FringeNYC 2013: Reunion Run

Review by Mary Beth Smith · August 9, 2013

John Doble’s Reunion Run focuses on the relationship between second cousins (once removed) Danny and Ronnie.  We first meet the pair at their family reunion.  Danny, a divorced, father of one and inner-city school teacher from the Philadelphia region admits that he came to the reunion to see Ronnie.  Ronnie is a southern Army officer married to a Lieutenant Colonel with two children of her own.  From the onset, we recognize Danny’s need to share his life experiences with Ronnie.  He regales her with stories about his daughter, his students, his past expectations.  She, in her own right, discloses her marital problems and her past longings for her cousin.

Things progress quickly and Danny and Ronnie return to Danny’s apartment and fulfill their sexual desires while continually confessing more and more about their innermost lives.  During this encounter we learn, along with Danny, that Ronnie has received orders to serve in Iraq.  While it throws Danny for a  loop, Ronnie swears that she will be ok and that they will stay in touch through letters and skype. After their ideal weekend together they go their separate ways with the expectation that their relationship, despite its complications, will continue to grow and progress. Flash forward two years and we are back at the family reunion where Danny and Ronnie reconnect and reassess everything that has happened to them over the last two years.

What works about this play is its ability to showcase post deployment reintegration.  Jessica Myhr (Ronnie) portrays an Army officer dealing with post traumatic stress syndrome beautifully, while Seth Reich (Danny) counters with a pacifist understanding of warfare that does little to calm Ronnie when she is in her panicked state. Prior to this, Danny has been fairly co-dependent on Ronnie to act as a calming presence and it is nice to see that dynamic shift, ever so briefly, during the second act.

Unfortunately, the play itself feels in need of a great deal of dramaturgical work. There are many holes within the script that leaves the audience wondering where particular statements (including a pretty big confession within the last 10 minutes of the show) come from and how they are relevant to the overall relationship of the two characters.  The pacing of the show itself is bogged down with unnecessary transitions and monologues that are disconnected from the story.  The actors playing love interests demonstrate very little sexual chemistry and seem more like cousins (which they are) than lovers.  As the production moves into the second act the story starts to come into its own allowing Myhr to shine in her role as Ronnie.

Lasting a little over an hour and a half, Reunion Run has a lot to work through for future productions. With a few tweaks, however, this play has the potential to be a poignant example of what life looks like for a woman once she returns from war.