Laugh to Keep from Crying at Milwaukee Theatre

Anyone who has seen a Tyler Perry play before sort of knows what to expect: slapstick comedy, relatable social problems, solutions that just sort of happen, lots of wise-speak (usually by Perry’s female alter ego, Madea) and exceptional musical entertainment.

In this, his 11th and latest production Laugh to Keep from Crying, the media mogul doesn’t stray much from his winning formula (with the exception of Madea, who is MIA). In this two-hour, nationally touring play, we see four families with different challenges that are all worth crying about, really. Set in an urban apartment building where drugs, prostitution and gunfire are all part of daily life, each family consciously examines and ultimately rebuilds their lives. There’s hard-working single mom Carol (Cheryl “Pepsii” Riley), who devotes hers to recalcitrant teen daughter Lisa (Tamar Davis) and almost-perfect son, Tony (Donny Sykes); veteran tenant Belinda (Chandra Currelley) adjusts to an early, unwelcome retirement; lady of the night Neicey (D’Atra Hicks) rethinks her “day” job; and newlyweds Anna (Stephanie Ferrett) and Peter (Chris Cauley)  juggle their new roles with each other and with Anna’s ever-present, widowed mother Jane Wilcox (Rachel Richards).

The remaining three characters play one-dimensional caricatures of sorts: there’s Floyd (Palmer Williams, Jr. of  House of Payne), the pot-toting, comical apartment super who is an uncanny combination of Schneider from One Day at a Time and Bookman from Good Times. Donnie (Theo Williamson) is the always present, athletic and polite cop who is just dying to date the overworked single mom with athe troubled teen (yeah, right!). And we know even less about Eddie (Greg Stewart), the heartless local pimp who antagonizes when possible.

The drab, two-story apartment building lends itself to the sitcom-style, back-and-forth dialogue between characters that’s prevalent throughout the performance (recall 227?). But the glue of this production is the rousing music that springs forth. At any given time during this performance, any one of the main characters is liable to belt out gloriously soulful renditions of old gospel hymns or pop numbers, many that the audience can readily identify.

“Those old songs, that’s what got us through,” Currelley’s character explains at one point during the play when she and others move from such numbers as “Jesus Will Fix It For You” to “Trouble In My Way.”

There are several momentous occasions for such sonorous outburts. One is when Currelley sings the play’s title number and her entire body shakes, as to suggest that it’s laughing in response to life’s circumstances. Another is when Riley (a regular on various Perry production soundtracks) belts out a gutteral prayer that is compelling in a Patti LaBelle sort of way, instantly bringing audience members to their feet.

And, like any onstage Perry production (to date, his movies alone have grossed more than $400 million), there are lots of laughs, a bit of suspense and great music to ensure that audience members have a good time.

There are some not-so-subtle references to people and places in Milwaukee, too, like when the apartment super suggests that Eddie the Pimp hangs out at “3rd and Keefe” and that the Milwaukee Police Department is “trigger happy.”

The story ends with an event that brings the entire building community together, which also turns out to be the perfect setting to pay tribute to the King of Pop, somehow, which doesn’t really follow the storyline, but it’s fun to watch.

Laugh to Keep From Crying continues Saturday, Nov. 14, with two more performances at the Milwaukee Theatre. For ticket information click here or call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.