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By considering the title, Fuddy Meers, one can only guess what this first “hit” play by David Lindsay-Abaire might be about. Well, whatever you might guess, you would probably be wrong. Without totally revealing the mystery, the title is actually a mispronunciation of another term mentioned by one of the characters in the play who has aphasia.  Fuddy Meers is part farce, part absurdist comedy, part family drama and well, part something else altogether.

Since the premiere of Fuddy Meers in 1999, Mr. Lindsay-Abaire has gone on to write a number of very successful plays. Walking a fine line between grave reality and joyous lunacy, the world of his plays is often dark, funny, blithe, enigmatic, hopeful, ironic, and somewhat cockeyed. "My plays tend to be peopled with outsiders in search of clarity," says Lindsay-Abaire.

Most notably his projects have included  Rabbit Hole, produced in 2006 in New York with Cynthia Nixon, Tyne Daly, and John Slattery, that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, as well as other Tony awards, and Cynthia Nixon won a Tony as Best Actress. Lindsay-Abaire also has writing credit on three screenplays, Robots (2005), Inkheart (2007), and the adaptation of Rabbit Hole, in which Nicole Kidman starred. She produced the film, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was well-received. He also has written a movie for DreamWorks Animation, entitled Rise of the Guardians, based on a story by co-director William Joyce. Lindsay-Abaire's recent projects include the book for the musical High Fidelity, and the book and lyrics for Shrek the Musical. His play Good People had its official opening on Broadway on March 3, 2011, with Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan in the lead roles. In just a decade Lindsay-Abaire has topped the “Who’s Who?” list of versatile and influential twenty-first century American writers.

So what is this play about? Claire awakens one morning to discover that she is married to a man named Richard and has a son, Kenny, who has an attitude problem. She learns she has a "psychogenic" form of amnesia, and Richard has prepared a book about her life after re-explaining everything so many times. Everything is as it seems until Zach, or "Limping Man" as he is referred to in the script, appears from under the bed. He claims he is there to rescue Claire and that Richard wants to kill her. Zach, who reveals he is Claire's brother, takes her to their mother Gertie's house. Gertie is not fond of Zach but cannot say why because of her aphasia. While there, Claire meets Millet, a kind man with an apparent mental disability and a bad-mouthed puppet. It is revealed that Millet and Zach have escaped from prison, although why they were brought to prison remains a mystery. Meanwhile, Richard takes Kenny to search for Claire. He is pulled over by Heidi and takes her gun, bringing her with him and Kenny as they travel to Gertie's house. But in the meantime Millet – through his puppet – has told Claire about how her husband used to beat her, and she wants nothing to do with Richard. She has also found out that the real Zach, her brother, is dead. As Richard, Kenny and Heidi are entering the house, Claire does not know whom to trust. Gertie takes advantage of the opportunity and stabs Limping Man. Did you get all that? That was just the first act!

The CBT production features the stellar talents of resident artists David Brian Alley, Carol Mayo Jenkins, Neil Friedman, New York guest artist Jefferson Slinkard and includes MFA graduate students Megan Wiles, Conrad Ricamora and Suzanne Ankrum. The production is directed by John Sipes.

Lindsay-Abaire had his first theatrical success with Fuddy Meers, which was workshopped as part of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center under Artistic Director Lloyd Richards and ultimately premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club. He returned to the Manhattan Theatre Club with Wonder of the World, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, about a wife who suddenly leaves her husband and hops a bus to Niagara Falls in search of freedom, enlightenment, and the meaning of life.

Lindsay-Abaire also has writing credit on three screenplays, Robots (2005), Inkheart (2007), and the adaptation of Rabbit Hole, in which Nicole Kidman starred. She produced the film, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was well-received. He has recently written a movie for DreamWorks Animation, entitled Rise of the Guardians, based on a story by co-director William Joyce.

Lindsay-Abaire's recent projects include the book for the musical High Fidelity, and the book and lyrics for Shrek the Musical. His play Good People had its official opening on Broadway on March 3, 2011, with Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan in the lead roles.