Review: TRISH TINKLER GETS SAVED lacks Rock 'n' Roll at the Randolph Road Theater

For Trish, David Coverdale is her muse. She worships Whitesnake and considers herself to be their ultimate groupie. When Trish (Kristen Jepperson) is invited onto Whitesnake's tour bus, she is in heaven. However, her minute in heavy metal heaven is short lived. Trish is left behind by the tour bus and finds herself wandering into the Eat 'n' Save, a mini-mart in a rapidly changing neighborhood. Trish decides to wait at the Eat 'n' Save for the tour bus to pick her up, against the wishes of Rhonda (Rachael Murray), the mini-mart's manager. Antics abound as Trish tries to convince Rhonda and Jan (Amanda Spellman), Rhonda's employee, to allow her to stay.

Unexpected Stage Company's production of Trish Tinker Gets Saved does not meet expectations. Upon reading the synopsis of Trish Tinker Gets Saved on Jacequeline Goldfinger's site, one expects the play to focus on Trish and her journey of self realization. After all, the play's title implies that Trish will be saved from something. What is Trish trying to be saved from? Unfortunately, Unexpected Stage Company's production does not answer this question. In fact, it gives us more questions than answers about the characters of Trish, Rhonda, and Jan.

Jepperson, Murray, and Spellman struggle to breathe life into Trish, Rhonda, and Jan. The three actresses complete for the audience's attention and often are distractions as their constant antics tend to take the focus away from the main speaker during particular scenes, such as the moment of Trish's call for a vision quest from David Coverdale. Speaking of David Coverdale, the audience only hears his likeness as portrayed by an actor (who cannot be credited, as his name isn't in the playbill) over speakers. This sharp British voice interacts with Trish twice. Although their interactions are brief, there is a interesting dynamic that unfolds with his presence and it is unfortunate that this role is so minimal in this production.

Their motivations and desires are as mysterious as Trish's appearance at the Eat 'N' Save. As much as the audience wants to relate to Trish, it is difficult to care about her, as the play reveals only small hints of her past including a wild college party and a brief appearance in People Magazine. Trish's past is quickly dropped, and the play becomes a whirlwind of too much going on at once. In the playbill, playwright Jacequeline Goldfinger mentions that her inspiration for writing this play was a middle aged woman, who looked like she had a wild past, whom she saw in a park. The playwright's inspiration doesn't seem to have made it into the script, and Trish is more of a hollow shell of what she could be.

The Eat 'N' Save, the setting for the play, is the only set, which is designed by Katie Miller with props by Marji Jepperson and John Barbee. Most of the set consists of shelves and more shelves, turned at awkward sharp angles, rather than being parallel. These shelves have different food items and other trinkets, but the shelves are sparse. This leads to a less than realistic set that is more evocative of a food pantry rather than a mini-mart.

Trish Tinkler Gets Saved is a "new comedy," but the humor is less than refreshing. The humor is entirely absent. It is hard to be able to laugh at jokes that aren't there. Instead of comedy, there is chaos as each actress attempts to introduce slapstick and crude humor into numerous scenes including one where Trish and Rhonda fight each other. Like Trish waiting for the tour bus, the audience waits for humor, but they are not able to catch it. Unexpected Stage Company's production of Trish Tinker Gets Saved, directed by Christopher Goodrich, is 70 minutes with no intermission. This production is part of the Women's Voices Theater Festival and it runs until October 18th. Tickets can be purchased online.

Photo caption and credit: Kristen Jeeperson (Trish) and Amanda Spellman (Jan) in Unexpected Stage Company's production of Trish Tinkler Gets Saved (Photo credit to Lewis Lorton and Saul Pleeter)

To post a comment, you must register and login.