A chance visit to a run-down, out-of-the-way bar stirs up memories long-ago friendships, unfulfilled dreams, unforgotten grudges, and a woman named Jennifer in Tim Alderson’s Salvage, a World Premiere “play with music” which requires buying into more than one coincidence but offers multiple rewards, not the least of which is getting to hear some of the most haunting, gorgeously sung country music in town.

The visitor in question is 20something Harley (Christopher Fordinal), who happens to find himself inside a whiskey joint with just one other customer, a lonely middle-aged drunk (David Atkinson as Preacher) accompanying himself on guitar to downers like “I’m So Tired Of It All.”

Not that bartender Johnson (Leonard Earl Howze) is any more welcoming than Preacher, the former informing Harley in no uncertain terms that he has but two choices (either shut up and order a drink or be on his way), the latter rejecting Harley’s offer to sit in on Preacher’s latest despondent ditty (“Walking The Blues”) with equal bluntness.

What neither Johnson nor Preacher have reckoned with is Harley’s unwillingness to take no for an answer, not when he’s at the bar where country music legend Floyd Whitaker committed suicide, not with so many unanswered questions about Floyd’s life, his death, and the woman people say was an intimate part of both.

Unfortunately for Harley, all he gets from Preacher is the disagreeable revelation that no matter what the young eager beaver may have read while sitting on assorted crappers, the sorry son of a bitch that was Floyd Whitaker did not intentionally take his own life. He simply drowned in his own vomit, case closed.

As for Harley’s own dreams of a career performing self-penned songs, well those too have gone up in smoke now that his wife Destiny (Nina Herzog) is expecting their first child, and since playing in bars for tips will no longer pay the bills, the singer-songwriter finds himself with no other choice but to pawn the guitar he’s now strumming for the very last time.

It doesn’t take long for a connection to be established between Preacher, Johnson, and the late great Floyd. Suffice it to say that bad blood runs deep, and redemption may come at too high a price.

As previously stated, Salvage does require buying into at least a couple of flukes of fate.

Still, for those willing to suspend disbelief, Alderson’s chamber musical is well worth a visit, if only to hear its eleven catchy country ballads (music and lyrics by Mark Heard, Pat Terry, the late great Randy VanWarner, and Alderson himself).

Damian D. Lewis’s assured direction is enhanced every step of the way by Matt Richter’s drama-enhancing lighting design and a perfectly picked ensemble of four. (Kudos to casting director Michael Donovan, CSA and casting associate Richie Ferris.)

L.A. theater favorite Atkinson captures Preacher’s booze-soaked surliness as his raw evocative vocals blend with Fordinal’s bell-clear tenor like whiskey and honey, the latter investing Harley with equal parts sweetness, sincerity, and determination, and both performers prove themselves guitar whizzes to boot. (Stephan Terry scores as musical director.)

Voices don’t get much richer than Herzog’s (whose Destiny is pretty darned lovely herself), with Howze’s burly, big-hearted Johnson completing the all-around terrific cast in a non-singing role.

Scenic designer Joel Daavid and properties designer Jenine MacDonald give Salvage’s corner bar a just-right lived-in look and the same can be said for costume designer Wendell C. Carmichael’s four character-appropriate outfits, with sound designer Christopher Moscatiello competing the production’s Grade-A intimate theater design.

Salvage is produced by Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners. Misha Riley, Theater Planners, is assistant producer. Laurien Allmon is production stage manager.

Whatever you call it–play, musical, or something in between–Salvage packs a powerful punch. It may not be traditional holiday entertainment per se, but you can expect it to fill your heart with hope and your ears with song this holiday season.

The Lounge Theatre, 6021 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood.
www.Onstage411.com/Salvage

–Steven Stanley
November 16, 2019
Photos: Ed Krieger

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Lounge Theatre, Mark Heard, Pat Terry, Randy VanHorner, Tim Alderson