by lisa lipsy
ands on a Hardbody—Yum—sounds like fun! Who wouldn’t love to put their hands on a hard body? This one how- ever doesn’t have abs of steel, it’s got
a souped-up engine and a price tag that says “Free.” But we all know nothing in life is free, so what’s the catch? It’s gimmicky American auto entrepreneur- ship—you have to compete to win this hard-body. Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Doug Wright (Creditors and I Am My Own Wife), invites us to explore the lives of ten strangers, who have entered the Hands on a Hardbody endurance contest at an auto dealership in Longview, Texas. Winning is simple, the contestant who keeps at least one hand on the brand-new hard- body truck the longest, gets to drive it off the lot. Of course as the hours tick by, each contestant’s personal story comes out. For each of them, winning the hard-body truck would bring them one step closer to their own American dream. Who will you route for and who will win? Based on the documentary
AHANDS ON
HARDBODY THE MAKING OF AN
AMERICAN CLASSIC AT LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE
film of the same name, Hands on a Hardbody features a brilliant rock, folk and country musical score from Amanda Green (High Fidelity) and Trey Anastasio (lead singer of the popular band Phish). “This thrilling new musical offers a trenchant slice of Americana that explores the most exuberant and most troubling aspects of our competitive spirit.” says La Jolla Playhouse Artistic
Director Christopher Ashley. Playwright Doug Wright was the first to envision
this story as a musical. “Creating this piece has been a really fascinating journey that started ten or 15 years ago when I first saw the documentary. It was always a musical sort of story to me. You have ten people with the same objective, but different hopes and dreams. It is only natural that they would sing about it.” said Wright. “I started to work on the idea with Amanda Green, who is a remarkable composer, then we brought in Trey Anastasio. Trey is a gifted, musical genius. We’re a tightly woven team and it was a highly collaborative process. The show has a rousing collec- tion of songs.”
The show could be called a “modern-classic,” if
there were such a phrase. Wright was inspired by great American playwrights like Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. “It’s a piece of Americana. In the original documentary, you start-off watching these ten people try to win. It feels maybe a little hokey being at the dealership and then suddenly by mid- point in the film, you realize you are gripped by it. You are invested in these characters. I hope this stage adaptation captures audiences in much the same way,” says Wright. Wright asks us to look closer as did he, “We took
a road trip to Texas to meet the real life contestants from the documentary. We hopped in a rental car with our map and drove through east Texas to discover the story. These ten strangers aren’t what they seem, friendships are forged in unlikely places and these are very real people. We wanted to speak to the current cultural moment, our economics, even overseas. Hopefully the show resonates and em- braces the larger world with its unexpected humor and kick-ass musical score.” Hands on a Hardbody opens Friday, April 27 and
Wright is euphoric, “Trey, Amanda and I get on the plane tomorrow to head for San Diego—we keep sending, back and forth, these slightly hysterical e- mails. It’s feels unbelievable that a crazy idea the three of us cooked-up, a musical based on a film, has been commissioned by a major institution like the La Jolla Playhouse. There is a certain trust, they place a high priority on new work and on supporting the artists.” The show has been through rehearsals and
workshops in New York, Wright recalls one early re- hearsal, “I was watching the team—the cast, director, choreographer, band, writers, designers—we were all there. Suddenly a shiver went down my spine, I realized for the first time, I was the only gay guy in the room! I was a minority in theatre? It was hilarious! I was so amused. Broadway is written and run by our community and somehow I had conceived the most testosterone-driven musical you would ever want to see. Of course, as things have moved forward, I can’t say that I’m the only LGBT person working on the show. And yes, there are plenty of things to appeal to a gay audience—cowboys, hats and wrangler jeans. But mostly it’s universal, it’s about human beings.”
Hands on a Hardbody runs Friday, April 27 through Wednesday, June 27 at the La Jolla Playhouse. For tickets and more information call 858.550.1010 or go to
lajollaplayhouse.org.
“These ten strangers aren’t what they seem, friendships are forged in unlikely places and these are very real people. “ 18 RAGE monthly | APRIL 2012
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