BWW Reviews: Misery Hates Company in POCATELLO

Pocatello, Idaho's major claim to fame as being the place of which Judy Garland sang of being born in a trunk stands little chance of being usurped by providing the title for recent MacArthur grant recipient Samuel D. Hunter's latest drama.

How the decline of the homogenized American corporate landscape affects those it employs could make for an interesting evening, but Hunter's depiction of a mundane little community is in itself a rather mundane evening.

T.R. Knight heads the excellent ensemble as Eddie, a sincere and resolutely optimistic nice guy who manages the local Italian chain restaurant in that Idaho city. Lauren Helpern's terrific set is so on the mark you can practically taste how bland the food must be.

The play gets off to a flying start in the first scene. It's "Famiglia Week" and employees' relatives are doing their best to enjoy their meals. The playwright's overlapping dialogue keeps switching focus from one section of the dining room to another, staged with fine precision by director Davis McCallum.

At one table Eddie's continually dissatisfied mom (Brenda Wehle) can't abide by the fact that they don't serve gluten-free pasta. His older brother Nick (Brian Hutchison) wants nothing to do with Eddie's attempts at family bonding, though his wife, Kelly (Crystal Finn) is willing to give it a go.

At the next table is Nick's ex, Tammy (Jessica Dickey) who's married to waiter Troy (Danny Wolohan). She's an alcoholic who defiantly downs glasses of cheap wine in front of him. Their teenage daughter, Becky (Leah Karpel) feels so intensely about human and animal rights that the thought of eating meat makes her vomit and she refuses to eat vegetables produced by countries with abusive labor practices. Jonathan Hogan lends some pathos as Troy's father, who has dementia.

Eddie hasn't told his staff, which includes "recovering" drug addict Max (Cameron Scoggins) and townie Isabelle (Elvy Yost), that the corporate suits have decided to close the restaurant at the end of the week, thinking that if they work hard to increase business they'll have a change of heart. But really, it's Eddie's desperation to have some kind of functioning family unit that blinds him to reality. While the other character's try to manage their miserable lives, Eddie clings to his vision of the Pocatello he calls home.

Despite some poignant moments, Hunter barely establishes any sympathy, and Pocatello rarely engages.

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