By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
mdrahos@record-eagle.com
October 31, 2008 12:00 am TRAVERSE CITY -- Steve Stenman has only driven through the U.P., but he can speak like a "Yooper." "I just stole the accent from 'Fargo,'" said Stenman, who dons the distinctive upper-Midwestern accent for Theatre North TC's November production of "Escanaba in da Moonlight." The comedy by Michigan native Jeff Daniels opens Nov. 7 at the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools' Kohler Auditorium, just in time for deer hunting season. Set at deer camp on the eve of Opening Day 1989, it's the story of 35-year-old Reuben Soady, who's trying to avoid breaking a Soady-family record for oldest man to bag a buck, with the help of his father, his brother, a family friend and some powerful Indian potions. Seemingly conspiring against them are several strange and unnatural events that have the clan wondering if they should pack up and leave. The show was mounted in 2002 at the Old Town Playhouse, where it quickly became one of the most successful non-musicals. Reprising their roles in the Theatre North production are Conrad Mason as Albert Soady, Steve Stenman as Reuben Soady, Bart Ingraham as Remnar Soady, and Robert Roush -- also known as "Wizard" -- as Jimmer Negamanee. Joining them is U.P. native and the director of the 2002 production, George Beeby, as the recently-transferred Ranger Tom, and Karen Haspas as Reuben's wife, Wolf Moon Dance. The casting of the four main actors in their original roles was simply serendipity, said director Gary Bolton, who helped with the 2002 production and came back for more. "I'd put a notice of auditions in the paper and they showed up," he said. "It's an amazing chemistry. They show up at rehearsal and as soon as they hit the door they're into the dialect." "We all stepped right into it because it was like no time had passed at all," said Stenman, adding that he "moved hell and high water" to try out. "We just really enjoy each other's company and feeding lines to each other and getting laughs." Roush lost 50 pounds since last playing the sputtering Jimmer Negamanee from Menominee, the Soady family's hard-drinking friend who claims to have been abducted by aliens. But he said the play hasn't lost any of its charm. "What I really enjoy about doing da Jimmer is just how much fun it is for the audience," said Roush, who patterned his character after the hunters who used to bring their kill to his father for butchering. "The hardest part of it for me is not to laugh with them." Holding his liquor -- literally -- is another challenge for the aging actor. "The Jimmer drinks quite a lot, 40 ounces at least, and that's my concern," he said. Sweet sap whiskey and euchre are just two of the Soady clan's camping rituals and hunting superstitions that will likely strike a chord with some in the audience. "It gets pretty crazy," said Bolton, who has been to deer camp himself and whose brother, a forest ranger, has lived in the U.P. for 25 years. "It isn't that far off from what it's really like." Then there's the bathroom humor common to many testosterone-driven Hollywood plots. "It's kind of crude, but we're not doing high-brow Shakespeare," said Stenman, adding that he'll do anything -- and does -- to get a laugh. Of all his performances, the actor said he is still best known for his portrayal of the "uncomplicated" Reuben, which he calls the role of a lifetime. "It's a blast," he said. "The play's hysterical, plus I'm playing an idiot. Or at least he's not the brightest tool in the shed." "Escanaba in da Moonlight" runs through Nov. 22. Tickets are $15 in advance -- 632-3029 or www.theatrenorthtc.com -- and at the door an hour before curtain. In anticipation of demand, Bolton said the show is being held at GTACS' Kohler Auditorium instead of the company's smaller 80-seat Grand Trunk Theatre. "We have the capacity to add more performances, and I hope we do," he said. "I take great pride in all the laughter and the applause, even when I'm not up on stage. That's where I get my satisfaction from, is, eh, we did a good job."
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Escanaba in da Moonlight