Clinging to Your Dreams

Hands on a Hardbody – Refuge Theatre Project

Welcome, ya’ll, to the Floyd King Nissan Dealership of Longview, Texas. It’s 1995 and a competitive giveaway is about to commence. Ten passionately-committed individuals of this dismal little town, from all ages and backgrounds, will attempt to win a cherry red pickup truck; but the winner is the contestant who has the stamina to keep one hand on the vehicle the longest and outlast all the others. This simple-sounding premise may sound like a breeze; but, in reality, it will turn out to be anything but easy.

All of the hard-working folks in this play dream of winning the $22,000 Nissan truck for various reasons. Only one of the contestants, however, fully understands the physical, psychological and emotional stress that each person will undergo. Benny Perkins is one of the two older competitors. He successfully won a truck, a couple years earlier, so he appreciates the unbearable stress and strain that keeping your hand on a hardbody for days at a time can induce. Without any sleep, even forbidden to lean against the truck, the competitors must stand in the unforgiving Texas heat, with only occasional fifteen-minute breaks. The brutal experience eventually begins to affect the body and play tricks on the mind. One by one, each competitor succumbs, until only one undaunted and determined individual becomes the winner.

The ten participants include four women. Kelli Mangrum is a fully employed young woman, however, she dreams of escaping her dead-end job that offers no future. Kelli envisions driving away in the brand-new truck, as the envy of all her friends. Pretty, sexy Heather Stovall is so determined to win the pickup that she’s secretly charmed the Nissan manager, Mike Ferris, to help in her quest. Janis Curtis is a crusty, middle-age wife who’s determined to take the truck home so that she and her husband Don can finally feel like winners. Norma Valverde hopes to present the truck to her loving husband and children. She’s a devout Christian who’s enlisted the spiritual help of her church prayer circle to provide her the necessary strength. While keeping her hand on the truck, she draws inspiration from the taped Christian music on her headphones.

The six men in this year’s contest is led by former winner, Benny Perkins. The other contestants despise him for already having won a truck in a previous year’s competition; but what they don’t know is that Benny’s ex-wife packed up all her belongings, took the pickup and left her husband for better life. The other senior member among the men is JD Drew. He was only recently released from the hospital and is still recovering from falling off an oil rig. The accident shattered his right ankle and causes great pain. Out of work, his pension taken away and with bills hanging over his head, JD is waited upon by his supportive, overly doting wife, Virginia. Ronald McCowan is a jovial, good-natured guy who dreams of starting his own landscape business, if he can win the truck. Like Benny, Chris Alvaro was in the military, only recently having returned home from oversees. While Chris was deployed he experienced some gruesome, traumatic incidents that’ve left him with PTSD. 

Greg Wilhote is a likable young man, currently unemployed, who dreams of finally fleeing the heat and hardships of East Texas and moving to California. There he hopes to become a stuntman in motion pictures and television. And Greg really wants to see palm trees before his life is over. He unexpectedly finds himself romantically drawn to Kelli and he talks her into joining him in his Hollywood dream. Jesus Pena is the empathetic, Texan-born son of a Mexican immigrant, with a passion for caring for animals. He hopes to win the truck, sell it and use the money to complete his education as a veterinarian. 

Besides smarmy Mike Ferris, the only other employee we meet from the Nissan Dealership is pretty, but coldly calculating Cindy Barnes, a professional woman who seems to have it all, but eventually reveals her own personal problems and pressures. Completing the cast is local radio personality Frank Nugent. He’s on the scene to broadcast whenever a contestant is disqualified or to interview the determined entrants as they cling to their hopes, dreams and the hot metal frame of the hardbody.

Originally a documentary film by S.R. Bindler, California’s La Jolla Playhouse commissioned it to be turned into a theatrical musical. Written by Doug Wright, the show has a country/western score by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, also with lyrics by Ms. Green. The musical opened on Broadway in 2013, where it only played a disappointing 28 performances. Despite its short run, the musical earned three Tony nominations. Although this show has already enjoyed several regional productions, including by Williams Street Repertory, in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Refuge Theatre Project is proud to produce the musical’s Chicago premiere.

The show is not entirely about winning a truck. It’s a story about real people with earnest needs and dreams. It must be said that, in Texas, a pickup truck isn’t just a vehicle; it’s a symbol. It represents one’s status and character, it’s a testament to a guy’s manhood and it can reaffirm one’s value as a human being. Also, when and where this story takes place is specific. In the mid 1990’s, while the rest of the nation was slowly recovering from the Recession, this part of the country was still suffering severe unemployment. Almost everyone in Longview was out of work; and those lucky enough to hang onto to their menial jobs, barely living one step ahead of each paycheck, dream of escaping to a better life.

Wright’s musical is a remarkable testament to the determination and resiliency of the human spirit. The story is about hope and a willingness to endure anything, even physical suffering and emotional trauma, in order to get ahead. The musical features some of theatre’s most well-written, beautifully articulated contemporary characters. Anastasio and Green’s lyrics and melodies are thoughtful and soul-searching, beautifully integrating with the story. Each contestant reveals so much in the two-and-a-half hour musical, verbalizing through dialogue and song what it would mean to win. Even the three characters sponsoring the contest share their personal lives. No character in this musical is a stereotype; each is a unique, respected individual, with hopes, dreams, passions and problems.

Christopher Pazdernik, along with excellent musical direction by John Schneiderman, has done an admirable job of guiding and molding his cast into playing realistic characters, about whom the audience cares deeply. Scenic designer/props master Evan Frank has cleverly created a suggestion of the pickup truck that’s basically just the frame or skeleton of the vehicle. Accompanied by a talented, four-member, onstage country band, and with Ariel Triunfo’s limited, but inventive choreography (most of the cast is, after all, attached to a truck), this is a very special, well-cast and artfully produced production that deserves to be seen.

The problem this production has is with the acoustics of the room. The venue is cavernous and the sound endlessly reverberates. Acoustics problems have occurred in past productions staged in this space, such as “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson.” The actors, as talented as they are, are truly at the mercy of their body mics and the sound system, which had their own difficulties on opening night. Pazdernik, known for producing site-specific musicals, has had far better success staging his shows in a more confined, site-specific, locale. Good examples were his excellent productions of “High Fidelity,” set in an actual music store, and “The Spitfire Grill,” staged in the intimate Chicago Diner. 

This large, talented cast is exciting. Each actor plays a real person whose story deserves to be seen and heard. On a more personal note, it’s great to see some mature characters in leading roles. Derek Fawcett nicely handles the part of Benny Perkins. Fawcett wisely keeps most of his character’s motivations buried deep inside, until the final scenes. He’s joined by Tom Kough, as JD Drew. The men bond, forming a pact to help each other in the contest, if necessary. Fawcett’s rendition of the Act I finale, “Hunting with the Big Dogs,” along with his poignant, “God Answered My Prayers,” help the audience fully understand this bullheaded man. Kough’s touching “Alone With Me,” sung with the excellent Judy Lea Steele, as his wife Virginia, is heartbreaking and succinctly explains a great deal about this couple’s marriage.

Gorgeous voices deliver other solos and ensemble numbers. “It’s a Fix,” sung by the wonderful Katherine Condit and Anthony Whitaker, as Janis and Don Curtis, is full of anger and passion. The ballad “Born in Laredo” is beautifully sung by handsome, soulful Sebastian Summers, as Jesus Pena. The joyful, toe-tapping “My Problem Right There,” sung with spirit by Jared David Michael Grant, is Ronald McCowan’s musical motivation for wanting to win the pickup truck. Max Cervantes is moving and heartbreaking as Marine, Chris Alvaro, who leaves it all on the stage with his gorgeous rendition of “Stronger.”

Gregarious Dan Gold and Molly Kral, as Mike Ferris and Heather Stovall, join forces for their rousing duet, “Burn That Bridge.” Later, Mr. Gold displays his musical talent once again, sharing the stage with Matt Patrick, as Frank Nugent, singing the rocking title song. Together Roy Samra and Alli Atkenson enchant with the soulful “I’m Gone;” and Cathy Reyes McNamara shines like the Texas sun with her bright, bouncy Gospel anthem, “Joy of the Lord.”

Refuge Theatre, under the spirited artistry and leadership of Christopher Pazdernk, once again has a winning musical on its hands. It’s a show that shouldn’t be missed because, although set in the 90’s, it still speaks to the America of today. The production features a community of genuine, real-life characters, warmly and sincerely portrayed with honesty by an ensemble of gifted professionals. They’ve all done their homework and truly know their characters inside-out. If Refuge can overcome the venue’s poor acoustics and make sure their sound system is working properly, audiences will flock to this spirited show and lose themselves in a gorgeous, heartfelt production.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas                  

Presented March 15-April 27 by Refuge Theatre Project at the Preston Bradley Center, 4th floor, 941 W. Lawrence, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the door or by going to www.RefugeTheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com