Alliance Repertory Company nods in at Playhouse 22 with "The Country Club."
By: Stuart Duncan
You probably should know two things about The Country Club, making its area debut at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick under the auspices of Alliance Repertory Company. First, it is written by Douglas Carter Beane, who wrote As Bees in Honey Drown, which means you can count on him to provide dialogue that flays and scalds the sensitivities. Secondly, the comedy is about seven young, rich friends who all have been born with the proverbial silver spoons in or near their mouths, and are just now, in their early 30s, searching for some meaning to their lives.
Come to think of it, you need to know more. You should know that the production is by Alliance Rep, a group that usually operates farther north but has been struggling to secure a permanent home and is just "nodding in" at Playhouse 22 for a few weeks. The director is Michael Driscoll and the cast is mostly new to the area.
We meet the seven one at a time and, since this is a modern play, each comes with only one name in this case the names are like Pooker, Froggy, Zip, Soos, Bri, Hutch and Chloe. The last named comes from Philly, so that’s her real name. The others are from Wyomissing where the country club is located, and they have led more sheltered lives. Well, maybe not Soos (no one dares to call her Susan), who has been married, moved out West, but after a divorce is back again. Since she has at least been out in the real world (for the purposes of comedy, California qualifies as the real world) she knows there is something bigger out there.
The rest of the group have no or few clues; at the first hint of growing up, each scurries to "the Cub Room," a oasis of shelter from reality. We see the seven throughout a full year, in episodic blackout scenes holiday by holiday. "Crushes" develop and fade. In a more mature group these might be called "affairs," but here it is difficult to dignify them as more than crushes. Hutch might marry Chloe, but usually he is too sotted to notice when Zip sneaks away with her. Froggy may constantly be ready to dispense words of advice, but wisdom is more tricky to come by. The show becomes a sort of "Holiday Inn" for the 30-somethings.
The cast is loaded with talent: Jennifer Crane as Soos and Matt McCarthy as Zip stir genuine empathy as the one couple that truly strives for the tiniest opening through which to escape. Carla Francischetti is a delicious Froggy, smug to a fault. Clark Gookin plays her henpecked husband with the grin of the unknowing. Scott Tomjack is a wonderful Hutch, giving the term "drunk as a skunk" new meaning. Lilli Marques is a sexy Chloe. We have seen Sara Peters before, usually stealing entire shows. Here the competition is such that she steals only scenes as Pooker.
Oh, and one last thing you should know the nude scene is done with exquisite taste.
The Country Club continues at Playhouse 22, 210 Dunhams Corner Road, East Brunswick, through Feb. 6. Performances: Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. For information, call (732) 254-3939. On the Web: www.alliancerep.org

