Michael McKeever’s latest production, ‘Splat!,’ is both a comedy and a morality play that explores the dark side of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
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By JW ARNOLD
Friday, June 15, 2007
aydreams of life “somewhere over the rainbow” have long been gay clichés, but local playwright Michael McKeever wasn’t thinking like a “Friend of Dorothy” when he penned “Splat!,” his latest play that premiered at the Summer Shorts Festival at Miami’s Carnival Center last weekend.
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ has become such a part of the American vernacular in every respect,” McKeever explained. “I’m not an obsessed fan, but I’ve enjoyed it and have many memories of watching it each year when it was broadcast on TV.”
For the successful writer, whose plays are currently in production around the world, the inspiration for “Splat!” came during a trip to Palm Beach.
“I had ‘Wicked’ playing in the car,” he recalls. “It’s such an upbeat and jolly story, like the movie, and I thought there’s got to be a dark side of Oz.”
It occurred to McKeever that when Dorothy skips off on the yellow brick road toward the Emerald City, there’s still a corpse left under the house. He saw the moral challenges faced by the Munchkins who were forced with the decision to rescue someone who, in his words, “could make your life a living hell.” McKeever sat down at the computer and churned out “Splat!”
“We call it the ‘angry Munchkin play,’ but it’s really a funny, light little comedy that disguises a morality play,” he says.
If audience reaction at the premiere was any indication, the short play will prove to be another hit for McKeever, who has devoted his time fully to writing plays for 14 years.
“I’m the luckiest person in the world because I get to make a living doing something I absolutely love,” McKeever says.
The 44-year-old writer had done some acting as a teen and young adult, mostly appearing in television commercials and a traveling children’s production. He gave up the itinerant life of an actor to attend the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale and completed a degree in advertising design. As a successful art director for an advertising agency, McKeever found himself scripting commercials and rediscovered his love for the theater. Soon, he completed his first play.
“When I was an art director, it was a great gig, but it became work,” he recalls. “I found writing was something that wasn’t hard. To this day, I strive to keep it something that is not work. It’s fun; I get paid to play.”
McKeever’s 14 plays have all been produced and received their world premieres in South Florida. Several are in production in the U.S., and four have been translated and are being produced in Germany and Austria. One thing fans should expect is the unexpected: “I have a very specific voice and rhythm to my writing, but along the same lines, the subjects and styles are very eclectic,” McKeever says.
He has covered everything from heavy family dramas to comedies. With the completion of each project, he often seeks a different genre, consciously challenging himself to grow as an artist. In January 2008, his newest work, a farce titled “Suite Surrender,” will be premiered by the Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton.
“It’s the hardest medium I’ve ever attempted,” he said, “but I’m also a firm believer that when you’re working in anything in life — and not just art — the worst thing that can happen is you get soggy or fall back on the success of the past.”
When he’s not writing, McKeever enjoys bike riding with his partner, director Stuart Meltzer, traveling (the couple have a big trip to Italy planned) and acting in two to three local productions each year. Any activity could inspire his next play.
“I get inspiration from everything. It’s funny,” he says. “Like every other kind of artist — painters, sculptors, even writers — every time you look out the window there’s something there that can be filed away for the future.”
If his success is any indication, there are many more stories to be told, and South Florida audiences will be among the first to enjoy them.
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