Dr. Meredith Martin is not just any old coach. She is an esteemed coach coach running a very exclusive program for coaches who are struggling. Her current retreat — held in an aging and overstuff rental home centered between an airport for convenience and the woods for aesthetics — is so exclusive there are only four attendees. Each of the participants hopes Dr. Martin will elevate her practice and perhaps even give her a place on the insider team.
This is the set-up of Bailey Williams’ new comedy Coach Coach, the second entry of Clubbed Thumb’s 2024 Summerworks. Commissioned by the daring incubator, the script is not as wholly satisfying as some of their past offerings. Williams has fun playing with the language of psycho babble and marketing spin and earns many chuckles, but the work could be far more expansive in its views of what is admittedly a poorly regulated speciality and more probing in its observations about the sway of some players within it. While each soliloquy highlights an aspect of a character’s struggle, collectively they give a choppiness to the unfolding of events without significantly varying the tone or the emotional undercurrent.
Despite its shortcomings it is, in the words of one CT insider, very “on brand”: thoughtful, explorative, and marching to the beat of its own rhythm section. Also in keeping with Clubbed Thumb’s deserved reputation, all the artistic elements are of high quality. The cast — Purva Bedi, Cindy Cheung, Becca Lish, Kelly McAndrew, Susannah Millonzi and Zuzanna Szadkowski — is terrific both as individuals and as a well orchestrated ensemble. Even when the characters are not fully listening to one another, the actresses clearly are. Director Sarah Blush has mined the recursive dialogue for maximum impact, for example having death coach Velma (Millonzi) slither over the furniture with reptilian delight and often leaving the deflated Patti (Cheung) perched at the end of her chair as if she isn’t sure she deserves to even sit. Dan Wang’s costumes are color coded for each specialty: green for business, hot pink for romance, black for death and so on. His initial wardrobe choice for assistant coach Margo (Szadkowski) received its own round of applause. Scenic designer Colleen Murray’s selection of furnishing styles lends the right oppressive air. And lighting design by Masha Tsimring and sound design by Johnny Gasper lean heavily into the eeriness of the ill-fated gathering.
Coach Coach runs through June 13 at the Wild Project on 3rd Street between Avenues A and B. Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. Evening performances are almost completely sold out, but there are newly posted 3:00pm matinees on June 12 and 13. Tickets are $25 for students, $30 for general admission, and $40 for a reserved seat (highly recommended.) You can also “pay it forward” for $60. And if you find yourself too late to secure a spot for this very limited run, consider being ahead of the curve for Crystal Finn’s Find Me Here opening on June 19. With its starry cast and notable design team, this final entry of the season is sure to be a Clubbed Thumb treat. Visit https://www.clubbedthumb.org/productions/2024/ for more tickets and information.
The Unforgettable Line 