Waukesha Civic Theatre's "Moon Over Buffalo" Continues; Transplant From Buffalo Misses All References

WAUKESHA — Sally Merritt, 52, who moved to Waukesha from Buffalo, New York, in 2015, attended opening night of the Waukesha Civic Theatre's "Moon Over Buffalo" on Friday, September 11, and posted a 4.5-star Nextdoor review that evening praising the production's "wonderfully weird take on regional baseball mythology," according to the post and to Merritt herself, who confirmed its contents by phone Thursday.

"Moon Over Buffalo" is Ken Ludwig's comedy about a fading married acting duo in 1953. It is set in Buffalo. It does not contain baseball.

Merritt's review, posted at 11:52 p.m. to her neighborhood feed, described the show as "surprisingly authentic to what Oconomowoc must have felt like in 1953," a comparison she said came to her "around the middle of the second act." She has visited Oconomowoc twice, both times for graduation parties, and said the show captured "the mood."

How The Baseball Got In

Asked where the baseball had come from, Merritt traced it to the lobby. During the 15-minute intermission, she overheard a patron discussing whether he would make it home for the end of the Brewers game, and she said she carried that thread into the second act. "Once somebody says baseball, you start seeing it," she said. "The way they kept coming in and out of doors, that's a lot like running the bases."

The patron was Doug Hollenbeck, 61, who told Waukesha City News he was "just talking about the Brewers" and that he had attended the play for the second time that evening. Hollenbeck, who has previously described the theatre's $4 intermission cookie as "genuinely a good cookie," said he had no idea his remarks had been incorporated into a review. "I'm honored, I guess," he said. "It's a farce. There's a lot of doors."

Merritt said she does not read theatre programs, which she said "feel like homework." The program for the production includes a two-paragraph synopsis on page 3 that states the play is set in Buffalo in 1953. Rich Dobbs, 56, of the town of Waukesha, who also skipped the synopsis at a separate performance, said he understood the plot by intermission and declined to comment on the review.

The Buffalo Question

Merritt said she noticed that characters referred to Buffalo repeatedly during the performance but assumed the name was being used "as a kind of symbol, like how a lot of places around here are named after other places." She grew up in the Buffalo area and lived there for 41 years, and said she had not made a connection between the title and her hometown because "you don't think of your own hometown as being in a play."

Told Thursday that the play is set in the city she is from, Merritt paused for approximately four seconds and said, "Well, that's a coincidence." She said she would stand by the 4.5 stars.

"The play is set in Buffalo. It says so on the poster, on the ticket, and in the title."

— James Morton, Waukesha Civic Theatre artistic director

Morton said the theatre saw the review Monday and does not correct reviews, calling this one "generous on the parking complaint and, otherwise, generous." Merritt's review deducted half a star for parking on Main Street, which she called "a lot."

Neighborhood Reaction

The post has received 23 likes and 14 comments. Gene Voss, 66, replied "Didn't know it was about baseball," and a second neighbor asked for the dates of the Oconomowoc production. A commenter who identified herself as from Tonawanda wrote, "Sally it's Buffalo," which received three likes. Merritt replied to that comment with a thumbs-up.

Box office manager Ruth Aldern said the theatre has not tracked the review's effect on sales but believes it has "sold at least two tickets," including one to Merritt's neighbor, who asked at the window whether the show "has the baseball in it." Aldern said staff told the neighbor it does not and that the neighbor bought the ticket anyway.

Performances remain scheduled for September 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, and 27, with tickets priced from $18 to $24. Merritt said she plans to attend the closing matinee on the 27th with her sister Donna, visiting from Cheektowaga, whom she expects "will really enjoy it as a tribute to the area." She has not yet decided whether to update the review.