Caustic comedian Lewis Black surprised everyone when his play, “One Slight Hitch,” first took to the stage. While the rom-com contains Black’s signature social insights and wry humor, it’s worlds away from the escalating, explosive rants that mark his stand-up routines. Instead, the play is soft and nostalgic, even poignant at points. “What is that we detect on Blacks’ sleeve at the end of his play?” the Boston Globe wrote after a performance at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. “Is that his… heart?” Under the direction of Adam Leonard, a heartwarming rendition of “One Slight Hitch” is currently playing at the Very Little Theatre in Eugene.
The show begins with a recording of Ronald Reagan’s voice broadcasted into the dark auditorium. This political backdrop continues to seep through a story centered around home life. When the stage lights up, PB (Eve James) begins the story: a recollection of the hours before her sister Courtney’s (Elizabeth Wilkinson) wedding in 1981.
Doc (David Smith) and Delia (Tere Tronson) are at home preparing for their daughter Courtney’s big moment. They make a comedic duo, with Delia frantically finalizing wedding arrangements, unreached by Doc’s attempts to calm her down. Courtney, an independent writer, and her sisters Melanie (Gabrielle Morse), a risque nurse, and PB, the typical ’80s teen dressed in neon, soon join the scene.
The wedding plans seem to be falling into place — but of course, there’s one slight hitch. Courtney’s free-spirited ex-boyfriend Ryan (Treyson Sherk) drops by unexpectedly, worn out from a hitch-hiking adventure and oblivious to his poor timing. Ryan is the polar opposite of Courtney’s groom-to-be, the well-manner and almost eerily perfect Harper (Clarence Miller). Upon his arrival, everything starts to unravel.
The seven person cast is consistently strong and the relationships between characters feel touching and real. “I had an incredible cast. The people who showed up for auditions were just right for the roles,” Leonard said. “I think it really translated to the stage that these people enjoyed working with each other.” The friendships developed behind the scenes shone through in a natural charisma between characters.
Tronson (playing Delia) is particularly phenomenal. She captures a sweeping range of emotions, from rising panic and rage searing over crumbling wedding plans to an underlying affection and love for her three daughters.
One Slight Hitch sends continuous ripples of laughter through the audience but is also marked with moving moments. Delia’s daughters gather around tearfully we she recounts falling in love with Doc just before the war whipped him away. When the conflict ended and countless couples were reunited, “it was the biggest celebration of life I’d ever seen.”
“We ached for life, hoping to flood the world with innocent children, replacing the smell of death with baby powder,” she told her daughters. “We tried to share that dream with you, our children, but the smoke had cleared and you couldn’t smell it.”
Leonard worried that this old-fashioned play with a fond portrayal of a Republican family would prompt backlash from Eugene’s progressive arts community. But the message that love and family hold everything together and can breach the gaps between us is also what he loved about this work. As Leonard wrote in the program, “Now more than ever we need to put more focus on what brings us together.”
One Slight Hitch concludes with a sweet and unexpected scene. It will continue to play at the Very Little Theatre on Jan 30-31 and Feb 1 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $21 for adults and $17 for students and senior citizens. VLT’s next production — “Little Women, the Musical” — will open on March 13.
