Fuddy Meers
by David Lindsay-abaire

Name: Fuddy Meers
Brand: David Lindsay-abaire
SKU: 9780822217510
Rating: 3.83 (587 reviews)

Off-Broadway West End

Fuddy Meers Book Cover — Fuddy Meers Cover

Highlights

Small Cast

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes American Comedy

Awards & Recognition

Outer Critics Circle

Nominee: 2000 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Playwriting Award

Synopsis

When Fuddy Meers opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in the fall of 1999, it earned the kind of raves that a promising young playwright dreams about.

Writing in the New York Observer

, John Heilpern called him some kind of comic genius.

And after its sold-out run at MTC, the play moved downtown to the Minetta Lane Theatre for an open-ended commercial engagement.

Fuddy Meers revolves around an amnesiac, Claire, who wakes up every morning as a blank slate, on which her family must imprint the facts of her life.

On this particular day, the shenanigans begin with Claire being abducted by a limping man who claims to be her brother trying to save her from her evil husband.

They drive to the home of her mother, who has had a stroke that left her aphasic (her attempt to say funny mirrors provides the play's title.

The ensuing mayhem is both deliriously funny and oddly touching.

Press Reviews

"Heady fun… fresh, zingy dialogue, which revels in warping the language of self-help books… Like the resourceful chef who turns leftovers into haute cuisine, Mr. Lindsay-Abaire blends clichéd ingredients into something savory and distinctive… [a] dark, sweet and thoroughly engaging comedy."
— The New York Times

"An antically zany new play."
— Variety

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Richard About 40, a chatty, friendly, sometimes nervous man	—	—	About 40, a chatty, friendly, sometimes nervous man
Kenny 17, a troubled teen	—	—	17, a troubled teen
Limping Man About 40, a lisping, limping, half blind, half deaf man with secrets	—	—	About 40, a lisping, limping, half blind, half deaf man with secrets
Gertie 60s, a clear-headed lady who’s had a stroke and can’t speak properly	female	60s	60s, a clear-headed lady who’s had a stroke and can’t speak properly
Millet 30s or 40s, an odd man with a puppet	—	30s	30s or 40s, an odd man with a puppet
Heidi 30s or 40s, a tough woman in uniform	female	30s	30s or 40s, a tough woman in uniform
Claire About 40, a generally sunny woman with amnesia	female	—	About 40, a generally sunny woman with amnesia