Review: The Reservoir Skims the Surface of a Good Story but Fails to Go Deep Enough

Josh, the protagonist of Jake Brasch’s The Reservoir, is a screw-up—a hopeless alcoholic man-child without drive or self-respect. Yet it’s hard to not want him to succeed, even if it seems unfathomable. That makes The Reservoir—having its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse—a quirky but poignant dramedy that could nevertheless use a few fixes.

Josh (Jake Horowitz) has stumbled back to his childhood home in Colorado after leaving NYU behind, much to the consternation of his mother (Marin Hinkle), who has given up on him. Drinking since his adolescence, Josh has found no equilibrium in his life. It tortures him that he has no relationship with his mother, and his father appears to be completely out of the picture.

When he discovers his maternal grandmother (Carolyn Mignini) has sunk into almost complete catatonia from Alzheimer’s, Josh chooses to invest time and effort in all four of his grandparents, fighting to keep their brains active so they can all conquer old age. He spins his wheels until his paternal grandmother, Beverly (Liz Larsen), pours cold water on his plans and brings him to reality—his alcoholism is where the real work must begin.

Josh’s travails as he tries to get his life on track make for a compelling text. Brasch’s dialogue is relatable, and the family dynamics disrupted by a crashing relative are nicely handled with humor and sadness. The exploration of memory loss due to dementia vs alcoholic blackouts forms interesting parallels. Further parallels can be drawn as to how one can think they’re bettering themselves by helping others, when they’re really paying zero attention to the others’ actual needs while pumping up their own esteem by “trying to be good.”

Being gay is a piece of Josh’s puzzle, but not the entire story, since the play doesn’t suggest his homosexuality is the main source of his problems. His trauma, however, is never investigated fully—particularly the issue of his father, whose absence leaves holes in Josh’s life and also in the audience’s understanding.

Director Shelley Butler paints Josh’s story with understanding and kindness. The script mocks some of Josh’s strained metaphors in his narration, yet the image of the grandparents (who double as a Greek chorus) imitating the river waves could be more effective.

The cast is stellar. Horowitz never smooths over Josh’s unattractive traits yet his lovability still shines through effortlessly. Larsen’s Beverly is hilarious as the blunt, no-nonsense grandma who offers strong medicine to snap him out of his narcissism. She nails that tough love in every line of dialogue. Lee Wilkof, as her estranged husband, has wonderfully eccentric scenes as he attempts his second bar mitzvah at 83. Mignini as his other grandmother alternates between an unresponsive nana and Josh’s idealized version in his imagination of a woman he can rely on for praise and hugs. Geoffrey Wade, as Mignini’s gruff husband, portrays a stoic man with little compassion for his grandson while keeping the paternal love he still has for Josh just below the surface.

Hinkle has the toughest role as his mother who has far reached her limit. Trapped in a vicious cycle, Hinkle demonstrates her exhaustion but also her still undying love for her only child. Adrián González plays several roles—nurses, wait staff, Josh’s frustrated boss at the bookstore—adroitly changing his gait and voice as he convincingly portrays each.

Costume designer Sara Ryung Clement finds some of the ugliest sweaters ever to visually portray Josh’s lack of sense of self. Scenic designer Takeshi Kata and lighting designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew work together to abstractly project Josh’s mind onto the stage.

Jake Brasch’s The Reservoir is a good play that could be a great one. Just as Josh seems unprepared to explore his damage, the play itself appears to be missing important parts of the story. With a few tweaks, audiences might get to the core of Josh without all the metaphors and missing memories.