Three immigrants, sitting in an off-track betting bar in Manhattan, playing the horses and trading insults. Doesn’t sound like a play about Americans, does it?
But “Ponies,” which opens at the Gloucester Stage Company on June 28, says more about the dangers of living in America than any suburb-set sitcom or urban legend movie could.
Written by Mike Batistick and directed by David Sullivan, the play stars Robert Pemberton as the caustic Croatian Drazen, James William Ijames as the thoughtful and recently immigrated Nigerian Ken, Jared O’Brien as the discerning but illegally immigrated Venezuelan Wallace, and Jacqui Parker as the bet-taking cashier.
On the surface the play might seem to be about gambling addiction — the characters are spending a Thursday afternoon in an OTB bar losing money that they can’t afford to lose — but as they insult each other and slowly reveal their past and their personalities, you realize that what some call the American dream has become in some cases the American nightmare. Or maybe the world’s nightmare.
“It’s a play about survival,” says director Sullivan. “About relationships, and what it means to be an outsider. Who do you trust, and what is your identity?
“At one point a character says, ‘I’m a human being.’ That says a lot about the individualism of Americans.
“The conflict here is not physical but psychological,” Sullivan says. “There is a strong sense of winning and losing, and the play shows the darker side of that. One reason I love this play is for its great writing and language, the distinct rhythms of the actors, the cruel banter, and the excitement of the races.
“For them, there is no guarantee. They came here for different reasons — it’s different for all of them — and they can win or lose. Betting on horses makes a perfect metaphor for that. They’re risking everything.
“I went to an OTB bar in Manhattan before I started working on the play,” Sullivan says. “And all the characters were there. It’s really very dynamic, with lots of humor, just like the play, and real heart, people with hopes and dreams and scars.”
For James William Ijames (prounounced “I-ams”), who plays the somewhat disingenuous Nigerian immigrant Ken, “Ponies” “is all about how you treat people, outsiders or others.
“Our culture has changed, and the current debate about immigration has shown that.
“The risks for my character are amazing. He can’t go back to his county, but because of what has happened to him”—he’s a cab driver, but Drazen has stolen his car and driven it into the East River —“he’s kind of desperate.
“For all the drama,” Ijames says, “the play has lots of humor. Everything is there in the script, right down to the commas and exclamation points. As an actor, I enjoy it very much. The text avoids stereotypes, and even though the characters are really in conflict, it’s very generous and refreshing.”
“Ponies” runs through July 15 at the Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester. For tickets ($30-$35) call the box office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.org.
