Animal grabs crowd
by Fred Tessler (Mac Weekly)
October 16, 1981
Mac Theater
The Male Animal is the story of a mild mannered college professor and the havoc that is created in his life on two accounts. First when he tries to read a letter from the famous Sacco Vangetti to his English class over the protests of the president of the board of trustees, and second when his wife’s former beau, the All-American turned steel executive, Joe Ferguson, returns to campus for the homecoming game. The director of this production, Dr. M. Glen Wilson, said, “Much of the comedy derives from Tommy’s reticence to act and his maladroit efforts to assume the hero’s role.”
The audience was warmed up with a monologue delivered by Richard Shaw, the president of the board of trustees, in which he made his usual appeal for funds. John B. Davis followed with pleasant remarks and then the curtain rose. Alas, witty though they were, Davis’ remarks paled beside this Thurber comedy.
Paul Miller as Tommy, and Tom Michelson as the sleek and powerful Joe Ferguson, steal the show with their acting abilities. Both are superb, and Miller especially shines in the famous drunk scene of Act II.
Krista Nelson portrays Ellen, Tommy’s wife, and Ellen Tyler plays her little sister, Patricia, who is torn between two boyfriends: the jock, Wally, and the intellectual, Michael. The performances of Nelson and Tyler are essentially strong, although both appeared over-rouged, and at times there seemed to be no age difference discernable between their characters. Both performances were energetic, though, and Krista Nelson held her own in key scenes with Miller and Michelson.
Chris Bayes as Michael, and David Nelson as Wally both gave good performances, although the latter seemed somewhat stilted at times due to some over-zealousness in padding his costume.
Will Freeman is great as Ed Keller, president of the board of trustees, and Jeff Spencer turns in one of the evening’s finest performances as Dean Damon. Others in the cast could profit by observing the way in which Spencer carefully points the humour in the script.
Kirby Bennet is super in her cameo role as Damon’s wife.
Hats off to Dan Keyser for what is, with few exceptions, a very fine show technically. There was obviously a problem with the sound system Wednesday evening which caused some dance sequences and ends of acts to look ragged. Presumedly the problem will be remedied.
The realistic, colorful, and detailed set is especially welcome in this age when, all too often, theatre is performed in front of basic black. The costumes are beautiful, occasionally humorous, and faithful to the period.
Essentially, The Male Animal is a period piece. Though firmly rooted in the 1940’s, I would nonetheless suspect that a college audience today would identify with many aspects of the play. Certainly the moral dilemmas of liberalism vs. repression,and intellect vs. brute strength are timeless as is the element of farce apparent in some scenes.
I found this production carefully conceived and with much attention paid to detail. Accolades to Dr. Glen Wilson and all involved. The Male Animal is a fun show and well worth seeing.