Ross Zentner
Doug Clemons, left, and Greg Pragel in 'Gutenberg! The Musical!'
Doug Clemons, left, and Greg Pragel in 'Gutenberg! The Musical!', take the term 'wearing many hats' literally, as they play all the roles in a staged reading of their would-be Broadway hit.
Any comedy that depends on just two actors to play all the parts needs to nail both the physical demands of multiple roles and the delivery, and Forward Theater Company’s production of Gutenberg! The Musical! delivers.
Written by Anthony King and Scott Brown in the early 2000s, Gutenberg! The Musical! premiered on Broadway in 2023. The meta-musical (a show about a show) follows two wannabe playwrights as they misrepresent the biography of Johannes Gutenberg, the real-life German inventor of the movable type printing press.
Bud (Greg Pragel) and Doug (Doug Clemons) are aspiring musical playwrights who naively dream of securing a Broadway contract. Though lacking in experience, knowledge and capital, the pair rent a theater space to conduct a bare-bones reading of their newest work, Gutenberg! The Musical! Pragel and Clemons break the fourth wall to welcome the audience to their reading and explain the setup: They’ll be playing every character themselves, using hats bearing each character’s name to keep things straight. The playwrights explain Gutenberg! The Musical! is a work of historical fiction, which they describe as “fiction…that’s true.”
Bud and Doug also introduce The Magnificent Seven, “Dane County’s premiere wedding band,” for which they could only afford three performers (William Preston, Joy Bauman and Laura Schram). Adapting The Magnificent Seven (or, rather, three) to be from Dane County is a clever, local touch from director Jen Uphoff Gray.
Against a set made to resemble a stage full of miscellaneous theater items, Doug and Bud get started on Act 1, Scene 1 — a musical number that introduces the setting of the (fictional) German town of Schlimmer. “Prologue/Schlimmer” contains parts sung by a large cast of town characters, including Drunk #1 and #2, Lil’ Nazi Girl, Bootblack and Beef Fat Trimmer, to name a few. Here is when Pragel and Clemons' talent becomes obvious, as they change hats, demeanors, voices and choreography to portray multiple characters in perfect partnership.
The rest of the show follows Doug and Bud as they set up and act out each scene to tell their (misinformed) biomusical story. Gutenberg (Clemons) is introduced — incorrectly, of course — as a wine-presser who miraculously turns his wine press into a movable type press to bring literacy to the masses. (In reality, Gutenberg was inspired by the workings of the wine press, but was not a winemaker himself.)
Helvetica (played by both Clemons and Pragel, at different times), who works for Gutenberg, is obviously in love with him, to which he is comically oblivious. And Monk (Pragel), Gutenberg’s villainous rival, embarks on a quest to destroy Gutenberg’s press in the name of hatred for the written word.
Between each scene, Bud and Doug share insights into their writing and directing processes, as well as life events that have shaped their passion for Broadway, which transforms the two from inept strivers to underdogs worth rooting for.
As underprepared musical theater newbies, Doug and Bud often rely on tired musical theater tropes, character arcs and dance moves, enabling playwrights King and Brown to poke fun at the classics.
In line with King and Brown’s vision, Brian Cowing’s choreography pays clever homage to corny musical theater moves, including jazz squares, drag ball-changes, two-step ponies and step toes. When Doug and Bud perform a nonsensical song about biscuits, they dance a rendition of Fiddler on the Roof’s famous bottle dance, balancing biscuits (rather than bottles) on their heads.
Bud’s and Doug’s vocals are also laced with jabs at classical musical theater, as they embark on random crescendos, rapid key jumps, and over-the-top refrains.
But the play isn’t entirely fun and games. The number “Stop the Press” illuminates efforts to limit press freedom, a note of political consciousness that I hadn’t previously expected from the comedy. The repetitive chants of “stop the press!” resonated at this political moment. However, I was uncomfortable during a bit involving Fran, a nursing home resident, who became the butt of a joke about the elderly. It felt wrong to laugh at her misfortune.
In the final musical number of the show, the audience is asked to join in a call-and-response, which electrifies the room. It’s also fun when Producer, a character who rewards Doug and Bud with a Broadway contract, emerges from the audience. On the day I attended, it was none other than Zorba Paster, the WPR radio show host of On Your Health. Previous surprise guest players included Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and more surprise guests are to come. Good on Forward Theater for making this Broadway hit feel close to home.
And audiences will have plenty of chances to see more guest stars, as Forward Theater has extended its run of Gutenberg! The Musical! through Nov. 30, at Overture Center’s Playhouse theater.
