The ‘50s are calling in Carmel

Ward and June Cleaver, welcome to the 21st century

By WYNNE BRUBAKER
news@readthereporter.com 

When you think of the 1950s, you might imagine drive-in movies, classic rock and roll, or a smiling suburban family. But was life really as good as it seemed? Carmel Community Players (CCP) will tackle that question when they stage the dark comedy Home, I’m Darling, running Sept. 25 through Oct. 4 at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel.

The play follows protagonists Judy and Johnny as they live out their 1950s fantasy several decades too late. CCP Director Nicole Amsler, along with the actors portraying Judy and Johnny, gave The Reporter a sneak peak of the production.

“[The audience] believes they are walking in on a couple in the 1950s, but after the first scene, the lead actress pulls out a laptop and it turns out they’re actually pretending they’re from the 1950s,” Amsler said. “They have all 1950s furniture, groceries, and they wear vintage clothes. Judy wants to be a traditional wife, but it is not going well on their three-year mark – things are cracking at the seams.”

Together, Judy and Johnny navigate the unexpected challenges of living their vintage dream in a modern world.

“We keep looking back and expecting that it was very ideal in the past, but there is no era that was ever perfectly ideal,” Amsler said. “[The show covers] a lot about gender roles: who does what and where, or if a man needs or wants to be waited on, or if there is some strength in being able to be a partner in the relationship rather than having a domestic, subservient wife.”

Lori Ann Gerdisch, who plays Judy, spoke to The Reporter about her character.

“Judy is a smart cookie,” Gerdisch said. “She’s university educated. She has work experience in the corporate world. After getting let go of her corporate job, she decided that she really wanted to step into her love of the 1950s life. She’s a little afraid of the modern world and what it has to offer, and she really embraces the ‘50s as far as the way she cares for the house and her husband. She desperately, desperately, tries to hold on to that life.”

Johnny, played by Kevin Smith, prioritizes seeing things the way they are.

“Johnny is a happy-go-lucky guy, and he loves everything,” Smith said. “He’s one of the kinder characters, and though they’re all very kind characters, Johnny’s especially endearing. He is the most honest character with himself and with all those around him. He’s not scared of being honest, and he grounds everyone as a result.”

Both Gerdisch and Smith said they resonated with their characters, bringing significance to their interpretations of Judy and Johnny.

“I connect with Judy because I also was university trained and I worked outside the home, but then when my kids were born I was lucky enough to stay home with them,” Gerdisch said. “Even after my kids, I’ve chosen to stay home and be a housewife, so I connected with her because I do enjoy taking care of the house and my husband. I get up every morning with my husband and we have breakfast together, and it’s very similar to Judy and Johnny. There’s a lot of expectations and opinions for women, whether they stay home or whether they go to the corporate world – there’s always going to be something to be said about it. I recognize that, too. As Lori Ann, so I feel for Judy.”

Smith said playing Johnny allows him to access a better version of himself.

“Something that we all strive for is his honesty,” Smith said. “Sometimes we get uncomfortable when we’re trying to be honest, and it’s refreshing to see this guy unabashedly be honest with everyone around him. For me, playing Johnny lets me tap into that. I want to get to know this guy, but at the same time, he has these really mature qualities about him that a lot of adults struggle with.”

CCP’s version of Home, I’m Darling also has unique twists to amplify the comedic essence of the show.

“One of the fun things we got to do for this show is that we added 1950s commercials to all of the scene breaks,” Amsler said. “We have a spokesperson who tries to sell you 1950s products in a ‘commercial-ly’ kind of way, and that gives us some nice entertainment between the scene breaks.”

Amsler employs several techniques to perfect the ambiance and the actors’ interpretation of their characters.

“We do what’s called ‘book club,’” Amsler said. “When we have our first read-through, we all discuss the play itself, but then we do book club and we discuss questions like, ‘Why is my character this way? How long have the people been married? What is the history? What is the mother-daughter relationship?’ We dig into a lot of the internal, and that really informs their acting.”

Over the hours the cast has spent reading and rehearsing, they not only became more invested in their characters, but also in their relationships with each other.

“Being involved in CCP has allowed me to be creative again, and I feel really safe with this group,” Gerdisch said. “It was a good group to come back to the acting scene for me because they are so giving and so appreciative and lovely and professional.”

The production caters to a wide range of audiences and forces people to consider the cost of perfection.

Home, I’m Darling, stages from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4 at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel. Get your tickets at carmelplayers.org/whats-on-stage/2026-2027-season.