Nutty professor.

February 10, 2006.By Graydon Royce, Star Tribune.

I.W. well appreciates the peril of invoking the specter of Jerry Lewis to recommend a show. But “KNOCK!” by Jim Lichtscheidl is such a sharp and clever mix of styles that it evokes the young, happy and inventive work of the nutty genius. But if you still can’t shake the image of sullen Jerry staring at you on Labor Day, conjure up the imaginative Ernie Kovacs as an example of what Lichtscheidl is up to at the Loring Playhouse in Minneapolis. With video backgrounds, musically inspired pantomime, unabashedly childlike animation and loads of winking irony, this is the most distinctive new show on a Twin Cities stage right now. It’s art and it’s entertainment. Go to www.theatrelatteda.org for details.