Rumor has it that for the last few years, Offstage Theatre has been having a devil of a time getting enough submissions for their annual Barhoppers series of one-act plays to assemble a heavenly lineup. One year, that dilemma resulted in a show that didn’t lack quality so much as it came up short in terms of the plays-set-in-bars conceit: Some of the situations either could have been set almost anywhere, or were a promising yet imperfect fit. This problem was essentially fixed the following year—but then not all the plays were absolute winners.
Whether Offstage had recent years on its mind, or simply wanted to ensure that its 20th anniversary show was a dandy, it has thinned the herd all the way down to Joel Jones. His plays were often the highlight of past Barhoppers, and so why not have a whole Joel Jones evening? A former Charlottesville resident (and former C-VILLE theater critic), Jones neither shies away from the challenges of the Barhoppers conceit nor lets them defeat him, even while his by turns honey-tongued, soulful, intellectually absorbing and hilarious dialogue, as well as his sometimes sensational plots, stretch the imagination to the breaking point.
Five comedies form the backbone of “The Best of Joel Jones,” as the show is dubbed. Automatic Writing turns a shared writing assignment between a female and male student into a semantic battle of the sexes—by the end both are hammering at their laptop keyboards in frustration over the fact that Venus and Mars aren’t the same planet. Tragic Hero is about a woman looking for love and torn between a virile 15th century Scottish warlord and a 21st century run-of-the-mill nice guy. In The Answer Man, a woman meets a bartender who’s genetically programmed—or something like that—to know all the answers, and follows up each one by strumming on his guitar and singing his annoying theme song. Every Other Weekend is another battle of the sexes—this time between a mother and father who spit venom at each other as their son watches on. Finally, Big Fish Little Fish is a film noir spoof featuring Dick Dravot, PI, and the saxaphonist who accompanies him everywhere.
 When in doubt, send Joel: This year’s Barhoppers series of one-act plays are all by former Charlottesville resident Joel Jones. |
All five productions are slightly haunted by how they could have been, perhaps with more rehearsal time, even funnier. In the latter stages, as Jones builds layers with quirky little tonal changes, the actors seem a bit lost at sea. But there are still plenty of laughs and no major reason to complain. John Brodrick Jones’ frenetic performance as The Answer Man keeps Jones’ clever idea chugging along. Kirby Martin’s taut physical bearing and competent Scottish accent lend weight to Tragic Hero. And Don Gaylord as Dick Dravot has got the noir schtick down pat. As far as Jones’ writing, the only play that falters somewhat is Every Other Weekend. If, as John Cleese of “Monthy Python” and “Fawlty Towers” and A Fish Called Wanda fame once said, good comedy is about putting characters in difficult situations that the audience is happy they don’t have to experience themselves, then perhaps not-so-good comedy is about unpleasant characters whom the audience wishes they could get away from as quickly as possible.
As delicious as the comedies are in general, perhaps the most affecting moments of the show are in the two dramatic monologues, Life Insurance and The Crossing, both directed by Betsy Tucker. Just as James Scales completely captures Jones’ notion of a veteran life insurance salesman as caught between a fountain of wisdom and a well of cynicism, Mark Valahovic is the very picture of a bartender who finds solace in all the little things while coping with the loss of the big, crushing thing: love.