By Michael Buzzelli
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except – a bunch of German jags coming in the rear in standard two-by-two cover formation. Wilmerding police officer John McClane (Patrick Jordan), a reluctant guest to a Christmas party, must save the day from terrorists, led by Heinz -not Hans – Gruber (Wali Jamal).
Yeah, it’s up to McClane to redd up this situation dahntahn. He’s gonna send Gruber up the crick without a paddle faster than you can get a pahnd of chipped ham at the Iggle.
Gayle Pazerski Yinzerized (the production company’s word for it) this version of this beloved Christmas movie.
P.S. “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
The Midnight Radio series returns with a flourish after a five-year absence, complete with hilarious commercial parodies, fantastic Foley sound effects, entertaining musical interludes (read: Steeler fight songs), and more.
Note: The Midnight Radio series is famously not on the radio, or, for that matter, at midnight, but it is a blast, literally and figuratively, if you count all of the Foley explosions.
“Die Hard N’At” is pure joy. There are several side-splitting laugh-out-loud moments.
Jordan is Pittsburgh’s Bruce Willis. He has charisma, machismo and just enough yinzerosity that make him a terrific choice. The face he makes when he hears the word “Shadyside” is worth the price of admission.
Then, there’s Wali Jamal. Aside from playing the arrogant bad guy (the late Alan Rickman in the movie), Jamal plays a variety of roles. He’s a cabbie named Argyle and Al (the Reginald VelJohnson part). He exudes a charm in those side characters, but menace when he’s Gruber (sometimes he’s carrying on full conversations with himself).
Tami Dixon (co-founder of Bricolage) plays Holly (the Bonnie Bedelia role), John McClane’s estranged wife – get used to hearing her described as exactly that, “John McClane’s estranged wife.” Dixon has perfected her Pittsburghese in the Steel City’s critically acclaimed (by this very website and others), “South Side Stories” and “South Side Stories Revisited.” If there are degrees in Pittsburghese, she holds a Ph.D.
Sheila McKenna and Jason McCune round out the rest of the cast. McKenna and McCune get some great lines and they both deliver them flawlessly.
Playwright Pazerski’s Pittsburghese prose packs a powerful punch (say that five times fast).
Jeffrey Carpenter (the other cofounder of Bricolage) manages to direct this chaos. He does a superb job.
Camille Rolla plays some skewered versions of some favorite Pittsburgh tunes.
It’s great to have Bricolage back and, by extension, it’s great to have the Midnight Radio series back in the Pittsburgh pantheon of theatrical production companies.
If you can score a ticket to “Midnight Radio: Die Hard N’At,” get to the theater, even if you have to crawl through an air duct to get there.
-MB
“Die Hard N’At” runs until December 22 at the barebones Blackbox theatre’s Bingo O’Malley Theater, 1211 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, PA 15104. For more information, click here.