Rudy is a former child star, now middle-aged, who has hit on hard times. His substance abuse began when his sitcom was in its heyday, when he played a precocious kid and ghost hunter. The recent suicide of his grown son Jake, has only made his alcoholism and despondency worse. He has a definite shot at a comeback, but his agent Shirl and he have been squabbling over his lack of reliability. He can’t seem to knock off the sauce. Playwright Carla Parker stirs references to Danny Bonaduce into the mix. Bonaduce suffered comparable hurdles (parental abuse, benders, scandal) but managed to redeem himself when he publicly embraced his “Come to Jesus” moment. Rudy has yet to put his demons behind him.
When Remember Rudy opens, we find him in his study, seated on a sofa, wearing a smoking jacket, quaffing vintage bourbon. Rudolph may inhabit an impressive mansion, but he is clearly ill-at-ease, tormented by the ghouls and ghosts of unfortunate choices and antagonistic relationships. Jake’s soul watches on, trying to get his attention. Rudy has contentious phone conversations, trying to salvage his career. There are flashbacks of his popular television show, and how the stress eventually got to him. Musical interludes examine the realms and depths of his malaise, regrets, the downward turn of his luck, and his struggles with helplessness and despair.
Remember Rudy (consistent with other Ochre House shows) introduces a strong note of irony, black humor, the sardonic. Rudy, who played a boy ghost hunter, cannot evict the malignant entities that hold him prsoner. Pearl, his erstwhile costar and ex-wife, has become a medium. When she comes to visit Rudolph for a heart-to-heart, it almost seems like an exercise in futility. The goofy, ridiculous world of television comedy. The song lyrics that are often deadpan shtick. The hallucinatory satire of Justin Locklear’s puppetry. It all orchestrates to suggest the undeniable absurdity, the insidious way the past can mock present success. Carla Parker has written an insightful, sensitive drama exploring the life of Rudolph Raeburn, a child actor lost in the overwhelming world of mass media entertainment.
The Ochre House Theater presents Remember Rudy, playing April 20th-May 11th, 2019. 825 Exposition Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75226. 214-826-6273. OchreHouseTheater.org