Brenda Withers, Jonathan Fielding, Samantha Steinmetz, and Robert Kropf
Photo: Justin Lahue
Review by Mia Phillips
The Realistic Joneses, a play written by Will Eno, just opened at the Harbor Stage Company, and it is a down-to-earth, slow-paced, contemplative comedy about two couples facing similar problems in life. The couples both have the last name Jones and live in the same small rural town—as one character describes it, they live in one of those quintessential small towns. But that’s not all they have in common. Both of the wives’ husbands are suffering from the same degenerative disease, yet one is receiving treatment and the other is not—in fact, he hasn’t even told his wife yet.
One couple, Jennifer (Brenda Withers) and Bob (Robert Kropf), are older and have lived in their town for years. Recently, their marriage has hit a rough patch as they struggle to continue their normal lives in the wake of Bob’s diagnosis. It doesn’t help that he is in complete denial of his condition and totally relies on his wife to assume responsibility for his treatment. It’s at this stage the couple meets the other Joneses—or rather it’s when the younger couple barges in on one of their tense evening conversations. The younger couple, Pony (Samantha Steinmetz) and John (Jonathan Fielding), appear light-hearted and hopeful, full of humor and naivete; having just moved to town, the two are eager to meet their new neighbors.
Pony and John suggest something is amiss in their lives despite their newlywed love for each other and dry senses of humor. Pony is the virtual opposite of Jennifer, with her doe-eyed view of the world and a looming sense of insecurity about herself; Bob, semi-antisocial and stubborn, initially meets the awkward and often bizarre John with skepticism, until he realizes they have more in common than he would like to admit.
The dynamics between these two couples are complicated. They provide each other a sense of escape from their difficult situations, and simultaneously make everything compoundingly more stressful for both parties. Both couples are attracted to the opposite lives of the other couple, but over time they realize the grass isn’t always greener.
Despite how consistently laugh-out-loud this play is for its two-hour duration, it’s intensively introspective, existential, and heavy at the same time. Like yin and yang, they balance each other out, never letting one facet become too overbearing as to make the play’s subject matter indigestible. The foundational differences among these four characters make for hilarious exchanges excellently written by Eno and expertly delivered by the cast, under the direction of Alison Greene. The Realistic Joneses isn’t dramatically climactic or plot-driven; rather, it’s slow, thoughtful, and character-centric. This play is guaranteed to generate characterizing discourse among attendees.
The Realistic Joneses is performed Wednesdays – Saturdays, 7 p.m. and Sundays, 5 p.m. at Harbor Stage, 15 Kendrick Ave., Wellfleet, through September 5. Pay What You Can night is Friday, August 21. For tickets ($28.22 – $54.22) and information call 508.214.0495 or visit harborstage.org.
