REVIEW: Love of one’s grandparents is at the center of ‘The Reservoir’
Photo: The Reservoir stars, from left, Noah Galvin and Matthew Saldívar. Photo courtesy of Ahron R. Foster / Provided by BBB with permission.
NEW YORK — Jake Brasch’s new play, The Reservoir, is an ode to the power of positive relationships with one’s grandparents. In the show, which play last year at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Josh (Noah Galvin) struggles with alcoholism and is sometimes thrown out of the house by his mother, Patricia (Heidi Armbruster). He seeks solace and salvation with his four grandparents, who are quickly aging and facing memory problems; whatever time they have left is meant to be savored by Josh, who is clearly stuck at a crossroads in life.
The Atlantic Theater Company production, directed by Shelley Butler, is nicely staged with two flowing curtains allowing for quick scene changes and entrances/exits. At the center is Josh, expertly performed by Galvin, a young gay man who has been unable to overcome his addiction and live a productive life. He’s taken a semester off from college, and his sobriety is shaky as he notches day after day of staying away from drinking. His life is really saved by those grandparents, who are all comedic characters, yet simultaneously real, caring and heartbreaking.
Josh has perhaps the best relationship with his grandmother Beverly (Caroline Aaron), who seems to get him and allows him to crash at her place. She has a sharp wit and refuses to play the BS game. They talk like they were friends, but it’s clear that Beverly has learned hard-won lessons in life and thus has some sage advice for Josh.
The relationship is a bit frostier with his grandfather Hank (Peter Maloney), who is hurt by something that Josh does in the story (or rather does not do). They once got along, but there’s a wedge between them that may not be repaired in time. Rounding out the quartet of grandparents are Irene (Mary Beth Peil), the first in the play to endure memory loss, and Shrimpy (Chip Zien), who has decided to have a late-in-life bar mitzvah.
Brasch has a way with words, and they know how to keep the proceedings funny and family-focused, even when the plot becomes devastating and somewhat depressing. As Josh moves through life, working on himself and forced to say goodbye to his older family members, the plot never devolves into hagiography or pastiche. The conversations feel real and earned, the issues never fully resolved and frustratingly subject to the whims of medical science and circumstance. This makes The Reservoir authentic and universal, even when some of the dialogue grows repetitive and a few minutes could be trimmed from the overall running time.
Brasch is an exciting talent on the playwrighting scene, someone who has decided to craft a tale that is too often forgotten about in the American theater: the relationship one can have with family members other than parents or siblings. It’s difficult to name too many plays that focus on the grandchild seeking advice from a grandparent; grandparents are repeatedly and distressingly written as side roles, people to simply feel sorry for or, worse yet, laugh at.
The Reservoir is a heartfelt story that avoids cliches and simple lessons; instead, the show is meant to communicate how different types of people can save one person’s life, time and time again.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Reservoir, written by Jake Brasch and directed by Shelley Butler, continues through March 22 at the Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater in Manhattan. Starring Noah Galvin, Heidi Armbruster, Peter Maloney, Mary Beth Peil, Matthew Saldívar, Chip Zien and Caroline Aaron. Running time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
