A TRASH-TALKING ODD COUPLE

The Garbologists opens with a few seconds of complete darkness and the clang and grind of machinery before two bright headlights move straight toward the audience. Then the lights come up on what was previously an empty street to reveal two New York City Sanitation Department workers in the cab of a garbage truck. Kristin Loeffler is responsible for this impressive feat of scenic design, and the two in the truck are Danny (Paul Melendy, memorable as Man in Chair in Lyric Stage’s Drowsy Chaperone) and Marlowe (Thomika Marie Bridwell, hilarious as church lady Rabby in Huntington’s Fat Ham). This odd-couple duo could hardly be less well-suited to each other: Danny, a white man with nine years of sanitation experience, sees himself as a mentor to rookie Marlowe; Marlowe, a Black woman with a Master’s degree in art history, aced the written exam and has no patience with Danny’s clumsy and unfiltered efforts at jocularity.

Questions abound. Why is Columbia-educated Marlowe working as a garbage collector and receiving numerous phone calls in the course of her workday? And what did Danny do that has cost him his wife, his son, and his former work partner?

We’ll get these answers, but not before even more questions are raised. Lindsay Joelle’s 90-minute script is as packed with laughs as an overloaded trash barrel with the lid pressed down tight. Despite her excellent test scores and sophisticated background, it turns out that Marlowe has a few things to learn from Danny. She might know more about how to read a book than he does, but he can tell her how to “read the bags” to learn about the people and situations that led to their disposal. A mattress surrounded by a lot of bags means bed bugs; a large quantity of bags and boxes filled with still usable items means a death.

Densely populated New York City teems with abundance, and Danny urges Marlowe to “ask the street” for anything she wants or needs, assuring her that it’s likely to turn up. He teaches her about “mongo,” sanitation worker slang for found and (and illegally) reclaimed objects in other people’s garbage. Marlowe is reticent at first, and much of the humor results from her annoyance with garrulous Danny’s endless chatter, but as the play progresses, we learn a great deal about Marlowe and her tear-jerking history. Most profoundly, this is a play about the ways in which very different people can find connection, even if they seem to have nothing in common.

For audiences in many Massachusetts towns, The Garbologists could hardly be more timely. On July 1, sanitation workers in fourteen communities—including Gloucester—went out on strike. Director Rebecca Bradshaw spoke to the moment in her address before the play began, expressing unqualified support for the striking workers and describing what those working on this production had learned about their difficult working conditions and the extensive technical knowledge required to operate their equipment. Nothing about this production smells bad—it’s a satisfying opportunity to gain insight into the lives of workers crucial to our well-being but with whom most of us have little direct contact.

photos by Shawn G. Henry

The Garbologists
Gloucester Stage Company
267 East Main Street in Gloucester, MA
90 minutes, no intermission
Wed and Thurs at 7:30; Fri at 8; Sat at 3 & 8; Sun at 3
ends on July 26, 2025
for tickets, call 978.281.4433 or visit Gloucester Stage