Milked Shakes: Barely There Theatre's “To Leer at Lear,” at the Black Box Theatre through July 19

Alexander Richardson's Barely There Theatre started as a play podcast during the pandemic, and continues to honor its audio-drama roots, as well as staging full live productions. Richardson is a director, playwright, and actor, has assumed multiple backstage roles, and reviews theatre for this very publication. Therefore, he's eligible to replace James Brown as The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business. To Leer at Lear is his current project. He wrote, directed, and designed this clever, entertaining show, which I attended on Saturday night at Moline's Black Box Theatre.

After Richardson's crowd-warming pre-show speech, we're suddenly watching a rehearsal of William Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear along with director Sam (Noel Jean Huntley) and stage manager Lis (Elane Edwards). The troupe producing it is named the New Dreadful Players, the show opens in a few days, and no one except the paid guest artist portraying the lead is even close to knowing their lines and cues. Said artiste Clarence (Jeremy Mahr) is insulted by the director's notes for him, because of course he is, though he does pull out a crisp little notebook to transcribe them into. Completing the cast are happy-go-lucky Grif (Jack Bevans), apologetic Allison (Adrienne Jane Evans), diva Clare (Ann Keeney-Grafft), and sleepy Johnny (Evan Gagliardo), and of course he's sleepy – the Bard's play runs four hours. Krissy Wheeler, meanwhile, plays Elliott, who acts as the entire stage crew.

Director Sam is beleaguered on all sides, and doesn't need one more irritant. That's the entrance cue for Tyler Henning's Clueless Scumbag Producer, whom I like to think of as "Rob Lowe in Wayne's World Lite," but whose actual name is Scott. (Fun fact: Henning played Edgar in Genesius Guild's 2011 production of King Lear.) He tells Sam that the show simply has to make money, or the theatre will close for good. And how, according to Scott, can they attract big audiences and make money with this play that's a hard sell from the get-go? By making it a comedy! When Sam breaks this news to the cast, Clarence walks out dramatically, for he can do so in no other way. So … now what?

Somehow, the New Dreadful Players find someone willing to play Lear, and he's a Mup- … . Er, a former performer from the Street. You know – that one particular Street? Like "Flaxseed Street," but not? He looks like a purple Cookie Mon- … . Uh … Biscuit Ingester, with the monobrow of … um … Oswald the Grump. And Mahr provides the on-stage puppetry, which is perfect, as the new actor's name is Ouroboro, or Boro for short. Boro seems a kind, reasonable fellow, with no trace of treachery or inclination to plot against others. Not so his castmates, however!

In traditional puppeteer tradition, Mahr wears black, and no one pays attention to him. Mahr, by the way, is a great get for this dual role, as he's logged many miles of stage time, and has lots of Shakespearience, to boot. But then, to me, this is an absolutely all-star cast. I've previously seen and enjoyed every one of these actors onstage, most of them multiple times. Okay, that's a lie. Krissy Wheeler is new to me. But her droll performance had me laughing after almost every one of her lines. She hasn't been onstage in a while, but she's still got it.

Wheeler's character does all the backstage work for King Lear, but the crew of To Leer at Lear includes several people, among them stage manager and assistant director Kori Ralston, costume designer Elizabeth Melville, puppet designer and house manager Sydney Richardson, and executive producer Traci Davis. The set consists of a large, blocky chair for Lear's throne, a few regular-sized chairs, and a bench. (One subtle, comical bit of business finds a couple of actors absorbed in planning various figurative demises while one-person stage crew Elliott moves furniture for the subsequent scene, muttering variants on "What is this doing here?") Multiple bare light bulbs hang above at different heights – a simple, attractive look – while one piece of set dressing hangs above the audience: a strip of red velvety trim to represent a stage curtain, as the Black Box doesn't have one.

Richardson calls this "a love letter to community theatre," and if you've ever been in a show, played on a team, had a job, been part of a family, or met at least one other person in your life, you may recognize at least some of these situations. The characters make references to local theatres, and if you know King Lear, you'll definitely recognize some of the plot developments. But getting the in-jokes isn't necessary to relish this play. Also, with Barely There's “Pay What It's Worth” admission policy, everyone involved with To Leer at Lear gets a cut of the door. Pay for actors and crew is unusual in community theatre, and that's another great reason to attend and support this production. Oh, and if you want to hear the real Lear, the company's got you covered there, too. Their full-length audio performance drops online on July 30.

Barely There Theatre's To Leer at Lear runs at the Black Box Theatre (1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL) through July 19, and more information and tickets are available by visiting Facebook.com/BarelyThereTheatreQC.