In Tandem Theatre returns this holiday season with yet another production of its long-running Cudahy Caroler Christmas show. Chris Flieller returns to the role of a south-sider named Stasch who is desperately trying to get the fictitious Cudahy-based vocal group back together for a performance on local access cable.
The musical's Cudahy parodies of traditional Christmas songs continue to have their own kind of appeal. "We T'ree Guys from Cudahy," "Oh, Bowling Night," and "Ach ya' Der Once" have proven to be as durable as the musical itself. I've seen the show enough times that the traditional lyrics have melded in my mind with the Cudahy ones. I can't hear an instrumental version of "The First Noel," without hearing the lyrics of the Carolers', "Oh, Nell," and being reminded of something far less wholesome than the original song.
My personal favorite has to be the version of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire," as performed by the vaguely schizophrenic piano player Myron. The lyrics come out as a bizarre and strangely dark word salad that is delivered in a jazzy lounge singer kind of a mood. Very clever stuff. Somewhere around the second week of December, all Christmas songs degrade into this kind of word salad in my mind anyway. I love that someone had the idea to explicitly deliver that hazy lyrical disintegration onstage.
Here on Saturday matinees, the part of Myron is played by Storyteller Theater's Matt Zembrowski, who makes a fun appearance in the role. He'd played the character on occasion in the past. He fits quite well with this particular cast.
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One might think that after 200+ performances over the years as Stasch, Chris Flieller might be getting kind of tired of the role, but if he is, it hardly shows. He's the same irrepressibly nice guy he's always been. True, Fleiller could probably do the role in his sleep, but that doesn't make the performance any less appealing.
Nathan Wesselowski returns to the role of Stasch's sworn enemy PeeWee. The towering figure has an operative presence about him that is priceless in "Oh, Bowling Night." It's the big crescendo of the musical and he delivers the story of a bowling tragedy with all the comic intensity it needs.
That distinctive working' class Wisconsin accent that reminds me of growing-up in Norther-Eastern Wisconsin is exceedingly tricky for people who aren't familiar with it. Or maybe having grown-up around the authentic accent makes any actor's approximation of it sound feel at least a little off. There are, however, some voices here that sound particularly authentic. Lisa Morris' fourth performance as PeeWee's wife Edna rings of precisely the right authenticity. It makes her character's struggle to break free from the culture of the South Side all that more endearing.
Megan Kaminski brings a similar authenticity in the role of Edna's daughter Nell. She's perfect for the role. She's a natural comic presence onstage. I heard her comedic Wisconsin accent as a cow in a performance with Kohl's Wild Theatre earlier this year. Here she's quite a bit less cartoony, but no less clever and endearing.
Joe Fransee plays Zeke--the young man smitten with love for Nellie. Fransee is versatile. He's dine some pretty startling drama in addition to a number of turns in musical shows like this. It's nice to see him get back into some straight ahead comedy here. He shows that enviable ability to find a novel way to deliver some of the weakest comedy in the show and somehow make it work.
Kathleen A. Miller returns to the production as Wanda. (She had been Nellie in the original staging.) Here she is now in a role that she fills out quite nicely. She's got great stage presence for characterization in musical theatre. She's had quite a bit of experience since her original appearance with the Carolers and it serves the role well.
In Tandem Theatre's Cudahy Caroler Christmas 2013 runs through January 5th at the Tenth Street Theatre on 628 North 10th Street. For ticket reservations, call 414-271-1371 or visit In Tandem online.