Sordid Lives

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Why do they fascinate us so? They live in a different universe. There’s very little in common between their world and ours. The sordid lives of the Texas white trash have a grip on novelists, playwrights, stand up comics, and audiences go wild time and time again.

David W. Ballew as Brother Boy and Hart DeRose as Dr. Eve in Sordid Lives at Theatre On Broadway.

Perhaps it’s their uninhibited approach to life, unsophisticated, unpolished, don’t-think-
twice-just-do-it-say-it-and-be-done-with-it attitude. In our so-called politically correct world, perhaps there is a tiny bit of envy that these people allow their thoughts, actions, problems, solutions to just hang out on the line to air and dry, scratching whenever the verbal itch strikes. Perhaps. Perhaps, not.

Theatre On Broadway gives sound reason to explore the why’s and wherefore’s with Del Shores’ delicious play Sordid Lives. Directed by Steven Tangedal the exquisite cast brings the haphazard characters to life and then some.

A tragic “tale” that always manages to wag, Sordid Lives zeroes in on preparation for a funeral. Peggy caught up in a swirl of adultery, trips over GW Nethercott’s (Tom Pucket) wooden legs in a sleazy motel. Sissy Hickey (Kristine Pound) decided to stop smoking three days before. Nervous as a cat on a hot tin, Sissy frequently snaps herself with a rubber band whenever she feels the need to light up. Brother Boy (David W. Ballew) has been institutionalized because he thinks he is Tammy Wynette.

The entire cast is magnificently humanly funny in their down homespun Texas atmospheric soap opera lives, but two in particular give over the top amazing performances. Ballew absolutely “BLEW” me away with his captioned Brother Boy.

The aim is to de-homosexualize him, and when he straightens up to fly right, he can go home. So says his psychiatrist, Dr. Eve, played with a straight clinical face by Hart DeRose. DeRose clinches the sanitized so-called professional clinical attitude with a spring snap. Dr. Eve knows how to perpetuate the answers, but has no clue how to listen. Brother Boy plays verbal turmoil with her. Ballew glistens with ownership of Brother Boy.

CJ Hosier not only owns Latrelle, Sissy’s take-the-bull-by-the-horns overindulgent neurotic sister, but also gives this character a bigger-than-life stage presence.

Director Steven Tangedal staged Sordid Lives with an eye toward squeezing the utmost out of the actors emphasizing the cultural calamities, and the barbed blatant humor. The set designed by Marc T. Stevens and Hosier clarifies the when and where playing well into these sordid lives. Jarah Lyn Brodner as Bitsy Mae Harling ties together the scenes with her guitar and “Sordid Lives” song.

With love, affection, and resignation, Kevin Wenning stands simply amongst the scenes remembering and narrating as Ty Williamson, Latrelle’s gay son. Poignant, empathetic thoughtful comments elevate the humor spotlighting the truth lying solidly under the raucous chaotic family tug of war escalating over funeral preparations.

In Bubba’s Bar, Wardell “Bubba” Owens, (Adam Lee Brodner), GW Nethercott (Pucket), and Odell Owens, (George Pulver) hang loose, scratch, and drink in their own resignation. It is clear who wears the pants in their families, and it isn’t these beer-swilling men. GW revels in his beer, feeling guilty over killing Peggy. He shouldn’t have left his legs in the middle of the floor. Wardell laments his having Brother Boy committed. Seeds of action begin to sprout as the three talk. They have been indoctrinated to not listen.

In his own right, Shores has provided a script with laugh out loud truths lurking in every corner. Tangedal and cast give it strong legs with memorable characters and exquisite timing.