A Magic Theater presentation of a play in two acts by Gary Leon Hill. Directed by David Dower.
Bob Plum - Howard Swain
Donna - O-Lan Jones
Bobby - Luis Saguar
Too much narrative ambition can be a bad thing. Still, just a little would have been a very good thing indeed for "8 Bob Off," Gary Leon Hill's new play. This awfully slight seriocomedy about three characters nearing their separate tether's ends sports a vague, puppyish affability in its text and in David Dower's Magic premiere production, but that quality isn't enough to sustain, let alone justify, nearly two hours that feel like a series of early scene drafts.
Bob (Howard Swain) has landed at an aunt's property in Portland. He's supposed to renovate one of her several rental units there, a task he's not quite sure he has the know-how for. However, results can't be any worse than what he's managed in adult life so far: One broken marriage, a possibly estranged grown son, myriad disgruntled girlfriends, plus a "current" one in NYC who at present is not returning his calls.
Genially brash, nosy neighbor Donna (O-Lan Jones) is just the dame to act as amateur therapist. But the often coyly abbreviated, blackout-separated scenes Hill deploys here reveal so little that it's easy to assume -- for lack of contradictory evidence -- that Bob is simply another overgrown, vaguely artistic manchild freaking out about approaching middle age.
He's clearly looking for a fresh start, a chance to redeem himself. The house remodel is a pretty obvious metaphor for that. But it's a poor one in theatrical terms. There's only the barest attempt to suggest a shelled-out room in John Mayne's set design, and if the production
had created an elaborate set, it surely would have overwhelmed so slender a play. As is, thesp Swain is forced to invent pointless fix-it busywork throughout.
Most of Bob's scenes benefit from being bounced off the one-legged (she lost it in a drunk-driving accident) Donna -- an appealing character made more so by Jones. In the first act she's also forced to channel several of Bob's former women. Jones doesn't disappear into a role so much as expand it to suit her own petite yet larger-than-life persona, so these briefly glimpsed characters seem quite alike. But then, Hill has them all nagging and pleading with Bob in pretty much the same ways.
The close friendship bordering on sexual attraction that develops between Bob and Donna gets her ex-husband-turned-husband-again Bobby (Luis Saguar, lending a lived-in feel to an underdeveloped role) suspicious and jealous. Both he and Donna use Bob as plea-bargainer with the latter's aunt -- their home is in sad repair, but then they haven't paid rent in months. Finally Bob brokers a long-distance deal that might make everyone's lives a bit better.
This "trailer trash" couple next door (a door apparently ever-open to extended family members and multiple dogs) intrigue, but again, Hill seems to prefer mild riffing over actual disclosure. They've both "done a lotta crazy shit" in the past. Such as?
The play as a whole sports few lines as provoking or meaningful as the one when Donna wistfully ponders whether Bobby returned to her "just because I get a (disability) check." More often, dialogue is minimal, or forcedly "lyrical"-descriptive ("…and her laughter floated up to the ceiling like a bubble -- and popped!").
Swain is a fine actor, but he can't create a full being out of an authorial alter ego the author wrongly assumes requires little explanation. Hill has written some fine, gritty, docudrama-style plays about street life (e.g., "Food From Trash") This new work about midlife crisis may be so personal that he can't recognize its need for more structure, not to mention insight.
While still a little rough on opening night, Dower's production does sport occasional charm. Substance, however, he cannot impose.
Set, John Mayne; costumes, Kira Kristensen; lighting, Jim Cave; sound, Drew Yerys; fight choreographer, Christopher Morrison; production manager, Karen Zamd; stage manager, Luanne McLeod. Artistic director, Larry Eilenberg. Opened, reviewed Feb. 21, 2003. Running time: 1 HOUR, 45 MIN.
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Date in print: Fri., Mar. 21, 2003