Up for a Challenge? See Reunion

Doug Sellers, Steve Koeppen, and Brandon B. Weaver

By Tina Arth

Local audiences who think they know what to expect from HART’s offerings will definitely be surprised by Reunion, the Hillsboro theatre company’s opening salvo in a busy fall season. Playwright Gregory Moss’ tale of three high school friends meeting up at their 25^th high school reunion seems, at first, like just another buddy story – overaged bros trying to recapture their high school heyday long after they should have grown up – but it gradually descends into a gripping mixture of comedy and drama that carries the audience on disturbing emotional roller coaster. While the story ultimately doesn’t deliver many new insights into the human condition, this production is still well worth a few hours just for the opportunity to watch three actors deliver powerful performances that create three compelling and absolutely distinctive characters. Director Meghan Daaboul and her team leave nothing to chance, and the show’s success derives from that close attention to detail.

Peter, Max, and Mitch get together after their reunion in the same grubby, suburban Boston-area motel room where they spent their last night night together – the night of their high school graduation.  Starting with a cooler full of Rolling Rock and moving on to the hard stuff, the men eventually descend into the same rowdy inebriation that led them to trash the room years earlier – with similar results. Uptight recovering alcoholic Max unwinds as he falls off the wagon, while the eager and easily manipulated Peter tries to please all of the people all of the time, including the wife he has left at home with a sick baby. The ringmaster is Mitch, a grimy loser who still lives in his parents’ home and who has orchestrated the evening’s events for his own reasons. As the night wears on they tear down the barriers imposed by 25 years of separation, and revisit a past remembered very differently by each man. The stories that emerge are not pretty, revealing the dark underbelly of male bonding rituals and gradually revealing the extent to which each character has moved on from his adolescent drama and trauma.

Brandon B. Weaver creates a wonderfully repressed, conflicted Max, clearly reluctant to reconnect with his old buddies and the memories they threaten to resurrect.  Steve Koeppen, as third wheel Peter, initially projects a pathetic nerdiness, but his character gradually evolves into the grownup in the room. His monologue about always feeling like an outsider makes him surprisingly relatable, and is one of the most moving moments in the show. Doug Sellers is easy to hate as the tough guy, still playing the bully 25 years later – but his total denial is colored with just enough pathos that we are able to sympathize when he opens up at the climax. The show’s chronology dictates that the three men should be about the same age (in their early 40s) – it is a testament to the skill of the performers that we are able to suspend disbelief, since two are clearly well over a decade older.

The carefully crafted performances are supported by precision in costume (Doug’s ruffled shirt is worth a thousand words), sound, and lighting. The detailed set captures the time and place perfectly, dressed for a grubby realism without a hint of parody.

Given its usual patrons, HART probably would not survive in Hillsboro if shows like Reunion were the norm – it’s just not what local audiences are used to. However, it’s a powerful show that demands respect for the strength of the performances and production values. The program warns of explicit adult content, strong language, strobe lights, tobacco, and alcohol – all things to consider, but no reason for audiences to stay away if they are up for the challenge.

Reunion is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through Sunday, September 22nd, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.