One-woman ensemble

Four days might seem like an alarmingly short turnover in which to stage, rehearse and open a theater production, but one could say Charissa Bertels is uniquely suited to the task as she prepares to star in the one-woman show “My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend” for Idaho Repertory Theatre this weekend.

The New York-based performer who earned her Master of Fine Arts remotely from the University of Idaho is playing herself in an autobiographical musical based on a period of her life in the early 2010s.

Bertels drove into town Sunday after visiting family in Kansas and began rehearsal Monday for a Friday night opening at the Forge Theatre in Moscow. The show’s limited run continues with a Saturday evening performance and concludes with a Sunday matinee.

“Boyfriend” was conceived in 2014 before making its world premiere in 2017 and has been produced a handful of times since: at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts, Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson and Phoenix, and the Human Race Theatre Company in Ohio, where it won an award for best new musical. Bertels wrote the show in collaboration with Christian Duhamel, of Kellogg, (credited for 

book and lyrics) and Ed Bell, of Windsor, England (music and lyrics), and has starred in every production yet made, though she hopes others will take on her role in the future.

This run is being overseen by creative director Ashlee Wasmund and music director Brett Ryback, the latter of whom previously worked with Bertels on “Boyfriend” in Ohio.

The weekend will be special for Bertels, in part because this is the first time her show has been staged since the passing of the titular “80-year-old boyfriend” — Robert Brown (renamed “Milton” for stage purposes) — who died about a year ago at age 94.

“It’ll really be a different experience, because he’s not still here with me, but it makes me really happy to get to keep sharing him with people,” said Bertels, who also said she feels the cozy venue, with little separation from the audience, will make showings feel more “intimate and special.”

Bertels described Brown, who taught at Yale and was an editor for Esquire Magazine in the 1960s, as “one of those original Mad Men” — a “fascinating guy” full of experience from a long and rich life, with whom she struck up a strong intergenerational friendship after first moving to New York.

“I loved spending time with him, because he had done so many things and met so many interesting people,” she said. “I love a great story, so I always was happy to sit with him and listen, no matter how many times he wanted to tell them to me.”

Bertels’ relationship with Brown is at the heart of a narrative following her life around the time she made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member in a 2012 run of “A Christmas Story.” It is told in a format that will “push the convention of the one-person show” with numbers that include elements like tap dancing, piano playing and a “duet with myself.” The score features a mix of older-style songs that hark 

back to Brown’s era and more contemporary-sounding ones that reflect Bertels’ time.

“I think what they’ll really enjoy about the show, aside from the message of friendship and love and connection, is really the marvel of one person doing so much and playing multiple people,” she said.

What inspired Bertels to create “Boyfriend” was a juncture at which she lost track of Brown and feared she had permanently missed the chance to tell him how much he meant to her.

“I don’t want other people to miss out on telling people how we feel, because we never really know how much time we have, whether we’re 80 or not,” she said. “It changed my life. It really showed me what my priorities should be, so I thought, ‘Maybe that’s a message other people could use as well.’ ”

Wendt, a self-styled jack-of-all-trades who is active as an area sports writer, high school tennis coach, actor and musician, may be reached at cwendt@lmtribune.com.