Calmar Prairie Players

"The 1984 Dalmar Biker War"

By Chris Mckerracher

The Sunday "Way-Later-Than I-Had-Hoped" Entertainment Review

"The 1984 Dalmar Biker War"

Never mind Cheers, a small town is really where everyone knows your name - and what local actors do during the daytime in their paid employment. Which is frankly what makes community theatre such a thrill ride - as an actor, writer or director, you have to interact back in your community after you've put your heart and soul into a production - win lose or draw. After seeing the closing night presentation of "The 1984 Dalmar Biker War", I don't think anyone associated with the show will be hanging their heads next week.

Conversing online with playwright (and fellow humorist ) Chris Mckerracher before attending, he advised me that the cast could stand up to any big city production, and he wasn't kidding. He was selling his own efforts short though, as he provided the cast with enough meat and potatoes in his script to not only keep the audience in stitches throughout, but also wrap it up with a prolonged standing ovation. 

And I agree with him - the cast was exceptional...turning great lines, sight gags and physical comedy into laugh after laugh. A blend of farce sometimes, a great dollop of traditional theatre at other times the show was an obvious hit with the local audience, but it could really play anywhere with the universal themes of office politics and...well, politics. It wasn't just peppered with inside jokes only area residents would find funny.  

I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of radio's "theatre of the mind" which filled in the gaps of events happening outside the two room municipal government office setting. Walkie-Talkies and two-way radios helped build up the individual imaginations of the audience members as various civic employees attempted to protect their territory from marauding bikers. As only a humorist would imagine they might...

Speaking of Mr. Mckerracher, I plan on chatting with him over the next few days, and adding a feature in my "Talking With" online audio interview series. Check back here later for a link to that, once we catch up.

I expect that will be as much fun as "The 1984 Dalmar Biker War"...

Chow for now!