In 'The Reservoir,' bubbies, tough love & Jazzercise pave the road to recovery

By Lindsay B. Davis

In Jake Brasch’s The Reservoir, we meet Josh (Jake Horowitz), a queer NYU theater student with a drinking problem, as he attempts to sober up at home with his Mom (Marin Hinkle) in Colorado. His grandparents (Liz Larsen, Carolyn Mignini, Geoffrey Wade, and a scene-eating Lee Wilkof) live nearby and become central characters in Josh’s recovery journey, offering reflections of his meandering inner monologue. They function as a sort of geriatric Greek chorus, evoking the elder joy of Ron Howard’s 1985 film Cocoon.

Turned off by those “Christian-y blue book,” god-centric recovery meetings and spurred into a deeper faith crisis by his Nana’s advanced Alzheimer’s, Josh latches onto them for comfort, drawing parallels between alcoholism and dementia while trying to address both with natural interventions (organic spinach) and new knowledge from the local bookstore where he works part-time under his manager, Hugo (Adrian Gonzalez, who in addition to Marin Hinkle plays multiple roles),

If this all sounds rather serious for summer, rest assured The Reservoir delivers a fanciful dramedy for the intellect and heart thanks to playwright Jake Brasch’s astute ability to combine elements of coming of age and memory plays, Durang-like absurdity, clownish commedia dell’arte, 80s cultural influences like Jazzercise, Jewish cultural zingers, and hilarious punchlines. (You may never look at blintzes the same.)

Jake Horowitz in "The Reservoir." — Jake Horowitz in “The Reservoir.” Photo by Jeff Lorch.

The Reservoir dives deep and settles in Act II after Josh finds real 12-step recovery, rising from rock bottom under Grandma Beverly’s tough-love tutelage and forming a deeper bond with 83-year-old Grandpa Shrimpy, who is himself experiencing signs of dementia while studying to be Bar Mitzvahed for the second time.

When Josh admits he’s gay… “Mostly,” Shrimpy rebuts, “I’m straight… Mostly.” The Reservoir is excellent… mostly. The play occasionally strays due to extraneous narration, but this is forgiven by emotionally resonant moments as Josh learns to feel his feelings without running away or getting trapped by his thoughts. Shelley Butler’s tight direction keeps the action moving and grooving like a grapevine.

Recovery, it turns out, requires a balance of spinach, steps, and octogenarian wisdom.

The Reservoir plays at Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles through July 20.

‘The Reservoir’ takeaway

Judi Sheppard Missett, founder of Jazzercise, launched a fitness revolution over 50 years ago and continues to teach at the age of 81. You can access classes on demand at demand.jazzercise.com