Tucson’s Live Theatre Workshop is one of the most exciting theater companies in town.
Small budgets have not stopped LTW from mounting plays that many other companies would shy away from. Artistic Director Sabian Trout has a nose for programming that is often substantive, funny, sad and full of ideas.
Case in point: Will Eno’s “The Realistic Joneses,” running through Feb. 4.
It is thick with existential angst, absurdism, natural dialogue and it ponders life and death while still being quite funny.
It takes place in a small town near some mountains. Middle-aged Bob and Jennifer Jones (Christopher Younggren and Avis Judd) are sitting on their back porch gazing at the night sky.
Jennifer tries to talk, but Bob, who sits with his back to her, is not interested. While she is open and exudes warmth, he is mean and grumpy.
Soon, their new, younger neighbors, John and Pony (Josh Parra and Hannah Turner), also with the surname Jones, turn up uninvited, carrying a bottle of wine and an eagerness to visit.
There is an awkwardness and banality to their conversation. John often blurts out nonsensical musings. “I found this company that will send you the transcript of any audio book,” he says randomly. “Wouldn’t that just be the book?” is Jennifer’s response.
In a series of scenes, we discover who these people are and what weighs them down. Bob has a progressive disease which makes his brain fuzzy. He wants to know nothing about the illness and refuses to discuss it, much to Jennifer’s frustration. Turns out John has the same disease but has hidden it from the high-strung Pony because illness freaks her out.
There are attempts to reach out and run away. And Eno peppers his dialogue with absurd one-liners. Off-the-wall thoughts such as “Ice cream is a dish best served cold,” and “A hundred-year-old fake is still a real antique” get deadpan deliveries, which somehow make them funnier and underscore the rawness and discomfort of the characters.
Sam Rush directed the play with a keen appreciation of the absurdity and the desperation of the characters.
And he has a cast that serves him well. Judd is a powerful presence on stage, and the pain and frustration her character, Jennifer, feels is palpable. Younggren’s Bob was an impossible personality heavily burdened with an illness he doesn’t want to accept or understand. Younggren hasn’t been on stage in a while, and it is wonderful to see him back.
Parra and Turner, as well, inhabited their characters and made their struggles with each other, their neighbors and impending death apparent without ever being heavy-handed.
Eno’s play may not be for everyone. It is quirky and at times dark. But it is also thoughtful and funny. It’s another win for Live Theatre Workshop.
“The Realistic Joneses” continues through Feb. 4 at Live Theatre Workshop, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road. Tickets are $21-$23 at livetheatreworkshop.org or 520-327-4242.
It runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
