Review: The Pilon, with Red Theater
"What you collect helps you understand who you are."
those words from Aunt Rhonda (Delia Kropp) - co-owner of the barely-scraping-by Wax Harvest Card Shop in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood - may be true, but it's how you collect that drives most of the drama in Zach Barr's The Pilon, now making its world premiere with Red Theater. this is the second Zach Barr play I've seen this season (following their previous world premiere Quinlyn Can Paint with Black Cat Theatre, similarly staged here at the Edge Off Broadway), and if nothing else, it's a testament to their flexibility as a playwright to see such structurally oppositional works in close succession, though their fascination with human obsession and connection remains as strong as ever across scripts.
Barr's play takes place entirely - apart from a few brief asides - in the aforementioned Wax Harvest store, the audience literally walking through the store's entrance to get to their seats in director Jessica Love's intimate staging (Manuel Ortiz's scenic design provides a great lesson in using minimalism to exude maximalism). there's a gentle - if bordering on sluggish - workplace comedy vibe to the opening scenes here, introducing us to the Aunt Rhonda, her co-owner and nephew, Corbin (an endearing Rio Ragazzone), trading card-selling obsessive Marc (the towering but childish Josh Razavi), "non-sports" card collector Lex (the effortlessly charming Jo Tannous), and the young teen store regular, Griffey (Harper Levander).
as slow-going as these early scenes are (especially as the audience works to become acclimated to the endless jargon and terminology that comes with the world of trading cards), things quickly spring to life in Love's otherwise tight-knit production once Griffey unwittingly stumbles upon the holy grail of cards; see, The Pilon (pronounced PEE-LAWN) refers to fictional basketball player Damião Pilon, the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year playing for the Seattle Emeralds (another fictional Barr invention; as of this writing, Seattle does not have an official NBA team). given Pilon's newfound notoriety, the ultra-rare card bearing his name and insignia - only seventeen cards have been printed! - has become a hot commodity, selling for five figures on the market. thus, the card falling into the hands of a thirteen-year-old ends up becoming both a blessing and a curse.
the question of "to sell, or not to sell?" becomes the underlying crux of the play, as Griffey's personal collector ideology (they collect cards because they like collecting cards!) comes into direct opposition with the capitalist-friendly, sales-happy contingent of the hobby. the overall fun of Barr's script comes in watching these disparate and distinct characters, each with singular energies and motivations, receive this particularly thorny scenario and bouncing off of each other in ways both surprising and touching. it helps that Barr (aided by Love's excellent tonal control with the performers) has crafted a narrative altogether entertaining, and intricate (one particular plot revelation late in Act 2 had me literally gasp in my seat).
perhaps for me especially - someone with a rabid and ever-growing collection of Blu Rays and DVDS - I saw myself throughout the characters of The Pilon, each person reckoning with their own personal reasons for indulging in the hobby, pondering the possibility and potential of these collectibles to bring someone comfort, nostalgia, and even a sense of identity; the standout scene in the play sees Rhonda and Griffey alone in the store connecting through their shared, respective trans experiences, with Griffey's secrecy around his newfound collecting hobby revealed as a means of carving out a piece of personal masculinity that hasn't been hoisted upon him by his proud yet domineering father. Rhonda provides Griffey with the guidance he needs in that moment, with Kropp emerging as the MVP of the evening, delivering nurturing sentiments and venomous quips with ease and confidence.
it's easy to fall in love with the characters of The Pilon as the play goes on, and it's that communal energy that sticks with you once the play is over, alongside lingering thoughts of what and how we build the identities that we do. in the grand scheme of things, The Pilon certainly isn't reinventing the theatrical wheel, as much as it is taking that wheel and refining its structural integrity. this is Theatre as many of us know it; positioned in reality, with realistic characters, facing realistic obstacles in a representational staging. that Barr and Love are able to make something so traditional appear so fresh is a gift in itself. a well-worn pack of trading cards worth breaking open, if you will.
The Pilon runs an estimated 2 hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission, and performs at The Edge Off Broadway (1133 W Catalpa) through November 23rd 2025. Tickets are available HERE.
