With an excellent cast and humorous plot, it’s no wonder ‘Pickleball’ has sold out

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a play that has sold out before the review is published. Unfortunately for those who don’t yet have tickets, you won’t get a chance to catch the remaining performances of “Pickleball” at Riverwalk Theatre. It is fortunate for the theater, however — granted, the show is being produced in the smaller Black Box space, but selling out 100-plus seats for the show’s entire run is phenomenal.

“Pickleball” is a comedy by Jeff Daniels, first produced at his Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea in 2022. Taking advantage of the “fastest growing sport” in America, “Pickleball” centers on four players of varying talent and motivation: the randy Larry (Quinn Kelly), who plays to meet women; his partner, Billie (Amber Swisher), who lost her wife during a pickleball game; nerdy, whiny Sheldon (Logan Natvig); and Spike (Jonas Greenberg), whose addiction to pickleball cost him his marriage. The players meet a competitor so perfect that her name is Perfect (Keara Hayes), and she presents them with an opportunity to increase their player ratings and compete in an exclusive tournament.

Daniels is a national treasure, a renaissance man with a successful career as an actor, recording artist and playwright, although the latter might be his least refined talent. Much like his script for “Escanaba in da Moonlight,” “Pickleball” employs scatological humor and physical comedy for laughs. For instance, much attention is paid to Sheldon’s injury to his posterior, as well as his use of the word “schmuck,” which opens the door for recurring penis jokes.

The role calls for broad humor, and Natvig is fully committed to the physicality necessary, writhing in pain and waddling around as he plays through the agony of a blown-out bottom.

Natvig isn’t alone in embracing his character — director Amy Jo Brown has assembled an excellent cast. When not chasing pickleballs, Kelly’s Larry overconfidently chases skirts with a charming lack of self-awareness. Greenberg is perfectly cast as the athletic everyman, guilelessly accepting his addiction to the sport. Caleb Liggett exudes rage as Angry John, the competitor who strikes fear in the hearts of the other players while evoking laughter from the audience.

After stealing the show as Magenta in Riverwalk’s production of “Rocky Horror” last year, Hayes is magnetic as Perfect, a legendary player who has, quite literally, a killer return. Perfect is a self-absorbed social media darling who can’t be bothered to remember the names of her acolytes, and Hayes has the perfect attitude and poise for the role.

Like “Escanaba,” this story employs some mysticism. Perfect has some demons to face, and she’s offered a pathway to redemption from an unlikely source. While this plot arc drives much of Perfect’s interactions with the others, either the script or the speed of the delivery of her encounter with her otherworldly guide water down the motivation.

The play’s conclusion would seem to indicate that two wrongs make a right, but it’s not a very satisfying ending. Perhaps the mismatch lies in the choice to focus on a sport whose players are an average age of 34, according to the Association of Pickleball Players, but target most of the humor to adolescent males.