BWW Reviews: Justin Tanner Premieres Day Drinkers at Odyssey Theatre

Day Drinkers
by Justin Tanner
directed by Bart DeLorenzo
through October 9
Odyssey Theatre

Witnessing a Justin Tanner play is kind of like watching a soap opera; at one moment you cannot believe what you are hearing and seeing and in the next you'll exclaim, "I know them!" Whereas Del Shores gives us Southern white trash, Tanner keeps his trash more local; both playwrights have something else in common: a terrific stock company of actors who brilliantly deliver the goods. Tanner's latest play Day Drinkers, now on stage at the Odyssey, is another hysterically zany slice-of-life dramedy that makes us sit up and think about our actions.

The place: a bar in downtown LA where its owners Daniel and Jenny (Todd Lowe and Chloe Taylor) are experiencing marital difficulties. Daniel's brother Caleb (Cody Chappel) refuses to leave for Canada, because he and Jenny still have the hots for each other. What's worse is that Jenny loves both men. Regular daytime customers Kate (Melissa Denton) and Sharon (Maile Flanagan), a lesbian couple, are also having their share of marital problems, as Kate's parents refuse to accept Sharon and their relationship. And then there's loud, tacky Val (Danielle Kennedy) engaged to aging, formerly prosperous Mick (Tom Fitzpatrick), whose son Bradley (Jonathan Palmer) shows up out of nowhere to test his father's new relationship. All of them drink, and unhappy as they are in their own private hell, spread even more unhappiness as they disturb the others around them. Some of their actions verge on the obscene, as they let it all hang out, and in the end some are better off while others are not. It may seem over-the-top, but it's painstakingly real. And in those naughty, unpredictable, impulsive moments, the characters wake up, take flight and at the same time keep the audience completely engaged.

Bart DeLorenzo is a helluva winning director who consistently allows the actors enough room to pull out all the stops. The acting is top notch from all eight, with Kennedy, Flanagan, Lowe and Taylor never missing a beat. Producer Gary Guidinger has designed a believably seedy LA bar set. And as for the writing? Nothing can beat Tanner's exacerbating characters who simultaneously shake us, tug at our heartstrings and make us howl with laughter.

Day Drinkers is a gutsy comedy whose characters you've surely experienced at one time or another. You know them well, but they never cease to shock and surprise you. Go see for yourselves!