Playwright Todd Cunningham’s first effort, The Good Hours, about his relationship with a former fiancée who died tragically, bears an apt tagline: “Just when you think you’ve got love right, everything goes wrong.” It’s a metaphor for this production, which has good bones and is entertaining, but could use a rewrite and the skill of a more experienced cast.

Hours, at the Found Theatre, is the semi-autobiographical story of Cunningham—former entertainment editor of the Press-Telegram and current national editor of The Hollywood Reporter. He meets Patty Bonura (her last name, we’re told, means “the good hours” in Italian) when they’re working the concession stands at Long Beach’s Blair Field. Sadly, any good hours they experience are few and far between.

Bookended by expository monologues from Todd, the play opens with him speaking to Patty while working beside her at the stands. He is touched by her manner with young customers and makes his move despite her disinterest. In his opening speech we learn of Bonura’s “profoundly damaged soul” and, as the play unfolds, Cunningham’s attempts to rescue her. In his quest to fix her he falls in love.

But Patty is deeply self-loathing, and as the child of alcoholics who were “always fighting and yelling,” she remains in a violent relationship she has no plans to leave—despite Todd’s objections. Abused and abusive, she constantly pulls Todd close, only to immediately push him away. She is prone to asking such questions as “why do you love me?” and running through a litany of reasons as to why one wouldn’t want to be with her.

Meanwhile, Todd has abandonment issues of his own. Never getting to know his father and witnessing his mother’s own love affair with the bottle, he confesses to Patty that maybe he was drawn to her because of “the pain in your eyes.” He establishes himself as the knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress.

There’s an important third party in their relationship—and it’s booze. Patty and Todd are only seen without an open bottle when they’re working, in that first scene. They trade lines like, “Money doesn’t always make you feel better” straight-faced while passing the bottle between them.

The couple’s deceased parents act as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on the action from the proverbial heaven. They may serve as the comic relief—but the obvious damage they did to their children undercuts the humor. They even offer their kids drinks from the great beyond to ease the effects of what drinking has done.

In an interview with the P-T, Cunningham said one of the themes he wanted to explore was “how your idea or ideal of a loving relationship is established by your family, for better or worse.” But his Hours comes off as more of a cautionary tale of the dangers of alcoholism.

This production has an experimental feel to it—like a gangly toddler trying to find his walking rhythm. Performances by Found regulars are serviceable, with Kay Richey as Patty being a bright exception. Richey acts with her whole body and gives us a weary woman uncomfortable with herself, and who flinches at the slightest display of kindness. I’m unsure whose idea it was to include singing in this non-musical, but the characters break into song no less than three times. It’s a distracting stunt, adding an unneeded artsy element to the proceedings.

The Good Hours has an emotional accuracy that really resonates, but as staged by director Virginia DeMoss, much of it is overshadowed by a sense of clumsiness. It feels like a rough draft in need of a revision. As a first-time playwright Cunningham shows potential, but I believe this piece serves as more of an exorcism for him than a satisfying night of theater.

THE GOOD HOURS THE FOUND THEATRE | 599 LONG BEACH BLVD | LONG BEACH 90802 | 562.433.3363 | FOUNDTHEATRE.ORG | FRI-SAT 8:30PM | THROUGH JUNE 7 | $12

Tags: alcoholism, art, Long Beach, the found theatre, the good hours, Theater