Jeff Daniels comedy 'Escanaba in da Moonlight' in Naples illuminates Yoopers, deer hunting

He grew up in Michigan, attended college there and even married a woman from "the UP," aka the Upper Peninsula in the Great Lakes State.

Heck, he's practically a "Yooper," one of the affectionate terms for those from the UP.

So it only makes sense that Michael Hennessey play Albert Soady, the patriarch of a family in the latest Naples Players offering, the Jeff Daniels comedy "Escanaba in da Moonlight."

“It’s kind of home to me. Those people, they're a different breed," said Hennessey, 77, referring to Yoopers.

"If you spend time with them, they have some qualities that you don’t find a lot anymore.

Hennessey was born in West Virginia and lived there until age 11, when his family moved to Michigan. 

"It’s kind of a throwback, I guess you call it. The people area extremely honest, very hard working; fine people.”

The play Daniels wrote in the 1990s (the famous actor's publicist never returned inquiries for Daniels to comment on this story) focuses on deer hunting, an annual rite in Michigan that kicks off every Nov. 15 with firearms deer season.

Albert's son in the play, Reuben, must kill a buck like family members before him. 

Play director Jessica Walck said it made sense to perform "Escanaba" in Southwest Florida, home to many Midwesterners. 

“It’s a fun show," said Walck, also the Naples Players associate artistic director.

"It’s not only a comedy but it has a heart to it. It’s about family and tradition. I also love the fact that this is a completely different culture in America.”

Yoopers are a proud lot, speak a little differently and refer to people in the Lower Peninsula (and no, we don't call that the LP) as "trolls" because they live beneath the Mackinac Bridge that connects the state's peninsulas.

Those who attend also will pick up on other Michigan and Midwest traditions, such as when cast members play the card game euchre that's a little like spades only more fun.

"When I started doing the research of this area, there’s all these different videos of what it is to be a Yooper," Walck said.

“They're definitely a unity of people that come together. I just love that. The play also shows that lifestyle of drinking beer, playing euchre, all the things that go along with that culture."

And she said Daniels was a perfect playwright for "Escanaba," as the stage and screen actor grew up in the state and lives with his family in the small town Chelsea in southeast Michigan. 

“You can tell he grew up there because it’s so natural for him to write it," she said.

And Naples Players has transformed Toybe Studio to recreate the outdoors, Walck  said. 

“We’re not just dressing the stage, we’re dressing the entire theater," she said. "It's very immersive to make you feel you’re part of the wilderness, the culture.”

Those attending will likely leave with a good feeling, Walck added.

“It’s one of those nights when you don’t take yourself seriously," she said.

"It’s really just a fun night at the theater. It’s definitely silly and it’s comedy but also there’s that great heartwarming story in it.”

Hennessey agreed, saying Daniels perfectly captured the spirit of a people. And for him, it's a chance to come full circle with his Midwest roots.

He played quarterback at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and studied theater at Wayne State University in Detroit before heading to New York City to perform on and off Broadway.

Through the years, Hennessey said, he became friends with many great actors, including Academy Award winner George C. Scott ("Patton") and Roy Walston, best known for playing an alien on the 1960s TV show "My Favorite Martian" and later the teacher "Mr. Hand" in the 1982 comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Hennessey said "Escanaba in da Moonlight" was so popular about 15 years ago in Naples that it ran for two years at the former Stage 88 Theatre at Norris Community Center, now home to Gulfshore Playhouse.

He believes the latest Naples version of "Escanaba" will entertain audiences as well.

“If you're from lower Michigan, there’s a romanticism to the UP," he said. "And the play touches the heart and the soul of these people. It's a different world up there, really. There’s an honesty to it that I don’t think you find in a lot of places anymore."

When: Oct. 23-Nov. 17

Where: Tobye Studio Theatre, 701 Fifth Ave. S.

Cost: $40

Information: 239-263-7990 or naplesplayers.org