THEATREWORLD Internet Magazine

TRANSFERENCE DELIVERS GREAT PERFORMANCES
BY RUTH SMERLING

Diane Dorsey, Ed Kross, Fredric Stone, Bethany Caputo and Dev Kennedy are wonderful comedians. Together, they explode in world premiere of Lee Scheier's TRANSFERENCE, onstage at the Mercury Theatre.

TRANSFERENCE is a whacky story of a man, Harold Feldman (Dev Kennedy) who believes he is a dog in a man's body. Not a transsexual, a transspecies. His wife, Miriam (Diane Dorsey), a nice Jewish woman who grew up in Highland Park, in her shame, contacts the greatest and most controversial psychiatrist in history, Dr. Levine (Fredric Stone). Dr. Levine has a transference machine that can help straighten out even the most extreme cases. The Feldman's worst case scenario also bolsters his belief that he can cure anybody and he gains the confidence of patients with more common problems, like Jack Schwartz (Ed Kross) who has trouble getting dates. Jack seeks Dr. Levine's help because he's just met the love of his life, Annie O'Reilly (Bethany Caputo), but is nearly paralyzed at the thought of asking her out.

Treatment is a rough course at first, but gradually, Harold stops digging up the back yard and eating everyone's shoes and soon Jack is dialing the phone. The couples dilemmas overlap in the waiting room. Soon after hearing each other's stories, everyone feels like their lives could be a whole lot worse.

TRANSFERENCE is as silly as wild as a Marx Brothers' movie gone improvisational. The cast has to move very quickly to get the big laughs and they never miss a beat. Bethany Caputo, who looks exactly like a young Bernadette Peters is wonderful as the bundle of nerves picking the "he loves me not" daisy. Ed Kross, an established actor and comedian is at his very best as the over the top neurotic Jack Schwartz. Actress and playwright Diane Dorsey and the classically trained Fredric Stone are as forceful as comedians as in more serious traditional roles. Dev Kennedy shall we say, "sits up" to the challenge of playing the creature in limbo.

TRANSFERENCE runs through December 31 at the Mercury Theatre, 3745 N. Southport Avenue. Phone 773-325-1700 for tickets and information or go to www.ticketmaster.com. Ask about the Blue Bayou Theatre menu.