McManus in Love

Patrick F. McManus (Never Sniff a Gift Fish, The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw) has won a sizable following with tales that provide a gentle blend of nostalgia and off-key whimsical humor. Here, McManus extends his efforts to the stage with this one man play featuring actor Tim Behrens as the author as a young man, his best friend Eddie, and many other colorful residents of the town of Blight, Idaho. Performing in front of a live audience at the MET Theatre in Spokane Washington, Behrens is a fount of energy and invention as he relates wacky tales of backyard camping, adolescent sexual fumbling, the horrors of an open fly, and a mother-in-law named Goombaw. McManus' humorous, irreverent escapades cover much the same territory as the late, great author and radio raconteur Jean Shepherd, and let me freely admit I prefer Shepherd's harder-edged style. Those, like myself, who were lucky enough to witness Shepherd's bursting with manic energy live performances in the '60s and '70s may find this play a bit pallid as the whimsical tone here wears rather thin over two hours. Still, given Tim Behrens' fine performance and the popularity of McManus' work (particularly in the Pacific Northwest), this is a strong optional purchase. A companion video, A Fine and Pleasant Misery is also available. Aud: P. (S. Rees)