The Jammer, the roller derby comedy that opened at the Atlantic
Stage 2 last week, is a goofball of a show.
And I mean that as a total compliment.
Unless the action is set in a locker room, sports stories
rarely score on stage.
It’s too hard to duplicate the visceral thrill of a dunked basket or an
intercepted pass within the confines of a proscenium. But it's a real hoot to watch the clever way that director Jackson Gay and her movement
consultant Monica Bill Barnes have devised to simulate competitive roller
skating moves in The Jammer.
As luck, and the demands of playwright
Rolin Jones’ loose-limbed plot would have it, Lennie Ringle, a slick skating
impresario, catches a ride in Jack’s cab and offers him a chance to try out for
his team.
Patch Darragh makes Jack loony and
lovable at the same time. The other skaters are a collection of Guys and Dolls-type
characters (Cindy Gums, Specs Macedo,
Jerry ”Three Nuts” Kiger) and the cast, who mainly double and triple in the
roles, plays them with deliciously cartoonish verve.
The production team—lead by Wilson
Chin’s scenic design and Jessica Ford’s costumes—gets in on the jokes too and
there are loads of delightful sight gags, including a very sweet one towards
the end of the show.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the most enjoyable sports plays to
come along over the last couple of years—The Jammer and Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate
Entrance of Chad Deity—have been set in the worlds of competitive roller
skating and pro wrestling, which are as much about show biz as they are about
athletics and experienced at concocting morality tales for their fans.