Western Michigan University Theatre recently opened its production of “More Fun Than Bowling.” WMUK’s Gordon Bolar has this review.
Playwright Steven Dietz’s quirky dark comedy tells the story of Jake Tomlinson, the owner of a local bowling alley, who looks back on his life and marriages from atop the hill where two of his three wives are buried.
In the process, Jake both embraces and grapples with memories of his deceased wives as they cheerfully visit him from their respective graves in flashbacks to scenes from his recent marriages. More serious is Jake’s personal struggle with the previous prophesy of a fortune teller and its implication of impending doom after the recent demise of wife number three.
Jake, played with conviction by Brandt Trotter, is so certain that a life ending event soon awaits him that he retreats into a makeshift grave between his two wives to see what this burial plot will feel like when worst comes to worst.
As the play begins, his teenage daughter Molly, portrayed by Lilli Gray with ebullient adolescent flair and sensitivity for her father’s eccentric ways, playfully plucks the oxygen-giving straw from Jake’s earthen tomb. Gray’s animated character brings a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally, into the world of loss and broken dreams that hangs over Jake’s head.
Gasping and coughing, Jake emerges to face the daylight, his inability to commit to love, and the remainder of the uncertain life. His ensuing journey is one filled with abundant laughter, surprises, and revelations for the play’s main character.
Director Mark Liermann takes advantage of the audience’s proximity in the intimate confines of WMU’s York Arena. Each actor in Liermann’s five-person cast is given the opportunity to address the house through introductory monologues for their characters, or through narration of past experiences related to Jake and his life story. Each responds effectively in ways that connect us with the actors and their characters’ respective attempts to break Jake free from his hermetically sealed existence.
As actor Drew Clark’s mysterious Mister Dyson chats with us about automobiles, driving, and his tireless pursuit of Jake, we can’t help but wonder about the briefcase he holds and the revolver dangling from his other hand. Clark heightens our interest in the potentially menacing purpose of his character, while casually eating his sack lunch before and during intermission.
Several duo scenes staged within spitting distance of the front row are also effective. Amelia Rummler as Jake’s second wife Lois reluctantly lets him instruct her on the proper way to throw a bowling ball. We can feel Rummler’s character’s visceral and silent inner rebellion at Jake’s insistence on a life-and-death approach toward the imaginary pins that stand before her. We sense her quiet resentment of his oversized need to keep score, win local tournaments, and defeat fate.
Jake’s most recent wife, Loretta, played by Joelle Denhoff, conducts an inventory of Jake’s true feelings for her in a flashback to his marriage proposal. As she listens carefully to his offer, she searches his eyes for the depth of his commitment. Does he “love” her or merely “like” her as a place holder for his last wife? Her smile lets us know that Jake’s answer is acceptable.
Brandt Trotter’s Jake commands the audience’s attention throughout with his vigorous physical commitment to his character’s rollercoaster ride with past wives, as well as his headlong rush toward the precipice in the play’s final scene.
While the actor is on track emotionally in Jakes’s relationship with his daughter and spouses, something seems missing in the arc of this character. One problem is that the production doesn’t address Jake’s implied age in the script through make-up, hair style, or physical movement that would suggest a person nearing middle-age, or one old enough to be Molly’s father.
To complicate matters further, the actor playing Jake begins the evening with great energy. While Jake’s angry exit from his self-dug grave is humorous and startling, it shows little in the way of the world weariness and disappointment that drove this character to seek refuge beneath the earth’s surface. As a result, the actor has few opportunities left for growth in the life lessons that Mister Dyson provides during the play’s moving conclusion.
While these obstacles occasionally strain the limits of credibility, they don’t prevent “More Fun Than Bowling” from delivering a satisfying and entertaining evening in the theatre before an appreciative audience.
