'Lumberjacks in Love' is Timberland Masterpiece

for Door County Theater

(June 26th, 2008) FISH CREEK – One of American Folklore Theatre's best shows, "Lumberjacks in Love," is among three returnees this summer at the hardy outdoor theater in the middle of the woods in Door County.

It's a slaphappy tale of four brutish bachelors savoring freedom from women — so they think — in a lumber camp in northern Wisconsin. Two of them get tipsy one night in Hurley and answer a poster advertisement for a mail-order bride. To their sobering shock, their telegram is answered. Delightful complications of romance (and comedy) abound.

The professional troupe has repeated "Lumberjacks in Love" over the years. The 2008 version finds the cast freely performing with microphone headsets, romping to dance numbers and dishing out well-developed characters, tunes and sight gags.

The show is from James Kaplan (music) and the late, great Fred Alley (book and lyrics and company co-founder). Songs are filled with zest, silliness, longing and romance and have such fun titles as "Buncha Naked Lumberjacks," "Rub a Dub Dub" and "Someday I Will Be Clean."

"Little Dress" finds Doug Mancheski, an AFT veteran from Green Bay, frolicking in a petticoat and sparking big laughs as Dirty Bob. Another sight is the other guys — Jeffrey Herbst (director and company artistic director) as Slim, Doc Heide (the co-founder who grew up in Green Bay) as Muskrat and Chase Stoger as Moonlight — romping in long johns on bath night. They're embarrassed because this ends up in front of a visiting dime novelist (Monica Heuser).

Singing beautiful songs is Jessica McAnaney as The Kid, a girl disguised as a guy. McAnaney radiates as she follows in the footsteps of Jennifer Peterson-Hind, who went on to become a star in the children's TV show "Hi-5" that's made in Australia and airs in the United States on a number of cable channels.

A lot of stuff in "Lumberjacks in Love" — coincidence, mistaken identity, cross-dressing — happens in Shakespeare. The comparison is made because Alley was a genius, too.

 

It's easy to love 'Lumberjacks'

One of the American Folklore Theater's best shows is "Lumberjacks in Love."

It is comical, slapstick and gives its principal players a chance to display their best. The company's current reprisal features AFT regulars Doug Mancheski, Doc Heide and Jeff Herbst.

The musical is about guys being guys. Without any female supervision, these four spit on the floor and scratch themselves wherever it itches. As well, there is Dirty Bob, played by Mancheski, who hasn't taken a bath for more than 20 years. They are every woman's worst nightmare.

These four are living in a lumber camp in northern Wisconsin. They are very happy in their bachelorhood. The closest woman is about 200 miles away, which is just fine with them. These men find women a little scary.

During an infrequent trip to civilization, Minnesota Slim, played by Herbst, decides to order a mail-order bride. When he tried to place the order, he was drunk and had no idea what he was doing. He didn't finish placing the order, but Dirty Bob did it for him.

Meanwhile, there is Jessica McAnaney's character, The Kid, a woman posing as a man. She has been faking her real identity because she likes hanging out with this unlikely quartet and is very interested in Chase Stoeg-er's character, Moonlight.

Rosemary, the mail-order bride, shows up, and everything turns upside down. Played in this production by Monica Heuser, the men don't know what to make of her. Minnesota Slim is particularly bewildered. While this is going on, The Kid reveals her true identity and declares her love for Moonlight.

Making the show especially enjoyable are its memorable songs. Throughout, the music is laced with bluegrass and folk influences. Many songs are fun and meant for laughs, while others are sentimental and touching.

Mancheski, Herbst, Heide and Stoeger work well together. Their brand of humor and musicianship is priceless. Both Herbst and Heide know this show inside and out and revel in its charm. Mancheski has the audience laughing aloud when he tries on a dress and at the moment when Rosemary offers him a bar of soap.

The show's two women bring much energy to their roles. Heuser has moments when her antics remind us of Lucille Ball. McAnaney is bouncy, bright and effervescent.

This production of "Lumberjacks in Love" is an unqualified success and should not be missed. Bring the kids. Bring your folks. They will all enjoy its tuneful lightheartedness. "Lumberjacks In Love" by Fred Alley and James Kaplan plays at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays and at 6 p.m. Wednesday through Aug. 29 in Fish Creek.

Tickets are $16 (adults), $7.50 (teenagers) and $4.50 (children). For tickets and information: (920) 854-6117 or www.folkloretheater.com.

Marty Lash is a member of the North American Music Critics Association and the American Theater Critics Association and a former contributing editor and classical music reviewer for the Illinois Entertainer. He can be reached at mrl220@msg.dcwis.com.