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Tim is a casualty of the Great Recession—his wife divorced him after he lost his job. That may make her sound like a monster, but a few minutes with him suggests that she may’ve chosen compassionately not to kill him outright. Staying with his widowed mom, sleeping on an old twin bed in the room he had as a kid, Tim’s got Sisyphean pluck enough to maintain his search for work during the day. (With his briefcase, he resembles the Michael Douglas character—a jobless, divorced dad who snaps—in Falling Down.) But he’s a basket case at night. As the mom, Susan, notes—and he freely acknowledges—Tim’s evenings are all about crying into his pillow and rooting around among his childhood possessions like a “rat in the wall.”
Eddie Sisson, the midwestern dad in Brett Neveu’s new, Mametesque drama, Do the Hustle, is a man much more in the traditional mode than Ron or Tim. He’s divorced, sure—but only, we’re told, because his drug-addicted wife lit out when their son, Sam, was five. Sam’s about to turn 18 now, and Eddie’s stuck with him every step of the way, sharing his philosophy of life with the boy and preparing him to join the family business. Trouble is, the family business is grifting and the philosophy is Trust No One. Eddie is a two-bit con man.
Do the Hustle
Through 3/20: Tue-Sun, Writers’ Theatre, North 325 Tudor Ct., Glencoe, 847-242-6000, writerstheatre.org, $45-$65.
