I must confess: I have some guilty pleasures. I’m sure everyone does: little quirks and things you do to have fun. One is my junk TV: I’ve been watching Survivor since it started. Some watch Ancient Aliens, some AGT, some The Amazing Race, but for me it has been Survivor. I like the human drama, I like the stories of the people and watching how they change through endurance, and I like the Diplomacy aspect of it. Another guilty pleasure is getting cast albums of lesser known or failed musicals, hoping that one day I might be able to see them on stage. One of my favorite songs is from such a musical: The Last Real Record Store on Earth from the musical High Fidelity. It flopped on Broadway, and I’ve never seen anyone mount it in Los Angeles. There are a lot of musicals like that on my list, from Big Fish to Tuck Everlasting to Bonnie & Clyde to Groundhog Day to the latest How To Dance in Ohio. C’mon small and regional theatres, do these shows before they are forgotten! I mean, I’m not asking for King Kong or Spiderman: Turn off the Dark (although those would be cool)
But I digress. These guilty pleasures intersected in the musical Hands on a Hardbody, which was based on a 1997 documentary about a real contest in Longview TX, where contestants had to keep their hand flat on a Nissan Truck: Last one standing wins the truck (in fact, when the musical opened on Broadway, they flew out some of the contestants). In 2013, shortly after the cast album was released, I picked up a copy. The music was interesting, but I always wondered about the show. Fast forward to early 2020. I learn that one of our neighborhood community theatres was actually going to be mounting a production (they’ve done lesser known shows in the past—I loved their production of The Theory of Relativity). In fact, if you were reading my writeups of the time, you would have seen in the “look ahead”:
March starts with Passion at Boston Court (FB) the first weekend. The 2nd weekend brings the MRJ Man of the Year dinner (and possibly The Wild Party at Morgan Wixson). The 3rd brings Marvin’s Room at Actors Co-op (FB) ; and the last weekend brings Spongebob Squarepants at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB) and the MoTAS/TBH Seder. April is similarly busy: the 1st weekend is Mamma Mia at 5 Star Theatricals (FB); the 2nd is during Pesach and is open (but has Count Basie at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the Thursday before); the 3rd is Once on This Island at the Ahmanson Theatre; the last is Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) (and possibly Hands on a Hardbody at the Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse (FB)), and the first weekend of May is Mean Girls at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB)
Then COVID happened. The last of those shows we saw was Passion. Some were subsequently remounted: Marvin’s Room, The Wild Party. Some were postponed: Mamma Mia, Hamilton, Mean Girls. Some had their tours cancelled: Once on This island, Spongebob (but we were able to see local productions of that). Last night we saw the last of the COVID-time productions to resurface: Hands on a Hardbody at Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse (CSHP). I’ve been waiting a while for this.
As you may have figured out by now, Hardbody has a relatively simple plot and staging: Put a car on stage. Have the endurance contest, introducing the audience to the contestants and their motivations until there is a winner (hmmm, now that I think about it, it is a lot like Putnam County Spelling Bee). Have subplots involving the people running and reporting on the contest. The story comes (as it does in Survivor) from the mix of people that are in this contest. For Hardbody, this mix includes: an unlikeable prior winner, who is a bit racist; the son of an immigrant who wants to be a vet; a USMC vet, an older woman (and her husband as support) who really need the money; a Texas evangelical; a beauty queen; an older man (and his wife as support) who is recovering from a fall from a big rig; and a few other folks. The back story involves the faltering dealership and lack of sales, and some unethical behavior on behalf of some of the staff. Now you might think that the characters created here were fictional, and the story was a “based on”; it turns out reading about the documentary that the character types were the actual folks in the filmed contest.
The story itself works well, and based on the music, was one of the reasons I was drawn to the piece. But how you can stage this at a mid-size professional theatre (La Jolla Playhouse, where it started) or a Broadway theatre is very different than how you stage it in a community theatre, performed in a church social hall. For example, you can’t have a real car; you have to suggest a car with what you can build in the social hall. CSHP did that well. However, it wasn’t perfect. There were aspects of the backstories and character relationships that were described in the synopsis that just didn’t come through in the staging. For example, the scene where Heather (the Beauty Queen) and Mike Farris (the car salesman) makes it seem like the “perk” provided was the Executive Washroom or some implied liaison, when in reality it was time in the air conditioned space. I never picked up on the fact there was an air conditioner in the space. But overall, CSHP did remarkably well within the limitations of their space.
I’ll note that the story here has some surprisingly deep moments, touching on life at the lower end of the economic spectrum, racism, small-town America, PTSD and Veterans, and the importance of holding on to that which you love.
With the simple staging, what makes a show like this succeed or fail are the performances. As with the staging, there were some extremely strong performances, some very good performances, and some that (shall we say) reflected the community theatre level. Again, that’s not a surprise: this is a community theatre, drawing from a mix of LA’s intimate theatre talent as well as CSHP regulars and community members. The balance here was heavily weighted on the strong side, which was good. I’d like to highlight a few songs and performers:
I’ll start with Allison Sundman (Heather), who caught my eye from the start with her smile, her characterization, and her voice. She was just a load of fun to watch. Viktor Pacheco-Espinoza (Jesus) gave a strong performance in “Born in Laredo”, where he told the story of how as a Hispanic, folks always thought he was an immigrant, even though he was born in America. I was also moved by the performance of Larry Toffler (JD) and Aris Kakkis (Benny) is “Used to Be”, a lament about how the local businesses that made each small town unique have been replaced by the homogenized chain stores and franchises. Both songs were very touching.
Ana Luiza Bourroul (Norma) showed a powerhouse voice in “Joy of the Lord” and its reprise (in fact, the song and its message made me think of the other church-based theatre company we know, Actors Co-Op, and how CSHP is a lot less preachy in its show choices—a plus in my book). Also possessed of a strong voice were Lara Blanco (Cindy) and Keeley Bell (Kelli), which the latter used wonderfully in “I’m Gone”. Georgan George (Virginia) did a lovely job with “Alone With Me”, but where I noticed her more was in the closing number and the characterization of the relationship and affection with JD.
As I write this, it strikes me that all of the cast is worth highlighting for one thing or another, for example, Bryan Windom (Ronald)’s lovely voice on his songs or Isaiah Gundermann Graham (Chris) song about what he got from the military. But what I listed above are the major things that stick in my mind… well, that, and the closing song “Keep Your Hands on It“. That song really embodies the message of the show: “If you love something, keep your hands on it, don’t let it go.”
P.S.: Floyd King Nissan didn’t become Floyd King Toyota. In reality, Jack Long Nissan became Patterson Nissan, still in Longview.
Hands on a Hardbody has 5 performances left as I write this: May 5, 11, 12, 18, all in Harter Hall on the grounds of the Woodland Hills Community Church. Tickets are available through the CSHP website. The show is beautiful and well worth seeing. I do wish they had a full printed program: I don’t like the trend of a single page or a QR code and an online program. Websites go away and can’t be navigated easily before or during a show; printed programs can, plus they provide memories that can be revisited.
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Hands on a Hardbody: A Musical. Book by Doug Wright. Lyrics by Amanda Green. Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green. HANDS ON A HARDBODY had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla California on May 12, 2012. The Artistic Director was Christopher Ashley. The Managing Director was Michael S. Rosenberg. HANDS ON A HARDBODY is based on the Documentary Film by S. R. Bindler and Kevin Morris, HOHB Production, LLC.
Cast (contestants unless otherwise noted): Allison Sundman Heather Stovall (May 4 and12); Ana Luiza Bourroul Norma Valverde; Andrew Nava Mike Ferris (dealership) ; Aris Kakkis Benny Perkins; Bryan Windom Ronald McCowan; Carlos Gomez Greg Wilhote; Danica Waitley Heather Stovall (May 5, 11, 18); Georgan George Virginia Drew (wife of JD); Isaiah Gundermann Graham Chris Alvaro; Keeley Bell Kelli Mangrum; Lara Blanco Cindy Barnes (dealership); Larry Toffler JD Drew; Matt Worland Dr. Stokes; Pat Nye Don Curtis (husband of Janis); Sean Dela Pena Frank Nugent (radio announcer); Tamarah Ashton Janis Curtis; and Viktor Pacheco-Espinoza Jesus Peña.
Production and Creatives: Marshelle Giggles-Mills Director; Larry Collica Musical Direction; Keeley Bell and Danica Waitley Choreography; Suzanne Ryan Producer; Jessica Worland Production Management and Design; Brittany Joy Sundman Stage Management; Matt Worland Technical Direction and Lighting Design; Aris Kakkis Graphic Design; Doug Mills Transportation Direction.
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Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; Geffen Playhouse (Mini-Subscription); 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.
Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):
- May: ♦ Girl from the North Country at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at Canyon Theatre Guild (⊕)
- June: ♦ Jelly’s Last Jam at the Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ A Strange Loop at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Mrs. Doubtfire at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ You Can’t Take It With You (⊕) at Group Rep; and potentially some ♦ Hollywood Fringe Festival shows, although June is pretty well booked already.
- July: ♦ Peter Pan at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ The Sound of Music at 5-Star Theatricals;
- August: ♦ Clue at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Company at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages;
On the Theatrical Horizon:
Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica has announced their Mainstage 2024 Season, and it includes Bat Boy the Musical running Sept 28 through October 18. We saw Bat Boy back when CSUN did it in 2014; it is a wonderful musical about how a society treats outsiders. I also just learned about a theatre company in Fullerton, Maverick Theater. They are doing Evil Dead: The Musical , which is a hoot if you’ve never seen it (we’ve seen it twice). They also have some interesting other stuff on their season, and we might drive down for Santa Claus Vs The Martians in November. I also just learned that Jason Alexander will be doing Fiddler on the Roof , directed by Lonny Price, at La Mirada in November. Lastly, I saw on FB that Chromolume Theatre may be returning in late 2024 or early 2025. They always did some interesting musicals that were rarely staged. Interesting….
