REVIEW: Escanaba in Da Moonlight

John Arp, Jack Casperson, Michael Morgan and William Hahn star as die-hard deer hunters in Jeff Daniels' uproarious comedy Escanaba in Da Moonlight at the Aurora Fox Theatre.

There are precious few actors who can cross over between successful careers in film and live theatre. John Malkovich, Gary Sinse and Mandy Patinkin come to mind. Rising quickly to the top of the list now is Jeff Daniels, who, in addition to starring in such hit films as "Dumb and Dumber," "Speed," "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Fly Away Home" also has served as artistic director of The Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea, Michigan for the past decade.

As if that isn't enough, Daniels has penned a couple of comedies in what could become a series to rival the Nunsense and Greater Tuna franchises. The Aurora Fox Theatre, which is actively chasing The Arvada Center's reputation as Colorado's premiere civic theatre-producing organization, presents the regional premiere of Daniels' Escanaba in Da Moonlight through Dec. 21.

In a ramshackle deer hunting cabin on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, five goofy "Yoopers" experience strange events that turn an exercise in male bonding into an encounter with a mystery of mythic proportions far beyond their addled comprehension.

Patriarch Albert Soady (Jack Casperson) meets his two adult sons Reuben (John Arp) and Remnar (Michael Morgan) and their childhood friend Jimmer (Bill Hahn) at the cabin. This is where the guys go when the Steel Magnolias women are in the beauty parlor. Eventually a ranger (Tupper Cullum) joins them for a night of hilarious terror none will ever forget.

Half the fun for the audience is deciphering the incomprehensible slang of these heavily accented Yoopers. So much so, that a glossary of terms, complete with outrageously offbeat definitions, is handed out with the program.

Escanaba is the kind of character driven comedy that actors tend to write for themselves first and audiences second, but there is enough beer drinking, gas passing, and rifle wielding eccentric behavior to boost the countless shaggy dog stories and showcase moments to a level of ribald absurdity.

Director John Ashton has enjoyed a long and distinguished career cracking audiences up with this kind of low-brow show, and he doesn't disappoint here. Michael Duran's intricate yet abstracted "boys only" cabin set is a feast for the senses (including, presumably, smell).

It would be easy to dismiss Escanaba as a trifle, an evening's harmless diversion and foray into comic lunacy, except that surrounding these clueless goofballs is a hint that the awesome power of transcendant, unearned and undeserved gracious love could come crashing down on our heads at any moment.

Escanaba in Da Moonlight plays at the Aurora Fox Theatre's 75-seat studio theatre through December 21, 2008. Call 303-739-1970 or visit www.aurorafox.org for information or to purchase tickets.