By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
June 20, 2008
In “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” two actors portray 30 different characters (of both sexes!) and sing 15 songs in a show about Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. Clearly, this isn’t your typical play.
“I have got to hand it to Alex Goodrich [who plays Doug Simon] and Breon Bliss [who portrays Bud Davenport],” says director Alex Timbers, who also directed the production Off-Broadway. “This isn’t an easy play. Things move very quickly and there’s a lot of choreography involved. Alex and Breon have to wear a lot of different hats in this production.”
Literally. Since it’s a two-man show with dozens of characters, Goodrich and Bliss wear stacks of hats that they rip off when appropriate. One hat may say “Another Woman,” while another identifies a character as “Old Black Narrator.” And to add to the confusion, both actors take a stab at portraying sassy Helvetica — one of the female characters.
An ambitious production, “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is a play within a play. In order to fulfill their dream of taking their production to Broadway, Doug and Bud perform a backers’ audition for a room full of producers. They have big plans for the show, but the beauty lies in the sparse setting and quick-paced delivery.
“At times, there will be 10 trucker hats on our heads,” says Goodrich. “It doesn’t sound like that big a deal but it can get confusing. Luckily, Alex [Timbers] and the guys from the original New York production worked out copious notes that have helped us tremendously. There literally are notes that say, ‘At this point in the show, feel down three rims and hold onto the hats with your left hand.'”
As for audience reaction, the play has received rave reviews from everyone from actor Steve Guttenberg, who even did a plug for the show that’s on YouTube.com, to members of the Gutenberg Society.
“I don’t think there are a lot of shows about fonts, so they were happy to support our show and we are grateful for that,” Timbers says.
