Recession Hits Home in 'Tender'

 

Tender

A new play by Kelly Younger; Directed by Eric C. Engel, Set Design by Julia Noulin-Merat, Costume Design by Molly Trainer, Lighting Design by Russ Swift, Sound Design by Andrew Will, Production Stage Manager Marsha Smith

Featuring: Denise Cormier, Richard McElvain, Brendan Powers

Performances through July 25 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 E. Main Street, Gloucester, MA      Box Office 978-281-4433 or www.gloucesterstage.org

The Gloucester Stage Company presents the world premiere of Tender by Kelly Younger, marking the playwright's debut at Cape Ann's Gorton Theatre. The three-character family drama focuses on one emotionally-fraught day in the life of a Southern California couple swamped with I.O.U.'s and frantically searching for any buoyant entity that might help them stay afloat. Unfortunately, art imitates life in this case as Tender takes on water from the opening salvo and thrashes about on an ever-changing course, exploring one tack after another in its search for a meaningful destination.

The first act begins with a harried Amanda (Denise Cormier), attached to her cell phone like a vital organ, returning from her realtor's job to the home front where chaos reigns. A television blares "Antiques Roadshow" in an offstage room, her elderly father Frank (Richard McElvain) marches purposefully into the scene and, looking for something of value, dumps the contents of Amanda's briefcase on the floor before retreating, and her husband Brian (Brendan Powers) passively-aggressively clears the dining room table as he lobs verbal barbs her way. With all that is going on aurally, visually, and tacitly, I get the distinct impression that I arrived in the middle of something and must have missed a couple of scenes.

Eventually, things settle down enough to get a sense of what's what in the midst of all the noise. Amanda is the breadwinner who works her ass off and feels like she's drowning; Brian is the unemployed house husband and primary caregiver for daughter and father-in-law who has some issues about his manhood and not being appreciated; Frank is resentful, cantankerous, and possibly pre-Alzheimer's. The walls are plastered with yellow post-it notes which serve as I.O.U.'s between family members, a symbol of the very real debt and emotional stress they are under as their house is this close to being foreclosed upon. Nobody is getting what they need and no one is in a giving mood; there is no protagonist, only three antagonists. This results in no shortage of conflict (and shouting) among the characters, but allows for only brief moments of tranquility when two or all three are in accord.

Seeking a distraction from the looming catastrophe, Frank Hatches the idea to take the whole family to Hearst Castle, the scene of happier times in his life. To that end, he "borrows" a Winnebago for seven days as a prospective buyer and, with St. Christopher (Patron Saint of travelers) statuette in hand, attempts to convince Amanda and Brian that the proposal is not mere folly. He's been a trucker his whole life and now works as a yard goat operator, ferrying trailers around a trucking facility, driving countless miles and never going anywhere all day. He is excited at the prospect of hitting the open road and revisiting the place where he proposed marriage to Amanda's mother. As crazy as it sounds, Frank wins Brian over, while Amanda is steadfastly incredulous. Her solution to their problems is to try to coax her father into co-signing for a refinancing of their mortgage, digging them virtually deeper into the black hole where they already reside. Act one ends with Frank's emphatic response.

Despite the ranting and raving, Tender has a fair amount of humor in the first act, even though some of the laughter may be of the schadenfreude variety. Just when we think we're watching a dark comedy, along comes the second act wherein Younger pulls the rug out and slams us down onto the hardwood floor of reality. This is a drama, after all, and the issues of economic ruin, the sandwich generation, aging, marital discord, and personal responsibility, to name a few, infuse act two with gravitas that is surprising after the somewhat lighter and faster pace of act one. It must be confusing for the actors, especially because they act as if everything is hunky dory right after intermission as the trio prepares for their trip to San Simeon, only to batten down the hatches again when truths start to come out.

If there is one trait that connects these characters, it is their shame. As a wunderkind realtor, Amanda is horrified that she might lose her home. Her conundrum is that no matter how hard she works, she can't overcome the excessive challenges of this economy and the family situation; the harder she works, the greater the distance grows between her and her (unseen) daughter Lex, as well as the divide with Brian. She strives to be all things to all people, playing at being the dutiful daughter, but clearly relates to Frank more as an obligation than as a labor of love. In addition to the stereotypical man being supported by wife stuff that Brian suffers through, he also seems troubled by the fact that he is that man, when he would prefer to see himself as a sensitive new age guy who can enjoy being Lex's dad and Amanda's helpmate. Frank's shame derives from his diminishing usefulness and employability, as well as a growing awareness of how little he was able to give his daughter emotionally after his wife left him at a young age.     

Director Eric C. Engel has his struggles trying to keep this ship on course. He establishes a good pace in the first act and helps his actors find all of the humor and then some. However, when the heavy waves approach in act two, the ship gets tossed about and the tempo slows noticeably. McElvain succeeds in capturing Frank's highs and lows, as well as his annoying quirks, and he masterfully lets the fear and confusion play across his face at the dénouement.  Powers does what he can with a role that doesn't have as much breadth, but shines when Brian has his long overdue angry outburst. The arc that Cormier must travel is the most diverse as Amanda devolves from high-powered business woman in charge of everything, to insecure wife and mother learning to relinquish some of the power and control. She does a good job of softening from the former into the latter.

As far as the Gloucester Stage production of Tender is concerned, the director and cast can try to modulate the pitch, especially in the early going, and pick up the pace in the later scenes. I would expect that some of that would happen naturally as the run progresses. However, the playwright raises far more questions than he answers about the nature of a family in foreclosure and leaves us wondering which part of speech and definition of "tender" interest him. In the final analysis, it makes a difference.    

  

Photo by Shawn G. Henry (Denise Cormier, Richard McElvain)

 

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