Starting on October 6th, at the Tomah Area Community Theatre, The Nerd will be live, on stage. Rocky Shutter, director of this production of The Nerd, is no stranger to the Tomah area, or to directing. Shutter graduated from Tomah High School back in 1974, before heading off to college in Eau Claire. Up to that point, Rocky had not acted in any plays. It was not until 1980 that he was asked to be in a play, by a friend.
Shutter’s first play was Mr. Roberts, which was a Hollywood movie, with a star-studded cast, back in 1955. It starred Henry Fonda, Jack Lemon (who won an Oscar for best supporting actor), James Cagney and William Powell (in his final appearance). Shutter says that their cast included 26 men, 2 women and a goat.
The theater the acting group used at that time, was located at Fort McCoy, in building 1255. Shutter says that they used that space for many years, until 9-11 took place and base security pushed them out, along with many other groups. “The great thing about the Fort McCoy location was that the actors would come from both Sparta and Tomah, to audition for the shows; it was central for everyone,” Shutter recalled.
The Nerd, Shutter’s current play that he is directing in Tomah, will be the third time that he is directing that particular play. He had directed the play for Tomah High School, as well as “You Can’t Take It With You,” and “Harvey.”
The current cast has seven characters in it, and Shutter laughs a bit, as he explains some of the scenes. “It is a hilarious play, and sometimes it is difficult, even for the actors, not to burst out laughing at their fellow actors,” Rocky explained. “I am thankful for my assistant director, Renee Stroh, who keeps me focused, because even I get caught up in the play and start laughing.”
Shutter expounded on The Nerd, saying, “The play is based on a book by Larry Shue. He was literally on an airplane to New York City, heading for Broadway, when the plane crashed. It was tragic.” Larry Shue was on a Beech 99 commuter plane that went down near Weyers Cave, Virginia. He had landed a roll on Broadway, as Reverend Crisparkle, in Joseph Papp’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He was only 39 years old.
Shue is best known for his farces, The Foreigner and The Nerd. At his funeral, Thomas M. Disch stated, “ This is fates cruelest trick on the theater…” Shue’s works live on, through the many performances of his plays around the country, every year, bringing audiences comic relief and laughter.
Shutter said of the play, “It is a time for people to come in and relax, unwind and be happy. Comedies do really well in this area.” Shutter went on to say that many people enjoy the popcorn and sodas, while other beverages are also available.
Aside from directing, Shutter also attends plays on Broadway, in New York City. He also travels to view plays in Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse and Minneapolis.
The Nerd, opens up on October 6th, at the Tomah Area Community Theatre and runs through October 16th. The theatre is located at 907 Kilbourn Avenue, in Tomah. For tickets, go to www.tomahact.com, or call 608-374-7469. Tickets will also be available at the door. The dates and times are as follows:
October 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th and 14th at 7 p.m.
October 9th at 1 p.m.
October 16th 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
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