Larry Shue (1946–1985)

Recommended by: Caroline

4-1/2 stars

I wish I’d started on a day when I could have read the entire play in one day. I was able to read Act 1 one day and Act 2 the next day and that worked well enough. It’s a quick read.

The print in my (this) edition is so tiny that it did slow me down a bit. It was hard for me to read. This edition does have illustrations at the end, of the stage set and of a special effect.

Thanks to a recommendation and some urging from GR friend Caroline, I finally read this very funny and entertaining play. I’m so glad that I got to it, eventually.

I chortled my way through it and there were a few times I burst into laughter. It was fun to read. I found it to be wickedly funny, smart, and witty. Uplifting too! I had a couple issues with the ending and enjoyed the first act more than the second, but overall it has a wonderful resolution, with an extra twist at the end. It’s mostly a very silly story but it’s smart, and there is also seriousness and a lot of heart. Especially in the first act it reminded me a bit of The Importance of Being Earnest, and that is high praise since it’s probably my favorite play.

It looks as though at least one full-length (high school) performance of the play and excerpts from at least one professional production are available to watch online. It’s tempting to watch it/some of it. I’d love to see it performed.… (meer)

Larry Shue’s play THE NERD was written in 1980 – back before cell phones – when we were using answering machines instead of voicemail to communicate with each other. This is important, as an answering machine plays a central part in this really funny play. The nerd is Rick Steadman, a man who saved the life of fellow soldier Willum Cubbert in Viet Nam. The grateful Cubbert writes to Steadman and in his appreciation says that he owes him everything.
THE NERD has been presented from Milwaukie (where it originated) to Great Britain and to Broadway.
One day Rick Steadman shows up at the door of Willum Cubbert and inserts himself in Willum’s life. Rick’s social ineptness leads to many misunderstandings and some hysterical conversation between them and Willum’s friends and colleagues. Willum desperately tries to think of a way to get rid of Rick.
I really did laugh out loud many times in reading this play. Axel, Willum’s friend, is especially witty and my favorite character.
If you’ve never read a play I encourage you not to dismiss them. They can be a great source of entertainment and don’t take much time to get through.
For all of the entertainment THE NERD gave me, I highly recommend it!
… (meer)

The world lost a great comedic voice when Larry Shue died in a plane crash back in the eighties. Two of his plays, "The Nerd" and "The Foreigner" are the gold standard in theatrical belly laughs. Shue, laugh for laugh, makes Neil Simon look like the MacNeil/Lehrer Report.

Willum Cubbert is a rising young architect in Terre Haute, IN who gets a call from Rick Steadman, who saved his life in Vietnam. Since he was unconscious while being rescued, he never actually saw what Rick looked like. Anyway, after calling, Rick shows up and takes up residence with the accommodating Willum. Rick is a terrible house-guest. A nerd. A pest. A pestilence.

Rick (aided by erstwhile girlfriend Tansy and acerbic buddy Axel), must find within himself the gumption to give Rick the boot.

A few paragraphs can't do justice to how funny this play is. So read it yourself. Or come see me in it (playing Axel) at Salem Community Theatre, opening April 19, 2013!… (meer)