Chris Reber, Will Livingston, Erin Gould, and Rebecca Schweitzer Photo by Tracy Martin

In a sense, I feel like the mother being in the minority trying to stop a relentless wave. At opening night at Hillbarn Theatre, there was rollicking laughter throughout, but others of us were less impressed. To Hillbarn's credit, it filled the house for the opening, though perhaps with ringers. In Executive Artistic Director Steve Muterspaugh's introduction, he surveyed the audience, and it seemed that around half were active pickleball players who had played in the last three days, mostly on that very Friday. This is unlike many ethnic or special interest plays I've seen that haven't drawn in the group reflected in the play, so let's hope some of these sportspeople get the theatre bug.

Six characters drive the action of Pickleball, which takes place at the pickleball courts. Like many comedies (and this is a raucous farce), there is another level of meaning that can be extracted from the script. However, Pickleball really appeals to those liking the broadest comedy and particularly to those who can see characterizations and situations that resonate with their experience.

Daniels is a serious comic playwright, and his Escanaba in da Moonlight, for one, is very charming. Unlike the characters in this play, who are addicts to the game, Daniels' own interest faded. But he learned enough to craft a bevy of personalities and incidents that regulars can relate to, especially formulating a group that bonds as playmates with otherwise little in common.

Billie (Rebecca Schweitzer) is the accomplished tennis player whose skills from that sport help but also hold her back as she refuses to adapt to the differences. Larry (Erin Gould) is the skirt chaser. Sheldon (Chris Reber) is the guy who doesn't have a life outside of pickleball and is the one sidelined from it with an injury (straining muscles in both butt cheeks!). Ratings are a major topic of discussion, and Spike (Will Livingston) is the poacher and more than any, strives to lift his ranking from the pedestrian 2.5 to the illustrious 3.0. There is also always a guy who is forever angry, and he is off-stage but ever-present.

Into this omnium gatherum arrives a disrupter who in the pickleball constellation is perfect. She is an eye-popping hottie, condescendingly flirtatious, and sashays around the court. She's got game, she's an influencer, and she instructs for a handsome fee. She also has the perfect name. What is it? Oh yeah, Perfect (Omri M. Tate)!

The play doesn't have a material plotline but rather is a slice of life, with the slice being–you guessed it. It's full of vignettes built around the peculiarities of the game, like the scoring, which always includes three numbers, and many players find it difficult to keep it straight. It is full of references to dinking and the kitchen.

Above all, it is about the etiquette. One practice that gets a workout is giving tips, as Spike often counsels Billie on forgetting the way it's done in tennis. Advice is considered bad form, and each time it happens in the play, red lights flash and a foghorn-like sound booms, which is good for laughs every time. Be on the lookout for repeat admonitions having to do with being sorry in what appears to be a nod to Tom Hanks' iconic line in League of Their Own, "There's no crying in baseball," or perhaps Ali MacGraw's "Love means never having to say you're sorry," in Love Story.

Though the play is not in my wheelhouse, it will satisfy many. The actors do well with what they are supposed to do, and in particular, I do find Tate's Perfect engaging and Schweitzer's Billie to express a well-developed if overly loud personality. Apart from the customary interchange among the characters, a couple of treatments spice up the action. One is a rap routine. In the other, which has broad appeal, a silent film is simulated with four characters playing pickleball sans ball in a strobe-like herky-jerky motion with a tinkling musical soundtrack from the era.

Marissa Keltie directs, showing a good sense of the flailing exaggeration of movement and loud but clear vocalization that makes farce work. Indisputable is the outstanding contribution of the creative team. Muterspaugh designed the scenery, and while the court itself is simple, the back wall opens and several frosted windows ring the upper reaches, making for an effective overall effect. Pamila Gray's lighting is active, including the use of gyrating spots and backlighting in the windows at appropriate times, and Jeff Mockus' sound always has something to say.

Pickleball runs through September 13, 2026, at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City CA. For information and tickets please visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.