No Place to Go by Ethan Lipton is the antithesis of the Frank Loesser musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying—it’s about the experience of losing a job, and a sense of purpose, without trying. It is also a comedic look at our modern society that smacks you in the face with how honest and real it is, and I loved it.
The story is simple enough: George is a middle-aged man with his own small band who has been working the same day job for the last 10 years as a “permanent part time” employee. The job pays the bills for himself, and his family, and allows him time to explore his other interests— and he genuinely likes his coworkers. However, the company has decided to move the offices very far away and he must make a choice: move with the company (with no promises of full-time work or increased pay or security If the move fails) or stay and try to find a different job with his limited job skills in a rough job market. The story of how he makes the decision is told in a series of songs (with his band) in his office, creating what is basically an intimate 90-minute solo concert.
Bobby Smith, a Signature Theatre favorite for decades, plays George with a gentle everyman quality that allows us each to see a bit of ourselves in his performance. We have all had moments where we are at a crossroads and struggle more over the “when and how to decide” than on the actual decision itself. His performance is flawless as he sings and talks for 90 minutes giving us his unique take the character of George and his struggles. As an actor, he makes a lot of specific choices that only reinforce how we could easily find ourselves in his predicament.
This is possibly the greatest (ironic) strength of the show: the more specific and detailed his story, the more we as the audience can relate to it. Specific stories of very specific coworkers make us realize we know that person in our own life. The more George shares with us his specific insecurities, the more we empathize and realize that we share fears. Author Ethan Lipton manages to do all of this with catchy tunes and a lot of laughs. Personal favorites were “Aging Middle-Class Parents” in which George discusses what he can offer if he moves in with his parents or his in-laws; and “Did You Hear What They Did at the WPA” which poignantly brings home how our society has changed.
The three-piece band features Tom Lagana on Guitar, Grant Langford on Sax, and Ian M. Riggs on Bass. Each is given a character name and have occasional back up lyrics and a few lines, but are primarily just a great band, and I mean that, they are a great band. They play well, they listen to each other and support Bobby Smith like they have played together for years. A heard a few patrons muttering they thought the band was too loud and obscured the lyrics, I noticed it once or twice but only incidentally. Ian M Riggs was one of the original members of Ethan Lipton’s orchestra as he created this piece at Joe’s Pub which is a lounge club.
As directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner in the Ark, No Place to Go is played as an intimate small theatre experience: about 100 seats for the audience, a shallow stage on one end with a very detailed office set that has a timeless feel to it with bits of mid century modern. The set is designed by Paige Hathaway is well executed if completely unnecessary and may be better suited to an empty stage with a good light show. The lighting design by Max Doolittle is clever and effective, if at times a little distracting. I hope to see this show become an American standard and to see what other performers and directors do with this delightful mirror of our times.
Running Time: 90 minutes no intermission
No Place To Go plays through October 16, 2022 in the Ark at at Signature Theatre— 4200 Campbell Avenue in Shirlington, VA. For tickets call the box office at (703) 820-9771 or purchase them online.
