MOON OVER BUFFALO: A One-Day Whirlwind Comedy

Tony Davis as George Hay (left) and Tanya Tranberg as Charlotte Hay (right) in Moon Over Buffalo at Waukesha Civic Theatre. Photo credit: Anne Kenny Creative.

A review of Moon Over Buffalo

by Dominic B., age 14

Moon Over Buffalo, written by Ken Ludwig and now playing at Waukesha Civic Theatre, is a play full of comedy and romance. It centers around George (Tony Davis) and Charlotte Hay (Tanya Tranberg), who were once an up-and-coming Broadway duo, but now have fallen out of the public eye with the advent of television and movies. Now they have one more chance to regain their place in fame. But the pair must struggle with their fracturing marriage and the fact that their performing troupe is falling apart. This show is full of chaos and it’s a whirlwind of activity.

This play only has a small cast of characters, each quite quirky in their own way. However the play only needs this small set of characters to work, and this actually helps the story become a little bit easier to understand. Since the cast is small, even the minor characters, like Charlotte’s hard-of-hearing mother Ethel (Tom Aldridge), play a large part in the story. These actors painted a perfect picture of a theatre troupe slowly (and then rapidly) devolving.

One of the parts of the show which draws you in is the setting. The play takes place inside just one house/theater, and over a relatively short time frame. My favorite part about the set (designed by Evan Crain) were the multiple doors which were all leading offstage. The actors would pop in one door and come back out through another door. This led to outstanding search scenes in which the actors would pop onstage, then offstage again as they became more confused. And their growing sense of confusion was aided and abetted by Ethel.

And of course there were a few amazing stand-out moments in the play. You know the kind. It’s the kind of moment which stands out in your brain for being outstandingly well-done or outstandingly funny, or both. One example is the very first scene, where George is performing a dress rehearsal and is attempting to get his fellow actors to show a little enthusiasm in the scene they are rehearsing. As they rehearse, George keeps trying to get his fellow actors to shout emphatically when he announces his character’s title. But the actors are showing hardly any enthusiasm, and Ethel is making scathing comments in the background as well. Another standout moment is a swordfight immediately after the rehearsal. I have always loved watching a good swordfight, and the fight choreographer (Kara Penrose) made it exciting, dramatic, and just fun.

This was definitely a pretty good play. It was aimed more towards a more teen/adult audience, but it was still enjoyable for me. This play was well-performed and dramatic, but also comedic. And it’s still running! If you want to see this one-day comedy about acting and actors, you will still be able to watch this show until September 27 at Waukesha Civic Theatre.