Fuddy Meers
by David Lindsay-Abaire

February 15 - March 9, 2002
Directed by Rhonda Clark

"Fuddy Meers"? What's that supposed to mean? In David Lindsay-Abaire's wacky comedy, that's how Gertie pronounces "funny mirrors," now that she has had a stroke. 

Full of as many kooky characters as a carnival funhouse, FUDDY MEERS is a day in the life of Claire who has a rare form of amnesia that erases her memory whenever she falls asleep. Just like every other morning, Claire awakens as clear as a "little blank slate." With the help of her husband and a little scrapbook, she begins reconstructing her life. But today is not her usual stroll down amnesia lane.

When a man, who may or may not be her brother, pops out from under her bed to rescue her from her evil husband, Claire is kidnapped. Thus begins her zany adventure, which is filled with desperate characters that might feel right at home on the far side of Alice's looking glass.

The playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire, is fast making a name for himself. FUDDY MEERS performed to sell-out crowds Off Broadway, quickly transferred to Broadway for another successful run and has had numerous productions in regional theatres across the country during the past year. He is currently writing a new play to star Janeane Garafalo next season. Other projects include a screenplay for Fox, an animated feature for 20th Century Fox and a screen adaptation of FUDDY MEERS.

Many have wondered about the inspiration for the play's premise and its many twists and turns. The playwright says: "I saw a TV news report on a book about neurological disorders. The author talked about this kind of amnesia where, when you go to sleep, you forget everything you've remembered during the day, and when you wake up you're a blank slate. I thought of the first scene and then the very last one. Otherwise, 'Fuddy' unfolded itself to me as it unfolds to Claire - as a series of surprises. When the masked man stepped from under the bed, I didn't know who he was or what he was doing there. Later on I had to go back through the script and tinker with it like a Rube Goldberg contraption."