Hunter Gatherers
The Furious Theatre Company continues its head-long dash through its season with the most off-kilter new work it can find: Hunter Gatherers, a newly minted comedy by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Nachtrieb has conceived what’s next for an urban population that has nowhere to go but backwards in depicting the annual reunion of two mismatched couples from high school. In his latest play, he carries the back-to-nature to absurd conclusions.
Prim Pam (Sara Hennessy) and her brute husband, Richard (Doug Newall) are hosting their best friends, sleek Wendy (Vonessa Martin) and her doctor husband, Tom (Steven Schub) for their annual dinner together.
Richard is the quintessential cook; this time he’s planning fresh lamb. He enlists Pam in the preparation, which necessitates the butchering of the lamb on the living room floor (Note: not to worry, it’s very tastefully done). While this method of food preparation may seem a bit odd, nary an eyebrow is raised when Wendy arrives, complaining about Tom’s inability to find a parking space. Although played for laughs, there is a touch of melancholy to Nachtrieb’s writing, such as when she says, “Driving is the worst part about the city….That, and the sadness.”
There is no doubt that Wendy’s marriage is coming apart at the seams, just as there is little doubt about her attraction to Richard. All together at last they play out, with a sort-of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” cruelty, roles that have evolved over 17 years since high school: Richard is boorish while his wife, Pam seems as vacant as a deer in the headlights. Wendy is voracious, while Tom lives up to his label as the perennial nerd. To document how these characters wind up with food and bodies strewn throughout the living room would rob potential audiences of experiencing the mounting, hilarious devastation. Suffice it to say that it is quite ridiculous in a weirdly logical sort of way.
It’s easy to see the play’s attraction for the Furious folks who like nothing more than mayhem. Its very absurdity demands a delicate touch to keep the show on target. Sadly, on opening weekend, the cast telegraphed their wacky personas when they might have modulated them, thus giving the play room to build and expand. I fully expect that, under director Dámaso Rodriquez’s watchful eye, they will settle into the rhythm of this engaging play and bring future audiences along the journey with gathering momentum and laughter.
To satisfy the multiple demands for the setting, Kurt Boetcher has provided a simple combination set, ably supported by the lighting of Christie Wright, great sound from Cricket Myers, and costumes from Christy Hauptman. Brian Danner’s frequent fight choreography fills the bill, while the entire cast must have benefited from the presence of Reiki Consultant Rebecca Rasmussen.
"Hunter Gatherers" continues through February 21, 2009 at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre in the Pasadena Playhouse Complex, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena 91101. Tickets @ $30.00 online at www.furioustheatre.org, or phone (800) 595-4849.