It's one of the play's most satisfying scenes, and actors Deena Marie Manzanares and Lane Richins handle it just right, giving it significance but not leaning on it too heavily - a fleeting instance of communication and calm in two chaotic lives.
The problem with "Jenny Sutter" is that these moments are few and far between. Like the characters it portrays, the play doesn't seem to have a clear sense of where it's going, so it skims along on the surface of these people's lives without offering insights into what makes them who they are. That's unfortunate because they're potentially interesting characters.
To an extent, playwright Myatt paints herself into a corner to begin with. Jenny is so traumatized by what has happened to her physically and emotionally that she is largely inarticulate. We learn more about her dreams and desires in the opening voice-over than throughout the rest of the play. Manzanares struggles to externalize her emotions, but Myatt hasn't given her much to work with.
The play's title is ironic: There is no welcome home for Jenny Sutter. As Louise, the woman she latches onto in the bus station because she can't face going home, asks, "Where's the band, the family, the parade?" Jenny changes clothes and symbolically becomes a civilian, but she cannot put on her old life.
Jenny drifts with Louise to Slab City, the end of the bus line, and is adopted by a bunch of misfits, all of them beaten up by life. Louise is an addictive personality who has had to give up almost everything to survive. Tamara Howell's performance has a buoyant bounce that enlivens every scene she's in.
Buddy copes with an abusive childhood and failed marriage by becoming a preacher with a license he bought on the Internet and using his folksy sermons to help people. Garry Peter Morris's portrayal exudes an air of quiet confidence and compassion. Donald's retreat from life is masked by indifference, "to fill the gap where I used to be." Richins alternates adeptly between cynicism and flashes of hope. Vicki Pugmire and Alex Bala give quirky individualizing touches to smaller roles.
Fran Pruyn's focused direction makes the most of the meaningful moments. Jesse Portillo's blue and rose lighting matches the moods of the day, and Mikal Troy Klee's musical mix of country and spirituals contributes a strong sense of place.
"Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter" is admirable in its attempt to explore the timely topic of the problems facing returning vets, especially women. It simply doesn't go deep enough.
