A MORNING WITH ERNIE BUSHMILLER to Open at Mark O'Donnell Theater

A Morning with Ernie Bushmiller, a new play about the cartoonist behind the classic comic strip “Nancy,” will play six performances, October 8–10 and October 15–17, at 7pm at The Mark O’Donnell Theater at the Entertainment Community Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn.  Written by and starring veteran television writer Tom Gammill (“Seinfeld,” “The Simpsons”) and directed by filmmaker Owen Kline (Funny Pages), the 80-minute one-act explores the life, work, and unlikely legacy of cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller.

Set in 1976, A Morning with Ernie Bushmiller finds the creator of the once wildly popular “Nancy” confronting a world that seems to be moving past him.  At its height, the comic strip appeared in more than 800 newspapers, but as Bushmiller and his creation begin to lose their footing, the cartoonist wonders how his work will ultimately be remembered: as cornball entertainment or as something stranger, more experimental, and even surreal.  His comic soul-searching unfolds amid lively curmudgeonly observations, projected illustrations, video fantasies, and playful special effects.

The production also features original songs by Gammill and Peter Lurye and co-stars actress and mimic Lauren Servideo in multiple supporting roles.

Gammill, whose television credits include “Saturday Night Live,” “Seinfeld,” and “The Simpsons,” has been fascinated by Bushmiller since his childhood in Connecticut.  His connection to the cartoonist extends to the production itself: Gammill performs wearing Bushmiller’s actual belt and necktie. The play also incorporates a real 1976 “Saturday Night Live” joke mocking Bushmiller, which becomes part of the character’s reckoning with his place in popular culture.

Director Owen Kline made his feature directorial debut with the 2022 film Funny Pages.  As an actor, he appeared in Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed 2005 film The Squid and the Whale.  Like Gammill and the production’s producers, Kline is also an avid cartoonist.

A Morning with Ernie Bushmiller is produced by identical twin brothers and comic aficionados Mark and Steve O’Donnell.  Mark O’Donnell won the 2003 Tony Award for co-writing the book of the hit musical Hairspray.  Steve O’Donnell is an Emmy Award-winning television writer whose credits include work with David Letterman and Chris Rock.  Mark O’Donnell died in 2012, and The Mark O’Donnell Theater is named in his memory.