FringeNYC 2013: Perfectly Normel People
What happens when an NYU freshman from Kansas moves in with a dysfunctional Italian family from Queens? It's 1981. The Ramones rule the Village, Reagan rules the country and the only rule in the Normellino household is, whoever shouts loudest, gets heard.
Official production websiteShow details/ticketing at FringeNYC
Review by Mel House · August 9, 2013
Meet Hadley Smith. An unassuming gentlemen in his 40‘s with a story to tell about his migration to New York City, and more importantly, the people that change his life forever. He takes us to 1981, when he was a Kansas innocent moving to the Big Apple to study at NYU. At eighteen the experience is no doubt overwhelming. But when campus housing doesn’t work out, he finds himself living in Forest Hills, Queens, with the very Italian-American Normellino family. Perfectly Normel People, written and directed by Thomas and Judy Heath, explores assumptions of normalcy in this nostalgic memoir-style comedy about finding oneself and making a home.
The entire design team has successfully created this particular world in 1980’s Queens--and oh, what a fun place to be. Set designers James Maguire, Christian Crum and Bronson Taylor, do an outstanding job collecting authentic feeling 1980’s living room and kitchen furniture, as well as a functional lime-green porch swing. Costumes by Janine McCabe pull us right into the 80‘s and are cause for a few good chuckles. Sound designer, Scott Cason, enhances the mood with Sinatra, the Ramones, Simon & Garfunkel and Led Zepplin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven.’
First we get a sense of where young Hadley (Bronson Taylor) comes from. Mom and Dad (Jaqualine Helmer & Scott Carson) are salt-of-the-earth Kansas farm people, excited and nervous to send their only son off to New York City. But on his first day he meets Rainbow (Katie Holland) and learns that he is homeless. He quickly finds a rental situation with a family in Queens--The Normellinos.
They are a stark contrast to his own family--imagine Lost in Yonkers meets the cast of Jersey Shore, only set in Forest Hills, Queens, circa 1981. There’s Connie, the family matriarch (played by Vicki Kelly). She’s a strong loving Italian-American mom who doesn’t accept any non-sense and shows her love with food. “Pops” Roma (Ross Magoulas) is her delightfully comic non-verbal father, who despite shuffling about, is much more then meets the eye. Johnny (Patrick Arheim) and Angie (Lara Allred), although young adults, still live at home and fight constantly. Cousin Frankie (Tripp Hamilton), who admits to not being so quick witted, is thankfully, good with his hands.
As Hadley settles into his new home, he begins to acclimate to this new culture. He meets the charming and beautiful girl next door, Bernadette (also Katie Holland), and finds he has someone that he can really connect with. He changes his hair, clothes and new phrases keep popping up in his everyday speech. When he discovers that all of the previous boarders have turned up dead, can he continue living with the Normellino’s?
Perfectly Normal People is funny and wholesome entertainment. If you’ve ever gone to the theatre and wished for a nice story, this is it. There’s not too much at stake, but there are plenty of laughs with a sweet surprise ending. It might just leave you thinking about what makes a family, and what, after all, is normal?
Preview: Interviews with Artists from Perfectly Normel People
We're asking artists from each show to answer questions about themselves and their work to help our readers get a detailed advance picture of the festival:
The Folks Back Home · Janine McCabe (Designer)
- Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born and raised in New Jersey close to Seaside Heights. I lived there until I went to college, first at Drexel University, then the College of Charleston and then graduate school at the University of Virginia, before living in NYC for about 5 years. - Who are your role models as an artist?
I was lucky enough to work for Martin Pakledinaz most of the time I lived in NYC. He was my mentor and friend and his dedication, research and creativity made him my role model. He will always remain an inspiration and role model for my work. - Which word best describes how you think the folks back home would react to this show: SHOCKED, PROUD, THRILLED, DELIGHTED, ANNOYED. Why?
Folks back home and my family especially would be delighted by this play. I'm pretty sure everyone in NJ has met one of these characters. They are wonderfully funny, but they are also real people. There are moments in the play and lines that ring so true to things I remember experiencing when I was growing up in my Italian family. - Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
The audience is going to be talking about this play for a long time. They will talk about it for awhile that night but then be hit remembering moments that stuck with them days later making them smile. The play will spark memories for anyone who grew up in a close and energetic family and for those who were shocked by meeting a family very different from their own. It really makes you think about the importance of the families we create on our life journey. - Who would like your show the best: Mom, Dad, High School Teacher, College Roommate?
It would be a close call between my Mom and my older brother on which would like this show best. I can see elements of them in a couple of the characters and it seems like Judy and Thomas must have met people in my family in order to write this(though I know they haven't). I know if they could both see it they would laugh feeling like they were spending time with our extended family and they would be touched by looking at the power of family as the play does.
Gettin' Social · Thomas Heath (Director)
- What was the last play or theater piece you saw that really excited you, and why?
"Venus in Fur" because I got to see a performance that blew me out of the water... Katie Holland as "Vanda"! She plays the shy Bernadette in our Fringe show, "Perfectly Normel People" and I just didn't realized what a versatile and amazing actor she really is. - How did you meet your fellow artists/collaborators on this show?
My wife and Judy are the co-writers of this show. We met almost 20 years ago on stage as actors in New York. I know the rest of the acting and creative team from their work around Charleston, SC. It's a small city filled with BIG talent! - Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
I can only base this on what happened at the world premiere... Into the wee hours of the night. We still bump into folks on the street that quote lines from our show like it was a movie and that was over 14 months ago. On the surface, "Perfectly Normel People" is a fish-out-of-water comedy, but if you look closer, there's a lot of different elements including threads on grief, rivalry, risk and transformation. - How can a director use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. to help mount his/her show?
I think it's important for audience members and the general public to be invested in the story and part of the adventure. Social conversations are a great way to get many folks involved in a short period of time. - Why should your friends “like” this show?
If you "Like" our show on Facebook, you get to see behind the scenes photos and be in on what goes on behind the curtain. It's a very interesting process to ship 10 actors, 5 crew members, all our costumes/sets/props up from Charleston, SC to New York City and there's going to be some CRAZY stuff we're going to share! Sound cool? Whatcha waitin' for? Go to www.Facebook.com/PerfectlyNormelPeople now and be a part of the adventure!
Journey to FringeNYC · Katie Holland (Actor)
- Who do you play in this show, and what was your key to unlocking this character/these characters?
I play two! The wonderfully psychedelic Rainbow, who I drew from my experience working as a Massage Therapist and a few ethereal friends. And I play the sweet, endearing, gentle-hearted Bernadette. She is part my own awkward self, part Elizabeth Easterly, and part every giggling, blushing, bashful girl out there in love for the first time. - What are some of your previous theater credits? (Be specific! Name shows, etc.)
I just finished performing as Vanda in David Ives' Venus in Fur in Charleston SC. Before that I worked on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Hermia, and took on the form of a mischievously raucous Raven in Alfred Uhry's The Robber Bridegroom. - Why did you want to be part of FringeNYC?
It was an amazing show to be a part of the first time and I was thrilled to be invited to do it again. I can't wait to introduce the Normellinos to the audiences of FringeNYC, they're a riot you guys! Plus I went to school at AMDA and lived in the city for a little over 3 years so it feels like I get to visit home for a brief while. Just don't walk slowly and meander to a stop in front of me on the sidewalk... I gotta be places! - What was the most memorable/funny/unusual thing that has happened during the development and rehearsal process for this show?
Rehearsals are always hilarious. We're like a big family so there's a lot of jokes and jabs and laughter. But I would have to say that Tripp Hamilton(Frankie) does a pretty stellar imitation of a "girl in nightclub" strut and hair toss that has people rolling every night. - Now that you’ve played this role, which Shakespearean role are you ready for: Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Juliet, or Puck?
Ooooh, tough choice... I'll have to say.. Lady Hambethietuck. All of them. I want to play all of them.
All About My Show · Judy Heath (Writer)
- Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
was authored by a husband and wife writing team, who started out acting together 20 years ago. - What do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
Picture yourself as a farm boy from Kansas, accepted to study journalism at NYU. It's 1981: Reagan is in the Whitehouse, the Ramones rule "The Village" and poor Hadley Smith ends up living with the loud but loving Normellino family in Queens. A comedy about love, hope and transformation, the audiences who have seen "Perfectly Normel People" seem to leave smiling and talking about their own quirky families. - Why did you want to write this show?
After the success of our first play: "The Sunset Years", we decided to resurrect the one scene my husband, Thomas, had originally written for a screenplay. We fleshed it out and built a full length play around it. We wanted to capture a time and place that had meaning for us, in an entertaining way with "real" characters who make us laugh and cry. So far, we seem compelled to write about relationships and family. Perhaps being a Psychotherapist influences our work in this way. - Who are some of the people who helped you create this show, and what were their important contributions to the finished product?
The list goes on and on. The artistic community of Charleston has been kind and supportive of our plays. Different theatres have allowed us to workshop our pieces from staged-reading to full production. This is a town that embraces the cultural arts and coming from New York, I do not say that lightly. Without friends and family, this endeavor would not have succeeded. Catherine our friend and associate producer did everything from microwave French Toast to hang posters. Our kickstarter campaign helped us to raise money to bring our hard-working actors and crew on the road and allowed us to rent a house in Brooklyn for our run. - Which character from a Shakespeare play would like your show the best: King Lear, Puck, Rosalind, or Lady Macbeth -- and why?
I'm partial to Puck, because he was full of fun and mischief like our "three stooges" Hadley, Frankie and Johnny.
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