Can a “take ‘em all away” couple have Friends With Guns? Playwright Stephanie Alison Walker poses this provocative question in the button-pushing World Premiere latest from the Road Theatre Company on Magnolia.

Meet-cutes don’t get much cuter than the one that introduces Shannon (Kate Huffman), in severe mommy-melt-down mode this morning, to the considerably more laid-back Leah (Arianna Ortiz) at the neighborhood playground where Shannon’s two preschool-age boys and Leah’s three-year-old twins have come to cavort, and in Shannon’s case, to make Mommy’s overworked, underslept life a living hell.

No wonder then that cool, calm, and collected stay-at-home-mom Leah proves precisely what the doctor ordered for a woman whose attempts to have it all–marriage, motherhood, and a so-far-so-good job selling real estate–are proving increasingly challenging.

Before long, the two 30something mothers have forged a bond that could well lead to lifelong friendship, that is provided their husbands can get along just as swimmingly.

And things do seem to be going quite promisingly for Shannon and Josh (Brian Graves) and Leah and Danny (Christian Telesmar) when the two couples meet for drinks on the latter, more upscale couple’s West L.A. patio, the two men bonding over Danny’s homemade whiskey and the season he played pro baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The foursome seem to be bonding over politics as well, both couples united in their disdain for Trump voters and science deniers, that is until Danny drops a bombshell.

He and Leah are “gun people” with eleven of their own, locked safely inside their garage to be sure, but for Josh at least, the couple might as well be keeping a loaded pistol next to their bed.

Audiences may find it considerably harder than Josh to pass judgment on Walker’s stereotype-defying characters.

Danny may seem to be parroting gun-lobby propaganda (“Guns don’t kill people, people do”), but the last thing you’ll find in his wallet is an NRA membership card, and Leah’s Montana upbringing has her so accustomed to guns that the only time they’re a big deal is when she’s feeling empowered at the local shooting range.

Worse still where Josh is concerned is how cool and collected Danny and Leah can be when discussing a topic whose mere mention has him ready to burst a blood vessel, particularly since to his horror, Shannon doesn’t quite seem to share his aversion to guns.

If it’s not already obvious, Friends With Guns asks audiences to ponder just where they stand vis-à-vis the right to bear arms.

More unexpected is its examination of two very different marriages, in particular Josh’s to a woman whose newly discovered strength would seem to have him even more hot-and-bothered than his neighbors’ gun ownership.

Walker’s play does rather go off the deep end in its final scene (though upon reflection I’m not so sure it is as credibility-defying as it seemed while unfolding).

Less open to question is Randee Trabitz’s razor-sharp direction and the performances she has elicited from her pitch-perfect cast.

The extraordinary Huffman takes Shannon from intimidated to intimidating to indelible effect opposite the fabulous Ortiz’s cool-and-collected earth mother of a Leah, while a terrific Graves gradually reveals the darkness lurking under Josh’s good-guy exterior and the dynamic, charismatic Telesmar proves the unexpected voice of reason. (Either that, or the young Denzel manages to make the unreasonable sound reasonable.)

Scenic designer Stephen Gifford effectively backs the multi-locale action with SoCal-establishing blue sky and palms, gorgeously lit by Derrick McDaniel and expertly decorated by properties designer Heath Harper.

Costume designer Michèle Young gives each character precisely the outfits he or she would have chosen to wear as sound designer David B. Marling adds ambiance-establishing effects and fight director Jen Albert a bit of unexpected domestic violence.

Friends With Guns is produced by Michelle Gillette, Chet Grissom, and assistant director Susie Lever. Erick Marquez is stage manager and Edison Logos is assistant stage manager.

Cherish Monique Duke, Kris Frost, Emily Jerez, and Brian Majestic take center stage at alternate cast performances.

Stephanie Alison Walker’s Friends With Guns provides no easy answers to our nation’s ongoing Red State Blue State debate. What it does do is present both sides’ arguments so provocatively, your response may well be as visceral as mine.

One thing is certain. This is one gut-puncher of a play.

Click here to read my Alternate Cast Performance review.

The Road Theatre, NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood.
www.RoadTheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
March 15, 2019
Photos: Brian M. Cole

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Stephanie Alison Walker, The Road Theatre Company