Review: 'Tales From The Great American Roadway'
Enjoyable production visits a variety of characters on the road
*** RATING
By Mark Collins
July 19, 2007
LAFAYETTE — Even when we know where we're going, a good old road trip can lead us down some surprising paths. Metaphorically speaking, who hasn't rediscovered something significant or gotten completely lost driving a long haul, the white lines whirring past you, putting you into a trance-like state.
It's a uniquely American pastime.
In "Tales From The Great American Roadway," Seattle-based playwright David Golden uses the American road as a starting place to share stories about 17 characters, delivered in 16 different vignettes.
Thanks to Madge Montgomery's keen direction, Brian Miller's smart set and a good acting ensemble, Theater Company of Lafayette's regional premiere of the play proves an enjoyable detour.
The characters here are more than slightly worn, and made from 100-percent U.S. parts. They feel real. Most are tied together by a yearning to find, make or define meaning in their lives.
Like a used-car lot full of automobiles, these characters come in all shapes, sizes and styles.
The sweet: Two truckers (Robert Hudgins and Ray Viggiano) swap stories about lives too often spent away from home. A used car salesman (Stuart Goldstein) and his wife (Ellen Ranson) are stuck in a traffic jam on a southern California freeway in the middle of the night. Through the stressful situation, they reignite a static marriage.
The silly: An ex-hippie (Gil Shalit) and his young female hitchhiking companion (Ronda Belser) thumb their way toward Portland. An uncomfortably cheerful and nosy country girl (Beth Davis) picks up a mysterious businessman (Greg Christopher) when his car breaks down. A nerdish man (Christopher) addresses a motor club on the eve of its annual cross-country event.
The sexy: A woman (Nina Grayson) recalls good times spent in the back seat of an old coupe.
The pained: A waitress (Grayson) is haunted by memories of her late husband's auto accident.
The maudlin: A CPA (Ashley Van Scoyoc) takes up the guitar to break the monotony of his life, much to his wife's (Karen Goodwin) consternation. A late-night disc jockey (J. David Bliley) spins tunes and waxes philosophical in the wee hours.
Miller manages to construct a diner, an auto, a front porch, disc-jockey booth and a freeway on the Mary Miller stage, where these characters come to life, without making if feel cramped.
Occasionally, however, Golden's script steers too hard — and too obviously — for grand meaning and ends up in Triteville. By the end, the CPA-turned-troubadour just needs someone to turn a fire hose on him and wake him from his mid-life crisis. And the DJ is a likable fellow when he sticks to his radio shtick, but he's hard to take when he goes all existential during his midnight musings.
Minor bumps in the road, though. The trip through "Roadway" includes several stops for laughs, and a number of poignant moments. The best scenes are when the two effects come at the same time, like when the truckers are eating or rambling down the road, or the married couple is stuck on the crowded freeway.
Contact Camera Theater Critic Mark Collins at 303-473-1369 or BDCTheater@comcast.net.