From left, Stefan Espinosa, Jim Shine, Suzy King, Katie Worley and Jay Campbell are fishing and sports fans in ‘Muskie Love.’
There’s only one way to describe the Great American Melodrama’s latest offering: Football and fishing meet “Much Ado About Nothing.”
“Muskie Love,” which runs through June 8, transports William Shakespeare’s classic comedy from Renaissance-era Sicily to modern-day Green Bay, Wis. Like “Much Ado,” the musical play revolves around two sets of lovers: young, romantically-minded Sarah and Claude, and the older, wiser Ben and Bea.
“They’re this older pair who are feisty and go after each other a lot,” said Jay Campbell, who plays Ben. “But underneath it all, they love each other. They just don’t want to admit it.”
Penned by Paul Libman and Dave Hudson, “Muskie Love” takes its title from the muskellunge, a freshwater fish prized by anglers in the Great Lakes. Like the hard-to- catch muskie, romance in this play is a slippery fish.
Campbell and Suzy King play Ben and Bea, two rival fishing guides who have a fierce sense of independence and a grudging respect for each other. They’re sharp-tongued and quick-witted, and they have no intention of settling down—that is, until the duo’s friends and relatives conspire to play Cupid. As Ben and Bea discover new feelings for each other, an incompetent game warden (John Keating) conspires to drive Claude and Sarah (Stefan Espinosa and Katie Worley) apart.
Will Ben and Bea trade insults for sweet nothings? Will the young couple reunite? Will love — and the characters’ beloved Green Bay Packers— conquer all? You’ll have to watch “Muskie Love” to find out.
The play is followed by the vaudeville revue “Culinary Cabaret,” which pokes fun at America’s obsession with food. Cast members spoof cooking reality shows like “Iron Chef,” pay tribute to the potato and rock out with ’80s hits about food.
According to director Erik Stein and his cast, “Muskie Love” has elements of screwball comedy, realistic drama and a modern off-Broadway play such as “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
“It’s got the kind of music that’s really catchy and really hummable, and it has a very intimate feel,” Stein said.
“Muskie Love” also shows a love of language, albeit in much more colloquial terms than in Shakespeare’s day.
“These two are very witty and quick-witted,” Stein said of Ben and Bea.
Campbell describes his character, Ben, as a confirmed bachelor who’s grown fond of the solitary life.
“He’s kind of a gritty old guy who’s set in his ways and decides he’s never getting married,” Campbell said. “He doesn’t want any complications.”
“Then he meets Beatrice and everything changes,” the actor said, adding that the role has personal relevance as well. A longtime bachelor, he’s getting married this June at age 46.
Bea, played by Melodrama veteran King, is just as feisty.
“She’s very unusual, to reach a certain age and not be married and be OK with that,” King said. “She’s strong and independent, kinda like me.”
King said her favorite parts of the play are when she’s trading acid wit with co-star Campell. “(Ben and Bea) barb at each other all the time but they actually enjoy it,” she said.
As Stein sees it, Ben and Bea’s relationship harkens back to the days of playground romance, when boys and girls would rather hit or chase each other than make nice.
“Ben and Bea are two grown adults (but) they’ve never really moved past those playground days,” the director said. “Instead of punching each other in the arm, they’re verbally assaulting each other.”
As for the pair’s true feelings for each other, “Everybody can see they really love each other except for the two of them,” Stein said.
Although “Muskie Love” grounds its romance in reality, Stein and his actors said they draw plenty of parallels to “Much Ado About Nothing.” After all, some of the play’s characters take their names from the play: Benedick, Beatrice and Claudio.
Stein was 19 when he watched Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo. “It was just so sweeping, so romantic,” recalled Stein, who attended a local stage performance of “Much Ado” a year later.
King took inspiration for Bea from Emma Thompson, who plays Beatrice in the 1993 film.
“What I love about these characters is how passionate they are. They dive into everything 100 percent,” said Stein. “They’re very passionate about what they care about: fishing and football and each other.”
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