Maria Miller

Editor-in-Chief

The Market House Theatre has done it again. 

Running from January 12 - 28 was Escanaba in da Moonlight, a hilarious hunting comedy written by Jeff Daniels.  The theatre has kept us cracking up through abridged versions of Shakespeare, slapstick comedies, and murder mysteries, and this production is no different.  Set in upper Michigan, the show is about the Soady clan, a family who shows up at their “deer camp,” to which they have gone for generations.  On the first day of deer camp, they preach their age-old family saying: “Good tings come to those who shoot straight,” as they embark on the biggest adventure of their lives.  The theatre put on a great show, setting the audience in fits of laughter for the entirety of the run.  The script was genius, maximizing the humor of the northerners’ accents, vernacular, and culture.  But adding to this unusual script was a cast of outstanding characters.

Reuben Soady (played by Steve Schwetman) is one year away from being the oldest man in Soady clan history to never bag a buck.  He goes to “deer camp” with his family:  father Albert (played by Tom Dolan) provides narration and hilarious soliloquies for the show and Brother Remnar (played by MHT newcomer Dean Palmer) is high-strung when it comes to hunting tradition, especially this year - he thinks that Reuben may be cursing the deer camp.  But the strangest character of them all is Jimmer Negamanee (played by Jim Brewer).  He has an unintelligible speech impediment after a UFO sent him up to space for a week.  Blubbering from alcohol and his “shpayshe” experience, Jimmer’s monologues must be translated by other family members. 

To add to the already odd situation, strange things start happening at the camp.  A man from the Department of Natural Resources shows up at the door of the hunting lodge.  Ranger Tom (played by Chip Bohle) claims he had seen the Lord.  He proceeds to sing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and strip to his long johns before falling asleep on the Soady’s couch.  This was only the start of a very strange evening. 

Combine the northern accents with toilet humor - after all, it IS five guys in a hunting lodge... and you have yourself a fantastic show.