Goofy writers wear all the hats

For the holidays — including Thanksgiving and almost to New Year's Eve — Plan-B Theatre Company is staging an all-new off Broadway musical comedy for local audiences.

According to artistic director Jerry Rapier, Plan-B is the first theater company worldwide that has been licensed to produce "Gutenberg! The Musical!"

Originally produced by the show's collaborators Scott Brown and Anthony King in London's West End, and off Broadway (where Rapier first saw it in February), only two other companies are lined up to produce the show this year — one in Australia and the other in Finland.

"The last time we were the first regional company to produce a major off Broadway show was 'The Laramie Project' in 2001," Rapier said.

As if producing something unknown to local audiences isn't risky enough, Rapier has also committed to playing the show for seven weeks — the longest Plan-B has ever run a single production in the Rose Wagner Center.

He's promoting it as "a side-splitting alternative just in time for the holidays," adding that "The Santaland Diaries," which had been produced by another company during the Christmas season for several years, is not being done this year.

Rapier is also quick to explain that "Gutenberg!" isn't nearly as edgy as "Santaland," and while it may not be entirely appropriate for children under 12, it is just meant "to be a good time during the holidays."

He's also hoping that since Plan-B's last three shows have all dealt with death and issues surrounding death and loss, "it's time to give our audiences tears of a different sort.

"In a very real sense, it's a complete departure" from Plan-B's most recent fare. "It's not really political, and it's not issue-oriented."

"Gutenberg! The Musical!" takes a "Waiting for Guffman" approach to the world of theater, as two frequent Plan-B Theatre players — Kirt Bateman and Jay Perry — portray novice collaborators Doug Simon and Bud Davenport, who have written a really bad musical based (loosely) on the life and times (sort of) of printing-press inventor Johann Gutenberg.

Within the framework of the show, they're presenting a backers' audition for their new project, hoping to drum up financial support to take it to Broadway. But they've neglected to invite any potential producers. And the two goofy writers play all the roles themselves, donning hats with various characters' names attached. "This gets really absurd when they do a crowd scene," said Rapier.

Bud and Doug also play fast and loose with historical facts. "They take the first act to have Gutenberg build his printing press, then they throw in a completely fictitious love interest — a woman named Helvetica — who destroys the press with a pencil."