10/30/2009 8:40:15 AM

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By Tom Weber
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

When a joke is prefaced with "this is really funny," it invariably fails to live up to that billing.

	If you go "Wonder of the World" continues at 8 tonight and Saturday, and then Nov. 5-7 at Charles Hill Theatre on the RCTC campus. For tickets, call 285-7200.

Such is the case of "Wonder of the World," the comedy that opened Thursday at Rochester Community & Technical College. Whether it's the script or the cast, this play seems to be trying too hard to be roaringly funny, when inducing a simple chuckle would do just fine.

The play, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Jerry Casper, has moments of profundity that are almost thrilling in their simplicity. "How do you know what to do?" asks Cass Harris, a young woman who is leaving her husband after seven years and is struck by the unlimited possibilities of life without obligations.

But such thought-provoking sentiments are undermined, time and again, by the distractions of a production that wants desperately to make the audience laugh. The sense of insecurity tumbles over to the changes of set between scenes, in which stage hands cavort like the Keystone Kops in an attempt to deliver even more dollops of craziness.

There is, however, much to admire in this production, starting with the acting of Mary Mehrkens, as the chirpy Cass, who wants to reach for all the life she can -- as long as it was pre-determined by her ever-handy list. Equally impressive is Anastasiya Nartovich, as Mary's newfound friend, Lois, whose alcoholism requires Nartovich to recite every line in the play with a slur.

Alan Wiltgen, as Cass' husband, looks and acts like a refugee from the original "Alfie" -- which is intended as a compliment -- while Jake Lewis is the strong and handsome Captain Mike. Meghan Copler glides through a number of character portraits with good humor. Amy Fuchs and George Hartmann are a pair of bumbling private eyes.

At two-and-a-half hours, "Wonder of the World" is too long. Tighter editing of the material would have created more room to breathe, and would have helped this show deliver on its promise.

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