MANSFIELD — Melanie Nealy found the Mansfield Playhouse the old-fashioned way when she moved to town a couple of months ago.
She Googled it.
The 18-year-old — who just graduated from high school after being homeschooled — moved here in late December with her parents. She plans to head off to college in Texas in August and was looking for something to do.
“I Googled ‘community theaters,'” she said Monday night with a laugh before the first dress rehearsal of the farce comedy “Love, Lies, & the Doctor’s Dilemma.”
Nealy found the 100-year-old theater in time to successfully audition for the show that opens Friday night for a two-weekend run at the 95 E. Third St. theater.
What’s this show about?
Joan Scheller lives with the great love of her life, Sandy. In an effort to hide their relationship from her overbearing sister-in-law, the former movie star Olivia St. Claire, she introduces him as her psychiatrist. One little white lie leads to another.
Before long, Vinny the Enforcer, a quintessential Italian mobster, masquerades as her security guard, while her son, Chris, is forced to wear a dress and become her daughter Christina. Further complications occur when her new neighbor, Rachael, whose life appears to be a series of catastrophes, creates chaos and confusion wherever she goes. “The Doctor” is in.
Has Joan created a monster? Everyone wants a session. Olivia wants to discuss her love life, Rachael wants to know why she’s such a disaster, and Vinny wants to discuss his work as an “Enforcer.” Sandy is forced to listen and give misguided advice, which, to everyone’s surprise, seems to work. But what about love?
Of course there’s Joan and Sandy, if they can survive Joan’s white lies; then there’s Rachael, who is strongly attracted to Chris, if he can survive her mayhem. Finally, there’s Olivia, who hires Vinny away from the mob to be her personal security guard (with benefits?).
“I did like musical theater in my actual high school,” she said.
“When I moved here, I didn’t have a job. It was just me, my mom and my stepdad and I had no friends my age. So I looked for something to do.”
Mansfield Playhouse Artistic Director Doug Wertz quickly cast Nealy as Rachael, a character whose life appears to be a series of catastrophes, chaos and confusion wherever she goes — with a constant dialogue of malapropisms.
“She’s quick, she’s good, she’s cheerful and she’s funny,” Wertz said of his newest cast member. “She is going to be a part of a very good show.”
Nealy is part of a six-member ensemble cast that includes Playhouse veterans like Renee Rebman, Eric Gustafson and Johnna Gustafson.
She said she is thrilled to be with experienced castmates, a group that also includes veterans David McWhorter and Jeff Hutchison.
“I like them. They’re really fun. They are very good. They’ve had so much experience that when they give you constructive criticism, it’s not, ‘You need to do this better, you need to fix this.’
“They actually try to help you and give you context on how it would make the show better and why it would make the show better, and I think that’s really helpful,” Nealy said.
Rebman, in her 63rd Playhouse role since starting at the historic theater in 1978, said Nealy has been a natural fit.
“She is a joy … just a sweetie. She looks at you … she’s got the expression … you know, it’s a true connection. She is fun and I like her a lot,” Rebman said.
Eric Gustafson, who plays opposite his real-life wife in the show, echoed Rebman when discussing Nealy’s efforts.
(Below are photos from a dress rehearsal of “Love, Lies & The Doctor’s Dilemma” at the Mansfield Playhouse on Monday night. The story continues below the photos.)
The cast
Johnna Gustafson as Joan
Eric Gustafson as Sandy
David McWhorter as Vinny
Melanie Nealy as Rachel
Renee Rebman as Oliva
Jeff Hutchison as Chris
“She’s brilliant. She’s done a great job. She has really stepped up and I’m excited to work with her on stage,” he said.
Nealy said she enjoys the feeling of an emsemble cast.
“I think all of the characters, they develop in their own ways, and it’s not just centered around two people and their storyline. I love how all of the characters interact with everybody else.
“I get to talk to all of the other characters and they all get to talk to everybody else and I think that that’s really cool. It feels like a small group of people and I feel like you can really get to know them over the course of the show,” she said.
Like all good theater farces, “Love, Lies, & the Doctor’s Dilemma” features many lies, misidenties and confusion.
The show, which was first staged in 2016, was written by Michael Parker and Susan Parker, the authors of “Sex Please, We’re Sixty!”
“The general idea is, there’s a lot to be said about telling the truth and when you’re living lies and to tell more lies before you can ever find the truth again,” Wertz said with a laugh.
“This cast has come together wonderfully and they have got a really good show.”
Show dates and ticket information
The show stages Feb. 27-28 and March 6-7 at 8 p.m. and March 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $10 for students.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.mansfieldplayhouse.com or by calling the the theater box office at 419-522-2883 Wednesday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to all performances.
The Mansfield Playhouse is located at 95 E. Third St. in downtown Mansfield.
