"LOSERS BRACKET: FOUR MONKEYS HUMP’N A FOOTBALL" at WNEP Theater
BY LUCIA MAURO
Playwrights Clay and Nate Sander may not score the winning touchdown when it comes to their highly recognizable subject matter – small-town rubes engaged in perpetual bar banter and hair-brained schemes. But in their first full-length play, "Losers Bracket: Four Monkeys Hump’n a Football" premiering at WNEP Theater, the Sander writing kin has crafted a gut-busting comedy with no-nonsense doses of heart.
The familiar setting and story line, in fact, make the show more genuine. And, heck, who cares about nailing a theatrical field goal when the play isn’t even about football…or monkeys, for that matter?
"Losers Bracket" tracks the warped schemes of Hitch Bigwood, a tavern owner in rural "Downs Moor" who lives off his disability money from a forklift accident. The limping proprietor-braggart coaches the local softball team while basically serving as an informal bank for his down-and-out teammates Ethan (deep in credit-card debt) and Tiny (trying to win back his girlfriend Trisha, who now lives with condescending high school principal Rick). Most of the competition is restricted to Hitch’s well-aimed pot shots at Ethan and Tiny in the bar.
Then there’s bungling Sheriff Terry, who spends more time at the local drinking establishment than on the job. The pendulum swings when -- during a fishing trip -- Terry, Ethan and Tiny discover that Hitch may have lied about his injury to the insurance company. Ethan and Tiny hop on the blackmail bandwagon to prove Hitch’s scam. But more fraudulent behavior ensues. Tiny eventually shoots Hitch – or maybe that’s just another set up. The darkly absurd action is overseen by Boo, Hitch’s girlfriend and bartender (the one role that needs to be more sardonically and spunkily written).
Elements of the Coen Brothers’ twisted sense of truth mingle with the laidback lunacy of Mayberry. And, despite the fact that most of the characters only care about milking the system so they can sit around and drink beer or play video games, the writers have endowed them with a charming underdog determination. Director Jen Ellison brings out such an unforced truth from her skilled actors that they win over the audience through their flawed humanity. The night I attended, one woman in the audience let out a string of "awwws…" every time the self-esteem-battered Tiny failed to charm Trisha.
Don Hall is ideally cast as the motor-mouth Hitch. Yet rather than an overbearing lout who likes to hear the sound of his own voice, Hall’s Hitch is a savvy survivor who doesn’t scrap loyalty entirely – as long as his friends don’t turn on him. He’s a commanding yet endearing presence. Patrick Brennan, a master of nerdy subtlety, makes Sheriff Terry a likable and strangely resilient figure.
Dave Goss’ Joaquin Phoenix-esque slacker Ethan also wins our sympathy and serves as an earnest sidekick to Mike Powers’ clueless but committed Tiny. Actually, Ethan and Tiny are both sidekicks – making their goofy mishaps all the more tangled and ridiculous.
As the perpetually unhappy couple, Trisha and Rick, Kathy Sander and James Yeater inject a just-short-of-annoying jolt of huff and prissiness into their characters. The pair also excels in loopy multiple roles. Only Rebecca Langguth needs to make Boo a sharper and more definitive presence.
One of the best scenes unfurls a fully realized story of romance, vengeance, loss and victory wrapped into a brief slow-mo silent opera on the ball field.
Ellison’s authentic sports bar set consists of hilarious eyesores – from a hook-rug owl picture and a dart board to trophies and a signed KISS album. It’s also a nostalgic hoot that Hitch’s jukebox is stuck in classic 1970s/early 1980s rock. And the inclusion of the "Downs Moor" chicken mascot (especially when Tiny gets arrested while wearing the grungy, molting costume) just makes for some uncontrollable guffaws.
And who can deny the outlandish appeal of self-smirkingly sincere dialogue that goes something like this: Tiny to Hitch: "That’s right, dickhead, time to pay the piper." Hitch to Tiny: Watch it, asshole. We got you by the nut sack."•
"Losers Bracket: Four Monkeys Hump’n a Football" runs through October 26 at WNEP Theater, 3209 N. Halsted. Tickets: $15-$18. Call 773-755-1693 or log onto www.wneptheater.org.
