Heroes of Santa Clarita

Reviewed by Julyza Commodore
The Main (Santa Clarita)
Thru July 23rd

RECOMMENDED

You may think that discussing what is expected in relationships, and how to manage these said expectations, sounds like an easy feat. Think again.

An original work written by Randall Jay Greenwald and directed by David Stears, Heroes of Santa Clarita, comments on just that.

In a suburban town in California, well, uh, Santa Clarita to be precise, four middle-aged men who have known each other since high school have come together for a poker night that ultimately comes laced with revelations.

Josh (Peter Schiavelli) is currently separated from his wife, however what his friends don’t know is that he is also intertwined with a woman from his children’s soccer team, Claire (Ashley Taylor), who also happens to be married. It should be mentioned that they are both unhappy in their marriages and are now figuring out what comes next for themselves. The show opens with a funny, yet deep conversation between Claire and Josh about life and its trivial aspects with Claire remarking, “That’s where the rubber meets the road. People who do shit.”

Their conversation sets the tone for what comes later in the show with discussions about marriage, dating and what’s to be expected. For instance, Sam (Richard Van Slyke) won’t stay with a woman for long if she makes grammatical errors and gets offended by his jokes. Out of the four men, the one who gets asked about marriage advice is Danny (Renato Birbin Jr.) with one of his responses being, “You don’t like it or hate it. Or maybe it’s both.” On the other hand, there is Will (David Andrew Salper) who has just encountered his high school crush at the local In-N-Out right before arriving at poker night —  he has a whole lot to say about this.

With the play being set at Josh’s home for its entirety, this Aristotelian focus homes in on the characters and the poignancy of their respective plights. Lighting design is by Christopher Boltz and costumes are by Lynn McQuown.

The Main, 24266 Main St, Santa Clarita, CA 91321; Friday.- Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 5pm; thru July 23. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heroes-of-santa-clarita-tickets-648745052917?aff=oddtdtcreator. Running time: Two hours with intermission.