Fuddy Meers at Riverside Arts Center

A sinister and zany comedic romp with a dark domestic drama at its heart, Fuddy Meers illustrates a world in which nothing is as it seems, hardly anyone can be understood, and trusting the wrong person can get you locked in the basement with a foul-mouthed hand puppet, hit over the head with a frying pan, or hauled over the Canadian border. This is especially challenging if you are a sunny amnesiac like Claire, who must contend with kidnapping, family reunion, and intrusive carnival music playing in her head, all before she can figure out whether she prefers juice or coffee. When Claire is stolen from her bedroom by a limping, lisping man in a mask and a manacle, who claims to be her brother, a chase ensues, led by her husband, Richard, and son, Kenny. The destination is Claire’s childhood home, where her mother, Gertie, is aching to reveal the secrets of her past -- if only Claire could understand Gertie’s stroke-afflicted speech patterns and cryptic funhouse mirror photographs! Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire has crafted a play about pain, identity, miscommunication, and, ultimately, the courageous confrontation of a traumatic past. And hand puppets… don’t forget the hand puppets.