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Review: ‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’

Maritime musical joins Bellingham TheatreWorks' summer lineup

Iris Cohn
Iris Cohn (Photo courtesy of Bellingham TheatreWorks)
By Amy Kepferle Staff Reporter

Do you have a significant other who has developed an aversion to live theater and needs to be convinced what will happen onstage is worth leaving the house for?

If so, I have good news. After attending the opening night performance of “Pump Boys and Dinettes” at the Fishermen’s Pavilion at Zuanich Point Park with my somewhat grumpy date, I’m convinced even the most reluctant patrons of the arts will be grinning, singing along and stomping their feet on the cement floor by the night’s end — just like my boyfriend did.

Although it’s important for readers to know the maritime musical is a collaboration between Bellingham TheatreWorks and Western Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, that wasn’t what I told my fella to convince him to accompany me. Instead, I informed him Boundary Bay Brewery would be on site with ice-cold beverages, a view of the park and Bellingham Bay would be visible from inside the open-air pavilion, the vibe would be nautical and pie would be served during intermission.

I’m guessing the mention of dessert was what got my date through the door of the Fisherman’s Pavilion, but once there he didn’t need any more cajoling. An usher dressed as if she were on her way to a sock hop guided us to a picnic table near the back of the crowd — which we shared with a couple who’d met at Western in the 1990s and were visiting Bellingham for their wedding anniversary, and a well-dressed woman who’d already seen two of the three plays in Bellingham TheatreWorks’ Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre season at the FireHouse Arts and Events Center (more on that shortly).

Before the show started, we had time to order adult beverages and take in the scene. The scaffolding the spotlight operators were perched atop had been festooned with fishing buoys and lines. The high-ceilinged venue equipped to hold large boats had been seamlessly transformed into a gas station on one side and a dinette on the other. Signs proclaimed we’d arrived at Highway 57 Gas and the Double Cupp Diner. In both locales, a number of musical instruments were within arm’s reach.

The drum kit, piano, electric and acoustic guitars, upright bass, tambourines and even kitchen implements and a set of hubcaps on the gas station wall came in handy over the next 90-plus minutes as the Cupp sisters — Natasha McPhaden as the brash Rhetta and Iris Cohn as the more self-contained yet soulful sister Prudie — told stories and made music with the four young men working at the gas station next door (played with verve and humor by Toby Bruce, Ryan Duke, Brendan Francis and Jack Kuntz).

When “Pump Boys and Dinettes” opened on Broadway in 1982, it was set somewhere on the roadside between Frog Level and Smyrna, North Carolina. In this iteration, the gas station and diner are dockside and placed firmly in Whatcom County. Some of the lyrics have even been changed to reflect its seafaring focus.

What hasn’t changed is how the cast uses country and rock music to spin tales about dates gone awry, drinking, sibling issues, farmer tans, fishing, Dolly Parton, tips, a grandmother’s love and the need to take a vacation, already. Dialogue is sparse throughout the production, but if you listen closely to the songs you’ll discover what the various characters are trying to say.

It should also be noted that the production does away with the fourth wall. Characters dance on tables, hand out jars for tips (all of which were going to Blue Skies for Children on the night we attended), make eye contact, converse with audience members and generally make everybody forget about the scary state of the world.


“Our ‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’ is an immersive love letter to this community,”
Seattle-based director Billie Wildrick explained in program notes. “We set it here and now because that’s where we want to be — with you, celebrating the joy of simple things: pie, fishing, music, connection and friendship.”

photo  Silas Marston (left) plays the lead character, Christopher, in Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre’s production of “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” one of three plays showing through July 24 at the FireHouse Arts and Events Center. (Photo courtesy of Breeann Johnson)  

Back to the pie. It was handed out at the beginning of the 15-minute intermission, as the sun was starting to make its descent and rollerbladers, dog-walkers, kite-flyers and boaters could be seen from the pavilion. Blueberry and cherry pie were on the menu, and as we ate it one of our seatmates pointed to a young teenager in the audience who also happens to be the lead actor in Simon Stephens’
“Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”

“He’s phenomenal, so good,” she said.

“Curious Incident” is one of three plays showing at the FireHouse as part of the Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre through July 24. With the theme of “You’ll Understand When You’re Younger,” the lineup also includes “Big, Scary Animals” by Matt Lyle and “The Children” by Lucy Kirkwood. All three works explore the triumphs and tragedies of youth.

Conversely, “Pump Boys and Dinettes” celebrates what happens after young adults begin to explore the world and find happiness when and where they can. Along the way, they share their triumphs with us and get even the skeptics singing and stomping along.

“Pump Boys and Dinettes” shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays through July 31 at the Fishermen’s Pavilion at Squalicum Harbor. Tickets are $15–$22. Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre shows take place nightly (except on Mondays) through July 24 at the FireHouse, 1314 Harris Ave. Tickets are $20. Info and tickets: bellinghamtheatreworks.org

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