Karla Sorenson’s
TAPPED OUT about a man, a bar and an overdue loan is getting a smart production
at Image Theater this month (through Nov. 16th). Sorenson writes
clever, witty dialogue and characters you can care about: There’s Manny who
purchased the bar for a new start in life. He’s had a few brushes with the law
but he’s determined to “go legit” from now on. Problem is he doesn’t have the
money to repay a dicey loan he never should have agreed to in the first place.
Of course, he’s
sweet on the waitress he’s just hired and she, too, it just so happens, could
use a fresh start. Then there’s Manny’s friend, Tucker, who used to play in a
rock band but now he practically lives at the bar. Sorenson gets terrific
laughs when Tucker holds forth on his philosophy of life: “Progress is like an
axe in the hand of a criminal.” In other words, he doesn’t like change and he
sees it coming when the new waitress offers “ideas” to update the bar. “Take
away her library card,” he quips.
Sorenson stacks
the deck with more than the requisite amount of secrets and issues. A charge of
rape is raised but then it disappears. The waitress suggests to Manny that
Tucker dislikes her because he’s in love with Manny himself. That wrinkle
likewise evaporates. We hear lots of talk about drugs, alcoholism, suicide and
sabotage: so many possibilities for a plot that it’s hard to see the forest for
the trees. (New plays are often overwritten. That’s how playwrights work on
their development. The good news is that Image Theater takes chances on new
work when most theaters don’t.)
When the play
ends, then you can see the through line but until then, the characters seem to
be wandering all over the map. Mind you, the quirky characters and the zippy
dialogue keep you interested but at intermission, all you have is ‘Will Tucker
rat out the waitress and reveal her secret?” A better hook, like “Will Manny do
something foolish to save the bar” would ramp up the suspense and heighten the
stakes. (Later on she comments about that secret, and I would agree, that it
“doesn’t really make a difference.”)
Directors Jerry
Bisantz and Ann Garvin have a crackerjack cast to make you believe: David
Sullivan is perfection as the salt of the earth ex-boxer who just keeps getting
bad breaks. Jenney Dale Holland gives the waitress equal parts vulnerability
and moxie. You can clearly see why the barkeep is smitten. And Drew Shadrawy
gives the wise guy character just enough edge to make him dangerous. The three
play off each other seamlessly. It’s lovely ensemble work and that’s a very
good thing.
