The manager at Floyd King Nissan in Longview needs a gimmick to move inventory, and for a decade or more, his Hands on a Hard Body contest seems to do the trick: Let locals put their name in a hat, and 10 lucky folks will get the opportunity to win a $22,000 pickup, and all they have to do is be the last one standing.
Hands on a Hard Body is a real contest, and a real documentary recounts the folks who entered it one year. And who enters such a thing? Mostly, it seems, the unemployed, the desperate, the foolish and the dreamers, all of whom are represented in the musical at Theatre 3. There’s Benny (Ashley Wood), a prior winner already in need of a new piece of transportation and the one who knows the mind games better than anyone; there’s J.D. (Jim Johnson), a disabled oil rig worker who wants to be productive in some way once more; Janis (Nancy Sherrard), a gap-toothed middle-aged mother of six; and several more who endure the Texas summer heat because they have something to prove.
With its thoughtful investigation into what compels a person to behave in such a way, Hands on a Hard Body bears a lot in common with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which parses why kids would commit a series of letters to memory. And like Putnam, neither is really about what it seems to be about, but rather deals with things much deeper. Doug Wright’s script, which brings these people into focus by turn, peeking inside their psyches with empathy but no judgment, has crafted an intriguing series of character studies that resonate with a Texas twang. He traffics in the rhythms of East Texas life, and his characters — all acted with knowing conviction by the talented cast — will resonate with local audiences.
The score, by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio, creates layers of personality through song choice, from the heartbreaking “Stronger” (sung with passion by Chris Ramirez) to the hand-waving “Joy to the Lord,” which might get you back to church.
Director Jeffrey Schmidt gives a show about folks standing still an amazing dash of energy, and the clever staging even leaves room for choreography. It’s such a delight, everyone involved in this production deserves a big Hand.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 3, 2014.
