BRIGHTON, MI–Imagine this:  You’re standing in line at the grocery store and you glance all around you. Your eyes fall on a bold headline, “Elvis Found Alive!” with a fuzzy picture that kind of looks like him. We’ve all seen these types of magazines.  And most of us know that the stories inside magazines like the National Inquirer and the Star are made up. But not everyone does.

The play Duck Hunter Shoots Angel by Mitch Albom tackles this premise: A New York City tabloid magazine writer is sent down south to Alabama to investigate the story of two duck hunters who believe they mistakenly shot an angel. 

Mitch Albom is best known for “Tuesday’s with Morrie” or the more saccharin “Five People you Meet in Heaven.”  But Mitch Albom first started writing as a sports journalist and columnist, gaining popularity while writing at The Detroit Free-Press, which he still continues today along with a daily radio show. Duck Hunter Shoots Angel  is his first stand-alone play that was first performed in Michigan at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea in 2004 before it was even in print.  It’s now being performed again in Michigan at A Wilde Theatre in Brighton, Michigan September 16-25. 

Joe Gaskill returns to the Wilde stage as Sandy, the bitter tabloid writer that knows that he’s a writer writing crap and that “everyone has a price.” Since that was what he was sent to do:  Buy the Angel story from Duane, humorously played Tony Amato and Duwell, doubly humorously played by Kevin Rogers.  

If you have ever read a Mitch Albom novel, you understand that each chapter bounces around to different characters. This play does the very same thing. It has what feels like hundreds of very short scenes that are pieced together with very quick changes.  Director Lynn Wilde and her band of over nine actors, do an keep the transitions quick.

Sandy needs to bring a photographer along to take pictures of this potential injured or deceased “angel.” Shelby Bradley plays Lenni, the staff photographer, completely worried about what might happen to her: a black woman in the deep south.  Shelby often deals with powerful scenes all while craving a donut. 

With all the transitions, the best scenes are when Tony and Kevin creep their way across the swamp.  They have amazing comedic timing and chemistry with each other. Set designer Jennifer Maiseloff and Specialty Painter Susie Lindsay created a full size swamp painting covering the entire stage area. When the lighting hits it, it had almost a 3D effect that looked like the actors could walk right into it. 

Duck Hunter Shoots Angel is a feel-good comedy with a surprise twist at the end. The only truly odd bit in this play is the Gator Man Creature. I get that the majority of tabloid stories are faked and pictures are staged, but the show opens with this Gator Man Creature ducking at shots in the swamp, but he is in every scene with Lester played by Isaac Haviland–even a very odd scene where Lester drops his pants and sits on the Gater Man.  Ian Campbell, the actor under the gator mask. exudes so much energy that he sometimes steals the scenes he is in.

The Wilde Theatre has performances today and has added a performance October 2 at 3PM.

Upcoming shows at The Wilde Theatre include: The Jersey Four , a one night only show on October 8 featuring a Tribute show to the Jersey Boys and Dean Martin. The Michigan Irish Repertory Theatre is bringing the emotional love story, Chapatti to A Wilde Theatre October 14-16. Just as the snow starts to fly, the musical Guys on Ice finished up the year with a comedy about ice fishing.  For tickets for any of these shows go to: wwwawildtheatre.com.