Review: HANDS ON A HARDBODY at Argenta Contemporary Theatre in North Little Rock

Never say no to VIP tickets. Seriously. That is a rule I am more than happy to live by! So, when I was given VIP tickets to see HANDS ON A HARDBODY at Argenta Contemporary Theatre, which runs through Sunday, September 6, and asked if I wanted to sit ON THE STAGE, my answer was always going to be YES! How much fun was that?!

I absolutely love getting that close to a show. From where I was sitting, I could see every expression, every little reaction, and, most importantly, the complete commitment these actors had to their characters even when the spotlight wasn't necessarily on them. Being right there completely engulfed me in the story, and I was loving every second of it. These are some of the best storytellers around, and getting to watch them work from only a few feet away was such a treat.

 HANDS ON A HARDBODY, a new-to-me musical, is directed by DeLance Minefee, with choreography by Noah Warford and music direction by Emory Tyson Molitor. And y'all, what a wonderfully weird premise for a musical! Ten Texans gather around a brand-new pickup truck for an endurance competition where the rules are pretty straightforward: keep at least one hand on that hardbody. The last person still touching the truck wins it.

That's it.

That's the musical.

Except...it isn't. Not even close.

Inspired by the 1997 documentary of the same name, HANDS ON A HARDBODY features music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, lyrics by Green, and a book by Doug Wright. What starts as a quirky competition surrounding a pickup truck slowly turns into something much deeper. These contestants aren't just trying to win a vehicle. Every single one of them has a reason for being there, and as those stories begin unfolding, I found myself becoming more and more invested in who these people were and why winning mattered so much to them.

 Of course, somebody has to run this whole crazy competition, and no one could have portrayed a used car salesman better than Matthew Maguire as Mike Ferris. Maguire has that salesman personality DOWN, and I loved watching him work the crowd and manage this increasingly exhausted group of people who all have their eyes on his truck. Then there is his assistant Cindy Barnes, played by Lauren Bishop, who was an absolute delight.

And because of my location, I got an extra dose of Mike and Cindy!

I was sitting right next to their little “office,” so Maguire and Bishop interacted with me more than anyone else in the show, and I LOVED IT! Every time they acknowledged me or included me in what was happening, it pulled me further into their world. Instead of feeling like I was sitting onstage watching actors perform a musical, they made me feel like I was genuinely an observer who had shown up to watch this ridiculous endurance contest unfold. In my head, I was apparently a spectator hanging out beside the dealership office, watching to see which one of these people was going to drive away with that truck!

 And that is where this cast got me!

At first, I was sizing everybody up. Who is going to win? Who is going to crack first? Who am I rooting for? Then someone shares a little more of their story and suddenly I'm thinking, “Ohhhh, I want YOU to win.” Then somebody else gets their moment and I'm switching teams again! Before long, that truck becomes so much more than a prize. It represents freedom, financial security, pride, independence, opportunity, and for some of these characters, simply the feeling that maybe, just maybe, something might finally go their way. 

I found myself rooting for every single contestant, which seems almost impossible when only one of them can drive that truck home! Well...I was rooting for everyone except maybe the ultra-competitive Benny Perkins, played by Wyatt Hamilton. Benny comes into this competition like a man on a mission, and Hamilton disappears so completely into the role that I DIDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE HIM! I knew Wyatt was in the show, but I kept looking at Benny thinking, “Who is that?!” That is some serious character commitment! 

 Benny had me convinced there was no way I was going to root for him. He was too competitive. He knew all the tricks. He knew how to play the game, and I was perfectly happy cheering for everybody else around that truck.

Then we learned about his son.

Well, there went that.

The moment when Benny and Chris, played by Adam R. Whitfield-Mentgen, have their conversation about Benny's son completely changed the way I saw him. Hamilton lets all that competitive armor drop just enough for us to see the pain underneath, while Whitfield-Mentgen gives Chris a compassion that makes the exchange feel wonderfully genuine. I had spent all this time thinking, “Anybody but Benny!” and suddenly there I was shedding a tear for the man.

And just like that, I was rooting for Benny too.

Well, great.

Now I wanted EVERYBODY to win.

Somebody find more trucks!

 And then there was the sweet budding romance between Kelli, played by Tyranni Hubbard, and Greg, played by Noah Warford. With everyone so focused on winning, I loved watching these two slowly become more focused on each other. Their connection gives the competition a little extra sweetness, and Hubbard and Warford make it easy to root for them as a couple. When Kelli wanders off like a delulu, I just knew Greg was going to run after her, and sure enough, he lets go after spending all that time with his hand planted on a truck determined to win. Ahhh, young love!

 Then we have Janis, played by Erin Calaway, and her husband Don, played by Chip McAfee, who were SO funny! I loved these two together. While Janis is the one with her hand on the truck, Don is right there supporting his wife through the insanity of the competition, and Calaway and McAfee have such fun chemistry as this married couple who are completely in this thing together.

And then they gave me “It's a Fix!”

Oh, I loved this song! Go ahead and add “It's a Fix” to my list of new favorite musical theatre songs. Calaway and McAfee absolutely sold it, and their comedic timing made the whole number memorable even now as I'm writing this review. 

Then there is Katie Choate as the sexy Heather, and Choate plays her perfectly. Heather knows how to turn on the charm, especially when it comes to the slimy Mike, and I kept wanting to tell her, “Girl, quit messing with that man!” Of course, sitting right next to Mike's “office” made watching that whole situation unfold even more entertaining. But as much as I wanted Heather to make some better choices, my heart went out to her when that glove started itching. Oh, the misery! Choate made Heather's growing discomfort so believable that I found myself suffering right along with her.

 Brandon Paul Eells as Frank joins Wyatt Hamilton on my “Wait...who IS that?!” list. Eells morphed into Frank so completely that I kept looking at him throughout the show asking myself, “Who is he?” I love when I know I've seen an actor before, but the character work is so strong that I can't immediately place the person underneath it, and I especially enjoyed the beginning of Act II when Eells picked up the guitar and actually played it himself during “Hands on a Hardbody” with Matthew Maguire as Mike. You know I love when performers bring their own musicianship onto the stage. I get all starry eyed.

Surprisingly, though, one of the most relatable—and certainly one of the most timely—stories for me belonged to Jesus Peña, played by Diego Ladino. The assumptions made about Jesus and the way he is treated hit me on a very personal level. As the daughter of an immigrant, I, too, had to explain at a young age that by both “law of the soil and law of the blood,” I am a U.S. citizen. So, when Jesus launched into “Born in Laredo,” something in me immediately recognized where his story was going.

I knew.

I knew he was born in the United States before the reveal ever came in the song.

Maybe it was because I understood that frustration of having other people make assumptions about who you are, where you belong, or whether you are “American enough.” Ladino brings all of that emotion into “Born in Laredo,” and suddenly Jesus is no longer simply another contestant with his hand on the truck. He is a young man having to explain something about himself that shouldn't require an explanation in the first place.

 And then there was Norma, played by Lexie Ellis—the contestant who caused me to forget for a moment that I was supposed to be quietly reviewing the show and not actively participating in the competition! When Ronald, played by Taylor LeRon, and Chris, played by Adam R. Whitfield-Mentgen, came back to rally Norma, the gospel singing started building and building, and I knew exactly where this was headed. 

I knew it.

Norma was feeling that music. The energy was rising. The praise was taking over. And I knew that woman was about to forget all about that truck and throw those hands up!

Apparently, I became VERY invested because before I could stop myself, I audibly let out, “No...don't do it! Y'all leave her alone!”

So much for being an impartial observer! Sure enough, Norma got swept up in the praise and LET GO OF THE TRUCK! NOOOOOO! Thanks a lot, Ronald and Chris! LeRon and Whitfield-Mentgen kept pouring fuel on that gospel fire until there was no hope for her.

Y'all, I take my imaginary truck competitions very seriously.

 Now, I don't really like to spoil endings, but....... I have to talk about JD Drew, played by Gary Newton, and his wife Virginia, played by Rita Woodward.

JD's pride had been getting on my nerves! Newton does such a good job showing us this stubborn man who wants to prove that he can handle everything himself, even when Virginia is right there trying to support him. Male pride is so irritating! So, when JD eventually handed those keys over to Virginia, Woodward's reaction gave me exactly what I needed. I immediately felt united with her in sisterhood thinking, “And THAT'S the way it should be!” Again, I said it outloud! Ha!

Now, THAT TRUCK! I have to give some love to the people who figured out how to get the thing onstage in the first place!

I normally try not to research anything before seeing a new-to-me play or musical because I want to experience the story completely fresh. However, I did watch the video ACT posted on Facebook showing how they put the truck together ONSTAGE, and I was fascinated! Seriously, how cool was that?! If you missed the video, it is definitely worth scrolling back to see how they did it. As Artistic Director Coburn Goss said, "That was a fun day."

 I know I don't always give the technical crew enough love in my reviews, but this production definitely impressed me. That truck isn't some little set piece sitting quietly in the background—it is THE centerpiece of the entire show. The actors climb on it, dance around it, sing around it, lean against it, bang on it, and, obviously, spend a whole lot of time with their hands attached to it. Seeing how the crew managed to get that hardbody assembled gave me a whole new appreciation for what was sitting in front of me.

Under new direction from Goss and Executive Director Heremy Williams, ACT is bringing Central Arkansas audiences shows that aren't necessarily the same handful of musicals we've all seen over and over again, and I'm loving it! HANDS ON A HARDBODY is quirky, funny, Southern, and completely different, and I'm so glad I got to experience this one from practically inside the show. So, grab your tickets at https://argentacontemporarytheatre.org/, head over to Argenta Contemporary Theatre, choose your favorite contestant, and prepare to become ridiculously invested in a bunch of people standing around a pickup truck.

Reader Reviews

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Don't Miss a Arkansas News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...