A comedy with serious undertones in 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June'

A birthday cake, a long-lost father and a vacuum cleaner salesman set up the plot for the play "Happy Birthday, Wanda June." Complete with mid-1970s bell bottom pants, and animal heads mounted on the wall, the play transports the audience back 35 years to a time when women had little power.\n"Happy Birthday Wanda June" revolves around the main character, Penelope, and the men in her life. It tackles the issue of what it is to be masculine in a male dominated society. Written by author and playwright Kurt Vonnegut, it turns a bad situation into comic relief while sticking to the issues.\nVonnegut, an Indianapolis native, is most well known for his popular novels, including "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," "Cat's Cradle" and, perhaps his most famous novel, "Slaughterhouse Five." What most do not know, however, is that Vonnegut tired of novels and decided to try his hand at writing plays.\nOriginally titled "Penelope," Vonnegut struggled with writing the play, describing himself as "a madman who was attempting to extract moonbeams from excrement." Vonnegut revised the play, renamed it, and the show ran off-Broadway for more than a year.\n"Wanda June" opened Friday evening at the Wells-Metz Theatre to a nearly packed house. The sign outside the theater warned of a gunshot being used in the production, only adding to the mystery. The mid-'70s setting for the show was perfectly obvious with oranges, greens, yellows and retro-style modular furniture. The costumes fit the time period perfectly with bell-bottom pants, platform shoes and closely fitting, multi-colored vintage dresses.\nGraduate student Renee Racan's performance as Penelope, the doting mother and lonely wife, was excellent. Her emotions were powerful and written clearly upon her face during her scenes, and her voice was loud and clear, ringing from each corner of the theater.\nWhile Racan's performances were strong, her dialogues with her co-star, graduate student John Armstrong, who plays Penelope's husband, Harold, seemed stilted and awkward. At times she seemed to overact her part as a wronged wife, and toward the end of the show, her pleading seemed half-hearted and superficial.\nPaul, the son of Harold and Penelope, was brilliantly played by sophomore Codey Girten. With his boyish good looks and childlike dimples, Girten was able to successfully pull off his act as a young boy. His temper tantrum scenes were amusing and exactly as a child would act when told something he did not want to hear. While the playbill lists him as a sophomore in college, one could easily see him enrolled in elementary school.\nHoping to win the love of a widowed woman were Penelope's two suitors, Norbert Woodley and Herb Shuttle, played by graduate student Eric Van Tielen and junior Zachary Spicer, respectively. The two men battled brilliantly for the love of Penelope, dealing with both Paul's contempt and Harold's miraculous return from the dead.\nPlaying the confident vacuum cleaner salesman, Spicer was the more impressive of the two suitors. Complete with red, yellow and green plaid pants and oozing confidence, Spicer nearly stole the show with his childish temper tantrum during the second act. Nearly.\nHarold's faithful companion, Looseleaf, played by senior Clay Sanderson, was by far the most comical character of the show. Sanderson's dry humor, commentary on society and "you know what gets me?" catch phrase completely stole the show.\nOne other character merits mentioning. Wanda June, after whom the play is named, was played by sophomore Jennifer Whitney. In the role of a very young girl, complete with blonde curls tied in pigtails and a childishly enthusiastic outlook on life, Whitney's character was both adorable and annoying. Her voice was too perky and high-pitched to be believable, but her childish gullibility was charming.\n"Wanda June," as a whole, was an interesting show. The second act seemed to take much longer than necessary, as much of it was consumed by repetitive dialogue between Harold and Penelope. The play did not seem to mesh with Vonnegut's other works, yet made a mark in its own way. "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" tackled a multitude of topics for a two-hour show, including dealing with death, peace, retaliation and a birthday cake that was never picked up from a bakery.