Madison E. M. Garey, 9/8/2024
Escanaba in Da Moonlight, by Jeff Daniels is a theatre comedy you may not have heard of, but you do not want to miss. There is no short supply of dad jokes, fart jokes, dreams of hunting, or drinking. While it may seem a man’s show, women find the dopey behavior, they have witnessed in men, funny too. The relationship between the actors makes them seem like an actual family, fully committed to the family lore, inside jokes, and idiosyncratic phrases and hand motions. As expected the performers were all expertly casted by Director/Scenic Designer, Kevin Colbert. This cast has years of theater and comedy experience and it shows.
The setting of this show is just north of Escanaba, Michigan, in the upper peninsula (UP) area. Anyone from south of the UP is basically a “winnebago driving, fudge sucking, troll” who doesn’t understand the real meaning of life. Or how delicious and integral a pastie is to live. The show opens with the family patriarch, Albert Soady (played by Kevin Colbert), setting the stage of the hilarious story about to ensue.
The banter between two half-wit brothers, Reuben and Remnar (played by Doug Rothgeb and Jamion D. Biesterfeld), is uproariously relatable. Imagine having two friends and if one of them had one more brain cell, you’d have two to rub together. Superstitious Reuban believes he is cursed and so does Remnar.
From the missing hand pies, sappy whiskey, alien flyovers and drinking a potion of moose testicles and fried flies, about everything that can go wrong does. Even a trooper from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Ranger Tom (played by Scott Pope), shows up. He, too, seemed to be under the same spell of the opening weekend of hunting season.
The entire show takes place inside the hunting cabin of the Soady family. The set design so masterfully completed by Linda Dabbs, makes it feel like a real hunting lodge including lanterns, a rifle rack and prized horns mounted in the walls. The sound and lighting effects were so impactful, viewers could almost feel the rush of the windy breaking of gas from the kooky Jimmer (played by Jim Knierim). In the end, the crew is saved by Wolf Moon Dance (played by Eilene Rodriguez). Her link to the spirits of the earth finally brought Reuben his long awaited buck.
The first weekend of showing is over but there is still time to see the show. On Thursday the tickets are only $12! Make sure to head to Manley, Nebraska this weekend to see Escanaba in Da Moonlight!
To get tickets Get tickets at lofte.org/tickets or call 402-234-2553.
Performance dates: September 12, 13, 14, & 15. Shows start at 7:00 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2:00 on Sundays.
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