{"id":111176,"date":"2026-02-16T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111176"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:34:03","slug":"hardbody-musical-in-rohnert-park-extremely-likeable-despite-heavy-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/hardbody-musical-in-rohnert-park-extremely-likeable-despite-heavy-theme\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hardbody\u2019 musical in Rohnert Park extremely likeable despite heavy theme"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cast of <\/span><\/em>Hands on a Hardbody<\/span> appear with Nissan pickup truck that\u2019s the focus of the Rohnert Park show. Photo by Jeff Thomas.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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By WOODY WEINGARTEN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hands on a Hardbody<\/em>, which plays in Rohnert Park through March 1, virtually demands that audience members root for their favorite character.<\/p>\n

The country-rock musical pits each of 10 needy Texans against the other nine in a cruel endurance contest that screws with participants bodies and<\/em> minds. The stated goal: To be the last man\/woman standing in a competition to determine who can keep one hand on a hardbody pickup truck longer than the rest.<\/p>\n

The storyline, by Doug Wright, is based on the real-life saga of a Longview auto dealer\u2019s annual promotion in excessive summer heat from 1992 to 2005. The competition \u2014 which actually ended because of a contestant\u2019s suicide \u2014 shallow dives into the inner life of those snagged on the underbelly of society, part of the working class that\u2019s often crushed by big corporations and incompetent, uncaring politicians.<\/p>\n

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Serena Elize Flores, playing Norma, is the show-stopper. Looking on as she sings is Malik Charles D. Wade I (Ronald). Photo by Lauren Heney.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Theatergoers get a batch of characters to root for. They can sympathize, for instance, with Norma, a fervent Christian who apparently has multiple church congregations praying for her to win. She\u2019s portrayed by Serena Elize Flores, who stops the show with a booming gospel tune, \u201cJoy of the Lord,\u201d showing off what\u2019s easily the best voice on stage. The cast \u2014 16 actors of different shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and vocal abilities \u2014makes the number even better by rhythmically pounding on the truck with white cotton gloves they\u2019re ordered to wear.<\/p>\n

But maybe a viewer can better relate to Chris (played by Jake Druzgala), an ex-Marine with survivor guilt who poignantly sings \u201cStronger,\u201d a melody about needing to be macho while in the service but being vulnerable afterwards. He\u2019s clearly now in a war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n

Or perhaps sensitive observers might feel sorry for one half of a couple, J.D. Drew (Larry Williams), who\u2019s the oldest participant, a dude forced to retire without a pension by an injury he got falling off an oil rig, or his wife, Virginia (Julianne Bretan), who J.D.\u2019s taken for granted despite her taking care of him. They add another emotional moment in \u201cAlone with Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mark Bradbury (Mike) puts the moves on Katie Kelley (Heather). Photo by Jeff Thomas.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Compassion might also be given Ronald (Malik Charles D. Wade I), a big, black guy who thinks devouring candy bars will somehow be a winning strategy; Jesus (Maick Poroj), a veterinary student who quietly rails against prejudice and wants to sell the truck so he can pay his tuition; or Heather (Katie Kelly), who gulps down speed pills given her by the somewhat lecherous dealership manager to ensure a fixed victory.<\/p>\n

Direction by Sheri Lee Miller makes sure the 2\u00bd-hour run-time moves swiftly, and that person after person\u2019s self-explorations are tight and the whole enchilada isn\u2019t choppy. She also underscores the humor that\u2019s sprinkled throughout, keeping the show from descending into sentimental tragedy.<\/p>\n

A shiny cherry red Nissan truck on a center-stage turntable might itself by the way be considered a character. It swirls and moves forward and backward and symbolizes a chance for the winner to make a 180-degree life change from down-on-your-luck to light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel.<\/p>\n

The playwright, 63-year-old Doug Wright, may well believe his tale is more relevant today than when it arrived on Broadway in 2013 since he has contended that \u201cour economic tumult has brought age-old fissures of race, class, and income inequality to the fore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hands on a Hardbody<\/em> certainly offers plenty to chew on. It covers, if superficially, the major disappearance of the American dream, the destruction of the U.S. healthcare system, and the hardship of the blue-collar class in general.<\/p>\n

But every now and then, the text spits out a distracting behind-the-times reference. Such as when it refers to Desert Storm in current terms, or it lists the then-spanking new truck at only $22,000.<\/p>\n

The basically plotless show \u2014 reminiscent of A Chorus Line<\/em> or Sondheim \u2014 features southern rock, gospel, country, and Delta blues. It is, according to music director Lucas Sherman, who\u2019s onstage at Spreckels on keyboards, backed by a violinist, guitarist, bass-player and drummer \u2014 \u201cgritty at times and beautiful the rest of the time.\u201d Gritty, of course, wins more often.<\/p>\n

Trey Anastasio, lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, co-wrote the music with Amanda Green, who also did the lyrics.<\/p>\n

Everyone involved worked on making sure that Hands on a Hardbody<\/em>, in effect stuck in place by the musical\u2019s arc, doesn\u2019t remain static. They break the story\u2019s theme by having contestants leave the truck to move upstage and sing (without being thrown out of the contest). Characters constantly and gracefully slip \u2018n\u2019 slide in front of and behind each other while still touching the hardbody. And Karen Miles\u2019 choreography is wonderfully silly in spite of having most of her dance creations needing to be limited \u2014 one-handed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a show that sounds vastly heavier in a review than it is. It\u2019s extremely likable. And the more a theatergoer thinks about it after leaving, the more that person\u2019s apt to like it even more.<\/p>\n

Hands on a Hardbody<\/em> will play in the Nellie W. Codding Theater of the Spreckels Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park, through March 1. Tickets: $16 to $44. Info: www.spreckelsonline.com<\/a> or 707-588-3400.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites, https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>. His books include Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner\u2019s breast cancer, aimed at <\/em>male caregivers; MysteryDates \u2014 How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of his newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that he co-authored with his then 8-year-old granddaughter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  By WOODY WEINGARTEN Hands on a Hardbody, which plays in Rohnert Park through March 1, virtually demands that audience members root…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.3,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"