Waking up and not knowing who or where you are might be unthinkable for some, but for Claire, the main character in “Fuddy Meers,” that is her reality. She wakes up every morning and reads through a book her husband Richard made her to help her understand her life.
One morning, however, a man named Zach comes out from under the bed and claims that he’s her brother and will rescue Claire from her husband, who wants to kill her. The pair end up at their mother Gertie’s house. Although Gertie does not trust Zach, she cannot really say so due to a stroke that left unable to speak normally. Although Claire can understand her sometimes, she also jokes about needing a translator to understand Gertie.
While they are talking in Gertie’s house, a strange man named Millet pops through the window, scaring them all. Millet has a puppet named Binky that he speaks through; the pair both have prison shackles on one wrist and came with Zach.
Richard and Kenny, Claire’s son, are searching for her and sharing a blunt when they are pulled over by Heidi, a police officer. After disarming her and holding her hostage, the pair continue their search for Claire, before finally arriving at Gertie’s house, too.
In the chaotic scenes that follow, parts of Claire’s past are revealed so that both she and audience members have a better idea of what is going on. Zach is not her brother; her brother Zach died as a child after falling out of a tree. Phil, her abusive ex-husband, has been pretending to be Zach, but his love for Claire is too overpowering and he confesses to her.
Heidi, a prison cook masquerading as a police officer, is furious because she and Phil had plans to run away to Canada together, and now he isn’t interested in leaving Claire behind.
Despite a crazy fight scene that ends with Phil being stabbed in the back and Kenny being shot in the arm, the play ends very calmly. Richard, Claire, Kenny and Gertie drive back to their house and talk about how eventful the day was. Claire asks them to update her memory book, then falls asleep.
With beautiful costumes and set designs, the play was very visually appealing. Although the script has dark content, it is still very funny and was an enjoyable production. I especially liked the dedication to detail in the production; all the crew members that changed and set up scenes were also dressed in full costume. This kept the image and style of the play going on during scene changes.
Overall, “Fuddy Meers,” a play on how Gertie pronounces “funny mirrors,” was an enjoyable and memorable production that quickly drew me into its plot and characters’ backstories.
