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7/16/2008 3:33 AM

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How long has it been since I covered a play at Robert Morris University in Moon Township? Seventeen years? Maybe 18? Let me put it this way: We knew the school as Robert Morris College in those days, and I remember a friend, on our way to the theater, pointing toward a field near the parkway and saying, "Drive over that way, I want to see where they're building the new airport."

Not long afterward, with Tom Gaydos having retired as the summer company's artistic director, theater activity at Robert Morris withered away to nothing so quickly that my actor buddies said at the time, "No Tom Gaydos means no more summer theater at the college." And they were right ... for a while.

Then something happened a decade later, something the arts community never anticipated. Ken Gargaro, who founded Pittsburgh Musical Theater, became coordinator of the theater program at Robert Morris, Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre joined the staff as an assistant theater professor, and within a year, the corridors of Massey Hall - which houses the Robert Morris Colonial Theatre - were again alive with the sounds of entertainment during the school months and the off season.

And not musical entertainment exclusively. Thursday night, David Lindsay-Abaire's dark comedy "Fuddy Meers" and Dan Goggins' crowd-please musical "Nunsense" open in a repertory arrangement that lasts through July 27. A strange partnership, I thought, until Barbara, who directs, pointed out that the two stories shared fine plot threads even before she brought them together.

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"The woman in 'Fuddy Meers' has amnesia, and Sister Mary Amnesia copes with the same problem in 'Nunsense' ... puppets appear in both ... and 'Nunsense' takes place on the set of a play, usually 'Grease,' but this time, it's on the 'Fuddy Meers' set," she told me during our interview Thursday afternoon. Judging from her enthusiasm, if anyone can turn "Fuddy Meers" and "Nunsense" into companions, it's Barbara, whose most recent directing credit for RM was the well-received "1776" in April.

Briana Downs, Jeff Stevens, Corey Nulton and Shawn Smith are among the actors completing the "Fuddy Meers" ensemble. For "Nunsense," Barbara cast Sharon Wolf, Tiffany Belculfine, Gloria Little, Gemma Williamson and others, this being the "Mega" version featuring women and men. Call 412-397-5454 for reservations.

Wake-up call

Michele Lee's non-acting in "Mame" for Pittsburgh CLO (in my review, I accused the usually peppy lady of sleepwalking through her role) brought this voicemail from a reader who didn't leave his name: "They must have paid her a decent salary. Do you suppose she deigned to show up for one or two rehearsals?"

Barry Wood pulled no punches either.

"I knew we were in trouble the moment Michele Lee made her entrance on that huge spiral staircase," he wrote after Wednesday's matinee. "She looked absolutely frightened to come down those stairs and very carefully watched each step she took. She was boring, dull, completely inanimate throughout her performance ... she forgot her lyrics (and) had to be dragged by the other performers because she didn't seem to know in which direction to move ... I was livid about the whole experience."

I also heard from Jude Pohl, who didn't see "Mame" and, as he added, "would never see it." Just hearing others talk about what a misfire the production was reminded him of "Four on a Garden," a notorious flop that, in 1971, visited the old Nixon Theater before it moved to Broadway.

"Carol Channing and Sid Caesar co-starred, and you could tell they weren't prepared. She didn't know her lines, and he didn't know his lines. It was so bad that in one scene, she gestured at him as if to say 'Your turn,' and he folded his arms and said back to her, 'Not this time.' In those days, when a ticket cost $6 or $7, it was fun seeing two major stars mess up on stage.The play was awful, but you got your money's worth. Now, unless they're fantastic, most shows aren't worth the price of admission."

Reminder

The Old Schoolhouse Players' version of "Seussical," mentioned in this column last month, opens Friday night at the Mt. Pleasant Township Community Center in Hickory. Call 724-344-7467 for reservations.

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