That Famous Press Gets the Star Treatment!

A Comedy of Errors

Zak Ward and Ricky Needham are terrific as Bud and Doug, two clueless 30-somethings with no theatrical experience and very limited talent, who write a musical that they hope will be produced on Broadway. Gutenberg! The Musical, is a comic/silly satire on the world of musical theater. Think of a grownup Judy and Mickey putting on a show if they lacked basic skills and talent. 

Bud and Doug choose the life of the 15th Century German inventor Johannes Gutenberg, he of the moveable type printing press fame. They like him because little is known about his life on Google, so they can just make up stuff. For instance, they give him a job as a wine presser, which, as if by magic, he decides to turn into a printing press because of the dearth of books in his made-up town of Schlimmer, Germany, i.e. there are no books in this dirty medieval backwater. They call it historical fiction, which is “fiction that’s true”, and proceed to create a mashup of various types of musical theater songs, dances, and a book that is nonsensical. Since they cannot afford to hire actors, they do all 20 parts themselves, changing baseball caps with names printed on them to delineate the different characters. The hats take on a life of their own, forming a chorus line at one point. They have invited Broadway Producers to the show in the hopes of securing funding to realize their dream.

Full of Characters

There is a great deal of clever dialogue, many double entrendres, and a plethora of silly situations. However, in the end the show is a one-trick pony. Because the premise is that they have no talent, the songs they write reflect their limited abilities, and the storyline meanders here, there, everywhere and ultimately lands nowhere.

All of that said, watching Ricky Needham and Zak Ward put through their paces by Director Loraine O’Donnell is a delight. Ricky Needham’s Doug is all excitement, smiles, and optimism. He is sure the audience will be thrilled with this brilliant show. It is almost as if his lanky frame has a life of its own. He throws his arms and legs around while gushing about just about everything. He can also be sad and morose depending on which character he is portraying, and his eyes can speak volumes. 

As can Zak Ward’s as Bud, although he has an entirely different approach. He is all nerves and jitters. It is as if his entire life is full of “what ifs”. What if we fail? What if the producers don’t like it? What if the sky falls? He looks at the audience as if he is hoping they do not start throwing things at him. He has a kind of Tommy Smothers vibe at times, too, as if he has an imp inside him waiting to get out. They play off of each other brilliantly, their different personalities complementing each other rather than clashing.

Between them, 20 different characters emerge, including a mad monk who worships Satan and wants to keep everyone ignorant so he can control them, and a buxom blond wench named Helvetica (yes, she is also a font) who is in love with Johann. An anti-semitic flower girl is a jarring addition and a nasty presence in this otherwise very goofy show.

A Terrible Idea for a Musical

Music is provided on the keyboard by Chuck Basil, who as Charlie introduces the show in a bored monotone, knowing what is coming but aware he cannot do anything about it. Grace Maynard is the Assistant Stage Manager, or ASM as her hat proclaims, who is in charge of the fog machine and has various other tasks on the chaotic set (by Dyan Burlingame), which is being constructed for the Kavinoky’s next show. Yes, we in the audience are the guests invited for this very special performance. And among us are Broadway Producers, those gods of money that fund creative ventures. 

The show is written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. It began life as a 45 minute one act and has morphed into two hours and two acts. It may have been better to retain its original time frame, as the jokes and the absurdities  wear thin by the second act.  Mr. King is quoted as saying, “We wanted to come up with, like, a terrible idea for a musical”. And they did.