Weak Script Gives Production Unfinished Feel

“Pee Wee and the Wheelman” Friday, Jan. 23, Spokane Civic Theatre’s Firth Chew Studio Theatre

Something doesn’t quite click in “Pee Wee and the Wheelman,” the new play by Rita Nachtmann, which had its West Coast premiere Friday at the Studio Theatre.

This story of an aging paraplegic songwriter and his home-care attendant seemed stiff and tentative throughout, yet I found it hard to tell whether the problem was in the script or in the production.

However, clearly the production was not up to director John G. Phillips’ usual standards.

The two main actors, David Denman Smith as Pee Wee and Jhon Goodwin as Ruben (the Wheelman) seemed ill at ease from their first scene. They were supposed to be uncomfortable, since it was an awkward job interview. Yet this awkwardness included too many slowly-picked-up cues.

Soon it became clear that the awkwardness would continue. A scene between Smith and Kate Vander Wende was stiff and flat. It almost seemed as if the actors didn’t have sufficient rehearsal time, which may have been the case if the script was still being reworked late in the rehearsal schedule.

It didn’t help that there were several missed sound cues on Friday night. Also, Phillips made some choices that seemed to slow down an already slow play. We saw Pee Wee manhandled in and out of his wheelchair a few too many times. When used as a scene-closer, this was deadly and unnecessary. The interludes were already long enough.

Maybe this production wasn’t the best showcase for Nachtmann’s script, but the script itself also seemed like a work in progress. The story has two main story lines, one involving the prickly relationship between Pee Wee and Ruben, the other involving the difficult relationship between Ruben and his live-in, an artist named Cactus. These stories never quite meshed in any satisfying way.

Cactus (Ann Russell) was a particularly unpleasant character, a hard-eyed artist whose eye is on money and fame, and to hell with anybody else. As written by Nachtmann, Cactus is prone to whiplash mood swings from one line to the next, at one moment spewing invective at the unambitious Ruben, the next cooing her love to him. For me, this was simply disconcerting.

Even more disconcerting was a scene in which two conversations, in two different buildings, are combined into one scene. Pee Wee and his “girlfriend” Liza are arguing in his room, while Ruben and Cactus are arguing in their loft. This device can work, but here, it was a mess. For one thing, the cues were not picked up smoothly. For another, the argument between Pee Wee and Liza was about a serious matter - her pregnancy - and we really wanted to give our complete concentration to it. But the other argument kept intruding.

Some parts of this script work very well. The entire Grammy plot is well-done and well-executed. The scene at the Grammys, in which Ruben has to perform the Heimlich maneuver on Pee Wee, was hilarious.

Yet this play needs a lot more laughs. There weren’t many laughs on Friday night. I hesitate to put the blame solely on the production, since this director and every one of these actors have been terrific in other vehicles. I think the script itself fails to fully illuminate the characters - I never felt I knew either Pee Wee or Ruben. Also, I think Nachtmann’s points about art, fame and life somehow get submerged in what seem like endless, querulous arguments.

A little streamlining and focusing would help. Also, as the run goes on, the production itself should run more smoothly. If it is going to make any impact, it needs to.

, DataTimes