Lately, I've been reading articles in various magazines and newspapers about a new phenomenon, dubbed by author Dr. Jeffery Jensen Arnett as "Emerging Adulthood". Post-collegiate 20-somethings are growing more and more reluctant to embrace their own maturity. Instead of getting hitched and becoming parents in their early twenties, young American adults stay in low-level jobs longer, and spend more time on recreation and entertainment. They continue to embrace the care-free college life long after their graduation tassels have been moved to the other side.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with a "Rebound and Gagged", a very funny new play involving charivari, a parade of increasingly appalling bridesmaid dresses, and sock puppets?
Aaron Ginsburg has devoted his new play to three such 28 year old rare-do-wells (his previous Vital Theatre title, "Straightjacket and Tie", makes me somewhat curious about his private life). Jase (Jeff Meacham) is a beer-swelling, bagel selling good time guy, who probably would have joined a frat in college but thought it might cut into his partying time. He has a bickersome friendship with Cooper (Nia McGovern), a witty aspiring photographer. She is the unwilling wearer if the aforementioned bridesmaid monstrosities. At the endless nuptials of her female friends, she is so massively insecure about her unmarried, barely employed status that she makes fake business cards for herself to pass as a graphic designer. The last member of the trio, our heartbroken protagonist, is Kyle (Jason Gilbert), who is reeling from a recent break-up. He is alone on the stage at the start of the play, unshaven, clad in the familiar bathrobe of deep depression, with gym socks on his hands. He proceeds to reenact scenes from his defunct relationship using his smelly thespians. It's a bit that reoccurs and escalates throughout the play, and manages to be both hilarious and charged with pathos.
This emotional balancing act echoes the overall tone of the play. Although there are some sequences that border on sitcom, Ginsburg has created people who are complicated under the banter, who will remind us of our friends and of ourselves. Mr. Gilbert is a tousled every-boy, appealing and sympathetic even in his most self-pitying moments. Even Jase, who could have become the "Bastard Buddy" instigator, avoids the stereotype, and in the hands of Mr. Meacham, becomes benign yet charismatic, someone we like in spite of his asinine behavior. The charming Ms. McGovern rises above the "Snarky Gal Pal" syndrome, despite her requisite her smart mouth and Type A neuroses. Her own quest for romantic and professional success threatens to take over the plays' second half.
And herein lies the flaw in "Rebound and Gagged"; There is too much story to go around. The play runs about 20 minutes too long. A number of the scenes start to seem repetitive, though the writing throughout the play is consistently engaging.
In addition to the outstanding trio on leads, attention should also be paid to the two actors playing multiple supporting roles. Matt Hobby, who looks distractingly like a young Tom Waits, plays a number of dweebs and jerks, but is particularly funny as Jases' baked bagel shop co-worker. The lovely Sarah Beth-Lee Williams cuts a wide swath, playing everything from an condescending boss to a dippy club girl with believability and panache.
"Rebound and Gagged" is a refreshing blend of intelligence and emotion. It will be especially enjoyed by people of a certain age (that age being 27), anyone who has felt behind in life, anyone who has nursed a seemingly irreparable broken heart, or anyone who has felt nostalgia for throwing up at 3:00am behind a Taco Bell.
