Coleman weathers highs, lows of marriage in “˜The Reception’
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 23, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 Victory Theatre Weathercaster Fritz
Coleman returns to comedy with his new one-man show, "The
Reception."
By Kelly Haigh
Daily Bruin Contributor
Fritz Coleman, Accuweather.
Catchy, isn’t it? In fact, it almost seems logical to
assume that the minute the KNBC weathercaster was born, that suffix
was stamped on his birth certificate.
But with a formidable background in stand-up comedy and a new
one-man show, “The Reception,” Coleman proves that he
has much more to offer than those familiar five-day forecasts.
“I totally backed into the whole profession of
weathercasting,” Coleman said, during a phone interview.
“I was a stand-up comedian, and my old boss and his wife saw
me at the Comedy Store and offered me a chance to audition for this
job on weekends. And it was a total freak accident, one of those
great show business stories that’s absolutely
true.”
The wit and confident stage presence found in veterans of the
stand-up circuit must have given Coleman the edge he needed to
secure a position at Channel 4 News back in 1983. But has the
workaday world of weathercasting stifled his natural comedic
voice?
“The beauty of this job is that it allows me to do these
other things, like the theatrical pieces, to kind of stretch my
creative muscles a little bit,” Coleman said. “So
I’m never bored.”
Coleman’s current theatrical endeavor, “The
Reception,” examines the various degrees of success and
failure in human relationships, specifically marital relationships,
within the context of an uncomfortable wedding reception.
Coleman cites forgiveness as the show’s main message.
“We’re all different, and we have to learn to put
our past things to bed and allow love a chance anew,” he
said.
In the show, Coleman essentially plays himself and functions as
narrator. But he shares the stage with 14 other characters who are
portrayed by a series of 250 still photographs projected onto a
screen. These projected characters inspire all of the observations
and conclusions which Coleman makes throughout the course of the
show.
This multi-character structure is a departure for Coleman, whose
1997 one-man show, the successful “It’s Me! Dad!”
only addressed his children. Whereas “It’s Me!
Dad!” was an autobiographical effort, “The
Reception,” Coleman says, is entirely fictional.
Coleman feels comfortable with the one-man style of these two
shows because of his background in stand-up comedy. At the same
time, he embraces the fact that these theatrical shows go a little
deeper than a stand-up act could hope to delve.
“Everything is just a joke, a joke, a joke, and then
everybody leaves,” Coleman said of stand-up comedy. “I
wanted to do something more meaningful.”
However familiar it may be, director Richard Kline (famous for
his role as Larry on the popular sitcom “Three’s
Company”) acknowledges the challenges of solo
performance.
“There’s no one to interact with,” Kline said.
“In this case, as in all one-man shows, the performer is
interacting with the audience, of course, and the challenge is to
win over the audience and have them follow you and follow what
you’re saying.”
Kline adds that the projected stills give Coleman a little more
to work with, and that they give the show a distinct spin on the
traditional one-man style.
“He has the luxury of interacting with the photographs,
and that’s what makes it kind of novel and unique,”
Kline said. “This is really intrinsically Fritz and
photographs.”
Kline, who also directed Coleman in “It’s Me!
Dad!” is enthusiastic about the creative dynamic that the two
enjoy.
“The collaboration has been terrific because Fritz is not
a theater-trained actor and I am,” Kline said.
“I’ve done a tremendous amount of stage work, so he
benefits from my experience, and I benefit from his experience as a
stand-up and a writer. … And the great thing is that Fritz, being
a stand-up, knows where the jokes are. And he knows how to pinpoint
a joke, and so do I, for that matter. And we make it
work.”
Coleman considers himself an observational comedian. He says
that he loves using language to paint word pictures for
audiences.
“Some of it’s humorous, and some of it’s just
interesting,” Coleman said.
Kline paints his own word picture with his description of
Coleman’s comedic style.
“He’s sort of like a Pennsylvania version of Dennis
Miller,” Kline said. “He’s not as acerbic as
Dennis Miller, but he’s very insightful.”
And while most of the show’s insight focuses on the
subject of marriage, Kline says that even those who are too young
to be fretting about rancid marital bliss will be able to
appreciate “The Reception.”
“There’s no question that even younger audiences
will go, “˜Oh yeah, that’s funny,’ or “˜I
hope I don’t act like that,’ or “˜I’ve been
known to do that as well,'” Kline said.
“It’s not about marriage, it’s about
relationships, and relationships are the same and go through
changes whether you’re 19 or 89 or whatever.”
Coleman agrees, citing a pair of adolescents who appear in some
of the projected stills.
“We talk about them preparing themselves for marriage …
so there’s something for all ages in here,” Coleman
said. “Although it’s written in baby boomer anxiety,
because that’s where I am. I can’t help
myself.”
THEATER: “The Reception” runs
through Feb. 23 at the Victory Theatre in Burbank, with
performances every Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
For more information or to buy tickets, call (818) 841-5421.
