Paul Pörtner’s Shear Madness is a cozy little comedy currently running at The Northern Lights Theater at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. A colorful ensemble of characters find themselves in a salon enmeshed in the murder mystery that serves as the central conflict of the script, which lovingly places itself in the open arms of Milwaukee with countless references to local culture.
Many in the cast have been here before with a long history in Milwaukee theater. That warm sense of community fits the hometown feel of the script. John McGivern is charismatic and charming as ever in the role of the man who runs the hair salon. Mary MacDonald Kerr lends tender depth to a sweetly sensual portrayal of a stylist at the salon. Norman Moses and Jenny Wanasek are familiar Milwaukee talents filling the chairs as patrons of the salon. Matthew Huebsch lends a sharply comic sensibility to the ensemble as yet another patron.
It’s a fun cast working with characters that all have a bit more going on beyond the surface. Nearly everyone in the ensemble is known for rendering great depth into weightier stage fare. It’s fun seeing them interact with the clever little complexities of a detail-oriented script. True, the dialogue frequently spasms through pop cultural references that feel horribly dated, but the cast is so fun that the script’s weakness seems fleeting and insubstantial.
Shear Madness runs through Nov.15 at The Northern Lights Theater at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 1721 W. Canal St. For tickets, call 414-847-7922 or visit here.
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