Reviewed by Suzanne Angeo (member, American Theatre Critics Association; Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle), and Greg Angeo (Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle)
Photos courtesy of Avon Players
Luigi Murri, Hosanna Phillips, Patty Hagel, Marie Burchi-Skipinski, Lee Davis
“Drinking Alone”: Laughter With a Shot of Angst
If you’re only familiar with American playwrights, you’re in for a pleasant surprise when you see “Drinking Alone”, a glowing comedy about a dysfunctional family, presented by Avon Players.
Norm Foster is Canada’s most popular comic playwright, and for good reason. He has been at it for over 40 years, with 80-plus plays professionally produced all over the world. You might call him Canada’s Neil Simon. His earliest successes were in the 1980s, with his off-Broadway hit “The Melville Boys,” and “The Long Weekend”.
“Drinking Alone” premiered in June 1998 at Festival Antigonish in Nova Scotia. It’s got lots of laughs, witty dialogue and quirky characters we can all relate to.
The play opens in the living room of the Todd family home. With its avocado-green walls and dark paneling, it apparently hasn’t been redecorated since the 1970s. Friendless Joe lives there alone – except for his painfully dated décor – bored and depressed. He’s got nothing going on in his life except managing a dry-cleaning business, and evenings spent watching TV and drinking beer. A family reunion looms ahead. Joe wants to impress his successful, flashy sister and his estranged father. So of course he hires Renee, an escort, to pose as his fiancée. What could possibly go wrong?
Luigi Murri, Marie Burchi-Skipinski
Luigi Murri (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”) plays Joe in a very dry and laid-back kind of way. The contrast between his soft-spoken dweeb and Marie Burchi-Skipinski (“Lend Me a Tenor”) as the gregarious first-time call girl is fun to watch (and hear). Joe’s snarky sister Carrie, a local newscaster and glamour-puss celebrity, arrives and the tension and hard feelings build. Hosanna Phillips (Night of January 16th) expresses equal amounts of vanity, scorn and emotional pain that she tries to drown with liquor. When Ivan Todd, the type-A family patriarch, finally shows up, all hell breaks loose. Lee Davis as Ivan is vulgar, hostile and loud. But he has one redeeming quality – he tells jokes. Not always funny ones, but he tries. He also has some great lines. Example: Joe says, “I’m a good catch.” Ivan responds “Halibut is a good catch. You’re no halibut.”
Ivan has brought Phyllis, his new-ish wife, that he left Joe and Carrie’s alcoholic mother for 15 years ago. She is not exactly welcome, needless to say. Patty Hagel, another Avon Players veteran, infuses the role with kindness and affection, and soon begins to thaw the frosty atmosphere.
But the pivotal character, the one who ultimately brings everyone together, is warm-hearted Renee. Even though she suffers from chronic foot-in-mouth disease and doesn’t know how to dress, she is irresistable. Especially to Joe.
Direction by Joy Oetjens is subtle. At first there doesn’t seem to be any character or story development, just a series of funny lines and mugging throughout the first act. But the crux of the story sneaks up on you, and soon you see through the characters’ posing and defensiveness. A real crisis is at hand.
Costumes by Lana Hastings are decade-neutral but may be from the 1990s (Clue: no one has a cell phone, but there’s one reference to “the internet”). Sets by Jeff Stillman and Jonathan Farrell will make you yearn for reruns of “That 70’s Show”.
“Drinking Alone” offers lessons for those who have dealt with alcoholism and serious illness in their lives: forgiveness, patience and unwavering support are what matters most. And sometimes it takes a loving “outsider” to really see into the heart of a family, even one with a messy past, and to help it heal.
Now through March 23, 2024
Tickets $25.00
Avon Playhouse
1185 Washington Rd
Rochester Hills, MI 48306
(248) 608-9077
www.avonplayers.org
Avon Players Theatre is a registered 501 ©3 non-profit organization. Founded in 1947, it is celebrating its 77th anniversary.
