Salvage
Between his lauded All Childish Things and the current world premiere of Salvage at Planet Ant Theatre, it is established now and forever that Joseph Zettelmaier writes great nerd. The playwright’s ability to spin a captivating story through the lens of nostalgia junkies, and the collectibles market in particular, transcends the legitimate subculture of devotees and emotionally connects with a broad spectrum of viewers. Here, director Inga Wilson’s take on Salvage weighs the promise of prosperity against the substantial risks of exploring literal and figurative debris in order to acquire it.
At the curiosity shop Hidden Treasures in Detroit, where “low customer traffic” is an understatement, proprietor Jason Loreo (Rob Pantano) welcomes skittish walk-in Anna Jones (Alysia Kolascz). She bumbles through feigned interest in buying something before revealing a rare piece of sports memorabilia in her handbag — she’d like to sell it, but is unsure of its worth. It’s a transaction between an expert and a novice, one that seems tailor-made for fleecing; the scene itself almost anticipates the moment when Jason intentionally undervalues the item and pockets the difference. But he doesn’t. Instead, he decides to help Anna sell the card, an honest deal that marks a win for both of them for their own reasons. Over the course of their work toward the sale, tangential remarks begin to stir up more meaningful conversations; it doesn’t give too much away to say there are sparks.
The play’s two acts focus almost exclusively on events surrounding Jason and Anna’s story arc, beginning with short, clipped scenes that gradually lengthen as their interactions evolve. The action is set exclusively in Hidden Treasures, and what a haul: the chief concern of set designers Wilson and Milan Filipec appears to be securing enough shelving for Kirstin Bianchi’s painstakingly arranged wealth of props. (Many of the collectibles are actually available for sale by silent auction, which makes for rich intermission browsing.) The eccentric Planet Ant space seems ideal to represent a forgotten basement storefront packed attic-full; the illusion is uncanny, and only improved upon by Kevin Barron’s use of all available space in his lighting design. Kate Peckham’s sound design is used both within and between scenes, a great collection of rock-out songs that affably capture the cooler-than-you spirit of a young-skewing indie shop. Bianchi fleshes out the characters further with costumes designed to pinpoint their differences: Jason wears a blazer over his pop culture T-shirt when he goes to Comicon; stylishly understated Anna does none of those things. That they enjoy each other’s company and share an easy rapport is all the more intriguing given their differing worlds.
Wilson and company’s greatest success in this production is in building up an atmosphere so relentlessly uplifting that it couldn’t possibly last. It works because these characters are eminently likable, separately and together; the viewer can’t help but root for them even as Jason himself remarks on his good fortune and the sense of foreboding grows. Because this is a character-driven play contingent on big reveals, to discuss the plot in detail would spoil the outcome, but the characters are ripe for examination. As Jason, Pantano is exceptional as the nervous-babbling, socially unsure man awakening to something that finally makes his present better than the past with which he surrounds himself. Kolascz’s Anna is guarded and charmingly flip, but her sweetness prevails as she slowly unravels the events that led her to Hidden Treasures. The performers are practically note perfect together, the discovery of their substantial chemistry both organic and gratifying. True to his fashion, Zettelmaier rewards the careful listener with details that circle in on each other; he continues to raise the stakes and puts the characters in an impossible position, whose resolution keeps warping the viewer’s perspective and raising questions.
Ultimately, Salvage shows its characters that what they seek may be obscured within ruins, but attaining it can be coupled with risks beyond their expectations. Amid the impressive wreckage of a cache of harvested prizes, this production is a careful study of what the wreckage of history means to two individuals, as well as what this makes them mean to each other. Zettelmaier has found success in writing numerous time periods and genres, but there is something magnetic in his measured and empathetic treatment of unfettered nostalgia, both upheld and challenged here in a story that pits reward against consequence.
April 29, 2011