'To the Moon' by 1812 Productions

Since 1812 Productions is known for its focus on comedy and, more specifically, the history of comedy, this remembrance of the art of Jackie Gleason is right up its alley.

Jen Childs, the company’s cofounder and the author of this play, gives the audience lots of historical and biographical data in a non-pedantic manner. In casual dialogue we learn that Gleason was an obsessive golfer, that he disdained rehearsals, and that he was an amateur astronomer who owned telescopes. This gives special resonance to his “to the moon” catchphrase.

And it adds dimension to this play, which bears that appropriate title. It is not about Gleason per se, but about a man who idolizes him, and about that man’s dream of leaving his humdrum life and soaring to the skies. Gleason himself must have possessed some of those traits, given his creation of Ralph Kramden, a Brooklyn lug with delusions of grandeur who was perpetually dreaming up schemes to improve his lot in life.

Hero and role model

So it is with the character that Greer inhabits in this play. A big guy named Scottie is an unsuccessful actor who idolizes Jackie Gleason but is stuck in the drudgery of a hospital job. He comes into possession of a never-filmed Jackie Gleason script that’s missing its last page. Just as Kramden might have done, Scottie plans to write an ending and then sell the script for millions as an artifact.

Throughout the evening, Greer portrays frustration, disappointment, and bravado with gestures and body movements that recall the comedian known as “the Great One” and “Mr. Saturday Night.” Greer also portrays Gleason characters like the sweet and silent Poor Soul and the dandy, how-sweet-it-is Reginald Van Gleason III.

Tracie Higgins plays Scottie’s long-suffering wife Tracie, obviously modeled on Kramden’s wife, Alice, from The Honeymooners. Anthony Lawton, playing Scottie’s neighbor, is as strong a costar as Art Carney was on The Honeymooners. A high spot is a scene in which Scottie and Lawton get drunk as they practice mixing a cocktail for Tracie.

Sean Roach adds a series of comic characters. Jorge Cousineau designed a humble apartment, and Matt Pfeiffer directed with flair. A hilariously choreographed number recalls the June Taylor Dancers from Gleason’s variety show. Like the entire enterprise, this works especially well for old-timers who remember Gleason on TV, but it’s entertaining even for audience members who never saw him.

To the Moon is the most well-rounded, fleshed-out theater piece these folks have ever given us.