‘A Bright New Boise’ showcases talented young playwright

Will is haunted, haunted by his role in a scandal that brought down his church, by the son he lost, by memories of his community.

He has come to the Hobby Lobby in Boise looking for a job, yes, but also to find his son, Alex, who was taken from him as a baby and who is the store’s best cashier. Will comes from “up north,” he tells uptight store manager Pauline in his job interview. “Up north” meaning a small town outside Coeur d’Alene, he tells another employee, being evasive. Eventually, he’s forced to admit he’s from Rathdrum, where he was a member of a “nondenominational church” that’s now notorious throughout the state as a doomsday cult.

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter, born and raised in Moscow, has constructed a tale that is darkly funny and devastating. In “A Bright New Boise,” which opened Friday at the Modern Theater Coeur d’Alene, his characters are forced to confront questions of family and faith, while struggling with the futility and frustrations that come from working retail for a large corporation. That they do all this in a shabby break room is all the more real, and heartbreaking.

In his portrayal of Will, Doug Dawson is all sadness and weariness. He wears the weight of Will’s past on his shoulders, and it’s pretty heavy. Will feels tremendous guilt about the events at his former church, but his faith remains unshaken. He’s so eager to connect with his son that he blurts out “I’m your father” within minutes of meeting the teenager. Alex, taken aback, has long harbored fantasies about his real parents. But Will’s sudden arrival throws him, and he resorts to – with alarming frequency – the only threat he can wield: If you don’t do what I want, I’ll kill myself. As Alex, Maxim Chumov makes the boy’s insecurities, questions and desires very real.

Alex’s adoptive brother Leroy (Robby French) is an art student who loves to provoke. His chosen art medium is the T-shirt, emblazoned with shocking statements and curse words. When he meets Will, he instantly begins needling the new employee about his past. “I’m deliberately making you uncomfortable,” he says, stating the obvious. He’s fiercely protective of Alex, giving his attacks on Will even more urgency. French gives a ferocious performance.

Also employed at Hobby Lobby is Anna (Hannah Paton), a sweet if ditzy blonde. She hides in the store after closing so she can hang out in the break room and read. That’s where she strikes up a friendship with Will, who also stays late in order to access the Internet and work on his online novel. She’s a Christian, too, she tells Will. “I’ve always believed in Jesus,” she says. “What else is there to believe in?” It’s as if she’s a Christian because the alternative simply has never occurred to her. She invites Will to attend her Lutheran church, an invitation he forcefully rebuffs. Clearly, the Lutheran church is no place for a man who is actively praying for the end times.

Then there’s Pauline (Emily Jones), the store manager, a woman who drops F-bombs like most people say “cheese.” Her whole sense of self-worth is wrapped up in her work, the success of her store, and its “ecosystem.” Adding Will to the payroll certainly has thrown that ecosystem out of balance.

The Modern’s production, directed by Heather McHenry-Kroetch, is solid all around. The five actors all excel at bringing their characters to life. And while it’s briskly paced (it’s less than two hours, with intermission), it’s not an easy show to sit through. The coarse language may be off-putting for some audiences, and the discussions of religion may hit too close to home for others. Hunter, who was raised in the fundamentalist Christian faith, brings firsthand knowledge to his work. He treats all his characters with respect, even when their actions may seem foolhardy.

“Boise” shifts tone from Act 1 to Act 2. There’s much black humor in Act 1, and the play at times feels like a workplace comedy, and a pointed one at that. Will is hired “part time” – at 38 hours a week – and told to not bother bringing up union issues. There’s a TV feed in the break room that frequently shifts to coverage of gruesome medical procedures; a never-seen employee named Mandy is always causing problems. By Act 2, “Boise” delves deeper into the emotions of our five characters, as troubled and explosive as those emotions are. There’s no pat resolution, no neat little bow. Just one man left with the state of his own soul in the balance.

Hunter, who won an Obie Award for “Boise,” was recipient of a 2014 fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation (aka “the genius grant”). He is an emerging talent, and his works are just starting to be produced around the country. “Bright New Boise” made its regional debut in 2014 at the University of Idaho, while Eastern Washington University earlier this year tackled his “Pocatello.” His newest play, “Lewiston,” opened just this past week at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut. The Modern’s production gives local theater fans an opportunity to see works by a young playwright as he’s beginning to make a name for himself.

This is not an easy trip to “Boise,” but it’s certainly one worth taking.