerd didn’t have a single
Taylor anywhere. Was it his night off?? On the tiny stage just feet away
from me some guy was saying something about an understudy. Wouldn’t
that be just my luck. This may have been the low point of the evening.
Well damn it I’m here now, so I might as well sit back and enjoy the show.
Now, as I sit and write this, I know there are several people planning to
see the same show tonight. Maybe some of them will get a chance to read
this before they go, so here are a few words of advice.…..
…if you’ve never been to the Pocket Sandwich Theater, you’re in for a
surprise. It’s tiny. I don’t think you can get more than about twenty feet
from the stage in the whole place.
…don’t go there expecting to select Opus One from an extravagant wine
list. Your choices are pretty much Red or White (or sadly, Pink). And did I
mention that it comes in a plastic cup?
…get there early. It’s great to be able to almost touch the actors (I said
ALMOST, what do you think I am. I do not go around fondling actors……
no matter how much they beg). Anyway, get a table at the front if you can.
It will be worth it.
…sit back, relax, and prepare to leave the place with your face hurting
from laughing so much.
Without giving too much away, I can tell you that maybe ten minutes into
the show, the Nerd appears. Sure enough, despite my worst fears, there he
was. Complete with the perfect pair of Nerd glasses, one Chris Taylor, aka
Chris Dover (He has a stage name!! It’s almost like he’s a real actor!). My
evening was not a complete washout. Within minutes of his appearance I
was laughing like a drunken buffoon. THIS was the high point of the
evening.
Now, while many of you may think that I AM a drunken buffoon, rest
assured that I was not the only one laughing. All seven people in the
audience spent the evening in stitches. (Ok, Ok , so it may have been more
than seven).
Chris makes the perfect Nerd (but funnily enough gets fourth billing…..
and I thought he was the Star!).
Anyway, go see the show. Laugh till snot bubbles come out of your nose.
Don’t worry about people thinking you’re strange for laughing so much. Do
what I did……. Point at the guy in the big Nerd glasses and tell the people
around you “He’s a friend of mine……and he’s not acting, he really IS like
that”
Cheers Chris, you big Nerd
The Nerd is playing at the Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 E Mockingbird
in Dallas, until June 25th. Don’t miss it.
