Hank and Bertha have shared a home for years. A barbecue shack with bedrooms in back. Though they’re married, they have no children. The menu offers a generous meal for five dollars or less. As Tennessee Wet Rub opens, their lanterns are lit fot the blizzard, that’s taken the electricity. Bertha, well versed in scripture, is certain end days are imminent, though Hank reassures. Their place is isolated, so a knock at the door is alarming. Turns out to be a stranger, Arleta, a teenager carrying a doll. She’s soft spoken, frightened, not at all worldly. She explains Dunk, her fiance’ is right behind. Their car is stuck in a ditch. Dunk is African American.
Bertha and Hank are up in an uproar. They can’t believe a man with honorable intentions would be engaged to this young girl. Certainly not a black man. They’re convinced something’s off-kilter, something they’re not being told. Gradually, Dunk’s impeccable manners, his respectful tone, and Christian upbringing, eases Hank and Bertha’s suspicions. When Dunk and Hank debate wet versus dry rub, they settle it on the kitchen battlefield.
Tennessee Wet Rub, is a keen and masterful stroke. Playwright Kim E. Ruyle writes characters that are detailed, nuanced, and ultimately, goodhearted. You can tell Bertha and Hank are struggling with assumptions, and basically, no compass. This being said, Ruyle is never condescending, or didactic. There’s no moment of epiphany, no lectures. When Vern, the deputy, flies of the handle, Hank stands up for Dunk. He tries to reason but wisdom doesn’t prevail. Again, we see Ruyle’s dedication to virtuosity over homilies. (Though, personally, I would have preferred a different ending, I’m probably more naive than Arleta.) Manipulate, the audience won’t believe you.
As so often is the case, The Core Theatre takes on difficult content (Twelve Angry Jurors, Inferno, To Kill a Mockingbird) with confidence and authority. Director James Prince (who wears many hats) has used each actor to best effect. Joseph Figuerias plays the convivial, stalwart (if hotheaded) Vern. Ariana Hope’s Arleta elicits sympathy and protectiveness, frail but basically steady. Justice Williams as Dunk, is admirable, intelligent, never pompous. Never defensive or angry. Ivy Opdyke and Matt Gunther are Bertha and Hank, the affectionate, if sometimes contentious, married couple. They capture the somber undertone that informs Tennessee Wet Rub, with veracity and familiarity. Opdyke’s Bertha is pious but not unkind. She won’t let Hank push her around. Gunther’s Hank is grounded in the actual. He’s strong-willed, and also easy-going.
Tennessee Wet Rub is volatile, absorbing theatre. Genuine and deeply moving.
The Core Theatre presents Tennessee Wet Rub, playing August 7th-30th, 206. 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 115, Richardson, Texas 75080. (214) 930-5338. james@thecoretheatre.org