Porchlight Music Theatre kicks off its 27th season with what it calls a “a country fried phenomenon,” and I can assure you it is precisely that. Set in a North Carolina diner/filling station somewhere off the highway, Pump Boys and Dinettes provides a scintillating peek into the lives and relationships of the guys and gals of the Double Cupp Diner.
Featuring a creative team that consists of core members of Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theatre, this production is a love letter to hometown hospitality and nostalgia. Daryl D. Brooks’ direction is straightforward and concert driven, and works in smooth cohesion with the distinctive and stellar music direction by Robert Reddrick. The choreography by Rueben D Echoles gives the musical numbers an easygoing feel, and never distracts from the vocal prowess of the ensemble. The production stays devotedly true to its backroad roots, shying away from the modern audience’s expectations at every turn. While the book does very little to build the world of the play or illuminate its characters, the score distracts from the musical’s more shallow notes and eventually builds to a very heartfelt goodbye.
