'Nickel and Dimed': Hard Work, No Pay-off

◊◊ out of five.  2 hours, 10 minutes, plus intermission.  Adult language. 

Barbara Ehrenreich's book, Nickel and Dimed (and NOT Getting by in America), is, I am sure a very detailed expose of the deplorable working conditions faced by millions of low wage American workers, many of whom have two or three such jobs facing them each and every day.  It is a world of making choices - do I eat or pay rent?  Do I pay the heat or burn trash in my fireplace?  It is also a world of self-defense in the worst sense - do I turn in my boss for sexual harassment or get fired?  Do I demand workman's compensation or work through and injury?  All of this is a sad underworld, almost, in America.  This book, and many like it, not to mention countless documentaries and "hard-hitting" news pieces have tried to bring this atrocity to light.  BUT, and it is a big one, is this material suitable for a Stage Entertainment?  I wish I could say yes, and maybe if Joan Holden's stage adaptation were more interested in motivating action than trying so hard to be theatrical, it could be.  But if the production of it which opened last weekend by Theatre Hopkins at Meadow Mill is any indication, I'd have to say absolutely not. 

Directed by Suzanne Pratt, Nickel and Dimed, has a lot going for it, despite its ultimate failure as both theatre and social commentary.  Chief amongst its strengths is its cast - five actors playing multiple roles, and one leading lady who portrays Ms. Ehrenreich.  Although none of the company completely erases the idea that they are acting from your mind, each does a fairly credible job creating distinct characters.   

Beverly Shannon gets to play opposite ends of the (self-described) "trailer trash" set - as hostess of the local Denny's, um, Kenny's restaurant, who sleeps in her car and showers at the local Days Inn ("cheapest mortgage I could find was a car payment."), and as naive, hard-working crew leader of a Merry Maids crew.  Ms. Shannon gives each gal an edge and some heart, winning us over, and feeling just a bit sorry for each, though we are respectful of how they survive. 

Tawanna Kane's main characterization is that of Hector, fry cook at Kenny's, with a potty mouth and fierce attitude to match.  Again, you feel for this man, because Ms. Kane gives just enough of a hint that all the swearing and yelling is a survival technique.  Ameerah Al Mateen is a sort of opposite end of the spectrum.  Her chief character, Melissa, is a heartfelt portrayal of survival through faith - a Born-Again Christian for once portrayed as a normal person with a decent set of morals, and a realistic bent.  Al Mateen's Melissa needs her faith because she finds no support at home, and her options are limited to restocking shelves at "Mall-Mart" or a job breathing in toxins at a plastics factory.  She presents us with a sobering choice - stay at a nowhere job for lower pay, but better hours and clean air, or get paid slightly better, get benefits, but risk your long term health.  Makes those of us not faced with this dilemma very grateful - or it should. 

Joey Hellman plays a variety of male roles, including Barbara's editor, cleverly seen only in silhouette, as if their meetings about going undercover are so clandestine.  But Hellman's most interesting portrayals are those of the cook at a private nursing home who doesn't really need the job, but likes to get out with the regular folks and earn a wage, and as the manager/owner of the Merry Maids franchise.  With that characterization, we get to see the subversively seedy side of management.  Gail Anderson does a terrific job as Gail, training waitress at Kenny's.  Having done my share of corporate restaurant work, I can verify that her waitress-as-a-career shtick is dead on - funny and realistic and sad.  And her brief stint as a social worker gives us one of the rare moments in the piece where the horrifying facts are out there for us bald and unburdened by any theatricality - hard-hitting, indeed. 

As Barbara, Mandy Dalton gives a mostly uneven performance.  It seems like she doesn't have a full grasp on her lines, and she often gets bogged down with the multitude of props she must handle, usually at the expense of characterization.  (I blame director Pratt for that as much as anything, though.)  And Ms. Dalton can't seem to decide if her Barbara is a true activist, bored intellectual or bitchy smart ass.  I suppose it is possible that the real Barbara could have been all three, but Ms. Dalton's lack of assuredness makes all three get short shrift.  Perhaps she is having such difficulty because she, as an actress, knows she is limited by Joan Holden's mess of a script. 

Talk about multiple personality disorder!  The play can't decide if it is a Nightline re-enactment, a Lifetime Biography of an American Woman Heroine, or an (overly-long) feminist rant with an interesting journey motif.  So much time is spent on the set up that the pay off gets lost in the shuffle.  The scenes shift easily 30 times or more, and while the game company does a decent job with Ms. Pratt's decently smooth blocking, nothing really seems to stick.  I assume Holden wants us to love Barbara, admire her for her work and to shake our heads in disgust at conditions for working-class America, rousing us to storm the barricades and fight for the underdog.  There are a few times when the drama gets out of the way of the truth, and then and only then does the play work. 

It doesn't help either, that every theatrical trick in the book is thrown into the mix, not the least of which is that same silhouette trick - good for theatre, not so much for reality - the show scene changes, or the testimonial parade at the end of the show.  And the entire thing is wrapped up with what I am supposing is meant to be meaningful music, but scene changes set to "She Works Hard for the Money,"  Working for the Weekend," and many other working class hits (I would have had to excuse myself if they trotted out "Born in the USA"…).  Instead of providing commentary, they really just trivialize that which is not trivial.  And whether that is the intention or not, that is how it comes across.  A serious topic needs a serious presentation. 

A great deal of time is spent discussing how much things cost versus how much of a week's pay it will cost.  How ironic then that attending this performance will set you back $15 (4 or more dinners in Nickel and Dimed-speak).  How ironic that the people who attend theatre are the ones who could probably do something about this problem, and talk at intermission about how crappy their Merry Maids service is, or how they wouldn't be caught dead at Walmart.  Sad, but true.  I won't try to take any high ground here; I wasn't moved to action, and that has to do with the play not the message.  I will admit, though, that the next time I set foot in Walmart, I'll look at the greeter lady right in the eye, take my smiley face sticker and say, "thank you."  She deserves that much respect. 

PHOTO courtesy of Theatre Hopkins.  TOP ROW (L to R): Gail Anderson, Mandy Dalton, Joey Hellman; BOTTOM ROW (L toR): Beverly Shannon, Tawanna Kane and Ameerah Al Mateen.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.