The Realistic Joneses

Reviewed by Dana Martin
Laguna Playhouse
Through May 14th

Co-produced by the Laguna Playhouse, Gare St. Lazare Ireland and the Rubicon Theatre Company, The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno is a humorous, meandering examination of life’s mundane tribulations. The play is now running at the Laguna Playhouse as part of a rolling Southern California premiere.

Longtime married couple Bob (Joe Spano) and Jennifer (Sorcha Fox) Jones haven’t spoken to one another in quite some time. They live in a mundane “semi-rural town, not far from some mountains,” and while they spend a lot of time talking to one another, they communicate very little. When new neighbors John (Conor Lovett) and Pony (Faline England) Jones show up in Bob and Jennifer’s backyard, the couples fast become acquainted and discover they have more in common than a shared last name.

Both couples navigate the murky waters of communication poorly. Each couple has its own method of communication and ways of coping, yet each remain committed to misunderstanding each other. Both men suffer from an identical mystery illness while their wives struggle with caring for them. Each of them romantically pursues the other’s spouse.

The cast handles the meandering dialogue with grace and extract the play’s humor with precision. Sorcha Fox is solid as quietly brooding caretaker Jennifer, and Faline England’s Pony is delightfully naïve. While the ensemble work is cohesive, the cast lacks onstage chemistry, so the character relationships are often missing dramatic tension.

Director Judy Hegarty-Lovett’s fluid staging serves the play well though its pace derails in the second half and loses steam. Molly O’Cathain’s set design consists of two raised, interconnected circular platforms that serve as several locations. Costumes, also designed by O’Cathain, are simple, clean and contemporary. Mel Mercier’s sound design is strangely satisfying and Simon Bennison’s lighting design helps support the play’s structure.

Will Eno’s writing style has been described as absurdist and cerebral. The dialogue appears trivial on the surface; much is said yet little is conveyed. Both couples’ chronic failure to connect creates a profound sense of loneliness. There’s a fragmented yet familial way in which the dialogue moves, and the constant non-sequiturs draw levity from sensitive subject matter as well as glimmers of vulnerability.

The Realistic Joneses opened on Broadway in 2014 after premiering at Yale Repertory Theatre a few years prior. The play offers a glimpse into two different marriages in similar circumstances and shows how each couple deals with or denies the trials confronting them. But the play is several scenes too long and the production feels weighed down because of that. Still, Eno’s dry wit marks the soul of the play and there are several moments of great clarity within the trivial chit chat.

Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive, Laguna Beach. Wed.-Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat, 2 pm & 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 5:30 p.m.; thru May 14; lagunaplayhouse.com. Running time: one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.