HAVE A GOOD ONE

A trio of 20ish Midwesterners, two of them shirtless greeters at a trendy clothing chain called Penderleigh & Ashe, come of age circa Y2K in Stan Zimmerman and Christian McLaughlin’s Have A Good One, the crowd-pleasing latest from Pop-up Playhouse.

No, P&A isn’t precisely Abercombie & Fitch, but it might as well be for those who recall the bare-chested hunks who welcomed A&F customers in mall after American mall as the new Millennium approached, hotties like cocky rich kid Connor (Tanner Stine), whose future plans include becoming a male supermodel and booking the lead in a WB teen drama like Dawson’s Creek. (After all, if James Van Der Beek can go from shirtless greeter to TV stardom, why not Connor?)

Newbie greeter Joey (Tom Plumley), on the other hand, sees the P&A gig as both a long-awaited break from a strict religious upbringing and confirmation that he is no longer the overweight preteen who survived cancer but a young adult with boyish good looks, a lean-muscled physique, and a bright future ahead.

The future looks bright too for store manager Gretchen (Megan Cournoyer), whose perky positivity bodes well for her ultimate goal of becoming a P&A executive on Chicago’s Miracle Mile, while Latino floor worker Oscar (Adrian Gamez) balances three jobs, single fatherhood, law school dreams, and a serious crush on Gretchen.

Over the course of Have A Good One’s swift 66-minute running time, playwrights Zimmerman and McLaughlin let us see beyond first impressions, giving each employee a character-revealing monolog while sprinkling in bits of late-‘90s nostalgia along the way. (Connor can’t wait to show Joey his state-of-the-art flip phone, one that actually lets him play games like Tetris and Snake, and will soon announce each caller with an individualized song, e.g. Gretchen’s “Like A Virgin.”)

Missing is the kind of out-and-proud gay character whose sassy quips sparked the playwriting duo’s best collaborations (Meet & Greet and Knife To The Heart), and Connor’s homophobic brand of humor (“It’s not gay to get blown by a lonely visiting executive”) isn’t nearly as appealing.

Still, Zimmerman and McLaughlin do know how to make an audience laugh. (Gretchen has an acronym for each type of P&A employee: P.B.D. signifies Pretty But Dumb, P.N.C. is Pregnant No College.) And the co-writers give Have A Good One a coda that satisfyingly connects their characters’ 1999 lives with the present day.

Under Zimmerman’s experienced direction, Stine gives Connor appropriate bravado, Gamez makes for an oh so likable Oscar, Cournoyer is a delight as the ever-effervescent Gretchen, and (best of all) up-and-comer Plumley reveals star quality and charm as the wide-eyed-and-innocent Joey.

Last but not least, Zimmerman once again wears multiple hats to impressive effect, not just co-writer/director but producer, set-lighting-costume designer, and music-supervisor.

Lizzie Rose Kramer is assistant director. Understudies Salim Aliaga, Noelle Filippone, Joe Haag, and Jack Menzies have their own dedicated performance on Saturday October 9 at 3:00.

Completing the behind-the-scenes team are Stefani Nicole Von Huben (producer), Miranda Richard (stage manager, lighting), and Julie Gale (casting)

 I enjoyed Have A Good One’s nostalgic look back at the late-1990s. If you remember as far back as then, Stan Zimmerman and Christian McLaughlin’s latest is a Good One to check out.

The Dorie Theatre in THE COMPLEX, 6476 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood.
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5225289

COVID RULES: All patrons will be required to wear a mask fully covering their nose and mouth at all times in the theater. Ticket holders will be required to be fully vaccinated and will need to provide a photo ID and proof of vaccination (physical vaccination card, a picture of vaccination card, or a digital vaccination record).

–Steven Stanley
October 2, 2021
Production photos: Elvira Barjau
Back Wall Photo- Edwin Santiago, Model: Joey Thieme

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