The Joy Wheel

If The Joy Wheel is ultimately a comedy, viewers pay a price for their pleasure. How is there any reconciliation possible with the fascist-mindedness of Stew's Storm Trooper-like buddies, whose real-life counterparts are out there in frightening force—in the woods, in bivouac encampments, in Charlottesville, and in hoods? Frank asks Stella in genuine wonderment, “How did you get so strong and I got so weak?” Realignment of gender assumptions is happening, and it's transforming society from top to bottom as we either grow more human or descend ever deeper into fear.

Moving in the opposite direction, against the tenderness and vulnerability that love demands, Frank has been seduced into following the doomsday fears and prognostications of his PPPPPPP “prepper” friend Stew (Maury Sterling) by building an armed underground survival bunker in the space that once was the family swimming pool. For those outside the apocalyptic prepper community, PPPPPPP—which Stew has finally been able to secure as his Illinois license plate—stands for “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.” When the barbarians come—you know, the “globalists” and their government jackboots—the well trained preppers in this millenarian fantasy will stay on to defend civilization as we know it, and repopulate the Earth with fertile young women chosen for that purpose. McRae posits that everyone is riding the Joy Wheel, an amusement park ride where only the person holding the center of a whirling centrifugal circle will survive, the others being spun off the island. Happiness is a zero-sum commodity and few will win it.

Under the magic touch of famous Director Jason Alexander, this is a “must see and will love” world premiere production.

Thanks to McRae's  snappy, topical script and to Alexander's skilled direction—and of course to the excellent work on the part of the cast—The Joy Wheel can be highly recommended.

Jason Alexander's vision for this ambitious production in such a small space succeeds due to the marvelous performances of its cast, with Dann Florek (Law & Order) as Frank Conlin, Gina Hecht as Stella Conlin, Lee Garlington as Margie, and Maury Sterling stealing the show as the frighteningly crazy doomsday believer Stew. Unfortunately, the need to transform the inside of the Conlins' home into an underground bunker, as designed by John Iacovelli, was completed by moving in four massive bookcases loaded with survival supplies from backstage during important soliloquies by cast members, disrupting the flow of the show to the point of breaking the audience's focus on the important details of the story and characters being shared, even though Edward Salas' lighting and sound design attempted to hide the commotion from the audience.

What begins as a hilarious comedy turns dark and serious — ending in a beautifully heartfelt way — as playwright Ian McRae (The Alamo) takes us on a powerful journey in The Joy Wheel, directed by Jason Alexander for The Ruskin Theatre.

A must see and will love world premiere production....under the magic touch of famous Director Jason Alexander. This show has legs and it will, undoubtedly, embark on a successful stage journey for many years to come.

Highly recommended…thanks to McRae's snappy, topical script and to Alexander's skilled direction—and of course to the excellent work on the part of the cast.

A Laugh a Minute. McRae has penned a raucous, sexy, and hysterical comedy which will entertain and delight… hilarious story of people seeking some new in the old.

... these strengths are undercut by a glibness in the interchange between husband and wife, played to the familiar rhythms and cutesy shadings of television comedy.

Playwright Ian McRae's THE JOY WHEEL kicks offs with one of the most effective opening, introductory scenes I've seen in a while. Jason Alexander smoothly and sure-handedly directs his two top-notch actors, Dann Florek and Gina Hecht as husband and wife Frank and Stella Conlin, as they vividly describe their relationship (40 years married)) and back stories leading up to their present situation - preparing for Frank's retirement party that evening.

This is the second show we've seen at Ruskin (the first was Paradise), and they are two for two. This production was funny and touching and just a joy to watch. As usual, there are many factors that contributed towards this.

With The Joy Wheel, playwright Ian McRae has crafted a terrific, raucous comedy filled with vividly written characters that conjure up memories of the best of Neil Simon, seasoned with whiffs of the head-butting “Honeymooners,” and served up with delicious, outrageous sexual frankness by Jason Alexander's superb direction.